The News Matrix: Monday 9 July 2012

Critics slam 'China-style' security tactic

Opponents of the "Olympic Dispersal Zone" – an area around the Stratford Olympics site where police can move on groups of two or more people – have likened the London Games to those in Beijing, where organisers were criticised for stifling opposition. MORE

Morsi orders MPs to defy military decree

Egypt's President has ordered the Islamist-dominated parliament to reconvene in defiance of a military decree dissolving the legislature last month. The move by Mohammed Morsi will almost certainly lead to a clash with the generals who handed power to him on 30 June. MORE

Two-hour waits at airport 'a disgrace'

With just three weeks until Olympics athletes beginning arriving at Heathrow airport, people are repeatedly having to wait longer than two hours to pass through immigration control – a situation which was branded a "disgrace" by the shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday. MORE

Conservatives fear defeat in Lords vote

Tory whips have privately admitted the party could lose a crucial vote in the House of Commons tomorrow night as MPs vote on a proposal from Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a largely elected senate. MORE

Putin flies in as flood death toll rises

President Vladimir Putin responded to anger over the deaths of more than 150 people in severe flooding in southern Russia by flying to the Black Sea region to take charge of rescue efforts. Floods turned streets into swirling muddy rivers and inundated thousands of homes as many residents slept.

School buildings 'not fit for purpose'

Facing huge cuts to their capital spending budgets, four in 10 head teachers believe their school buildings are not "fit for purpose". At Forest Lodge primary in Leicester, for example, pupils are still being taught in "temporary" buildings put up in the 1950s. MORE

Gay marriage for leading Republican

Congressman Barney Frank, 72, defied Republican opponents of gay marriage by marrying his long-time partner, Jim Ready, 42, in a ceremony near Boston officiated by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick.

Military prepares for foreign attacks

Syria's military has begun exercises simulating defence against outside "aggression", the state-run news agency said yesterday – an apparent warning to other countries not to intervene in the country. The exercise began as President Bashar al-Assad accused the US of fuelling a violent uprising against his government. MORE

Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine dies

Ernest Borgnine, the American actor who won an Academy Award for his role in Marty (1955), has died in Los Angeles at the age of 95. He had his first break in the classic From Here to Eternity (1953), playing the cruel Sergeant "Fatso" Judson. His other credits included The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra, The Poseidon Adventure, The Black Hole and Escape from New York.

Fake tickets sold to festival-goers

Hundreds of music fans have been turned away from a festival because their tickets were fakes. Live Nation, promoters of the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, said many of those who purchased tickets from third-party websites such as Gumtree and eBay had been refused entry yesterday as their tickets were counterfeit.

Marchers protest prostitution ban

Hundreds of people including sex workers protested in Paris on Saturday against plans to make soliciting prostitution illegal, criticising a minister's drive to eradicate the practice as counter-productive. The minister for women's rights caused a stir in June by saying she would seek to make prostitution disappear by punishing those who pay for sex. MORE

Supreme leader enjoys Disney show

Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh took the stage in North Korea this weekend during a concert featuring Disney characters for new leader Kim Jong-un. Performers dressed as Minnie Mouse, Tigger and others danced and pranced as footage from Snow White, Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast and other Disney movies played on a massive backdrop.

Peace and love top Ringo's wants list

The 1960s mop top is gone, but Ringo Starr is still flashing a peace sign. The former Beatle marked his 72nd birthday on Saturday by holding a "peace and love" moment at noon. He asked people worldwide to do the same at 12 o'clock in their time zones. The idea came to him in 2008 during an interview.