The News Matrix: Thursday 16 February 2012

Boy is paid £600,000 for CPS mistake

A family has been awarded £600,000 after the authorities passed the identity of a 16-year-old to a gang he was going to give anonymous evidence against. The family said the Crown Prosecution Service and Met Police's mistake left their lives "turned upside down". MORE

Man arrested over stabbing of vicar

A 43-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a clergyman was found stabbed to death at a vicarage in Gloucestershire. The body of Rev John Suddards, 59, was found with multiple stab wounds in the village of Thornbury on Tuesday, where he had lived since July.

EU finance ministers may delay bailout

Eurozone finance officials are examining ways of delaying parts or even all of a second €130bn bailout programme for Greece while still ensuring it avoids a default, EU sources said yesterday. Greek leaders worked to allay doubts about their commitment to reforms.

Mladic war crimes trial is delayed

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal yesterday pushed back by nearly seven weeks the start of the long-awaited genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic. The UN court said the trial will start on 14 May to allow Mr Mladic's lawyers more time to prepare.

Camilla made honorary barrister

The Duchess of Cornwall has been made an honorary barrister. As well as being called to the Bar, Camilla was called to the Bench to be made a Royal Bencher by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn in London last night.

More than 350 die in blaze at crowded jail

More than 350 prisoners were killed after a fire swept through an overcrowded jail in Honduras. Officials have struggled to quell growing public outrage at the treatment of victims and their families. Police said 100 of the 853 inmates of Comayagua prison, 75 miles north of the capital Tegucigalpa, were still unaccounted for while 357 had been confirmed dead. MORE

Assassin theory for Bangkok bombs

The bombs belonging to three Iranians that went off in Bangkok on Tuesday were probably designed for assassinating rather than large-scale terrorism, Thai officials have revealed. They also said they were similar to that used to attack the wife of an Israeli diplomat in Delhi.

London is second in the world for study

A global report on university cities has named London as the second best place to study in the world, despite its high cost of living. Paris topped the rankings, judged on quality of life, affordability and reputation. Dublin was also in the top 10.

It's a dog's life for six piglets

Six little pigs have found a new friend in a maternal French bulldog named Baby. The Lehnitz animal sanctuary outside Berlin says Baby took straight to the wild boar piglets when they were brought in Saturday, three days old and shivering from cold.

Naked rambler torn off a strip with fine

A naked rambler who claimed to have received only positive reactions to his nudity has been fined £315. Nigel Keer, 41, was convicted of a public order offence by Leeds magistrates. During his stroll in Otley, West Yorks, he caused visible distress to a woman dog walker.

Human shakes hands with humanoid

Astronauts and robots have united in space with a healthy handshake. The commander of the International Space Station, Daniel Burbank, yesterday shook hands with Robonaut. It was the first handshake between a human and a humanoid in space. NASA's Robonaut was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery last February.

Boys lower sights with female teachers

A key reason why boys lag behind in the classroom has been revealed – female teachers. Ground-breaking new research shows that boys lower their sights if they think their work is going to be marked by a woman teacher because they believe their results will be worse. MORE

Lee Miller to star as US Sherlock

Jonny Lee Miller will play Sherlock Holmes in a US series set in New York. The star recently won a joint Best Actor prize with the BBC's Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch. "Let's hope their pilot script has stayed further away from our Sherlock than their casting choice," said a BBC producer.

'I knew the Smurfs were blue but...'

Police in Utah won't file charges against a father who played a porn video at his child's party. The man rented a copy of The Smurfs and put the disc in his laptop. But when he turned the projector on, explicit sex footage was shown to the children.