The News Matrix: Thursday 9 April 2015

Seven-day practices unpopular with GPs

A survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) has found that 94 per cent of GPs do not want their practices to stay open seven days a week. However, 51 per cent of those surveyed said that practices should offer a form of extended hours service to help patients in need.

Putin offers Greece ‘moral support’

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras moral support and cooperation but no financial aid yesterday, leaving Athens to fend for itself in resolving debt problems with Western creditors. “The Greek side has not addressed us with any requests for aid,” Putin said.

Synthetic antibody used to treat HIV

HIV patients who had transfusions of a synthetic antibody experienced a 300-fold reduction in the amount of the virus in their blood. Researcher Marina Caskey, of Rockefeller University in New York, said: “These antibodies have activity against more than 80 per cent of HIV strains and are extremely potent.”

Boston bomber guilty on all counts

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted yesterday over the Boston Marathon bombing by a federal jury that now must decide whether the 21-year-old former student should be executed. He was convicted of all 30 counts against him, with 17 of the charges carrying the death penalty.

Short people ‘more at risk of heart attacks’

Short people are more likely to suffer heart attacks, a study by the University of Leicester has found. Professor Sir Nilesh Samani said: “Variants which make you shorter or taller also affect structure of your blood vessels, and that’s the reason you have higher or lower risk of [heart disease].”

Kim Kardashian flies into controversy

Kim Kardashian has arrived in the capital of her ancestral Armenia for a visit expected to draw attention to the centennial of the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians. Armenia marks the killings by Ottoman Turks on 24 April. Armenia refers to the killings as genocide, but Turkey vehemently rejects the term.

Recruiting sergeant ‘raped young cadet’

Edwin Mee, 45, carried out sex attacks on 11 victims while he was a recruitment sergeant at an Army careers centre and one young cadet became pregnant after he raped her in a locked waiting room, Southwark Crown Court in London heard yesterday. He denies the charges.

University to remove controversial statue

The University of Cape Town decided yesterday to remove a contentious statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes which has triggered angry protests from students. The students insist the statue is a symbol of the institutional racism they say prevails in South Africa.

New Ebola cases at lowest since 2014

Thirty confirmed cases of Ebola were reported in West Africa in the past week, the smallest number in nearly a year of the worst ever outbreak of the deadly fever, the World Health Organisation said. “This is the lowest weekly total since the third week of May 2014,” the WHO said in its latest update.

Smith in Bafta frame for Cilla portrayal

Sheridan Smith has been nominated for the leading actress at the Baftas for her role as Cilla Black in TV series Cilla. Smith is up against the likes of Sarah Lancashire for Happy Valley and Georgina Campbell for Murdered By My Boyfriend. Benedict Cumberbatch has been nominated for leading actor for Sherlock.

‘Mrs Doubtfire’ wanted for robbery

Police have released surveillance images of a wanted man dubbed the ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ bandit because he was disguised as a woman during a bank robbery in California. The Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper reports the suspect was seen wearing a wavy blond wig and thick-framed glasses and carried a purse.

Clarkson skids back on to the BBC

Jeremy Clarkson, whose Top Gear contract was not renewed last month after he punched a producer, will appear as a guest host of Have I Got News for You on 24 April. A BBC spokesman said: “He isn’t banned from appearing on the BBC.”

Black flamingo is rare sight in Cyprus

An extremely rare black flamingo has been seen in Cyprus, exciting nature lovers who said it may be the only bird of its type ever seen in Europe. The flamingo, spotted on the banks of a salt lake yesterday, is thought to have the genetic condition melanism, causing it to make more of the pigment melanin, turning it dark rather than pink.