The News Matrix: Friday 25 May 2012

A parking ticket every 4.6 seconds

The number of parking tickets issued by local councils last year rose to 6.8 million despite culling almost 200 wardens. One ticket was handed out every 4.6 seconds and the money raised totalled £234m. The largest number of fines was handed out in Liverpool, with 146,000.

Boris draws ire of cyclists in the city

Mayor Boris Johnson has accused two-thirds of the cyclists killed and seriously injured in London of causing the crashes, prompting outrage from campaigners. Kate Cairns, whose sister was killed by a lorry, said he had created animosity between drivers and cyclists. MORE

Huhne partner loses Daily Mail battle

The partner of former cabinet minister Chris Huhne has lost her privacy and harassment claim against the Daily Mail. Carina Trimingham has been ordered to pay £250,000 towards the newspaper's costs within the next 14 days, and an additional £160,000 later. MORE

Theresa May backs same-sex marriage

Campaigners for gay marriage have welcomed the support of Theresa May. In a video for the Out4Marriage campaign, she said that while there are "strong views" on both sides: "I believe if two people care for each other... then they should be able to get married."

Cops fly to Libya to probe WPc's death

Scotland Yard detectives will fly to Libya to continue the investigation into the murder of WPc Yvonne Fletcher. WPc Fletcher, left, was shot dead in 1984 outside the Libyan People's Bureau in London.

Four out of 10 women 'sexually harassed'

More than four out of ten women in London under the age of 34 were sexually harassed in the street last year. Harassment can be anything from wolf-whistling to assault. Professor Liz Kelly, co-chair of End Violence Against Women said the issue needed to be tackled on a nationwide level, claiming such abuse "generally goes unchallenged". MORE

Baby given smallest artificial heart ever

The smallest ever artificial heart was successfully implanted into a 16-month old baby in Rome. Officials announced that the child was reliant on the 11g titanium apparatus, which pumped 1.5l of blood per minute, for 13 days, until an actual heart became available. MORE

British hotels top their foreign rivals

Britain's hotels are among the best in the world, according to users of the TripAdvisor website. After eight years of consecutive improvements, they have an average score of 4.09 out of 5, above those in the US, Germany, France and Spain. MORE

Confession 33 years after boy vanished

Police are questioning Pedro Hernandez, a New Jersey man who says he abducted and murdered six-year-old Etan Patz 33 years ago. The case is one of New York's most famous unsolved crimes and the missing boy was one of the first to be featured on milk cartons. MORE

No halt to uranium enrichment in sight

Iranian delegates at a meeting in Baghdad yesterday refused to halt their country's enrichment of uranium. Iran's counter-proposal for an immediate relaxation of sanctions was rejected by the other states. MORE

Bride who faked leukaemia freed

Jessica Vega, the bride who tricked friends into funding her dream wedding and honeymoon in 2010 by falsely claiming that she had leukaemia, has been released from prison. She now plans to donate proceeds from a book about her life to cancer research. MORE

Anti-Putin protesters released from jail

Opposition leaders, Alexei Navalny and Sergei Udaltsov, were released after 15 days of imprisonment following a government crackdown on the protestors who demonstrated in Moscow against President Putin's inauguration. Navalny vowed to continue his activities. MORE

Vicar's Facebook posts not 'liked'

A vicar who made foul-mouthed posts on Facebook and complained of going to church on Sunday is being investigated by senior clergy after a complaint from a parishioner. Canon Paul Shackerley, of Doncaster Minster, posted a message saying "sin is such fun". He met with the Bishop of Doncaster to discuss the matter.

Candidate pelted with stones

Protesters attacked the presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq with stones and shoes after he cast his ballot in Cairo on Wednesday. The angry crowd blamed Mr Shafiq for his association with ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, under whom he served as Aviation Minister. MORE

Auction of Reagan's blood is called off

The online auction of a vial of Ronald Reagan's blood has been terminated following outrage from the former US President's foundation in California. Bidding reached £19,151 before the vial was removed from the website. Its owner has agreed to donate the artefact to the foundation.

Director granted 'top-secret' access

Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, and her co-writer on a film about Osama bin Laden, were granted controversially far-reaching access during their research, including access to the supposedly top secret Navy SEAL team who killed the al-Qa'ida leader. MORE

Zuma wants his privates off parade

President Jacob Zuma, whose sexual history has given rise to unsavoury rumours, has made a legal bid to have a painting featuring his genitals removed from a Johannesburg gallery after it was ruined by vandals. His case, founded on the constitutional right to dignity, continues.