The Saturday Matrix: Saturday 9 July 2011

Dozens detained on way to West Bank

Israel detained dozens of pro-Palestinian activists yesterday at its main airport. They had hoped to travel to the occupied West Bank to expose Israeli restrictions on movement. MORE

Mountain dwellers face daily bombings

South Sudan celebrates its independence today, but its former allies north of the new border in the Nuba mountains face a daily bombing campaign designed, locals say, to terrify them into abandoning their homes. MORE

Asylum seeker in funding ‘catch 22’

A student who won a place at Cambridge is in a catch-22 situation. Asylum seeker Angel Versetti is seen as an overseas applicant and does not qualify for a loan, yet living in Britain disqualifies him from overseas help. MORE

Could Obama have been adopted?

Did President Barack Obama’s parents consider, before he was born, giving him up for adoption? They may have, according to a memo published in a new biography of the President’s Kenyan father. MORE

Royal couple dress the part at rodeo

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dressed in boots, jeans and ten-gallon hat as they signalled the start of a historic rodeo in Calgary, Canada. Their Canadian tour has been widely regarded as a success. MORE

‘Abandoned brides’ in church protest

Would-be-brides Emily Morton and Stephanie Rowe have taken part in a sit-in at church after their weddings were cancelled. Officials say All Saints Church in Maerdy, Rhondda, is dangerous and need repairing.

Student faces jail over art project

An innocent art project ended with a Secret Service raid. Now Kyle MacDonald, 25, faces 20 years in jail after he installed software on store computers which photographed customers every minute. MORE

Government ‘behind murder’ – US official

America’s top military official claims Pakistani government officials “sanctioned” the murder of a journalist, further straining relations between the two countries. MORE

Expert says Oxford owns Michelangelo

A picture owned by Campion Hall, an institution at Oxford University, is a previously unknown Michelangelo, Italian art expert Antonio Forcellino claims. MORE

Hitler’s citizenship of home revoked

Adolf Hitler’s honorary citizenship of his home of Ranhofen has been withdrawn by the hamlet’s council 78 years after it was conferred, after its merger with Braunau town.

Devotion to duty praised by coroner

Acting Bradford coroner Professor Paul Marks praised the devotion to duty of paratroopers in Afghanistan after hearing how Pte Martin Bell died saving an injured comrade.