The News Matrix: Saturday 11 January 2014

Clutha victims sue helicopter operator

Lawyers for the injured victims and bereaved families of the Glasgow helicopter crash have started legal action against the aircraft’s operator. Ten died when the police helicopter crashed into the roof of the Clutha pub on 29 November. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Rebel-on-rebel fighting kills 500

Rebel-on-rebel fighting has killed nearly 500 people, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday. Government forces are now trying to capitalise on strife between the groups that make up the rebel forces fighting to remove President Bashar al-Assad.

Labour unveils hard line on migration

Labour has unveiled a surprise hard line on migration, which could mean migrants being let into Britain only if they have a firm job offer. Chuka Umunna, shadow Business secretary, told the BBC’s Question Time: “[EU] founders had in mind free movement of workers, not ... jobseekers.” MORE

Israeli 1,400 homes plan angers Abbas

Israel has announced plans to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians claim for their future state. Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman said the move undermined any “two-state solution”.

Lower fares set for Heathrow flights

Passengers flying from Heathrow could pay less for flights from April, after the airport regulator ordered price cuts. But the “draconian” reductions have been challenged by the airport after the CAA previously suggested take-off and landing fees could rise in line with inflation. MORE

‘Costa Concordia’ to be dismantled

The wreck of Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that sunk off Tuscany on 13 January 2012, killing 32 people, will be removed in June and taken to a port to be dismantled. Ports in Italy, France, Turkey, Britain and China are bidding for the contract to take apart the 1,000ft ship for scrap.

BNP activist sues over teaching ban

A BNP activist has taken Education Secretary Michael Gove’s office to court after being banned from teaching for life. Adam Walker, of Spennymoor, Co Durham, was struck off last year. He told a court in Leeds he believed the length of his ban was due to his political ties.

Heroic schoolboy to receive major award

A Pakistani schoolboy who died stopping a suicide bomber from attacking his school has been recommended for a national award. Aitezaz Hassan, 17, tackled the bomber as he tried to enter a government school in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Bids made to run Welsh local stations

Ofcom has received bids from firms to run new local TV stations in Wales. The regulator said applications had been made following the UK government’s identification of demand for more local programmes. Last year, Made TV Ltd won the right to run a new station in Cardiff.

Klass wishes slow death on mugger

Myleene Klass has wished a slow death on the person who mugged her mother and sister. The singer tweeted yesterday: “To the person who mugged my 67-year-old mum and my sister. I hope you get hit by a bus and die. Slowly.” The message received more than 160 retweets.

New gun to ‘honour’ murdered student

There was horror yesterday over a plan by authorities to “honour” the memory of a 23-year-old student gang-raped and killed in 2012 with a handgun reportedly named after her. The Indian Ordnance Factory (IOF) in Kanpur is said to be taking orders for the £1,207 weapon. MORE

McQueen will tell black British story

The award-winning film director Steve McQueen is set to make a BBC drama about the lives of black Britons over more than half a century. McQueen is widely expected to pick up an Oscar nomination for his latest film, 12 Years A Slave. MORE

Stolen Renoir is returned to museum

A US judge yesterday awarded ownership of a disputed Renoir painting to Baltimore Museum of Art, citing “overwhelming evidence” that the painting had been stolen from the museum some 60 years ago. Marcia Fuqua had said she bought the painting at a flea market for $7 (£4).

Buyers beware: a grave situation

A house with an unexpected feature has gone on sale: its previous owners are buried in the garden. Hugh and Joyce Griffin, who once lived in the property in Teddington, south-west London, are among a handful of people to have won permission to be buried on private land. MORE

Google labels road with old Hitler name

Google has apologised after a road in Berlin briefly regained a name it was given in the Nazi era, Adolf-Hitler-Platz, on the Google Maps service. Google spokeswoman Lena Wagner said the name was only visible for a few hours on Thursday and was then re-labelled Theodor-Heuss-Platz.

‘Top Gear’ DVD is best-seller in 2013

Top Gear’s latest spin-off special has been announced as the biggest-selling TV DVD over the last year. Top Gear: The Perfect Road Trip sold 396,393 copies, ahead of another release from BBC Worldwide, the third series of Mrs Brown’s Boys. The biggest-selling DVD film was Skyfall.