The News Matrix: Wednesday 26 October 2011

May and Clarke clash over new knife law

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has opened a fresh rift with Home Secretary Theresa May after she signalled that laws going through Parliament for automatic prison sentences to adults guilty of knife crime could be extended to under-18s. MORE

Osborne’s anti-green agenda splits Cabinet

A Cabinet split over the environment will emerge when the Climate Secretary, Chris Huhne, attacks the Chancellor for threatening to abandon the Government’s green pledges when he said the UK should not lead Europe in efforts to cut carbon emissions. MORE

Airport flood rescue centre is inundated

Bangkok’s domestic Don Muang airport was submerged yesterday as floodwaters burst through barriers designed to protect it. It also functions as a flood rescue centre and houses thousands of people displaced by the rising waters. MORE

Review for NHS breast-screening

England’s £96m NHS breast-screening programme is to be reviewed independently in response to allegations that as many as 30 per cent of cancers detected may have posed no health threat if left undetected, leading to unnecessary treatment. MORE

Jackson doctor goes on the offensive

After weeks of damning evidence against Michael Jackson’s former doctor who stands accused of involuntary manslaughter of the pop superstar, Conrad Murray’s defence team have now had the opportunity open their arguments.

Met finds phone used for hacking

Metropolitan Police detectives have discovered a secret mobile phone in News International’s headquarters that was used in more than 1,000 incidents of illegal hacking between 2004 and 2006. The phone was on the News of the World’s newsdesk. MORE

Rows hit Republican hopeful’s campaign

Five of the Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann’s New Hampshire staff have quit, accusing her national campaign team of “rude, unprofessional, dishonest and at times cruel” behaviour towards them. MORE

Tabak ‘could have stopped strangling’

Vincent Tabak saw Joanna Yeates’s fear as she struggled but refused to stop strangling her until she died, Bristol Crown Court heard. In its closing remarks the prosecution said Tabak had been in control and had intended to kill or harm her. MORE

Tiffany backs shoe designer over colour

Christian Louboutin’s court battle with the French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, over whether the shoe designer’s signature red soles could be trademarked, took a new turn yesterday when the jewellery brand Tiffany weighed in on the side of Louboutin. Tiffany trademarked its turquoise packaging in 1998.

Pair held trying to smuggle rare cacti

Two Germans have been charged with wildlife trafficking after being caught attempting to smuggle 543 cacti out of Mexico. Harald Farber and Kurt Dietrich were detained when they tried to board a plane from Mexico City to Frankfurt with the cacti – some thought to be endangered species – in their suitcases.

Satellite junk close miss for Asia cities

Asian cities avoided a dangerous fallout of space junk last weekend as a defunct German satellite crashed into the sea between India and Burma. It re-entered the atmosphere on Sunday above the Bay of Bengal, but it remains unclear if any debris reached the surface, the German Aerospace Centre said yesterday.

Gold mine to be dug near Loch Lomond

Scotland’s first commercial gold mine for 500 years will be dug near the banks of Loch Lomond national park, after Australian mining firm Scotgold Resources Ltd finally won a long planning battle. The mine at Glen Cononish will operate for 10 years and is thought to contain up to £50 million of gold and silver. MORE

Demo gets Banksy’s community jest

A version of a Monopoly board created by street artist Banksy turned up yesterday at the Occupy London protests outside St Paul’s Cathedral. Sat atop the giant board was a depiction of “Uncle” Pennybags, the game’s famous mascot, but with his top hat held out as if begging for donations.