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The News Matrix: Thursday 17 July 2014

 

Wednesday 16 July 2014 22:32 BST
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Holland not liable for Srebrenica

A civil court cleared the Netherlands of liability in the deaths of most of the 8,000 Bosnian Muslims slain in the Srebrenica massacre 19 years ago, but did order the nation to compensate the families of 300 men who were turned over to Bosnian Serb forces and killed. MORE

660 people held over child abuse

Teachers, doctors and former police officers were among the 660 people arrested yesterday on suspicion of paedophilia. The allegations range from possessing indecent images of children to sexual assault. Just 39 of those arrested were registered sex offenders. MORE

Calls to limit benefits to four children

Parents should only be able to claim child benefits for up to four children, according to new plans from a think-tank in order to try and cut £1bn from the welfare budget. The plan put forward by the group Policy Exchange would see benefits reduced for each child from 2016.

Shootout with terrorist injures four

Police arrested one of the country’s most wanted men – a fugitive convicted of terrorism – during a shootout in Athens’ central tourist district that left four people wounded. Nikos Maziotis has been on the run along with his wife Panagiota Roupa since June 2012.

Online jihadist sentenced to jail

A British cyber-jihadist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a US court after admitting terrorism offences. Babar Ahmad, from south London, admitted conspiracy and providing material to help the Taliban. Ahmad has already spent 10 years in prison in the US and UK.

Arrest warrant upheld for Assange

A Swedish court has upheld an arrest warrant for the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. He is wanted on charges of sexual assault, but has been hiding in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for two years.

Nepalese ex-Prince arrested over drugs

Nepal’s former Crown Prince, notorious for his flamboyant lifestyle and frequent brawling, has been arrested for marijuana possession in Thailand for the second time in two years. Last week, officers found 12g of marijuana in Paras Shah’s Bangkok hotel room.

Drug cartel posed as police to kidnap man

Three men affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel are accused of kidnapping a man in South Carolina and holding him to ransom over $200,000 worth of marijuana. The kidnappers posed as police officers to abduct their victim. The man has been found in North Carolina.

‘On the runs’ report published today

Lady Justice Hallett’s report into the schemes used for dealing with terror suspects who were on the run is published today. It is expected to address secret negotiations between former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, on how to deal with the suspects. It was commissioned after the collapse of suspected Hyde Park bomber John Downey’s trial.

Artist vows to fight obscenity arrest

An artist who was arrested on obscenity charges for making a 3D printed kayak based on her vagina has vowed to launch a legal fight. Megumi Igarashi, 42, said she was challenging a “discrimination” culture in Japan. She could face two years in prison or a £15,000 fine.

Weather ‘geeks’ set to shine on TV

The Weather Channel is to launch a weekly show called Weather Geeks, in which experts will discuss topics like the merits of storm-chasing, how to fight droughts and whether machines or humans are better at forecasting. Marshall Shepherd of the University of Georgia will host it.

‘Stay out of the sun’ heatwave warning

Experts have urged people to stay out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day following a Met Office heatwave alert for the weekend. Temperatures are expected to rise to their highest of the year, with the hottest temperatures in the low 30s.

Intruder claims he was looking for Katy

A man arrested at the Kennedy compound said he was looking for singer Katy Perry. Police in Barnstable, Massachusetts, were alerted by Edward Kennedy Jr., son of the late Senator, who had called the house to check on his young son. A strange man answered the phone.

Cat facial-recognition software created

A Taiwan-based developer has created facial-recognition software for cats after his pet almost died because other cats were stealing his food. Mu-Chi Sung’s invention will dispense food after recognising individual cats and has raised £14,590 on the crowd-funding site Indiegogo.

Tate Modern in Malevich ‘fakes’ row

A row has broken out over whether the work of Kazimir Malevich now on display at a new Tate exhibition includes fake paintings. The Tate Modern hailed the artist’s work, describing Malevich as an artist who “cast a long shadow over the history of modern art”. MORE

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