The News Matrix: Monday 16 September 2013

Albert celebrates Buffalo Bill trip

Prince Albert will travel to the US state of Wyoming later this month to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his great-great grandfather's hunting trip with "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Booker turns a new leaf for US authors

The Man Booker prize is set to allow American entries from next year, shocking the literary world and sparking fears the £50,000 prize could lose its unique character. Previously, the prize has only allowed entries from British, Irish and Commonwealth authors. MORE

Man, 18, held over fatal arson attack

An 18-year-old man was arrested yesterday over an arson attack which killed a mother, her daughter and two sons in Leicester. It came as neurosurgeon Muhammad Taufiq Al Sattar, the husband and father, spoke publicly of his grief. Police are now holding five people in custody in connection with the blaze, after one of five people arrested on Saturday was released without charge.

Quick-thinking flies slow down the swat

Flies can process nearly seven times as much information in a second as a human – which explains why they can be so infuriatingly difficult to swat. They see the approaching newspaper in slow motion, similar to the way Keanu Reeves dodges bullets in the film The Matrix, scientists believe. MORE

Merkel allies sweep to victory in Bavaria

The Christian Social Union, sister party of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, swept to victory in a state poll in Bavaria yesterday, winning enough support to regain the absolute majority they had lost in 2008 and boosting the Chancellor a week before a federal election.

Crime will pay for Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is tipped to smash sales records following its release tomorrow, with expected sales of 25 million copies in the coming 12 months, generating income of £1bn. The game reportedly cost £170m to make and market.

58 killed in spate of violent incidents

A wave of car bombings and other attacks in Iraq killed at least 58 people in mostly Shia-majority cities yesterday. Iraq is experiencing its deadliest bout of violence since 2008, raising fears the country is returning to a period of widespread killing.

Knox cannot afford to go to Italy for retrial

The American Amanda Knox will not return to Italy to face a retrial for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher because she cannot afford the fare and she fears she would be a "distraction" in court.

Oldest man in the world dies, aged 112

The world's oldest man has died at 112. Salustiano Sanchez died on Friday at a nursing home in New York. He was born in Spain in 1901. The world's oldest man is now Arturo Licata of Italy at 111, and the oldest woman is Misao Okawa of Japan, 115.

Shop thieves flee from shoe defence

A shop assistant managed to fight off robbers armed with knives with one of his shoes and a glass jar in a service station in Westhoughton, Manchester. Both thieves fled.

War of words over the war on drugs

Venezuela has rejected US criticism over its fight against international drug trafficking after Washington said the South American country had "failed demonstrably" for a fifth year running. Venezuela responded by saying that it had arrested more than 6,400 people for trafficking and seized almost 80,000lbs of drugs.