The News Matrix: Tuesday 5 March 2013

Author says it's hard to write about sex

Booker Prize-winning novelist Julian Barnes has spoken of the difficulties of writing about sex. The author said the failed prosecution over Lady Chatterley's Lover in 1960 should have allowed literature to "grow up", but instead "old euphemisms" had been replaced by "misleading new clichés".

Arnie's back... as a muscle mag editor

He was the Terminator, then a governor, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger is an editor. The Austrian actor and politician has reportedly been named executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. Schwarzenegger will contribute columns and other input.

'Batman' cleans up crime… in Bradford

He's normally in Gotham, but Batman paid a visit to Bradford yesterday. A man dressed as the superhero was captured on CCTV handing over a 27-year-old wanted in connection with alleged crimes. However, the wanted man may have been a friend of the superhero. MORE

Bomb attack on police station foiled

Officers believe they have foiled a mortar-bomb attack on a Londonderry police station. Police rammed a van carrying four mortars on Sunday. Security forces fear dissident republicans are broadening their campaign of violence ahead of this June's G8 summit near Enniskillen.

Clegg's son to go to state school

Nick Clegg has avoided a political row by sending his 11-year-old son, Antonio, to a state school. The oldest of his three boys will attend the London Oratory, in London, whose alumni include Euan and Nicky Blair. The Cleggs wanted their son to continue his Catholic education.

Police dog gets trigger-happy

A dog searching in a snow bank accidentally pulled the trigger of a gun with its paw, firing the weapon, police in Massachusetts have said. On Sunday, an officer on patrol sent the dog to dig for something buried in the snow. He dug furiously and fired the gun. No one was hurt.

Security HQ set on fire

Fresh fighting between police and protesters yesterday saw the security headquarters in Port Said set ablaze. The blaze started on the ground floor. The city has suffered weeks of violence since 21 local football fans were sentenced to death in January over riots that left 74 dead.

Tired mind leads to physical exhaustion

Physical exhaustion can occur when the brain grows tired, according to a study into how the mind can determine endurance levels. A key neurotransmitter in the brain can determine whether someone feels exhausted following physical exercise or after taking anti-depressant drugs.

Caution urged over 'cure' for HIV

A genuine HIV cure is still a long way off, scientists have warned, despite a baby in Mississippi having apparently rid herself of the virus. The child was prescribed a cocktail of powerful antiviral drugs within 30 hours of her birth. MORE

Hunger striker faces court for suicide bid

An activist who has been on hunger strike and force-fed via a tube for 12 years was flown to Delhi so that a judge could charge her with trying to commit suicide. Irom Sharmila began her fast in 2000 to protest the killing of civilians by paramilitary forces. MORE

Berlusconi dinners 'were sex parties'

Parties at former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Milan villa were arranged for prostitution and were not the elegant dinners he suggested, prosecutor Antonio Sangermano said as closing arguments were heard yesterday at the Italian media magnate's sex trial.

Voters queue for miles to defy violence

At least 15 people were killed by machete-wielding gangs yesterday as Kenyans voted in large numbers in the presidential election. Early results had Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta slightly ahead.

Letting agents 'don't disclose full fees'

Lettings agents have been accused of breaking the law by not revealing their fees . A mystery shopping exercise by consumer group Which? found fees at Foxtons, Barnard Marcus, Martin & Co and Your Move were not disclosed early enough.

Classic movies fail to make the cut

Movie classics including The Wicker Man and Withnail and I have been left off a list of the 50 greatest British movies of all time compiled by critic Barry Norman. Among those that do make Norman's list for Radio Times are Slumdog Millionaire, Black Narcissus and Kes.

Heat waves due to climate 'on steroids'

Australia's leading climate-change scientists have claimed that a summer of record-breaking heat waves was down to a climate "on steroids". The Climate Commission said "really frightening" temperatures could become the norm over the next two decades. "Climate change is not some hypothetical thing that will occur in the future," warned Professor Will Steffen. MORE

Authorities botch Pussy Riot play raid

Immigration officials, Cossacks and police barged into a Moscow theatre in a bungled attempt to stop a play re-enacting the Pussy Riot trial. Playwright Milo Rau said: "My impression was that they had absolutely no plan. It was more Kafka than Stalin."

Killer rang 999 for help before attack

A schizophrenia sufferer who almost decapitated a stranger on a London street was jailed for 37 years. Nicola Edgington, 32, hacked Sally Hodkin with a meat cleaver in Bexleyheath. On the day of the attack she rang 999 and said: "I'm dangerous. I need to go to a mental hospital."

15 miners fired for 'Harlem Shake' stunt

Miners in Australia have been fired after performing a version of the online sensation "Harlem Shake" underground and posting a video of it. Up to 15 workers, employed by Barminco, were let go. A dismissal letter said the stunt breached the company's "core values of safety".

UK loses ground in top universities' list

Cambridge and Oxford have retained their top ten berths in a list of the world's top universities, but others in Britain, such as Leeds University, have dropped out of the Times Higher Education top 100. Higher education groups called for more funding so the UK can stay competitive. MORE