The News Matrix: Wednesday 25 June 2014

GPs ‘suicidal’ due to stress and overwork

GPs’ increased workloads and “unsustainable pressure” is leading to illness and relationship breakdowns. Suicide levels among doctors are twice as high as in the general population, while conditions such as depression and insomnia are widespread, the British Medical Association annual meeting was told. GPs are up to 20 per cent more likely to divorce. MORE

May temperatures highest in history

Temperatures were exceptionally high around the world last month. The combined average temperature around the globe was 0.74C higher than the 20th-century average of 14.8C for May, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. MORE

Murdered heiress’s daughter detained

Police investigating the killing of Monaco heiress Hélène Pastor last month have detained 23 people, including her daughter and son-in-law. Ms Pastor was ambushed by a man armed with a shotgun as she left a hospital in Nice. Her chauffeur also died of his wounds. MORE

Four in five homes are ‘unaffordable’

Only one in every five homes for sale in England is affordable to a typical working family trying to get on the property ladder, a report by Shelter has found. The charity analysed more than 325,000 properties with at least two bedrooms for sale across England.

Serco staff fired for improper behaviour

The outsourcing giant Serco has apologised after disclosing to the Commons Home Affairs Committee that 10 of its staff had been dismissed in relation to allegations of improper sexual contact with female detainees at the Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre.

Gunmen fire on plane, killing one

Gunmen opened fire on a passenger plane arriving at Peshawar airport in Pakistan. The Pakistan International Airlines plane, PK-756, was carrying some 178 passengers on a flight from Saudi Arabia. At least one person has died from their wounds and two people were injured.

Kerry urges Kurds to stand with Baghdad

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged leaders of the autonomous Kurdish region to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni onslaught by the Isis militants that threatens to dismember the country. MORE

Officers trained to probe social media

Police officers are being trained to handle complaints involving social media, a senior officer said yesterday. At least half of all “non-serious” grievances now originate from the use of websites such as Facebook and Twitter, Chief Constable Alex Marshall said.

Debut German win in BP portrait awards

A German artist has become the first person from that country to win the BP Portrait Award. Last night Thomas Ganter claimed the prestigious prize for his work, Man with a Plaid Blanket, which was inspired by a homeless man who he saw sitting in the rain outside a Frankfurt museum. MORE

Draft of Bob Dylan song sells for $2m

A draft of one of the most popular songs of all time, Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”, sold yesterday for just over $2m (£1.2m), which the auction house, Sotheby’s in New York, called a world record for a popular music manuscript. The manuscript is “the only known surviving draft of the final lyrics”.

Tiger couple show their claws...

A couple who ran a tiger charity are embroiled in a £50m divorce battle following a disagreement after the animals were given Twitter accounts. Stuart Bray told the High Court in London that scientists were troubled by the way his estranged wife Li Quan spoke of the tigers as if they were children.

Up, up and away… to 120,000 feet

An Arizona company has completed the first small-scale test of a high-altitude balloon and capsule designed to let tourists float 20 miles above the earth. World View Enterprises said it launched the flight last week from Roswell, New Mexico, lifting a payload to 120,000ft (36,500 metres).

No tea at the tennis after flask ban

Tennis fans have been warned not to bring Thermos flasks to Wimbledon “for security reasons”. A tweet on the tournament’s official Twitter advised people to check the list of prohibited items, adding: “Don’t bring a thermos.” An official explained: “They are big, bulky and hard-sided.”