The News Matrix: Thursday 18 September 2014

Police ‘could have prevented’ murder

The murder of a woman by her abusive husband could have been prevented by police, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has said. Paul Holmes, 51, stabbed his wife less than four hours after being questioned by officers during an error-strewn search for him. They failed to recognise him and he went home to kill Becky McPhee, 47.

Chimps ‘are born psychopaths’

Chimpanzees have an almost psychopathic tendency towards violence and slaughter that is not the result of human interference, new evidence suggests. A new study says that in reality chimps fight and kill to get what they want and “eliminate rivals”.

US man held trying to swim to N Korea

An American man trying to swim across a river into North Korea to meet Kim Jong-un has been arrested by South Korean border guards. The exhausted man was seized on Tuesday night while lying on a bank of the Han river in a military area near the border.

Landlords warned of drone dangers

Landlords wishing to fly drones installed with cameras to inspect house roofs must seek permission or face prosecution. The warning was issued in response to news that two housing associations intend to use them to cut down on estate management costs.

US firms to build manned spacecraft

Nasa moved closer to sending Americans into space from US soil again after it picked Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. The deal will end Nasa’s expensive reliance on Russia. The first launch is scheduled for 2017.

Biden apologises for Bard choice of words

US Vice President Joe Biden says he made a poor choice of words when he referred to unscrupulous moneylenders who took advantage of US troops as “Shylocks”, a reference to the villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

IRA ‘Disappeared’ archaeologist dies

Tributes have been paid to the archaeologist who helped bring closure to the families of Northern Ireland’s Disappeared. John McIlwaine, a forensic archaeologist with the University of Bradford, died on Tuesday at the age of 49.

Warning for peanut allergy sufferers

Britain’s half-a-million peanut allergy sufferers have been put on high alert after food experts warned that the nuts may be substituted for walnuts. A series of walnut crop failures this year have increased the prospect of peanuts being substituted.

Galway in tune with classical judges

Flautist Sir James Galway was last night celebrated by the classical music world with a lifetime achievement honour at the annual Gramophone Awards in London. The 74-year-old was recognised for a career stretching across 50 years and including a top-three chart hit.

Women take over as most prolific gamers

Women account for 52 per cent of people playing video games in the last six months, overtaking men for the first time. The Internet Advertising Bureau UK said the change was driven by 25 to 44-year-old women downloading apps on their mobile devices.

Born to be wild about latest lot

The customised Captain America chopper that Peter Fonda rode in Easy Rider is to be sold at auction. Profiles in History, the auction house, estimates that the iconic Harley-Davidson motorbike will fetch between $1m and $1.2m at next month’s sale.

The seller is Michael Eisenberg, a California businessman who once co-owned a Los Angeles motorcycle-them

Chopin had signs of TB, say experts

The preserved heart of composer Frederic Chopin contains signs of tuberculosis and possibly some other lung disease, medical experts said yesterday, corroborating his 1849 death certificate which said he died aged 39 in Paris from TB.ed restaurant with Fonda and his Easy Rider co-star Dennis Hopper.

Men shave heads in tribute to monkey

Nearly 200 Indian men have shaved their heads in memory of a monkey from their local temple, which drowned after being chased into a pond by dogs. Monkeys are sacred for Hindus, and monkey god Hanuman has temples across India.

Yes vote could put village on the map

The village of High Ercall in Shropshire would become the exact centre of the UK if Scotland became independent, an Ordnance Survey has calculated. OS said it was the first time it had calculated the results for the UK as a whole.

Ageing billionaire splashes the cash

An Irish-American billionaire has donated almost £25m to public services in Northern Ireland. Chuck Feeney, 83, set up a foundation in 1982 and stipulated his entire fortune should be dispensed before his death.

Charity offers music to deprived pupils

Four students from some of the capital’s poorest schools have been awarded prestigious scholarships to independent schools after taking part in a ground-breaking scheme by the charity London Music Masters.