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The pair worked together at Watford and Northern Irishman Rodgers, 43, is the frontrunner for the Celtic job after two rounds of talks this week.
Celtic's largest shareholder Dermot Desmond said on Wednesday "in excess of six" candidates had been interviewed for the manager's position.
"There's no doubt about his qualities," said Warburton, 53, of Rodgers.
The Englishman was a coach with the Hornets during Rodgers' time as manager, with the latter subsequently having a spell in charge of Reading and then leading Swansea to promotion to the Premier League.
A move to Liverpool followed and Rodgers left Anfield in October after over three years in charge.
Warburton is preparing his Rangers side to face Hibernian in Saturday's Scottish Cup final.
The Englishman has already won the Championship and Challenge Cup in his first season in Glasgow.
And, after overcoming eventual Premiership champions Celtic in this season's Scottish Cup semi-final, Warburton's Rangers will face their Old Firm rivals in next season's top flight. | Rangers manager Mark Warburton believes Brendan Rodgers would be a "great choice" as Celtic's new manager. | 36335289 | [
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Many tenants and social landlords also want to see an end to the policy, according to a consultation.
The Scottish government has already ended right to buy for new tenants, amid concern over a shortage of rented affordable homes.
Right to buy has also been suspended by a number of local authorities.
Ministers are currently considering proposals to protect and increase the supply of affordable housing.
The government's consultation on the issue got 169 responses in total from registered social landlords, tenant and resident groups, councils, charities and others.
Of the 161 respondents which answered the question on ending right to buy altogether, 83% said the policy - introduced in the early 80s - should go.
In all, 92% of social landlords, 81% of councils and 80% of tenant and resident groups which responses said right to buy should be scrapped.
The policy was introduced by the Thatcher government to make owning a home more affordable and, since its introduction, more than 500,000 homes have been sold in Scotland.
But in recent years councils have been forced to suspend the policy, as their stock of social housing to rent has dwindled.
The Scottish government's 2010 Housing Act brought in several changes, including ending right to buy for new council and social housing tenants, alongside a three-year £1.5bn house-building plan.
Ministers said stopping all new tenants from buying their homes could see up to 18,000 properties retained over 10 years.
The Scottish government said it would respond to the consultation in due course. | A majority of Scottish councils want the right to buy for council and social housing tenants scrapped, a government report has said. | 20363094 | [
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The fields affected, and another eight associated platforms, produce about 10% of the UK's oil output.
Hydrocarbons were detected inside a leg of the Cormorant Alpha platform.
Its operator, Taqa Bratani, has removed non-essential workers as a precaution and said the leak had been contained.
Shutting down the platform affects the whole Brent pipeline system.
The oil leak at Cormorant Alpha was discovered on Monday and non-essential crew were taken off the installation by helicopter.
Taqa, also known as Abu Dhabi National Energy, said nothing had leaked into the sea and a technical team was investigating the source.
Taqa said on Wednesday afternoon that it was "currently evaluating plans to restore the throughput of an estimated 80,000 barrels per day in the Brent pipeline, excluding any Cormorant Alpha production."
A spokesperson said: "This action would occur after thorough technical assurance has established that it can be undertaken safely and without any increased risk."
The BBC understands the rest of the Brent pipeline system can no longer operate because Cormorant Alpha, which is situated some 94 miles from Lerwick in Shetland, is a crucial pumping station.
Eight other platforms have shut down with up to 27 North Sea fields affected.
The Dunlin, Thistle, Northern Producer, Murchison, North Alwyn, Tern, Eider and North Cormorant platforms are also affected.
Oil and Gas UK - the offshore industry body - said oil transported through the Brent pipeline system represented 10% of the UK's North Sea oil production.
The amount of output affected is 90,000 barrels per day.
It is not yet known what potential impact the shut down could have on petrol station prices.
However Prof Alex Kemp, an oil economist at the University of Aberdeen, said the closure would have a limited impact on oil prices.
He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "What we have is an incident which impacts on the Brent pricing system which is used as a marker price for a lot of the world's production.
"If it continues one would expect a limited affect on the Brent price.
"But the Brent price doesn't just depend on Brent production, it depends on production from a lot of other fields.
"The effect should be limited because although the Brent price is the marker for a huge volume of oil in the world market, Brent production constitutes not all that big a proportion of the total."
Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said: "The Scottish government, including Marine Scotland, are monitoring this situation closely.
"No release of hydrocarbons has been reported and all non-essential staff on the platform have been safely removed.
"The Health and Safety Executive are investigating and will determine when the pipeline system can be opened again subject to any relevant safety measures being put in place."
He said the loss "does not impact security of supply at this time". | A pipeline system servicing up to 27 oil fields has been shut down after a leak on the Cormorant Alpha platform, north-east of Shetland. | 21038303 | [
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Last month Harrington won the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Sizing John.
"These are all firsts for me - it's not bad for a 70-year-old," said Harrington, whose horse, ridden by Robbie Power, won at 9-2.
Gordon Elliott's Bless The Wings was runner-up for the second year in a row while Abolitionist took third.
The winner is owned by the Cooper Family Syndicate which comprises Sloane, Nigel and Billy Cooper, their sister Hazel and her husband.
"They bred him, they own him, they refused a lot of money for him this year and they are fantastic," said Harrington.
Thirteen of the 28 runners came from Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House stables, with the best-placed being the 2015 winner Thunder and Roses in fourth.
Despite running in his first handicap and for just the fourth time over fences, Our Duke never looked in any real danger and has now been cut from 25-1 to 14-1 for next year's Cheltenham Gold Cup.
"This means so much to me, it's my local racecourse and I was second in it a few years ago so this is nice compensation," said 35-year-old Power, who was on board Sizing John at Cheltenham and rode the 2007 Grand National winner Silver Birch.
"Once he got a good view of his fences and got plenty of light we were going to be happy.
"He just travelled so well everywhere, he is just a very good horse."
As well as three Cheltenham winners, Power also won four races at Aintree's Grand National meeting. | Trainer Jessica Harrington celebrated her first success in the Irish Grand National when favourite Our Duke won Monday's big race at Fairyhouse. | 39623981 | [
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A total of three devices from the two companies contain cells with 4,000 milliamp-hour (mAh) capacities.
That is more than a third higher than the components used in Samsung and Apple's latest flagship phones.
Customer surveys have repeatedly highlighted a desire for improved battery life at the top of shopper's most wished for smartphone features.
But until now, batteries of this size have been more commonly found in tablets rather than 5.5in (14cm)-screened phones.
"People are constantly engaged with their screens and the screen uses the most power," explained Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.
"And the biggest challenge right now is that people are also consuming more video content, thanks to the spread of 4G networks, meaning phone battery life is really getting hammered.
"With the bigger brands people are willing to accept some trade-offs for the phones to appear as slim and slick as possible.
"But everyone else is looking for a way of trying to differentiate their devices. And Lenovo and Acer, in particular, have an eye on the business market where employers want their workers to be available for as many hours as possible."
China-based Lenovo says its new K80 offers up to 33 hours of talk-time and its A5000 up to 35 hours. Both figures are based on the use of a 2G network, which is less energy-intensive than a 3G or 4G connection.
Taiwan's Acer has yet to provide a comparable figure for its Liquid X2, which is also unusual for supporting up to three Sim cards at once.
"Following market feedback, we know that battery life is a priority for our customers," ST Liew, president of Acer's smartphone business division, told the BBC.
"The 4,000mAh battery is perfect for frequent travellers as it eliminates concerns regarding power, allowing users to be constantly connected whilst on-the-go without the need to carry a charger on a daily basis."
The firms are not the first to use bigger lithium-ion batteries to make their phones stand out.
Last year Motorola developed the Moto Maxx, ahead of its takeover by Lenovo. The handset features a 3,900 mAh battery, which the company said should allow it to survive two days between charges.
And earlier this month Huawei announced the P8 Max with a 4,360mAh battery - although the size of the device's 6.8in (17.3cm) display means that many people would consider it more a call-enabled tablet than a phone.
Some lesser-known handset-makers have opted to fit even bigger, bulkier parts.
Philips's Android-powered Xenium W6610, released last year, has a 5,300mAh cell, allowing it to endure up to three days of heavy use.
And the recently-released Elephone P5000 currently claims the lead with a 5350mAh battery, which the Chinese company says is large enough to let it stretch to four days of "continuous use".
At a time when it has become the norm for manufacturers to build smartphones with non-removable batteries, it might be expected that those with bigger capacities would enjoy stronger sales.
But one analyst said that despite what shoppers tell surveys, when it comes to buying a personal handset they tend to prioritise other issues such as photo quality, brand or cost.
"If a handset fails to last a minimum of a day then it won't sell, but once you get past that it doesn't really drive demand," said Tim Coulling from the market research firm Canalys.
"Most people have at least one opportunity to charge their phone within that time period and there is also a market in battery packs for power-users.
"The other thing is that the more battery life you have the more you end up using your phone anyway. It's like a pay cheque - no matter how much money you have you always spend it." | Lenovo and Acer have both unveiled smartphones with much larger than normal batteries. | 32479717 | [
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12 March 2016 Last updated at 08:26 GMT
One of the bears went over to check out the strange object, giving it a quick sniff, before being joined by two others.
The bears batted it around until their sharp claws eventually popped it.
Xaviera Simons was visiting the safari park when she filmed the moment. | When a stray pink balloon drifted into the sloth bear enclosure at a zoo in the Netherlands the curious bears there saw it as a great opportunity to play. | 35787345 | [
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Theresa May told the Commons it was a 100% failure rate, as all of the samples submitted so far since the Grenfell Tower fire had failed.
She urged local authorities and housing associations to "get on with the fire safety checks".
At least 79 people are feared to have been killed in the blaze on 14 June.
Meanwhile, regulator NHS Improvement said it has written to all NHS trusts and foundation trusts to ask them to carry out urgent fire safety checks.
There are 36 organisations that need additional support to find out if they have cladding similar to Grenfell, it said, and fire safety tests on building material is expected to be completed "by early next week".
Mrs May told MPs that she expects to name a judge to head the public inquiry into the disaster soon.
She said 282 temporary properties had been identified for residents of the tower, 132 families have had their needs assessed and there have been 65 offers of temporary accommodation.
The government has made almost £1.25m of discretionary payments and will be giving an extra £1m to a local group of charities, trusts and foundations, Mrs May said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the tragedy had "exposed the disastrous effect of austerity" and said: "Fewer inspectors, fewer building control inspectors, fewer planning inspectors - we all pay a price."
The blaze, which started in a fridge-freezer, destroyed 151 homes in the north Kensington block and in the surrounding area of the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Questions were raised about the cladding used on Grenfell in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and a nation-wide operation has taken place to identify and test buildings with similar cladding.
It has emerged that London Fire Brigade issued a warning to all 33 London councils about panels attached to the exterior of buildings in May this year, in a letter seen by the BBC.
On Tuesday, Mrs May said there should be a "major national investigation" into the use of cladding on high-rise towers. | Cladding from 120 high-rise buildings in 37 local authority areas in England has now failed fire safety tests, the prime minister has said. | 40432062 | [
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Four were treated for smoke inhalation and one was taken to hospital with burns, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.
The gorse fire, which began at about 13:45 BST, has engulfed a large area of dry heath-land on Woodbury Common.
Twenty fire engine crews were sent to tackle the flames that were fanned by high winds.
The fire is being fought on a number of fronts and a police helicopter has been deployed to help survey the scene.
Chief Fire Officer Lee Howell said it was a "very difficult incident" and his teams were struggling with wind direction and a lack of water supplies.
He said: "It's a very, very large area - at the moment it's difficult to quantify and there is a fire front on a number of different parts of the common - and so our resources are being targeted to bring that under control in a number of different areas."
He added that firefighters will be at the scene overnight and into the early hours of Monday morning.
The nearby Woodbury Park Golf and Country Club has been evacuated as a precaution.
Smoke can be seen for miles around and the public have been advised to avoid the area. | Five firefighters have been injured while tackling a blaze on common land near Exeter. | 39686362 | [
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The Home Office decided to halt the Detained Fast Track (DFT) system amid concerns over safeguards, particularly for "vulnerable applicants".
Immigration minister James Brokenshire said he hoped the DFT system would resume within weeks.
It is thought about 800 applicants are affected - and can now seek bail.
Of those, it is estimated that about 100 may have to be released.
The system, introduced in 2000, accelerates legal hearings and appeals while keeping the individual detained. It is used in cases which officials believe can be decided quickly.
Last month the Court of Appeal ordered the Home Office to halt the system immediately after an earlier High Court hearing concluded it contained "structural unfairness".
High Court judge Mr Justice Nicol put a "legal stay" - a temporary delay - on his ruling on 12 June, following a case brought by campaign group Detention Action.
This meant the fast-track system remained in operation until the government had exhausted all opportunities to appeal.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said officials were worried their procedures were not as robust as they should be.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Brokenshire said the system had "come under significant legal challenge".
"Risks surrounding the safeguards within the system for particularly vulnerable applicants have also been identified to the extent that we cannot be certain of the level of risk of unfairness to certain vulnerable applicants who may enter DFT.
"In light of these issues, I have decided to temporarily suspend the operation of the detained fast-track policy.
"I hope this pause to be short in duration, perhaps only a matter of weeks, but I will only resume operation of this policy when I am sure the right structures are in place to minimise any risk of unfairness."
The decision to suspend the process means those asylum seekers detained and awaiting hearings will be reassessed at a "senior level" to see if they can be released from detention to continue their asylum application in the normal way.
Mr Brokenshire added: "Those who meet the general criteria for detention will not be directly affected by the decision to suspend DFT.
"Many are already detained under these powers, for example because they are at risk of absconding and face imminent removal.
"Only if detention can no longer be justified outside a DFT process will applicants be released to continue their asylum claim in the regular asylum system."
He said applicants who face removal to a safe third country, pose a risk to the public or are foreign offenders are "still liable to be detained or remain detained".
The DFT system accelerated some 4,300 asylum applications or decisions in 2013. It currently processes 30 to 40 cases a week. | A system for detaining asylum seekers while their claims are speedily assessed has been temporarily suspended after it was ruled unlawful last month. | 33371814 | [
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The Premier League paid £174m to agents, up from £130m, with Manchester City being the biggest spenders (£26.3m) ahead of Chelsea (£25.1m) and Manchester United (£19m).
England's second tier, the Championship, spent £42.4m on agents, an increase of 62%.
The Football Association figures cover from February 2016 to January 2017.
They come two years after the last full-year results (2014-15).
Premier League teams spent a record £1.38bn on transfers in the 2016-17 season - a 43% increase on transfer spending from the 2014-15 season.
In both League One and League Two the total spending on agents and intermediaries decreased from the 2014-15 figures.
League One sides spent £3,098,508, down from £3,167,964, while League Two teams spent £821,450, down from £1,007,920.
Liverpool led the Premier League in agents' fees when the last full-year results were published for the period 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015, but the Reds' spending has decreased from £14.3m to £13.8 for the 2016-17 period.
Manchester City now top the Premier League list with £26,3m, up from £12.4m, followed by Chelsea, who have also more than doubled their spending on agents' fees, up from £12m to £25.1m.
Manchester United (£19m) and Arsenal (£10.2m) complete the top five, while Tottenham's outlay has risen from £6m to £7.2m.
Yet despite being considered part of the Premier League's 'big six' clubs, Spurs trail behind West Ham (£9.5m) and Bournemouth (£7.4m) in agents' fees paid for 2016-17.
Former England, West Ham and QPR winger Trevor Sinclair
I was very fortunate. I met a good agent quite early on in my career after some bad experiences. He took care of negotiations, which is standard, made sure I was pitching myself at the right amount of money to be earning weekly, monthly, annually.
On top of that he helped me with financial advice, he helped me with marketing, exit strategies when I finished football, and also just day-to-day things. He was always preaching to do your best and try to look after yourself.
The influence that agents have got now in the game is unbelievable. You look at some of the biggest clubs in the UK and Europe, and there are certain super agents who, for me, have too much power.
In relation to deals, I think the money should be capped in some way. If you're doing a deal for a player moving for £1m, why would there be another £1m going missing to agents' fees? It's unacceptable, for me, that kind of money going out of the game, when that could be easily used for grassroots football.
Jonathan Barnett of the Stellar Group
Agents have a bad reputation because nobody really understands what an agent does and that includes, probably, the FA. It's not deserved. More MPs have committed illegal acts than agents. I think it's unjust, a very unjust one.
People get confused when they hear of an agent. They think it's somebody that does transfers, runs around from one club to another trying to sell players. They are more traders and brokers. There are very few of those agents and very few that really matter.
However, what we are as an agency and what other reputable companies are, are people who look after players. We don't look after clubs. We don't look after anybody else, we look after the player. And by that, we make sure their life is properly run, any problems are taken care of and their life is made very easy so that all they can do is concentrate on playing football.
We get paid for what we're worth. If we do a good job for our player then we get paid. If we do a bad job, we don't. There are plenty of agents who don't earn a living. You've got to be good at what you do and then you get paid rightly.
Stoke City chairman Peter Coates
Football clubs, especially top clubs, are getting more and more income, so what happens? Players get bigger and bigger wages, and agents therefore get bigger and bigger fees. It's a product of the marketplace we're in, so I'm not surprised.
I wish it were less, but we're in a marketplace that is highly competitive. We've never been able to get any traction and get an agreement to say we'll all dock pay more than X, whether it's 5%, 10% or whatever the figure could be. There seems a reluctance to go down that route. There's no other way we could perhaps rein in what agents get.
There are good agents, less good agents and they can earn huge amounts of money. That sometimes can attract the wrong sort of person because the prize is so high. It's one of those facts of life. We wish it was different, but we seem incapable of controlling it. All clubs do their best, obviously we don't want to pay any more than we have to. But it's a tough market. They play the field, which they're entitled to, and it's not easy. | The amount paid by English clubs to agents has risen by 38% in a year - up from £160m to £220m. | 39526917 | [
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It will provide extra antenatal support with specially-trained midwives, psychologists and paediatricians.
Co-run by Barts Health NHS Trust in London, the scheme could be introduced in other UK hospitals if successful.
Consultant midwife Inderjeet Kaur said the extra care was "so important" as giving birth could trigger frightening, graphic memories of an attack.
One in five women between the ages of 16-59 in England and Wales has experienced some form of sexual violence, according to official statistics.
BBC News spoke to three rape victims about their experiences during childbirth - two of them helped design how the clinic would operate.
Melanie (name changed for confidentiality), aged 37, had her baby two years ago.
She said: "I was given gas and air whilst in labour and I started hallucinating, seeing the man who had attacked me in the room. I managed to articulate what was happening to my husband, but he didn't know what to do.
"He wasn't equipped to deal with it at all, and there was no-one else in the room who was either. I was terrified and screaming. Nobody asked me; I wish I'd had some control."
'I cried and cried hysterically': Three women describe their traumatic experiences
Though the service will be integrated into a regular maternity ward at the Royal London Hospital, women will follow a different antenatal route from the moment they are referred.
As well as being offered extra, longer meetings with specially-trained staff, women will be able to have more of a say as to how their birthing rooms are laid out and legal advice over their medical checks.
The clinic will also provide antenatal classes and breastfeeding advice which has been altered for women who have experienced sexual attacks, and offer specialist gynaecological examinations and mental health support after labour.
It also plans to offer women in other countries one-off appointments in the form of video calls.
Pavan Amara, founder of the My Body Back project which jointly established the clinic with the Barts Health NHS Trust, has met a number of women who told her of traumatic experiences during their pregnancies.
She said: "One woman was told by her rapist: 'If you relax it'll be over with quicker.'
When the woman was told the same thing in a healthcare setting, "the health professional was completely unwittingly and unknowingly echoing the words of the rapist".
"It had a huge impact on the woman mentally. It's things like this... very small, but very big for a woman who is vulnerable."
Women can self-refer to the maternity clinic by emailing the team to make an appointment.
Ms Amara explained: "They don't have to say what happened, although they can if they want to. Whatever they feel is right for them. We will then book them an appointment and take it from there."
She said support for women in other countries would be conducted out-of-hours in the team's own spare time.
The team had received many international emails from women who cannot use NHS services, she said, adding: "We don't want to leave them with no option, we want to do something for them."
Ms Amara, who was raped as a teenager, waived her anonymity as a victim when she helped set up a sexual health clinic at the hospital for victims of sexual violence last August. With more than 800 women using the service since it was set up, talks are under way to open a similar unit in Glasgow.
One rape victim explained how her body "went into complete shock" when she went into labour.
"I just couldn't open my legs for the baby to come out," she said.
"There was an emergency so they took me straight down to the operating theatre. It was very noisy and it was very busy.
"There were bright lights and just lots and lots of people around. And, I think for me, because there had been lots of people there in my rape and lots of people watching what was going on, it just brought back so many memories.
"It was very traumatising."
The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, believes the new clinic will help others.
"Just by virtue of walking through the door, people know something of what's happened to you. So you've said it without saying it which is often the hardest thing," she said.
Consultant midwife at the clinic Inderjeet Kaur said often women did not want to talk about what had happened to them.
This could mean medical staff are unhelpful without even realising it, for example by using the wrong language.
"This is so important because these women are so vulnerable - we shouldn't be contributing to their trauma," she said. | The UK's first maternity clinic for women who have been victims of rape and sexual assault has opened. | 36917746 | [
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The A40 between Nantgaredig and Whitemill is closed and diversions are in place following the incident at about 18:15 GMT on Friday.
A grey Smart Fortwo Prime, a black Volkswagon Golf and a grey Volvo were involved in the crash.
Dyfed Powys Police are appealing for witnesses. | Four people have been taken to hospital after a three car collision in Carmarthenshire. | 39008393 | [
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Lee, who died last year, is revered by Singaporeans, while his children are respected members of the establishment. His son, Lee Hsien Loong, is prime minister.
The family had presented a united front, but that cracked in recent days when Lee Wei Ling, a prominent doctor and newspaper columnist, publicly objected to what she saw as excess in the one-year commemorations.
She also accused the government - led by her brother - of exploiting his legacy for its own gain, which Prime Minister Lee has rebutted.
The exchange has shocked Singaporeans - public disputes among the establishment in this tightly controlled city are extremely rare, let alone one involving the country's equivalent of the royal family or the Kennedys.
It has also fed into ongoing discussions on the tricky issue of how best to remember Lee Kuan Yew, a beloved idol who hated being one.
Lee's death on 23 March last year prompted a massive outpouring of grief among Singaporeans who queued for hours to pay their respects, surprising even government officials.
At least 100 events were organised for the one-year anniversary, ranging from solemn ceremonies and a candlelight vigil to tree-planting and kayaking events.
Wax statues of Lee - widely known as LKY - and his wife were put on public display with flowers laid at their feet, a schoolbook teaching Lee's values was launched, while some ardent fans online even claimed to have seen his face in the clouds.
Two days after the anniversary, amid unease in some quarters about the commemoration's intensity, Ms Lee posted a disapproving piece on Facebook arguing that her father would have objected.
"Any veneration could have the opposite effect and lead future generations of Singaporeans to think that my father's actions were motivated by his desire for fame, or creation of a dynasty. He strove hard and determinedly in life to advance Singapore, and not for his place in history, or leaving a great legacy," she wrote.
She later accused the government of wanting to "glorify my father", and alleged that a newspaper was doing the government's bidding by refusing to publish the piece unedited. The paper, The Straits Times, strongly denied her claims of censorship.
In a now-deleted post of an exchange with the paper's editors, she wrote that her brother "has no qualms abusing his power to have a commemoration just one year after LKY died... if the power that be wants to establish a dynasty, LKY's daughter will not allow LKY's name to be sullied by a dishonourable son."
One Sunday, the prime minister released a statement saying her accusations were "completely untrue", adding that his government felt the level of commemoration and activities "were generally appropriate".
In Singapore, Lee's admirers face the dilemma of how to honour a famously unsentimental figure who sternly disapproved of any worship - he refused statues and monuments in his name, and wanted his home to be eventually knocked down to prevent it from becoming a shrine.
In a 1984 interview, Lee had made clear his objections to the idea of a personality cult in Singapore, saying: "The danger... is that when the leader dies, you are faced with the difficult problem of finding another."
The Lee siblings' squabble has divided public opinions, with many taking to their Facebook pages to weigh in.
Some agreed that the tributes bordered on the excessive and were disrespectful.
"If he doesn't want to be hero worshipped then we shouldn't no matter what Singaporeans want. LKY has already given a lot to us. Let him rest in peace," said commenter Mohammad Nizam Abdul Kadir.
"The best way we can remember him is to continue as a united, multi-racial, progressive country. Uphold his values and principles," said another called Mano Sabnani.
But others argued that the round of commemoration activities was necessary for citizens, many of whom still feel a personal connection to Lee.
"I am one of the many who wanted to express my gratitude to him and also to remember him for his commitment and contributions to Singapore. I would humbly ask Ms Lee Wei Ling to at least indulge us as we miss him too," said Daniel Ng.
Carol Sim said: "Ms Lee has failed to understand that LKY does not belong to her alone. He belongs to the people of Singapore.
We respect your choice to remember your father in your own quiet way but you certainly cannot stop the people from wanting to do more." | A rare spat among Singapore's first family has left citizens agog and fuelled debate on how the city-state's founding father Lee Kuan Yew should be remembered. | 36012257 | [
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Jodie Whittaker was announced as Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord - the first woman to be given the role. She will make her debut on the show when the Doctor regenerates in the Christmas special.
The actor Martin Landau (left), star of 1960s TV series Mission: Impossible, died at the age of 89. He won an Oscar in 1995 for portraying the horror movie star Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.
The film-maker George A Romero, who created the Living Dead movie franchise, also died at the age of 77. Many credit him for inventing the zombie genre that we see in horror films today.
Game of Thrones returned for its seventh season. Fans and critics were very happy - though they weren't too pleased with Ed Sheeran's cameo as an unnamed singing soldier.
Buzzfeed published a report accusing singer R Kelly of trapping six women in a sex "cult". He denied the allegations and his lawyer said he would work "diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name".
The salaries of 96 of the BBC's biggest stars were revealed for the first time in the corporation's annual report. Only a third of the stars earning more than £150,000 a year were women - a statistic director general Tony Hall said highlighted a need to "go further and faster" on gender issues.
Luis Fonsi's Despacito became the most-streamed song of all time within just six months of its release. The hit single has been played 4.6 billion times, overtaking Justin Bieber's Sorry.
Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington died aged 41. The singer is said to have struggled with alcohol and drug abuse and had talked in the past about contemplating suicide.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | A look back at some of the top entertainment stories over the past seven days. | 40667133 | [
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The body of Peter Wrighton, 83, was found three miles south of East Harling in Norfolk on 5 August. He had been repeatedly stabbed.
Norfolk Police said they wanted to trace three men seen around the woodland close to the time he died.
The force said a man in his 50s seen changing into a t-shirt has been found.
Police say they still want to speak to two other men; one aged 25 to 30, with tanned skin, wearing a grey or blue t-shirt, grey gym shorts and heavy-duty flip flops; the other aged 30 to 50, wearing dark clothing and seen walking without a dog to the north of the heath.
Det Supt Andy Smith added: "We have already heard from more than 220 people but we will be exploring all avenues in our enquiries and we are still keen to hear from more.
"We also want to hear from delivery drivers who might have travelled through or have been in the area on Saturday and who could have important dash cam footage for us to review. In addition, anyone else with images or footages of the area should contact us."
There have been no arrests and no weapon has been found.
Mr Wrighton was pictured on CCTV using the post office in Kenninghall at 10:10 BST, about 35 minutes before his body was found near to Fiveways Junction.
"His car, a red Skoda Fabia, was parked close to The Street, the road close to the heath land where he was walking his dogs Dylan and Gemma," Det Supt Smith said.
The force said it has more than 100 officers and staff working on the "significant murder investigation". | One of three "vital" potential witnesses to the murder of an elderly dog walker in woodland has been traced, police have said. | 40904963 | [
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Brook, the IBF welterweight champion, will jump two weight divisions to fight undisputed world middleweight champion Golovkin in London on 10 September.
Sheffield's Brook, 30, is one of 14 current British world champions.
"Beating Golovkin would make me the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world," Brook told BBC Sport.
"When we only had one or two world champions, the reaction when you won a world title was: 'Yes, unbelievable for Britain.' But now it's more a case of: 'Oh, someone else has won a world title.'
"No-one is shocked any more. So you do have to do something outrageous to stand out.
"I've wanted to be the best since I was a little kid. Imagine me beating him and taking those belts to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It would be unbelievable."
Brook is unbeaten in 36 professional contests and has made three defences of the IBF welterweight belt he won from American Shawn Porter in 2014.
However, Brook was criticised for the quality of, or more correctly lack of, his recent opponents before signing to fight Kazakhstan knockout artist Golovkin.
The 34-year-old is unbeaten in 35 pro contests and has 32 early victories to his name, giving him a knockout percentage of 91%, the highest in the history of the world middleweight championship.
"There's a buzz in the air with this fight - it's a mega-fight," said Brook, who weighed 176lb at a check weight 30 days before the fight, 16lb over the middleweight limit and 11lb more than Golovkin.
"It isn't just a world champion fighting a world champion, it's the biggest fight you can make in world boxing.
"You've got two unbeaten fighters with a lot of knockouts between them going up against each other.
"It's ludicrous a guy is jumping up two divisions to face somebody no one will fight. It's got everything and that's why everyone needs to tune in."
Brook is bidding to succeed where domestic rival Amir Khan failed - Bolton's Khan jumped two weight divisions to fight then WBC champion Saul Alvarez in May and was knocked out in six rounds.
Golovkin, who owns the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, is one of the most avoided boxers in the world - Mexico's Alvarez chose to vacate his WBC title rather than fight him. | Kell Brook says he chose to fight Gennady Golovkin because he needed to do something "outrageous" to stand out from the crowd. | 37128714 | [
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The old Victoria Ground, next to the A500, shut in 1997 when the club moved to the Britannia Stadium and has remained vacant ever since.
Plans for the 16-acre site include 130 homes being built initially, followed by a further 70.
David Sidaway, from the council, said he was proud to have secured investment for the "very important site".
A plan to build offices there was shelved in 2004 and in 2007 St Modwen said the recession had affected development opportunities.
Further plans for housing were announced in 2013 but never happened.
Dave Smith, from developer St Modwen Homes, said: "We understand that the Victoria Ground is an important site for both the people of Stoke-on-Trent and the city council.
"Having taken the comments from the public consultation on board, particularly for the second phase of development, we are looking forward to turning our plans for the Victoria Ground site into reality and breathing new life into the community and surrounding area."
After working with the Environment Agency over potential flooding issues, a nearby primary school to include sports pitches in the development and holding a public consultation, plans will be submitted by the end of the month, the council said. | The former home of Stoke City FC is to be redeveloped into 200 homes, a park and fields, the council says. | 40076394 | [
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Lancashire County Council has earmarked land on the former Glenburn Sports College and Skelmersdale College.
The sports college closed in August, while Skelmersdale College's Westbank campus, owned by Newcastle College, is also unused.
The decision follows a comparative study by Network Rail of both sites and one near the Concourse shopping centre.
Skelmersdale's original railway station closed to passengers in 1956.
The council - which owns Glenburn Sports College - said Skelmersdale could get two direct trains to Liverpool per hour under the plans it has made in partnership with Merseytravel and West Lancashire Borough Council.
County councillor John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said it was an "exciting step forward".
He said the preferred location was big enough to allow for the possibility of future expansion.
He added: "It has good highway access and good connectivity to the town and the surrounding area."
The authority confirmed it will now start the process of acquiring the relevant land.
Skelmersdale was designated a new town on 9 October 1961..
It is one of the largest towns in the north west of England not to have its own railway station. | The preferred location for a town's first railway station in 50 years has been revealed. | 38847045 | [
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They had known Andrei Karlov well, the ambassador gunned down in Ankara.
And they struggled to hold back their emotion.
"This is a big tragedy for all of us - for all Russian people", said Larissa Lutkova Turkkan, who works in a Russian cultural association here.
"He was a very good man - and a brilliant diplomat."
I ask whether she understands the anger of some here towards the Russian government. She pauses.
"I think I understand - but it is really difficult to talk right now".
Russia and Turkey have been profoundly shaken by the murder of a seasoned diplomat who colleagues describe as softly-spoken and professional.
And yet it has not prompted a new crisis in bilateral relations as some feared.
Instead, Presidents Erdogan and Putin have used the same language, calling it "a provocation" aimed at derailing ties and vowing that it would not succeed.
In fact it could, conversely, bring together Russia and Turkey against the common enemy of terror, encouraging greater co-operation between two countries that have always had a tricky relationship.
The Russo-Turkish wars spanned four centuries. And a hundred years since their last military clash, their dispute has continued, with Ankara and Moscow taking opposite sides in Syria.
Turkey has backed the rebels opposed to President Assad, while Russia's military intervention was key to propping up the Assad regime. A year ago, their feud reached a climax as Turkey shot down a Russian bomber on its border with Syria.
President Putin called it "a stab in the back by an accomplice of terror". Moscow said President Erdogan's family was benefiting from oil smuggling by so-called Islamic State.
There was the real possibility of a direct military confrontation. For months tempers flared - until President Erdogan wrote a letter of apology to his Russian counterpart, fuelled partly by the need to coax Russian tourists back to Turkish beaches.
Syria is the reason behind the warm words now. As Western powers have seen their influence on the Syrian war implode, they've practically vacated the territory to allow Ankara and Moscow, along with others, to fulfil their respective aims there.
For Turkey the goal is pushing back IS and Kurdish militias and entrenching Turkish influence in northern Syria. For Russia it's been snatching Aleppo back under regime control and securing Assad along with its own powerful role. Turkish officials publicly deny there was a quid pro quo between Ankara and Moscow but it's widely suspected, not least because Turkey has been silent over Russia's bombardment in Aleppo.
And so neither strongman President - Erdogan or Putin - is willing to let the murder of the ambassador get in the way of their Syria rapprochement.
But the danger for Mr Erdogan is that some Turks have not followed his warming to Moscow, shown by the assassination of the ambassador, when the gunman shouted "don't forget Syria, don't forget Aleppo - as long as they aren't safe, you won't taste safety".
"Turkey was at the vanguard of opposing the Syrian regime", says Sinan Ulgen, a political analyst and chairman of the Edam think tank, "and it came with high-pitched rhetoric. That made many here acutely aware of the tragedy of Syria.
"But as Turkey is moving away from that aggressive policy on Syria towards a more realistic path and establishing a common understanding with Russia and Iran, it's caused a reaction among that constituency".
How the murder affects Russian-Turkish relations will in part be determined by the joint investigation that's now under way.
If it finds links between the gunman and Syrian opposition groups, it could reawaken the Syria tensions.
"In that case, Russia would expect more from Turkey in terms of cutting support to the Syrian opposition", argues Sinan Ulgen. "There would be an expectation from Russia and Turkish citizens that Turkey should be more disciplined to stop the infiltration by such groups."
So there's a united, though fragile, front from Ankara and Moscow - for now.
The fundamental fact holding these two forces together is that, lacking many other friends in the world at the moment, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan need each other. | Clutching red carnations, they approached the armed police manning the security cordon: four Russian women determined to leave a tribute outside their embassy. | 38388421 | [
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The government said it wanted to ensure that militants with dual nationality who were fighting overseas could not return to Australia.
The laws would also strip citizenship from dual nationals who engaged in terrorism inside Australia.
The government said changes to the Australian Citizenship Act would be introduced to parliament on Wednesday.
The new laws could be applied to up to half of the 120 Australians fighting in the Middle East with Islamic State (IS), said Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
"The legislation will update the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to ensure dual nationals who serve or fight for terrorist groups, or engage in terrorism-related conduct inspired by terrorists groups, automatically lose their Australian citizenship," Mr Abbott said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"The Act will also be amended to ensure dual nationals who are convicted of specified terrorism-related offences automatically lose their Australian citizenship," he said.
Last month, the government said it would give the immigration minister the power to revoke citizenship in regards to terrorism activities but that option was attacked as unconstitutional by many legal experts.
Mr Abbott said on Monday the new laws would not leave anyone stateless and did not exclude the role of the courts.
"This will enable a person who has lost his or her citizenship to seek legal redress," Mr Abbott said.
"If you are convicted of a terrorist offence, again, there will be an assumption that your Australian citizenship is forfeited, should you be a dual national."
Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security will examine whether the law should be allowed to operate retrospectively.
"Given that we have a number of dual citizens currently in jail after terrorist convictions, the committee should consider whether it should have retrospective operation at least in those cases," said Mr Abbott.
He said another review would consider what to do with people engaged in terrorism who were solely Australian nationals. | Australia says it will reveal new laws stripping citizenship from dual nationals engaged in terrorism. | 33234825 | [
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Swansea University's Dr Neil Loader and Emeritus Prof Alayne Street-Perrott, are among a team who have found ancient earthworks, possibly 2,000 years old.
The discoveries were made in Acre state in the western Brazilian Amazon.
Researchers from the universities of Exeter and Reading, and Brazil's São Paulo, Belém are also part of the team.
Their research investigated ditched enclosures which were concealed for centuries by bamboo-dominated rainforest until modern deforestation allowed the discovery of more than 450 large geometrical "geoglyphs".
The team said the function of these mysterious sites is still little understood.
They are unlikely to be villages, since archaeologists have recovered very few artefacts during excavation, and their layout does not suggest they were built for defensive reasons.
Instead it is thought they were used only sporadically, perhaps as ritual gathering places, similar to the Maya pyramids of Central America, or Britain's own Stonehenge.
Although Dr Loader - who has analysed soil samples from the geoglyphs - said the surroundings in which they were built were very different to other ritual sites around the world.
He looked at phytoliths - a type of microscopic plant fossil made of silica - to reconstruct ancient vegetation; charcoal quantities, to assess the amount of ancient forest burning; and carbon stable isotopes, to indicate the type of vegetation growing there in the past.
"The indications are that the geoglyphs were constructed amongst taller vegetation. So, unlike the towering Maya pyramids of Central America, they were likely not visible above the forest canopy, and this raises questions about their purpose," he explained.
It had been assumed prior to the arrival of Europeans in the early 16th Century, the Amazonian forests had been pristine ecosystems, free from human influence.
But the new research indicates a wide variety of plant species spread over 6,000 years, which could only have been artificially brought together by humans.
It suggested instead of burning large tracts of forest - either for geoglyph construction or agricultural practices - people transformed their environment by concentrating on economically valuable trees such as palms.
The team have likened it to a form of "prehistoric supermarket" of useful forest products.
They said there is "tantalizing evidence" to suggest the biodiversity of some of Acre's remaining forests may retain a strong legacy of these ancient "agroforestry" practices to this day. | Humans lived in the Amazon rainforest much earlier than previously thought, and even helped shape its biodiversity, researchers have said. | 38898611 | [
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It's hard to tell which blow took us more by surprise, the first ever positive steroids test in the history of Scottish rugby, or the fact that and think it's unfair that so many Scottish, Welsh and Irish teams qualify for the Heineken Cup from a league without relegation.
But let's start with to bulk up and get on in rugby, and leave the Heineken Cup for another day.
The public statement made by Sam Chalmers, son of one of our finest ever players Craig, is that he is sorry and that he got the stuff off the internet. It has shades of the convenient "lone wolf" theory about it. Was he the only player to get this stuff? Did he talk to other players about it?
Coaches involved in age-group rugby tell me that weight training and supplements appear to be going hand in hand
Here is my thinking: I buy the argument that players are under pressure to get big. I buy the argument that players are under pressure to get heavier too. The rugby pitch has stayed the same size for 150 years while humans have changed. Rugby is more about going through people than round them now.
What I don't buy is that players are under pressure to buy steroids. It's cheating. The moment you buy the things you are cheating. You know it's not allowed. You are hoping the drug testers never get to you.
Some players may have contemplated taking steroids but chosen not to do so. If you're not big enough then choose another profession. It's not a game for all shapes and sizes any more.
Coaches involved in age-group rugby tell me that weight training and supplements appear to be going hand in hand. Young players go to the gym after taking supplements, they drink supplements during their training, and immediately afterwards.
Perhaps they are being indoctrinated into thinking that there is no way to do this consuming food alone. Maybe, just maybe, the logical next step from that is that artificial aids help, and the last resort - and illegal - artificial aid is your steroid of choice.
So is it possible to get big enough taking food alone?
The IRB has its latest drug test figures on its website. It states: "The IRB carried out 1,542 tests both in and out of competition in 2012, across all IRB tournaments and events, including the HSBC Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup 2015 qualifiers, men's and women's Tests and Age Grade Rugby.
"The programme saw a total of 21 anti-doping rule violation cases, equating to 1.36% of the IRB's entire programme."
That means around 1.4% of elite level players take drugs and try to get away with it. Some of them, you can see from the website, were caught taking the steroid favoured by both Sam Chalmers and disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, stanozolol.
The 2011 Word Anti-Doping Agency figures, also available on the IRB website, show there were 5,553 drug tests globally in rugby in 2011, and 61 violations within them - just over 1%.
My guess is that there are more chancing it lower down the leagues, or in that scramble to get into the system - but I don't know.
When I was in South Africa covering the 1995 Rugby World Cup I wrote then what I repeat now - that the biggest growth in requests at GPs in Capetown nearly 20 years ago was from schoolboys wanting prescriptions for steroids. They were often accompanied by parents.
Could this happen here?
Sam Chalmers was in the most susceptible group, which is young lads who want to get into professional, or at least top-level, rugby.
It's going to be tough on him. But life's not easy. It wasn't easy for the players and coaches in the "Bloodgate" affair, or in the various eye-gouging allegations, nor for the other 60-odd rugby players caught by the IRB taking drugs or tampering with their samples.
This is a test. He does his time and then he gets back in the game.
I will leave you with this thought: I bet you he wasn't alone in this. And I bet there are younger players than Sam Chalmers who haven't been caught.
What do you think? Are there pressures on players to take steroids?
You can follow John Beattie on Twitter @bbcjohnbeattie | Scottish rugby suffered two body blows this week and, rather like boxer Ricky Burns who "drew" with his opponent after getting one heck of a hiding from opponent Raymundo Beltran, it's a little battered, a little broken and in need of time off the canvas. | 24103221 | [
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Salman Ramadan Abedi, 22, detonated a homemade device in the foyer of Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May.
The five-minute hearing was adjourned until 1 December, pending the police investigation.
Twenty-two people were killed in the arena attack.
No members of Abedi's family were present at court, which was sitting at Manchester Town Hall.
A full inquest will be heard once the police investigation into the attack has been completed.
The court heard Abedi died of "multiple injuries" when he detonated an improvised explosive device.
He was later identified by genetic markers and his bank card that was found nearby, the court heard.
The inquests for the victims were opened with a minute's silence on 9 June and adjourned until November.
Coroner Nigel Meadows said the victims' inquests, at Manchester Civil Justice Centre, would be adjourned until 24 November and this was a "holding date" which could be moved if the police investigation was still ongoing.
The hearing on 9 June was shown a photograph of each of the victims and told of their injuries. Those who died were aged between eight and 51.
A map of where 19 of those killed in the foyer was also shown to the hearing. The court heard a further three - John Atkinson, Georgina Callander and Saffie Roussos - died later in hospital.
Some of those who died were standing very close to the bomber, with others as far as 20m (66ft) away.
A further 116 people were injured in the attack. | An inquest into the death of the Manchester suicide bomber heard how he was identified by DNA, fingerprint and dental records. | 40290372 | [
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Media playback is not supported on this device
First-half tries from Jonny May and Courtney Lawes were matched by a near-identical pair by George Ford and Owen Farrell in the second period to overwhelm the visitors.
England had failed to beat the Springboks in their previous 12 meetings over 10 years, but after a Grand Slam in spring and whitewash of Australia in summer, the autumn has begun with more history being made.
Inspired by a note-perfect display from scrum-half Ben Youngs, this performance was further undeniable evidence of the vast improvement made under the wily Jones.
Watch: England v South Africa highlights iPlayer
Read: 'With every game a little more promise shows for England'
Listen: England can get a lot better - Jones
Just over a year ago, England were knocked out of the World Cup they were hosting at the group stage, a mile away from competing with the best in the world.
Now only New Zealand are ranked ahead of them, that status entirely deserved despite the obvious room for further improvement.
After an early penalty and drop-goal from South Africa's Pat Lambie, England showed their ambition, Ford using Elliot Daly as a decoy runner in midfield off quick line-out ball to put Marland Yarde and Mike Brown in space, May finishing in the corner with trademark speed on his return to the side.
But the Springboks' power was hurting England, with six penalties conceded in the first 20-odd minutes and clean line-breaks made by both props. Lambie's second three-pointer regained the lead for the visitors at 9-7.
Gradually, England found the balance between pragmatism and adventure. Youngs' kicking and sniping helped regain the initiative, Farrell landed a penalty and then the men in white struck again.
With the ball going through hands again Daly kicked long from inside his own half, May forced JP Pietersen into a fumble, Brown kicked on and second row Lawes dived on the loose ball as it rolled over the try-line.
Farrell added the conversion and then Daly marked the occasion of his first England start with a monstrous penalty from halfway for a lead of 20-9 at the interval.
Now it was England with the power, Billy Vunipola sucking in tacklers with his carrying, the Springboks' defence stretched and then fatally weakened.
Youngs spotted space around the fringes on the opposition 22, beat blind-side flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit with an outrageous dummy and found Ford on his right shoulder to put his fly-half away for their side's third try.
South Africa came into the match having lost four of their past five games, and shipped a half-century of points at home to the All Blacks in their last outing.
A breakaway try from replacement Johan Goosen briefly gave them hope, but when Youngs foxed Du Toit with a replica dummy to send Farrell away, England's authority was once again absolute.
Willie le Roux crossed late in the left-hand corner to underline England's need to tighten their defence.
But in difficult conditions, this was an accomplished display, and with Fiji in London next weekend, Jones will expect that flawless record to be extended further still.
A perfect scrum-half's performance in conditions like this - precision box-kicking, snappy passes to his big ball-carriers, picking the ideal moments to snipe and break.
England captain Dylan Hartley: "There's plenty to work on, so that keeps us grounded. We conceded six penalties in the opening 20 minutes and that isn't good enough. But we're very happy to get that monkey off our back and I'm very proud of our guys."
South Africa captain Adriaan Strauss: "It was a very tough game, they were tactically very good and we couldn't deal with the high ball. We just couldn't put any pressure on the England team and we felt it the whole game. We'll have a hard look at ourselves on Monday and we'll fight back."
Media playback is not supported on this device
England host Fiji at Twickenham next Saturday at 14:30 GMT.
England: Brown; Yarde, Daly, Farrell, May; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, Hartley, Cole, Launchbury, Lawes, Robshaw, Wood, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Care for Youngs (68), Marler for M Vunipola (63), George for Hartley (57), Hughes for Wood (54), Attwood for B Vunipola (73), Sinckler for Cole (73), Teo'o for Ford (73).
South Africa: Le Roux; Combrinck, Venter, De Allende, Pietersen; Lambie, Paige, Mtawarira, Strauss, Koch, Etzebeth, De Jager, Alberts, Du Toit, Whiteley.
Replacements: Mostert for Etzebeth (31), Goosen for Lambie (55), F de Klerk for Paige (63), Kitshoff for Mtawarira (56), Adriaanse for Koch (56), Carr for De Jager (68), Mbonambi for Strauss (74), Mapoe for Pietersen (78) | England stretched their perfect record under Eddie Jones to 10 matches as they demolished a weary South Africa at a rain-soaked Twickenham. | 37950182 | [
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Walter Bartram was prospecting in dusty terrain in Coober Pedy, about 750km (466 miles) north of Adelaide, in 1946 when he staked a claim to what became called the Fire of Australia.
Although his family achieved success in opal trading, their greatest discovery has been seen rarely by the public.
That has just changed.
The 998g (35.2oz) opal, valued at nearly A$900,000 (£550,000; $680,000), is now on display in Adelaide's South Australian Museum.
Still largely in its original condition, the opal's two polished faces reveal a kaleidoscope of colours from green to yellow to red.
"When my father was alive, it was originally kept separately from all trading because it was such a significant piece," Alan Bartram told the BBC.
"We decided we would retain that intention, and keep it as a significant and obviously excellent example of light opal from South Australia."
The family has decided to pass it on for future generations to enjoy.
The museum's director, Brian Oldman, said the opal's rarity should not be underestimated.
"Opal of this quality can only be created under certain climate conditions," Mr Oldman said.
"When our state's inland sea evaporated millions of years ago, it provided a unique silica-rich environment for the creation of precious opal. It is these exceptional conditions that created the Fire of Australia."
A mining town for more than 100 years, Coober Pedy still draws people lured by the hope of striking it rich.
"They're becoming more scarce because the overheads of mining now are getting to be so expensive - in fuel, explosives, machinery and living costs on the field," Mr Bartram said.
"But South Australia supplies about 90% of the world's quality opals. There may be more major finds."
Reporting by the BBC's Greg Dunlop | The world's finest uncut opal has mostly been kept in a safe deposit box since it was unearthed from the South Australian outback with a pick and shovel 70 years ago. | 38713957 | [
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While 7% of people underpay and could be fined, 13% are paying too much.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) wants train companies to refund passengers who accidentally buy tickets that are too expensive for their journey.
Train operators said that vending machines were designed for simple ticket requirements.
They say plans to simplify fares will help them to give clearer information on ticket machines.
The ORR employed mystery shoppers to buy rail tickets from machines.
"Despite investment in new technology and the removal of jargon from ticket machines, our new research shows passengers may be paying more for their journey than necessary," said John Larkinson, ORR director of railway markets and economics.
"We are calling on train companies to commit to refund anyone who finds that they could have bought a cheaper ticket for the same journey," he added.
Rail operators C2C and Scotrail already have a price guarantee in place for when passengers overpay.
Earlier this month, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train operators, announced a trial scheme to simplify fares.
It said the 16 million fares on offer were "baffling" for passengers.
As part of the trial, which begins in May, ticket machines on stations will also be updated, to make sure they show the cheapest fares available.
"To quickly benefit passengers, the Rail Delivery Group must set out what improvements to ticket machines will be made in the short term," said Mr Larkinson.
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the RDG, told the BBC that operators were aware that there was a problem with machines, and that they had formulated a 10-point plan to improve them.
Yet he pointed out the machines were designed as "queue-busters" for passengers with relatively simple requirements, but "expectations [of passengers] had evolved".
He said that the system of fares was far too complicated.
The RDG also added: "Complex, decades-old government rail fare regulations make it more difficult for train companies to offer the right, simple options on ticket machines.
"Simplifying the number and types of fares in the system will let train companies provide customers with clear information and help them to make better informed choices," they added.
by Ben Morris, business reporter
In the British Rail era, rail fares were a relatively simple affair, with ticket prices worked out on a cost-per mile basis.
But in the 1990s, in an effort to make the network more efficient, the operation of rail services was handed to private train operating companies (Tocs).
The Tocs were given some freedom to set ticket prices, with advanced ticket bookings particularly important to them, as it helps them to keep their trains full.
To protect passengers, other fares were regulated, including season tickets and off-peak fares.
The result is a patchwork of fares, that becomes even more complicated when a passenger wants to cross several train regions.
Savvy travellers have been taking advantage of this by splitting their journey into several tickets, rather than one through-ticket. | Rail ticket machines cause so much confusion that one-fifth of passengers who use them buy the wrong ticket, according to the rail regulator. | 38925689 | [
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The club will be known as Arsenal, and say they will use the 'Women' title only when "official clarity" is needed.
Arsenal are the fourth top-tier side to carry the 'Women' name, with six teams using the 'Ladies' moniker.
In a message on the club's website, captain Alex Scott said the name change was a "bold statement of intent, support and unity".
She continued: "The term 'Women' delineates between men and women without as many stereotypes or preconceived notions and it is in keeping with modern-day thinking on equality.
"We are moving forward together as a club and I hope that this sends out a message that times are changing for the better." | Women's Super League side Arsenal have dropped 'Ladies' from their name and become Arsenal Women. | 40757808 | [
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Alassane Ouattara has been in power since his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, was forcibly removed from after refusing to recognise Mr Ouattara internationally recognised victory in the November 2010 presidential election.
The poll was meant to draw a line under a 2002-03 civil war which left the country split in two, but it led to a stalemate lasting more than four months.
Mr Gbagbo, who had been in power for 10 years and several times delayed elections, claimed victory in the 2010 poll and held onto power, helped by his militia but isolated by the international community.
Mr Ouattara was initially confined to a hotel near the presidential palace, protected by UN peacekeeping troops.
Eventually his militia overran the country and - together with French troops - stormed the presidential palace and captured Mr Gbagbo in April 2011.
Mr Gbagbo was subsequently transferred to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.
In 2015, Mr Ouattara won a second five-year term with nearly 84% of the vote, in an election described as credible by US observers. An ally of Mr Ggagbo won 9%.
A US-educated economist from the Muslim north, Mr Ouattara served as President Felix Houphouet-Boigny's last prime minister after a long career at the International Monetary Fund.
After losing a power struggle against Henri Konan Bedie, who became president, Mr Ouattara returned to the IMF, eventually becoming deputy managing director.
He made a comeback in Ivorian politics as head of the liberal Rally of the Republicans, which has strong support in the north, and backed the coup that ousted President Bedie in 1999.
Disputes about whether Mr Ouattara's parents were Ivorian led to his being debarred from standing for the presidency in 2000 - one of the controversies that prompted the 2002 civil war. As part of the post-war settlement, Mr Ouattara was allowed to register for the 2010 election. | President : Alassane Ouattara | 13287218 | [
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The 39-year-old has passed the Premier League and Football League's fit and proper person test and will become chairman of the West Midlands side.
He succeeds American Randy Lerner, who bought Villa for £62.6m in 2006.
Villa were relegated from the Premier League for the first time last season, finishing bottom, and have since named Roberto di Matteo as manager.
Dr Xia spent six years at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including five months at Oxford University, before returning to China.
He made his fortune as the owner of Recon Group, a holding company that has the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock exchanges, employing 35,000 people in 75 countries.
His takeover comprises a £52m purchase price and a £24m overdraft. In addition, he will contribute £60m in operating costs.
Dr Xia met the Football League's Shaun Harvey in London on Monday for formal confirmation he had passed the owners' and directors' test, after the Premier League had been satisfied in its investigations.
The new Villa vice-chairman is Chris Samuelson, an international financier who has been involved in a failed takeover at fellow Championship club Reading.
He also attempted to inject finances into Premier League Everton more than a decade ago.
The new chief executive is Keith Wyness, who filled the same role at Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen, then Everton.
Samuelson was instrumental in getting Dr Xia interested in the Villa project and introduced the new owner to Wyness.
Dr Xia is expected to inject about £30m into the transfer fund available to former Chelsea, West Brom and Schalke boss Di Matteo as he rebuilds a first-team squad that won only three league games last season.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Chinese businessman Dr Tony Xia has completed his £76m takeover of Championship club Aston Villa. | 36522094 | [
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Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young are back in training after respective ankle and groin injuries and might be involved.
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has a full-strength squad and could name an unchanged side.
Cesc Fabregas and Willian are the most likely of any players to earn a recall.
Guy Mowbray: "On paper it's one of the biggest fixtures of the season, but there are factors to suggest that this won't be a United-Chelsea classic.
"A close one as with last month's FA Cup tie? Almost certainly. End to end attacking excitement? Probably not.
"Chelsea will be fresher than United and quite frankly are much the better team right now, so Jose Mourinho is unlikely to set his side up for an open game.
"Moreover, he'll be very keen to avoid any prospect of a third defeat of the season to his old side - and maybe more pertinently to Antonio Conte.
"A fourth Old Trafford Premier League draw in a row will be a popular prediction."
Twitter: @Guymowbray
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Chelsea: "It's not for no reason that they are top of the league.
"It's not just because they're fresh but they have individual quality and they have collective quality.
"They have a certain style of play, they stick to it, they do it very well.
"For me, it is just a game. One more game. No difference for me."
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte: "I have zero problems [with Mourinho]. It's only a sporting competition between him and me.
"There is a game of football. I want to try and win with my team. He wants to try and win with his team. It's normal to be at conflict during the game, but only a sporting conflict."
I was tempted to go for a draw but, because of United's schedule, I am going to back Chelsea to take another step towards the title.
Prediction: 0-2
Lawro's full predictions v singer Sting and his son.
Head-to-head
Manchester United
Chelsea
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches. | Goalkeeper David de Gea is expected to start for Manchester United after missing out against Sunderland with a hip problem and only making the substitutes' bench against Anderlecht. | 39543146 | [
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21 January 2017 Last updated at 11:03 GMT
Former British spy and author Ted Allbeury, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, wrote The Twentieth Day of January during heightened cold war tensions in 1980.
The 37-year-old novel has attracted a fresh wave of attention as its plot reflects current concerns about US politics today.
Donald Trump was sworn in as US President on Friday after a controversial campaign which included claims Russian spies were involved in hacking during the election campaign. | A spy novel written nearly 40 years ago about Russia attempting to get one of its own into the White House has risen to the top of the download charts in its genre. | 38704296 | [
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Leeds had the better of the first half, but the Brewers came closest to opening the scoring when Ben Turner headed Matt Palmer's free-kick against the bar.
Wood put the hosts ahead after the break, firing down the middle from the penalty spot after a trip on Doukara.
And Doukara sealed the win in injury time, slotting in after being picked out by Wood on the counter-attack.
The result ended Burton boss Nigel Clough's perfect record against Leeds, a team he had beaten in all six of his past encounters in his previous role as Derby manager.
The Brewers remain without an away win in the Championship, having been promoted to the second tier of English football for the first time in their history last season.
Leeds were always likely to provide tough opposition in the first-ever meeting between the two sides, with their unbeaten record at home now stretched to five matches.
Garry Monk's side have climbed to ninth in the table, while defeat for Burton sees them slide to 17th.
REACTION: Leeds manager Garry Monk speaks to BBC Radio Leeds
REACTION: Burton boss Nigel Clough speaks to BBC Radio Derby
Leeds head coach Garry Monk:
"It wasn't the best of performances, considering the context of the week we have had. We are not overly happy with the performance but are delighted with the desire to get the win.
"I was pushing the players to put on a good performance but I knew it would be hard after Tuesday night.
"We showed real character and determination to fight to the end. We had to scrap but we knew we would get chances and it was about taking those chances."
Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough:
"That's what it's been like for us away from home, things are just not falling our way.
"Leeds are a good team and this is a very hard place to come. This season is a great learning curve for the players who are learning all the time.
"I thought that we defended and battled well today. We stuck in there for a long time and were very close to getting what would have been a valuable point."
Match ends, Leeds United 2, Burton Albion 0.
Second Half ends, Leeds United 2, Burton Albion 0.
Souleymane Doukara (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
Goal! Leeds United 2, Burton Albion 0. Souleymane Doukara (Leeds United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal following a fast break.
Attempt blocked. Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Matthew Palmer (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Leeds United. Alex Mowatt replaces Hadi Sacko.
Ronaldo Vieira (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Matthew Palmer (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ronaldo Vieira (Leeds United).
Kyle McFadzean (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Chris Wood (Leeds United).
Lucas Akins (Burton Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Pontus Jansson (Leeds United).
Corner, Leeds United. Conceded by Jon McLaughlin.
Attempt saved. Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hadi Sacko.
Attempt saved. Tom Naylor (Burton Albion) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Chris O'Grady with a headed pass.
Substitution, Leeds United. Ronaldo Vieira replaces Pablo Hernández.
Attempt missed. Ben Turner (Burton Albion) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Matthew Palmer with a cross.
Corner, Burton Albion. Conceded by Hadi Sacko.
Attempt blocked. Stuart Beavon (Burton Albion) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Corner, Burton Albion. Conceded by Kalvin Phillips.
Foul by Souleymane Doukara (Leeds United).
Lucas Akins (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Leeds United 1, Burton Albion 0. Chris Wood (Leeds United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Ben Turner (Burton Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Penalty Leeds United. Souleymane Doukara draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Ben Turner (Burton Albion) after a foul in the penalty area.
Attempt blocked. Matthew Palmer (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Burton Albion. Tom Naylor replaces Lee Williamson.
Pontus Jansson (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Stuart Beavon (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Pontus Jansson (Leeds United).
Foul by Stuart Beavon (Burton Albion).
Luke Ayling (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Lucas Akins with a cross.
Substitution, Leeds United. Souleymane Doukara replaces Kemar Roofe.
Attempt missed. Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Matthew Palmer with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Burton Albion. Conceded by Pontus Jansson. | Goals from Chris Wood and Souleymane Doukara gave Leeds victory against Burton Albion in the Championship. | 37736459 | [
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The 31-year-old Scot was development driver this year but her position will be expanded in 2015 to include two runs in Friday practice and two tests.
The move comes after Wolff impressed in an outing in free practice at the German Grand Prix this year.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"I'm really happy to be able to carry on and get more time in the car," Wolff told BBC Sport.
"That was the most important aspect.
"This is another step in the right direction for me. I am delighted Williams are recognising my progression, hard work and that it is performance that counts.
"I'm incredibly proud of what the team have achieved this year and I hope we can continue that development next year."
Williams have finished third in the constructors' championship this season, a year after suffering the worst season in their history, following a major internal restructuring and a switch from Renault to Mercedes engines.
This year, Wolff did a day's test in Barcelona in May, before two planned outings in free practice at the British and German races.
Her outing at Silverstone ended after less than a lap when her car suffered engine failure.
Media playback is not supported on this device
But at Hockenheim she completed a full session and ended up with a time just 0.227 seconds slower than race driver Felipe Massa, an 11-time grand prix winner.
Williams's reserve driver Felipe Nasrhas moved to race for Sauber in 2015.
It is not clear whether Williams will replace him, but Wolff is in any case expected to be the prime driver for the team at tests other than the race drivers Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams added: "Susie continues to impress us with her strong technical knowledge, the feedback she delivers and the performance when she drives the car both on the track and in the simulator.
"She has steadily increased her time behind the wheel since she joined us in April 2012 and her appointment as test driver was a natural progression." | Susie Wolff will stay at the Williams team next season in an enhanced role as test driver. | 30234094 | [
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It is believed they will oppose plans to publicly name recipients and seek legal advice on any contract changes.
The group, who met on Wednesday, are against publication of their details.
This is due to the negative publicity some businesses received after details of their biomass installations were made public.
The Economy Minister, Simon Hamilton, has plans which, he claims, could reduce a potential scheme overspend of hundreds of millions to "effectively zero".
His officials have already written to boiler owners giving them until next Tuesday to agree to the publication of their names.
In the letter, recipients were told the department was "minded to publish the names" in the "interests of openness and transparency".
It is understood the group will represent only those who have signed up to the scheme in good faith and are operating it legitimately.
They are writing to the Department of the Economy seeking a meeting ahead of any announcement of changes to the scheme.
The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) chief executive, Wesley Aston, said it was advising members who availed of the scheme not to give permission for their names to be disclosed, unless audits have been carried out of their installation.
"Without the audit, farmers risk being criticised, without being able to show they acted within the terms of the scheme," he said.
"It is up to individuals to decide whether they give permission to be named - but we fear this is not about transparency but efforts to shift the focus from those who failed to safeguard the taxpayer."
The UFU said the "vast majority" of people using the scheme were doing so "legitimately".
The RHI scheme was flawed from the start offering overgenerous subsidies over 20 years.
A spike in applications in Autumn 2015 led to an over commitment that could cost the Northern Ireland taxpayers up to £490m over 20 years.
The handling of the scandal has become a major political row that threatens to bring down Stormont.
Sinn Féin has demanded that Mrs Foster stand aside pending an investigation.
Mrs Foster has said she will not be standing down. | Biomass boiler owners have formed a group to deal directly with government officials proposing changes to the controversial RHI scheme. | 38512304 | [
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A 911 caller said "they were going to blow up the Statue of Liberty", the National Park Service said.
Federal police arrived and when sniffer dogs found "an area of interest" near lockers at the statue's base, the island was evacuated.
After a sweep, the area was declared safe by late afternoon.
The city's fire department said it had been called at 12:57 local time (16:57 GMT) for the investigation of "a suspicious package".
Statue Cruises, which takes tourists to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, said ferries were postponed after officials found a suspicious package at Liberty Island.
Karen Mason, 68, of Cincinnati, Ohio, said they had just boarded a boat at Ellis Island at 12:40 p.m.
"All of a sudden, they said 'Disembark, disembark, disembark. We have to evacuate the boat,'" she said.
There was no sense of danger, she added. "But we saw helicopters and we knew something was going on," she said.
The statue was given to the US by France in 1886, in recognition of the friendship between the two nations. | Hundreds of tourists were evacuated from New York's Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island as a precaution due to a bomb threat and suspicious package. | 32452819 | [
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An ultra low emission zone in London for the most polluting cars will come into force in April 2019 and reports say other cities will follow suit.
The government will also produce a new air quality plan by the end of April.
But Theresa May has said she will "take into account" drivers encouraged to buy diesel cars by previous governments.
Former Labour Chancellor Gordon Brown introduced a lower vehicle tax in 2001 to encourage people to buy diesel cars, as they were more economical and thought to be less harmful in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.
But there has been increasing concern from experts that the vehicles emit dangerous levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is thought to have caused thousands of premature deaths in the UK.
The government has to produce a new air quality plan after receiving a "final warning" from the European Commission about breaches of legal air quality levels in the UK.
It also lost two court cases in 2015 and 2016 over pollution levels brought by environmental lawyers ClientEarth.
To tackle the issue, a so-called "toxin tax" is expected to be rolled out across several cities, charging drivers of diesel cars up to £20 per day to come into urban areas.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced on Tuesday that such a scheme - creating an the ultra low emission zone in the capital - would come into force in two years' time, with a charge of £12.50 for petrol cars that do not meet Euro 4 standards and diesel vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 standards.
But motoring organisations have said diesel car drivers are being "punished" for following a previous government's policy.
Mrs May has now hinted there will be schemes to help drivers who were told that diesel vehicles were the right purchase.
Speaking on her trip to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, she said: "Decisions will be taken when we produce that [air quality] plan.
"But I'm very conscious of the fact that past governments have encouraged people to buy diesel cars and we need to take that into account when we look at what we do in the future. "
She did not set out any specific plans, but there have been reports of a scrappage scheme that could pay people to get rid of their diesel vehicles. | Diesel car owners could get some help from the government if cities adopt new charges to tackle pollution, the prime minister has suggested. | 39499331 | [
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The £22m road bridge linking Danestone and Tillydrone is aimed at easing congestion in the north of the city.
It was supposed to be completed late last year but issues with re-routing underground utilities have caused a series of delays.
The new crossing, which is expected to the called 'the Diamond Bridge' - will be opened on Thursday 9 June. | The third Don crossing in Aberdeen is to open next week, following months of delays. | 36411874 | [
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Royal Mail said the rise of delivery firm Whistl could wipe £200m off sales.
It also said competition was endangering its government-mandated Universal Service, which guarantees a single price postal service that delivers to all UK addresses.
The caution came as Royal Mail reported a small fall in pre-tax profits.
They dropped to £218m for the six months to 28 September, from £233m in the same period last year.
In its financial statement, Royal Mail named Whistl, formerly known as TNT, as a direct threat to future profits.
The company also said it faced increased parcel competition and that Amazon's recently-launched delivery service could singlehandedly dent its business by as much as 2%, in the short term.
In the past six months, Royal Mail's UK parcel delivery division saw revenues fall by 1%.
However the firm's international parcel delivery service, GLS, fared well, with revenue up 7%, helping the company's overall revenue to rise by just £5m to slightly above £4.52bn.
Royal Mail's letter business saw volumes drop by 3%, although this was not as steep a fall as had been expected.
The slower decline was due to election pamphleteering, particularly relating to the Scottish Referendum, for which Royal Mail delivered seven million campaign mailings and over five million poll cards.
Royal Mail boss Moya Greene told the BBC that increased competition was threatening the company's ability to deliver letters to all parts of the UK - a service mandated by law.
She added that the "cherry-picking" of urban mail routes by competitors "undermines the economics" of its nationwide delivery service.
Royal Mail has long called for the regulator, Ofcom, to consider expanding the Universal Service mandate - which ensures mail is delivered across the UK, six days a week, at one fixed price - so that it includes rivals such as Whistl.
That may include forcing competitors to also deliver letters to rural areas at an affordable price - a service for which companies can make little or no profit.
"We believe the current regulatory framework does not fully address the problem posed by unfettered direct delivery competition," Royal Mail said.
"We think there is an urgent need for a new framework that will secure the sustainable provision of the Universal Service for the future."
In response, a spokesman for Ofcom said the regulator's own evidence "clearly shows that the service is not currently under threat".
"We would assess any emerging threat to the service quickly, in the interests of postal users," he added.
Royal Mail has been under increased public scrutiny since it was privatised in October 2013.
In July, a group of MPs voiced concerns that the taxpayer may have lost out by about £1bn after Royal Mail shares were "undervalued".
After an initial pricing of 330p, Royal Mail shares rose above 600p in the months after its flotation, but have been steadily declining since the early summer, to 430p.
Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, BBC Business Editor
Lurking on page 8 of today's numbers is the real story in Royal Mail's results - that the business is warning of a "material risk" to the Universal Service obligation.
Some may dismiss this as special pleading from a company that does not much like competition.
But I have just spoken to the Royal Mail's chief executive, Moya Greene, and she is clear - if action isn't taken now, Royal Mail's ability to fund the six day letter delivery service across the UK will come under possibly unmanageable strain.
"The threat is now," she told me. | Shares in Royal Mail closed down 8.3% after the firm warned that rivals - including Amazon - were eating into its parcel delivery business. | 30110817 | [
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Monday's Dublin meeting is part of an assembly External Affairs Committee inquiry and is on the day the UK begins the process of leaving the EU.
The fear is a "soft" post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland and Ireland could result in more stringent controls at Welsh ports for freight operators.
First Minister Carwyn Jones has warned that could mean job losses.
The Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, and representatives from the Irish Exporters Association were among those meeting AMs during the Dublin visit.
The UK's formal Brexit negotiations with the European Commission started on Monday in Brussels.
Launching a paper on Brexit and devolution last week, Mr Jones said the question of Ireland was "insoluble" at the moment.
He said Wales had an interest in the border between the north and south of Ireland because of Wales' maritime border with the Republic.
Mr Jones warned a "seamless" border between north and south, twinned with customs checks at Welsh ports, could provide an incentive for trade to avoid Welsh ports.
Freight operators could "go through Cairnryan in Scotland, go through Liverpool and go to Northern Ireland then down rather than mess about in Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke", he warned.
"So there are job losses there if we're not careful."
The first minister said the Welsh Government was working with the Irish government on the issue. | Brexit's impact on Welsh ports is being discussed as assembly members meet Irish politicians and business leaders. | 40311782 | [
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13 April 2016 Last updated at 06:44 BST
Lambing season is a busy time for farmers, with thousands of baby sheep being born across the UK.
Ten-year-old Tom and his sister Mali have been helping their family during lambing season.
Around 4,000 lambs will be born on Tom and Mali's farm this year.
Leah visits north Wales to meet them, and to find out just how busy it can be... | Spring is here and that means flowers, sunshine and lots of little lambs! | 36016106 | [
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After the start of day three had been delayed until 17:15 BST, Wakely (112) and Keogh (105 not out) combined to move the hosts from 60-3 to 214-3.
The pair's 171-run stand put Northants in command, allowing them to declare on 289-7 with 16 overs left in the day.
The visitors reached 44-0, 349 behind.
Paul Horton (20 not out) and Arun Harinath (20 not out) survived a testing final hour to leave Northants needing 10 wickets - and Leicestershire 350 runs - for victory on the final day. | Alex Wakely and Rob Keogh both scored centuries as Northants continued to assert their authority over Leicestershire, before setting them a victory target of 394 at Northampton. | 40426136 | [
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Shares in the 80%-taxpayer-owned bank dropped 3% on the news.
RBS boss Ross McEwan said: "The scale of the bad decisions during that period [the financial crisis] means that some problems are still just emerging."
RBS said its executive committee would not receive a bonus for 2013, Mr McEwan has waived his bonus for 2013-14.
RBS said on Monday the £3.1bn it planned to set aside would be used to settle claims relating to mortgage products, PPI claims and interest rate hedging.
It would allocate:
RBS chairman Philip Hampton said: "RBS did suffer more than most banks in the crisis and these charges today represent an extra clearing-up of the mess that was created in the bank in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008."
By Robert PestonBusiness editor
The announcement of the new provisions came near the end of share dealing in London.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "It's an absolutely shocking story that the British taxpayers are still paying for the excesses of this bank in the boom period before it collapsed."
Ian Gordon, from Investec Securities, said the news was not entirely unexpected, but the amounts involved were.
"Some of this is a pull forward of future bad news and some of this is additional," Mr Gordon said.
"Most of the items aren't surprising, but the amounts are at or above the top end of expectations."
The cumulative amount set aside to cover the mis-selling of PPI, payment protection insurance, alone, is now £3.1bn, said RBS.
RBS, has also, in common with most of its rivals, been fined for fixing the key Libor interest rate and has suspended traders amid an investigation into alleged rigging of the foreign exchange markets.
The BBC learned earlier this month that general discussions about bonuses had taken place with shareholders, including UK Financial Investments, the body that manages the government's shareholding in the bank.
But, in an interview with the BBC on Monday, RBS chief executive Ross McEwan explained why the most senior executives would not be receiving bonuses this year.
"This is about leadership," he said. "When you look at what we're having to put aside for past activity regarding litigation and conduct, I said to the team, 'I am sorry, I just cannot justify the payment of a bonus.'"
He added most of the current leadership had nothing to do with past wrongdoing, but said they needed to "set the standards".
But Mr McEwan said that when it came to paying 200% bonuses to attract and keep talented staff, "We need to make sure that, whatever the market does, we are in a position to follow it.
"We are not the leaders on pay, we just need to stay within touching distance of those we have to compete with to get the talent."
The controversy over bank bonuses flared up in Parliament earlier this month, with Labour demanding Chancellor George Osborne block any attempt by RBS to pay bonuses of up to double its bankers' annual salary.
In 2008, the government bailed out RBS with £46bn of public funds, and now owns just over 80% of the giant bank.
Since then, the bank's share price has tumbled to less than one-third the price the government paid for it.
There are questions over whether the government will be able to recoup that money.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said that investors and politicians had told him they think it is unlikely taxpayers will get all their money back. | RBS may face full-year losses of up to £8bn, after the bank said it needed another £3.1bn for claims relating to the financial crisis. | 25918998 | [
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Emergency services were called to Longtown Bridge, near Carlisle, on Tuesday after a 32-year-old man got into difficulties in the water.
The man had just rescued a young girl from the river, Cumbria Police said.
Chief Fire Officer for the county, Jim Onions, warned people against swimming during heatwaves because of strong currents.
Divers and rescue crews were involved in the search, along with the coastguard and an RAF helicopter with thermal imaging equipment.
The body has not been formally identified.
Mr Onions said: "We are really worried that during a hot spell - especially in the school holidays - people enter the water for a cooling dip because the water looks calm on the surface.
"But I've seen highly skilled firefighters in the water struggling because of strong undercurrents."
The rescued girl is at Cumberland Infirmary receiving treatment. | A body has been recovered from a Cumbrian river after a search for a man missing in the water. | 33340709 | [
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Healthcare workers are visibly struggling, the response to the outbreak has been damned as "lethally inadequate" and the situation is showing signs of getting considerably worse.
The outbreak has been running all year, but the latest in a stream of worrying statistics shows 40% of all the deaths have been in just the past three weeks.
So what can we expect in the months, and possibly years, to come?
Crystal-ball gazing can be a dangerous affair, particularly as this is uncharted territory.
Previous outbreaks have been rapidly contained, affecting just dozens of people; this one has already infected more than 3,900.
But the first clues are in the current data.
Dr Christopher Dye, the director of strategy in the office of the director general at the World Health Organization, has the difficult challenge of predicting what will happen next.
He told the BBC: "We're quite worried, I have to say, about the latest data we've just gathered."
Up until a couple of weeks ago, the outbreak was raging in Liberia especially close to the epicentre of the outbreak in Lofa County and in the capital Monrovia.
However, the two other countries primarily hit by the outbreak, Sierra Leone and Guinea, had been relatively stable. Numbers of new cases were not falling, but they were not soaring either.
That is no longer true, with a surge in cases everywhere except some parts of rural Sierra Leone in the districts of Kenema and Kailahun.
"In most other areas, cases and deaths appear to be rising. That came as a shock to me," said Dr Dye.
The stories of healthcare workers being stretched beyond breaking point are countless.
A lack of basic protective gear such as gloves has been widely reported.
The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has an isolation facility with 160 beds in Monrovia. But it says the queues are growing and they need another 800 beds to deal with the number of people who are already sick.
This is not a scenario for containing an epidemic, but fuelling one.
Dr Dye's tentative forecasts are grim: "At the moment we're seeing about 500 new cases each week. Those numbers appear to be increasing.
"I've just projected about five weeks into the future and if current trends persist we would be seeing not hundreds of cases per week, but thousands of cases per week and that is terribly disturbing.
"The situation is bad and we have to prepare for it getting worse."
The World Health Organization is using an educated guess of 20,000 cases before the end, in order to plan the scale of the response.
But the true potential of the outbreak is unknown and the WHO figure has been described to me as optimistic by some scientists.
The outbreak started in Gueckedou in Guinea, on the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone.
But it has spread significantly with the WHO reporting that "for the first time since the outbreak began" that the majority of cases in the past week were outside of that epicentre with the capital cities becoming major centres of Ebola.
Additionally one person took the infection to Nigeria, where it has since spread in a small cluster and there has been an isolated case in Senegal.
Prof Simon Hay, from the University of Oxford, will publish his scientific analysis of the changing face of Ebola outbreaks in the next week.
He warns that as the total number of cases increases, so does the risk of international spread.
He told me: "I think you're going to have more and more of these individual cases seeding into new areas, continued flows into Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, and all the countries in between, so I'm not very optimistic at the moment that we're containing this epidemic."
There is always the risk that one of these cases could arrive in Europe or North America.
However, richer countries have the facilities to prevent an isolated case becoming an uncontrolled outbreak.
The worry is that other African countries with poor resources would not cope and find themselves in a similar situation to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"Nigeria is the one I look at with great concern. If things started to get out of control in Nigeria I really think that, because of its connectedness and size, that could be quite alarming," said Prof Hay.
It is also unclear when this outbreak will be over.
Officially the World Health Organization is saying the outbreak can be contained in six to nine months. But that is based on getting the resources to tackle the outbreak, which are currently stretched too thinly to contain Ebola as it stands.
There have been nearly 4,000 cases so far, cases are increasing exponentially and there is a potentially vulnerable population in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea in excess of 20 million.
11,315
Deaths - probable, confirmed and suspected
(Includes one in the US and six in Mali)
4,809 Liberia
3,955 Sierra Leone
2,536 Guinea
8 Nigeria
Prof Neil Ferguson, the director of the UK Medical Research Council's centre for outbreak analysis and modelling at Imperial College London, is providing data analysis for the World Health Organization.
He is convinced that the three countries will eventually get on top of the outbreak, but not without help from the rest of the world.
"The authorities are completely overwhelmed. All the trends are the epidemic is increasing, it's still growing exponentially, so there's certainly no reason for optimism.
"It is hard to make a long-term prognosis, but this is certainly something we'll be dealing with in 2015.
"I can well imagine that unless there is a ramp-up of the response on the ground, we'll have flare-ups of cases for several months and possibly years."
It is certainly a timeframe that could see an experimental Ebola vaccine, which began safety testing this week, being used on the front line.
If the early trials are successful then healthcare workers could be vaccinated in November this year.
But there are is also a fear being raised by some virologists that Ebola may never be contained.
Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, describes the situation as "desperate".
His concern is that the virus is being given its first major opportunity to adapt to thrive in people, due to the large number of human-to-human transmissions of the virus during this outbreak of unprecedented scale.
Ebola is thought to come from fruit bats; humans are not its preferred host.
But like HIV and influenza, Ebola's genetic code is a strand of RNA. Think of RNA as the less stable cousin of DNA, which is where we keep our genetic information.
It means Ebola virus has a high rate of mutation and with mutation comes the possibility of adapting.
Prof Ball argues: "It is increasing exponentially and the fatality rate seems to be decreasing, but why?
"Is it better medical care, earlier intervention or is the virus adapting to humans and becoming less pathogenic? As a virologist that's what I think is happening."
There is a relationship between how deadly a virus is and how easily it spreads. Generally speaking if a virus is less likely to kill you, then you are more likely to spread it - although smallpox was a notable exception.
Prof Ball said "it really wouldn't surprise me" if Ebola adapted, the death rate fell to around 5% and the outbreak never really ended.
"It is like HIV, which has been knocking away at human-to-human transmission for hundreds of years before eventually finding the right combo of beneficial mutations to spread through human populations."
It is also easy to focus just on Ebola when the outbreak is having a much wider impact on these countries.
The malaria season, which is generally in September and October in West Africa, is now starting.
This will present a number of issues. Will there be capacity to treat patients with malaria? Will people infected with malaria seek treatment if the nearest hospital is rammed with suspected Ebola cases? How will healthcare workers cope when malaria and Ebola both present with similar symptoms.
And that nervousness about the safety of Ebola-rife hospitals could damage care yet further. Will pregnant women go to hospital to give birth or stay at home where any complications could be more deadly.
The collateral damage from Ebola is unlikely to be assessed until after the outbreak.
No matter where you look there is not much cause for optimism.
The biggest unknown in all of this is when there will be sufficient resources to properly tackle the outbreak.
Prof Neil Ferguson concludes: "This summer has there have been many globally important news stories in Ukraine and the Middle East, but what we see unfolding in West Africa is a catastrophe to the population, killing thousands in the region now and we're seeing a breakdown of the fragile healthcare system.
"So I think it needs to move up the political agenda rather more rapidly than it has." | This isn't just the worst single Ebola outbreak in history, it has now killed more than all the others combined. | 29060239 | [
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The figures for England from the regulator, NHS Improvement, cover the 2015-16 year, which finished in March.
By December - the three-quarter mark - hospital, ambulance and mental health trusts were already £2.2bn in the red, with the figure expected to have risen.
Overspending on agency staff has been highlighted as a major problem, as well as rising demand for services.
Experts are warning the pressure the overspend puts hospitals under has an impact on care.
Analysis: Is enough being spent by the NHS?
Analysis: Mind the NHS financial black hole
Financial problems 'endemic in the NHS'
The figures account for about two-thirds of the entire £116bn health budget - they do not cover GPs, training budgets, public health budgets held by councils or any unspent money held by local health managers.
That means the Department of Health could still balance the books when the overall accounts are released later in the summer.
But the expected overspend still has the potential to impact on services.
This year the NHS is getting £3.8bn extra as part of the spending review settlement.
Some £1.8bn has already been set aside for hospitals to cover their deficits, but anything in excess of that will mean they will be under more pressure to make savings as the year goes on.
A hospital trust financial director, who wishes to remain anonymous, suggested the Department of Health was "cooking up accounting alchemy" by "turning hospitals' very large aggregated deficits into a much lower figure to ensure the NHS meets the spending limit set by HM Treasury".
He told the BBC that examples included shifting the recording of investment spending into day-to-day running costs.
He said: "The so-called capital to revenue transfer may well be a legitimate accounting adjustment at the margins of the NHS accounts.
"But I have grave concerns that it is being used on a scale of hundreds of millions of pounds in more than 80 trusts. The cash is being washed through hospitals' accounts as 'income' merely to improve the bottom line."
A Department of Health spokesman said: "We are committed to the NHS and are investing £10bn in its own plan for the future - but it is vital that money is accounted for consistently.
"The transfer from capital to revenue makes no difference to the overall departmental picture given Parliament has voted to approve it - to say otherwise is misleading."
He also pointed out that the final accounts will be reviewed by the National Audit Office.
"We recognise parts of the NHS are under pressure as demand rises due to our ageing population, but we are providing intensive support to improve performance, boost efficiency and reduce the use of expensive agency staff."
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said concerns over accounting practices were a symptom of unprecedented demand on the NHS.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There's no doubt that the pressure this year is much greater than it has ever been, and that therefore each individual finance director and each individual board is having to make a decision about what they believe is appropriate."
But he added that the practices were "a perfectly ordinary thing to do".
David Bennett, a former chief executive of Monitor, the regulator of the NHS in England which is now part of NHS Improvement, said the Department of Health had to find a way of funding the deficit.
"For certain, they will be scrambling around trying to find every little budget elsewhere that has underspent to try and make sure the numbers all add up".
Hospitals and other health services are not like businesses. They're not going to just go bust, as the government can always step in.
But the financial problems do matter. The deficits being racked up are massive. You probably have to go back to a very different era - the early 1950s - to find a similar scale of overspending, and that led to charges being brought in for spectacles, dentistry and prescriptions.
This time the impact is likely to be felt in terms of what doesn't happen. The Department of Health has made it clear the overspends will not be simply written off. Instead, hospitals (most of the overspends are concentrated among them) will have to use the extra money they have got this year to pay off their debts.
If that happens on a large scale, it puts the NHS on a back foot. Recruitment freezes are introduced, building projects are stopped or delayed and services are scaled back. These measures are already being taken, but more of them will just make it more difficult for the NHS to meet its waiting time targets and provide high-quality care.
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Anita Charlesworth, of the Health Foundation think-tank, said the mood in the NHS "could not be bleaker".
"The level of deficits in terms of scale and how many hospitals are in deficit is unprecedented. It puts organisations under stress, which makes them fragile and risky.
"There is pressure on recruitment, pressure on management and that has an impact on services. We are already seeing waiting time targets being breached."
She also said capital budgets - money which has been set aside for building projects and maintenance - were being raided.
When the three-quarter year figures were released, just seven of the 138 hospital trusts were in surplus.
Last year NHS trusts finished over £800m in the red - with the health service as a whole balancing the books only after a cash injection from the Treasury and by raiding the capital budget.
The rest of the UK does not release equivalent figures as hospitals are not run as autonomous organisations as they are in England.
It means the accounts cover a wider range of services and therefore may take into account surpluses in other areas of the health service.
Figures in Scotland have yet to be published.
Meanwhile, ministers in Wales have predicted the NHS will break even. No data is available for Northern Ireland. | An unprecedented overspend by hospitals and other NHS trusts is expected to be announced later by health bosses. | 36334496 | [
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Mr Netanyahu's statements angered the White House, even though he has since tried to soften his remark.
Tensions between the US and Israel have been growing as the leaders have wrangled over a number of issues.
But Mr Obama described his relationship with Mr Netanyahu as "businesslike."
"I've met with him more than any other world leader," the president said claiming their personal relationship was not a major factor in the dispute. "He is representing his country's interests the way he thinks he needs to, and I'm doing the same."
"So the issue is not a matter of relations between leaders; the issue is a very clear, substantive challenge," he said. "This can't be reduced to a matter of somehow let's all hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya'."
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli officials denied reports that Israel was spying on the US-led talks.
Mr Netanyahu has taken issue with the United States' role in the nuclear negotiations, which he claims would create security risks for Israel.
At the same time, Mr Obama has denounced his counterpart's pre-election statements rejecting creation of a Palestinian state.
Responding to reporters' questions on Tuesday during a news conference originally intended to brief the press on the situation in Afghanistan, President Obama refused to comment on the spy claims first reported in the Wall Street Journal.
He did, however, offer assurances that Israel and other regional partners have been briefed on the negotiation's progress.
Mr Obama also took to time to say that Mr Netanyahu's attempts to qualify his pre-election statements were not effective in advancing a two-state solution.
"I think it's hard to envision how that happens based on the prime minister's statements," he said.
"I've said before and I'll simply repeat: Prime Minister Netanyahu, in the election run-up, stated that a Palestinian state would not occur while he was prime minister. And I took him at his word that that's what he meant," the president said.
In a US TV interview, Mr Netanyahu said he wanted a two-state solution, but said "circumstances have to change".
Mr Obama acknowledged that Mr Netanyahu did not say a Palestinian state would "never" be created. | US President Barack Obama says prospects for a two-state solution in the Middle East are "dim" after the Israeli prime minister vowed to oppose a Palestinian state. | 32044016 | [
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New figures show the total number of teachers across Scotland has risen, but 12 council areas saw numbers fall.
Mr Swinney said the stats were "good news" in light of recruitment "challenges" in some areas.
Opposition parties said numbers were still down over the long term.
And they said parents "have a right to be very angry" about the attainment gap between pupils from better and worse-off backgrounds.
The latest figures showed teacher numbers were up for the first time in several years, with 51,000 employed in state schools in 2016.
But in 12 local authorities the numbers fell, with the largest percentage drop in Moray, which has highlighted recruitment problems in the past.
The figures were among a fresh batch of important statistics being published on the state of the Scottish education system.
The ratio of pupils to teachers was maintained across Scotland but the average size of a class crept up slightly to 23.5 students.
Nationally, the number of teachers fell between 2010 and 2014 then stabilised.
The number of teachers fell in 12 council areas, including in Highland and Dumfries and Galloway, although in both these regions the ratio of pupils to teachers was maintained at the same level.
In 12 council areas the ratio of pupils to teachers got worse in 2016, including in Edinburgh and Fife where teacher numbers had risen. These were:
The government expects the ratio of pupils to teachers to be maintained, although BBC Scotland understands the councils will not face any financial sanctions.
Many councils have told BBC Scotland that they are finding it hard to fill some vacancies.
Recently the Scottish government unveiled a number of initiatives to try to encourage more people into teaching, and some local authorities have also launched their own initiatives.
The latest statistics also showed:
Separate figures, published on Tuesday, looked at the number of children considered by teachers to be performing at the required level for their age in Curriculum for Excellence.
The data showed that between 65% and 85% of pupils in primary schools achieved the relevant level in aspects of literacy and numeracy. However, the proportion of pupils achieving the relevant level for their stage decreased throughout the primary stages.
Updating MSPs on the figures, Mr Swinney said: "I very much welcome the rise in teacher numbers compared to last year, the fact that class sizes are broadly stable and that the pupil-teacher ratio has been maintained.
"This is all good news, particularly when you consider the teacher recruitment challenges being faced in some areas.
"The data shows that significant improvements are required in some local authorities, and real challenges exist in delivering the progress in literacy and numeracy we seek.
"There is much to be proud of in Scottish education; we need to remain focused on and committed to Curriculum for Excellence and we need to continue to implement the reforms we are putting in place."
Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS, welcomed the rise in teacher numbers but said some "significant challenges" continued to face schools.
General secretary Larry Flanagan said: "The number of teachers employed across Scotland has held steady, and actually shows a small increase overall, indicating the local authorities have adhered to a commitment brokered between the EIS and local and national government to maintain teacher numbers over the year.
"This is very welcome, and is helping to improve employment prospects for qualified teachers and ensure that young people have consistent levels of provision in schools across Scotland.
"The EIS would certainly expect the Scottish government to continue its commitment to maintaining teacher numbers, and we hope to hear confirmation soon from the finance minister in his forthcoming financial statement."
He added: "Given the welcome Scottish government commitment to tackling the attainment gap, the trend of rising class sizes is an issue that must be tackled through greater investment in a greater number of qualified teachers."
The Scottish Conservatives said teacher numbers were still thousands below the levels they were at in 2007.
The party's education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "With teacher numbers having plummeted from the levels they were at a decade ago, it once again calls into question whether the CfE can be delivered properly.
"There are a number of legitimate concerns about the curriculum, and these statistics are further evidence that we need to have proper independent scrutiny of how it is being implemented."
Ms Smith also told Mr Swinney that parents "have a right to be very angry" about the gulf in achievement between pupils from differing financial circumstances.
The Scottish Greens' education spokesman Ross Greer questioned the government's decision to publish statistics on how well schools pupils were doing in certain areas of the Curriculum for Excellence.
He said: "Today's figures demonstrate the utterly bizarre education priorities the Scottish government has. We see class sizes continue to creep up, making them the highest they've been since the SNP formed the government and nine years after they promised to reduce them to 18.
"More teachers and smaller classes are vital if we're to improve the quality of education."
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale accused the SNP of "slashing" spending on Scotland's school pupils by more than 8%.
She highlighted analysis by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) which she said showed that real-terms spend on education fell from £6,692-per-pupil in 2010/11 to £6,152 in 2014-15.
She said: "Nicola Sturgeon promised to make education her top priority, but Scotland has plunged down the international league tables on her watch.
"Year-on-year cuts to school budgets, teacher numbers and support staff are damaging the life chances of Scotland's children."
Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Tavish Scott MSP said: "Today's figures show that after a decade in power, the SNP has failed to deliver on its commitment of smaller class sizes for our youngest pupils."
The latest figures a week after it emerged that Scotland's schools had recorded their worst-ever performance in an international survey of pupils.
The country's scores for maths, reading and science all declined in the latest set of Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) figures.
It was the first time since the tests began in 2000 that Scotland's performance in all three subject areas was classed as "average", with none "above average", among the 72 countries that took part.
The Curriculum for Excellence has been introduced in Scottish schools in recent years, with the country's qualifications system also overhauled.
However, teaching unions have complained about "excessive and unsustainable" workloads as a result of some of the changes. | Education Secretary John Swinney has welcomed an overall increase in teacher numbers in Scotland - although he said "significant improvements" were needed in some areas. | 38288652 | [
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Ministers are looking to limit access to benefits, health care and housing when freedom to work controls on Romanians and Bulgarians end.
The detail of how changes might differ from current rules is not yet clear.
Downing Street said the curbs were being considered in response to "widespread public concern".
The PM's official spokesman said there was particular concern about the pressure created by migrants on local services, housing and the health service.
He declined to give any details about specific measures, or say whether the government was poised to introduce an "entitlement card" to limit access to the health service.
The measures would be announced in due course, he said.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the government was drawing up a package of measures designed to bring the UK into line with policies in other European member states already deemed legal by the European Court of Justice.
Councils will be urged to use new powers to give priority on council house waiting lists to those with local connections - whether born, educated or with relatives in their area - which could make it harder for outsiders to get housing.
Ministers are also examining the possibility of linking some benefits to contributions, which would have the effect of excluding new arrivals from eligibility.
On Sunday, Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC people should not be attracted to the UK just by the benefits available and "benefit tourism" had to end.
He said ministers wanted to remove "artificial, perverse incentives" to come to the UK.
One immigration pressure group estimates 50,000 people will move to the UK every year from Romania and Bulgaria once the movement restrictions expire at the end of the year, but Mr Hague said any attempt to estimate the number would be "guesswork".
People from Romania and Bulgaria have been free to live in the UK and anywhere else in the EU since the countries joined the EU in 2007, but in the UK they have either had to apply for one of the limited work permits available, be self-employed, or work in specific jobs such as seasonal agricultural or as domestic servants.
Under EU rules, these temporary restrictions must come to an end at the beginning of 2014, after which Romanian and Bulgarian migrants will have the same rights to live and work in the UK as those of other EU countries, which will give them access to benefits and the NHS.
Ministers say the impact of the temporary work restrictions, and the fact that eight other EU countries are also ending their restrictions at the same time as the UK, make forecasting the number of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants who might come to the UK difficult.
When the first wave of former East European states joined the EU in 2004, the UK was one of just three existing members that did not bring in any temporary work restrictions - instead the UK introduced a Worker Registration Scheme to prevent "benefit tourism" by EU migrants coming to the UK for less than a year and claiming benefits.
For Labour, shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said: "Managing immigration in a fair way is really important. Yet what we are getting from the Government is just an unseemly reaction to threats from their backbenches.
"In a panicked reaction to Eastleigh they are briefing anything and everything they can think of that they are looking at for the future, instead of properly considered, substantive and deliverable proposals that work for everyone." | Government plans to clamp down on "benefit tourism" could see both Britons and immigrants affected by changes to the rules on entitlement. | 21651631 | [
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The financial services firm said new rules, coming into effect next May, could see fines soar to 20m euros (£17.4m) or more.
Fines for data breaches had already risen, from 18 in 2015, to 35 in 2016, amounting to £3.2m in total, said PwC.
There were also 23 enforcement notices, where organisations were required to improve compliance - a 155% increase.
According to PwC's research, the UK is one of the most active places in Europe for regulatory enforcement in this area, along with Italy.
Penalties issued by the UK Information Commissioner's Office in 2016 included a record £400,000 fine for telecoms firm TalkTalk over security failings that allowed a cyber attacker to access customer data "with ease".
In 2015 the online pharmacy Pharmacy 2U was also told to pay £130,000 after it sold details of more than 20,000 customers to marketing companies without their consent.
However, PwC said that when the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes law across the EU next May, firms would face much tougher obligations and penalties.
In particular, the Information Commissioner's Office will be able to issue fines of up to 4% of global turnover, or 20m euros - whichever is highest. The regulator can only issues fines of up to £500,000 at present.
"UK organisations must use the remaining time to prepare for GDPR compliance before May next year," said Stewart Room, an expert in global cybersecurity and data protection at PwC.
The UK is due to adopt the new rules before it leaves the EU, but PwC said it was unlikely to water down the protections after it left the union. | Companies must prepare for new tougher EU rules on data protection, or face big fines, PwC has warned. | 40110402 | [
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The 2014 winner Pineau De Re was among those to miss the cut for the famous Aintree race.
Lower-rated horses are balloted out, with The Romford Pele occupying the number 40 slot.
There were no withdrawals in Thursday's final declaration stage. Four reserves are on standby should any runner pull out before 13:00 BST on Friday.
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Pinstickers' guide
Many Clouds is 7-1 favourite ahead of 10-1 chance The Last Samuri and 12-1 shot Silviniaco Conti.
Coverage of the race, over 30 fences and nearly four-and-a-half miles, is expected to be followed by 600 million people worldwide.
Organisers have put back the time of the race by an hour to 17:15 BST in an effort to further increase the audience.
The National is a handicap chase, with each runner allotted a different weight to carry by the official handicapper Phil Smith.
Some trainers are faced with the tricky task of trying to ensure their contenders perform well enough to get a rating which guarantees a run, without landing a big weight that hampers their chances.
Pineau De Re is now in the twilight of his career, at the age of 13, and his rating has dropped.
No horse of that age has won the National since Sergeant Murphy in 1923.
The British Horseracing Authority has indicated it is open to reviewing the entry system ahead of next year's National.
Top weight Many Clouds will seek to become the first horse since the legendary triple victor Red Rum in the 1970s to win back-to-back runnings.
Victory would see jockey Leighton Aspell, who also triumphed aboard Pineau De Re two years ago, become the first rider to win three years running.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Officials believe modifications to the fences, and other alterations, introduced three years ago have helped improve safety.
Since the changes, there have been no fatal injuries in the National itself, although two horses died in other races at the three-day meeting last year. | Last year's winner Many Clouds heads Saturday's Grand National field after the 40-runner line-up was confirmed. | 35987334 | [
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The young piebald cob was found on Thursday at Braceby, near Grantham, with a hind leg infested with maggots.
Inspector Ian Callingham said the pony had obviously been dumped and left to die, and had suffered terribly. The animal was put down.
The RSPCA wants to hear from anyone who saw anything.
Mr Callingham, who has been with the RSPCA for 25 years, said: "The location was extremely remote; there are no homes, farms or equestrian centres nearby, so it is clear this pony was deliberately left with no intention of return.
"Her left hind leg was severely swollen to twice the size, and three large, deep holes that were bleeding and covered in maggots were clearly visible.
"It was terrible to see this young pony clearly in a huge amount of pain."
He added: "The wounds had been sprayed with a purple antiseptic spray, which suggests the owner was aware of the injury, but clearly failed to seek appropriate veterinary advice.
"She had a good body condition and trimmed hooves, so it is likely the owner was overwhelmed by the injury and reluctant to seek further treatment, for whatever reason."
On advice of the vet, the pony was put down to end her severe pain and suffering.
The charity said a low market price has led to irresponsible owners abandoning horses. | A long-serving RSPCA inspector says an abandoned pony found on a remote country lane had suffered some of the worst neglect he has ever seen. | 32557344 | [
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The company also said it had seen "no evidence" of any impact of the vote in markets outside the UK.
Its comments came as it reported an 11% rise in pre-tax profits to £173m for the year to 30 June.
Its profits were driven by strong trading in Asia and the rest of Europe.
In the UK, Hays said net fees were flat, with trading "more challenging" towards the end of its financial year, which coincided with the run-up to the EU referendum.
Conditions were particularly challenging in local government and healthcare markets in the UK.
Hays also said conditions were tough in banking in the City of London, and there were weakening trends in the construction and property business towards the end of the financial year.
Hays chief executive Alistair Cox said: "Following the EU referendum, there is increased uncertainty in the UK market, but we have seen no evidence of any impact elsewhere.
"It is too early to tell what the longer term impact may be and as ever, we will monitor activity levels closely."
Kean Marden, an analyst at Jefferies, said: "In construction and property, London and larger corporates have been most impacted. To date, Hays has seen no evidence of contagion into Europe."
"We are mindful that July and August are seasonally quiet months for the industry and September (which can be one of the largest revenue contributors of the year) will provide more meaningful insight."
The UK comprises about a third of Hays' business. It employs about 9,200 people across 33 countries.
In the Asia Pacific region net fees grew by 4%, with Australia up 5%, boosted by strong public sector growth.
In continental Europe and the rest of the world, net fees increased by 15%. | Recruitment giant Hays has said the UK job market weakened "significantly" around the time of the EU referendum, but it is too early to judge the long-term impact of the vote. | 37242204 | [
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There was plenty of confusion after a dramatic finish, with Greece's Spiros Gianniotis initially given the win before being downgraded to silver.
Burnell's disqualification was for two yellow cards - he was unclear why the first was shown, while the second followed a tussle with a rival swimmer.
"Absolutely outrageous," said Burnell.
The 23-year-old said officials in "about 600 boats" had "no idea what they are doing, giving out cards left, right and centre for nothing".
He added: "The whole thing is a joke. I was disqualified two metres from the finish."
Find out how to get into swimming with our special guide.
Burnell was given third and then fifth place at the finish before being disqualified. His first yellow card came while progressing down the straight in second place.
"No-one was either side of me and he pulls out a yellow card," said Burnell. "I couldn't physically have touched anyone and I got a yellow card.
"I shook my head at the guy. This is meant to be the pinnacle of our sport and there are referees who haven't a clue what they are doing."
Burnell insisted the officials should not get involved unless "something is clearly wrong".
"Imagine this happens in the [football] World Cup final and the referee gives the goalie a yellow card for standing there. That is how ridiculous this is," he said.
"They always want to be seen to be doing something. On the Olympic stage, what do they want to do? Do they want to get on telly to show a yellow card? To show their family back home that they're doing something? It's absolutely ridiculous."
Burnell and the chasing pack had caught sole breakaway swimmer Jarrod Poort, of Australia, before a race to the finish.
Gianniotis led the way into the finishing funnel and, even though he might have crossed the finishing board first, Weertman was first to touch it.
France's Marc-Antoine Olivier and Zu Lijun of China shared the bronze.
Defending champion Oussama Mellouli finished 12th, despite Burnell alleging he impeded his progress.
The British swimmer received his second yellow card for pushing the Tunisian off him just metres from the finish.
"He was holding my leg not for one, two, three, but for four or five strokes, so I had to turn round to try to get him off. What am I meant to do?" he said.
"We're all at top speed and I'm stopped dead. I'm one of the fastest finishers in there.
"He was yellow carded for that, which stopped me winning, but I was disqualified for trying to get him off to try to win the race. Explain that to me."
Burnell believes appealing against the decision would be futile. "It's never changed anything in the sport," he said.
British Swimming did appeal against the decision, but that was dismissed.
Organisers have not given British Swimming or any Team GB officials a reason for their decision, but it is thought they did not believe there was any evidence to suggest changing the initial decision was required following a review of the race footage.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Great Britain's Jack Burnell said his disqualification from the men's 10km open water swim was "a joke", after Dutchman Ferry Weertman took gold. | 36689788 | [
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Though the unverified story was short on details, and did not have the husband's side of the story, "divorced because of fat face" quickly became a top trend on microblogging network Weibo.
State media picked up the story on Thursday, which was first reported in a local evening paper earlier this week.
Liaoshen Wanbao reported the 49-year-old woman in Shenyang city had claimed her husband had divorced her 10 years ago because he disliked the shape of her face, said to be "large and square" with "fat cheeks".
She said it spurred her to undergo facial surgery three times at a local hospital to shave her jawbones and reshape her face into a slimmer shape.
During the third surgery the doctors discovered that if they proceeded further her nerves may be damaged, and halted the procedure.
The woman, identified only by her surname Wang, later sued the hospital for 1.7 million yuan ($260,900; £183,900) in damages.
She alleged the surgery had left her with soreness in her chin, and she could only eat and drink through a straw as "when she exerted force on her lower jaw, she had the sensation that it would break".
The hospital, however, argued that the surgeries were conducted according to regulations, and pointed out that they encouraged her to seek psychiatric help instead of a third operation, which she refused.
After mediation the woman agreed to accept 20,000 yuan ($3,100, £2,200) as compensation, said the report.
On Weibo, some condemned the woman's husband, but others also chastised the woman.
One top-voted comment read: "It's purely an excuse, if her face was large then why did he decide to marry her in the first place? If he stopped loving her then he should have just said so."
It continued: "This woman is also very silly to have believed that her face shape was the real reason for the divorce, she is lying to herself."
Said another Weibo user: "Even if you had gone for facial surgery and made your face smaller, he would still have found other reasons to divorce you."
One person noted the sharp difference in the compensation amount and voiced suspicions: "1.7 million was dropped to 20,000, it makes me wonder if she really did have a problem with her jaw."
Still others took the opportunity to crack jokes.
"What an odd reason for divorce! I wonder how square was this woman's square-shaped face? Like a television set? Microwave oven?"
Plastic surgery has long been a hot topic on Weibo. In December, users similarly expressed outrage when a Chinese man took out a newspaper advertisement pleading for his wife to go for plastic surgery.
More than seven million cosmetic surgeries were performed in China in 2014.
The industry's value, pegged at around 400bn yuan, is expected to double by 2019, according to the China Association of Plastics and Aesthetics. | A report about a woman who said she had repeated plastic surgery after her husband divorced her because she had a "fat face" has sparked outrage among China's online community. | 35770514 | [
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It was unanimously passed by MPs in December, but Mr Koroma refused to sign it after protests by religious leaders.
After consultations, MPs returned the bill to him last month, unaltered.
The law would allow women to terminate a pregnancy in any circumstances up to 12 weeks and in cases of incest, rape and foetal impairment up to 24 weeks.
Abortion is currently illegal in Sierra Leone under any circumstances.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and five Sierra Leonean organisations, wrote to President Koroma in February urging him to give the bill his assent.
"Unsafe abortions - often resulting from restrictive laws and poor access to sexual and reproductive health services, information, and education - is one of the main factors contributing to maternal deaths in Sierra Leone," their letter said.
The World Health Organization estimates that Sierra Leone has the world's highest maternal mortality ratio at 1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births last year.
The BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says the abortion issue has led to heated debates and protests on both sides.
President Koroma has now referred the controversial legislation to the Constitutional Review Committee, which is currently reviewing the constitution.
Our correspondent says it will decide whether to include the abortion law in its recommended changes to the constitution, which will be put to a referendum.
When President Koroma sent the legislation back to parliament in January, he asked for it to be reviewed after consultation with religious and women's groups as it went beyond an African Union protocol on women's rights which only backs abortion in cases of sexual assault and in medical emergencies.
Under Sierra Leone's current constitution, the president cannot veto a bill which received a two-thirds majority in parliament, our reporter says.
The speaker of the house could sign the Safe Abortion Act into law, but our correspondent says he is highly unlikely to do so as he comes from the president's party.
Mr Koroma met leaders from the Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL), who all oppose abortion, in January, saying they "represent a huge constituency across the country".
Catholic Archbishop Tamba Charles, vice-president of IRCSL, reiterated their view at summit on the issue later in the month declaring: "No life can be destroyed on the basis of choice as life is sacred.
"If they want to fight for the right of women, then let them be provided with the required medical facilities that will help reduce maternal mortality rate in the country," Sierra Leone's Politico news website quotes him as saying.
Our reporter says the recent Ebola outbreak exposed Sierra Leone's weak health system.
The country is still recovering from a brutal 10-year civil war, which ended in 2002 and ravaged much of its infrastructure. | Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma has again refused to sign a bill legalising abortion, saying it should be put to a referendum. | 35793186 | [
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Set 302 to win from 46 overs at Taunton, Middlesex completed a dramatic run chase with two balls remaining.
"If we were serious about winning the title, we want to win games. You can't just keep playing for draws and expect to be up there," he told BBC Somerset.
"We are here to provide entertainment. We came up short but gave everything."
Defeat left Somerset sixth in the County Championship Division One table with 96 points, 45 behind league leaders Middlesex.
Centuries from Marcus Trescothick and Peter Trego had given Somerset a healthy lead in their second innings, having trailed by 145 runs after both sides had completed their first innings.
Somerset took eight wickets as Middlesex chased their target on Wednesday, but a six from wicketkeeper John Simpson in the final over won the match.
"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," former Australia Test opener Rogers added. "We're here to play a game, play to win.
"How are the young guys here, who have a lot of potential and can go quite far, going to learn if they don't put themselves in those situations?
"It would have been lovely to win it. But we played a good brand of cricket. No regrets. We tried our hardest out there and we weren't far off." | Somerset captain Chris Rogers says he has "no regrets" about his declaration against Middlesex on Wednesday, despite losing the match by two wickets. | 36794013 | [
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Croker starts at hooker for the hosts at Twickenham, with Amy Cokayne dropping to the bench.
Ciara Griffin is handed her first Six Nations start at flanker for Ireland, while Paula Fitzpatrick moves to number eight and Heather O'Brien to the bench.
Experienced fly-half Nora Stapleton comes in for Nikki Caughey, who will provide back-up from the replacements.
Ireland, led by Tom Tierney, defeated Wales 21-3 in their opening fixture, but went on to lose 18-6 against France in Perpignan.
England won their opening two fixtures, against Scotland and Italy.
"Ireland is going to present a tough challenge this weekend and there will be no margin for error," said England's lead coach Scott Bemand.
"Recent history testifies that our games have been fiercely contested and, as a group, we are very excited to play at the home."
Tierney added: "While the result in France didn't go our way, I thought there were a lot of positives to take from that game and we will be looking to carry them into this fixture.
"We made too many unforced errors in Perpignan, so if we can rectify that I think we have got a very good chance on Saturday.
"Twickenham is a special place to play, so it will be a great experience for the girls, but it is important that we go there looking to perform and hopefully come away with a result."
England women: Katie Mason (Bristol); Lydia Thompson (Worcester), Lauren Cattell (Saracens), Ceri Large (Worcester), Lotte Clapp (Saracens); Amber Reed (Bristol), La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park); Rochelle Clark (Worcester), Emma Croker (Richmond), Vickii Cornborough (Richmond); Abbie Scott (Darlington Mowden Park), Emily Braund (Lichfield); Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield), Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol), Sarah Hunter (Bristol)
Replacements: Amy Cokayne (Lichfield), Heather Kerr (Darlington Mowden Park), Bee Dawson (Wasps), Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park), Poppy Leitch (Bristol), Bianca Blackburn (Worcester), Ruth Laybourn (Darlington Mowden Park), Leanne Riley (Richmond)
Ireland women: Niamh Briggs (Munster); Elise O'Byrne-White (Leinster), Aine Donnelly (Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Connacht), Mairead Coyne (Connacht); Nora Stapleton (Leinster), Larissa Muldoon (Skewen); Ruth O'Reilly (Connacht), Cliodhna Moloney (Leinster), Ailis Egan (Leinster); Sophie Spence (Leinster), Marie Louise Reilly (Leinster), Ciara Griffin (Munster), Claire Molloy (Bristol), Paula Fitzpatrick (Toulouse).
Replacements: Zoe Grattage (Munster), Fiona Hayes (Munster), Fiona Reidy (Munster), Ciara Cooney (Leinster), Heather O'Brien (Toulouse), Mary Healy (Connacht), Nikki Caughey (Ulster), Jackie Shiels (Richmond). | England have brought in Emma Croker and have Ireland made two changes for Saturday's Women's Six Nations game. | 35662735 | [
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George Wharton, 14, and Rhy Baker, 13, died when Thomas McMeekin crashed into a tree in Morley, near Leeds, on 7 March.
The defendant and a teenage passenger were also left paralysed by the crash, Leeds Crown Court was told.
McMeekin, of Bruntcliffe Road, Morley, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.
One witness told the hearing McMeekin had driven "like a lunatic".
He was accused of "showing off" while driving the car, which had been bought for him by his mother just five days before the crash.
The court heard he had advertised "lifts cheaper than taxis" on social media.
He will be sentenced next month. | A motorist was driving "like a lunatic" when he caused a crash which killed two teenage passengers and severely injured two others, a court heard. | 36927937 | [
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The interim report into Integrated Care 24 (IC24), which runs non-emergency 111 and out-of-hours services in Norfolk and Wisbech, found deficiencies in call handling and a shortage of GPs.
During unannounced inspections following complaints, staff said they had been asked to alter their records.
IC24 said it had addressed the issues.
The organisation operates NHS 111 services in areas including Great Yarmouth and Waveney and parts of Essex, and took over the Norfolk and Wisbech contract in September 2015.
Assessors from Norwich Clinical Commissioning Group (NCCG) inspected five IC24 bases in Norfolk and one in Cambridgeshire in November following staff complaints.
Their report highlighted issues including:
In October last year, IC24's interim chief executive said the organisation was still struggling to fill shifts.
A month later, Norwich resident Peter Rowley said he called 111 but waited 11 hours for a call back, eventually going to A&E instead.
Read more on this and other stories from Norfolk
The company apologised, but said it had followed procedures.
Karen Watts, who wrote the interim report into IC24, concluded it was "not clinically assured of the safety of the OOH [out-of-hours] service" and only "partially assured" of the 111 service.
She said the CCG believed the issues identified were having a "negative impact on recruitment and retention of the existing workforce".
Ms Watts also demanded IC24 provide a detailed improvement action plan by the beginning of December.
The BBC asked to see the improvement plan, and whether concerns highlighted in the report had been sufficiently addressed, but both NCCG and IC24 declined to answer, instead sending a joint statement.
NCCG spokesman Tim Curtis said the organisation had been "very encouraged with IC24's response".
Yvonne Taylor, IC24 chief executive, said: "As an open organisation, I would like to reassure our patients that we continue to work with our commissioners to provide a robust and transparent service for our patients."
Both organisations said: "There were no deaths that we know of which can be attributable to the long waits."
The NCCG has been asked to share the outcomes of its investigation so they could be examined by a health committee, a Norfolk County Council spokeswoman said.
Tony Durcan from the Royal College of Nursing said it had "sought reassurances that measures had been put in place to address the worrying points raised by the leaked report".
Dr Tim Morton, chairman of Norfolk and Waveney Local Medical Committee, said IC24's problems were "a consequence of a severe workforce crisis within the NHS in recruiting and retaining GPs".
NHS 111/Out-of-hours care | Callers to out-of-hours GP services faced waits of more than 12 hours, posing a "significant risk to patient safety", a leaked report has revealed. | 35254840 | [
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The Dow closed up 0.7% at 18,506.41, while the S&P 500 index added 0.5% to close at 2,163.75.
Data showing China's economy expanded by a better-than-expected 6.7% in the second quarter boosted sentiment.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 rose for a fifth straight day by 0.7% to close at 16,497.85 points.
An outperformer is messaging app Line, which has seen shares closing 31% up in its trading debut in Tokyo after gaining more than 26% in New York on Thursday.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to finish the day at 5,429.60 and South Korea's stock market closed 0.4% higher at 2,017.26.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.5% higher at 21,659.25 and the Shanghai Composite closed flat at 3,054.30.
Margaret Yang from CMC Markets in Singapore said the global share rally was due to a "flood of liquidity".
"Equity valuations have been elevated by the prolonged low interest rate environment and markets are expecting more monetary easing from the Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Bank of England to support the fragile economy," she said.
Singapore's stock market resumed trading as normal on Friday after a major disruption the previous day.
All trading had to be halted after a technical glitch affected its confirmation system. This is the fourth major interruption to its trading system in two years.
Singapore Exchange's chief executive, Loh Boon Chye, issued an apology for the interruption.
"Our recovery time has to be better and we must minimise downtime for market participants," he said in a statement.
Singapore's Straits Times index closed 0.6% higher. | Asian stock markets have recorded further gains after shares on Wall Street hit fresh record highs and China economic data beat expectations. | 36801212 | [
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Electrons are negatively-charged elementary particles which orbit the nuclei of atoms.
The discovery is important because it may make some of the emerging theories of particle physics - such as supersymmetry - less likely.
The research, by a team at Imperial College London, is published in the latest edition of Nature journal.
In their scientific paper, the researchers say the electron differs from being perfectly round by a minuscule amount.
"Conventionally, people think that the electron is round like a little ball. But some advanced theories of physics speculate that it's not round, and so what we've done is designed an experiment to check with a very, very high degree of precision," said lead author Jony Hudson, from Imperial.
The current best theory to explain the interactions of sub-atomic particles is known as the Standard Model. According to this framework, the electron should be close to perfectly spherical.
But the Standard Model is incomplete. It does not explain how gravity works and fails to explain other phenomena observed in the Universe.
So physicists have tried to build on this model. One framework to explain physics beyond the Standard Model is known as supersymmetry.
However, this theory predicts that the electron has a more distorted shape than that suggested by the Standard Model. According to this idea, the particle could be egg-shaped.
Researchers stress that the new observation does not rule out super-symmetry. But it does not support the theory, according to Dr Hudson.
He hopes to improve the accuracy of his measurements four-fold within five years. By then, he said, his team might be able to make a definitive statement about supersymmetry and some other theories to explain physics beyond the Standard Model.
"We'd then be in a position to say supersymmetry is right because we have seen a distorted electron or supersymmetry has got to be wrong because we haven't," he told BBC News.
Dr Hudson's measurement is twice as precise as the previous efforts to elucidate the shape of the electron.
That in itself does not alter scientists' understanding of sub-atomic physics, according to Professor Aaron Leanhardt of the Unviersity of Michigan in the US.
But the prospect of improved measurements and the potential to shed light on current theories of particle physics has made the research community "sit up and take notice".
"A factor of two doesn't change the physics community's general opinion of what's going on," he told BBC News.
But he added that improved measurements could start "constraining the possible theories, and what could be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern and what you might expect in cosmological observations."
Current theories also suggest that if the electron is more or less round, then there ought to be equal amounts of matter and anti-matter - which, as its name suggests, is the opposite of matter.
Instead, astronomers have observed a Universe made up largely of matter. But that is an observation that could be explained if the electron were found to be more egg-shaped than the Standard Model predicts.
Although the shape of the electron could have an important bearing on the future theories of particle physics, Dr Hudson's main motivation is simply curiosity.
"We really should know what the shape of the electron is," he said.
"It's one of the basic building blocks of matter and if this isn't what physicists do I don't know what we should do". | The most accurate measurement yet of the shape of the electron has shown it to be almost perfectly spherical. | 13545453 | [
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Alexys Brown, also known as Lexi, died at her home in Emmadale Close, Weymouth, on Thursday.
An investigation is under way to discover how she became trapped. A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out this week.
It was originally hoped the appeal would raise £2,000.
Alison Record, who started the Just Giving appeal, said she was "heart broken" over the death.
"Everybody by now has heard of the terrible tragedy the Brown family have suffered with the loss of their beautiful and beloved little girl Lexi," the appeal page reads.
"It is such an unimaginable pain to come to terms with; they should be free to take all the time they need to find their way through such dark times with out [sic] having to think about the devastating financial circumstance this will leave them and their children in."
"This has destroyed them; they need time to be with each other so all money raised will go towards giving them time to do this."
Many other comments have been posted on the appeal page.
Steph Harris said: "Thinking of you all at this devastating time, fly high beautiful princess. Love Steph and family xxx"
Lesley Andrews added: "No amount of money will take away the pain, but so much love comes with every penny. Take care. xx"
Aster Group, the housing association responsible for managing the home, is assisting with the police investigation. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is also investigating.
Dorset County Council said it had not installed the disabled lift at the property. | An online appeal set up to help the family of a five-year-old girl who died when her head became stuck in a lift in Dorset has raised more than £12,000. | 33956092 | [
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The Music Group said a consultation on redundancies at its Tannoy loudspeaker production facility in Coatbridge began on Tuesday.
The consultation will last for at least 30 days, according to the company.
Production of audio equipment at the plant is understood to be moving to China.
Tannoy is one of the oldest audio brands in the world, having been founded as the Tulsemere Manufacturing Company in 1926.
It has had a base in Coatbridge since the 1970s.
The company remains active in a range of audio sectors including residential hi-fi and studio monitoring.
Peter Sommer, senior vice president of lifestyle at The Music Group, said: "I can confirm that Music does propose to dismiss as redundant around 70 staff at its manufacturing and office facility in Coatbridge.
"However, I would emphasize that no final decision has been taken in relation to these proposals, which are the subject of a detailed collective consultation process which began on Tuesday 3 May 2016 and which will last for at least 30 days and possibly more.
"In the event that the proposed dismissals are ultimately confirmed following the conclusion of the consultation process, the Coatbridge facility would cease operations and the plant would close.
"Given that the proposals are at a formative stage, there is of course no definitive time scale in place, but it is envisaged that any closure would likely be towards the end of the year."
He added: "Music is of course mindful of its obligation to seek out any suitable alternative employment for any employees whom it is confirmed are to be made redundant, and to that end the company will be doing all that it can to try to identify any suitable alternative roles which may exist in any of its operations in Europe and beyond."
Mick Conroy, GMB Scotland senior officer, said: "In the year of Tannoy's 90th anniversary, it's an absolute tragedy that the long-serving Coatbridge workforce has been rewarded with the sack.
"These latest redundancies also show the total free-fall in Scotland's manufacturing sector as our slide towards a low-skill, low-wage and precarious economy gathers apace without any intervention.
"A key priority of the next Scottish government must be to address our manufacturing crisis by bringing forward a meaningful industrial strategy that can help steer our economy back towards growth." | The owners of an audio manufacturing factory in North Lanarkshire have confirmed that the plant is facing closure, with the loss of 70 jobs. | 36228720 | [
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Sports Direct also reported a big drop in half-year profits, which it blamed partly on the fall in the pound.
The retailer, which has been criticised over working conditions, said reported pre-tax profits fell 25% to £140.2m.
However, the firm added that it would be buying a corporate jet for £40m.
Chief executive Mike Ashley said the past six months had been "tough for our people and performance".
Announcing the company's results, Mr Ashley said: "Our UK sports retail business continues to be the engine of Sports Direct, but our results have been affected by the significant deterioration in exchange rates, and our assessment of our risk relating to our stock levels and European stores performance."
Mr Hellawell, who has been under fire during his tenure as chairman, used the results statement to launch a blistering attack on the way in which the company had been treated.
"I have no doubt that the extreme political, union and media campaign waged against this company has not only damaged its reputation and influenced our customers, it has impacted negatively on the morale of our people," he said.
"I begin to question whether this intense scrutiny is all ethically motivated. One of the most damaging consequences has been for the very people our critics supposedly support.
"The board accepts responsibility for our shortcomings, but there has also been disproportionate, inaccurate and misleading commentary.
"The individuals at the heart of our organisation are blameless. They are increasingly upset and angry at the barrage of detrimental comments about the company, which in their view is unjustified."
Sports Direct has suffered from a number of scandals in recent months.
After HMRC looked into whether workers at its Derbyshire warehouse were paid below the minimum wage, a damning report by the the Business, Innovation and Skills committee said employees of the company were "not treated as humans".
Since the criticism over its treatment of staff began, a delegation of MPs claimed an attempt was made to record them in a private discussion while on a visit to the firm's Shirebrook warehouse.
Most recently, an investigation into the company's accounts was launched.
Several senior employees have also left the company. Dave Forsey stepped down as chief executive and was replaced by Mr Ashley.
Acting finance director Matt Pearson was replaced by another interim appointment, Herbert Monteith, in October.
A subtle sign of the change in mindset at Sports Direct comes deep in the fine print of today's interim results.
Under the prim heading "corporate assets and facilities", the company says it is about to take delivery of a corporate plane.
Business aircraft are always a potential source of embarrassing headlines, and Sports Direct has had its fair share of those over the last year.
But finally it has shown it has learned one of the ways to avoid such headlines - be upfront about what is happening and explain it, and the sting is drawn.
Elsewhere, the company's critics were given a few sops. The veteran banker David Brayshaw has been recruited as an independent director, and may perhaps be in line to take over as chairman, should Keith Hellawell, the incumbent, not survive another vote on his tenure on 5 January.
Mr Hellawell offered to resign earlier this year, but was convinced not to by Mr Ashley.
However, after failing to receive the necessary support from a majority of the company's independent shareholders who voted at the annual general meeting in September, the chairman will stand for re-election on 5 January next year. | Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell has lambasted critics of the sportswear firm, saying an "extreme political, union and media campaign" has damaged its reputation. | 38247155 | [
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Media playback is not supported on this device
Platini wants to restore the image of world football's governing body in the wake of serious corruption allegations.
"We want a reform candidate," said FA chairman Greg Dyke. "We believe he will reform Fifa in the way that reform is needed."
Sepp Blatter has already announced he will quit as Fifa president, with an election set for 26 February.
Frenchman Platini, president of European football governing body Uefa, is likely to face a number of challengers, among them Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan and Liberian FA president Musa Bility.
Dyke added: "We understand there will be a number of candidates, which should result in a strong and healthy debate.
"However, we should not underestimate how challenging it will be for anyone to lead an organisation that has been so tainted. The whole structure of Fifa must be reviewed and fundamentally changed."
Platini has found himself at odds with the FA over Qatar's successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
The 60-year-old championed the Gulf nation despite concerns over its human rights record and severe summer temperatures.
But Dyke attempted to play down any differences for the time being, saying: "Mr Platini has always made it very clear that he voted for Qatar.
"If all the other people who voted for Qatar had been quite as transparent it would have been more helpful."
Not everyone shares the FA's confidence in Platini, a former France international who won the coveted Ballon d'Or three times.
Just hours after confirming his candidacy on Wednesday, he was criticised by two potential presidential rivals.
Prince Ali and Bility both claim Platini would be a bad choice as a successor.
Prince Ali, who stood against Blatter in the last presidential election, said that "football's fans and players deserve better".
A member of the Jordanian royal family, he added that Fifa needed a "new, independent leadership, untainted by the practices of the past".
Bility agreed, telling the BBC's World Football programme that Platini would bring "chaos", "more division" and "more problems". | The English Football Association has given its backing to Michel Platini's bid to become the next boss of Fifa. | 33710433 | [
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Platforms were evacuated and the area cordoned off by heavily armed police late on Monday evening.
No details have been given about the operation in one of Europe's busiest transport hubs. But local media report that police were looking for three suspects.
France is under a state of emergency since the Paris attacks of 2015.
Security had been stepped up across the country for the second round of the presidential election, which happened on Sunday.
Le Parisien newspaper (in French) said the operation focused on a train from Valenciennes, in northern France.
Police were looking for three men described as "dangerous" to French security forces by a foreign country, the newspaper said.
They had been spotted in Bordeaux and Marseille, as well as in Paris. Police had launched operations in each city, but had not managed to capture them, the report added.
Footage posted on social media showed many police vehicles guarding the perimeter of the station.
Paris police said on Twitter (in French): "End of security checks. Gradual return to normal."
France has been on a high state of alert since the November 2015 attacks by so-called Islamic State that killed 130 people. | The Gare du Nord train station in the French capital Paris has reopened after a security alert, officials say. | 39852751 | [
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The Hollywood A-lister turned up unexpectedly at Sunrise of Sonning, a care home in Berkshire, on Sunday to treat resident Pat Adams.
Staff had written to Clooney, who lives nearby, telling him a visit would make Pat's dreams comes true.
"This was a classy gesture from a wonderful man," a Sunrise UK spokesman said.
"She was absolutely thrilled to meet her great icon, and it was such a lovely surprise to see George greet her with flowers and a card."
The spokesman said Clooney was holding the letter staff had sent to him when he rang the doorbell asking for Pat.
He said staff regularly try to fulfil their residents' wishes as part of an ongoing programme, but added: "They didn't think they would be able to pull this one off."
The care home's concierge, Linda Jones, posted on Facebook that she was in "utter shock" when she saw the Oscar-winning star arrive.
She said that Pat "loves George Clooney and mentions everyday how she would love him to meet him".
Clooney moved to Sonning, where he lives with his human rights lawyer wife Amal, in 2014. | George Clooney has surprised an 87-year-old fan with a bouquet of flowers for her birthday. | 39332934 | [
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Euro 2016 winners Portugal will now face Chile in the last four on Wednesday (19:00 BST).
Australia went ahead through winger James Troisi, before substitute Martin Rodriguez levelled from close range.
World champions Germany moved above Chile with a 3-1 win over Cameroon and will play Mexico on Thursday (19:00).
RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner scored twice, with Hoffenheim midfielder Kerem Demirbay also on target for the experimental German squad competing in Russia.
Porto forward Vincent Aboubakar netted for Cameroon, who finished bottom of the group, with a draw from their match against Australia their only point.
Group A:
Group B: | Chile qualified behind Germany from Group B to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals after drawing 1-1 with Australia in their final group game. | 40400361 | [
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However, she said there were "many, many other questions" about Brexit and there was "still a lot to do".
The UK proposal was unveiled by Prime Minister Theresa May at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
It would grant EU migrants who had lived in the UK for five years a new "UK settled status".
That would allow them to stay in the country and access health, education and other benefits.
The plan would affect 3.2 million EU citizens now living in the UK.
Their rights - and the rights of UK citizens living in the rest of the EU - are among the thorny issues that have to be resolved early on in Brexit talks, along with the UK's divorce bill and the Northern Ireland border.
"Theresa May made clear today that EU citizens who have been in Great Britain for five years can keep their full rights. That's a good start," said Mrs Merkel at the end of Thursday's talks.
"But of course there are many, many other questions about Brexit - about finances, about the relationship with Ireland - which means we still have a lot to do until October."
She insisted that Brexit was not the focus of the summit - the UK's split from the EU is being negotiated separately.
"For me the shaping of the future of the 27 is a priority coming before the issue of the negotiations with Britain on the exit," she added.
Before Mrs May's offer, the EU proposed that EU citizens in the UK and the estimated 1.2 million Britons living in EU countries should continue enjoying the same rights, enforceable by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
At the summit, the PM sought to reassure the 27 other EU states, saying the UK "does not want anyone here to have to leave, nor does it want families to be split up".
"No-one will face a cliff edge," she said.
The UK stunned the EU when it voted to end its membership in a referendum a year ago on Friday. The exit deadline is 30 March 2019.
The summit's final day is to focus on migration, security and economic issues.
Counter-terrorism has been a key issue at the summit which comes in the wake of an attack in Brussels on Tuesday.
Several EU states have been attacked in recent weeks, including the UK, France and Sweden, and Mrs May said that an attack against any member state was an attack on all.
Both sides would like to get the issue of citizens' rights wrapped up as soon as possible - it would be good for morale to get an early win, and they have more difficult issues to tackle.
But while there is a sense that progress can be made, there are still some tricky technical questions to deal with.
Which rights will be extended to immediate family members living elsewhere - to children in particular? And who will guarantee citizens' rights in the event of any legal dispute? The EU has already insisted that the European Court of Justice should be involved; the UK insists that British courts should uphold the deal.
It is also not clear what the cut-off date should be for citizens to qualify for any offer that is agreed. The UK proposal suggests a date between March 2017 and March 2019 - although it is highly unlikely that the EU would be willing to accept a date that has already passed.
From an EU perspective, what we've heard so far from the UK side remains rather vague. EU negotiators will want to see the details of this proposal which are only due to be made public next Monday. | German Chancellor Angela Merkel has described UK plans to ensure the rights of EU citizens in Britain after Brexit as "a good start". | 40377643 | [
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The degrees form part of the UK's cyber security strategy published in 2011.
The strategy recognised that education was key to improving defences against hackers and online fraud.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said internet cyber security was a "crucial part" of the government's long-term plan for the British economy.
He said the courses would help to make the "UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online".
He said: "Through the excellent work of GCHQ, in partnership with other government departments, the private sector and academia, we are able to counter threats and ensure together we are stronger and more aware."
UK universities were invited to submit their master's degree courses for certification.
The universities now running GCHQ-approved programmes in cyber security are Edinburgh Napier University, Lancaster University, the University of Oxford and Royal Holloway, University of London.
GCHQ has also given provisional accreditation to Cranfield University's cyber defence and information assurance course, and the University of Surrey's information security course.
A spokesman for GCHQ said the universities "were judged to provide well-defined and appropriate content, delivered to the highest standard". | Intelligence agency GCHQ has accredited six UK universities to teach specialist master's degree courses to future internet security experts. | 28623365 | [
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Caerphilly council has been accused of lacking "Christmas cheer" by the opposition Plaid Cymru group.
But council leader Keith Reynolds said it has made cuts to protect key services.
The ruling Labour group said the decision was taken "reluctantly" but it had to save £12m for 2015-16.
Plaid's Colin Mann said: "It will be really disappointing if our town centres don't have any Christmas cheer this year with the lighting cancelled."
He said the lighting was available, but there is no money to pay contractors to put up and dismantle it. | There will be no Christmas lights in towns around Caerphilly county this year after funding was cut. | 33952119 | [
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The man, 31, approached Police Community Support Officers guarding a cordon in Albert Road in Plymouth on Thursday evening.
Devon and Cornwall Police said it was believed he was assaulted in nearby Exmouth Road.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the stabbing.
More on this and the latest on what's happening in Devon here
A force spokesman said the injured man was in a "critical condition" in Derriford Hospital.
Two men, aged 58 and 46, were arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm with intent. They are awaiting questioning. | A stabbing victim walked a third of a mile (480m) to the scene of a fire to find help, police have said. | 38416536 | [
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Officers were alerted to the find just south of Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth), near Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula, at about 16:00 GMT on Sunday.
Police and members of the coastguard placed a 100m (330ft) cordon around the object.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed it was possibly some kind of ordnance.
Explosive experts are set to detonate the device on Monday morning to make it safe. | Part of a Gwynedd beach has been closed after a member of the public found a suspected explosive device, North Wales Police has said. | 39322751 | [
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The FTSE 100 ended down 55.78 at 5974.54 points, with Anglo American the biggest loser.
Shares in British Gas owner, Centrica, were the best performer, rising through the day to end up 7% after its drop in profit was smaller than expected.
Shares in defence group BAE Systems rose 1.3% as the company forecast earnings growth of up to 10% in 2016.
On the wider market, Tullow Oil tumbled 11%. after the oil producer said there could be an issue with a storage vessel at its flagship Jubilee field in Ghana.
On the currency markets, the pound was up 0.18% against the dollar at $1.4318, while against the euro, it was 0.5% higher at €1.2911. | (Close): London's main share market closed lower on Thursday, dragged down by oil and mining companies | 35602312 | [
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Webster, 21, made 81 appearances for Pompey, having made his debut in 2012 against West Ham in the Championship.
The fee is a record for a player under Town boss Mick McCarthy and Webster has signed a three-year contract.
Clarke, 19, spent last season on loan at Fratton Park and has now agreed a three-year deal.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Ipswich have signed Portsmouth defender Adam Webster for a fee believed to be about £750,000, with defender Matt Clarke going the other way. | 36462833 | [
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South Wales Police said the incident happened at about 17:50 BST on Friday near to Court Road, Barry, and involved a black Renault Clio
The child was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101. | A 10-year-old child has suffered serious injuries after being hit by a car in the Vale of Glamorgan. | 36404576 | [
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The 28-year-old has signed a four-year contract after passing a medical and becomes Spurs' third summer signing.
Soldado has 11 caps for Spain and scored 30 goals in 46 appearances for Valencia last season.
Soldado helped Spain reach the final of the Confederations Cup last month, scoring in the group win over Uruguay. He was an unused substitute in the final as Spain lost 3-0 to hosts Brazil.
A Spurs statement said: "We are delighted to confirm the signing of Roberto Soldado from Valencia after he successfully completed his medical."
Soldado is expected to be available for Tottenham's final pre-season friendly, which is against Espanyol at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
The club's previous transfer record was the signing of midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians for nearly £17m earlier this summer. Spurs have also added winger Nacer Chadli from FC Twente for a fee thought to be around £7m.
Soldado was born in Valencia but began his career at Real Madrid, scoring 63 goals in 120 league appearances for their B side, Real Madrid Castilla.
He joined his hometown club three years ago after a spell at Getafe and went on to score 80 goals in 146 appearances for Valencia.
Soldado has also become an established member of the Spanish national squad and helped his country to the runners-up spot at this summer's Confederations Cup.
His arrival will boost an attack that has only Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor as recognised first-team centre-forwards. | Tottenham Hotspur have completed the £26m club-record signing of striker Roberto Soldado from Valencia. | 23578515 | [
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The incident happened on EnQuests's Thistle platform, off Shetland, last December.
Rigging supervisor Steve Innes, from Sunderland, told the BBC he and fellow Wood Group contractors discovered they had been exposed to alpha radiation.
EnQuest said "additional precautionary steps" had since been taken.
Wood Group said it was committed to employee safety.
Mr Innes - who said he has struggled to find more work since raising concerns - said the workers now faced cancer fears, and blood tests were ongoing.
He said EnQuest had failed in its duty of care.
The men were working at Thistle, 125 miles (201 km) north east of Shetland, doing shutdown work with pipe equipment.
Mr Innes claimed they were told there was a problem two thirds of the way through the trip.
He claimed a health and safety manager told them a reading had been taken the night before and all the work was stopped.
He said: "We had all been working on it without the proper PPE (personal protective equipment), because they had assumed it was clear.
"At first we were all in shock.
"We have been exposed to radioactive material for hours at a time."
He said they had been told the levels of radiation may not cause them long-term harm, but he was continuing to undergo tests.
Mr Innes said of EnQuest: "They have a duty of care. Their procedures have broken down.
"You can't say 'you've been contaminated but we think you'll be OK'.
"I would like somebody to take the case on who's not frightened of the companies."
An EnQuest spokesperson said: "EnQuest can confirm that, in December 2016, during planned shutdown activities on its Thistle platform, six personnel employed by Wood Group under a contract with EnQuest were removing a piece of pipework when they were exposed to low levels of NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material).
"The level of exposure was less than 1% of the level at which it is reportable to the Health and Safety Executive however EnQuest advised the HSE of the matter at the time.
"EnQuest has appropriate control measures in place which are designed to prevent exposure to NORM.
"Following an investigation, additional precautionary steps have been taken to further ensure that personnel avoid any such exposure."
A Wood Group spokeswoman said: "The health and safety of our people is always our top priority.
"As a precaution following the incident, we downmanned our employees from the platform in order to conduct medical assessments.
"We fully supported EnQuest in a detailed joint investigation and continue to reinforce the application of our health and safety procedures, to ensure the safety of our employees.
"Our commitment and priority following the incident and throughout the investigation has been to the health and wellbeing of our employees."
John Boland, regional officer for the Unite union, said: "Unite believes that the way these workers has been treated is terrible.
"It's vital for workers' safety that there is openness and transparency about serious safety incidents, so that we can learn lessons and create a safer working environment for everyone offshore."
A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said: "HSE has been made aware of this incident.
"However, it was not reportable under the present RIDDOR system (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) and no staff raised the issue with HSE separately so no investigation has been carried out." | An offshore worker has called for action after he and colleagues were exposed to radiation, BBC Scotland can reveal. | 39379405 | [
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Mr Katter is an independent country politician from north Queensland.
In the ad, he is seen blowing on a puff of smoke from a toy gun with the bodies of two "faceless men" from the major parties lying dead in the dirt.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on Mr Katter to withdraw the ads, which were "in the worst of taste".
But 71-year-old Mr Katter, who heads Katter's Australia Party and represents the electorate of Kennedy, said he thought the ads were "brilliant" and "screamingly funny".
The ad, made with the help of satirical website Betoota Advocate, begins with members of the Labor Party and the Liberal-National coalition hammering a sign into the ground that reads "Australia for sale".
Mr Katter tosses the sign on the ground, and when it is replaced, uses a large black marker to alter the sign to "Australia not for sale", before cutting to the scene with the gun.
"I think most people will enjoy the humour. I thought it was very funny, I must admit," he told the ABC.
"What's not funny is the selling off of this country. We hate it and we're tenaciously opposed to it."
Queensland Senator Barry O'Sullivan called the ad "abhorrent" and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said it was "unfortunate".
On the Sunrise breakfast television program, presenter David Koch pressed Mr Katter on why he released the video so soon after a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Mr Katter responded that there were similar advertisements that did not cause controversy and also claimed not to be aware of the shooting.
If this is the best Australia has to offer in the way of political scandal, then we truly are witnessing the world's most boring election campaign.
Mr Katter's ad is typical of Australia's larrikin sense of humour - politically incorrect, jarring and perhaps not quite as funny as it thinks it is.
But is it "abhorrent" or in "the worst of taste"? Should it have been released in the aftermath of the shootings in Orlando?
Australia is a long way from Florida and many people in regional centres will share Mr Katter's bawdy sense of humour.
Sometimes humour is rough or tasteless. Sometimes it doesn't hit the bulls eye. But if Katter's constituents don't like his joke, they can toss him out at the election on 2 July.
Betoota Advocate editor Clancy Overell, who played one of the shot men in the video, said he was aware the video might "wind people up" but was not sure Mr Katter had the same understanding.
Mr Overell defended the video's timing, telling the BBC that shootings occurred in the US every day.
"Australians can't be prevented from making jokes and about cowboys and western-style gunplay," he said.
A video from the 2012 Queensland state election featured Mr Katter line dancing with a group of young people.
The same video depicted him spinning on his head, although it is likely a body double was used for the stunt. | Australian politician Bob Katter has defended a video that depicts him killing his electoral rivals. | 36524749 | [
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Most are being transported to rebel-held Idlib province, where aid groups say conditions are inadequate, with insufficient food and medical supplies.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose staff are assisting the operation, said on Tuesday that 25,000 rebel fighters and civilians had been evacuated since the operation got under way.
As many as 25,000 others could be waiting to leave in freezing conditions.
Last Thursday, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura estimated that some 50,000 people, among them 40,000 civilians, were trapped inside the four of five districts still under rebel control, which together cover about 2.6 sq km (1 sq mile).
As part of the ceasefire deal, 750 people have been evacuated simultaneously from two Shia towns in Idlib province that are under siege by rebel forces - Foah and Kefraya.
The UN Security Council has meanwhile approved the deployment of 20 observers to Aleppo to monitor the treatment of civilians as pro-government forces assume complete control of the rebel enclave.
More than 70,000 people have also fled on foot to government-controlled areas since mid-November, when government forces stepped up their assault.
The UN said on Tuesday that its aid partners had counted 19,000 evacuees arriving in Idlib province, a rebel stronghold. Many have been taken to temporary camps while others have found shelter with relatives.
The World Health Organization separately said on Tuesday that 301 injured and sick patients, including 67 children, had been taken by ambulances to eight different hospitals in the western Aleppo countryside and Idlib province.
The WHO says 93 patients had subsequently been referred to hospitals in Turkey, which backs the rebels and helped negotiate the ceasefire deal with Russia.
Turkey, which is home to some 2.7 million Syrian refugees, is also preparing to set up a "tent city" in Idlib to accommodate up to 80,000 displaced people from Aleppo.
Three possible sites have reportedly been identified, and hundreds of aid lorries from the Turkish Red Crescent and the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) charity have crossed the border.
A smaller camp for 1,000 "disadvantaged" evacuees from Aleppo - the injured and disabled - will be set up in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli.
In many places, conditions are already inadequate, with families staying in crowded buildings still under construction with no heat, toilets or running water, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) says. And villages in the countryside are said to be getting full.
A doctor who is volunteering at a makeshift hospital in Idlib said there was no equipment to monitor patients. "Even the Intensive Care Unit doesn't have a ventilator," he said in a video posted on Facebook.
Idlib already hosts some 230,000 displaced people in and around 250 informal camps, according to the IRC.
Aid agencies have raised concerns over the security of those in Idlib.
Most of the province is controlled by a powerful rebel alliance that includes the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which was known as al-Nusra Front until it announced it was breaking off formal ties with al-Qaeda in July 2016.
The province has been repeatedly bombed by the Syrian and Russian air forces, and President Bashar al-Assad has said it will be one of the next areas to be "liberated" after Aleppo.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy, warned on Friday: "If there is no political agreement and a ceasefire, Idlib will become the next Aleppo."
Some 20,000 people are living in the two predominantly Shia towns, located just to the north of the city of Idlib, which have been under siege by rebel and jihadist fighters since March 2015.
Pro-government fighters who were evacuated a year ago reported that starving residents had resorted to eating grass, and that injured people had undergone surgery without anaesthesia.
The fates of the residents of Foah and Kefraya have previously been tied to those living in two mainly Sunni towns besieged by pro-government forces outside Damascus - Zabadani and Madaya.
Several simultaneous evacuations from the four towns have taken place, while limited deliveries of food and medical aid were permitted three times this year. | Thousands of people have been leaving besieged, rebel-held eastern districts of the Syrian city of Aleppo following the resumption of evacuations agreed as part of a ceasefire deal last week. | 38340165 | [
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Media playback is not supported on this device
Tweddle's score of 15.916 took bronze in her uneven bars final after a decade pursuing an elusive Olympic medal.
The 27-year-old has four world titles and is the most decorated GB gymnast in history. A step back on landing may have cost her higher honours.
Russia's Aliya Mustafina won the gold medal ahead of Beijing 2008 champion He Kexin of China.
Mustafina scored a massive 16.133 to win the title, a mark Tweddle had herself posted in qualifying at London 2012.
"Everyone kept saying to me, 'You're a great champ, it doesn't matter what happens today.' I kept trying to tell myself that but I knew if I walked out of here without a medal, I'd have been really disappointed," Tweddle told BBC Sport.
"I knew the crowd would be good and I got a lot of texts this morning from people saying they were behind me and rooting for me, and that calmed me down.
"I know I've done the years of hard work, my coach has too, and she'd have been as gutted as me if we'd come away with nothing."
London 2012 marks Tweddle's final outing at this level. She has endured agony to reach this point, her body breaking down in a sport that usually spits out gymnasts by their early twenties at best.
The City of Liverpool gymnast slept with an ice machine strapped to her leg for much of this year to calm the swelling from training, and long ago abandoned two of the four pieces of apparatus in women's gymnastics to preserve her fitness for the bars and floor.
"This is definitely my last Olympics," she confirmed.
"It was a tremendous routine by Beth. She went for the big dismount, and knew she had to go for maximum difficulty, and her work on the apparatus was superb. To get a medal is a wonderful moment for Beth and British gymnastics."
"I'm not totally retiring straight away. It would be too much on my mind and body just to stop.
"The federation have said I can keep training a bit, so I can decide what I want to do rather than make drastic decisions."
While she did not reach the floor final at her home Games, her bars routine was the best in qualifying and she replicated that scintillating form for nine-tenths of her performance in the final.
But two large steps back following her landing were enough to end her challenge for the Olympic title.
Asked if she might dwell on that moment, Tweddle said: "Do you know what? I don't care. Coming into London 2012 I had a few different routines. I went with that one; it could have gone totally wrong, and it didn't.
"I landed on my feet, I've got a medal around my neck and that's all I'm bothered about."
Mustafina, the 2010 all-around world champion, came through a serious knee injury in 2011 to reach London 2012 and was a deserving gold medallist. He scored 15.933 behind her.
Watch Tweddle speaking about winning a bronze medal | Great Britain's Beth Tweddle won a medal at last in the final Olympic appearance of her gymnastics career. | 18908349 | [
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Think of Iraq and Afghanistan - their crystal ball is often as muddy as yours or mine.
While the 2010 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) did identify terrorism and international military crises as high level (tier 1) threats, there was no specific mention of Russia and so-called Islamic State (IS) did not exist in anything like its present form.
The 2015 SDSR will identify both IS and Russia as tier 1 threats, but they may not be the same threat five years hence.
They say that armies train to fight the last war they fought and military plans don't survive the first contact with the enemy.
"In 2010 it was rather assumed the armed forces would get out of Afghanistan and take a bit of a breather," says Michael Clarke, director of the defence think tank Rusi.
Instead "the world has shown us the armed forces won't be getting a holiday," he says.
First, the government should be commended on its commitment to carry out a defence review every five years. Before, defence reviews were done ad hoc.
But ministers will still have to overcome a high degree of scepticism as to whether this latest SDSR is genuinely "strategic" or if it matches Britain's global ambitions with the resources needed.
SDSR 2010 may have been strategic in name but it'll be remembered for the savage cuts that followed.
It wasn't just the scrapping of iconic names, it left gaping holes in Britain's defences - with no aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy and no maritime patrol aircraft to hunt down Russian submarines.
Full document
The Royal Navy also lost thousands of personnel and is now having to recruit marine engineers from foreign navies.
In order to man its two new aircraft carriers it'll need another 2,000 sailors but they'll have to manage with fewer, which could mean mothballing other warships.
The armed forces are still licking the wounds inflicted by the 2010 review.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon admits it involved "painful" decisions. But this week he told me: "We're now able to expand the defence budget again... to enhance the capabilities of our armed forces to deal with the increased threats we face."
Key to this, he says, has been the commitment to meet the Nato target of spending 2% of the nation's wealth (GDP) on defence.
It means there'll be a modest increase in the defence budget over the next five years.
Mr Clarke says while the armed forces might be in a better place this time round "it'll still find it difficult to meet all the commitments the government wants it to meet".
New maritime patrol aircraft will be top of the shopping list. Over the past five years Britain has had to call on the help of the US, Canada and France to hunt for suspected Russian submarines near UK waters.
RAF crews have already been training on the US Boeing P8 Poseidon - but it's expensive. Other defence contractors are offering cheaper alternatives. Britain needs new aircraft now, but it has to work out what it can afford.
The RAF will also be looking for more frontline fast-jet squadrons. It now has seven squadrons but would like more than a dozen.
In the fight against IS it's still having to rely on the ageing Tornado.
The life of some of the early Typhoons is likely to be extended to add a few more squadrons, but still probably fewer than the RAF would like.
One key decision will be how many of the new F-35s Britain will buy. The aircraft, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, is already the most expensive defence project ever undertaken by the Pentagon.
The UK had originally planned to buy 138, but each jet will cost about £100m.
The decision on F-35s is also important for the Royal Navy and its two new aircraft carriers from which they will fly, as are new anti-submarine frigates needed to protect the carriers.
The Navy wants 13 of the new Type 26 frigate. If it has to settle for less that would have a knock-on effect on shipbuilding jobs on the Clyde.
The government will also signal its push to renew the fleet of Vanguard submarines which carry the Trident nuclear systems. The cost of building four new submarines will be updated from around £20bn to more than £30bn.
The Army will be looking at how many new armoured "scout" vehicles they'll be getting and new Apache attack helicopters. Although the Army has become less likely to engage in any large-scale conflict on its own, it still needs a range of capabilities to deploy alongside its key ally - the US.
The Army also hopes this SDSR will help change public perceptions - that it's not just there to deploy en masse. The Army now sends small teams to trouble spots all over the world to help train and assist fragile states with conflict prevention.
The number of regular troops is shrinking, from 163,000 in 1978 to 102,000 in 2010 and 82,000 in 2020
The government has said it does not want whole regiments to be scrapped; some will be merged, others face "salami slicing".
The Army will become more reliant on part-time soldiers; the number of reservists will double from 15,000 to 30,000 by 2020
The government says Britain will have an effective, well-equipped fighting force, integrating regulars and reserves
Analysts say the Army will have resources for only one major operation at a time and there will be swingeing cuts to support units such as logistics and engineers
More on the Army reorganisation
In fact, this SDSR will signal a significant break with the past. Mr Clarke says: "What we are seeing is a shift of resources away from fighting major wars towards using the forces in more intelligence-led, cyber-led, Special Forces-led ways for specific operations."
The armed forces still want and need their big ticket items like warplanes and warships, but recent events have underlined the shift.
In the wake of the Paris attacks, ministers have said the security services will get another 1,900 personnel while there'll be an extra £1.9bn for cybersecurity and another £2bn for Special Forces.
The RAF will see the size of its drone fleet double to 20.
It's a sign the military will be involved in more intelligence-led counter-terrorism operations and an indication that, post-Iraq and Afghanistan, politicians are increasingly reluctant to put "boots on the ground".
After the brutal cuts of the last SDSR, ministers hope this one will be a positive story. While the Ministry of Defence is still having to make efficiency savings, it's not being asked to make cuts right across the board like many other government departments.
But more important than how the review is regarded by the public, or the armed forces themselves, is how it's interpreted by Britain's allies and enemies. | Military chiefs, civil servants and politicians are not always ready or equipped to fight the battles in front of them, let alone the wars of the future. | 34867564 | [
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Armagh defender Aidan Forker and Louth's Anthony Williams were sent-off early in the game.
Goals from Ciaran McKeever and Rowland helped Armagh to a 2-5 to 0-6 half-time lead and Jamie Clarke added the third.
Antrim eased their relegation worries with CJ McGourty netting in a 1-10 to 0-11 win against Laois, who had Damien O'Connor red-carded before half-time.
Conor Murray scored two points at Corrigan Park as the Saffrons moved into an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead, but Ross Munnelly and David Conway were on target as Louth levelled.
The decisive period in the game came just before the break with McGourty's goal and the dismissal of O'Connor.
Antrim led 1-5 to 0-6 at half-time but Laois levelled on the restart thanks to points from Ambrose Doran and Alan Farrell.
Paddy McBride restored the host's advantage only for James Finn to make it all-square again.
CJ McGourty slotted over three of Antrim's final four points as they edged clear to clinch a valuable win to leave the Ulster side sixth in the standings.
"If we didn't get the two points from this game we would be up against it," said Antrim joint-manager Gearoid Adams.
"CJ McGourty led by example with pressure frees and we got over the line - we must push on now."
There was a dramatic opening at the Gaelic Grounds with Forker red-carded after 50 seconds followed by McKeever's goal and the exit of Williams on 10 minutes.
The Orchard visitors made a blistering start, surging to a 2-3 to 0-1 lead with Rowland firing in the second goal.
Louth pair Paraic Smith and Ryan Burns each scored three first-half points and the Division Three pacesetters trailed 2-5 to 0-6 at the break.
Armagh banged over seven of the opening eight points at the start of second half to kill off Louth hopes.
Grimley split the posts twice to take his tally to five points and three came from Clarke, who also converted a late penalty.
Armagh are third but just a point behind Louth and new leaders Tipperary.
Orchard forward Rory Grugan scored four points and he was happy with his team's display.
"We were under pressure to keep our promotion hopes alive and it was up to us to put in a performance," he said.
"It was a mad start and these things happen in games but we responded well with a goal and we were in good shape at half-time." | Armagh moved to within a point of top spot with a 3-15 to 0-11 victory over Louth side in Drogheda. | 39322242 | [
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They show emissions in 2015 were 41% below the levels for 1990, a benchmark against which targets are set.
Last year saw a record reduction of 45.8% which not only met the annual target but exceeded a medium-term aim to reduce emissions by 42% by 2020.
It means total emissions since 2014 are 1.8% higher.
The statistics appear to support claims from environmental groups that the 2020 target was only met because of an unseasonably mild winter.
The latest statistics will be a disappointment to ministers who have positioned Scotland as a world leader in tackling climate change.
Earlier this year, Scotland's Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced a new target to reduce emissions by 50% by 2020.
She also announced plans to decarbonise the electricity sector and increase the amount of woodland to offset carbon.
The figures for all years are adjusted annually to reflect the increased understanding of greenhouse gas emissions.
They are also adjusted to reflect Scotland's participation in the complex EU-wide Emissions Trading Scheme.
A second set of figures, on source emissions, shows a fall of 3% since 2014.
Until last year, the annual target had been missed on four consecutive years.
When it comes to source emissions, transport has overtaken energy supply as the biggest contributor.
This is attributed to a decrease in the amount of coal being burnt at the Longannet Power Station.
There has also been a shift in reliance on nuclear power, which represents 34.7% of demand compared with 25.7% in 2007.
The largest shift is in forestry which has seen a significant fall in the amount of carbon soaked up by trees.
A shortage of planting around the 1980s means there are more trees being felled annually than are reaching maturity.
But Ms Cunningham said Scotland remained "comfortably on track" to meet its 2020 target.
She added: "The statistics also show that we continue to outperform the UK as a whole, with our efforts to drive forward transformative change in our energy system clearly paying off.
"We always knew meeting our ambitious targets would be tough and that they bring a number of challenges, as well as opportunities.
"Our draft Climate Change Plan sets out a package of measures across transport, heat, electricity generation and energy efficiency which will help us go further."
Jim Densham, from Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said the figures showed real progress was being made towards securing a "clean energy revolution".
"To hit future climate change targets we now need to build on the early successes to supercharge action on key areas," he said.
"These include homes, farming and particularly transport, which is for the first time the largest source of emissions.
"Transport pollution has been stubbornly high for decades and we need significant action to catch up with other nations such as India and Norway which are planning to end the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030." | Greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland have risen but the statutory target for 2015 has been met, according to the latest figures. | 40259851 | [
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We Were There was written by Leicester singer Bob Wragg for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain.
Mr Wragg, 82, said its original release was deemed "inappropriate" following the outbreak of the Falklands War.
The recording features many of the winning side including Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.
The song came about through Mr Wragg's friendship with keeper Gordon Banks, England's victorious goalkeeper in 1966, and he asked him about recording a song to wish the 1982 side well.
Many of the World Cup winning players feature in the video, with the exception of brothers Bobby and Jackie Charlton, who were away at the time, and Nobby Stiles, who was ill.
The recording, which has sat in the attic at Mr Wragg's Isle of Man home for more than three decades, includes captain Bobby Moore playing tambourine.
Mr Wragg, who performed with the 1950s variety act the Dallas Boys, said: "The atmosphere was amazing but I had to teach a few of them to sing - I even taught Alan Ball to sing a harmony. We had a right knees up.
"I heard the lads were in Leicester to shoot a promo so I had one night to write a song and one day to record it and make a video. The record label loved it but then the Falklands war broke out and it was shelved."
The singer is a founder member of what has been described as Britain's first boy band and now lives in Laxey with his wife.
He decided to search his attic for the song and video after reading that three of the squad were living with Alzheimer's disease.
It has been released coincide with the European Championships in France and all funds from the song will go to the charity Alzheimer's Research UK.
Mr Wragg added: "This is a nostalgic delight and will support a very worthy charity - I was so emotional watching it back knowing that some of the lads have passed away now." | A football anthem sung by England's 1966 World Cup winning side has been released after spending 34 years hidden in an Isle of Man attic. | 36489751 | [
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She inveighed against a "draconian policy of austerity" that favoured "globalised elites at the expense of the people".
The speaker was not a left-wing firebrand, but the leader of the far-right National Front, Marine Le Pen.
The Front first emerged in the 1980s as a mainly anti-immigration group. Ms Le Pen is careful not to neglect this core issue, but nowadays she frames her nationalist message in anti-globalisation terms.
Under both the right and the left, she contends, France has surrendered its sovereign powers to EU bureaucrats who are setting interest rates and tearing down borders for the sole benefit of big business.
"The grave diggers of Brussels," as Ms Le Pen put it, "are setting France on the path to under-development".
She found a receptive audience among the struggling workers who had come from all over France to hear her speak.
Roger Denis, a 41-year-old haulier from the eastern city of Nancy, feels his job is threatened. "My company uses a lot of Polish drivers," he says. "I have nothing against them, but they are working for 800 euros a month (£650; $1,100). They have Polish number plates, but of course they work in France."
Patrick Cathala is in an even more precarious position. Five years ago he lost his construction job, and he too regards himself as a victim of Europe's open-border policies.
"I'm unemployed because firms prefer to hire workers from Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal or Spain. They're letting all those people in. What am I supposed to do?"
The transformation of the Front from fringe group into France's leading working-class party is not sudden. In the 1980s Jean-Marie Le Pen - the founder of the FN and the current leader's father - targeted urban voters who were leaving the Communist Party in droves.
It was he who decided to hold the Front's annual march on 1 May - the traditional Labour Day celebrated by trade unions. It is now by far the biggest event in Paris on that date.
Under Marine Le Pen, the drive to capture far-left votes has been extended to moderate socialists, says Guillaume Bernard from the Catholic Institute of Higher Studies.
How FN won in socialist heartland
"Those voters are typically public workers and pensioners and these people are sensitive to a message emphasising the role of the state," says Mr Bernard.
This has meant not just a shift in emphasis in the FN's message - unfettered markets have all but replaced uncontrolled immigration as its main bugbear - but also a new geographical focus.
Studies have highlighted a growing divide in France between city dwellers and those living in the countryside. The first tend to do well, and benefit from globalisation; the second group feel left out.
Last year Marine Le Pen went on a "tour of forgotten France" ("Tour de France des Oublies"), taking her message to rural areas and small towns that suffer social deprivation and poor public services.
She told residents she felt their pain - while Paris and Brussels officials had sacrificed "small people" to multinationals who wanted an impoverished workforce. Her efforts paid off in recent local elections, when the Front made huge gains.
Its most notable success was in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, a former socialist stronghold which the FN captured in the first round.
Olivier, 43, speaks for many residents when he says he is "open" to the Front's message. After working for 21 years as a maintenance technician, he is no better off than many living on benefits or the minimum wage. "I am sliding towards the bottom," he says.
Millions feel the same way up and down the country. Some opinion polls suggest the Front may win a quarter of the votes in this month's European elections.
And its appeal may rise even further. According to one study, as much as 60% of the population belong to "peripheral France". Not all will support the FN but it still represents a large pool of potential gains, especially if France's economy deteriorates further.
The shifting focus of the Front raises two questions - one related to domestic politics and the other of EU-wide significance.
First, can a mass party like the FN still be described as "extreme-right", as it is by French commentators, or even "far-right"?
The party is "extreme" in the relative sense that there is no significant force further to the right, but its main message is not extremist per se, analyst Bernard Guillaume notes.
The idea that workers need to be protected from foreign competitors - "national preference" in modern FN parlance - was accepted by all French parties until World War Two. Even recently, France has argued that trade liberalisation in farming or cultural products would be a disaster.
The Front's core contention - that the free flow of goods and people is just as dangerous within Europe as it is globally - is controversial. But it has consistency on its side if you take a dim view of free trade - which is the standard view in France.
The party's stance may nowadays be better characterised as "populist" or "nationalist", rather that "extreme".
The second question regards links the FN wants to forge with like-minded groups across Europe - such as Britain's UKIP, the FPO in Austria, Geert Wilders' party in the Netherlands, and others in central and eastern Europe.
Many of these parties do not share the Front's hostility to "neo-liberalism". Can they form a cohesive force in the EU parliament?
Ludovic de Danne, a Euro-MP who speaks on international affairs for the FN, thinks so. Eurosceptic parties, he insists, will ignore their differences to focus on the one issue that unites them: "We are forming an alliance on European questions."
Be that as it may, the main populist offensive against the EU will probably take place not in the European Parliament but at national level.
UKIP, for instance, has high hopes for a planned referendum on Britain's membership. In France, the FN will continue to tap the nation's atavistic attachment to the state and mistrust of markets. | At the May Day rally, the politician accused the government of "helping the richest 1%, to reassure credit ratings agencies and international finance". | 27404016 | [
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The Spanish-language TV network had cancelled its contract to broadcast the Miss USA pageant which is co-owned by Mr Trump.
Univision had said last week it would not air the pageant because of what it called insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants.
Mr Trump is running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Mr Trump has accused Univision of stifling his freedom of speech in order to boost the Democratic Party frontrunner, Hilary Clinton.
While announcing his candidacy earlier this month, he had accused Mexico of sending rapists and other criminals to the United States.
He also pledged to build a "great wall" on the US border with Mexico and insisted it would be paid for by Mexicans.
He later insisted he was criticising US lawmakers, not Mexican people.
US TV network NBC has also said it would not be airing the Miss USA and the Miss Universe pageants both owned by Mr Trump.
Responding to the announcement, Mr Trump said he would consider suing NBC. | The US presidential candidate Donald Trump has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Univision. | 33339843 | [
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It will be the first time that the tournament has been held in England since 1993, when the home side beat New Zealand in the final at Lord's.
The tournament, which starts on 26 June next year, consists of 31 matches, with Lord's hosting the final on 23 July.
It will feature eight teams and will be played in a round-robin format.
Steve Elworthy, the ECB's director of events, said the tournament will help "drive interest and participation in women's cricket at every level".
He added: "It's critical we use this event to reach out to young children in particular, so we've moved the tournament start date to earlier in the summer, a decision which will help our host venues encourage attendance by engaging with schools in the build-up to the event." | Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Lord's have been named as venues for the ICC Women's World Cup in 2017. | 35521829 | [
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Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletics Club normally use the park's famous Long Walk for winter training.
The Crown Estate now said the park's ground conditions are not suitable for the club's training sessions.
Coach John Higgins said: "Mo Farah used to train with the club, and he used to train exactly on this venue".
"It's really sad."
Mr Higgins said although the club used an athletics track for summer training, in winter it needed an outdoor venue for athletes to train on grass for cross country fixtures.
The club is used by children aged between eight to 18-years-old to train, and has been running since the 1880s, with Prince Philip as its current patron.
"We need somewhere lit and that's why the Long Walk is so perfect".
"It's a lovely place and we're very very careful about not littering, because we respect the place," he said.
Russell Young, a father of two children at the club, said: "We're extremely disappointed, we don't really cut up the grass.
"We thought they'd be quite happy to have children exercising on it."
The nearby playing fields of Eton, where the Thames Valley Athletics Centre is based, are not lit and have cricket pitches which could be damaged by runners, while Upton Park in Slough is not safe for the club to use at present as the pedestrian crossing is out of service following a collision with a lorry.
A spokesperson for Windsor Great Park said discussions were continuing with the club to find what other options may be available for the next season. | Young runners at Olympian Mo Farah's former athletics club have been banned from training at Windsor Great Park in preparation for cross country races. | 38505241 | [
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Pupils aged 11 will be expected to know their tables up to 12x12, and will be tested using an "on-screen check".
The checks will be piloted to about 3,000 pupils in 80 primary schools this summer, before being rolled out across the country in 2017.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said maths was a non-negotiable aspect of a good education.
The "on-screen check" examination will involve children completing multiplication challenges against the clock, which will be scored instantly.
The Department for Education says it is the first use of on-screen technology in National Curriculum tests.
Ms Morgan has also said teachers will be judged by the results of the tests: "Since 2010, we've seen record numbers of 11 year olds start secondary school with a good grasp of the three Rs. But some continue to struggle.
"That is why, as part of our commitment to extend opportunity and deliver educational excellence everywhere we are introducing a new check to ensure that all pupils know their times tables by age 11.
"They will help teachers recognise those pupils at risk of falling behind and allow us to target those areas where children aren't being given a fair shot to succeed."
In 2015, 80% of Year 6 pupils achieved Level 4 in maths, reading and writing, up from 78% last year.
But Labour says standards are being threatened by a shortage of teachers, and in the past some teaching unions have warned additional tests can place unwelcome pressure on teachers and pupils. | Every pupil in England will be tested on their times tables before leaving primary school, under government plans. | 35216318 | [
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They seized the regional government's headquarters and prosecutor's office before opening fire with automatic weapons at the main police station.
Interim President Olexander Turchynov criticised local police for their "inaction" and "criminal treachery".
The US accused Russia of seeking to "change the security landscape" of Eastern and Central Europe.
By David SternBBC News, Kiev
The pro-Russian gunmen in Ukraine's east seem to be following a strategy of constant expansion and pressure on the Kiev government.
Hardly a day goes by without another incident. Just recently, official buildings in Kostyantynivka have been taken over, Western military monitors detained, peaceful demonstrators in Donetsk attacked, and now the regional administration building in Luhansk has been seized.
It is difficult to say what their ultimate goal is. Perhaps it is to keep government officials in Kiev on the defensive, forcing them to put out a number of fires at once, while others pop up throughout the region.
Or else it is simply to keep the situation unstable, in order to prevent the presidential election scheduled to take place on 25 May.
Or it could be just the opposite, as many in Kiev and throughout the country fear: to provoke the Ukrainians into a full crackdown, which would in turn spark a Russian invasion. The militants have called on Moscow to intervene on more than one occasion.
In a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry told the Kremlin to "leave Ukraine in peace" and warned: "Nato territory is inviolable we will defend every single inch of it."
In other developments on Tuesday:
Moscow has said it has no intention of invading eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia activists have seized government buildings in more than a dozen towns and cities.
Until now, only the local office of the State Security Service (SBU) in Luhansk, a city of 465,000 people less than 30km (20 miles) from the Russian border, had been targeted.
But on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of people shouting "Russia, Russia" gathered outside the headquarters of the regional government to demand a referendum on greater autonomy.
A group of men armed with sticks and metal bars broke into the building. They pulled down the Ukrainian flag flying from the roof and replaced it with a Russian tricolour and the flag of Donetsk People's Republic.
Crowds of pro-Russia activists then overran the building housing the prosecutor's office before attacking the headquarters of the interior ministry's police force.
Hours later, an AFP news agency journalist reported that officers had abandoned the police station and been taken away in buses, as an angry crowd shouted at them to "Go home".
Activists also went into a regional television station, but decided not to take it over after they were allowed to make a live broadcast.
Following the takeovers, President Turchynov demanded the dismissal of the police chiefs in Luhansk and the other eastern city of Donetsk.
"The overwhelming majority of law enforcement bodies in the east are incapable of fulfilling their duty to defend our citizens," he said.
Pro-Russia activists control much of the neighbouring Donetsk region.
Sanctions
By Daniel SandfordBBC News, Moscow
Sanctions screw is tightened
Eastern Ukraine, which has a large Russian-speaking population, was a stronghold for former President Yanukovych before he was overthrown by protesters in February.
The interim government has rejected the pro-Russian activists' demands for greater autonomy, fearing they could lead to the break-up of the country or more regions being annexed by Russia, as happened with Crimea last month.
Pro-Russian activists continue to detain some 40 people, including seven military observers linked to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) seized last week.
On Tuesday evening, the self-styled "mayor" of the town of Sloviansk, where the observers are being held, said "good progress" had been made at talks with OSCE representatives.
Vyacheslav Ponomaryov had earlier warned that they would only be released if the EU dropped its sanctions against separatist leaders.
Earlier, the EU published a fresh list of 15 individuals facing travel bans and asset freezes.
It included the chief of the Russian General Staff, the head of Russian military intelligence, and a Russian deputy prime minister, as well as separatist leaders in Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk.
On Monday, the US announced sanctions against seven individuals and 17 companies it said were linked to President Putin's "inner circle".
President Putin warned that new sanctions might have an impact on the operations of Western companies in Russia.
"If this continues, we will of course have to think about how they work in the Russian Federation, including in key sectors of the Russian economy such as energy," he said, adding that there were "neither Russian instructors, nor special units, nor troops" in Ukraine.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the sanctions, first imposed by Washington and Brussels after Crimea was annexed, had so far caused "a quite substantial deterioration in Russia's already weak economy". | Pro-Russia activists have stormed several official buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk. | 27206280 | [
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Mae'r camau wedi eu cynnwys yn y Mesur Diddymu Mawr, sy'n amlinellu sut y bydd miloedd o ddeddfau'r UE yn cael eu diddymu neu eu holynu.
Bydd gweinidogion yn San Steffan yn cymryd rheolaeth o'r dyletswyddau yn syth wedi Brexit, tra bo fframwaith parhaol ar feysydd fel amaeth yn cael eu trafod gyda'r llywodraethau datganoledig.
Mae'r Mesur Diddymu Mawr yn dweud y bydd hyn yn darparu'r "sicrwydd cyfreithiol a gweinyddol gorau" wrth adael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd.
Roedd Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dweud yn flaenorol y dylai'r sefydliadau datganoledig gael penderfynu a ddylid datblygu fframwaith gyda San Steffan yn dilyn Brexit.
Ond wnaeth y Prif Weinidog Carwyn Jones ddim beirniadu'r mesur yn uniongyrchol yn ei ddatganiad ddydd Iau.
"Er bod y Papur Gwyn yn sôn am gynyddu pwerau'r sefydliadau datganoledig i wneud penderfyniadau, dyw hi ddim yn glir ein bod ni o'r un farn ynghylch lle mae'r pwerau ar hyn o bryd a sut y dylid symud ymlaen yn y dyfodol," meddai.
"Rydyn ni wedi dweud yn glir ein bod ni'n gweld manteision cytuno ar ddulliau gweithredu cyffredin ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig mewn rhai meysydd polisi datganoledig, lle bo hynny'n bwysig ar gyfer gweithrediad marchnad y Deyrnas Unedig.
"Rhaid cychwyn ar ddulliau gweithredu a fframweithiau cyffredin o'r fath drwy gytundeb a chonsensws."
Mae'r Mesur Diddymu Mawr yn dweud mai'r nod yw "darparu'r lefel gorau o sicrwydd cyfreithiol a gweinyddol wrth adael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd, ac yn unol â'r drefn a fabwysiadwyd yn fwy cyffredinol wrth ddeddfu pan fyddwn ni'n gadael, mae'r Llywodraeth yn bwriadu dilyn yr un fframweithiau a ddarparwyd gan reolau'r Undeb Ewropeaidd drwy ddeddfwriaeth y DU.
"Byddwn yn dechrau trafodaethau dwys gyda'r gweinyddiaethau datganoledig er mwyn adnabod lle y bydd angen cadw fframweithiau cyffredin yn y dyfodol, beth ddylai'r rhain fod, a ble nad oes angen fframweithiau cyffredin ar draws y DU.
"Tra bo'r trafodaethau hyn yn digwydd gyda'r sefydliadau datganoledig, byddwn yn ceisio cyflwyno cyn lleied o newidiadau â phosib i'r fframweithiau.
"Byddwn yn gweithio'n agos gyda'r gweinyddiaethau datganoledig er mwyn sicrhau cynllun sy'n gweithio i'r DU gyfan a'r ardaloedd gwahanol."
Dywedodd arweinydd y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig, Andrew RT Davies y byddai'r mesur yn "gam hanfodol ar y ffordd i wneud y Deyrnas Unedig yn wlad annibynnol a sofran unwaith eto".
"Mae angen nawr i'r prif weinidog [Carwyn Jones] weithio'n bositif gyda llywodraeth y DU i sicrhau ein bod ni'n cael bargen sy'n gweithio i bawb," meddai.
Ond mae Plaid Cymru wedi disgrifio'r mesur fel "yr ymgais fwyaf gan San Steffan i gipio pŵer ers i ni gael ein meddiannu yn 1536".
"Mae'r ddogfen yn ei gwneud hi'n berffaith glir mai bwriad San Steffan yw cymryd cyfrifoldebau'r UE mewn meysydd sydd eisoes wedi'u datganoli i Gymru a'u rhoi nhw yn nwylo ASau San Steffan, nid ein Cynulliad Cenedlaethol," meddai Jonathan Edwards, llefarydd y blaid ar Brexit.
"Bydd yn golygu bod ASau Saesnig yn gyfrifol am faterion sydd wedi eu datganoli i Gymru am y tro cyntaf ers datganoli." | Mae Llywodraeth y DU, am y tro cyntaf, wedi amlinellu'r hyn fydd yn digwydd i bwerau'r Undeb Ewropeaidd yn dilyn Brexit, mewn meysydd datganoledig fel amaethyddiaeth. | 39443984 | [
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Matthew Morris, 29, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, travelled to hotels in Glasgow between July and November 2013 to meet the 15-year-old girl.
He was caught after colleagues at the English Table Tennis Association reported their concerns to police.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court, sentence on Morris was deferred for background reports and his bail was continued.
He was also placed on the sex offenders' register.
The court heard that Morris and the schoolgirl - who cannot be named for legal reasons - met at a tournament in Liverpool when he was 27 and she was 14.
It was heard that when she was 15 "they became involved".
Other members of staff at the Table Tennis Association found out and the police were contacted.
Morris was questioned by police in March 2014 before being released.
When police later analysed the girl's phone, they found 10 pictures involving Morris.
Some showed them on beds kissing while others were pictures of his body that he had sent to her. | A table tennis coach has admitted engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl he met at a tournament. | 35092691 | [
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The 9ft (3m) deep, 22ft (7m) long hole was caused by heavy rain washing away a drain running under part of Traigh Golf Course, near Mallaig.
A photograph that appeared in the media showed a dog at the bottom of the hole.
A club spokesman said: "We keep being asked 'did the dog escape?'. The answer is yes, unscratched."
Traigh Golf Club had been worried about how it would pay for the repairs close to the seventh green of the nine-hole course.
It estimated £16,000 would be needed to cover the cost of the work, which included 200 tonnes of sand.
The owners of the course have now offered to pay for it.
Traigh, between Arisaig and Mallaig, is known as one of Scotland's most picturesque courses because of its views to Skye and the Small Isles. | A golf club has received concerned questions from pet owners about the fate of a dog photographed in a sinkhole that appeared on its course. | 30897209 | [
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Two armed men wearing masks broke into the 44-year-old victim's house in Meadowbank Terrace at about 00:50.
During the assault the men knocked the victim to the ground and hit him repeatedly with a blunt object before fleeing the property.
Police Scotland have appealed for witnesses.
The first attacker was white with a pale complexion, in his early 20s, 5ft 10ins tall and had dark hair growth on his face, brown eyes and dark unkempt hair.
He was of skinny build and was wearing a light grey cotton zip-up tracksuit with the hood up, grey gloves, white Reebok classics-style trainers with air holes and a grey scarf.
The second attacker is in his early to mid 20s, between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 8ins tall and of skinny build.
He spoke with a local accent. He was wearing an old, black, waist-length outdoor jacket with a dark scarf covering his face and his hood up. He was wearing dark gloves.
Det Insp Alan O' Brien, of Police Scotland, said "This is a particularly vicious attack on a disabled man in his own home and we would ask anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the Meadowbank Terrace area in the early hours of Monday morning is asked to contact police immediately.
"In addition, anyone with any information that can help us with our inquiries and assist in tracing the men responsible should also get in touch." | A disabled man has been left with serious injuries after being attacked in his own home in Edinburgh. | 30885388 | [
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The 22-year-old was an unused squad member during the 2017 Six Nations, as well as the 2016 autumn internationals.
"It's been building as I've been in a few camps now, but to finally get my name called out on that team sheet was an awesome feeling," he said.
"I've been champing at the bit these last few camps, training hard."
The Ospreys player comes in to replace Cory Hill, who was called up by the British and Irish Lions following Wales' 24-6 win over Tonga.
Coach Robin McBryde has made seven changes in all to the side that started that game at Eden Park last Friday
Another two uncapped players - scrum-half Tomos Williams and lock Adam Beard - are also on the bench.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Thornton made 25 appearances for Ospreys in the 2016-17 campaign, but expects a big transition to international rugby.
"I've been playing a lot for the Ospreys this year and being involved in the Pro12 and the [European] Challenge Cup has given me quite a bit of experience," the former Wales Under-20s captain told BBC Wales Sport.
"But Test rugby is a completely different animal, so I'm really looking forward to the challenge on Friday against a strong Samoan team.
"Like every young Welsh boy I want to play for Wales, but when it actually comes round you get that sensation of pride."
Thornton is part of an inexperienced Wales side, with the forwards having won just 31 caps between them.
"Samoa have a big experienced pack and we have a couple of young guys here looking to blood themselves on the international stage, so I think it'll be a good challenge overall," Thornton added.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Lock Rory Thornton says he is "champing at the bit" ahead of winning his first Wales cap against Samoa in Apia on Friday, 23 June. | 40351518 | [
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The Gills, who finished 20th in League One last season, have signed eight players so far this summer.
But having started the season with a 0-0 draw to Doncaster and a 2-0 loss to Reading, Pennock wants more recruits.
"They've got to be the right players, the right characters and more importantly they've got to be good players," Pennock, 46, said.
"Everybody is pulling together in the right direction - it's a good changing room and if we can add two or three more I'll be very happy."
Although the club are still on the lookout for new additions, Pennock is pleased with those who have already arrived.
Gillingham have brought in defenders Gabriel Zakuani, Luke O'Neill, Connor Ogilvie and Alex Lacey, strikers Liam Nash, Conor Wilkinson and Tom Eaves and midfielder Billy Bingham.
"Overall, I'm happy with every single one of them - all of the new lads who have come in have contributed to what we've done, they've been absolutely first-class," Pennock told BBC Radio Kent.
"I think it's pushed the others on who were here last year as well. The whole club at the moment is in a good place." | Gillingham are looking to add "two or three" more players to their squad, according to manager Ady Pennock. | 40886859 | [
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The weather service said flooding could happen in the east after heavy rains set in on Thursday.
The amber warning has been issued for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down and Londonderry.
It is valid from 10:30 GMT on Thursday to 08:00 GMT on Friday.
Anyone affected is asked to contact the flooding incident line on 0300 2000 100.
There have been reports of flooding in County Down, near Helen's Bay and on the A1 near Newry, as well as the B72 between Castlederg, County Tyrone, and Ederney, County Fermanagh.
Trafficwatch Northern Ireland said that, due to flooding, the Foyle Road in Derry was closed between Craigavon Bridge and John Street roundabout. Motorists are advised to use the upper deck of Craigavon Bridge.
The A2 Dunluce Road is closed between Portrush and Bushmills due to a landslide. A diversion is in place via Ballybogey Road and Priestland Road.
The Ballyquin Road in Limavady is closed due to flooding. A diversion is in place via Drumrane Road and Baranailt Road.
There is flooding on the Mill Road in Limavady, however, the road remains passable with care. Broad Road in Limavady is also closed due to flooding.
It has been reported that the A2 Dundrum Road, Newcastle, in County Down is partially flooded at the entrance to Golf Links View, as is the A50 Castlewellan Road, Newcastle, at Burren Meadow. | There has been flooding on some roads after the Met Office issued an amber weather warning for much of Northern Ireland. | 29929336 | [
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Last year serious floods hit north and mid Wales, and one woman died.
Environment Minister John Griffiths announced that the Welsh government plans to spend £47m in 2013/14 on schemes to protect 1,000 homes.
However, that is likely to be less than the amount spent on flood defences and dealing with coastal erosion in the previous two years.
"We know our climate is changing and that as a result we are set to see, and have already seen, an increase in rainfall and storms," Mr Griffiths said.
By working together and sharing knowledge "we can vastly improve our resilience to flooding in Wales", he said.
Outlining his plans, Mr Griffiths said: "Continued investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management is a vital part of our work to manage flood risk, and in spite of a reduction in our overall budget from the UK government the Welsh government has maintained its level of investment in this area.
"In 2013/14 I am investing £47m in flood and coastal erosion risk management which will pay for major flood defence schemes in some of our most vulnerable communities including Swansea vale, Fairbourne, Corwen and Coldbrook, Barry.
This would protect 1,000 homes and businesses currently at risk of flooding.
Although the Welsh government's "baseline" spending on flood defences is growing slightly, other sources of funding have been cut.
The £47.2m earmarked for the next financial year compares to £52.7m this year and £51.9m the previous year.
In the past extra funding has become available during the year, meaning the amount that is eventually spent could rise if the same happens again.
Mr Griffiths added: "It is so important that we effectively target our funding for flood defence..
"That is why my national strategy includes a commitment to developing a national funding policy as well as a method for prioritising investment.
"A group has been set up to progress this work and once completed the national programme of investment will enable areas of Wales to be ranked according to risk from all sources of flooding and coastal erosion."
Last year was a disastrous one for flooding in Wales. In June, a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours in Ceredigion, hitting Aberystwyth and surrounding villages, trapping people in their homes and flooding caravan parks.
In November, a 91-year-old woman died and more than 1,000 people had to leave their homes after the River Elwy burst its banks in St Asaph, Denbighshire.
In December, heavy flooding hit the Vale of Glamorgan while homes in Ystalyfera in the Swansea Valley were evacuated after landslips brought thousands of tonnes of soil down onto a road.
Monday's summit in Cardiff unites the Welsh government, local authorities, the Met Office, Environment Agency Wales, Welsh Water, and other organisations. It coincides with climate change campaign Climate Week.
Emyr Roberts of Natural Resources Wales, a new agency that will take over responsibility for Environment Agency Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Forestry Commission next month, said he thought Wales had the right approach to flooding in the past.
"Obviously in many areas the answer is to raise flood defences, but increasingly we're putting more emphasis on communities - raising awareness about what the flooding risks are and what individuals can do about it," he said.
"Obviously, we're working very closely with the emergency services, but I think the summit... will be looking at longer term issues and ways in which we might use the natural environment to alleviate the problems of flooding."
Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant said the role of the local community was also important in tackling the challenges caused by severe weather. Communities which develop a flood plan can act more quickly and effectively when flooding happens.
"It is vital that services comes together and work hard to save lives, protect property and help communities recover," said Mr Sargeant.
"This was demonstrated in serious flood incidents last year and we owe our emergency services a debt of gratitude for their professionalism, commitment and dedication." | A summit is considering how Wales can respond to the growing threat posed by flooding. | 21648426 | [
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Ms Palin is the only Republican in recent history to demonstrate the kind of star power that has elevated Mr Trump to the top in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Mr Trump regularly draws crowds numbering in the thousands - just as Ms Palin did after Senator John McCain chose her to be his vice-presidential running mate in 2008.
Both Mr Trump and Ms Palin also have complementary political outlooks and appeal to the same segment of the Republican primary electorate - non-college educated, largely working class whites who are disillusioned with professional politicians and Washington politics in general. These voters view the scorn of the establishment elite - which has been heaped, at times, on both Ms Palin and Mr Trump - as a badge of honour rather than a weakness.
For some Republican candidates, an endorsement from Ms Palin could alienate their support among party leaders who question Ms Palin's intellect and interest in governing. In Mr Trump's case, however, these Republican elders and Washington pundits have long since turned against his campaign.
Even the speaking styles of Mr Trump and Ms Palin - unvarnished and informal, relying on rhetoric and not policy details - are similar.
Last January Ms Palin - who was then reportedly mulling her own bid for the 2016 Republican nomination - delivered a much-derided speech during a Republican forum in Iowa that drew many other presidential aspirants.
It's worth another listen. Her presentation was dismissed as unfocused and at times incoherent, more akin to a stream of consciousness rather than the traditional set-pieces delivered by others on the stage.
In hindsight, however, it was exactly the kind of monologue that Donald Trump has given day after day since he launched his campaign - and his supporters love him for it.
The two even have drawn from the same pool of political staff. Michael Glassner, the Trump campaign's national political director, served as chief of staff for Ms Palin's political action committee.
But how valuable is Ms Palin's support for Trump? While the former Alaska governor's reputation has been diminished since the heady days of 2008 - thanks to her absence from public office and involvement in series of questionable reality television shows - she is still well-liked by conservative Republicans and nearly universally known.
Her backing could help insulate Mr Trump against charges that he's not a true believer in the cause due to his support for liberal political issues and candidates in the past. At the very least, she could had have even more crowd-drawing power to a Trump campaign that already fill entire sports arenas.
To best understand the potentially ground-shifting implications of the Trump-Palin entente, however, observe how the campaign of Ted Cruz, the candidate closest to Mr Trump in the polls, has reacted.
"Sarah Palin has been a champion for the conservative cause, and if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, sadly, she would be endorsing someone who's held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial-birth abortion," Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler told a television interviewer on Tuesday when rumours of a Palin endorsement first surfaced. "Donald Trump claims he's changed all those views. But I think if it was Sarah Palin - let me just say, I'd be deeply disappointed."
Leon Wolf, a blogger on the conservative RedState blog was even more dismayed.
"There is literally no excuse for Sarah Palin not to endorse Ted Cruz, if she believes even half the things she's been saying over the years about mavericks and people who have taken on entrenched Republican interests," he writes. "Donald Trump has done none of this."
He ascribes the endorsement to Ms Palin's desire to profit from Mr Trump's recent popularity.
Dismissing Ms Palin's support as irrelevant or misguided could prove a tricky line of attack for Mr Cruz and his supporters, however.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz surged to national prominence due in large part to the grassroots conservative Tea Party movement that Ms Palin helped inspire. In his book, he credits her endorsement as contributing to his upset Senate win in 2012 over a better-known, better-financed establishment Republican candidate.
"In a Republican primary, everyone claims to be conservative and voters are pretty cynical," Mr Cruz told Mike Allen of Politico in August 2012. "I think conservatives trust Sarah Palin that if she says this guy is a conservative, that he is a real deal."
Ted Cruz believed that about Ms Palin in 2012. Will Republican voters who might otherwise support Mr Cruz - in Iowa and elsewhere - follow her into Trump's ranks today?
Republican candidates in, and out, of the 2016 presidential race | Sarah Palin's endorsement of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Tuesday night was billed as a surprise, but in hindsight it is surprising only that it took so long for this natural political partnership to be forged. | 35357591 | [
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