The News Matrix: Monday 30 May 2011

DSK recruits crack team to fight charges

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is pulling together a crack team of investigators, former CIA spies and media advisers to fight charges that the former head of the IMF sexually assaulted a chambermaid in his New York hotel room. MORE

Police arrest 4 over ‘attempted murder’

Four people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was found abandoned in a wood in a distressed state. Police believe the 27-year-old may have been taken from a Huddersfield address on Saturday night. MORE

Defence minister on warpath over leaks

Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said prosecutions are likely after investigations into leaks from his department. Two letters from Fox to the Prime Minister have been leaked recently. Fox has not rule out a Cabinet colleague is behind the leaks. MORE

UK trained officers after crackdown

Britain trained Bahraini army officers at Sandhurst months after Bahrain began a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. Five Bahraini officers attended Sandhurst last month, a Freedom of Information request shows. MORE

Malta says ‘I do’ to ending divorce ban

Malta was yesterday set to end its status as the only European nation that does not allow divorce after a “Yes” victory following a bitterly fought referendum campaign. MORE

Mladic not guilty of massacre, says son

Ratko Mladic has denied responsibility for the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica in 1995 as he tries to avoid extradition to The Hague to face trial for war crimes. After visiting Mladic in jail in Belgrade, the former Bosnian Serb army commander’s son, Darko, said that his father “had nothing to do” with the killings. MORE

Killer cucumbers not in UK, says FSA

British shelves are free of the cucumbers blamed for causing a deadly outbreak of E .coli in Germany, the Food Standards Agency said. The outbreak in Germany killed 10 people and infected an estimated 1,000. MORE

Embattled minister backed by Cameron

David Cameron issued a vote of confidence in his Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, yesterday as ministers searched for acceptable NHS reforms. There has been speculation over Mr Lansley’s future since his NHS overhaul was halted. MORE

Pet python found

A 12ft-long Burmese python which was feared to have escaped from a house in Leven, Fife, has been found. Police officers were looking for the snake after the owners reported it missing.

Final Mercury footage found

Freddie Mercury’s final poignant screen appearance will be shown tonight in the BBC Two documentary “Queen: Days Of Our Lives”. It was filmed at his last video shoot shortly before he died in 1991. MORE

Founder of Pan’s People dies at 65

The driving force behind Top of the Pops’ dance troupe Pan’s People has died of bronchial pneumonia aged 65. Flick Colby was the dancer and choreographer credited with co-founding the group. MORE

Olympics may not attract people to sport

The London Olympics may fail to boost numbers participating in sport in Britain, says research by the University of Kent into the legacy left by the 2004 Athens games.

Dentures save man in bar shooting

An 81-year-old Brazilian man who was shot in the face escaped death when his dentures deflected a bullet headed for his brain. Zacarias Pacheco de Moraeswas shot last Thursday while working in a bar he owns in the small western city of Alta Floresta. He may lose part of his eyesight.

Philadelphia boom was really a quake

The US Geological Survey says a minor earthquake caused a mysterious boom heard in north-east Philadelphia on Friday. John Bellini, a geophysicist, said the magnitude 1.7 quake was so small it was unable to do any damage but might have sounded like “a big truck going by”.

Crowe flies north for drama discussions

Oscar-winner Russell Crowe is planning to talk drama with students in the north-east of England this week. The Gladiator and Robin Hood star posted a message on Twitter saying he would be chatting to young actors at Durham University on Friday – and showing them a home movie.

Englishman wins Indianapolis 500

English racing driver Dan Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 race last night after a rival crashed out on the final turn of the last lap of the gruelling 500-mile race in the US state of Indiana.

German towers are world’s most leaning

Forget Pisa. The title of the “world’s most leaning” building is being fought over by a handful of German towns and villages, each with a teetering tower. MORE