The charity's Great British Beach Clean report found just under seven bags per 100 metres of coastline cleaned. That is a 40% drop from the average 11 bags found in 2015 and is the lowest number in 10 years. The MCS said the drop "vindicates" the introduction of a 5p charge on single-use plastic bags. The MCS was among those groups which campaigned for the plastic bag levy to be introduced in Wales in 2011, Northern Ireland in 2013, Scotland in 2014 and England in October last year. "We've seen a significant drop in the number and that can only be as a result of the 5p charge which is now in place in all the home nations," said MCS beach watch manager Lauren Eyles. "It vindicates the charge, which we predicted would be good news for the marine environment. "Thanks to our thousands of fantastic volunteers who collect beach litter data, we can now see the impact these charges have had." The Great British Clean is an annual beach clean and survey that takes place all along the UK coastline. This year, some 6,000 volunteers cleaned 364 beaches and recorded the litter they found. In Wales, where the bag charge has been in place for five years, the number was lower than any other year since 2011 - just under four bags for every 100m cleaned. But it was beaches in England and Northern Ireland which saw the biggest drop in the number of plastic bags found during the September clean up - with half as many recovered compared with 2015. Environment minister Therese Coffey said the introduction of the charge in England had been a "huge success" and had raised Â£29m for charitable organisations and good causes. One of those was the MCS, which received Â£28,400 in the last year, with the money being used to recruit thousands of beach clean volunteers Ms Coffey added: "It shows small actions can make the biggest difference, but we must not be complacent as there is always more we can all do to reduce waste and recycle what we use." But the data collected by volunteers showed a rise of more than 4% in the quantity of drinks containers found on the UK's beaches - including plastic bottles, bottle tops and aluminium cans. There was also a 53% rise over the past year in the amount of balloon-related litter found on beaches. Plastic bags are particularly dangerous to turtles, who mistake them for their jellyfish prey. The bags can block their digestive systems, leading to death from starvation. Some species of seabirds are particularly attracted by the scent of plastic junk and according to the MCS, over 90% of fulmars found dead around the North Sea have plastic in their stomachs. The charity said there had been a drop of almost 4% in the amount of litter found on UK beaches between 2015 and 2016, with 6,000 volunteers collecting 268,384 items in this year's clean. Beaches in Scotland saw a decrease of 18% in overall litter levels, rubbish in the North East of

Summary: The number of plastic carrier bags found on UK beaches has dropped by almost half, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has said.


Called '"tanim bala" (which means planting bullets) it has meant passengers have been faced with fines or even the possibility of being charged with the illegal possession of ammunition. After several passengers were detained, others taken to court for refusing to pay fines and an outcry by legislators in the Philippines, it has spurred Filipinos to action. They have been posting to social media defiant notices stuck to their luggage, wrapping suitcases in layers of plastic sheeting and speaking out about the dangers of this scam. Officials at the Manila International Airport also set up a public help desk. On Facebook and Instagram users uploaded pictures of the signs stuck to their bags. Cautious travellers, like Raymond Britanico, uploaded photos to warn off potential bullet planters. Other users like Filipino actor Ronnie Liang, showed off plastic cling-wrapped luggage bags using the hashtags, #TanimBala and #LagLagBala (which means "dropping off bullets"). It even spawned a highly-popular mobile app game, in which users play as a "victim" at the airport who has to navigate carefully to avoid bullets from being dropped onto his luggage. Celebrities such as former Miss Philippines Earth Alma Cabasal also took a strong stand. She shared a photograph of a warning she wrote: "Plant trees, not bullets - I refuse to be a Tanim Bala victim." Ms Cabasal told the BBC that she took measures to protect her luggage before she flew back to California. "I paid close attention to my belongings the whole time I was at the airport in Manila," she said. "This scam is a very unfortunate and embarrassing one. It's damaging our reputation as a country because people around the world know Filipinos for being hospitable and courteous..." People have highlighted the risks ahead of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit, which will held in the capital Manila on 18 November. "This scam is just are giving foreign governments more reason to not trust Filipino officials - especially before the Apec summit," said Philippine Twitter user Marcial Bonifacio. Another Twitter user Ella from Taguig city commented: "The "tanim bala" problem must be fixed as soon as possible - what if a delegate were to suddenly discover a bullet?" Philippine President Benigno Aquino has ordered an investigation into the scam. Local media report that victims told a court their accounts. UN officials, meanwhile, advised staff to lock up their bags and protect their belongings. Another Instagram user Cindy Jubilee, from Manila, told the BBC that she wanted to highlight the actions of "incompetent airport officials" so those responsible could be held accountable. It is unclear exactly why this is happening, but the government has been quoted in local media as saying it was looking into the phenomenon as an extortion racket. It is hard to imagine how empty bullets being planted in luggage came about. But according to Filipino BBC presenter Rico Hizon, the origins of bullets could date back to a Philippine folk tradition from the late 19th Century. "There is a Filipino superstition that carrying a bullet is like a lucky charm to protect

Summary: A scam in the Philippines, which allegedly sees bullets dropped into the luggage of passengers as they go through airport security, has sparked anger, fear and social media activism.


Police were called to Ridley Road in Dalston at about 14:10 BST following reports of shots being fired. Armed officers found a man in his 30s with a gunshot wound to his leg. He was taken to hospital and is said to be in a "serious but stable" condition. Police searched the area and recovered a firearm. They also made 13 arrests for a variety of offences. Ridley Road has been closed while the police carry out their investigation.

Summary: A man has been shot in the leg and 13 people arrested following an incident in east London.


30 November 2015 Last updated at 16:35 GMT Simon Whittaker, originally from Cheadle, posted his footage on Facebook saying: "Monarch A320 drifts off the centre line in cross winds at manchester airport and goes around." Mr Whittaker, who used to fly planes himself, was on his way for a coffee at the Airport Hotel Pub when he noticed how the wind was affecting the incoming flights and began filming. He said the weather was "absolutely treacherous" but that the pilot seemed "in control of the plane throughout the aborted landing". He said the winds were so strong that it was a challenge even keeping the camera steady. Five planes were diverted from the airport on Sunday as a result of the high winds. A spokeswoman said three planes were diverted to East Midlands Airport including two Monarch flights and another two went to Birmingham Airport. The severe weather caused a roof on shops to be blown off in Greater Manchester, thousands of homes were left without power and trees were brought down.

Summary: A plane aborted its landing at Manchester Airport after winds of up to 70mph swept across the North West.


A total of 142 postmen and women were attacked in the 12 months to April 2013, down from more than 200 in 2012. The CF postcode of Cardiff and the south Wales valleys had 31 incidents while the postcodes areas for mid and north east Wales each saw 25 attacks. Royal Mail and postal unions have urged dog owners to control their pets. CF postcode (Cardiff area) 31 attacks SA postcode (Swansea and south west Wales) 21 attacks SY postcode (Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury) 25 attacks NP postcode (Newport and Gwent Valleys) 14 attacks LL postcode (north Wales) 24 attacks Llandrindod and LD postcode two attacks CH postcode (Mold and Deeside) 25 attacks SOURCE: Royal Mail (figures per postcode area in 12 months to April 2013) Both the Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned that postal staff face a higher risk of attack during the summer months as families at home have dogs unsupervised in the garden or the street. Royal Mail Group safety director Shaun Davis said: "Clearly most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened. "Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service." The organisation has teamed up with animal charities to highlight the issue across the UK during Dog Awareness Week. The Dogs Trust is installing letterboxes at its Bridgend centre to train dogs to "learn to love the postman's arrival". Beverley Price, manager of Dogs Trust Bridgend, said: "We have always ensured that our dogs are as acclimatised as they can be to real life situations that they will come across when they leave our kennels. "Introducing letterboxes to all of the re-homing centres with training facilities is an obvious next step in providing a 'first class' service." Royal Mail safety director Senol Ali said: "Last year across the country the number of dog attacks on our people fell. "However there were still over 140 incidents in Wales and we need to reduce this number further as even one dog attack on our people is one dog attack too many."

Summary: Dogs attacks on postal staff in Wales have dropped over the past year but still remain "unacceptably high," says the Royal Mail.


Media playback is not supported on this device The 28-year-old Briton was fastest in the first of Saturday's two runs to climb from fourth to third and she held her position in the final run. Gold went to World Cup leader Jacqueline Lolling, with fellow German Tina Hermann finishing second. Yarnold's overall time of two minutes 36.08 seconds was 0.73secs behind Lolling. She returned to competition in December after taking a year out and will attempt to retain her Olympic title in South Korea next year. "This is where I want and need to be - and is a major stepping stone," Yarnold told BBC Sport. "It shows I've made the right decisions over the past couple of years and means more than I could ever explain. "I've had a few head and back issues recently and I physically wouldn't be here without the help of my physio and my family. "I am still dealing with some stuff but I am lucky with the team I have and that helps make me a stronger person and a better athlete." Yarnold's Great Britain team-mate Laura Deas finished 10th, with Donna Creighton 22nd. Nick Hope, BBC Olympic sports reporter: Despite all of Lizzy Yarnold's previous gold medals, World Championships bronze is a huge result both for her at the British skeleton team. She seemed to ease to Olympic, World Championship, European and World Cup titles between 2013 and 2015 - but, in truth, those successes left her exhausted. Although a year sabbatical has seen her return refreshed, younger rivals have emerged and the reappearance of dizzy spells - which first emerged in late 2014 - as well as the appearance of a new serious back problem, has made her comeback challenging than expected. However, despite just one World Cup podium finish this season Yarnold states she's now a "better slider" than before her break - and she has proved that when the big occasion arises she can still deliver. That is a crucial confidence boost for the British team, because with Laura Deas yet to rediscover the form that led to World Cup podiums last season and the GB men some way off he pace, Yarnold remains their only realistic hope of an Olympic skeleton medal in 2018.

Summary: Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold won bronze at the Skeleton World Championships in Germany.


Its subsidiary, Tesco Stores Ltd, reached what's known as a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office after a two-year probe. Tesco said there was "regret" over the issues of 2014 and said it has been working hard to "restore trust". The firm also agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to spend £85m on compensating investors. The money will go to those who bought shares or bonds between 29 August and 19 September in 2014. Those investors would have had misleading information from a trading statement on 29 August, which gave a rosier assessment of its performance than was actually the case. Tesco issued a corrected statement before the markets opened on Monday 22 September, which estimated it had overstated profits by about £250m. The revelation sent the retailer's share price plunging and sparked two internal inquiries. Even that was not the full story, the overstatement was subsequently revised up to £326m. The compensation order is a first for the FCA, although it has not imposed its own penalty, and Tesco has accepted the regulator's finding of "market abuse". The SFO said Tesco had co-operated with the investigation and had undergone an "extensive" period of change. Tesco's current chief executive, Dave Lewis, said: "Over the last two-and-a-half years, we have fully co-operated with this investigation into historic accounting practices, while at the same time fundamentally transforming our business. "We sincerely regret the issues which occurred in 2014 and we are committed to doing everything we can to continue to restore trust in our business and brand." A Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) is a fairly new way (introduced in February 2014) of punishing a company for criminal behaviour without the collateral damage of a conviction. DPAs may be fairly new, but they are instruments the SFO is warming to. Just last month it announced a DPA with Rolls-Royce which saw the company pay a UK fine of £500m. In that case, the judge agreed that a criminal conviction for the company could disbar it from securing contracts - particularly in the US - which in turn could threaten the jobs of thousands of UK workers. A DPA also avoids lengthy and costly trials and puts the offending company on probation to ensure full co-operation in the future. It also does NOT mean that individuals escape scot free while shareholders pay the price for their conduct. Three former executives from Tesco face criminal proceedings. The SFO also quizzed the former chief executive Phil Clarke, before dropping any further action against him. Read more from Simon here: The DPA with Tesco Stores still needs approval by the High Court, which is scheduled to make its decision on 10 April. This potential DPA agreement only covers Tesco Stores and does not address whether liability of any sort applies to the larger international group Tesco plc or any of its employees. To pay for the penalty, compensation scheme and related costs Tesco will charge £235m to its results for the 2016-17 financial year, which are due to be published on 12 April. Tesco shares were

Summary: Tesco has agreed to pay a fine of £129m to avoid prosecution for overstating its profits in 2014.


The cause of the blaze at The Football Factory on Avondale Industrial Estate, Cwmbran, is not yet known. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service received a call-out shortly before 18:50 GMT on Saturday. At the height of the fire, six fire engines and three water bowsers were called to the scene. Fire crews spent Sunday afternoon damping down. Staff at The Football Factory, an indoor sports facility with training pitches and a bar, said they were "devastated and heartbroken". In a post to customers on Twitter, staff said: "Due to a large fire at the Football Factory premises, we regret to inform you that we will be closed for the foreseeable future. "Many thanks to all of our loyal customers and we apologise profusely for any inconvenience to people who have booked with us in the future. Anyone with future bookings/paid deposits etc will be contacted in due time. "All of us at the Football Factory are devastated and heartbroken over this horrific incident."

Summary: Owners of an indoor sports facility in Torfaen have been left "heartbroken" after a large fire at their business.


Jason Blyth's Tear Up The Dark was picked up by Romanian pop star Teodora Dinu after being rejected as the UK's song for the 2017 contest. Mr Blyth and his Kinross High pupils produced and recorded the backing track for the singer. But the song failed to make the semi-final of the show to find the Romanian entry. Mr Blyth, who watched the show on an internet stream, said the singer phoned him to commiserate shortly afterwards. He told BBC Scotland: "She genuinely thought that with all the reviews we were getting in Romania we might be able to get to the semi-final. "One of the other acts that didn't get through had been a favourite to win it and her song was written by the guy who won it last year." Mr Blyth said the pupils were "genuinely gutted" at the result. He said: "I had a queue at my door this morning waiting to hear what had happened, I felt really bad telling them. "There were so many artists that are signed to major labels that we were up against." The teacher said the school's song had been in a "David and Goliath" battle against the other entries. He said: "All our music was recorded within the school, whereas a lot of people had spent thousands of pounds on production and promotion." Romania returns to the competition this year after being expelled in 2016 due to its national broadcaster failing to pay outstanding debts dating back to 2007. Mr Blyth will fly to Bucharest this week to meet Teodora Dinu to discuss future projects. He said: "It's been an absolutely brilliant three or four weeks, it all happened so quickly with the song getting picked up by quite a well-known singer in Romania. "The students were able to use some of this for their SQA coursework so that was great for them."

Summary: A song by a Scottish schoolteacher has missed out on the chance to become Romania's Eurovision entry.


The 30-year-old started his career at Killie, making 115 appearances before joining Rangers in 2013. He moved to United in 2016 and made 35 appearances for the Tannadice side. Kilmarnock manager Lee McCulloch told his club website: "He provides great competition for the other goalkeepers and I'm delighted to have him." Dundee United had previously said Bell would not leave for nothing by posting on their Twitter feed that they were "open to offers". They then relented, though, and "mutually agreed" the player's release. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Summary: Goalkeeper Cammy Bell has signed a two-year contract with Kilmarnock after Dundee United allowed him to leave as a free agent.


The Russian club, managed by former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas, won their domestic league with two games to spare last weekend. And just how did the Villas-Boas and his players celebrate? By dressing in traditional Russian clothing, as you do. A picture was posted by former Manchester City player Javi Garcia on his Instagram account featuring a sharp-looking Garcia and his equally snappily-dressed team-mates, which includes former Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin, surrounding Villas-Boas. Zenit's title win, the fourth in their history, came in Villas-Boas's first full season in charge.

Summary: As far as team photos go, Zenit St Petersburg's will take some beating.


The RSPCA had planned to wait until the end of the winter breeding season before trying to catch the seal at Horsey beach. However, he has not been seen since late December. Alison Charles, RSPCA hospital manager, said: "We will just never know now if it's a happy or sad ending." It was believed the bull seal's deep wound was caused by netting. Experts said it had been too risky to try catching him for treatment when he was surrounded by females until the end of the breeding season in late January. Any action could also have disturbed mothers with their pups. If he was darted, there was a danger he could bolt into the sea, lose consciousness and drown. Peter Ansell, from the Friends of Horsey Seals group which monitors the colony, said: "He might be dead or he might have swum off to pastures new. "It's highly unlikely we will see him again - it will remain a mystery." The RSPCA had assembled a team and equipment at its East Winch centre near King's Lynn to try to catch their first wounded seal. Ms Charles said: "I recently went to inspect two females who also had been seen with netting around their necks, but it had fallen off. "Their wounds were healing and it seems it may have been possible for them to use their flippers and nails to it. "The bull seal's wounds could also have healed." Volunteers counted 1,018 pups at Horsey this winter - a record for the colony since seals began using the public beach north of Great Yarmouth in 2003.

Summary: A seal spotted on a Norfolk beach with a wound around its neck has vanished and its fate is likely to "remain a mystery", wildlife experts have said.


Tries by Ben Foden, Alex Waller and George North put the visitors ahead. Elliot Daly crossed to keep Wasps in touching distance at half-time before Christian Wade and Joe Simpson went over to give the hosts the lead. Ahsee Tuala and Teimana Harrisson crossed for Saints, but Mullan drove over and Gopperth clinched victory. Willie le Roux looked to have scored a decisive try for Wasps, but the score was rightly ruled out for Joe Launchbury's block on Luther Burrell as he attempted to stop Kurtley Beale from making the final pass. While the decision was the right one, Wasps were frustrated by a delay in referring the try to the Television Match Official, protests from Saints players having appeared to prompt the review. Saints defended strongly against waves of pressure late on, but after a let-off a minute before for the same offence, Jamie Gibson was sent to the sin-bin for pulling down the maul and Wasps took full advantage. The result might have been different had fly-half Stephen Myler not missed four difficult conversion attempts as well as a penalty for the visitors, Gopperth's three successful conversions and two penalties proving decisive. There was confusion over the final try, as former Saints player Paul Doran Jones and Mullan both initially claimed the score, which was right by the posts. It left the prolific Gopperth with a simple conversion and he duly bisected the posts to bring a thrilling game to a dramatic conclusion. Wasps, already assured of a place in the play-offs, remain unbeaten at home this season, with victory restoring their lead over second-placed Exeter to five points. Wasps director of rugby Dai Young: "We've got another couple of gears we can go to, but Saracens are still the team to beat. "We've just got to keep winning and get ourselves into the competition's latter stages." Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder: "You've got to try to control the game in the last 10 minutes, and we never really managed that. "We've just got to keep pushing for wins, and hopefully we can secure at least European qualification." Wasps: Le Roux; Wade, Daly, Beale, Bassett; Gopperth, Simpson; Mullan, Taylor, Swainston, Launchbury (capt), Myall, Johnson, Young, Thompson. Replacements: Cruse, Bristow, Doran Jones, Symons, Hughes, Robson, Cipriani, Leiua. Northampton: Tuala; North, Tuitavake, Mallinder, Foden; Myler, Groom; A Waller, Hartley, Brookes, Lawes, Ribbans, Gibson, Wood (capt), Picamoles. Replacements: Haywood, E Waller, Hill, Ratuniyarawa, Harrison, Dickson, Burrell, Pisi. Sin Bin: Gibson (80). Attendance: 21,131. Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (RFU). For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

Summary: Matt Mullan's last-minute try and Jimmy Gopperth's conversion with the final kick of the match earned Premiership leaders Wasps victory over Northampton.


Payne, unbeaten on 48 when bad light ended play, joined Dent (86) at the crease with his side struggling at 97-7, before helping them to 201-7. Gloucestershire lost three wickets in the morning, when they scored only 33 runs from 24 overs, with 129 dot balls. Paceman Steve Magoffin led the way for Sussex, taking 3-35 from his 19 overs.

Summary: Chris Dent and David Payne provided timely resistance for Gloucestershire against a suffocating Sussex bowling performance on the opening day.


The artwork at Clavell Tower, Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, was hit by a boulder and cut off at the ankles in stormy weather. The life-size figure was created to mark 50 years of UK building conservation charity Landmark Trust. The charity said it was likely to be the "end of the road" for the work. A spokeswoman said: "On Christmas Eve the Gormley sculpture at Kimmeridge Bay again succumbed to persistent heavy seas, this time presumably hit by a boulder hurled off the beach by the force of the storm. "We are taking steps to recover the work imminently. "It was always intended to have a relationship with the landscape and nature. "Its position on this exposed stretch of Kimmeridge Bay has certainly brought that dynamic to the fore." The trust said it did not yet know where the installation would be moved to, but that the "most important thing is removing it safely, given the weather, location, tide times, and holiday season". John Bickerton, owner of Lulworth House B&B, found the statue during a walk with his family on Saturday. He said: "We were sprinkling my mother's ashes on the far side of the bay before going round to take a family picture with the sculpture. "We quickly realised it wasn't standing and when we got there could see it had sheared off at its thinnest point - the ankles. This time it looks like it might be fatal." Sir Antony said he was "thrilled" when the sculpture toppled into the sea in September, calling it proof of its "dynamic relationship" with nature.

Summary: A conservation charity has said a cast iron sculpture by Sir Antony Gormley felled for the second time in just over two months will not be reinstated.


Seven years ago, Matthew O'Donnell was convicted of killing 30-year-old Noel Williamson in Caledon in October 2004. Mr O'Donnell's lawyer's argued that the trial judge had misdirected the jury and erred by not allowing evidence of a clinical psychologist to be submitted. The ECHR rejected the appeal and he will serve the rest of his sentence. Mr O'Donnell, originally from County Kerry in the Republic of Ireland, is serving a life sentence at Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland. In 2008, the trial judge said that Mr O'Donnell would serve at least 12 years imprisonment, a reduction from the usual starting point of 15 years, to take account of his "limited intellectual capacity". Mr O'Donnell's IQ places him amongst the bottom 1% of the population and his understanding of spoken English is equivalent to that of a six-year-old child. Mr Williamson, from Killylea, County Armagh, was stabbed five times in the right lower face and neck and also suffered "multiple blows of considerable force" to his head, neck and shoulders, caused by kicking or stamping. Mr Williamson's badly beaten body was found by a man out walking his dog beside the River Blackwater. A clinical psychologist made an assessment of Mr O'Donnell by watching videotaped interviews that Irish police conducted with him at trial. Mr O'Donnell's lawyers argued at the ECHR that the clinical psychologist should have been allowed to share his conclusions with the court. They also argued that no inference should have been drawn from the fact that he chose not to testify at his trial. However, the appeals were dismissed. Mr O'Donnell was the second man to be convicted of the killing. In 2007, 20-year-old Samuel Houston from Churchill Cottages in Caledon was jailed for eight years for the manslaughter of Mr Williamson.

Summary: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found that a man with severe learning difficulties convicted of a County Tyrone murder had a fair trial.


Scientists at University College London discovered people tend to think that their hands are wider and their fingers are shorter than they truly are. They say the confusion may lie in the way the brain receives information from different parts of the body. Distorted perception may dominate in some people, leading to body image problems, a US journal reports. Lead researcher Dr Matthew Longo said: "These findings may well be relevant to psychiatric conditions involving body image such as anorexia nervosa, as there may be a general bias towards perceiving the body to be wider than it is. "Our results show dramatic distortions of hand shape, which were highly consistent across participants." In the study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr Longo's team asked 18 volunteers to take part in an experiment. The volunteers were asked to put their left hands palm down under a board and judge the location of the covered hand's knuckles and fingertips with a pointer. This revealed striking distortions - the volunteers tended to misjudge their hands as wider and their fingers as shorter than they actually were. The researchers say the distortions are subconscious and involve the ability known as position sense that the brain uses to know where all parts of the body are in space even when the eyes are closed. Dr Longo said: "Of course we know what our hand really looks like, and our participants were very accurate picking out a photo of their own hand from a set of photos with various distortions of hand shape. "So there is clearly a conscious visual image of the body as well. But that visual image seems not to be used for position sense." Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the eating disorders charity Beat, said: "We know that one of the features of anorexia nervosa can be distorted body image. "People affected can truly believe that they are grossly fat, even when they are dangerously underweight. "They are able to judge other people's bodies quite accurately and would describe someone else the same size as themselves correctly, but still not be able to do that about their own weight and shape. "This brain study may give some insight into how this could be possible, and could be very motivating for people with eating disorders to know that there was a biological explanation for their experiences, rather than feeling it was their fault."

Summary: The brain naturally distorts body image - a finding which could explain eating disorders like anorexia, say experts.


The 29-year-old flyweight from Belfast will be on the card at the Waterfront Hall in his home city when Jamie Conlan tops the bill. An opponent has not yet been named for Barnes who won his first pro fight in unusual circumstances. Stefan Slavchev was disqualified in the fourth round on 5 November for hoisting Barnes off his feet and shoulder high. Light-flyweight Conlan beat Hungarian David Koos on points at the Titanic Exhibition Centre that right to stay on course for a world title shot. Conlan, brother of 2015 world amateur bantamweight champion Michael, has won all 18 of his fights since turning professional in 2009.

Summary: Two-time Olympic medallist Paddy Barnes will have his second fight as a professional on 18 February.


The embattled Republican, cradling a basket of nachos, says to the fan "you're a big shot", their faces inches apart. The drama unfolded during Sunday's Brewers v Cubs game in Milwaukee. Mr Christie has the lowest approval ratings in the history of New Jersey, and stoked anger recently by using a beach closed to the public. The baseball heckler, Brad Joseph, said that after Mr Christie walked past his seat, "I yelled his name and told him that he sucked". "I called him a hypocrite because I thought it needed to be said," he added. Chris Christie has gone from presidential timbre to political punching bag. Such is the tragic fate of the soon-to-be-former New Jersey governor. It wasn't too long ago that Republican power brokers implored Mr Christie to be their white knight, riding into the Republican presidential nomination contest as Mitt Romney's campaign foundered. At the time his in-your-face style seemed refreshingly candid and his popularity in Democratic-leaning New Jersey gave him cross-over national appeal. Then the Bridgegate scandal - the pettiness of the apparent retribution scheme - tarnished his lustre. His idol, Bruce Springsteen, mocked him on late-night television. The media coverage grew more biting. When Mr Christie eventually did try for the White House, Donald Trump had stolen his brash, unscripted thunder. F Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that there are no second acts in American lives. That hardly seems the case these days, even for someone with Mr Christie's reputational scars. He'll always have pugnacious attitude. Now, however, it's less a tool that will help him climb the political ladder than a bit of performance art for the entertainment of sports radio listeners and baseball spectators. Earlier this month Mr Christie was booed by thousands of baseball fans at New York's Citi Field after he caught a foul ball that had landed in the stands. Also this month, he clashed on live radio with one of his constituents whom he accused of being a "communist" and a "bum". With a 15% approval rating, Mr Christie is considered to be one the least popular state governors in American history. Once a contender for the White House, his popularity has plunged after the so-called Bridgegate scandal in which his senior aides were convicted of conspiring to close one of the busiest bridges in the world as political payback against a mayor that refused to endorse Mr Christie.

Summary: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has angrily confronted a heckler during a baseball game in Wisconsin.


A research paper from Oxfam suggests that the wealthiest 1% own on average £1.8m each of global assets and they'll own more than 50% of the world's assets by next year. There are approximately seven billion people in the world. Eighty per cent of the world's population (about 5.6 billion people) own just 5.5% of wealth - an average of £2,500 each. The 80 richest people in the world have the same wealth as the poorest 50% (around 3.5 billion people). Those 80 people could fit into a double-decker bus. It would take nearly 44 million buses to transport the world's poorest 50% of people. Oxfam says that 52% of global wealth not owned by the richest 1% is owned by those in the richest 20% (1.4 billion people). With 80% of the population owning 5.5% of global wealth (£2,544 per adult in 2014), the world's elite 1% has an average wealth of £1.8m per adult. That could buy you quite a few gold bars. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary: The world's richest 1%, around 70 million people (or the population of the UK and Ireland), will own more than the other 99% put together by next year.


With all eyes on May's general election, Carwyn Jones condemned David Cameron's Conservatives as being even more extreme than Margaret Thatcher. He said voters had a choice between "hope and despair". Meanwhile Labour leader Ed Miliband has launched an attack on tax avoidance for damaging the "fabric of society". He told the conference there would be a "root and branch" review of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs if Labour won the election, claiming the UK's tax authority had one rule for the rich and another for the poor. In his keynote speech on Saturday, Mr Jones hailed the Welsh government's record on jobs, investment and tuition fees as evidence of what a UK Labour government could achieve. He said the Conservatives "denigrate" the NHS in order to dismantle it, and insisted Labour's record on health in Wales was better than that of the Westminster coalition running it in England. Mr Jones also called for a more "tolerant" society which could debate immigration with "fairness and respect", and not let "right-wing, dog-whistling xenophobes drag us down to their level". A Â£40m scheme with the aim of helping people set up 10,000 new businesses creating 17,000 jobs over the next five years was also announced. Unusually for the first minister, this was a speech dominated by attacks on the Tories. He recalled the days of his political awakening during the miners' strike and said the current cutbacks were more severe than those felt in the 1980s. He even likened the so-called bedroom tax to the poll tax. There was some policy but basically this was a speech that acknowledged that the next few weeks is not about his government, although the Conservatives have other ideas. Just to pick up on one comment: he took a hard line on health boards, saying he won't apologise if they fail. This is a change of tone and I'm told it's the result of deep frustration with Betsi Cadwaldr health board in particular over the way last week's decision to move to a midwifery-led maternity unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd was handled. I think we can expect more of this tone in future, as Welsh government ministers become more open in their views of health boards if they feel there are problems.

Summary: Only Labour can stop the Tories from decimating public services, the first minister has told the Welsh Labour conference in Swansea.


Roger Federer beat Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-2. But it was a slow start for the Swiss star who lost the first two games. But it only took him 69 minutes to win his match. World number one Novak Djokovic beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-1. Federer and Djokovic will play one another on Tuesday. Great Britain's Andy Murray gets his tournament underway on Monday afternoon when he plays David Ferrer.

Summary: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have won in straight sets at the opening day of the ATP tennis finals in London.


Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 0.2% at 21,914.40, while the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.4% at 3,539.18. The index was 9.4% higher for the year, making it one of the best performing markets globally. Investors were also holding off ahead of manufacturing data due out on Friday. The data should shed light on the extent of the slowdown in the world's second largest economy. Economists expect the manufacturing surveys to show factory activity shrinking again in December. Several markets closed early on New Year's Eve such as Hong Kong and Australia, while Japan and South Korea were closed for public holidays. In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.5% to 5,295.9, but lost more than 2% for the year. That marked the index's first annual fall since 2011 as slumping iron ore and metal prices hit blue chip mining stocks, while new rules hurt the banking sector. Sliding oil prices hovering around 11-year lows capped gains in energy-related stocks in Australia and across the region. "The correlation between moves in the oil price and equity markets are becoming increasingly concerning and do not bode well for today's Asia session," said market strategist Angus Nicholson at trading firm IG in a note. Crude oil prices held losses after falling 3% overnight.

Summary: Chinese stocks were mostly lower on the last day of 2015 in thin trading with some of Asia's biggest markets closed ahead of the new year.


In the scripted video, the actors describe Australia as a "wonderful island" and warn others to respect its laws. The video was submitted to the court as Ms Heard escaped conviction for failing to declare the couple's dogs Pistol and Boo when visiting Mr Depp in Queensland in a private jet in May. Reaction on social media was swift and brutal, with many comparing the short film to Chinese or North Korean-style propaganda. Viewers were divided over Mr Depp's somewhat lacklustre performance. "I've seen IS (so-called Islamic State) hostage videos with more joie de vivre than Johnny Depp's apology," said one Twitter user. Others suggested sarcastically that the low-budget feature was his finest and most innovative role in years. Some tried to imagine the scene behind the camera. The video was shot on Australia's Gold Coast on Sunday and played during the hearing at Southport Magistrate's Court. It begins with Ms Heard describing Australia as a "wonderful place with a treasure trove of unique plants, animals and people". Johnny Depp continues: "Australians are just as unique, both warm and direct. When you disrespect Australian law, they will tell you firmly." This was widely seen as a reference to Barnaby Joyce, who as agriculture minister had originally threatened to have Pistol and Boo put down if they didn't "bugger off" back to the United States. Mr Joyce, who is now deputy prime minister, acknowledged that the video may not have been entirely natural. "I don't think it would be something they would have willingly wanted to do," he said. People have poked fun at the case since it began last year, using the hashtags #WarOnTerrier and #Terriergate. It is not clear whose idea the video was, but reports said Australian prosecutors had vetted the dialogue. Ms Heard pleaded guilty to falsifying an immigration document. The more serious charges of illegally importing animals were dropped. The judge in the case placed Ms Heard on a A$1,000 ($770; Â£540) good behaviour bond on Monday. No conviction was recorded against her.

Summary: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have released a stilted apology video for breaking Australia's strict biosecurity laws, bringing a bizarre end to the so-called "war on terrier".


Lukaku scored 16 goals as the Toffees finished fifth to qualify for Europe for the first time in five years. Osman, 33, is desperate for the Belgium international to be back at Goodison Park in time for his testimonial game against Porto on Sunday, 3 August. "It would be good to have Romelu back - we know the quality he's got," he said. "There might be a bit more to do to get him back here but it would be great if he could come back in time to play in the game." Everton's only signing of the summer is Gareth Barry, who also spent last season on loan with the club, although they are close to completing a deal for Ferencvaros midfielder Muhamed Besic. Osman hopes manager Roberto Martinez can make further signings. "We try not to be distracted by speculation, but sometimes you can't help but hear the rumours about who the manager wants to bring in to the club," he said. "Besic should be completed in the next few days and we're aware of the rumours about a couple more coming in. It would be good if any new arrivals could play in my testimonial."

Summary: Everton midfielder Leon Osman hopes striker Romelu Lukaku will return to the club after impressing on a season-long loan from Chelsea.


The Cumbrians have lost their last four league games, including damaging defeats to fellow challengers Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth. And Saturday's loss to Cambridge saw them concede three goals without reply for the second home game in a row. "There's a nervousness about the group," Curle told BBC Radio Cumbria. "There's a nervousness about the supporters as well. They're desperate for us to and the players want to do well to get over the line and finish top three." Despite the downturn, Carlisle remain fifth in the League Two table, four points behind Portsmouth in the third automatic promotion place, and six points above eighth-placed Mansfield. But the tough games continue with sixth-place Luton and Mansfield next for Curle's side. "Teams won't come here and roll over," he added. "So we need to go back to basics, scrap and fight for everything which means we need a level of aggression about us. "We weren't competitive and aggressive enough [against Cambridge], we weren't demanding with our movement, demanding of the ball. "There wasn't there that level of confidence going forward, we were disjointed and not on the same page."

Summary: Carlisle United need to "scrap and fight" to cope with the pressure of chasing promotion to League One this season, says manager Keith Curle.


Nicky Clark had gone close for the Pars with a header before he beat Robbie Thomson with a low shot on 35 minutes. Aaron Muirhead levelled from the penalty spot and Falkirk were boosted further when Dunfermline substitute Lewis Martin was sent off for a foul. Nathan Austin came off the bench to head home the winner for the visitors. Clark had looked sharp in the early stages of the match and had forced Thomson to dive full length to his right to clutch a headed effort in 13 minutes. But Thomson was beaten at his far post when Clark struck a shot across goal from 16 yards to give the Pars a half-time lead. However, the match sprang to life after the break. Myles Hippolyte, who had replaced Mark Kerr two minutes earlier, was downed in the box by Pars keeper Sean Murdoch as he stretched for the loose ball. Murdoch was booked for his protests at referee Gavin Duncan's decision and then subbed because of injury, with David Hutton taking over in goal. The home side were reduced to 10 men when Martin, who had been on for only three minutes, was red carded for downing John Baird as he headed towards goal. But it was another substitute who had the final say on the game when, with 20 minutes remaining, Austin found himself free at the far post to head a Craig Sibbald cross over the line. Dunfermline scrapped mightily to haul themselves back into the match but Falkirk, with numerical advantage, always looked capable on the break and held on to take the points. Match ends, Dunfermline Athletic 1, Falkirk 2. Second Half ends, Dunfermline Athletic 1, Falkirk 2. Jason Talbot (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by John Baird (Falkirk). Corner, Falkirk. Conceded by David Hutton. Foul by Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic). James Craigen (Falkirk) wins a free kick on the left wing. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) is shown the yellow card. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) has gone down, but that's a dive. Foul by Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic). Nathan Austin (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Substitution, Falkirk. Joe McKee replaces Tom Taiwo. Nathaniel Wedderburn (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Nathan Austin (Falkirk). Corner, Falkirk. Conceded by Andrew Geggan. Foul by Rhys McCabe (Dunfermline Athletic). James Craigen (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Lee Ashcroft (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk). Andrew Geggan (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk). Attempt missed. Lee Ashcroft (Dunfermline Athletic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right following a corner. Corner, Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Peter Grant. Aaron Muirhead (Falkirk) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. David Hopkirk (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Summary: Battling Falkirk kept their grip on second place in the Championship with two second-half goals which sank 10-man Dunfermline.


Shares in Chevron fell 1.1% and Exxon Mobil dropped 0.7% as oil prices fell almost 4% on worries that producers will fail to agree production limits. Brent crude fell $1.74 to $46.50 a barrel, while US crude was down $1.79 to $45.29 a barrel. The Dow Jones fell 23.7 points to 19,121.60, while the broader S&P 500 index was barely changed at 2,201.72. The tech-focused Nasdaq index rose 11.11 points to 5,379.92. Earlier, official figures had indicated that the US economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter of the year. The economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.2%, the Commerce Department said, compared with an initial estimate of 2.9%.

Summary: US stock markets closed little changed, but energy shares fell as the oil price slid ahead of Wednesday's Opec meeting.


30 October 2013 Last updated at 17:10 GMT Last month, the government made changes so head teachers can no longer allow absence outside school holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances. It's because of concerns that some kids were missing school for family holidays during term time when it's cheaper. But more than 125,000 people disagree, signing a petition against the move. The petition says: "All children who have a good attendance record should be allowed the opportunity to enjoy quality time with their parents on an annual holiday of up to 10 days once per year." But the government says it's giving schools more freedom to set term dates - which could mean parents could book cheaper holidays. Ricky's got the story.

Summary: Your next holiday might seem like a long way off but there's a row brewing about when schoolkids in England should be able to take them.


The decision by ministers overturns a recommendation from a Scottish government reporter that the Pentland Studios Project should be thrown out. Midlothian Council had failed to make an initial ruling on the application. PSL Land Ltd said it was "very pleased" with the decision and hoped the first studio facilities would be operational by late 2018. The studio is earmarked for a site at Old Pentland Farm, near Straiton. The Association of Film and Television Practitioners Scotland (AFTPS) had called on ministers to back a new studio. PSL land Ltd said: "PSL Land Ltd are very pleased with today's decision by ministers to approve the grant of planning permission in principle for Scotland's world-class Film & TV studio complex, and will be moving forward immediately with the application for planning permission in detail for the Film Studio, Academy and Energy Centre sections of the development. "Working together with Midlothian Council, PSL hope this next stage will be expedited accordingly, recovering the construction scheduling that will enable delivery of the key Studio operation by late 2018. "It is anticipated that a detailed schedule to progress the planning application will be agreed with Midlothian Council in the next few weeks, producing a phased timeframe with the Studio, Academy and Energy Centre as the first buildings to be progressed to full planning consent." The Association of Film and Television Practitioners Scotland, which represents some of those working in film and television, previously said it believed the sector was being badly affected by the lack of a studio space.

Summary: Planning permission has been granted in principle for a film studio to be built on the outskirts of Edinburgh.


Regulators need to decide how to act in light of a court ruling last year that invalidated the Safe Harbour agreement with the US. The pact made it relatively easy for companies to send personal information from Europe to data centres in the US for processing. Lawmakers are still negotiating a replacement trade deal. The data protection authorities are expected to make their views know on Wednesday at the end of the two-day event. But their determination could affect tech giants including Google, Apple and Facebook - whose cloud services rely on such transfers - as well as thousands of smaller business who have outsourced payroll processing and other tasks to US-based organisations. The EU forbids its citizens' personal data from being sent to places that don't guarantee "adequate" privacy protections. In order to avoid this restriction bogging down transfers to the US, it was decided that American firms could self-certify that information sent to their data centres would be properly protected. This Safe Harbour agreement came into force in 2000. About 5,000 US companies took advantage of the deal to facilitate transfers. In 2013, the whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked a mass of documents detailing the US security services' cyber-spying operations. In light of the revelations, an Austrian privacy campaigner - Max Schrems - asked Ireland's data regulator to audit what information Facebook might be sharing with the NSA. It declined citing Safe Harbour, but the matter was referred up to the European Court of Justice. Last October, the court ruled that the the decision to enable Safe Harbour was invalid, and as a consequence national data watchdogs could indeed review transfers on an individual basis. No. The EU and US had already been negotiating a new data transfer pact for some time, dubbed Safer Harbour. The aim is to give European citizens greater privacy safeguards without stopping US tech firms from being innovative. The watchdogs opted to observe a grace period in order to see if a new pact might be agreed before 31 January that would influence their decision. Although negotiators are reported to have made progress, no new deal has yet been agreed. Right. Many of the firms affected initially thought the ruling would just be an inconvenience as they could get their lawyers to draw up papers known as "model contract clauses" and "binding corporate rules" to keep the transfers legal. This might have involved a lot more work, but the companies believed that the contracts - already used to send data to other parts of the world - could also be used to authorise the use of US data centres. However, many expect the regulators will think that would be against the spirit of the ECJ's ruling. "When you look at the grounds the court used to invalidate Safe Harbour, you could apply more or less verbatim the same reasons to invalidate the alternative methods," commented Annabelle Richard, a lawyer at Pinsent Masons. "That would make it extremely difficult to export date from the EU to the US. "It would become almost an exception to have permission,

Summary: A meeting of EU data watchdogs is set to have wide-ranging ramifications for the way businesses handle data.


The 71-year-old will join John Lally and her beloved old pony Super Sam in a picturesque woodland spot in Cornwall, south west England. Also already buried in the family plot are Blot the cat, Muppet the Alsatian dog, and Brian the canary. Elsewhere in the six acres (2.4 hectares) of woods and fields, some 40 other people are also laid to rest with their pets. The land is owned by Ms Lally's business, Penwith Pet Crematorium, which is one of 50 or so pet crematoriums and cemeteries across the UK. And businesses is booming, as an ever-growing number of pet owners wish to give their animals a more formal send-off. At Penwith they now individually cremate an average of 200 animals per week, double the number a decade ago. Prices range from £42 for a hamster or guinea pig, up to £187 for a large dog. Meanwhile, it costs £900 to bury a horse (they are too big to be cremated at Penwith), or £1,500 for a human being. Ms Lally says: "It was my silly idea to set up the business back in 1988." She adds that she came up with the idea when she realised that there were many people like her and her husband who would like give their pets a formal cremation or burial. And that others would, like them, also consider being ultimately buried beside their pets, or where their beloved animals' ashes were scattered or interred. "My husband and I were running a farm, and we were lucky enough to have the land to set up the business," says Ms Lally. "So we set aside six acres. The business then gradually grew from there thanks to positive word of mouth and repeat business. "Everyone who comes here goes away and happily recommends us to other people, and we get people who come back with their second and third pets." Far from being just a British phenomenon, the industry of pet cremation and burial, or "pet loss" as it is known, is now a very big business globally. According to US-based trade body Pet Loss Professionals Alliance (PLPA), the average annual turnover of its members around the world in 2013 was $860,464 (£556,000). And that year its members in the US alone cremated 1.46 million pets. Coleen Ellis, co-chair of the PLPA, opened the first stand-alone pet funeral home in the US. Today, she owns and runs an organisation called Two Hearts Pet Loss, which educates veterinary professionals and pet loss businesses about how best to meet the needs of people whose pets nearing the end of their lives. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Ms Ellis, who is also the author of a book on the subject, says it is important to remember that there are two types people who have pets - "pet owners" and "pet parents". She adds: "My services are geared towards the pet parent, the person who saw their little furry animal as a member of the family. "I wanted to give people 'permission' to do what they wanted to do to honour their

Summary: When Penny Lally passes away she is is going to be buried between her late husband... and her favourite horse.


They were erected to glorify the Red Army's vital role in ousting the Nazis. But many Poles say it also ushered in four decades of Soviet-inspired communism, and want the monuments to be displayed in historical context. The plan could anger Russia, which has not been consulted. Relations between both countries are tense. The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) proposes to house the monuments in a park in the former Soviet base at Borne Sulinowo, a small town north-west of Warsaw, where they will be used for the purpose of teaching history. Andrzej Zawistowski, director of the IPN's education department, said the plan includes 229 monuments that refer to "what we consider as untruth: gratitude for having given Poland independence." Poland, now a western ally and Nato member, sees the Soviet domination following the end of the war as a period of oppression, and its relations with Moscow have been strained for some years. Poland and Russia are loggerheads over a number of issues, notably Russia's policy on Ukraine and EU sanctions on Moscow. The plan is diplomatically sensitive. The Kremlin protested strongly when a Soviet monument was removed from the town of Pieniezno last year. Russia says it exposed a lack of gratitude for the sacrifice of the Soviet troops who freed Poland from the Nazis. More than 20 million Soviet soldiers died in World War Two. Moscow argues that Poland is obliged to protect all war memorials under a 1994 bilateral agreement with Russia. But Poland says the agreement covers only cemeteries, which are not affected under the plan. "The plan will include only monuments expressing the gratitude towards the Red Army, and it will not affect Soviet cemeteries," said Mr Zawistowski. "The educational park will show these monuments within the right historical context," Mr Zawistowski said. "Educational parks and institutions of this type exist equally in other states such as Lithuania, Hungary or even Russia." The institute says it will help with the removal of the monuments and their installation in the museum. But it is up to city councils whether they want them cleared.

Summary: More than 200 monuments marking the Soviet army's liberation of Poland at the end of World War Two are to be moved to an open-air museum.


Liu Xia has been under house arrest since her husband won the award in 2010. She has never been charged. Friends say she is depressed but fear that if she sees a doctor she might be sent to a psychiatric hospital. Mr Liu was convicted of subversion in 2009. The Chinese authorities have never explained why they have restricted his wife's movements. News of Liu Xia's condition came from fellow activist Hu Jia, a family friend and an outspoken dissident in his own right. "Liu Xia was a very happy and cheerful person before Liu Xiaobo's arrest," Mr Hu told BBC Chinese. "We all thought her sunny bright personality was the ideal complement for Xiaobo's more intense disposition." But three years of house arrest had thrown Mrs Liu into deep depression, he said. She is denied free movement or the right to receive visitors. Even her request of a daily walk in a local park had been turned down for fear supporters or journalists might approach her, Hu Jia said. He said Mrs Liu felt guilty that her brother, Liu Hui, had been jailed earlier this year for fraud - she believed he had been prosecuted because of his connections to Liu Xiaobo and herself. Hu Jia revealed that a sympathetic health professional had been prescribing anti-depressants for Liu Xia, but says he could not say for sure if she had taken any of the medication. Hu Jia's wife Zeng Jinyan, who now lives in Hong Kong, has appealed on Liu Xia's behalf for "an internationally renowned psychologist from Medecins sans Frontieres" to be allowed to meet Liu Xia. Hu Jia believes that this would be the only form of help that Liu Xia would feel safe accepting, but he doubts if the Chinese authorities would allow her such medical attention. She also wants more access to letters from her husband, and the right to earn money.

Summary: Concern is growing for the mental health of the wife of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.


Martin White, 45, of Belfast Road, Muckamore, County Antrim, was sentenced at Antrim Court on Friday. It is understood this is the first prosecution of its kind in Northern Ireland. The family of 67-year-old Ethna Walsh, who died in February 2014 said they hoped "hard lessons" would be learned from her "unnecessary" death. The judge said Mrs Walsh's death had been caused by a "single momentary lapse of concentration" and was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for two years. Mrs Walsh, a mother of seven, had gone to the Clear Pharmacy on Antrim's Station Road to pick up medication for lung disease, COPD. White was supposed to give her Prednisolone, which is a steroid, but instead he picked up a box of Propranolol which slows down the heart. Mrs Walsh took the pills she had been given at home but within minutes she had difficulty breathing and became unwell. She was rushed to hospital in an ambulance but later died. White told police that he must have given her the wrong drugs. He said they were side by side on a shelf and had similar branding. The court previously heard that before the death, White had complained of his "cramped working space" up to 20 times and had been to his GP about his low mood and tiredness. An expert who investigated what had happened said accuracy checks should have been carried out but were not, and this had led to the tragic error. However, the expert deemed that White was guilty only of "poor professional performance" as opposed to "professional misconduct". The court heard that White had been earning more than Â£40,000 a year as a pharmacist but was now on benefits and "did not ever wish to return to being a pharmacist". It was heard White had expressed "deep regret and sorrow" for Mrs Welsh's death and was receiving psychiatric help. In a statement given to the BBC, Mrs Walsh's family described her as their "bedrock and centre", adding that she was the "beating heart of her family". The statement continued: "That her death was due to a series of entirely avoidable errors makes this matter all the more difficult. "We welcome today's resolution of the criminal proceedings arising from the death and acknowledge the admission of culpability and guilt on the part of Mr White." The family said that following Mrs Welsh's death, recommendations had been been made to pharmacists regarding dispensing errors. The statement concluded: "The family of Ethna Walsh hope that other families will be spared the burden of pain, anguish and loss they have had to shoulder and commend, to all community pharmacists, the hard lessons from this unnecessary death."

Summary: A pharmacist has been given a suspended sentence for supplying the wrong drugs to a grandmother of 15 who later died.


James Isbister caught the 6ft-long ling while fishing off Muckle Flugga on Saturday. Mr Isbister is awaiting confirmation from the relevant authorities of its possible record-breaking status. The fish is currently being kept in his mother's freezer. "It was a very big fight," he said. He said he would keep trying to catch an even larger fish. He told BBC Scotland: "Muckle Flugga is renowned for big fish. "It took about 20 or 30 minutes. "I knew it was a big fish but I didn't realise it was that size - I am 6ft 5in and it's as big as me." Mr Isbister added: "It's in my mum's freezer. We had to make room for it, it fills the whole freezer. "I am a local celebrity at the moment."

Summary: A Shetland fisherman is celebrating after reeling in a giant fish weighing more than 67lbs (30kg).


802 Works Ltd claims the club has not paid a bill for work at Ibrox and wants the cash frozen to ensure payment if Rangers go bust. Rangers say the firm breached the contract as the system cannot be used by 50,000 people at the same time. A sheriff will rule on Friday whether an arrestment warrant granted two weeks ago should remain or be lifted. At Glasgow Sheriff Court, lawyers for 802 Works said the firm wanted the money ring-fenced to ensure payment if the club goes into insolvency. The court was told that Rangers "over a considerable period", had been operating at a loss of £7.5m per year. Various accounts were lodged at the court, including an audited report dated October 2015, showing financial information and an account showing more recent figures that were taken from the club's account system. The most recent figures were objected to by the representative of 802 Works. Solicitor advocate Simon Catto, representing 802 Works, said the audited report showed a full year's accounts and a loss of around £7.5m per year should be preferred. He said: "These are the only documents that should be looked at when considering if there is a risk of insolvency." Counsel for the club, Christopher Wilson, told the court that the sum sued for is 2% of the turnover. He said: "The company is turning over that amount each week." The court heard Rangers have repaid a £5m loan from Sports Direct. Mr Catto said the defence case, that only 10,000 users could access the Wi-Fi in the stadium and that constituted a breach of contract, was "feeble". The court was told it was "quite clear from documents" that there was no intention that anything like 50,000 people would be able to use the system simultaneously.

Summary: A company which provided Wi-Fi services to Rangers is bidding to have £300,000 of the club's cash ring-fenced.


Ford, like most of its rivals, is seeking ways to profit as the industry moves toward driverless technology and ride-sharing. The company also added it would move all of its small-car production from Detroit to Mexico within three years. Shares of Ford dropped more than 1.5% after it announced its 2017 outlook. The share price has not recovered since it fell more than 8% in late July when Ford said the industry was going into a gradual decline. Last week, Ford lowered its 2016 pre-tax profit forecast to $10.2bn from at least $10.8bn because of an expanded vehicle recall. It had initially forecast a profit equal to or better than last year, but pulled back after announcing a $640m recall of 2.4 million vehicles. Ford currently makes some Fiestas in Mexico, but has kept production for some of its Focus and C-Max models in suburban Detroit. The company is building a new $1.6bn assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It will make small cars there starting in 2018. The move has drawn criticism from presidential candidate Donald Trump, would complained about a loss of US jobs. Ford chief executive said during an investor day on Wednesday that the company had to stay competitive. Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant will be getting new products under a contract signed last year with the United Auto Workers union.

Summary: US carmaker Ford has said it expects pre-tax profits to fall next year as it increases spending on projects such as self-driving and electric cars.


The man, in his late 40s, was involved in a housing dispute with bailiffs at the property on Stapleton Hall Road in Stroud Green. Police officers were called to the scene at midday after receiving reports the man was armed with a weapon. Shortly after they arrived the explosion took place, leaving him with severe burns. Three police officers sustained minor injuries. The basement and parts of the ground floor and shed in the back garden were on fire for several hours. No neighbouring houses were damaged. The cause of the explosion is not yet known and there have been no arrests. The Met said it was not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Witness Paul Pixton tweeted: "Something massive is happening on my street, some kind of altercation on street followed by loud explosion."

Summary: A man has been critically injured in an explosion at a house in north London.


The original judgment said long delays in executing prisoners meant the death penalty was "cruel and unusual". The appeal court has now dismissed that ruling as legally flawed, overturning it on procedural grounds. Separate legal arguments about lethal injections mean that executions in California remain suspended. The latest case was brought by Ernest DeWayne Jones, who was sentenced to death 20 years ago for the rape and murder of his girlfriend's mother. His lawyers argued that long delays in the appeals process meant that only a "random few" of those on death row were actually put to death. More than 900 people have been sentenced to death in California since 1978 but only 13 have been executed. A district court ruled in Jones's favour in July 2014, criticising the "dysfunctional post-conviction review process". But on Thursday the court of appeals for the ninth circuit concluded that legal precedent meant the courts should not be considering the merits of the case. No-one has been put to death in California since 2006 and executions will remain on hold pending separate legal arguments about whether lethal injections are constitutional.

Summary: A US federal appeal court has rejected a ruling which declared that capital punishment in California was unconstitutional.


Three key constituencies - Wavertree, Southport and Wirral West - have been chosen and you'll get the chance to grill the candidates hoping to enjoy the privilege of representing you at Westminster for the next five years. Roger Phillips will be hosting the first of the hour-long debates in Wavertree - one of Liverpool's so-called safe Labour seats - from 12:00 BST. Situated to the east of the city centre, the constituency is predominantly residential. It hosts a large technology park, which has close ties to the university, and has a large student population which boosts the local economy. Voters will hope that they are not faced with a repeat of the 2010 fiasco in which the polling station on Dunbabin Road ran out of ballot papers just as the polls were about to close. Liverpool City Council say "the problems last time at a small number of polling stations were caused by a number of people turning up at the close of polls and not all of the polling stations had a full allocation of ballot papers. "We are ensuring that all stations have a full allocation and additional training has been provided for staff. Also anyone in the queue by 22:00 BST will be given the chance to vote." So who will be vying for those votes? Luciana Berger, the shadow health minister, easily held the seat for Labour five years ago with a majority of more than 7,000. She took over from Jane Kennedy - the constituency's MP since it was created in 1997 - who was elected Merseyside's Police Commissioner in 2012. At one stage it looked like former Labour Councillor Jake Morrison would stand against Ms Berger. He was only 18 when he was elected in 2011 but his relationship with the party turned sour last year when he announced his retirement at the grand old age of 22. If re-elected, Ms Berger says she would "take practical action to support people who are looking for a job, for example by holding another jobs fair to bring together employers and local people. I'll promote apprenticeships and opportunities for young people and back our fantastic small businesses". She added: "I will continue to campaign for changes to law around dangerous dogs to make our neighbourhoods safer, and I will build on my strong record of standing up for the people of Liverpool Wavertree to ensure their concerns are heard where it matters and that real change is delivered for our community." The Liberal Democrats targeted this seat in 2010 without success. Their hopes this time around rest with 20-year-old student Leo Evans. He's pledging to protect green spaces like Calderstones Park, increase the NHS budget by £8bn a year with much emphasis on mental health, work to ensure Liverpool benefits from any devolved power - especially ensuring connection to HS2 and HS3 - and continue "the biggest expansion of apprenticeships since the 1950s". James Pearson is the Conservative's candidate. The former Trafford councillor unsuccessfully stood for the Church ward in last year's Liverpool City Council elections, and this

Summary: Ahead of the general election on 7 May, BBC Radio Merseyside is holding three special debates in front of a live audience.


Barking and Dagenham Council could ask Robert Clack School to expand to a 16-form entry system in an effort to cope with rising pupil numbers. The borough is one of 11 London councils that face big increases in demand for secondary school places. The country's biggest post-11 school is currently Ashfield Comprehensive in Nottinghamshire, with 2,492 pupils. Robert Clack is an oversubscribed mixed comprehensive in Dagenham which specialises in science. It currently has around 1,900 students. Barking and Dagenham has experienced the biggest growth in London in the number of children aged up to four. "By 2020, we will need around 30-35 more forms of entry," said a council spokeswoman. She said adding just two or three forms could overburden a school, but adding six would allow it to build more classrooms and facilities. She added: "These proposals are being discussed with schools and no decisions have been taken. This is an option available to more than one school." A report by London Councils earlier this month predicted London would need an additional 78,000 secondary places by 2020. According to the report, the cost of creating new school places means the capital faces a Â£1.5bn funding shortfall over the next five years. Councils must either expand existing schools, build new ones or rely on free schools - which are outside their control - to meet the demand. The deputy leader of Lambeth Council, Imogen Walker, said it was difficult to plan extra provision. "With the uncertainty over where free schools are going to open in the borough it is difficult to forecast places available," said Cllr Walker. "Lambeth's overall projections indicate that there could be some 700 [additional] places required by 2020/21 ." The London borough of Greenwich is opening three new secondary schools over the next two years to cope with demand. Hammersmith and Fulham, another borough under pressure, said it was "probably not" planning to create any so-called 'titan' schools.

Summary: An east London school could become the biggest in the country after being asked if it can take in 2,500 pupils.


Matt McClure stunned the hosts by flicking the Shots into a 1-0 lead after three minutes, but Tranmere hit back through Cole Stockton's sharp volley on the rebound nine minutes later. Connor Jennings then fired Tranmere in front after being put clean through by James Norwood after 23 minutes, but Aldershot dug in and levelled up via Bernard Mensah five minutes before the interval. Lois Maynard headed Liam Ridehalgh's free-kick wide as the hosts pushed late on, but they were unable to stop leaders Lincoln extending their advantage to five points. Match report supplied by the Press Association. Match ends, Tranmere Rovers 2, Aldershot Town 2. Second Half ends, Tranmere Rovers 2, Aldershot Town 2. Substitution, Aldershot Town. Manny Oyeleke replaces Jim Kellerman. Jim Kellerman (Aldershot Town) is shown the yellow card. Substitution, Tranmere Rovers. Andy Cook replaces Cole Stockton. Substitution, Aldershot Town. Shamir Fenelon replaces Idris Kanu. Connor Jennings (Tranmere Rovers) is shown the yellow card. Substitution, Tranmere Rovers. Erico Sousa replaces Adam Buxton. Kundai Benyu (Aldershot Town) is shown the yellow card. Michael Ihiekwe (Tranmere Rovers) is shown the yellow card. Second Half begins Tranmere Rovers 2, Aldershot Town 2. First Half ends, Tranmere Rovers 2, Aldershot Town 2. Goal! Tranmere Rovers 2, Aldershot Town 2. Bernard Mensah (Aldershot Town). Goal! Tranmere Rovers 2, Aldershot Town 1. Connor Jennings (Tranmere Rovers). Goal! Tranmere Rovers 1, Aldershot Town 1. Cole Stockton (Tranmere Rovers). Goal! Tranmere Rovers 0, Aldershot Town 1. Matt McClure (Aldershot Town). First Half begins. Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

Summary: Tranmere lost ground at the top of the National League after Aldershot held them to a 2-2 draw.


Three people were stabbed when thousands gathered for a water fight in the park which descended into violence last week. The 18-year-old man was arrested earlier and remains in custody. Another man, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, have also been arrested in relation to disorder in McDonald's in Marble Arch. Eleven people have now been arrested after the events on Tuesday 19 July. The arrests came after police released a gallery of photos of suspects linked to the disorder that saw three people, including a police officer, stabbed. A second officer suffered injuries from a flying bottle as officers tried to contain aggressive crowds that had gathered.

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing during a night of disorder in London's Hyde Park.


Costco store manager Roger Cooper, 41, and ex-soldier David Cooper, 39, were convicted of killing Sameena Imam, 34, at Birmingham Crown Court. Her body was found buried at an allotment in Leicester in January after she was killed with chloroform. Ms Imam had been having a two-year affair with Roger Cooper and issued him with an ultimatum to leave his partner. An eight-week trial heard that Roger Cooper spent at least a month plotting to kill Ms Imam - one of his three lovers - to prevent her exposing their affair. The men bought poisonous metals, identified a shallow grave and communicated in text messages written in a Star Wars-based code before killing Ms Imam. Roger and David Cooper remained calm and did not look at each other as they were unanimously convicted by a jury on Tuesday. Ms Imam is believed to have been overpowered on a sofa at David Cooper's home in Leicester after being driven to the property from Coventry by his brother. She was reported missing by family members in Essex after failing to return home for Christmas, sparking a major police inquiry. Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Marsh said: "I would say this is the most callous offence I have ever investigated. "Most murders that occur are spontaneous events driven by anger or jealousy, whereas in this case what we uncovered was weeks and weeks of planning to kill Sameena, numerous attempts on her life and a really unusual cause of death. "It's been a particularly challenging case and a particularly complex investigation and we are extremely grateful to the jury, who have listened to the case and given us the verdict we've had today."

Summary: Two brothers accused of murdering a cash-and-carry manager from Cardiff on Christmas Eve have been found guilty.


He was reported missing from Manor Road, Arleston, Telford, in Shropshire at about 15:00 GMT but found "safe and well" at about 18:30. It is not yet known where the boy was found, but he has since been taken to a hospital for a precautionary check-up. Two local women, aged 41 and 53, are currently in police custody. The force launched an urgent appeal following the disappearance, asking anyone with information to contact them. A spokesman said: "We are pleased to confirm that the missing baby boy has been found. "He is currently being checked over by hospital staff and will be reunited with his family shortly."

Summary: Two women have been arrested on suspicion of child abduction after a nine-week-old baby was taken from his home.


Media playback is not supported on this device Sneyd's influence at half-back guided the Airlie Birds to victory over Wigan on Saturday, having done the same against Warrington in the 2016 final. Last year's win against the Wolves secured Hull's first trophy since 2005. "The club's huge, and to win this twice on the bounce puts Hull back probably where they should be," said Sneyd. While Sneyd was key with his kicking and prompting in the win against the Warriors, he highlighted the impact made by the forwards such as Liam Watts, Gareth Ellis and Scott Taylor, as well as the all-round defensive effort. Wigan threatened a late comeback victory, but Hull did enough to repel their threat. "We've got a bit of everything in every department," Sneyd, 26, continued. "It's an unbelievable group to be playing in. We were clinging on at the end, and we've got people who are willing to work hard for one another." Media playback is not supported on this device Securing the Lance Todd Trophy for a second time ensured Sneyd added his name to an exalted list of just six players who have twice been named man of the match in a Challenge Cup final. Warrington's Gerry Helme (1950 and 1954) was the first, before Wigan pair Andy Gregory and Martin Offiah both did it twice during the club's glorious eight-year reign as Wembley winners in the late 1980s and early 1990s. St Helens legend Sean Long went on to win it three times, while his Saints team-mate Paul Wellens did it back-to-back in 2007 and 2008, the first of those being shared with Leon Pryce. But Sneyd is the first to achieve the award, which is voted for members of the Rugby League Writers Association, outright in successive years. "Leon Pryce was actually the one who told me no-one had won it twice outright before," said Sneyd, who is in his third season with Hull. "It's unbelievable when you see the names that are on the trophy. You can't quite believe that your name is on there. To be there twice - I'm over the moon with that." Hull coach Lee Radford said Sneyd's personal achievement was "a phenomenal effort from a phenomenal player". "Look at the impact he's had on our club since he walked through the door," continued Radford, who also said he believes Sneyd is the "most criticised half-back" that the club has ever had. Former Castleford and Salford player Sneyd has previously spoken about online abuse he receives on social media following matches. "I genuinely quite enjoy going home and seeing what they say about me on Twitter," said Sneyd. "It really doesn't bother me. "You give them a little favourite and you imagine what they're like at home, while I'm there laughing my head off." Wigan head coach Shaun Wane praised Hull after the match, saying they deserved their 18-14 victory at Wembley. The Warriors were on the wrong end of a contentious decision midway through the second half, when prop Tony Clubb had a try disallowed by the

Summary: Successive Challenge Cup triumphs at Wembley have restored Hull FC to rugby league's elite, says Lance Todd Trophy winner Marc Sneyd.


Robbie Benson lit up an uneventful first half with a stunning sweetly-struck right-foot volley into the top corner from the edge of the area. The hosts had Adam Hlousek sent-off for a second yellow card on 67 minutes. Michal Kucharczyk equalised with a composed solo effort in added time. Dundalk will go into the Europa League group stages, emulating the achievement of fellow League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers in 2011. The draw will be made on Friday. Legia Warsaw will await the outcome of the Champions League draw in Monaco on Thursday after becoming the first club from Poland to reach the group stages for 20 years. The visitors, who secured a league and cup double in Ireland last season, had qualified for the qualifying play-off by defeating Belarusian champions Bate Borisov 3-1 in the previous round, aided by a memorable 3-0 second-leg victory. Dundalk boasts a population of just 39,000 and the club went into the second leg of their tie at the Polish Army Stadium having already banked more than £4m for their European exploits, with more set to come as their European adventure continues. Dundalk's chances of progression appeared to be slim after their 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Polish champions in Dublin last week, but Benson's magnificent first-half strike was just reward for Stephen Kenny's side's efforts in the opening half. Benson had come into the side to replace suspended captain Stephen O'Donnell and his perfectly executed goal was his fourth of the season and his second in the competition. Benson went close to grabbing a second in the 63rd minute but his overhead bicycle kick, after David McMillan headed into his path, flew over the bar. Hlousek received his second booking four minutes later for hauling down Ronan Finn but Dundalk were unable to take advantage of the extra man. Kucharczyk's thunderous late strike on the break extinguished the Irish side's hopes and exploited the gaps in their defence as they pushed forward in search of the goal that would have taken the game to extra-time. Match ends, Legia Warsaw 1, Dundalk 1. Second Half ends, Legia Warsaw 1, Dundalk 1. Lukasz Broz (Legia Warsaw) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Daryl Horgan (Dundalk). Foul by Guilherme (Legia Warsaw). Dane Massey (Dundalk) wins a free kick on the left wing. Substitution, Legia Warsaw. Aleksandar Prijovic replaces Thibault Moulin. Michal Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration. Goal! Legia Warsaw 1, Dundalk 1. Michal Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe following a fast break. Michal Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Patrick Barrett (Dundalk). Offside, Legia Warsaw. Guilherme tries a through ball, but Thibault Moulin is caught offside. Attempt saved. Guilherme (Legia Warsaw) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Michal Kucharczyk. Substitution, Dundalk. Michael O'Connor replaces Patrick McEleney. Delay over. They are ready

Summary: Dundalk's attempt to become the first Irish side to make the Champions League group stages fell just short as they lost 3-1 to Legia Warsaw on aggregate after a creditable 1-1 draw in Poland.


There has been relegation out of the Football League, promotion back via a Wembley penalty shootout, an international call-up, a fractured jaw, displaced teeth, a broken nose and 127 appearances. For some, this would be the CV of an experienced professional but Lockyer is just 21. His performances this season have helped Bristol Rovers mount a League Two play-off challenge and have also caught the eye of the Football League, winning him December's Young Player of the Month award. Lockyer grew up in Cardiff and was sports mad as a child. He hated losing. Defeats by local rivals Llanishen Dons would leave him tears, but having chosen football over rugby his talents were spotted by Cardiff City, joining the club aged 11. He was eventually released as a 16-year-old when the time came to hand out apprenticeships. Cardiff's reasoning was he was too small to play centre-half. It proved to be a turning point for Lockyer. "From that day on I thought, 'I'm going to prove them wrong'," Lockyer told BBC Sport. "That was my attitude, I started going to the gym, working on strength and speed and it's worked out for me. It was a blessing in disguise." It was at this point Bristol Rovers became interested in the young Welshman and, after considering an offer from Exeter, he joined the Pirates. It has proved to be a wise move. Lockyer's first full season as a professional ended in heartbreak, with Rovers relegated from the Football League on the final day of the 2013-14 campaign. He is still haunted by the feeling of walking off the pitch against Mansfield that day. "That final day was probably the lowest I've been in football," recalled Lockyer. "Going in the changing rooms knowing what had happened. It was horrible, people were crying, there were kicks through the doors, there were anger and tears. I sat there with my head in my hands thinking 'what has just happened, where do we go from here?'" Where they went was into the Conference and Lockyer had a swift introduction to non-league football, losing two of his front teeth, splitting his lip and fracturing his jaw in only his second game. "I caught an elbow," he said. "My front two teeth went through my lip and then wedged back into my mouth. They didn't come out, they were pushed back. I spent all night in A&E and then 6am the next morning I was in the dentist and they told me I had fractured my jaw and I had to have stitches in my top lip. "I've had my nose broken four times, the teeth was the worst." Bristol Rovers' stay in the Conference lasted just one season, with Darrell Clarke leading the club to promotion via the play-offs on a memorable day at Wembley. Lockyer calls it his "best day in football". "Words cannot describe going down, words cannot describe going up," he said. "It was amazing." Unlike a lot of his team-mates, Lockyer was relatively calm before the game. He describes players being unable to eat

Summary: Bristol Rovers defender Tom Lockyer has already packed a lot into his fledgling career.


George Clooney is a Hollywood superstar so this was going to be no easy feat. A browse on social media and a few phone calls to those in the know in Edinburgh and I heard he was due to visit the homeless charity cafe, Social Bite, on Rose Street. The fact I had written a story about the visit for the BBC Scotland news website helped too. Would he come? Would he arrive through the front door or a secret back entrance? I had nothing else to go on but hope, so I began my quest to seek out Mr C. I arrived to find barriers erected around the cafe entrance, could this be a clue that the rumours were indeed true? Could one of the world's most famous actors really be coming? Mum, Sandi Pringle, 57, and her daughter, Kirsten Pringle, 22, from Edinburgh, had been camped out since 07:00, so I joined them alongside a growing number of journalists, photographers and cameramen. Over the course of the next 90 minutes security guards arrived, more onlookers, and people started hanging out of their windows in the narrow tenemented-street. This was looking quite promising now, especially when I observed the security guards listening to their ear pieces and saying "He's landed". Squeal. People were starting to look nervous that they weren't in the perfect spot to get near "him" and they started shuffling towards what was thought to be the best vantage point. The security guard then said my section was to move back two feet to allow his car in and the fear of missing him was palpable. Then his red jaguar appeared around the corner and stopped just feet away from the entrance. He got out and immediately began greeting the now three-deep crowd lining the street. There was no mistaking him as I craned to catch a glimpse, his tan glowing against a sea of Scottish winter white faces. There was a surge from the crowd as he got closer up the line of people. And then there he was: smaller and thinner than I had thought he was going to be. Everyone agreed though that he was just as good looking in the flesh, and oh what a deep tan. The 54-year-old had weathered well all the ladies agreed. He was then greeted by the cafe owner, Josh Littlejohn, before being whisked inside. My sources tell me he tucked into a platter of different sandwiches including chicken and bacon and smoked salmon. He then left $1,000 for homeless people to enjoy lunch on him before spending 15 minutes meeting and greeting the staff, many of whom have been homeless themselves. Then he was back out into the street where I cheekily asked him for a selfie, not thinking he would. "Sure, I will," he drawled. I managed to take about 20 to make sure I had the best angle, of course, then he was off. A quick chat with my sources and I found out he was going for lunch to Tigerlily, so I headed off along George

Summary: So what do you do when your editor hears one of the biggest A-list celebrities in the world is going to be in town and he asks you to go and find him?


Transport for London, the body running the bid, rejected the chance to host the start in September, just days before a deal was set to be announced. But a Freedom of Information request has revealed just how far talks with ASO, the Tour's owner, had gone. TfL's correspondence with the French also shows how dramatic its U-turn was. The three stages would have taken place on 1-3 July. TfL started talks with ASO about bringing the Tour back to London in January, with the then TfL commissioner Sir Peter Hendy taking the lead. TfL's emails, letters and text messages suggest ASO was initially a little cool on the idea of bringing the race back to London again so soon after the success of its Grand Depart in 2007 but by mid-March momentum was building. A meeting in Paris on 27 May between senior TfL staff, Jon-Paul Graham from London mayor Boris Johnson's office and Tour director Christian Prudhomme's team appeared to have sealed the deal. A day later Sir Peter emailed Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director for surface transport, and Ben Plowden, director of surface strategy and planning, to congratulate them and ask "when an announcement can be made!" The next four weeks saw proposed routes for the three stages exchange hands, a visit to London by ASO's route experts, and ASO ask TfL for data on cycling's growth in the capital since 2007. Chris Mather, TfL's head of behaviour change, claimed 2014 "was the safest year on record for London cyclists" and cycling was at an "all-time high". By the beginning of August, TfL finalised its plans for the three stages and booked the Guildhall's Old Library for the launch and everything seemed ready for the deal to be announced during the World Road Cycling Championships in late September. But while ASO's staff took summer breaks following the race in July, bosses at TfL were in "delicate negotiations" with the Treasury about London's transport budget. With the Department for Transport not one of the protected ministries in Chancellor George Osborne's Spending Review, TfL was told its Â£591m annual grant would be gradually withdrawn over the next three years. Suddenly, the decision to spend an estimated Â£35m, which included a Â£4m hosting fee for ASO, on three days of elite sport, and with no input from UK Sport's major events budget, was made much harder and more political. The first ASO knew of this was in a letter from Leon Daniels to Mr Prudhomme on 15 September saying "recent events dictate that we can no longer offer to host a Grand Depart in 2017". Mr Daniels explained the cuts, which were revealed last month to total 37% of the Department for Transport's running costs, and said TfL's spending "will be under intense scrutiny" as it fought to safeguard "front-line transport services". He concluded by saying TfL was pulling out with "a heavy heart" and hoped to "welcome the Tour back in the future". The BBC, however, understands ASO's initial response was anger and shock, particularly as time and bargaining power have been

Summary: The proposed route for the start of the 2017 Tour de France would have seen three days of racing in London, East Sussex, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex.


An Â£8m scheme has been unveiled for the home, where Lennon played as a child. The venture will combine an education centre for young people with learning difficulties and an exhibition on the home, the song and Lennon's early life. The gates at the site, which is closed to the public, are a popular attraction for Beatles fans visiting Liverpool. The plans were announced on the 50th anniversary of the release of the single, which was a double-A side with Penny Lane, reaching number two in the UK charts and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA. The original home in Woolton was demolished in the early 1970s and replaced with a smaller building. Major Drew McCombe, divisional leader for the North West branch of the charity, said: "Strawberry Field is special in the hearts of many people in Liverpool, the UK and across the world, and we at the Salvation Army are aiming to redevelop the site to do justice to the many people that have been supported by the children's home or formed a connection with the iconic Beatles song." According to Blue Badge Beatles tour guide Neil McDonald, the gates are one of the must-see Beatles sights in the city. He said: "It is a unique atmosphere. I've seen some people burst into tears and even proposals of marriage." According to Hunter Davies's biography of The Beatles, one of Lennon's childhood treats was the garden party that took place each summer on the grounds of Strawberry Field. His Aunt Mimi recalled: "As soon as we could hear the Salvation Army band starting, John would jump up and down shouting 'Mimi, come on. We're going to be late.'" The musician is said to have found a place of peace and refuge from his troubled childhood in the woods around the home, where he went to play with friends, climb trees and dream the hours away. The song's refrain "and nothing to get hung about" is said to be a reference to Lennon's retort "they can't hang you for it" to Mimi about playing on the property. Official fundraising for the project begins later this year.

Summary: The children's home immortalised by John Lennon in The Beatles hit Strawberry Fields Forever is to be redeveloped by the Salvation Army.