The News Matrix: Thursday 26 March 2015

Paper’s sting of MP in ‘public interest’

The press regulator Ipso has cleared the Sunday Mirror of any wrongdoing over an investigation which forced Conservative MP Brooks Newmark to quit as a minister after sending explicit pictures to an undercover journalist. Ipso found no breach of the Editors’ Code.

Police criticised for not alerting parents

Schools and police are to be criticised by MPs for failing to alert parents that their children are at risk of fleeing Britain to join Isis. The Home Affairs Select Committee will call for a drive to win the “hearts and minds” of teenagers, warning that more could follow the 600 Britons already believed to have gone to Syria.

UN’s new memorial to victims of slavery

The United Nations headquarters in New York has unveiled a new memorial to the 15 million victims of the transatlantic slave trade over four centuries. The permanent memorial is called “The Ark of Return” and is the result of efforts by African and Caribbean UN member states.

Scots to ban smoking in cars carrying kids

Smoking in cars carrying children is to be banned in Scotland to protect young passengers from passive smoking. The Scottish Government said it would back proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrat MSP Jim Hume, bringing Scotland into line with England and Wales where the law has been introduced.

Former child soldier admits killing to UN

A former child soldier from Democratic Republic of Congo told a meeting on children and armed conflict at the UN Security Council he was sorry for the harm he caused after he was forcefully recruited from his school by an armed group at 12. “We killed, we looted,” said Junior Nzita Nsuami, now 30.

Indefinite detention to end under Labour

The indefinite detention of asylum seekers and migrants would be ended by a Labour government, the party will announce today. Yvette Cooper, the shadow Home Secretary, will say that Labour would fix a time limit following criticism that people in the asylum and immigration system have been locked up for up to four years.

Ruling on Knox conviction delayed

Italy’s highest court’s ruling on whether to uphold the convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito (pictured) for the murder of the British woman Meredith Kercher has been delayed until Friday. The Court of Cassation hearing opened yesterday and a ruling was expected but slow closing arguments led judges to reschedule.

Finance minister ‘bribed with a Renoir’

The former finance minister, Darius Valcov, was detained yesterday suspected of taking bribes, including gold bars and a painting by French Impressionist Auguste Renoir, when he was mayor of Slatina. Prosecutors said he had hidden the painting, three kilograms of gold and $410,000 in cash in a friend’s safe. Valcov resigned on 15 March. He denies wrongdoin

i writers longlisted for Orwell Prize

Three i journalists have been longlisted for this year’s Orwell Prize, Britain’s most prestigious award for political writing. Defence and diplomatic correspondent Kim Sengupta, science editor Steve Connor and chief political commentator Steve Richards are named as contenders.

Mockingbird sequel cover is revealed

The cover for Harper Lee’s new novel will remind readers of the cover of her old one. On Wednesday, HarperCollins unveiled the jacket art for Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, the follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird.

Nasa unveils plan to journey to asteroid

Nasa is aiming to launch a rocket to an asteroid in five years and grab a boulder from it, a stepping stone for an eventual trip sending humans to Mars. The space agency unveiled details of the £800m plan to launch a solar-powered unmanned craft to an asteroid in December 2020.

Russell Brand voted top thinker

Russell Brand has been voted the world’s fourth-most important thinker by readers of the intellectual magazine Prospect. The list was topped by the French economist Thomas Piketty, with the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and the author Naomi Klein scooping second and third place.