The News Matrix: Friday 20 December 2013

Trust betrayed cancer patients

An NHS hospital trust has been accused of exposing hundreds of breast cancer patients to harm, keeping them in the dark over a rogue surgeon. The report also claims Ian Paterson carried out “cleavage-saving” mastectomies while working at Solihull Hospital. Concerns were first raised by a colleague in 2003 but he was suspended only in 2011. MORE

Father of Neville brothers is cleared

The father of the former England footballers Gary and Phil Neville has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman. Neville Neville, 64, admitted at Bolton Crown Court that he engaged in sexual activity with the middle-aged complainant but said it was consensual.

Officer used his body to lessen bomb blast

News of bombings in Iraq are not new, but tales of extreme heroism are. However, politicians and police officials hailed a policeman who embraced a suicide bomber earlier this week, just moments before the attacker blew himself up, in an effort to save the lives of pilgrims.

Britons flown out of Juba after ‘coup’

A plane was sent to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, yesterday to repatriate Britons caught up in the violence in the country. The Foreign Office said more than 150 Britons wanted to leave the country, following a reported coup attempt at the weekend. MORE

Indian consul claims US did cavity search

The US Marshals Service is denying claims by Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general, that she was subjected to a cavity search when she was arrested on charges of visa fraud. The service says she was strip-searched in accordance with standard procedures. MORE

Rodman arrives for basketball match

Dennis Rodman, the American former basketball player, arrived in Pyongyang yesterday to arrange a match between North Koreans he has helped to coach, and other former NBA stars. MORE

Vince and Boris in spat over London

Vince Cable yesterday came to blows with Boris Johnson after the Business Secretary claimed that London was “becoming a giant suction machine draining the life” from the rest of the country. The London Mayor dismissed his remark as a “stupefying and ridiculous assertion”. MORE

Khodorkovsky to be pardoned

President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he will pardon jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky after more than a decade in prison. Mr Putin told reporters that Khodorkovsky submitted an appeal for pardon and he intends to grant it. It was unclear whether the tycoon’s lawyers made an application. MORE

American wins 100 Picasso raffle

A million-dollar drawing by Pablo Picasso was snapped up on Wednesday by a 25-year-old American art lover at an online charity raffle for a mere €100. Jeffrey Gonano said he had been looking for a picture to hang on his living-room wall when he read a news article about L’Homme au Gibus, raffled by Sotheby’s in Paris.

Taking aspirin could prevent road rage

Intermittent explosive disorder, sometimes known as “anger syndrome” and defined “as a failure to resist aggressive impulses” could be cured by taking aspirin. Research carried out at the University of Chicago looked at cures for the disorder, of which road rage is believed to be an example.

Steps star wins damages for slur

Steps singer H has won a public apology and undisclosed damages after being wrongly labelled as a paedophile by the E! Online website.The site used a picture of the singer – whose real name is Ian H Watkins – to illustrate a report about the sex abuser Ian Watkins, who was jailed for 35 years this week.

Student suspended for hugging teacher

A suburban Atlanta high school student has been suspended for a year for hugging a teacher, a television station reported. The suspension could derail Sam McNair’s chances of obtaining a college athletic scholarship, his mother, April McNair, told the Atlanta television station WGCL.

Missing pet turkey back for Christmas

A pet turkey called Bernard has returned home for Christmas after going missing for 10 days and repeatedly cheating death. The eight-month-old bird was snatched by a fox from his home near North Walsham in Norfolk and almost killed by a dog. His owner, Ellie Waite, called him “the luckiest turkey in the world”.