The News Matrix: Wednesday 16 April 2014

Bullying impacts on academic results

Bullying is having a significant impact on academic performance and is leading pupils to achieve lower grades at GCSE level, according to new research. The Annual Bullying Survey showed that 56% of bullied pupils felt it was having a detrimental impact on their education, and those experiencing bullying were more likely to achieve a grade D or below at GCSE level.

Ethnic Russians ‘lying’ about attacks

Ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine have falsely claimed to be under assault to justify Russian intervention, the UN has said, a report denied by Moscow as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his alarm to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the situation.

Dave Lee Travis facing sex charge

Former Radio One DJ Dave Lee Travis was yesterday charged with one count of indecent assault on a woman in January 1995 and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later this month, Scotland Yard said. Travis, 68, denies any wrongdoing.

Armed Islamists abduct schoolgirls

At least 100 girls are thought to have been abducted in an armed attack on a school in Borno state in north-east Nigeria, with Islamist group Boko Haram – who seek to create their own state in the north of the country – thought to be behind the move.

Coulson denies any Dowler involvement

Andy Coulson has denied he was part of any operation by the News of the World that hacked the phone of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The former editor told the phone-hacking trial he was unaware in 2002 that the interception of voicemails was a crime. MORE

Berlusconi ordered to help the aged

Silvio Berlusconi was ordered yesterday to serve his sentence for tax fraud by doing community service with the elderly. A court in Milan ruled that the former Prime Minister, 77, must spend at least four hours a week in an old people’s home for one year.

Pledge to stop repeat of fire catastrophe

President Michelle Bachelet has vowed to rebuild the port city of Valparaiso according to a master plan to prevent many of the 11,000 victims of wildfires from rebuilding on hills that cannot be protected.

Beckham’s football plans hit trouble

David Beckham’s plans for a Major League football stadium in the Port of Miami, unveiled last month, have run into trouble with a group including shipping interests and unions who say it will damage the chances of the port making the most of the expansion of the Panama Canal. MORE

Love-sick panda gets TV pick-me-up

Silja, a panda who became lonely, depressed and lost her appetite after her companion was sent to another zoo has had a plasma television and other entertainments such as swings installed in her enclosure at the Yunnan Wild Animal Park in Kunming City to help her pass the time.

Remembering the Boston bombing

Survivors, first responders and family members of those killed came together yesterday to mark the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing with ceremonies across the city. In Washington, President Barack Obama observed the anniversary with a private moment of silence.