The News Matrix: Monday 25 July 2011

Journalists warned over documents

Staff across all News International newspapers have been told not to destroy documents relating to the phone-hacking investigations now underway. The memo highlights parent company News Corp’s fears that journalists from its other titles might be sucked in to the scandal. MORE

Man killed in helicopter crash

A man died in a helicopter crash yesterday, Devon and Cornwall police confirmed. The aircraft came down around 3.30pm in a field near Bude, Cornwall, between Marhamchurch and Week St Mary. The pilot is believed to be a man in his 40s, from the Bristol area.

Landmines hamper global aid efforts

Hampered by landmines and a threat of violence from al Shabab militants, aid agencies were struggling to reach 2.2 million people on the brink of starvation, the head of the UN food agency warned yesterday.

Suicide bomber kills nine in Aden blast

A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into an army checkpoint outside Yemen’s southern port city of Aden yesterday, killing at least nine soldiers and wounding 21 others. The attack, which the government blamed on al-Qa’ida, comes weeks after the army surrounded the city.

Maternity units are ‘not coping’

Some maternity units are struggling to cope as the birth rate rises, according to a new report for BBC’s Panorama programme. Across the UK, maternity units were forced to close temporarily to new admissions 1,055 times last year, the programme said. MORE

Crucial day at court for Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito return to court in Perugia today for what could be a crucial turning point in their appeal against their convictions for murdering the English exchange student Meredith Kercher in November 2007. A report filed by two of Italy’s most eminent forensic scientists rubbishes DNA evidence. MORE

Gunman kills five at child’s skating party

A gunman opened fire at a child’s birthday celebration at a Texas roller-skating rink, killing five people and wounding four others before turning the gun on himself. The rampage is believed to have been sparked by a domestic dispute.

Companies’ ‘Del Boy’ sales techniques

Energy companies are using “Del Boy” doorstep-sales techniques to pressurise consumers to switch gas or electricity provider, according to MPs. The Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee says it has been appalled by the behaviour. MORE

Legal dispute causes condom shortage

Britain faces a condom shortage because of a legal dispute between the UK’s leading provider, Durex, and its main supplier. The Indian company TTK Lig halted its supply of condoms to the Slough-based Durex company in May after a dispute over pricing and distribution rights. MORE

Swiss singer to get London yodelling

Extreme yodelling and karaoke are coming to the home of opera this summer. The Swiss singer Christian Zehnder will deliver a set described as a mixture of “throat singing, opera and extreme yodelling” in the latest attempt to bring opera to a wider audience at London’s Royal Opera House.

First Bond girl dies

Linda Christian, the Hollywood starlet of the 1940s, has died. Christian, who starred as James Bond’s love interest in the television adaptation of Casino Royale in 1954, died on Friday in Palm Desert aged 87.

Help for Beatrice after hat faux pas

The Duchess of York called in a stylist to “help” her daughter Princess Beatrice on matters of fashion after the hat she wore to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton made headlines around the world. She told Hello! magazine that after the hat was ridiculed she felt Beatrice needed professional advice.

Same-sex couples rush to tie the knot

The wedding bells rang out ceaselessly across New York yesterday as dozens of gay couples rushed to tie the knot after the state became the sixth to sanction same-sex marriage. As the clocks chimed midnight, Kitty Lambert, 54, and Cheryle Rudd, 53, were the first to exchange vows in a ceremony at Niagara Falls. MORE

Queen hit wins gold with UK Olympians

Queen’s hit We Are The Champions is the tune of choice for British Olympians if they get a place on the podium, a survey found. The 1977 single took gold as the top choice of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls asked what they would choose in place of the national anthem. Runner-up in the Time Out magazine poll was Jerusalem.