The News Matrix: Wednesday 17 December 2014

MPs’ fears over ‘joint injustice’

“Joint enterprise” legislation – which allow several people to be charged for the same offence – might need to be altered to stop people being imprisoned for life for someone else’s crime, MPs have said. The Justice Committee found that many of those convicted under this law were young black and mixed-race men. It was also used to convict the killers of Stephen Lawrence.

Boy, 13, charged with murder

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a man who was stabbed to death outside his home in north London. Christopher John Barry, 53, was killed on Sunday evening as he returned to his home in Edmonton. The boy cannot be named for legal reasons.

Veteran shooting suspect’s body found

The body of an Iraq War veteran suspected of fatally shooting six family members in Pennsylvania was discovered yesterday. Bradley William Stone, 35, of Pennsburg was being sought in the deaths on Monday of his ex-wife, her mother, grandmother, sister and two others.

Failed bombers lose appeal over rights

The four bombers from the failed 21/7 attack on London Transport have lost an appeal against their convictions. Three said their human rights had been breached; the fourth said he was treated unfairly. The European Court of Human Rights said there had been no prejudice.

Anti-immigration party support swells

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are more popular than ever, winning over centre-right and centre-left voters, according to a poll. September’s election returned a minority centre-left government and left the Sweden Democrats holding the balance of power.

Tougher CCTV rules may be on the way

Increasing numbers of homeowners installing CCTV cameras on their properties could result in tougher rules following a rise in complaints. Tony Porter, the surveillance camera commissioner, said: “The upsurge in domestic use is directly responsible for an increase in complaints.”

Jeb Bush considers shot at presidency

Jeb Bush is actively exploring a run for the US presidency in 2016, making the 61-year-old former Florida governor one of the first major Republicans to move formally towards a possible candidacy.

Bow-and-arrow attack on Congress

The lower house of the Brazilian Congress has been attacked by about 30 indigenous tribespeople, armed with bows and arrows, protesting at proposed new demarcation laws. Police and security personnel held them at bay with pepper spray.

Experts work out whose moo is whose

Cows have their own unique moos, according to scientists. Research from two universities translated cow sounds to show that their frequency can depend on the proximity of the cows to their calves, including a different call for when a calf is separated from its mother and wants to suckle milk.

A little less stallion in today’s Italians

The legendary Italian Stallion appears to be losing his libido. Visits to sexologists are up 15 per cent in the past four years, says the Institute of Clinical Sexuality in Rome. And the number of men seeking help for loss of libido has soared 40 per cent in the same period.

A little less stallion in today’s Italians

The legendary Italian Stallion appears to be losing his libido. Visits to sexologists are up 15 per cent in the past four years, says the Institute of Clinical Sexuality in Rome. And the number of men seeking help for loss of libido has soared 40 per cent in the same period.

New BBC HQ battles against petty theft

Petty theft is so rife at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House that a notice in a ladies’ toilet, asking staff to not steal toilet paper, was itself stolen. As well as pilfered clothing and food, the BBC’s economics editor Robert Peston has complained that three letters addressed to him were taken from his desk recently.

I’ll be right... here in this landfill site

A copy of the Atari video game E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial has made its way to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington after it was extracted from a landfill site. Hundreds of the games were dumped in New Mexico after the title flopped upon release in 1982. It is considered one of the worst games ever made.

Whitehall keeps his comedy crown

Jack Whitehall was last night crowned “King of Comedy” for a third year in a row at the British Comedy Awards, beating David Mitchell, Graham Norton and Jo Brand. Brendan O’Carroll won the Writers’ Guild award for Mrs Brown’s Boys, while the Monty Python team was given the Lifetime Achievement award.