The News Matrix: Wednesday 12 October 2011

West Ham not certain to be stadium owners

The Government has halted negotiations on installing West Ham as the owner of the Olympic stadium after the Games. The £500m stadium may need another £60m to keep it in public ownership. It would then be leased to a number of tenants – probably including West Ham. MORE

Stab suspect unfit to appear in court

Nicola Edgington, the woman accused of stabbing a grandmother to death with a butcher’s cleaver in Bexleyheath, London, was deemed unfit to appear in court yesterday. Greenwich Magistrates’ Court’s duty psychiatrist claimed the 31-year-old has “extreme mental health problems”.

Iranian agents in ‘assassination plot’

The US Justice Department yesterday accused agents of the Iranian government of being involved in a plot by two men to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. The Attorney General, Eric Holder, said the US would hold Iran accountable. MORE

Salvage crews battle to refloat oil tanker

Officials have admitted they are facing their worst maritime environmental disaster after a vessel ran aground last week releasing 350 tonnes of oil into Bay of Plenty. Rough weather has continued to hamper salvage crews trying to refloat the stricken tanker. MORE

Yeates’s killer ‘suddenly confessed’

After weeks of deception, Joanna Yeates’s killer suddenly confessed to a prison chaplain and said he was sorry for the crime, his murder trial was told. Vincent Tabak, 33, opened up 19 days after his arrest. MORE

Official faces grilling on £10m tax waiver

Britain’s top tax official, HMRC’s permanent secretary, Dave Hartnett, is due to be questioned today by the Commons public accounts committee about a settlement made with the investment bank Goldman Sachs last December. The agreement waived the bank’s £10m interest liability – owed five years previously – on a settlement of national insurance contributions on partners’ bonuses.

‘Adviser’ joined Fox at summit on Iran

Israeli diplomats believed Liam Fox’s friend Adam Werritty was an official adviser to the Defence Secretary when the pair attended a summit to discuss sanctions against Iran, i has learned. Mr Werritty organised a dinner at the meeting in Israel in February without UK diplomats’ involvement. MORE

BP prepares for the worst off Shetlands

BP is making contingency plans to prevent an oil spill in wildlife-rich waters off the Shetland Islands. The worst-case scenario for a spill from its North Uist exploratory well would see 10.5 million barrels escape into the sea – more than double the Gulf of Mexico spill last year. MORE

Hinton faces further questioning by MPs

Former News International executive chairman Les Hinton will give further evidence on alleged phone hacking at the News of the World. He is expected to be asked about payments to Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire when he goes before a parliamentary committee on 24 October.

Tymoshenko gets seven-year jail term

Yulia Tymoshenko’s trial ended yesterday with the former Prime Minister sentenced to seven years in jail for exceeding her authority when she signed a gas deal with Russia in 2009. The case has been derided as politically motivated. MORE

Wall Street protest heads for the City

The protests against global financial inequality staged on Wall Street, New York, are heading for the City of London. Campaign organisations, including UK Uncut, said they would support an occupation of the capital’s financial centre on Saturday.

Language watchdog tries a new trick

The esteemed Académie Française, set up in 1635 to regulate the French language, has made a rare foray into cyberspace. To rescue French from an alleged torrent of slang and, even worse, anglicisms, a new section of the academy’s website will provide lessons on correct usage. MORE

Vitamin E ‘can increase cancer risk’

A study advising men to be wary of taking vitamins and health supplements has found that Vitamin E can significantly increase the risk of prostate cancer. Researchers found that rather than prevent the disease, it increased the risk of cancer detection by 17per cent.

White Cube opens Bermondsey site

When White Cube Bermondsey opens today it will become Europe’s biggest commercial gallery – and cement yet another victory for the gallery’s mercurial owner, Jay Jopling, 48. He founded the White Cube gallery empire, which now has three sites in London. MORE

Ryanair passengers to lose two loos

Ryanair is pressing ahead with proposals to remove two of the three toilets on each plane and replace them with seats. Though plans to charge passengers for using toilets were dropped, it still means that one convenience will be shared by more than 200 people. MORE

PM’s residence is a possible ‘fire hazard’

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will have to leave her official residence after it was declared a fire hazard. The Lodge also has a leaking roof that needs replacing. The renovation in Canberra is expected to cost millions of pounds and Ms Gillard is looking for other “suitable accommodation”.

Bruce revives the generation game

Sir Bruce Forsyth, 83, has recorded a duet with his 19-year-old granddaughter, Sophie Purdie, for his new album. The TV veteran said singing Nat King Cole’s “Smile” with Sophie was a special experience.

Joe the Plumber runs for Congress

The Ohio man known as Joe the Plumber who became a household name after questioning Barack Obama about his economic policies in 2008 has filed paperwork to run for Congress. Mr Wurzelbacher has since become an icon for many anti-establishment conservatives.

Facts of life learnt from TV or the net

Only one per cent of young people learn about sex from their father, and just five per cent from their mother, a survey has found. Instead, children learn the facts of life from television or the internet. Sexual health charity Brook claims that today’s children are grossly misinformed.

Message blurred in drinking campaigns

Campaigns by the alcohol industry to promote responsible drinking could be counterproductive, according to researchers. The Alcohol Concern report says that health messages lack clarity over how much alcohol is safe, and advertise drinking as a positive lifestyle choice.

Erotica show drops Strictly theme

Organisers of the adult lifestyle show Strictly Erotica gave their event a quick name change after the BBC threatened legal action. Now it is simply titled Erotica. The BBC said the association of its family show Strictly Come Dancing with the event was “clearly damaging”.