The News Matrix: Wednesday 30 November 2011

'Coulson and Brooks knew about hacking'

Two ex-editors of News of the World, Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, knew the full extent of phone hacking at the tabloid but "threw reporters to the wolves" to distance themselves from the illegal practice, ex-NOTW deputy features editor Paul McMullan told Leveson Inquiry yesterday. MORE

Military take credit for smooth election

Egypt's interim military rulers did not field any candidates but were quick to take credit for the strong turnout in the first national elections since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow – a vote that appeared to be the country's freest and fairest in living memory. MORE

Speed death 'not suspicious'

Welsh football manager Gary Speed was found hanged at his home by his wife, an inquest into his death heard yesterday. Detective InspectorPeter Lawless said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances. The inquest was adjourned until30 January. MORE

Affair claim puts Cain under pressure

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain told his staff yesterday he was reassessing his campaign after a woman alleged she had a 13-year extramarital affair with him, a senior adviser said. The claims come weeks after four women accused him of sexual harassment. MORE

Murray gets 4 years for Jackson's death

Conrad Murray, the personal physician who was convicted last month of the killingof Michael Jackson, was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison for his manslaughter. MORE

Ai Weiwei's wife questioned by police

The wife of outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says she was arrested by police and submitted to three hours of questioning yesterday. Lu Qing says police told her she was a suspect in an unspecified criminal case. She is the latest figure close to the artist to be questioned, in a sign that Beijing is stepping up efforts to intimidate its most famous social critic. MORE

Detective 'spitefully sabotaged records'

An officer in the Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry "spitefully" tampered with evidential documents, the Old Bailey heard yesterday. Detective Sergeant Paul Steed sabotaged records after being relieved of his duties when he was arrested for assault, the jury was told. MORE

Gangway to HMS Belfast collapses

Nearly 200 people were evacuated in boats from the battleship HMS Belfast yesterday after the gangway to the London tourist attraction collapsed into the River Thames. Two contractors working on the gangway were injured, while 185 people were evacuated from the vessel. MORE

Stalin's daughter, Lana, dies aged 85

Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's only daughter has died, aged 85, at her home in Wisconsin. Svetlana Alliluyeva embarrassed her father's Communist Party after defecting to the West during the Cold War. She later published a best-selling memoir about her life in Russia. MORE

Commons aide wins right to stay in UK

A former parliamentary aide, Katia Zatuliveter, accused of being a Russian spy, has won her battle to remain in the UK after her argument that she was not passing secrets to Moscow while working for MP Mike Hancock was upheld. MORE

ICC issues arrest warrant for Gbagbo

The International Criminal Court yesterday issued a warrant for the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Ivory Coast, who refused to quit this year despite losing an election. His refusal nearly dragged the country back to civil war. MORE

TV drama advert ban 'to unify thinking'

China has ordered a ban on adverts during broadcasts of TV dramas in a bid "to unify thinking", the country's broadcasting regulator, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said yesterday. The government's latest move to clean up China's airwaves starts in January. MORE

Personal GP records to go online by 2015

All patients in England are to have online access to their personal GP records by 2015, with the hope that patients will be more active in caring for their own health. Details will be in the Government's soon-to-be-published information review, the Department of Health said. MORE

Marmite spill filling tweeters’ thoughts

News that a tanker, owned by Marmite and carrying more than 23 tons of the yeast extract, had overturned on the M1 delighted headline writers and tweeters. The incident occurred when the tanker collided with a motor caravan on the M1 near Rotherham on Monday night. MORE

Marni links-up with H&M

Following in the footsteps of the runaway success of its collaboration with Versace earlier this month, Swedish retail giant H&M has announced another big link-up, this time with Milan- based label, Marni. MORE

Mayor ends hunger strike over heating

Romanian mayor Florin Cazacu has ended a six-day hunger strike over cuts in heating subsidies after the government handed his town extra funds for fuel oil. He said thousands of residents in Brad shivered at home after the government cut the town's subsidy by $912,500 (£585,000).

Santa's battered by Christmas cads

A Santa Claus has been forced to leave a Christmas lights switching-on ceremony after being set upon by two youths who pulled his beard while his glasses fell off, police have said. He was sitting in his grotto in Longton, Staffs, at the time of the incident on Friday night.

Doctors to be mostly women by 2017

Female doctors will outnumber male medics by 2017. The British Medical Journal has called it a "giant leap for womankind", but experts warn it could reduce the influence of the medical profession at the highest level, with women's perceived reluctance to go for top-end positions. MORE

Oodles for poodles to do in the police

Police are taking on two recruits – a pair of toy poodles. Two-year-old Fuga and one-year-old Karin have passed tests to become police canines for Tottori Prefecture Police, said a spokesman. The dogs will keep busy searching for missing hikers in the mountainous prefecture.