Datasets:

autoevaluate

/

autoeval-staging-eval-project-xsum-e02a2fb8-10255357

like 0

The bank said profits before tax not including those settlements dropped 10% to £1.43bn for the July-to-September period. The result comes a day after the bank confirmed Jes Staley would be joining as its new chief executive. Barclays said it had seen slow progress with its so-called non-core businesses, which it is selling. Losses for the package of businesses, which includes some investment bank assets and parts of the European retail banking operation, more than doubled to £337m. Barclays provided £270m to settle claims in the US over mortgage bonds and £290m to compensate clients over bad foreign exchange rates. For the businesses the bank plans to keep, including its UK High Street bank and Barclaycard, profit rose 1% to £1.76bn. Including the £560m hit, and other costs and gains the bank considers to be one-offs, third-quarter profit before tax fell to £861m from £1.22bn a year ago. Revenues dipped to £6.1bn from £6.4bn for the June-to-September period. On Wednesday, Barclays announced that Mr Staley will be joining the bank as its new chief in December. Mr Staley currently works for US hedge fund Blue Mountain Capital Management, and previously has worked for JP Morgan. Barclays' previous chief executive, Antony Jenkins, was fired in July after falling out with board members. Mr Staley will be paid £1.2m in salary, £396,000 in pension contributions and as much as £5.5m a year in bonuses, which will mostly be paid in shares. He will also receive £1.15m in shares per year that he will have to keep for five years before cashing in. That is a total of £8.2m for the year, if he is awarded the maximum bonus. He will also receive shares in Barclays worth about £1.93m to replace shares in JPMorgan he will lose for leaving his former employer. In a letter to staff on Wednesday, Mr Staley indicated he would focus on areas of investment banking that did not require as much capital - the buffer of reserves it keeps to protect it from unexpected losses. Analysts said this could include such areas as merger advice and trading in stocks.

Barclays has reported a fall in third-quarter profits and set aside £560m for more customer refunds and litigation.

He accused Lord Patten, chairman of the trust which oversees the BBC, of making "unfair and untrue" claims not to have known about Mark Byford's payment. Lord Patten said he "couldn't have been expected to know" about the sum. Mr Thompson told MPs the trust had put him under "ferocious pressure" to make senior redundancies like Mr Byford's. The BBC has been criticised for paying £25m ($39m) to 150 outgoing executives - £2m ($3.1m) more than their contracts stipulated. Mr Thompson - who is now chief executive of the New York Times newspaper - was one of seven senior BBC figures giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). He was asked about a £949,000 pay-off package given to former deputy director general Mr Byford. By David SillitoArts Correspondent A "grossly unedifying occasion" which has damaged the reputation of the BBC - that was Margaret Hodge's verdict. But have we learnt anything? MPs seemed to accept Lord Patten's argument that he really could not be expected to have questioned deals such as Mark Byford's £1m pay-off given it was done before he arrived and was said to be within contract. Mark Thompson appeared to convince the committee when he said he had tried to keep the trust informed. The question about why the trust had not done more hung in the air. The answer that it was not their job did not go down well with some of the MPs. The former chairman Sir Michael Lyons accepted that perhaps they should have taken more of an interest. The government has been watching with interest; the question of how the BBC is governed is being discussed. The debate over the renewal of the charter for the BBC is about to begin and today will only add weight to a growing debate about the future of the trust. He said Mr Byford's redundancy had represented "value for money" as part of a wider effort to cut the number of highly-paid executives and save about £19m a year. He said he had believed he had the "full support" of the BBC Trust in trying to do that within a very short time frame. Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said under Mr Byford's contract he could have been paid off with £500,000. But Mr Thompson said he was paid almost twice that because the corporation wanted him to be "fully focused" on his job in the final months of his tenure and not "worried about his future and taking calls from head hunters". He said the fact that he had known Mr Byford for more than three decades and socialised with him did not affect judgement about his severance package. Asked by Mrs Hodge if the BBC had "lost the plot", Mr Thompson replied: "I do not think we lost the plot." BBC HR director Lucy Adams told the committee the corporation was trying to "get people out of the door" with minimal disruption and no risk of legal action - and to do that, it was "occasionally" necessary to pay more than was contractually required. Former trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons agreed with the MPs that payments like Mr Byford's "look eye-watering", adding that "clearly the trust is damaged" by the whole affair. But he said the process of making "rapid reductions in senior management" was "very difficult", adding: "You think we should have done it for less.... "The price of that would have been that it would have taken longer and the savings would have been smaller." BBC trustee Anthony Fry told the PAC there had been "months and months of arguments" between the trust and the BBC executive committee over financial issues such as pay, perks and bonuses - although he admitted that severance packages were not given much attention. "It became a battleground. I got the distinct view... that our views were not being taken with what I believed was the seriousness they deserved," he said. In July, Lord Patten told the PAC he was "shocked and dismayed" by the scale of pay-offs and said that should Mr Thompson be called before MPs he would be as interested as they were to hear why the trust had not known about them. Ahead of his appearance before the committee, Mr Thompson sent a letter to the PAC saying he had emails which showed trust members had approved the payments. Then, in person, he told the MPs that Lord Patten's claims not to have known about them were "damaging, unfair and misleading statements". In reply, Lord Patten said he took the charge of misleading the committee "very strongly" and insisted he had been told settlements for Mr Byford and former marketing boss Sharon Baylay were "contractual payments" agreed before his appointment. "I'm in the position in which I'm accused of having misled the committee on something I didn't know and couldn't have been expected to know," he added. Trust director Nicholas Kroll said the deputy director general's severance package was not part of the trust's remit. But Mrs Hodge said the the job of the trust was "to protect the licence fee payers' interests", adding: "There is not one person around the table who can understand why there was no challenge from you." Former chairman of the BBC executive board remuneration committee Marcus Agius said there had been "a great deal of concern" within his committee "about these redundancies and the amounts". "We challenged and tested Mark Thompson and after sustained debate we were finally persuaded on value for money grounds," he said. Ms Adams apologised to the committee for stating in the July hearing that she did not know of an email explaining the pay-offs when in fact, she had helped to compose it. The BBC has recently introduced a £150,000 cap on severance pay. Ms Adams said she suggested a cap to the executive board before Mr Byford's package was agreed, but it had decided it would be "inappropriate to introduce the cap at that time". Summing up the hearing, Mrs Hodge said it had been a "grossly unedifying occasion which can only damage the standing and the reputation of the BBC". She said the committee believed the governance of the corporation was "broke". Lord Patten told her he accepted there was "a cultural issue" around pay at the BBC "that we really do have to recognise and apologise for and deal with very robustly" - but that "trying to get people to face up to lowering salaries and reducing the number of managers is an uphill struggle". He rejected suggestions that responsibility for governance should be taken from the trust and handed to Ofcom, and said he hoped over the next couple of years the corporation could demonstrate that the existing system could work. The biggest severance payments included: The PAC meeting in July followed the publication of a report in which the National Audit Office criticised the corporation, saying the scale of the payments put public trust at risk. A spokesman for the prime minister said earlier that "legitimate questions" had been raised about the use of licence payers' money and should be answered.

Ex-BBC director general Mark Thompson has told MPs the corporation had not "lost the plot" when it agreed a pay-off of almost £1m to his former deputy.

The incident happened on the Whiterock Road at about 15:00 GMT on Friday afternoon. Police said it was witnessed by people waiting to pick up prescriptions, including children. The man has been charged with two counts of criminal damage, disorderly behaviour and of assault on police. He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on 5 December.

A 34-year-old man has been charged after windows were smashed and a doctor was verbally abused at a west Belfast health centre.

Isobel Parker, 23, who was known as Becky, died at a property in Booth Place, Burnham-on-Crouch, on 17 July. Her mother described her as a "bubbly girl" and a "fantastic mother who adored spending time with her two precious children". Matthew Smith, 23, of Wood Corner Caravan Park in Maldon, has been charged with murder. He will next appear in court on 28 September. A post-mortem examination found Miss Parker had been strangled with a ligature. Her partner Shane said: "Becky was the best woman I could have ever wished to meet. "We were so looking forward to the birth of our first child together, a little girl, who we were going to name Charmaine."

The family of a pregnant woman who was strangled to death in Essex said she was "an absolute angel".

Vardy, 29, has not scored for the champions since 10 September - a run of 14 games - but netted in England's 2-2 friendly draw with Spain last week. His form is in stark contrast to a year ago, when he scored for a record 11th Premier League game in a row. "He has restarted and is very close to scoring," said Ranieri. "He has started to also score in training, and that is good news because also, in the training, he didn't score so well." Vardy has scored twice in the league this season compared with 13 at the same stage in 2015-16. He finished last season with 28 goals in 48 appearances for club and country. Since his last club goal, the Foxes have slipped to 14th in the table with just two wins in nine matches. Ranieri believes Vardy and team-mate Riyad Mahrez no longer boast the "surprise" factor that worked in their favour last season. The Italian said: "That is the big problem. Jamie is always normal, the same last season. You don't see him nervous or frustrated. "But sooner or later Vardy will come back. I speak every day with him. He is very calm, very concentrated in his job, to work for the team." Leicester, who have qualified from their Champions League group with a game to spare, host Middlesbrough in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has backed Jamie Vardy to end his goal drought, but revealed the striker has even struggled to score in training.

Media playback is not supported on this device The Red Devils looked down and out as they trailed 18-10 with two minutes left at the Lightstream Stadium. But a second try from Niall Evalds and Greg Johnson's score with the last play of normal time levelled the scores. O'Brien's missed conversion forced extra-time but he responded with a drop-goal from near halfway to win it. It was a dramatic end to an enthralling game and resulted in Hull KR dropping out of Super League after a 10-year spell in the top flight. It was also the second time in a week that Hull KR, who did not touch the ball in extra-time, suffered defeat to a late drop-goal. Danny Brough's controversial effort last Saturday gave Huddersfield a 23-22 win to condemn the Robins to a place in the Million Pound Game. Fighting broke out after the final whistle as Salford fans invaded the pitch to celebrate their side's stunning comeback. There was little sign of the drama to come as Hull KR dominated the opening 20 minutes and led 10-0 through tries by Adam Walker and Josh Mantellato. Ben Murdoch-Masila touched down from Salford's first real attack and they were remarkably level when Evalds went over in the left corner. Mantellato's penalty just before half-time and Thomas Minns' second-half try seemed to have done enough to secure Rovers' place in Super League next season, only to be stunned by Salford's late fightback. While Hull KR will play in the Championship next season, Salford's victory means a turbulent year at the AJ Bell Stadium ends on a high. They were deducted six points in April for breaching salary cap regulations and had to settle for a place in the Qualifiers after losing their appeal. That decision left owner Marwan Koukash considering his future at the club, which he bought in 2013 and has seen finish no higher than 10th. But he intimated in the immediate aftermath of the win that he will now stay on. Salford coach Ian Watson: "Today was glammed up like a Grand Final, but it's a real serious game. I do believe in promotion and relegation, I just don't believe you should play off to decide relegation, you play off to win things. "There's a big sense of relief because we felt harshly done to by losing six points. I feel for Hull KR and what they are going to go through in the next couple of weeks. "I feel pleased and proud of the boys. It will be a real sense of achievement when they look back. "I've seen last-minute drop-goals before but never one like that. It was a massive play by Gaz O'Brien. He's a tremendous kicker of the ball, but I don't think he'll ever kick one like that again." Hull KR interim head coach James Webster: "Congratulations to Salford, they came up with three really good plays to win the game. They're a team that could strike from distance, we knew that. "I'm proud of the boys, they put every single thing into it and that was a real high-quality game. It was one of the better games you'll see this year. "The changing room is not a great place to be. "I find it hard that a working-class sport can glorify something like this. This game has been glorified as a final. How is it a final? I can't fathom it all. If we'd won, I'd have said the same." Hull KR: Cockayne, Sio, Minns, Thornley, Mantellato, Campese, Marsh, Tilse, Lunt, Walker, Blair, Clarkson, Donaldson. Replacements: Horne, Peacock, Allgood, Jubb. Salford: O'Brien, Johnson, Jones, Sa'u, J. Griffin, Lui, Dobson, Burgess, Tomkins, G. Griffin, Murdoch-Masila, Hauraki, Flanagan. Replacements: Kopczak, Krasniqi, Evalds, Kenny. Attendance: 6,562 Referee: Phil Bentham (RFL)

Gareth O'Brien kicked a drop-goal in golden-point extra time as Salford won the 'Million Pound Game' 19-18 to relegate Hull KR from Super League.

Polling stations opened their doors at 07:00 BST and will close at 22:00. Votes are being cast in council elections in Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. In Liverpool, voters will also elect a city mayor. Voters across Merseyside will also be asked to choose a police and crime commissioner. In England, elections are taking place for more than 120 councils and the London Assembly.

Voting has begun in local elections across Merseyside.

Dozens of others were injured in the explosion early on Sunday. The bomber struck at the entrance of the city's main port facilities. Residents say the blast could be heard across Mogadishu. No group has said it carried out the attack, but the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab often carries out such bombings in the capital. "We assisted 48 wounded people and carried 16 others who were killed in the blast," said Abdikadir Abdirahman Adem, head Mogadishu's Amin ambulance service. The death toll is expected to rise further.

A suicide car bomber has killed at least 16 people in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials say.

Frazier Glenn Miller Jr, 74, targeted the sites in Kansas last year and will be put to death by lethal injection. Johnson County District Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan said: "Your attempt to bring hate to this community, to bring terror to this community, has failed." Miller responded to the sentence, by shouting "heil Hitler" before he was removed from the courtroom. He was convicted of one count of capital murder, three counts of attempted murder, and assault and weapons charges. Miller, also known as Frazier Glenn Cross, represented himself during the trial. He admitted to killing William Corporon, 69, and his grandson Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, outside the Jewish Community Centre in Overland Park, Kansas. Terri LaManno, 53, was killed outside a Jewish retirement centre. Miller told the jurors he "knew" they were going to put him on death row, and he did not care what sentence he would receive. He said he was motivated to kill Jews before he died because he believes they have too much power. Before the shooting, Miller founded several white supremacist groups and later ran twice for elected office on a white power platform.

A judge has sentenced a white supremacist to death for the killing of three people at two Jewish centres.

18 August 2017 Last updated at 08:15 BST They've just left Alaska and have a 3,500 mile journey ahead of them. The team are taking the journey to draw attention to the melting sea ice. Watch Whitney's video to find out more. Pictures courtesy of Arctic Mission

A crew of 10 people, and their dog, are trying to be the first to sail yachts to the North Pole.

Scientists found a single dose of the protein Hi1a worked on lab rats. They said it showed "great promise as a future stroke treatment" but had not yet been tested in human trials. The Stroke Association said the research was at its early stages but it would "welcome any treatment that has the potential to reduce the damage caused by stroke". The researchers, from the University of Queensland and Monash University, travelled to Fraser Island in Australia to hunt for and capture three potentially deadly Australian funnel web spiders. "We regularly collect spiders from Fraser Island off the south coast of Queensland," explained lead researcher Prof Glenn King. "The reason for this is that funnel-web spiders dig burrows that can be as deep as 20-30 cm. Thus, digging them up from hard clay soils is very difficult. Fraser Island is a sand island which makes it easy for us to extract the spiders from their burrows." The team then took the spiders back to their laboratory "for milking". This involved coaxing the spider to release its venom, which could then be sucked up using pipettes. Next the scientists dissected the venom gland of the spiders and honed in on a protein in the venom to recreate a version of it in their lab. They then injected this Hi1a into the lab rats. A stroke is a brain attack that happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off or there is bleeding on the brain Source: Stroke Association They found that the protein blocked acid-sensing ion channels in the brain - something the researchers say are key drivers of brain damage after stroke. Prof King said the protein showed "great promise as a future stroke treatment". "We believe that we have, for the first time, found a way to minimise the effects of brain damage after a stroke. "Hi1a even provides some protection to the core brain region most affected by oxygen deprivation, which is generally considered unrecoverable due to the rapid cell death caused by stroke." The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "My lab is interested in developing drugs for human nervous system disorders. Many of these disorders involve either dysfunctional ion channels (e.g. epilepsy) or over-active ion channels (chronic pain and stroke). Thus, we are typically looking for molecules that modulate the activity of ion channels. The venoms of small venomous invertebrates such as spiders, centipedes and scorpions have evolved to target the nervous system of insects, and consequently they are absolutely full of ion channel modulators. Because the human nervous system is more complex and wired differently to insects, ion channel modulators that kill or paralyse insects can actually be beneficial to humans. Thus, looking in venoms for ion channel drugs is not as weird as it seems." Dr Kate Holmes, deputy director for Research at the Stroke Association, said: "We do not have an accurate picture of what happens in human brains from this research, therefore, it is currently unknown if this could be a successful treatment option for humans in the future. "We welcome any treatment that has the potential to reduce the damage caused by stroke, particularly if this can benefit people who are unable to arrive at hospital quickly. "Current treatments must be given in half this time period, and it is too early for us to know if this research can offer an alternative for stroke patients. "We urge for stroke to be treated as an emergency - the sooner a person can get to hospital after a stroke, the sooner the right treatment can be received, which can improve survival and help recovery."

A protein in spider venom may help protect the brain from injury after a stroke, according to research.

Desmond Ricks' lawyers say homicide detectives switched bullets in his mother's gun to pin a shooting on him. He was convicted of gunning down a friend outside a restaurant in Detroit, Michigan, in March 1992, and sentenced to at least 32 years in prison. Mr Ricks, 51, was released from prison last Friday. On Thursday, Wayne County prosecutor's office said Mr Ricks would not face a second trial. "I hope you enjoy your newfound freedom," Judge Richard Skutt told the exonerated man, who heaved a sigh of relief. Mr Ricks' case was championed by lawyers and students from the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan's law school. They managed to get the investigation reopened in 2016 after pointing out that two bullets taken from the victim, Gerry Bennett, looked different from the rounds presented at trial. Police investigators had maintained the bullets held up as key evidence were fired from Mr Ricks' mother's pistol. 'How I survived 22 years on death row' US man freed after 28 years in prison But a state police report last month established the bullets from the victim did not match the 38-calibre gun that belonged to Mr Ricks' mother. "I've got no time to be bitter at anybody," Mr Ricks said outside Wayne Circuit Court after Thursday's hearing, reports the Detroit News. "There's no excuse for what they did, but I have to move on. I just didn't want to die in prison. "Now, I'm just trying to get some semblance of my life back. I just want to pay my taxes and be a good citizen." Mr Ricks is expected to be compensated thanks to a new Michigan law that awards wrongly convicted prisoners $50,000 (£38,800) for each year spent in prison, which would make him eligible for $1.25m. David Moran, director of the Innocence Clinic, said the police conduct was criminal, but no retired officers can be brought to justice because too much time has passed. "If it happened once it would be very surprising if there's not a lot of other cases like it," he said. The Detroit police gun laboratory that handled the case was shut down in 2008 because of errors in ballistic testing.

US prosecutors have dropped all charges against a man who spent 25 years in prison for murder, amid allegations police had falsified evidence.

The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index grew to 50.1 from 49.4 in April, which had been the lowest reading since early 2013. The 50 mark separates manufacturing growth from contraction, with the sector now just on the positive side. Manufacturing failed to boost overall UK growth during 2015 and early 2016. UK economic growth slowed to 0.4% in the first quarter of the year from 0.6% in late 2015, propped up by the services sector. Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compilers Markit, said: "The manufacturing sector looks likely to act as an increased drag on the economy in the second quarter. "There are also signs that increased client uncertainty resulting from slower growth and the forthcoming EU referendum are weighing on investment spending and business decision-making in general." The report found that more than a third of manufacturers surveyed believed uncertainty over the EU vote has had an impact on their business, with 8% saying the effect was "strongly detrimental". The survey showed the investment goods industry experienced a difficult month, with production falling at the quickest pace since early 2013. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the manufacturing sector was "essentially at a standstill in May". Ruth Miller, UK economist at Capital Economics, said the small improvement for manufacturing in May did little to change the fundamental picture of a struggling industrial sector. "Granted, the headline PMI index recovered from its three-year low in April, ticking up from an upwardly revised 49.4 to 50.1 in May, above the consensus expectation of 49.6," she said. Ms Miller said this was still far below the average since the economic recovery picked up at the start of 2013. However, she thought the situation would "improve for UK manufacturers later this year". Overall new orders rose in May. Meanwhile, some firms said they were already pricing in the expectation that inflation will rise. Annual consumer price inflation currently stands at 0.3%.

UK manufacturing activity rose slightly in May, raising concerns over the economy's strength in the run-up to the 23 June European Union referendum.

Silcox Coaches is a private coach hire and tour operator with bases in Pembroke Dock and Tenby, and has a contract with Pembrokeshire council to provide school transport. Letters have been sent home to staff this week explaining the situation and that a buyer is being sought. Silcox has been asked for a comment. It is understood customers enquiring about trips they have booked have been told the company has taken this action in order to protect the business as it seeks a new owner. The company was founded in 1882 and has run bus services around Pembrokeshire since 1932. It is also one of the main suppliers for local sport teams. Pembrokeshire council said it was waiting to hear how a potential sale of Silcox would affect school transport. A council spokesman said: "We are aware of the possible restructuring of the company and we will work with all interested parties. "We anticipate a clearer picture of the situation emerging next week." He added: "At this time, Silcox continues to operate and the council will continue to pay the company for the work it is carrying out in accordance with our contractual obligations."

About 100 jobs could be at risk at a Pembrokeshire coach company which intends to file for administration, BBC Wales understands.

An ornate Roman coin, medieval silver pennies, a copper figurine, a thimble, window glass and a key were unearthed. Foundations were also discovered, showing the original structure of Auckland Castle in County Durham was "significantly larger" than thought. Curatorial director Dr Christopher Ferguson said he was "really excited to have uncovered such a major finding". It suggests the castle was not created as a manor house for the Prince Bishops of Durham, as previously thought, but that it had always been a large castle complex. A five-month excavation has been carried out ahead of a new museum extension in the castle's Scotland Wing, formerly used to hold Scottish prisoners of war. Durham University archaeological services manager Peter Carne said the work had "enabled an unprecedented amount" of research into the castle and its grounds. The new museum, due to open in 2019, will look at the history of faith in Britain.

Archaeologists working at a 900-year-old castle have found "rare and unexpected" artefacts.

His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You, recorded with his band Stealers Wheel. Rafferty had battled a drink problem and spent time in hospital in Bournemouth with liver failure. He was born in Paisley and began his musical career as a busker on the London Underground. Rafferty died peacefully at his home in Dorset, with his daughter Martha at his bedside. It is understood his funeral will be held in Paisley later this month. Rafferty had recorded and toured with Billy Connolly as part of the Humblebums, before forming Stealers Wheel with his friend Joe Egan in 1972. Stuck in the Middle with You was a hit in the early 70s and also appeared on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut film Reservoir Dogs in 1992. Baker Street charted in the UK and US in 1978 after Rafferty began his solo career and still achieves airplay on radio stations around the world. Musican Raphael Ravenscroft, who played the song's famous saxophone melody, described Rafferty as "a fantastic writer" who "wrote some of my favourite songs of all time." In a statement, Billy Connolly called Rafferty "a hugely talented songwriter and singer who will be greatly missed". He added, "I was privileged to have spent my formative years working with Gerry and there remained a strong bond of friendship between us that lasted until his untimely death. "Gerry had extraordinary gifts and his premature passing deprives the world of a true genius." Music journalist and BBC Radio 2 presenter Paul Gambaccini said it was a cruel irony that Baker Street, about Rafferty's unhappiness with being a star, brought him more of the fame he hated. Gambaccini said: "He just wasn't of the constitution to deal with the music business, or to respect it. "And thus he found fame and artistic success incompatible, and he became a wanderer, a lonely man, allegedly a drinker. And now we have this unhappy end." Musician and BBC 6 Music presenter Tom Robinson said Rafferty would be greatly missed. "I'm deeply saddened to hear that Gerry has lost the battle with his failing health," he said. "His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters in the 70s, including me. "Many of us had hoped his recent album Life Goes On in 2009 would lead to a full-time return to writing and performing for a lyrical and highly gifted artist." BBC News website readers from around the world have sent in their tributes: Don't Speak of My Heart was my favourite. His voice was like velvet. Calmed me down just listening to him. I cannot believe he has gone. Susan Miller, Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, Scotland Have followed his releases from Stealers Wheel to present. He wrote beautiful songs and he and Joe Egan, who sadly didn't get the same recognition, have left me some great musical memories. George Morris, Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland As a muso myself, I loved the arrangement of the haunting Baker Street and often performed Stuck In The Middle With You with a band I was a part of in the 80s and 90s in England. Both songs are played frequently on New Zealand radio stations. Gerry will be sorely missed. Tony Last, Hastings, New Zealand My first LP was Can I Have my Money Back, which I still have. My favourite song is The Ark from City to City with Jerry Donahue on guitar. He wrote about life itself, things one can relate to. He brought musical quality into life at times when there was not much around. Keith Dhan-Weller, Nuertingen, Germany Baker Street is probably my favourite song. I'm a songwriter and I teach creative writing. Baker Street is about Gerry's own experience with the music industry but he wrote the lyric in the third person. This makes the story more interesting and sad. The song works on so many different levels. Musically and lyrically. Richard Abbott, Limavady, Northern Ireland I was a young radio producer with BBC Scotland in the late 1960s when a couple of lads came in to Queen Margaret Drive to take part in some programmes. They were the Humblebums, and they made brilliant music. Rehearsals attracted all sorts of excuses from staff to absent themselves from their desks to go and listen in the studio cubicle. Little did we know... Alan Muirhead, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, England My eldest daughter was in school with his daughter Martha when Gerry lived in Kilmacolm. My husband and I were great fans of his music and songs and are sorry to hear of his death. Rita Walker, Greenock, Scotland Gerry Rafferty had depths beyond his two best-selling singles. A talented and open-minded musician who supported other talents - he will be missed. Alastair, Northampton, England

Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty has died at the age of 63 after suffering a long illness.

Dame Sally Davies said the action by the British Medical Association (BMA) would "lead to patients suffering". The strike begins across England at 08:00 GMT, from when junior doctors will only provide emergency care. The BMA said the strikes "demonstrated the strength of feeling amongst the profession". It announced three spells of strike action in England in November, after negotiations with the government ended without resolution. Issues being disputed by the BMA and NHS include weekend pay. "As a doctor, I can understand the anger and frustration felt by many junior doctors at this time," Dame Sally said. "In part, this dispute is a symptom of frustration and low morale that has been building for decades and the strain that a career in medicine can place on your work-life balance. "Junior doctors are the backbone of the NHS, working long and anti-social hours... It is vital that, as senior medical leaders, we ask ourselves whether we are doing everything we can to ensure our junior colleagues feel valued." The planned strikes are set to take place from: Conciliation service Acas has confirmed that talks between the BMA and NHS bosses will continue next week. Junior doctors' leaders are objecting to the prospect of a new contract. The government has described the current arrangements as "outdated" and "unfair", pointing out they were introduced in the 1990s. Ministers drew up plans to change the contract in 2012, but talks broke down last year. The government has indicated it will impose the new contract next year in England. The BMA has responded by initiating the industrial action process. Junior doctors row: What you need to know What exactly do junior doctors do?

Junior doctors should suspend Tuesday's strike action over pay and conditions while talks continue, the chief medical officer for England has urged.

Napo, which represents probation workers, said it understood the Stanley knife went missing at HMP Northumberland two weeks ago, but no lock-down or search was ordered. It comes a week after concerns were raised about safety in the prison. Sodexo Justice Services, which took over the facility in 2013, said all appropriate security procedures were followed. Mike Quinn, from Napo's Northumberland branch, said: "The report of a knife potentially in the hands of a prisoner is deeply concerning. "If true, it just confirms the dire state of the prison, and has major safety implications for staff, visitors and prisoners. "We would repeat calls made last week for an immediate inspection of the prison." The Ministry of Justice said that as it was a privatised prison, it was up to Sodexo to comment. A Sodexo spokesman said: "All the appropriate security procedures were followed - to suggest otherwise is simply untrue."

A knife remains "unaccounted for" at a privatised prison, a union has claimed.

Sergeant Randy Johnson, 34, was killed in an explosion near Baghdad in 2007, Woolwich Crown Court heard. The fingerprints of Anis Abid Sardar, from Wembley, London, were allegedly found on two other bombs at the scene, but not that which killed Sgt Johnson. Mr Sardar, 38, denies murder, conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion. Prosecutor Max Hill QC told the court: "This is an unusual trial in that almost all of the evidence you will see and hear comes from Iraq. "The Crown's case is that the defendant Mr Sardar was directly involved in making bombs for use in Iraq during 2007. "As you will hear, he seems to have been based in Syria, probably in the capital city Damascus at relevant times." He explained that although the offences took place in Iraq, Mr Sardar is on trial in London as a British citizen. Mr Hill said the bombs "were not off-the-shelf bombs, they were made with deadly intent". They were later taken to an FBI laboratory in the US for examination by experts. Sgt Johnson, of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, was killed when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in hit a roadside improvised explosive device (IED). Other US soldiers were seriously injured by the blast and also in a fire-fight while dealing with another IED, the court heard. Fingerprints found on the bomb that killed Sgt Johnson belonged to another man, Sajjad Adnan, who worked with Mr Sardar, the prosecution said. Mr Adnan, who is not British, was handed over to the Iraqi authorities after the bombings and his current whereabouts are unknown, Mr Hill said. Jurors heard Mr Sardar was part of a group that left a number of IEDs buried under the roads west of Baghdad. The bomb that killed Sgt Johnson was part of a sequence, Mr Hill told the court, "involving bombs concealed geographically quite close together". Mr Hill said the bomb series was part of a "joint effort by the defendant Mr Sardar, together with Adnan and others". "That is why it is unnecessary for Mr Sardar to have left his own finger mark on the bomb which killed Sgt Johnson," he said. The prosecution made clear that this was an "unusual trial in that almost all of the evidence... comes from Iraq." Nevertheless it is, according to them, lawful to try Anis Sardar here because he is a British citizen who lives and works in London. It is the first time we have seen a prosecution in this country for charges of making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the insurgency in Iraq. This has been a case a long time in gestation, since Mr Sardar was arrested seven years after the bombs were recovered from a dusty road west of Baghdad. The jury was told they were forensically analysed by the US authorities in Iraq and America before being examined by British scientists. Though Mr Sardar claimed to have travelled to Syria in 2007 to learn Arabic, the court heard that police found documents in his London home which suggested he already had an advanced understanding of the language. Police searching the property also found a bomb-making manual written in Arabic. The US-led invasion of Iraq began in 2003, amid claims Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. It sparked years of violent conflict with different groups competing for power. British forces ended combat operations in 2009 and the US did so the following year. A total of 179 UK service personnel and nearly 4,500 US soldiers were killed during the conflict.

A British man worked on bombs planted in Iraq that claimed the life of a US soldier, a court has heard.

The home side only made 162 despite a last-wicket stand of 67 between Tim Bresnan (47) and Ryan Sidebottom. Prolific Chris Rushworth (4-37) and Graham Onions (3-41) proved too much to handle for the Championship leaders. But Sidebottom (4-44) led the way as Durham were dismissed for 156 in reply, with Yorkshire 10-0 at the close. Yorkshire went into the game with a 34-point lead over Warwickshire, but soon found themselves in dire straits on 54-5. Gary Ballance's hopes of finding form after being omitted from England's Test squad came to nothing as he made six from 27 balls before being caught at slip off Onions. Glenn Maxwell's 36 was the only score of any note before Bresnan and Sidebottom came together at 95-9. Bresnan was eventually bowled by Paul Harrison, but then struck the first blow in Durham's reply when Graham Clark gave a catch to point. With Paul Collingwood absent because of a back problem, acting skipper Mark Stoneman was caught hooking at long leg and 18-year-old debutant Jack Burnham was bowled by Liam Plunkett for a four-ball duck. Durham's decline continued, with Sidebottom taking three of the last four wickets, including Ryan Pringle for 40, as their innings lasted just two balls longer than Yorkshire's. Umpires Nick Cook and Jeremy Lloyds confirmed after the match that they were happy with the way the pitch had played and would not call in a pitch liaison officer. Yorkshire bowler Ryan Sidebottom: "It was certainly a bizarre day's cricket and I don't think I have played in one on day one like that before. "I thought we batted pretty poorly in the morning with some poor shot selection but they also bowled well. What a fightback it was by our boys who needed to get us back into the game and now the momentum is in our favour but Durham are still a good side. "It was a good wicket with carry and bounce but if you put the ball in the right areas at Scarborough you are always in the game although this was still a bizarre day."

Yorkshire and Durham proved that Championship cricket can be just as action-packed as an Ashes Test as 20 wickets fell on day one at Scarborough.

Watson, 22, was seeded eighth in the tournament but lost 7-5 6-2 to the world number 101 in Seoul. The British number one, ranked 46 in the world, converted just one of seven break points in the first set and the American dominated the second set. Watson's early departure comes less than a month after her first-round defeat in straight sets at the US Open.

Britain's Heather Watson has been knocked out of the first round of the Korea Open by qualifier Nicole Gibbs.

He said in a tweet: "I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings." Days after he fired Mr Comey in May, the president had tweeted: "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations..." He has been under pressure to produce the tapes amid inquiries into alleged Russian meddling in the election. The House Intelligence Committee had earlier this month asked the White House to hand over any such recordings. James Comey was heading the FBI inquiry into alleged Russian interference in last year's presidential election, and whether the Trump team had any links to Moscow, when he was fired on 9 May. In the days that followed, a succession of stories appeared in US newspapers with allegations surrounding a private meeting Mr Trump had with Mr Comey in the Oval Office in February. They included the claim that the president had asked Mr Comey to drop an investigation into fired National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. It was in that context that Mr Trump sent his tweet, hinting that there were tapes of the conversation. Appearing before Congress earlier this month, Mr Comey confirmed he had been asked by the president to "let go" any possible prosecution of Mr Flynn for lying to federal agents about a conversation with the Russian ambassador. He said he was also asked by the president in no uncertain terms to give assurances that he would be loyal. When asked whether he thought the conversation had been recorded, Mr Comey replied: "Lordy, I hope there are tapes."

US President Donald Trump says he did not make secret recordings of ex-FBI chief James Comey despite an earlier hint to the contrary.

Media playback is unsupported on your device 1 March 2015 Last updated at 18:31 GMT Chelsea fan Richard Barklie, from Carrickfergus, was one of the people identified on CCTV footage by the Metropolitan Police. Speaking to the Sunday World, Mr Barklie said he was not a racist and denied taking part in any racist singing. Gordon Adair reports.

The former police officer involved in an alleged racist incident on the Paris Metro last month has said he pushed a black man away from a train carriage because it was too full.

The monitoring of paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland was conducted by the IMC up until 2011. The PSNI has previously said it would support any move to set up such a body. Lord Alderdice, who is also a former leader of the Alliance Party, said he did not think it would be appropriate for the commission to return now. Talks will begin next week in Belfast in a bid to resolve the current crisis, sparked by the murder of ex-IRA man Kevin McGuigan Sr. Police believe that killing was in retaliation for the murder of former IRA commander Gerard Jock Davison in the Markets area of Belfast in May. The Ulster Unionists withdrew from the executive after police said Provisional IRA members had a role in the killing. "The current crisis is of a different order," Lord Alderdice told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme. "Even before the horrible murders of these two men, we were right on the edge of devolution being set aside. "If somehow or another, magically, the issue of these two murders was taken out of the picture, we would still be in that position of crisis where the assembly, the executive, is about to be suspended or fold because there is no agreement on the governance of Northern Ireland. "The IMC or any new IMC could not help that problem at all, it did not have a political mandate to try to get people to negotiate on the politics and the governance issue. "I think it is maybe unwise for people to look back at a form of treatment that worked before and say: 'Oh well the symptoms are the same so the diagnosis is the same'."

The ex-chair of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) has said he does not believe bringing it back would solve the latest Stormont crisis.

He made more than 40 feature films in a career spanning 60 years. Many of his films - including Kanal, Man of Marble, Man of Iron and Katyn - were inspired by Poland's turbulent wartime and communist history. In 2000, Wajda was awarded an honorary Oscar for his contribution to world cinema. Wajda had been recently taken to hospital. Unconfirmed reports say he died of lung failure. Wajda's last film Powidoki (Afterimage) tells the life story of the avant-garde painter Wladyslaw Strzeminski, who suffered under the post-war Stalinist government in Poland. The director said he wanted to "warn against state intervention in art". The film was recently chosen as Poland's official entry for the best foreign language film at the 2017 Oscars. Four of Wajda's earlier works had been nominated for that category. Man of Iron won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981. Wajda once said that "the good Lord gave the director two eyes - one to look into the camera, the other to be alert to everything that is going on around him." Wajda was born in 1926 in the north-eastern Polish town of Suwalki. His father was among the victims of the Katyn massacre of Polish army officers by the Soviet Union in 1940. Wajda tried to follow in his father's footsteps, but was rejected by a military academy, and joined the Polish resistance in World War Two. During World War Two, Wajda joined the Polish resistance. He later studied to be a painter, before entering the Lodz Film School. In 1955, he made his feature film debut with Generation, set during the German occupation of Warsaw in World War Two. It was followed by Kanal, and Ashes and Diamonds, which form a trilogy about life in wartime Poland. Some of his films found disfavour with the communist rulers of Poland because of their trenchant portraits of the wartime Warsaw Uprising and the suppression of the Solidarity movement in the 1980s. It was only after the fall of communism in 1989 that he was able to make his film about Katyn. "I never thought I would live to see the moment when Poland would be a free country," Wajda said in a 2007 interview with the Associated Press. "I thought I would die in that system. It was so surprising and so extraordinary that I lived to see freedom." Following Poland's first free elections in 1990, he served for two years as a senator in the upper house of parliament.

Oscar-winning Polish film director Andrzej Wajda has died aged 90, the Polish Filmmakers' Association has confirmed.

Hythe Ferry runs between Hythe and Southampton, serviced by a train which runs along a 640m (2,000ft) pier. The presenter lent his support to a community group's aim to take over the management of the pier and train. Its current operator said numbers using the ferry had been falling. Earlier this year, Hythe Ferry Ltd warned staff about possible redundancies, having suffered a "year-on-year decline" in passenger numbers and faced with higher operating costs. More than 9,000 people have signed a petition calling for the service to be saved. Peter King, of the Hythe Hythe Pier Train and Ferry Action Group, said members wanted to create a "viable modern ferry" by a charitable trust taking over the management of the Victorian pier and "relieving" the ferry operators of the costs of maintaining it. He said a redevelopment project could cost £2-3m but a trust would be able to access other sources of finance, including lottery grants. Mr Snow said: "This train is the oldest running pier train anywhere in the world, so I'm campaigning to keep it open. We need to do everything we can to keep this extraordinary piece of our past running."

A Hampshire pier and ferry service facing an uncertain future is a "national treasure" which should be saved, television historian Dan Snow has said.

Neville was sacked by Valencia on Wednesday after less than four months following a run of 10 wins in 28 games. The 41-year-old said it was his call to appoint former assistant Ayestaran in February, saying the Spaniard would also depart the club if he left. But the 53-year-old said he was "grateful" for the chance to steer Valencia away from relegation trouble. Ayestaran, who was formerly Rafael Benitez's assistant at Valencia and Liverpool, said "When they offered me the role I had two conditions. "The first was that Gary was in agreement, and if Gary hadn't agreed I wouldn't be here, because my values come above everything else. "The second was that I come with my coaching team. The feeling I have at the moment is fantastic." Media playback is not supported on this device Ayestaran added of Neville, who is still assistant coach to England boss Roy Hodgson: "He did a huge amount of work and he gave everything for the club, but it wasn't enough." Neville was sacked after winning three of his last 16 league games to leave Valencia six points above the relegation zone. But his brother Phil, part of the coaching staff, has been retained. Sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch added: "When we took the decision to replace Gary we invited Pako to come to Singapore and meet with [owner] Peter Lim to weigh up the situation and so that Pako could explain what he could do for the club." Garcia Pitarch said of Neville: "The results are not only down to him. I send Gary my best wishes and my respect. I've worked with a lot of coaches and he's one of the best colleagues I've had." Valencia president Layhoon Chan added: "Pako has already spent several years at the club in the past, and we are excited because he has expressed his desire to lead the team."

New Valencia coach Pako Ayestaran says he only accepted the job with predecessor Gary Neville's blessing.

"My first instinct was to open the wing exit and slip out with as many passengers as I could, but I realised that this would leave the rest of the passengers vulnerable," then flight attendant Nupoor Abrol told BBC News. Security forces laid siege to the New York-bound plane for 16 hours at Karachi airport after the jet was taken over by Palestinian militants on 5 September 1986. There was a bloody end - 22 people killed and about 150 injured. It shocked the world, and is the subject of a newly released film, but the surviving crew have until now remained silent. While they relayed the events to a private FBI meeting a week after the hijack, and to a parole hearing for the lead hijacker in 2005, this is the first time they have shared details with the media. They also shed light on the last few hours of Neerja Bhanot, their colleague who died in the attack and is the subject of the new film. They are breaking this silence now, they say, because they want to honour and acknowledge the vital roles played by all on board, most of whom are not known to the public. "The hijack is far from over for me and my colleagues. Some of us, passengers and crew alike, are still struggling with the skeletons of the past, trying to fix the puzzle of incidents, sequences, people who were involved in the chains of events," says Nupoor. "The stories may differ but the spirit remains the same." It was just before 06:00 and Pan Am Flight 73, on a stopover in Karachi from Mumbai, was scheduled to continue on to Frankfurt, en route to New York. There were 14 flight attendants on board, 12 of whom were preparing for take-off. Outside, four gunmen had sped on to the tarmac in a van disguised as airport security. The men entered the Boeing 747, firing shots into the air. Nupoor saw them shoot near the feet of a colleague, shouting at her to lock the door. Flight attendant Sherene Pavan, who was out of sight of the militants, heard the commotion, reached for the intercom and pressed the emergency number to the cockpit. The pilot picked up on her second attempt and she relayed the hijack code. Fellow attendant Sunshine Vesuwala saw one of the hijackers grab a colleague, Neerja Bhanot, and put a gun to her head. And then another militant, his AK-47 and grenades in clear view, instructed Sunshine to take him to the captain. The cockpit was empty. "I noticed immediately that the escape devices in the cockpit had been deployed. I noticed that the evacuation hatch on the ceiling of the cockpit was open, but I pretended not to. I wanted to give the pilots time to escape in case they were still in the process of climbing down the ropes outside the plane. The hijacker didn't seem to know much about the plane so he didn't look for it," says Sunshine. "Many have criticised the pilots for leaving the rest of the crew behind, but I was relieved when I saw the pilots were gone, as we were all safer on the ground than we would be in the air. And in any case, at least the three pilots were safe. Three lives would be saved." Dilip Bidichandani, another steward, is adamant that the pilots' escape actually saved more lives. "The pilots evacuating the airplane… meant that we were not at the mercy of the terrorists, who could have instructed the plane to be flown into a building, or even blown up whilst in flight." The gunmen's plan was to force the pilots to fly them to Cyprus and Israel, where other members of their militant group were incarcerated on terror charges. Outside on the tarmac, Pan Am's Karachi director Viraf Doroga used a megaphone to begin negotiations with the hijackers. He told the four men that the airport authorities were looking for pilots to fly them where they needed to go. Meanwhile, inside the plane, 29-year-old American passenger Rajesh Kumar was pulled out of his seat and made to kneel in front of one of the open doors, with a gun to his head. When no pilot materialised within the hour, Mr Kumar was shot and kicked out of the plane. "This changed everything. It showed they were ruthless killers," says Sunshine. Around four hours into the siege, the hijackers began trying to identify the Americans on board. The Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO), which they were members of, was opposed to US and Israeli policy in the Middle East. Sunshine, Madhvi Bahuguna and another flight attendant began collecting passports, quietly avoiding collecting any that were American. They then went through the bags of passports they had collected, secretly sifting out any remaining American ones and tucking them under their seats or concealing them in their clothing. Mike Thexton, a passenger on the plane, describes the act in his book What Happened to The Hippy Man? as "extremely brave, selfless and clever". "I may be biased but I feel that day proved that the flight attendants on board were some of the best in the industry." Having failed to find an American, the militants settled for someone British. Mike was made to sit on the floor, and like the other passengers, keep his hands above his head. Aside from one sharp kick, he says, he was not physically mistreated and eventually escaped with others in the later chaos. Sherene and Sunshine were the cabin crew who spent the most time with lead hijacker Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini. He repeatedly led either Sunshine or Sherene at gunpoint up to the upper deck cockpit, using them as human shields while he peeked round them to have a look outside. "On occasion he would hold my hair, force my face to the window and ask what I could see on the tarmac. He said he was looking for American fighter planes," says Sherene. Meherjee Kharas, a 28-year-old Pan Am mechanic on board, was forced to make radio contact with negotiators outside. At this stage the hijackers still believed a pilot would be found to fly the plane for them. Over the next few hours on the upper deck, Safarini let his guard down several times, Sunshine says. He joked and flirted, invited her to go with him to Cyprus, and promised to teach her to swim. Sunshine remained alert. At one point she looked longingly at the emergency axe in a glass box in the cockpit. Safarini, mid-joke, caught her and immediately pointed the gun at her head. "Don't even think about it," he said. Eventually the militants threatened that, as a pilot had not materialised, a passenger would be shot every 15 minutes. Nupoor tried to comfort the passengers around her while her colleague Dilip Bidichandani took round sandwiches and Neerja distributed water. "That day, knowingly or unknowingly, we came together as a team and played our parts to the best of our ability," says Massey Casper, another steward. Although the hijackers had closed the doors and lowered the shutters earlier, the air conditioning and lights had been on. As evening set in, the on-board power supply started to dwindle, the lights got dimmer and the cool air stopped circulating. Meherjee, the mechanic, told Safarini that the emergency power would last 15 minutes or so before the aircraft would be plunged into darkness. Sherene says she knew then that time was running out. When the lights did go out, all the flight attendants and passengers were in the middle section of the cabin, several seated on the ground in the aisles and near the doors. The gunmen positioned themselves on either side of the aisles. "They had lost patience. They let out a war cry," says Sunshine, "and began firing into the crowd. There were huge streaks of light breaking the darkness. And screams." Sherene saw that mechanic Meherjee had been killed. In the chaos and darkness, at least three doors had been opened, though it is not clear by whom. The door nearest the wing had been opened in manual, which meant that the emergency slide did not deploy. It was a short jump to reach the wing of the plane. Many went for it. Nupoor and Madhvi slipped off the edge of the wing, fracturing bones as they hit the tarmac around 20 feet (6 metres) below. Sunshine and Dilip were also on the wing, but in the darkness couldn't gauge the distance of the drop. They saw another door had been deployed in automatic, which meant that the emergency slide was inflated. They climbed back in through the door they had come through, and along with Sherene and another colleague, assisted and redirected passengers to the inflated slide. Massey had already exited down the slide just moments earlier, taking three unaccompanied children with him. Then, when all the passengers were off the wing, the crew did something remarkable. Not hearing any more gunfire, but not knowing where the gunmen were, they went back into the dark plane to look for survivors. That's when Sunshine saw Neerja. Neerja had been shot in her hip and was bleeding heavily, but was conscious. Sunshine called Dilip over to help, and the two carried Neerja to the emergency slide. They pushed her down first, then jumped out themselves. Sherene, and another colleague Ranee Vaswani, were the last two hostages to leave the plane. Three of the hijackers were fleeing the airport when they were caught by airport security. Safarini was still on board when Pakistan's security forces entered the plane. Neerja's colleagues say she was still alive when she arrived at Karachi's Jinnah Hospital. "It was chaotic, like a war zone, in there. Neerja may still be alive if she'd been cared for right away," says Sunshine. "I didn't see medical facilities at the airport besides minor first aid… The hospital was several kilometres away from the airport," says Dilip. "Neerja was put into the ambulance without a stretcher." Once they finally got to the hospital, the chaos continued, Sherene says. "Neerja's life may have been saved were conditions in the hospital better." After a short break all the Flight 73 crew returned to Pan Am for at least a few years. They occasionally worked the same flight and ran into each other at layovers. They didn't discuss the hijack. All have coped in different ways. Two of the six remain in the industry. During their interviews with the BBC, they stressed that there was no single hero that day, that crew members not interviewed played an equally important role, and that they want survivors of terror attacks like 9/11 and Paris to know that life goes on. They also want people to know they dearly miss their colleagues Neerja Bhanot and Meherjee Kharas. "Survivors [of such atrocities] are living each day with the memories," says Madhvi. She hopes that, in speaking out, "we can all connect through our survival stories and form a fabric of power and strength going forward".

Nearly 30 years after the hijack of Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi airport, six of the plane's crew have spoken to the media for the first time.

The huts, made of chalk and straw daub and wheat-thatched roofing, have been based on archaeological remains found at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge. Project leader Luke Winter said: "What we're trying to do is get a sense of what these buildings looked like above-ground." The hope is to re-build the huts at Stonehenge visitor centre next year. "What makes the buildings interesting is that they were dated to about the same time as the large sarsen stones were being erected at Stonehenge," Mr Winter said. "One of the theories is that these may have housed the people that were helping with construction of that monument." Inside, the project team has used a variety of different daubs, made of pig soil [dung] or chalk and straw and construction techniques that would have been used by Neolithic people. "We've been trying a completely different way of thatching a roof. Nothing is tied onto the roof, as you would in a modern thatched building but the wheat straw that we've used is knotted and then tucked into a woven framework. "Often people think 4,500 years ago is a long time ago, which of course to us as modern people it is, but it's well into beginnings of agriculture. "We're looking at people that were farming, keeping cows and domesticating cereal crops, and of course houses were an important thing." The Neolithic huts will be kept for another two months and will open to the public during the two May bank holidays.

Three Neolithic-style huts have been built at Old Sarum to offer an insight into how Stonehenge's builders lived.

After seeing the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield performing with his guitar or Scott Kelly of Nasa doing airborne somersaults, many might wonder if the ISS has a serious point. The reality is that everyone sent up there faces a very busy timetable which involves managing a range of experiments that make use of the state of weightlessness. The space station is a giant laboratory and every inhabitant is expected to get involved in the research. Just by being in space, Tim himself will serve as a lab rat, allowing his body to be monitored in great detail - with 23 different sets of measurements in all. By the end of his mission, he will be all too familiar with the regular processes of gathering samples of his blood and urine. Space research is not for the squeamish. But if there is ever to be a long trek through space to Mars or even beyond, medical knowledge of how humans cope will be essential. So some of the research is aimed specifically at gaining new insights that will benefit future generations of spacefarers while other experiments are designed to have a relevance to life here on Earth. One European Space Agency project is investigating the properties of metals in a level of detail that cannot be matched down on the ground because of the influence of gravity. Prof Mike Cruise of the University of Birmingham, who chairs ESA's human spaceflight science advisory committee, told me that the work "sounds really obscure but could have quite an effect on all our lives". Until now, any analysis of how metals behave is almost guaranteed to be undermined because gravity will force the sample to touch the walls of whatever container is being used and that means it will collect impurities. So the Electromagnetic Levitator experiment - in the European Columbus module - has a clever technique for allowing blobs of metal to be heated and then cooled while being suspended in the air. While this happens, measurements are made of the characteristics of the metal, all without the complicating effects of gravity risking the integrity of the research. Prof Cruise said: "If you look around your car, it probably has 20 or even 40 items made by casting molten metal into a mold - a process that requires huge knowledge of the properties, of how sticky or viscous the metal might be. "If we got better measurements, our casting could become far more efficient with fewer parts with holes in them - this seemingly innocuous experiment that could have a pretty huge industrial impacts." So the aim is to generate a far better understanding of key materials, and scientists from the Universities of Greenwich and Leeds are among those making use of the results. Another project, called Fluid Shifts and managed by Nasa, is exploring the question of pressure within the brain. Astronauts have often reported problems with their vision and the assumption is that this is the result of fluids shifting within the body and particularly moving towards the head. Researchers at University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust have found a connection between the brain and the ear, and a better grasp of how this process works could help with a new technique for assessing brain pressure by taking measurements in the ear. A UK company, Marchbanks Measurements Systems, has come up with a device that can detect slight changes in the inner ear. The company's founder Dr Robert Marchbanks told us:" It is crucial to the understanding of how brain pressure changes. It is a different environment, there is no gravity but that is important to our understanding of brain pressure." And while some research is aimed at improving human health, another focus is on helping answer the fundamental question of whether we are alone in the universe. Since micro-organisms such as bacteria have been found thriving in the most inhospitable corners of Earth - from the deep-frozen Antarctic to boiling hydrothermal vents - the next step is to explore how they cope with space. If it is the case that life got started here because rudimentary forms of it were delivered by a colliding asteroid or comet, the obvious question is whether it is possible that life-forms could survive in an icy vacuum or fiery descent through the atmosphere. So a series of experiments called Expose, involving the University of Edinburgh, places different organisms outside the space station to see their response to cosmic rays, solar radiation and intense temperature changes. It is only in the last three to four years that the ISS has been able to host so much research. Financial problems, and the loss of the US space shuttle Columbia in 2003, meant that construction took far longer than planned - and for years the few crew on board could spare little time for science. That has now changed and the first results from ISS experiments are being released, but it is still early days to judge the space station's value to research. Prof Cruise said: "There is a lot of good science. It's not all headline Nobel Prize work, but the nature of the experiments means it would never get into Nobel territory. "It's going to take us another five years or so to judge what that scientific contribution has been". The ISS was conceived at the end of the Cold War as a way of cementing friendship between the United States and Russia and to keep Russian scientists from being lured away to countries such as Iran. Now it's become a platform for international research, and a novice British astronaut will play his part. Tim Peake in space: Want to know more? Special report page: For the latest news, analysis and video Video: How the view from space affects your mind Explainer: The journey into space Social media: Twitter looks ahead to lift-off

After all the drama of the launch, what will Tim Peake actually do during his six long months on the International Space Station?

The hosts dominated the first half as tries for Charles Piutau, Rob Miller and Ashley Johnson secured a 25-0 lead. Sharks rallied through scores from David Seymour and Neil Briggs, but Jimmy Gopperth then crossed to add the try bonus point for the hosts. Christian Wade danced through for their fifth before Sale centre Johnny Leota was sent off in a scuffle late on. Wasps also finished with 14 men as Tom Bristow was sinbinned for his part in the same incident, Jake Cooper-Woolley having also been yellow carded earlier. Dai Young's side, who have only lost twice in 2016, continued their impressive form since the turn of the year, having now won a sixth home game in a row. Sharks fly-half Danny Cipriani faced his old club for the first time since agreeing to re-join them next season, but struggled to impose himself on the game. He did reach the milestone of 1,000 Premiership points when he converted Seymour's try, while the man he will be competing for the number 10 shirt next year, Gopperth, impressed with 17 points. Wasps remain in third behind Exeter and Saracens, four points clear of fourth-placed Leicester. Despite being the only Premiership team unbeaten at home this season, Sale's away form is hampering their top-six hopes, having won just once on the road. Wasps director of rugby Dai Young: "I certainly would have settled for that before the game. You can't get any more than five points, and we've achieved that which keeps the momentum going. "We talked about starting really big in the first 20 or 25 minutes, as if you look at the stats that is usually Sale's best period. "We became a bit individual and came out of structure a little and allowed them to get back into it in the second half. I was getting a bit concerned when they scored their second try, and we found another gear." Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond: "We were convincingly beaten by a better side on the day. They have lots of big, powerful runners we couldn't contain and combined with our first-half error rate they went in 25-0 up. "We just got our noses into some competitiveness in the second half, then they stepped it up again and we couldn't compete. "Wasps are a good side who have knocked a few people around and will carry on doing that. They were more physical than us and our error rate let us down." Wasps: Miller; Wade, C Piutau, S Piutau, Halai; Gopperth, Robson; McIntyre, Johnson, Cooper-Woolley, Cannon, Myall, Young, Hughes, Jones (capt). Replacements: Festuccia, Bristow, Swainston, Rowlands, Rieder, Stevenson, Jackson, Macken. Sin-bin: Cooper-Woolley (44), Bristow (73). Sale: Haley; Brady, Leota, Jennings, Edwards; Cipriani, Stringer; Harrison, Briggs, Mujati, Mills, Ostrikov, Lund, Seymour (capt), Easter. Replacements: Neild, Flynn, Parker, Ioane, Fihaki, Mitchell, Ford, James. Red card: Leota (73).

Wasps ran in five tries at the Ricoh Arena as they thrashed Sale to boost their Premiership play-off hopes.

Last month, Pistorius began serving a five year prison sentence for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp, although he could be out in 10 months. The sentence failed to consider the "horrendous manner" in which Ms Steenkamp was killed, prosecutors said. Prosecutors are also appealing against Pistorius' murder acquittal. The double-amputee Olympic sprinter was charged by the prosecution with the pre-meditated murder of Ms Steenkamp, a model and law graduate who was his girlfriend. He was acquitted of this and the lesser murder charge of dolus eventualis by High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa on 21 October. In South African law, this charge - also known as common-law murder - applies if the accused knew they might kill someone but still went ahead with their course of action. "The appeal on conviction is based on the question of law," said National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube in a statement. In papers filed with the North Gauteng High Court and published by South Africa's Eyewitness News on its website, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Judge Masipa "erred in over-emphasising the personal circumstances of the accused and the fact that the accused was suffering from post-traumatic stress, was anxious and 'seems remorseful'. "Not enough emphasis was placed on the horrendous manner in which the deceased died coupled with the gruesome injuries she sustained when the accused shot and killed her," he said. Pistorius' sentence was "shockingly light, inappropriate and would not have been imposed by any reasonable court", Mr Nel added. The judge failed to sufficiently consider that Pistorius acted with "gross negligence", and had fired four shots with a gun "loaded with black talon ammunition through a locked door into a small toilet cubicle from which there was no room to escape". The prosecution had called for him to be given the maximum 15-year sentence for culpable homicide, or manslaughter. Ms Steenkamp was killed at Pistorius' upmarket home in the capital, Pretoria, in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year. He said he feared there was an intruder but he did not intend to kill. Mr Mncube said the application for permission to appeal was expected to be considered by Judge Masipa. "If it's granted, the case will then be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal," Mr Mncube is quoted by AFP news agency as saying. Prosecutors had the option to petition the Supreme Court to hear the case if permission was refused, Mr Mncube said. The athlete was also given a three-year suspended sentence for firing a gun in a restaurant. Pistorius is currently serving his sentence in the hospital section of Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru II jail. He can apply to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest after 10 months in prison. After the verdict, his family said that he would not appeal. Inside Oscar Pistorius's home 1 2 3 5 4 Mr Pistorius said he and Ms Steenkamp had dinner at about 19:00 before going to bed at 21:00. He said he woke in the early hours, spoke briefly to his girlfriend and got up to close the sliding door and curtains. Judge Thokozile Masipa questioned the reliability of several witnesses who said they heard screams and gunshots between about 03:12 and 03:17, saying most had 'got facts wrong'. Mr Pistorius said he heard the bathroom window sliding open and believed that an intruder, or intruders, had entered the bathroom through a window which was not fitted with burglar bars. Mr Pistorius said he grabbed his firearm and told Ms Steenkamp, who he thought was still in bed, to call the police. The judge said it made no sense that Ms Steenkamp did not hear him scream 'Get out' or call the police, as she had her mobile phone with her. Mr Pistorius could see the bathroom window was open and toilet door closed. He said he did not know whether the intruders were outside on a ladder or in the toilet. He had his firearm in front of him, he heard a movement inside the toilet and thought whoever was inside was coming out to attack him. 'Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door,' he said. The judge said she did not accept that Mr Pistorius fired the gun by accident or before he knew what was happening. She said he had armed himself with a lethal weapon and clearly wanted to use it. The other question, she said, was why he fired not one, but four shots before he ran back to the room to try to find Ms Steenkamp. Mr Pistorius said he went back to the bedroom and noticed that Ms Steenkamp was not there. Mr Pistorius said this was when he realised she could have been in the toilet and rushed back to the bathroom. Mr Pistorius said he screamed for help and went back to the bathroom where he found the toilet was locked. He returned to the bedroom, pulled on his prosthetic legs and turned on the lights before bashing in the toilet door with a cricket bat. When the door panel broke, he found the key and unlocked the door and found Ms Steenkamp slumped on the floor with her head on the toilet bowl. He then carried her downstairs, where he was met by neighbours. 3D animation of the apartment

South Africa's prosecutors have sought permission to appeal against athlete Oscar Pistorius' "shockingly light" sentence, court papers show.

The move apparently follows a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. It also comes ahead of a speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by US Secretary of State John Kerry. On Friday, the US chose not to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to settlement construction. The decision to abstain infuriated Mr Netanyahu, whose spokesman said on Tuesday he had "ironclad information" from Arab sources that the White House had helped draft the language of the resolution and "pushed hard" for its passage. A US state department spokesman said the accusation was "just not true", but he hoped the resolution would "serve as a wake-up call" for Israel. More than 500,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. The Security Council resolution passed on Friday stated that the establishment of settlements "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace". Israel rejected the resolution, and the BBC's Yolande Knell said it was particularly angry about the condemnation of building in East Jerusalem - which it sees as part of its capital, but which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state. Mr Netanyahu responded over the weekend by summoning the ambassadors of the US and the 14 countries on the Security Council who voted in favour of the resolution, recalling Israel's ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, cutting aid to Senegal, and cancelling a visit by Ukraine's prime minister. The Jerusalem Planning and Housing Committee had indicated it would press ahead with a planned vote on authorising 492 new homes in the settlements of Ramat Shlomo and Ramot. But on Wednesday, planning committee member Hanan Rubin said the vote had been postponed. Mr Rubin told the BBC this was at the request of the prime minister's office, to avoid further straining relations with Washington hours before Mr Kerry's speech. "It's in our interest to avoid political voting in Jerusalem because Jerusalem is not the same as settlements around Israel," he said. "We are creating affordable housing and housing for young families... and if there is a big storm and Kerry's speech today, we are looking to avoid this conflict." Mr Kerry is expected to lay out his vision later on Wednesday for ending the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and address what a senior state department official described as "misleading critiques" of the Obama administration by the Israeli government. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said the resolution "paves the way" for the upcoming conference on Middle East peace in France on 15 January. "We hope this conference comes up with a mechanism and timetable to end the occupation," he told a meeting of his Fatah party on Monday.

An Israeli committee has postponed a vote to authorise construction of almost 500 new homes in Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

The latest threats bring the number of incidents to 69 in 27 states in the past month, according to the JCC Association of North America. No bombs were found at any of the centres targeted with telephone calls. Last week, 27 Jewish community centres in 17 US states reported receiving hoax bomb threats. All of the threats made on Monday, along with previous incidents in January, turned out to be false and Jewish centres have since reopened with normal services resumed. Responding to the latest incidents, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that US President Donald Trump had made it "abundantly clear" that such actions were "unacceptable". "Hatred and hate-motivated violence of any kind have no place in a country founded on the promise of individual freedom," the statement, which was shared on Twitter by NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander, said. Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka - who has converted to Judaism and whose husband is Jewish - also condemned the threats. Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said that action must be taken to prevent further incidents. In a post on Twitter, Mrs Clinton wrote: "JCC threats, cemetery desecration and online attacks are so troubling and they need to be stopped. Everyone must speak out, starting w/@POTUS." The threats were made to the Jewish community centres through calls that were both pre-recorded and live, with suspects using voice-disguising technology, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Since the beginning of the year, there have been reports of threats to centres in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Delaware, Connecticut, Alabama, California, Maine, Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas and Kansas. The JCC Association of North America, a network of health and education centres, has since been reviewing its security plans. In an earlier statement the FBI said that along with the US justice department it was investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with the threats. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish anti-bigotry organisation, said in a statement that it was "deeply disturbed" by the latest threats to the Jewish community. Meanwhile, more than 100 headstones have been damaged at a Jewish cemetery in St Louis, Missouri, local media report. In the Canadian city of Toronto, Mayor John Tory has condemned anti-Semitic hate notes left outside the homes of Jewish residents.

The FBI is investigating another wave of bomb threats to Jewish facilities in the US after 11 sites were evacuated on Monday.

The money will be spent on designing systems to allow the chassis of future models to be made out of aluminium. The first of these models will be a new mid-sized sports saloon car to be introduced in 2015. The announcement was made at the Frankfurt motor show by JLR chief executive Ralf Speth. "Today's announcement signals Jaguar Land Rover's ambitions to push the boundaries and redefine premium car ownership," he said. "Jaguar Land Rover is a business driven by design, technology and innovation and this investment and level of job creation is yet further evidence of our commitment to advancing the capability of the UK automotive sector and its supply chain." The design teams will be creating what they call an aluminium architecture, which is the part of the car on which the bodywork, seats and engine sit. The idea is that it will be flexible enough to be the base for future model of either Jaguar or Land Rover cars. In pictures: Jaguar C-X17 Carmakers are increasingly using aluminium in their vehicles because its light weight improves fuel efficiency. The first car using the aluminium platform will be a smaller than other Jaguar models. But in order to demonstrate the flexibility of the system, JLR has also unveiled a concept car called the C-X17, which is halfway between a sports car and an SUV, and could also be based on the new chassis. JLR said that the jobs at the Solihull site would bring the total number of jobs it had created in the UK over the last three years to almost 11,000. It also stressed that the investment would involve significant extra spending with its suppliers. JLR has been owned by India's Tata Motors since 2008.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to create 1,700 jobs at its plant in Solihull as part of a £1.5bn investment in expanding its product range.

Ms Maréchal-Le Pen, 27, who is an MP for the National Front (FN), had been seen by some as a future leader of the party. She is the granddaughter of FN founder Jean-Marie Le Pen. She is one of the best known figures in the party and one of only two FN lawmakers in the outgoing parliament. Analysts say she takes more of a hardline position than her aunt. According to Le Figaro, Ms Maréchal-Le Pen will announce on Wednesday her intention not to stand for a new term in parliamentary elections in June. She will also quit her position as president of the FN in the south-eastern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is understood she wishes to spend more time with her young daughter, the newspaper adds. The party would not confirm the report but senior FN official Bruno Gollnisch told reporters it would not be totally unexpected. "I think it's in the works, but I will let her announce it if she wants to," he said.

Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, the niece of defeated far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, is to quit politics, French media report.

A rare magnitude-four earthquake hit Greenland's west coast on Sunday, producing a surge of water that swept away homes and led to reports of a number of people missing. Joint Arctic Command, the group tasked with the search and rescue mission, has since published images of the aftermath of the disaster and told the BBC that it continues to monitor the situation, warning that further incidents could take place. Homes were submerged and washed away after a tsunami hit the village of Nuugaatsiaq, north-western Greenland. Rescuers used liferafts to sweep the area after four people were reported missing. A number of injuries were also reported after 39 people were evacuated from Nuugaatsiaq. The surge of water is believed to have swept away 11 homes in the small village. The authorities said the tsunami was caused by a magnitude-four earthquake, which is rare for the area. Police chief Bjørn Tegner Bay said he was unable to confirm whether there had been fatalities. Meteorologists said it was "not normal" for such an earthquake to hit Greenland and warned of aftershocks.

Greenland profile

A series of groups spoke out after Europe's top court ruled a Romanian man whose employer read his messages had not had his rights violated. He broke company policy by using a work account to talk to his family. In response, bodies representing directors and workers, as well as privacy and human resources groups, all issued similar warnings to bosses. The European Trades Union Congress, which represents workers across the continent, said the judges' decision should not act as a "green light… to start snooping" on staff. The case in the European Court of Human Rights did not introduce any new rules, but acted as a stress test for those that already allowed similar surveillance by employers in some circumstances. Institute of Directors director general Simon Walker said: "Employees should not be subject to Stasi-style surveillance at work. "We would strongly urge businesses not to read an employee's personal messages, apart from in the most exceptional circumstances." British Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Big Brother bosses do not get the best out of employees. "Staff who are being snooped on are less productive and less healthy". And the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said: "Employees that feel under excessive surveillance are also more likely to suffer from stress, so there needs to be a clear case for monitoring." They were joined by the privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, which said: "None of us should ever assume that what we do online during work hours or when using devices owned by our employer, such as computers, tablets or mobile phones, is private - but, equally, no employee should be in fear of being monitored by their boss." The judges' ruling, handed down on Tuesday, said Romania had not failed to uphold the right to a private life of its citizen Bogdan Barbulescu. Mr Barbulescu's employer had sacked him after finding he had been using a Yahoo Messenger account to speak to both his fiancee and his brother, despite having been asked to set up the account for work purposes only, the seven judges said. The company had also banned private use of the internet at work. When confronted, Mr Barbulescu had denied violating the policy, the judges found. And the company had therefore been justified in reading both the work and private correspondence on the account - some of it highly sensitive. Mr Barbulescu said his rights had been violated and, having been unsuccessful in arguing as much in the domestic courts, asked the judges to rule that Romania had failed in its duty to him. The court's decision does not introduce new measures. Reading the messages was already legal in Romania, as it is in other countries, including the UK. Rather, it agreed with the Romanian authorities that the circumstances in which Mr Barbulescu's messages had been read did not represent a breach of his right to a private life. The judges, in effect, declined to send a signal to courts across Europe that they considered surveillance under those circumstances unacceptable. If the judges had found the other way, the Romanian government would have been obliged to abide by their decision. Others, however, would not, because European Court of Human Rights decisions affect only the country named in the case. The effect on domestic courts is different. Each country adopts its own approach to the court's decisions. In the UK, for example, judges are obliged to take them into account, not to follow them without question, as has sometimes been claimed. Moreover, the court's decision did not actually go further than existing UK laws, which already allowed some reading of employees' communications under certain circumstances. One of the seven judges, who disagreed with his colleagues, did say that the blanket ban on private internet use at work imposed by Mr Barbulescu's former employer was unacceptable and there should be stricter regulation of when and how bosses should be allowed to carry out such surveillance. The case before the court considered the specific circumstances in which Mr Barbulescu found himself - rather than workplace surveillance as a whole - and agreed that they were not a breach of his rights. So, avoiding those would be a good start. In the UK, the amount of access employers have to employees' communications is defined by a series of laws and regulations that balance when it is lawful against when it is proportionate and necessary. Essex University professor of EU and human rights law Steve Peers told the BBC: "Employees might be violating employer policies if they install software to block tracking. "It is best for people to stick to company policy on use of work equipment and use their own smartphones if they need to do something personal. "Definitely the wisest course for people whose company policies allow their work emails to be read - or who believe their employer would do it anyway - is to use their own phone or tablet, and use mobile data if they can, instead of employer wi-fi." Apps that use end-to-end encryption, such as Signal, WhatsApp and others, provide an extra level of security. Broadly, "the legal principles should be similar across Europe, particularly regarding personal data, as this is derived from EU legislation", said Kathryn Dooks, an employment partner at the law firm Kemp Little. But some domestic laws and regulations would differ, she told the BBC. The banking regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, requires banking companies to "take reasonable steps to record relevant telephone conversations, and keep a copy of relevant electronic communications" on company equipment. FCA-regulated businesses must also take steps to stop staff sending work messages on their own equipment. According to a 2014 Financial Times article, some banks became so concerned employees, aware they were being watched, would move to non-work channels to engage in illicit behaviour that they started comparing performance against average internal communications channel use.

Bosses have been urged not to indulge in invasive surveillance by reading their employees' private messages.

After a dour first period, James Constable's driven effort gave the out-of-form away side a surprise lead. The advantage only lasted three minutes though as Parkin fired home from the centre of the area. With time running out, Parkin scrambled home the winner before the visitors' Ben Strevens was sent off in injury time for spitting. Forest Green assistant Jamie Day told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: Media playback is not supported on this device "It's exciting, it keeps everyone on their toes. I thought we played well, I'm disappointed that we went behind again, like we have done in recent weeks." "We showed character to come back into the game and to then get a winner was first class from the boys." "There's two teams I think fighting it out at the top, so credit to Cheltenham that they've done really well to go to Tranmere and get a result and we've just got to keep going and worry about ourselves."

Jon Parkin netted a late winner as National League promotion-chasers Forest Green beat 10-man Eastleigh.

The woman was taken to hospital after the incident involving a male inmate at Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn, on Monday. Adrian Smith from the Prison Officers Association (POA) told BBC News NI the woman was one of the newer prison officers. He said he believed she was attacked with a weapon "made from a razor". "She has an approximately three inch deep cut below her left ear," he said. "With the ever increasing budget cuts, I believe this will happen more often," he added. A Prison Service spokesperson said: "The Prison Service utterly condemns this attack and has referred the incident to the PSNI".

A prison officer has suffered a serious neck wound after she was attacked at a jail in County Antrim.

Pick, 21, and Bateman, 25, were caught with anabolic steroids in their systems during out-of-competition tests. Both players have been suspended from all sport until December 2016. "The players perhaps thought they had a better chance of getting away with it as it was pre-season," UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) head of science and medicine Nick Wojek told BBC Sport. "The benefits for rugby players, in both codes, are clear with these kinds of substances. They also allow for a quicker recovery from training sessions or from injuries. Wojek says that UKAD are taking greater steps to deter players from rugby league and union from taking banned substances. Last week Neath back-row Lee Evans was banned for two years after he was found to have taken the anabolic steroid drostanolone - although UKAD director Graham Arthur said there was some evidence to support Evans's claim that he had not knowingly taken the banned substance. "The rewards are potentially very big for players outside the top level attempting to obtain lucrative contracts and there is also an image issue to contend with," Wojek added. "We are implementing a visible testing program and working with governing bodies to ensure that education strategies are in place within clubs. "We're also looking to educate players in academies and at school level on the morals of taking banned substances." Wales international three-quarter Bateman is the club's longest-serving player and signed a contract extension at the third tier side in October 2014. Scorpions chairman Ian Curzon said: "It is hoped that he will return from this ban both a better person and a better player." Featherstone forward Pick was a member of the Rovers team that lost 36-12 against Leigh Centurions in the 2014 Championship Grand Final but he has not played this season. A statement issued by the West Yorkshire club said: "Featherstone Rovers are fully committed to the sport's anti-doping policy and players are educated by the club and governing body as to the penalties they could incur should a positive test be recorded."

Featherstone's Shaun Pick and South Wales' Ashley Bateman have been banned for two years for doping offences.

NHS Tayside had the highest number followed by NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The figures also revealed that more than 560,000 people missed at least one NHS outpatient appointment in 2014/15. Each missed appointment is thought to cost the NHS £120, putting the total cost to the health service at £100m. The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through a Freedom of Information request. The statistics revealed: The Scottish Tories have previously suggested those who fail to show for appointments on a certain number of occasions could face some sanction from the health board. The party has also urged the Scottish government look at more innovative ways of reminding patients to turn up at appointments. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: "Missing a hospital appointment can happen to anyone, and for a range of reasons. "But when you're getting to the point where you are missing five or more in the space of just a year, something really has to be done. "That is costing the NHS thousands of pounds, wreaking havoc with hospital planning, and of course potentially harming the health of the patient involved. "We've been critical of the NHS in the past for cancelling appointments and procedures, so it's only fair we do everything we can to make sure patient no-shows are limited too. "We need to find ways to ensure people turn up at the appointments that are made and stop showing contempt for our NHS, doctors and nursing staff." Health Secretary Shona Robison said the percentage of patients missing appointments has decreased slightly over the last five years. She added: "However, it is important that all health boards understand why patients are not attending appointments and look at ways to reduce this. "The Scottish government is committed to supporting health boards to deliver secure messaging services, including reminders. "Health Scotland also recently published a report looking at those who did not attend appointments over a 10 year period from 2002/03 to 2011/12. "We welcome this report which will provide boards with further learning on the issue of non-attendance."

Nearly 17,000 patients in Scotland failed to show up for an NHS hospital appointment on at least five occasions last year.

Ms Churcher, who was director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) from 1990 to 1997, was the first and so far only female director of the NGA. She was known as Betty Blockbuster as a result of the large-scale exhibitions of famous European artworks she organised during her time at the NGA. Before that, she was director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She continued to promote Australian and international art to the public in later years, with a series of popular television programmes. NGA director Gerard Vaughan described Ms Churcher as a "towering figure in the Australian art community". "She will always be remembered here with deep affection for her tireless promotion of our visual culture, including her role as a popular presenter on TV, and I am reminded daily of her contribution to the nation," he said in a statement released by the gallery. Ms Churcher was born in the Queensland city of Brisbane in 1931 and discovered art when her father took her to the Queensland Art Gallery as a child. "It was like stepping on a magic carpet because off I went!" she once said in an interview. In recent years, declining eyesight made it increasingly difficult for her to look at the paintings she loved. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation several years ago she said that when she realised she could no longer remember the paintings in the Prado and the National Gallery that she adored, she decided to tour the great galleries of Europe, sketch the masterpieces and commit their details to memory. "The paintings that I most like are the ones that demand a second, and a third and a fourth look," she said. "And each time you look, they've got something more to give you. "I know that I could look at Velazquez's Maid of Honour until I died and I still couldn't get to the bottom of it, to find out how it was that he did it." Ms Churcher was married to artist Roy Churcher, who died last year. She died on Monday night surrounded by her four sons.

Betty Churcher, one of Australia's most popular and innovative arts administrators, has died aged 84.

They will be able to end tenancies, sometimes without a court order, when asylum requests fail, ministers say. Landlords will also be required to check a migrant's status in advance of agreeing a lease. Repeat offenders could face up to five years in prison. But critics have said it may lead to UK citizens being refused accommodation. The proposals - to be included in the upcoming Immigration Bill - come as the British and French governments struggle to deal with a migrant crisis in Calais, where large numbers of people are making nightly bids to cross the Channel to reach the UK. Under the proposals for landlords in England, the Home Office would issue a notice when an asylum application fails that confirms the tenant no longer has the right to rent property. Analysis by legal correspondent Clive Coleman It is currently a criminal offence to remove tenants without a court order. Obtaining that order enables bailiffs to evict tenants. That all takes time. The new measure may cut out court orders, but it is unclear: This will trigger a power for landlords to end the tenancy, without a court order in some circumstances. Landlords will also be required to carry out "right to rent" checks on each tenant's immigration status before allowing them to move in, expanding a pilot that has been running for a year in the west Midlands. Repeatedly failing to do either would be a new offence carrying maximum penalties of five years' imprisonment or a fine. A blacklist of "rogue" landlords and letting agents will allow councils to keep track of those who have been convicted of housing offences and ban them from renting out properties if they are repeat offenders. Communities Secretary Greg Clark acknowledged that cases in which tenants refused to move out would still end up in court but that the process would be quicker because landlords would have official "evidence" to present to the courts of their tenant's status. "You have saved the landlord having to spend money establishing something that is clear and that the Home Office can provide - which is a clear statement of whether they should be there or not," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Asked whether evicting migrants simply increased the risk of people disappearing altogether, unless immediately detained by the police, Mr Clark said the initiative was part of a "joined-up system to send people home". Analysis, by Alicia McCarthy The streets of the UK are not paved with gold. That's the clear message the government wants to send to those tempted to come to Britain illegally. Ministers say the tightening of the demands on private landlords in England is simply the enactment of a manifesto promise to make them carry out the same checks as employers and that migrants need to know there is no right to work or rent a home if you are in the UK illegally. It's not clear yet how the scheme will work or what impact it will have other than moving illegal immigrants from where they are living. And some may suspect the timing of the announcement is a response to the nightly television news pictures showing scores of desperate migrants trying to cross the channel - and to criticism from some that ministers have failed to get a grip on the situation swiftly enough. For Labour, shadow immigration minister David Hanson said he backed tougher checks but said ministers appeared to be "offloading" the problem on to landlords and it was up to the authorities to decide whether people should be allowed to remain or deported. Since August 2014, private landlords in five councils - Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham - have been required to conduct checks to establish new tenants have the right to rent in the UK or face face a penalty of up to £3,000. Mr Clark said the pilot - introduced as part of the 2014 Immigration Act - had been a success and would be extended across more of the UK, although he could not say how many people had been deported as a direct result. But the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said the pilot - which has yet to be officially evaluated - had serious shortcomings. "We have heard that British people with foreign accents are finding it difficult to get tenancies from some of the, you might say, unscrupulous landlords," its chief executive Habib Rahman told Radio 4's World at One. And David Smith, from the Residential Landlords Association, said there was evidence of "document discrimination" with some landlords reluctant to rent their properties to anyone who could not produce a valid passport.

Landlords in England will be expected to evict tenants who lose the right to live in the UK under new measures to clamp down on illegal immigration.

Adriano Guedes, 63, who was paralysed by a stroke in 2008, was admitted to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, in 2014. He was evicted two weeks ago after the hospital obtained a court order and is now in a council flat in Suffolk. It was granted as Mr Guedes repeatedly turned down offers of care and housing. In a statement, Suffolk County Council - which is responsible for his care since he left hospital - said it had worked "extensively" with the patient, along with other agencies. "We explored all options available, but they were declined by him," it said. "We will continue to work with our partners and Mr Guedes to ensure he continues to receive appropriate levels of care and support." On Tuesday, Mr Guedes told the BBC the hospital had "forced" him to to stay. He said: "It's very bad to occupy a place which should be used by someone in need, but I didn't cause the situation. On the contrary - I tried to get out of there. "I wanted to leave but they always offered what they knew I would refuse." Mr Guedes said he had been admitted to hospital on mental health grounds. He said he has been on a hunger strike since he left on 10 January. It is understood he is visited by carers four times a day in his new home.

A patient evicted from hospital after spending more than two years in a bed "declined" all options offered, a council has said.

The 85 children had to eat peanut protein every day - initially in small doses, but ramped up during the study. The findings, published in the Lancet, suggest 84% of allergic children could eat the equivalent of five peanuts a day after six months. Experts have warned that the therapy is not yet ready for widespread use. Peanuts are the most common cause of fatal allergic reactions to food. There is no treatment so the only option for patients is to avoid them completely, leading to a lifetime of checking every food label before a meal. The trial, at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, tried to train the children's immune systems to tolerate peanut protein. Every day they were given a peanut protein powder - starting off on a dose equivalent to one 70th of a peanut. The theory was that patients started at the extremely low dose, well below the threshold for an allergic response. Once a fortnight the dose was increased while the children were in hospital, in case there was any reaction, and then they continued taking the higher dose at home. The majority of patients learned to tolerate the peanut. Claire Rooney describes the daily anxieties of having a daughter with multiple food allergies. 'Niamh's allergies have changed our lives' Lena Barden, 11, from Histon in Cambridgeshire, said: "It meant a trip to the hospital every two weeks. "A year later I could eat five whole peanuts with no reaction at all. "The trial has been an experience and adventure that has changed my life and I've had so much fun, but I still hate peanuts!" One of the researchers, Dr Andrew Clark, told the BBC: "It really transformed their lives dramatically; this really comes across during the trial. "It's a potential treatment and the next step is to make it available to patients, but there will be significant costs in providing the treatment - in the specialist centres and staff and producing the peanut to a sufficiently high standard." Fellow researcher Dr Pamela Ewan added: "This large study is the first of its kind in the world to have had such a positive outcome, and is an important advance in peanut allergy research." But she said further studies would be needed and that people should not try this on their own as this "should only be done by medical professionals in specialist settings". The research has been broadly welcomed by other researchers in the field, but some concerns about how any therapy could be introduced have been raised. Prof Gideon Lack, who is running a peanut allergy trial at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London, told the BBC: "This is a really important research step in trying to improve our management of peanut allergy, but is not yet ready for use in clinical practice. "We need a proper risk assessment needs to be done to ensure we will not make life more dangerous for these children. He warned that 60% of people with a peanut allergy were also allergic to other nuts so a carefree lifestyle would rarely be an option. Prof Barry Kay, from the department of allergy and clinical immunology at Imperial College London, said: "The real issues that still remain include how long the results will last, and whether the positive effects might lead affected individuals to have a false sense of security. "Another issue to address is whether there will be long term side-effects of repeated peanut exposure even where full allergic reaction does not occur, such as inflammation of the oesophagus. "So, this study shows encouraging results that add to the current literature, but more studies are needed to pin down these issues before the current advice to peanut allergy sufferers, which is to avoid eating peanuts, is changed." Maureen Jenkins, director of clinical services at Allergy UK, said: "The fantastic results of this study exceed expectation. "Peanut allergy is a particularly frightening food allergy, causing constant anxiety of a reaction from peanut traces. "This is a major step forward in the global quest to manage it." Prof Simon Murch, an allergy expert at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "This is clearly a promising paper but it certainly isn't a cure. "Nevertheless this study does point towards a promising new direction of therapy and once further testing has been carried out, and techniques refined, it may prove to be a therapy with widespread use in hospitals in future." But he added: " This is not something that should be undertaken at home, or indeed outside specialist centres."

Doctors say a potential treatment for peanut allergy has transformed the lives of children taking part in a large clinical trial.

The show features 19 exhibits around the 105-acre garden in Derbyshire. Lilas, by Dame Zaha, who died earlier this year, was originally created for the Serpentine Gallery at Kensington Gardens. The exhibition also features work from artists from Spain, Portugal and Taiwan. The sculptures will be on show until 30 October and members of the public can bid to buy them. Some of the work for the exhibition, including Bruce Munro's piece Time and Again, has been created specifically for Chatsworth. It was inspired by the house's success in growing some of the earliest Victorian water lilies after seeds were first brought to England from British Guiana in 1837.

An "architecturally ambitious" piece by Zaha Hadid is to be included in this year's Chatsworth House sculpture exhibition.

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) has also built up a £27m surplus after the British government ramped up its donations. The NAO has urged ministers to keep a much closer eye on the PIDG's spending. Recent projects funded by the agency include a steel foundry in Nigeria and a Ugandan hydropower scheme. The PIDG said it had revised its travel policy, which had seen board members claiming for more expensive flexible business class tickets. But Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the Department for International Development (DfID) was to blame for not keeping a tight enough rein on spending. "It's outrageous that 15 flights were booked from 2011, each costing over £5,000," said Mrs Hodge. "Only this month has PIDG revised its travel policy. DfID should get a grip on administrative costs like this." The PIDG was founded in 2002 by four countries - the UK, Switzerland, Holland and Sweden - to back private investment in infrastructure projects in developing countries, including roads, telecoms, sanitation, housing, agriculture, power and industry. But the UK provides 70% of its funding, which is expected to hit £700m in total by 2015. UK funding for the agency was increased fivefold by the coalition government in 2011, in line with its policy of encouraging private investment in the developing world. But the NAO found much of that money had yet to be spent on development projects and the PIDG Trust was sitting on £27m in its bank account. Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "The Private Infrastructure Development Group is providing important benefits to poor people in difficult environments, but DfID does not have enough good evidence to show that funding PIDG is the best option. "Furthermore, DfID's financial control has been lacking, allowing the PIDG Trust to hold nearly £27m worth of DfID funding since 2012. "The department has recently made good progress in tackling these issues, which will put it in a better position to demonstrate value for money, but I consider that it should have taken more action earlier given its decision in 2011 to increase funding for PIDG fivefold." The report also criticises two of the agency's subsidiaries, GuarantCo and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), set up by then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002, which are incorporated in the tax haven of Mauritius. This arrangement has come in from criticism from War on Want, which claims it flies in the face of Prime Minister David Cameron's commitment to tax justice for poor countries. The NAO said it "raises reputational risks" for DfID. A spokeswoman for DfID said: "The NAO has recognised that we are already improving the group's operations to drive even more job-creating private investment into developing economies, which is the only sustainable way to end dependency on aid. "Since 2012 we have agreed new financial controls including value for money rules which restrict business class travel and ensure funds are only committed when projects are ready."

Board members at a UK-funded development agency made large expenses claims, including £5,000 air tickets, the National Audit Office has revealed.

The crash happened at about 14:15 BST on the B1191 at Thornton, near Woodhall Spa. Lincolnshire Police said the motorcyclist killed in the collision lived locally, but has not released any further details. The tractor driver was not injured. The force has appealed for witnesses to the collision to come forward. The B1191 was closed in both directions between the B1192 Tattershall Road junction in Woodhall Spa and the A158 Jubilee Way junction in Horncastle

A man has died in a collision between a tractor and a motorcycle in Lincolnshire.

Stephen Hammond said job roles would change when the paper system for car tax discs is scrapped in October. The minister allayed fears about job losses in a letter to Swansea East AM Mike Hedges. Mr Hedges said the minister's response would "give comfort" to DVLA employees. Concerns over the future of some of the 5,000 workers at the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency centre were raised in October after Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement. The chancellor announced that the tax disc would be replaced with an electronic system in October 2014. The new system will allow people to pay the charge by monthly direct debit. Mr Hedges had written to Mr Hammond asking for clarification of the government's intentions. In his response to Mr Hedges, Mr Hammond said: "It is likely that the introduction of a direct debit scheme may mean there will be a natural reduction in the amount of refunds received, in addition to the withdrawal of the tax disc. "This may mean changes to job roles and the need to train on new processes. "Any reductions in numbers of people needed for these activities will be managed through redeploying to other growth areas of the business." Mr Hedges welcomed the minister's assurances. He added: "Whilst disappointed that the changes will reduce the number of job opportunities at the DVLA, I can see the advantages of both paying by monthly direct debits and not having to show a tax disc. "I am pleased the minister is committed to redeployment rather than redundancies and I am sure this response will give comfort to many concerned DVLA employees."

Staff at Swansea's DVLA offices will be redeployed rather than face redundancy after changes to the way motorists pay their car tax, a UK transport minister has confirmed.

It is hoped the RNLI camera will reduce the number of launches at Porthcawl, in Bridgend county, which had the second highest number for Wales in 2015. The camera looks out towards the town's pier from the lifeboat station. The location is also notorious for crashing waves that can risk sweeping people out to sea. Ian Stroud from Porthcawl RNLI is their former deputy launch authoriser. He said: "One of the most significant tasks a lifeboat station must undertake is observing sea conditions to make judgements on the equipment lifeboat operators will need. "We wanted a view of the pier as it is such an important landmark. This is viewable by members of the public, who can alert the lifeboat station if they see someone in distress." The camera was supplied by Swansea-based PC-1 and Axis Communications. PC-1's online project manager Graham Thomas said: "We installed a weather station and connected the installation to YouTube, allowing the public and lifeboat staff to view real-time images and accurate weather reports - including tide times. "The station will soon receive a superfast fibre connection, allowing for a further upgrade of the system to take full advantage of the camera's HD capabilities. "We can then look at running an additional camera; one looking at the pier and another focusing on the coastal defence where waves crash up to 300 feet in the air."

One of Wales' busiest lifeboat callout hotspots has had a monitoring camera installed to warn the public of dangerous sea conditions.

Thousands of children have been examined every 10 years since 1973. A third of children in Wales were said to have good oral health overall, which compares to 39% in England. Decay was found in 52% of 12 year olds and 63% of 15 year olds, a slight improvement on the 2003 survey. But around 70% of them reported problems with their teeth. Decay was found in 41% of five-year-old children in their primary teeth and in 55% of eight-year-old pupils, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre report. Severe dental problems were worse among children from poorer backgrounds. Around a half (47%) of five year olds could be said to have good oral health. But that declined with age, to around a quarter of 15 year old children. Other findings: The last results in 2003 showed that oral health had improved greatly since the 1970s and 1980s. This time, 12 and 15-year-olds were also asked to fill in a questionnaire on how they looked after their teeth. In 2009 the Welsh government launched a national scheme to encourage better dental health amongst young children. Since then it has invested over £12m in the programme. It also suggested the programme had led to a recent 6% drop in the proportion of five-year-olds experiencing dental decay. Experts point out there could be several reason the health of children's teeth in Wales was still lagging behind those from other UK nations including socio-economic conditions. That survey 10 years ago also showed a big drop in 15-year-olds with obvious decay from 94% in 1983 to 58%. Scottish children are not included in the 2013 survey but Wales has better results than Northern Ireland, where 31% were judged to be in good oral health. The Welsh Government said its own most recent monitoring survey showed a 6% drop in the proportion of five-year-olds with dental decay. "However, there is more to do to improve the dental health of children in Wales especially since the vast majority of tooth decay is avoidable," said a spokesperson. "Parents can help their children by reducing sugar intake and encouraging them to brush their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. " It has also published its own survey of dental health to identify how much decay among five-years-olds is already present at the age of three.

Only a third of children in Wales have healthy teeth overall and this is lagging behind England, a major survey suggests.

The man, who was from Staffordshire, collapsed while riding on the A5 near Chirk, Wrexham, at about 10:45 BST on Sunday. He had been raising money for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. North Wales Police said officers attended, along with a road and air ambulance, and tried to help members of the public to save the cyclist. "I am very sad to say that their efforts were not successful," temporary Supt Nick Evans said. Douglas Macmillan Hospice - known as Dougie Mac - is a specialist palliative care provider in north Staffordshire for adults, the majority of whom are affected by cancer. A number of charity bike rides for the hospice were being held on Sunday taking in routes from Stoke-on-Trent to Llangollen and back.

A 44-year-old man has died in north Wales while taking part in a charity cycle ride

A winding-up petition was dismissed by the High Court on Monday. The brief hearing in London revealed an undisclosed amount of money owed to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs had been paid by the Exiles. A club statement said the takeover had been agreed, subject to the approval of the Rugby Football Union. The Championship side but have struggled to pay players' wages since previously avoiding liquidation in April, and Rowland Phillips has not been replaced since leaving as head coach. Welsh - one of England's oldest clubs, having been formed in 1885 - said the financial security provided by the unnamed California-based group would allow the club "to plan for the future with confidence and renewed enthusiasm". Club chairman Bleddyn Phillips commented: "We are thrilled and very excited to be able to announce the arrival of a new owner which will provide the club with the financial strength to sustain its ambition to be not only a competitive rugby team playing in the top tiers of the game in the United Kingdom, but, equally importantly, to consolidate and enhance its social, community and amateur based activities at its spiritual home at Old Deer Park". The Exiles were a Premiership side as recently as 2015, when they were based at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford and finished bottom of the table after losing all 22 games. They subsequently returned to their traditional home at Old Deer Park in Richmond after three seasons away and started the new season with a narrow 33-32 defeat at Rotherham on Sunday. Their plight further highlights the difficult financial situation in English rugby's second tier. The Rugby Football Union, which runs the Championship, has been accused of under-funding the league, which was reduced from 16 teams to 12 in 2009. Every team became fully professional at that time, and a new five-year funding deal with the governing body was agreed in 2015. For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

London Welsh have avoided liquidation after paying their debts, and are now set to be taken over by an United States-based investment group.

They will consider plans by Third Energy to frack a well at a site near the village of Kirby Misperton in the district of Ryedale. Campaigners say approval would set a "dangerous precedent". But the company says its operations are no risk to people or the environment. Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into rocks deep underground to unlock trapped gas. The process was banned in 2011 after the shale gas firm Cuadrilla caused minor earth tremors when it fracked a well in Lancashire. Third Energy has licences to produce gas in North Yorkshire and offshore in the North Sea. In 2013 it drilled an exploratory well near the village of Kirby Misperton, close to the North York Moors National Park. It now wants to frack the well to test whether it can unlock shale gas from rocks up to 10,000ft (3,000m) underground. "All we want to do is test whether gas will flow from an existing well using hydraulic fracturing," says Rasik Valand, chief executive of Third Energy. "What we are planning is safe. There is no risk to the environment or the public." But there has been strong opposition to the plan from the local community and environmentalists. Hundreds of anti-fracking protesters are expected to gather outside the council meeting in Northallerton on Friday. The council has received more than 4,000 representations, the vast majority against the proposal. Green campaigners fear that approval here would open the door for fracking elsewhere. "It risks setting a dangerous precedent for Britain," says Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth. "We strongly urge councillors to reject this planning application which is clearly deeply unpopular with the local community." Others are concerned about the impact on the local economy as Kirby Misperton is also home to Flamingo Land, one of Yorkshire's top tourists attractions. "This place is beautiful," says retired bishop, the Right Reverend Graham Cray, who lives in the village. "The economy is based on tourism and agriculture. Tourists don't come to a gas field and that is what we will turn into if we get the scale of fracking that is intended." Last year Lancashire County Council rejected Cuadrilla's plan to carry out exploratory drilling and fracking at two new sites on the Fylde. A planning inquiry into that application took place earlier this year. A recommendation will be sent in the summer to the communities secretary for a final decision. The Third Energy application involves an existing site that has produced gas since the 1990s. The well has already been drilled. The shale gas produced will also be sent through a network of pipes to a nearby power station. That will avoid air pollution caused by flaring gas. So the company expects the fracking activity to be completed within eight weeks. The council's planning officer has recommended that the application be approved. But it is now down to the 11 councillors on the planning committee to take the final decision. That decision may not come until Monday due to the number of people who have registered to speak at the meeting. If approved, fracking could start by the end of the year. The Department of Energy and Climate Change refused to comment on Third Energy's application ahead of the council meeting. But in a statement it said: "Shale gas is a fantastic opportunity which will create jobs, boost our economy and strengthen our energy security. "There is tough regulation in place to ensure that fracking can take place safely - now is the time to start exploration and find out just how much shale gas is there and how much we can get out of the ground." You can follow John on Twitter at @JohnMoylanBBC

Councillors in North Yorkshire will on Friday consider whether to approve fracking in England for the first time since a ban on the technique was lifted in 2012.

Bill Lord sets aside £3,500 from his annual budget to pay for the extra holiday for everyone at Long Sutton Primary School in Spalding. He said it was about both recruiting and keeping "fantastic teachers in front of children". A 'duvet day' is an absence which can be approved by the employer with no reason given. Read more about this story and others from across Lincolnshire Mr Lord said all staff - including himself and the cleaner - were offered one additional day a year, but had to give notice and could not take the first or last day of term off. He said the scheme cost less to implement than the £4,000 process of hiring new staff and it was difficult to hire staff in rural schools. "Often young teachers coming out of university want to be near the bright lights so they will head to [big cities]. "Each year we get to July panicking as to whether we are going to be able to have the fantastic staff that our kids deserve." The head teacher added it was essential to offer incentives to recruit and retain employees and one member of staff used her day to attend events at her children's school. "She said the time was far more valuable to her than a pay enhancement." Kevin Courtney, from the National Union of Teachers, said it was "no surprise" some head teachers were offering additional benefits. "The teacher recruitment and retention crisis that is blighting schools is brought about by the unacceptable levels of workload expected of teachers - which are unusually high in our country." The Education Select Committee warned the government in February about a shortage of teachers in England. At the time the Department for Education said there were record numbers of teachers and it was investing £1.3bn in recruitment.

A head teacher has defended his decision to offer staff at a Lincolnshire school a "duvet day".

The concrete and steel arch will eventually cover the remains of the reactor which lost its roof in a catastrophic explosion in 1986. The blast sent a plume of radioactive material into the air, triggering a public health emergency across Europe. The shield is designed to prevent further radioactive material leaking out over the next century. It measures 275m (900ft) wide and 108m (354ft) tall and has cost $1.6bn (£1.3bn) to construct. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is leading the project, describes the arch as the largest moveable land-based structure ever built. Containing the world's worst nuclear accident Ukraine marks Chernobyl 30th anniversary In pictures: Chernobyl's eerie exclusion zone It began moving on Monday using a system of hydraulic jacks and will take about five days to be put in its final position. Work will then begin to safely dismantle the reactor, which has been sealed inside a so-called sarcophagus, and to secure the huge amount of radioactive material still inside. Experts fear that if parts of the reactor collapse inside the sarcophagus, further radioactive material could be released. The shield, known as the New Safe Confinement, had to be built away from the scene of the accident as the radiation immediately above the reactor is still too intense. Ukraine's ecology minister, Ostap Semerak, said the start of the operation to cover the reactor was "the beginning of the end of a 30-year long fight with the consequences of the 1986 accident". "The credit for construction of this one-of-a-kind technological structure goes to an expert team of engineers and builders," he said. The meltdown and explosion at the Soviet-era plant was the worst nuclear disaster in history, spewing a cloud of radioactive material that drifted into other parts of the then-USSR, including Russia and Belarus, and northern Europe. The number of people killed remains disputed. A 2005 report by the UN-backed Chernobyl Forum said that fewer than 50 people had died as a result of exposure to radiation, most of them workers killed immediately after the disaster, but some survived until as late as 2004. The forum estimated that up to 9,000 people could eventually die from radiation exposure, although Greenpeace claims the figure could be as high as 93,000.

Work has begun at Chernobyl in Ukraine to move a giant shield over the site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

The hosts lost both openers cheaply, as Nick Gubbins was caught off the bowling of James Tomlinson, and Sam Robson edged Tino Best to Jimmy Adams. But Voges and Malan's 279-run stand put Middlesex firmly on top, before Malan edged Liam Dawson to slip for 147. Voges remained unbeaten at the close on 128 alongside John Simpson (28) as Middlesex finished the day on 342-3. Middlesex's third-wicket partnership leaves them in strong position to claim their first win in the County Championship this season, having drawn all six of their games so far. Voges' ton, his first of the season, came off 200 balls, taking the former Australia batsman beyond 13,000 first-class runs in his career. Malan was more aggressive in dismantling Hampshire's bowling attack, hitting 17 fours and two sixes before getting dismissed attempting to drive a Dawson delivery. The visitors could take few positives from their performance, but they will remain hopeful of salvaging a draw from the game, with poor weather forecast for Tuesday's third day.

Adam Voges and Dawid Malan both hit tons as Middlesex dominated Hampshire on day one at Merchant Taylors' School.

It includes seating areas, a maze and play equipment and has been designed to help children recover from treatment. A therapy zone includes sloping floors and artificial grass so children can receive physiotherapy in the fresh air. The garden had £1.6m in funding from the Welsh Government and £250,000 from the Noah's Ark charity. Part of the garden has a jungle theme with a spray-painted mural and palm trees - during the evening the space is lit by colourful LED lights. Although each ward in the the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales has an indoor play area - until now the children did not have a dedicated outdoor space. Senior nurse Jo Clements said: "It's got a lovely vibe. Some of the elements are for rehab and physio - different surfaces, different sensory components. "But there are also parts that are very typical of a playground - a slide, a playhouse where children can just be children again giving them a sense of normality." Five-year-old Neve from Abercynon added: "I really like it... there's lots and lots of stuff here" Neve was admitted seven weeks ago after suffering what her parents thought was a sickness bug. But she was diagnosed with an inflammation to the brain called Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis which caused her to lose control of the left side of her body . Neve receives daily therapy to help her regain full control of her arm and leg. With the help of physiotherapists she uses the garden to practice walking and to develop her wheelchair skills. Physiotherapist Natalie Gragasin said the garden can also make therapy seem like play. "It's a great place for her to come to spend time with her family - obviously when children are in hospital for a long time they're often away from their siblings so it's a lovely place for children just to be children together." The children's hospital opened in 2006 and the second phase of its construction was completed in 2015. Funding from the Welsh Government paid for construction work and the equipment has been provided by donations to the Noah's Ark charity. Bethan Simmonds, of the charity, added: "At the end of the day this is a children's hospital and children have a right to be children whatever they're going through." The garden will be officially opened in a event led by Health Secretary Vaughan Gething.

Patients at Wales' only children's hospital can play outside for the first time - thanks to a new purpose-built garden.

Her 15-year battle for justice finally bore fruit last week, when the Bombay high court confirmed the life sentences of 11 men found guilty of rape and murder. The court also convicted five policemen and two doctors, who were earlier cleared by the trial court, of destroying evidence. The landmark ruling, Bilkis Bano told the BBC in Delhi on Sunday, had finally given her hope of peace. "I always had full faith in the judiciary and I'm grateful to the Bombay high court for the order. It's a very good judgement and I'm very happy with it," she told me. "I think the state government and the police were all complicit in the crime, because the accused were given full freedom to rape and pillage," she said. "I feel vindicated that the court has convicted the police and the doctors too. I feel I've received justice." Bilkis Bano's fight for justice has been long and nightmarish but, she says, giving up was never an option. It has been well documented that some police and state officials tried to intimidate her, evidence was destroyed and the dead were buried without post-mortems. The doctors who examined her said she hadn't been raped, and she received death threats. Despite the gravity of the crime and the fact she identified her attackers, the first arrests in the case were only made in 2004 after India's Supreme Court handed over the case to federal investigators, the Central Bureau of Investigation. The Supreme Court also accepted her plea that the courts in Gujarat could not deliver her justice and transferred her case to a court in Mumbai. The battle has been hugely disruptive for her family. In the past 15 years, she and her husband Yakub Rasool have moved home 10 times, moving in and out of Gujarat with their five children. "We still can't go home because we're afraid. Police and the state administration have always helped our attackers. When we are in Gujarat, we still cover our faces, we never give out our address," Mr Rasool said. The attack on Bilkis Bano and her family was one of the most horrific crimes during the riots, which began when a fire on a passenger train in Godhra town killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. Blaming Muslims for starting the fire, Hindu mobs went on a rampage, attacking Muslim neighbourhoods and destroying their property. For three days the rioters had free rein, as the state administration and the police looked the other way. More than 1,000 people died, most of them Muslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat chief minister, was criticised for not doing enough to prevent the carnage. He has always denied any wrongdoing and has not apologised for the riots. A Supreme Court panel also refused to prosecute him in 2013, citing insufficient evidence. But he's never been able to shake off the criticism completely, with many holding him responsible for the killings on his watch. Over the years, the courts have convicted dozens of people for their involvement in the riots. In 2012 an ex-minister and aide to Mr Modi was jailed for 28 years. But many other people are still waiting for justice. Fifteen years later, Bilkis Bano still fights back tears as she recounts the horror of those days. She was visiting her parents, who lived in a village called Randhikpur, not far from Godhra. She was 19 and the mother of a three-year-old daughter, and she was pregnant with her second child. "It was the morning after the train fire. I was in the kitchen, making lunch, when my aunt and her children came running. They said their homes were being set on fire and we had to leave immediately," she said. "We left with just the clothes we were wearing, we didn't even have the time to put on our slippers." Within minutes, all the Muslim homes in the neighbourhood had emptied. The 50-odd families that lived there had gone, looking for safety. Bilkis Bano was in a group of 17 people that included her three-year-old daughter, her mother, a pregnant cousin, her younger siblings, nieces and nephews, and two adult men. "We first went to the village council head, a Hindu, seeking his protection. But when the mobs began threatening to kill him too if he gave shelter to Muslims, we were forced to leave." For the next few days, the group travelled from village to village, seeking shelter in a mosque, or subsisting on the kindness of Hindu neighbours. But then their time ran out. On the morning of 3 March, as they set out to go to a nearby village where they believed they would be safer, a group of men travelling in two jeeps stopped them. "They attacked us with swords and sticks. One of them snatched my daughter from my lap and threw her on the ground, bashing her head into a rock." Bilkis Bano had cuts on her hands and legs. Her attackers were her neighbours in the village, 12 men she had seen almost daily while growing up. They tore off her clothes and several of them raped her. She begged them for mercy and told them she was five months' pregnant, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Her cousin, who had delivered a baby girl two days earlier while they were on the run, was raped and murdered. Her newborn was killed too. Bilkis Bano survived because she lost consciousness and her attackers left, believing she was dead. Two boys - seven and four - were the only other survivors of the massacre. When she came to, she covered her body with a blood-soaked petticoat, climbed a nearby hill and hid in a cave for a day. "The next day I was very thirsty so I came down to a nearby tribal village to find some water. The villagers were initially suspicious of me and came out with sticks, but then they helped me. They gave me a blouse and a scarf to cover my body." She spotted a police jeep and they took her to the police station, where she narrated her ordeal. "I'm illiterate so I asked the policemen to read out the complaint once they had written it down, but they refused to do that. They just took my thumb impression and wrote whatever they wanted. I knew all my attackers and I'd named them. But the police did not write down any names," she said. The next day, she was sent to a camp in Godhra set up for those displaced by the riots. That's where her husband was reunited with her 15 days later and where they lived for the next few months. Her unborn child survived the rape and she later gave birth to a daughter. The past 15 years have been "very difficult", but the couple say the high court order has brought them some closure. In the past few days, comparisons have been drawn between Bilkis Bano's case and that of the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in the Indian capital, Delhi. A day after the Bilkis Bano judgement, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences of the four men accused of the crime. Many have since asked whether Bilkis Bano's case did not merit the death penalty for her attackers. Prosecutors had demanded capital punishment for three of the men. Bilkis Bano, however, says she does not believe in revenge. "Both the crimes were equally horrible, but I don't believe in taking anyone's life. I don't want the death penalty for them," she said. "I want them to spend their entire lives in jail. I hope they will one day realise the enormity of their crime, how they killed small children and raped women. "I'm not interested in revenge. I just want them to understand what they've done."

Bilkis Bano was gang-raped and saw 14 members of her family being murdered by a Hindu mob during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Born in Bradford, Appleyard did not make his first-class debut until he was 27, but took 200 wickets in his first season in 1951. He made his Test debut in 1954 and had match figures of 7-123 in a victory over Pakistan at Trent Bridge. Appleyard retired from playing in 1958 and went on to serve a two-year term as club president between 2006 and 2008. During his career, he took 642 wickets at an average of 15.42 for Yorkshire, and 31 in nine Tests for England. Appleyard was named as one of Wisden's cricketers of the year in 1952 and appointed an MBE in 2007.

Former Yorkshire and England off-spinner Bob Appleyard MBE has died at the age of 90.

The DSCPA say two individuals attempted to ship the puppies from Dublin Port to Holyhead Port in North Wales. The dogs were held in "hugely inappropriate" conditions, cramped into small containers with "little or no space, no food or water". The raid was part of Operation Delphin, a collaboration between animal welfare organisations and other agencies. The puppies are thought to be about six or seven weeks old and the breeds included beagles, basset hounds, labradoodles and pomeranians. They have now been returned to Dublin and under DSPCA care. A number of them are ill and are undergoing veterinary care at a shelter in Rathfarnham. The operation was part of an intelligence-led raid and involved the border force intercepting two vehicles on different ferry crossings. Ian Briggs, of the RSPCA's special operations unit, said: "These poor puppies were being carted into Wales in deeply inappropriate conditions in the early hours of the morning. "Sadly, to unscrupulous dealers, these young pups are nothing more than a cash bonanza - and dealers would have been targeting tens of thousands of pounds from these shipments. "This is another shocking example of people being readily prepared to act illegally and compromise the welfare of defenceless animals to make a quick buck - but, fortunately, they were stopped in their tracks." Brian Gilles, CEO of the DSPCA, added, "We are delighted with the outcome of this operation. "We in the DSPCA believe that cooperating with agencies on both sides of the Irish Sea in sharing intelligence, resources and cooperating together will ultimately prevail against those who are involved in this disgusting, greedy trade."

Almost 100 puppies have been seized as part of an operation into the illegal puppy trade from Ireland to the UK.

It is a talent that helped him move from being bankrupt, aged 32, to becoming a multimillionaire by the time he was 48. Along the way he created and sold best-selling upmarket crisps brand Tyrrells, and won a high-profile battle against supermarket giant Tesco. Now 56, and the founder and owner of Chase Vodka, a luxury version of the spirit made from potatoes grown on his farm, the serial entrepreneur says: "People love stories, the real stories behind things. "And the media was very important to me from the first days of Tyrrells. "I was a guy who had been beaten up by the supermarkets, and people love to support the underdog." The son of potato farmers who lived near the Herefordshire town of Leominster, Mr Chase bought the family farm from his dad when he was 20 after he "managed to find a bank manager brave enough to lend me £200,000". As the cost of potatoes can rise and fall sharply, business was up and down for the next 12 years, until torrential rain in 1992 meant he couldn't harvest his crop, which he had to leave to rot in the fields. Overextended financially, the business collapsed, and Mr Chase had to file for bankruptcy. He says: "I was very ashamed and embarrassed." After "running away to Australia" for a few months, he returned to Herefordshire, and was able to borrow funds to buy back the farm from the receivers, and start up in business again. This time, to make extra money, he became a potato trader, buying spuds from a number of farms, and then selling them on to supermarkets. Yet while he got himself back on his feet financially, Mr Chase says he became increasingly frustrated that supermarkets would reject potatoes that weren't "cosmetically perfect". He adds: "I'd send off 10 loads of spuds every day, and I'd be getting five back. It was very painful how the supermarkets were treating us farmers." Mr Chase's life-changing moment came in 2002 when he found out that rejected potatoes were being bought up by the UK operation of US crisp-maker Kettle. At the time Kettle was one of new companies making so-called "posh crisps", potato crisps which were cut a little thicker than the mass-market brands, and fried by hand. Despite having no crisp-making experience or knowledge, Mr Chase was convinced he could set up his own upmarket crisps brand. So he phoned a few UK crisp-makers to ask if he could see how they did things, and all said "no". Undeterred, he flew out to the US and visited facilities in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Returning to the UK, he built a crisp-making facility at the family farm, and Tyrrells [taking its name from the property] was up and running six months later. Quick to tell his story to local newspapers to build up publicity, Mr Chase hit the road to spend two weeks visiting independent food shops across the UK with samples of his crisps. He says: "Tyrrells grew and grew very quickly, and it was a brilliant cash cow. We'd sell the bags to shops for £1 and they would retail them for £2. For us the net profit was 35%." Supermarkets such as Waitrose soon followed suit, but Mr Chase was adamant that he would not sell to the largest - Tesco - because he didn't like what he saw as the pressure it put on farmers to lower their prices. Then one day in 2006 a friend told him that Tesco was selling Tyrrells' crisps. It transpired that Tesco had been buying them on the grey market, and selling them below the recommended retail price. An incensed Mr Chase demanded that Tesco stop selling them. After the supermarket refused, Mr Chase started a media campaign that included an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Tesco then did back down. With sales of Tyrrells crisps continuing to grow over the next few years, and annual turnover hitting £14m, Mr Chase borrowed money from his bank to expand production. The condition the bank set was that he had to bring in a management team to help him run the business. Mr Chase, who had previously been very hands on, and liked to help out with all parts of the business, says that bringing in new managers ultimately changed the business - to its detriment. "We got to a stage where I didn't like where the business was going," he says. "We were employing corporate people who were arranging meetings about more meetings." Unhappy with Tyrrells' new big business ethos, and going through a "messy divorce", Mr Chase - who was the sole shareholder - decided to sell up in 2008 to a private capital business for almost £40m. Looking for a new business venture, and with the new owners of Tyrrells choosing to buy their potatoes from elsewhere, Mr Chase came up with the idea of turning his spuds into premium vodka. So with money no longer a problem, he bought a distillation system, and Chase Vodka was born. Aimed at the luxury end of the market, it retails for £35 a bottle. While Mr Chase admits it isn't anywhere near as profitable as selling crisps, it appears to be very much a labour of love. And focused very much on exports, he spends a lot of time travelling the world to build up sales. And showing that he has lost little of his public relations skills, every year he flies influential barmen and women from around the world to visit his farm in Herefordshire to see how the potatoes are grown, and vodka is made. Also now making a gin and a whisky, the Chase Distillery sells 10,000 bottles a week. Mr Chase says: "You have to tell people your story if you want to build your brand. But there has to be real DNA behind it if you want to be successful."

For a Herefordshire potato farmer, William Chase is impressively savvy about the need for positive publicity, and the importance of telling a good story.

It is the joint-most corrupt country in the world with Somalia, according to Transparency International, and the same family has ruled since 1948. So why is it holding elections? And how reliable are they? Local elections have been held in North Korea since 1999 - let's not forget that the country's full name is, technically, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Sunday's elections are to decide provincial governors, mayors and local assemblies in the country of almost 25m people. The number of seats is determined by each district's population. In the second provincial elections in 2003, one report said 26,650 "officials, workers, peasants and intellectuals" were elected. The choice is limited - there is only one candidate on the ballot in each district, and while the selection of candidates is made by the governing coalition, they are closely overseen by Kim Jong-un's Workers' Party. Ahead of last year's elections to name deputies for the country's assembly, The Economist reported that voting did not take place in secret, and any dissenting votes must be placed in a separate ballot box. Abstaining or voting no are considered acts of treason. In the last local election, in 2011, there was a turnout of 99.7%, with the state news agency saying those unable to vote were abroad or on the high seas. Having such a high reported turnout has its advantages for the state, observers say, in that it acts as an informal census. "The government checks the list of voters and if your name is not on the list, they will investigate it", one North Korean defector told the NK News website. "It is often during election that the government finds out about defectors and people who have been missed." If the state works out you did not vote, NK News says, "you and your family are in trouble". Sunday's elections do not decide the leadership of the country. Parliamentary elections are also held in North Korea, and they decide who rules the country - which is always a foregone conclusion. Kim Jong-un won in the last parliamentary election in 2014 - gaining 100% of the vote in his Mount Paektu constituency.

Local elections are being held in North Korea - the first since ruler Kim Jong-un came to power in 2011.

More than 100 people have been arrested as officers were attacked, police vehicles damaged and shops looted. Disorder spread to Enfield, Walthamstow and Waltham Forest in north London and to Brixton in the south of the city. Home Secretary Teresa May has cut short her holiday to return to the UK following the disorder. Some 35 officers have been injured over the two nights of rioting. Three officers were hurt when a vehicle hit them as they tried to make an arrest in Waltham Forest, east London. Clashes broke out in Enfield, north London, on Sunday evening where shop windows were smashed and a police car damaged. There have been reports of a gang of up to 200 youths looting shops and charging police in Coldharbour Lane and the High Street in Brixton, south London. Metropolitan Police Commander Adrian Hanstock said: "This is not groups of people acting on behalf of communities or with any consent. "This is individuals who are actually attacking communities, businesses, properties and houses and actually causing a huge amount of upset and criminality." The Met said it had dealt with several incidents of "copycat criminal activity" across the city. These included: Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London and Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, described the scenes of the last two nights as "disgusting and shocking" and said the police did a good job. He added: "Obviously there are people in this city, sadly, who are intent on violence, who are looking for the opportunity to steal and set fire to buildings and create a sense of mayhem, whether they're anarchists or part of organised gangs or just feral youth frankly, who fancy a new pair of trainers." Talking about the impact on the capital's image, one year ahead of the Olympic Games, he said: "It's pretty rotten for London, it does not look good. "What we need to do over the next few months is to underline to people the fundamental truth about London which is that it is one of the safest, great big cities on earth. "We have a low murder rate and this kind of violence is very rare." The Home Secretary, Theresa May said: "Last night, police officers again put themselves in harm's way to protect Londoners and their property. "Londoners have made clear that there are no excuses for violence, and I call on all members of local communities to work constructively with the police to help them bring these criminals to justice." BBC London's Paraic O'Brien said he had witnessed widespread looting in Brixton. He said: "They smashed a William Hill, they set bins on fire. "And now what we're seeing as the night progresses is that replicated, sort of flashpoints all along Brixton High Street. By Andy MooreBBC News I saw the rioting in Tottenham on Saturday and I saw the rioting last night and it was certainly different in character. What might have been started in Tottenham by youngsters aggrieved about what they saw as police persecution has become something very different in nature. Last night there was a sense that the looting, and violence and disorder across London was being co-ordinated on social media. There were people in their cars, youngsters on bicycles, moving very rapidly, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. As soon as you moved to one location they would move on to the next one. The police were doing their best to catch up with them. You had police vehicles going backwards and forwards, blue lights flashing, riot police coming out of their vehicles. Ten minutes later they'd get back in again and go off to the next location - essentially trying to fight the fires, metaphorically, that were spreading all over London. "I'm standing outside Halfords on the other side of the road and they've just smashed through the doors of Halfords. They're taking bikes out the front entrance. "I have to say, what really struck me was the small number of police officers that there actually seem to be on Brixton High Street responding to this." Press Association photographer Lewis Whyld saw looters battle police at a Currys store in Brixton. He said: "A couple of hundred youths were rioting and looting. Riot police went in to get them out and there was a big fight in the street. "Youths were throwing rocks and bottles and there was a bin on fire. They used a fire extinguisher to push the police back so they could get back into Currys and continue taking things out." Met Police Commander Christine Jones said: "Officers are shocked at the outrageous level of violence directed against them. "At least nine officers were injured overnight in addition to the 26 injured on Saturday night." London Fire Brigade said it had been called to a number of fires in Enfield, Brixton and Walthamstow, including a fire at a shop on Brixton Road, which is now under control. The disorder follows rioting in Tottenham which broke out on Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning. A peaceful protest over the fatal shooting by police on Thursday of 29-year-old Mark Duggan descended into violence later in the evening. The unrest spread into nearby Wood Green and Tottenham Hale. Shops were attacked and looted, 26 police officers and three others were injured and buildings and vehicles were set alight. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's ticket office was also damaged during the violence. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that there were too few officers in Tottenham on Saturday night, but blamed Twitter for fuelling looting and violence, saying: "Social media and other methods have been used to organise these levels of greed and criminality." Mr Kavanagh pledged that more officers would be on London's streets on Monday night to prevent or tackle further outbreaks. Parts of Tottenham are still cordoned off, as officers and forensic specialists continue to examine the riot scene. A total of 61 arrests have been made in connection with the first night of rioting. The majority were for burglary, and other offences including violent disorder, robbery, theft and handling stolen goods. Sixteen people have been charged for offences including burglary, violent disorder and possession of a pointed or bladed weapon following the Tottenham riots. As well as Mr Duggan, a police officer was also shot in Thursday's incident, which happened in what was called a "pre-planned" event, under Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in London's African and Caribbean communities. Police had stopped a minicab which Mr Duggan had been travelling in. The violence has also affected public transport and the roads. This includes:

Police have condemned a wave of "copycat criminal activity" across London in a second night of looting and disorder following riots in Tottenham.

Sheridan only took over as manager at Rodney Parade on Friday after Terry Butcher's departure the previous day. He saw his side fall behind to Exeter when Joel Grant took Jordan Moore-Taylor's cross and cut inside to score. But Newport fought back as John-Lewis pounced after Troy Brown blocked Alex Rodman's initial effort. Newport County manager John Sheridan told BBC Wales Sport: "We played very well, I couldn't have asked any more from the players. "The endeavour and some of the football we played at times was really good. "It's always difficult when you're bottom of the league, you're always looking up at everyone and it was a difficult game against Exeter, I've always liked the way they play. "But the players really responded to the new manager coming in and they gave me a performance I was really pleased with."

New boss John Sheridan saw Newport claim a hard-fought draw in his first game in charge thanks to a Lenell John-Lewis equaliser against Exeter.

Routine monitoring by Argyll and Bute Council discovered raised levels of algal toxins in Loch Melfort and Seil Sound. The naturally-occurring toxins were above the "legally-permitted levels for harvest". Members of the public have been asked not to gather them. The toxins accumulate in molluscs such as mussels, oysters, cockles and razor clams, and when levels breach statutory limits, harvesting of affected species is prohibited. Elsewhere, raised levels of Escheria coli (E.coli) bacteria have been identified in Oitir Mhor Bay. It follows the discovery of raised levels at Kerrera West, Loch Craignish, Kilfinichen Bay and Castle Stalker. They were discovered by the council's environmental health team as part of their work to maintain the quality of shellfish. Potential raised levels of E.coli were also found at Dunstaffnage, Kerrera East, Loch na Cille and Loch Riddon. A council spokesman said: "Eating shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters and razor fish from affected areas can pose a risk to human health. "Notices to warn the public and casual gatherers have been posted along the shore. Commercial shellfish harvesters in these areas have been contacted by the council and steps taken to postpone harvesting until bacterial levels subside. "People are advised to avoid eating shellfish from these areas until further notice as a precaution. When levels subside, the warning notices will be removed."

People have been warned not to eat shellfish in parts of Argyll and Bute after raised levels of toxins were found.

Bangladesh police are investigating the murder of an Italian aid worker who was shot on Monday, with the Islamic State group saying it is responsible. The two-Test series was due to begin in Chittagong on Friday, 9 October. "One man gets killed, an Italian, and the tour is off. We've had 50,000 people killed in Pakistan," Khan said. Khan was referring to figures estimating the number of "fatalities in terrorist violence" in Pakistan since 2003. In May, Pakistan hosted their first home full international fixture since gunmen attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lanka team on its way to play in Lahore in 2009. "A certain amount of tension is likely through terrorism, but they have to trust the Bangladeshis, the Indians, the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis. We give them 100% protection," Khan added. "Some of the countries, like Australia and New Zealand, are perhaps oversensitive." Cricket Australia had initially delayed the team's scheduled departure on 28 September while it worked on a "revised security plan". But it now says that official advice means it had "no alternative but to postpone the tour". The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said it was "disappointed" by the decision but is "committed to rescheduling the series at a later date". On Wednesday, the BCB had promised "VVIP" treatment for the Australian team, saying they would be given the same level of security afforded to visiting heads of state. England are due to tour Bangladesh to play two Tests and three one-day internationals in October and November 2016.

Australia were "overly sensitive" to postpone their tour of Bangladesh over security concerns, says Pakistan Cricket Board president Shahryar Khan.

It seems in Northern Ireland we call it Tuesday. Politics dominates the front pages of the papers again today as the clock which was supposed to stop yesterday at 16:00 keeps on ticking. The Belfast Telegraph seems to have run out of patience and says of stalemate MLAs who failed to secure an agreement: "Give them three months then stop their pay." It quotes a member of the panel that sets MLAs' salaries who says their wages cost the taxpayer £13.5m per year - about the same as the botched Renewable Heating Incentive scheme that brought down the power-sharing executive. Former Ass Chief Const Alan McQuillan says there would be public fury if MLAs were able to "sit back and collect pay cheques in the absence of a working executive". "The political vacuum means that jobs and public services are under threat in the wider community," he says. "For MLAs to continue merrily on full pay and expenses would anger people who were feeling the pain of the failure to reach a deal." Inside, political commentator Malachi O'Doherty says he does not envy the position of Secretary of State James Brokenshire, who is faced with deciding how Northern Ireland moves on from the stalemate. He says if Mr Brokenshire makes the wrong decision, he could "leave this place even more divided". Also in the Belfast Telegraph, the family of a missing Londonderry man are facing an anxious wait to find out if the body pulled from the River Foyle on Monday was that of the 23-year-old. Jack Glenn went missing on 2 February after he failed to return home from a night out. The News Letter leads with its editorial 'Morning View' on the front page, where it is clear on its position with a headline that asserts: "Sinn Féin holding us all to ransom." It asks when London "will dismiss pressure from Dublin and realise the Sinn Féin, which is not the first choice of 72% of voters, cannot hold Northern Ireland to ransom just because the party doesn't care if the Province fails?" "London is naturally afraid of a return to violence... but there is only so long you can act timidly due to such fears," it reads. The editorial concludes with a plea to readers not to take its stance as sectarian. "The News Letter has shown its independence from unionist parties in our relentless scrutiny of RHI," it argues. "Now Northern Ireland faces another governance scandal. "Regrettably, direct rule is looking to be the best way forward, so that hard decisions can be made free of a Sinn Féin veto." News Letter reporter Stephen Gamble took to the streets of Coleraine where he says the people share the paper's view that direct rule is the best option for a way forward. One individual spoken to by the paper said Northern Ireland was "constantly lurching from one political crisis to the next" and rule from London was the "only option". You'll have to reach page 13 of the paper to read its first non-political story of the day: "Teen scrambler gets 18 months for killing mum," reads the headline. Gary Lewis, 18, was jailed on Monday for causing the death of mum-of-three Valerie Armstrong. The story also features in the Irish News, which says Lewis "held Mrs Armstrong's hand and cried uncontrollably as she lay bleeding from fatal injuries". It also says the teenager wrote to the victim's family. On page three of the Irish News, Former Fermanagh and Down GAA player Shane King speaks out about his son's brain injury. Patrick King, 15, was injured while mountain biking at Kilbroney Park in Rostrevor on Saturday, and has been sedated in intensive care ever since. Mr King asks people to keep Patrick in their thoughts and prayers as the family keep a bedside vigil.

What do you call the day after deadline day?

The children's laureate - always a well-known writer or illustrator of children's books - is chosen by a panel of judges from the book world. It comes with a bursary of £15,000, not to mention a shiny, silver medal. The role has a pretty loose job description - the laureate has to "promote and encourage children's interest in books, reading and writing". Jacqueline Wilson's "obsession" while she was children's laureate was to "get everyone to read aloud to children, all children, from the age of nought to 11". Malorie Blackman revealed that she spoke to over 20,000 teenagers when she was in the role but arguably her main achievement was setting up the UK's Young Adult Literature Convention, which now takes place each year as part of the London Film and Comic Con. Chris Riddell has spent much of his two years defending school libraries and librarians, and promoting the art of illustration at live events. In his final speech before he passes on the baton, he said the lack of investment in school libraries is a "blight on the intellectual development and creative future of all our children", as well as highlighting the issues faced by child refugees in the UK. Quentin Blake, the first children's laureate and best-known for his collaborations with Roald Dahl, produced a book called A Sailing Boat in the Sky in collaboration with 1800 French-speaking schoolchildren. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Charlie and Lola creator Lauren Child has been named as the new children's laureate, taking over from Goth Girl author Chris Riddell.

The week-long pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo Bay will largely focus on issues of secrecy. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the attacks while the others are implicated for providing support for the co-ordinated hijacking. In May, a chaotic hearing in the case lasted 13 hours. During that hearing, which formally charged the five men, the defendants made defiant outbursts and refused to answer the judge's questions or use the translation system. In addition to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, defendants Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali and Waleed bin Attash are being prosecuted in a special military tribunal for wartime offences known as a military commission. They are charged with conspiring with al-Qaeda, terrorism, and one count of murder for each known victim of the 11 September attacks at the time the charges were filed - 2,976 in total. The five face a possible death penalty sentence if convicted. CIA waterboarding tapes revealed On Monday, the defendants listened calmly and answered the judge's questions, although Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said: "I don't think there's any justice in this court." Defence lawyers argued during the hearing that their clients should not be forced to attend the rest of the week's hearings, because the forcible transport from their high-security cells may remind them of their time at secret CIA prisons. Before their transfer to the US base at Guantanamo Bay in 2006, the defendants were held for years in secret CIA prisons. All five have said they were tortured during interrogations. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was repeatedly water-boarded before being brought to Guantanamo. "We have to talk about torture," Air Force Captain Michael Schwartz, a defence lawyer, said on Monday. But Judge James Pohl said the issue was not relevant at this stage. Prosecution lawyers have said the use of waterboarding and similar methods could be relevant when determining whether prisoners' statements were voluntarily given. The court is also expected to hear a defence request to abolish what they term a "presumptive classification" that treats any discussion of the CIA prisons as top secret, as well as a media request to limit closing of the courtroom for secret sessions. Judge Pohl ultimately ruled that the defendants would not be forced to attend hearings scheduled to run through the end of this week, but did not rule out further pre-trial hearings. He said all would have to be present for their trial, which is not likely to start for more than a year.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others accused over the 9/11 attacks have appeared at a US military tribunal for the first time in five months.

Joshua Bwalya, who was 16, was found dead in the street when officers were called to Movers Lane, Barking, at about 01:00 BST on Wednesday. Det Ch Insp Gary Holmes of the Met Police said the attack was "a senseless act of violence" that "was not only cowardly, but brutal". A boy, 16, and a man, 20, suspected of involvement were also injured. Both were taken to different hospitals in the capital before they were arrested on suspicion of murder, police said. The teenager has since been discharged and released on bail while inquiries continue. The 20-year-old has also been discharged from hospital and is being held at a London police station. A post-mortem examination of Joshua's body found multiple stab wounds were the cause of death. Mr Holmes said: "I urge anyone who has information that can help our investigation to come forward and help us to bring Joshua's murderers to justice."

A teenage boy stabbed to death in a "senseless" and "cowardly" attack in east London has been named by police.

The UK foreign secretary announced on Twitter he had arrived in Irbil to meet Kurdish regional government officials. He discussed ways of curbing militants' access to finance and arms. Mr Hague, who held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Thursday, has warned that the country is facing an "existential threat". The Iraqi authorities are desperately seeking to repel Sunni militants, led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis), which have taken control of parts of the north and west of the country. The government has bought second-hand jet fighters from Russia and Belarus to try to stem the insurgents' advances. The UK has ruled out any direct military help, focusing instead on providing diplomatic and humanitarian support as well as counter-terrorism co-operation. Speaking at a press conference with Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan region, Mr Hague said the UK would press for action at the UN to stem the flow of arms from insurgents and stop their access to finance. "I think it will be important in this new and deeply concerning situation to make sure that every loophole is being dealt with to make sure it is difficult for terrorist groups to use economic assets they have seized, to take advantage of the financial system," he said. "I feel it will be necessary to have new and strong international agreement on how to tackle these things." The BBC's Jim Muir in Irbil said Mr Hague was pressed over whether he backed calls from many Sunni and Kurdish leaders for Mr Maliki to stand down to aid a process of reconciliation. He repeated his calls for Mr Maliki to form an "inclusive" government which could "command the support" of all Iraqis and to settle long-standing disputes with the Kurdish region over energy and resources. "I found in Baghdad a strong consciousness of the need for a new and inclusive government that creates a stronger sense of partnership between Shias and Sunnis and Kurds," he said. "It's not for us from any other country to say who should be the prime minister of Iraq. "But of course we do want to see a government formed in which people all across the country feel they have a genuine stake and representation."

William Hague has held talks with Kurdish leaders about international efforts to confront Islamist extremists threatening to overrun parts of Iraq.

Albert Newman drove for 30 miles in the wrong carriageways on the M42, the A42 and the M1 before crashing into a van. An inquest heard one force had no motorway patrols on duty and another had earlier failed to notice Mr Newman's licence had been revoked. The coroner adjourned the hearing so officers could answer more questions. Dementia patient Mr Newman, from Nottingham, crashed his Mazda Premacy into a Transit van near Kegworth, Leicestershire, in October last year, killing passenger Michael Luciw and injuring the driver, Andy Harrington. The inquest was told that Warwickshire police took the first call about a car on the wrong carriageway on the M42, but officers incorrectly recorded the direction he was heading. The error was put right, but Mr Newman crossed the county boundary into Leicestershire on the A42, where the specialist roads policing unit had finished work for the night. This meant the force had no specialist motorway patrols in the county. Pamela Oxlade, who was travelling towards Birmingham Airport with her husband, told the inquest: "We were fortunately just past a lorry when suddenly, out of nowhere, there were two balls of light. "It was really quick and it was just unreal because you couldn't see the outline of the car in the dark. "I dialled 999 and spoke to a gentleman, explained what had happened and he just said they were aware of it. "We said we were almost half an hour from the M1 and going towards Birmingham. It was such a great relief to hear that he was aware of it." The inquest was told that about 20 minutes later, Mrs Oxlade spotted signs warning motorists to slow down because of a car travelling in the wrong direction. Coroner Trevor Kirkman, speaking about Leicestershire police's involvement, said: "It does seem as if the procedure does not seem to be working very satisfactorily. "This vehicle had travelled a long distance with no intervention." It emerged at the hearing in Loughborough that Nottinghamshire Police spoke to Mr Newman months before the crash after reports about him driving while showing signs of dementia. An officer did not check the paperwork before visiting him. That would have revealed his licence had been revoked on medical grounds two years earlier. Mr Kirkman adjourned the hearing until December to establish whether the force could have seized his car at that time. At the end of the hearing, a senior officer from Nottinghamshire police offered an apology to the families if there was anything the force could have done to prevent the deaths.

Police have been criticised for failing to stop an 87-year-old driving the wrong way on major roads before killing himself and another man in a crash.

Given the West's subsequent military failures in the region, some may even view it with a touch of nostalgia. On the face of it, there was a simple military objective. Saddam Hussein had invaded neighbouring Kuwait, and the world was willing to use force to eject him. That unity of purpose was reflected in almost unanimous agreement at the United Nations and a Security Council resolution. The "cause was both just and legal", says Maj-Gen Patrick Cordingley, the 7th Armoured Brigade's commanding officer in "Desert Storm" (few will remember it by its British name, "Operation Granby".) Importantly, military action complied with both international and UK law, he adds, clarity lacking in the subsequent invasion of Iraq in 2003. The first Gulf War brought together the largest military alliance since the World War Two - more than 30 allies, including Britain, which fielded a force of more than 50,000, the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And it was a conventional fight far simpler than the murky insurgencies, asymmetric and hybrid warfare that would follow. Michael Clarke, professor of war studies at Kings College London, says in many ways it was "the Nato war the West had prepared for, but never fought in Europe". It was lined up against an Iraqi army that relied heavily on Warsaw Pact equipment and tactics, but without the same discipline and intelligence. The Iraqis proved to be incredibly inept. Prof Clarke says it was also the beginning a "military revolution" - the first time we really heard of "smart bombs" and precision guided munitions. The world watched as America unleashed wave after wave of Tomahawk cruise missiles. Iraq's arsenal may have been less sophisticated, but, with its Scud missiles and potential use of chemical weapons, it still fuelled the fear factor. And the revolution was not confined to new types of weapons. It came in communication too. Timeline: First Gulf War Desert Storm was the first televised war in the new era of rolling news - with reports and live broadcasts from the front line - a challenge with which the military is still grappling. The air campaign to "soften up" the enemy took weeks. The ground offensive was over within days. It was the "100-hour war". But a secondary unstated goal was left unfinished. Gen Sir Rupert Smith, who commanded the UK's 1st Armoured Division at the time, says while the objective of liberating Kuwait was achieved, "the strategic condition was hardly decisive and subsequently had to be maintained by no-fly zones and UN sanctions". Any attempt to put Saddam Hussein "back in his box" or help bring about his demise failed. Prof Clark says the quick military victory created "many illusions that soon came home to roost". The hubris would soon come crashing down. The subsequent US-led military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq were costly enduring campaigns against unconventional armies that would end without any clear victory. In particular, the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 showed the limits of US military might and tested the unity of the international order - the UN was bitterly divided. And Gen Cordingley says the British army, now designed to fight wars "among the people", would be "incapable" of ever again doing anything on the same scale as Desert Storm.

A quarter of a century on, seen through the fog of more recent conflicts, the first Gulf War might look like a straightforward military success, or even the last significant victory for American and British forces.

The 18-year-old can play at right-back, centre-half and in central midfield. Born in Birmingham, Suliman signed a professional deal with Villa in January 2015 until 2017, but is yet to make a senior, competitive first-team appearance for the Championship club. He has represented England since under-16 level and made 16 international appearances for the under-17 side. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Cheltenham Town have signed Aston Villa and England Under-18 defender Easah Suliman on loan until 2 January.

The group had been sailing around the County Down lough on Wednesday when three crew members went ashore on Green Island. The cabin cruiser then developed electrical problems as it made its way to Salt Island, where it was beached. A Portaferry lifeboat crew was launched at about 11:15 BST and everyone was safely taken to shore at Killyleagh. Brian Bailie, lifeboat operations manager with Portaferry RNLI, said: "Once again all the hard work and hours invested in training has paid off with a happy ending. "With the start of the good weather and more and more craft taking to the water, it is increasingly important that everyone respects the water and makes all the necessary checks before going on the water".

Five men and two women were rescued by the RNLI after becoming stranded on two islands in Strangford Lough.

The 10-year-old was bought by owners Raymond and Caroline Mould as part of a job lot of 22 horses in France that cost a total of 300,000 euros. He banked more than £1.1m from 18 wins, nine at the highest level - Grade One. The total included a rare hat-trick of success at all three of the major spring festivals - at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown in 2013. But more than that, with his ability and striking dark colouring - trainer Nicky Henderson nicknamed him an 'equine James Bond' - Sprinter Sacre gained a vast following amongst the racing public. That only grew when a heart condition was diagnosed and, though successfully treated, the horse spent nearly two years out of form and written off by many. It was a year to the day before his retirement was announced at Cheltenham's Open fixture that Sprinter Sacre returned to the big time on the track with an emotional success in the course's Shloer Chase. He completed what turned out to be his final season unbeaten with further wins at Kempton, at the showpiece Cheltenham Festival - when he regained the Champion Chase crown - and at Sandown, when Henderson believes he was back to his best. The plan had been for Sprinter Sacre to race three times this season - in Sandown's Tingle Creek Chase in December, in January's Clarence House Chase at Ascot, and in the Champion Chase. Jockey Barry Geraghty, who rode the horse 17 times, winning on 13 occasions, said the horse was "just unbelievable". "He's something special and he is to be celebrated," he said. "I've never sat on a horse over fences like him - he was electric. He was just unbelievable." Speaking before the Open meeting at Cheltenham got under way on Friday, Henderson acknowledged the vast public affection for Sprinter Sacre. "We are the curators of this beautiful, very special racehorse," he said. "It's very humbling to think that he gave, and he gives, so many people in national hunt racing, which is a great big family affair really, so much pleasure." Later in the day, another Henderson-trained horse Simonsig was put down after breaking a leg during the Shloer Chase. Henderson added: "Sprinter Sacre's retirement was not a funeral, but a celebration of life, but now we've got the funeral and the tears all of a sudden go the other way. "It is not fair for the team more than anything." Cornelius Lysaght, BBC horse racing correspondent What was it about 'Sprinter' that meant the horse was such a hit? Obviously, he was utterly brilliant, unbeatable indeed for the first two years of his racing career [2011-2013], and achieving that string of wins with a style that was positively transfixing with its power and jumping flamboyance. Then the wheels famously fell off when the heart condition was diagnosed, but we know the public loves a sporting patient and kept the faith even when their favourite proved a shadow of his former self. His return to the top was greeted with cheers and tears, and some of the sport's most emotional times of recent years. He's sure to be a star turn on the racehorse retirement circuit - do they still open supermarkets as Red Rum did?

Sprinter Sacre, the jump racing superstar, has been retired after suffering a tendon injury.

My Brother is a Superhero is focused on Luke - named after Solomons' own son - whose brother Zack is given special powers to help save two universes. Winning Solomons £5,000, the book sees Luke miss out on the powers because he went to the toilet at the wrong time. Solomons previously adapted E Nesbit's Five Children and It for the 2004 film. Eddie Izzard and Kenneth Branagh both appeared in the big screen version. The winners of the best illustrated book and best older fiction categories were also first-time authors. David Litchfield's The Bear and the Piano was named the best illustrated book, while writer and actress Lisa Williamson's The Art of Being Normal won in the best older fiction category. Solomons had been named as the winner of the best younger fiction book before being named as the overall winner of the prize, voted for by booksellers, at a ceremony at Waterstones' Piccadilly bookshop in London. Waterstones children's buyer Florentyna Martin said: "My Brother is a Superhero is that rare thing - a hugely funny book for young readers that is also rip-roaringly exciting. "It is infused with the spirit of larger than life heroes and colourful comic book trivia that enthrals younger readers and delights superhero fans of all ages, yet at its heart is a touching relationship between siblings. "Given the author's background it's no surprise it is hugely cinematic, but it is also full of wonderful writing and so brilliantly plotted that one never knows what to expect next." The book chain's managing director James Daunt added: "The quality of the books on the shortlists this year was exceptional, reflecting the vibrant health of the children's book market. "That our winners were all first books, and each from a flourishing independent publisher, reflects how blessed we are currently by the breadth of creative talent in this country." Litchfield's book is about a bear who teaches himself to play the piano, while Williamson's is focused on LGBT issues and tells the story of two teenagers and their struggle with identity.

Screenwriter David Solomons has won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize with his debut about an 11-year-old boy obsessed with comics.

Anthony Scouler, 55, used seven bank accounts to hide profits of more than £100,000, Exeter Crown Court heard. He also used fake identities to get credit cards to pay for high-tech growing equipment. Scouler of Barton Road in Bideford, Devon, admitted supply, production and personal possession of cannabis and having a shotgun without a certificate. He denied money laundering but was found guilty of eight out of 14 counts by a jury at Exeter Crown Court in February. Police raided his furniture shop in Boutport Street, Barnstaple, in 2012 and found 112 plants. Recorder Michael Fitton said Scouler had grown cannabis on a "moderate but commercial scale...producing two or three crops a year" from 2010. "You had a significant role. It may be you had the guidance of others and were doing this at the invitation of others but it was your enterprise under your control," he said. "I also have to have regard for the dishonesty, the abstraction of electricity, the fraud and the use of specialist equipment. I accept you were of good character and under financial pressure." Mr Richard Crabb, defending, said Scouler had been drawn into growing drugs by others as the result of financial problems caused by his business failing during the recession.

A shop owner who turned his failing business into a cannabis factory has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Richard Gray, 36, admitted intending to cause fear of violence with the fake firearm near Heene and St Mary's Primary Schools on 8 May. He also admitted possessing a knife in Worthing's Victoria Park. Gray, of Cortis Avenue, was sentenced at Crawley Magistrates' Court to eight weeks in prison for each offence, to run concurrently.

A man has been jailed for trying to scare people with an imitation gun near two Worthing schools.

Roy Oliver, 37, fired a rifle into a car that was driving away from a party in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs in April, killing Jordan Edwards, 15. His lawyer has not commented. No date has been set for the trial. The policeman was sacked a few days later for policy violations. The death occurred when police responded to reports of underage drinking at a house party. Officers were inside the home trying to find the owner when they heard outside what they believed to be gunshots. Roy Oliver fired into a car full of teenagers as they left the party. Police had initially said the vehicle reversed "aggressively" towards the officer, but footage discredited the claim, showing the car driving forward, away from him. He was also charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public official, in relation to the other four teenagers, including two of the victim's brothers, who were in the car. "It is important to let our community know that justice is proceeding effectively and thoroughly at the Dallas County DA's office," Faith Johnson, the county's district attorney, said in a statement. The teenager was described by his coach as "a checklist of everything you would want in a player, a son, a teammate, a friend". Roy Oliver faces five to 99 years in prison on the murder charge, the Dallas Observer reports. If convicted, he would be the first police officer convicted of murder in Dallas county since 1973, the report adds. He is currently free on bail. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the Edwards family, said on Twitter: "We remain cautious. A murder indictment for Roy Oliver is appropriate but the fact is it's been [more than] 40 years since a cop was convicted in [Texas]."

A former police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager in the head has been indicted on a murder charge by a grand jury, prosecutors in the US state of Texas say.

The idea will be looked at as part of a wider study of transport issues across southern Scotland. Campaign for Border Rail spokesman Simon Walton said they would have preferred a report looking solely at rail services in the area. However, he said it was welcome progress nonetheless. Transport Scotland announced earlier this week that it intended to award the contract to look at wider transport issues across the south of the country to Jacobs UK Ltd. It is hoped the study can get under way later this month and will take about seven months to complete. Mr Walton said it was good to see the CBR's case for extending the railway was being recognised. "It is a first step if not exactly a giant leap - it is certainly a move in the right direction," he said. "We at the CBR would have been happier with a feasibility study looking solely at railway extension but this is a positive move. "It does back our findings that it makes sense locally, socially and strategically to take the railway through Hawick and on to Carlisle."

Borders Railway campaigners have welcomed moves to examine the possibility of extending the route to Carlisle.

His daughter said he had died at Val de Grace military hospital in Paris on Tuesday evening. Raymond Aubrac and his late wife Lucie became important members of Jean Moulin's underground Resistance movement in 1942. Aubrac was arrested in June 1943 with Moulin, who died after torture. In a recent BBC interview, he described how their arrests by the Gestapo at a doctor's surgery in the suburb of Caluire in Lyon had come as "a shock but not a surprise". Jean Moulin, who had been sent by Gen Charles de Gaulle to organise the underground resistance to Nazi occupation, was tortured, taken to Paris and later died on a train to Berlin. But Raymond Aubrac escaped when a group of fighters including his wife attacked a lorry moving him and other members of the Resistance from jail in Lyon. Born as Raymond Samuel in 1914, Aubrac was Jewish. He studied engineering and married Lucie Bernard after war broke out. After his escape from jail, the couple reached London in February 1944. Their story and their Resistance work with Jean Moulin became legendary in France and the couple gave a number of talks to schools and colleges about their experience. After France was liberated, Aubrac was given the task of supervising reconstruction efforts in the port city of Marseille. From 1964-75 he served as a director at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. He twice gave evidence after the war against Rene Hardy, a fellow Resistance member who was accused of betraying his colleagues but was later acquitted. In 2010, he travelled to London with President Nicolas Sarkozy to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Gen de Gaulle's appeal to the French people after the country had fallen to the Nazis. Raymond Aubrac remained politically active until he died and gave his backing to Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande. In tribute, President Sarkozy described him as an "heroic figure" whose "escape, thanks to the courage of his wife Lucie Aubrac, has entered into the legend of Resistance history". Centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou praised him as a "major emblematic figure".

One of the leading figures of the French resistance against the Nazis, Raymond Aubrac, has died aged 97, his family says.

Shankaracharya Swaroopanand's comments came two days after the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra state let women into the inner sanctum. For centuries, the temple had been open only to men. Last month, the Mumbai high court affirmed the right of women to enter and pray inside all temples. Women's activists had led protests demanding entry specifically to the Lord Shani shrine. "Women entered Shani temple's inner sanctum," news agency ANI quoted the 94-year-old as saying on Monday. "The women are worshipping Shani in the temple. By doing so, Shani's eyes would fall on women and this would result in increase of rape incidents." Women were kept out of the Shani Shingnapur temple for nearly 400 years and temple officials, in the past, had claimed that the ban was actually "to protect women since Shani emits radiation which can harm them and cause deformity in a foetus if a pregnant woman enters the temple". Last year, temple priests carried out an elaborate ritual cleansing after a woman managed to gain entry inside and offer prayers. The temple authorities relented after last month's Mumbai high court ruling that women had a fundamental right to enter temples, and said those trying to prevent them would be handed a six-month jail term. Several temples in India preserve the tradition of barring entry to women and in recent months, courts have been considering legal challenges to the policy. Shankaracharya Swaroopanand's statement has caused outrage in India with many taking to social media to criticise him: There were a few messages of support too:

A Hindu religious leader's comment that allowing women into a shrine devoted to Lord Shani (Saturn) will increase rapes has drawn criticism.

A late first-half goal from Quinn Saunders helped St Peter's into a 1-8 to 0-5 interval lead at Inniskeen. The Derry school were boosted by an early second-half goal by Kevin Small but Rory O'Connor netted to make it 2-9 to 1-6 to St Peter's after 40 minutes. A late rally by St Mary's yielded 1-3 without reply, Cormac Murphy scoring the goal, but it was not enough. The Wexford school, who will contest the Hogan decider for the first time in their history, led by seven points, 2-10 to 1-6, with eight minutes remaining. They will take on reigning champions St Brendan's of Killarney in the final on Saturday 1 April. St Peter's were last in action in late January when they ended a 25-year wait for a Leinster senior crown, while St Mary's claimed their first MacRory Cup title by defeating 19-times winners St Colman's Newry on St Patrick's Day. The semi-final was switched from Drogheda to the Monaghan venue.

St Mary's Magherafelt lost 2-10 to 2-9 to St Peter's Wexford in the semi-finals of the Hogan Cup on Wednesday.

A first-half own goal from Diego Reyes was followed by Saul Niguez's acrobatic volley and Antoine Griezmann's penalty in the second half. Barca can restore their eight-point advantage and set a Spanish football record of 35 games unbeaten if they win at Rayo Vallecano on Thursday. Third-placed Real Madrid travel to Levante on Wednesday.

Atletico Madrid easily beat Real Sociedad to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points.

The $5m (??3.2m) prize is supposed to be awarded each year to an elected leader who governed well, raised living standards and then left office. This is the fourth time in five years there has been no winner. A committee member said the group looked "for excellence in governance but in leadership also". Kenya's Mwai Kibaki met at least one of the criteria, after he stepped down as president earlier this year. However, his 2007 re-election was tarnished by disputes which turned violent, leading to the deaths of some 1,200 people. His opponent, Raila Odinga, said the poll had been rigged in favour of Mr Kibaki, who denied any wrongdoing. Three people have won in the seven years since the prize was launched: Cape Verde's Pedro Verona Pires; Festus Mogae from Botswana and Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano. Sudan-born telecoms entrepreneur Mr Ibrahim launched the prize in an attempt to encourage African leaders to leave power peacefully. The $5m prize is spread over 10 years and is followed by $200,000 a year for life.

The world's most valuable individual prize - the Mo Ibrahim prize for good governance in Africa - has gone unclaimed yet again.

Amy Simpson, 18, died when her car left the road near the village of Dalavich, on the banks of Loch Awe, on Tuesday. Miss Simpson, from Cowdenbeath in Fife, was with four other women passengers who escaped without serious injury. Her mother Angela Simpson said her "gorgeous girl Amy" was "my best friend, my soulmate and my rock". She said: "She made me so proud. One day I will make her as proud of me as I was of her. "I am absolutely heartbroken and it's hard to find the words at this distressing time to express just how much I will miss her. "Rest in peace Toots." Miss Simpson's black Peugeot left the road at about 18:40 on Tuesday and the car ended up in the River Avich.

The mother of a teenager who died when the car she was driving plunged into a river in Argyll has described her as the "perfect daughter".

Lines, 47, followed up a 3-0 win over the Scot with a 4-0 defeat of England's 1991 world champion John Parrott. The event in Scunthorpe offers the winner a place in the World Championship qualifying event. Now aged 48, Hendry retired after being knocked out of the 2012 World Championship. "I didn't play well. It feels like somebody else's arm out there," he said after losing to Lines.

Peter Lines defeated seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals on his way to winning the World Seniors Championship.

Nearly 25,000 signatures - 10% of Cardiff's voters - are needed to force a vote on the issue. But Labour councillor Ashley Govier told BBC Wales only about 8,000 have been collected. Cardiff council's Labour group said it was "willing to take the lead from public opinion on this issue". The Mayor for Cardiff campaign was launched earlier this year with a budget of more than £20,000. Daran Hill, from the campaign, said at the time that an elected mayor was a "new, fresh idea" that could "energise the people of Cardiff". There are currently 17 directly-elected mayors in England with more on the way, but there are none in Wales. Mr Govier, a councillor for Cardiff's Grangetown ward, said the debate has "moved on" and a regional mayor was now needed. "We're not going to hit the target, especially because the council refused to allow online petitions," he said. "We feel we've moved the debate on and the focus now needs to switch to a regional mayor for south east Wales. We have to go bigger." Mr Govier claimed the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal - a funding package agreed between UK, Welsh and local government worth £1.2bn over 20 years - was beginning to stall "because of governance". "The region has to work together on infrastructure and transport," he said. "A regional mayor is needed." He added there are "sympathetic ears throughout the region and across political parties". Ceredigion is the only Welsh local authority to have had a referendum on the matter. Voters there rejected the idea in 2004 by a margin of nearly three to one. A spokeswoman for Cardiff council's Labour group said: "Cardiff Labour are willing to take the lead from public opinion on this issue, and as we have seen there is very little interest in introducing a further level of bureaucracy. "The City Deal is definitely not stalling and is moving forward, despite uncertainty caused by Brexit. "It will be a huge boost for Cardiff and the region, and suggestions to the contrary are just mischief making." A Wales Office spokesman said: "The Cardiff City Deal is the biggest of its kind in the UK and we are confident this ambitious project is on target." The Welsh Government declined to comment in response to Mr Govier's comments.

An attempt to trigger a referendum on Cardiff having an elected mayor is going to fail, a campaigner has admitted.

The newly-designed form, used to apply for a divorce in England and Wales, asks for the name "of the person your spouse has committed adultery with". Family lawyers say that, in most cases, involving a third party adds "conflict and complexity". The Ministry of Justice said there was "no obligation" to name people. Lawyer Margaret Heathcote, vice-chairwoman of family law group Resolution, is one of those concerned about the form. "Generally speaking, we don't name the third party. It increases the conflict from day one," she said. "There's no need. But because the box is there, the indication will be to fill it in." The online form has been updated to make the legal process more user-friendly - especially as some complete the process without seeking legal advice. The guidance on the form highlights that it is "not normally necessary" to name the person your spouse committed adultery with. But Georgina Hamblin, director at divorce lawyers, Vardags, said people are "unlikely to read the much smaller print or choose to ignore it". The older version of the form left a space for so-called "co-respondents" to be named where appropriate. "The new form flatly asks for 'the name of the person your spouse has committed adultery with'," Ms Hamblin explained. "This is an invitation which I fear most broken hearts will not be able to refuse." If you name the person your husband or wife committed adultery with, they become part of the court case. They will be sent copies of the paperwork and given a chance to respond. If they don't respond, proceedings may be delayed and could incur more costs. According to the latest statistics, there were just over 100,000 divorces granted in England and Wales in 2015. Adultery was the reason for 12,148 of them. "Unreasonable behaviour" accounted for 46,815. Ms Hamblin said 80% of the new clients she deals with in matters of adultery "want to get the new partner involved and to have their chance to say what they think of them". "But it puts the petitioner in a bad light. We have to talk clients down from doing that," she said. "Judges take a very dim view of petitioners trying to bring in new partners and embroil them in proceedings." When you apply for a divorce you must prove your marriage has broken down and give one of the following reasons: Source: Gov.UK A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "It has always been possible for a petitioner to name the person they believe their spouse has committed adultery with on divorce application forms. "As set out in the previous form, and more clearly in the new form, there is obviously no obligation to do so. This is a relevant part of divorce proceedings."

The government's new divorce form - which invites the writer to "name and shame" - could lead to more people being accused of adultery, lawyers say.

The find, which spans adjacent blocks operated separately by the two companies, has been flow-tested at a maximum rate of 5,350 barrels per day. The discovery has been called Marconi by GDF Suez subsidiary GDF Suez E&P UK, while BP has named it Vorlich. GDF Suez E&P UK managing director Ruud Zoon described the discovery as "encouraging". He said: "The discovery is our third successful well this year and demonstrates a continuing commitment by GDF Suez to an active exploration and appraisal drilling programme on the UK Continental Shelf." GDF Suez has already built up more than 50 licences in the Central and Southern North Sea and West of Shetland. The company employs more than 300 staff and contractors in offices in London and Aberdeen. BP, along with co-venturers, is undertaking a £10bn investment programme in the North Sea. It has undertaken to spend more than £7bn of that sum in the next five years. Trevor Garlick, regional president of BP North Sea, said: "As BP marks its 50th year in the North Sea and as the industry looks to maximise economic recovery from the basin, increasing exploration activity and finding new ways to collaborate will be critical to realising remaining potential. "This discovery is a great example of both." Industry body Oil & Gas UK welcomed the new discovery. Operations director Oonagh Werngren said: "At a time when exploration in the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) is facing severe investment and cost pressures, it is heartening to see two UK explorers apply their expertise to understand the risks of the CNS (Central North Sea) and demonstrate that there are still significant economic plays to be developed within the basin. "Going forward, the UKCS needs to secure substantial investment and increase exploration, and this will come both through an improved fiscal regime and better technical understanding of the basin." The UK government's Business and Energy Minister Matthew Hancock said: "We are determined to have set the right fiscal and regulatory regimes to make sure we can get the maximum possible economic extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea. "This discovery shows exactly what can be achieved in the North Sea if companies work together to maximise the considerable potential of remaining oil and gas reserves." The SNP said the discovery raised "serious questions" over the "scaremongering on oil revenues" by pro-Union politicians ahead of last month's independence referendum. Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: "This discovery is another great example of the huge potential the future holds for the North Sea. "With more effective collaboration, increased exploration activity and a commitment to maximising economic recovery, the overall value that the industry continues to generate for the wider economy can also be maximised. "It is critical that current reforms to the regulatory and fiscal regimes applying in the North Sea are expedited and prioritised with a view to ensuring the economic viability of projects such as these, and to realising the opportunities for development of the vast remaining resources in the North Sea."

Oil firms BP and GDF Suez have announced the discovery of a new field in the UK Central North Sea.

Speaking on TV, Maria Zakharova said Jews had told her they donated both to Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton. She joked that American Jews were the best guide to US politics. The diplomat's remarks caused shock. Anti-US propagandists in the last century peddled an idea that rich New York Jews controlled US politics. Ms Zakharova was speaking on a chat show on Russian state TV at the weekend but her comments drew more attention after being picked up by media outlets on Thursday. She said she had visited New York with an official Russian delegation at the time of the last UN General Assembly, in September. "I have a lot of friends and acquaintances there, of course I was interested to find out: how are the elections going, what are the American people's expectations?" she said. "If you want to know what will happen in America, who do you need to talk to? You have to talk to the Jews, of course. It goes without saying." At this, the TV studio audience applauded loudly. "I went here and there among them, to chat," she continued. Imitating a Jewish accent, Mrs Zakharova said Jewish people had told her: "'Marochka, understand this - we'll donate to Clinton, of course. But we'll give the Republicans twice that amount.' Enough said! That settled it for me - the picture was clear. "If you want to know the future, don't read the mainstream newspapers - our people in Brighton [Beach] will tell you everything." She was referring to a district of Brooklyn with a large diaspora of Jewish emigres from the former Soviet Union. Russian opposition activist Roman Dobrokhotov wrote on Twitter (in Russian) that the spokeswoman had "explained Trump's victory as a Jewish conspiracy". Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Moscow, commented on Facebook, "Wow. And this is the woman who criticizes me for not being diplomatic." During the election campaign, Mrs Clinton accused Mr Trump of posting a "blatantly anti-Semitic" tweet after he used an image resembling the Star of David and stacks of money. Mr Trump, whose son-in-law Jared Kushner is Jewish, dismissed the accusation as "ridiculous". An exit poll by US non-profit J Street suggests an overwhelming majority of US Jews voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.

A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry has said Jewish people in New York told her they had mainly backed Donald Trump in the US election.

Fox has spent the last five years as chief commercial officer at Premier League rivals Arsenal and replaces Paul Faulkner, who left Villa Park in July. "I was delighted and even flattered by Tom's interest in the job," said owner Randy Lerner, who put the club up for sale in May but is yet to find a buyer. "His reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward." Fox had been with the Gunners since 2009 and brings more than 25 years' experience of sports marketing to Villa. "Aston Villa has always been an important club in English football and it has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game," Fox said. "The chance to help restore the club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I'm really energised by and greatly looking forward to."

Aston Villa have named Tom Fox as the club's new chief executive.

Retailers must now ensure the products are covered up and no longer in public view unless a customer asks for them. Shop managers and assistants who break the law could face fines of up to £5,000 and six months in prison. The move follows similar restrictions introduced for larger stores and supermarkets in 2012. Other outlets such as pubs and clubs also have to keep cigarettes out of sight. Cardiff retailer Bobby Singh called the ban "pathetic" and said he did not believe it would stop people smoking. Public Health Wales backed the new law and said the restrictions were a "very important development in improving health in Wales". A spokesman added: "They will play an important role in reducing the appeal of smoking."

Display restrictions on cigarettes and tobacco products sold by small traders in Wales have come into force.

13 July 2012 Last updated at 11:50 BST They were first laid down way back in 1863 and it's fair to say they've come a long way since then. Find out how the rules have changed through the years. Check out more great Match of the Day Kickabout stuff on their website

Football the beautiful game - but without the rules the game we know and love would be ugly.

Csongor Sandor, 30, of Dallow Road, Luton, was arrested in June after police, acting on information, found a photo of the attack on his phone. Other images of children were also found stored on the device. At Luton Crown Court he admitted sexually assaulting a child under 13. Sandor also admitted three counts of making indecent images of children. The court heard that at the time of his arrest, police found a photo of a young girl being sexually assaulted by Sandor which he had taken three months previously. The former police officer, from Budapest, had been living in the UK for four years. The court was told he had been employed at an Amazon depot in Hemel Hempstead and was described as a "man of good character". Judge Michael Kay QC said although Sandor appeared willing to seek help to tackle his urges concerning children, he posed a risk to the public of committing further serious offences. He jailed him for eight years and eight months and told Sandor that once he was released he would be made subject to an extended period on licence for five years. He has also been put on the sex offenders' register.

A former Hungarian policeman living in the UK has been jailed for almost nine years for sexually assaulting a child, in a case a judge said showed "extraordinary levels of perversion".

At second glance, you think: "It's a statue." At third glance, you notice the holes in the feet - where the nails went in that nailed him to the cross. Jesus, the Homeless, is a life-size bronze statue that has divided opinion in America and England. Some people love the Banksy feel of it - the sense of art for the people, reaching out to the individual on street corners and parks. Others consider it an insult to the figure of Christ Jesus - leaving him out in the rain. They considered it "insulting" and "demeaning". It is the work of Canadian sculptor Tim Schmalz, inspired by a glance sideways as he drove along a busy street in Toronto. "I was driving into the biggest city in Canada and along the biggest street. I turned and saw a human form shrouded in blankets in the middle of the day," he said. "It just shocked me. In that initial moment my experience was of seeing Jesus there." The image stayed with him and he went home and created Jesus the Homeless. Now, he is setting about finding him a home and Belfast is on his list. An anonymous Episcopalian benefactor is funding 12 casts of the statue to go to big cities across the world, free of charge. Rome is one destination and London is another. But Schmalz has a special place in his heart for Ireland. A man who was sleeping rough died of hypothermia on the streets of Dublin, close to the Irish parliament in early December. Now the Irish Times is working with the sculptor on a suitable place for the statue. People have been invited to offer their suggestions. But Belfast, too, is a possibility. Fr Michael Sheehan who is the administrator of St Patrick's Church in the city's Donegall Street said the sculpture is "unique and inspiring". "You walk past people sleeping in doorsteps and on park benches. The marks of the two nails on the feet remind us that Christ is present. "So if you are passing Jesus the Homeless, hopefully you will be reminded that there are others who are in need." The church would be happy to have it - if the fine details and agreement are reached. "We have a perfect place for it, between the old church and the old school, the space is open to people coming and going. "It is a reminder that we are called to serve the homeless and to recognise Christ in each other." That goes for parading too, said Fr Sheehan. The street outside St Patrick's became a flashpoint during Orange Order parades in 2012. This statue would help people to recognise the Christ in each other, Fr Sheehan said. Also, as the church prepares to celebrate 200 years since its foundation, 2015 would be a perfect year to host Jesus the Homeless, he said. Tim Schmalz defines himself as a Christian sculptor. In his studio, in the countryside outside Toronto, he works while recordings of the St James' Bible play in the background. He did not grow up in a religious family, but became committed to Catholicism at 18 and, at one stage, considered becoming a priest. He did not do so but nevertheless considers that his art and his beliefs go hand-in-hand. Now he is married with children and works as a sculptor in the countryside outside Toronto. His work is indelibly bound to his faith. He had a clear plan of what he wanted for Jesus the Homeless. "I wanted to make visible what was invisible. Those people [the homeless] are very much invisible, there is no eye contact, no acknowledgement," he said. In his statue, the face of Jesus is shrouded, but the feet, a very private part of a person, are bare. The statue offers that epiphany moment - when you realise who is depicted. Sometimes, the dawning is slow. In North Carolina, a woman called the police on Jesus as what she saw was a homeless person lying out on a park bench. Some people hate the statue. They object to the depiction of Jesus as a tramp. Their criticism is that Jesus is not a helpless person who needs help. He is the one who gives help. Others say Jesus should never be represented as a beggar. But some people love the humanity and the echoes of the gospel that reverberate in the bronze: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do onto me". Among those who appeared to love it is Pope Francis. Schmalz presented him with a scale model of his statue at an audience in the Vatican. The Pope stopped, laid a hand on the statue, closed his eyes, and prayed. There are plans for a bronze to be placed on the Via della Conciliazione, the great approach to the Vatican. "It is going to be at a spot close to where a homeless woman died. She was very well loved in that community," said Schmalz. In London, the offer of the sculpture was turned down by St Martin-in-the-Fields because of a rule banning anyone from sleeping or lying down inside the church. According to the Anglican Church Times, it was felt that given their rule, accepting the statue could leave the church open to ridicule. There was also a belief that the sculpture objectified the homeless. Schmalz begged to differ. Now, he said, there is the possibility for the statue to be placed outside the Methodist Central Hall Westminster close to the Houses of Parliament. He would be happy with that. There was a period of time when Schmalz did not know where his statue would go. "It sat in a crate for year and I thought about the irony of Jesus the Homeless being homeless," he shrugged. But that has changed. In January, Schmalz hopes to travel to Ireland to find suitable locations for his bronze. Belfast has a place in his heart and he is always open to suggestions for suitable places. "This is my perspective; If we can use this sculpture to introduce peace and understanding in Belfast, let's try our best, I am game," he said. On his park bench sculpture, there is a small space - just enough, at a tight squeeze, for one person to sit. "I made it that way," said Schmalz. "I deliberately left a little bit of the bench so that you can sit, uncomfortably, beside it." He would like as many people as possible to sit there and think. "The power of Christianity is my inspiration," he said. "Jesus the homeless is my frozen sermon."

At first glance, you see someone huddled in blankets and clutching at sleep on a cold park bench.

The Nikkei 225 closed down 0.4% at 18,916.02, although the index had been as much as 1.6% in earlier trade. Shares in Toshiba fell 9.8% on reports it was expecting record losses for the year to March. After the market closed, Toshiba said it would cut 6,800 jobs at its consumer electronics division and report a record loss of 550bn yen ($4.53bn). The news follows findings that Toshiba had overstated its operating profit for the past six years by a total of 151.8bn yen. The US dollar fell to 121.20 yen, compared with last week's rate of 123 yen after the US rate rise, and the stronger yen weighed on Japan's major exporters. Toyota shares closed down more than 1% and Honda ended down 0.7%. A stronger yen makes the products Japan's big exporters make more expensive to buy overseas. Lower oil prices continued to weigh on energy-related shares. The price of Brent Crude fell to its lowest since 2004 in overnight trade to $36.17 a barrel, before recovering slightly to $36.49. West Texas Intermediate prices fell to $34.53 a barrel. In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 0.2% at 21,791.68, while the Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.8% at 3,642.47 - a four week high. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index recovered early losses to close just 0.05% higher at 5,109.05. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index closed up 0.3% at 1,981.19.

Japan's Nikkei index closed lower, with shares in Toshiba sinking nearly 10% as the firm predicted record losses.