The News Matrix: Saturday 23 June 2012

Bomb plotter was caught in FBI sting

A Moroccan man has admitted a bomb plot against the US capital. Amine El Khalifi was arrested in February in a garage in Washington, wearing what he thought was an explosive-laden suicide vest. The vest, provided by undercover operatives from the FBI, was inert.

Protesters demand transfer of power

Military rulers dismissed protesters' complaints the army was entrenching its rule and blamed the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for stirring up emotions that drew thousands on to Tahrir Square. The Islamist candidate said the generals were defying the will of the people.

Assange terrfied of US extradition

Julian Assange's lawyer Thomas Olsson says his client's decision to seek refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy has made him look like he is trying to avoid facing sexual assault allegations in Sweden and understood his actions might make it look like he was "running away". MORE

Sandusky's adopted son alleges abuse

The jury in the child sex abuse trial of Jerry Sandusky has retired to consider its verdict, but without hearing a shocking new accusation from Mr Sandusky's adopted son. Matt Sandusky, 33, reportedly told prosecutors that he too was molested by the former American football coach.

News International fails to find phone

Rupert Murdoch's News International has failed to recover one of four Apple iPhones issued to company executives and which are now being investigated by Scotland Yard's phone hacking investigators. The devices are the subject of a High Court "preservation" order. MORE

Police can't keep pictures of suspects

The Home Office is urgently examining the implications of a High Court ruling that it is unlawful for the police to retain photographs of crime suspects indefinitely, despite them never being charged. Senior judges declared in two test cases that it amounted to a breach of human rights.

£60,000 for 60 golden years

This 10cm-wide gold coin, weighing 1kg and worth £60,000, is one of 60 Diamond Jubilee Kilo Coins produced by the Royal Mint to mark the Queen's 60 years on the throne. The Mint also turned out 1,250 silver Kilo Coins, each worth £2,600. Both types of coin are legal tender.

Cameron denies being kept in dark

David Cameron has denied claims, made by Nick Clegg yesterday, that he was kept in the dark over Michael Gove's plans to axe GCSEs and replace them with old-style O-levels. The Deputy Prime Minister said: "Neither myself nor the Prime Minister were aware of it." MORE

Stars' tax schemes are 'tip of the iceberg'

Tax avoidance schemes that attracted comedian Jimmy Carr and the band Take That are only the "tip of the iceberg" in the hunt to recover Britain's uncollected taxes. HM Revenue & Customs told I the "K2" and "Icebreaker" schemes were regarded as loopholes "on the radar" of inspectors.

Iranians arrested with chemicals

Kenyan police say they have arrested two Iranians in Mombasa and seized chemicals they suspected were going to be used to make explosives. Kenya has suffered a series of grenade attacks since it sent troops into Somalia last year to crush theal-Shabaab insurgent group.

Muslim jailed for South Park threats

A Muslim convert who admitted posting online threats against the creators of the South Park television show for what he perceived as insults to the prophet Muhammad has been jailed for 11 years in Virginia. Jesse Curtis Morton used his Revolution Muslim website to promote al-Qa'ida.

Booze ban on the commuter run

Alcohol is being banned from Scottish trains between 9pm and 10am, following concerns about drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour. The move by ScotRail, thought to bethe first ban of its kind in the UK, was welcomed by police and the government.

Dickens project throws up new work

Charles Dickens experts believe they may have uncovered new work by the writer after completing a project to digitise the 19th-century weekly journals he once edited. Opinion pieces, penned anonymously, reveal the campaigning author to be the first "blogger", scholars say. MORE

Buyer stakes claim to vampire kit

A Victorian vampire-slaying kit has sold for £7,500 at a sale in North Yorkshire. The kit included a pistol, a bottle of holy water, a crucifix, wooden stakes and a mallet, and an 1851 copy of the Book of Common Prayer.

Agyness Deyn weds 'Friends' actor Ribisi

Model and actress Agyness Deyn has married the actor Giovanni Ribisi. The 29-year-old former fish and chip shop worker from Lancashire – real name Laura Hollins – tied the knot with Giovanni, known for playing Phoebe's younger brother in Friends, in Los Angeles at the weekend.

Second World War torpedo discovered

Authorities in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki blocked off a busy coastal highway for more than two hours after workers discovered an unexplored Second World War torpedo on the waterfront. Police and army experts said the two-metre torpedo was inactive.

Speedo sacking was a flash in the pants

A Utah police officer fired for dropping his pants and flaunting green Speedos during a "Princess and the Frog" sketch at a school is to be reinstated. Cody Harris filed an appeal after he was dismissed in May. He allegedly made inappropriate gestures while female students were nearby.

Death row inmates win legal battle

The Arkansas Supreme Court struck down the state's execution law yesterday. The court sided with 10 death row inmates who argued that, under the Arkansas constitution, only the legislature can set execution policy. In 2009, legislators voted to give that power to the Department of Correction.

Turkish air force jet crashes into sea

A Turkish air force jet went down in Syrian waters yesterday, but Turkey's Prime Minister said he could not confirm reports it had been shot down by Syrian forces. Turkish and Syrian vessels were searching for the plane and its pilots, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. MORE

Baseball injury woman sues boy, 11

A New Jersey woman who was struck in the face with a baseball at a Little League game is suing the 11-year-old boy who threw it. Elizabeth Lloyd is seeking more than $150,000 in damages to cover medical costs after the game two years ago.

Team towers over the record books

A new record has been set for the tallest human tower, reaching a height of eight people. A team of 150 took part in the wobbly act of linking arms and balancing on shoulders. A child in a safety helmet climbed to the top to cheers from the crowd on the roof of a New York skyscraper.

McGuinness tomeet the Queen

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness will meet the Queen next week and shake hands in an historic first, it was confirmed yesterday. The Deputy First Minister at the Stormont executive will attend a cross-border event with the Queen in Belfast on Wednesday. MORE

Dentist 'made false claims of £1.4m'

A dentist conned the NHS out of £1.4m by making thousands of false claims for patients, including dozens for people who were dead, a jury heard. Dr Joyce Trail, who is on trial alongside her sister and daughter, is alleged to have used the proceeds of the scam to fund a globe-trotting lifestyle.

MPs get circumcised for HIV campaign

Forty-four members of Zimbabwe's parliament were circumcised as part of a national HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. MPs from President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's rival MDC took part; research shows circumcision can reduce the risk of HIV.