The News Matrix: Wednesday 1 June 2011

Ex-Met chief Dizaei may have been target

Former Scotland Yard commander Ali Dizaei said he was “shocked and appalled” after detectives told him his police phone may have been hacked by the News of the World. A number he used for police duties in 2006 may have been targeted.

Final moments on jet heard at inquest

An inquest has heard the final moments aboard a private jet before it crashed into a house in 2008, a minute after take-off from Biggin Hill in Kent, killing all five passengers and crew. “We have a major problem,” air traffic control was told.

Karzai ‘bans’ Nato strikes on houses

President Hamid Karzai has said he will no longer allow Nato airstrikes on houses – which the military alliance says is vital in the war on the Taliban. His remarks followed a strike that killed children and women in southern Helmand.

Lord Taylor jailed for fiddling expenses

Lord Taylor, Britain’s first black Tory peer, was jailed for a year yesterday for defrauding £11,000. He was convicted in January, but the judge delayed sentencing until the end of the trial of Lord Hanningfield, another expenses-fiddling ex-Tory peer. MORE

Man charged with journalist’s murder

The man suspected of shooting Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, Rustam Makhmudov, has been arrested at his home in Chechnya. MORE

Warning over link to brain cancer

The World Health Organisation has issued a warning against the use of mobile telephones after scientists identified a potential link with a malignant type of brain cancer. Researchers analysing the evidence of a link between mobile phone use and cancer concluded that there “could be some risk” of it causing the brain cancer glioma. MORE

Reforms ‘threaten modernisation’

The modernisation of the NHS could be put into reverse by the plans for reform, a leading think-tank says. Arrangements for GP consortia, responsible for £60bn, risk undermining ministers’ aim of reducing top-down management. MORE

Strewth! Aussies to be fined for swearing

Australians have never shied away from profanities but now people who swear “obnoxiously” in the state of Victoria face being fined nearly £155. The government is introducing legislation this week that will enable police to issue on-the-spot fines. MORE

Boy killed girl, 7, to fund online gaming

Police in Vietnam have arrested a 15-year-old boy who allegedly killed a 7-year-old neighbour to steal her gold earrings to pay for computer games. He allegedly beat the girl’s head with rocks and told police he had killed her to pay for his online addiction.

Berdymukhamedov signs space decree

Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov has signed a decree authorising the creation of a National Space Agency. The first satellite launch is planned for 2014.

Priceless fragments of Mars up for grabs

Space fans are being given the chance to win a piece of Mars. The prize rock is a fragment of a larger piece that was blasted from the surface of the Red Planet, before breaking into about 100 pieces when it landed in the Algerian desert.

Councillor resigns over ‘Nazi’ tattoo

A councillor in southern Austria has resigned amid uproar over his Nazi tattoo. Gerry Leitmann made headlines after it was revealed he had the Hitler Youth slogan “blood and honour” on his arm. He said he did not know the “historic connections”.

Nemo may find he can’t hear danger

Finding Nemo could become easier for barracudas, as the rising acidity of the ocean is likely to leave baby clownfish, the same species as Nemo in the animated film, deaf and so unable to hear approaching predators. Scientists have shown the hearing of fish can be affected by high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. MORE