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The ex-Middlesbrough assistant, who held the same post at Hartlepool under Colin Cooper from 2013 to 2014, succeeded Ronnie Moore on Wednesday. Moore parted company with Pools after Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat by Stevenage. "The quality I've seen in training, the intensity and the tempo took me by surprise a bit," Hignett told BBC Tees. "I'm walking into a positive situation. Results and performances haven't been the same, the group of players I've seen today are more than capable of beating teams in this league." Former Tranmere and Rotherham boss Moore helped retain Hartlepool's Football League status last term after his appointment in December 2014. However despite a run of four straight wins at the start of the campaign, form tailed off and Hignett will go into Saturday's home game against Yeovil looking for a first win in five with his side four points above the relegation zone. "First and foremost we need to get away from where we are," he added. "I need to get my message across to the team quickly because there will be a change in style." Liverpudlian Hignett is a self-confessed relaxed and jovial character, but says that will have no impact on his performance with reference to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. "Tell Jurgen Klopp that [you have to be serious], there's a time to be serious and a time where you don't have to be," he added. "I do like a laugh and a joke, but when I'm serious I'm serious, there's a time and a place. "Training we have to be serious, match-day ultra serious, but after the game - win lose or draw - I'll be me. "If I want to have a laugh and joke afterwards, as long as the result isn't too bad then I will." Since Hignett's last stint on the Pools' touchline, the club has been taken over by JPNG - led by chairman Gary Coxall - from Ken Hodcroft and IOR Limited. "I was really impressed by what he [Coxall] had to say," Hignett added. "What he wants to do with the club in the future, how he wants to grow the club, his vision, he wanted a clear identity for it - everything I'd want to bring to a football club. "For me it was the perfect fit."
New Hartlepool manager Craig Hignett says the situation at Victoria Park is "positive", despite taking over a side third from bottom in League Two.
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Fujimori said in a letter he intended to share thoughts and memories, happy and sad, while serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations. The social media accounts would be managed by a group of supporters. The 75-year-old governed Peru for a decade before being impeached and fleeing the country in 2000. Peru's Justice minister, Daniel Figallo, reacted angrily to Fujimori's announcement. "People who commit violations and have their liberty taken from them have their rights limited. Otherwise, we turn prisons into hotels," he told reporters. Mr Figallo reportedly asked the prison director to limit Fujimori's access to social media. The former leader still has supporters in Peru and vowed to reveal his thoughts online. "In this way, I'll be able to share my thoughts, memories and illusions, sorrows and joys," his letter read. Peru's President Ollanta Humala recently rejected Fujimori's request for a pardon on humanitarian grounds. Earlier this week, the authorities rejected a bid by Fujimori's lawyer to have him transferred to house arrest. After being stripped of his powers by the country's Congress in 2000, the leader sought exile in Japan. He eventually returned to Chile, where he was arrested in 2005. After losing a lengthy legal battle, he was extradited to Peru in 2007 and convicted of human rights violations after a 15-month trial. He was accused of authorising death-squad killings in two incidents known as La Cantuta and Barrios Altos, and the kidnapping of a journalist and a businessman. Mr Fujimori repeatedly denied the charges, saying they were politically motivated.
The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, has said he will publish excerpts from his memoirs on the social media websites Twitter and Facebook.
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Exports of the fish jumped more than 53% by value to £408m, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said. UK food and drink exports rose 8.5% to £10.2bn, helped by the fall in the pound after last year's Brexit vote. But the FDF warned that without a favourable Brexit trade deal, British exports could become less competitive. Whisky remained the top export, while salmon was second, and beer rose to third, overtaking chocolate. But while the volume of salmon exports rose by 24%, whisky exports actually fell 1% by volume, and beer exports fell 2.2%. The pound has fallen sharply against the dollar and euro since the UK voted to leave the EU in June last year, giving a boost to UK exports, as they have become relatively cheaper. However, the weaker pound has also pushed up costs for British businesses that bring in food and raw materials from abroad, the FDF said. It said the UK's food and drink trade deficit - the difference between how much the UK imports and exports - widened 16% to £12.4bn over the period. British salmon is becoming more popular globally, according to Andy Bing, sales director of Loch Duart Salmon in North West Scotland. "This half we've sold more than we ever have," he said, adding that the firm's main export markets were France, the US, Italy, and Switzerland. UK salmon exports have grown after Chilean producers suffered problems in 2015 with algal blooms that killed a large amount of their fish, he said. Looking ahead, the firm is optimistic about the eventual post-Brexit trade deals that can be struck with EU countries. "Europe needs lovely Scottish salmon just as we need lovely French wine and wonderful German cars," he said. However, he added that Loch Duart was "finding it difficult to plan without better guidance" from the government about Brexit. The two biggest importers of UK food and drink are Ireland and France. If there is no deal and World Trade Organization (WTO) tariffs with the EU are brought in, "food and drink would face significantly higher tariffs than most other products," an FDF spokesman said. For example, some fruit and vegetables would face tariffs of 157%, and for some drinks products, importers would have to pay 152% tariffs. Goods "could face lengthy delays at border for checks and inspections that would add delays and cost to products, particularly those with short shelf lives," the spokesman added. However, the free market think tank, the Institute for Economic Affairs, said it would not be a "disaster" if the UK failed to strike a deal with the EU. Jamie Whyte, IEA research director, said: "In fact, we could unilaterally eliminate all import tariffs, which would give us most of the benefits of trade and export to the EU under the umbrella of the WTO rules." A UK government spokesman said it wanted to reach a deal with the EU "allowing for the most frictionless trade including in food and drink as possible". Source HM Customs and Excise In the first half of the year, UK food and drink exports rose faster to EU countries, up 9%, than to countries outside the EU, with growth of 7.6%. But the market which saw the most growth in the first half was South Korea, up 77%, in the main due to beer exports. Food Minister George Eustice said: "We have ambitious plans to produce and export more of our fabulous foods around the world and more businesses are trying exporting for the first time. "Last week we announced further market access to China for pork producers and UK beef will soon be heading to the Philippines. We will continue to work with industry to open new opportunities."
Sales of British salmon helped the UK to export a record value of food and drink in the first half of the year, according to industry figures.
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Media playback is not supported on this device First-half tries from Vincent Clerc and Maxime Medard opened a lead of 16 unanswered points as England shipped penalties and made basic errors across the park. England struck back with a fine try from Ben Foden and closed to within seven points with three minutes left when Mark Cueto capitalised on a break from replacement Matt Banahan. But they ran out of time and inspiration as Les Bleus set up a deserved semi-final clash with Wales. France, so poor in their pool matches, were a side transformed as they took revenge for their World Cup defeats of 2007 and 2003. "England were blown away in the first half and probably got a proper telling off. They came out with a little more pace and precision but they made too many mistakes with knock-ons, penalites and turnovers. England were never going to score from 80m out. "Those who have watched England before could see they were not any different but whereas Scotland and Argentina couldn't last the distance and England won late on, France were a different outfit." The defeat will leave manager Martin Johnson under pressure after his gamble of pairing Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood at 10 and 12 failed to ignite the England back line, while his forwards were repeatedly second best at the set-piece and in the loose. Johnson's contract expires in November, and four weeks as memorable for scandals off the pitch as any achievements on it will do little to appease the notoriously twitchy committee-men at the Rugby Football Union. France were supposedly a team in pieces, beaten by Tonga just a week ago and with coach Marc Lievremont publicly berating his players, but so clear-cut was their victory that much of the atmosphere had been sucked from the contest long before the end. England had an early opportunity with a line-out deep in French territory after a clever grubber from Foden only for Lionel Nallet to burgle back possession, and they then tore into France again as Alexis Palisson was smashed backwards after taking a garryowen and Manu Tuilagi thundered into Morgan Parra. After spluttering sporadically for four games, England's Kiwi campaign ended as it probably deserved to: in defeat, to a team that was more dynamic, more clinical and far more composed when it mattered most. Read more from Tom's blog But it was the most fleeting of false dawns. Dmitri Yachvilli slotted a penalty from distance after Flood failed to release his man on the deck, and France took a grip they would never relinquish. Wilkinson was struggling, sending the re-start straight into touch and flinging a pass the same way, and France then went close to the first try of the contest as Clerc took a long pass out on the left and was just bundled into touch by the corner flag. Yachvilli made it 6-0 with a second sweet strike from 45 metres after Matt Stevens was penalised for collapsing a scrum, and then slid another penalty just wide from the same spot. England's players had talked of "blitzing" France in the first 20 minutes, but it was Lievremont's men with all the menace and danger. Another line-out was stolen, and when the ball was sent left Clerc stepped and spun through limp challenges from Wilkinson, Chris Ashton and Foden to dive over and make it 11-0. England were once again static in their few attacks, only Tuilagi's bullocking runs offering any threat, Flood reduced to aiming a long-range drop-goal pit which missed by a street. Louis Deacon shipped another sloppy penalty, allowing Yachvili to kick to the corner, and after thunderous drives from the forwards left wing Alexis Palisson and Medard combined out wide to put the full-back in for France's second try. England were in disarray, only Yachvili's failures with the conversions keeping them in the game, and when they finally created space for their wingers Cueto was dragged down metres from the line before another wayward pass from Wilkinson shut the door on Ashton wide out right. England had never before come back to win from a margin of more than 12 points, and the errors continued to come thick and fast as Tom Croft became the latest to cough up the ball. They grabbed an unlikely lifeline when Ben Youngs took a quick tap and go to release Foden, who jinked and dummied his way over to make it 16-5 with 23 minutes left on the clock, Wilkinson popping over the conversion for 16-7. Johnson threw on his replacements but England kept wasting what good field possession they could work. Flood popped out a careless off-load deep in the French 22 to allow a clearing kick to snuff out the danger, and when Nick Easter tried to rumble from deep within his own 22 his hospital pass to Tuilagi triggered another knock-on. France, led by man-of-the-match Imanol Harinordoquy, set up camp in front of the English posts, and when the ball was fed back to Trinh-Duc the replacement fly-half slotted the drop-goal to make it 19-7. Banahan's late charge allowed Cueto to touch down for a try at the death, but with Flood's conversion sliding wide England needed a converted try to force extra time - something they could neither conjure nor say their performance deserved. England: Foden, Ashton, Tuilagi, Flood, Cueto, Wilkinson, Youngs, Stevens, Thompson, Cole, Deacon, Palmer, Croft, Moody, Easter. Replacements: Wigglesworth for Wilkinson (65), Banahan for Youngs (65), Corbisiero for Stevens (49), Hartley for Thompson (56), Shaw for Deacon (49), Lawes for Croft (46), Haskell for Moody (63). France: Medard, Clerc, Rougerie, Mermoz, Palisson, Parra, Yachvili, Poux, Servat, Mas, Pape, Nallet, Dusautoir, Bonnaire, Harinordoquy. Replacements: Marty for Rougerie (68), Trinh-Duc for Yachvili (53), Barcella for Poux (56), Szarzewski for Servat (56), Pierre for Pape (65), Picamoles for Harinordoquy (72). Not Used: Heymans.
England's World Cup dreams fell apart under a French onslaught on a night when their shortcomings were brutally exposed at the quarter-final stage.
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The head of city centre regeneration is set to receive the largest increase of 20%, leading to a salary of £75,000. A council document said it reflected "increased responsibility" due to "additional city centre development". But, the Taxpayers' Alliance said people wanted to see lower council tax rates, not large pay rises for bosses. Councillor John Flanagan said the rises affected eight posts and would be funded "from within existing budgets". Seven other senior bosses could earn a pay rise of about 7%. Despite the disappointing performance of Manchester's schools over recent years, the strategic director of education and skills will get a pay rise of 7.6%. That will take their new salary to £125,000 per year. As for other council staff, there are around 1,300 employees who are paid the living wage of £8.25 per hour - and the average council salary is £23,000 a year. In addition to that, most city council employees were given a pay rise of just 1% earlier this year. The council have had to cope with huge cuts worth around £300m a year over the past six years. That has meant a reduction in staff from around 10,000 - to fewer than 6,000 today. Mr Flanagan, executive member for finance, said: "It is essential that we can keep and attract the right calibre of senior staff by having salaries which reflect the levels of responsibility they have and are in line with those available in comparable cities. "We are currently reviewing all staff salaries, from top to bottom, to ensure they fairly reflect their workloads and responsibility, while maintaining value for money for council taxpayers." Harry Davis, from the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the council had been "really good over the last half decade" over pay issues. "They have removed about 400 staff earning over £50,000," he said. "But, when savings need to be made and council tax is still going up, they have to make sure that they keep a tight grip on the purse strings so that they can channel as much as possible to front line services and tax cuts for local residents."
Senior managers at Manchester City Council could receive above-inflationary pay rises if plans are approved on Thursday.
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Ofsted says it has found evidence of children being taught in squalid conditions in three places in Birmingham which have now closed. Anyone running illegal schools could face a jail term of up to 51 weeks. Ministers are also consulting on plans for more regulation of places teaching for more than 6 to 8 hours a week. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Chief Inspector of Schools in England, told the BBC this week that his inspectors were visibly shocked by the conditions they found. It is understood that a total of 18 unregulated schools, mainly in Muslim communities in the Midlands, have been visited as part of an investigation in recent months. Three places in Birmingham have been closed and the owners are being investigated under suspicion of running an illegal school. Sir Michael said the cases uncovered were likely to be the "tip of the iceberg" and he was seriously concerned that children were at risk of being abused or radicalised. Any place where children are taught for more than 20 hours a week has to register as a school. Some places describing themselves as part-time education centres or "flexi schools" are operating within the law providing support for home-educated children. But Ofsted and ministers are concerned that some are taking advantage of the legal right to home educate to operate what are in fact illegal schools. In a letter to the education secretary on Friday, Sir Michael suggested officials had been slow to take decisive action in the three places which Ofsted had closed with the help of the local council. "This was achieved in spite of your officials providing, what I believe to be, confusing and unhelpful advice to the proprietors that they could now apply to register their provision." The government has provided funding for a team of six inspectors whose job will be to investigate illegal schools. While most of the places visited by Ofsted so far have been in Muslim communities, inspectors may also turn their attention to similar unregistered tuition centres operated by other groups. "It will apply across the board, to any religious group whether Muslim group, Jewish group, or Christian group who wants to operate this sort of provision in unsafe accommodation, in unhygienic and filthy accommodation. "It will apply to all religious groups, I want to make that absolutely clear," Sir Michael told the BBC. The education secretary has now said she intends to go further. "I have now asked Ofsted to prepare cases for prosecution against unregistered schools it has identified. For a child to spend a single day in one of these schools is unacceptable." In order for a prosecution to be brought against an unregistered school the Education Secretary has to give consent. The government consultation on further regulation runs until mid-January.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says anyone found running an illegal backstreet school in England will face fines or a prison sentence.
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The pants, embroidered with the royal VR monogram, are being sold on behalf of Yesterday's World museum in Sussex. Auctioneer Richard Edmonds said: "We've been able to date the pants by measuring the waistband and they are from the last 10 years of her life." The sale also includes nightdresses and stockings worn by Britain's longest-serving monarch and Princess Alice. The royal intimate apparel - described as in "excellent condition" - is expected to fetch several thousand pounds when it goes under the hammer next week. Mr Edmonds, from Chippenham Auction Rooms, said he used the "tried-and-tested method" of measuring the waistline to date the underwear to about 1891. "Earlier in her life she was slimmer but her pants got bigger as she got older," he said. "As there's such a good photographic record of Queen Victoria, it's possible to calculate her waist measurement over time, so we know roughly when she would have worn items of this size." According to Mr Edmonds, the 125-year-old underwear was bought by Yesterday's World museum from a descendant of one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting. "Items of Queen Victoria's clothing were often given to members of the royal household, particularly after her death in 1901," he said. "And they're stamped with the royal crest which proves they're from the royal wardrobe." Also included in the sale on 11 July are stockings and shoes worn by Queen Victoria's third child Princess Alice and replicas of the Crown Jewels. In 2014, a pair of Queen Victoria's silk bloomers sold at auction in Kent for £6,200.
A pair of Queen Victoria's cotton pants with a 45in (114cm) waistband are to be sold at auction in Wiltshire.
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The McLaren driver was already not going to race in F1 in 2017, with the team holding an option on him for the 2018 campaign. But speaking on Thursday, the 36-year-old Briton said: "I go into this weekend thinking it's going to be my last race. I think that's the best way. "At this moment in time, I don't want to be racing in F1 beyond this year." Button, world champion in 2009, made his debut at the age of 20 in 2000. Sunday's race will be his 305th grand prix start, with only Rubens Barrichello (322) and Michael Schumacher (306) having driven in more. He has won 15 F1 races, driving for Williams, Benetton, Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn and McLaren. Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne is replacing Button at McLaren next year as team-mate to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, whose contract runs out at the end of 2017, with Button acting as an ambassador for the team. "It is true that I have a contract in 2018 but, at this moment in time, I am not going to be racing in 2018," Button added. "The whole point of this [contract for 2018] was if, in three months' time, I had eaten myself stupid and I changed my mind. "But I don't want to go into this race thinking it's not my last race - and it is." Under his contract for 2017, Button is due to be McLaren's reserve driver and would race if either Alonso or Vandoorne are unable to for any reason. Media playback is not supported on this device He will do promotional work for McLaren and some work in the simulator and attend a minimum of four grands prix. "It's been a long journey since eight years old until now," Button added. "You get to Formula 1 with many dreams and hopefully you leave the sport with memories - some amazing memories, some life-changing, some good, some bad. To walk away with the world championship is very special, too. "I will definitely step away from F1 happy with what I've achieved and definitely my life starts now."
Former world champion Jenson Button says he will retire from Formula 1 after Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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Kent closed on 288-5, a lead of 437, opting not to set Essex a target. Essex earlier were bowled out for 292, avoiding the follow-on by one run. Kent were reduced to 40-4 but Northeast shared an unbroken 185 with Will Gidman (63 not out) as runners-up Kent batted through the remainder of the day. The hosts had already secured the six points that guaranteed second place, a promotion spot in any other season. In reality, the prospects of a result were slim as soon as David Masters and Matt Dixon scored the three runs Essex needed to avoid the follow-on, with Dixon then out from the very next ball. Even when Kent slipped to 40-4 and 103-5, it never seemed likely that Essex would be able to force victory without the aid of a declaration. Northeast, an immovable figure, ensured as much, the only excitement coming when he took 30 off one Kishen Velani over - three fours and three sixes. The final over was bowled by retiring Essex seamer David Masters, the 38-year-old ending his first-class career with 672 wickets from 202 matches. He was given a guard of honour that included England Test captain Alastair Cook as he left the field.
Sam Northeast made 178 not out as his Kent side batted out a tame draw against County Championship Division Two champions Essex on the final day of the season at Canterbury.
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Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said an innovative project has seen approximately 4,000 of the threatened crustaceans reared and released here since 2009. The focus is on the River Wye and its tributaries, the last remaining native crayfish stronghold in Wales. Some fear the species could die out completely by 2030. Crayfish are considered a key indicator of the health of our rivers. But numbers have been in sharp decline since the introduction of North American signal crayfish to Britain in the 1980s. Initially, these larger crayfish were farmed for their meat. But the non-native species spread widely, out-competing native populations for food and infecting them with a deadly plague. Oliver Brown, NRW's fish culture officer, said parts of the country had lost between 50 to 98% of their population of white-clawed crayfish. As a keystone species, the native crayfish's decline impacts on the overall diversity of water courses with knock-on effects for a large number of other organisms and habitats as a whole. The re-introduction project at Cynrig Hatchery, near Brecon, was designed as a "stop-gap" measure to avoid a total wipe-out in Wales. With help from local charity the Wye and Usk Foundation, the reared crayfish are released into specially selected "ark" sites, where they are protected by natural barriers from possible invasion by signal crayfish. Recent site visits have shown the juveniles surviving for at least two years post release. "If we can create enough of these ark sites it should give us that little bit of extra time to find a solution to the issues," Mr Brown told BBC Wales. He added that there was growing interest across the UK in the work being carried out in Wales. "It's an iconic species, indicative of a really good river habitat. If we lose it then it's the start of a slippery slope. "But in reality we are going to have to come up with something pretty spectacular (to reverse the decline)." Meanwhile, researchers at Cardiff University are hoping they can do just that. PhD student Rhidian Thomas is set to present his research on the invasive signal crayfish at an International Crayfish Symposium in Madrid this month. "It is quite a grave situation - the non-native species are continuing to spread and bringing crayfish plague with them," he said. "The main focus of the research here at Cardiff Research into Infection and Parasites in Ecological Systems (Cripes) is to try and understand which factors are associated with their success. "We also want to understand more about the parasites and pathogens that get co-introduced with them when they're brought over. "It's to try and understand what sorts of management practices we can put in place." One method that is increasingly being encouraged is for people who use waterways - such as canoeists and fishermen - to check, clean and dry their equipment after use to try and prevent the spread of crayfish plague from area to area. The NRW said getting the message across was "vital" as a wet wader or the underside of a boat that had been in contact with one affected river could cause the death of native crayfish in another.
Efforts to save the native white-clawed crayfish from extinction in Wales are showing "encouraging" results.
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The Windsor attraction has been busy during half term. One visitor told the BBC his family queued for more than two hours as they tried to leave the park. Legoland said it had spent more than £10,000 in the last year developing alternative entrance and exit routes. Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council said road signs had been altered recently to prevent traffic travelling through the centre of Windsor. "The problem is Legoland is very popular," said councillor Colin Rayner, cabinet member for transport. "I'll be working very closely with the park to ensure the system we've developed is working. We want to support them as it does bring a lot of employment and business to the area." Ian Calkin, from Croydon, took his two children to the park on Wednesday. "We left at 6pm when the park closed and were ready to go 10 minutes later," he said. "But, we didn't get through the car park barriers to scan our exit pass until well after eight o'clock. "It was then another 30 minutes before we hit the main roads." Legoland said it had worked incredibly hard with the council over recent years on traffic management and would continue to do so. "We understand a delayed exit from the car park would be frustrating," a spokesman said. "We have employed a number of additional staff to help and provided guests with instructions to turn right out of the park to utilise the new routes."
Legoland has apologised to people who have spent hours stuck in its car park.
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No 10 said: "We don't accept threats have been made." It is understood spokesman Craig Oliver phoned the Daily Telegraph's editor after his paper wrote a story about Maria Miller's expense claims. He reportedly told him the story was poorly timed. Mr Oliver is alleged, by the Daily Telegraph, to have told the editor, Tony Gallagher, that Mrs Miller was "looking at Leveson at the moment". Twenty-four hours earlier, Mrs Miller's special adviser Joanna Hindley called the reporter working on the story to "flag up" the culture secretary's role in drawing up new press regulation rules, following Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into media ethics. A No 10 spokesman defended Mr Oliver's intervention and rejected suggestions he - or Mrs Miller's adviser - were seeking to influence the paper against pursuing the story. They said Mr Oliver was simply raising "concerns" with the newspaper about the way the story was being pursued and the fact Mrs Miller's "elderly father had been door-stepped" by a reporter. The spokesman added: "The secretary of state had some concerns about the way that investigation was being conducted and Craig Oliver was simply reflecting those concerns." Labour MP John Mann has written to John Lyon, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, after it emerged Mrs Miller had allowed her parents to live at a property on which she claimed £90,718 in second home allowances during the last parliament. Mrs Miller has said her expenses were "absolutely in order" and "in complete accordance with the rules". Her parents, John and June Lewis, have apparently been living at the property since selling their home in Wales in 1996. According to the Telegraph, Miss Hindley told its reporter: "Maria has obviously been having quite a lot of editors' meetings around Leveson at the moment. So I am just going to kind of flag up that connection for you to think about." Brian Cathcart, executive director of Hacked Off, which is campaigning for the setting up of an independent press regulator via a change in the law, said: "This story illustrates exactly why ministers must be kept at arm's length from the regulation of the press. "It cannot be right that politicians who are subject to the scrutiny of the newspapers and who are constantly vulnerable to public challenge in this way are sitting down with editors and proprietors of those same newspapers to design a press regulation system." A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: "Mrs Miller's special adviser raised concerns with a journalist about the nature of an approach to Mrs Miller's elderly father. Her adviser noted that Mrs Miller was in regular contact with the paper's editor and would raise her concerns directly with him, which Mrs Miller did subsequently. "However, this is a separate issue to ongoing discussions about press regulation. Mrs Miller has made the government's position on this clear."
Downing Street has denied that the PM's spokesman warned a newspaper against running a critical story on the culture secretary's expenses because of her role in enacting the Leveson proposals.
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Lord Keen - the UK's government's Advocate General - said triggering Article 50 would not alter the "essential structure" of devolution. The Scottish government believes Holyrood should be consulted before talks between the UK and EU begin. But Lord Keen said that was "fatally undermined" by powers over foreign affairs being reserved to Westminster. He was speaking as the UK's highest court heard a second day of argument in the historic Brexit legal challenge. The Scottish government's top law officer, Lord Advocate James Wolffe, is due to put the case for Holyrood having a say in the triggering of Article 50 later this week. Lord Keen told the panel of 11 judges that it was plain from the legislation setting up the Scottish Parliament that it had no authority over matters of international relations, such as EU membership. As a result, he suggested devolution arguments could not be used to "qualify or abrogate" the UK government's right to exercise powers to trigger Article 50. He said: "I would submit these reservations are fatal to reliance on devolution legislation as giving rise to any necessary implication, or indeed any other indication, that the government cannot exercise its foreign affairs and treaty prerogative in the ordinary way." Pressed by Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger if he was saying "the answer is the same in Scotland as it is here (in the UK as a whole), Lord Keen replied that "essentially" it was. Lord Keen went on to argue that the Sewel convention was a "political" accord and should not be seen as a legal obstacle to the UK government exercising its powers with regard to EU exit without reference to the Scottish Parliament. The Sewel convention was an important component of the 1998 Scottish devolution settlement, which stipulated that Westminster would not normally legislate on devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. But Lord Keen said it was a political convention concerning the legislative functions of the Westminster Parliament, and was "never intended to be a justiciable legal principle". Pressed by Lord Sumption on whether he believed that the convention's incorporation into an act of Parliament makes "no legal difference to its effect", Lord Keen replied "yes". James Eadie QC, for the UK government, had earlier continued his attempt to persuade the Supreme Court justices to rule in its favour over its planned strategy for exiting the European Union. He is urging the panel to overturn a ruling against the government by the High Court in London last month. The Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other judges decided that Prime Minister Theresa May lacked power to use the royal prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and start the two-year process of negotiating Brexit without the prior authority of Parliament. Long before the start of the second day of the appeal on Tuesday, members of the public joined a lengthy queue in the hope of getting a place inside the court to witness the proceedings. The case, which will finish on Thursday with a judgment likely to be delivered in January, has attracted worldwide attention.
Holyrood's consent is not needed before Brexit negotiations formally get under way, the Supreme Court has heard.
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Democrats Mark Warner and Joe Manchin, who have "A" ratings from the National Rifle Association (NRA), now say action is needed after the massacre. President Obama has held a meeting with three of his cabinet to discuss how the law might change. Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both aged six, were buried on Monday. They were among 20 children and six adults killed at Sandy Hook school in Connecticut. Other victims' funerals will be held throughout the week, and the town has already begun removing Christmas decorations in mourning. Two adults who were injured in the attack survived are recovering in hospital and would be crucial witnesses as police continue their investigation, it was confirmed on Monday. Lt Paul Vance said they were recovering and would be interviewed at an appropriate time. Children who witnessed the attack would also be interviewed - in the presence of parents and professionals - Lt Vance added. The Sandy Hook gunman was named as Adam Lanza, who took his own life at the end of a killing spree that began with him shooting dead his own mother. Despite a long history of pro-gun views, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin told US network MSNBC on Monday that it was time to "move beyond rhetoric" on gun control. Mr Manchin, a gun owner and frequent hunter, said: "I don't know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle." "It's common sense. It's time to move beyond rhetoric. We need to sit down and have a common sense discussion and move in a reasonable way." Virginia Senator Mark Warner, another Democrat who has backed gun owner's rights, told reporters outside the Virginia capitol that the "status quo isn't acceptable". He later called for "rational gun control" in an interview with a local news broadcaster. Mr Warner said he had been approached repeatedly over the weekend as people began to seek answers and solutions. On Sunday President Barack Obama told residents at a vigil in Newtown the US must do more to protect its children. Rate per 100,000 people Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports In statistics: Guns in the US Viewpoints: Should gun laws change? Mark Mardell: Twenty Christmas trees "We can't tolerate this any more," Mr Obama said. "These tragedies must end and to end them we must change." On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said tighter gun control laws are part of the answer to violence in the US, but stressed that the president did not have a specific policy to announce. "It's a complex problem that will require a complex solution," Mr Carney said. "No single piece of legislation, no single action will fully address the problem." He added that the president supports reinstating an assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a long-time advocate for gun regulations, said on Sunday she would introduce assault weapons ban legislation in the beginning of the next congressional session. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a vocal backer of stricter regulation, called on Mr Obama and Congress to pass several gun regulation proposals, including requiring a criminal background check for all gun sales, making gun trafficking a felony and a ban on assault weapons. Newtown's ordeal entered a new phase on Monday as Jack Pinto was buried in the Newtown Village Cemetery and Noah Pozner was buried at the B'Nai Israel Cemetery in the nearby town of Monroe. By Jonny DymondWashington correspondent The family of James Mattioli, six, also held a wake on Monday. Noah Pozner, the youngest victim, was described by his family as inquisitive and mature for his age. "It is unspeakably tragic that none of us can bring Noah back," his uncle Alexis Haller said, according to remarks sent to the Associated Press. "We would go to the ends of the earth to do so, but none of us can. What we can do is carry Noah within us, always." His twin sister, Arielle, who was assigned to a different classroom, survived. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and Lt Gov Nancy Wyman were both at the funeral, presided over by a rabbi. In front of the funeral home, well-wishers placed two teddy bears, a bouquet of white flowers and a single red rose at the base of an old maple tree. Later, hymns played at the funeral of Jack Pinto, described as a sports lover and a huge fan of New York Giants football player Victor Cruz - who wore the boy's name inscribed on his boots during Sunday's game. At his funeral on Monday, many young children wore Newtown school football shirts. One mourner, Gwendolyn Glover, told the Associated Press the funeral aimed to reassure others that they were now safe. "The message was: You're secure now. The worst is over," she said. The six-year-old was one of the youngest members of the Newtown youth wrestling association, and dozens of boys in gray Newtown wrestling shirts were at the funeral, as was his coach. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has declared a moment of silence for the entire state on Friday morning at 09:00 local time, a week after the shooting. He asked houses of worship with bells to ring them 26 times - one for each victim at the school. Mr Malloy has also signed an executive order making an unused school in neighbouring town immediately available for Sandy Hook's students - with classes reported to be pencilled in for Wednesday. It could be months before the school building is available for use again because it remains an active crime scene.
Two pro-gun US senators have called for changes to firearm laws, as the first victims of the 26 victims of Newtown school shootings were buried.
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They said Mr Bahri, a Yemeni national, passed away on Saturday in a hospital in the southern city of Mukalla. He is believed to have been in his 40s. Mr Bahri, also known as Abu Jandal, was also a driver for the late al-Qaeda leader, when he was in Afghanistan. Mr Bahri was freed from the Guantanamo Bay jail and returned to Yemen in 2008. He was involved in attacks by Islamist militants in Bosnia, Somalia and Afghanistan during the 1990s, but later renounced al-Qaeda. In a 2010 interview to the BBC's Newsnight programme Mr Bahri warned that young people in his native Yemen were susceptible to the lure of extremism. Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.
Nasser al-Bahri - Osama Bin Laden's former bodyguard - has died after a long illness, medical sources in Yemen have told the BBC.
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Ian Toothill said he believes he is the first cancer patient to scale the world's highest mountain. The Sheffield Wednesday fan planted a flag of rivals Sheffield United at the summit for charity. The 47-year-old personal trainer, who reached the summit on Monday, has raised almost £31,500 ($40,600) for Macmillan. He tweeted: "Nothing to see here, just some cancer dude [Sheffield Wednesday] fan on the summit of Everest with a @SUFC_tweets flag." Live updates and this and other stories from Yorkshire Mr Toothill, originally from Sheffield, lives in Willesden Green in London and has climbed in the Himalayas. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in June 2015 and told in early 2016 that he had beaten the disease, but later found out it had returned. He said he has been told he has "just several months left to live". Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield in February, he said: "I'm determined to prove anything is possible." He reached the top of the North Col route on 16 May and the summit of Everest on 5 June. Miss NJP tweeted: "What an amazing achievement and a wonderful moment for @IanToothill. Feeling emotional. So glad you made it to the top #climbingforcancer". The Sheffield Wednesday fan planted the rival Sheffield United flag at the summit after a friend donated £1,000. Mr Toothill was accompanied part-way of the climb by Leslie Binns, from Rotherham, who abandoned his climb to the summit after saving the life of a fellow climber last June. His fundraising bid raised almost £31,500, beating the target of £29,100.
A terminal cancer patient who has been told he has just months to live has conquered Mount Everest.
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It looks pretty likely that the cross-party amendment on giving Parliament a final vote on the Brexit deal will be pushed to a division. And so will the Lib Dem amendment to give people what they call "a final say on the final deal" and what others call a second referendum. Potentially there could be further votes on issues like the Brexit implications for Northern Ireland. The expectation is that the amended bill will get its Third Reading on Tuesday evening....but the ritual of Parliamentary ping-pong, where the Bill then bounces between the Lords and Commons until its final form can be agreed, will have to be postponed for a while. The opportunity for the Commons to accept or - more likely - reject the changes made by peers will be blocked by the debate on the Budget, which will occupy the Commons into the following week. So there will be a week or more for the pressure to build on MPs before they vote on the issue - and during the interval the Commons Brexit Select Committee will publish a report on the rights of UK and EU citizens (on Sunday) in good time to influence the vote. It's a sign of the times that Brexit could eclipse what's normally a highlight of the Parliamentary year, but there will be plenty to watch out for in what will be the last full-scale budget in March. Next year it will be downgraded to a mere "Spring Statement" with the Budget moving to the autumn. First up the forecasts for government debt, with the Treasury continuing to seek further austerity savings across government. Second, whether there will be an injection of extra funds to defuse the row over business rates, and third, whether the government will put more money into adult social care, and maybe even signal a long term review of the system. The Westminster buzz is that the public finances are in better shape than expected - but that any spare cash will be stashed away in a Brexit war chest, rather than spent now. Elsewhere, there's important action on the Children and Social Work Bill, where the government has delighted cross-party campaigners by bringing forward amendments to make relationship educations (emphatically not sex education) compulsory at primary school level. Cross-party pressure from family values campaigners like the influential Conservative backbencher, David Burrowes, and supporters of extended sex education like the Women and Equalities Committee Chair, Maria Miller, and Labour's Sarah Champion, appears to have secured its goal. Both groups were persuaded that a new approach was needed to tackle the problem of sexting and sexual harassment in schools. And the government may also be tested on a couple of issues on the Higher Education Bill, where there are two days of Report Stage consideration in the Lords. The Commons opens at 14.30 BST with Home Office Questions - and then watch out for any ministerial statements or urgent questions at 3.30. In particular, the Culture Secretary Karen Bradley is expected to update MPs on the proposed merger between Sky and 21st Century Fox, which has now been formally notified to the European Commission. An earlier attempt at this was withdrawn during the 2010 Parliament, in the wake of the hacking scandal, and the issue remains highly sensitive. She must decide by 17 March 17 whether to ask the regulator, Ofcom, to carry out a public interest test. Then MPs move on to the Second Reading debate of the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill - this aims, among other things, to create a legal framework for insuring automated vehicles, because at the moment the law does not provide for them, require fuel retailers to provide charge points for electric cars, and create a new criminal offence of shining a laser at any means of transport. There's also a separate draft bill to create a UK spaceport, which will go out for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Commons Science and Technology Committee. In Westminster Hall at 16.30 GMT MPs debate e-petition 129823 which says that dress code laws should be changed so that women have the option to wear flat formal shoes at work, if they wish, arguing that "current formal work dress codes are out-dated and sexist". In the Lords at 14.30 GMT the usual half hour of questions to ministers is followed by the first Report Stage day on the Higher Education and Research Bill. Expect votes on tiered Higher Educational establishments - gold, silver, bronze universities. Watch out too for a short debate on recent legislation on assisted dying in North America; and whether those laws provide an appropriate basis for legislation in England and Wales, led by Labour's Baroness Jay of Paddington. This suggests that the Lords assisted dying lobby have not entirely given up following the defeat of Rob Marris's bill in the Commons, last year. MPs begin at 11.30 GMT with Justice Questions, followed by a Ten Minute Rule Bill on the Queen's Sapphire Jubilee from the Conservative, Andrew Rosindell. The day's main event is the Report stage of the Children and Social Work Bill (see above). The Conservative Sir Edward Leigh has fired in an amendment to the sex and relationship education proposals, to allow a parent to request that their child be wholly or partly excused. Labour MPs are also proposing new clauses to ensure that children in care are allowed reasonable contact with their siblings, and to revoke provisions in the Bill that enable local authorities in England and Wales to place children in secure accommodation in Scotland, and vice versa. There are a battery of amendments on child safeguarding issues including a big cross-party amendment on requiring regular reports by local councils on their ability to provide proper safeguarding services for children. In Westminster Hall, the debates are on: beer duty (9.30 GMT); the Coast to Coast Walk (11.00 GMT); the O'Neill review into antibiotic resistance (14.30 GMT); the sale of student loans (16.00 GMT) and social care in Liverpool (16.30 GMT). My Committee pick is the Home Affairs session, with Rob Wainwright, the Director of Europol on policing and security issues across the EU and Britain's role, post-Brexit (14.15 GMT). This is a key Brexit issue, and one where the Prime Minister has made clear her enthusiasm for continued British participation in Europol. In the Lords, peers open for business at the earlier than usual time of 11.00 GMT to provide extra debating time for the Report Stage consideration of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill - breaking off, briefly, at 14.30 GMT for their usual half an hour of questions to ministers. After the Report Stage, three hours of Brexit breathing space is provided while the amended version of the Bill is knocked into shape. During this interval there will be a 90 minute debate on the economic and environmental benefits of shale gas development in the UK, led by the former trade minister Lord Truscott. And then there may be an adjournment for a while, before peers can return to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, for the Third Reading debate. This is normally a rather sonorous formality, but may not be on this occasion.... The Commons opens at 11.30 GMT with Welsh Questions followed by Prime Minister's Questions at noon. And then it's onto the Budget (see above). The day's Westminster Hall debates are on: financial support for apprentices (9.30 GMT); compensation and the Pandemrix vaccine (11 GMT); the proposed ban on microbeads (14.30 GMT); extension of the right to buy to tenants of housing associations in Bedford (16.00 GMT) and broadband speeds (16.30 GMT). In the Lords at 16.00 GMT it's the second Report Stage day on the Higher Education and Research Bill. There will also be a short debate on the UK's exports strategy. MPs open at 09.30 GMT with Exiting the European Union Questions, followed by the weekly Business Statement from the Leader of the House - before moving on to day two of the Budget debate. In Westminster Hall, from 13.30 GMT, there's a debate on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee report on the Demography of Scotland and the implications for devolution. This looks at the policy problems posed by the combination of Scotland's slower population growth, its ageing population and lower life expectancy, particularly for health and care services, potentially increasing the demands on NHS Scotland and Scottish social care services in the future. At 15.00 GMT the subject is human rights and the political situation in Turkey. In the Lords at 13.00 GMT, the main event is the Second Reading of the Criminal Finances Bill which aims to tackle money laundering, terrorist finance and corruption the UK and overseas, in the wake of the Panama papers revelations of industrial scale tax avoidance. The National Crime Agency estimates that up to £90bn may be laundered in the UK each year. The Bill was criticised in the Commons for failing to include penalties for companies which permitted their staff to facilitate money laundering, or do more to reveal the beneficial owners of assets, or deal with the lack of corporate transparency in Britain's crown dependencies and overseas territories. That is followed be a debate to mark International Women's Day. The Lords meets at 10.00 GMT to debate the detail of a series of private members bills from the Commons. First up will be the Second Reading of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence Bill - which incorporates the Istanbul Convention into UK law. Next the Committee stage of the Homelessness Reduction Bill - which puts new obligations on local councils to help and advise people who have lost their homes or are in danger of doing so. Then there's the Committee stage of the completely uncontroversial Parking Places (Variation of Charges) Bill - which gives local authorities more flexibility over parking charges. And finally there's a Second Reading debate on the Political Parties (Funding and Expenditure) private members' Bill [HL] from the Lib Dem, Lord Tyler. Just as the Lib Dems overtook Labour in donations for the first time ever in the final quarter of 2016, his Bill would gradually take down the maximum amount a political party can accept from any one person in a year to £10,000 by 2026.
Having amended the government's Brexit Bill by a thumping majority this week, the big question for next week in Westminster is whether peers will do it again, potentially more than once.
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The Dudley Muslim Association has offered Dudley Council £325,000 to drop court action in a dispute about the site where the mosque is to be built. If accepted, the association would retain ownership of the land on Hall Street, and the council would not invoke its buy-back clause. The council has so far incurred £213,000 in legal costs. The land at the centre of the dispute was bought by the association 10 years ago, with the aim of replacing its current building on Castle Hill, which it said it had outgrown. Proposals include a community and training centre, sports facilities and a two-storey car park, but the mosque itself and its three prayer halls have been the focus of opposition. Branded at times a "mega mosque", the plans have attracted EDL supporters from across the country, although community leaders have in turn accused them of "scaremongering". At its meeting on 25 June, the council's cabinet will refer the settlement offer to its scrutiny board for consideration. Pete Lowe, leader of the council, said both the authority and the association were keen to avoid further costly legal disputes. "We are carefully considering that offer in the interests of everyone concerned," he said.
An out of court settlement has been offered by a Muslim group to end a long-running dispute over a new mosque.
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Levy completed a nine-under first round of 62 earlier on Friday and moved to 17 under, before bad light halted him on the last hole of his second round. He was six clear of German Martin Kaymer, England's Ross Fisher and Swede Robert Karlsson, all on 11 under with several holes to play. Kaymer's form will be a timely boost before the Ryder Cup. European team-mate, Belgian Thomas Pieters, was further down the field on three under after 16 holes of his second round. Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, who trailed Levy by a shot after the opening round, begins his round two at Bad Griesbach on Saturday. We've launched a new BBC Sport newsletter, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here.
Frenchman Alexander Levy extended his lead to six shots on day two of the fog-delayed European Open in Germany.
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The plastic moulded figures, rebranded from the US GI Joe version, made their debut in the UK at the British Toy Fair in Brighton, in January 1966, after a toy executive realised their market potential. The early toys were imports but Palitoy, based in Coalville, Leicestershire, would go on to make its own version with "lifelike hair", "beards" and "gripping hands" in the early 1970s. According to Rob Burman, editor of the Collectors Gazette, Palitoy bosses gave strict instructions not to call them "dolls" as boys could be put off. They were hugely popular, with sales topping 20 million by the end of the 1970s. Modifications kept the toys fresh and collectable, for example "eagle eyes" were introduced in 1976 by Hasbro, the US makers, and Palitoy brought in "flocked" hair and non-military costumes such as football kits. However, despite a loyal band of collectors, the success did not last into the 1980s. "The 60s and 70s were the big times for Action Man and then Star Wars came along," said Mr Burman. "Everyone wanted intergalactic characters, they weren't bothered about poor old Action Man." The toy expert said the figure made a bit of a comeback in the 1990s but nowadays people are generally more "politically correct" and so there is little interest in soldier toys. However, there is still a thirst for the old outfits - a boxed judo costume recently sold for ??6,000 at auction. Chris Malbon, 58, from Nottingham, who runs Warwickshire-based Metropolis Toys, had at one time one of the most "comprehensive" Action Man collections in the UK. He started collecting in 1989 and spent thousands on his acquisitions, which he admits got a "bit out of hand", and he later he sold them all for a "substantial" fee. "I collected the entire range," said the trader. "Both boxed and loose, together with US, French, German, Spanish, Japanese variations. I guess around 200 figures." However, it all became a bit of a burden. He said: "It's not because of the money... you end up wanting that elusive item or upgrading what you have to the exclusion of other things." Mr Malbon, a former soldier himself, did not want to say what he sold his collection for but said it was as much as he paid for his house in the 1990s. Palitoy's former chief toy designer Bob Brechin, who modelled Action Man's gripping hands on his own, said the toy has endured. "It's hard to believe it has been 50 years," he said. "He's timeless, universal, we never gave Action Man a story, we just gave children [the figures] and the outfits you dress him in and left it to their imaginations." Hasbro has announced it is releasing a set of vintage figures as part of the anniversary celebrations. It seems Action Man is not quite ready to leave the battlefield.
It is 50 years since Action Man, the must-have toy of the 1970s, arrived in the UK.
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12 June 2017 Last updated at 15:24 BST He first arrived on the men's tennis Tour when he was 15-years-old and has been setting records since then. Leah has taken a look at Nadal's amazing records in numbers. Check out Newsround's guide to Wimbledon, which starts in just a few weeks.
Rafael Nadal has become the first tennis player to win a record 10 French Open titles.
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Mr Ordonez said Gen Palomino would be investigated over the alleged creation of a male prostitution ring. The general is also under investigation for alleged illicit enrichment and conducting illegal wiretaps. Gen Palomino welcomed the probe, which he said he knew would clear his name. "I hope that the justice system can restore the dignity which has been taken from me through lies and infamy," the general said in a statement. The investigation was triggered by allegations by a police captain who said he had been abused by higher-ranking officers during his time as a cadet. Mr Ordonez said that allegation had been backed up by a complaint by a now retired police captain. According to the complaint, young male police cadets were cajoled and threatened into having sex with higher-ranking officers. Mr Ordonez said that according to the testimony gathered by his office, a senator had also allegedly been implicated in the prostitution ring, called "Community of the Ring". He also said that the alleged incidents had taken place "with the help and complicity of police officials, including the director general [Rodolfo Palomino]". The wiretapping accusations also relate to the case. Allegedly police officers tapped the phones of journalists investigating the scandal. Gen Palomino has strongly denied any wrongdoing. He has also denied allegations of illicit enrichment and has provided prosecutors with documents which he says show where his money and properties come from. He says the allegations are a political vendetta designed to drive him out of office.
Colombia's prosecutor general, Alejandro Ordonez, says he will open a "disciplinary investigation" against the country's chief of police, Gen Rodolfo Palomino.
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Returning officers were ordered to physically deliver paper copies of their constituency's tallies to the counting centre in the capital. Election officials have urged patience. Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces trial at the International Criminal Court, has been leading in early presidential results declared from Monday's tightly contested election. He is due to stand trial at The Hague next month for allegedly fuelling violence after the disputed 2007 election. He denies the charge. His closest rival is outgoing Prime Minister Raila Odinga. With provisional results in from more than 40% of polling stations earlier on Wednesday, Mr Odinga had 42% of the vote compared with Mr Kenyatta's 53%. However, Mr Odinga's allies remain confident that he will gain ground as results from his strongholds, including the Coast Province, are declared. More than 1,000 people were killed in the violence which broke out in 2007-08 after Mr Odinga claimed he had been cheated of victory by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki, who is stepping down after two terms in office. The BBC's Solomon Mugera in the capital, Nairobi, says Kenyans are becoming increasingly anxious about the delay in finalising the results. Some businesses and schools across the country have remained shut since Monday's election, he says. This has led to a shortage of goods, pushing up the prices of basic foodstuff in areas such as Kibera, the biggest slum in Nairobi and a stronghold of Mr Odinga, our correspondent adds. Uhuru Kenyatta Raila Odinga Profile: Uhuru Kenyatta Profile: Raila Odinga Some electoral officials have had to drive hundreds of kilometres to the counting centre in Nairobi to deliver paper copies of the tally of their returns. At about 13:00 local time, returning officers from only 53 of the 290 constituencies had arrived and the election commission said it would announce results from constituencies as they were ready. Its website had stopped giving updated results from the presidential race on Wednesday, and was still showing figures from Tuesday night. Our correspondent says the large number of spoiled ballots - about 6% of the total vote, well over double the number of votes cast for the third-placed candidate, Musailia Mudavadi - has become a major bone of contention. Mr Odinga's Coalition of Reforms and Democracy (Cord) wants them to be counted, but Mr Kenyatta's Jubilee Coalition is resisting this. Late on Tuesday, the election commission announced that the spoiled ballots would count in the overall vote total, increasing the likelihood of a run-off between the top two candidates, news agencies report. Mr Kenyatta's running mate William Ruto, who is also facing a trial at the ICC, said foreign embassies may have influenced such a decision. "We want to believe that this is not an attempt to deny the Jubilee Coalition a first-round victory as is clearly now on the wall," he is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying. But the election commission now says a decision on what to do about the spoiled ballots will be taken after all other votes are counted, our correspondent reports. If no agreement is reached, one of the presidential candidates is bound to mount a legal challenge, he says. As there are different types of spoiled ballots, a possible compromise would be to include those that were annulled simply because they had been put in the wrong box - for instance, in the parliamentary box rather the presidential box - while excluding a ballot paper on which a person had voted for two candidates, our reporter says. In the run-up to the election, the European Union (EU) said it would only have limited contact with a president who faced trial at the ICC, while US Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson warned Kenyan voters that "choices have consequences". The winning candidate must get more than 50% of the total votes cast and at least 25% of votes in half of the 47 counties. If there is no clear winner, a second round of voting will take place, probably on 11 April. Kenya elections: Maps and graphics
Counting of Kenyan election results has slowed down because of problems with the electronic systems.
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Philip Stevens, five, and two-year-old Izaak were suffocated by their mother Melanie, 37, before she hanged herself, the inquest in Caernarfon heard. Their bodies were found at home in Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, in December last year after relatives contacted police. The inquest was told the mother-of-five's other children were safe at the home of a relative. North west Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones recorded a verdict of suicide for Ms Stevens and unlawful killing for Philip and Izaak. He said that Ms Stevens had left letters, which he declined to read out at the inquest, which he described as "goodbye-type letters" which indicated she had had enough of life. PC Adrian Wyn Owen told the inquest that concerns were raised that Ms Stevens' car was parked outside her home, but relatives were unable to make contact. After initially visiting the house on the afternoon of 19 December, PC Owen returned again that evening with PC Raymond Williams and they took the decision to force entry. The downstairs of the property was tidy and decked out in Christmas decorations with presents laid out under the tree, the inquest heard. PC Williams, who knew Ms Stevens and the boys, went upstairs where he discovered their bodies. There were two handwritten notes nearby. The coroner said: "They are clearly where she is saying goodbye to somebody and she is saying that she has had enough of life." PC Williams said his first concern was the welfare of the older children. "I was aware of the three other children and we searched the other rooms but they were not in the house," he said. "I decided to call a close relative of Melanie, without letting them know at that stage what had happened, to ascertain the other children were safe, and they were." The officers said there was no evidence that any other people had been involved in the incident. The inquest heard that Ms Stevens was six months pregnant, although she had undergone a sterilisation procedure. Nicholas Smith, Izaak's father, read from a prepared statement after the hearing in which he paid tribute to both boys. "Izaak and Pip were full of beautiful innocence and happiness and everybody that knew them just loved them. They were wonderful boys," he said. "They were just like any other boys, excitable, messy, funny, inquisitive. They were taking on the world like children do. "Everybody who knew them has their own story to tell about what they were like. "I first met Pip when he was a few weeks old, almost six years ago, he grew up calling me daddy and I treated him like one of my own children. "Izaak was so special to me and I cherish every moment that we were together. He was my future. We were father and son and the hopes that I held for us are now gone and there is no plan B." Mr Smith said their mother's actions had taken "some of the innocence and beauty out of this world and left it a different place". "For a long time there were qualities about Melanie that I loved - she was funny, creative, passionate and caring, and she was beautiful," he said. "But there was fault somewhere that led her to believe the solution to her problems was to kill Izaak and Pip and then commit suicide, taking her life and the tiny life inside her."
Two children were unlawfully killed by their pregnant mother who then took her own life, a coroner has recorded.
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Media playback is not supported on this device Victory in Toulouse on Monday would secure Wales' spot in the knockout phase, in their first major international tournament since 1958. "This team has got the potential to go on and on. They've got everything to look forward to," said Coleman. "We are in a fantastic position. Nevertheless, there's more to come." Wales, who beat Slovakia 2-1 in their opening game before losing 2-1 to England, could still qualify for the last 16 with a draw against Russia. Coleman added: "Whilst everybody will look at this game as the be all and end all, whether we progress or not it's not the end of the journey for this team. "Our players have done unbelievably well. It's been an eye-opener and hard, of course. It's really intense but it's been enjoyable." Coleman said that, however far Wales progress in France, the players will "learn from this tournament". He said: "This group, this team, they can't lose because whenever we go home, whenever that time is, we have gained so much experience. "Normally we get to a certain level and in June we are playing a friendly game - we are playing the Netherlands, who are already qualified and who are planning for a tournament. "Now we are at a tournament ourselves and this group gets all the praise and accolades they deserve. And it is not over for us." Joe Allen has welcomed Wales' Euro 2016 day of destiny by saying the squad are determined to have no regrets over the tournament. "You don't want it to be the be all and end all in the sense that you take your foot off the pedal at any time in the future," said Allen. "You want to make sure that this is something that we get to experience again, but playing at this stage as a footballer is the highest level - and we certainly want to make sure that there are no regrets on our part. "I think coming off the pitch no matter what happens, we're confident we'll do the business. "We want to make sure that we throw absolutely everything at it. "We're confident that we can get ourselves into the knock-out rounds and, after that, who knows what could happen?" Allen says Wales will shut out what is happening in the England game with Slovakia as qualification is in their own hands. The two matches will be played simultaneously as Group B draws to a conclusion. And the Liverpool midfielder promises a positive approach against Russian opponents who need to win to keep their own last 16 hopes alive. "It's a difficult one," he said. "It's one where people think if you set up just to cling on to that point it can often be the downfall of teams. "That won't be our approach, but it is one where we want to make sure we are more in control of how we go about our performance. "Performing well is first and foremost what we want to do, because we know when the focus is on doing that then the results come with it." Wales assistant boss Osian Roberts confirmed Wales have a fully-fit squad to choose from for the Russia game. Pick the XI that you think can take Wales far at Euro 2016 - and then share it with your friends using our team selector.
Wales boss Chris Coleman says Euro 2016 is "not the end of the journey" for his squad as they prepare to face Russia for a place in the last 16.
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The 29-year-old forward has signed what the Red Devils describe as a "long-term contract" at the AJ Bell Stadium. McCarthy has previously played in Super League with Hull KR and Warrington, helping Wolves win the Challenge Cup. "Tyrone is a really big signing for us. He is a bloke that leads with his actions," said head coach Ian Watson. "Not only will he bring ability and experience to the side, but also leadership. "His attitude and commitment to play for his team-mates is first class and that is exactly what we need at this stage of the season." McCarthy, who has 12 international caps and played for his country at the 2013 World Cup, will be available for the Super 8s phase of the season, with Salford sitting third in Super League with one round of the regular season remaining.
Salford have signed Ireland international Tyrone McCarthy from Australian NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons with immediate effect.
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Services from Douglas to the UK were disrupted after the Ben-my-Chree, which sailed from Heysham, Lancashire, struck the pier on Sunday. The Isle of Man Steam-Packet Company confirmed no passengers or crew were injured. Four crossings between Douglas and Heysham were been cancelled following the the collision. Chief executive Mark Woodward apologised to passengers and said it was an "unfortunate incident", adding the company would "do all we can to minimise the disruption". A company spokesman said that on arrival in Douglas Harbour, the Ben-my-Chree "encountered significantly stronger than forecast easterly winds" and the vessel made contact with the King Edward Pier. He said engineers worked through the night to assess any damage and a diving inspection had been carried out. He added the Ben-my-Chree would return to service later, though its sailing at 19:45 GMT would be subject to "prevailing weather conditions".
A ferry crashed into a pier on the Isle of Man as the captain tried to dock in strong winds.
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Gosport's HMS Sultan and Fort Blockhouse are among 91 Ministry of Defence sites now set to close - 35 were previously earmarked. The town's borough council said the loss of more than 1,000 sailors from the area would affect the economy. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon announced the closures on Monday. He the closures would deliver better value for money and release enough land across the UK to build 55,000 homes. It is also estimated that about £140m will be saved over the next decade by selling off the sites, which Sir Michael said would be reinvested in creating "areas of military expertise" in locations across the country, including a specialised infantry group in Aldershot. Leader of Gosport Borough Council, Mark Hook, said: "We are relieved the majority of jobs will remain in the area, but we'll lose the economic benefits of having more than 1,000 sailors based in the town." He admitted the authority could not stop the sale of the land, but said it would work to get the "best possible outcomes" for the town. He said it would be "seeking assurances" from the MoD that the sites could be redeveloped for business use. "We need to reduce the impact on the area by using these sites to create business spaces that will bring with them opportunities and jobs to benefit local people," he said. Unions have described the plans - which are part of a review of Ministry of Defence land - as "brutal" and have also promised to fight the closures.
The government will be lobbied by a Hampshire council over its plans to sell off an additional 56 defence sites by 2040.
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On Tuesday, the firm said that it would close the Ballymena factory by 2018, with the loss of 860 jobs. The business support agency, Invest NI, has also said it will work with the company and others to help the staff. Workers have been given time off after Tuesday's announcement and are due back in the factory on Thursday. The Ballymena factory has been in operation since 1969 and is a major employer in the area. Staff, union representatives and politicians have described the planned run-down of the plant as "devastating". David Thompson from the union, Unite, said he was still waiting to hear from the Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell, after meeting him in July in relation to concerns around the future of the plant. In response, Mr Bell said: "I've been speaking with people that are badly affected and what they're telling me is they're not interested in 'he said, she said' nonsense. "I accept what David has said, it was a generalised meeting, we both accepted there is a major problem here, and we both accept that nothing we could have done from that meeting in July would have saved the Michelin plant. I want to meet with David, I want to meet with Unite, I want to meet with them constructively." Stephen Kelly, from Manufacturing Northern Ireland, said the main factor for the closure is energy costs. He said it was time for the executive to commit to a manufacturing strategy. "Michelin made it really clear, the local management have not been behind the door in telling our local assembly and others that the energy issue was something that was hurting them enormously and what we've seen yesterday, unfortunately, is too little and too late, for Michelin to secure that plant for the next 20 years," he said. Speaking in the Commons, Prime Minister David Cameron said companies deemed to be energy intensive should qualify for reductions in power bills due to his policies. He was responding to a question from the DUP MP Nigel Dodds about the role energy prices played in the closure of the Michelin plant. Mr Cameron also reminded MPs that legislation had been passed to enable Northern Ireland to set its own rate of corporation tax and that the sooner there was a political deal the sooner action could be taken to build a stronger private sector.
Politicians have said they will meet Michelin management within days to see how they can reduce the impact of the tyre factory closure in County Antrim.
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Two separate US teams have found success with an approach that homes in on a stable part of the flu virus. That should remove the problem with current flu vaccines which must be given anew each year because they focus on the mutating part of the virus. The proof-of-concept work is published in Science journal and Nature Medicine. Studies are now needed in humans to confirm that the method will work in man. In the meantime, experts say people should continue to receive an annual flu jab because vaccination is still the best way to protect yourself against infection. Conventional flu jabs target molecules on the surface of the flu virus, but these are constantly changing. Imagine the flu virus as a ball with lots of lollipops on stems sticking out. The lollipops change year to year, but the stems remain the same. It is the stems that scientists are now focusing on as a target for a universal flu jab. Many different research teams have been testing potential candidates, but it has been a technical challenge to make something that can be used in a vaccine without involving the lollipop 'head' of the hemagglutinin molecule. This latest work seems particularly promising, according to Prof John Oxford, a flu expert at the University of London. He called the results a "red letter day" for science. "This is a leap forward compared to anything done recently. They have good animal data, not just in mice but in ferrets and monkeys too. And they've done it with the bird flu virus H5N1," he said. "It's a very good stepping stone. Ultimately, the hope is to get a vaccine that will cover a pandemic virus." Prof Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at University of Oxford, said: "This is an exciting development, but the new vaccines now need to be tested in clinical trials to see how well they work in humans." "This will be the next stage of research, which will take several years. So we are still some way from having better flu vaccines for humans," she added.
Researchers say they are closer to developing a vaccine to give life-long protection against any type of flu, after promising trials in animals.
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Police said the 33-year-old victim was playing on a fruit machine in the Rosevale Tavern in Partick at about 18:00 on Saturday when a stranger assaulted him. The attacker fled via a side entrance and CCTV showed him heading down Dumbarton Road towards the city centre. The victim was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment to a serious facial injury. Det Con Jen Adams, of Police Scotland, said: "This was a completely unprovoked attack which will leave the victim scarred for life. "Officers have been conducting extensive enquiries including examining CCTV and speaking to people who were within the pub at the time of the incident." The attacker is described as being aged in his mid 20s with brown hair which was longer at the top and shaved at the bottom. He was wearing a black quilted waist-length jacket, dark blue jeans and dark trainers.
A man has been left scarred for life in an unprovoked attack in a Glasgow pub.
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Andrew Steele, from Dunfermline, turned at a police station and confessed to and raping one girl and touching another between 1996 and 2005. He was initially released pending further investigations but was detained months later. He then said he been hallucinating when he made the confession. Sentence was deferred for background reports. The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Steele, aged 49, told officers his mother was "up in the sky" urging him to confess to the sex crimes when he made his revelations. Police traced the girls and took statements from them. Both victims were aged seven when the abuse began. Steele admitted rape, indecency offences and failing to turn up for an earlier court date, when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh. Advocate depute Mark McGuire said: "On 28 December in 2014 the accused voluntarily attended at Kirkcaldy police station and disclosed that he had interfered with the girls." "On 3 March in 2015 the accused was detained. Under caution he told the officers that he was having hallucinations on the day that he confessed. He told them that his mother was up in the sky telling him to confess. He maintained this position throughout the interview." The prosecutor said before his first appearance at the police station Steele had gone to hospital and claimed he was hallucinating. "He was assessed by three medical professionals who concluded that he was suffering from alcohol withdrawal. He was deemed fit to be discharged," said the prosecutor Steele was remanded in custody and put on the sex offenders register.
A man has admitted sexually abusing two girls in Fife over a nine year period.
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In 2014, the largest colony of the rare seabirds was at Winterton, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk but the birds have since moved north to Sea Palling. Two years ago there were 300 pairs of the rare seabird. This year there are just 190 pairs at Sea Palling. The RSPB said the species is declining. Little terns travel 3,000 miles from west Africa to breed on the UK coast but, according to the RSPB, the numbers returning to the UK have declined by between 30-50% since last year. It said the site near Sea Palling is still the country's largest colony, despite the significant drop in numbers. Fabienne Fossez, the Little Tern warden for RSPB East Norfolk, said: "We're extremely concerned, it's a species in decline and they are in real trouble. "What we don't know is what goes on out in west Africa in the winter but it is something to do with the climate, weather and food. "Nevertheless, we have a really good success story here near Sea Palling, despite all of the odds." Ms Fossez said 380 chicks have hatched at the east Norfolk site since mid May. Her team has been maintaining a 24-hour surveillance of the colony in order to protect the birds. But she said the breeding birds have not had the same level of success elsewhere. "The little terns have had a really difficult time this year," she said. "On the north Norfolk coast they were completely washed out at the beginning of June. We were protected here on the east coast and we are fortunate that there are just little terns nesting here."
Wildlife conservators have said they are "extremely concerned" that the number of little terns nesting in the UK's biggest breeding colony dropped by almost half in a year.
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The works on Gdynia Way near Plymouth's city centre have been in place since June to widen the road to three lanes. But police said they had seen an increase in the number of collisions on the Maxwell Road, Macadam Road junction. Plymouth City Council (PCC) said a new set of temporary traffic lights would be put on the junction. Pc Ian Tanner, Plymouth's road casualty reduction officer said: "There have been some collisions since the new system was put in place, with four or five injury collisions in that area. "The council are diverting quite large volumes of traffic on to roads that, although perfectly up to the job, people don't usually travel on, and as a result it hasn't worked as well as we would have liked it to. "It's a balancing act for the council, as to what is the best thing to do, to keep the traffic moving as well as they can and to keep the level of injuries down." Pc Tanner added that the increase in collisions could also be a result of drivers, familiar with the route, not reading new signs properly. In a statement, PCC said: "During the last couple of months it has become apparent that there could be further improvements to the revised junction layout. "The decision to install temporary lights has been made after routine discussions with various stakeholders including the police. "The lights will reinforce the changed priorities and help drivers negotiate this junction." The council said that up to 1,000 drivers used the junction each hour. The new traffic lights will give priority to traffic travelling between Plymstock and the city centre in the morning and vice versa in the evening, until the work is completed in October.
The number of road traffic collisions in a Devon city has increased following the introduction of major roadworks.
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He says that he's found the engines from the Apollo 11 space rocket - the craft that carried the first men to the moon in 1969. The five engines broke off from the spaceship after blast off and crashed somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. He's now planning on trying to bring one of them to the surface. Mr Bezos paid for a team to use advanced sonar scanning equipment to track down the lost F-1 engines. They were found 4,300 metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, but he hasn't said exactly where they were spotted. In a blog post about the discovery he wrote: "I was five years old when I watched Apollo 11 unfold on television, and without any doubt it was a big contributor to my passions for science, engineering, and exploration." He said he was going to ask Nasa, which owns the rockets, for permission to display one of the engines in the Museum of Flight in his home city of Seattle.
Internet giant Amazon's owner Jeff Bezos has made an amazing underwater discovery.
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Bruce, without a club since leaving Hull in July, is favourite to replace Roberto di Matteo, who was sacked by the Championship club on Monday. Savage said Bruce has experience in the division and still lives in the area. "He took Birmingham up, he took Hull up," said the Welshman. "He won't have to travel, he won't have to uproot." Blues were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2005-06 season. But Bruce, who had been in charge of Blues since 2001, led them back to the top flight the following season - and also went on to win promotion to the Premier League with Hull twice too. Savage played under Bruce at St Andrew's and thinks Villa fans will not worry too much that Bruce used to manage their city rivals. He also says Bruce's ability to get the best out of the Birmingham players whenever they played Villa will count for a lot. "When we were in the Premier League, we absolutely battered them time after time," said Savage. "I think Villa fans will remember that. "They had better players than us but we had this team spirit, this togetherness and we battered them more times than not in massive pressure games." Villa have appointed a former Birmingham boss as manager in the past - and the outcome was not good. Alex McLeish lasted just 11 months before he was sacked in May 2012. During his reign, the Scot was often targeted by Villa supporters angry that the club had who appointed a former Blues manager as their boss. Former England defender Danny Mills told the Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 live that Villa had to get the "best man for the job" and thinks Bruce could be a good option despite his association with Birmingham. "I don't understand this fixation that he was Birmingham manager, so he can't do a good job for Aston Villa," Mills said. "It makes no sense. Surely if he goes there and does a good job, fans have got to come around to that way of thinking. It's not like he was born and bred at Birmingham, played there his whole life. He's managed other clubs."
Former Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce is the "right man" to manage Aston Villa, according to former Blues midfielder Robbie Savage.
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Last month, the 32-year-old left League Two side Luton Town by mutual consent to return home. But the ex-Derry City winger said when his wife, Laura, was diagnosed, everything paled into insignificance. "I called Michael (O'Neill), explained what had happened and told him I wasn't going to be available for the Euros," he said. "When something like that happens, your only thought is for your family." McCourt told the Times that his wife was returning home from a holiday when their life was turned upside down. "The flight landed at Gatwick and was taxiing to the airport when she had a seizure on the bus," McCourt said. "Paramedics were called to the scene and they rang me. "They said they were going to send her to East Surrey Hospital. Naturally, I was very concerned. "Within 48 hours it came back that they had found a brain tumour," he said. The doctors told the couple they needed to operate on the tumour and remove it as soon as possible. Although the tumour was benign, it was growing. The date for the operation was 9 June, the day before Euro 2016 started. McCourt said Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill told him to be there for his wife and 'don't even think about Euros'. "Laura didn't need the attention it would have created if he had said what was really happening," he adds. The operation was successful and Laura has now been given a positive diagnosis. "It was absolutely nerve racking," he said, "but thankfully we were given the best possible news afterwards, which was that everything had been positive. "Laura is now recovering and we're told that in four to six months, please God, she will be completely back to normal."
Ex-Celtic footballer Paddy McCourt has told of his wife's diagnosis with a brain tumour.
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The former double world champion, 23, missed the 2014 Commonwealth Games due to recurring trouble in her left knee. She also underwent surgery on a long-standing shoulder problem but Sutton said the knee injury was still a cause for concern. "Becky has had a few setbacks over the last week or so," he said. "We looked like getting her back in the spring but there have been one or two little complications. "I have no detailed report. That is kept between the doctors, medical team and her rehab team. Media playback is not supported on this device "They are doing a great job and she is getting the best treatment possible." James aggravated the knee injury when she returned to training following a period of rest after a minor medical procedure. The Abergavenny-born track cyclist won silver and bronze for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, but came to international prominence at the 2013 Track World Championships. She won golds in the keirin and sprint and also picked up bronze medals in the team sprint and 500m time trial in Minsk. James missed out on the London Olympics in 2012 after a season wrecked by injury and illness, but Australian Sutton has no doubt that success at Rio 2016 remains realistic. "I am totally confident we will get her right for Rio," Sutton added. "Another four or five weeks is really not going to matter. She has lost a lot of time but give us 12 months and a clean bill of health, then Becky will be knocking them over in Rio. "We are talking about a girl that is one of the best on the world stage. "If anyone is going to survive this and cope mentally, it will be Becky."
Becky James has suffered a setback in her recovery from a serious knee injury, says British Cycling chief Shane Sutton.
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Yn ffodus, roedd camera Cymru Fyw yna i ddal y broses hir ac weithiau araf!
Unwaith eto fe wnaeth Cymru fwynhau rhaglen Cân i Gymru nos Sadwrn 5 Mawrth, ond cyn y darllediad byw roedd rhaid i lawer o bobl weithio, ac ymarfer, yn galed drwy'r dydd.
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The local authority said Richard Ellis was leaving on Friday at the end of his contract. Ciaran Monaghan and Ewan Sutherland are both going under a voluntary redundancy and early retirement scheme. Stephen Flynn, the leader of the opposition SNP group, said the departures were indicative of the council's inability to hold on to senior staff. He said he expected further departures in the coming months. Mr Ellis is the council's former interim director of corporate governance, and has also been acting as deputy chief executive for several months. Mr Monaghan is head of the chief executive's office, while Mr Sutherland is head of human resources and customer services. Council chief executive Angela Scott thanked the trio for their "dedication and professionalism".
Three senior officials are to leave their roles at Aberdeen City Council.
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The Ayrton Light, located above the Great Bell - known as Big Ben - needs to be fully dismantled and restored. A temporary light will replace it. Installed in 1885, it was previously turned off only during both world wars. Big Ben will not chime regularly until 2021 because of repairs to the tower. The light is said to have been installed at the request of Queen Victoria, so that she could see from Buckingham Palace when members of either the Commons or the Lords were sitting after dark. It is named after Acton Smee Ayrton, a Liberal politician who was First Commissioner of Works between 1869 and 1873. It is not yet known when the light will switch off, or how long it will be off for. Big Ben will not be heard from midday on Monday. The House of Commons has said it will look again at the length of time it will be silenced after "concerns". Parliament said it had to protect workers carrying out the renovations. But Prime Minister Theresa May said "it can't be right" that the bell will not chime regularly again for four years. It will still sound for important events including New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday.
A lamp at the top of Elizabeth Tower - which is switched on in the evening whenever Parliament is sitting - is to stop shining for the first time in more than 70 years.
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The victim was killed on Wednesday about a mile from a West Glacier campground. The authorities say armed police officers are searching for the bear but gave no further details. Bear attacks are rare in the area with only 10 deaths reported since the park was created in 1910. The dead cyclist was a 38-year-old officer with the US Forest Service, Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry told Daily Inter Lake.com. Officials say the grizzly confronted two cyclists on a trail after they disturbed it. The dead rider was taken off his saddle by the bear and the other rode off to get help. The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced plans to remove grizzly bears from the threatened species list. Who, What, Why: What should you do if you encounter a bear?
A grizzly bear has attacked and killed a cyclist just outside the Glacier National Park in the northern US state of Montana, police say.
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The Lancet Oncology review, which looked at incidence rates for 27 cancers in 184 countries, found four main infections are responsible. These four - human papillomaviruses, Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis B and C viruses - account for 1.9m cases of cervical, gut and liver cancers. Most cases are in the developing world. The team from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France, part of the World Health Organization, says more efforts are needed to tackle these avoidable cases and recognise cancer as a communicable disease. 'Preventable' The proportion of cancers related to infection is about three times higher in parts of the developing world, such as east Asia, than in developed countries like the UK - 22.9% versus 7.4%, respectively. BBC Health: In depth - cancer Nearly a third of cases occur in people younger than 50 years. Among women, cancer of the cervix accounted for about half of the infection-related cancers. In men, more than 80% were liver and gastric cancers. Drs Catherine de Martel and Martyn Plummer, who led the research, said: "Infections with certain viruses, bacteria, and parasites are some of the biggest and preventable causes of cancer worldwide "Application of existing public-health methods for infection prevention, such as vaccination, safer injection practice, or antimicrobial treatments, could have a substantial effect on the future burden of cancer worldwide." Vaccines are available to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV) - which is linked to cancer of the cervix - and hepatitis B virus - an established cause of liver cancer. And experts know that stomach cancer can be avoided by clearing the bacterial infection H. pylori from the gut using a course of antibiotics. Commenting on the work, Dr Goodarz Danaei from Harvard School of Public Medicine in Boston, the US, said: "Since effective and relatively low-cost vaccines for HPV and HBV are available, increasing coverage should be a priority for health systems in high-burden countries." Jessica Harris of Cancer Research UK said: "It's important that authorities worldwide make every effort to reduce the number of infection-related cancers, especially when many of these infections can be prevented. In the UK, infections are thought to be responsible for 3% of cancers, or around 9,700 cases each year. "Vaccination against HPV, which causes cervical cancer, should go a long way towards reducing rates of this disease in the UK. But it's important that uptake of the vaccination remains high. At a global level, if the vaccine were available in more countries, many thousands more cases could be prevented."
One in six cancers - two million a year globally - are caused by largely treatable or preventable infections, new estimates suggest.
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Menstruation is generally a taboo topic in India, something that is rarely talked about openly. But at the weekend, several photographs popped up on my Facebook page of young Indian women holding placards - some made up of sanitary napkins and tampons - with the slogan "Happy To Bleed". A little bit of research led me to this petition, started by college student Nikita Azad, who was annoyed by the sexist remarks made by the head of the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala. "A time will come when people will ask if all women should be disallowed from entering the temple throughout the year," Prayar Gopalakrishnan, who recently took charge of the hilltop temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, told reporters earlier this month. "These days there are machines that can scan bodies and check for weapons. There will be a day when a machine is invented to scan if it is the 'right time' for a woman to enter the temple. When that machine is invented, we will talk about letting women inside," he added. Ms Azad insists that there is no "right time" to go into a temple and that women should have to right to go "wherever they want to and whenever they want to". The temple priest's comments, she says, reinforce misogyny and strengthen the myths that revolve around women, and that "Happy To Bleed" is a counter-campaign against menstrual taboos. Hinduism regards menstruating women as unclean so, during her periods, a woman is not allowed to enter the temple, touch any idols, enter the kitchen or even touch the pickle jar. Many Hindu temples in India - and also globally - have prominent notices displayed at the entrance telling menstruating women that they are not welcome, and many devout Hindu women voluntarily keep away from temples when they are menstruating. But the Sabarimala bars all women in the reproductive age from entering the temple. The temple website explains that as Lord Ayyappa was "Nithya Brahmachari - or celibate - women between the 10-50 age group are not allowed to enter Sabarimala". The website adds, rather threateningly, that "such women who try to enter Sabarimala will be prevented by (the) authorities" from doing so. Ms Azad says "we don't believe in religion that considers half the world impure" and that theirs is "not a temple-entry campaign" - it's "a protest against patriarchy and gender discriminatory practices prevalent in our society" and that they are fighting against sexism and age-old taboos. Since its launch on Saturday, #HappyToBleed has received a lot of responses, especially from young urban Indian women. "More than 100 women have posted their photographs on Facebook holding banners and placards, with catchy slogans, and many more have shared these photos on their timelines," Ms Azad told the BBC. The campaign has also been picked up by many people on Twitter who have written in with messages of support. Some, however, have also wondered how women can be "happy" to bleed since periods can often be pretty painful. "We are using happy as a word to express sarcasm - as a satire, to taunt the authorities, the patriarchal forces which attach impurity with menstruation," Ms Azad explains. "It may be painful, but it's perfectly normal to bleed and it does not make me impure," she adds. Listen to BBC 100 Women programmes here.
After an Indian temple chief recently said he would allow women to enter the shrine only after a machine was invented to detect if they were "pure" - meaning that they weren't menstruating - outraged women have launched a #HappyToBleed campaign on Facebook to protest against the "sexist statement", writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi.
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East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 750,000 people across five different hospitals. Experts from health regulator Monitor also identified issues with safety, leadership and "a culture of bullying". The trust said it would "work to make improvements to the services". It was deemed inadequate by the independent watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, in August. The trust runs the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford; the Kent and Canterbury in Canterbury; the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) in Margate; the Buckland in Dover; and the Royal Victoria in Folkestone. Concerns were raised about a culture of bullying at the organisation and inspectors identified staff shortages in A&E, children's care and at night. They found risks to patients and incidents involving patient safety were not always identified. The inspection team also noticed that in a number of areas around the trust, buildings and equipment were "poorly maintained". Monitor said it would be appointing an improvement director at the trust to provide support and to ensure it is making progress. "The trust needs to urgently improve the safety of care for patients, and strengthen its management to better support frontline staff," said Paul Streat, regional director at Monitor. "By putting the trust into special measures we can ensure they turn things around quickly. "Senior leaders need to listen to and work with all staff to understand and tackle problems on their wards," he said. Patients visiting the Kent and Canterbury Hospital on Tuesday said they had no confidence in the management. Former cancer patient Ken Rogers, who quit in July as a governor, said: "I've argued with the trust over some of the performance results of what they've been doing to patients and they haven't listened." Robert Watts, who was at the hospital with his wife and baby son, said: "You want the best. You want to be told the right things and hope that they do the best job they can. "Sometimes they don't, they miss it. I just don't think that this hospital can do that." The trust's chief executive, Stuart Bain, said: "We want to work with our regulator Monitor, our staff and our health partners to make improvements to the services we provide to the people of east Kent." He said areas for improvement had already been recognised including the investment of an additional £2.9m to recruit 69 nurses where shortages existed. An additional four general surgeons had also been recently appointed and a further three would be recruited shortly, Mr Bain added. "In addition we identified the need to improve our appointment system some time ago and have just completed a public consultation on our outpatient services that will allow us to make improvements to the services we offer patients. "New appointment booking systems, more flexible appointments, and an investment of £28m in improved facilities including a new hospital in Dover will start to address these issues," he said. "The trust is committed to working with staff and health partners to produce an action plan to address the issues raised by the CQC and Monitor and to see us removed from special measures as soon as possible."
One of the largest hospital trusts in England is to be put into special measures because of "serious failures" in patient safety.
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Michael Luciw, 27, from Nottingham, was a passenger in a van that was hit by a Mazda Premacy, being driven the wrong way on the motorway by Albert Kenneth Newman, who also died. Mr Luciw's family said retired people should undergo regular driving tests. Age UK said it was "vital" older people could drive for as long as possible. The family described Mr Luciw, the father of a baby girl, as generous, kind-hearted and a lover of practical jokes. "He had only just turned 27 and he had his whole life ahead of him," said his mum Andrea Shelton. "He was looking forward to his baby's first crawl. Now he will miss all of her life through no fault of his own." "It doesn't feel as if we have lost him - it feels as if he has been taken away from us," said Mr Luciw's brother Simon. "There are so many things that should be put in place so things like this could be avoided. People are driving that shouldn't be on the road. "The older you get, the more your reactions slow down. "There needs to be some sort of test introduced, in a car with a driving instructor, so you get a true reflection of how good a driver you are. "You get a free bus pass once you are in your 60s so people can't say they are going to lose their freedom if they have their licence removed." Mrs Shelton said Mr Luciw, a delivery driver, was on a long-distance journey with a colleague Andy Harrington when the crash happened at 02:00 GMT on 12 October near Kegworth, Leicestershire. Mr Newman's car was heading north on the southbound carriageway. Mr Harrington, who was driving the Ford Transit, said he had not seen Mr Newman's car until the last second. "I managed to swerve slightly towards the crash barrier but there was nothing I could do," he said. "You couldn't even blink that fast. "It lives with me. I still get sleepless nights. It's not something I will ever forget." Mr Harrington, who sustained serious injuries in the crash, said retired drivers should have to undergo medical examinations. "It's up to the government whether they listen to us," he said. "But if that driver hadn't been on the road that morning, Michael would still be here with his daughter." Currently drivers over 70 in the UK must fill in a self-assessment form every three years to renew their licences. The form does not include a medical or driving test. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which maintains the database of registered drivers said it had no plans to restrict licensing on the basis of age. "Evidence does not show that older drivers are more likely to cause a serious accident than others," it said. "The rules are clear that all drivers over 70 have to renew their licence every three years and have to tell DVLA about any medical conditions which might affect their driving. "If we find evidence a driver does not meet the appropriate medical standard we immediately remove their entitlement to drive." Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: "We know driving often allows older people to have the independence to get out and about, go shopping and attend appointments so it's vital that older people are supported to continue driving safely for as long as possible." For more on this subject watch Inside Out on BBC One East Midlands at 19:30 GMT on Monday 25 January and nationwide for 30 days thereafter on the iPlayer.
The family of a man killed in a crash with an 87-year-old who was travelling the wrong way on the M1 have called for older drivers to be retested.
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The annual celebratory march, now in its 43rd year, stopped for a minute to remember the victims shot dead in a gay nightclub in Orlando. The parade got under way in the West End with an increased visible police presence. For the first time, the Red Arrows will fly past the march and a rainbow flag is flying at Parliament. Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development, announced she is in a same-sex relationship as the event was in full swing. She tweeted: "Today's a good day to say I'm in a happy same sex relationship, I campaigned for Stronger In but sometimes you're better off out!" Her announcement came as the director of Pride London, Michael Salter-Church, said this year's campaign slogan is No Filter. He said: "No Filter is a call to arms. A call for people to be themselves, to live as their true selves. "Now that might sound too obvious but too many people already self-censor. On this weekend whilst we celebrate the LGBT community, be your true selves, try and live without filter because that's a really important message that we want spread around the UK and the world." London Mayor Sadiq Khan also joined the celebratory parade and singer Alesha Dixon will entertain revellers. In a message before the march, he said London is "a city where the large majority of people of all communities, faiths and backgrounds, don't simply tolerate each other, but respect, embrace and celebrate our diversity". At the scene: BBC reporter Catriona Renton What a carnival atmosphere! The buzz around the start of the parade was electric as we watched several people dressed as the character of Patsy from "Absolutely Fabulous" dancing on their bus with a giant high heeled shoe and lipstick on it. Then the real stars of the show Edina and Patsy herself cut the ribbon. Then they were off. Approximately 40,000 people from around 300 organisations paraded down Oxford Street in a sea of glitter and colour on their way to Trafalgar Square. There was silence as people here paused to remember the 49 victims of the shootings in Orlando who were killed two weeks ago. The message was of solidarity. The march takes place weeks after a gunman shot dead 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando in Florida. The Metropolitan Police said it will mount a visible police presence to provide reassurance to those taking part. Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe earlier said there was "no intelligence" to suggest the march or the city would be targeted, urging people to join in but "take reasonable precaution". Organisers expect that more people will attend the event this year to show support for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community. Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who was involved in organising the first Pride, said people must unite against hate and this year both gay and straight Muslims will join the parade in a show of solidarity. He said: "In the wake of the horrific mass murder of LGBT people by an Islamist gunman in Orlando, we are highlighting the need for dialogue, unity and solidarity between the Muslim and LGBT communities - to oppose all hate." This year the parade will feature more than 100 Met Police officers and 200 military personnel, as the flypast will show support within the Armed Forces for the LGBT community.
Tens of thousands of people have joined the Pride parade through central London.
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The hosts led when Ben Richards-Everton volleyed home but Jordan Hugill slotted in to equalise for the visitors. With four minutes of extra time left, Jordan Clark restored the lead but Hugill levelled again in added time. But Billy Kee struck in the third minute of stoppage time to give Stanley victory over their Lancashire rivals. Kee also scored in Accrington's 3-1 win against Colchester on the opening day of League Two. They have now knocked out higher league opposition in the EFL Cup for the second successive year after they beat Burnley last season. Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman told BBC Radio Lancashire: "I'm delighted with the result as it was a difficult game. It was a full-blooded derby and just to be competing against teams like this on what we believe is a level playing field is testament to how far the club's come. "Preston are a good side and they showed that. They moved the ball really well and we knew that from when we played them in a pre-season friendly. "We were a different animal tonight. We created far more problems for them." Preston North End manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio Lancashire: "To be honest we shouldn't have been forcing for extra-time. At 1-1 we looked like we were going to go on and win the game. "When we conceded the corner I thought I've seen this a million times before. We conceded from a set piece which is really frustrating. "If you look at the game, we had numerous opportunities and chances, we didn't take them or make them count and ultimately we got punished because of that." Match ends, Accrington Stanley 3, Preston North End 2. Second Half ends, Accrington Stanley 3, Preston North End 2. Attempt missed. Daryl Horgan (Preston North End) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Attempt blocked. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Tyler Hornby-Forbes. Goal! Accrington Stanley 3, Preston North End 2. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Tom Dallison following a corner. Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Daniel Johnson. Goal! Accrington Stanley 2, Preston North End 2. Jordan Hugill (Preston North End) header from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sean Maguire. Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Andrew Boyle. Goal! Accrington Stanley 2, Preston North End 1. Jordan Clark (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Kayden Jackson. Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Chris Maxwell. Attempt saved. Liam Nolan (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Attempt missed. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Seamus Conneely replaces Scott Brown. Kayden Jackson (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Alan Browne (Preston North End). Substitution, Preston North End. Alan Browne replaces Callum Robinson. Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Scott Brown. Attempt saved. Kevin O'Connor (Preston North End) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Ben Richards-Everton. Foul by Jordan Clark (Accrington Stanley). Kevin O'Connor (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Paul Gallagher. Attempt missed. Kevin O'Connor (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Ben Richards-Everton (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Jordan Hugill (Preston North End). Attempt blocked. Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Goal! Accrington Stanley 1, Preston North End 1. Jordan Hugill (Preston North End) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Daryl Horgan following a fast break. Attempt blocked. Jordan Clark (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Foul by Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley). Andrew Boyle (Preston North End) wins a free kick on the left wing. Attempt blocked. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Attempt saved. Jordan Hugill (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Substitution, Preston North End. Sean Maguire replaces Liam Grimshaw. Ben Richards-Everton (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Jordan Hugill (Preston North End). Attempt blocked. Kayden Jackson (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Mark Hughes. Attempt missed. Daniel Johnson (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Attempt saved. Callum Robinson (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Accrington Stanley secured a dramatic late victory over Championship side Preston North End to seal their place in the second round of the EFL Cup.
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Archibald was on Swindon Town's managerial shortlist last season and has been linked with other vacancies. Osman says the loss of Archibald - who guided Thistle to a top six finish last season - would be a hard act to follow. "Since I signed, he's only got better, every season. It's no surprise teams are interested in him," Osman said. "We don't want him to go anywhere. He's probably one of the best managers I have played under. The boys love him. We just pray he stays here for another season." Osman's Partick Thistle team-mate Adam Barton echoes his captain's sentiments. "I would be personally disappointed because what he has done is really good," the midfielder said. "As a footballer, you like managers who really stick by their players. You come across so many managers who chop and change things and I have been through that many managers that many times. "New managers come in and they don't even want to see you play, they just want to bring their own players in and chop and change. To see him go would not be a good thing." Partick Thistle are on the verge of losing promising centre-back Liam Lindsay, who has travelled to Barnsley for a medical following the clubs agreeing a fee for the player. Subject to the completion of the medical, Lindsay will sign a three-year deal at Oakwell.
Partick Thistle captain Abdul Osman says the players are praying manager Alan Archibald stays at the club for another season.
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A defence official said in a statement on Wednesday that its nuclear programme had "long been in the full-fledged stage of miniaturisation". However, analysts say while there is evidence the programme is advancing, it is difficult to assess its true extent. The claim comes hours after North Korea cancelled a planned visit by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Mr Ban was due to visit an industrial complex in the Kaesong economic zone run jointly by the North and South and would have been the first UN chief to visit North Korea in more than 20 years. Speaking at a forum in Seoul, he said the move was "deeply regrettable" and that no explanation was given. North Korea previously claimed it had miniaturised a device for the nuclear test it conducted in 2013 but experts have continued to debate how far along that process it is. Dr John Swenson-Wright, head of the Asia programme at the Chatham House think-tank, said that while there was "growing evidence of the North's increasing technical sophistication", caution was necessary in interpreting North Korea's latest statement. Some have interpreted the latest moves, together with some recent high-profile executions, as attempts by leader Kim Jong-un to assert his authority. The latest announcement on nuclear advances follows the publication earlier this month of pictures apparently showing a missile being launched from a submarine. Some experts have said the images may have been doctored. Responding to the latest claims, the South Korean defence ministry urged the North to stop developing nuclear weapons. An anonymous South Korean military official said it was believed to be true that Pyongyang had made significant progress in miniaturising its nuclear weapons. "But South Korea and the US share the assessment that it is not at a stage where it has completed the related technology," the official told the Yonhap news agency.
North Korea has claimed it has the technology to make nuclear warheads small enough to fit on a missile.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device 12 July 2015 Last updated at 01:20 BST The BBC's Mohamed Madi went to Soho's Greek Street to find out. Produced by Marcus Thompson.
How has the economic crisis affected Greeks living in London?
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The shipment will be the first potentially preventative medicine to reach one of the hardest hit countries. But experts say that, with Ebola cases falling, it may be difficult to establish whether the jab offers any protection against the virus. It has been produced by British company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the US National Institutes of Health. GSK said a plane carrying some 300 initial doses of the vaccine was expected to arrive in Monrovia on Friday. And the company hopes the first volunteer will be immunised in the next few weeks. The chief executive of GSK, Sir Andrew Witty, said the pace of development was almost unparalleled and was comparable to only the development of a pandemic flu vaccine or new medicines for HIV. He told the BBC: "As an example we have delayed two other vaccine development programmes to free up the space to do this work, so this has come with a significant amount of disruption." Scientists aim to involve 30,000 volunteers in the trial in total, including frontline health workers. If all regulations are met, 10,000 volunteers will be given the GSK vaccine. A matching number will get a placebo, dummy vaccine. And there are plans for a further 10,000 people to get a separate experimental jab. The results will be compared to see if either vaccine offers any meaningful protection against the virus. A version of the vaccine has already been tested on 200 healthy volunteers across the UK, US, Switzerland and Mali. GSK says it has been found to have an acceptable safety profile so far. But it is only in affected countries that experts can determine whether it provides adequate protection against the virus. Dr Moncef Slaoui, of GlaxoSmithKline said: "Shipping the vaccine today is a major achievement and shows that we remain on track with the accelerated development of our candidate Ebola vaccine. "The initial phase one data we have seen are encouraging and give us confidence to progress to the next phases of clinical testing." The company stresses the vaccine is still in development and the World Health Organization, and other regulators, would have to be satisfied the vaccine is both safe and effective before any mass immunisation campaigns could be considered. Field trials of other promising vaccines - for example one involving the company Merck - are planned in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the months to come. And there are reports that a trial of an experimental drug called Zmapp might start in the next few weeks. However, experts say with the number of Ebola cases falling opportunities to test vaccines and drugs could be limited. Prof Jonathan Ball, a virus expert based at Nottingham University, told the BBC: "Because case numbers are starting to come down it will become harder and harder to show if the vaccine is having any impact. "Ultimately we may be in position in a few months time where we don't know whether this vaccine is effective in humans. "But it is important to get answers if we can - if not for this outbreak, for future outbreaks. We need to be prepared."
The first batch of an experimental vaccine against Ebola is on its way to Liberia.
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Four of those on board, three soldiers and an airman, were stationed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. The fifth, an Army reservist, was based in London. The Ministry of Defence said the crash near Kandahar air base appeared to have been a "tragic accident". It represents the third single biggest loss of life of British troops in Afghanistan since the conflict began. The families of all five servicemen have been told. Three of the soldiers on board the helicopter were from the Army Air Corps, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, the MoD said late on Saturday. A fourth member of the crew was serving with the Royal Air Force and was also based at Odiham, while the fifth man was an Army reservist from 3 Military Intelligence Battalion, in London. Maj Gen Richard Felton, Commander Joint Helicopter Command, said: "It is with great sadness that we must confirm that five UK service personnel have been killed in this incident which, at this early stage, would appear to have been a tragic accident. "Events like this, whilst mercifully rare, remind us of the risks our personnel face in their work in Afghanistan as we approach the conclusion of the combat mission later this year. "Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives." Prime Minister David Cameron said his "heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed in this terrible tragedy". Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was "tragic and poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by our armed forces in serving our country with bravery and distinction". It is the first fatal accident involving a UK military helicopter in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001. BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said sources had suggested the cause of the crash may have been "technical problems" on board the helicopter, despite claims by the Taliban that its fighters had shot it down. She said the location of the crash - close to the border with Pakistan - has also led to speculation that the helicopter could have been taking part in a special forces mission. It is understood the helicopter was a Westland Lynx Mk 9. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We can confirm that a UK helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan today. "The incident is under investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further until families have been notified." The crash is understood to have happened around 30 miles from the Pakistan border, near Kandahar air base in the Takhta Pul district. The deaths bring the number of British forces killed in the conflict in Afghanistan to 453. The fatal crash comes after a Nimrod surveillance aircraft exploded in mid-air while supporting Nato ground operations near Kandahar, killing all 14 servicemen on board, in September 2006. This incident remains the biggest single loss of UK life at one time in Afghanistan. In 2012, six British soldiers were killed when a Warrior armoured fighting vehicle in Kandahar province was hit by an explosion. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition of international forces said it was still in the process of reviewing the circumstances of Saturday's helicopter crash. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends affected by this tragic event," it said in a statement. Defence analyst Paul Beaver said all the indications are that the crash involved a Lynx helicopter, which he said has an "exceptional record". He said the light utility helicopter is likely to have been operating in "fairly mountainous areas", or in "challenging" terrain. "The key now will be looking at the weather," Mr Beaver told the BBC. "If enemy action is not suspected, which is what the MoD is saying, then you have to look at whether this might well be weather-related." The crash brings the total number of international troops killed in Afghanistan in April to seven. It comes after the last major helicopter crash took place in December last year, when seven Americans and four Afghans died. In August 2011, the Taliban shot down an American Chinook near Kabul, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans in the deadliest single incident for US troops since the war began. Concerned family members can contact the MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre on 08457 800 900.
Five British service personnel have been killed in a UK helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan.
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HM Revenue and Customs said there were 13m new accounts opened in 2014-15, down from 13.5m the year before. The figure, the lowest since 2004-05, will be disappointing for the Treasury, which is trying to encourage more people to save. It comes in spite of an increase in the amount savers can put in to an Isa. In July last year the maximum subscription amount was increased to £15,000 for both cash and stocks-and-shares Isas. The current limit is £15,240. The accounts are free of both Income and Capital Gains Tax. One reason for the fall may be that savings rates have been so low that being tax-free offers little extra advantage. Indeed, a typical one year fixed-rate cash Isa offers a 1.75% return, while some one year savings bonds offer as much as 2%. However Junior Isas, for those under 18, did prove more popular. In 2014-15 there were 510,000 new accounts opened, up from 432,000 the year before. Of savings already in Isas, 80% is held in cash, and 20% is in stocks and shares, according to the HM Revenue and Customs. The average investment is £6,064.
The number of adults taking out Individual Savings Accounts (Isa) has fallen to its lowest level for ten years, according to official figures.
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The candidates were responding to a question about proposed changes to health care in Staffordshire at a debate run by BBC Radio Stoke. They were asked about a consultation by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) which buy health services in the area. The consultation is looking at reducing bed-blocking and improving efficiency. Ian Wilkes, for the Liberal Democrats, told the debate, at St George's Centre in Newcastle, health care and care in the home were not "joined-up". "When you come out of hospital there should be care ready and waiting," he said. Phil Wood for UKIP, said at the moment too many people in the NHS were "trying to protect their own budgets and let someone else have the problem". He said his party would put £3bn a year in to stop "[its] creeping privatisation". Replying, Sam Gibbons, the Green Party's candidate, claimed UKIP leader Nigel Farage had said he would like a private-style health care system. Mr Gibbons said cuts had meant managers at hospitals, including his mother who was a nurse and ward manager, still provided clinical care alongside "heavy workloads". Labour's Paul Farrelly said the first question should be "what does the individual need?" and not "whose budget is it coming from?". Questioned on Labour's objection to plans for the tendering of NHS cancer and end-of-life contracts across Staffordshire, he claimed the area was being used as "a guinea pig for further creeping privatisation". Tony Cox, parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party, said his party recognised "there needs to be better integration" between health and social care but the move had been hampered by "some reluctance" from councils and some NHS departments. "But locally this year Staffordshire County Council have this year invested another £20m into social care which is where we've realised the pressures are actually happening," he said. David Nixon is standing as an independent a parliamentary candidate for Newcastle-under-Lyme. The candidates for this constituency are Conservative, Tony Cox Labour, Paul Farrelly Green, Sam Gibbons Independent, David Nixon Liberal Democrat, Ian Wilkes UKIP, Phil Wood
Parliamentary candidates for Newcastle-under-Lyme all called for a "joined-up policy" on health and social care in north Staffordshire at a public debate.
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Gammon joints, 700 pigs in blankets, cash and four charity boxes were also taken from MD Griffiths in Dinas Powys. Butcher Mark Griffiths, 62, said: "For some families their whole Christmas spread has been taken." He said he was in talks with wholesalers to try to replace what was stolen. Father-of-five Mr Griffiths, who has run the butcher's shop for 18 years, said: "There's never a good time for this to happen but during our Christmas rush it's particularly bad. "We lost turkeys, ducks, chickens, pigs in blankets - all the trimmings that make this time of year so special." "It's affected 25 orders but I'm determined not to let our customers down." Mr Griffiths discovered the break-in at 05:00 GMT on Friday when he noticed the panel on the door had been forced open. He said: "This is a family business and we are gutted to have been targeted in this way. "Customers have been back and forth to the shop to ask about their orders and we are doing what we can to recoup our loses." Customer Rowan Young, 50, described the thefts as "sickening", adding: "If we are the unlucky ones whose meat has gone then we fully understand."
Dozens of families could be without their Christmas dinner after thieves stole turkeys from a butcher's shop in Vale of Glamorgan.
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The channel's signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to show new episodes of Family Guy from later this year. The agreement also includes other Seth MacFarlane animated comedies American Dad, The Cleveland Show and new series Bordertown. Family Guy has been a major part of the BBC Three schedule since 2006, becoming one of the channel's highest rating shows. But it's not the last we'll see of the Griffins on the BBC as the corporation has one more new series to show - the one currently being broadcast in the States. The BBC also still has rights to repeat episodes from previous series - for the moment. The BBC says Family Guy will be on the BBC for "at least the next two years". There's been discussion over what would happen to the offbeat comedy, given plans to move BBC Three online. More than 270,000 people have signed a petition against the move. The BBC said: "We are incredibly proud that the BBC has successfully aired Family Guy for the past nine years and built the series into such a hit in the UK. "However, when a show becomes so successful it often becomes a target for other broadcasters. "We are sorry that it will not have a long term home on the BBC." Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube
The Griffin family is moving home - to ITV2.
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L/Cpl Craig Roberts and two others died on an SAS selection exercise in 2013. The government said allowing court action would not help training safety. But Kelvin and Margaret Roberts said they believed the army would be more responsible if they were legally accountable. In March, the Ministry of Defence was reprimanded over failures which led to the deaths of L/Cpl Roberts, from Penrhyn Bay, Conwy county, Cpl James Dunsby from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, and L/Cpl Edward Maher, of Winchester, Hampshire. At their inquest last year a coroner ruled neglect contributed to their deaths. The Health and Safety Executive issued a censure, which is the highest action it can take, as the MoD cannot be prosecuted. It has since apologised for the failings. But, responding to the Commons Defence Select Committee report 'Beyond Endurance?' which was published after the deaths of the SAS candidate reservists, the UK Government ruled out amending the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act. Mr and Mrs Roberts said: "We are extremely disappointed that the government has decided not to accept the recommendation of the... committee to remove the immunity from prosecution from the MoD when served with a crown censure. "The government states that they fail to see how losing the immunity would make improvements to the safety of military training, however, we believe that if the MoD are legally accountable for their actions then they will be more responsible and diligent in their training methods. "We have done our best to have the immunity removed and bereaved families in the past have also tried, so we are pleased that the Defence Committee intend to pursue their interest in this matter with the MoD." The three men were on a selection march in Powys on one of the hottest days of 2013 when they fell ill. All three were on course to complete it within the allocated time but were found in three separate locations at different times. An inquest found they died after suffering the effects of hyperthermia - or overheating. Coroner Louise Hunt, who ruled the men died as a result of neglect, warned there was a risk of future deaths on SAS selection marches unless action was taken. The HSE investigation into the men's deaths found the MoD failed to plan, assess, and manage the risks associated with heat illness during the training. In its response to the 'Beyond Endurance?' report, the UK government said existing arrangements in respect of military training fatalities worked effectively as a means of ensuring lessons were learnt and mistakes were not repeated. It said: "The MoD invariably implements any corrective measures identified by the HSE and treats crown censure as a matter of the utmost seriousness. "It is not therefore clear how the proposed amendments to the act, which would only take effect once the MoD has been subject to a crown censure, would result in any tangible improvement to the safety of military training. "These safeguards (to learn lessons, implement corrective measures identified by the HSE and the seriousness with which we treat crown censure), together with the ability to bring civil claims for negligence against the MoD, where a breach of a duty of care occurs within the UK or abroad, provide a strong system both for discouraging failure by the MoD and for learning lessons where things go wrong." It added the MoD would be the focus of any civil claim whether the breach was at the highest levels of the MoD or at the immediate level at which training was carried out and it would be "extremely difficult, perhaps impossible to apply the concept of manslaughter to the role of the senior management of the MoD in permitting and setting parameters for training which is essential and which is by its nature hazardous".
The parents of one of three soldiers who died on the Brecon Beacons have said they are "extremely disappointed" the government will not allow the Ministry of Defence to be prosecuted.
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The new polymer £5 note, which is slightly smaller than its paper predecessor, will be available in branches before becoming more widely available across Scotland. It continues to feature Sir Walter Scott and The Mound on the front, and a bridge theme on the back. All existing paper Bank of Scotland £5 notes will be gradually withdrawn. However, those that remain in circulation will continue to be accepted at shops, banks and cash payment machines. Bank of Scotland also plans to replace its £10 paper note with a polymer version next year. The new, plastic material is said to be cleaner and more resilient to being crumpled and spilled on. In September, the Bank of England released new £5 plastic notes featuring Winston Churchill on the back. It was the first time a polymer note had been circulated by the Bank of England, but other parts of the UK have already been using the material. Polymer banknotes are made from a very thin, flexible, see-through plastic film, with the design printed on special layers of ink on the front and back. Because the main material is see-through, the design can include clear spots that are like little windows you can look straight through. More than 20 countries around the world already use polymer banknotes - they include Scotland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Last year the Clydesdale Bank brought a fully plastic note into circulation in the UK for the first time with a limited commemorative edition £5 note. As of last week, it entered into full circulation, and has begun to replace the current paper version. The note features Scottish engineering pioneer and entrepreneur Sir William Arrol on the front, along with the Forth Bridge and the Titan Crane. The reverse shows several images of the Forth Bridge. Royal Bank of Scotland's new £5 plastic note is due to enter circulation on 27 October. It will feature Scottish novelist and poet Nan Shepherd. Scientist Mary Somerville has already been selected for the bank's planned £10 polymer note, which is due to enter into circulation next year. They will be the first women to appear on the bank's main issue notes.
The Bank of Scotland's first plastic banknote intended for general circulation is set to be issued.
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The eight-day race, a precursor to the Tour which begins on 2 July, starts with a 4km time trial on Sunday. "There will be many challengers [in the Tour]. But if I must pick two, I would say Froome and Nairo Quintana," said Contador, also a two-time Tour winner. "The Criterium will allow me to test myself against my rivals." Team Sky rider Froome has won the Criterium in each of the two years he has won the Tour - 2013 and 2015 - but Contador, who rides for Tinkoff, has never won the Criterium. "My primary objective is to finish [the Criterium] in good physical condition with respect to the Tour - to be ready," said the Spaniard. "I'm not thinking about the overall victory but, obviously, if the chance is there..." Astana's Fabio Aru and FDJ's Thibaut Pinot will also contest the Criterium, but Movistar's Quintana is not competing in the race.
Alberto Contador believes the Criterium du Dauphine is the perfect stage to renew his rivalry with two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.
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People in 120 homes in Wisbech had been told to boil their water "until further notice" after supplies were contaminated. Anglian Water said tests were carried out following repairs to a burst main near Blackbear Lane, Wisbech on Sunday. The results showed "naturally occurring organisms that should not be there". The firm had advised people to boil and cool all drinking water as "a precautionary measure". A spokesman for Anglian Water said: "We haven't found anything harmful to human health but the harmless organisms are indicator species that something might have been there that should not be." Homes in Blackbear Lane, numbers 2 to 74, all properties in Pendula Road, Lucombe Drive, Oaklands Drive and Lebanon Drive were affected. A notice sent to affected customers said: "As an additional precaution, we are also making a small increase to the amount of chlorine in the water and carrying out some localised flushing. "We apologise for any inconvenience, but stress that the health and safety of our customers must come first."
Householders in Cambridgeshire who have had to boil their water since Sunday have now been told it is safe to drink once again.
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It shrunk tumours in around half of women who took part in a small trial. Researchers had only been testing the drug to see if it was safe for humans to take, but found it had an almost instant clinical effect. It is hoped the drug could help women who have stopped responding to all other currently available treatments. So far, it has only been tested in 15 women, and the researchers say it may not be safe to take for more than a few months. However, ovarian cancer is a difficult disease to treat, and the prognosis in the advanced stages is very poor. Marianne Heath, 68, one of the patients who received the drug, said: "I had no other treatment choices, so I felt this was my only option. "I just want to keep going so I can keep the tumours at a level where I can enjoy my life. It isn't a cure, but it is life extension for me." Marianne had treatment over six months, and the drug shrunk all three tumours in her body, taking away much of the pain she was experiencing. One tumour - in her back - has started growing again since she stopped the treatment in January, and she is undergoing radiotherapy for that, but the others are stable. Blood tests spot ovarian cancer early NHS Choices: Ovarian cancer The researchers, from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London, wanted to establish whether the drug, known in the study as ONX-0801, was safe, so they tested it on a small number of patients. But they found it significantly shrunk tumours in seven of the 15 patients who took the drug - all seven carrying a particular molecule that the drug was specifically designed to target. ONX-0801 is the first in a new class of drugs which work by mimicking the ability of folic acid selectively to latch on to cancer cells, while leaving healthy tissue alone, thus reducing the side-effects often seen with traditional chemotherapy, such as infections, diarrhoea, nerve damage and hair loss. Once locked on to a cancer cell, the drug disrupts its chemistry by blocking the action of a key molecule, causing widespread DNA damage and cell death. The researchers, who hope to carry out bigger clinical trials as soon as possible, have also developed a test that can detect which women are most likely to benefit from the treatment. Study leader Dr Udai Banerji said: "The results we have seen in this trial are very promising. It is rare to see such clear evidence of reproducible responses in these early stages of drug development. "The beauty of this particular drug is that it is targeted to the cancer cell. This means there are fewer side-effects, making it a kinder treatment for ovarian cancer patients. "It's early days of course, but I'm keen to see this treatment assessed in later-stage clinical trials as soon as possible." Dr Catherine Pickworth, from Cancer Research UK, said: "It's encouraging to see this new drug is showing promise as a potential new treatment for ovarian cancer. "The next steps will be for researchers to test the drug in larger clinical trials to confirm it works and is safe, and to work out which women with ovarian cancer this drug could help." Prof Michel Coleman, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, urged caution. He said: "Shrinkage of tumours is important, but as the authors point out, that is not the same as producing the hoped-for extension of survival for women with ovarian cancer. "The excitement of the investigators is completely understandable, but one should be cautious about interpreting this result as a breakthrough for ovarian cancer patients until data on longer-term outcomes are available." The results of the trial were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago on Saturday.
A new targeted treatment for ovarian cancer has shown "very promising" results in women in the advanced stages of the disease.
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Scientists and charities say the human papilloma virus (HPV) jab will protect them from head and neck cancers. HPV is sexually transmitted and girls aged 12 and 13 receive the vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer. The Welsh government said it is waiting for advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Charities including Tenovus Cancer Care and organisations such as BMA Cymru and Cardiff University's HPV research team will deliver a letter to the Welsh government on Monday calling for the vaccination to be rolled out. They told BBC Radio Wales' Eye on Wales programme the number of head and neck cancer cases are increasing. Dr Mererid Evans, consultant oncologist at Velindre Hospital in Cardiff, said: "I've seen a difference in demographics over the last ten years. "These are younger people with families, and three-quarters of those affected are men. The average age is 55 and most are non-smokers." Jon Antoniazzi, from Tenovus Cancer Care, added: "HPV causes 5% of the global cancer burden. "What the Welsh government could be doing right now is taking a progressive step to stem the tide of these cancers, and show that it really takes the public health of its citizens seriously. "We urge them to diverge from central thinking and vaccinate boys now." In 2008, a vaccination programme was rolled out in schools and 85% of girls in Wales have been vaccinated. The Welsh government said: "We will await the committee's recommendations and will consider the implications for Wales of any proposed changes to the HPV vaccination programme."
Boys should receive a cancer vaccine - already given to young girls - to stop them developing strains of the disease, experts have said.
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Those detained include players and directors from around 30 clubs from Italy's third and fourth divisions. More than 70 people are also under investigation in the inquiry led by prosecutors in the southern town of Catanzaro. Police said that some of those charged had links to mafia organisations. Catanzaro prosecutors said they had uncovered an alleged network between club presidents, coaches, players, and some management members. Those arrested are suspected of "conspiracy to commit sporting fraud", ANSA news agency said. Police said they were studying suspicious results in dozens of matches. Reports say that the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate is believed to be behind some of the match-fixing. The syndicate is a network of clans in Calabria - in the 'toe' of Italy - that dominates the country's cocaine trade. Local media said that one police officer was also involved in the scandal. It is not yet clear whether Tuesday's police inquiry is linked to a previous anti-match-fixing operation. Police had already placed more than 100 people under investigation for suspected match-fixing since 2011. But prosecutors in the cities of Cremona, Bari and Naples had been focusing on Serie A and B matches.
Police have arrested more than 50 people as part of an investigation into suspected match-fixing in Italian football.
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The firm admitted releasing a quantity of benzole, exposing five workers to risk of death from flammable vapours coming off it, in June 2011. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation showed it failed to take appropriate safety measures. Tata Steel was fined £930,000 and ordered to pay costs of £70,000, at a hearing at Hull Crown Court. At a previous hearing, the company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. More stories from around East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire The HSE said two of the workers involved in the incident were exposed to the chemical and suffered coughing and breathing difficulties. They were sent to hospital and discharged the next day. It said the release of benzole could have caused serious injury or death had it been ignited. HSE inspector Stephen Hargreaves said: "It was extremely fortunate no one was seriously affected by this incident. Had the flammable vapour cloud ignited this could have resulted in multiple fatalities. "This incident highlights the need for all duty holders to implement and address all concerns and potential risks which have been identified. "Tata's failure to do so in this case put a number of workers at risk of serious harm."
Tata Steel has been ordered to pay £1m after it exposed five people to toxic substances at Scunthorpe Steel Works.
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Tests have shown rat poison killed the female bird of prey, which was discovered in a quarry in Penmaenmawr in June. North Wales Police said this was the second suspicious death of a peregrine falcon in the last few months. The protected bird is a threat to racing pigeons and officers are appealing to the community for help. "It is very sad that a highly protected and rare bird is being wiped out of north Wales because someone is laying poison indiscriminately for their own gain," said Sgt Rob Taylor. "We are aware of the reasons and methods of poisoning and also the locations of our birds, so we will be working closely with the RSPB and other voluntary societies to put a stop to this practice and catch the offender." Last month, four peregrine falcons were found dead in their remote nest at a quarry in Gwynedd. One adult and three chicks were discovered in the nest at Dyffryn Nantlle and police suspected foul play.
A peregrine falcon found dead in Gwynedd was poisoned, police have confirmed.
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That was a 20% increase on the same period last year. The profit was achieved on turnover of £152m, up from £117m the previous year. First Derivatives makes financial analysis software used by investment banks all over the world and the firm now employs more than 1,750 people. They also provide consultancy services and are diversifying into new markets, primarily marketing technology and utilities. Chairman Seamus Keating said they have made an encouraging start to the current financial year. "We are engaged in numerous discussions across industries and believe our products and services are well placed competitively. "Consequently we anticipate another year of strong growth," he said. The firm was founded by Brian Conlon in 1996 and floated on the stock market in 2002. At that time, it had just 26 employees and a turnover of less than £2m. It is understood that the company is planning to develop a significant amount of new office space close to its existing headquarters in Newry. That will be largely to accommodate the growth in its managed services business
First Derivatives, the financial technology firm based in Newry, County Down, made £12.5m profit before tax for the year to the end of February.
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After resuming 41 behind on 322-7, the Bears' hopes of saving the game pretty much rested on Jonathan Trott. But Tom Curran broke through, trapping Jeetan Patel lbw - and Trott added just 10 to his score before holing out off Mark Footitt for 151. Chris Wright was then bowled by Curran as Warwickshire were all out for 362. It was a good second-innings effort by the Bears, built around the 41st century of Trott's first-class career. But they were always staring at defeat after being bowled out for 91, either side of tea on Saturday, to follow-on 363 runs in arrears - and they take just a single point from the match. It was perhaps fitting that Footitt ended Trott's epic knock, in the eighth over of the morning, after the former England batsman had aimed an upper-cut at a short ball from the left-arm paceman, only to see it balloon into Dom Sibley's hands at third man. That gave Footitt a match haul of eight wickets to continue the England hopeful's fine form since reaching full fitness again at the end of last season. In Surrey's last three home Championship matches going back to last season, out of a possible 50 wickets, Footitt has taken 22 of them. Having opened up with a 23-point haul, Surrey's next game is also at home against Lancashire, starting on Good Friday, when Warwickshire are also back in action, hosting Yorkshire at Edgbaston. Surrey captain Gareth Batty told BBC Radio London: "We're absolutely delighted. Both Mark Footitt and Mark Stoneman will deservedly get the plaudits for their first-innings performances, but we can get better. This is just one win. "The fact that we were able to leave out two England players (Stuart Meaker and Zafar Ansari, plus Jason Roy, who is playing in the IPL) is a big statement. But we are not an 11-man team. It is all about the squad. It could be me sitting out the next game because people will need resting and we will always pick the right team for the surface. "There are some seriously good teams in this division. We have now got the best domestic first-class cricket in the world. The cricket I've seen played in the last two or three years has been the best of my time in the game. "Full credit to Trotty, who is still one of the best players in the country. It was a very good lesson for our bowlers to see how someone that good goes about his business." Warwickshire bowling coach Alan Richardson told BBC WM: "You just can't give sides the sort of start we gave them on the first couple of days. "We're pleased we showed some fight after that, and Trotty was superb, but this game is a wake-up call for us. "We bowled well on the second day, too, but overall we're disappointed. We have spoken about how we need to bounce back."
Surrey took less than an hour on the final morning at The Oval to wrap up a season-opening victory over Warwickshire by an innings and one run.
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In the space of two months, the 25-year-old has become one of the most controversial politicians in Hong Kong - and is now pitted in a court battle against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments - even though she has admitted it could bankrupt her. Ms Yau and fellow party member Sixtus Leung won elections in September, gaining more than 55,000 votes between them. Ms Yau, a daughter of two civil servants, had little previous political experience, and made headlines for edging out a veteran politician to win a seat. The Chinese Studies graduate had been involved in the 2014 pro-democracy protests, when tens of thousands of people, including large numbers of students, took to the streets demanding fully democratic elections in Hong Kong. She describes the protests as an important part of her political awakening. After the movement failed to win any concessions from Beijing, Ms Yau and Mr Leung became involved in a new political party - Youngspiration - that campaigns against mainland China's influence on Hong Kong, and advocates a "Hong Kong first" approach. The party struck a nerve with many young Hong Kongers unhappy with China and disillusioned with traditional pro-democracy parties, who they argue have failed to achieve any reform. But, after their election victory, things quickly spiralled out of control. Ms Yau and Mr Leung sparked a furore when they were being sworn in last month. Instead of pledging allegiance to the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China", the duo swore allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation", used a term considered derogatory towards China, and displayed a banner that read "Hong Kong is not China". Their oaths were invalidated, and thousands of people protested against their actions, demanding they be removed from parliament. A top Chinese official even likened the duo to "two cancer cells - if you don't care about it, it will continue to hurt your body". The Hong Kong government launched a court case to disqualify them. And the Chinese government also decided to intervene - issuing a controversial interpretation of Hong Kong's law on oath taking, to say that any oath that is not "sincere" should be automatically disqualified. After losing the court case, Ms Yau and Mr Leung were disqualified as legislators - and are now also bombarded with angry comments on social media, where people accuse them of being useless, politically naïve, or insulting their country. But for all the controversy surrounding her, Ms Yau comes across as mild-mannered and determined in person - and less slick or media trained than many other politicians. "We know that appealing the court decision will cost a lot," she says. "We may face bankruptcy, but we have no choice." She is concerned that if the case is not challenged, it may set a legal precedent for other pro-independence legislators to be disqualified, which would allow the government to "negate the results of a democratic vote". She says she believes in independence for Hong Kong because the "One Country, Two Systems" model under which it is governed, after it was handed back to China from the British in 1997, is "a failed experiment". Despite the model, which promises Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, "in these few years we have seen the PRC [People's Republic of China] government having direct interventions into the internal affairs of Hong Kong". "We have to find another way to solve this problem," she says. "One solution may be independence - or maybe we can find another kind of solution, but right now I can't think of any other solutions." It is true that there has been growing anger in Hong Kong at perceived Chinese involvement in its affairs. In particular, the disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers who published books critical of mainland China in late 2015 sparked concerns over Hong Kong's future. But a majority of people in Hong Kong do not support independence - or think that calls for independence are part of the problem, not the solution. Hong Kong relies on China for much of its food and water supplies - as well as much of its trade - and the Chinese government has shown that it has zero tolerance for moves towards independence from any of its territories. The last British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, supported democratic reform in Hong Kong - but recently said that independence for Hong Kong is "something which is not going to happen". He has argued that the campaign for independence "dilutes support for democracy and makes a mockery of a serious political argument", and that it would be "a tragedy" if the "moral high ground" of those seeking democracy was lost. Veteran democracy activist Martin Lee has even said he felt suspicious of Ms Yau and Mr Leung's actions, saying that they are "giving [Beijing] the excuse" to destroy Hong Kong's judicial independence. Some have even accused Ms Yau and Mr Leung of secretly working with Beijing to undermine Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. Ms Yau flatly denies this, and says her party has faced such accusations ever since it was founded. "There are no external forces telling us what to do, to make long term plans, or betray Hong Kong." Looking amused, she adds: "If we really were undercover agents, surely we'd still be in the legislative council - we wouldn't have let ourselves get kicked out, would we?" Ms Yau is known for being outspoken. She supported gay marriage in her election campaign - despite receiving criticism for it - and also raised eyebrows when she said that Hong Kong's housing shortage meant that young people had "no room to bang". But a lot of the comments about Ms Yau have focused on her gender and appearance, rather than her policies. One newspaper wrote articles about what she wore to rallies, highlighting what they called her "protest look", while others nicknamed her "goddess" in reference to her appearance. And the sexism appears to have stepped up a notch since the oath-taking controversy. At one pro-Beijing protest, demonstrators stuck a photo of Ms Yau on a sex doll - and internet commentators have shared photos of Ms Yau's dress being hiked up during a scuffle in parliament. Ms Yau says she believes the sexist attacks are "not because of my gender - it's because my ideology is different from theirs". However, experts have argued that the remarks are indicative of gender stereotyping in Hong Kong media - and worry that they could put off other women from entering politics. As for Ms Yau, she says she will continue to work to fulfil her campaign pledges - even if she loses her appeal and her seat in parliament. "The fact is that many Hong Kongers take [independence] as an aim for the future of Hong Kong," and the government can't ignore those voices, she says. "I hope in the future, Hong Kong people have the power to choose their destiny and the future they want - whatever it is they decide to choose." Additional reporting by BBC Chinese's Martin Yip
Yau Wai-ching is the youngest woman to be elected to Hong Kong's parliament - and she has been called many things, including: "radical", "goddess", "spy", "pretty" and "cancer cell".
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Elgan Varney, 33, was accused of raping Hannah Stubbs, who was a student at Keele University, in Staffordshire. The 22-year-old killed herself at her Stafford home in August 2015. Judge John Fletcher cleared Mr Varney, formerly of Newcastle-under-Lyme, of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault after the CPS offered no evidence against him. See more stories from across Stoke and Staffordshire here During the hearing at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said the decision not to continue the prosecution had been taken at the "highest level" of the CPS. The CPS said the case had been kept under regular review and prosecutors were no longer satisfied there was a realistic prospect of conviction. Defence counsel Ann Cotcher QC told the court Mr Varney had been "removed from his attempts at education" at Keele because of the proceedings against him. "This is an allegation that goes back to 2014," Ms Cotcher told the brief hearing. "The defendant was interviewed, as was the complainant, in March 2015, almost exactly two years ago." Following the hearing, Mr Varney offered his condolences to the family of Ms Stubbs. In a statement read out by his solicitor, Hollie Alcock, Mr Varney said: "This is not a time of celebration for me - quite simply, I should never have been charged and put through this horrendous ordeal." He also called for a change in the law to provide anonymity to those charged with but not convicted of sexual offences. In a statement, Ms Stubbs' parents, Paul and Mandy Stubbs, said: "We don't want what happened to Hannah to define her life or our memory of the kind and loving person that she was." An inquest recorded a narrative verdict that she had taken her own life following post-traumatic stress. A spokesman for the university said: "Based on today's outcome, we will be in conversation with Mr Varney over the coming weeks. "As is standard practice, any such discussion will be confidential between the university and the student."
A man has been acquitted of raping a student who killed herself while detectives investigated the case.
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Media playback is not supported on this device The 17-year-old from Gloucestershire won the champion apprentice trophy in his maiden season this year. Marquand has racked up 68 wins across the last 12 months, prompting his trainer Hannon to make the comparison with Moore. "I think he could be a champion jockey one day," Hannon told BBC Points West. "I would be amazed if he does not go right to the top, he is the name on everybody's lips at the moment." Marquand's rapid rise has seen him nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2015 award. The jockey has been named on the final shortlist for the award, alongside gymnast Ellie Downie and para-swimmer Tully Kearney. "What he has achieved is a little bit special," added Hannon. "He is a lovely guy and thoroughly deserves his success. He is very popular and he has endeared himself with everybody." Hannon, who has 300 horses based at his stables near Marlborough, is the son of former flat jockey champion Richard Hannon Sr. Moore has enjoyed great success under the guidance of Hannon and won the champion apprentice title in 2003. Since then, Moore has established himself as one of the most respected flat jockeys in horse racing and was champion jockey in 2006, 2008 and 2009. "Ryan Moore performs on the big stage and he is the best jockey in the world at the moment. He is so professional and the ultimate jockey and that's who you want to be," said Marquand, who will find out if he has won the BBC award on Sunday. "It is a yard that is constantly in the limelight and it is big to be attached to somewhere like this."
Teenager Tom Marquand has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of three-times champion jockey Ryan Moore by his trainer Richard Hannon.
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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.
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The Sorrento was travelling to the coastal city of Valencia when the blaze began and quickly got out of control. The passengers were evacuated from the burning ship on to lifeboats and have been rescued by another ship. At least three people have been injured and have been taken to hospital by helicopter, Spanish media say. One is reported to be seriously hurt. The ship was about 27km (17 miles) from Mallorca when the fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon on one of the car decks. The reason for the fire was unclear. Several ships including two passenger ferries were sent to help. The passengers and crew on the life rafts eventually boarded one of the ferries, the Puglia. Spanish officials said the rescued passengers were on their way back to Palma de Mallorca and were expected to arrive at the port in a few hours' time. Psychologists were being asked to go to the port to provide counselling. "Due to the fire that it has suffered, The Sorrento may sink in the position in which it finds itself," the Balearic Islands port authority said in a tweet (in Spanish). The ferry, owned by Italian company Atlantica di Navigazione, sent out distress signals at 13:50 local time (11:50 GMT), said Spain's Ministry of Public Works. At first, the ministry said the captain did not believe it would be necessary to abandon the ship but the fire became so intense that a full evacuation was called for.
A fire has broken out on a Spanish ferry from Mallorca, forcing some 150 passengers and crew to abandon ship.
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The firm, which sells its Chevrolet brand in India, said it would continue to provide maintenance services. It also said that its plant in Maharashtra would continue to make cars for overseas markets, mainly central and south American regions. GM has announced similar plans for South and East African markets as part of its global business restructuring. GM puts $1bn India plan 'on hold' The US carmaker said it would stop selling cars in South Africa, and sell its manufacturing business there to Isuzu Motors. It added that Isuzu would also purchase 57.7% shareholding in its East Africa operations, assuming management control. The firm is aiming to make significant savings through these steps. "As a result of these actions, GM expects to realise annual savings of approximately $100m (£77m) and plans to take a charge of approximately $500m in the second quarter of 2017," it said in a statement. GM's announcement comes against the backdrop of predictions that India will become the world's third biggest vehicle market by 2020. But the firm has put faith in exports from India. "In India, our exports have tripled over the past year, and this will remain our focus going forward," GM International president Stefan Jacoby said in a statement. GM had planned to invest $1bn in India to boost its domestic presence, but its sales figures fell below below 1% in the year ended in March 2017. "We determined that the increased investment required for an extensive and flexible product portfolio would not deliver a leadership position or long-term profitability in the domestic market," Mr Jacoby added.
General Motors (GM) has announced that it will stop making cars for the Indian market by the end of 2017.
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Well, it is because the government's forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has increased its prognosis of how much the Treasury will raise from existing taxes (not new ones) and reduced what it thinks the chancellor will shell out in interest on its massive debts. In total the OBR thinks the national debt, the aggregate of the annual deficits, will be £23bn lower over the four years to 2020, and just because it is more optimistic about tax revenues and assorted costs. Or to put it another way, George Osborne is today £23bn better off than he thought in July, and without doing anything at all. Windfall So what is the chancellor doing with this very useful £23bn that the OBR has found at the back of the sofa? Well he is using £19bn of it to cover the £4.4bn annual cost of not slashing tax credits, and making about £8bn a year less than expected in departmental savings. So on paper it looks as though the chancellor is actually being a bit more prudent than he was in July, even though some would say he is expensively moving his party nearer to the centre-ground of British politics - which he thinks has been vacated by Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. To labour the point, George Osborne is not deploying quite all of his windfall to buy off his critics by taking the teeth out of austerity. But that does not mean there is no risk for him. The OBR's fiscal optimism could well be misplaced - especially since only last week we saw government borrowing figures hideously worse than expected. But presumably, if tax revenues turn out lower and interest payments higher than the chancellor is now banking on, he can attempt to blame and kick the forecasting agency, the OBR, which he created. And he'll hope, presumably, that voters won't see double standards in his years of bashing his Labour predecessors for spending tax revenues that never looked sustainable. George Osborne has not quite morphed into his former opposite number, Ed Balls. But he is, in a more Ballsian way, counting on economic recovery to mend his overstretched finances. UPDATE 20:21 I have had a quick word with Robert Chote of the OBR, and he says that even if he had seen October's lamentable borrowing figures he would not have changed his deficit projections. His expectation is that revenues will rise for the government because of measures already taken, but which have not yet led to a higher tax yield.
So how has George Osborne pulled off the magical trick of maintaining spending on the police, imposing smaller than anticipated departmental spending cuts in general, and performing an expensive u-turn on tax-credit reductions, while remaining seemingly on course to turn this year's £74bn deficit into a £10bn surplus in 2020.
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About 1,000 people gathered to observe a minute of silence and light candles in front of the Senedd. There are over 2,000 French people living in south Wales registered with the French consulate in London. Marie Brousseau-Navarro, the Honorary Consul of France in Cardiff, said messages of support had been touching. She said: "We are united in shock and united in sorrow... And united with all the people who have marched across the world." Saleem Kidwai, chairman of the Muslim Council of Wales was applauded by the crowd as he told them to "stand together shoulder to shoulder". "My condemnation is absolute," he said. "We will eventually win and truth wins over falsehood and light over darkness." First Minister Carwyn Jones was among the many to hold up a candle for the silence, while others held up pencils. The silence was marked at the end by an applause. Earlier, he said: "The vigil in Cardiff Bay tonight is an opportunity for the people of Wales to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in the truly abhorrent attack in Paris. "It is also a chance to show solidarity with the people of France and all those who believe in upholding our democratic values and freedoms that are threatened by such senseless acts of terror." Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb tweeted earlier: "Standing with the French community in Wales and in support of freedom of speech everywhere. 6pm this eve. Senedd, Cardiff. #CharlieHebdo" In a show of unity, London landmarks have been lit in the colours of the French national flag. And world leaders have gathered in Paris for a huge unity march involving over one million people, dwarfing Saturday's marches that saw 700,000 take to the streets. On Saturday, Swansea City striker Bafetimbi Gomis dedicated his side's goal in the 1-1 draw with West Ham to the victims of the Paris terror attacks. Wales' police forces and media organisations held a minute's silence to support those attacked in the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris on Wednesday. A police officer was killed on Thursday and French forces stormed two separate hostage sites in and around Paris, killing three hostage takers, on Friday. "We have been really moved by the hundreds of messages of support and condolences," said Ms Brousseau-Navarro. "Most of all we appreciate the support and solidarity."
A vigil has taken place in Cardiff Bay for French citizens and others following terror acts in Paris which left 17 people dead in three days.
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Dunfermline made a strong start and twice went close through Joe Carle and Michael Moffat. But Ayr took the lead with a Ross Docherty header which sneaked over the Pars goal line, his first goal of the season. Ayr clung on and defended desperately to claim all three points. Cardle had an early goal-bound shot cleared by Conrad Balatoni before Moffat cracked the post with a glancing headed. Ayr looked shaky in defence, but they dragged themselves back into the game after looking like they might be swamped by the Pars whirlwind start. Docherty fired wide from the edge of the 18-yard line, turning and sweeping the shot past the post. Dunfermline continued to threaten though and John Herron powered a header just past the post after a whipped cross from Callum Higginbotham on the right. Dunfermline made a flying start to the second half and Moffat immediately forced keeper Greg Fleming to tip his drive over the bar. But Ayr it was who struck first when Docherty powered a header down which evaded a forest of legs to cross the line. That emboldened them and Michael Rose and Alan Forrest brought good saves from Pars keeper Sean Murdoch in quick succession. Dunfermline's Joe Cardle then squandered a fine chance, sclaffing his shot wide of goal, before substitute David Hopkirk forced Fleming into a full length diving save. The result keeps Ayr United above St Mirren, and moves them just three points behind eighth placed Dumbarton with a game in hand. Match ends, Dunfermline Athletic 0, Ayr United 1. Second Half ends, Dunfermline Athletic 0, Ayr United 1. Lee Ashcroft (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Craig Moore (Ayr United). Attempt missed. Nicky Clark (Dunfermline Athletic) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Corner, Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Conrad Balatoni. Michael Paton (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Patrick Boyle (Ayr United). Corner, Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Conrad Balatoni. Attempt blocked. Jason Talbot (Dunfermline Athletic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Attempt blocked. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Jason Talbot (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Michael Rose (Ayr United). Corner, Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Greg Fleming. Attempt saved. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Substitution, Dunfermline Athletic. Gavin Reilly replaces Joe Cardle. Substitution, Ayr United. Gary Harkins replaces Alan Forrest. Attempt missed. Brian Gilmour (Ayr United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Attempt saved. Michael Paton (Dunfermline Athletic) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Daryll Meggatt (Ayr United). Attempt saved. Alan Forrest (Ayr United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Substitution, Ayr United. Craig Moore replaces Farid El Alagui. Substitution, Ayr United. Craig McGuffie replaces Ross Docherty because of an injury. Attempt missed. Joe Cardle (Dunfermline Athletic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Callum Morris (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Farid El Alagui (Ayr United). Substitution, Dunfermline Athletic. Michael Paton replaces Kallum Higginbotham. Substitution, Dunfermline Athletic. David Hopkirk replaces Michael Moffat. Callum Morris (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Farid El Alagui (Ayr United). Ryan Williamson (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Daryll Meggatt (Ayr United). Corner, Ayr United. Conceded by Sean Murdoch. Attempt saved. Alan Forrest (Ayr United) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Ayr United. Conceded by Jason Talbot. Corner, Ayr United. Conceded by Sean Murdoch. Attempt saved. Michael Rose (Ayr United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Foul by Callum Morris (Dunfermline Athletic). Farid El Alagui (Ayr United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Ayr survived relentless pressure in a brave performance to take three huge points in their battle for championship survival.
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The red brick terrace at 9 Newcastle Road, Wavertree, was where the member of The Beatles lived from birth, in 1940, until he was five. Auctioneers said a telephone bidder, who wanted to remain anonymous, was the successful buyer after a "bidding war". The three-bedroom house had been given a guide price of between £150,000 and £250,000. The property has a rear yard and is a few streets away from Penny Lane, made famous by The Beatles. Andrew Brown, from Countrywide Property Auctions, said: "There was a lot of interest in the property before the auction from potential buyers who lived in the UK and internationally."
John Lennon's first home, in Liverpool, has been sold for £480,000 at an auction held at the Cavern Club.
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Media playback is not supported on this device The Great City Games, an open and free event for the public, is due to take place in Manchester on Friday. Organisers said the event will go ahead as planned, but a decision on Sunday's Great Manchester Run "is expected in the next 24 hours". The FA Cup final, EFL play-offs and the PGA Championship are also this week. An eight-year-old girl was among those killed in Monday's suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, at the end of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK terror threat level has been raised to its highest level of "critical", meaning further attacks may be imminent. Manchester United cancelled a news conference on Tuesday, due to be held prior to their Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm on Wednesday, and will wear black armbands for the match. The club said: "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this terribly difficult time." United's players held a minute's silence at training on Tuesday, and the club closed its megastore, museum, cafe and stadium tours to the public. A staff event scheduled for Wednesday has been cancelled by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. Manager Jose Mourinho said: "We are all very sad about the tragic events; we cannot take out of our minds and our hearts the victims and their families. "We have a job to do and we will fly to Sweden to do that job. It is a pity we cannot fly with the happiness that we always have before a big game. "I know, even during my short time here, that the people of Manchester will pull together as one." Ajax manager Peter Bosz said: "What happened yesterday evening in Manchester is something we all feel in Ajax and on behalf of all of us at Ajax we express our sympathies with the victims that fell. The feeling that prevails is the final does not have the glow it should have. "Tomorrow evening should be a football feast but because of the events in Manchester we are affected. It is horrible. My sympathies are heartfelt." Football's European governing body Uefa announced a minute's silence will be observed prior to the final. The opening ceremony will also be considerably reduced as a mark of respect for the victims. Aleksander Ceferin, president of Uefa, said he was "deeply saddened" and shocked that "so many innocent people lost their lives". A Uefa statement said there was "currently no specific intelligence" to suggest Wednesday's game could be a target for further attacks. "Uefa has been closely working with local authorities and the Swedish FA for many months and the terrorist risk had been taken into account since the very beginning of the project," it said. "Furthermore, a number of additional security measures were implemented following the attacks in Stockholm last April." There will be a minute's silence observed at Headingley cricket ground before England's one-day international against South Africa on Wednesday. Both sets of players will also wear black armbands during the game. The South Africa team have been told there will be extra police officers on duty at the ground and increased security at team hotels and practice. There will also be a minute's silence before Saturday's Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park. The Scottish FA's security and integrity officer, Peter McLaughlin, said: "We remain vigilant to the threat posed by global terrorism and are engaged in constant dialogue with colleagues at Police Scotland and the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office. "This ongoing communication and intelligence-sharing is part of our operations protocol for all events at the national stadium, including the forthcoming Scottish Cup final." A number of leading athletes are scheduled to participate at the Great City Games on Friday, while a public half marathon and 10km run are due to be staged in Manchester on Sunday. Wembley hosts Saturday's FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea, and the League Two and Championship play-off finals on Sunday and Monday respectively. A Football Association spokesperson said: "Fan safety is of paramount importance and we have robust security measures in place at Wembley Stadium. "In collaboration with the Metropolitan Police and the local authorities there will be an enhanced security operation for all upcoming events. "All supporters are encouraged to arrive for events at Wembley Stadium as early as possible for security checks and to avoid any delays in entering the stadium." The English Football League (EFL) added it "takes security issues extremely seriously" and urged supporters travelling to Wembley to "be vigilant of their surroundings at all times, stay alert and not be alarmed". The Metropolitan Police says extra armed officers will be deployed at this weekend's major sports events in London, with a full review of the security and policing operations under way. "Over the coming days as you go to a music venue, go shopping, travel to work or head off to the fantastic sporting events you will see more officers - including armed officers," said commander Jane Connors. Golf's BMW PGA Championship starts at Wentworth on Thursday. "As with any major event, security is the highest priority," said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley. "It was before Monday night and it remains so. "We're in constant dialogue with the police and security services. We are comfortable we will react in the right way if in fact we need to significantly increase our security." Cricket's Champions Trophy will take place from 1-18 June at venues in Birmingham, London and Cardiff. A statement from the International Cricket Council [ICC] read: "The ICC and ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] place safety and security at the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Women's World Cup this summer as the highest priority. "We operate on advice from our tournament security directorate - in conjunction with the ECB and relevant authorities - to ensure that we have a robust safety and security plan for both tournaments. "We will continue to work with authorities over the coming hours and days and review our security in line with the threat levels." England one-day captain Eoin Morgan said his team had met their security advisers on Tuesday morning before Wednesday's match against South Africa. "On behalf of the England cricket team, I'd like to offer our thoughts and prayers to everybody in Manchester affected by the tragic events," said Morgan. "I'd also like to give our support to those in and around things and those most affected and those who helped out and continue to help out." The domestic rugby union finishes this weekend, but the National Counter Terrorism security office has been in touch with Sale Sharks and every other Aviva Premiership club asking for details of any events planned by them over the next couple of weeks. There will also be tighter security at horse racing's Epsom Derby on 3 June, with Surrey Police announcing firearms officers on patrol around the grounds. Chief Superintendent Jerry Westerman said: "The Epsom Derby is a fantastic event which attracts thousands of people and spectators from around the world and I am confident that this year's festival will be no exception." England Women's cricketer Danielle Wyatt was at the Ariana Grande concert and said: "Thank you for all messages - I'm safe. Was at the concert enjoying myself like many others - thoughts with victims & families." Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper David de Gea tweeted: "Much rage, much pain. My condolences to the victims' family members involved in the atrocious attack to the heart of the city." Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard said the "beautiful city" of Manchester "will stand together in this dark hour", captain Wayne Rooney said he was "devastated" by the news and winger Ashley Young said he was "absolutely shocked". Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand: "My thoughts & prayers are with all the families & friends affected by last night's attack in Manchester." Former Lancashire and England cricketer Andrew Flintoff: "In the toughest of times the people of Manchester showing why this is such a great city, standing together in the face of such evil." Manchester City players - including captain Vincent Kompany, goalkeeper Willy Caballero, forward Leroy Sane and defender Pablo Zabaleta - also tweeted their support for those affected. Lucy Bronze, from City's women's team, said her "thoughts are with those affected" and urged people to "stick together". Olympic and world 100m champion Usain Bolt tweeted: "Thoughts & prayers goes out to people of Manchester and all those who are affected."
Sporting events and venues in England are conducting major security reviews after 22 people were killed in an attack at Manchester Arena.
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Germany, Australia, Nepal and Pakistan now offer a third gender option on official forms with other countries set to follow suit. And scientists are finding more evidence to suggest that even biological sex is a spectrum. Do we need to re-imagine our binary world and rethink one of the most basic parts of our identity? Four experts talk to the BBC World Service Inquiry programme. Brin Bixby was brought up as a boy, and went on to get married and father children before coming out as bigender. She set up Bigender.net, which reflects the view that gender is a spectrum. "In college I wore a dress on Halloween, and it was supposed to be a joke, and the people helping me thought it was going to be hyper-real, exaggerated. [But] I didn't want to be a drag queen, I wanted to be a woman, and I think it took people by surprise. "It was the first time I looked in the mirror and saw myself. People interacted with me as a woman: they saw me the way I wanted them to. "I would be most comfortable if I didn't have to think about my gender, but unfortunately that's not how it works for me and a lot of other non-binary people. "We have a cultural understanding of what gender is and looks like, and in the west we have a very binary view of it. My sense of gender as a part of my identity shifts. "I present as a woman everywhere I go, except for at work and at my children's school, because it gets very exhausting to have to explain gender fluidity to everyone I meet. "Ideally we would not make gender such a huge focus of our culture, which would give people the freedom to inhabit their gender in ways that feels most comfortable to them. "What we're seeing now is a relaxation of the sense of binary amongst younger people and internet-savvy people who are inhabiting much more fluid spaces." Writer Mark Gevisser explores gender identities across different cultures. "We know there's a gender continuum, because there have always been effeminate boys and masculine girls. Transgender is certainly not a western phenomenon. In many cultures all over the world there are traditionally third gender or gender-fluid identities. "There are the Hijras in India, what are known as two-spirited people in Native American culture, Muxe in Mexico, and the Bakla in the Philippines. The space these people have occupied has receded with the spread of the Judeo-Christian ethic and western culture, but they're still very much there. "There's a tendency in the west to idealise these. But the truth is that if you're Bakla or two-spirited, there are only certain things in your culture you can do. In India, the Hijras are basically cast out of society, only good for begging and sex work. So it's not necessarily a great life. "I was talking to a remarkable gender therapist named Diane [Erinsaft] and I suddenly started worrying that if she'd been around when I was a little boy, I might have been turned into a little girl. She laughed and said 'No, you're definitely a guy'. "But we started talking about the potential risk of the transgender movement establishing new binaries where, if you have a girly boy, and you're worried about how effeminate this child is, you could very easily solve the problem by taking the child to the doctor and the doctor can wave a wand and say 'Your girly boy is now a princess'. "Wouldn't it be better if we had a society that just raised children so that it was okay to be a tomboyish girl, or a girly boy, and to explore that? "Diane speaks about 'gender smoothies'; she got this from one of her patients who said 'I'm not a girl or a boy, I'm a gender smoothie, I mix it all up together'." Dr Imran Mushtaq is a consultant paediatric urologist who works with children with differences in sex development (DDS) at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Around 1 in 1500 babies are born with DDS but up to 1 in 100 people have less obvious differences. "Absolutely sex is a spectrum. It's not binary in any way and we are slowly coming to understand this. "As a specialist working in this area for the last 12 years, I've seen us transitioning so much in the way we think about sex and the way we treat children in whom the sex is not clear, and we are increasingly becoming aware how complex the issue is. "How do you define what sex a child is? Is it the physical characteristics, the genitalia - do they have testicles, do they have ovaries or do they have both? Is it their chromosomes, is it their hormones? "You can have a child whose chromosomes are XX, typical of what you'd associate with being female, yet their genitalia looks like a boy. "Ten or 20 years ago when children were born with these kind of problems, there was very little discussion about not doing surgery. It was almost a given that the child would need surgery to make it a boy or a girl. "As a doctor and surgeon, I'm increasingly uncomfortable about undertaking what is irreversible surgery. "We know that the outcomes of surgeries that were undertaken 10, 20 years ago are not necessarily as good as we would like them to be. Now is the next stage: in 10 or 20 years' time we will find out the outcome of not doing the surgery or maintaining these children in a certain sex, whereas previously they would have been changed to a different sex. "I don't think we should have gender categories. I don't think that sex should be on birth certificates, I don't think sex should be on driving licences and I don't think sex should be on passports. "We are just what we are. We have a name, we have a date of birth, give us a number." Tamara Adrian is Venezuela's first transgender congresswoman although since it has not been possible legally to change your gender in Venezuela since 1998, she was sworn in under her old name, as a man. "I've been saying for more than 15 years that gender as a legal category must be suppressed, because it is a way to deny rights or grant rights to male or female. Gender has the same effect that race or religion had in the past: there were two groups, one that was privileged and had rights, another that was underprivileged and didn't have rights. "It is exactly the same with gender. If you are male, you have rights that females don't have, and this legal category of male and female is still being used to prevent equal rights: for instance, when you advertise a job and ask for someone you say female or male. "I think [the idea of a legal third gender] will be the first test for this future solution in which gender will be suppressed in the legal document. "It could be a solution because initially some of the [gender fluid] people in Nepal or India or Pakistan were not able to legally exist. They were not able to vote or go to school, and in general they were deprived of any basic rights. So it is an alternative in these countries. "In other countries such as Australia which do not categorise a person within the male or female boxes, it's the first step in order to have a much more gender fluid world. But in Australia, for instance, they are allowing people to choose not to be considered legally male or female. But in those cases, you are deprived of the right of marriage. "We see a little of the possibility [of a less binary future] when you talk about a metrosexual man, or you see women that allow themselves a suit one day and the following day to use a dress with high heels. "That's part of this gender fluid world in which you are not prevented to use the clothes that you want or to express your gender in the way you want." The Inquiry is broadcast on the BBC World Service on Tuesdays from 12:05 GMT. Listen online or download the podcast.
A growing number of people refuse to be put into male or female categories, either because they do not identify as male or female, or because they are going through transition to the opposite gender.
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Official data showed the US economy added 209,000 jobs last month, beating analysts' expectations, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. The Dow Jones closed at a record for the eighth consecutive day, rising 0.3% to 22,092.81. The wider S&P 500 index closed up 0.19% at 2,476.83, while the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 6,351.56. Analysts said the latest jobs report meant the Federal Reserve was still on track to raise interest rates later this year, which would be the third increase in 2017. Shares of banks, which benefit from higher rates, saw some of the most significant gains on Friday. Goldman Sachs was among the biggest winners on the Dow, rising 2.6%. Among individual stocks, Viacom shares sank nearly 14% after it forecast a drop in sales to US pay-TV companies and streaming services in the current quarter. Consumer review website operator Yelp saw its shares jump by more than a quarter after it announced the sale of its Eat24 business to Grubhub for $287.5m. Yelp also reported revenues of $209m for the second quarter of the year, which beat analysts' expectations. US stocks are in record territory this year. The Nasdaq is up almost 17% since January. The Dow has risen 11% and the S&P 500 is climbed almost 10%.
Stronger than expected jobs figures helped to lift US stocks on Friday, leading the Dow to another record.
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New pictures of the surface reveal a lumpy texture in places that researchers speculate could have been the body's original building blocks. Their appearance means they are being dubbed "goosebumps", which is a bit of fun given the comet's duck-like shape. But if this interpretation is correct, it represents a major discovery. "We still have to model this, but I think they really could be pointing back in time to the early days of the Solar System - to the formation of the building blocks of cometary nuclei," said imaging team leader Holger Sierks from the Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany. "Our thinking is that accreting gas and dust would have formed little 'pebbles' at first that grew and grew until they got up to the size of these goosebumps - about 3m in size - and for whatever reason, they couldn't then grow any further. "Eventually, they'd have found a region of instability and clumped together to form the nucleus," he told BBC News. Rosetta team-member Stephen Lowry said the goosebumps (which to some also look like a clutch of "dinosaur eggs") were among the most startling results to have come out of the mission so far. "Remember, these objects would have formed at least 4.5 billion years ago. Where else could you see physical evidence of processes that were happening that long ago? So, it's very exciting, but we have to be sure that this regular lattice structure represents genuine cometesimals and is not some feature that has somehow been produced as a result of ices simply sublimating from the comet; because we don't see the goosebumps everywhere," the Kent University, UK, expert cautioned. The presence of this lumpy texture on 67P is just one observation made in a slew of papers published as a special edition in this week's Science Magazine. The papers are really a first take at trying to characterise the 4km-wide "space duck", which Rosetta will be following throughout 2015 as it sweeps around the Sun. Cameras on the probe have now imaged 70% of the comet's surface. The unseen fraction, which lies in the southern hemisphere, will be mapped as it emerges from the darkness of winter. The team has defined 19 regions on 67P, giving each the name of an Ancient Egyptian deity. These zones - and more are likely to be added in future - display five basic terrain types, from areas of high dust accumulation to exposed craggy faces composed of rock-like material. The researchers report some fascinating behaviours over and above the expected sight of jets of gas and dust hurtling away from the comet as its ices warm and vaporise. For example, these jets produce strong "winds" that appear to drive dust particles into dunes. "It sounds highly improbable," commented Nic Thomas from Switzerland's University of Bern. "We see sand dunes on the Earth, on Mars and on Venus, but all of those objects have gravity and thick atmospheres. "On the comet, you have almost no gravity and it's not an atmosphere we could breathe. So, it really is difficult to conceive how you can make sand dunes on a cometary nucleus. The trick we think is that there are very strong winds there - 300m/s - and that these winds can, even though the density of the gas is very low, push particles around to make the dunes." Another striking occurrence is a kind "fluidisation" effect that acts to smooth some surfaces. Scientists think this occurs when ices change their structure. This results in a release of gas that can pick up local dust and make it move - albeit briefly - like a fluid. Something similar is seen on Earth when large volumes of hot ash tumble down the sides of volcanoes. At the bottom of 67P, the so-called Imhotep region appears to have experienced repeated fluidisation events, recorded in defined layers. The Rosetta pictures also pick up episodes of past explosive behaviour. In one shot, a block of material the size of a football field has been lifted up and dropped beside the gaping hole it left behind in the comet's surface. Indeed, the violent release of gas at depth seems to be a common activity on 67P, followed by the collapse of material back into the void. The data being gathered by the European Space Agency probe is going to keep scientists busy for years, but it is clear already that many of the old ideas about how comets are put together and how they behave will have to change. It is obvious now that this comet is not a large lump of ice with some dust mixed in. Rather, it has a much more complex construction, incorporating significantly more dust and many rocky components. This is very evident from the ratio of dust to gas being ejected by the comet (four to one), and all those craggy cliff features where stiff, consolidated materials seem to dominate. "We used to think of comets as 'dirty snowballs'; we now think 'icy dirt-ball' is a much better description," said Simon Green from the UK's Open University. "That's the way 67P looks - a solid object with ice vaporising from somewhere below the surface." Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
Scientists working on Europe's Rosetta probe, which is tracking Comet 67P, say they may have found evidence for how such icy objects were formed.
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Menzies said rectifying "operational issues" at the airport would cost an extra £6m in the second half of 2015. It warned full-year profits could be £2m lower than previously forecast. However, it reported strong profit growth at its US hubs, while its distribution arm was "delivering ahead of forecast". In a trading update for the 10 months to 30 October, Edinburgh-based Menzies said: "Within the aviation division, service levels at London Gatwick have been restored. "However, the actions we have put in place to mitigate the operational issues and deliver the customer's operational requirements will cost £6m of additional investment, mainly in manpower, in the second half of the year, and will impact this year's earnings. "Contract negotiations with this customer continue, and we are working towards a resolution before the year end." Menzies said its aviation division continued to perform well in all regions outside the UK. Ground handling turns and cargo tonnes were up 9% and 4% respectively, with revenue in the period up 6% on last year. Chief executive Jeremy Stafford said: "During a busy period of transition, we continue to progress with the group's strategic objectives. "Our distribution business is quickly gaining traction in the UK e-logistics market, whilst continuing to deliver cost and cash improvement initiatives. "Aviation continues to benefit from growth in the Americas, whilst we continue to work through UK operational matters. "I am disappointed that contractual issues at London Gatwick have led us to revise our aviation outlook for this year, albeit largely offset with strong progress in our distribution business. "The group remains well placed to drive earnings."
Logistics group John Menzies has issued a profits warning following problems with its ground handling contract at London Gatwick Airport.
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One of the most shocking aspects of the government's decision to spend £9m on a campaign to promote Britain's EU membership - judging by social media reaction - is that it is based around leafleting. Leaflets seem like a staggeringly inefficient and low rent way of getting a message out in today's networked world. Even a 16-page glossy brochure, of the kind produced by the government, has a very "old school" feel about it. Most of them will probably go straight in the bin, along with take-away flyers and credit card offers, say critics. But David Cameron must feel that enough people will take a look at what the government has got to say to make it worth their while. He has insisted the £9m campaign is "money well spent" - a little premature perhaps, given that we don't know the outcome of the referendum yet. In fact, both sides in the debate will be entitled to a free mailshot once the official campaign period gets under way. What is causing so much controversy is that the government would not have been allowed to spend £9m on leaflets during the campaign, due to spending rules. So why is everyone so desperate to pepper the country with unread pamphlets? About a third of the £9m will be spent on an online and social media campaign - but printed material is still where it is at, says Philip Cowley, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. "Political parties would not spend millions of pounds each election putting this stuff out if it didn't work. "It's still the main mechanism by which voters hear from political organisations. It dwarfs every other form of contact." A face-to-face chat on the doorstep was still the most effective method of converting voters to your cause, he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One, but that was time-consuming, so mailing out leaflets was a "cheap" and "relatively easy" alternative. Social media, he added, came a "poor third" as a tool of persuasion. Leaflets reach the silent majority of people who are not glued to their smart phones day and night, particularly older people who tend to vote in large numbers and could swing the referendum in a close contest. Another major advantage of mailshots over social media is that your claims are not immediately shot down and ridiculed by your opponents. The government's EU brochure leaflet is available online, where the world can pick it apart. But when you retrieve it from your doorstep, and take a glance at its contents on the short journey to the kitchen bin, your letterbox will not start spewing out spoof versions of it and angry rebuttals. Many of which will be more interesting than the original and a lot funnier. Unlike on social media. The government has attempted to justify its campaign by saying people are hungry for facts about the EU referendum. We know from our own inbox at the BBC how true this is. The problem is that there are very few facts. Just about everything in the EU referendum debate is contestable, as soon as one side produces a "fact", the other side challenges it with a contradictory "fact". That is because much of it is based on hypothetical scenarios. What would happen if the UK left the EU, what would happen if it remained? No wonder people say they are confused. The leaflet is a way for the government to cut through that. Leave campaigners are also sending out leaflets setting out the "facts" about Britain and the EU, although theirs will not be funded by the taxpayer. The other justification ministers have used for their campaign is that there is a precedent for it. Harold Wilson's Labour government also sent out a leaflet to every household setting out the case for staying in the "common market", as the EU was then known. The arguments made in Wilson's document, ahead of the 1975 EU referendum, have a very familiar ring to them. But one crucial difference is that Mr Wilson himself is right there in the leaflet, making his personal recommendation to the country. David Cameron is more than happy to do that when he is facing an audience at a Q&A session. But his face is nowhere to be seen in the government brochure.
Haven't they heard of the internet?
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It passed a resolution following an "overwhelming" vote in favour of staying in the EU, which it said was based on the "balance of existing evidence". The union - which has 55,000 members in England and Wales - announced its position after a vote by its council. However, the NFU said it would not be actively campaigning in the referendum. It said its council members looked at a number of issues, including the impact leaving the EU would have on agricultural trade and the availability of labour. It has also completed 28 roadshows to debate key farming issues in the referendum with members, and sent two reports to its members. The organisation said it was not joining any campaign groups and would not be telling its members how to vote. The union has not released how each of its 90 council members voted. However, its president, Meurig Raymond, said there had been an "overwhelming" vote in favour of staying in the EU. "We believe it's for the betterment of the future of British agriculture," he said. "On all the surveys we have done in the NFU, the majority believe that we should stay in." He added: "We have had 28 meetings across the country in the last three weeks. "We have spoken to three or four thousand people. So the delegates here today brought the views from those meetings to our council meeting." By Claire Marshall, BBC environment correspondent While the NFU doesn't represent all farmers, this decision will be influential. As an established well-funded organisation, the NFU has access to information and expert advice that the average farmer doesn't have time to seek out. The debate in the council chamber was impassioned, with members talking about what the decision could mean for the future of their children. The judgement will also play an important part in the wider European debate. Over the last few weeks key figures from both sides of the referendum campaign have been on the phone to the NFU asking for updates, keen to know what side they will come down on. Now, everyone knows what the council thinks - it's now down to the farmers to decide. The NFU says more than 70% of full-time farmers in England and Wales are members. The resolution comes after the NFU in Scotland and the Tenant Farmers' Association both expressed support for remaining in the EU. However, farming minister George Eustice, who wants to leave the EU, said "virtually every problem that the NFU complain to me about is a direct consequence of dysfunctional EU law". He said farmers who "want to see change and a better future" should vote to leave. Last month, Prime Minister David Cameron, who is campaigning to remain in the EU, warned British agriculture would suffer if the UK votes to leave the union. He said farmers could lose as much as £330m on lamb and beef exports if Britain were to leave. However, former environment secretary Owen Paterson has said Britain's farmers would be better off outside the EU. The Conservative MP said Britain would then be free to set its own subsidies and its own environment policies.
Farmers' interests are best served by remaining in the European Union, the National Farmers' Union has said.
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A judge is considering whether to charge the star over the incident, which was filmed and went viral. He will spend the night in detention and investigations will continue on Wednesday, a BBC reporter says. Olomide has denied assault, though he has since apologised for his behaviour. The Kenyan authorities deported the 60-year-old rumba singer and three of his dancers on Saturday to DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa, following a public outcry over the incident. The BBC's Poly Muzalia in Kinshasa says police officers arrived at the singer's home early on Tuesday morning and took him into custody. He was handcuffed, put into a police car and then taken to a court where a judge is considering whether he should be put on trial. His lawyer, Landry Tanganyi, told the BBC that Olomide, one of Africa's most popular musicians, should not be detained overnight as he was not a flight risk. However, Olomide left the courthouse under police escort and will spend the night at the police station, our reporter says. The Congolese musician has been in similar trouble in the past:
Musician Koffi Olomide has been taken into custody in the Democratic Republic of Congo, days after he was deported from Kenya for allegedly kicking one of his dancers at an airport in Nairobi.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 20 points to end at 20,914.62, while the broader S&P 500 index dipped by just three points to finish at 2,378.23. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was unchanged at 5,901. Among the individual shares to rise was jewellery firm Tiffany's after it reported better-than-expected results. Strong demand in Japan and China, as well as higher prices, helped an overall rise in sales, but profit fell to $157.8m in the fourth quarter from $163.2m the same time last year. Software company Adobe also saw its shares jump 3.8%, also after beating expectations with its earnings.
US shares dipped on Friday, as the rally prompted by the Federal Reserve's rate rise paused for breath.
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Connolly settled a tight first meeting between the clubs with his first goal since returning for a second spell with the Red Devils. Crawley midfielder Billy Clifford put a shot across the face of the goal early on before Adi Yussuf should have hit the target for the hosts but fired over from a good position. Blackpool winger Danny Philliskirk threatened when his header was saved by goalkeeper Glenn Morris after a ball into the area by Jack Payne. More good work by Payne later set up striker Armand Gnanduillet, but the Frenchman headed wide. Crawley had a let off just before the interval when Philliskirk shot wastefully wide after being set up by Kyle Vassell. Dutch midfielder Enzio Boldewijn, put through by James Collins, was denied by visiting keeper Dean Lyness 11 minutes after the break. But Crawley struck with 21 minutes left when a Clifford corner was flicked on by Joe McNerney and Connolly glanced home a header. Blackpool applied some late pressure but could find no way through a stubborn home defence. Report supplied by the Press Association. Match ends, Crawley Town 1, Blackpool 0. Second Half ends, Crawley Town 1, Blackpool 0. Corner, Blackpool. Conceded by Mark Connolly. Substitution, Crawley Town. Alex Davey replaces Billy Clifford. Substitution, Crawley Town. Bobson Bawling replaces Enzio Boldewijn. Attempt missed. James Collins (Crawley Town) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Billy Clifford (Crawley Town) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Will Aimson (Blackpool). Corner, Blackpool. Conceded by Jason Banton. Foul by Enzio Boldewijn (Crawley Town). Colin Daniel (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Andre Blackman (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Armand Gnanduillet (Blackpool). Andre Blackman (Crawley Town) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Bright Samuel (Blackpool). Foul by Jimmy Smith (Crawley Town). Jamille Matt (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Brad Potts (Blackpool) header from the left side of the box misses to the left. Foul by Jason Banton (Crawley Town). Brad Potts (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Billy Clifford (Crawley Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Armand Gnanduillet (Blackpool). Foul by James Collins (Crawley Town). Will Aimson (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Enzio Boldewijn (Crawley Town) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Jim McAlister (Blackpool). Goal! Crawley Town 1, Blackpool 0. Mark Connolly (Crawley Town) header from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joe McNerney following a corner. Corner, Crawley Town. Conceded by Colin Daniel. Corner, Blackpool. Conceded by Glenn Morris. Attempt saved. Armand Gnanduillet (Blackpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Substitution, Blackpool. Bright Samuel replaces Danny Philliskirk. Corner, Crawley Town. Conceded by Kelvin Mellor. Substitution, Blackpool. Jamille Matt replaces Kyle Vassell. Lewis Young (Crawley Town) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Danny Philliskirk (Blackpool). Substitution, Crawley Town. Jason Banton replaces Adi Yussuf because of an injury. Attempt saved. Enzio Boldewijn (Crawley Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Kyle Vassell (Blackpool) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt missed. Armand Gnanduillet (Blackpool) header from the centre of the box misses to the left following a corner. Corner, Blackpool. Conceded by Kaby.
A second-half goal from defender Mark Connolly secured Crawley their third win in the past four games with a 1-0 home victory over Blackpool.
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President Omar al-Bashir's government likes to keep a tight rein over Sudan's media and cultural institutions, with state-endorsed competitions and publications trying to replace a once-thriving poetry scene. A heavy police presence in the capital has discouraged the spontaneous poetic outbursts that were once commonplace on the streets of central Khartoum or the tree-lined pathways of its historic university campus. But in typical Sudanese fashion, coercion has only spurred resistance. Intimate gatherings and online forums have sprung like roses from the concrete. NWN is one group that has successfully carved out a space. Founded five years ago, the spoken-word poetry event has relied on mailing-list invites and donated venues to escape censorship and police intervention. A platform for free expression, where Arabic and English-speaking poets enjoy what my friend Sara Elhassan describes as an open mic that is actually "open". A luxury in the heavily guarded city, the event has survived raids, threats and scrutiny from National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), which reserves the right to disband public gatherings. It has even resonated around the world when a video of a poetic performance in Arabic and English by Ms Elhassan went viral in 2014. The poem, a response to a Sudanese professor's comment on television that he was unhappy about the unsatisfying levels of beauty exhibited by his country's women, put fresh air into the stale public arena of discussion and expression. "Apparently, we're nothing but… pretty faces put on display, to be bought and sold, and later stored as after-thoughts. Pretty faces mounted and hung on the wall like deer heads. Prizes prized, till the novelty dies - then later casually thrown into conversations," reads an excerpt from the piece. Each time these words were shared on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, social commentary, usually monopolised by politicians and academics, was broadened. Yousra Elbagir: Sudan's youth now sing along to their own tune to fight censorship and control, with the world as their stage. The performance not only represented a new era of debate but inadvertently paid homage to Sudan's history of oral poetry as a battle cry and assertion of identity. In World War Two, famous poet and praise-singer Aisha Al-Falatiya took to the battlefield to support Sudanese soldiers fighting Axis powers under British rule, motivated by the prospect of independence. The troops were cheered on by her lyrics, which likened the power of fascist leaders Hitler and Mussolini to "a foreign coin with no value in our market". Once used to provoke national feeling, poetry is now used by contemporary Sudanese poets to wrestle with a conflicted national identity. The Arabisation campaign under President Bashir has shaped the social landscape, leading popular culture in the East African nation towards the Arab world. Grappling with African, Arabic and Islamic identities, many poets like Al-Saddig Al-Raddi turn to the nuances of their own heritage in resistance. His political voice saw him censored and thrown in prison in Sudan. He now lives in London and is considered one of Africa's best contemporary poets. Award-winning Sudanese-American poet Safia Elhillo tours the US, inviting audience members to ponder her complex concept of "home", weaving images of her grandparent's home in Khartoum with her childhood home in Maryland in both Arabic and English. In 2015, Darfur-born Yale poet Emitihal Mahmoud won the Individual World Poetry Slam with a poem called "Mama". A tribute to her mother and striking recount of how she led their escape from their burning village in Sudan. Similar to how olden spoken poetry transformed into folk songs, a whole genre of classic mainstream Sudanese music - known as al-Haqeeba - is rooted in the landmark poems of Wad Al-Rabi, Omar Al-Bana, Khalil Farah and Sayed Abdelaziz. Spurred on by revolutions against British colonial powers, Al-Haqeeba took off in the 1920s and was the soundtrack for popular uprisings and cultured resistance in the capital. In what can only be described as a modern renaissance, Haqeeba songs have recently been remixed by young Sudanese producer Sammany. The collection, called Briefcase, has been played more than 250,000 times on Soundcloud. It samples classic songs that borrow lyrics from love poems or poems on national pride. The collection, blends reggae, electro and house beats with Sudanese music in a way that epitomises how many young people in the country feel: connected to their nation's rich culture but also mainstream global trends, sounds and tastes. Just as its soldiers historically marched to lyrics of resistance, empowerment and heritage against foreign ruling powers, Sudan's youth now sing along to their own tune to fight censorship and control, with the world as their stage.
In our series of letters from African journalists, Yousra Elbagir looks at how Sudan's young poets are reviving the nation's tradition of lyrical resistance.
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The partially-dismembered body of David Miller, 56, was found at his flat in Patterdale Walk in Boothville, Northampton, on 14 June 2016. He had been stabbed multiple times and "crude attempts" were made to destroy his body, a court heard. Ian Cuthbertson, 49, Michael Hallett, 37, Joseph Catlin, 30, and Zena Kane, 35, of no fixed address, deny murder. At the start of their trial, Northampton Crown Court heard police officers had forced entry into the flat and found Mr Miller's remains in the bedroom. Several items were found at the property including knives, scissors and a rolling pin which had been used as weapons during the attack on 10 June, and an angle grinder which had been borrowed to try and destroy the body. A post-mortem examination found he had substantial facial injuries and had been stabbed fifteen times in the back and in the chest. Peter Joyce QC, prosecuting, said that Mr Catlin had been living with Mr Miller in the two months before his death and that the pair had known each other for years. The court heard that Mr Miller was "well known and well liked" in the area but had long-standing issues with drink. Mr Joyce said the four defendants were part of the "Northampton street drinking fraternity". "They lived chaotic lives with long periods of homelessness and regularly used Mr Miller's flat as a place to drink, " he said. "These four defendants all took part in the murder of a vulnerable man in his own home and then spent days trying to cover up what they had done," he added. The trial, expected to last for four weeks, continues.
A jury has heard how a "vulnerable" man died after a "sustained attack" with knives and scissors in his own home.
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The country is the second European Union nation after France to enforce such a ban. Offenders face a fine of 137.5 euros (£121; $197) and up to seven days in jail. Two women who wear full veils launched an immediate court challenge, saying the law is discriminatory. France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim population, enforced its ban in April. Belgium's law bans any clothing that obscures the identity of the wearer in places like parks and on the street. It was passed almost unanimously by the lower house of parliament in April 2010. MPs voted with only two abstentions to back the legislation on the grounds of security, to allow police to identify people. Other MPs said that full face veils such as the burka or the niqab were a symbol of the oppression of women. But critics of the law say it could end up excluding women, leaving those who do wear the full veil trapped in their homes. And they say the measures are over the top - estimates suggest only a few dozen women wear this kind of veil in Belgium, out of a Muslim population of about half a million. "We consider the law a disproportionate intrusion into fundamental rights such as the freedom of religion and expression," Ines Wouters, the lawyer representing the two women challenging the ban, told the newspaper La Libre. She has taken their case to Belgium's constitutional court, where she will request a suspension of the law, AFP news agency reported.
A law has come into force in Belgium banning women from wearing the full Islamic veil in public.
14261921
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The League One side are hoping to construct a new stadium at Mill Hill in Medway, opposite their training ground. The Gills have been based at their current 11,582-seater Priestfield ground in Medway since 1893. "When I came here in 1995 I realised that there was no long-term future for this club on this site," Scally said. "In 1999, I put out a document, 'The Path to Premier League Football', which some may have smiled at, but those that smiled then are probably not smiling now if you look at examples of other clubs that have succeeded with lesser grounds or lesser conurbations." Gillingham, who currently have an average home attendance of 5,000-6,000, are 18th in League One, four points above the relegation zone. They have not been in the second tier of English football since being relegated in 2005. "Bournemouth comes to mind as the most recent example. But Brighton's also a very good case study," Scally told BBC Radio Kent. "If you build a new stadium that is fit for purpose as far as sustainability is concerned, and you make it of a size capable of hosting Premier League football, and you have the right investment into the club and into the project, then the two in parallel can actually take you to the heady heights of the Premier League and beyond. "I'm not saying that if you build a stadium that guarantees you Premier League status, of course, but what I am saying is that if you don't build a stadium, you really can't sustain top Championship or Premier League football in a stadium such as we have now."
Gillingham chairman Paul Scally says a new stadium could allow the club to sustain a place in the top two divisions of English football.
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Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic gave the visitors a commanding 2-0 lead at the former Olympic Stadium, now known as the London Stadium. Andy Carroll pulled a goal back and then headed the equaliser before Simone Zaza hit the winner for Juventus. West Ham left Upton Park - their home for the past 112 years - in the summer. They overcame Slovenia's NK Domzale 4-2 on aggregate in their first game at the London Stadium last Thursday to reach the Europa League play-off round. West Ham's first Premier League game at the venue, which hosted athletics at London 2012, is against Bournemouth on 21 August.
West Ham marked the official opening of their new home with a 3-2 defeat against Italian champions Juventus in front of a 53,966 crowd.
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The prosecution was brought by the RSPCA following a raid at a puppy farm at a traveller site in Essex. Teresa Wade, 57, Victoria Montgomery, 54, her daughter Roxanne Montgomery, 33 and Tony Hammond, 34, admitted fraud at Basildon Crown Court. The gang, from Essex and east London, will be sentenced later. Live: For more on this and other Essex stories All four admitted handling about 750 puppies between July 2013 and October 2014. The court heard the animals were sold for an average of £450 each and the RSPCA estimates the fraud was worth more than £300,000. The court was shown video footage shot by the RSPCA of dozens of cockerpoo (a cocker spaniel and poodle crossbreed) puppies kept in cages inside dark sheds near South Ockendon. The dogs - some barely two weeks old - had soiled newspapers for bedding, no toys and some had no heating. Teresa Wade, of Ship Lane, Aveley, South Ockendon, admitted advertising them over the internet as being home-reared, and that they were shown to prospective buyers at houses belonging to the other defendants, before being sold for up to £750 each in cash. But some of the animals were so sick they died shortly after arriving at their new homes, or cost their new owners thousands of pounds in vet bills. Wade will be sentenced later along with Victoria Montgomery, of Melford Avenue, Dagenham, and Hammond and Roxanne Montgomery, both of Grafton Raod, Dagenham.
Three women and a man have admitted fraud in connection with the sale of hundreds of puppies, some of which died or suffered serious health problems.
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Jones made 41 league appearances for the Clarets last season to help them win the Championship title, and he started their Premier League defeat by Swansea on Saturday. The 31-year-old joined the club in 2013 following his departure from Wigan. He started his career at Manchester United and has also played for Preston, Derby, Blackburn, Wolves and Oldham. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
Sheffield Wednesday have signed Burnley midfielder David Jones for an undisclosed fee.
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Wales was around 40th out of 68 in the last Pisa international school test results for science, maths and reading released last December. Wales also fell behind the rest of the UK with an average score of 468. Mr Lewis has set a new target score of 500. Conservatives said that amounted to "stagnation" not "aspiration". As a comparison, Scotland scored over 500 points last year, which means that the new target for Wales in 2021 would put it on a par with Scotland in 2013. Mr Lewis had told BBC Wales last December that ditching the target was the easy way out and he did not want to lower pupils' ambitions. On Thursday he insisted the new approach was still ambitious. "This is a better target, I think, because it relates to what teachers can aim for in their classrooms, in their schools, as regards the actual progress of young people," he said. "If we say to a head teacher 'we need to be in the top 20', it's very difficult to translate that into how their 15-year-olds should do at GCSE. "But if we say 'score 500' they can measure their progress towards it." Conservative shadow education minister Angela Burns ridiculed Labour for seeking to "raise Welsh performance from the worst performing UK nation to the second worst by 2021". "This isn't aspiration, but stagnation," she said. "This feeble new target shows a poverty of ambition for young people." But the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said it was "pleased" the minister was taking the "sensible approach". Owen Hathway, of NUT Wales, said: "It was always a little unwise to have created such targets simply for the headlines they drew. "Evaluating the progress of the points scored is a far better and more productive way of measuring progress." Plaid Cymru education spokesman Simon Thomas said he was "glad" Mr Lewis had now "placed more realistic expectations on the teaching profession". However Aled Roberts, who speaks for the Liberal Democrats on education, called on ministers to "make up their minds once and for all about their education strategy or hold up their hands up and admit they don't know how to fix our education system". The new target was announced as part of an education improvement plan launched by Mr Lewis. Qualified for Life sets out the Welsh government's vision for education up to 2020, with the ambition that every learner in Wales should benefit from "excellent teaching and learning". An annual "report card" will show how Welsh education performs against a range of measurable targets.
The target to put Wales into the top 20 best-performing countries in education by next year has been scrapped by Education Minister Huw Lewis.
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Highways England wants turn the hard shoulder into an extra lane between junction three by Heathrow Airport and junction 12 at Theale to tackle periods of heavy congestion. The scheme, costing up to £862m, will improve traffic flow and ensure "less stressful driving", supporters say. Opponents claim it will increase congestion and affect the environment. The motorways are called "smart" because technology will be installed to monitor traffic, provide information to drivers, and ease congestion by using variable speed limits and utilising the hard shoulder. "Emergency Refuge Areas" will be put in place every 2.5 km (1.6 miles) so drivers can come off the hard shoulder and await recovery. The first one was introduced on the M42 near Birmingham in 2006 and there is now also one on the stretch of M4/M5 near Bristol. Chief scientist Alan Stevens at the Transport Research Laboratory in Crowthorne, which carries out modelling for the smart motorways, said: "They help the traffic go better, drivers get shorter and more predictable journeys and less stressful driving. "We did a lot of modelling work and put people into driving simulators to see how they would respond, and actually we found no problems at all." John Booth from Reading Friends of the Earth said smart motorways are not the solution to congestion. "The reason they're doing this is they want to cater for more traffic on the motorway and will encourage more traffic growth, and that will have a knock on effect on air quality, on climate change emissions, on noise and on congestion on the non-motorway network," he said. Following written representations for six months and a three-month public reaction period, the decision will be down to Transport Secretary Patrick McLaughlin.
A planning inquiry is under way to create a "smart motorway" along the M4 in Berkshire.
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In a series of Twitter posts addressed directly to Mr Maduro, Mr Almagro also called him a "petty dictator". Mr Maduro accused the OAS chief earlier this week of being a CIA agent and a traitor himself. The Venezuelan president has blamed his country's economic crisis on an axis of enemy forces co-ordinated from the US. During a three-hour long news conference on Tuesday, Mr Maduro had justified his declaration of a state of emergency by saying Venezuela was under attack from imperialist forces led by the CIA. He then told journalists: "Almagro, just give up. He has been a traitor for a long time... At some point I will tell his story, I know his secrets. The Americans, the CIA, have played a master move using Almagro as their agent." Mr Almagro, who before leading the OAS was the foreign minister of his native Uruguay, had already clashed with Mr Maduro last year after he called him "rubbish". Mr Almagro had responded on that occasion with an eight-page open letter, saying he would be "rubbish" if he ignored the plight of the Venezuelan people. His Twitter posts this week were both more concise and more direct. Linking to his open letter to Mr Maduro, Mr Almagro said: @NicolasMaduro I'm not a traitor either to my ideas or my principles BUT YOU ARE A TRAITOR to your people. In a series of 12 tweets, he also told the Venezuelan president that "you will NEVER be able to undo so much suffering, intimidation, misery and anguish you've created for your people". He also said Mr Maduro would "NEVER be able to bring back to life the children who've died because of lack of medicine". Venezuelan doctors say a shortage of essential medicine has reached a crisis point. Mr Almagro also urged Mr Maduro to allow a recall referendum to go ahead. Opposition politicians have handed in a petition with 1.85 million signatures to the electoral authorities requesting a referendum be held to recall Mr Maduro from office. But Mr Maduro's deputy, Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz, on Sunday ruled out such a referendum, saying the signatures were "fraudulent". Mr Almagro said that not letting the referendum go ahead made Mr Maduro "another petty dictator". While President Maduro did not answer Mr Almagro's tweets directly, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez did. She wrote, "Mr Almagro, every time you make a statement you express your hatred against Venezuela and its legitimate authorities. You are part of the imperialist detritus." "You only repeat the scripted words which your imperialist masters dictate to you". "You will never give orders to Venezuela!" The former president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, has also commented on the row between Mr Almagro, who served as Mr Mujica's foreign minister, and President Maduro. Asked what he made of the bitter exchange, he said using a popular Spanish saying that Mr Maduro was "crazy as a goat". "They're all crazy in Venezuela, they call each other all sorts of things but they're not going to fix anything this way." While Mr Mujica is known for his direct and outspoken manner his words are damaging to Mr Maduro, who has always praised the former left-wing president as a "comrade".
The head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, has accused the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being "a traitor".
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The Scot collected £200,000, the biggest ever victory cheque for a tournament outside the UK, after prevailing in a high-quality contest. Higgins led 5-4 after the first session in Guangzhou, but 2015 world champion Bingham won the first two on the resumption before Higgins moved 7-6 up. An 84 from Bingham levelled it but 134 and two more tons sealed Higgins' win. It was the 41-year-old's first tournament win since last year's International Championship, also in China, but as an invitation title does not count towards his tally of 28 ranking crowns. The world number six beat Mark Williams, Ali Carter and Mark Allen en route to the final, which featured five centuries in all and nine more breaks over 50.
John Higgins reeled off three centuries from 7-7 to beat Stuart Bingham 10-7 in the final of the China Championship.
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Gayle (75no) and Pollard added 65 off 25 balls as the Windies racked up 205-4, the highest score of the tournament. Despite a defiant 29-ball 63 from captain George Bailey, Australia never recovered from a poor start, crumbling to 131 all out to lose by 74 runs. West Indies will in Colombo on Sunday. It was a phenomenal display from West Indies, based around another exhibition by the peerless Gayle. "The reason Gayle is so good is that normally a batsman puts the bad ball away for four, but Gayle doesn't even have to hit the ball cleanly and it goes for six. He's so powerful, the grounds aren't big enough for him." Despite facing only 41 balls in the 20-over innings and requiring treatment midway through for a side strain, the left-handed opener still managed to get within 25 runs of a century, smashing six sixes and five fours with a strike rate of 182. Marlon Samuels helped set the tempo with a breezy 26 and Dwayne Bravo hit three towering sixes in his 37 off 31 balls. However, it was Gayle and Pollard, who plundered 63 runs off the last four overs, who really demoralised Australia. After watching the previously economical Mitchell Starc carted for 17 in the penultimate over, Bailey took a gamble by throwing the ball to left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty. It proved a costly mistake as Gayle heaved a six over midwicket before Pollard helped himself to three maximums in a row. He holed out at long-off off the last ball of the innings to fall for 38 off 15 deliveries, but the damage had been done. Australia's best chance of joining their women's team in the final by completing the joint second highest successful run chase in the tournament's history was always likely to lie with prolific openers David Warner and Shane Watson. 16 - Chris Gayle (West Indies) 15 - Shane Watson (Australia) 13 - Luke Wright (England) 10 - Brendon McCullum (New Zealand 9 - Marlon Samuels (West Indies) So when both were bowled by leg-spinner Samuel Badree inside the first five overs, the writing was on the wall. Warner was dismissed off the last ball of the first over when a television replay confirmed that a googly had shaved his off stump. After Mike Hussey top-edged a return catch to Marlon Samuels following a rapid 18, Watson was castled for seven by one that fizzed on. Ravi Rampaul took two wickets in three balls - Cameron White caught down the leg side and David Hussey caught and bowled off a leading edge - before Matthew Wade was caught sweeping to leave Australia reeling on 43-6. Bailey, not renowned for his ball-striking, led a one-man counter-attack, but with the required run-rate creeping above 14 per over, his innings was nothing more than a footnote to proceedings. So it proved as Pollard removed Pat Cummins and Bailey in the same over, Brad Hogg was stumped off Sunil Narine and Rampaul bowled Starc to wrap up a phenomenal win. The Windies are through to their first global final since 2004, when they beat England at The Oval to win the Champions Trophy. Tthey will face a severe test against Sri Lanka, who, in Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis, have two of the most successful bowlers at the tournament, and will be cheered on by a raucous home crowd.
Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard produced a superb display of power hitting as West Indies thrashed Australia to reach the final of the World Twenty20.
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