The News Matrix: Friday 8 June 2012

Minister expects 'stick' over tickets

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said he expects he and the London 2012 Organising Committee will "get some stick" when it is revealed how many top tickets went to corporate sponsors rather than on sale to the public. The breakdown "probably" won't be reveal-ed until after Games, he said. MORE

Japanese dock washes up in Oregon

A huge dock unmoored during last year's Japanese tsunami washed up on an Oregon beach this week. The Japanese consulate confirmed that the dock is from the Northeast coast of Japan. Oregon is now working with other West coast states to coordinate cleaning up the debris. MORE

Sarkozy faces court over campaign funds

The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy may soon find himself facing two legal cases involving alleged illicit funding of campaigns that helped him to power. His immunity from prosecution – granted to French presidents while in office – expires in a week. MORE

Property loophole may cost billions

The Treasury faced demands last night to examine the extent of tax avoidance by the UK's wealthiest homeowners, who are transferring £25bn worth of property into corporate ownership. It is estimated around 5,000 British homes are registered in this way. MORE

Liddle piece costs Spectator £5,000

The Spectator was fined £5,000 yesterday over an article by columnist Rod Liddle that threatened to bring down the trial of two men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence.

Storm warning as gales batter UK

Trees and power lines were brought down yesterday as unseasonal winds and heavy rain battered many parts of the UK, with forecasters warning of similar storms today. A yachtsman from Jersey had to be airlifted to safety off the coast of the Lizard in Cornwall, after his 22ft boat was capsized twice in the middle of a force nine gale.

Jeb Bush: 'I won't be Mitt's running mate'

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush yesterday ruled out any chance he will be the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee this year and suggested he might have missed his best chance to run for president. MORE

Doctors warn more could die

Further deaths from an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Edinburgh cannot be ruled out, doctors have warned, as people from further afield fall ill. There are now 24 confirmed and 37 suspected cases, with 12 people in intensive care. One person, Robert Air, 56, has died.

Victim's parents collect his remains

The parents of Jun Lin, the victim of the Canadian porn-star suspected murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta, have arrived in Canada to collect his dismembered remains. The quiet, unassuming student had come to Canada from China to study engineering and computer science. MORE

Hunt puts media Green Paper on hold

The Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has shelved his potentially controversial communications Green Paper until after the Olympics. It will look at issues such as public service broadcasting, internet piracy and the allocation of broadcasting spectrum.

Ministers boycott England games

British ministers will boycott England's opening matches of the Euro 2012 football tournament in protest at the civil rights record of co-host Ukraine, William Hague said. Other European governments will also boycott the event. MORE

Sisters are world's oldest siblings

Two sisters have been recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest siblings in the world. Dorothy Richards is 108 and her sister Marjorie Ruddle is 105. Brought up in Northampton, they celebrated with a tea party at the Peterborough nursing home where Mrs Ruddle lives.

Workers find dead monkeys in crate

Refinery workers in Indiana got a nasty surprise when they opened a crate of valves from India and found the remains of two small monkeys, there for at least a year. "Sadly in this age of global transport, sometimes wildlife finds its way into overseas shipments," said BP's Scott Dean.

He's still at it: burglar jailed again at 65

One of Britain's most prolific burglars has been jailed for five and a half years. Pensioner Simon Berkowitz, 65, admitted five burglaries, one count of going equipped to burgle and two counts of fraud. He has more than 250 convictions spanning more than 50 years.

Hound's puppy love for cubs

Two Siberian tiger cubs abandoned by their mother at a zoo in Russia have found an unusual wet nurse – a Shar Pei dog called Cleopatra. The dog has been cleaning the cubs, and feeding them as if they were her own.

Hanson plan fails – or maybe it doesn't

An Oxfordshire man who bombarded the US pop group Hanson with requests to play at his wedding has been rejected – but offered free flights to Jamaica instead. The band told James Bishop, 26, that they "don't play weddings", but would be happy to pay for a honeymoon trip.

Woman thankful after toy is retrieved

A woman in Boston has praised rail workers for rescuing her three-year-old daughter's stuffed animal from train tracks. Casey Carey-Brown said the animal "jumped" from her daughter's pram as they exited the train but a worker called an oncoming train and halted it so he could rescue it.

Ruffled feathers for man in chicken suit

Police are investigating the theft of a US flag from a man in a chicken suit. Eric Didio was dancing outside a Boston restaurant as part of his job, when a man grabbed the flag and took off. The police dispatcher found it hard to tell officers as he kept laughing while saying "chicken suit".

Somali pirate couple are to set sail again

Rachel and Paul Chandler, the couple who were taken hostage by Somali pirates and kept captive for more than a year, are to set sail again. The couple want to complete the round-the-world trip they had embarked upon before being seized at gunpoint on their yacht by pirates in the Indian Ocean.