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She plays a no-nonsense character in House of Cards, and in real life Robin Wright is no different.
For four seasons, viewers have seen her in the role of Claire Underwood, the Machiavellian partner of stop-at-nothing politician, Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey.
Both actors have also directed and produced episodes of the show. But while their roles are equally prominent, for years their salaries were not in parity.
"I was like, 'I want to be paid the same as Kevin.' It was a perfect paradigm and example to use, because there are very few films or TV shows where the male—the patriarch and the matriarch are equal. And they are in House of Cards," she told an audience at New York's Rockefeller Foundation.
Wright looked at statistics which showed that for some time, her character was more popular than Spacey's.
"So I capitalised on it. I was like, 'You better pay me or I'm going to go public…and they did.'"
Wright's success at equalising her pay is a story to be noted, because it is still incredibly rare.
"She is playing a popular and important character in a series. She has leverage and she used it," says Lisa Maatz, vice president for government relations at the American Association of University Women (AAUW), which has conducted research into the broader issue.
"I admire her for standing up to them. Not everybody is going to be as fortunate. But her situation in terms of being underpaid is far too common."
US government statistics show that on average, women are paid less than their male counterparts, 79 cents for every dollar a man earns.
According to the White House, the median wage of a woman working full-time all year in America is about $39,600 (£27,116), 79% of a man's median earnings, which stand at $50,400.
The statistic is widely used to illustrate the discrepancy in pay across the sexes, and looks across all sectors.
In Fresno, California, Aileen Rizo took a similar stand against her employer after she learned she was receiving less pay than a new male employee, who didn't have a masters degree like she did.
Ms Rizo had been working as a maths consultant for four years for Fresno County Office of Education, when she found out that the new hire was being paid at the highest salary scale (a nine), while she was being paid at the lowest (a one).
When she confronted her human resources department about the difference, she was told it wasn't a mistake. "They said they'd used my prior pay as a guide, and that's why I was on less," she explained.
Ms Rizo began legal action against her employers in 2013, who argued they set wages based on the employee's most recent salary, plus a five percent increase. Experience wasn't a determining factor, they said.
Representatives for Fresno County pointed out that a woman working in the same department as Ms Rizo, was being paid more, and said that in the past 25 years more women had been on higher salary scales, than men in the same or similar position in the department.
The court ruled in Ms Rizo's favour, arguing that the fact another woman earned more than her, shouldn't diminish her right to a fair wage. Her employers appealed the decision, and the case is still ongoing.
Since she began her lawsuit, Ms Rizo is now receiving the same pay as her male colleague, but she continues to fight for backdated wages. She also testified before the California legislature, which has since passed an Equal Pay Act in the state.
While she believes employers need to be more transparent and fair, she does also think women could also do more.
"We do need to get better at negotiating. I was trusting an organisation to act in a way of integrity. I took for granted that that's where everyone started."
"Whether you have to file a lawsuit or demand it and get it, women need to empower others and educate society about a problem that's still evident," she says.
But the scale of the problem is something which is widely debated.
Some critics say the "79 cents for every dollar" statistic is misleading, because it doesn't compare two people working in the same job, with the same background and qualifications. When those factors are taken into account, there still is a gender pay gap, but the percentage difference is much smaller, at around 7%.
"The idea that when a young woman graduates, the idea she's going to get paid 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, working in the same job, across our economy is a myth," argues Karin Agness, who is president of the Network of Enlightened Women, a conservative policy group.
Ms Agness believes that the 79 cents statistic gives young graduates a false impression of the workplace they're about to enter.
"It creates a victim mentality in women, and we don't want our young women going into the workforce thinking they are victims just because they are women," she says.
But Lisa Maatz from the AAUW says both measures are valid - one is more general, the other specifically compares similar roles - but both point to a discrepancy which needs to be addressed.
"The gender wage gap has many causes and contributors, including differences in education, experience, occupation and industry, and family responsibilities. But even after accounting for these factors, a gap still remains between men's earnings and women's earnings," argues a White House report on the issue.
Data on the pay gap for Hispanic and black women shows greater disparities. The gap between similar jobs fluctuates wildly based on the sector. And even controlling for similar jobs, the gap grows for women who are promoted into the director and executive level.
For Ms Maatz, there are other areas which also need to be addressed when it comes to wage disparity, for example the rise of so-called "pink collar" jobs, in which certain roles such as nurses, secretaries and teachers, are devalued simply because more women do them.
But Robin Wright's experience is a reminder that the gender pay gap affects women across all professions. She hopes her example will encourage other women to speak up.
"It's a male dominant workplace society. It always has been. And that's just the history.
"But it has to be unacceptable at this stage."
Follow Rajini Vaidyanathan on Twitter - @BBCRajiniv | House of Cards star Robin Wright has revealed she demanded the same pay as her co-star Kevin Spacey - but what does fighting for equal wages look like for women who are not movie stars? | 36327826 | [
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Clubs are required to provide accurate details of training sessions and player whereabouts so they are available for testing at all times.
The Cherries were deemed to have failed to ensure its information was accurate on three occasions.
Manchester City were fined £35,000 and given a warning, after admitting a similar breach earlier this month.
Bournemouth have yet to learn their punishment from the FA, but are expecting similar sanctions.
It is understood part of the charge concerns a player not informing the club of his new home address, while another part relates to members of the Under-21 squad training with the first-team at short notice. | Bournemouth have accepted a Football Association charge relating to a breach of anti-doping rules. | 39078083 | [
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A plant that typically colonised volcanoes in Japan was imported to Britain to help hide, or possibly even stabilise, railway embankments.
Since then its spread has caused much unhappiness amongst home-owners and prospective house purchasers.
It can crack tarmac, block drains, undermine foundations and invade homes. Its presence can be enough to cut a property's value by up to 20%, or prevent a mortgage lender approving a loan.
But just as new technology created the problem originally, new technology may help to solve it.
Five years ago, the Environment Agency commissioned a new app to track Japanese knotweed, using the crowd-sourcing principle.
More than 20,000 people have now downloaded it, and their data has pin-pointed over 6,000 knotweed locations.
Click here to view full UK map, and then zoom in to your area
"If we can get more people taking an interest and submitting records, so much the better," says Dave Kilbey, director of Natural Apptitude, which designed and launched the app.
"Hopefully it will mean people will become a bit more aware of the problems, and what to look for."
So far the results show a particular concentration of knotweed in South Wales, the Midlands, London, Scotland's central belt and Cornwall - where the plant was also introduced by Victorians into ornamental gardens.
Those looking for a property can use the app to find out if knotweed has been found nearby - but the fact it is not on the map does not mean it is not present; it is simply that no one has reported it.
The data provided by the PlantTracker app is also added to the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) atlas, which aims to track the whereabouts of all the UK's plants and animals, from bee orchids to goshawks.
Even though it has only been available to the public since April, and is not yet fully functional, the atlas has further information about Japanese knotweed locations.
The map shows more than 43,000 historical records for the plant, going back to 1900.
But Purba Choudhury, communications officer for the NBN, says that if there are no records in your area, that doesn't guarantee its absence.
"Conversely, the record you are seeing might be an old record, and the Japanese knotweed might have been removed since the record was uploaded," she says.
Click here to view full NBN map of the UK, then zoom in to your area
The South Wales section of the NBN map (above) shows how knotweed spreads along the course of rivers and canals.
In such locations tiny fragments of knotweed float downstream, and quickly establish themselves elsewhere.
Trying to destroy Japanese knotweed by yourself is virtually impossible.
That is because the roots, or rhizomes, spread rapidly underground, and can regenerate from tiny amounts of material. In fact it can grow at the rate of 10cm a day during the summer.
"Digging it out of the ground can just spread it terribly," warns Stephen Hodgson, the chief executive of the Property Care Association (PCA).
"If you've got it in your garden, either leave it alone, or treat it properly."
The advice is as follows:
In an experiment being conducted in South Wales, thousands of plant lice were released last summer, in the hopes that they would help destroy some of the knotweed along river banks.
But otherwise the accepted best-practice treatment is for professionals to inject the plant with industrial-strength weed killer glyphosate.
David Layland, the joint managing director of Japanese Knotweed Control, based in Stockport, says it is the only thing that works.
"Once we inject into it, it transfers into the root system pretty quickly, and then it binds with the roots. Over time, it rots away into the subsoil."
But professional treatment is costly, starting at about £2,500, and going upwards to £30,000 for a major infestation.
Just as big a worry for many home-owners is the discovery that your neighbour has Japanese knotweed on his or her property, and refuses to do anything about it.
But under the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, local councils or police forces can now issue a Community Protection Notice (CPN), forcing neighbours to take action, and fining them if they don't.
"I think when they are enforced - and they are starting to be enforced - CPNs are very effective," says Stephen Hodgson.
"But they are, and should be, a measure of last resort."
In the meantime judges at the Court of Appeal are gearing up to provide an important precedent on who should pay if a landowner allows knotweed to encroach on somebody else's property.
Next year they will rule on the case of Williams v Network Rail - after two homeowners in South Wales were awarded £15,000 to compensate them for knotweed which had spread into their gardens. | Two centuries ago, when Victorian engineers were designing the latest in transport technology, Japanese knotweed sounded like a very clever idea. | 40899108 | [
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The two leading Parisian clubs are planning to come together for the 2017-18 season.
"It's a huge shock, there's a big rivalry in the derby games," Phillips told BBC Wales Sport.
New Zealand legend Dan Carter leads Racing's list of stars while Italy's Sergio Parisse is on Stade's books.
Stade Francais won the French Top 14 title in 2014-15 while Racing took over as champions the following year, though both are currently in the lower half of the division.
Racing's new 30,000-capacity stadium is due to be completed later in 2017 while their rivals have updated and expanded their Stade Jean-Bouin home to take 20,000 fans in recent years.
Phillips, now with Sale Sharks, played for Racing for two and a half seasons and said he did not believe the initial reports from Paris.
"I'm massively surprised," he said.
"The guys (at Sale) talked about it in training and firstly I said 'That's not true, it's just the French media' but it was for real."
Phillips won 94 caps for Wales and made five Test appearances for the British and Irish Lions before partnering Carter in the blue and white Racing colours.
Wales colleagues Jamie Roberts, Luke Charteris and Dan Lydiate have also played for Racing.
"Stade won the league two years ago, they beat us two or three times, then the following year we managed to win the league and our president Jacky Lorenzetti was thrilled," added Phillips.
"Both clubs have got a huge history in French rugby and Stade Francais have won the title many times, they have a massive tradition just like Racing."
He says the rivalry even extended to where players were meant to live.
"You weren't allowed to live in a certain area because that's where the majority of Stade Francais players lived and that was pushed by Jacky Lorenzetti, he was in control of that," he said.
The proposed merger has yet to be approved by the French league authorities, the LNR. | Former Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips is shocked by a planned merger between his former club Racing 92 and their rivals Stade Francais. | 39260207 | [
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Two-time double Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah struggled on the Holyrood Park course, finishing in seventh.
Turkey's Yasemin Can, representing Europe, won the women's race, while Britain's Harriet Knowles-Jones claimed the junior women's title.
Captain Laura Muir anchored Britain to victory in the 4x1km mixed relay.
The team event was won by USA, with Europe second and Great Britain third.
Hawkins, 24, led for most of the men's race until he was passed in the final 15m by Kenyan-born Korir, who won in a time of 24 minutes three seconds.
"I put everything in to dropping him but he was the stronger man at the end," the Scot told BBC Sport.
Newly knighted Farah, 33, finished 46 seconds adrift of Korir, with 2016 champion Garrett Heath of the United States in sixth.
"It was a hard day at the office," Farah told BBC Sport. "I'm a little bit behind where I would usually be at this stage of the season.
"But I'm not panicking this early on in the year - I've got to get ready for London 2017."
With Farah out of contention early on in the 8km race, Hawkins took the initiative to break clear with Korir and Heath, before the latter faded.
Hawkins, who finished ninth in the marathon at last summer's Olympics in Rio, repeatedly tried to drop Korir on the small rises around the course and appeared to have a winning gap coming into the final straight.
But Korir, who finished 14th in the 10,000m final in Rio, won by Farah, had the greater kick in the final sprint to surge past the Scot and claim the title.
"I was really tired at the end and he just wouldn't leave me alone," joked Hawkins, who will run in the marathon at this summer's World Championships in London.
After breaking the 25-year-old British indoor 5,000m record on Wednesday, Muir produced a stellar final lap to secure Britain victory in the invitational Stewart Cup 4x1km mixed relay.
Muir took the baton from James West level with USA but quickly surged clear as Britain won in a time of 11 minutes, 10 seconds, with the first two legs run by James Bowness and Charlene Thomas respectively.
"In my role as captain I wanted to put out a good job for the team and when I saw the others placing well I had to bring it home for them," Muir told BBC Sport.
"I wasn't used to being the one to watch but I'm there now and it's great - people are recognising that I'm running fast and I want to keep it that way."
Elsewhere, Kenyan-born runner Can dominated the women's 6km event to win in a time of 20 minutes 36 seconds, with Ireland's Fionnuala McCormack, also racing for Europe, 21 seconds adrift in second.
Noah Affolder of the United States won the junior men's race, with Scott Beattie the highest-placed Briton in eighth. | Great Britain's Callum Hawkins was beaten into second by USA's Leonard Korir in a dramatic sprint finish at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country. | 38543213 | [
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Batsman Godleman, 27, has signed a two-year contract, while Thakor, 22, has agreed a three-year deal.
Thakor has scored 606 runs at an average of 67, and taken 22 wickets at an average of 31, in nine County Championship matches this summer.
Godleman this week scored 100 against former club Essex - his third century in his last eight Championship innings.
He joined Derbyshire in 2012 after being released by Essex, while Thakor was signed from Leicestershire at the end of the 2014 season.
Head coach John Sadler said: "To secure Shiv's services for the next three years is brilliant for the club.
"He is a big player for us across all three formats and someone we can build our team around.
"He worked extremely hard over the winter and he's reaped the rewards this season.
"He has been brilliant and he is only going to get better and better." | Captain Billy Godleman and all-rounder Shiv Thakor have signed new contracts at Derbyshire. | 37098410 | [
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Urging voters to back Plaid in the May 2016 assembly election, the SNP leader praised Ms Wood for being modern, principled and passionate.
Ms Sturgeon said the leadership qualities of Ms Wood were proved in the general election TV debates.
She told Plaid's conference in Aberystwyth she knew Ms Wood would "stand firm" with the SNP against cuts.
Ms Sturgeon described the television debates as "filled with men whose only difference wasn't their politics, but the shade of their suit".
"Friends, in those debates Leanne Wood put forward a modern approach to politics - principled, passionate and prepared to lead Wales," she said.
"I was proud of Leanne, I know you were proud of Leanne and I promise you I will always work with Leanne Wood in the best interests of our two countries."
As her party aimed to win a third Scottish election in May, Ms Sturgeon said: "If the SNP can win in Scotland, there's no reason at all why Plaid Cymru can't also win in Wales.
"Not at some distant point in the future, but now, next May, at this election."
Plaid Cymru members in Aberystwyth enthusiastically applauded her endorsement of Ms Wood as a leader "of real star quality".
Ms Sturgeon also thanked Plaid Cymru for backing the 2014 referendum campaign for Scottish independence.
"I just hope that one day we will get to repay the favour," she said. | Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood is "ready and able" to lead Wales. | 34614991 | [
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Ties have sharply deteriorated in recent years, and the government in Warsaw has sharply criticised Russia's conduct in Ukraine.
But Mr Andreyev's interpretation of history brought relations to a new low.
He told reporters his remarks had not been "sufficiently precise".
The ambassador was speaking outside the Polish foreign ministry, after he was summoned over his comments on Polish TV channel TVN24 on Friday.
However, his comments to Russian media later made clear that there was unlikely to be any immediate improvement in relations.
"I am not retracting my remarks, I am simply making a clarification because they were misinterpreted," he said, adamant that he was referring not to the start of the war but to the catastrophe in Poland. There had been no discussion about his possible expulsion from Poland, he added.
A Polish official said that during the meeting it was noted that the envoy's remarks had been "untrue and contrary to the findings of Polish and Russian historians". He said the Russian parliament itself had in 2010 directly blamed Soviet dictator Josef Stalin for ordering the 1940 massacre of 20,000 Polish prisoners of war at Katyn.
Mr Andreyev had argued that Poland was partly responsible for what happened in September 1939, because "during the 1930s Poland repeatedly blocked the formation of a coalition against Hitler's Germany".
The war erupted in September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, little over a week after the USSR and Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Soviet forces entered Poland from the east that same month, as part of the secret agreement.
Mr Andreyev had also suggested that the Soviet invasion was "to ensure the safety of the USSR" and was not an aggressive act.
Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz pointed out at the weekend that "even children in Poland know that neither Ribbentrop nor Molotov was Polish", condemning the Nazi-Soviet carve-up of her country.
The ambassador's interview on Friday was broadcast hours after Poland's ambassador to Moscow, Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, was herself summoned to the Russian foreign ministry because the graves of 57 Soviet soldiers were vandalised at a cemetery in Milejczyce in north-eastern Poland. The vandalism was strongly condemned by the Polish government.
Russia is also angry that Polish officials this month removed a brass relief of a wartime Soviet general, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, from a monument in northern Poland. | Russia's ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreyev, has said he meant no offence when he appeared to suggest Poland was partly to blame for the start of World War Two. | 34380594 | [
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Cook, 27, scored three centuries to inspire England's 2-1 win in his first tour since becoming Test captain.
"There were handshakes, hugs, embraces and slaps on the back all around in the England dressing room. They have worked so hard in this series. What odds were there on us witnessing that? It's quite remarkable. They have done it the hard way, through outstanding leadership on and off the pitch."
"He is a most impressive young man and leads from the front," Clarke told BBC Test Match Special.
"He changed the whole series with his second innings in Ahmedabad. I have the greatest admiration for him."
He added: "It's going to be tremendous watching him evolve as one of the greatest batsmen in the world and as a captain.
"There's no doubt this is Alastair Cook's team. There were very big boots to fill but it looks like he has got the right-sized feet."
Clarke was also full of praise for Kevin Pietersen's performance following his reintegration into the team.
Pietersen made a match-winning century in the second Test to help England level the series.
"He has had an outstanding tour," said Clarke. "His innings in Mumbai changed the context of the entire series.
"He played brilliantly and has been an integral part of the team. They are all delighted to have him here and great credit to everyone involved.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"There's a calmness and comfort about the team when they are in each other's company."
Clarke also commended team director Andy Flower on his planning for the series.
"We wanted to treat the series like an Ashes series and were absolutely determined that no corners would be cut in the planning," he said.
"If you don't embrace India with all its culture and fascinations you won't make it. That meant a lot of planning and the team's performance has demonstrated the quality of Andy Flower's work."
Listen to match highlights and Jonathan Agnew and Geoffrey Boycott's analysis of the day's play on the Test Match Special podcast.
We are using archive pictures for this Test because several photo agencies, including Getty Images, have been barred from the ground following a dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, while other agencies have withdrawn their photographers in protest. | Alastair Cook's role in England's series victory in India was described as "extraordinary" by England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke. | 20759204 | [
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The Tyco BMW rider, who was injured in a 130mph crash at Ireland's Corner last August, also sat out this year's North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.
Gary Dunlop will make his debut with his father's famous number three plate.
"I've never let anyone since Joey ride as number three but who better to use it than Gary," said clerk of the course Noel Johnston.
"I think it'll be pretty special to see it on the grid after all these years."
Joey Dunlop won a record 26 Isle of Man TTs and 24 Ulster GPs before he was killed in a crash while racing in Estonia in July 2000.
Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson both return to Dundrod gunning for the top step of the podium with Dean Harrison, Ivan Lintin, Lee Johnston, William Dunlop, Peter Hickman, Bruce Anstey, Dan Kneen, Conor Cummins and Christian Elkin among the 173 entries.
Johnston said the absence of Martin, who will be in Utah filming a land speed record attempt, is "a shame, but in no way will there be any less of a spectacle for the fans".
He added: "I'm very pleased with the final entry list and think it says a lot about the popularity of the event that the total number of entries are growing year on year, as is the number of newcomers [54] coming to Dundrod."
Martin has presented a number of TV programmes in recent years, most notably Channel 4's Speed with Guy Martin.
The 2016 Ulster Grand Prix will run between August 8 and 13. | Guy Martin will not be racing at next month's Ulster Grand Prix because of TV commitments in America. | 36892925 | [
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Kirklees Council had been consulting on plans to replace paid staff at seven sites in Huddersfield with volunteers.
Protesters who gathered outside a council meeting on Wednesday said a survey had showed 66% of people were opposed to the plan.
The council later said there would be no changes for three years. Campaigners said the decision was "wonderful".
The changes would have affected libraries at Honley, Golcar, Slaithwaite, Lepton, Kirkheaton, Denby Dale and Shepley.
Campaigner June Jones said replacing professional library staff with volunteers was not sustainable and was likely to have led to library closures.
Ms Jones, of Save Slaithwaite Library, said: "It's wonderful for our communities and we are going to be drinking champagne for the next week." | Planned cuts to library services in a West Yorkshire town have been scrapped following campaigns by residents. | 18177049 | [
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Chancellor Werner Faymann said numbers would be capped at about 37,500 in each of the next four years, compared to the 90,000 applications last year.
Serbia responded by saying it would limit migrant passage to those seeking asylum in Austria or Germany only.
The head of the European Commission has called for a summit on migration.
Jean-Claude Juncker said he was worried there would not be enough time to address the issue at the next extraordinary summit of the EU's 28 member-states, due on 18-19 February.
It is expected the UK's membership of the EU will dominate that meeting.
The EU is drawing up plans to share the "burden" of refugees more evenly among member states, scrapping the rule that means they must claim asylum in the first country they arrive in.
Cameron faces refugee 'burden' battle
There has been speculation this will shift the refugee burden from southern EU states to northern ones.
With some EU states already bringing in temporary border controls, the Commission fears the passport-free Schengen area could collapse if a solution is not worked out by March.
Austria has become a major transit country for migrants seeking to claim asylum in Germany.
Correspondents say the influx has contributed to the popularity of the far right in Austria, sparking tensions in the governing coalition.
"We can't take in all asylum-seekers in Austria," Chancellor Faymann said after a national asylum summit in Vienna.
"We must also step up controls at our borders massively," he added.
In Belgrade, Labour Minister Aleksandar Vulin, the government's coordinator on the migrant crisis, said: "From today, based on the decision of the Austrian government... migrants will not be able to continue their travel if they have not expressed intention to seek asylum on the territory of Austria or Germany."
More than one million refugees and other migrants entered the EU clandestinely last year, mainly by sea, the majority of them seeking asylum in northern European states.
Most were from Syria, gripped by civil war, followed by Afghanistan and Iraq.
At least 31,000 have arrived by sea so far this year despite the winter weather, the UN refugee agency says. | The Austrian government has said it will sharply reduce the number of asylum applications it accepts this year compared with 2015. | 35364768 | [
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SABMiller said it had agreed "in principle" a £44-a-share offer, after four previous attempts from AB InBev.
AB InBev's brands include Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, while SABMiller produces Peroni and Grolsch.
If the deal, worth about £70bn, goes ahead, the newly-created firm will make about 30% of the world's beer.
SABMiller has a workforce of close to 70,000 people in more than 80 countries, and global annual sales of more than $26bn. AB InBev has a workforce of 155,000 and global revenues of more than $47bn.
What deal means for drinkers
Anheuser-Busch InBev - 20.8%
SABMiller - 9.7%
Heineken - 9.1%
Carlsberg - 6.1%
China Resources Enterprise - 6%
Source: Euromonitor, based on 2014 figures
AB InBev had made four previous bid approaches for SABMiller - at £38, £40, £42.15, and £43.50 per share - but they had been rejected by SABMiller, which argued they undervalued the company.
In a statement, the boards of the two firms said they had now "reached agreement in principle on the key terms of a possible recommended offer".
The two companies have not yet formally finalised the terms of an offer, but the latest development means they have extended the City deadline for a firm offer until 28 October.
Analysis: Matthew Davies, business reporter, Johannesburg
SABMiller's African brands are actually one of the main reasons AB InBev is so thirsty for this merger. Carlos Brito, the chief executive of AB InBev, has said that Africa is a "key piece" of the deal.
SABMiller, of course, has its roots in Africa - South African Breweries was founded around the time of gold rush in Johannesburg in the late 19th Century. As it stands, and if this deal goes through, it would mean that the merged entity would control 31% of global beer sales.
AB InBev's brands are largely concentrated in the Americas and Europe; SABMIller has about 40 brands in Africa. It was the growth of SABMiller's African brands that really attracted AB InBev.
What makes these brands so tasty is the growing African middle class, an army of consumers that all the major brewing companies have been eyeing up in recent years. As African beer drinkers have become more prosperous over the past 20 years, they have moved out of the informal home-brewing market and started to buy branded beer.
The latest proposal comes a day before the original deadline, by which AB InBev had to make a formal bid for SABMiller or walk away for six months.
The offer represents a premium of about 50% over and above SABMiller's share price in mid-September, before the bid battle started.
In morning trade in London, SABMiller's share price rose 9% to £39.48, while shares in AB InBev were 2.85% higher at €101.15 in trading in Brussels. | The world's two biggest beer producers are set to merge after SABMiller accepted an increased takeover offer from rival Anheuser-Busch InBev. | 34513520 | [
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Ann Clwyd criticised Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, claiming Owen Roberts died "like a battery hen".
Although that and 20 other allegations out of 31 were not upheld, the independent investigation did find he died of hospital-induced pneumonia.
Ms Clwyd maintained she would be "vindicated".
Results of the review show nine of her allegations were entirely upheld and one partially.
But 17 were rejected, 11 were not upheld due to insufficient evidence and two were rejected because of insufficient information.
A second independent review is now taking place to examine the findings.
Among the upheld allegations in the report were responses to the following comments by Ms Clwyd:
However, those allegations not accepted by the investigation included claims by Ms Clwyd:
Other allegations not accepted included "almost every request I made was ignored or dismissed" and "I saw a nurse in the corridor and asked her why my husband wasn't in intensive care. She just said, 'There are lots worse than him'".
Up until now, the results of the investigation - carried out a year ago - went unpublished.
But parts of the report were released under a Freedom of Information request.
Ms Clwyd told BBC Wales the report summary should not have been made public, especially while another investigation is under way. She disputed there was insufficient evidence for her claims, and said she had additional evidence.
She said: "I think that when the other investigation is concluded then my views will be substantially vindicated."
By Tomos LivingstoneBBC Wales political correspondent
This case has led to a huge political row.
We ended up with the extraordinary situation of a Labour MP, Ann Clwyd, being criticised by the Labour First Minister, Carwyn Jones, for failing, in his view, to provide evidence to back up her claims.
At the same time, we recently had the Welsh Conservative Party conference in Llangollen and delegates there standing and applauding Ann Clwyd for the work she had done campaigning for better standards of care in the health service.
There is a general election of course coming up next year - health care standards are already a central part of that campaign, not least perceived differences in standards between Wales and England.
So we are going to hear a lot more about the political row this case has caused and we are going to hear a lot more about the individual case itself, I think, with a second investigation now on its way.
The health board has denied breaching confidentiality and said the details released were statements already in the public domain.
A health board spokesman said: "We would like to make quite clear that the health board has not released the full report and it is not our intention to breach any confidentiality.
"The investigation into Ms Clywd's concerns was overseen by an expert independent panel and completed in April 2013. Since then the health board has received a number of requests under Freedom of Information legislation to release that report. As part of that standard process Ms Clwyd's permission was sought to release the full report but that was refused."
The spokesman said it sought legal advice before releasing the summary.
He said: "Based on that advice the health board believes it would be in breach of its statutory duty not to release the summary report."
The release of the report summary follows a dispute between Ms Clwyd and the Labour Welsh government.
First Minister Carwyn Jones has told Assembly Members the MP provided "unattributable" comments about the NHS that "can't be investigated".
But Ms Clwyd insisted she had provided Mr Jones with a comprehensive summary of complaints raised.
Ms Clwyd led a UK government-commissioned inquiry on how NHS hospitals in England handle complaints and said she also received hundreds of letters from Welsh patients outlining poor experiences they had suffered. | Some serious complaints made by a Labour MP over the hospital care given to her husband before his death have been rejected following a review. | 27119059 | [
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Redrow Homes South Wales has submitted plans for up to 630 houses on land north and south of Llantrisant Road, in Radyr.
An outline application for about 1,000 homes in Lisvane has been put forward by South Wales Land Developments Ltd.
Planning committee councillors will consider both applications, which are recommended for approval, at a meeting on 10 February.
A primary school and community centre are also included in the plans for both developments.
More than 90 residents have previously objected to the Lisvane proposal, which forms part of the council's Local Development Plan (LDP). | Plans for more than 1,600 new homes in Cardiff look set to be approved. | 35502090 | [
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As part of the deal, the firm was meant to have built a saw line by Friday.
Despite questioning by AMs, Emyr Roberts did not give a clear answer as to whether that has happened.
He said the deal - an effort to deal with diseased larch - was a success.
Although he was happy with the decision, Mr Roberts admitted that its documentation was "not good", that there should have been more discussion with Welsh Government and that the executive board could have had a greater role in scrutinising the deal.
A member of the committee, Lee Waters, later dubbed the answers "unconvincing".
In 2014 a company was awarded a £39m deal to purchased both spruce and larch timber - the latter of which was forests where a fungus disease causing extensive damage - Phytophthora ramorum - was present.
No other company was given the opportunity to bid for the contracts.
As part of that deal the company was meant to have built a new saw line by 31 March 2016. That deadline was missed and extended by 12 months to March 2017.
During a session of the assembly's Public Accounts Committee, Labour Llanelli AM Lee Waters asked Mr Roberts if the line had been built.
"We are in on going discussions with the operator on that," said Mr Roberts.
Mr Waters pressed him again, pointing out that the date of the committee's meeting was 28 March. Mr Roberts repeated the answer, adding later it was a "commercial matter".
Mr Waters asked if Mr Roberts felt the firm "pulled the wool over your eyes in making you feel that the only way they were going to deal with this crisis was by investing in new expensive capital equipment".
Mr Roberts replied with a denial: "No, I don't think they have pulled the wool over our eyes at all."
"At the time, there was no market for larch," he said, claiming timber merchants at the time "would not touch larch, let alone diseased larch".
"What the operator did and the rest of the industry did was actually build up that market."
Mr Roberts said there was a "real crisis on our hands at the time" and there had been a danger the timber market would collapse.
"The situation today was a lot more stable than it was in 2013-14. Our policy, our decisions on these contracts together with the overarching policy in treating larch disease has been successful," he said.
"It's stopped the spread, but it's meant the timber market has been able to carry on as well."
A report by auditor general Huw Vaughan Thomas released earlier in March expressed doubt over whether the decision met state aid rules and said the decision-making process was not transparent.
In a qualification to the body's accounts he said he was unable to satisfy himself on whether the decision to make the deal was lawful.
NRW disputed the auditor's findings on state aid and had said it strongly believed the contracts were lawful.
Neither NRW or the auditors have identified the company involved.
Following the meeting Mr Waters said the answers given by the chief executive "were not satisfactory" and that the evidence was "unconvincing".
He said it was a "serious issue which has been badly handled". Mr Waters said it was clear from the evidence "with two days to go before the end of March the saw mill line has not been installed by this company".
"I think the whole committee felt that the performance was complacent and this was a sufficiently grave situation for the auditor general to qualify the accounts, which rarely happens," he told BBC Wales.
"I think the committee will be referring this to the full assembly to draw this to their attention," he said. | The chief executive of Natural Resources Wales has denied the organisation had the "wool pulled over our eyes" by a sawmill operator given a 10 year timber contract that was criticised by an audit. | 39409678 | [
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Derek Mackay was accused of "showing contempt for parliament" during a fiery debate on the budget timetable.
The finance committee wants Mr Mackay to hand over detailed planning information ahead of the budget, which will be published on 15 December.
Mr Mackay said he would publish some extra "high level" information.
However opposition members said he had been "ambiguous" and had not been clear about what information would actually be provided.
A "fundamental" review of the budget process has also been established in light of Holyrood's new fiscal powers.
Mr Mackay has delayed publication of his first set of spending plans until after the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, which he said would make a major difference to the funds available to the Scottish government.
The finance committee, led by SNP member Bruce Crawford, brought forward the chamber debate to voice "concern" at how much time they would have to scrutinise spending plans before they are voted on by MSPs.
He said it was "unacceptable" that Mr Mackay had refused to hand over any scenario planning information as an indication of how the budget may unfold, despite having previously told the committee that he would give them as much information as possible.
All opposition MSPs backed Mr Crawford on this point, signing up to support a motion from Patrick Harvie "urging" the government to put the information in the public domain.
During the debate, Mr Harvie said opposition members had chosen not to force a vote on the matter, but worried that Mr Mackay "kept using the same language" as he did when previously writing to the committee.
The finance secretary replied: "What parliament asked for was high level scenario planning, and that's what I've said I'll provide.
"I've repeatedly said I won't publish a draft budget [before the Autumn Statement], I can't publish a credible draft budget or a number of draft budgets. But I will publish that scenario information that I've pledged to in keeping with what I've said to committee."
However, opposition members said Mr Mackay was still not being clear about what information he would actually provide.
Labour's James Kelly, who said the finance secretary had provided "seven minutes of waffle" in the debate, said MSPs were "still no further forward" with budget scrutiny.
Conservative member Alex Johnstone said it would "take some further time" to work out exactly what Mr Mackay was offering the committee.
He said the committee was "offering a compromise" to the finance secretary, noting that "it appears he has not yet accepted that compromise".
Mr Harvie said he was disappointed at the "ambiguous stance" Mr Mackay had taken, saying he was "being quite unclear" about what information he would provide.
Mr Mackay had earlier said he would "honour the commitment" he had previously given about "sharing as much information as I possibly can".
He said he could not produce a draft budget without having all of the information that will come from the Autumn Statement.
He added: "I will continue to work constructively with the finance committee and share as much information as I can to give as much certainty as I can, but that doesn't mean we can produce a draft budget."
Fellow SNP member Kate Forbes said it would be "downright irresponsible" for the government to publish detailed budget figures prior to the Autumn Statement.
Opposition MSPs reacted angrily to Mr Mackay's statements, with several accusing him of "showing contempt" for parliament's role in budget scrutiny.
Tory member Murdo Fraser said he "regrets very much" that Mr Mackay had chosen to take a "brazen" approach to the debate, urging him to "keep his word" and hand over planning information.
He added: "To do otherwise, frankly, is to show contempt both for the work of this parliament and the finance committee."
This was quickly echoed by Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who said Mr Mackay's budget timetable "will severely limit the ability of the parliament's committee's to scrutinise the budget properly".
She added: "In addition, by refusing to publish as much information as possible in advance of the publication of the draft budget later this year, Derek Mackay is treating this parliament with contempt, particularly since he is going back on a promise that he has previously made to this parliament."
Graham Simpson said Mr Mackay could "bleat all he likes about the Autumn Statement", calling it a "pathetic excuse" for delaying scrutiny, and fellow Tory member Adam Tomkins said Mr Mackay's plans were "profoundly disrespectful" of parliament.
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said "it's come to something" when an SNP figure of Mr Crawford's figure called the government's approach "unacceptable".
However, SNP member James Dornan said other parties were "playing political games" over the budget, noting that the education committee he chairs is able to carry out some pre-budget scrutiny.
And Mr Mackay later told BBC Scotland that he had committed to giving the committee the extra scenario planning information requested, saying there was "room for consensus" on the issue. | Scotland's finance secretary has pledged to give more information to the finance committee to scrutinise his delayed draft budget. | 37543638 | [
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It is expected to be wet and windy later, with the possibility of flooding in places from heavy rain and melting snow.
The strongest winds are expected to be along the east coast, especially County Down.
Meanwhile, a Status Red alert has been issued in the Republic of Ireland.
This is for coastal and mountain areas of Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Leitrim and Cork.
The meteorological service, Met Éireann says that wind gusts of 130-150km/hr are possible in exposed areas until midday on Thursday.
The Republic of Ireland's department of education has advised schools in affected areas to consider remaining shut on Thursday.
The National Emergency Committee in the Republic has advised people living on the west coast to avoid any unnecessary travel, watch out for fallen cables and to check on neighbours.
More than 2,200 homes in the country were without power just after midnight.
Dublin Airport has reported some delays to flights.
NIE has warned of a possibility of damage to the electricity network, especially in exposed and coastal locations.
It says it has initiated an escalation plan and has emergency crews, engineers and call handlers on stand-by.
It has reminded customers that if they do lose electricity supplies they should contact the NIE Customer Helpline on 03457 643 643 or report the fault online.
Julia Carson, NIE Communications Manager, said: "If there is any damage to our network from severe weather, our emergency crews will be in position to get customers back on supply as quickly as possible, consistent with safety, and we will keep customers regularly updated and informed.
"We are particularly keen to stress our safety message to stay well away from broken power lines or electricity poles and report any damage immediately. If you are without power, make sure you take a few simple precautions to keep you and your family safe."
Trafficwatch Northern Ireland reported on Wednesday that the Hall Road/Donaghcloney Road, in Lurgan, County Armagh, was closed due to a tree that was in a dangerous position.
Belfast City Council tweeted that it had closed Victoria Park because of the weather and that it will be closed for part of Thursday morning.
The adverse weather has led to a number of ferry cancellations.
BBC Northern Ireland weather presenter Cecilia Daly said that it would be wet and windy later with "snow initially in places slowly but surely turning to rain".
With a slight thaw, there is the possibility of flooding in places from heavy rain and melting snow.
The strongest winds are along the east coast especially in County Down with the possibility of trees coming down.
Overnight, rain is expected to clear and the strongest winds are forecast for the north and north-west with gusts of up to 70mph and possibly 80mph forecast by Thursday morning. It is expected to be colder again, with wintry showers.
It is forecast to be very windy and stormy on Thursday especially in the morning with the possibility of damage to trees, power lines and travel disruption.
The wind warning in Northern Ireland is valid until 23:50 GMT on Thursday, with the Met Office providing updates. | Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has warned of possible damage to the electricity network, as wind gusts of more than 70mph are forecast. | 30820752 | [
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National League club Forest Green Rovers stopped selling meat burgers in 2011 and in July took fish off the menu to become fully vegetarian.
Cow milk has been replaced with soya or oat milk to rid the Gloucestershire club's menu of all animal products.
The move is inspired by the club's chairman, who is himself a vegan.
It is the final step in his vision for the club to go vegan, which means excluding products such as dairy, eggs and honey.
Chairman Dale Vince said: "The gap between vegetarian and vegan food is actually quite small; it's a step rather than a leap to take.
"A lot of our food has been vegan for some time now, and this season we've taken the last small step."
The Nailsworth-based club's timely transition to veganism follows the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on Monday which linked processed meat consumption to cancer.
Mr Vince added: "As the WHO report this week makes plain, meat is bad for human health, being a major cause of cancer.
"Making these facts plain and demonstrating what a plant based diet looks, and tastes like, is an important part of our work."
Mr Vince, who is the founder of the wind turbine company, Ecotricity, has also made other eco-friendly moves to improve the club's sustainability.
This has included fitting solar panels to its stadium roof, and making an "organic" pitch by avoiding the use of chemicals.
In July, the club also announced plans to create a multi-million pound green technology centre near the M5 motorway. | A football club is claiming to be the world's first to adopt a vegan match day menu after removing cows' milk from its hot drinks. | 34680213 | [
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Melissa Morton, 12, was among 34 pupils at Brentwood School in Essex aboard a coach that crashed into a motorway bridge near Middelkerke, West Flanders.
Her father Keith Morton said she had been "very disturbed by it all".
The school said some staff still needed hospital treatment, but all pupils were due back in school next week.
The coach, which was heading to Cologne in Germany for a languages trip, hit a bridge on the A18 (E40) near Middelkerke during the morning of 28 June.
Driver James Chance, who worked for a coach firm in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, was killed. A second driver was also injured.
Two boys who were badly hurt, with one receiving head injuries and another having a broken leg, have both been back to the independent school to meet their friends, a spokesman said.
He said some injured teachers, including one who suffered a broken collarbone, had continued to receive hospital treatment and were due to continue recovering for a number of weeks until they could return to work. Some pupils and staff are also receiving counselling.
Keith Morton, whose daughter Melissa escaped unhurt, told BBC Essex she was still "emotionally not quite right".
"There's been some teary situations and sleepless nights and it's still quite a shock for her," he said.
"There was one occasion when she had to get into a coach and was very disturbed by it all."
The school's second master David Taylor said he had spoken to police in Belgium and it was "going to be a long process" to find out what caused the crash, but he said he would still like trips to continue. | A school pupil involved in a coach crash in Belgium in which the driver died is still having "sleepless nights" two months on, her father has said. | 34060675 | [
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The 50-year-old from Felstead in Essex rowed the Atlantic two years ago in the Woodvale Challenge.
The 3,000-mile (4,800km) voyage took him 52 days - 10 of which were spent going backwards. Despite this, he set a new UK solo and race record.
In January, Mr Pitcher plans to do it all again. This time, he has his sights set on the 40-day trans-Atlantic solo rowing world record.
He will live aboard his rowing boat, the Soma of Essex. Made of carbon fibre, it is 6.5m (21ft) long and weighs just 460kg (1,014lb).
Each day he will have to eat about 7,000 calories and make his own water to drink from sea water.
Asked why he would row the Atlantic a second time, Mr Pitcher said: "The first time, it was an adventure. I stumbled across that adventure and ended up rowing across the Atlantic in a race from the Canaries to Antigua.
"But we had very bad weather and it wasn't really what what I had bought into.
"When I got to Antigua I decided I wanted to do it again, hopefully with the right weather.
"I want to experience those famous trade winds which blow of the coast of Africa towards the Americas.
"Of course, I also want to try and break the world record to be the fastest solo rower across the Atlantic.
"Last time I spent 10 days going backwards and that is very mentally challenging," he said.
"But if we get good weather and I don't go backwards for 10 days, I think there's a possibility of breaking the record."
His days will be divided into 16 hours of rowing, four hours sleeping and the remaining four hours will be spent on boat management.
Mr Pitcher will sleep on the floor of his compact cabin, which has a carbon fibre seat.
For entertainment, Mr Pitcher has a number of audio books to listen to and more than 4,000 songs on an iPod. His music includes a mix of music from classical to hard rock and Abba.
The Soma of Essex has been designed to be self-righting in the event of a capsize.
"It's designed to come up very quickly if it turns turtle," he said, "and as long as I hold on tight I will be alright - even if I'm like laundry in a tumble dryer."
"Those people who think I'm crazy don't really know me.
"There's a risk and there's an assessment of that risk. And we reduce those risks as much as possible."
The plan is to get the rowing vessel to Tenerife and then to the island of La Gomera.
Once there, Mr Pitcher will wait for the the right conditions.
Asked what he was expecting on the open ocean, he said: "You only need a tropical storm and it can be very bad. We are not departing in tropical storm season, though there is still a risk. It is less than 10%.
"But there are other things which can go wrong. I have a water machine that turns salt water into drinkable water. If that breaks, it'll be game over.
"It doesn't have to be storm weather that stops me, there are other things that could be. There's a liferaft on the boat as well," he said.
As well as attempting to break the current record - which is 40 days, 9 hours and 44 minutes - Mr Pitcher is raising money for two charities, Great Ormond Street Hospital and The C Group, which seeks to generate support for former Royal Marines. | Charlie Pitcher says people who call him "crazy" do not know him very well. | 20809324 | [
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That is according to an international study of students' well-being.
The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Northern Irish pupils were more satisfied with their lives than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.
They had an average satisfaction score of 7.24 on a scale from nought to 10, close to the OECD average of 7.3.
The findings are based on a survey of 540,000 students in 72 participating countries and economies who also completed the OECD Pisa tests in science, mathematics and reading in 2015.
In their responses to questions about their sense of well-being, Northern Irish boys generally expressed more satisfaction with their lives than girls.
Yet worries about exams and bullying remain a problem for many young people.
In Northern Ireland, about 70% of students said they were very anxious before a test, even if they were well prepared for it - well above the OECD average of 55%.
Around one in six Northern Irish pupils said they had were experienced bullying at least a few times a month.
However this was the lowest rate in the UK, with one in four students in England, for example, reporting similar levels of bullying.
A quarter of Northern Irish pupils also reported skipping breakfast before school.
The OECD study also suggests that heavy internet use leaves many pupils feeling lonely and less satisfied.
More positively, the study concluded that the vast majority of teenagers in Northern Ireland had good relationships with their parents and teachers.
Almost 95% reported that they spoke to their parents regularly about school and felt supported by them.
This meant they were more likely to perform better academically and be happier with their lives.
Students who felt their teacher was willing to provide help and was interested in their learning were about 1.3 times more likely to feel that they belonged at school, researchers found.
Northern Irish pupils also tended to be driven and ambitious with 95% saying they aimed for top grades in all of their courses.
More 15-year-olds in Northern Ireland (45%) also expected to complete a university degree than those in England, Scotland and Wales.
However, the study suggests that extensive internet use can lead to students being less satisfied with their lives.
In the UK, almost one in four students reported using the internet outside school for more than six hours a day.
This was well above the overall OECD rate, where one in six students reporting using the internet for a similar amount of time each day.
Generally, the study reveals large variations in life satisfaction across the 72 OECD countries.
In the Netherlands, fewer than 4% of young people said they were not satisfied with their lives.
But in South Korea and Turkey, 20% reported low satisfaction scores.
In Northern Ireland, by contrast, 12.6% of pupils said they were not satisfied with their lives.
Overall, the study found girls and disadvantaged students were less likely than boys and advantaged students to report high levels of life satisfaction. | Most 15-year-olds in Northern Ireland are happy with their lives. | 39648377 | [
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The 24-year-old made four centuries, and Anthony Hamilton two, as the pair completed a record six consecutive tons when they met on Wednesday.
Wilson said he was "way below his best" as he got to the semi-finals in Berlin.
"But playing like that was the perfect antidote," he told BBC Sport.
"It's the best match I've ever played by far, and setting the record is brilliant."
The previous record of five was jointly held by Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry in the 2003 British Open final, and Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals of the 2009 Masters.
World number 20 Wilson came from behind on three occasions to reach the last four at the German Open in Berlin but said having to "do it the hard way" finally caught up with him.
The Kettering man won final-frame thrillers against Rory McLeod, Michael Holt and Ryan Day but lost to Belgium's Luca Brecel 6-3.
"I was absolutely gutted with the way things ended in Berlin," said Wilson. "It will take a while to completely forget that one. I didn't play well and was just scrapping to get through.
"But I wasn't going to mope about. There has to be positives from reaching the semi-finals of a ranking event when you are not playing well. I showed a lot of bottle, but it was probably one match too far in the end. It took a lot out of me.
"I got back on the practice table as soon as I could. There's no way I want that to happen again."
The Kettering potter's response on his return to competitive snooker was emphatic. He hit breaks of 103 and 108 to go 2-1 up in the best-of-nine meeting with Hamilton.
The Nottingham man responded with a 137 and, after Wilson's 125, Hamilton made it 3-3 with a 123.
But Wilson hit a 100 for his fourth ton of an astonishing match, before closing out the win with a 68.
"I was actually gutted that I missed the last red in the final frame when I could have made it seven," he said. | Kyren Wilson says his record-breaking feat during the "best match of my career" in the China Open qualifiers was the ideal response to his "gutting" display in the German Open. | 35551065 | [
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870s - First Norse settlements on Iceland. Previous inhabitants were a small number of Irish monks.
Tradition says 'Bay of Smoke' was founded in 874
930 - An annual parliament - the Althing - established, to make laws and solve disputes.
986 - Erik the Red takes settlers from Iceland to colonise Greenland.
1000 - Iceland adopts Christianity. A golden age of Icelandic culture begins, producing great works of medieval literature.
1262-4 - Icelanders recognise the King of Norway as their monarch.
1380 - Norway and Iceland enter a union with the Danish crown.
1402-04 - Plague hits Iceland, killing half the population. The plague returns in 1494-5 with similar fatalities.
1550 - Catholic bishop, Jon Arason, captured and beheaded in his northern diocese. This marks the final victory of the Lutheran Reformation in Iceland.
1602 - Denmark assumes a monopoly on all Icelandic trade. This continues for around 200 years.
1700s - A period of decline in Iceland, with disease, famine and a volcanic eruption in 1783 reducing the impoverished population from 50,000 to 35,000.
1814 - Norway enters union with Sweden; Iceland remains under Danish rule.
1845 - The Althing meets again in Reykjavik.
1848 - Denmark's monarch renounces his absolute power; Denmark prepares to become a representative democracy. This raises questions about Iceland's status.
1874 - Iceland given limited autonomy; the Althing has power over internal affairs.
1904 - Iceland attains home rule; rule by parliamentary majority introduced. The country experiences rapid technological and economic progress. University of Iceland established in 1911.
1918 - Iceland achieves full self-government under the Danish crown. Denmark retains control over foreign affairs only. The treaty is valid until 1943.
1940 - German forces occupy Denmark. British forces occupy Iceland.
1941 - The United States takes over the defence of Iceland and stations tens of thousands of troops there.
1943 - The Treaty of Union with Denmark runs out, with Denmark still occupied by Nazi Germany.
1944 - Icelanders vote in a referendum overwhelmingly to cut all ties with Denmark and become a republic. The Republic of Iceland is proclaimed on June 17th.
Iceland becomes a member of Nato.
1958 - First "Cod War" as Iceland extends its fishing limit to 19 kilometres.
1970 - Iceland joins European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
1972 - Iceland extends the fishing limit to 80 kilometres. Renewed confrontation with Britain.
1975-6 - Third "Cod War" as Iceland extends its fishing limit to 320 kilometres.
1980 - Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes first woman president of Iceland.
1980s - Iceland suffers from high inflation, averaging 38% annually.
1985 - Iceland declares itself a nuclear-free zone.
1991 - David Oddsson elected prime minister.
1992 - Iceland leaves International Whaling Commission (IWC) in protest at what it sees as the IWC's anti-whaling stance.
1996 - Olafur Ragnar Grimsson elected president.
2001 - Iceland applies to rejoin IWC but is granted only observer status because, after a gap of 12 years, it says it has plans to resume commercial whale hunting despite an IWC moratorium.
Singer Bjork had a top selling album at the age of 11
2002 October - IWC votes by narrow margin to readmit Iceland as a full member, despite the country's plans to resume hunting for what it terms research in the near future and limited commercial hunting after 2006.
2003 May - David Oddsson continues as prime minister in coalition government following elections.
2003 August - Iceland embarks on its first whale hunt for 15 years, with a "scientific catch" to study the mammals' impact on fish stocks.
2004 June - Olafur Ragnar Grimsson re-elected president.
2004 September - David Oddsson hands over premiership to former foreign minister Halldor Asgrimsson.
2004 November - Grimsvotn volcano erupts, scattering ash as far away as Finland and causing aircraft to divert. The volcano is in a remote part of the island and there are no casualties.
2006 June - Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson resigns after his party's poor performance in local elections and amid concerns about the economy. He is succeeded by Geir Haarde.
2006 - The last US military personnel leave the Keflavik base, ending a military presence dating back to 1951. The US says it will defend Iceland as a Nato ally.
Bobby Fischer's 1972 Reykjavik clash with Boris Spassky made him a hero in Iceland
2006 October - Iceland breaks its 21-year moratorium on commercial whaling; the fisheries ministry authorises a catch of 30 minke and nine fin whales.
2006 December - Population grows 2.6% in past year. Officials attribute this to immigration, encouraged by the rapidly growing economy.
2007 April - Iceland and Norway agree to expand defence cooperation to help secure future shipments of oil and gas.
2007 May - The governing coalition holds on to its majority in parliament by a single seat in general elections. The Progressive Party leaves the coalition with Geir Haarde's Independence Party. It is replaced by the Social Democratic Alliance, which gives Mr Haarde a much larger majority.
2008 January - Controversial US-born former world chess champion Bobby Fischer dies aged 64 in Iceland. A popular figure in Iceland, he had been granted citizenship to prevent Japan from extraditing him to the US.
2008 April - The government warns that it may intervene in the country's currency and stock markets to fight hedge funds that it says are attacking Iceland's financial system.
2008 October - The government takes over control of all three of Iceland's major banks in an effort to stabilise the financial system, which has been hit hard by the global financial crisis.
The 2008 crash of Iceland's banking system sparked angry protests
Waking up to reality in Iceland
Crisis claims Icelandic cabinet
Weeks later, Iceland applies to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for emergency financial aid - the first western country to do so since 1976.
2008 November - IMF approves $2.1bn (£1.4bn) loan to help Iceland through its financial crisis.
2009 January - Prime Minister Geir Haarde calls a general election for 25 April, two years early. The move comes after demonstrations calling on the governing coalition to resign over the country's economic meltdown.
Days after calling the election, Prime Minister Haarde announces the immediate resignation of the government, following the breakdown of talks with his coalition partner, the Social Democrats.
Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir takes over as prime minister, at the head of a centre-left coalition with the Green-Left party.
2009 April - PM Johanna Sigurdardottir's centre-left coalition wins majority of 34 out of 63 seats at parliamentary elections.
2009 July - Iceland formally applies for EU membership after parliament votes in favour of accession.
EU foreign ministers ask European Commission to begin assessing Iceland's readiness for membership, opening accession proceedings.
2010 February - Unemployment soars to over 15,000 (over 9% of work force) - up from just over 1,500 (1% of work force) at the beginning of 2008, before the financial crisis took hold.
2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano generated huge excitement - and travel disruption across Europe
2010 March - Voters overwhelmingly reject a referendum proposal to pay the UK and the Netherlands 4bn euros (£3.4bn) worth of compensation for the collapse of the Icesave bank.
The Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland starts a massive eruption, creating an ash cloud that disrupts flights throughout Europe for several months.
2010 April - The IMF clears a further $160m (£104m) tranche of the aid package granted in 2008 but delayed by wrangling over compensation for the Icesave collapse.
2010 July - Formal talks on Iceland's EU accession begin.
2010 December - Government agrees new deal to repay the UK and the Netherlands the 4bn euros (£3.4bn) they lost when the Icesave bank collapsed in 2008. Under the new settlement, repayments will be completed by 2046.
Iceland says it will unilaterally increase its mackerel fishing quota by nearly 17,000 tonnes in 2011.
2011 - Economy registers first signs of growth in response to austerity programme and unemployment begins to fall fast.
2011 February - Parliament approves new deal to settle UK banking dispute with UK and Netherlands, which voters reject in April.
2012 February - The credit rating agency Fitch raises Iceland's sovereign rating to BBB-, which makes the country once again fit for investment.
2012 April - Former Prime Minister Geir Haarde is found not guilty of negligence in his trial over his handling of the 2008 financial crisis.
2012 July - President Grimsson wins a record fifth term in office.
2012 September - IMF praises Iceland's economic recovery.
2013 January - A European court clears the government of failing to guarantee minimum compensation for British and Dutch savers.
Iceland awards two licences for oil and gas exploration and production to Faroe Petroleum and Valiant Petroleum, with Norway taking a 25% stake in both.
2013 April - The opposition Eurosceptic and centre-right Progressive and Independence parties win parliamentary election in backlash against Social Democrats' austerity measures.
2013 May - Progressive and Independence parties form a coalition government. They promise to hold a referendum on whether or not to proceed with Iceland's EU membership negotiations.
2013 December - Four former bosses of the Kaupthing bank are given prison sentences for market abuses just before it collapsed in the 2008 financial crisis.
2014 February - Britain and the Netherlands file a claim of nearly $5bn (£3bn) over money their savers lost in the 2008 collapse of the Icesave bank.
2015 March - Official figures show Iceland's GDP has returned to the level it was at before the 2008 financial crisis.
The centre-right governing coalition withdraws Iceland's application for EU membership. About 7,000 people protest against the decision in Reykjavik.
2015 October - Government says it has reached an agreement in principle with the three failed banks on steps to be taken to make possible the lifting of capital controls.
2016 April - Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson steps down after leaked documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca reveal that he failed to declare ownership of an offshore company when he entered parliament in 2009.
2016 October - Prime Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson resigns after a snap vote sees his Progressive Party lose more than half of its parliamentary seats. The conservative Independence Party, which emerged as the biggest party after no party won a majority, will now seek to form a coalition government. | A chronology of key events: | 17386859 | [
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The Vector V40R powerboat flipped over and hit a buoy in the Solent in May last year.
The teenage son of the driver spent a month in an induced coma after suffering life-threatening injuries.
He was saved by the "selfless" actions his father after the crash, said the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
But the report said no written risk assessment had been carried out and the harbour authority had not been informed of the test run.
"None of the crew were wearing seatbelt harnesses or helmets, although this equipment was readily available as its use was mandatory when the boat was participating in organised racing events," it said.
Simon Dredge, aged 17 at the time of the accident on 13 May, was travelling with two others and his father Peter, a champion speedboat racer.
Peter Dredge swerved to miss what he believed was a diver's marker in the water.
The buoys were five-litre plastic containers used as fishing gear markers, which had been laid earlier that day.
They did not comply with the harbour authority's requirements.
"After the accident, when the driver realised his son was probably still inside the cockpit he did not hesitate in diving back under the boat to locate and rescue him.
"But for his swift action it is unlikely that his son would have survived," said the report.
The MAIB said the purpose of the report was not to apportion blame, but for "the prevention of future accidents". | The crew of a powerboat which crashed at 100mph were not using safety equipment during the high-speed test run, a report has said. | 35656008 | [
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The Public Health Wales study looks at adverse experiences in childhood (ACEs) which include parents separating.
Children with four or more ACEs, around 14%, are three times more likely to get lung or heart disease later in life.
One senior health figure said instead of "mending broken adults" a focus was needed on "building stronger children".
The findings are being published to coincide with a major international public health conference, hosted by PHW in Cardiff.
It is the last of three PHW studies looking at the first 1,000 days of life. More than 2,000 adults in Wales were interviewed.
The importance of giving children the best start in life has long been appreciated.
But this research looks at the long term impact of bad experiences in those crucial early years and how it could mean more chronic illness and more pressure on frontline services further down the line.
Those having had four or more ACEs are also:
Prof Mark Bellis, director of policy and research at Public Health Wales said: "Most of us have the odd shock in childhood and after that we relax and we're comforted by parents and our bodies develop at that lower, more relaxed level.
"But if you get constant exposure to adverse childhood experiences, your body develops at a higher state of tension, it's always looking out for more threats.
"That means as your body develops, it's used to being ready to be injured or hurt in some way and it wears out quicker.
"You're also more ill at ease, you may develop poorer metal health, you're more likely to use alcohol and drugs - and they increase your risks of ill health later on in life. All that adds up to you developing poor health, earlier."
But a child can experience adverse incidents even from within the womb.
NSPCC midwife Nikki Rhys-Jones said: "In the second trimester [the period from 13 to 27 weeks] of a woman's pregnancy, the baby can hear - so the baby will be aware of the sounds around her.
"So the baby can start relating and connecting to parents, however things like domestic abuse, violence in the household, shouting - a baby will experience that and those things will cause stress to a baby and impact on its development."
Emerging research suggests the effects could also be passed on from one generation to the next.
Genomic expert Dr Tom Connor, consultant for Public Health Wales and senior lecturer at Cardiff University, said: "As individuals, we're almost a symphony of genes, firing off at different times.
"Epigenetics [which looks at changes in genes] actually controls expression of genes - and so things like smoking and drinking can actually affect the expression of genes, which can be passed on to our children.
"There's growing evidence that the lifestyle choices we make ourselves have an effect on our children. That's an immediate effect when they're born and potentially if we do things, for example smoking which can do damage to our children's DNA, that can be a long term effect for their entire lifetime."
But this is not just a challenge for the NHS.
Children who have had four or more adverse incidents are also 15 times more likely to be a perpetrator of violence, and 14 times more likely to be a victim.
If everyone shrinks into their core responsibilities, the cracks get bigger and more and more people fall down the cracks
Alun Michael, South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner said the force was being made more aware of the impact of domestic incidents on children in the background - and it can only improve with all agencies working better together.
"There's tended to be an attempt to deal with those things by making referrals - pieces of paper passing from one organisation to another. You're never quite sure where they go," he said.
But a coordinated approach is not always easy to achieve, he argues, at a time when public spending is being squeezed.
"If everyone shrinks into their core responsibilities, the cracks get bigger and more and more people fall down the cracks and the consequences are more complex and dangerous further down the line," said Mr Michael.
"There's been a general feeling within Wales we must shrink together and not shrink apart. It's more important that we don't allow those gaps, that we don't let people fall down the cracks; we work together for a joined up approach."
The Welsh Government said the evidence on the negative impact of ACEs was "overwhelming" and it was "working relentlessly" to prevent and reduce the long term impact on children who have experienced them.
A spokesperson pointed to the Flying Start, Families First, and Supporting People programmes, as well as investing directly in children's health and well-being programmes.
For Prof Bellis it is crucial for the future to get it right.
"The long term costs of leaving these things untreated are enormous," he said. "What we've got to focus on is instead of mending broken adults we must build stronger children." | Children who are exposed to abuse, domestic violence or other stresses are far more likely to develop long term health problems, says new research. | 37787959 | [
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The 26-year-old served a provisional 30-day suspension after testing positive for a 'fat burner' in March.
Sakho admitted taking the substance, but Uefa had to investigate whether it was actually prohibited.
Its control, ethics and disciplinary body dismissed the case after a hearing including experts from World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratories.
"I am happy that this is finally over," Sakho said. "It's been a difficult time for me but I knew I had done nothing wrong.
"I am looking forward to getting back in the team and playing again."
Centre-back Sakho's failed test followed Liverpool's Europa League last-16 second-leg tie against Manchester United on 17 March.
He was eligible for selection for his country for Euro 2016 but was left out of the squad.
Liverpool said in a statement: "We are pleased for Mamadou that he can now resume his playing career." | Liverpool and France defender Mamadou Sakho has had a doping case against him dismissed by Uefa. | 36752127 | [
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The Sweden striker, who is out of contract after four years at Paris St-Germain, could follow former manager Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.
Football finance expert Rob Wilson says the 34-year-old would be United's most marketable player since Cristiano Ronaldo, and linking up with the three-time European champions would be a "match made in heaven".
Wilson says Ibrahimovic's shirt sales alone would help cover the cost of finishing fifth in the Premier League this season and missing out on the riches of playing in Europe's elite competition, worth up to £50m.
"It would not surprise me if Zlatan sold more shirts than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi," Wilson, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, told BBC Sport.
"The cost of missing out on the Champions League is £30-50m. Zlatan will help plug that gap significantly with the number of shirts shifted by United.
"It is a match made in heaven. The football club is commercially so aware who will exploit every commercial opportunity.
"To them, they are signing a player who understands commercial endorsements and behaves in a way that allows him to maximise them.
"Put that together and you get the holy grail stakes of shirt sales, and stacks of corporate sponsorship.
"Zlatan is also the sort of player who brings ad hoc ticket buyers to a match, even if it is the Europa League or League Cup.
"It is matching the world's biggest sporting brands with one of the most marketable players, who has cult following, plus it is his career swansong.
"If you marry that with Manchester United, he will probably shift more shirts in the next year than any player in the squad because of the superstar status that he has."
Wilson claimed that Ibrahimovic could become the face of Manchester United.
"Zlatan has a global profile, and global appeal," he said. "Fans will buy shirts with Ibrahimovic on the back in Africa, South East Asia - markets United had a foothold in but not the leverage.
"Only a few select few players can do that: Gareth Bale, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo."
If they are the off-pitch benefits of signing Ibrahimovic, what else will the enigmatic Swede bring to Old Trafford and the Premier League?
Since making his debut for his hometown club of Malmo in 1999, Ibrahimovic has played for some of Europe's biggest clubs: Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and PSG, commanding transfer fees of more than £120m.
He has scored 392 goals in 677 games and last season was his most prolific, with 50 goals in 51 matches - a record for PSG - while his 38 league goals is also a club record.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Ibrahimovic does not do ordinary goals. He scored four against England in a friendly in 2012, including an amazing overhead kick and then there are the free-kicks, long-range goals, back-heels, flicks and scorpion goals.
Manchester United's FA Cup victory on Saturday was their first trophy since the Premier League title in 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
But Ibrahimovic is used to regular success and has won 12 trophies in four seasons at PSG, including the domestic quadruple twice.
While he may not have the same Ballon d'Or collection as Messi or Ronaldo, at least Ibrahimovic can console himself with being - beyond doubt - the best player in Sweden.
The striker has won a record 10 Guldbollen (Golden Ball), the award given to the best male footballer in his home country.
Ibrahimovic is one of the most quotable figures in world football. Here are just a few examples:
Johanna Franden, international football correspondent for Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, has spent four years in Paris reporting on Ibrahimovic.
"He will play up to that image that people had of him," Franden told BBC Sport.
"When he says these things there is still a smile behind it, but for the last 15 years he has had so many people telling him how good he is that I think he does believe all of it."
Ibrahimovic has always enjoyed a spiky relationship with the media and his critics.
In 2015, after the semi-final of the French League Cup, he ordered his team-mates not to talk to journalists. When questioned why, he said: "Because I am the boss."
"Only God knows" was Ibrahimovic's answer when quizzed by a journalist about Sweden's chances against Portugal in the 2014 World Cup play-offs.
"Well, it's a bit hard to ask him", the reporter said, to which the player replied: "You're talking to him now."
On another occasion, he was forced to apologise for describing France in not so endearing terms.
"There will be a clash [with the media]," said Franden. "He will not hold back. He is not scared by the media; he will tell the journalists what he thinks.
"You expect if there is any discontent it will leak out.
"He can handle the pressure, but he keeps his private life private, he does not invite the press in and his partner Helena Seger will be in the limelight more than she has been so far."
Ibrahimovic could soon be linking up with England captain Wayne Rooney.
In a BBC documentary, he said of Rooney: "I'd prefer to have him in my team than play against him. I've not been lucky enough to play with him but I enjoy seeing him on the pitch. If I cannot play with him, I will watch him."
But it is fair to say Ibrahimovic has not always enjoyed the best relationship with team-mates and it is safer to stay on his good side.
He once put AC Milan team-mate Gennaro Gattuso in a bin after a training session, in retaliation for being teased by the Italian.
A fight with AC Milan team-mate and 6ft 5in American Oguchi Onyewu ended with a broken rib for Ibrahimovic, he once threatened to break Ajax team-mate Rafael van der Vaart's legs and another time he hit Mido after the Egyptian threw a pair of scissors at him.
Earlier this year, Ibrahimovic told his PSG team-mates at half-time to "play as I tell you and everything will be fine".
"It is a good time for him to go to United, as there is not such a clear leader in the squad," said Franden.
"If he goes to United it is because Mourinho has told him he will be the number one, the most important voice in the locker room.
"Zlatan wants to be the most important player on the pitch. He is not a leader in the way he talks, but he expects team-mates to listen to him especially when he is not happy. He is also extremely demanding of himself.
"He will be a good example to the young players in how disciplined he is and how hard he works. He is always early for training and one of the last to leave. He eats healthy and does not drink or smoke."
Former United assistant manager Rene Meulensteen told BBC Radio 5 live: "In some ways Ibrahimovic is the perfect fit for Manchester United at this moment in time. They have young players in the dressing room and he is a leader, a winner.
"He would bring a lot to the club and really put United back to winning ways"
Ibrahimovic is joining United to link back up with Mourinho, who coached him at Inter Milan for a season from 2008-09.
"From being a cat, I felt like a lion," was how Ibrahimovic described the impact of Mourinho in an interview with Radio 5 live.
"He was amazing. He dragged out of me things that no other coach has done before. When I played I felt like a Terminator, I felt so confident under him."
In his book I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he described Mourinho as a manager he was "willing to die for".
"The first time he met my partner Helena, he whispered to her: 'Helena, you have only one mission: feed Zlatan, let him sleep, keep him happy'."
"Mourinho knows what he is bringing. Zlatan has always wanted to work with him again," said Franden.
"He had been very eager and was disappointed Mourinho had not got him in before.
"He said at Inter that Mourinho was the best he had worked with and was disappointed Mourinho has, until now, not picked up the phone to ask him to come. Mourinho has always praised Zlatan.
"When Zlatan left Inter some players said they were two seconds away from getting physical with each other. There was not enough air to breathe but Zlatan is willing to work with him. They are two big egos and they do clash."
"If Mourinho lights up a room, Guardiola draws the curtains," wrote Ibahimovic about former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, who takes over at Manchester City next season.
He referred to the Spaniard as a "spineless coward" in his autobiography, and Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed Ibrahimovic said he "might punch Pep" during his time at Barcelona.
Barcelona bought Ibrahimovic for £57m and he scored 21 goals in 51 matches, but he felt he was used incorrectly by Guardiola and once confronted him on the training ground over lack of playing time.
"I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn't have bought me if they wanted another type of player," he wrote about a meeting with Guardiola.
"I told him what a friend had said to me: 'You bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat.'"
Expect fireworks at the Manchester derby next season.
Former team-mate Peter Schmeichel said Ibrahimovic could have the same affect at Old Trafford as Eric Cantona, the iconic French striker.
"United need inspirational players, players that stand alone," said the former Denmark keeper.
"We had Cantona in the mid-90s. A lot of what happened in the 1990s would not have happened without him. Now it is time to have someone like that again. Zlatan fits that bill.
"In the last five years Zlatan has only improved his fitness, his abilities and output . His stats are unbelievable. Not just say in the French league, because he does it in Europe and for Sweden. He finds the goals, he finds the tricks, he finds what the crowd needs. I said this before, he was born to play for United."
Ex-United midfielder Paul Scholes added: "Zlatan joining United does excite me. I know it might only be one or two years at the most, but he is a fit lad, looks after himself and is a great character, he could pull it off without a shadow of a doubt."
Brazil left-back Maxwell and Ibrahimovic first met at Ajax in 2001 and have followed each other to Inter Milan, Barcelona and Paris St-Germain. They are close friends.
The pair have won 10 league titles together, so could we see Maxwell join his friend across the English Channel?
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Zlatan Ibrahimovic could "plug the financial gap" of Manchester United's failure to reach the Champions League - should he join the club. | 36368433 | [
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The incident happened on Tuesday night, when the attacker charged at Rajnish Thakur in his shop in Mumbai's Chembur neighbourhood.
Naseeruddin Mansuri, who was a customer in the shop, has been hailed a hero for rushing to defend Mr Thakur.
But Mr Mansuri told BBC Hindi that he now fears for his life.
He has asked journalists not to take photos of him.
"I have a wife and children. If some criminal recognises me from photo and comes after me, who will protect me? Please don't create any trouble for me," he pleaded.
Speaking about the incident, Mr Mansuri told the BBC: "For a moment, I couldn't understand what was happening. But then I managed to stop the attacker and also started shouting so more people gathered."
Mr Mansuri said he did not feel any fear. "At that time I had to just save this man... How could I watch someone being beaten up?"
After the video was shown on Indian television channels and posted online, Mr Mansuri was hailed as a hero on social media.
But, he says he has received threats and is worried about his family and has not left home since after the incident.
Police have arrested the attacker and named him as Akram Sheikh.
Reports say Mr Thakur was attacked because he has been actively campaigning against extortion by the underworld. | Video footage has emerged of an Indian man fighting a sword-wielding attacker to save the life of a shopkeeper. | 33927144 | [
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Former MK Dons midfielder Carl Baker rescued a point for Pompey with a debut goal to cancel out Reggie Lambe's opener for the Cumbrians, who had Jamie Devitt sent off before half-time.
Portsmouth started the brighter, with summer signing Milan Lalkovic forcing Carlisle goalkeeper Mark Gillespie into a good save just five minutes in.
But five minutes later the away side took the lead. A neat through-ball from Mike Jones was latched onto by Lambe, who calmly slotted past David Forde.
Carlisle were reduced to 10 men just before the half-hour mark when Devitt was shown a second yellow card for a tug on Gary Roberts.
Just before the break, Portsmouth levelled through Baker, who drilled a low shot past Gillespie.
Michael Smith missed an open goal early in the second half for the home side, before Roberts and substitute Kyle Bennett were both wasteful late on.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Portsmouth 1, Carlisle United 1.
Second Half ends, Portsmouth 1, Carlisle United 1.
Attempt missed. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Substitution, Carlisle United. David Atkinson replaces Jason Kennedy.
Carl Baker (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Luke Joyce (Carlisle United).
Attempt blocked. Kyle Bennett (Portsmouth) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Mark Gillespie.
Attempt saved. Michael Doyle (Portsmouth) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt missed. Kyle Bennett (Portsmouth) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Substitution, Portsmouth. Noel Hunt replaces Danny Rose.
Carl Baker (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Danny Grainger (Carlisle United).
Foul by Michael Doyle (Portsmouth).
Nicky Adams (Carlisle United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Kyle Bennett (Portsmouth) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Danny Rose (Portsmouth) hits the left post with a left footed shot from outside the box.
Mark Gillespie (Carlisle United) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt missed. Danny Rose (Portsmouth) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Carlisle United. Mark Ellis replaces Shaun Miller.
Attempt missed. Kyle Bennett (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.
Substitution, Portsmouth. Conor Chaplin replaces Michael Smith.
Substitution, Portsmouth. Kyle Bennett replaces Milan Lalkovic.
Attempt missed. Christian Burgess (Portsmouth) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Mark Gillespie.
Attempt saved. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Attempt saved. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. Jack Whatmough (Portsmouth) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Luke Joyce.
Substitution, Carlisle United. Luke Joyce replaces Reggie Lambe.
Attempt missed. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Tom Miller.
Foul by Christian Burgess (Portsmouth).
Shaun Miller (Carlisle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Nicky Adams (Carlisle United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Carl Baker (Portsmouth).
Danny Grainger (Carlisle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Carl Baker (Portsmouth) right footed shot from very close range is close, but misses to the right. | Promotion hopefuls Portsmouth opened their season with a frustrating draw at home to 10-man Carlisle. | 36930361 | [
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The X Factor's 13th series began in August with 8.5 million viewers - four million fewer than 2010's launch show.
The Voice will move from the BBC to ITV next year, also on a three-year deal.
But the broadcaster has agreed a deal with Simon Cowell for both The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent to continue on ITV until at least 2019.
Cowell said: "I want to thank ITV for continuing to be fantastic partners. I'm delighted for the shows and, in particular, for all the talented people who work on them with us."
Cowell may not appear as a judge on both programmes, though - under the new deal he is only committed to judging one of the two series per year.
ITV is currently negotiating with Ant and Dec to remain as hosts of Britain's Got Talent for the next three years. Dermot O'Leary's current contract means he will keep presenting The X Factor until at least 2019.
ITV's director of television Kevin Lygo said Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor were both "big, brilliant, wonderful shows" that would form "an important part of our schedule" for the next three years.
"They are defining shows for us, ones that we are very proud to have as part of our entertainment slate, and they continue year after year, for months at a time, to be amongst the most popular and hugely entertaining formats on television," he said. | The X Factor is to stay on ITV for at least the next three years, despite declining viewing figures and the arrival of The Voice to the channel. | 37383590 | [
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Evaldas Vaicekauskas was arrested after Border Force officers intercepted a package from China that he had bought on eBay.
The 23-year-old claimed he had no intention of selling on the weapons and had only bought them because they "looked cool".
He will be sentenced in December.
Dundee Sheriff Court was shown one of the stun guns, which are hidden in torches.
The court was told that the torch section was "fully functional, as opposed to being a stun gun disguised as a torch."
Because of their dual use, the stun guns did not meet the criteria for a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence under the Firearms Act.
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told the court: "The outside of the package described the contents as "tools", but when the package was opened it was found to contain 50 extendable friction lock batons, each contained within their own holder.
"Within his home address three stun guns were found."
Vaicekauskas told police that he had bought the stun guns on ebay for £12 each.
The offences took place at his home in Arbroath and at his business address in Dundee.
Vaicekauskas admitted being concerned in the importation of prohibited goods.
He also admitted a charge under the Firearms Act relating to the stun guns.
Defence solicitor Lee Quimseh said: "My instructions are that there was no intention to sell.
"He simply purchased them because he thought they looked cool and no other reason."
Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence until December and remanded Vaicekauskas in custody.
He said: "The only conceivable inference for importing 50 weapons is an intention to supply to other people.
"Those who import weapons with what appears to be a commercial motivation can expect no sympathy from this court." | A businessman who bought three stun guns and 50 extendable batons on an internet auction site has been remanded in custody. | 37936579 | [
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He's been refused somewhere to stay because he comes from Ebola hotspot, Sierra Leone.
Amara arrived in Norwich from West Africa a fortnight ago and was turned down by two landlords - one by letter.
Both were happy for him to stay until he handed over his passport and they realised he was from a country at the centre of the current epidemic.
He told Newsbeat that he was "devastated to be turned down".
The letter said: "Under normal circumstance. Your profile would be a great profile to be one of our lodgers.
"However, given that the world is about to probably experience an Ebola epidemic, we have decided not to accept anyone that has been anywhere near the ebola outbreak within the last two months, or is likely to visit those areas in the near future."
Amara, 35, told Newsbeat that it is wrong to assume all people from Sierra Leone carry the disease.
He says: "It's very unreasonable. And if you think everybody coming from Sierra Leone is affected, then that's just completely unfair."
The good news for Amara is that after a few weeks of looking, he's found somewhere to stay so he can continue his studies.
More than 4,400 people have died in the Ebola outbreak, mainly in West Africa.
Britain has now begun screening passengers at Heathrow airport.
People arriving from the worst-affected countries will be questioned and may have their temperatures taken.
Professor Tom Solomon is an expert on diseases like Ebola and how they spread.
How worried should we be here in the UK?
I think we should be worried about Ebola in West Africa because sadly the cases have gone up and up but the situation in the UK is very different from the situation in West Africa.
Was the landlord right to be so cautious?
I understand why people are concerned about Ebola but what people need to do is look at the facts and then make sensible decisions. You're not going to get Ebola from renting your flat to someone from Sierra Leone.
How do people get Ebola?
Ebola is passed on if someone is in contact with the bodily fluids of someone who is actually sick with the disease. So clearly letting out your property wont put people at risk.
Is the virus going to become airborne?
There is no evidence that the virus is airborne and we have never seen the virus change and become airborne - so there is no evidence to say that this will happen here.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Starting university is meant to be an exciting time but for Amara Bangura it has been a bit too eventful. | 29616736 | [
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Three sightings have been reported in recent days, in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, north Pembrokeshire and Anglesey.
Dr Peter Richardson, of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), said Wales' waters were currently "turtle heaven".
The turtles nest in the Caribbean before travelling to UK waters to feed.
Dr Richardson said there had been high numbers of jellyfish - the food source of the leatherback - reported in the Irish Sea this year.
He added: "The waters around Wales are absolutely perfect at the moment for turtles - turtle heaven."
"What we have seen in the last few weeks is a sudden increase in the number of leatherbacks reported off the coast of the UK, mostly the south west, but in the last few days we have had three reports of leatherbacks off Wales."
Describing the leatherback as a "spectacular animal," he added: "Wales boasts the largest leatherback ever recorded anywhere on the planet.
"In 1988, a dead one washed up at Harlech... and it measured just under 3m (10ft), nose to tail, and weighed just under a tonne."
In 2002 and 2005 there were about 70 sightings of leatherback turtles around the British coast, but since 2007 there have been 20 or fewer reported annually, according to the MCS. | Reported sightings of leatherback turtles are increasing off Wales, with the reptiles thought to be drawn by high numbers of jellyfish. | 14525585 | [
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The scene from Alice in Wonderland in Wardie Primary's assembly hall dates back to 1936 and was recently restored with a Heritage Lottery Fund.
A mother has lodged a complaint about the image describing it as racist.
Edinburgh City Council said it understands the offensiveness of the image but said it does not reflect the attitudes of the school.
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: "The Alice in Wonderland mural at Wardie Primary School was painted in 1936 and is of both historical and artistic importance as evidenced by the fact it recently received full Heritage Lottery Funding support to restore the work.
"While we understand the offensiveness of the image, it is in no way indicative of the attitudes of either the school or the council.
"Our equalities policies and approaches are robustly multi-cultural and anti-racist, promoting diversity and good relationships among pupils."
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Police in Edinburgh have received a complaint in relation to a mural at a primary school in the Trinity area.
"Officers are now liaising with Edinburgh City Council education department with regards to this matter.
"Police Scotland treats all reports relating to hate incidents extremely seriously and will thoroughly investigate whenever a report of this nature is made." | Police are investigating a complaint about a mural at an Edinburgh primary school which features a golliwog. | 24999917 | [
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Rachid Lamrabet, 42, who lives in London, denies sexually assaulting a 25-year-old man at Greyfriars Kirk, on 26 August 2015.
The judge said the case was being deserted after a matter arose and he heard legal submissions.
He added that there were "good reasons" for the move.
The trial had only just begun at the High Court in Livingston on Monday.
Dismissing the jury members, judge Lord Woolman told them: "In the light of submissions made to me I regret that I'm going to discharge you as a jury and continue this case until tomorrow.
"I'm not in a position to tell you the exact reasons for that all I can tell you is that there are very good reasons.
"I very much regret that this has happened, but sometimes matters occur which are outwith our control.
"I regret and I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused to you."
Mr Lamrabet, is accused of engaging in consensual sexual activity with his alleged victim but ignored him when he was told to stop.
The charge states that he seized the younger man by the body, pushed him to the ground and raped him to his injury.
English is not the accused's native language, and a Spanish interpreter sat with him in the dock so he could understand the proceedings. | The case of a man accused of a homosexual rape in an Edinburgh graveyard has been deserted and will restart with a fresh jury. | 38976277 | [
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It carries the simple name e-Delicious, and it takes the form of a box about the size of a large printer, containing sensors, and some computer circuitry, which act as an electronic tongue and nose.
It was developed by Thailand's National Innovation Agency, at a total cost of $1m (£640,000), after former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra complained about the poor versions of Thai food she was subjected to during her overseas trips.
A Thai Delicious committee was formed - a bit like the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for food and wine - and around 200 people were invited to sample different versions of classic Thai dishes like tom yum gung (sour prawn soup) and kaeng khiao wan (green curry).
Whichever version was the consensus winner was taken as the standard, although the designers acknowledge that as the sampling was done in Bangkok, inevitably their standards for now are Bangkok versions.
The e-Delicious machine has nine sensors in it to measure the balance of six Thai flavours - sweet, sour, bitter, salty, savoury and spicy - and the food's aroma.
There is also a sensor to assess the dish's visual presentation, which is always very important in Thai cooking.
But can it actually tell you if the dish is any good?
"The machine can't tell you if something is delicious or not," says Nakah Thawichawatt, an entrepreneur who carries the grand title of Innovation Ambassador.
"The sensors give a taste-reading that we can understand. So if we like a certain taste, but can't explain what that taste is to someone else, the machine will able to decipher it, and record the data as a standard for other dishes."
We decided to give the e-Delicious a test. We had seen it sample low-cost versions of the recipes in its database - only three for now, but soon to reach 10 - and found them all wanting.
But how would it cope with the tom yum gung that is judged by many in Bangkok to be the finest in the city?
You won't find it in a ritzy restaurant in Bangkok's upmarket neighbourhoods, where Italian or Japanese cuisine is popular.
Jay Fai, a formidable-looking woman in trademark beanie-hat and fire-engine slash of lipstick, is sometimes called the Mozart of the Wok, for the lightning speed and instinctive flair with which she wields that most essential tool for East Asian cooking.
Her pad kee mao, or drunken noodles, is renowned: thick strips of white rice noodles fried in seconds over a roaring charcoal brazier, the meat, seafood, vegetables and chillies seared, glazed and smoky.
But it is her tom yum gung they queue up for, despite a price tag that reaches $50 (£32) for a large bowl.
Jay Fai tells me she learned her recipes from the old women who used to cook for the community on the village where she grew up.
She is meticulous about ingredients, searching for the very freshest jumbo prawns, the most fragrant herbs - and tom yum gung relies a great deal on the galangal, lemon grass and lime leaves that flavour it, along with the fermented fish sauce, tamarind, lime juice, chillies and red onions.
Watching her hurling great handfuls of herbs into the furiously boiling pot, it is hard to see any precision.
And yet, after a couple of minutes she produces a soup of exquisite, overpowering taste and aroma. Once eaten, never forgotten, and for this reviewer, never equalled.
At the Thai Delicious lab we spooned some of Jay Fai's soup into two glass beakers - one for taste, one for smell - and slid them into the e-Delicious machine.
After a minute's processing, it delivered its verdict; for taste, 90%. For aroma, 100% - the highest score of any tom yum gung it had assessed.
So perhaps a machine can judge great cooking.
For a final view I called the chef at the first Thai restaurant ever to win a Michelin star: David Thompson, a true global culinary celebrity.
His Bangkok restaurant Nahm has repeatedly been voted as one of the world's finest.
"It's an impossible dream, to set one standard," he said. "Taste is so subjective."
"There are standards, but the art of cooking is the epitome of humanity, with differences in taste, seasoning and technique that express the cook's character."
And what about a taste robot?
"It's a gimmick, a foolish idea," he said. "Any cook, any sound practitioner or craftsman knows that a robot can never analyse the product of the human hand."
The developers of the e-Delicious machine are undeterred.
Despite its high cost - at least $18,000 (£11,455) per unit - they hope they can sell a few to each country where Thai food has taken off, to offer at least a consistent standard by which Thai restaurants can come and have their versions of the Thai classics judged.
And if that does not take off, they have also come up with a Thai Delicious app for smartphones. | At a small laboratory in a Bangkok suburb, a group of scientists has come up with what they hope is the answer to an old conundrum: how to tell if a Thai dish is authentic or not. | 30110282 | [
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Foden, 26, scored his third try in two matches as Saints beat Quins 24-3 in the Aviva Premiership.
But he told BBC Radio Northampton: "If he continues to perform, I'm going to have to push myself to the limit.
"Hopefully it'll bring out the best in both of us and put England rugby in a good place."
Interim England coach Stuart Lancaster will name his squad for the Six Nations on Wednesday, with Brown expected to return for the first time since the tour of New Zealand in 2008.
Also 26, he has scored 10 tries in 17 starts for Quins to help them reach the top of the Premiership table.
Meanwhile, Foden is hopeful that Saints will again contribute a good number of players to the England squad for next month's tournament, after he joined Tom Wood, Chris Ashton, Courtney Lawes and Dylan Hartley at the 2011 World Cup.
"We're performing well and if guys are fit, hopefully we'll see a few more representing the green, black and gold," he added. | Northampton Saints full-back Ben Foden believes his rivalry with Harlequins' Mike Brown can benefit both players and England. | 16469132 | [
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NHS Highland required an additional £2.5m to help it break even in 2013-14.
In a new report, the public audit committee has heavily criticised the health board's financial management.
NHS Highland said it had acted to address the concerns, and that it wanted to ensure both its finances and governance met "the highest standards."
The public audit committee gathered evidence from the health board's bosses, who answered MSPs' questions at two public meetings.
In the report, the committee said NHS Highland and its largest hospital - Raigmore in Inverness - continually overspent.
MSPs questioned how well informed board members were of the financial situation.
Committee convener Paul Martin said: "The fact that, for example, Raigmore Hospital continued to overspend year-on-year, despite £5m extra funding in 2012-13, suggests to us a culture of complacency about budgetary oversight at the hospital and at the NHS Highland board.
"The slow progress in addressing the causes of the overspending at Raigmore was exacerbated by the practice of creating compensatory underspends elsewhere in NHS Highland in order to break even.
"What was clear to the committee was that without brokerage there could have been serious repercussions for patients."
NHS Highland has previously said the deal agreed to secure the additional £2.5m was the first time it had taken such action in 15 years.
It said it could have been forced to cancel operations and cut services if the Scottish government had not given it the funds.
NHS Highland chairman Garry Coutts said: "We welcomed the opportunity to give evidence to the committee and we believe we have fully co-operated.
"We have already acted to address the concerns the committee has raised, both in its latest report and previously, and we are determined to ensure that our financial management and our governance practices are of the highest standards." | "Poor leadership and complacency" led to NHS Highland having to ask for extra funding from the Scottish government, MSPs have said. | 33151894 | [
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Comedian Jeremy Hardy, himself banned, suggested Labour was "rigging the election" to stop Jeremy Corbyn.
Andy Burnham's campaign claimed there could be "several thousand Tory infiltrators" planning to vote.
Mr Corbyn, Mr Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall are all standing.
Polls suggest Mr Corbyn is the frontrunner.
New regulations allow members of the public to sign up to vote as a "registered supporter" for £3.
But some have been told their vote will be discounted amid concerns non-Labour supports had registered to take part.
"The Labour Party might be trying to invite a legal challenge so that they can say 'let's just scrap the election'," Mr Hardy said. "They are so desperate that I wouldn't be surprised."
Former Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay also accused the party of misusing canvass returns - collected at election time to gauge the level of support for candidates - to find people who have previously voted for other parties.
He said the exclusion process had been "arbitrary" and "unfair".
"The Labour party has got to stop today doing this," he added.
But a Labour spokesman said the party was confident "the processes of verification and handling applications are compliant with the Data Protection Act."
He added: "All applications to join the Labour Party as a member, affiliate or supporter are verified and those who are identified by our verification team as being candidates, members or supporters of another political party will be denied a vote."
Mr Burnham's campaign, meanwhile, said they had concerns about "potential Tory infiltration on a large scale."
Michael Dugher, who is chairing his campaign, wrote to Labour's general secretary calling for a "urgent meeting" of candidate teams to discuss the issue.
He claimed "a Conservative MP, Conservative media commentators, and Conservative councillors all having been rejected".
He added: "This suggests the 121,000 registered supporters could include several thousand Tory infiltrators, as well as supporters of other parties seeking to have a vote in the election."
Also on Friday, Mr Corbyn has said he will formally apologise on behalf of the Labour Party for taking the country to war with Iraq if elected leader.
Mr Corbyn told the Guardian the party would "never again flout the United Nations and international law". | Labour says it has "a robust system" to stop "malicious applications" after claims individuals who have registered to vote in the leadership race are being unfairly banned from taking part. | 34013497 | [
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The six girls were taking part in the FIRST Global Challenge competition, which took place across three days and saw 158 nations compete against each other.
They took home a silver medal for courageous achievement, which was awarded to teams "that exhibit a can-do attitude throughout the challenge, even under difficult circumstances, or when things do not go as planned".
According to the New York Times, the team's mentor Alireza Mehraban said: "We are simple people with ideas. We need a chance to make our world better. This is our chance."
A visa is a special permission that you get in your passport which you sometimes need in order to enter or stay in a country for a certain period of time
Their story made the news because, at first, they weren't going to be allowed to go to the competition because of visa problems.
They were told twice that they weren't allowed to enter the country so wouldn't have been able to take part.
However, US President Donald Trump stepped in at the last minute and the girls were able to travel to the US and participate.
The competition - which hopes to inspire young people to want careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths - will take place in Mexico City next year. | A team of girls from Afghanistan has won a special award at an international robotics competition in Washington in the US. | 40669089 | [
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The 56ft (17.1m) converted trawler was 6 miles (10 km) west of South Stack when the crew radioed coastguards at 07:00 BST.
Holyhead coastguards said a pump on board the boat was unable to cope with the water coming in.
The RNLI lifeboat crew placed a pump and towed the vessel to Holyhead. | Three people have been rescued from a boat which had started to take on water off the Anglesey coast on Friday. | 32446508 | [
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The approval depends on Shell getting a nod from other US regulators, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said.
Shell stopped Arctic exploration more than two years ago after problems including an oil rig fire and safety failures.
Environmental campaigners oppose the move.
Shell has spent about $6bn (£3.85bn) on exploration in the Arctic - a region estimated to have about 20% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.
The Anglo-Dutch company wants to drill up to six wells in water about 40 metres deep, using two vessels that can serve as backups in the event of an emergency.
"We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea," said Abigail Ross Harper, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in a statement.
This conditional approval means Shell must obtain permits from the federal government and the state of Alaska to begin drilling this summer.
Susan Murray, an official at Oceana, a group against Arctic drilling, said: "Our government has rushed to approve risky and ill-conceived exploration in one of the most remote and important places on Earth."
Among Shell's woes the last time it tried to drill in the area were its failure to have a spill-response barge on site before the drills reached oil-bearing zones, as it had promised, and the outbreak of fire on the Noble Discoverer rig that Shell had hired.
The Kulluk, a circular drilling barge, broke away from its towing vessel and ran aground on its way to a shipyard in Washington state.
"The approval of our Revised Chukchi Sea Exploration Plan is an important milestone and signals the confidence regulators have in our plan," said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith. | Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has won approval from the US Department of Interior to explore for oil in the Arctic. | 32696199 | [
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The UN bestowed the honorary title to the famed heroine, also known as Princess Diana of Thermyscira, on her 75th birthday on Friday, marking the launch of a year-long social media campaign to promote women's empowerment and gender equality.
But the decision was not without controversy, sparking outrage among both UN members and women's rights advocates across the world.
More than 1,000 of anonymous and "concerned" UN staff members have signed an online petition arguing that Wonder Woman was not an appropriate choice, noting the character's physique as: "a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee high boots -the epitome of a "pin-up" girl".
Critics who signed the petition said it was "disappointing" that the UN "was unable to find a real-life woman that would be able to champion the rights of ALL women on the issue of gender equality and the fight for their empowerment".
The comic book superhero has sprung back into culture relevance with the upcoming release of a new Wonder Woman film starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who appeared at the UN ceremony along with actress Lynda Carter, who also portrayed her in the eponymous 1970s US TV series.
Wonder Woman, an Amazonian princess who was created by Harvard-trained psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1941, was inspired by the leaders of the suffragist movement and has been long considered a feminist icon.
"The focus [of the UN] was on her feminist background, being the first female superhero in a world of male superheroes and that basically she always fought for fairness, justice and peace," UN official Maher Nasser told NPR.
The organisation said the character's appointment was meant to "highlight what we can collectively achieve if women and girls are empowered" and "to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls", according to the UN's website on sustainable development goals.
But the honour appeared to be ill-timed. The announcement follows the UN's selection of Portugal's Antonio Guterres as its next Secretary General despite a global push for the organisation to select its first female top diplomat.
In fact, a recent analysis found that nine of 10 senior leadership roles at the UN went to men.
Prospective female candidates in the race included the former prime minister of New Zealand, the director general of cultural agency Unesco, the Moldovan deputy prime minister and a senior EU official.
Why wasn't a woman elected as UN secretary general?
"It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls," the petition read.
About 100 UN staff members protested the appointment at UN headquarters, bearing signs emblazoned with the words: "I am not a mascot" and "Let's get real".
Outrage reverberated across social media, with women's rights advocates pointing to real-life women who fit the bill over Wonder Woman.
France's highest-ranking female Cabinet minister, Segolene Royal, told CBS "Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai would have been a good choice".
Anne Marie Goetz, a New York University professor of global affairs and former adviser on peace and security issues for UN Women, called the decision "disgusting".
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem also told CBS she was "all for symbolism" but "we are now looking for women with real terrestrial power."
She added she would rather see the ascension of the UN's first female Secretary General.
Some critics contend the character's appointment appears to be dated at a time when gender equality is at the forefront of global issues.
"She stands for things that people still care about and will always care about so much that she's never going to fade away," Diane Nelson, the president of DC Entertainment, told the BBC.
"Her ability to operate alone and be her own independent person but also to work right alongside with the same strength and same abilities as some of the strongest male super heroes I think is a testament to her character and kind of ties back again to the UN designation and this idea of gender equality." | The United Nations has come under fire for appointing comic book character Wonder Woman as its new Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. | 37734623 | [
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Vicky Cherry, 44, had been missing for 15 months when police found her body wrapped in a duvet and plastic sheeting at a house in Toronto Street, Bolton, in January.
Andrew Reade, 43, admitted preventing the lawful burial of a body and perverting the course of justice.
He was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to four years and four months in jail.
Miss Cherry's cause of death could not be ascertained because of heavy decomposition but a pathologist concluded she may have died as a result of strangulation, as injuries to her neck were detected.
Sentencing Reade, Judge Timothy Clayson said the defendant could not be held responsible for Miss Cherry's death but what followed was "inexcusable".
Officers had launched a "non-body" murder investigation because Miss Cherry, from Fulwood, Lancashire had not been seen since October 2015.
Reade, of Toronto Street, Bolton, told her family they had split up and she had moved to Blackburn. However, police discovered that her unemployment benefits were still being withdrawn in Bolton.
When officers arrested Reade on suspicion of murder, he claimed he had panicked upon waking to find his girlfriend dead after they had binged on a cocktail of drugs.
The 43-year-old admitted hiding her body and lying to her family and police. He also admitted taking her benefits for several months after her death.
In a victim statement to the court, Miss Cherry's daughter said: "Reade has held her body in a cupboard with things on top of her like she was a piece of rubbish.
"I will never forgive Reade. Reade himself is the only person who truly knows what happened to my mother. We will be forever tormented by this."
Nick Ross, defending, said his client, a long-standing user of Class A drugs, had exercised "very poor judgment" after grief and panic had set in following Miss Cherry's death.
"He wishes he could turn the clock back," he said.
Det Ch Insp Terry Crompton said: "Reade's deliberately deceptive and misleading actions seriously obstructed the investigation into how Vicky died and cost us valuable opportunities to investigate." | A man who hid his dead girlfriend's body in an airing cupboard for more than a year has been jailed. | 40163746 | [
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Professional Darts Corporation chief executive Porter landed the same role with the O's under Barry Hearn in 2006.
The 37-year-old left the National League side in October 2014, following Francesco Becchetti's takeover.
"This is a time for us to look to the future and there's a great buzz around the place," he told the club website.
"Everyone knows how difficult things have been and that cloud has now been lifted." | Leyton Orient have appointed former chief executive Matt Porter to their board of directors following Nigel Travis' takeover on 22 June. | 40424712 | [
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1 December 2016 Last updated at 00:23 GMT
The BBC News website asked the independent Money Advice Service to deliver a calendar of month-by-month tips for those trying to keep their personal finances in order.
In the final instalment, Nick Hill from the service says that now is the time to start thinking of money resolutions.
Video Journalist: Kevin Peachey | Building up a savings buffer is one financial goal that should be considered as a new year approaches, an expert says. | 38148612 | [
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After captaining England to nine victories in a row this year, Hartley is favourite for the Lions job in 2017.
But after meeting for a short camp last weekend, Hartley insists all the focus is on England's November opener against South Africa.
"Every player has that in the back of their mind," Hartley told BBC Sport.
"Lions selection comes off the back of playing well for your country, so at the moment everyone's focus should be on playing well for their clubs and getting picked for England.
"You are always judged on your next performance, so I just want to play well for my club and be in [the frame for] selection for that South Africa game in November."
England face South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia in successive weekends in the autumn, and can go through 2016 unbeaten if they avoid defeat.
"The key message from Eddie is how as a team do we get better, how do we improve?" Hartley added.
"Without winning that first game there is no point talking about going unbeaten, [so] every meeting we have had these last few days has been about South Africa and building for that game.
"I don't think anyone in our team has beaten South Africa before, so there's a huge opportunity there for us as a group."
Meanwhile, Hartley believes the new club and country agreement will be of great benefit to the national side.
Under terms of the new deal between the RFU and the Premiership clubs, which was finalised last month, England coach Eddie Jones will have more regular access to his players.
A 45-man group assembled in Teddington last weekend, a matter of weeks after the successful tour of Australia in June.
"We have a couple more of these camps before [the matches in] November which keeps us all connected and in England mode," Hartley said.
"It's hard to go from club to England, so the more we can meet together as a group the better for us as a team.
"It keeps us tighter as a group, and the more we meet those bonds stay tight." | England skipper Dylan Hartley has urged his players not to become pre-occupied with the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand next summer. | 37016332 | [
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The final member of the family, a male marmoset called Gomez, was found by police on Monday, having been abandoned on a vets' doorstep.
A female and a baby were retrieved on Sunday, and are already back at Symbio Wildlife Park, south of Sydney.
Two men have pleaded guilty to charges of dealing with proceeds of crime.
Brothers Jesse and Jackson George are not believed to have snatched the monkeys from their enclosure, but they were charged with trying to profit from the theft.
Pygmy marmosets - the world's smallest monkey species - command up to A$5,000 (£3,000, $3,700) on the black market.
Police found the men after a tip-off from the public. A desperate appeal for information had been launched by the zoo, amid fears that the baby marmoset would die within 48 hours if unable to feed from its mother.
The four-week-old was found when the Georges' car was pulled over at Appin, southwest of Sydney.
The female marmoset was found about 20km (12 miles) away in the Campbelltown area.
Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph said the brothers had exchanged marmoset pictures with a third person via mobile phone, along with messages about how much a monkey could sell for.
"Ay, check out my monkey," wrote the third person, according to court documents. "That's mad bro. Wanna sell it bruh?" Jackson George replied.
The baby marmoset is now home and well, said Symbio Wildlife Park, after they reunited it with its mother.
"Mum cradled the baby straight into her arms and bub immediately began to feed," the zoo wrote in a statement on Facebook.
Police say they are continuing their investigation into the theft. The zoo said the marmoset enclosure is currently closed "to give the family privacy". | Three rare pygmy marmosets have been rescued and are set to be reunited, after being stolen from a Sydney zoo at the weekend. | 38135155 | [
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The 21-year-old, who has been playing for Icelandic side IBV this summer, has signed a one-year deal.
"I'm looking forward to a new chapter in my career.
"It was disappointing that I didn't play more Premier League football, but sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward again," the right-back told the League One club's website.
"I know a couple of the other lads and I've had a good spell in Iceland so I feel fit and raring to go."
James is a terrific defender but he loves to get forward and fits the template of player I want in our squad
Hurst, who has represented England at Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-20 level, spent time on loan at Birmingham and Shrewsbury last season.
He began his career at Portsmouth, but failed to make a senior appearance at Fratton Park and moved to West Brom in 2010 following a previous loan spell with IBV.
He was restricted to three appearances in all competitions for the Baggies and had five separate loan spells away from the Hawthorns during his time with the Premier League side.
Crawley manager Richie Barker said he was delighted to secure Hurst's signature.
"Right-back was a key position for us when it came to adding to the squad," Barker said.
"He's a terrific defender but he loves to get forward and fits the template of player I want in our squad - someone who is young, athletic with a willingness to learn and improve and [has] a terrific attitude." | Crawley Town have completed the signing of former West Brom defender James Hurst on a free transfer. | 23135004 | [
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The missile reached an altitude of about 3,000km (1,865 miles) and landed in the sea off Japan, the Japanese national broadcaster NHK said.
It comes three weeks after North Korea's first ICBM test.
In response, the US and South Korean military conducted a live-firing exercise using surface-to-surface missiles, a US defence official said.
The missiles were fired into the "territorial waters of South Korea along the east coast," a US military statement said.
The latest North Korean missile flew higher, further and for longer than the one in early July. Its launch has been condemned by a number of countries.
The test - the 14th carried out by North Korea in 2017 - is the latest to be conducted in defiance of a UN ban.
US President Donald Trump called it "only the latest reckless and dangerous action by the North Korean regime".
Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said that initial indications showed the latest missile had a range of about 10,000km - far enough to strike the west coast of the United States and beyond.
The Washington Post reported that Denver and possibly Chicago could now be in North Korea's range.
The latest missile was launched at 23:41 (15:41 GMT) from an arms plant in Jagang province in the north of the country, the Pentagon said.
It is unusual for North Korea to launch a missile at night - the significance is as yet unclear. No missiles had been fired from Jagang province before, indicating a previously-unknown launch site is operational.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missile flew for about 45 minutes - some six minutes longer than the ICBM tested in early July.
NHK said it reached an altitude of about 3,000km - about 200km higher than the previous ICBM. It landed about 1,000km from the launch site, the Pentagon said.
ICBMs can reach altitudes well outside the earth's atmosphere. Using sharp trajectories with high altitudes allows North Korea to avoid firing over neighbouring countries.
In the latest reaction:
Despite ongoing tests, experts believe Pyongyang does not yet have the capability to miniaturise a nuclear warhead, fit it on to a long-range missile, and ensure it is protected until delivery to the target.
They say many of North Korea's missiles cannot accurately hit targets.
Others, however, believe that at the rate it is going, Pyongyang may overcome these challenges and develop a nuclear weapon within five to 10 years that could strike the US.
The US has installed a missile defence system in South Korea to combat the threat from the North, but the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad) has angered many in the region, especially China.
South Korea's president said he wanted to hold talks with the US on deploying more of the Thaad units in the wake of the latest tests, Yonhap reported. | North Korea has conducted a new intercontinental ballistic missile test, South Korea and the Pentagon say. | 40757780 | [
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The character with a huge papier mache head was the alter-ego of musician and comedian Chris Sievey, who died in 2010.
Fans raised £60,000 for the tribute which was made in a Czech foundry.
Hundreds of people attended an unveiling ceremony earlier, many in fancy dress for the occasion.
Neil Taylor, who helped raise the donations for the statue, said its installation would mean that "Frank will gaze on the Timperley sunset forever".
He said: "You either got the humour or you didn't get the humour.
"Frank Sidebottom created a whole world, he was just magical. He just made a very modest living entertaining people and that's what he's enjoying doing."
Sievey set his character's life in the village, where he lived himself, and, as Frank, hosted tours of the area for fans.
He often referenced Timperley in his TV and music work, notably on his 1987 release, The Timperley EP, which featured a version of The Kinks' 1967 song Waterloo Sunset with altered lyrics that referred extensively to the village.
He also covered Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK, changing its title to Anarchy in Timperley.
Although best known for Frank Sidebottom, Sievey also had success in the late 1970s with his punk band The Freshies, who had a hit with I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk.
His TV fame peaked in the early 1990s with his own series Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show.
Next year Michael Fassbender will play Frank Sidebottom in Frank, a movie inspired by the character. | A life-size bronze statue of comedy character Frank Sidebottom has been unveiled in his hometown of Timperley in Greater Manchester. | 24601038 | [
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But Roma forward Mohamed Salah, who has been out with an ankle injury, is among the 27 names on the preliminary list.
Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny is another of 11 foreign-based players in the squad.
Coach Hector Cuper also handed surprise call-ups for Zamalek midfielder Mohamed Ibrahim, Al Masry striker Ahmed Gomaa and Ismaily goalkeeper Mohamed Awad.
Only four players - Essam El-Hadary, Ahmed Elmohamady, Mohamed Abdel-Shafy and Ahmed Fathi - have played at a Nations Cup before.
The Pharaohs will start preparations on 1 January and play a friendly match with Tunisia on 8 January in Cairo International Stadium.
Cuper must cut four players to get his final 23-man squad for the tournament in Gabon, which will be played between 14 January and 5 February.
Egypt are in Group D alongside Ghana, Mali and Uganda. Their opening match is against Mali on 17 January.
Egypt squad:
Goalkeepers: Essam El Hadary (Wadi Degla), Ahmed El Shenway (Zamalek), Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly) , Mohamed Awad (Al Ismaily).
Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City) , Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Al Ahly Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly),Karim Hafez (Nice, France) , Hamada Tolba (Al Masry) , Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ahly) , Saad Samir (Al Ahly) , Ahmed Dweidar (Zamalek), Omar Gaber (FC Basel, Switzerland) , Ali Gabr (Zamalek).
Midfielders: Abdallah El-Said (Al Ahly) , Amr Warda (Panetolikos, Greece) , Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) , Tarek Hamed (Zamalek) , Ibrahim Salah (Zamalek) , Mahmoud Hassan 'Trezeguet' , Mohamed Ibrahim (Zamalek) , Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City).
Forwards: Ahmed Gomaa (Al Masry) , Mahmoud Abdel-Moneim 'Kahraba' (Ittihad Jeddeh) , Mohamed Salah (AS Roma, Italy) , Ahmed Hassan 'Koka' (Braga, Portugal) , Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly). | Zamalek striker Basem Morsi has been excluded from Egypt's squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations after falling out with the coaching staff. | 38459575 | [
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The 54-year-old, who led the team to three drivers' and constructors' championship doubles in a row from 2014 to 2016, is expected to join Williams.
He will be replaced by former Ferrari technical director James Allison, whose deal was signed some months ago, sources say, but is not yet confirmed.
Lowe is set to take on a role heading the technical side of the entire Williams group, including the F1 team.
He is also expected to head up the burgeoning Williams Advanced Technologies business.
However, sources say a final agreement between Lowe and Williams has not yet been reached.
Williams are said by insiders to be lining up Toro Rosso technical director James Key to join them in the same role when his contract with Red Bull expires at the end of the year.
"Paddy has played an important part in our success during the past three and a half years and we thank him for his contribution," head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff said.
"Success in Formula 1 is not about single individuals but about the strength in depth and technical capability of an organisation. We have the talent in place to continue our success of recent years."
Lowe, who will serve a period of gardening leave before taking up his next role, added: "I have had a fantastically successful and enjoyable three and a half years at Mercedes.
"I am now looking forward to a new challenge and wish everyone well at Mercedes."
Allison, 48, is effectively a like-for-like replacement for Lowe, but he is not expected to be as contractually senior nor earn as much as his predecessor. Lowe's £3m income for the past two seasons - including all bonuses - is said to have caused tension at Mercedes.
Allison will join Mercedes when his own period of gardening leave from Ferrari expires in the summer. He split with the Italian team last July as they underwent a restructure of their technical department.
Lowe's move is not directly linked to the impending switch of Williams driver Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes to replace world champion Nico Rosberg, who retired last year, five days after winning the title.
But sources say now Lowe's position is clear, it may smooth the path to the Bottas deal being completed.
Since BBC Sport revealed Bottas was Wolff's first choice to replace Rosberg, all the elements have been put in place.
Williams revealed in a statement to the BBC that they were prepared to let Bottas go and have lined up his former team-mate Felipe Massa to replace him.
But the financial compensation Mercedes have to pay for Williams to release Bottas has not yet been agreed.
Williams have persuaded Massa to come out of retirement after the 35-year-old announced his decision to leave the sport at the end of last season.
They needed a driver over 25 years of age to replace Bottas because their title sponsor, the drinks giant Martini, cannot use two drivers under that age for its global promotional campaign.
Williams' other driver in 2017 is 18-year-old Canadian rookie Lance Stroll, who is reputedly bringing in the region of £20m to the team in financial backing.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Paddy Lowe has left his position as technical boss of Mercedes. | 38571408 | [
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Ms Villiers made the remarks the day after 10 police officers were injured during a riot in east Belfast.
The trouble flared during a loyalist protest against a council decision to limit the number of days the union flag is flown at Belfast City Hall.
Further protests are taking place across the city on Friday evening.
Translink said some Belfast metro bus services have been withdrawn.
Ms Villiers said the violence that had resulted from some of the demonstrations in recent weeks was "completely unacceptable".
"The incredibly damaging thing is the image it projects of Northern Ireland around the world, she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.
"Northern Ireland is in a global race for investment and jobs and we need to be projecting the reality of a forward-looking, modern Northern Ireland, not one which is tied up in the kind of conflict which is associated with its past rather than its present."
Street protests have been taking place, almost on daily basis, since councillors voted to change their long-standing flag policy on 3 December.
The secretary of state said retailers representatives had expressed "a huge amount of concern" to her about the impact the violence had on pre-Christmas trade.
"Thankfully no investor has come to me directly to say that this is affecting their decisions - and I certainly hope it won't - but there must be a risk that it does, and that's one of many reasons why these flag protests are damaging and they're actually counter-productive.
"They're undermining the cause they are seeking to promote," Ms Villiers said.
She called on all political parties in Northern Ireland to engage in dialogue to resolve disputes over flag and emblems,
"Political leadership in Northern Ireland has grappled with more difficult than this one," she added.
"It does demonstrate that it is crucial there is a push to address division in society, to address sectarian division and build a genuinely shared future, because if we do that, then surely it's possible to make these kind of decisions in a way which is far less fraught with tensions than we've seen in recent weeks," Ms Villiers said.
The secretary of state confirmed that she has not spoken directly to the leaders of the two main unionist parties, the DUP and UUP, since they announced they were setting up a unionist forum to deal with cultural issues such as flag on 18 December. | Violence during flag protests is damaging the image of Northern Ireland internationally, the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, has said. | 20915975 | [
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Head coach Stuart Lancaster's World Cup preparations suffered a blow as for the first 70 minutes a largely first-choice XV struggled to deal with French power.
Two late tries flattered the visitors, who have one game left before launching their World Cup campaign against Fiji on 18 September.
"We gave away penalties and our discipline was shocking," said Robshaw.
"Whether it was rust, or nerves, it wasn't good enough. Credit to France, they put us under pressure and made us make mistakes.
"We gave too many penalties away, but in the second half we came out and played well but couldn't quite get over the line in the end," he told Sky Sports. "We can't give teams like France and other quality sides head starts like we did.
"We'll look long and hard at ourselves, because we let ourselves down in the first half. We played well in phases but you can't wait for 40 minutes to do that."
Late tries from Danny Cipriani and Jonathan Joseph made it close on the scoreboard but Lancaster was left with much to ponder by a disappointing team display in the Stade de France.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The head coach, who must announce his final squad by 31 August, added: "We've got to get our discipline at the breakdown - we can't give France easy position like we did. We need to improve on that, because all the little mistakes add up.
"The bench made a difference. It upped the energy levels and we scored some good tries. I won't gloss over what went on before that, because it was too little too late.
"There are a few players who have given me food for thought, those guys who came on and gave us the energy we needed and made a difference.
"I need to have a sleep on this game and think about my final squad. We're two weeks away from playing Ireland and four weeks away from Fiji in the World Cup and we'll expect a reaction next time."
England host Ireland in their final World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham on 5 September.
Fly-half Ford told Sky Sports: "I thought we might snatch that at the end but we had hardly any ball in the first half and gave away too many penalties. We played some good stuff in the second-half.
"In the first half a lot of our undoing was down to ourselves. We just weren't good enough in that first half and there's no excuse for that. We let them build up the score and that made it hard for us.
"It was frustrating and we had to think of ways to adapt and that was constantly going through our minds. We tried to get ourselves out of a hole.
"We've got to turn up against Ireland now and make sure that we win. Our basics have got to be world class." | Captain Chris Robshaw blamed England's "shocking" first-half discipline for their 25-20 defeat by France in Paris. | 34031667 | [
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In the last three weeks, blooms have appeared along the shoreline on Anglesey and there have been some reports of children being stung.
The cold spring meant there were few reports of jellyfish before June.
Frankie Hobrow from the Anglesey Sea Zoo advised swimmers to "look but don't touch" and to treat stings with vinegar.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said jellyfish, including the Lion's Mane variety, have been seen by holidaymakers at Benllech beach, on the Menai Strait.
Ms Hobrow said: "They have increased over the last two or three weeks with the warmer weather. They get carried around on the ocean currents, they can't swim very well so they rely on being carried around, and we do see this every year once it gets warmer.
"The sea temperatures warm up slightly and we get a lot more swarms of jellyfish."
Ms Hobrow said the Lion's Mane gives a "nasty sting".
She said: "They can grow very, very big - over two metres - but the ones here are fairly small.
"They can be painful but it's generally localised pain - it doesn't usually last very long. You can often help if you apply vinegar - that's great because it's acidic."
She also said urine could also be used because of its acidity.
The MCS's National Jellyfish Survey, which is in its 10th year, said 7,500 jellyfish reports have been made by the public over the last decade.
Dr Peter Richardson, the charity's biodiversity programme manager, said: "The scarcity of jellyfish reports before June was unusual and could well be linked to the exceptionally cold spring.
"However, as our waters warmed, sightings of jellyfish increased, with moon jellyfish reported in large numbers around the UK, reports of compass and blue jellyfish in the south west, and blooms of Lion's Mane jellies around north Wales and north west England." | The jellyfish population in north Wales has soared after the recent warm weather, researchers have said. | 23501020 | [
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He and his son Gorka were arrested earlier this month as part of a corruption investigation.
Villar, who denied all the allegations, has been suspended for one year by the Spanish football federation.
"Villar will no longer have any official functions at our organisation," Uefa said on Thursday.
"In view of the ongoing court proceedings in Spain, we have no further comments to make on this matter."
Uefa said its president, Aleksander Ceferin, had accepted Villar's resignation and had thanked him for his years of service to European football.
Villar, a former Athletic Bilbao and Spain midfielder, had headed the Spanish football federation for 29 years. Juan Luis Larrea has been named as interim president. | Suspended Spanish Football Federation president Angel Maria Villar has resigned from his roles as vice-president of Uefa and Fifa. | 40739853 | [
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Merlin Entertainments Group (MEG), which runs the attraction, filed an application in 2014 to build lodges which was rejected by the council.
The Warwick Society said the plans for glamping - or luxury camping - were not in keeping with the landscape.
MEG has previously said the site would "benefit the wider economy".
The firm applied for permission to erect up to 20 permanent lodges, and create room for 41 glamping tents on land known as "Foxes Study".
It was previously granted permission to erect a temporary site for "medieval glamorous camping".
Neighbours at the site objected to the lodges, with one saying the move would be the "first step in turning this historic heritage site into a theme park".
James Mackay, chairman of the Warwick Society, said: "Merlin is a very successful company but the proposal to use part of a Grade I listed landscape for holiday lodges is not at all satisfactory."
Warwick District Council said any public inquiry would probably be held in March.
However, it added MEG had submitted a revised application - a "scaled-down" version of the original - which would go before the planning committee in September or October.
MEG said: "Warwick Castle submitted an appeal to the decision to refuse our planning application to build new accommodation, several month ago.
"However we have also been working closely with the experts at Historic England to develop a significantly revised and reduced accommodation proposal which we hope will be approved. If the current application is approved we will not progress with the appeal." | The owners of Warwick Castle are appealing after a council rejected plans to put a permanent "glamping" site in its grounds. | 34086555 | [
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Cole, 22, has agreed a two-and-a-half year deal at the Silverlake Stadium, having joined Staines from Barnet in February 2016.
Eastleigh have also announced that Tyler Garratt's loan from League Two leaders Doncaster Rovers has been extended until 29 April.
The 20-year-old left-back has scored once in five matches for Eastleigh.
The Spitfires are 13th in the National League and travel to struggling Guiseley on Saturday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | National League Eastleigh have signed defender Chinua Cole from Isthmian League side Staines Town. | 38853540 | [
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She launched an "Armpit Hair Competition" on China's popular micro-blog service Weibo to get women to take ownership of their bodies.
The competition attracted thousands of comments from Chinese women.
You have been sharing your thoughts via @BBC_HaveYourSay on Twitter. Here is a selection of your tweets:
@jen_vorhaut in Washington DC, US, chooses not to shave her armpits.
@MARKDIDDY from Nigeria and @Jenn_Abrams from the US share their reasons for preferring armpits to remain hairless.
But not all readers agree that shaving armpits is the best way forward. @bijubelinky in London, UK, thinks it is down to the individual to choose.
@YHHSulami from Manhattan, Kansas, US, thinks that shaving armpits is a way to keep clean.
@ennisorca is from Australia and says that shaving, or choosing not to shave, is a seasonal choice.
And finally, @WomenAlso_ from the UK raises the point that shaving armpit hair has nothing to do with hygiene.
Produced by Alison Daye | Xiao Meili is a well known women's rights activist in China. | 33059482 | [
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The bird, known officially as LF15, and her partner LM12 bred three chicks in both 2015 and 2016 at the Dunkeld reserve.
Lassie arrived back in Scotland on 23 March, six days after her mate.
Viewers from around the world have been watching the pair's progress on the Loch of the Lowes live webcam.
Charlotte Fleming, Perthshire ranger for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: "LF15 has settled down to begin incubating, and we would expect the egg to hatch in about six weeks' time.
"It's now clear that the pair's attempts at breeding have been a success and they are on track to repeat the hat-trick of chicks that were hatched in both 2015 and 2016." | A female osprey nicknamed Lassie has laid her first egg of the season at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes nature reserve. | 39502281 | [
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Briton Eleanor Hawkins, Canadians Lindsey and Danielle Peterson, and Dutchman Dylan Snel admitted causing a public disturbance.
The group was blamed for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake after stripping on Mount Kinabalu, which is considered sacred.
They were jailed for three days, but their sentences were back-dated to reflect time already served.
A judge at Kota Kinabalu Magistrates' Court said the four had shown remorse and ordered the jail terms to run from 9 June, meaning the group is free to leave.
He also fined each defendant 5,000 Malaysian ringgit (£860/$1,330).
The BBC's Jennifer Pak, who was in court, said she understood the group were now waiting to pay their fines before being deported.
Hawkins' lawyer Ronny Cham said the 23-year-old, from Draycott in Derbyshire, would be freed from police custody later on Friday and her release documentation was being arranged.
She would then fly home to the UK on Saturday, her lawyer said.
Her father Timothy Hawkins said the sentence was "appropriate and fair" but it appeared she had been "treated pretty badly" amid the media scrum outside court.
"She's obviously very traumatised," he said.
"Eleanor knows what she did was wrong and disrespectful and she is deeply sorry for any offence she has caused to the Malaysian people."
Foreign coverage of the story has been criticised in the Malaysian press.
Several local newspapers accused British tabloids of exaggerating reports that the tourists were arrested for causing the quake, rather than the actual charge of public indecency.
The Sabah-based Daily Express accused the papers of running "sensational" headlines, while the country's most popular English-language paper, The Star, said reports (pictured) alleging Hawkins and the others were arrested for angering mountain gods "couldn't be further from the truth".
Tourism minister, Masidi Manjun, said their acts would have merited punishment for breaking local laws and norms whether or not the earthquake took place.
Mr Masidi, who comes from the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, was also quoted in the Malay Mail as saying there had been some "fact-twisting" by foreign media.
"I don't know whether this is on purpose just to ridicule us, or their failure to appreciate our local traditions and customs," he said.
Speaking to reporters outside his home, Mr Hawkins said the family were looking forward to his daughter's return.
"We do not know when this will be as we've had no contact from the High Consulate in Malaysia, and we've not spoken to Ellie," he said.
She and her co-accused all admitted a charge of "committing an obscene act in public".
Prosecutors said the four tourists, along with six others, climbed the peak to enjoy the sunrise on 30 May and then challenged each other to take off their clothes.
But the court amended the facts to agree the accused did not tell the guide to "shut up" or "go to hell", as the prosecution had alleged.
Their lawyer said they had simply ignored pleas not to remove their clothes, and had not verbally abused the guide.
Mr Cham, who representing all four defendants, said they were ignorant of local customs and "their act had brought shame and ridicule upon themselves and their respective countries".
He asked the judge to not make an example of them, saying the intense international media coverage had traumatised them enough.
The prosecution argued the public interest was central to the case and, according to Malaysian law, anyone committing an "obscene act" which causes annoyance in a public place should be jailed for up to three months.
Many Malaysians had been outraged by the group's behaviour, he said, and the case was about "upholding the [country's] morals and customs".
Earlier, the four arrived at court accompanied by officials wearing balaclavas.
The accused covered their faces as they entered the building, surrounded by a media scrum.
"There's a lot of public anger still against the tourists because many of them believe Mount Kinabalu is a sacred spot where their souls go to rest when they die," Ms Pak said.
"The fact that these foreigners are alleged to have stripped on the peak, urinated and cursed at staff members trying to stop them is something that many locals say is disrespectful."
Last Friday, an earthquake struck killing 18 people, including children, and leaving hundreds more stranded.
Sabah state deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan blamed it on the travellers showing "disrespect to the sacred mountain".
News agency AFP said police were still seeking five other suspects but some were thought to have already left Sabah. | Four tourists who posed naked on a mountain in Malaysia have been given jail terms and fined. | 33105999 | [
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It may be their signature pose, but how and why the birds perch on one limb has been a longstanding puzzle.
Now, a team from the US has shown that flamingos employ no active muscular effort when they're unipedal, meaning they are also expending less energy.
A passive mechanism is engaged in the one-legged position, allowing flamingos to stand proud while having a doze.
Previously, researchers had wondered whether the one-legged position might help reduce muscle fatigue, as the birds alternated from standing on one leg to the other.
Other teams have proposed that this behaviour helps regulate body temperature.
Now, Prof Young-Hui Chang, from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, and Lena H Ting, of Atlanta's Emory University, have uncovered the mechanical secrets behind this impressive trick.
The researchers conducted several experiments with both live and dead birds. Amazingly, they found that flamingo cadavers could be made to stand one-legged without any external support.
In a paper published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, they describe this phenomenon as a "passive gravitational stay mechanism".
"If you look at the bird from the front, while they're standing on one leg, the foot is directly beneath the body which means that their leg is angled inward. That's the pose you have to strike in order to engage the stay mechanism," Prof Chang told BBC News.
However, dead birds cannot stand unsupported on two legs, suggesting a greater role for active muscle force in this posture: "If you tilt it to the vertical, like you would if you were standing on two legs, the whole thing disengages," said the director of the Comparative Neuromechanics Laboratory at Georgia Tech.
The researchers also studied live birds, and showed that when they were standing one-legged and resting, they hardly moved at all - underlining the stability of this passive position. However, the birds did sway somewhat when the one-legged posture was combined with an activity, such as grooming or calling out.
Prof Chang said the underlying anatomical apparatus that enables the passive posture was not yet understood - this is the next step in the team's research. But he explained that the phenomenon did not involve the limb joints locking.
"A lock would imply that it's fixed in both directions. What we found is that it's fixed in one direction, but flexible in the other direction, so we call it a 'stay' rather than a 'lock'. It's more akin to a doorstop," he told me.
Dr Matthew Anderson, an experimental psychologist who specialises in animal behaviour at St Joseph's University in Philadelphia, described the team's results as a "significant step forward".
The researcher, who was not involved with the latest study, added: "They begin to answer the question of how flamingos are able to rest on one leg. Importantly, these authors do not examine when and where flamingos actually utilise the behaviour in question, and thus this paper does not really address the issue of why flamingos rest while on one leg."
Dr Anderson's own research suggests that the birds adopt the unusual posture in order to conserve heat. Among other things, his team found that the number of birds resting on one leg falls as temperatures rise.
"Providing evidence of the mechanism that supports/allows for the behaviour to occur does not necessarily provide insight into why it happens in the first place."
Follow Paul on Twitter. | Flamingos expend less energy standing on one leg than in a two-legged stance, scientists have confirmed. | 40016816 | [
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Rowett was furious after his side lost a two-goal lead to be held 2-2 at St Andrew's to end any hope of making the Championship play-offs.
"We've held on to leads at lot better this season," Morrison told BBC WM.
"We're probably far too open - we need to get that bit between our teeth."
Rowett called his side "unprofessional" and "lacking desire" after seeing Clayton Donaldson's brace cancelled out by two goals in the last 17 minutes, with Greg Cunningham's equaliser coming a minute from time.
"We need to see the game out, especially at home - they had no right to get back into it," said 28-year-old Morrison.
"It was very disappointing and a few choice words were said.
"Early on in the season, we had a tighter shape and people were working harder maybe to be more difficult to beat."
Blues went into the game with only a mathematical chance of finishing in the top six but the result has now extinguished their promotion hopes.
"It's a difficult time after such a good season and it turning out the way it has," added Morrison.
"It is an anti-climax, the fans are disappointed we're not still chasing the play-offs and that does affect the players but we're still going to put 100% in." | Captain Michael Morrison says the Birmingham City players have accepted the criticism aimed at them by manager Gary Rowett after their draw with Preston North End. | 36101402 | [
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Felicitas Rohrer, is seeking €200,000 (£145,000; $220,000) in damages following the life-threatening illness.
The case is the first of its kind in Germany, Bayer's home country. The firm has already faced a series of law suits in the US and elsewhere.
Bayer insists that its contraceptive pills are safe when taken correctly.
Ms Rohrer, 31, says she would never have taken Yasminelle if the increased risks of blood clots had been made clearer by Bayer.
She launched her lawsuit in 2011 and the civil case opens in the south-western city of Waldshut-Tiengen on Thursday.
In 2009, as a healthy 25-year-old, she collapsed and her heart stopped for 20 minutes.
Doctors found massive clots blocking the main artery to her lung and suggested the contraceptive pill could be to blame.
Ms Rohrer must now take an anti-coagulant, which reduces her chances of conceiving a child. She studied to become a vet but now works as a journalist as she cannot stand for long periods or lift heavy weights.
She accusing Bayer of failing to sufficiently warn women of the increased risks of thrombosis with its Yasmin range of contraceptive pill, which contains the progestin drospirenone.
Bayer rejects the accusations it concealed the dangers as "unjustified", according to AFP news agency.
The company has already paid out some $1.9bn to thousands of women in the US over the alleged side effects.
Source: NHS Choices, MHRA
Is my contraceptive pill safe?
How the contraceptive pill changed Britain
Medical notes: Pulmonary embolism
Ms Rohrer is suing Bayer for €200,000 but told AFP: "The money cannot compensate for what I and other women have gone through."
She said: "What I really hope for is justice," adding that she hoped to see Yasminelle withdrawn from the market.
In 2013, France temporarily banned the sale of Bayer's Diane-35, an oral acne treatment often used as birth control, after four deaths were linked to its use.
Bayer is also the target of a growing number of lawsuits in the US over the contraceptive implant Essure, which women complain has caused them pain and severe bleeding. | A German woman is suing pharmaceuticals giant Bayer, claiming its contraceptive pill Yasminelle caused her to suffer a pulmonary embolism. | 35120035 | [
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Leela Samson quit after an appeals board approved the film Messenger of God, directed by and starring guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The Ms Samson-led Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had found the film unsuitable for the public, reportedly because it promoted superstition.
She also accused the state-run CBFC of "corruption and coercion".
Meanwhile, organisations opposed to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh have held protests in Punjab and Haryana following reports that the film had been cleared for release.
Ms Samson took over in August after the board's former chief was arrested on charges of corruption.
Messenger of God was cleared by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal after Ms Samson's panel rejected it.
Ms Samson said the apparent clearance of the film was "a mockery" of her organisation. "My resignation is final," she told the Press Trust of India news agency. On Friday, her colleague Ira Bhaskar also quit over the issue.
India's junior Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore denied any interference, saying the government was "absolutely hands-away" from all decisions of the censor board.
But a CBFC member, Nandini Sardesai, said she was concerned the film was cleared in haste.
The 47-year-old chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect dresses up in colourful clothes, with a rock star image.
He has published half a dozen music videos and regularly performs at rock concerts, which are attended by tens of thousands of followers.
In his latest hit number Highway Love Charger, which has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube, the guru is seen singing and dancing in multi-coloured pyjamas and a top that is embellished with glittering sequins and stones.
The official trailer of Messenger of God shows him performing daredevil stunts, riding bikes, and taking on villains. It also has song and dance routines.
The Dera Sacha Sauda website claims it is a "social welfare and spiritual organisation that preaches and practices humanitarianism and selfless services to others".
The sect claims to have more than 50 million followers around the world and says it campaigns against female foeticide, for reforms for sex workers, runs schools and several hospitals.
In recent months, the Dera chief has been mired in controversy, with allegations that he forced 400 followers to undergo castrations so that they could get "closer to god" and is also accused of rape and murder - charges a spokesman for the sect has denied.
He has also been opposed by mainstream Sikh leaders, who accuse him of insulting and belittling their faith.
"We all saw the movie. It was the collective decision of eight of us that the movie was not suitable for public viewing," Ms Sardesai told NDTV news channel.
"Usually the Tribunal takes 15 to 30 days to clear a film, but this case was cleared within 24 hours."
The Mid-Day newspaper quoted Ms Sardesai as saying that they had rejected the film because it "promotes superstition and blind faith".
The guru's website mentions Messenger of God as a "movie which aims to spread social awareness in the society".
"While the whole story depicts the truth, yet action, suspense and drama are also being added to make it more interesting," the website says.
Ms Samson said she had resigned because of "interference, coercion and corruption" of the government-appointed members and officers of the board.
Last August, the former president of the board Rakesh Kumar was arrested for allegedly soliciting a bribe from a film producer and removed from the position.
Films cannot be publicly exhibited in India unless they have been certified by the board, which is based in Mumbai and has nine regional offices.
According to its website, the board has a legally empowered mission to "ensure healthy entertainment, recreation and education to the public".
Its approval process can be slow and laborious, with multiple rounds of cuts, sometimes demanded before one of its four certificates is granted. | India's censor board chief has resigned after reports that a film rejected by her panel has been cleared for release. | 30844177 | [
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Nearly 79% of premises in Wales are capable of receiving super-fast internet, an increase of 24% on 2014.
The take-up is 77% - 6% higher than in Scotland and 8% above Northern Ireland.
Rhodri Williams, Ofcom director for Wales, said public funding to roll out the Superfast Cymru programme across Wales had "transformed" the picture.
"Things have improved due to the substantial amount of public investment that has taken place," he said, with financial backing coming from the EU, the UK and Welsh governments.
But other findings in the report showed that Wales had the lowest availability of 4G services across the UK, with just under a quarter (23%) of adults having a 4G service in May 2015.
Deputy minister for skills and technology Julie James welcomed the report and added: "Fast and reliable internet connections are vital."
The findings are part of Ofcom's 10th annual review of the communications market in Wales.
The report showed people in Wales are the television addicts of the UK.
On average they spend four hours 11 minutes watching TV a day - more than anywhere else in the UK.
Despite people in Wales continuing to watch significantly more television than those in the UK as a whole, the average time they spent watching broadcast television declined by 12 minutes in 2014.
And the report found the Welsh had more pay TV than anywhere else in the UK with seven in 10 households buying extra channels.
The BBC's television services continue to perform better in Wales than in any other nation for reach, share, viewing hours and viewer appreciation scores.
More than one in five Welsh adults said they were "hooked" on social media.
Six in 10 adults in Wales have a tablet computer in the household compared to less than half (45%) last year.
But internet users in Wales cited the laptop as their most important device for going online.
Most internet users in Wales said they spend around 21.2 hours online per week with more than half of all Welsh internet users spending time on social networking sites on a weekly basis.
The use of Twitter was higher among online adults in Wales (48%) than England (40%), Scotland (32%) and Northern Ireland (33%).
More than eight in 10 online adults in Wales said they have used Facebook.
People in Wales consume more radio than the UK as a whole - and they listen for longer.
In 2014, radio services reached 94.5% of the adult population in Wales.
Wales continued to have the highest share (59%) of listening to BBC services and the lowest share of listening to local commercial radio (26%).
Close to half of adults in Wales (47%) who listen to radio have a digital radio set. | Wales has the highest take-up of broadband of any of the devolved nations, according to a report from the watchdog Ofcom. | 33793177 | [
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A stretch of the 100ft (30m)-high cliff in East Cliff, close to the memorial for Red Arrows pilot Jon Egging, fell away on Sunday morning, taking fencing and benches with it.
No-one was injured but the area has been cordoned off by the council amid concerns of further movement.
The seafront promenade remains open.
The East Cliff Lift, an Edwardian funicular railway built in 1908 and operated by Bournemouth Borough Council, was partially submerged by debris, while a public toilet block at the foot of the cliffs was destroyed.
Cracks started appearing on the promenade on Saturday, leading the council to close off the areas at the top and bottom of the cliff.
Councillor Lawrence Williams said barriers were expected to be in place "for the foreseeable future".
"Although this is a significant landslip, it is only one spot along Bournemouth's seven miles of beaches and we do not have any concerns about other areas," he added.
Chris Saunders, head of operations at the council, said: "If there is more rainfall over the next couple of the days then there is likely to be more movement although we expect it to be minor."
He said the council was waiting for experts to visit the site and assess the damage.
A sculpture at the top of the cliff - a memorial to Flt Lt Jon Egging who died when his Hawk T1 aircraft crashed at the 2011 Bournemouth Air Festival - has not been damaged, a spokeswoman for the Jon Egging Trust said.
East Overcliff Drive at the top of the cliff remains open, as does the Bournemouth Carlton hotel.
The hotel has not yet responded to a BBC request for comment. | A section of cliff in Bournemouth remains closed after a landslip damaged a cliff railway lift and crushed a toilet block. | 36129169 | [
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West Midlands Police said the man had been detained in Reading and the woman in Wokingham by counter-terrorism officers at about 19:30 BST.
The pair, believed to be friends, were taken to a police station in the West Midlands for questioning.
The force said the arrests had been intelligence-led.
The suspects did not pose any imminent threat, a spokesperson added.
Supt Robin Rickard from Thames Valley Police said the arrests "were part of an ongoing investigation by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and were pre-planned".
"Officers from Reading and Wokingham are providing support and there are searches taking place at the suspects' home addresses," he said. | A 24-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman have been arrested in Berkshire on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism in the UK. | 32925784 | [
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Speaking in an ITV documentary about his charity work in Lesotho, the prince said losing his mother at a young age made him question his position.
He said he used to "bury his head in the sand" but now views life "very, very differently".
Harry co-founded the Sentebale charity with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help young people affected by HIV/Aids.
The 32-year-old prince told the programme: "I always feel like I need to make something of my life.
"I was fighting the system, going 'I don't want to be this person; my mother died when I was very, very young and I don't want to be in this position'.
"But now I'm just so fired up and energised to be lucky enough to be in a position to make a difference."
Sentebale has delivered adolescent HIV testing and counselling services to more than 21,000 people since it was founded in 2006, and plans to expand into several sub-Saharan African countries by 2020.
Harry was interviewed by broadcaster Tom Bradby, who shadowed the prince when he first visited Lesotho 12 years ago.
The prince said it was "fun to be good and boring to be bad".
"If you're me, if you're your Average Joe, whoever you are, if you can't affect politics and change the big things in the world then just do whatever you can do.
"Whether it's in your local community, your village, your local church, walking down the street, opening a door for an old lady, helping them cross the road.
"Whatever if it is, just do good. Why wouldn't you?"
The programme, due to be broadcast on Monday 19 December, also features contributions from musicians Sir Elton John, Joss Stone and Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Harry is reunited with a teenager he met on his first visit and is seen dancing with local children. | Prince Harry has said he no longer struggles with his royal role and wants to "make something" of his life. | 38355368 | [
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One Met Police officer received an overtime payment of £45,000 last year, a Freedom of Information request found.
The overtime bill for officers and staff in England and Wales totalled almost £1bn over three years and went up by £6m last year.
The Home Office said the government had "already taken steps to reduce unnecessary overtime payments".
"We have asked the independent Police Remuneration Review Body to consider whether more can be done on this issue," said a spokesman.
"Police officers' pay should reflect the difficult work they do - but the public rightly expects that this is not abused."
The National Police Chiefs' Council said it was "only right" that officers should be compensated for overtime.
By Danny Shaw, BBC home affairs correspondent
"Overtime does not go sick or take leave."
That pithy phrase, from Tim Godwin, the former Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner, sums up the usefulness of overtime to a service that has to cope with sudden and unexpected events.
Whether it's the surveillance officer monitoring a terrorism suspect, the detective constable deployed on a murder investigation, or the civilian staff employee answering calls after hours because a colleague has gone home ill - overtime has a valuable part to play.
Sir Tom Winsor's review recognised that, while also recommending changes designed to reduce the overall bill.
The year-on-year increase, identified by 5 live's research, does not mean that work has stalled.
But it's interesting to note that some overtime payments appear to be connected to staff shortages.
As the police workforce shrinks further, it may well be that existing officers and staff are increasingly asked to plug the gaps.
Figures for 39 forces in England and Wales show the overtime bill rose from £307.1m in 2013/14 to £313.2m in 2014/15.
The Metropolitan Police accounted for about a third of the overall bill, while in two other forces, Bedfordshire and Cleveland, the overtime bill went up by 50% - explained in part by gaps in recruitment.
The Met said officers earning the highest amounts were in specialist roles, where working time was determined by the operational circumstances.
An officer at West Midlands Police earned £32,702 in overtime working in a contact centre.
Inspector Tony Morris from that force said "recruitment in this business area has been on hold" due to a reorganisation.
"This means the department has been carrying a significant number of vacancies, resulting in an increased need for planned overtime."
Sergeants and constables are eligible to claim overtime for working extra days, for staying on at the end of a shift, or for being recalled between shifts.
On four days each week, officers are expected to give the first 30 minutes of unplanned overtime for free, traditionally referred to as "half an hour for the Queen".
Three years ago, Sir Tom Winsor's review of policing in England and Wales called for "cultural change" to reduce the cost of overtime.
He suggested that in future, the police pay review body may consider a "buy out" for sergeants which would see them give up overtime pay in return for an increased salary.
Overtime for inspectors was "bought out" in 1994.
South Wales Police reported the biggest percentage increase for overtime spending in the last year, from £5.2m in 2013/14 to £8.4m in 2014/15.
The force said the majority of that increase was due to the Nato summit in September 2014, which involved 9,500 officers from across the UK, including 1,500 from South Wales.
But in Scotland and Northern Ireland the figures were down on the previous year.
Police Scotland spent £18.2m on overtime in 2014/15, a reduction of £6m on the previous year.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland also spent less, down by £11.5m from £59.2m in 2013/14 to £47.7m in 2014/15.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "Overtime is called upon when it is essential to maintain operational effectiveness and, in the context of capital city policing and national responsibilities, there are times when there is a genuine need to call on officers to work beyond their scheduled hours to police unforeseen events, to provide security, or public reassurance."
The force said the London Olympic and Paralympic Games had a particular impact on its overtime bill for 2012/13 - when forces in England and Wales spent a total of £354.9m.
Chief Constable Francis Habgood from the National Police Chiefs' Council said: "Overtime is a very flexible - and can be a very cost-effective - way of managing unexpected demand and it is only right that officers whose lives are disrupted by a last-minute order to work an extended tour of duty or work on a rest day are compensated for that disruption.
"With the current cuts regime, we are doing all we can to ensure that the police service offers the best value for taxpayers' money and all forces have reduced overtime spend in recent years." | Some UK police forces are using overtime to cover gaps caused by staff shortages, BBC Radio 5 live has found. | 33686121 | [
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Food price inflation was 4.9% in June, compared with 3.2% in May, with rising pork prices partly to blame.
While the headline inflation number was above analysts' expectations, it remains below the government's target figure of 3.5%.
Analysts say the latest figure reduces the prospect of interest rate cuts in 2013.
Cutting interest rates risks inflating a property bubble, while tightening may put additional pressure on the economy in the middle of the current global economic uncertainty.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists Lu Ting and Zhi Xiaojia expect authorities to keep monetary policy neutral with "neither easing nor tightening".
China expects economic growth this year to be 7.5% - which would be the slowest rate in 23 years for the country.
The government is due to release data on gross domestic product for the second quarter of the year on 15 July. | China's inflation rate rose by more than expected in June, increasing to 2.7% from 2.1% the month before. | 23238024 | [
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Birmingham-based West Midlands Police constables Wahid Husman, 48, and Tahsib Majid, 36, used their roles to conspire to steal quantities of Class A and B drugs, the force said.
Husman admitted drugs and misconduct offences on 7 August.
Majid was convicted on Tuesday after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Five other men also admitted a number of offences on 7 August following the police investigation, the West Midlands force added.
Husman accessed police computer systems to feed information to a number of criminal associates, while Majid committed a Data Protection offence on behalf of an associate, the force said.
A surveillance operation, led by the force's counter corruption unit, captured the officers talking about drug dealing on duty and conspiring with criminal associates to steal a consignment of illegal drugs destined for Birmingham.
The group planned to split the drugs between them to supply for their own gain.
See more stories from across Birmingham and the Black Country here
Police said an investigation revealed Husman had begun accessing police computer systems as far back as 2011, when he started to feed intelligence and information to some of his co-accused.
After his arrest, officers searched Husman's address and found £7,000 cash and heroin.
The officers, based at Perry Barr, were suspended following their arrest in February 2017 and now face dismissal from West Midlands Police.
All the defendants are due to be sentenced in October. | Two police officers who plotted to steal and sell drugs for profit have been convicted of drugs and misconduct offences. | 41015691 | [
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Moore, who is 6ft 5ins, scored 10 goals in 21 league appearances this season for Rovers and Torquay, where he had a brief loan spell earlier this term.
The 24-year-old has penned an 18-month deal at Portman Road.
Spence, 26, has signed to the end of the season having been without a club since leaving MK Dons in the summer.
The former West Ham defender played 80 times for the Dons after joining on a full-time contract, following two separate loan spells.
Both are unavailable for Ipswich's FA Cup third-round replay at Lincoln on Tuesday as they were not registered before the original tie.
Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy confirmed on Saturday to BBC Radio Suffolk he was still searching for another striker despite signing Moore, having previously had an approach turned down by Preston for Jordan Hugill.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Ipswich Town have signed striker Kieffer Moore from National League side Forest Green for an undisclosed fee and former MK Dons defender Jordan Spence. | 38637907 | [
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Police were called to the A35 at Bloxworth, near Wareham, at about 09:10 BST after they were discovered by a dog walker.
Tests are under way to "determine the contents" of the cigarettes and HM Revenue and Customs has been informed.
Dorset Police urged anyone who may have found other packets in "unusual circumstances" to contact them. No arrests have been made. | About 34,000 cigarettes have been found in a layby in Dorset. | 32628709 | [
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The Ibrox club opened their Premiership account with a win at Motherwell and followed that up with a 6-0 thumping of Dunfermline in the League Cup.
"It is always important to build on winning. They are believing in themselves as a team," Caixinha said ahead of Hibs' visit on Saturday.
"I am a guy who chases perfection, but when I get it I want more."
Alfredo Morelos netted twice in the demolition of Dunfermline, with Bruno Alves and Daniel Candeias also scoring maiden Rangers goals in a one-sided contest.
"One of the major parts of football is enjoyment," added Caixinha. "I felt freedom from the team. The early second goal helped, but the players worked hard to get it.
"It's just a good start. We want more. We want to keep progressing.
"I believe you need to be focused at all times, with a strong mentality and team spirit.
"The boys are doing well but we still have a long journey in front of us."
Rangers and Hibs last met in the top flight in 2012, while the most recent contest came in the 2016 Scottish Cup final.
A stoppage-time header from David Gray gave Hibs a dramatic 3-2 win at Hampden but Caixinha insists he is not interested in using previous pain as a motivation.
"Football is a moment, there are no two games played the same way," he explained.
"The contest is different, what was to be fought for is totally different, so we just want to focus on the three points that we want to take, that's all.
"My concern is to prepare the team, recover the players and make them ready for a strong start at 3pm on Saturday."
Meanwhile, the Rangers manager revealed that club captain Lee Wallace will have a scan on a leg injury.
Lee Hodson was drafted in as a late replacement for Wednesday's victory over Dunfermline at Ibrox. | Pedro Caixinha has urged his Rangers players to continue their winning start to the season against Hibernian. | 40886194 | [
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The two sides in the decades-old conflict have been holding peace talks since 2012.
The Northern Ireland delegation includes the Rev Harold Good, Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey, the DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson and the SDLP's Mark Durkan.
Two representatives from South Africa's ANC will also be attending.
The Northern Ireland delegation will share their experiences of the peace process, particularly the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Last month, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said that he had given his negotiating team instructions to resolve the outstanding issues before 23 March 2016.
Since starting official peace talks in Havana in November 2012, the two sides have struck deals on land reform, political participation, illegal drugs and now transitional justice.
However, none of these agreements will come into force until both sides put their signatures to the final agreement.
An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the 1960s, and more than five million internally displaced. About 8,000 left-wing Farc rebels continue fighting.
Rev Harold Good was one of two independent witnesses, the other being Fr Alec Reid, who oversaw the decommissioning of IRA weapons, a vital part of the peace process.
Mr Durkan said he was "delighted to share any insights or experiences I have had that could in any way help efforts to achieve peace in Colombia.
"Trade union and human rights groups have been engaging with people here on a cross-party basis for a number of years," he added. | A delegation from Northern Ireland is travelling to Cuba to provide support for peace talks between the Colombian government and the Farc rebel group. | 34569827 | [
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The doctors' union said patient care was undermined when GPs were forced to see as many as 60 patients a day.
It called for more funding to allow GPs to spend at least 15 minutes with each patient.
NHS England said consultation lengths were up to doctors and there were no national limits suggesting 10 minutes.
However, the NHS Choices website does state that "GPs spend an average of 8-10 minutes with each patient" and advises patients to "plan ahead to make sure you cover everything you want to discuss".
The BMA, which published a report on "safe working in general practice" earlier this month, called for a reorganisation and warned that GPs faced "unsustainable pressure" from increasing workload and staff shortages.
The report said it was intended to "stimulate discussion" and put forward a model that could be used across the UK.
Dr Nicola Hulme, a GP in Cheshire, said she found NHS England's comment about there being no national limit on appointment times "insulting".
"With the high levels of demand, we have to run 10-minute appointments," she said.
"To offer longer with the same number of appointments would extend our day to beyond the 12 hours we currently routinely work.
"I often run late so I can deal thoroughly with my patients' issues.
"Paperwork gets started routinely after 7pm. I rarely get home before 8pm, having started generally at 7.30am.
"Nobody goes into medicine for an easy ride, we are all hard workers, but the intensity and the demand are now at unsafe levels."
Dr Ali Alibhai, who works in central London, said GPs now had to manage so many chronic diseases such as diabetes that a consultation as short as eight minutes was "not appropriate any more for safe patient care".
Dr Brian Balmer, of the BMA's GPs' committee, said that, in an ageing population, many patients had complex multiple conditions that needed longer to treat.
He warned that many GPs were being forced to truncate care and deliver an "unsafe number of consultations".
He said consultations should be limited to 25 a day, about the same number recommended in many other EU countries.
Dr Balmer added: "We need a new approach that shakes up the way patients get their care from their local GP practice.
"The consultation time needs to increase to 15 minutes with the government providing on its promised funding to make this work."
Health think tank the King's Fund said its analysis showed GPs were under "huge pressure due to an increase in workload which has not been matched by a growth in funding or the workforce".
It also found the average length of consultations had increased due to the rising number of older patients with more complex conditions.
King's Fund chief executive Chris Ham said general practice needed "new investment to stop it falling apart", but GPs must also embrace new methods such as giving more advice by phone and email.
NHS England said the length of appointments was "at the discretion of individual GP practices, based on patient need, and there are no national limits suggesting 10 minutes should be the norm".
It accepted that GPs were "under pressure", and said it was "substantially increasing investment and reforming care to free up GPs to spend more time with patients".
In 2013, a rule saying GP appointment slots in England must be for a minimum of 10 minutes was scrapped.
One patient, John White, from Somerset, said: "I think those who get a 10-minute consultation with their GPs are lucky.
"At my doctors' surgery I cannot even book an appointment to see my GP. All we are offered is to book a 'telephone triage consultation' where your doctor will call you by telephone and decide whether a face-to-face appointment is warranted.
"I have had to wait in excess of two weeks for the telephone appointment."
Another patient, Maggy Jackson, said: "I have a brilliant GP who sees me for as long as I need. He always runs on time too.
"All I can say is if it wasn't for this practice I would be dead. They diagnosed a gangrenous hernia two years ago when I presented with horrendous pain and no appointment. I was given a full examination, morphine and was in hospital an hour later after their intervention."
Nurse Liz Wright said appointment length was also an issue in nursing.
"In years gone by, I had either 15 or 20-minute appointments to see my patients," she said.
"This has now been cut to 10 minutes, in which to carry out triage, cervical smears, dressings, injections, contraceptive discussions and issuing of prescriptions and a whole range of ailments.
"This means that in a typical 7.5-hour shift, I see up to 42 patients, well above the recommended daily amount.
"In my opinion this is unsafe practice and I have decided to take early retirement." | Patients are being put at risk by GPs being forced to carry out complex consultations in 10 minutes or under, the British Medical Association says. | 37211590 | [
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Were you in Nepal when the earthquake struck?
It is nearly one year since a massive earthquake hit Kathmandu and its surrounding areas, killing thousands of people.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake was followed by a large number of aftershocks, including one that measured 7.3 on 12 May 2015.
Many of the country's historic sites were severely damaged, including temples and monuments.
If you lived through the disaster we would like to hear from you. We want to tell the story of what happened during the quake - and how things have changed since then.
You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories. You can email your pictures from the earthquake or more recent ones showing Nepal now to yourpics@bbc.co.uk
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can
contact you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as
you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.
When sending us pictures, video or eyewitness accounts at no time should you endanger yourself or others,
take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions.
Terms and conditions | Or use the form below | 35950477 | [
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Media playback is unsupported on your device
16 December 2014 Last updated at 18:06 GMT
With a rented boom box the pair took to the streets, filming passers-by in Accra, school children in Akim and the landscapes of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park.
"People were just so excited and happy. When people hear music and a beat they want to dance. You don't have to ask. They will just come and dance and jump in front of your camera," says Ollie Williams, one of The Busy Twist duo.
Inspired by highlife, reggae and dance sounds emanating from Ghana's streets and clubs, the track represents something different from digitally driven dance music. | London DJs The Bush Twist shot a music video of their track Friday Night around Ghana. | 30457745 | [
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In securing the top spot in Super League they ended their 91-year wait for a top-flight title.
First-half tries from Zak Hardaker, Mike McMeeken and Jake Webster set them on their way despite scores from Ben Jones-Bishop and Mason Caton-Brown.
Greg Eden ran in, Webster scored a second-half hat-trick and Hardaker went over again as Cas cruised to victory.
The Tigers have been in scintillating form all season, recording 22 wins from their 26 league games so far to secure top spot with four games to play.
Daryl Powell's side have scored almost 200 points more than anyone else in the league as well as having the tightest defence.
The visitors set out at a ferocious pace and had the hosts rattled in the first few minutes, with Liam Finn putting the first points of the day on the board with a penalty.
Hardaker went over for the Tigers' first score after a neat pass from Luke Gale before Jones-Bishop levelled the scores with Trinity's first try.
Parity was short-lived as McMeeken showed super handling to touch down before Webster extended the lead after a superb break by Hardaker.
Wakefield secured the final points of the half when Caton-Brown charged over to get his side back in the game.
Danny Kirmond's try for Chris Chester's side stunned the hosts at the start of the second half as Wakefield moved within two, but they responded quickly through Greg Eden's 38th try of the season and Webster's second of the game after Max Jowitt had kicked out on the full.
Webster went over twice more either side of Gale landing a drop-goal to put the match firmly out of Trinity's reach with just over 10 minutes to play.
Jowitt went over for the visitors but, fittingly, Castleford had the final say as Hardaker touched down after a quick breakaway.
BBC Sport's Matt Newsum
There will have been a sense of double sweetness for Cas as the triumph came against local rivals Wakefield, who twice relegated them in late-season encounters in 2004 and 2006.
The silverware they lifted under the Jungle lights, cruelly dubbed 'The Hubcap' by some league fans, might not rival the big Grand Final prize but it is a reward for consistency - a hallmark of Castleford's play throughout 2017 with 22 wins and four defeats from their 26 Super League games so far.
Cas have had 't'lane' rocking this season, with a team honed by head coach Daryl Powell scoring an impressive 142 tries with an open, attacking brand of rugby league befitting the old nickname 'Classy Cas'.
Free-scoring winger Greg Eden and England half-back Luke Gale are the more obvious stand-out names, but the success has equally been built on largely unsung aspects such as Paul McShane's dynamic dummy-half play and the pack of ball-handling, hard-tackling forwards such as Grant Millington, Adam Milner and Mike McMeeken.
The big challenge for Cas now is to achieve their full potential, taking their week-to-week consistency and applying it to the knock-out football that the play-off semi-finals will bring - in the race for an Old Trafford Grand Final appearance.
Castleford coach Daryl Powell told Sky Sports:
"It's fantastic. For us, a group of people who have worked so hard from pre-season all the way through to be in this position. Four games (are) left for us and we got the job done.
"It's just an awesome feeling. It's a good news story for rugby league, I think the people there, the supporters, have been awesome all year and the boys have been superb.
"That's what teams are about. Everyone has played their part. The boys are doing their job and it's crucial that you recognise that everyone has been a part of it. My coaching staff are unbelievable people, outstanding at what they do."
Castleford: Hardaker, Minikin, Webster, Shenton, Eden, Roberts, Gale, Millington, McShane, Sene-Lefao, O. Holmes, McMeeken, Massey.
Replacements: Lynch, Milner, Moors, Foster.
Wakefield: Jowitt, Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Caton-Brown, B. Tupou, Miller, Finn, Fifita, Hadley, England, Ashurst, Kirmond, Arona.
Replacements: Williams, Huby, Annakin, Hirst. | Castleford Tigers beat local rivals Wakefield Trinity to clinch the League Leaders' Shield. | 40938006 | [
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It was the third day of hefty falls, sparked by news on Wednesday that the company admitted falsifying fuel economy data for more than 600,000 vehicles sold in Japan.
Government officials raided a company office and authorities want a full report from the company in weeks.
The shares are 40% cheaper than before news of the false data emerged.
Elsewhere on the Asian markets, shares of consumer electronics giant Sony also traded lower and closed down 1.7%.
The company trimmed nearly 10% off its previous profit estimate for the full year to March 2016, due to a one-off charge. Sony is scheduled to report its financial results next week.
On the broader Japanese market, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index reversed earlier losses and ended the Friday session higher by 1.2% - or 208.87 points - at 17,572.49.
Other Asian markets traded lower on Friday, mirroring how US markets performed overnight.
South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.33% at 2,015.49.
In Australia the S&P ASX 200 ended the week down 0.69% at 5,236.39.
China's Shanghai composite ended up 0.2% to 2,959.24.
Meanwhile in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index dropped 0.7% to trade at 21,467. | Shares in Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors plunged 13.5% in Friday trade to close at 504 yen. | 36108480 | [
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The 26-year-old from Bready is expected to be sidelined for between six and eight weeks.
"Craig will undergo more investigative tests on the injury to decide whether he will require surgery," said a Cricket Ireland spokesperson.
Ireland face Sri Lanka at Malahide on 16 and 18 June.
A Cricket Ireland statement read: "He will miss the games against Sri Lanka, but we would be hopeful he will play a full part in the five-match one-day series against Afghanistan in July."
Young, who has played nine ODIs and 10 Twenty20s, signed for Hampshire on a short-term loan deal in April. | Ireland seamer Craig Young has been ruled out of the two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka in June with an elbow injury. | 36377798 | [
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The 6ft 5in star had been diagnosed with brain cancer and was in intensive care in New York before his death on Wednesday.
His son Rory said in a statement: "He was full of knowledge and kindness and goodness.
"He always wanted to share the great and beautiful things in life."
Herrmann played the beloved grandfather Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, a waspish family drama set in a storybook Connecticut town.
Lauren Graham, who played Herrmann's on-screen daughter Lorelai Gilmore during the show's seven series, remembered the actor as the "kindest, classiest, most talented man" and said it was a "devastating blow to lose him".
"Ed Herrmann's combination of pure charisma plus his distinctive voice lit up any room he entered," she added.
"He had a gentlemanly manner, a wicked sense of humour, and a sharp wit. He was well-read, interesting, and just plain fun to be around."
Kelly Bishop, who played his wife Emily Gilmore, said she was "somewhat stunned" by his death, having only found out he was ill a few weeks ago.
"I think everyone who knew or worked with Ed found him to be absolutely delightful," she said in a statement. "Everything looks a little dim, as if the lights went down."
The actor, who trained at London's Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, was singled out for praise when Entertainment Weekly picked Gilmore Girls as one of its "new TV classics" in 2009.
Describing him as an "on-screen pro", it said he could "advise, hector, and soothe with debonair slyness".
But his son, Rory, said his father's favourite role had been US President Franklin D Roosevelt, whom he played in the TV movies Eleanor and Franklin and Eleanor and Franklin: The Whitehouse Years in 1976 and 1977.
The actor reprised the role in the 1982 movie musical Annie, and provided the voice for FDR in Ken Burns' documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, last year.
Herrmann also starred in Joel Schumacher's teen vampire film, The Lost Boys, alongside Kiefer Sutherland, where he played Max; and won a primetime Emmy in 1999 for his guest role in the Boston-based legal series The Practice.
His Broadway credits included the original run of Love Letters in 1989, The Deep Blue Sea with Blythe Danner in 1998 and George Bernard Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession, for which he won a Tony Award in 1976.
He often appeared on the big screen in major films including The Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator and Reds, and recently appeared on shows such as Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother and The Good Wife.
His manager Robbie Kass said in a statement: "Besides being an accomplished actor, [Herrmann] was also a true gentleman and a scholar, as well as being incredibly kind and decent man. He will be sorely missed."
Herrmann was surrounded by his family including his wife, Star, and three children when he died. | Actor Edward Herrmann, best known for his roles in TV show Gilmore Girls and vampire movie The Lost Boys, has died aged 71. | 30655155 | [
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The hashtag #KamiTidakTakut has emerged in the aftermath of Thursday's attacks.
A common meme, of a peace sign with a Jakarta landmark in its centre, was adapted from an image used on social media after the Paris attacks.
Where the Eiffel Tower stood in the Paris version, this shows Indonesia's National Monument.
It stands in the centre of Jakarta as a symbol of the country's struggle for independence. It is a famous landmark and popular meeting point in the city.
A photograph that appeared to show a satay seller continuing to work at his stall after blasts were heard was circulated widely online.
Some Twitter users wrote alongside it: "Fear is not in our dictionary."
The photograph was first uploaded to a local social media site, with a comment saying the stall was 100m away from the site of the bombs, which had happened two hours earlier.
The satay seller has since been interviewed by Indonesian media.
Another popular hashtag was #JakartaBerani, which can be translated as "Jakarta is Brave".
Soon after reports started to filter through on Thursday morning (local time) that explosions had been heard, Twitter users started to use the hashtag #PrayforJakarta. It is not a new hashtag. It had previously been used in cases of severe flooding, but was used again as people from Indonesia and around the world shared their sympathy for the city.
Aulia Masna, a technology blogger in Jakarta, said the morning's events had shown Indonesians used Twitter as much as ever for updates.
He tweeted that "everyone flocks to Twitter", and the microblogging site was not being "abandoned" by Indonesians as some had said. | People in Jakarta have responded defiantly to the attacks in their city by posting the Indonesian phrase for "We are not afraid" on Twitter. | 35311979 | [
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8 March 2016 Last updated at 10:47 GMT
This time he's explaining the difference between deficit and debt. But there's a catch: he has to do it in as short a time as possible. | Economics correspondent Andy Verity takes a regular look at some of the more confusing phrases bandied around in finance and economics. | 35747129 | [
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Writing in The Observer he said he reveres "the sanctity of life but not at any cost".
He also suggested that prolonging the life of Nelson Mandela had been an "affront" to his dignity.
His comments follow a U-turn by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, who also said he would support assisted dying for the terminally ill.
The Church of England (CofE) has called for an inquiry into the issue.
In his column the 82-year-old retired Anglican Archbishop of South Africa said: "I think when you need machines to help you breathe, then you have to ask questions about the quality of life being experienced and about the way money is being spent."
He also described as "disgraceful" how former South African leader Nelson Mandela was kept alive with intensive hospitalisation in the final stages of his life and was photographed with various visiting politicians.
He said: "You could see Madiba [Nelson Mandela] was not fully there. He did not speak. He was not connecting. My friend was no longer himself. It was an affront to Madiba's dignity.
"Yes, I think a lot of people would be upset if I said I wanted assisted dying. I would say I wouldn't mind actually."
He said: "I have been fortunate to spend my life working for dignity for the living. Now I wish to apply my mind to the issue of dignity for the dying. I revere the sanctity of life - but not at any cost."
His comments follow those of Lord Carey, who wrote in the Daily Mail that he had dropped his opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill - due for debate in the House of Lords on Friday - "in the face of the reality of needless suffering".
"The fact is that I have changed my mind. The old philosophical certainties have collapsed in the face of the reality of needless suffering," he wrote.
The 1961 Suicide Act makes it an offence to encourage or assist a suicide or a suicide attempt in England and Wales. Anyone doing so could face up to 14 years in prison.
The law is almost identical in Northern Ireland. There is no specific law on assisted suicide in Scotland, creating some uncertainty, although in theory someone could be prosecuted under homicide legislation.
There have already been several attempts to legalise assisted dying, but these have been rejected.
The Commission on Assisted Dying, established and funded by campaigners who have been calling for a change in the law, concluded in 2012 that there was a "strong case" for allowing assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill in England and Wales.
But the medical profession and disability rights groups, among others, argue that the law should not be changed because it is there to protect the vulnerable in society.
In other countries, such as Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, legislation has been introduced to allow assisted dying. France is considering a possible introduction of similar legislation, although there is opposition from its medical ethics council.
Campaign group Dignity in Dying predicts that a lot more countries will follow suit.
However, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, regards the Assisted Dying Bill as "mistaken and dangerous" and the Church of England (CofE) wants to see an inquiry into the issue.
The Church said a Royal Commission would include expert opinion and could carefully assess the various arguments.
It believes the current bill should be withdrawn to allow that inquiry to take place - a call rejected by Lord Falconer, the Labour peer who tabled it.
Some 110 peers are already listed to speak in the House of Lords when the bill is debated on Friday.
Desmond Tutu has pointed out that the debate will take place on Mandela Day, which would have been the former South African president's 96th birthday. | Desmond Tutu has said he would support assisted dying for the terminally ill. | 28282323 | [
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One of the 11 children described how the trailer went "really fast down the hill" at the farm in Nottinghamshire before it "launched us off".
Two members of teaching staff from Halam Primary and a farmer were also injured in the accident on 11 March.
The acting head teacher of the school has apologised.
One of the children, Ben, said he was frightened and the other children were crying.
"The trailer gone like really fast down the hill and it gone sideways and it launched us off," said Ben.
When asked how it made him feel, Ben said: "It feels like sad."
Ben's mother, Sheree Cockayne, said he has been struggling to sleep since it happened and has been having nightmares and flashbacks.
Mrs Cockayne, who was told about the accident by a school nurse, said: "I rushed to the QMC (Queen's Medical Centre) and Ben was brought in. He had blood all over his face.
"He just laid there really shocked. He had to stay in [hospital] overnight for observation every four hours because he had concussion and felt really sick.
"He's still got bruises to his head, his ribs and his chest, so he still has a few pains."
Nottinghamshire County Council said another child was discharged from hospital after a check-up and one was brought into hospital later in the day for a scan, then released.
A teaching assistant sustained a broken wrist, a teaching student sustained a head wound requiring stitches and the farmer, who was also in the trailer, dislocated his shoulder.
The assistant will be off work for four weeks.
The children were on a trip at Hills Farm in Edingley and the accident happened on Carver's Hollow.
Nottinghamshire Police is investigating the incident, rather then the Health and Safety Executive, because the area where it happened is a highway.
The force has asked anyone with information to contact them.
Hills Farm in Edingley, where it happened, said it would not comment while an investigation is ongoing.
The school's acting head teacher, Paul Nolan, said: "We are very sorry this unfortunate incident happened and we wish the children and adults who were injured a speedy recovery.
"This incident has affected the whole community and everyone is supporting each other as a result."
Marion Clay, the council's acting service director for education standards, said: "This is an established trip for reception pupils and as far as we know at this time all the appropriate procedures were carried out." | A group of primary school children were injured on a trip to a farm when the trailer they were in became detached from the tractor pulling it. | 35829359 | [
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Chris Erskine crossed low for Kris Doolan to tap home and give the Jags an early lead.
Adam Barton and Steven Lawless came close to doubling the hosts' advantage.
After a poor first half Well carved out chances to score in the second, Zak Jules's header kept out by goalkeeper Tomas Cerny.
Media playback is not supported on this device
With one more round of fixtures to play before the Premiership splits in two, Thistle have a seven-point gap over Kilmarnock and will face Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers, St Johnstone and Hearts in the final few weeks of the season.
Before then, they will visit Rangers next weekend, when Motherwell host basement side Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Having come from a goal down to beat Ross County last week and drawing away to champions Celtic on Wednesday, Thistle's confidence was high and they were in a hurry to make that count.
Doolan scored both goals against County - his 100th and 101st for the Jags - and the striker marked being captain for the day with a simple finish off Erskine's ball across from the left.
Barton's free-kick drifted narrowly past the left-hand post and Lawless's shot was deflected on to the crossbar.
And Doolan should have got Thistle's second following an incisive pass by Ryan Edwards, the striker firing across the face of goal from the right of the six-yard box.
Other than an early Scott McDonald header that was blocked out for a corner, Motherwell failed to seriously trouble their hosts in the opening period.
Manager Stephen Robinson needed a reaction in the second half and sent on Keith Lasley and Lionel Ainsworth in place of Elliott Frear and Craig Clay.
Shea Gordon flashed the ball across goal but the stretching McDonald could not apply the finish, Cerny clawed away Jules's header and Lasley's effort did not trouble the Jags goalkeeper.
A late scramble in the box did not provide the telling shot at goal the visitors needed as Thistle held on, leaving Motherwell four points above Inverness and below Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton Academical on goal difference.
Lawless dragged a shot wide after driving at the Well defence but Alan Archibald's side struggled to create as many openings in the second half.
But one goal proved to be enough to ensure they will claim their highest top-flight finish since 1981.
They had been bottom of the division in December, a couple of months after Archibald stayed at the club following an approach by Shrewsbury Town.
He will now have the chance to get Thistle even higher in the Premiership with only three points separating the Jags from Hearts.
Match ends, Partick Thistle 1, Motherwell 0.
Second Half ends, Partick Thistle 1, Motherwell 0.
Niall Keown (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jacob Blyth (Motherwell).
Liam Lindsay (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ben Heneghan (Motherwell).
Attempt blocked. Jacob Blyth (Motherwell) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Liam Lindsay.
Adam Barton (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Keith Lasley (Motherwell).
Attempt missed. Carl McHugh (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Christie Elliott.
Foul by Andrew McCarthy (Partick Thistle).
Keith Lasley (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Partick Thistle. Andrew McCarthy replaces Steven Lawless.
Attempt missed. Ben Heneghan (Motherwell) header from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Ryan Edwards.
Adam Barton (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Keith Lasley (Motherwell).
Foul by Adebayo Azeez (Partick Thistle).
Carl McHugh (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Keith Lasley (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Danny Devine.
Substitution, Motherwell. Jacob Blyth replaces Shea Gordon.
Attempt missed. Steven Lawless (Partick Thistle) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Attempt saved. Zak Jules (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Liam Lindsay (Partick Thistle).
Scott McDonald (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Partick Thistle. Adebayo Azeez replaces Chris Erskine.
Kris Doolan (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Carl McHugh (Motherwell).
Attempt missed. Shea Gordon (Motherwell) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Liam Lindsay (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ben Heneghan (Motherwell).
Foul by Kris Doolan (Partick Thistle).
Stephen Pearson (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Christie Elliott.
Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Niall Keown (Partick Thistle).
(Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half. | Partick Thistle will finish in the Scottish Premiership's top six for the first time after beating Motherwell, who slipped to second bottom. | 39463929 | [
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People with mobility needs have been asked to call in advance if they require help accessing Platform One.
A footbridge has been the only general way to get to the platform since last summer when anti-social behaviour led to its main entrance being closed.
Great Western Railway said funding was in place for improving the access.
This is likely to mean a new bridge but work is not expected to start until next year, according to spokesman Dan Panes.
In the meantime the platform door would be open on some occasions when possible.
"Whenever possible, we do ask people to call in advance because it does mean we are able to organise things more quickly and make sure we have enough staff in the right place," Mr Panes added.
However, Gordon Richardson - vice chair of the Bristol Equality Forum- said he thought that was "totally unacceptable today".
"If all they have to do is open a door, why should I have to tell them 24 hours in advance?," he told BBC Radio Bristol.
"Why can't they have something where perhaps you come to that door, there's an intercom and they can then open the door for you and let you in?"
Tina Keddy, a station user from the town, is also unhappy about the temporary measures.
On a recent trip to Bath with her 81-year-old mother, she said she asked a guard if there was help for the disabled "and he said 'no'".
"Mum has arthritis in her spine and in her knee. We were there in plenty of time so slowly we went up the steps, along the top, and down the other side but it was very difficult." | A temporary measure for disabled access at Weston-super-Mare railway station is "totally unacceptable", an equality forum has said. | 35879959 | [
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An early build of the new OS, known as Android N, was released on Thursday for app developers to test.
Google said it had released the beta software earlier than usual so that device manufacturers could get the finished version sooner.
At the moment, fewer than 3% of Android phones run the latest OS, Marshmallow.
Typically, Google discusses the next generation of its Android OS at its annual developer conference in the summer.
But this year it has released a first draft earlier than expected.
"By releasing the first preview and asking for your feedback now (in March!), we'll be able to act on that feedback while still being able to hand off the final N release to device makers this summer," wrote Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice president of Android, in a blog post.
On Monday, Google published statistics that showed an older version of Android, Lollipop, was still more widely used than the latest variant.
About 36% of Android devices run Lollipop, with fewer than 3% running the newer Marshmallow.
But a range of new smartphones running Marshmallow, from manufacturers such as Samsung and LG, are due to be released.
Android N will introduce split-screen multitasking that allows people to use two apps at the same time.
Information can be copied across from one app to the other.
A similar feature is already available on some iOS and Windows 10 devices, and Samsung has already added the feature to some of its Android smartphones.
The new software also introduces some cosmetic changes to settings and notifications, and aims to improve battery life.
Google has traditionally named new versions of the operating system after sweet treats, as was the case with Lollipop and Marshmallow.
The newest version has not yet been named but it has been suggested that Android N will be named after a popular chocolate and hazelnut breakfast spread.
"We're nut tellin' you yet," said Mr Lockheimer, possibly hinting at the name. | Split-screen multitasking and improved notification controls are among the new features being added to the Android operating system (OS). | 35773619 | [
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Staff Sgt Robert Bales, who was sent to Iraq three times before his recent deployment to Afghanistan, returned to the United States on Friday.
His lawyer, John Henry Browne, has said the accused could be suffering from PTSD.
Talk to people who live around the sprawling military base of Fort Lewis-McChord - one of the largest in America and home to more than 100,000 personnel, including Sgt Bales - and you will find they know all about post-traumatic stress disorder.
As the population of this base in the north-western state of Washington has grown - and war zone deployments have increased - so too has the amount of suicide and violence.
Last year, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes labelled Lewis-McChord the "most troubled" base in the US military.
But it is claimed that cases of PTSD were not just being overlooked - they may actually have been deliberately downplayed.
At the base's Madigan Army Medical Center, an investigation is currently under way into allegations that the diagnoses of hundreds of soldiers suffering from PTSD may have been altered to lesser conditions in order to save on disability costs paid by the army.
Seattle-based mental health therapist and PTSD counsellor Reid Stell says: "A PTSD diagnosis never goes away. To say you're cured… that would be overly optimistic."
As to whether Sgt Robert Bales could have had his diagnosis altered in such a way, a US military spokeswoman told the BBC in a statement that they keep service members' health information private and do not comment on medical records.
Navy veteran Matt Bambara, 29, volunteers at a cafe, Coffee Strong, near the Lewis-McChord base.
He told the BBC he believes many problems in the community have been caused by people with untreated cases of PTSD.
"The military ought to be held accountable for the health and well-being of soldiers," Mr Bambara said.
The words "war is trauma" are painted on a wall of Coffee Strong, and Mr Bambara says he witnesses PTSD behaviour among some of his customers.
"People come in with high levels of anxiety," he says. "You can almost see it in their face in terms of the way they are looking over their shoulders and constantly looking out of the window and are just kind of generally suspicious and just distrustful."
Is the military doing enough?
"I don't think they are," he says. "I don't think they have the capacity.
"The fact is they wouldn't be able to function and perform their mission if they were to genuinely compensate and allow the proper healing to take place."
Dr Harry Croft, former Army doctor and psychiatrist, who has evaluated more than 7,000 veterans for PTSD, says the rampage in Afghanistan means it is time for the military to take a closer look at the impact on soldiers who serve multiple tours.
A study in 2008 by RAND Corp, a think tank, indicated that 18% of all service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 had PTSD or major depression. Only about half were seeking help.
"They're reluctant for fear that it could affect their military career," says Mr Stell, on why so few soldiers reach out for PTSD and depression treatment.
Others say PTSD is too often used as a diagnosis or as an "excuse".
"Some people say PTSD because it's an easy diagnosis, in my opinion," says Steve Binda, 67, a retired US Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
He says men he knew fought in the trenches and survived the horrors of World War II, coming back home to continue on with their lives post-war.
Sue Rothwell, 63, owner of Gerties, a local restaurant and bar popular among the soldiers and veterans, isn't surprised that some soldiers snap.
"You take an 18-year-old off a farm in Minnesota, for example, send them over there and then wonder why he can't deal with it," she says.
In January 2010, US soldier Joshua Tabor was convicted of assault after holding his four-year-old daughter's head under water when she could not remember her alphabet properly.
In April 2011, Sgt David Stewart, a medic assigned to the Lewis-McChord base killed himself and his wife after leading authorities on a high-speed car chase.
They subsequently found the couple's five-year-old son dead at their home.
Last week, Lt Col Robert Underwood, a national guard trainer, was charged with allegedly hiring a hit man to kill his wife and his superior officer. He also threatened to blow up the Washington state capitol.
All three men in these cases were said to have been suffering PTSD, and all were based at Lewis-McChord.
Will anything come of the recent killing and maiming of 16 civilians in Afghanistan?
Some mental health experts are sceptical.
Mr Stell worries that the incident will be brushed off as the actions of a rogue soldier.
"This is what it takes," he says. "A big headline-grabbing event, but will it be the bad apple argument." | As a US soldier is held for the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians, there are growing concerns at his home base about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). | 17440473 | [
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Zipping up a thick jacket and pulling on a pair of gloves, Mohammed is ready for a hard day's graft.
He is one of a number of refugees and asylum seekers living in Belfast who spend their spare time doing voluntary conservation and preservation work in the Mourne mountains in County Down.
In Algeria, his home country, he was a police officer, but "problems with my government and a terrorist group" forced him to flee.
He has been in Northern Ireland for 18 months now - it is his "new home".
These mountains are where Mohammed and others displaced from their homelands come regularly to find peace.
They are working with the Mourne Heritage Trust, which looks after this area of outstanding natural beauty, to rebuild dry-stone walls and repair mountain paths.
The walls are one of the most unmistakable features of the Mournes, with hundreds of miles stretching over mountain peaks, dividing land and providing shelter for livestock and other wildlife.
The skills to build them - patience, an eye for a good stone, and a strong back, among other things - have been passed down through generations.
And now these refugees are learning them, too.
For Mohammed, this is his first time working on the walls: "I think it's very good experience for me."
With about 100 Syrian refugees expected to arrive in Northern Ireland before Christmas, the volunteer scheme could soon play a bigger role in offering a tranquil retreat to more people who have left conflict-hit countries.
Mediation Northern Ireland is one of the charities helping refugees and asylum seekers to settle into their new lives.
Mary McAnulty from the organisation says it works closely with the Mourne Heritage Trust.
The intention has been to help the refugees to make new friends, improve their language skills and explore part the country they now call home.
"Lots of people suffer from anxieties, so having a day out of Belfast is great," Mary says.
"If your world is very small, just the area you live in, then these can be your hills.
"I love to see people becoming proud of it and feeling that they have a sense of place."
Amar, who has moved to Belfast with his family from Sudan, says getting outside the city "is good for me".
And for Elizabeth, who is Colombian, the fresh countryside air is "good for my mind".
But it is not just a one-way thing.
Large areas of walls have become damaged due to erosion and increasing visitor numbers, and the Mourne Heritage Trust relies on volunteers to do the repair work.
Ranger John McEvoy says the trust is indebted to the refugees.
"They're willing to get the sleeves rolled up, get stuck into it," he explains.
"As the day goes on, you'll see them lifting the stone, doing exactly as we're doing."
And Dean Fitzpatrick, a Mourne man who comes from a family of stoneworkers, says you do not have to be born and bred in the shadow of the mountains to chip in.
"There are boys here who aren't stonemasons at all, from all different parts of the world," he says.
"They're doing as good as anybody and they've only been here an hour or two."
As Mohammed removes his gloves and wipes his brow after the work is done, his smile is wide.
"Here it's very quiet - everything is perfect for me here." | "I'm here to help my new friends to build a big wall, like the Chinese wall." | 34389279 | [
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The city council says 500 self-service bikes will be located across the city from April 2017.
A previous pilot scheme, which saw 70 bikes installed at 10 locations, ended in 2011.
Ramesh Patel, Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability, said: "The new scheme intends to be far larger that the initial pilot scheme.
"The bikes will be based at a number of easily accessed sites including hire stations at district centres, universities and other strategic locations close to existing public transport facilities."
The council wants to secure a provider to supply, maintain and operate the scheme, which it says, will be financed through sponsorship income and at no cost to the taxpayer.
'Boris bikes' were launched in London in 2010, with bikes being hired from any docking station using debit or credit cards. They can later be returned to any empty docking point.
The scheme has since been rolled out to a number of cities across the country. | Cardiff is to get a public bicycle hire scheme based on London's "Boris bikes". | 36576622 | [
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The proposed deal would combine the second and third largest cable operators in the US.
Charter is also buying Bright House Networks, another cable operator, for $10.4bn.
The combined three firms will serve cable television and broadband to 23.9 million customers in 41 states.
Charter will pay about $55bn in cash and stock for Time Warner Cable, with the balance of the $78.7bn valuation coming from TWC's debts.
US cable companies are facing stiff competition from online service providers such as Amazon and Netflix, as customers increasingly choose to stream films and television shows over the internet at a time of their convenience.
Cable companies are responding by trying to cut costs and improve the quality of their shows.
The new merged cable giant will compete with US cable market leader Comcast, which currently has about 27 million customers.
Charter's takeover move comes a month after Comcast abandoned its plan to buy Time Warner Cable fearing pressure from regulators.
The latest deal is also likely to come under regulatory scrutiny, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) quickly issued a statement.
"The FCC reviews every merger on its merits and determines whether it would be in the public interest," FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said.
"In applying the public interest test, an absence of harm is not sufficient. The commission will look to see how American consumers would benefit if the deal were to be approved."
The merged company would still be smaller than Comcast, which serves about a third of US broadband customers, said analyst Craig Moffett of Moffett Nathanson Research. "One has to be sober about genuine risks that this deal could still be rejected," he added.
Liberty Broadband, which currently owns about a quarter of Charter, is expected to own about 20% of the new company.
The deal values Time Warner Cable at $195.71 per share. | Charter Communications has agreed to buy media giant Time Warner Cable in a deal which values the company at $78.7bn (£52bn). | 32883033 | [
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The 5ft-long (1.5m) reptile has become the talk of Pakefield, near Lowestoft, occasionally coming down for a spot of sunbathing outside the local fish and chip shop.
Owner Mike Hamilton said he had tried to entice it down but his iguana was "living the life of Riley" up the tree.
The "toilet-trained, ever-so friendly" pet would return when ready, he added.
"He's been up there for three months now, he's enjoying himself and he won't come down," Mr Hamilton said.
More on this and other news from lizard-friendly Suffolk
The iguana appears to have made his home at the top of the tree and, despite taking the occasional day trip, has so far evaded capture.
Rani Coleman, who works at the chip shop, said: "A customer came in one day and said there was a lizard on the floor.
"We didn't believe it, but there it was, basking in the sun on the pavement."
She said customers told her they had seen the "huge" iguana in various places and when she arrived at work earlier "everyone was there with their binoculars out".
"I knew straight away that they'd found it," she added.
The iguana is currently sitting on its tree-top perch at the end of All Saints Road, about four houses away from where it used to live with its owner.
Source: Reptileexpert.co.uk
Local resident Angela Hills said people were throwing fruit to try to tempt the iguana down from the tree, but she had concerns for the animal's safety as it was close to a busy road.
Mr Hamilton said he did not think his "bull-headed" but harmless iguana wanted to be caught. | A pet iguana has been living up a 30ft (9m) tree for three months after making an escape from its enclosure. | 37234218 | [
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Pars goalkeeper Sean Murdoch denied Jamie Adams in a first half of few chances before two quick fire goals put the visitors in control.
El Bakhtaoui raced on to a Ryan Wallace ball to score his first, before scoring a stunning 30-yard volley from Michael Paton's cross.
Craig Moore fired a late chance over for Ayr United, who remain third. | Faissal El Bakhtaoui netted a second-half double as League One leaders Dunfermline claimed victory at Ayr. | 35733710 | [
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Dywedodd Ofcom eu bod wedi ailhysbysebu'r drwydded ar gyfer teledu lleol yn Abertawe am nad oedd ymgeisydd yn ystod rownd gyntaf y broses drwyddedu.
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Mae Llywodraeth y DU wedi dweud bod 'na alw am fwy o raglenni lleol ar wahân i'r rheiny sy'n cael eu cynnig gan y BBC a darlledwyr masnachol.
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Ddydd Mercher fe wnaeth Ofcom wahodd cynigion i ddarparu gwasanaethau teledu lleol mewn 30 ardal yn y DU cyn yr ail rownd o drwyddedu gael eu cyhoeddi yn ddiweddarach eleni.
Y diwrnod cau ar gyfer y cynigion yw Ebrill 24.
Yn gynharach ym mis Mawrth cyhoeddodd Ofcom eu bod wedi dyfarnu 19 trwydded ar gyfer ardaloedd gafodd eu hysbysebu yn y rownd gyntaf.
Y gobaith yw i rai sianelu a enillodd y trwyddedau hyn ddarlledu cyn diwedd 2013. | Mae Ofcom, y corff sy'n cadw golwg ar ddarlledu, wedi gwahodd cynigion ar gyfer lansio gorsafoedd teledu lleol ym Mangor a'r Wyddgrug. | 21773398 | [
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The 25-year-old steps up to the National League after 22 appearances for Rushall this season.
He is the fifth signing since Liam McDonald became Moors manager and could be in the squad for Saturday's trip to Dagenham & Redbridge.
Meanwhile, defender Jean-Yves Koue Niate and midfielder Donnell Benjamin have both left Damson Park.
Koue Niate played eight times for Moors, but Benjamin did not make a first-team appearance. | Solihull Moors have signed centre-back Joel Kettle from Northern League Premier leaders Rushall Olympic. | 38307131 | [
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