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The News Matrix: Monday 7 January 2013

 

Monday 07 January 2013 01:00 GMT
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Up to 100 people missing after fires

Up to 100 people are missing after bushfires devastated parts of Tasmania and destroyed scores of properties in recent days. As a dozen fires continued to rage on the island yesterday, emergency teams searched burnt-out houses and cars in the worst affected towns.

A trip down memory lane

Austrian police have appealed for help identifying a tourist who has lost his memory and has no identification. He arrived in the German town of Lindau on 19 November.

Fury over rail fare minister's car perks

Revelations that Simon Burns, the Minister responsible for rail fares, is driven to and from work at the cost of £80,000-a-year to taxpayers has sparked outrage among commuters. MORE

Aboriginals block trains in protest

Aboriginal demonstrators disrupted passenger rail service on routes connecting Toronto with Ottawa and Montreal over the weekend, a day after Canada's Prime Minister agreed to meet with First Nations leaders to discuss grievances behind a growing native protest movement. MORE

Briton, 44, drowned as family looked on

A British father has drowned on holiday while his family looked on. The 44-year-old was dragged from the sea at Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, at around 4pm yesterday. His wife and children had to be taken away while efforts were made to revive him but he died at the scene.

Obama to spark row over Defence choice

President Barack Obama will nominate former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be his Defence Secretary. The choice will likely set up a battle in the Senate over whether the former Nebraska senator and Vietnam veteran is a strong enough supporter of key US ally Israel and over his past calls for military cuts. MORE

Senior Anglican condemns church

The threat of schism within the Anglican church grew last night after the leader of a global group of Anglicans condemned the Church for "compromising with the secular preoccupations of the West" over its proposal to allow celibate gay bishops. The attack from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, the Primate of Kenya, ratchets up the tension between liberals and conservatives. MORE

At the Make-or-heartbreak Hotel

More than 70 Elvis impersonators from across the globe have descended on the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel to compete to be crowned Europe's next King.

Rape suspects to be state's witnesses

Two of the men allegedly involved in the rape and murder of an Indian medical student have said they are ready to turn state's witnesses – apparently in an attempt to avoid the death penalty. Five men have been charged with the murder and gang-rape of the 23-year-old.

Charles's fears over dysfunctional world

The Prince of Wales has told how the prospect of becoming a grandfather is spurring his environmental beliefs, saying he does not want to "hand on an increasingly dysfunctional world". Charles was talking to ITV's This Morning.

Widespread strikes threaten schools

Schools across Britain could face strikes this term as teaching unions meet tomorrow to plan industrial action. Meanwhile, sources tell i that the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, is set to make teachers' annual pay award discretionary for schools. MORE

'El Nino' lottery's €840m payout

A lottery showered €840m (£680m) on ticket-holders in five regions of Spain yesterday in the midst of a deep recession and high unemployment. The "El Nino" (The Child) lottery is held on each Feast of the Epiphany.

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