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"I thought it was great, fantastic," says Tom, one of the 450 or so full-time workers who work shifts preparing and packaging chilled fish destined for the supermarket shelves. Tom is not his real name. He's too scared of revealing his true identity for fear of losing his job. His employer is about to impose new terms and conditions and the workers aren't happy. "The workforce are up in arms about it. Everybody is really really annoyed with the company the way they've done things... we feel as though they're robbing us," he says. On 1 April, the government increased the minimum wage from £6.70 to £7.20 an hour for workers aged 25 and over. Seachill relies on overtime to keep its conveyor belts running. It's a requirement written into staff contracts. On top of a 40-hour week, Tom says workers can end up doing another 20 hours, especially when there's a big order to complete. His employer wants to increase the basic rate of pay to £7.35 an hour but cut overtime payments.. Tom reckons he will earn up to £80 a month less than he was expecting. Workers have to decide whether to accept the new contracts or risk losing their jobs. "Even with the new rate they've offered us at £7.35 an hour, at time and a quarter, it's less than what they would've been paying us at £7.20 an hour and time and a half and double time. "We are losing out big style," he says. The company is part of the Icelandic Group. It made more than £8m in profit last year. In a statement, it says its changes are designed to make it more efficient and says most workers will be better off. Tom disagrees and says he's 100% certain the changes are being made to help offset the costs of the new National Living Wage. "It's not on. As far as all of us are concerned, it's not on. How can they say in one breath that the firm is doing really well, and then expect us to take a pay cut?" Seachill is not the only company that's been reviewing its pay arrangements. At Pennine Foods in Sheffield, owned by the huge food group, 2 Sisters, workers have voted for strike action after the company announced it would cut Sunday and bank holiday pay as part of plans to standardise payments to staff. Elsewhere, staff benefits are also being trimmed. At Caffe Nero, workers are no longer entitled to a free panini whilst staff at Eat will no longer have paid-for breaks. In a recent parliamentary debate on the issue, both companies along with some other household names were in the firing line from MPs; DIY chain B&Q came in for particular criticism. "Companies such as B&Q use the introduction of the national living wage to 'reform their pay and reward structures', as they put it. That is a euphemism for cutting staff pay," said Joan Ryan, Labour MP for Enfield North. "I have found disturbing and, quite frankly, shameful the way in which some large employers in the service sector have used the introduction of a living wage as an excuse to cut basic work entitlements," added Julie Cooper, Labour MP for Burnley and Padiham. More than 130,000 people signed a petition against B&Q's planned cuts to employee benefits. It announced in February that it would be cutting Sunday pay and reducing bank holiday pay and bonuses for some staff, although it raised its basic pay to £7.66 an hour in April. B&Q said many workers would be better off or unaffected by its changes but that it had now extended compensation to staff who would lose out. Caffe Nero said its workers would still get a discount for food. Eat said all employees would be compensated through a pay rate above the current national living wage. In the last year, Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose have also altered payments but they all insisted that it wasn't anything to do with the introduction of the national living wage. Some aren't surprised that employers are having to make changes. "Increasing the national living wage was the right thing to do but no-one can doubt that there will have to be adjustments," says Simon Walker, the boss of the Institute of Directors. "Companies have to be profitable so they are going to have to make adjustments and cut backs if they have to pay higher wages in order to break even. "They also face a number of other cost increases including the apprenticeship levy and auto enrolment for pensions." The chancellor cut corporation tax to help ease the burden on employers. He's called on companies to follow the spirit of the law. The owners of Seachill say it has a very loyal, long serving workforce and ensuring that they were fairly rewarded, whilst continuing to provide a first class service to its customers, is a priority. But for Tom and many of his colleagues, the cuts to overtime are proving hard to swallow.
When workers at the Seachill fish factory in Grimsby first heard about George Osborne's National Living Wage they were very happy.
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The weather also hit Norfolk and Lincolnshire, where homes were evacuated and an air display cancelled. BBC Weather said 50mm of rain fell in Cambridgeshire in an hour, damaging the banks of the River Nene in March. A Tesco shopper said water was "pouring through the ceiling near the fresh fish counter". Richard Mayer, 32, became trapped in his car at Bar Hill while he was visiting to buy a home in the area. Speaking from the vehicle he said: "Water is lapping over the kerb now. People can walk through it, but it's far more than you'd want to drive through. "I'm sitting in my car on the pavement in order to maintain some height just down from the Bar Hill roundabout near Tesco. "There are cars everywhere and the flooding is getting worse as people are trying to drive through it, but their engines are cutting out which is causing them to block the road." Fire service group commander Ryan Stacey said: "We have seven crews currently in the March, Doddington and Wisbech St Mary areas, assisting with evacuating residents, salvaging and pumping water out of homes. "The exact number of properties affected cannot be confirmed, but we understand that we are assisting currently at least 60 properties." He warned: "Don't try to drive through standing water - as well as the water damaging your car, there may be hazards under the water you can't see." A rest centre was opened in St John the Evangelist Parish Hall in Queens Street, March. There have also been reports of flash flooding in west Norfolk. Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said officers have been dealing with about 40 flood-related calls with ongoing incidents in Swaffham, Necton, Outwell and Downham Market. Police in Cambridgeshire urged people to avoid driving on the county's roads unless absolutely necessary due to the "deluge of rain currently being experienced". Ch Insp Nick Night said: "We are assisting partner agencies including the Highways Agency, Fire and Rescue Service, Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council with road closures, evacuating residents and pulling vehicles out of flood water. "We do not have a stock of sandbags, so please do not call 999 requesting any." The UK Power Network said it had been working to restore power to homes and about 400 homes were still without power at about 21:00 BST on Friday.
Torrential rain in Cambridgeshire caused a riverbank to collapse, left 856 homes without power, trapped drivers and closed two supermarkets.
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The cessation comes despite attempts to rescue the route in a £9m emergency deal, mostly from Stormont. Economy Minister Simon Hamilton had previously said the rescue package was crucial to attracted US-inward investment for Northern Ireland. A United Airlines statement said: 'We have regretfully taken this decision because of the route's poor financial performance." The ruling by the European Commission to block the funding package to protect Northern Ireland's one and only scheduled trans-Atlantic service defies logic and is an example of "abysmal Brussels decision-making". Managing Director Graham Keddie said: "You could hardly get a worse example of process-driven madness. "This is a vital link for business and losing it will be a body blow to executive ministers who use it to promote Northern Ireland to would-be investors from the United States. "This is a bad day for the executive and a bad day for Northern Ireland." "The executive did the right thing with its bid to save this key route. There was a risk to the flight and we stepped in to save it. Faced with the same circumstances again, I would make the same decisions. All public money has been recouped with interest and we retained the route for a longer period. "Our decision to support the route was praised by many and, had we not have made an effort to save the United flight, we would have been rightly criticised. "We were always aware of the potential of an issue around state aid compliance, but given the tight timescale to put a package of support in place, approval by the European Commission could not be sought in advance of agreeing a deal with United." "This is an international embarrassment. "This is a huge blow to our international standing and the minister must tell us what he intends to do to sort it out." "Awarding a £9m subsidy for a global corporation, which makes billions every year, against the advice of senior civil service officials and against state aid rules, was a dangerous commitment of resources at a time of already stretched budgets. "The gamble taken by the executive has spectacularly crash landed and there are now very serious questions for the economy minister to answer. "We need to know what communication the minister had with the European Commission before and after he issued a ministerial direction, ignoring the advice of senior civil servants. "Additionally, Simon Hamilton must outline how much public money has been spent advertising the route since the direction was issued." Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said the decision by United Airlines to halt its Belfast to Newark route is a serious blow to Northern Ireland, in economic and social terms. He said: "To lose our only direct air route from Northern Ireland to the United States will have a serious impact on our business community as well as local people using it to visit family or for holidays. Coming just weeks after United was offered £9 million to keep the route open after they threatened to pull it is a slap in the face to our Executive. "We now learn that the funding was blocked by the EU Commission and I am calling on the Executive to explain what discussions were held with the Commission before the announcement, which was made with great fanfare. Is this another case of the Executive seeking good news headlines without adequate preparation? Did they even bother to check if this funding could break EU rules? It looks like the Executive and the Department for the Economy have let us down again. "I have consistently challenged the Minister for Economy to reveal the evidence that he used in deciding to allocate this money to United Airlines in the first place. Every time he has been unable to give a satisfactory answer. "Now that he has also been knocked back by the European Union, it is evident that he didn't even bother to check whether he was allowed to do it, let alone complete an economic appraisal for it. "Maybe, in future, the minister will consider the need for proper due process to ensure that money is being spent on things that it can actually be spent on, and that will actually have a benefit to society as a whole." "I was against this subsidy being given to United in the first place. "There are better uses for the £9m, especially when we are always being told that money's too tight to mention for a lot of departments. "There was never a guarantee. If the European Commission had not put a stop to it (the deal), there was no guarantee United was going to preserve the route anyway."
Politicians and businesses have been reacting to United Airlines ending their flights from Belfast to Newark Airport.
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Sexist, racist and homophobic remarks were being used by pupils against school staff, as well as offensive comments about appearance, the NASUWT said. There were also examples of parents being abusive on social media, it added. About 60% of 1,500 teachers questioned in a poll said they had faced abuse, compared with 21% last year. In one case, a photograph of a teacher was posted online with an insulting word underneath. In another, pupils used the name of a heavily pregnant school worker to post insults, the teachers' union said. Of those who had been subjected to insults, nearly half (48%) said these remarks were posted by pupils, 40% said they were put up by parents, and 12% said both parents and pupils were responsible. Almost two-thirds (62%) said pupils had posted insulting comments, while just over a third (34%) said students had taken photos or videos without consent. A third (33%) received remarks about their performance as a teacher, 9% had faced allegations from pupils about inappropriate behaviour and 8% had been subjected to threatening behaviour. More than half (57%) of pupils responsible were aged between 14 and 16, and 38% were 11 to 14, the teachers' poll found, with a fifth aged 16 to 19 and 5% were seven to 11. Among the examples published by NASUWT was the case of a student uploading a teacher's photo and then, along with classmates, writing insults underneath. One teacher had been harassed for nine months by students who sent sexually explicit messages and set up a fake social media account in the teacher's name. The union said it had been told of a teacher receiving the comment "I hope she gets cancer", while the heavily pregnant worker had faced abusive remarks. Another school worker faced comments from a pupil's family member about how they looked and that they were ugly. Chris Keates, the union's general secretary, said: "It is deeply worrying to see that the abuse of teachers has risen by such a huge margin this year. "Equally concerning is that it appears that more parents are the perpetrators of the abuse. "The vile, insulting and personal comments are taking their toll on teachers' health and well-being, and undermining their confidence to do their job."
More teachers are facing abuse on social media, warns a teachers' union.
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The decision was announced at a meeting in the German city of Bonn after the UN's cultural committee spent more than a year considering its nomination. World heritage status is given to sites of "outstanding universal value" with the aim of protecting them for future generations. The distinctive red bridge has carried trains over the Forth since 1890. Scotland's other World Heritage Sites are New Lanark, St Kilda, the Old and New Towns in Edinburgh, Neolithic Orkney and the Antonine Wall. The award puts it alongside the Pyramids of Egypt, the great Wall of China and the Sydney Opera House in terms of cultural significance. The bridge, which spans the Firth of Forth between South Queensferry on the outskirts of Edinburgh and North Queensferry in Fife, was opened in 1890 after eight years of construction. Designed by Sir John Fowler and Benjamin Baker, it measures 2,529m (1.5 miles), weighs 53,000 tonnes and was at the time the world's longest multi-span cantilever bridge. When it was constructed it was one of the most ambitious projects of its kind ever attempted, and at its peak, more than 4,500 men were employed building it. The Unesco inspection report stated: "This enormous structure, with its distinctive industrial aesthetic and striking red colour, was conceived and built using advanced civil engineering design principles and construction methods. "Innovative in design, materials and scale, the Forth Bridge is an extraordinary and impressive milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel." For 125 years it has been an icon of Victorian engineering excellence, a symbol of Scotland and even a favourite expression for a never-ending task. Now the Forth Bridge is listed alongside the Pyramids of Egypt, the great Wall of China and the Sydney Opera House in terms of cultural significance. We've brought together some facts and figures - and more great pictures - of one of Britain's best-known structures, which you can see here. The bid for World Heritage status was led by the Forth Bridges Forum, which was established by the Scottish government to promote the three Forth Bridges. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the bridge was one of the "industrial wonders of the world" and congratulated the team behind the bid. She added: "The Forth Bridge is an outstanding example of Scotland's built heritage. "Its endurance is testament not only to the ingenuity of those who designed and built it but also to the generations of painters, engineers and maintenance crews who have looked after it through the years." The bridge is owned by Network Rail, whose infrastructure director, David Dickson, described it as "a prime example of civil engineering and an iconic structure, not only in Scotland but across the world." Mike Cantlay, chairman ofTourism agency VisitScotland said World Heritage Site status would lends "even greater aura and appeal to one of the planet's most instantly recognisable landmarks". He added: "The timing is perfect as, in 2016, this country will celebrate the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and you would be hard-pushed to find a better example of all three qualities anywhere in the world than in the Forth Bridge." UK Heritage Minister Tracey Crouch said: "Recognition as a World Heritage Site will draw more tourists to the area as well as making sure one of the UK's great engineering feats stands for future generations." There are now more than 1,000 World Heritage Sites across the globe, in 161 countries. Of these, 29 are British, including the Tower of London, the Giant's Causeway and Stonehenge.
The Forth Bridge has become the sixth Scottish landmark to be awarded Unesco World Heritage Site status.
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ScotRail said the Glasgow Queen Street Station tunnel would be closed from 20 March until 8 August. Services will divert to low-level platforms or Glasgow Central, bringing timetable changes and in some cases, longer journey times. The work is part of a £60m upgrade project that will allow faster and longer trains to use the station. Passengers on ScotRail's main Edinburgh to Glasgow service, via Falkirk High, are being advised to travel via Bathgate and Airdrie. That journey will take around 70 minutes. Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: "Upgrading the tunnel will allow us to run faster, longer, greener trains in the future. "This will mean more seats, shorter journey times and less impact on our environment. "The long-term benefits of this investment will be considerable, not just for our railway, but also for the country." ScotRail said the closure was necessary to enable major engineering work to renew 1,800m of existing concrete slab track formation, which carries the rails through the 918m tunnel. The firm said this was the largest engineering project undertaken on the Edinburgh to Glasgow, via Falkirk High, railway, since it was built. The project will involve 140 days of continuous round-the-clock working, the removal of 10,000 tonnes of existing concrete slab and the installation of 4,000m of new rails. ScotRail has now launched a dedicated webpage to give passengers more information about the impact of the project. Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: "This is a once in a generation project and one of the most ambitious ever planned on the Edinburgh-Glasgow route. "The works will support the introduction of a new generation of faster, quieter and greener electric trains on routes across the Central Belt next year. "Although I understand that this work will cause some inconvenience to passengers, the ScotRail Alliance is working to ensure that services are maintained where possible, disruption is kept to a minimum and that passengers are kept well informed throughout the work."
The main tunnel serving Scotland's third busiest rail station is to close for 20 weeks, causing major disruption.
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Len Richards has been named as the new chief executive of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB). Mr Richards, who moved from the UK to Australia in November 2013, is expected to start his new post in June. CVUHB chair Maria Battle said he brought "broad international" experience to the role. Mr Richards is currently the deputy chief executive for South Australia Health, a government department responsible for public health in Adelaide. He said there was a lot of hard work to do on the board's financial situation, which is forecasting a £31m deficit for the 2016-17 financial year.
A new boss for health services in south Wales has been appointed all the way from Australia.
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One person died overnight after being hit by a freight train at the Channel Tunnel's Coquelles terminal, according to Eurotunnel. On Thursday a migrant, believed to be Syrian, died after being hit by a car on a motorway close to the tunnel. Their deaths bring to 16 the number of people killed in or near the tunnel trying to get to the UK since June. Emergency services have not yet been able to identify the latest victim's age or sex because of the severity of their injuries. Eurotunnel said: "Once again it is a very regrettable accident but it shows yet again the serious risks that are involved in trying to cross the Channel illegally. "The driver of the train has now been taken into the psychological support system that Eurotunnel operates for this kind of incident and the police will be looking after all other aspects." Eurotunnel said services from Folkestone were being delayed by about two hours. The situation in Calais is part of a wider migrant crisis across Europe, with huge numbers of people heading north from the Mediterranean. Several men have faced charges in recent months after allegedly walking the 31-mile (50.5km) length of the Channel Tunnel from Calais to the UK. New security measures were introduced at the tunnel's entrance in August to cut the number intrusion attempts, which reached 2,000 per night at their peak.
Two migrants believed to be trying to reach the UK from Calais in France have been killed over the past two days.
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The shooting occurred at a hostel attached to the private Pragati Residential School in Bangalore city. Police say the alleged gunman, identified as Mahesh, was working as an office assistant in the school. Incidents of gun crime at schools and colleges in India are very rare. It is not clear what prompted the shooting. Police said on Thursday that Mahesh had been remanded until 12 April. Mahesh is alleged to have barged into the room of 18-year-old Gautami and shot her in the head with a pistol on on Tuesday evening. He then shot another student, Sirisha, who suffered severe injuries but is believed to be out of danger, say police. He was arrested on Wednesday after a manhunt. India has strict control laws, although a large number of feuds are settled with firearms. In 2007, a 14-year-old schoolboy was shot dead by two fellow students at a school campus near the capital, Delhi.
A man arrested on suspicion of shooting a female student dead and wounding another at a school in India has been remanded in custody.
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27 August 2016 Last updated at 12:34 BST The restaurant began serving puppy platters after a new law was introduced allowing dogs to eat at restaurants - as long as they were outdoors! It looks like a right dog's dinner - check out this clip.
A restaurant in New York has a special menu for pampered pooches to eat alongside their owners.
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All is not lost, however, for the team that just over three years ago were celebrating their fourth consecutive world title double. Red Bull were the only team to beat Mercedes last year and finished second in the championship. But although Red Bull were clearly the third best team in Melbourne, there is good reason to believe they will make it a three-way fight at the front in 2017. Red Bull admit they have work to do with both their chassis and the Renault engine, but improvements to obvious faults are on the way. Red Bull qualified 1.3 seconds off pole position in Australia. Which sounds a lot - indeed, it is a lot. But it is worth bearing in mind that last year, which they ended with two victories and could have had three, they were 1.6 seconds off the pace at Albert Park. In the race, their pace was hard to judge - Daniel Ricciardo was never really in it after what team boss Christian Horner said was a "weekend from hell". And Max Verstappen spent much of the afternoon bottled up behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. There were only a handful of laps in the first stint in which Verstappen was more than two seconds behind Raikkonen - the gap at which drivers say their car starts to be affected by aerodynamic turbulence from following another car. On average, on those 'clean-air' laps, Verstappen was about 0.7secs off the pace of leaders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. After his pit stop, the Dutchman was pretty much on the leaders' pace - sometimes quicker, sometimes slower, sometimes about the same - but then the picture was skewed by the fact that he was on a softer, faster tyre. In all, Horner reckoned Red Bull needed to find "a good half a second to get into that fight with the cars ahead". Coincidentally, 0.5secs is about the margin Red Bull believe they are losing as a result of the Renault engine in race pace - and as much as 0.6-0.7secs in qualifying. The Renault, which has been redesigned for this season, has had reliability problems this year and fixes for these had a direct impact on performance in Australia. Primarily, Renault were suffering in pre-season testing with overheating of the MGU-K - the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the rear axle. The temporary fix for this was to use last year's MGU-K, which is 5kg heavier than the 2017-spec design and also requires an extra air bottle, which is at least another 1kg. That weight accounts for about 0.2secs in lap time itself, and a revised version of the new MGU-K is set to be introduced for the fourth race of the season in Russia. Renault will then introduce a major upgrade for either Monaco - the sixth race - or, more likely, the subsequent event in Canada. This is referred to by Red Bull as "significant" - which is code for about 0.3-0.4secs in lap time. Horner said the lap-time deficit of the Red Bull-Renault to Mercedes and Ferrari was "probably an equal share" between car and engine. And it was clear the Red Bull was far from its best in Australia. Both drivers struggled to find the right set-up - complaining of the balance switching too easily between extremes. The car, in its current form, has what is known in F1 as "a narrow set-up window" - it is hard to home in on the correct balance - as well as a performance shortfall to the Ferrari and the Mercedes. But Horner says: "It's still early days. The regulations are still very immature. We've chosen a different concept. I believe there's really good development potential in the concept that we have." What does he mean by "different concept"? The key is in the aerodynamics - and particularly in the design of the front wing. In all F1 cars, the front wing is crucial in setting up the airflow around the rest of the car. It creates what are known as vortices that sweep around the sides of the car and then under the floor in front of the rear wheels. The faster these vortices can be made to travel, the more aerodynamic downforce will be created by the floor between the rear wheels. These vortices start at the inner tips of the flaps on either side of the front wing. Most teams send them between the front wheels and over the various fins and curved plates that can be seen in front of the side pods - the bodywork either side of the cockpit. But because it is so crucial that the airflow hits all these pieces of bodywork, that means that overall downforce of the car can be badly affected in less than perfect conditions - such as in a cross-wind, or in traffic. The Red Bull has far fewer of these additional pieces of bodywork than the other front-running teams, and that's a conscious choice by Red Bull's aerodynamic team under chief technical officer Adrian Newey. They wanted a car that was more consistent in changing conditions. The key to the way it differs from other cars can be seen in the front wing. On the Mercedes and Ferrari, the inboard ends of the series of flaps on either side of the wing point downwards towards the wing mainplane. Red Bull's inner flaps point upwards - because they are directing the airflow higher up around the car. That means there is reduced need for the intricate cascading flaps downstream. It's a classic example of the philosophy long-espoused by Red Bull design chief Newey, whose genius resides in not only producing great performance, but also in doing it in a manner which means the driver can access more of it more of the time. The performance is not there at the moment, but as Horner put it: "I think development is going to be incremental at every event. Looking at the amount of notes Adrian has taken away from this weekend, for sure it's going to keep our design office pretty busy." Last year, after Red Bull were 1.6 seconds off the pace at the first race, Max Verstappen won the fifth race in Spain. That win was only possible because Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed out on the first lap. But two weeks later, Daniel Ricciardo took a brilliant pole in Monaco and would have won but for a delay caused by a pit-stop mix-up. From then on, Red Bull were usually Mercedes' main challenger - Ricciardo again came close in Singapore and then did finally win a week later in Malaysia, albeit this time after a Hamilton engine failure. At this early stage, the pattern looks very similar - a deficit in Australia, a major engine upgrade at the sixth or seventh race, consistent chassis improvements. On that basis, it is easy to believe Horner when he says: "There's a lot of positives to take out of Australia, at a track where we have not been competitive for the last couple of years. I'm sure that we can build on this over the coming races. "We have a good basis and a good direction and as the regulations are quite immature, I think things will move quite quickly. So I honestly believe we will get ourselves into a competitive situation this year."
Red Bull were one of the prime movers behind the push for faster, more demanding Formula 1 cars this season, so it is somewhat ironic that they started the season off the pace of Ferrari and Mercedes.
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Mostly they land upright with a reassuring thud on the crash mats. There are dozens of children taking part. Kirkcaldy gymnastics club is noisy and life-affirming. It's a strange place to find a dying man. Gordon Aikman has motor neurone disease (MND). He was diagnosed at 29. This cruel condition is shutting down his body. There's neither a cure nor an effective treatment. But Gordon refuses to give in without a fight. He's raising money for research and campaigning for better patient care. His old gymnastics club is donating £700. Gordon competed for and coached at Kirkcaldy. It's January 2015 - seven months after doctors gave him the devastating diagnosis. He can still walk with a crutch and he drove himself here from Edinburgh. But his days as a gymnast are behind him. "It's difficult" he says. "I've looked back at pictures of me doing handstands and cartwheels and I love exercise and sport. "And I still dream of being able to run but I can barely walk, so it's a dream I'm not going to realise again." Throughout 2015, Gordon's physical condition deteriorates. He has to give up driving. An electric wheelchair replaces his crutch. Carers help him feed, wash and dress. And there's worse to come. "The thing that I'm most scared of is losing my voice," he says. "I think that would be incredibly difficult. So, not only are you paralysed, unable to move, you're then suddenly not able to communicate and speak." As an insurance policy, Gordon banks speech samples with an Edinburgh university team who are developing a voice synthesizer. He also secures new rights, for all those who lose their speech, to access voice technology. As Gordon's body weakens, his campaign - Gordon's Fightback - is going from strength to strength. It's on course to raise £500,000 for MND research. It has convinced the Scottish government that the NHS, rather than charity, should fund a team of specialist MND nurses and double their number to 12. Gordon's inspiring example has been widely recognised. His awards include the British Empire Medal, an honorary doctorate from Edinburgh University and the Public Campaigner of the Year title at the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards. Yet Gordon is modest about his achievements. "It's what I could do," he says. "It's what I could give back. It's how I could make a difference". Gordon Aikman's story is told in a new BBC television documentary. The Fight of Gordon's Life will be broadcast on BBC1 Scotland at 20:30 on Monday.
They run, jump and hurl themselves through the air.
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The plans include a new multi-story car park and knocking down the 1937 arrivals building. The building, which has already lost two floors due to safety concerns, has been called "unsafe" by airport bosses. But Christopher Scholefield, from Save Jersey's Heritage, said plans to demolish the Art Deco terminal would be a loss to the island. "Why is it that the interesting, genuine, historical, architectural artefact has to be knocked down in order to replace it on virtually the same footprint? "If we ended up with what they're going to build... it won't be horrible, but we'll have something that's not genuine anymore." Group chief executive officer of Jersey's airport and harbours, Doug Bannister, said: "It's actually not so original because it's been added to year after year... over the decades. "It's an obstacle and what that means is it's too big and too close to the runway. It's currently unsafe."
Designs for redeveloping an airport "remove" its Art Deco past, a heritage campaigner has said.
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NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh says he worries they will put vulnerable people "at risk", while chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies says they will "inevitably lead to patients suffering" and Health Minister Ben Gummer claims they will be put in "harm's way". It's easy to understand why. On 26 and 27 April junior doctors will stop providing emergency cover - unlike in the previous strikes in the contract dispute. It means as well as downing tools for their routine duties, medics will walk out of A&E units and intensive care departments, leaving some of the sickest and most vulnerable patients in the hands of others. But will the reality of the all-out strike be really as bad as the rhetoric? After all, the doctors' code of conduct produced by the General Medical Council decrees they must not harm patients or put them at risk. And the British Medical Association is adamant the stoppages do not breach this code because of the contingency plans being put in place. The union is legally bound to give the NHS seven days' notice of industrial action. In this case the health service has had five weeks. The time has allowed hospital bosses to carefully consider what they need and put plans in place. This has been done in partnership with BMA reps, while at a national level Department of Health and NHS England officials have been meeting regularly to ensure the contingency arrangements are satisfactory . And as yet no hospital has yet said it cannot cope. This is because large chunks of the routine work has been postponed and staff will be redeployed into emergency areas. There will be consultants, staff doctors - those who are not in training but have not yet reached consultant level - nurses, midwives and health care assistants in work. GPs are also being asked to keep a greater number of appointments free for urgent on-the-day cases than normal, while patients will be warned in the lead-up to the strike to think carefully about how they use the health service during the stoppages. The result is that there are plenty of people who think the system will run pretty smoothly. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Royal College of Emergency Medicine have both released statements saying they are satisfied with the arrangements being put in place. In fact, you could argue the result in some departments may be that the system may actually work better than on a normal day. Take A&E, for example. Having more consultants on the floor could actually speed up the flow of patients as they will be able to make quick decisions about the care patients need. Although there is an argument the smaller hospitals with fewer consultants may find it more difficult. Meanwhile, in emergency surgery and intensive care the presence of consultants should, in theory, more than make up for the absence of the juniors. Also, it should be remembered that the stoppages are from 08:00 to 17:00 BST - not for 24 or 48 hours as the previous strikes have been - so there will be some respite during the two days. Instead, the problems might be more run of the mill. Junior doctors play a vital role chasing up test results, ordering x-rays, taking bloods, ordering prescriptions and preparing patients for discharge. Consultants may not have the time to do some of these, their skills may be a little rusty or they may simply not know their way round the system to get on top of the jobs. Senior nurses will be able to take some of the strain, but there is bound to be disruption. However, that doesn't mean the concerns being voiced are not justified. Talking to those who work in the service, there does seem to be a weak spot. It concerns what happens if there is an unexpected emergency on a general or surgical ward or perhaps in a psychiatric unit. When a patient collapses, a junior doctor would normally be one of the first on the scene. If they aren't there and a patient dies, questions will be naturally asked. And this, perhaps, is the crux of the matter. It was a point made by Prof Lord Darzi of Denham, a surgeon and former health minister, in an article in the Daily Telegraph.. He wrote that every family afflicted with heartbreak on the strike days "would always wonder" whether loved ones would have lived if junior doctors had been there. Trust between doctors and society might be "irreparably damaged", he warned. This blog was first published on 15 April, but has since been updated to take into account subsequent developments. Read more from Nick Follow Nick on Twitter
The warnings about the forthcoming all-out junior doctor strikes have been coming in so thick and fast that you could be forgiven for thinking it will be Armageddon.
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The 27-year-old pleaded not guilty at Durham Crown Court to three counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 and another of grooming. The winger, who has played 12 times for England, was arrested in March. Johnson, from Castle Eden, County Durham, was released on conditional bail ahead of his trial on 24 August. The three counts of sexual activity relate to a single night in January at two locations in County Durham, while the grooming offence was said to have happened between December and February. Born in Sunderland, Johnson began his career at Middlesbrough before moving to Manchester City and then Sunderland for £10m in 2012.
England and Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has appeared in court to deny charges of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.
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The miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian man with several brain tumours in 2008, the Vatican said. Mother Teresa died in 1997 and was beatified - the first step towards sainthood - in 2003. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor in the slums of Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta). "The Holy Father has authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of blessed Mother Teresa," the Vatican said on Friday. She is expected to be canonised in Rome in September. Beatification by the Catholic Church requires one miracle, while the process of becoming recognised as a saint requires proof of at least two miracles. Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 after Pope John Paul II accepted as authentic a miracle attributed to her. He judged that the curing of an Indian woman suffering from an abdominal tumour was the result of the supernatural intervention of the late Mother Teresa - a claim challenged by Indian rationalists. There are few details about the recovery of the Brazilian man, whose life the Vatican says was saved in the second miracle. His identity has not been disclosed to maintain the discretion needed for the investigation, the Catholic New Agency has said. It says he was unexpectedly cured from brain tumours in 2008 after his priest prayed for Mother Teresa's intervention with God. Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1910, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1949, dedicating her life to caring for impoverished and sick people in Kolkata. Known as the "saint of the gutter", she earned worldwide acclaim for her efforts. Her critics, however, accused her of mixing with dictators and peddling a hardline Catholicism.
Pope Francis has recognised a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for the Roman Catholic nun to be made a saint next year.
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Kimberly Mpukusa, 18, became the number one Welsh under 18s tennis player despite struggling to find a sponsor. Contributions made by black people to history and culture will be celebrated throughout October. The event's first youth awards, Young Gifted and Black, for people aged between 13 and 30, took place in Cardiff on Thursday. Ms Mpukusa, from Swansea, started playing tennis aged nine on a school trip, and her dad picked up the sport and read books in order to help her. She struggled to compete in tournaments due to her financial situation. She stopped playing at age 13 because of her asylum case, but returned to the sport two years ago when her family was granted an indefinite stay. She started that year as the 123rd best player and has now returned to the number-one spot. Ms Mpukusa : "It really means a lot to me, words can't explain how much my parents have struggled and how much that I've struggled. "This award, I can show people that if you work hard, if you're determined, if you sacrifice, you can become big and people can recognise how hard you work." Ify Iwobi from Swansea battled obsessive compulsive disorder, (OCD) to win the music award. She said: "When I was young, especially when I was a baby, I used to tinker up to the toy pianos that we had in the house and I used to just experiment with the keys and just tap along and make different sounds with my baby hands. "My friends were like 'she's drawn to the piano, there's something that she's drawn to with the piano so we need to get this talent honed'. So when I was a bit older, from six, I started classical piano lessons. "It hasn't been easy expressing my music especially, with the OCD... that includes disturbing thoughts, memories from the past which weren't that pleasant, basically they would disrupt what goes on from day-to-day living. "That would get in the way of me and my personal practice on the piano, waste a lot of time and energy. "I had to have lots of therapy, I had to go to lots of counselling and they gave me ways to think positively." Roselynn Mbwembwe, 15, a dancer from Swansea, won the award for the performing arts. She has been dancing since she was eight-years-old and had won over 25 awards in dance, including Welsh dancer of the year. She said the award is not just for her "but for other children like me too". Christopher Nation, 19, from Fairwater in Cardiff, picked up the young carer award. His family is originally from Jamaica and he has been looking after his mother since he was six. "It's important for us to know our history. It's easy for us to get caught up in the way that the west is and forget about our own culture and things like that," he said. More than 100 people attended the event in the Senedd. The origins of Black History Month go back to 1926 in America, and there are now more than 6,000 events across the UK. Ray Singh, chairman of Race Council Cymru who judged the awards, said: "These young people have so much to offer our society and many have already made some rich contributions as carers, community leaders, musicians and volunteers. "Their impact is already visible in the fields of science and innovation, citizenship and performing arts. "Now, post-Brexit, it is about looking forward and ensuring that Wales is a nation where black history, arts and cultural differences can be the subject of celebration and not division."
A former asylum seeker who was coached by her father has won a sport award as part of Black History Month.
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Speaking on a visit to Swansea as part of his "Say No to the EU tour", he rejected the idea that Wales is a net beneficiary of being in the union. Mr Farage visited an e-cigarette firm and attended a rally of 400 people. Swansea East Labour AM Mike Hedges said many industries were "highly dependent" on the EU and it would be a "giant leap in the dark" for the UK to leave. David Cameron has promised a referendum on UK membership of the European Union by the end of 2017. During the factory visit, Mr Farage told the BBC: "Wales gets a rotten deal from Europe. "Its fishing industry is being destroyed, its steel industry is being seriously damaged, little businesses like this are under threat of going out of business, and there's nothing a politician in the assembly or in Westminster can do about it." He said the UK had "given away control of industry, fishing, farming and business to Brussels". But Mr Hedges insisted remaining an EU member was very much in Wales' interests. "We've really become part of it, a lot of industries and commerce are highly dependent on the European community," he said. "I voted to come out last time, but it'd be a giant leap into the dark if we decide to come out now." Around 40 people gathered outside the Liberty Stadium to protest against Mr Farage speaking there on Friday evening. The unions Unite and Unison organised the rally. Andy Richards, chair of Unite in Wales, accused Mr Farage of being "intolerant towards asylum seekers and immigrants". Addressing the protesters, Llyr Powell from UKIP rejected the accusation the party was intolerant. He said the protest was "politically motivated" because "UKIP is digging in to the core Labour vote in south Wales". Mr Farage told the rally the referendum was a chance "to take back control of our lives". He urged not to listen to a "pro-EU elite", which he said included the Kinnock family. "There's an argument we must confront the Kinnocks with, and virtually everyone in Welsh politics, apart from UKIP. "It's that far from the EU being good for Wales and business, actually by saying no to the European Union we can take back control of our own lives and put business first. "The referendum is an opportunity of a lifetime." Responding, Lord Kinnock said: "Personal attacks mean he's losing the argument. "Wales benefits economically and socially from EU membership, not from UKIP."
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said Wales gets a "rotten deal" from the UK's membership of the EU.
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The 34-year-old's ban now expires on 1 June 2018, instead of 25 October 2018. He was banned in April after being charged with breaking FA rules for placing 1,260 bets on matches between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016. Barton, who says he is addicted to gambling, appealed against the length of the ban which he called "excessive". The FA's Appeal Board said the initial ban was "excessive in the circumstances" as evidence from Barton's consultant psychiatrist about his addiction should not have been rejected. The report says the new ban "reflects the overall seriousness of the breaches and also the mitigation including the full extent of Mr Barton's addiction". Barton, whose fine of £30,000 remained unchanged, was released from Burnley in May. Players in England's top eight tiers are banned from betting on football. Former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder Barton rejoined Burnley in January, having left Scottish Premiership side Rangers in November. In November 2016, he was given a one-match ban for breaking Scottish Football Association rules on gambling. Barton admitted the Scottish FA charge of placing 44 bets between 1 July and 15 September 2016, while he was a player at Ibrox.
Former Burnley midfielder Joey Barton's suspension from football for breaching betting rules has been reduced by almost five months after an appeal.
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Thieves broke into the house in Intake, Doncaster on Thursday, a week after Paris Mulholland's 11th birthday. In the letter, she tells the burglars "how much they hurt me", that she cries for two hours each night, and they had made her "scared of the dark again". Paris wrote the letter after speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield. More on this and other stories from BBC South Yorkshire Gemma Mulholland said the letter helped her daughter tell the thieves "how she feels, and how it's affected her." She said: "I really am super proud of her." Paris' new iPhone, a laptop she got for Christmas, and birthday money was taken from her bedroom, as well as her grandmother's gold watch. Cash, jewellery and other items were taken in the robbery, along with Paris' and her younger brother Thomas' belongings. Ms Mulholland said Paris was too upset to sleep in her bedroom after seeing it ransacked. Lego models were broken and photos taken on Paris' phone during a recent trip to Disneyland may have been lost forever. Paris wrote: "To my burgler [sic]. I hope you are happy with yourself, I can no longer sleep in my own bed [...] "Why could you not have left when you saw to [sic] picture of a happy family and when you saw my birthday card, but anyway thank you for scaring me so much I cry 2 hours straight nearly every night." Ms Mulholland called the thieves "despicable human beings" but said the community had rallied round. PC Adam Watkinson of South Yorkshire Police said: "Burglary is a highly intrusive crime which can have a huge impact on the victim. In this case, a young girl has been left feeling scared and upset after her home was broken into. "I would like to reassure Paris and her mum that we are doing everything we can to find the person responsible for this incident. "It is totally unacceptable that someone should feel scared in their own home and lose valuable possessions."
An 11-year-old girl has written a letter to burglars who raided her home and stole birthday and Christmas presents.
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Media playback is not supported on this device Long's 170kg lift with his last attempt in the clean and jerk saw him grab gold from London 2012 champion Om Yun-Chol of North Korea, who lifted 303kg. Thailand's Sinphet Kruaithong took the bronze medal at the Riocentro Pavilion 2 with 289kg. In the snatch segment, Beijing 2008 winner Long matched the 16-year-old Olympic record of 137kg. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.
China's Long Qingquan lifted a combined world record of 307kg to win Olympic gold in the men's 56kg weightlifting.
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"I was very nervous and my words just came out wrong," he wrote on Facebook. The Night Manager star drew censure on social media for a speech in which he referred to aid workers in South Sudan "binge-watching" the programme. The British actor said that his "only intention" had been "to salute [their] incredible bravery and courage." "I apologise that my nerves got the better of me," his post continued. Hiddleston won his first Golden Globe on Sunday - for best performance by an actor in a mini-series or TV movie - for his role in the BBC's adaptation of John le Carre's novel about a hotel manager involved in arms smuggling. After thanking his co-stars and the show's director, he told "a quick story" about a recent visit to "the youngest country in the world". "One night... a group of doctors and nurses wanted to say hello... because they had binge-watched The Night Manager," he continued. "The idea that we could provide some relief and entertainment for the people who... are fixing the world in the places it is broken made me immensely proud." West Wing star Joshua Malina was among those to take issue with the speech, which drew a mixed response from the Golden Globes audience. "Thank you to Tom Hiddleston and all actors who dare to perform in projects that are shown in some of the most dangerous parts of the world," he tweeted. "That was a long story Tom Hiddleston told to pay himself a compliment," wrote the writer and producer Gary Janetti. Other commentators drew attention to the neutral expressions of actors Naomie Harris and Christian Slater during Hiddleston's address. Yet his words drew a warmer response from the World Food Programme, who said it felt "honoured" to have been given a mention. Hiddleston's award was one of three Golden Globes won by The Night Manager, which also picked up supporting actor prizes for Olivia Colman and Hugh Laurie. Colman, who was not at the Los Angeles ceremony, said she was "gutted" she had not been present to accept "such an enormous honour". Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
Actor Tom Hiddleston has apologised for his much-criticised acceptance speech at the Golden Globe awards, admitting it was "inelegantly expressed".
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The authorities have been trying since May to demolish the old quarter of Awamiya, saying Shia militants use its narrow streets as a hideout. Activists accuse security forces of trying to force out residents. It is the latest intensification of sporadic unrest in the Eastern Province, which is largely Shia. At least seven people, including two police officers, have been killed in the clashes, Reuters news agency said. Local activists say Saudi forces have been firing randomly towards homes and cars, and that buildings have been damaged or burned in the fighting. "No one is going out. If you go out, you will be shot by snipers," one activist told the BBC. People in the town were running out of drinking water, he added. Some residents have appealed to the Saudi authorities to help them leave and families have been given accommodation in a nearby town, Saudi media reported. Shia residents of the region around the city of Qatif have long complained that they are marginalised and discriminated against by the Sunni monarchy. In May the UN criticised the Saudi attempt to demolish Awamiya's 400-year-old al-Masora quarter, home to between 2,000 and 3,000 people, saying it threatened historical and cultural heritage. The Saudi authorities had imposed power cuts on residents to try to make them leave, said the UN Special Rapporteur on housing, Leilani Farha. Anti-government demonstrations in Eastern Province began after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, and protests and attacks have become more frequent since the January 2016 execution of the prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Sheikh Nimr, a strong supporter of the anti-government protests, lived in Awamiya. In July, Saudi Arabia executed four people accused of carrying out terrorist acts in the Qatif region. In the same month, two members of the Saudi security forces were killed in separate bombings in Awamiya. In June, another officer and two other people died in bombings. During the protests, activists have accused security forces of opening fire on demonstrators, and say others are being jailed or sentenced to death for protest-related crimes.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been fleeing a town in eastern Saudi Arabia after weeks of clashes between the security forces and armed men.
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For the month of September, the station will rotate the presenter on the 10:00 to 13:00 slot on Saturdays and Sundays. Abbie McCarthy, Katie Thistleton, Jordan North and Yasser will present two shows each while Matt Edmondson is away because of TV commitments. Controller Ben Cooper told BBC News it was "a great way to celebrate Radio 1's 50th birthday". "You can think of a radio schedule as a football team," Cooper said, "What you want is a great subs bench. "It's up to Radio 1 to get that next generation of broadcasting talent." He said he was not planning any permanent schedule changes, but added that it was "a chance for some new presenters to demonstrate how good they are". "Can they knock at the door when the right opportunity comes along and say 'We want a show on Radio 1'? I like that enthusiasm, that energy." He described the new batch of presenters as "people that we have discovered and nurtured". Earlier this year, Cooper said it was getting harder for the station to find new radio talent. Traditionally, Radio 1 has hired presenters from music and youth TV shows such as CD:UK and T4, but with fewer of those around, the station has been looking more and more to student and community radio. Cooper said: "Yes it's hard, but we're not struggling and we want to demonstrate around our 50th birthday that actually we've got this next generation of new presenters waiting in the wings." So, who are the new DJs? Katie is taking the Fearne-and-Reggie route to Radio 1 - having built up experience as a presenter on CBBC. She's also a mental health ambassador, journalist and author (her first book Real Problems, Real Advice will be published next year). But perhaps most importantly, she's been on Celebrity Mastermind, which bodes well for her future career. (Once you've faced John Humphrys you're basically ready for anything life has to throw at you.) "BBC Children's and Radio 1 need to work harder together in future to make sure there's a journey from one to the other," Cooper said. "Young children have grown up with CBeebies and CBBC, so when they're ready to move from the Night Garden and Tracy Beaker, you want them to move on to Radio 1, so it makes sense to have some of those familiar faces they've grown up with." Having honed his craft on student and community stations like Preston FM and Spark FM, Jordan is precisely the kind of upcoming radio star Cooper has been looking to recruit. You also might have heard Jordan if you're a regular visitor to the dodgems at Blackpool Pleasure Beach - as he presented on the theme park's own station. He's since risen through the commercial ranks of Rock FM, The Hits and Capital Manchester (among others) and has covered shows every now and again on Radio 1. "You look at Jordan, he's got that great northern wit, that ability to tell a great story, and he's down to earth in talking about it," Cooper said. Jordan also supports Burnley, and if he starts his Radio 1 career the way they started the Premier League season he won't go too far wrong. Having already presented on the BBC's Asian Network and 1Xtra, Yasser shouldn't need to ask for directions to Broadcasting House when he joins the station next month. He actually started his career on a hospital radio station and went on to present on Fever FM, a community radio station in Leeds. "Yasser is very good at being self-deprecating and has a gentle sort of humour I think people relate to," Cooper said. He's also a successful club DJ (Yasser, not Ben Cooper), and is a popular YouTuber in his spare time. Abbie's radio CV includes working as a producer at BBC 6 Music and winning best newcomer at the Student Radio Awards in 2012. You may have already heard her on Radio 1 when she stood in for Huw Stephens earlier this year. She now fronts BBC Introducing in Kent every Saturday evening - which champions new and unsigned acts. "Abbie is so passionate about her music, about telling you about new artists and new bands, and that's a key part of Radio 1," Cooper said. So when can you hear these shiny new presenters on Radio 1? Glad you asked: Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk
New voices are coming to Radio 1 as the station continues its search for the next generation of on-air talent.
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Media playback is not supported on this device The American, 32, looked set to take part after warming up on the range but he then withdrew on the first tee. The US Open champion fell on the stairs and hurt his lower back on Wednesday. "I'm playing the best golf of my life and to have a freak accident happen yesterday afternoon, it sucks really bad," said Johnson. "I have been worked on all morning and obviously I can take some swings, but I can't swing full, I can't make my normal swing and I didn't think there was any chance I could compete." The 15-time PGA Tour winner added: "I was wearing socks and slipped and went down the three stairs. The left side of my lower back took the brunt of it and my left elbow is bruised as well." Johnson's caddie was placing the ball on his tee for him on the range, while coach Butch Harmon said pain hindered Johnson's rest overnight. Shortly before his withdrawal, he progressed from hitting wedge shots on the range to fuller swings and his involvement looked likely as he made his way to the first tee for a scheduled 19:03 BST start alongside playing partners Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker. Johnson was a popular pick to win the first major of the year as a result of the fine form he has shown in 2017. He has won the past three tournaments in which he has competed - February's Genesis Open, and both the WGC Mexico Championship and WGC Dell Match Play in March. As well as winning last year's US Open by four shots, he finished ninth at the Open Championship and tied fourth at the Masters. BBC Radio 5 live correspondent Iain Carter Johnson took until the very last second to make what must have been an agonising decision to pull out. He was standing on the first tee before making the toughest call of his career. It is a severe blow for the player who has dominated golf this season. He arrived here off the back of three big victories and was a justifiable favourite. All that has been lost through his freak fall at his rental home and the damage done to his back.
World number one Dustin Johnson is out of the Masters at Augusta National after suffering a back injury in a fall at his rental home on Wednesday.
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Their Mercedes team said they had "strengthened our rules of engagement to include much greater deterrents to contact between our cars". Boss Toto Wolff said the drivers faced "sporting and financial consequences". Wolff refused to give details of the potential sanctions but hinted it could include suspensions from races. "You know how a driver is calibrated and what is important for them," Wolff said before this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. "It is clear if it would happen again it would be something that has a negative outcome for their campaign." Mercedes added that team orders - which define the order in which the cars finish a race - could be imposed "as a solution of last resort" if the drivers failed to abide by their new guidelines. The move follows their last-lap collision when Hamilton was trying to pass Rosberg for the lead at Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, their third contact in five races. Hamilton went on to win the race, while Rosberg dropped down to fourth place with a damaged car. Wolff said he had given Hamilton and Rosberg guidelines about their conduct on track but repeatedly refused to detail what they were or the potential penalties that could be imposed if they were not followed. However, the only penalty the team could impose that would have any significant deterrent effect would be a fine or suspension from a race. Hamilton earns a reputed $31m (£23.9m) a year and Rosberg about half that, so it can be assumed any fine would likely run into the millions for it to have any deterrent effect. In terms of sporting penalties, the only realistic serious threat the team have at their disposal would be to exclude a driver. Wolff admitted that what he was asking of the drivers was "difficult because they drive in a certain way and they are at Mercedes because they are like that". He added: "It is tricky because if you have a yellow card, will it change the way you tackle or not because you know what happens with a second yellow card?" Hamilton said the discussions had been "private and confidential" and refused to give details. But he was asked whether he was still able to perform the same manoeuvres as he had in races in Japan and the United States last year, when Rosberg felt he had pushed him off the track on the first lap. Hamilton replied: "In all those races, the stewards deemed that racing. So I will still race like that." Rosberg said his "battle" with Hamilton "remains nearly unchanged," adding: "It is a serious matter. We must avoid contact and collisions. We have had a discussion about the best way to move forward and now we are going racing again." The German said his ongoing contract extension negotiations were unaffected by the new deterrents. "It is a monetary thing which does not have an impact on the long-term happiness of the team with me, and me with the team," he said. The title rivals were given the ultimatum in meetings with Wolff at the Mercedes F1 factory on Thursday. The collision in Austria was the third time the cars had hit each other in the last five races, after they took each other out on the first lap in Spain and banged wheels at the start of the Canadian race. Wolff contemplated "all options" in the days following Sunday's crash but, after meeting with senior management, decided not to impose team orders on the drivers. Rosberg was penalised for the incident by race stewards, who said he had not given Hamilton "racing room" as the Briton tried to overtake the German around the outside of Turn Two at the Red Bull Ring. Wolff, who called the collision "brainless", is determined it should not happen again. The decision to lay down the law to the two drivers adds further spice to an already tense weekend at Silverstone, the 10th grand prix of a record 21-race season. Hamilton trails Rosberg by 11 points following his Austria win, his third of the season. The German has taken five victories.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are on a "final warning" that they will be severely punished if they crash again but remain free to race.
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Anthony and Yvonne Pardoe travelled round the world collecting the items which date from the 1900s to the 1950s. Buyers from the US, Israel and Holland attended the auction at Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood, Exeter. It was thought to be "the fourth largest collection in the world" director Christopher Hampton said. A US Navy Helium diving helmet took top price for a single item at £8,000, followed by an Italian helmet which took £7,200. Auctioneer Brian Goodison-Blanks said: "When you start looking back and start thinking, 'well how did these guys actually go down with these diving helmets on', it looks incredible." He said the colours and patterns of the helmets also sparked "that emotive Jules Verne feeling" in people and "just look wonderful".
A lifetime's collection of hundreds of diving helmets and equipment has fetched £476,000 at auction.
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The Australian, 21, beat world number 29 Querrey 6-4 6-4 in 53 minutes to progress to the second round. Kyrgios, ranked a career-high 12th in the world, won the Japan Open on Sunday and is closing in on the top 10. "I was just a bit bored at times," said Kyrgios, when asked why he was not his usual vocal self against Querrey. "I was feeling very tired. It was just tough. I'm just tired so maybe I just wanted to get the job done." Kyrgios said his success in Japan, and the travelling involved in playing at the Qi Zhong Stadium, an hour from Shanghai city centre, had taken its toll. "I didn't have the greatest sleep last night and obviously got in late the day before," he said. "The ride to the courts isn't great either." It was at the Shanghai Masters last year that Kyrgios was fined $1,500 (£984) for a foul-mouthed outburst, describing the tournament a "circus".
Nick Kyrgios said he was "bored" as he extended his unbeaten run to six matches with victory over Sam Querrey at the Shanghai Masters.
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The man is said to have been trying to gather details about a German parliamentary committee that is investigating claims of US espionage. German authorities have asked the US ambassador for "swift clarification". The US National Security Agency (NSA) was last year accused of bugging the phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of a huge surveillance programme. The scale of the agency's global spy programme was revealed in documents leaked last year by a former intelligence contractor, Edward Snowden. The revelations about the NSA put a strain on ties between Germany and the US and raised feeling in Germany against American surveillance. The BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin says the new allegation of American spying on an ally may make it harder for the US to get German help in its efforts to oppose Russian activity in Ukraine, and also to control Iranian nuclear ambitions. German media say the man arrested this week is a 31-year-old employee of the federal service, the BND or Bundesnachrichtendienst. The German federal prosecutor's office confirmed the man's arrest, but gave no other details. A spokesman for Ms Merkel said she had been informed of the arrest, as had the members of the nine-strong parliamentary committee investigating the activities of foreign intelligence agencies in Germany. "The matter is serious, it is clear," spokesman Steffen Seibert told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Der Spiegel news magazine said the man was believed to have passed secret documents to a US contact in exchange for money. However, one unnamed politician told Reuters news agency the suspect had offered his services to the US voluntarily. "This was a man who had no direct contact with the investigative committee... He was not a top agent," the source said. Germany is particularly sensitive to reports of espionage on its territory because many of its citizens from the formerly communist east of the country were spied upon by the Stasi secret police.
An employee of Germany's intelligence service has been arrested on suspicion of spying for the US, reports say.
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22 January 2016 Last updated at 08:24 GMT The five-week-olds are doing well but still need six feeds each day. The tiny patients aren't expected to be able to survive on their own until the summer when it's hoped they'll eventually be moved to a large, outdoor enclosure with a pool and will be fed live food. Watch the clip to see the baby otters...
Three baby otters are being cared for at a wildlife hospital in Florida in America after being found when builders were digging up a driveway.
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Pink Mist also took the Roland Mathias poetry award. Francesca Rhydderch won the fiction prize with The Rice Paper Diaries and Meic Stephens took the creative factual award for Rhys Davies: A Writer's Life. In Welsh, Ioan Kidd won the book prize and people's choice award with his work, Dewis. Literature Wales chief executive Lleucu Siencyn said: "This is a book-loving town and local support has ensured the success of this evening. "From Japan to New Quay, Afghanistan to Bristol, Fitzrovia to Blaenclydach the 2014 winners have guided readers to near and distant lands. "Many congratulations to Meic Stephens, Francesca Rhydderch and, of course, to second time winner Owen Sheers." Sheers won the book of the year title in 2005 for his work The Dust Diaries. This year's winning book Pink Mist is about three young soldiers from Bristol who are deployed to Afghanistan. The poem looks at the effect of war on the men and those closest to them when they return from service. Sheers told BBC Radio Wales it was a "fantastic surprise" to win. "It's a book that started with around 30 interviews I did with recently wounded service personnel and their families," he said. "I actually did those interviews for a stage project called The Two Worlds of Charlie F, but when that finished I found that I still had so much more that I wanted to say and there were so many stories I hadn't been able to tell on stage, so that's when Pink Mist was born. "It was Radio 4 that approached me about writing a verse drama - sort of, I suppose, a play for voices if you like - and I asked them if I could go back to this same territory." The theme of war continued in the fiction category where Rhydderch's winning novel is set both in wartime Hong Kong and in west Wales. Stephens won the creative non-fiction category with the first full biography of one of Wales' most prolific writers, Rhys Davies. In Welsh, Kidd enjoyed a successful night with his novel Dewis, which looks at the trials and tribulations of contemporary family life. Each category winner was awarded £2,000, and the main award winner in each language received an additional £6,000.
Poet Owen Sheers has won Wales Book of the Year at a ceremony in Caernarfon for his work about three young soldiers.
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Forster, who rejoined the club in July after 22 games on dual registration at Haven earlier in his career, replaces sacked James Coyle. He began his career at Saints, winning the academy Grand Final there, but was limited to five senior appearances. "This appointment will lift everybody," general manager Amanda Hewer said. The ex-Salford forward takes charge after a season which saw Haven relegated from the Championship, despite winning three of the final five games in the Super 8s. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.
Whitehaven have appointed former St Helens prop Carl Forster as player-coach at the age of 24, the youngest in the professional game.
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Diana Sacayan, a well-known activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, was found dead in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. It is the third violent transgender death in the country in the past month. Latin America accounts for most transgender murders worldwide, rights groups say. Rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday that the body of Ms Sacayan, discovered in her flat, showed signs of violence. "A dark cloud has set over Argentina's trans community," said Mariela Belski, Executive Director of Amnesty International Argentina. "Unless this latest wave of murders is effectively investigated and those responsible taken to justice, a message will be sent that attacking trans women is actually ok." President Fernandez echoed Amnesty's concerns. "I ask the national security services and the metropolitan police to solve this horrible crime," she said during a public address. Ms Sacayan, 40, had been the leader of a number of organisations seeking equality for Argentina's LGBT community. In 2012 she was personally given her national identity card by President Fernandez, recognising her as a woman - a first for Argentina. Ms Sacayan's death followed the killings of Marcela Chocobar and Coty Olmos, two transgender women whose bodies were found over the last month in the provinces of Santa Fe and Santa Cruz. Latin America accounted for 78% of the 1,731 murders of transgender and gender-diverse people reported worldwide between January 2008 and December 2014, according to activist group Transgender Europe.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and Amnesty International have called for justice after the violent death of a transgender activist.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device 13 May 2015 Last updated at 12:41 BST The Haka means "fierce dance" and was traditionally performed by the Maoris before going into battle. Nowadays the Haka is performed during special ceremonies. The New Zealand rugby team also perform the special dance before all their international matches. Prince Harry is currently on a week-long tour of New Zealand.
Prince Harry has taken part in a traditional Maori Haka during his tour of New Zealand.
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Christie - 'Every place in America is a target' 17:40 ET By the time the afternoon session of the Republican Jewish Coalition presidential forum was wrapping up, most of the participating candidates were all but certain as to the exact nature of the violence in San Bernardino. "I assure you it is an act of terror," said former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, later warning that this was just the beginning. "We have to be prepared because the world is breaking down." Carly Fiorina took aim at the likely Democratic nominee. "Hillary Clinton was tweeting about gun control while we learned that radical Islamic terrorists have been building pipe bombs," she said. And New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spent nearly his entire 30-minute speech talking about the implications of Wednesday's attacks. "For the first time since 9/11," he said, "we're going to have to confront the loss of American life on American soil to terrorist conduct." And he added some words of warning. "If a centre for the developmentally disabled in San Bernardino, California, can be a target for a terrorist attack, then every place in America is a target for a terrorist attack." The New Jersey governor is pinning what were once fading presidential hopes on national security. After the Paris attacks and the events on Wednesday, he feels the US public is giving him another look - and a recent poll of New Hampshire voters shows that he has gained some momentum, moving ahead of Ben Carson into fourth place. "The entire campaign changed a few weeks ago," he said. "We need to come to grips with the concept in America that we are in the midst of the next world war." He went on to attack fellow candidates Rand Paul by name and Ted Cruz by implication - both for voting in the Senate to support a rollback of National Security Agency surveillance operations that went into effect last weekend. "Every candidate who comes on this stage should be honest with you and tell you we need to do these things," he said. "And anyone who doesn't is putting American families at risk." 13:30 ET According to Donald Trump, the violence in San Bernardino on Wednesday "probably was related" to "radical Islamic terrorism". During remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition, the New York real-estate mogul wondered why President Barack Obama won't use those words. "There is something going on with him that we don't know about," he said. Several years ago, Mr Trump - before he was a presidential front-runner - made the rounds on the political talk show circuit as one of the leading voices of the "birther" movement - that bit of the conservative fringe that questioned the validity of Mr Obama's birth certificate and his American bona fides. Old habits, it seems, die hard. Rubio - 'We live in a different world' 12:00ET "We certainly have learned some facts that are concerning and weigh on our minds," Marco Rubio said early in his speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition presidential forum. The Florida senator no doubt was referencing the possible Islamic ties of the assailants in the San Bernardino shooting - albeit in a much more oblique way than his fellow senator, Ted Cruz, did earlier Thursday morning. "We live in a very different world than the one I grew up in, the world that you grew up in and the world we had not long ago," Mr Rubio continued. While Mr Rubio's words were carefully, intentionally vague, Mr Cruz wasn't the only candidate to directly tie Wednesday's attacks to overseas terrorism. Inadequate gun-control laws are not to blame for the California shootings, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters after his speech. "It's about two people who have bought into an ideology that's just absolutely insane." Former New York Governor George Pataki said we don't know for sure whether the shootings in San Bernardino "involved terror or not", but it was a "horrible, horrible planned assault". What we do know, he continued, was that the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the shooting at the US Army base at Fort Hood and the foiled assault at an art exhibit in Garland, Texas - all of which have happened during Barack Obama's presidency - were "carried out by radical jihadists here in America". The US should not let First Amendment protections of free speech stand in the way of confronting this "warped view of jihad", Pataki continued, comparing a ban on inflammatory Islamic rhetoric to prohibitions on yelling "fire in a crowded theatre". "Radicalisation in America isn't protected speech," he said. "It is a crime, and we should stop it." 10:43 ET Texas Senator Ted Cruz took the stage at the presidential forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition and called for a moment of silence for the victims of the San Bernardino shootings. Then, while acknowledging "the details of what happened are still unclear", he said that he is "deeply concerned" that the events in California are "another manifestation of radical Islamic terrorism here at home". He said the San Bernardino shootings, along with the Paris attacks last month, "underscores that we are in a time of war". "Whether or not the current administration realises or wishes to acknowledge it," Mr Cruz continued. "Our enemies are at war with us. I believe this nation needs a wartime president to defend it." The Texas senator then pitched the audience of Republican Jewish activists and deep-pocketed conservative donors on why he's the man for the job. As he did in last month's Republican presidential debate, he chided President Barack Obama for not using the term "radical Islamic terrorism". A president, he said, must speak the truth. "When the president stands up and says the Islamic State isn't Islamic - that's just nutty," he said, calling Mr Obama an apologist for "radical Islamic terrorism". He said as president he would make sure the US does more to stand by its allies - Israel in particular - and defeat its enemies. "If you are voting for Hillary Clinton," he said, "you are voting for the Ayatollah Khamenei to have a nuclear device."
Republican presidential candidates speaking at a forum in Washington, DC, have responded to the mass shooting in California which left at least 14 dead.
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Esteban Ruiz Santiago is accused of murdering five people at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport on Friday. During a 15-minute court appearance on Monday he was told by the judge that he may face the death penalty. Santiago answered the judge's questions in a clear voice. He spoke very little during the hearing and confirmed to the judge that he understood the criminal charges and that he is a US citizen. When asked about his employment, he told the judge that he worked for the Signal 88 security firm in Anchorage, Alaska, for the last few years and that he currently has only $5 to $10 in his bank account. Security was high outside the courtroom, with more than 25 armed police guarding the building. Santiago wore a red jumpsuit and was shackled at the wrists, stomach and legs throughout the hearing. Authorities say they have not ruled out terrorism as a motive, and that they are investigating whether mental illness may have played a role in the attack. In November 2016, Santiago visited an FBI building in Anchorage to tell agents he was hearing voices and believed that US spies were trying to control his mind. According to a criminal complaint, Santiago told investigators that he flew one-way from Alaska to Florida to carry out the attack. Agents say he checked a handgun into his luggage. He retrieved the gun from the baggage carousel, and loaded it in a bathroom before emerging and firing at random, investigators say. Six other people were wounded by gunshots at the airport's baggage claim area. Three dozen suffered minor injuries in the chaos as passengers and airport workers fled.
A 26-year-old Iraq war veteran suspected of opening fire in a crowded Florida airport last week has appeared in court to hear charges against him.
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Dale Pike, 25, of Glynneath, Neath Port Talbot, "stood and watched" as Gareth Pugh dived into the lake with a weighted belt to fish out balls. Mr Pugh's body was found in the water at Peterstone Lakes Golf Club, near Newport, after he lost his breathing equipment and drowned in February 2016. Pike received 32 months after admitting manslaughter by gross negligence. Cardiff Crown Court heard Pike raised the alarm when he noticed a constant stream of bubbles rising to the lake's surface and a flotation device carrying Mr Pugh's air supply floating towards the edge. Emergency service staff pulled him from the water 70 minutes after he first entered and he was found with his feet pointing upwards, weighed down by a weighted belt and a 16kg (35lbs) bag of 341 golf balls he had retrieved. The court heard Pike, who ran Boss Golf Balls which sells balls retrieved from lakes, should have hired trained divers to carry out the work, at a cost of about £1,000 a day. But instead he employed Mr Pugh, who had ADHD and learning difficulties, and paid him £20-40 a day. David Elias QC, defending, said Pike "naively and foolishly believed that all would be well with the use of that equipment in that lake". Sentencing Pike, Judge Keith Thomas said: "Mr Pugh was an unsuitable contender for the diving work you employed him to undertake, but you allowed him to take those risks to make a quick buck. "The risk of death or serious injury was obvious to you, but your cavalier attitude towards safety was the cause of Mr Pugh's death. "With hindsight you bitterly regret what happened." Speaking after the hearing, Iwan Jenkins, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Pike "stood by and watched" as Mr Pugh entered the water "knowing that safety regulations were being breached". "His deceit and callousness resulted in Gareth losing his life," he said. "There was clear evidence Pike had made enquiries with legitimate dive operators to cost this activity but he chose not to use them, instead falsely claiming to the golf club that he was a qualified commercial diver with his own equipment." Mr Pugh's partner Mayree Worton said: "What upsets me the most is the bond that our daughter and Gareth had together is no longer there. "The sentencing of Dale Pike is a relief, however it doesn't make what has happened any less painful, upsetting or distressing and it does not bring Gareth back."
A golf company director has been jailed after a ball collector drowned in a freezing course lake.
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The meeting's organiser, Louai Hussein, called for an end to the government's brutal crackdown on protesters and for a peaceful transition to democracy. The event took place after government officials said they would not object. Afterwards, the opposition was invited to joint talks to discuss the framework for a national dialogue conference. The state news agency, Sana, said amendments to the constitution would be on the agenda at the conference on 10 July, including Article 8, which grants the Baath Party unique status as the "leader of state and society". Participants would also examine proposed new laws on political parties, elections, local administration and the press, it added. Sana said there was no alternative but to "open the door wide" to all Syrians, and to take part in building a "democratic, pluralistic society meeting the aspirations of the people". The BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus says the government is making a show of looking for the middle ground to solve the crisis, but they are also seen to be playing for time. Monday's meeting at the Semiramis hotel in Damascus was attended by several leading opposition figures, including Mr Hussein, Anwar al-Bunni and Michel Kilo, who have served time in prison for their political activities. They began by singing the national anthem and holding a moment of silence to honour those killed in the revolt, which represents the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad's rule since he succeeded his father in 2000. In the opening address, Mr Hussein said it was an unprecedented event, and that no such conference had been held in Syria for decades. "Those attending this meeting are not armed, [as they are not] terrorists or saboteurs," he said. "We are meeting today... to put forward a vision about how to end tyranny and ensure a peaceful and secure transition to the hoped-for state: the state of freedom, democracy and equality." In a final communique, the participants declared their support for the "popular uprising seeking a peaceful transition to a democratic, civil and pluralistic state", and called for an immediate end to the government crackdown and the withdrawal of the army from all towns and cities. They also called for an independent committee to investigate the killings of civilians and security forces personnel, the release of all political prisoners, and the right to peaceful protests without official approval. Human rights groups say more than 1,300 civilians have been killed and thousands arrested since pro-democracy protests began on 18 March. Several hundred soldiers and police are also said to have died. The US state department said Monday's meeting was a "significant event", but the organisers were criticised by some opposition activists, who said it was a government ploy and that the attendees did not represent many of those involved in the revolt. Notably absent were members of the Local Co-ordination Committees, which have sought to speak on behalf of young protesters. They refuse to begin dialogue while suppression continues and hundreds remain in detention. "The Damascus Declaration coalition - this is the main opposition coalition in Syria - have actually come out against this meeting," Malik al-Abdeh, an editor of Barada TV, a Syrian opposition channel, told the BBC World Service. "The regime is obviously happy for this conference to take place." "In Syria, there are three or four opposition figures who spent time in jail, who are actually attending this meeting. But apart from that, all the other people I have seen on the list, they are not known to be opposition figures," he added. "So this certainly is not an opposition conference, this is just a meeting of intellectuals all discussing the future of Syria under - I have to stress this - under the close watchful eye of the Syrian security." Other activists have insisted that those taking part must stick to a basic demand - that the regime has to go, and make way for democracy.
At least 150 Syrian dissidents have met publicly for the first time at a hotel in the capital, Damascus, to discuss the current crisis in their country.
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In the corner of a busy hospital ward, tucked behind a curtain for our arrival, lies Joshua Davies. His face is alert and he's talkative, but take a look down the bed and you can see both his feet and his left hand in casts. A month ago, Joshua fell from a bridge near his home in Pontypridd, fracturing his spine in four places. The reason for the fall? According to Joshua, it was to get away from bullies. He told Newsbeat: "I can remember speaking on the phone to the ambulance telling them 'I can't move my legs'. "They put me on a spinal board, and that's all I can remember from it." Joshua's family said police had been contacted 15 times about attacks on the teenager, who has Asperger's syndrome. South Wales Police said it had carried out "a thorough investigation" into assault complaints and had arrested and bailed three teenagers. The family claims the teenager has been bullied for the last five years, targeted because of his disability, which is a form of autism. "Josh has never really had an identity as such, he's a good lad, he's a pleaser, he would do anything for anyone," said his mother Cheryl Davies. "Because of the Asperger's Joshua struggles with social cues. "When people confront him, if they're nice to him, Joshua thinks they want to be his friend. Which isn't always the case." "He's slowly getting there, and it is giving him a few setbacks when he has those reality checks, although he's trying to stay positive." During his time in hospital, Joshua has had lots of visitors but said it's still hard to take his mind off what happened. "I've got family to come up and see me and friends, and I've got things to entertain me. "But when I am on my own I'm just thinking 'I am lucky to have survived and carry on with my life'." "I was going to be studying electrical engineering, but if I'm not able to stand up I'm going to have to find another course because I won't be able to use the machinery." Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube
In his first interview, a teenager paralysed as he tried to escape bullies describes what happened to Newsbeat.
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The visitors, managed by former Burton boss Gary Rowett, pinned the Brewers back in the opening exchanges. But Jackson Irvine then tested Blues keeper Adam Legzdins before former Birmingham loan signing Lloyd Dyer put Burton ahead with a superb finish. Jamie Ward volleyed the second, before skipper Michael Morrison headed Blues' best chance wide from a late corner. Burton's second victory in nine league games lifts Nigel Clough's side six places to 13th in the Championship, while Birmingham remain fifth after only their third defeat of the season - but their second on successive Fridays. The home side initially struggled to get out of their own half, creating their first clear chance when former Burton keeper Legzdins used his legs to deny Irvine after former Aston Villa trainee Ward flicked on. Northern Ireland international Ward then provided the pass for 34-year-old Dyer to run onto, and he gave the Blues keeper no chance with the outside of his left foot. Ward forced Legzdins to a smart near-post save after outsmarting Ryan Shotton, but benefitted from a marginal offside decision to drive home the second as Burton made it six games unbeaten in matches played on Friday evenings. Burton Albion boss Nigel Clough told BBC Radio Derby: "Quite often this season we haven't got what we deserved but tonight we could have won by more than two. That is the next stage for us, to really get the results that our performances deserve. "Psychologically, it is important for us to try and stay out of the bottom three if we can. It is going to be a battle to do that but nights like tonight undoubtedly help. "Jamie Ward has made one and scored one. That is what we brought him in for - that little bit of quality. The balance between him and Chris O'Grady is important. "Chris is working his socks off up there. He is such a great team player and appreciated by everyone in the dressing room." Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett told BBC WM: "We were very poor but Burton thoroughly deserved it. They showed a bit more energy and drive on a difficult evening for us. "Derby and Sheffield Wednesday have found out the hard way here too. Nigel has got a good side, who play with real forward impetus and quality. They'll turn a lot of teams over here, playing like that. "For the first 15 or 20 minutes, the game panned out how we wanted and we exploited the spaces. But then they got back into it, worked what we were doing and started to pin us back with their wing-backs. "After that we didn't play with anywhere near enough quality. We're going to have to be a lot better than that against Aston Villa next week." Match ends, Burton Albion 2, Birmingham City 0. Second Half ends, Burton Albion 2, Birmingham City 0. Attempt blocked. Greg Stewart (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Che Adams. Offside, Birmingham City. Maikel Kieftenbeld tries a through ball, but Lukas Jutkiewicz is caught offside. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Substitution, Burton Albion. Hamza Choudhury replaces Matthew Palmer. Delay in match Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City) because of an injury. Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion). Attempt missed. Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Lee Williamson with a headed pass. Substitution, Burton Albion. Lee Williamson replaces Tom Naylor. Attempt missed. Tom Naylor (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Jackson Irvine with a headed pass following a set piece situation. Foul by Jonathan Grounds (Birmingham City). Lucas Akins (Burton Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City). Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Michael Morrison (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion). Substitution, Burton Albion. Will Miller replaces Jamie Ward. Attempt missed. Michael Morrison (Birmingham City) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Greg Stewart with a cross following a corner. Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Kyle McFadzean. Attempt blocked. Che Adams (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Clayton Donaldson. Attempt missed. Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Lucas Akins with a cross. Attempt blocked. Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jonathan Grounds. Attempt blocked. Greg Stewart (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by John Brayford (Burton Albion). Attempt missed. Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Jamie Ward. Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City). Jamie Ward (Burton Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing. Substitution, Birmingham City. Greg Stewart replaces Jacques Maghoma. Offside, Burton Albion. John Brayford tries a through ball, but Chris O'Grady is caught offside. Foul by Jacques Maghoma (Birmingham City). Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Che Adams (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Tom Naylor (Burton Albion). Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Lloyd Dyer. Jonathan Grounds (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card. Goal! Burton Albion 2, Birmingham City 0. Jamie Ward (Burton Albion) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by John Brayford with a headed pass.
Burton Albion scored a goal in each half to deservedly win their first competitive meeting with Birmingham.
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Gosport's HMS Sultan and Fort Blockhouse are among 91 Ministry of Defence sites now set to close - 35 were previously earmarked. The town's borough council said the loss of more than 1,000 sailors from the area would affect the economy. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon announced the closures on Monday. He the closures would deliver better value for money and release enough land across the UK to build 55,000 homes. It is also estimated that about £140m will be saved over the next decade by selling off the sites, which Sir Michael said would be reinvested in creating "areas of military expertise" in locations across the country, including a specialised infantry group in Aldershot. Leader of Gosport Borough Council, Mark Hook, said: "We are relieved the majority of jobs will remain in the area, but we'll lose the economic benefits of having more than 1,000 sailors based in the town." He admitted the authority could not stop the sale of the land, but said it would work to get the "best possible outcomes" for the town. He said it would be "seeking assurances" from the MoD that the sites could be redeveloped for business use. "We need to reduce the impact on the area by using these sites to create business spaces that will bring with them opportunities and jobs to benefit local people," he said. Unions have described the plans - which are part of a review of Ministry of Defence land - as "brutal" and have also promised to fight the closures.
The government will be lobbied by a Hampshire council over its plans to sell off an additional 56 defence sites by 2040.
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David Mackintosh, Conservative MP for Northampton South, announced his decision ahead of a local party meeting where his candidacy was expected to be opposed. The BBC reported millions of pounds of public money loaned to Northampton Town FC appeared to have vanished. The MP has denied any wrongdoing. Mr Mackintosh was criticised over the loan to Northampton Town Football Club from the borough council - when he was leader - to rebuild Sixfields stadium and develop nearby land. About £10.25m of that money is now missing and the loan is subject to a police investigation into "alleged financial irregularities". The football stand remains half built. When contacted by the BBC last week, a majority of his party's local executive council said they would vote to deselect him. Mr Mackintosh had previously said he intended to stand for re-election. But in a statement, he said: "It has been a huge honour to be the member of Parliament since 2015, but I now feel it is the right time for my constituents to have a new representative."
An MP facing deselection after being criticised over his role in a loan to a football club will not stand for re-election.
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My move has set me thinking about the future of business news. There are two words that sum that up: global and digital. First let us consider global. Businesses are increasingly organised so that their supply chains and markets extend across national borders. This means that events which happen in one part of the world can have important effects on businesses everywhere. So, it is vital for business journalists to steer away from closed-economy thinking. Understanding and explaining the connections between consumers, producers, and policymakers in different countries is now essential to covering the beat. Second, we are in the midst of a digital revolution when it comes to the way news is reported and delivered to audiences. I am not predicting that the end of TV and radio listings is right around the corner, but viewers increasingly want to watch and listen at a time when they want to. I found this with my own programme, Talking Business with Linda Yueh, where many UK viewers watched via BBC iPlayer. Outside the UK, where the BBC's on demand service was not available, the programme had multiple showings through the week. It is inevitable that this trend will continue. The challenge for business reporting in the digital age, though, goes beyond simply making content more easily available online to suit viewer habits. The prevalence of social media and the internet combined with smart phones mean that people have a huge amount of information available at their fingertips. News audiences are now more informed than ever before, especially in business. When news is reported in mainstream media, for many it is no longer new. Personally, I often find news items from social media and other online sources faster than traditional ones. Therefore, business news should look to add value for its audience in terms of relevant and rigorous analysis rather than just the reporting of events. It should be a trusted source among the many sources of information from which the viewer can choose. Being global and digital are what I have tried to achieve in the last two years. This may be my last blog here. But look for my posts elsewhere on the BBC website as I will continue to pen pieces that accompany programmes as a freelance presenter. And readers of this blog know that I will always alert them to a new post via social media.
This is my last blog here, as I've decided to leave my post as the BBC's Chief Business Correspondent based in Singapore and move back to the UK.
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The "marijuana resort" would have been the first of its kind, but concerns that the stockpile could be confiscated led tribe leaders to incinerate it. The tribe says it wants to show cooperation with federal officials for future negotiations. Whether the tribe can sell marijuana to non-Indians has come under question. Representatives for the US Department of Justice did not tell Santee Sioux tribe leaders a raid was imminent, but the government reserves a right to conduct a raid at any time and the tribe would risk one if all the concerns about the resort were not addressed. The Justice Department decided last year to let tribes grow marijuana on their land. Also in question is the origin of the marijuana seeds used for the tribe's crop. The tribe had planned on opening a lounge selling marijuana - for consumption only in the lounge - on New Year's Eve. "We just felt it would be best to go in with a clean slate to look for answers on how to proceed so that all sides are comfortable with it," said Flandreau Santee Sioux President Anthony Reider, adding that burning the crop was "in the best interest of both tribal and non-tribal members." The 400-person tribe, which already runs a casino, hotel and ranch, had predicted the marijuana sales would make up to $2m (£1.3m) per month. The lounge would have had games, food and a bar, and eventually a live music venue and slot machines. In September Mr Reider said he wanted it to be "an adult playground".
Fearing a federal raid, a South Dakota Native American tribe is burning its marijuana crop, which it had planned to sell in a resort on its land.
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"It gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of good friends," says one of the players on a five-a-side football pitch in the north of Glasgow. He's moving around nimbly on crutches, putting everything into the training and drills. There are shouts for the ball, plenty of laughter but lots of hard work. After all some of the players here have their next competitive game in just over a week. Many of them do play on crutches, others with prosthetic limbs. The sport of amputee football has been going for many years south of the border and now a charity is now trying to form a Scotland-wide league. It is holding the first amputee football Scottish Cup in Edinburgh next month. This team I am watching is linked to Partick Thistle. "I wish, looking back, I hadn't let it stop me," says Brian Murray, who lost his leg to cancer at the age of 10. He says that, although as a youngster he did play on crutches with his pals, when he went to secondary school he lost confidence and began wearing his prosthetic leg all the time. His introduction to amputee football was in England, regularly travelling to Everton to get a game. It is rough at times - he broke his collarbone last year, but did not let that put him off. He describes the sport now being in Scotland as "brilliant". "That's what I want to give to youngsters," he says. "Don't let anyone stop you, just go for it." He adds that if he is still playing at the age of 47, then "it doesn't matter what age you are". Amputee football is played all over the world. In Turkey, for instance, there is a professional league, aired on television with 600 players. Scotland is hoping to play some friendlies against other European countries later in the year. "Amputee football is just about getting people out and playing football," says Ashley Reid of the Amputee Football Association Scotland (AFAS). "The limb difference, the amputation is not relevant at all when people are here training. It's just about playing football." She says she saw a clear demand for the sport in Scotland. The task now is to try to spread out across the country. In among the men on the pitch is one woman. In fact, she is the only woman playing in the amputee football league in the UK. "All amputees are used to being the odd one out in the crowd," Rebecca Sellar explains. "So coming into this as the only woman, you get on with it and over it." She would like to get more women involved. Rebecca says that since she started she has been welcomed into the game and on a personal level has gained fitness as well as the enjoyment of taking part in a team sport. She says: "Our numbers are growing and the more word we can get out there to encourage people to get involved the better we can have it as a sport for Scotland."
Amputee football is played all over the world but it is in its infancy in Scotland, where organisers are trying to form a new league.
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The jack up unit Ensco 80 is expected to arrive at the field's Charlie platform in the Moray Firth over the weekend. The rig is to be used in the plugging and abandoning of wells and a clean-up of Beatrice's platform complex. Full decommissioning of the field's facilities could take place between 2024 and 2027. Production at the field has ceased and it has been proposed to remove the platform complex, two demonstrator wind turbines and cables. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had an interest in using the complex as a training facility, but it has decided not to pursue this idea further. This decision means a decommissioning programme approved by the UK government in 2004 has been updated and widened out to include the removal of the field's platforms and other structures. Energy company Repsol Sinopec Resources UK set out details last month of the planned decommissioning and uploaded an environmental impact assessment scoping report online. The field, about 13 miles (22km) off the Caithness coast, forms part of the site of a massive planned offshore wind farm project. The planned decommissioning project involves the removal of five platform structures and power cables. Forty three wells in the field are to be "plugged" and abandoned. Two wind turbines installed to show that the firth is suitable for a large-scale offshore wind farm are also to be removed. The turbines were installed in two phases with the first in 2006 and the second in 2007.
A rig to be used in the decommissioning of the Beatrice oil field has left Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth.
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He told Buzzfeed News he needed to go to a "quiet place" to focus on writing, adding that Twitter is "the least quiet place I've ever been in my life." "It's like taking the bar exam at Coachella," he said. "I really need to concentrate on this!" Some have labelled his portrayal of female characters, including Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, as sexist. The criticism came as a surprise - as the writer-turned-director had previously been praised for creating strong female leads in his TV shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse. He said, "I saw a lot of people say, 'Well, the social justice warriors destroyed one of their own!' It's like, nope. That didn't happen." Whedon also denied the accusation that he quit Twitter because of specific criticism from campaigning group Feminist Frequency. "Literally the second person to write me to ask if I was okay when I dropped out was [Feminist Frequency founder] Anita [Sarkeesian],"he said. Immediately prior to deleting his account, Whedon tweeted: "Thank you to all the people who've been so kind and funny and inspiring up in here". Soon after, a search for an account under the @josswhedon handle returned a "page not found" error. One critic had created a widely shared montage image showing many of the messages sent to Whedon. Some called him misogynistic and said he had done a "hatchet job" on Black Widow, whose big storyline in the latest Avengers film is a doomed romance. One critic asked why the words "strong female character" were not in his vocabulary. But many of Whedon's fans have now turned on the naysayers, subjecting some to harassment and abuse. Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt accused them of having "chased Joss Whedon off Twitter". Whedon had previously been a high-profile user of Twitter, calling it "enormous work - very fun". But he told Buzzfeed he had started to become uncomfortable with his habit. "Twitter is an addictive little thing, and if it's there, I gotta check it. When you keep doing something after it stops giving you pleasure, that's kind of rock bottom for an addict. "I just had a little moment of clarity where I'm like, 'You know what? If I want to get stuff done, I need to not constantly hit this thing for a news item or a joke or some praise, and then be suddenly sad when there's hate and then hate and then hate.'"
Director Joss Whedon has denied leaving Twitter over feminist criticism of his latest movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron.
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She has bled herself, when she was injured in an IRA attack on the Ulster Polytechnic in 1977. Baroness O'Loan, a former police ombudsman, argues that it's only by confronting the past that people in Northern Ireland will drag themselves clear of it. "If you don't deal with the past," she told me on The World This Weekend, "then the trauma, the disability, the pain, everything continues; and as that continues in society it leaves a sense of injustice. "And if you leave a sense of injustice, you leave a gap into which paramilitarism of either kind, loyalist or republican, can move." Last weekend alone, 140 parades were held. It's the height of the marching season, when Unionists and Nationalists alike celebrate their heritage. Historical events loom large, but at least one march commemorated a more recent controversy: Internment, or detention without trial, which existed for a few years in the 1970s. The number of strategically parked police vans illustrated police fears that the situation might kick off. The cost can be considerable. One dispute alone, in North Belfast, has cost £23m so far. Between the beginning of April 2014 and the end of March this year, three people died due to the deteriorating security situation. There were 94 shootings by paramilitaries (48 loyalist, 46 republican) and 26 bomb attacks; 58 firearms were found as well as 23kg of explosives and nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition. "We cannot really claim to have peace," Baroness O'Loan says. The Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, George Hamilton, says failure to tackle the causes of sectarianism leaves his officers to pick up the pieces. "It feels to me like broader society places all the responsibility, wrongly, at the police service's door," he told a public meeting last week. "I know we have a critical part to play, but the legislative framework and the budget allocation comes from another arena, called politics." There might be less strain in the police budget if the £150m for measures to tackle the past, which was pledged by the British government had been delivered. The Stormont House Agreement, signed by the political parties in Northern Ireland at the end of last year, said the government would provide the money only if local politicians agreed on welfare reform. Baroness O'Loan is scathing: "It's immoral that they managed to tie up welfare reform with dealing with the past. They're two separate issues and they should be negotiated and dealt with separately." For now, then, the mechanisms for tackling Northern Ireland's bloody past exist only on paper. Susan Mackay, who has written extensively about Northern Ireland's politics, says the summer marching season suggests peace has not yet planted deep roots. "What we see playing out in the streets is symptomatic of that absence of agreement; it's a way of saying that we don't agree with the Good Friday Agreement, we don't agree with the institutions at Stormont." Money doesn't solve problems, but in Northern Ireland's case, the absence of it appears to make them that much harder to resolve.
Baroness Nuala O'Loan cannot be dismissed as a "bleeding heart liberal" when she attacks the political establishment in Stormont and Westminster for putting Northern Ireland's peace process at risk.
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An 18th Century building containing two businesses was destroyed in Sudbury on Sunday, with one woman rescued from an upstairs flat. Suffolk Fire Service was investigating why all on-call fire fighters at Sudbury station were not alerted. The Sudbury engine arrived two minutes later than the Long Melford crew, which was three miles further away. The fire service said the control room was called at 18:17 BST and the first engine, also crewed by on-call retained fire fighters, arrived from Long Melford at 18:32 BST. The engine from Sudbury, which was based about 300 yards from the fire on Market Hill, arrived at 18:34 BST. The 15-minute response time missed the target of 11 minutes. Mark Hardingham, Suffolk's chief fire officer, said paging equipment was usually "pretty reliable and effective". "There are a number of factors that affect the way the equipment operates, so we need to look at each one of those before we can make any firm conclusions," he said. "Initial tests reveal the hardware and the way the system operates was OK, but we're now working with Ofcom and Arqiva to check the radio signal in the Sudbury area." Suffolk County Council is considering making £1m cuts to the fire service's £22m annual budget by 2016/17. Fire stations outside of Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds are only staffed by retained crews following previous cuts. Andy Vingoe, Suffolk chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "The whole thing just goes to show the under-investment we have in the fire service at the moment. "This fire shows they got there just in time that night - next time we don't know if we're going to be so lucky." Earlier today a hamster was recovered alive from a burnt out flat to the rear of the Market Hill building.
Only three of eight pagers for retained fire fighters went off when they were needed to tackle a blaze in Suffolk.
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More than 60 years on, with another World Cup looming in Brazil and the Indian economy booming, there are renewed hopes that football can finally gain a toehold in the cricket-loving country. Qualification for the 2014 World Cup may be a step too far, but there are a number of initiatives under way to boost the sport. The challenges are to nurture that growing interest while wooing fans away from watching overseas football on TV, and the need to create a strong national league and international team. Off the pitch there is the need to build football industry and infrastructure, while boosting the expertise of administrators and coaching and other backroom staff. "There is a challenge from cricket, which gets the most investment," admits Kushal Das, general secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). "Many youngsters though are now watching a lot of football, mainly European leagues. "We need to develop interest in the Indian leagues, and we need development programmes for that." Mr Das said he was encouraged by the recent visit of Fifa president Sepp Blatter to the country. The country is hoping to host the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, and Mr Blatter has so far offered encouraging noises. Mr Das said that highlights over the past couple of years included India playing in the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 for the first time in more than 20 years, and the 15-year commercial and marketing partnership between the AIFF and IMG-Reliance. Encouragement has also come from a recent development plan for football in India drawn up with Fifa. "We are starting up academies for player development in four cities by July and another four by July 2013, for different age groups," says Mr Das. A technical director has also been appointed for the first time, unusual as it may seem that such a role did not exist before. "We are looking not just at player development, but also administration, education, referees," says Mr Das. "If we are successful in hosting the Under-17 there will be [business] opportunities, to participate in the whole development of Indian football - it is a great opportunity." He adds: "The biggest challenge is infrastructure. I hope, if we have the World Cup hosting rights, that there will be serious efforts to improve the infrastructure." IMG and stadium builders Populous have already been around the country looking at which existing stadiums could potentially be brought up to scratch for 2017. One of the footballing hotbeds in the country is Pune, a city in the west of the country with a three million-plus population. "Sport, including football, is tremendously popular among the youth of our city today," says Vishwajeet Kadam, president of Pune District Football Association. "We don't only focus on the skills development of players. We also taking to the FA and taking advice from the Indian Premier League cricket, and hockey, about ways to boost the football industry and surrounding football industry skills." Pune also has contacts with English Premier League football clubs, including Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, who both have training academies in the city. "Other clubs have been to India to just hold training sessions, but Liverpool has shown a clear commitment," says Mr Kadam. "Most European clubs seriously underestimate the Indian market. "There are organisations in India ready to spend money in partnerships with European clubs." One club which has formed a partnership is Italian side Inter Milan, which has entered a joint football venture with Tata Tea to support a youth football tournament in India, covering 15 cities, 1,000 schools, and one million children. Mario de Vivo, Inter Milan chief commercial officer, adds: "We then select 16 young Indian pupils and take them to Inter Milan training academy for three days. "We are bringing to India not only technical skills, but also medical, nutritional, and psychological support. "We are able to offer a complete platform to help young teams, federations, and other people that want to learn about football and improve the professional side." Business bodies in India also wants to improve transparency, accountability, marketing, planning and professionalism in football. Rajpal Singh of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) says: "We realise in sport we need foreign expertise. "We want to create a sporting culture in India, and bring about attitudinal change and develop a sporting infrastructure. "India is a cricket country but over the past two years you can see a change in attitude. Sports people are now looking towards football. "But we need to examine the whole football infrastructure." IMG-Reliance is bringing its sports industry expertise to India as part of its deal with the AIFF. "Indians love football and can play football. If you buy into that premise then you know we will be successful," says IMG's Jefferson Slack. Mr Slack admits there are challenges on the football and infrastructure side, but says there is a competitive media market in India that is "going to need high quality football content". He adds: "There are certainly some challenges. The existing league suffers from an??? organisation standpoint. "The IPL [cricket] was instructive because it showed that a properly constructed franchise league could work. "There is a lot of money in India to build a brand. Football needs to succeed. It needs a plan. We are are not there yet. "But the long term view we have is that this will be lucrative." Meanwhile, uncertainty remains about the future of the proposed, but currently delayed, Premier Soccer League (PLS) in West Bengal. The PLS was intended as a state league for older European players - such as Robert Pires and Fabio Cannavaro. It attracted publicity around the world, particularly in the UK. Mr Slack said he understood the premise of the league as, he says, India is a country that is "star driven". But he said there was a pressing need to boost the status of the current Indian national soccer league. "We are in dialogue with I-League about how to make the league more competitive and attractive," he says. "There are no easy solutions there. We completely understand that the clubs need to get more out of it."
When India qualified for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil they refused to participate - partly because it would have meant their normally bare foot team having to wear football boots.
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Gaby Scanlon, of Heysham, Lancashire, was served the Nitro-Jagermeister while celebrating her 18th birthday in 2012. Oscar's Wine Bar in Lancaster previously admitted health and safety failings, at Preston Crown Court. The court heard Ms Scanlon was left close to death after drinking the £3.95 shot. She was taken to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, where a CT scan found a large perforation in her stomach. Ms Scanlon, now 20, spent three weeks in hospital, undergoing surgery to remove her stomach and connect her oesophagus directly to her small bowel. Her solicitors told the court the experience, on 4 October 2012, had "completed changed" her life. She now suffers from "episodes of agonising pain", has to avoid some foods and can no longer enjoy eating, they said. Describing the moment she drank the shot, Ms Scanlon told the court: "I turned to the man and asked if it was okay to drink. He said 'Yes'. "Smoke was coming from my nose and mouth. Straight away I knew something was not right. My stomach expanded." Oscar's Wine Bar Ltd, registered in Swinton, South Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to one count of failing in the duty of an employer to ensure the safety of persons not in its employment, admitting it failed to ensure the shot cocktail was safe for consumption. No risk assessment was carried out regarding the potential dangers of the drinks. The firm's director Andrew Dunn, of Old Earswick, York, pleaded not guilty to his part in the company's failings. The prosecution said it would offer no evidence against him if he made a £20,000 contribution to the court costs prior to sentencing. A spokesman for Lancaster City Council said: "We took the view that in the public interest it was not necessary to prosecute Mr Dunn, taking into account the interests of the family." Passing sentence, Judge Pamela Badley said the bar's actions "fell very far short of standards". Liquid nitrogen was present in the Nitro-Jagermeister shot to create a cloud of smoke in the glass. While such drinks are not illegal, physicists say the liquid must completely evaporate before the drink is safe for consumption. The court heard the bar had sold a range of cocktails using the chemical after Mr Dunn saw similar drinks in the Berkeley Hotel in London. He was said to have found them "alluring and intrigued by the dramatic effect". But senior health and safety officer Peter Lord, who visited the bar in May 2012, said he had concerns about the drinks and sent a letter with guidance on liquid nitrogen usage, which was met with no response. The family-run bar's barrister Kevin McLoughlin said the family had been left "mortified" and apologised to Miss Scanlon and her family for the "errors and misjudgements that were made". He said: "The company and the family are truly sorry. At no time did they see anything warning them of the risks of ingestion. "The essence of this calamity was the ignorance on the part of the company."
A wine bar has been fined £100,000 after a woman drank a cocktail containing liquid nitrogen and had to have her stomach removed.
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The service for friends and relatives of Steve Warren was held at Huntworth near Bridgwater. Mr Warren's sister Kay Coombes said: "He would want us to celebrate his life." His family also met the US Coastguard in Boston earlier in the week to thank them for their efforts in the search. Ms Coombes and Mr Warren's family returned earlier this week from their trip which included visiting Cape Cod, the nearest landmass to where the yacht was reported missing. The yacht's upturned hull was found by the US Coast Guard on 23 May. There was no sign of Mr Warren or his fellow yachtsmen; Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham, Surrey; Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset and 22-year-old James Male, from Romsey, Hampshire. Speaking of the visit Ms Coombes said: "The coastguard put an awful lot of effort into this and we have since found out... that this was one of the most complex cases they have dealt with. "We didn't realise that at the time and it was lovely to be able to go over there and say thank you face-to-face." She said the memorial had been organised in accordance with her brother's wishes and would be a "very personal service". Another memorial is set to be held on Friday for Mr Goslin, in Sherborne.
A memorial service has been held for one of the four yachtsmen who was lost at sea when their yacht Cheeki Rafiki capsized in the Atlantic.
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The Social Mobility Commission warns of many "treadmill families running harder and harder but standing still". It points to an unfair education system, a two-tier labour market, a regionally imbalanced economy and unaffordable housing. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to tackle social inequalities. The commission's State of the Nation 2016 report, laid before Parliament on Wednesday, says young families now can no longer expect to do as well as their parents' generation. It highlights that home ownership is in sharp decline, particularly among young people. The commission urges the government to commit to building three million homes over the next decade and to expand the sale of public sector land for new homes. It should also allow targeted housebuilding on green-belt land and modify the starter home initiative to focus on households with average incomes. Alan Milburn paints a depressingly familiar picture of a "them and us" Britain divided along the fault-lines of wealth and opportunity. But the conclusion of his report - most families are now doing worse than their parents' generation - is staggering. It means social mobility is going backwards not forwards, despite successive attempts to tackle it. Phrases such as: "Huge swathes of Britain feel left behind," and: "The chickens have now come home to roost," pepper the report. "So many families are struggling to get by, let alone get up," Mr Milburn said. He highlights that of the 65 parts of the country identified by his commission as "social mobility coldspots", only three voted to remain in the EU. Mr Milburn, himself immersed in issues surrounding the social mobility conundrum for six years, clearly feels the country's mood is now becoming dangerous. And with a nod to 1930s Europe, he told reporters: "We know from the history of our own continent, when people feel they are losing out unfairly, the mood can turn ugly." The commission notes that a child living in one of England's most disadvantaged areas is 27 times more likely to go to an inadequate school than a child in the most advantaged areas. And young people from low-income homes are one-third more likely to drop out of education than better-off classmates with similar GCSEs. The report says the government should have "as its core objective" the narrowing within the next decade of the GCSE attainment gap between poorer children and their better-off classmates by two-thirds. It also urges the government to rethink its plans for more grammar schools and more academies. The report says grammars are "at best, a distraction, and, at worst, a risk to efforts aimed at narrowing the significant social and geographical divides that bedevil England's school system". The report notes a growing gap between the generations, warning that those born in the 1980s are the first post-war cohort not to start their working lives on higher salaries than their immediate predecessors. It says the government must work with large employers, local councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships to bring high-quality job opportunities - backed by financial incentives - to Britain's social mobility "coldspots". The report also calls for an end to unpaid internships, arguing that work placements lasting more than four weeks should be paid at the minimum wage. The commission says the problem is not just social, but also geographical, with a widening divide between the big cities - particularly London - and the many towns and counties being "left behind economically and hollowed-out socially". It says that in London, the number of top-end occupational jobs has increased by 700,000 in the past 10 years compared with just under 56,000 in the north-east of England. The report warns: "The growing sense that we have become an us and them society - where a few unfairly hoard wealth and power - is deeply corrosive of our cohesion as a society. "The EU referendum in June this year exposed deep divides that go well beyond the box that people crossed. "Public concern - even anger - about issues of identity, immigration and inequality found a voice on 23 June and a target to aim at. "Of the 65 parts of the country we identified as being social mobility coldspots - those with the poorest education and employment prospects - only three areas voted to remain in the EU." Other concerns raised by the report include: The chair of the Social Mobility Commission, Alan Milburn, said the rungs on the social mobility ladder were growing further apart. "It is becoming harder for this generation of struggling families to move up," he said. "Whole sections of society and whole tracts of Britain feel left behind. "As the EU referendum result showed, the public mood is sour and decision-makers have been far too slow to respond." Theresa May took over as prime minister in July with a promise to lead a "one-nation" government that worked for all, not just the "privileged few". Mr Milburn said the commission applauded her determination to further social progress but warned this was a "big ambition" and should be the "holy grail" of public policy. A government spokeswoman said ministers would consider the recommendations in the report. "We want to make this a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few - whether it's education, jobs, or housing, this means giving families more control over their lives and doing more to help those who are just managing. "As the prime minister said on the steps of Downing Street, this government is committed to fighting injustice wherever it arises and ensuring that everyone in our country has the opportunity to go as far as their talents will take them." Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said the report should make "sobering reading" for the Conservatives. "Since they came to power in 2010, we have seen our country go backwards on the progress the Labour government made on social mobility," she said. "The educational attainment gap between lower-income children and their wealthier classmates is getting bigger, and these children still have little chance of going into high-level professions. "And under Theresa May we can expect more of the same: grammar schools for a select few, overcrowded classrooms for the many." The report was published as a survey of 1,655 British adults for the commission found nearly half believed where people ended up in life was mainly down to their background and parentage. Fewer than a third (29%) of people questioned thought Britain was a country where everyone could get as far as their talent and hard work would take them. One-third of those surveyed said they could not save any money each month. Join the conversation - find us on Facebook
Middle-income as well as low-income families are being held back by a "deep social mobility problem" in Britain, a report warns.
37987166
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Details of a major hack emerged last week, but officials have now given details of a potential second breach. It is feared that the attack could leave US security personnel or their families open to blackmail. The agency involved, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is yet to comment on the reports. Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, believe the attackers have targeted the forms submitted by intelligence and military personnel for security clearances. The document includes personal information - everything from eye colour, to financial history, to past substance abuse, as well as contact details for the individual's friends and relatives. A 127-page vetting document called Standard Form 86 may have been accessed. Among the questions potential employees are asked: A White House statement said investigators had a "high degree of confidence" that background information on government employees had been accessed. Joel Brenner, a former US counterintelligence official, called the data a "gold mine" for hackers. It is also believed the breach of personal data of US government workers announced last week may be far larger than previously reported. Initial estimates put the number of people potentially affected at four million, but officials close to the investigation told AP that as many as 14 million might be involved. The US has said the hackers, thought to be behind both attacks, are believed to be based in China. Beijing called the claims "irresponsible". The Obama administration meanwhile announced further measures to beef up cybersecurity on Friday. "Recent events underscore the need to accelerate the administration's cyber strategy and confront aggressive, persistent malicious actors that continue to target our nation's cyber infrastructure," a White House statement said.
Hackers with suspected links to China appear to have accessed sensitive data on US intelligence and military personnel, American officials say.
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Alesha O'Connor, Rhodri Miller, Corey Price, all 17 and from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and Margaret Challis, 66, from Merthyr Tydfil, were killed near Storey Arms, Brecon, in March 2015. The Aberdare inquest heard Rhodri was driving the teenagers in one car. The coroner concluded all four died as a result of a road traffic accident. The inquest was told Rhodri's car was one of seven vehicles in a convoy going on a drive from Barry on the night of 6 March. Rhys Hunter, a passenger in the car, said Rhodri had passed his test a few days earlier. He said before the group set off someone warned him "be careful, we're on a mountain" and at one point during the journey the driver ran a red light. Minutes before the crash, Mr Hunter took a picture and the speedometer in the car he was in showed 75 mph (120km/h). But Mr Hunter said Rhodri was not trying to catch up with the vehicle in front of him and had not been trying to overtake another vehicle. "Rhodri started to lose control and we collided with the other car," he said. "I'm not sure why it happened or why the car was out of control. Probably because of the way it was driven." Joseph Fetter, who was driving behind Rhodri's car, said he was driving consistently around five car lengths behind and no racing had taken place, but he had seen Rhodri's brake lights come on several times. "I think it was inexperience that made him lose control," he said. "I wasn't pushing him on - I didn't know the road at all. It was dark." Passengers in some of the other vehicles said Rhodri was not overtaking but did lose control of his car on the bend, swerving from one side of the road to the other. But survivor Emlyn Williams, who was in the other car involved in the crash along with friend Mrs Challis, disputed some of the evidence. "The car was coming down by a bend. I saw another car overtaking it. The car hit me, that was it," he said. "The only thing I knew was a bang, the windscreen broke and the airbag came out. "I tried to get out and see to Mrs Challis. I went to the other car. It was quiet, silent. There was no opportunity to steer out of the way." Drivers and passengers in vehicles travelling in the direction of Merthyr Tydfil described in police statements seeing the cars leave a lay-by at Storey Arms minutes before the collision. The inquest was told they pulled out too quickly and too close to each other. One witness said: "Boy racers. It's obvious they were on a mission." Dyfed-Powys Police Insp Gary Jones told the inquest messages found on mobile phones showed those in the convoy had discussed speed. One read: "It's madness. Everyone's racing there are 9 cars" while another read "why would I want to go along cars with turbos - I'll be the slowest there". PC David Stacey, who investigated what had happened, said it was "like nothing I had seen in 20 years service. It was a distressing scene". He told the inquest he believed what Mr Williams had seen was Rhodri's car out of control, possibly caused by approaching the unmarked bend at too high a speed and braking in the turn, but not overtaking. Rhodri and Corey were pronounced dead at the scene while Alesha and Mrs Challis died at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr. The inquest heard new road signs had since been put in place on that section of road but the coroner recommended that signage should warn about the upcoming bend. In a statement, Rhodri's family described their son as "the child every parent would dream of", adding: "Our hearts have been ripped out, and nothing is the same." The family said they would like to see lessons learned and for young drivers to be made to realise the implications of serious car accidents in the same way as those who are caught speeding do. The family also called for more rigorous conditions to be placed on new drivers.
A fatal combination of inexperience, speed and peer pressure led to the deaths of four people in a two-car crash, an inquest has heard.
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Foyle and Lagan Search and Recue are among 67 charities to benefit from the Department of Transport scheme. The grants were awarded from a funding pot of £5m being delivered across the UK over a five year period. Phillip Batt, a founding member of Lagan Search and Rescue, said the money was vital to the group's survival. The Belfast based organisation is to receive a total of £31,590. "It's a tremendous boost to organisation, this is our sixth year in operation and we now have three lifeboats and 40 plus volunteers," said Mr Batt. "We'll be using this vital money mainly for volunteer equipment, such as new life jackets and helmets. "This highlights the commitment of volunteers, we launch our lifeboat between four and seven minutes and that really is on a par with the RNLI." The organisation not only deal with local emergencies, they can also be called in to help national search efforts here and further afield. Some volunteers recently returned from the Aegean Sea where they were involved in rescuing migrants and refugees in trouble at sea. Their counterparts in Londonderry, Foyle Search and Rescue, have been handed £42,000 - the highest of any of the charities across the UK. The group have been operating in the Foyle area since 1993 and the bulk of their work involves call-outs for missing or vulnerable persons. UK Maritime Minister John Hayes said: "Every day countless volunteers in water rescue charities across our island nation carry out vital work during emergencies, not only around our coasts but also keeping our rivers, lakes and inshore waters safe. "It is imperative that we value and support their tireless efforts. I am delighted to be able to announce the latest round of funding, ensuring they have the equipment and resources they need to provide their round-the-clock lifesaving services," he added.
Two water rescue charities in Northern Ireland have received £70,000 in funding between them.
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Lancashire's loss to Warwickshire meant Hampshire needed to win to survive. They declared on 245-9 to leave Durham 296 from a minimum of 78 overs for victory, which they reached to end the hosts' two-year stay in the top tier. Mark Stoneman (137) and Scott Borthwick (88) excelled in their last innings for Durham before they join Surrey in 2017. England all-rounder Ben Stokes (23 not out) struck the winning runs for the visitors. Hampshire had opted to bat on during the morning session to extend their lead close to 300 and, with Lancashire struggling at Edgbaston, it soon became clear that only a win would be enough for survival. Ryan Pringle's 7-107 indicated that Hampshire's spinners would be their best hope of success, but a second-wicket stand of 162 between Stoneman and Borthwick ended their chances of achieving safety.
Hampshire were relegated from County Championship Division One after suffering a six-wicket home defeat by Durham in the season's final game.
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Author and academic Sir Anthony Seldon says China's strict schooling style needs to change or its youngsters will suffer, along with its economy. Chinese schools, often criticised for rote and repetitive learning, should be more holistic, says Sir Anthony. The comments come during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the UK. In a speech at the Institute of Education on Wednesday, the president seemed to take on board some of these notions. He said, after watching a BBC programme recreating a Chinese school in England, he had realised that "the British have learned the virtues of strict discipline" from China. The Chinese, meanwhile, had been learning the advantages of recreation, he added. "Chinese children do not play enough. They should play more," Mr Xi said. The school day in China's state schools starts at 7am with various physical exercises. Amongst other daily constitutionals, such as Tai Chi, pupils are encouraged to massage their eyes to keep them healthy and get them ready for the day. The children have two meal breaks in the 12-hour school day and will exercise together every day - sometimes twice a day. The teaching style is focused on note-taking and repetition, otherwise known as rote learning. This is a great contrast to England's more interactive teaching style, where pupils are encouraged to participate in class and make judgments for themselves. The Chinese believe children learn faster and better by rote learning Chinese children live under the One Child Policy and feel the weight of responsibility on their shoulders, so there is great importance placed on their educational achievements. Good exam results are associated with social status and success and entire families can pin all their hopes on the single child. Chinese pupils learn the same subjects as English school children in the main, but are combined with practical work experience around the school campus, as well as Chinese culture, morality and ethics. One feature of Chinese schools that England's teachers may welcome is that the pupils almost always are required to clean their own classrooms. China's schools educate an estimated 192,000,000 children - a fifth of the world's school age children. In a speech in Shanghai on Friday, Sir Anthony, now vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said: "China has some of the top schools in the world and is leading the way with maths and science." Indeed Shanghai and Hong Kong are among the top performing districts in the world, according to the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. Sir Anthony added: "It is the 'human' skills that cannot be replaced by computers that Chinese schools and schools worldwide need to be giving far greater focus. "Many schools are robbing the young of the opportunity to blossom into the unique individuals that they are because too many teachers think that solely cramming pupils' heads full of facts is education. "Many education systems focus on exams being the sole validators of school, but recent research suggests that jobs with a big growth in salary have been those that require a high degree of social skills," he adds. Sir Anthony, former master of leading private school Wellington College, is a great advocate of protecting and enhancing pupils' well-being in order to maximise their potential to learn and express themselves confidently. Like many private schools, Wellington College has an international school in China, where it offers a traditional English public school education.
China's education system is robbing its young people of the chance to become unique individuals, a leading educationalist says.
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Shortly after telling the BBC his story the father, called Jahangir, received a call from Ashraf Ghani assuring him that arrests would be made. His wife was allegedly raped in Badakhshan province eight years ago. But Jahangir says he has been unable to get the alleged rapists arrested because they are politically powerful. His wife told BBC Persian about the incident. "I told one of them, for God's sake, I have just given birth, I'm like your child, even your daughter is older than me," she said. "I cried a lot, they beat me all over my head and body," she said. "Their bite marks were still on my body until a couple of years ago." Analysis: Inayatulhaq Yasini, BBC Pashto The stand taken by Jahangir and his wife breaks something of a taboo in Afghanistan, where victims of sexual crime are generally cowed into silence. Soon after the media picked up the case, President Ghani spoke with Jahangir and promised him that "the case will be investigated properly and perpetrators will face justice". The victim herself told the BBC: "I want justice to save other women from such a fate." In the wake of the publicity, the Afghan government will be under pressure to investigate the incident properly and ensure some kind of resolution. But there are also hopes that the stand taken by Jahangir and his wife will embolden other victims of sexual crime, and have a lasting affect on how such cases are dealt with. Jahangir, a policeman, told the BBC eight men were arrested after the incident, but six have now been freed because of their political connections. He says he and his family had to flee to the capital, Kabul, fearing for their lives. He has threatened to kill himself unless that changes: "If they are not put on trial, I'll have to commit suicide to escape the tensions I'm suffering from. There's no other way." Jahangir went public with the threat on Afghan television. He later met the country's interior ministry to press his case. While speaking to the BBC following the meeting, he received a phone call from Mr Ghani. He wept as they spoke. Mr Ghani was sworn in as Afghan president in September, pledging to tackle the issue of corruption as a priority. As well as political corruption, activists say violence against women is rife in Afghanistan, but rarely attracts much public attention. In one case that did spark national outrage, five Afghan men convicted of gang raping four women were hanged in October.
The president of Afghanistan has told an emotional husband that a group of men accused of gang raping his wife would be brought to justice.
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Commanders lowered the flag during a ceremony in Kabul - raising the flag of the new mission named Resolute Support. "We have lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future," mission commander Gen John Campbell said. Nato's Afghan deployment began after the 9/11 attacks against the US. From 1 January the alliance's role will shift to a mainly training and support mission for the Afghan army. Sunday's ceremony was low-key - held inside a gymnasium at the alliance headquarters away from the public. A military band played as the flag of the International Security and Assistance Force (Isaf) was lowered in the presence of senior military personnel from both sides. Unfurling the new flag, Gen Campbell said the mission "will serve as the bedrock of an enduring partnership" between Nato and Afghanistan. "We honour coalition and Afghan fallen in this mighty struggle, those who paid the price for Afghanistan's freedom," he said, adding: "The road before us remains challenging but we will triumph." At its peak, the US-led Isaf deployment involved more than 130,000 personnel from 50 countries. But from 1 January, it will bring together around 12,000 men and women from Nato allies and 14 partner nations. "The security of Afghanistan will be fully in the hands of the country's 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police. But Nato allies, together with many partner nations, will remain to train, advise and assist them," said Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a statement. More than a decade after this long and expensive mission began, the Taliban are still active and gaining in strength, launching a number of attacks in recent months, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Kabul. This year has been the bloodiest in Afghanistan since 2001, with at least 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces dying in the fight against the Taliban. It underscores the challenges that lie ahead of the Afghan security forces, our correspondent says. Nearly 3,500 foreign troops have been killed since the beginning of the Nato mission.
Nato has formally ended its 13-year combat mission in Afghanistan - heralding the start of a new phase of support for local Afghan troops.
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The trial, which targets women who are too late to undergo surgery, gives six weeks of additional chemotherapy. On average, 94 women in Northern Ireland each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer. Approximately 22 will die. Tara Millar from Belfast was diagnosed on 1 April 2015. After her diagnosis which was stage 2b, research staff at the cancer centre in Belfast offered her the choice of joining the UK trial. "After I did all the research it was a no brainer," she said. "I knew I was going to lose my hair and I had a mane of hair at the time. In fact, it weighed four pounds when it was cut off. "But I looked at the facts and it gave me a higher percentage chance of surviving. " The trial, which is called Interlace, is being conducted by Cancer Research UK. This week it awarded £1.3m to Belfast Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre for trials. Currently, four women in Northern Ireland are taking part in the trial, which is now in phase three of its research. Additional nurses are often required which offer one-to-one treatment to the patient. Wendy Cunningham has been a cancer research nurse for 20 years and looked after Tara. "The trial involves half of the women getting two extra drugs (carboplatin and paclitaxel) for about six weeks before their standard round of chemotherapy starts," she said. "And these drugs are already being used for ovarian and breast cancer. So we know what their side effects are like. "We know they work but they are given at a certain dose, and weekly, so it is not harmful. That means the patient, all being well, can be ready to start the standard treatment after six weeks." While not all women are suitable for the trial, even those who are eligible sometimes refuse. as it adds another six weeks to the standard round of treatment. According to Tara, who was 31 when diagnosed and is now two years in remission, the prospect of losing her hair, while daunting, was worth it. "I knew my hair would grow back and it has. I said 'yes' to the trial very easily. "I was asked, 'Do you want more drugs? If it gives you more of a chance to survive, it was just an extra six weeks'. So far it's been worth it." One of the problems around the condition is women are being diagnosed too late. Tara said she regrets not taking up the offer of a smear test in her local GP surgery and is appealing for other women to go. Richard Wilson is a consultant oncologist and a professor at the centre of cell research at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Prof Wilson said this it was a very exciting time for Belfast and its research into cancer. He said there was one current area of research that is particularly exciting. "This is a trial in ovarian cancer and it's a trial of a drug that's being developed from research in QUB. "We're giving this drug here and in two English centres to patients for the first time ever - it's a drug called ALM201. "It cuts down the blood supply to ovarian cancer. We've finished the first phase of it and are going into the second phase." He said the number of cancer cases in Northern Ireland is increasing as people are living longer and diagnosing cancer is improving. But he had this stark warning. "Cancer is increasing inexorably year on year. It occurs in all ages but it is more a disease of older people. We're all living longer but are living longer to get cancer. "Lifestyle choices are driving more cancers as well - the increase in obesity for example is fuelling cancer, so we're getting better at treating it but we're playing catch-up all the time. Meanwhile, Tara is looking ahead. Recently married she and her husband are planning to do a lot of travelling - she is also intending to grow her hair long again. The trial is still recruiting new candidates.
The first woman to take part in a cervical cancer trial in Northern Ireland has said signing up to it was a "no brainer".
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And the 58-year-old says Gordon Strachan has asked him to carry on in his national role should the Scotland boss decide to remain in charge. "I was really keen to get back into club management, but the destination was important," said McGhee. "It was important I returned at a club close to my heart and was a challenge." Motherwell, who sit ninth in the Scottish Premiership, sacked Ian Baraclough last month. McGhee was in charge at Fir Park for two years before leaving to join Aberdeen in 2009. The former Scotland striker, who also managed Reading, Leicester City, Wolves, Millwall, Brighton and Aberdeen, had his last managerial stint at Bristol Rovers in 2012 but lasted less than a year. McGhee, who has been Strachan's assistant since January 2013, said "I've had several things put to me over the last few years" in his desire to return to club football. "I am delighted to be back at Fir Park and Motherwell, a club in which I have a real affection for after some fantastic highs and tragic lows in my last spell," he said. McGhee steered Motherwell to a third-place finish and European qualification for the first time in 13 years in his debut season. During his time at Fir Park, he was short-listed for the Scotland manager's post, losing out to George Burley. Asked about inheriting someone else's squad, McGhee said: "I have done it before and have no worries about that. "I am not getting ahead of myself here, but I went to Brighton after a few games and we got promoted through the play-offs and I went to Millwall after a few games and won the title." As for his targets, he said: "I think not being in the embarrassing situation they were in last season and scrambling at the end to avoid relegation. "After that, the expectations have not been defined." Youth team coach Stephen Craigan had been appointed on an interim basis while a successor to Baraclough was sought. Majority shareholder Les Hutchison added: "The football committee have undertaken a very rigorous selection process and considered over 80 applicants and interviewed a very strong shortlist of candidates before making their recommendation to the chairman and myself. "I was delighted to talk in detail with Mark about the future plans for the club and he demonstrated a real enthusiasm for the task ahead. "I was pleased he was the unanimous choice of the board."
Mark McGhee has been appointed manager of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell for a second time, with the Scotland assistant boss signing until May 2017.
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The latest protests are a reaction to him sacking two finance ministers last week, further damaging confidence in the economy. This comes on top of claims of widespread corruption, recent student protests and a succession battle in the governing African National Congress. The marchers are using the hasthag #ZumaMustFall on social media. The #ZumaMustFall hashtag is a modification of #FeesMustFall which was used to organise protests against a rise in university fees. Before that, #RhodesMustFall was used to demand a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes was removed from the University of Cape Town's campus. "It feels like the start of something big," a woman in her 50s called Lianda told me. It's the first protest she has been on since she saw friends and family killed during the 1976 Soweto uprising. For her it was important to join the demonstrations with her teenage daughters "for the sake of their future". So along with thousands of others she came to register her displeasure at the ANC leader, who some increasingly see as a political liability. But unlike the groundswell of protest that led to the recall of President Thabo Mbeke in 2008, Jacob Zuma still appears to have support within the National Executive Committee of the ANC. Earlier this week, the party's top brass went on TV to deliver a message to a South African public still reeling from the events of the past week, that they still support their president. Yet privately there is said to be considerable disquiet within the ANC. This may not be an Arab Spring but watch this space. The discontent is growing louder. The ANC has been in power since the end of apartheid in 1994 and won a landslide in general elections last year. However, the economy is struggling, unemployment is around 25% and many accuse ANC officials of corruption. Mr Zuma's decision to appoint the little known Des van Rooyen as finance minister, before replacing him four days later, was widely condemned. The appointment led the rand to tumble to record lows, although it rose after he was replaced by the respected Pravin Gordhan on Sunday night.
Thousands of protesters are marching in South Africa to demand President Jacob Zuma is sacked.
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The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has placed male bear Arktos in with female Victoria at its Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore. Polar bear cubs were last born in the UK almost 25 years ago. Arktos is one of two male bears at the park at Kincraig in the Cairngorms National Park. The pair could remain together for about two weeks. Arktos will eventually return to an enclosure he shares with the other male, Walker. RZSS said captive breeding was an important part of a wider effort to conserve polar bears, which are classified as "vulnerable" on the International Union Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. However, animal welfare organisations OneKind Scotland and Born Free Foundation have said tackling climate change to better protect wild bears should be the focus of conservation efforts rather than captive breeding. RZSS, which also manages Edinburgh Zoo where efforts have been made to breed giant pandas, said Arktos and Victoria have mated several times so far. The society said the pair would live together for the next week or two "mimicking what would occur naturally in the wild". Vickie Larkin, head carnivore keeper at the park, said the pair had appeared to have bonded well since being introduced. She said: "Both polar bears have really warmed to each other and all the signs are really positive. "From the first moment they met, Arktos has been really gentle with Victoria and their bond has been immediate. "Polar bear breeding is inherently complex as the species are induced ovulators, meaning that the female only releases an egg after initial mating occurs. They also practice delayed implantation, where the egg doesn't implant into the uterine wall until some months later." Ms Larkin added: "If successful, Victoria will not fall pregnant until August to September time. "Other key stages are her entering the birthing den in October to November and potentially giving birth in December to January. Any cubs would then not come out of the birthing den until March to April 2017." Arktos arrived at the park in April 2012 from a zoo in Hannover, Germany. When being given health checks, park staff talk to Arktos in German, the language he heard when he was in the zoo in Hannover. Victoria, who was brought to Scotland from Aalborg Zoo in Denmark last year and is kept in an enclosure about a mile away from the males, previously raised cubs in 2008.
Polar bears involved in a Scottish captive breeding project are sharing an enclosure and mating.
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Victoria Gayle, 31, was charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body after police discovered the remains of a baby at her home last month. Ms Gayle, previously of West Hendon, north London, appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Monday afternoon. She spoke only to confirm her name, address, and date of birth. The court heard a post-mortem examination took place at Great Ormond Street Hospital on 2 June but the cause of death could not yet be determined. Ms Gayle was also charged with perverting the course of justice. She was not asked to submit a plea and will appear at Kingston Crown Court on 8 July. The charge follows a case review of an investigation into a child who went missing in 2004, which was sparked by the death of another child at an address in Barnet in 2015. The investigation led to the arrest of a 50-year-old woman in Fryent Crescent, West Hendon in north London. A 52-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of preventing a lawful and decent burial. Both were bailed until mid-July.
A woman has been remanded in custody charged with covering up the death of a one-year-old for more than a decade.
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Michael McGibbon, 33, died after an attack in an alleyway at Butler Place, with police saying his killing carried the hallmarks of a paramilitary murder. The 34-year-old was arrested in Belfast on Sunday. Mr McGibbon was married with a young family. A priest, Father Gary Donegan, told the BBC's Sunday News programme how Mr McGibbon's wife tried to save his life when she arrived at the scene. Mrs McGibbon, who is a nurse, came to his aid shortly after the shooting. Police have said Mr McGibbon had contacted them to inform them that two masked men had arrived at his house on Thursday evening. The men asked him to come out of the house but he refused, and they told him they would return. Mr McGibbon's murder had been referred to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
A 34-year-old man is still being questioned over the murder of a man who was shot in the legs in north Belfast on Friday night.
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South Shields will host the tie, which takes place on 19 August, with kick-off at 12:30 BST. Match of the Day commentator Conor McNamara and former Manchester United striker Danny Webber will talk you through the action. A game from every stage of the 2017-18 tournament will be streamed live across BBC Sport's digital platforms. This will allow audiences to watch the game live on PC, mobile or connected TV. Matches will also be available live and on-demand on BBC iPlayer. You can send a message to the commentary team using #bbcfacup during the game and they will aim to respond to as many of them as they can. South Shields play in Northern League Division One - the eighth tier of English football - and are captained by Argentine former Sunderland and Middlesbrough full-back Julio Arca. They made a successful appearance at Wembley last season, beating Cleethorpes Town 4-0 in the FA Vase final. Bridlington Town are a tier below, in the Northern Counties East League.
The BBC will broadcast South Shields' game against Bridlington Town in the preliminary round of the FA Cup.
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Mr Hollande, whose party was beaten by the far right in last week's European Parliament election, said the EU had become too complex and remote. In response, he will tell EU leaders at a meeting in Brussels later that they must focus on boosting the economy. The three big pro-EU centrist blocs are still on course for a majority. But they have lost seats in the European Parliament to parties seeking to curb EU powers or abolish the union, among them the UK Independence Party which came first in the domestic vote with 27% according to provisional results. In France, the far-right National Front stormed to victory with a preliminary 25% of the vote, pushing Mr Hollande's Socialists into third place. National Front President Marine Le Pen said on Tuesday that her party would use its electoral mandate to "defend France" and fight "crazy measures like votes for immigrants". The BBC's Matthew Price in Brussels says she made a direct challenge, not just to French politicians, but to Brussels too - saying it must listen to the people, and that the French had to protect their nation. This agenda will affect policy-making in the EU in the coming years, our correspondent says. Full coverage of results Speaking on French TV, Mr Hollande - a leading champion of the EU - said the project had become "remote and incomprehensible", and that that had to change. "Europe has to be simple, clear, to be effective where it is needed and to withdraw from where it is not necessary," he said. He said the union had overcome the crisis in the eurozone "but at what price? An austerity that has ended up disheartening the people". When European Union leaders meet on Tuesday he would "reaffirm that the priority is growth, jobs and investment", he said. Matthew Price, BBC News, Brussels Europe has not "voted against the EU". The vast majority of those who bothered to cast a ballot did so for parties that are pro-EU, and they will make up the majority in the new parliament. Yes, the focus is understandably on France and the UK, with Denmark, Greece, and others also giving Euro-enthusiasts cause for concern. However in many countries mainstream parties dominated - in Germany, Italy, Poland where it was felt a growing Eurosceptic movement could break through, in the Netherlands and elsewhere. So the results do not constitute a "problem" as such for the leaders of the EU. Many leaders will point this out around the dinner table tonight. Others, however, will stress that a sizeable chunk of voters chose parties that want "Brussels" to change, and that the EU needs to address this issue if it is to maintain popular support and legitimacy in the longer term. Ahead of this election most leaders were not planning to come to Brussels to discuss how to reset their country's relationship with the EU. David Cameron was of course - but others were not. Will others - under domestic pressure - now join him? Anti-EU forces overshadow Brussels talks Mrs Merkel - whose conservative Christian Democratic Union won a comfortable 35% of the vote in Germany - said it was now up to the established parties of Europe to win voters back by focusing on "improving competitiveness, on growth and creating jobs". "This is the best answer to the disappointed people who voted in a way we didn't wish for," she said. Elsewhere in Europe, the anti-EU UKIP was celebrating winning 27% of the vote, marking the first time in a century that a party other than the Conservatives or Labour has won any UK election. Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservative party lost seven seats, said it was clear voters were "deeply disillusioned" with Europe and that the message was "received and understood". But he insisted he would neither bring forward the date of an in/out referendum on UK withdrawal from the EU - scheduled for 2017 - nor seek a pact with UKIP. Despite the unprecedented Eurosceptic gains across the Union, Jose Manuel Barroso, outgoing president of the European Commission, insisted that the pro-EU blocs still had "a very solid and workable majority". The centre-right European People's Party appears set to win 213 out of the 751 seats, with 28.36% across the bloc, according to estimated results issued by the European Parliament. That would mean it remains the biggest group - but with more than 60 seats fewer than before. The Socialist alliance has a projected 190 seats, with 25.3% of the vote, the Liberals 9% and the Greens 7%. The Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Democracy group appeared to have around 38 seats - including the 24 for UKIP. But the number of non-attached right-wing MEPs is set to rise, boosting the Eurosceptic camp. Mr Barroso said a "truly democratic debate" was needed to address the concerns of those who did not vote, or "voted in protest". Turnout across Europe is estimated at 43.1%, the first time it has not fallen since the previous election - but it has only increased by 0.1%. Result highlights (from European Parliament website): The election is the biggest exercise in multi-national democracy in the world, affecting the lives of the EU's 500 million citizens. The parliament's powers have expanded since the last election in 2009, and it is hoping to have a decisive say in who gets the EU's top job, president of the European Commission. You can follow full coverage with all the latest updates at bbc.co.uk/vote2014.
French President Francois Hollande has said the EU must reform and scale back its power, amid a surge in support for Eurosceptic and far-right parties.
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The 23-year-old Denmark international refused to be on the bench for the visit of Bournemouth on 9 April and is now training with the club's under-21s. "After that game, he said that he didn't want to be considered for any of the games going forwards," said Black. "I didn't have a choice apart from remove him. I don't want people who don't want to be at Aston Villa." Villa's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed with last weekend's defeat at Manchester United. On Friday, owner Randy Lerner released a statement accepting blame for the end of the club's 28-year stay in the top flight. That came at the end of a week in which directors David Bernstein and Mervyn King left the club and striker Gabriel Agbonlahor was suspended for being pictured with what is alleged to be laughing gas.
Aston Villa defender Jores Okore is refusing to play for the club, according to caretaker boss Eric Black.
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The former Manchester City man, 30, won 61 caps for England after making his senior debut in 2009. He was a squad member at two World Cups and two European Championships but played just three minutes at Euro 2016. "The decision we've reached is about common sense. I wish Sam [Allardyce], the players, staff and supporters success in the future," Milner said. Milner also holds the record for the most capped England Under-21 player, picking up 46 caps after making his first appearance in 2004. He scored his first, and only, international goal in England's 5-0 victory over Moldova at the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
England and Liverpool midfielder James Milner has retired from international football.
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Media playback is not supported on this device Of his first 30 matches in 2017, the world number one has won 21 and lost nine. Winning his last five tournaments of 2016 to pip Novak Djokovic to the year-end number one position in the final match of the season at London's O2 Arena was astonishing, dramatic and unforgettable. And yet it appears that relentless run of success, and the 87 matches he played over a season, has come at a price. Murray's straight-set defeat by world number 90 Jordan Thompson in the first round at Queen's Club was the sixth time he has lost to a player outside the top 20 this year. He has had shingles and an elbow problem, and now his left hip is proving cause for concern. Opting out of two scheduled exhibition matches at the Hurlingham Club in London may not be too much of a blow, as Murray's aptitude for grass is likely to allow him some margin for error during the opening week at Wimbledon. But will he be in pain, and will his movement suffer? Although it was reassuring to see him return to the practice courts on Friday, Murray was walking with a limp and neither moving, nor hitting his backhand, anywhere near as well as he will need to. Only time will tell. Media playback is not supported on this device Murray has looked especially vulnerable this season over three sets. As well as the defeat by Thompson at Queen's, he has also lost in straight sets to Fabio Fognini in Rome (no disgrace), to Borna Coric in Madrid, and to world number 129 Vasek Pospisil at Indian Wells. Though he was bamboozled by Mischa Zverev in the fourth round of the Australian Open, his Grand Slam record remains formidable. He is aiming this fortnight for a 10th consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, and the last time he failed to reach the second week of a Slam was when he fell to Stan Wawrinka in the third round of the 2010 US Open. So, assuming Murray's hip does not leave him underpowered, the French Open provides the best indication as to how he might fare at Wimbledon. Murray often started slowly in matches at Roland Garros, but put in a dominant third-round performance against Juan Martin del Potro as he won in straight sets. He never looked a realistic champion, but ultimately was just a tie-break away from a second consecutive final. He then ran out of steam, a legacy of insufficient matches, in a Stan Wawrinka-dominated final set of their semi-final. It would be foolish to try to come to a firm conclusion about Murray's chances at the All England Club this year. Twice a champion, and a gold-medal winner on Centre Court at the 2012 Olympics, not even Novak Djokovic has outperformed him at Wimbledon over the past five years. Yet on 2017 results alone, Murray is only the seventh best player in the field. He has too frequently struggled to impose himself on his opponent, and hindered at times by injury, has not been able to trust his serve in the same way. This year he has won 72% of points on first serve, down from 76% last year; and while last year he saved 66% of the break points he faced, that number has fallen this year to 54%. He claims his indifferent form is nothing to do with the pressure associated with his status as world number one, and he does not cut the figure of a man weighed down by an unwelcome burden. But perhaps Murray has lost his cause: he is now the hunted, rather than the hunter. That may not be a concern much longer. Murray is virtually 5,000 points behind Rafael Nadal in the season-long race and is therefore very likely to be replaced at the top of the rankings by the autumn at the latest. In fact, he could be overtaken after Wimbledon by Wawrinka or Djokovic if they win the title, but more probably by Nadal, who assuming both reach the second week would only have to go one round further. Nadal's knees, Djokovic's blues and Wawrinka's unexceptional Wimbledon record muddy the waters still further. And then there's Roger Federer: the seven-time champion, who is free of injuries, and last Sunday in Halle won his fourth title of the year having skipped the clay-court season. Media playback is not supported on this device
Of his last 30 matches in 2016, Andy Murray won 28 and lost just two.
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Calling it "the hardest decision I've ever made," an emotional Mr Key said: "I don't know what I'll do next." Mr Key, a popular leader, said it was a personal decision, and later denied media reports his wife of 32 years, Bronagh, had given him an ultimatum. He said he would not be seeking a fourth term in the 2017 election. Deputy Prime Minister Bill English is likely to take over until the National party holds a caucus to choose a new leader. Mr Key made the surprise announcement during his weekly press conference. He set a date of 12 December for the formal resignation. He said his job required great sacrifices "from those who are dearest to me" and that his children had coped with "an extraordinary level of intrusion". "All I can say is that I gave it everything I had. I have left nothing in the tank." Referring to his wife, he told radio program Newstalk: "We talked about it and she likes the concept of me being home more but there was no ultimatum." Mr Key, who was formerly at Merrill Lynch as a foreign exchange dealer, ended nine years of Labour Party rule in 2008 when he ousted Helen Clark as prime minister. He won a third term for the National Party at elections in September 2014. Opposition Labour leader Andrew Little said Mr Key "has served New Zealand generously and with dedication. I wish him and his family the best for the future". Green Party co-leader Meteria Turei also wished him well. "I fought every day against John's politics but always supported his right to be a dad and a husband first," she tweeted. Known by the local media as "Teflon John" because very little controversy has stuck to him during his time in office, Mr Key is credited with steering New Zealand through the 2008 global economic crisis and out of recession. He has sought to build closer ties with the US, taking a leading role in supporting President Barack Obama's Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) - a 12 country trade deal covering 40% of the world economy. However Donald Trump's recent victory in the US has derailed that process, with his announcement the US would be quitting the TPP on his first day in office in January. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a close political ally, said that on learning of Mr Key's resignation, he sent him a text message reading "say it ain't so, bro". Mr Turnbull said New Zealand had boxed above its weight under Mr Key's leadership, and his departure will be "a great loss to New Zealand and a great loss to the world". Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott played on their two countries' cricketing rivalry to say Mr Key had enjoyed a "fine innings". "Not many pollies retire unbeaten on a double ton," he tweeted. Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said: "John Key has been a good friend to Australia. I wish him and his family all the best."
John Key has announced that he will resign as prime minister of New Zealand, after eight years in the job, citing family reasons.
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The ex-Middlesbrough assistant, who held the same post at Hartlepool under Colin Cooper from 2013 to 2014, succeeded Ronnie Moore on Wednesday. Moore parted company with Pools after Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat by Stevenage. "The quality I've seen in training, the intensity and the tempo took me by surprise a bit," Hignett told BBC Tees. "I'm walking into a positive situation. Results and performances haven't been the same, the group of players I've seen today are more than capable of beating teams in this league." Former Tranmere and Rotherham boss Moore helped retain Hartlepool's Football League status last term after his appointment in December 2014. However despite a run of four straight wins at the start of the campaign, form tailed off and Hignett will go into Saturday's home game against Yeovil looking for a first win in five with his side four points above the relegation zone. "First and foremost we need to get away from where we are," he added. "I need to get my message across to the team quickly because there will be a change in style." Liverpudlian Hignett is a self-confessed relaxed and jovial character, but says that will have no impact on his performance with reference to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. "Tell Jurgen Klopp that [you have to be serious], there's a time to be serious and a time where you don't have to be," he added. "I do like a laugh and a joke, but when I'm serious I'm serious, there's a time and a place. "Training we have to be serious, match-day ultra serious, but after the game - win lose or draw - I'll be me. "If I want to have a laugh and joke afterwards, as long as the result isn't too bad then I will." Since Hignett's last stint on the Pools' touchline, the club has been taken over by JPNG - led by chairman Gary Coxall - from Ken Hodcroft and IOR Limited. "I was really impressed by what he [Coxall] had to say," Hignett added. "What he wants to do with the club in the future, how he wants to grow the club, his vision, he wanted a clear identity for it - everything I'd want to bring to a football club. "For me it was the perfect fit."
New Hartlepool manager Craig Hignett says the situation at Victoria Park is "positive", despite taking over a side third from bottom in League Two.
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The services will take place at 11:00 GMT on 7 January. The Church in Wales announced the move ahead of the consecration of the first woman bishop, Canon Joanna Penberthy, as Bishop of St Davids on 21 January. In January 1997, 62 women were ordained, with their names set to feature on a new logo. The services will take place at cathedrals in Llandaff in Cardiff, Newport, Bangor in Gwynedd, St Asaph in Denbighshire, Brecon in Powys and St Davids in Pembrokeshire. Canon Enid Morgan was among the first ordained, along with Canon Penberthy, and she will give an address at Bangor Cathedral. She described "frustration" after spending 12 years as a deacon, with a sense of "much energy wasted". But then "things seemed to happen very quickly" after a bill was passed in September 1996 allowing women priests, she said. Canon Morgan added: "A whole generation has grown up seeing women priests and their ministry as normal and we can start taking some things for granted."
The 20th anniversary of the ordination of Wales' first women priests will be celebrated with simultaneous services at every cathedral in the country.
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The Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM) bought the artwork for $650,000 (£420,000) from New York dealer Art of the Past in 2007. The company's manager later admitted selling stolen Indian antiquities, including the bronze being returned. The allegations first came to light during a 2012 court case against the firm for trafficking antiquities. The sculpture of Hindu goddess Uma Parameshvari is thought to have been stolen from a Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu in southern India. The decision to return the item came after discussions between Singapore's National Heritage Board and the Indian government body looking after its antiquities, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ASI submitted an official request for the return of the sculpture in May, according to the museum. "While there is no conclusive proof that the sculpture was stolen from a Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, India, ACM took note of the confession of Aaron Freedman, who was the manager of Art of the Past, of dealing in looted Indian antiquities and of criminal possession of 150 stolen objects," the museum said in a statement. It was one of 30 objects ACM bought from the art dealer, although none of the others are thought to be listed as stolen. The ASI was reportedly allowed to view them, anyway. The museum said it will take legal action to get compensation for the apparent fraud.
A Singapore museum will return to India an 11th Century sculpture believed to have been stolen from that country.
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Early goals from Kazenga LuaLua and Tomer Hemed gave Albion a 2-0 lead at half-time but the home side fought back after the break. Freddie Sears tapped in to pull one back and substitute David McGoldrick equalised from the spot after Bruno fouled Ryan Fraser. But Hemed nodded in two minutes later to hand the Seagulls victory. Brighton wore black armbands to pay tribute to Matt Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, two victims of the Shoreham air crash, while Albion goalkeeper David Stockdale wore a special shirt in the warm-up and personalised gloves bearing the duo's names. Ipswich and Brighton had both made unbeaten starts to the league campaign, each taking 10 points from four games, but the visitors stunned Portman Road with two quick first-half goals. First LuaLua latched on to a ball forward from Gaetan Bong and drove a low left-footed shot across Dean Gerken, and then Hemed got a faint touch on Dale Stephens' free-kick. Media playback is not supported on this device Sears twice went close for Ipswich just before the break, while Albion defender Uwe Hunemeier was lucky not to receive a second yellow card for a high foot. Town boss Mick McCarthy made a double substitution at half-time and, after Stephens drove a shot against the upright for Brighton, he was rewarded when Sears pounced to score after Brett Pitman had hit the post. The home side were level on 65 minutes when McGoldrick held his nerve from the spot but moments later Hemed got his second from LuaLua's deflected cross to restore Brighton's lead. Bobby Zamora came on as a late substitute for his first appearance since re-joining Brighton this summer, and the former England striker helped the Seagulls to close out the game. The Sussex club are now three points clear at the top of the Championship table heading into the international break. Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy: "I think Brighton are a very good side, they started well and were the better team. "In the first half they were excellent - you have to give them credit. But I thought our response in the second half was great. "Then their third goal came off a deflected cross which wrong-footed my defenders, though we also made a few little errors leading up to it. "Now we know what everyone else (in the league) feels like." Brighton boss Chris Hughton: "It was a super game and a very good spectacle for the Championship. "We were the better team at 2-0, but the only disappointment for me was that we allowed them to come back to 2-2, which I didn't think was a fair reflection of the game. "But we showed great character to go on and win the game and overall I thought we had the right balance between defending well and breaking quickly."
Brighton beat Ipswich Town in a five-goal thriller to leapfrog the Tractor Boys and go top of the Championship.
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The FBI has ordered Apple to disable the security software on a dead murderer's iPhone but the tech giant has refused. Mark Zuckerberg said he did not believe the authorities should have backdoors to bypass encryption protection. However, a lawyer representing some of the gunman's victims has backed the federal bureau. Stephen Larson, a former judge, said he intended to file legal paperwork next month telling Apple to co-operate. "They were targeted by terrorists, and they need to know why, how this could happen," he added. He declined to say how many of the victims he was representing, but did add that he would not be charging them a fee. Mr Zuckerberg made his comments at the Mobile World Congress tech show in Barcelona. "I don't think that requiring back doors to encryption is either going to be an effective thing to increase security or is really the right thing to do," he said. "We are pretty sympathetic to Tim [Cook] and Apple." He added that Facebook was committed to doing all it could to prevent terrorism but his company was in favour of encryption. The social network had previously issued a statement saying that the court order could create a "chilling precedent". Leaders at Google and Twitter also voiced support for Apple last week. Fourteen people were killed and 22 injured when gunman Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik opened fire in California last December. Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has described the FBI's order as "dangerous" and "unprecedented". He has said the firm would have to build a new operating system in order to comply. "We strongly believe the only way to guarantee that such a powerful tool isn't abused and doesn't fall into the wrong hands is to never create it," the firm stated in a Q&A on the Apple website. In a statement published on Sunday, the FBI Director James Comey said the demand was "about the victims and justice". "We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly," the FBI director wrote. "That's it. We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land. "Maybe the phone holds the clue to finding more terrorists. Maybe it doesn't. But we can't look the survivors in the eye, or ourselves in the mirror, if we don't follow this lead." Last week anti-virus creator John McAfee offered to unlock the iPhone for the FBI. "It will take us three weeks," he told Business Insider, adding that he would eat his shoe on television if his team failed.
Facebook's chief executive has said he is sympathetic to Apple's position in its clash with the FBI.
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The culture committee questioned journalists and bosses at the now-closed News of the World, as well as police and lawyers for hacking victims. Its report has concluded that Mr Murdoch exhibited "wilful blindness" to what was going on in News Corporation. But the committee was split six to four with Tory members refusing to endorse the report and branding it "partisan". Conservative Louise Mensch called it "a real great shame" that the report's credibility had potentially been "damaged" as a result, with the report carried by Labour and Lib Dem members backing it. News Corp said in a statement it was "carefully reviewing" the report and would "respond shortly", adding: "The company fully acknowledges significant wrongdoing at News of the World and apologises to everyone whose privacy was invaded." The committee itself does not have the power to impose sanctions, but it raised the possibility of a vote in the House of Commons about whether witnesses had been in contempt of Parliament - and if so, whether those witnesses should be forced to apologise in Parliament. By Robert PestonBusiness editor The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said the report was much more damning than had been anticipated and directly questioned the integrity and honesty of Rupert Murdoch. BBC business editor Robert Peston said it would push Ofcom, the media regulator, closer to the conclusion that BSkyB - 39% owned by News Corp - is not fit and proper to hold a broadcasting licence. Reacting to the report, an Ofcom spokesman said it was "continuing to assess the evidence - including the new and emerging evidence" that may assist it in ruling on that issue. The committee of MPs began its inquiry in July 2011 in the wake of fresh revelations about the extent of hacking at the tabloid newspaper, with reported victims including the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and the families of victims of the 7/7 London bombings. It heard evidence from Mr Murdoch and his son James, and has now concluded that the notion that a hands-on proprietor like Rupert Murdoch had "no inkling" that wrongdoing was widespread at the News of the World was "simply not credible". It noted that the newspaper mogul had "excellent powers of recall and grasp of detail when it suited him", and added: "On the basis of the facts and evidence before the committee, we conclude that, if at all relevant times Rupert Murdoch did not take steps to become fully informed about phone hacking, he turned a blind eye and exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications." Tory MPs objected specifically to the line branding Mr Murdoch "not fit", with one, Philip Davies, telling a press conference the committee had seen "absolutely no evidence" to endorse such a "completely ludicrous" conclusion. But Labour MP Tom Watson said "more than any individual alive", Mr Murdoch was to blame for phone hacking, and it was right to "raise the bar" of the report and make that clear. The committee also criticised three former News International executives - one-time executive chairman Les Hinton, former News of the World editor Colin Myler and former legal manager Tom Crone - accusing them of giving misleading evidence. Mr Myler, who is now editor of the New York Daily News, said he had "always sought to be accurate and consistent" when speaking to the committee and stood by his evidence. Mr Hinton said the allegations against him were "unfounded, unfair and erroneous". Mr Crone said he accepted there were "valid criticisms of my conduct in this matter", but he was "the subject of serious allegations which lack foundation". News Corp as a whole was guilty of "huge failings of corporate governance" and, throughout, its instinct had been "to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators", the committee said. And it concluded: "Corporately, the News of the World and News International misled the committee about the true nature and extent of the internal investigations they professed to have carried out in relation to phone hacking; by making statements they would have known were not fully truthful; and by failing to disclose documents which would have helped expose the truth." James Murdoch told the committee last summer that he did not see an email which suggested that hacking was more widespread at the paper than previously acknowledged - a claim disputed by Mr Myler and Mr Crone in their evidence. On that matter, the report concluded that James Murdoch was "consistent" in relation to the so-called "For Neville" email, but he had demonstrated "wilful ignorance" about what had been going on, which "clearly raises questions of competence" on his part. James Murdoch has insisted he did not know about any wrongdoing at the News of the World, but took "his share" of responsibility for not uncovering it earlier. He gave evidence alongside his father Rupert, who at one point during the hearing was attacked by a man who rushed forward from the public gallery and threw a paper plate of foam at him. The committee also said former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks must "accept responsibility" for presiding over a culture at the News of the World that led to journalists impersonating members of Milly Dowler's family and hacking the teenager's phone. And it criticised Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer and former Acting Deputy Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police John Yates for failing to ensure hacking claims were properly investigated. After initially claiming malpractice was limited to one "rogue" reporter at the News of the World, News International has now settled dozens of civil cases admitting liability for hacking between 2001 and 2006. More than 6,000 possible victims have been identified and the police have so far made a number of arrests in connection with an investigation reopened in January 2011 - although no charges have yet been brought. Asked whether David Cameron regarded Rupert Murdoch as a fit person to run a media company, his official spokesman said: "That is a matter for the regulatory authorities, not for the government." Labour leader Ed Miliband and Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg both said Ofcom must now be allowed to come to its own conclusion. The hacking revelations led to the closure of the News of the World and the government's decision to set up a judicial inquiry into press standards headed by Lord Leveson. Appearing before the Leveson Inquiry last week, Rupert Murdoch said there had been a "cover-up" which "shielded" senior figures at the paper and its parent company - including himself and his son James - from knowledge of wrongdoing taking place.
Rupert Murdoch "is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company", MPs have said.
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Deaths rates from heart disease between 2004/05 and 2013/14 dropped by 43%, according to official figures. The number of people dying after a stroke also decreased by 41%. The Scottish government said the figures showed its strategy for tackling heart disease was working. Figures from ISD Scotland found the gap in death rates between the most and least deprived communities had narrowed by 33%. For patients admitted to hospital with their first heart attack, the chances of surviving at least 30 days have risen from 85% to 92% over the same period. The figures also show a 30% drop in the number of new cases of heart disease. In 2013 there were 7,239 deaths in Scotland where coronary heart disease was the underlying cause. Treating and preventing heart disease is a national clinical priority for Scotland. Public Health Minister Maureen Watt welcomed the figures. "It's tremendous news that fewer people are developing heart disease or suffering strokes, and that fewer people are dying," she said. "I'm also encouraged to see that health inequalities are reducing in this area, with the gap in mortality rates between the most deprived and least deprived communities falling over time."
Mortality rates for two of Scotland's biggest killers, stroke and heart disease, have fallen in the past decade.
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McKee netted the opener and Eugene Magee slotted home before O'Donoghue's drag-flick made it 3-0 at half-time. O'Donoghue added the fourth and, after Patryk Bulka pulled one back, McKee netted to seal victory. Ireland face Wales in Saturday's semi-final with the winners guaranteed a spot in the final and World League 3. France and Scotland will contest the other semi-final at the east Belfast venue. "In a must-win game, there will always be tension. These are difficult games - it's a quarter-final and must-win," said Ireland coach Craig Fulton. Media playback is not supported on this device "Whether you play beautifully or it's pretty, it doesn't matter. The result is everything. "We did well in the first quarter but couldn't put a final pass on it. They are a difficult team to play against and Mateusz Poltaszewski is a good player and controlled things for a while. "But once we got one, two and three that put them under a lot of pressure. We pressed well. The stepping forward from us was really good. All respect to Poland, we maybe left three or four more goals out there. "Where we are getting the ball are really good areas. It is building." Ireland: D Harte, J Bell, M Bell, R Gormley, M Nelson, E Magee, N Glassey, S O'Donoghue, J McKee, P Gleghorne, C Harte. Subs: B Walker, C Cargo, S Murray, J Duncan, L Cole, J Wright, J Carr. Poland: R Banaszak, M Raciniewski, M Gumny, D Kotulski, S Sellner, M Hulboj, J Janicki, R Wisniewski, A Krokosz, P Bratkowski, M Poltaszewski. Subs: P Bulka, B Zywiczka, R Gruszczynski, P Pawlak, J Kurowski, K Sudol, M Popiolkowskia. Umpires: V Ilgrande, I Diamond
Johnny McKee and Shane O'Donoghue both scored twice as Ireland hammered Poland 5-1 in the World League 2 quarter-final at Stormont on Thursday.
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HP split into two separate companies in November - one focused on the printer and PC businesses and the other on corporate services. Shares of Hewlett Packard Inc fell 4% while services focussed Hewlett Packard Enterprises rose 2.3%. The Dow Jones gained 19 points to close at 17,812, after a bumpy start. The S&P 500 rose 2 points to 2,079.22, while the Nasdaq gained 20 points to 5,102. Hewlett-Packard's revenue fell 9.5% to $25.71bn in the fourth-quarter. On a broader theme, concerns about global political tensions weighed on early trading after it was reported that Turkey had shot down a Russian warplane. Stocks regained their footing, though on the back of news that the US economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter of the year. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product rose at an annual pace of 2.1% in the quarter, up from the 1.5% rate it reported last month. Oil prices rose sharply on concerns that there could be more uncertainty in the Middle East. Brent crude jumped by 2.5% or $1.14, to $45.97 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $0.94 to $42.96 a barrel. As a result, shares in oil firms rose, with Exxon Mobil up 2% and Chevron 1.5% higher.
(Close): Shares of the two newly split Hewlett Packard companies diverged after its last report as a consolidated company.
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James Collins had the best chance of the first half, dinking over for the visitors when through one-on-one. The Pilgrims went ahead when David Fox's cross was not suitably cleared and fell to Threlkeld to finish. Crawley's Jordan Roberts forced Luke McCormick into a diving save, but Tanner netted on the counter late on. Doncaster's draw at Mansfield means Argyle are now two points clear at the summit and six games unbeaten, while Dermot Drummy's side drop to 15th. The Red Devils were led by assistant boss Matt Gray at Home Park, as Drummy did not travel to Devon due to illness. Match ends, Plymouth Argyle 2, Crawley Town 0. Second Half ends, Plymouth Argyle 2, Crawley Town 0. Goal! Plymouth Argyle 2, Crawley Town 0. Craig Tanner (Plymouth Argyle) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Jake Jervis. Yann Songo'o (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Enzio Boldewijn (Crawley Town). Foul by Craig Tanner (Plymouth Argyle). Lewis Young (Crawley Town) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt saved. Jordan Roberts (Crawley Town) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Foul by Craig Tanner (Plymouth Argyle). Lewis Young (Crawley Town) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Craig Tanner (Plymouth Argyle). Josh Yorwerth (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Substitution, Crawley Town. Sanchez Watt replaces Josh Payne. Attempt saved. James Collins (Crawley Town) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Jimmy Smith (Crawley Town) is shown the yellow card. Nauris Bulvitis (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by James Collins (Crawley Town). Foul by Jake Jervis (Plymouth Argyle). Joe McNerney (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Sonny Bradley (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by James Collins (Crawley Town). Substitution, Crawley Town. Bobson Bawling replaces Mark Connolly. Connor Smith (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Connor Smith (Plymouth Argyle). Enzio Boldewijn (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. Connor Smith replaces Jordan Slew. Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Mark Connolly (Crawley Town). Ben Purrington (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Ben Purrington (Plymouth Argyle). Enzio Boldewijn (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. James Collins (Crawley Town) is shown the yellow card. Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. Nauris Bulvitis replaces Paul Garita. Oscar Threlkeld (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration. Goal! Plymouth Argyle 1, Crawley Town 0. Oscar Threlkeld (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Lewis Young (Crawley Town) is shown the yellow card. Corner, Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Lewis Young. Substitution, Crawley Town. Kaby replaces Billy Clifford. Foul by Paul Garita (Plymouth Argyle). Jordan Roberts (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Second-half goals from Oscar Threlkeld and substitute Craig Tanner were enough for Plymouth to beat Crawley and move back to the top of League Two.
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The finds were made by a team from Durham University, which is surveying the site on Midland Road before it is redeveloped for houses. The remains are believed to date to the medieval period, but could be Roman. Developers Westleigh plan to build 70 homes on Midland Road once the archaeologists complete their dig. Dr Rebecca Casa-Hatton, lead archaeologist at Peterborough City Council, said: "At the moment we presume they may be medieval but we can't discount they may be late-Roman. "It's very, very crowded so the cemetery would have been extensive." She added archaeologists were expecting to find human remains in this area because of similar late Roman or medieval burials uncovered during the building of the railway line during the 19th Century. "Hopefully, this excavation will shed light on the period of these burials and the burials found in the general area," she said. Gary Turner, head of investment and partnership at Westleigh, said: "The discovery was made about six weeks ago and since then we have obtained a licence from the Ministry of Justice to exhume the remains. "Once removed, the remains will be analysed to unlock further details on their history."
About 70 human skeletons have been uncovered by archaeologists during a dig at a former factory in Peterborough.
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They say the arrests happened when protesters refused to leave land owned by the pipeline company. A spokesman said the latest arrests brought the number detained since August to almost 700. They came after the US Army was ordered to allow the construction of the final section of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Native Americans and their supporters have protested against the project for months, and have vowed to fight on. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe say the final section - under Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River - would contaminate drinking water on their land and damage sacred burial sites. Morton County Sheriff's Office spokesman Rob Keller said the latest arrests were made after demonstrators moved from their existing camp on flood-prone ground to land owned by the pipeline company, Energy Transfer Partners. He said no injuries had been reported during the operation. Protest leaders could not be reached for comment. The $3.7bn (£2.8bn) pipeline is designed to transport about 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day across four states, from North Dakota to a terminal in Illinois, where it can be shipped to refineries. The US Army Corps of Engineers, which has approval authority, decided last year to explore other routes for the pipeline amid huge protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. But earlier this week, acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer ordered the corps to allow the work to go ahead. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order signalling his support for the pipeline.
Police in the US state of North Dakota say they have arrested 76 people protesting against a controversial oil pipeline.
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The 27-year-old joined the French Top 14 club in 2015 and was a member of the side which beat Quins in the European Challenge Cup final in May. South Africa-born Catrakilis has previously played for Super Rugby franchises Southern Kings and Stormers in his homeland. He also won the Currie Cup twice with Western Province. "The fly-half position is hugely influential in the game and Demetri has all the physical and mental attributes required to dominate at the highest level," Harlequins director of rugby John Kingston said. "Our ability to secure this signing already is a reflection of our commitment to focus hugely on Harlequins' recruitment needs for the future." Quins have not disclosed the length of Catrakilis' contract at The Stoop.
Harlequins have agreed a deal to sign Montpellier fly-half Demetri Catrakilis ahead of the 2017-18 season.
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Anton Levin, from Dagenham, was stabbed at a house in Southend in November 2014. Abdulfatah Suleiman, 28, was arrested in Norway and extradited back to the UK where he was convicted by a jury last month. He was jailed for 16 years with a five-year extended licence. Live updates on this story and others across Essex Chelmsford Crown Court heard the 24-year-old's death involved rival drug gangs. Three others were convicted last June for their role in his killing. Danielle Russell, 27, from Southend, and two teenage boys were found guilty of manslaughter, conspiracy to commit GBH and conspiracy to commit robbery. Russell was jailed for 11 years, and the teenagers, who cannot be named, were given detention orders for ten years and four months with a five-year extended licence. Suleiman, who was also found guilty of robbery and unlawful wounding, was arrested in Norway at the conclusion of their trial. Following the sentencing, Anton's mother said she was "very disappointed" that Suleiman had not been convicted of murder. "He had the knife and he killed my son Anton Levin. He has been jailed for 16 years but I would have preferred that he had been jailed for life. "I hope he thinks about the harm and distress he has caused me and my family. But this will never bring my son back," she said.
A man who fled the country after stabbing a university graduate to death in a row between rival drugs gangs, has been jailed for his manslaughter.
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The UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, told the BBC Iraq had made this its priority when it won back the east of the city. But the western side, with its narrow streets, may prove a bigger challenge. Leaflets warning residents of an imminent offensive have been dropped. Mosul is the last major base of IS in Iraq, and the operation to drive the militant group from the city started in October. Iraqi government soldiers, Ms Grande said, "need to ensure that that humanitarian concept of operations is adhered to, and that all of the parties to the conflict do absolutely everything they can to ensure that civilians survive the battle, and that they live". "Absolutely nothing is more important going into the campaign to retake western Mosul," she said. Iraqi forces recaptured the eastern part of the city earlier this year and have now all but surrounded the western part. The US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes on IS targets. Winning the city back has never been just about the military objective of driving IS out of its stronghold, the BBC's Sebastian Usher says. Minimising civilian casualties and avoiding reprisals will be key to regaining the trust of the city's population in the Iraqi state itself, he adds.
The safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Mosul is a key priority, the UN has warned, as Iraqi troops prepare to attack Islamic State (IS) militants in the west of the city.
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The newspaper Okaz said 55 people were awaiting execution for "terrorist crimes", while a now-deleted report by al-Riyadh said 52 would die soon. They are thought to include Shia who took part in anti-government protests. Amnesty said that given the spike in executions this year, it had no option but to take the reports very seriously. The group believes at least 151 people have been put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year - the highest recorded figure since 1995. In 2014, the total number of executions carried out was reported to be 90. The Saudi newspaper reports said those facing execution in the coming days included "al-Qaeda terrorists" and people from the Awamiya area. The alleged al-Qaeda militants were accused of attempting to overthrow the government and carry out attacks using small arms, explosives and surface-to-air missiles, Okaz reported. The Awamiya residents were meanwhile convicted of sedition, attacks on security personnel and interference in neighbouring Bahrain, it said. Awamiya is a town in the Qatif region of oil-rich Eastern Province. Since 2011, it has been the centre of protests by Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, which has long complained of marginalisation at the hands of the Sunni monarchy. Among those at imminent risk of execution were six Shia activists from Awamiya "who were clearly convicted in unfair trials", according to Amnesty. "It is clear that the Saudi Arabian authorities are using the guise of counter-terrorism to settle political scores," said James Lynch, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director. "Three of those six activists were sentenced for 'crimes' committed while they were children and have said that they were tortured to confess." The three juvenile offenders are Ali al-Nimr - whose case sparked a global outcry earlier this year - Abdullah al-Zaher and Hussein al-Marhoon. On Tuesday, the mothers of five of the six activists wrote to King Salman, imploring him to grant clemency, after learning that their sons had been subjected to a "random" medical examination. They believed it was a sign of impending execution. Four of the five have been kept in solitary confinement, in a wing housing death row inmates, since being moved to al-Hair prison in Riyadh in early October. "These executions must not go ahead and Saudi Arabia must lift the veil of secrecy around its death penalty cases, as part of a fundamental overhaul of its criminal justice system," Mr Lynch warned. Last month, the UK foreign secretary said he did not expect Ali al-Nimr - the nephew of a prominent Shia cleric also sentenced to death - to be executed. Saudi Arabia argues that death sentences are carried out in line with Sharia and with the strictest fair trial standards and safeguards in place.
Amnesty International has expressed alarm at reports that the authorities in Saudi Arabia are planning to execute dozens of people in a single day.
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The think tank's UK growth forecast for 2016 has been cut from 2.3% to 1.9%, and from 2.6% to just 0.4% for 2017. Meanwhile its forecast for GDP growth for 2018 was slashed from 2.4% to 1.4%. Its report said the Brexit vote would have "severe confidence effects on spending and business investment", which would lead to anaemic GDP growth over the next three years. However, the drop in the value of the pound could bolster exports by 3.4% next year, the Item Club said, with imports falling by 0.3%. Overall, the move would see net exports adding 1.1% to GDP in 2017, it added. Brexit 'will be horrible for UK economy' - fund manager Peter Spencer, chief economic advisor to the EY Item Club, said the UK economy was set to suffer a severe loss of momentum in the second half of this year. "Heightened uncertainty is likely to hold back business investment, while consumer spending will be restrained by a weaker jobs market and higher inflation," he said. "Longer-term, the UK may have to adjust to a permanent reduction in the size of the economy, compared to the trend that seemed possible prior to the vote. But amongst the gloom, the weaker pound provides one silver lining to exporters, particularly those selling to the US and emerging markets." A new survey from Deloitte found 82% of chief financial officers of both FTSE 350 and large privately owned companies expected to cut capital spending in the next year. That was the biggest proportion on record and more than double the 34% in the first quarter, Deloitte said. Its survey was conducted between 28 June 28 and 11 July, after the EU referendum and just before Theresa May became the new prime minister. Almost all the CFOs surveyed said the level of uncertainty facing their businesses was higher than normal. Ian Stewart, Deloitte's chief economist, said: "Perceptions of uncertainty have soared to levels last associated with the euro crisis five years ago." Leading City fund manager Richard Buxton, chief executive of Old Mutual Global Investors, has said the Brexit vote would have a "horrible" impact on the UK economy, which could "judder to a halt". The Item Club's Mr Spencer said that there were some positives ahead, including the UK retaining full access to the EU's single market in the short-term. As well as the fall in the exchange rate offering export opportunities, he said the predicted increases in inflation and unemployment would allow the economy to rebalance away from consumption. The Item Club also predicted that unemployment would rise from 5% to 7.1% by late 2019.
The UK economy may face "severe loss of momentum" after the vote to leave the EU, according to the EY Item Club.
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Hernandez, 24, has signed a three-year deal, which the Tigers have the option of extending for a further 12 months. Hull's previous record transfer outlay was the £8m they paid Tottenham for midfielder Jake Livermore in June. They also completed the signings of midfielders Mohamed Diame from West Ham and Gaston Ramirez from Southampton. Hernandez has scored seven goals in 14 matches for Uruguay and made two appearances at the 2014 Fifa World Cup. Tigers boss Steve Bruce said: "Abel is a fantastic signing and highlights just how far the club has come in such a short space of time. "He is an exciting talent and, like myself, I'm sure the supporters can't wait to see him in action." Hernandez, who scored 14 goals in 28 appearances to help Palermo win promotion to Italy's Serie A last season, arrives following the £12m sale of Shane Long to Southampton. His signing takes Hull's summer spending beyond £30m. Ben Arfa, a 27-year-old France international winger, has spent the past three seasons on Tyneside, having joined the Magpies from Marseille in January 2011 following a successful loan spell. "Hatem is a superb addition to the squad, and brings a lot of attacking flair," said manager Steve Bruce. Ben Arfa made 86 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 14 goals.
Hull City have signed Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez from Palermo for a club-record £10m fee, while Hatem Ben Arfa has joined on loan from Newcastle.
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According to parent company Liberty Global, Virgin Media originally said it had connected 465,000 new premises in the UK and Ireland in 2016. But following a review, that number has been revised down to 314,000. Liberty said Virgin had exaggerated how fast it could complete the connections. In a regulatory filing, the US company explained that - under Virgin's own reporting standards - the figures included premises where installation work was "essentially complete" but not actually finished. That included 142,000 sites that had been expected to be connected during the first three months of 2017. However, Liberty said that in late February 2017, it had discovered that "the construction work necessary to connect a substantial number of [these premises] had not progressed as originally understood". This prompted it to carry out a review, in which it found "the completion status" of some premises had been "misrepresented". Liberty also said Virgin Media had "inadvertently" classified a further 9,000 unfinished premises as connected, when they had not been. Dan Howdle, a consumer telecoms analyst at Cable.co.uk, told the BBC: "Clearly the way in which the numbers had been reported failed to preclude the possibility of jumping the gun, though there is no evidence an intent to mislead lay behind it." He added: "Virgin Media appears to be dealing with the issue decisively, though mistakes resulting in stories of this nature are unlikely to leave a brand completely unscathed." Four Virgin Media employees have been suspended in connection with Liberty's investigation and could face disciplinary action "including dismissal". The company said the setback would affect the total number of premises Virgin Media connected during the first half of 2017. However, it said it had taken steps to speed up Project Lightning, including appointing a new managing director, Robert Evans, to lead the scheme. It also said Virgin would no longer include uncompleted connections in its figures. Launched in 2015, Virgin's Project Lightning is designed to connect about four million more UK homes and businesses to broadband speeds of 300Mbs. By the end of December it had reached 567,000 premises in total - down from the 718,000 previously reported.
Virgin Media has suspended four members of staff and begun an investigation after it admitted overstating the expansion of its superfast broadband network, dubbed Project Lightning.
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Sergei Lavrov said the US had broken its promise to separate the powerful Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front) and other extremist groups from more moderate rebels. And he defended the bombardment of Aleppo by Russian and Syrian forces. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham is linked to al-Qaeda. Mr Lavrov was speaking to Stephen Sackur on BBC World News TV on the first anniversary of the beginning of the Russian air campaign in Syria. "They [the US] pledged solemnly to take as a priority an obligation to separate the opposition from Nusra," he said. "They still, in spite of many repeated promises and commitments... are not able or not willing to do this and we have more and more reasons to believe that from the very beginning the plan was to spare Nusra and to keep it just in case for Plan B or stage two when it would be time to change the regime." Watch the BBC interview in full. Mr Lavrov says that it is US policy towards Syria that is floundering, insisting that American officials have lost control of both events and of themselves. There is an element of truth here - at least in policy terms. The US has no real alternative to Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to deal with the Russians. There is no credible "plan B". Mr Lavrov's central message - that Washington has refused to press its allies to separate themselves from the Islamists of al-Nusra ignores the fact that it is Russia's air campaign that is pushing rebel groups into al-Nusra's arms. Mr Lavrov's contention that the US is preserving al-Nusra, hoping eventually to use it to change the regime, will prompt gasps of condemnation in Washington. But Mr Lavrov implicitly highlights a perennial difficulty for Washington - its search for a moderate opposition of sufficient critical mass to influence the battlefield. Who are Jabhat Fateh al-Sham? How Moscow’s Syria campaign has paid off Aleppo remains thorn in government's side Why truce was doomed to fail A recent US-Russian deal was meant to lead to joint Russian-US air strikes on the Islamic State group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. But many of the more moderate rebel groups that the US backs have formed a strategic alliance with the more powerful Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and now fight alongside it. Mr Lavrov said: "We believe that the Russian-American deal must be put into effect. For this the only thing which is necessary is to separate the opposition from Nusra. If it is supported by the United States, not on paper but in real life, and then we will insist on an immediate cessation of hostilities." The United Nations says 400 civilians, including many children, have been killed in the besieged city of Aleppo during the past week as a result of bombardment by Russian and Syrian government forces. Mr Lavrov insisted Russia was helping President Assad's forces to "fight terrorists". And he accused the West of staying quiet about civilian suffering in Aleppo when it was expecting the city to fall to the rebels after the Nusra group moved in and cut supply lines to the civilian population. "We had many pauses, many humanitarian pauses during this year... 48 hours, 72 hours at the request of the United Nations. "Every time these pauses have been used by Nusra to get from abroad more fighters, more ammunition and more weapons. There must be some first step and we have to get our priorities right. "Humanitarian things are very important and we are doing everything now together with the Syrian government to help the United Nations to get weekly pauses in Aleppo to deliver humanitarian goods. It's the Nusra-controlled people in eastern Aleppo who refuse to do this." Pressed on the civilian casualties in Aleppo allegedly caused by Russian bunker-busting bombs, phosphorus munitions and cluster bombs, he replied: "If this happens, then we are very sorry." But he insisted there had been no "meaningful proof" of this and there was a need to investigate every case. "We are not using any munition which is prohibited by the United Nations," he added. Friday saw Syrian government forces and rebels fighting in the centre of Aleppo and north of the city, a week into the Russian-backed offensive by the Syrian army to take the city and surrounding area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group and a Syrian military official said government forces had captured territory north of Aleppo and buildings in the city centre, but rebel sources denied this.
The US is trying to spare a jihadist group in its attempts to unseat Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's foreign minister has told the BBC.
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Mohammed Haji Sadiq denies committing 15 child sex offences over a 10-year period. Mr Sadiq, from the Cyncoed area of the city, taught Koran Studies at the Madina mosque between 1976 and 2006. Cardiff Crown Court heard he "took advantage of his position". He is accused of eight offences of sexual assault of a child under 13 by touching and seven offences of indecent assault. The allegations involve four girls and are said to have taken place between 1996 and 2006 at the mosque, then situated on Woodville Road in the city. The court heard the girls were aged between five and 11 at the time of the alleged offences. The jury heard Mr Sadiq would touch the girls in intimate places. Prosecuting barrister Susan Thomas said one of the alleged victims was told to lay face down on the defendant's lap, while he touched her bottom. When interviewed by police the defendant said the allegations were made for political reasons within the mosque and that other allegations were for "financial motivation". Mr Sadiq has had no involvement with the mosque since 2006. The trial is due to last up to 10 days.
An 81-year-old man who taught at a Cardiff mosque created a culture where physical punishment "was the norm", a court has heard.
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"Welcome to Canada - honeymoon capital of the Commonwealth," David Johnston said before crowds at Government House. Prince William, who began his address in French, Canada's official language alongside English, said he and his wife had had a "longing" to visit together. The duke and duchess earlier visited Canada's National War Memorial. The couple will be staying at Government House - also known as Rideau Hall - while in Ottawa. Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke after the governor general, saying: "Your journey across our fair Dominion marks the beginning of your journey into the hearts of Canadians. We wish you all the best on both counts. "We are both honoured and delighted that you have chosen us for your first official tour together." Prince William responded: "Merci beaucoup, Votre Excellence et Monsieur le Premier Ministre, pour votre accueil chaleureux." This was translated live on Canadian television as: "Thank you very much Your Excellency and Prime Minister for your warm welcome." The duke continued: "Catherine and I are so delighted to be here in Canada. By Peter HuntBBC royal correspondent They are the British and, indeed, the Canadian monarchy's future. The enthusiastic, large crowds were keen to catch a glimpse of their future king and queen - this in a country where, according to a recent opinion poll, almost half of its citizens think the monarchy "is a relic of a colonial past that has no place in Canada today". The dissenters weren't in evidence today. The streets were filled by the dedicated and the curious. They saw a much talked about "fresh and modern" royal couple carry out a tried and tested programme of engagements, including a speech by Prince William in English and French. He'll be partially bilingual for the next nine days as he tours a country which has had both French and British monarchs. More from Peter Hunt "Instilled in us by our parents and grandparents, who love this country, we have been looking forward to this moment for a very long time - and before we were married, we both had a longing to come here together. "The geography of Canada is unsurpassed and is famous for being matched only by the hospitality of its people." Switching to French again, Prince William joked: "It will improve as we go along." The royal couple later attended a barbecue hosted by Mr Johnston, who acts as the Queen's official representative in Canada. Canada is a member of the Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William's grandmother, is its head of state. At the war memorial earlier, Prince William laid a wreath and his wife Kate placed a bouquet of flowers. They split up to greet some 3,000 well-wishers. Before their walkabout fans could be heard chanting: "We love you Kate", but there were also screams for the duke. Alexandra Anghel, 18, from Ottawa waited five hours to see the royal couple. She said the duchess seemed "down to earth". "It was a surreal moment to meet her, someone I never thought I would ever meet and there she was in front of me. William's lineage is amazing, he's literally walking history - I can't believe I saw walking history." The duke and duchess, who married in April, will visit seven Canadian cities on their nine-day visit, before heading to the US. On Friday, they will celebrate Canada's national day. The pair will also visit Quebec, Prince Edward Island, where they are to participate in a dragon boat race, and Calgary. In Calgary they will open the Calgary Stampede - an annual rodeo and festival dubbed the "greatest outdoor show on Earth". Canada has created a new royal flag for the visit, which features three maple leaves, from Canada's national tree, at its base. The flag flew from the cockpit of the jet carrying the royal couple when it touched down from the UK on Thursday afternoon local time. It will also fly from their cars and buildings they are visiting or staying in. Map of tour highlights The visit will be closely followed by the media, with nearly 1,400 journalists - including about 100 from Britain - accredited to cover the visit. The Duchess of Cambridge has reportedly packed up to 40 different outfits for the tour. She left London wearing a dress by French designer Roland Mouret and a blazer by Canadian label Smythe les Vestes and changed into a navy lace dress by Erdem Moralioglu during the flight to Ottawa. Mosha Lundstrom Halbert, associate fashion news editor at Canadian fashion magazine Flare, said Kate's choice of clothing was symbolic. "It's very exciting," she said. "To me, Erdem really represents the crossover between British and Canada fashion. He's really established in the UK but Canada is where he was born and raised." BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt says Canada is a safe first visit for a royal spreading her new wings, while US residents continue to be fascinated by Britain's royalty. The cost of the visit to the Canadian government, not including security, is estimated to be 1.4 million Canadian dollars (£958,580). A poll commissioned by the Toronto Star newspaper found that more than half the 18 to 34 year-olds questioned about the visit were indifferent about the trip. The duke and duchess will travel to the US state of California for two days from 8 July, attending a black-tie Bafta reception and dinner in Los Angeles on 9 July. Prince William is Bafta's president.
Canada's governor general has welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Ottawa at the start of the royal couple's first official overseas tour.
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The body of Louis Thornton, 26, who played for Douglas-based Corinthians, was discovered at 05:20 BST on Saturday in his hotel room in James Street. Club treasurer Steve Corran said Mr Thornton, who had been on Merseyside to watch his beloved Middlesbrough play Everton, was a "big character" and a "leader, both on and off the pitch". Mr Thornton's death is not being treated as suspicious. In a statement, Corinthians said everyone was welcome at the club to pay their own tributes. Mr Corran said: "We would like people to come and visit the pitch where our Louis scored great goals, scruffy goals, put in crunching tackles, but most of all has given his family, team-mates, managers and fans so many memorable moments." Mr Thornton worked for an accountancy business in Douglas. Mr Corran, who was also his boss at work, said: "He worked hard and gave 100% in everything he did on and off the pitch."
The captain of a Manx football club has been found dead at a Liverpool hotel.
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Alexander sustained a broken cheekbone in the last week's victory over former club Rangers. And Gallacher twisted his ankle in training, making him a doubt for Sunday's Edinburgh derby with Hibernian at Tynecastle. Hollis, 28, spent four seasons at Well after a six-year spell with Airdrie. He became a free agent after leaving Motherwell this summer. "I said earlier in the week that we would be looking at the situation after Neil's injury," Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson told his club website. "Lee's an experienced goalkeeper and has spent the last few seasons with Motherwell and has played in Europe for them."
Hearts have signed former Motherwell goalkeeper Lee Hollis on a short-term deal following injuries to Neil Alexander and Scott Gallagher.
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They say that the new material is more robust and hardwearing than previous efforts to create artificial cartilage. A traditional ink-jet printer combined with a specialised spinning-machine is used to make it. It could lead to bespoke cartilage created for individual patients. But one expert warned it was too early to be confident it would ever be used. The study was published in the Institute of Physics' journal Biofabrication. It marks the latest effort to use 3D printers in medicine following the use of a machine to make a replacement lower jaw and efforts to create 3D-printed scaffolds to support the growth of bone cells. Scientists said they were able to build cartilage made from a chemical compound known as a polymer coated with cartilage cells from a rabbit's ear. They combined the ink-jet printer with a machine that uses an electric current to spin very fine fibres from the polymer solution. It allowed the construction to be easily controlled, meaning scientists could make the artificial cartilage porous. This is key to encouraging real cartilage cells to integrate into the surrounding tissue. So far the printed cartilage has been tested on mice and, after eight weeks, appeared to have developed the properties of real cartilage, suggesting it has potential for insertion into human patients. The scientists said that in the future it could allow medics to create cartilage specific to each patient's needs. They suggest an MRI scan could create a blueprint of a body part, such as a knee, and matching cartilage could be made using the 3D printer. "This is a proof-of-concept study and illustrates that a combinations of materials and fabrication methods generates durable implantable constructs," said James Yoo, a professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and one of the paper's authors. At present one of the best options available to doctors treating cartilage damage is a technique called microfracture surgery. It involves drilling small holes into the bone in the cartilage's gap to encourage bleeding. Scar tissue then forms over the gap, acting as a replacement for the missing cartilage. But it is not generally suitable for older or more obese patients, and it does not work if the lesion is too large. Dr Richard Weiler - a consultant in sport and exercise medicine at University College London Hospitals - told the BBC the new innovation could potentially offer respite to a wider range of the patients he treated. But he had doubts about whether it would ever be used. "Certainly with sport there are injuries that cause damage to cartilage - we have seen this with some famous footballers, cyclists and other athletes who have had traumatic injuries where the cartilage has been damaged and then drops off and doesn't grow back very well in the affected area," he said. "However, there have been lots of previous cartilage replacement technologies that were shown to have had an effect in animals but have proved not to be as good as hoped when used long-term by humans. "This technology sounds an interesting development, we would just want to make sure it's safe."
Researchers have developed a way to "print" cartilage that could help treat joint diseases and sporting injuries.
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Butterfield has a thigh injury while Olsson suffered a concussion in their 1-0 pre-season win at Sheffield United. "With any head injury you err on the side of caution," Pearson said. "We could push Jacob back quickly but I don't see the point in putting him into a situation where the potential for injuring him further is there." Pearson's Rams have six games in 20 days during August, but have few injury concerns other than Butterfield and Olsson. "It's a long season we've got to make sure any teething problems with players are managed sensibly because I'd like a fully-fit squad to choose from every week," Pearson told BBC Radio Derby. "I'm not going to have that but that's what the aim is. We want to keep the players in good condition and available." Derby drew with Brighton in both league meetings last season, but the Rams boss is happy with the level of preparation going into the new campaign. "Match days are a different entity to the rest of the week.," he said. "We always do as much as we can whether it's enough at any given time remains to be seen."
Derby County boss Nigel Pearson says injury may force Jacob Butterfield and Marcus Olsson to miss Saturday's season opening game against Brighton.
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Five-time world champion O'Sullivan came from 3-0 down to level the match before fellow Englishman Holt took the deciding frame with a break of 76. Compatriot Peter Ebdon, 30th in the rankings, shocked world number three Neil Robertson 4-3 at Venue Cymru. Ebdon now faces China's Ding Junhui, who beat 4-3 Englishman Ben Woollaston. World number 31 Holt made a brilliant 119 and 88 to establish an early advantage against O'Sullivan, but last year's runner-up compiled an 86 as he drew level. O'Sullivan missed a red to the centre in the decider as Holt set up a second-round meeting with Liang Wenbo or Graeme Dott. Joe Perry beat Barry Hawkins 4-0, and fellow Englishman Martin Gould saw off China's Tian Pengfei by the same margin. In round two, Perry will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Welshman Jamie Jones and England's Kyren Wilson. Gould faces Michael White or Shaun Murphy, the 2005 world champion, in the next round. Ryan Day progressed with a 4-1 win over Matthew Selt, while John Higgins beat fellow Scot Stephen Maguire 4-0. The winner of the Grand Prix will earn £100,000 in prize money.
Michael Holt survived a Ronnie O'Sullivan comeback to win 4-3 in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Llandudno.
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East of England Euro-MP Richard Howitt said he is to become chief executive of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), which links companies with society and the wider economy. Mr Howitt is the Labour spokesman on foreign affairs in the European Parliament. He is also the Socialist and Democrat Group human rights spokesperson. Mr Howitt said: "It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role (as MEP) and I cannot thank enough the countless people who I have sought to help - and who have shown extraordinary kindness in helping me. "It will be a great privilege to apply my experience in Europe to a truly international role [at IIRC]." The IIRC brings together a coalition of business, investment, regulatory and civil society representatives from around the world.
A senior Labour MEP has announced plans to stand down from the European Parliament later this year.
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