The News Matrix: Wednesday 4 May 2011

Doctors face trial for treating protesters

Doctors who treated protesters during the uprising in Bahrain are to face trial for acting against the state. This comes less than a week after a court sentenced four protesters to death for what the court said was the murder of policemen. MORE

Cheerleader loses right to silence

A cheerleader has lost her legal challenge to being dropped from her high school team for refusing to chant the name of a player she claimed raped her. The US Supreme Court ruled that as a cheerleader she was speaking for the school. MORE

Patten extols BBC as the ‘best of British’

New BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten sent a message to his staff yesterday saying the BBC was “a great example of the best of British”. Lord Patten replaced Sir Michael Lyons, who stepped down from the role after one term in office.

Man named as prime murder suspect

A businessman dealing in herbal remedies who left an apparent suicide note was yesterday named as the prime suspect in the murder of a Chinese university lecturer and his family. Anxiang Du, 52, is being sought in connection with the deaths. MORE

Air France jet’s final black box recovered

Search crews hoping to find out exactly what forced a Rio de Janeiro to Paris Air France jet to crash into the Atlantic two years ago have found the remaining black-box flight recorder after robotic submarines located the wreckage on the ocean floor. MORE

Voters back the Conservative PM

Canadian voters have clearly backed the Conservative government in the general election, delivering a majority for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Conservatives won 167 seats, despite Canada’s typical inclination for centre-left politics. MORE

Jury finds G20 death was‘unlawful killing’

The police constable who shoved the newspaper seller, Ian Tomlinson, is facing disciplinary action and the prospect of a criminal charge after a coroner’s jury yesterday returned a verdict of unlawful killing. Mr Tomlinson, 47, collapsed and died after being pushed over and struck with a baton near protests at the G20 summit in London in April 2009. MORE

Assistant stole from Erin O’Connor

The personal assistant of model Erin O’Connor was spared jail yesterday after admitting stealing thousands of pounds from her to fund a lavish lifestyle. Michelle Knox-Brown, 46, abused her position to pay for holidays using the model’s credit card.

Prime Minister calls on Gaddafi to quit

Turkey, which has so far been reluctant to openly support Nato air strikes on Libya despite being a member nation, yesterday called on Muammar Gaddafi to go. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogen said that the Libyan leader must leave, “for the sake of his country’s future”.

Sony admits second data loss to hacking

A second hacking at Sony has been discovered – involving the theft of almost 25 million sets of personal details. The breach came to light while the company was investigating the separate theft of details of millions of online PC game customers' profiles. MORE

Camilla plants tree to commemorate event

The Duchess of Cornwall has planted a “Wedding Cake Tree” to commemorate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. She met members of the Women’s Institute yesterday to plant the tree in the grounds of St Mary’s Church, in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Theft of grease rises when fuel prices do

Fuel price rises have led to an increase in the number of used fryer grease rustlers roaming restaurant alleys in the US. Grease thefts have spiked whenever fuel prices climbed in the past four years and this spring is no different, according to Tom Cook, president of the National Renderers Association.

The Apprentice is now a partner

The Apprentice is back but should perhaps be re-named “The Partner”. BBC One revealed the candidates competing for Lord Sugar’s boardroom attention and said there would be an added incentive for the business hopefuls – a 50 per cent stake in a new business. MORE

Search for the body of ‘Mona Lisa’ model

Researchers have begun their hunt for the remains of the woman who might have been the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, hoping to unravel a 500-year mystery. Experts went this week to a dilapidated convent in Florence where they believe the woman is buried.

Old MacDonald had a computer game...

A real-life version of the computer game Farmville is coming to the UK courtesy of the National Trust. Around 10,000 volunteers are being recruited to decide what happens on Wimpole Home Farm near Royston, Cambridgeshire. MORE

China’s ‘X Factor’ star signs UK deal

A Gloucester student who won China’s answer to The X Factor has signed aUK record deal. Mary-Jess Leaverland won the talent contest Min Xing Chang Fan Tan (“I Want To Sing To The Stars”) while visiting Nanjing as part of her Sheffield University course.

Alabama takes race out of constitution

The Alabama Senate approved a measure on Wednesday that would eliminate references to “Jim Crow” or segregationist laws and all mentions of race from the state constitution. The legislation passed in a 22-9 vote.