The News Matrix: Thursday 13 September 2012

Tight race as voters go to polls yesterday

Dutch voters went to the polls yesterday to pick a new parliament. The election is a tight race between Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Diederik Samsom, who is closer to French President François Hollande.

Derek Jameson dies of heart attack

Newspaper editor and radio personality Derek Jameson has died of a heart attack at the age of 82. Mr Jameson, born into poverty, edited three national papers and became a popular presenter on BBC Radio 2.

Police officer admits bungling rape cases

Twelve women who were the victims of rape or sexual assault will never see justice due to the actions of a police officer who worked for Scotland Yard's specialist sex crimes unit. Ryan Coleman-Farrow yesterday admitted failing to investigate attacks on the women by faking records. MORE

Hawley and Plan B in Mercury running

Richard Hawley and Plan B are among the favourites for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize. The 12-strong list of nominees for the prize, awarded to British and Irish musicians who have released albums in the past year, includes eight debut efforts.

Three leads in Alps murders

Investigators are pursuing three leads in the killings of a British-Iraqi couple and two other people in the French Alps, but there are no suspects yet. The leads include an alleged family financial dispute. Meanwhile, relatives called for those responsible to be brought to justice. MORE

Boris is much better than Dave, say voters

Boris Johnson's hopes of leading the Tory party received another boost with a poll showing he is much more popular than David Cameron. In the YouGov survey, the London Mayor rated higher than all the main party leaders for charisma, sticking to what he believes in and being strong.

We need a closer union, says EU boss

Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission's president, has warned Eurozone countries that giving up control of their 6,000 banks will be just the start as they move for closer political union in order to solve the region's debt problems. "We will need to move toward a federation of nation states," he said yesterday.

007 left shaken and stirred by ex-wives

James Bond star Sir Roger Moore claims he was a victim of domestic violence in his first two marriages. The former 007 told Piers Morgan's Life Stories that first wife Doorn Van Steyn threw a teapot at him and often left him with scars, and revealed singer Dorothy Squires also attacked him.

Gem swallowed at exhibition was fake

A diamond swallowed by a visitor at a gem exhibition is a fake, police in Sri Lanka have revealed, and the search is now on for the real stone, valued at £8,000. Police arrested Chou Wan, 32, after the gem's owner complained a man had swallowed his 1.5-carat diamond at a jewellery show in Colombo last week.

Wet summer to bring a colourful autumn

A miserably wet summer may have paved the way for an "incredible" display of autumn colours. The Royal Horticultural Society said the downpours have prompted trees to produce a large volume of leaves. And rather than shed them early, as they would in a dry year, more leaves have been retained.

Elephants cause a jumbo jam

Two elephants said goodbye to the circus and took a walk along a Copenhagen street packed with traffic yesterday, one following the other with trunk linked to tail. Sonia, 31, and Vana Mana, 41, star turns at the Circus Benneweis, strolled down Borups Alle in the Danish capital for about 200m before their trainer caught up with them.

Ali's home sold for knockdown $70k

A Muhammad Ali fan has paid $70,000 (£43,400) for the boxer's boyhood home. Jared Weiss bought the small white house with a sagging front porch in Louisville, Kentucky, below. He wants to restore it to how it looked when Ali, who was born Cassius Clay and later known as the "Louisville Lip", lived there.