The News Matrix: Monday 6 October 2014

Internet troll found dead in hotel room

A woman exposed on television as an internet troll who tweeted offensive messages to Madeleine McCann’s parents has been found dead in a Leicester hotel. Brenda Leyland was confronted on Sky News last week. Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious. MORE

General says air strikes not enough

The former chief-of-staff of Britain’s armed forces has said that Isis militants cannot be defeated by air strikes alone and that troops would have to be deployed. General Lord David Richards added that political leaders did not seem to appreciate the scale of the task. MORE

Euthanasia advice clinic opens in UK

A doctor who has been barred from practising in his native Australia has been criticised after opening his first Exit advice clinic for assisted dying in London. The peer Tanni Grey-Thompson said the clinic to help people take their own lives could be “massively open to abuse”. MORE

Stand-off with police could turn nasty

Pro-democracy protesters in the former British colony remained in a tense stalemate with the Chinese government last night after officials warned that they were determined to get the Asian financial hub back to work today after more than a week of unrest. MORE

Depardieu reveals his childhood secrets

The young Gérard Depardieu robbed graves, got into fights and smuggled cigarettes. The actor reveals surprising aspects of his childhood in a new book, Ça s’est fait comme ça (“That’s the Way it Was”). MORE

Strong winds blow in to much of Britain

Stormy conditions are set to hit much of the UK today, with strong winds and heavy rain bringing the risk of travel disruption and floods. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings, saying that exposed areas in Wales, north-west England, eastern parts of Northern Ireland and western and northern Scotland could see gusts of up to 70mph. MORE

Teenager dragged from canal dies

A teenage boy has died after being found in a canal in Greater Manchester. Police were called to reports of a body in the Huddersfield Narrow Canal near a Tesco store in Stalybridge. The 17-year-old was pulled out but died in hospital yesterday morning.

Hewlett-Packard empire splits up

Hewlett-Packard, the $66bn (£41bn) US technology giant whose disastrous takeover of British software group Autonomy tipped it into crisis, is breaking up its empire. The firm’s personal computer and printer arm will split from its corporate side.

Bid for recognition of Gallipoli troops

A campaign has been launched to win recognition for hundreds of First World War soldiers, almost a century after they died at sea. The troop ship Royal Edward was sunk with the loss of 860 British men on their way to Gallipoli.

Rainbow Room back on the NY skyline

New York City’s Rainbow Room has re-opened on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza after a five-year absence. The landmark’s customers have included Liz Taylor, Al Pacino and Muhammad Ali.

300 sheep stolen from two farms

Hundreds of sheep have been rustled from two farms in Northumberland. About 270 were stolen from Elsdon and 30 from Bellingham farms. Thefts of sheep are “a concern due to the effect they have on businesses”, police said.

Fan gets ready to rock 500 times

An obsessed fan of the musical Rock of Ages has spent £15,600 to see it 500 times since 2009. Abe Calimag, of Virginia, has travelled to see the Eighties-themed musical across the world. He said seeing the same show was just “what I enjoy”.