Anaya Ellick from Chesapeake, Virginia, does not use prosthetics. To write, she stands to get the proper angle, holding a pencil between her arms. Her principal, Tracy Cox from Greenbrier Christian Academy, describes her as an "inspiration". "She does not let anything get in the way of doing what she has set out to do," says Ms Cox. "She is a hard worker and has some of the best handwriting in her class." The girl reportedly beat 50 other competitors to get the special-needs category prize at the National Handwriting Contest. This category rewards students with an intellectual, physical, or developmental disability. Competition director Kathleen Wright told ABC News that her "writing sample was comparable to someone who had hands". This is what her winning entry looked like: Sponsors of the contest Zaner-Bloser said they planned to award each student $1,000 (Â£690). They tweeted a picture of the student, happily holding her trophy. Having no hands was also not an obstacle to 30-year-old pilot Jessica Cox. In 2013, we reported on her inspirational example. Also born without hands, she has been able to drive a car, fly a plane and play piano - all with her feet.

Summary: A seven-year-old student born without hands has won a US national handwriting contest.


Eight journalists and two policemen were among the dead. Police issued photos of two suspects, describing them as "armed and dangerous". A third suspect reportedly handed himself in to police. Protests and vigils over the attack, the deadliest the country has seen in decades, have been held across France. President Francois Hollande called it a "cowardly murder" and declared a day of national mourning on Thursday. He said the country's tradition of free speech had been attacked and called on all French people to stand together. "Our best weapon is our unity," Mr Hollande said in a televised address late on Wednesday. Security has been stepped up across France in the wake of the attack, with Paris placed on the highest alert. Police said arrest warrants had been issued for Cherif Kouachi, 32, and his brother Said, 34, who they said were believed to be "armed and dangerous". Another suspect, Hamyd Mourad, 18, was named earlier in a police document, according to media reports. However, unnamed officials said that Mr Mourad handed himself in to police after seeing his name circulating on social media. He was arrested and taken into custody, AFP reported. Media reports described Cherif Kouachi as a militant sentenced in 2008 to three years in prison for belonging to a group sending jihadist fighters to Iraq. BBC Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson says there are separate reports of police operations taking place outside the capital and in the eastern city of Reims, 140km (90 miles) from Paris. Police did not give any details but forensic teams were later seen searching an apartment in Reims. The satirical weekly has courted controversy in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs. It was firebombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. The attack took place as the magazine was holding its weekly editorial meeting. French media have named three cartoonists killed in the attack as Cabu, Tignous and Wolinski, as well as Charlie Hebdo contributor and French economist Bernard Maris. Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, 47, had received death threats in the past and was living under police protection. Cartoonist Corinne Rey, said the hooded gunmen entered the building after forcing her to enter the code to open the door. "They said they belonged to al-Qaeda," she said, adding they had spoken in fluent French. Eyewitnesses said they heard as many as 50 shots fired by the attackers both inside the Charlie Hebdo office and on the streets outside. The gunmen were captured on amateur video shooting one injured police officer at point blank range in the head on the pavement outside. They were heard shouting "we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" and "God is Great" in Arabic ("Allahu Akbar"). Police said the masked gunmen fled to northern Paris, before abandoning their car and hijacking a second one. The Paris prosecutor, Francois Molins, said 11 people had been wounded in the attack, four of them seriously. He told reporters all efforts were being made to find those responsible, without giving any details

Summary: A major manhunt has been launched for gunmen who shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.


The 21-year-old scored one try in two appearances for the Welsh region but crossed eight times in 26 games for Welsh Premiership side Cardiff RFC, who come under the umbrella of the Blues. Bath have also handed a new two-year contract extension to back row Levi Douglas, 20, who joined the English Premiership club's academy in December. He has made three senior appearances since signing from French side Oyonnax. On Tuesday, Bath announced Argentina wing Horacio Agulla will leave the club at the end of the season. Mike Ford's side are ninth in the table ahead of their final match of the season against Leicester Tigers on Saturday,

Summary: Bath have signed Cardiff Blues' Welsh wing Harry Davies ahead of next season.


The ex-France and Arsenal striker wore glasses and a wig to surprise teenagers at Pen-y-Dre High School, Merthyr. Henry, a Sky Academy ambassador, was there to present the Sky Sports Living for Sport Student of the Year Award for Wales to pupil Emma Morgan. The awards programme is on Sky Sports 1 on Sunday. A talented swimmer, Emma became the school's youngest student to represent Wales at the annual European 'Superschools' competition, in Sweden, where she won silver. She will attend the awards ceremony in London at the weekend where the overall UK and Ireland Student of the Year will be announced. Henry said Emma was a "deserving winner". Head teacher Keith Maher said: "Everyone was sworn to secrecy and it was an idea that Thierry and Sky came up with. "It was absolutely a complete surprise and very few staff knew about it."

Summary: Football legend Thierry Henry amazed pupils at a south Wales school by walking into their classroom disguised as a supply teacher.


Lamborghini, which is owned by Volkswagen, said Italy had beaten a bid from Slovakia to build the car there. Reports say the sports car maker received â‚¬90m ($98m; Â£64m) of tax breaks and other incentives from the government to produce the car in Italy. Executives from Lamborghini joined the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at a signing ceremony in Rome. The Urus SUV was unveiled as a concept car in 2012 and is expected to go on sale in 2018, with a planned production level of 3,000 cars a year. That will more than double production at Lamborghini's factory near Bologna and is expected to create 500 jobs. Other car markers have been attracted by the strong growth and in the SUV market. In January, Jaguar Land Rover said it would build its first Jaguar SUV at its Solihull plant in the West Midlands. And in February Rolls-Royce, owned by BMW, also announced plans to launch an SUV.

Summary: Lamborghini confirmed the launch of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) and signed a deal to build the car in Italy.


Rescuers are still battling to reach the dead and injured inside, more than 24 hours after the inferno began. Hundreds were trapped inside - the building had metal grilles on the windows and no fire exits. Many workers jumped from the upper floors. The fire began hours after a blaze at a Lahore shoe factory killed 25 people, highlighting lax safety regulations. Investigations have been announced into both fires. Reports say they may have been caused by faulty generators. Some 40 firefighting vehicles tackled the Karachi blaze, officials said. People trapped inside the building frantically rang their friends and relatives as flames engulfed it, reports say. The Ali Enterprises factory in the Baldia town area of Karachi was mobbed by shouting and sobbing relatives as rescuers pulled out body after body. "The death toll is 289. This is not final - the search for more bodies continues," the city's top official, Roshan Shaikh, told AFP news agency, in the afternoon. By Syed Shoaib HasanBBC News, Karachi It is not just textile mills - industries across Pakistan are increasingly prone to disaster. Sometimes it is the collapse of poorly constructed premises - but fires remain the main danger. In general, the problem is the same that plagues all matters of governance in Pakistan - enforcement of the law. Industrial standards are disregarded to minimise cost as inspectors are paid to look the other way. Textile factories are particularly at risk because of the lethal combination of chemical dyes and stacks of cotton often stored next to each other - ensuring a deadly result. Fire exits - as in the case of the factory in Karachi - exist only on paper, a factor in raising casualty figures. The city administration itself has a limited number of fire engines to serve the growing needs of an increasingly sprawling metropolis. What is generally a small and controllable mistake is made worse by years of official disregard for workers' safety. That in turn produces such tragedies - which are then covered up, only to be repeated a few months later. Workers had little time or opportunity to escape from the four-storey building's single exit - many could do so only by jumping from the windows. Dozens suffered broken bones, or worse. One survivor, Allah Warayo, said there was a stampede as the fire spread. He ended up jumping from the third floor, but five members of his family did not escape. "We started running towards the exit. There were 150-200 people all running and pushing each other. I fell down unconscious," he told BBC Urdu's Riaz Sohail. "Then I managed to get some air from a vent. I started screaming. A crane made a hole in the wall and I was able to jump. I begged the rescue workers to help my relatives, but no-one paid any attention." Mr Warayo told the BBC people had tried to break the metal grilles but could not. He said the door to the back stairs leading to the roof was also locked. He screamed to the guards below to throw

Summary: At least 289 people have died in one of Pakistan's worst fires, at a garment factory in Karachi, officials say.


The ??359m Independent Living Fund pays out an average of ??300 a week, to help people pay for carers so they can live at home and not in a care home. It was already shut to new applicants for this year and will now shut to new claims permanently, said the minister for disabled people, Maria Miller. Payments to existing users are to continue until 2015. Ms Miller said: "An independent discretionary trust delivering social care is financially unsustainable." But Richard Hawkes, chief executive of disability charity Scope, said the decision to phase out the fund was "bemusing". "The fund is comparatively very small and is designed to support disabled people to live at home rather than in care homes," he said. "It's hard to see how phasing out this fund will do anything but narrow down options and push people towards greater dependence on the state." The phased closure was described as "foolhardy and lacking in humanity" by Labour peer Lord Morris of Manchester. Lord Morris, who was the first minister for the disabled, said: "This will not save money. If you make it harder for disabled people to live at home, it will cost more because more of them will have to be in hospitals and other places of full-time care. "It will mean far more of them having to be in institutional care at far greater cost to the taxpayer." The government said local authorities had a statutory responsibility to provide social care support to their residents. And it said it remained its priority to safeguard the position of the recipients of the fund. It said it would carry out a formal consultation next year on how best to continue to support existing users.

Summary: A fund which supports more than 21,000 people with severe disabilities is to be phased out by 2015.


The RMT union is balloting more than 1,000 members who work at stations. GTR, which includes Southern and Great Northern, plans to close 34 station ticket offices and staff 49 others only at peak times. The two sides are in a long-running dispute over the role of conductors. Stations listed for reduced ticket office hours include Chichester, Crawley, Dorking, Huntingdon, Hove, Lewes, Reigate, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City and Worthing. Ticket window closures include Alexandra Palace, Caterham, Cricklewood, Lancing, Purley and Sutton. GTR said new "station hosts" would work on the concourse instead to assist passengers and help sell tickets. The RMT claimed 130 station jobs were at risk and said the cuts would also have a "devastating" impact on safety and services offered to passengers. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "These plans fly in the face of the response from the thousands of passengers who objected to the closure of ticket offices and the de-staffing of stations as Govia drives on with plans for a "faceless railway" where the public are left to fend for themselves on rammed-out, dangerous and unreliable services." But GTR director Keith Jipps said: "The RMT's threat of further industrial action is entirely unwarranted and clearly another bid by the union to disrupt passengers and GTR across as many parts of our franchise as possible." "Our new station hosts will be paid more, be able to work in safety and provide passengers with better customer service, but the RMT is not concerned with improving the experience for passengers and are dismissing significant improvements to the terms and conditions for staff," he added. The union is to ballot staff in the first two weeks of August on "strike action and action short of a strike." GTR's franchise covers four railways: Southern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Great Northern.

Summary: Britain's largest rail franchise, Govia Thameslink (GTR) is facing the threat of more industrial action, in a fresh dispute over planned cuts to ticket offices.


The RT-branded box contains food packaged in laboratory bottles, such as Medonium honey - "med" being honey in Russian and Meldonium a performance-enhancing drugs taken by athletes. There is also raspberry jam tagged "anabolic" in reference to steroids also banned in sports. "Not everyone realised this was a humorous present from RT," the broadcaster said. It has consistently denied and ridiculed allegations of a state-sponsored doping programme in Russia. One of the gift boxes was sent to Yulia Efimova, who won two swimming silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. A photo posted on Russia's leading social networking website VKontakte shows a smiling Efimova with test tubes and vials apparently containing food, such as jam, honey and condiments. On its website, RT gave further details of its gift pack which it suggested had also been sent to other people. The website carried a video from the Twitter account of blogger Evgeny Kozlov showing one of the kits being unpacked. People from RT are "unbelievably creative", he said. The kits also include cards said to be based on drawings by children from an orphanage. "A New Year's card that you will never throw away," said Yulia Ostroukhova, apparently another recipient of the gift box. "Very nice. Many thanks for the delicious Medonium, too," she said on Facebook. It is not clear how many kits were produced or how many recipients there were. In July, an investigation commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said Russia's sports ministry "directed, controlled and oversaw" manipulation of urine samples provided by its athletes. A number of Russian athletes were banned from competing at the Rio Olympics, but no blanket ban was imposed. Another report later in the year alleged more than 1,000 Russians benefited from a doping cover-up between 2011 and 2015. Russian officials have strongly denied there has been a state-sponsored doping programme. BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

Summary: The Kremlin-funded international broadcaster RT, known as Russia Today, has produced New Year gift boxes branded "Russian doping".


The Lincolnshire side reached round one for the first time by beating National League Wrexham 3-2 after extra-time in a fourth qualifying round replay. Stamford, who play in the eighth tier Northern Premier League Division One South, now face League One Hartlepool. "We're on a bonus for the FA Cup and we're determined to go to America," manager Graham Drury said. "At the minute we've got nearly £2,000 and if we beat Hartlepool in the next round I'll be saying to the chairman I want another £5,000 to go into that players' pot. "That's our goal, our dream, to send the boys to America." Drury, who led Conference North side Corby Town into the first round of the FA Cup five years ago, took over as manager of Stamford last season but was unable to save them from relegation from the Northern Premier League Premier Division. And he said was delighted to make club history by giving them some cup success. "When I came into Stamford at the back end of Christmas last year they'd won one home game in 18 months," Drury told BBC Radio Lincolnshire. "We've turned that round and made Stamford a bit of a fortress. We've lost one game here this season and we've played some top-quality sides. "We've stuck at it and we've got our rewards, and to take them to the first round proper, I'm a very proud man."

Summary: Stamford's players are hoping to earn enough money from their FA Cup run to fund an end-of-season trip to the US.


Steven Dishman, 60, went on the run on 28 May 1985 while serving seven years for burglary and theft of property. He was sentenced in December 1984, and would have been eligible for parole in December 1987. Dishman was taken into custody by law enforcement officials and the Arkansas State Police. The inmate escaped from the Cummins Unit in Lincoln County, where convicted murderer Ledell Lee was executed in April. Solomon Graves, Public Information Officer for the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC), said Dishman will have to serve what is left of his sentence. Further charges may follow in connection with his escape. According to the ADC website, four prisoners are still at large in Arkansas. Of those, the longest standing escapee is Veal Lee, a thief who went on the run on 15 July 1984.

Summary: An Arkansas prisoner who escaped more than 30 years ago has been recaptured in the city of Springdale, a prisons spokesman said.


The charges include rape, attempted rape, child prostitution, child pornography and drug charges linked to boys from Leicester and Coventry. The men, aged between 24 and 78, face accusations the boys were abused by a group of men who befriended them. One man appeared at Birmingham magistrates court on Tuesday and has been remanded into custody. Tahir Hussain, 33, from St Joseph's Road in Ward End, Birmingham, appeared before magistrates on Tuesday and is charged with four counts of rape, one charged of sexual assault, three of sexual activity with a boy, six of facilitating child prostitution and a count of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Six of the offences are said to have been carried out against in a 15-year-old in February 2010. He has been remanded in custody until 24 August. The other nine men have been bailed until 18 August. They are

Summary: Ten men from London and the Midlands have been charged with child sexual exploitation offences against two boys.


United's 2-0 win over Ajax in Stockholm came two days after 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber following a concert at Manchester Arena. The club tweeted a photo of a banner reading: "Manchester - A City United." United manager Jose Mourinho said: "If we could, we would change obviously the people's lives for this cup." Media playback is not supported on this device Manchester-born striker Marcus Rashford said the win was "for you Manchester," while the world's most expensive player Paul Pogba said: "We played for the people who died." Captain Wayne Rooney encouraged people to donate to help the families of the victims; Juan Mata said the players had "focused on the game and to win and to lift the spirit of the town at least for some hours - and we feel proud of that" and midfielder Ander Herrera said: "I want to dedicate this trophy to the victims." He added: "What happened two days ago was horrible. Yesterday morning we were devastated. It was difficult to train but the manager told us the only thing we could do is win this for them, and that is what we have done. "We are just football players but we have an audience so we want to work together for a normal world. This happened in Manchester but everywhere we want to see a united world and fight for peace." Media playback is not supported on this device On an emotional night in Sweden, Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the goals that won the Europa League for the first time in United's history - and with it a place in the group stages of next season's Champions League. Officials considered postponing Wednesday's game following the bombing 48 hours earlier, but it was decided it should go ahead. However, United did cancel their pre-game news conference. United boss Jose Mourinho said: "It is really hard and that is why we didn't want to have a press conference because we had to prepare ourselves to do our job and try to forget events that are obviously much bigger than our job. "But the world goes on. It doesn't stop and we have to do our work. The players put a wall up and stayed isolated from everything and did really well. "I agreed with the decision to play the game, but if we could exchange these lives we would do it immediately. We wouldn't think twice." Media playback is not supported on this device United's victory in Stockholm means they have now won all three of Europe's major competitions, having previously won the Champions League three times - in 1968, 1999 and 2008 - and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1991. The Europa League is their second major trophy of Mourinho's debut season in charge, having also won the League Cup in February. However, the Old Trafford club finished sixth in the Premier League and their Portuguese manager has often appeared frustrated. The former Chelsea boss recently said he has had to work "harder than ever" this campaign and his delight was

Summary: Manchester United dedicated Wednesday's Europa League victory to the victims of Monday's attack in the city, as the club made tributes in their memory.


Co-operative Energy received 136 complaints per 100,000 customers in the third quarter of the year, the Energy Ombudsman said. This was 50% higher than any other supplier, the ombudsman's figures show. Co-operative Energy blamed continuing problems with its new computer system for the results. It upgraded its IT systems in March, with many customers complaining of being locked out of their online account or not receiving their bills following the switch. "We would like to thank customers for their patience and continued support in recent months," a spokesman for the supplier said. "We have made significant progress to resolve a number of technical issues which ultimately related to the introduction of a new IT system. We will continue to make further improvements to ensure our customers receive the high level of service they expect and deserve." The energy ombudsman said it had received a total of 13,212 complaints about the energy sector in the third quarter of the year, slightly lower than the previous quarter's total of 13,490. Disputed charges, inaccurate invoices and missing bills were the most common complaints.

Summary: One of the UK's smaller energy suppliers has topped a list of the highest proportion of consumer complaints.


The crash, which involved the bike and a Range Rover, took place at about 19:30 BST on Saturday at Groesonen Road in Clytha, near Abergavenny. The driver of the Range Rover was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The motorcyclist, from Bristol, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Summary: A motorcyclist has died after a crash in Monmouthshire, Gwent Police has said.


The company said that Kensington and Chelsea had seen prices plummet by 16% since a peak in September 2014. In Westminster it claimed there had been a fall of 22% between a peak in November and the end of May. It blamed the fall on the new stamp duty regime, introduced in December, which penalises expensive properties. Based on average prices, anyone buying a property in Kensington and Chelsea can now expect to pay more than Â£118,000 in stamp duty alone. "This fall-off in the top tiers of the market has cooled activity levels too," said Adrian Gill, director of Reed Rains and Your Move estate agents, part of the LSL group. He said the number of homes being sold in London as a whole had dropped by 16% in the year to April. A wider survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that the stock of houses per surveyor has fallen to its lowest level for at least 37 years. However, prices in the London suburbs - and other parts of England and Wales - continued to hit new highs, said LSL. According to its calculations, prices rose by 4.5% in the year to May, making the average cost of a home Â£277,178. That is similar to estimates by the Office for National Statistics, but much higher than figures from Halifax and Nationwide. Buyers of properties worth less than Â£937,000 now pay less in stamp duty than they used to. Prices in England's smallest county - Rutland - rose by 23.8% over the year, while those in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire went up by 16.4%. Thirteen outer London boroughs saw prices hit new highs. Previous figures from the Land Registry have suggested that prices in the suburbs across England and Wales have been taking off, including in parts of Manchester. The separate RICS survey suggests prices in England and Wales could rise by as much as 25% over the next five years, due to the shortage of housing stock. It said that, away from the South East, the strongest growth was expected in north-west England, as a result of the government's northern powerhouse initiative. LSL's house price index is based on statistics released by the Land Registry, so includes cash sales.

Summary: House prices in the smartest parts of London have fallen by up to 22% since last Autumn, according to the property services group LSL.


Ward defended his WBO, WBA and IBF light-heavyweight titles against Sergey Kovalev in a rematch on Saturday. His coach Virgil Hunter has talked up a move to cruiserweight or heavyweight and backed the American to beat Joshua. "He's the heavyweight champion and the man but that's just my coach's belief," Ward, 33, told BBC Radio 5 live. "Anything is possible. Virgil will speak his mind and I will back him up. That's no disrespect to Anthony Joshua. "Cruiserweight and heavyweight is definitely an option. Is it easy? Absolutely not. Is it a risk? Absolutely. Are people going to think you're crazy? Absolutely." Ward held world titles at super-middleweight before claiming all but one of the recognised belts at light-heavyweight and said he would meet WBC title holder Adonis Stevenson "if there is enough buzz and people want to see it". He added that he did not want to fight at cruiserweight or heavyweight regularly, saying: "Ideally you want it to be for a title, to make history and move on." Britain's Tony Bellew - the WBC champion at cruiserweight - could therefore be an option and would ultimately require less of a weight jump than a contest with Joshua. In beating Kovalev, Ward weighed in at 175lbs - around 24lbs lighter than Bellew scaled when capturing his title in 2016 and 75lbs less than Joshua prior to his win over Wladimir Klitschko in April. "I've shown we are willing to fight the best," added Ward, who has won all of his 32 fights. "I'm coming up to 13 years as a pro. You want meaningful fights. "The situation at heavyweight or cruiserweight, it wouldn't be to try to match them size for size. "I'd not try to get to the maximum of 200lbs at cruiser, I'd come in at 188-190, understanding I'm the smaller man and that I'd have to use my ability." If Ward were to win a world title at heavyweight, he would emulate Roy Jones Jr, who moved from light-heavyweight to heavyweight to take the WBA title from John Ruiz in 2013. Jones won that title despite weighing in 34lbs less than his 226lbs opponent.

Summary: Andre Ward says "anything is possible" regarding a move up in weight which could see him meet WBA and IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.


Only 3.2mm of rain fell at Gogarbank and 4mm in the Botanic Gardens - 7% and 10% of the respective monthly average. According to data from the Met Office Midlothian, Fife and Middlesex, were the driest historical counties this month with just 12% of the rainfall expected in April. Sutherland was the wettest part of Scotland with 36% above average. The UK as a whole experienced just 47% of the expected rainfall. Scotland was the wettest area of the UK with 65mm and southern England the driest area with 16mm.

Summary: Edinburgh was the driest place in the UK in April despite Scotland as a whole being the wettest.


Media playback is not supported on this device The Irish lost a 9-3 half-time lead as Sean O'Brien, Dave Kearney, Johnny Sexton and Mike McCarthy were all forced off as France snatched victory. "France came out in that second half and played very strongly," said the Ireland coach after the game in Paris. "On the back of that we were starting to lose our legs a little bit." As the Six Nations holders tired, Maxime Medard's 70th-minute try helped seal France's narrow win with Jules Plisson's conversion seeing the hosts secure victory. Media playback is not supported on this device O'Brien was forced off by a hamstring injury in the 19th minute while Schmidt said wing Kearney is likely to miss the remainder of the Six Nations after sustaining a shoulder injury before the interval. Lock McCarthy (concussion) will be another doubt for the game against England on 27 February while fly-half Sexton had to be replaced with 10 minutes remaining after taking several heavy hits. Schmidt also revealed that centre Jared Payne had been forced to soldier on in the closing 30 minutes despite suffering from a dead leg. Keith Earls and Simon Zebo missed Saturday's defeat because of injury after starting in last weekend's draw against Wales while Schmidt was also without the likes of Peter O'Mahony, Iain Henderson, Tommy Bowe, Mike Ross and Cian Healy in Paris. The Irish coach said he was not surprised that former Racing Metro fly-half Sexton had been on the receiving end of some French physicality. "He knows what he's going to get when he comes here," said the Ireland boss."He was pretty knocked around by the end of the match." Media playback is not supported on this device Schmidt expects the match's citing commissioner to examine a number of incidents in the match - including Yoann Maestri's first-half late hit on Sexton. "We had some very clear indications coming into the Six Nations about what would be tolerated and what would not be and what sanctions would follow," the New Zealander said. "There's a fair degree of frustration, but some of that reflects the frustration at ourselves for not taking the opportunity - to lead 9-3 for so long when we had a couple of opportunities in the first half in tough conditions to maintain possession. "It was a very greasy surface but at the same time you have to play those conditions. "We were unable to capitalise on what was a pretty strong kicking game early on." The 45th-minute introduction of props Rabah Slimani and Eddy Ben Arous helped turn the contest in France's favour but home coach Guy Noves insisted that there was more to his side's victory. "I don't want to hear that changing the props was the right strategy," said Noves. "What we were doing from the 30th minute to the end, that feels good, that was the right way. "The players really focused hard to rectify the mistakes from last week. The players won, not the coaching."

Summary: Ireland coach Joe Schmidt was left "hugely disappointed" after his injury-ravaged side were beaten 10-9 by France in a bruising Six Nations contest.


Amar Hussain, 29, was involved in a hoax 999 call claiming an officer would be kidnapped by a radical Muslim with links to so-called Islamic State. The call led to West Midlands Police putting in "unprecedented" measures to check officers' safety, jurors heard. At Stafford Crown Court, two other men were convicted of the same charges. Live updates on this story Hussain, along with civilians Adil Bashir, 26, and Muhammad Ali Sheikh, 31, were all found guilty of two counts of perverting the course of justice. Judge Michael Chambers QC said Hussain, of Yardley, Birmingham, was guilty of a "vast breach of trust". All three defendants were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced on 27 May. During the trial, the prosecution told the court how all police on the West Midlands force had to call to report getting home safely due to the threat made on 8 December 2014. Jurors heard Hussain hoped his fake tip-off would discredit an official within the Islamic community group Dawat-e-Islami. Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, from West Midlands Police, said Hussain's actions "let down" the force and risked losing the public's trust. "The impact of the threat had a huge effect on officers and staff and in turn on their loved ones," he said. "Never before have we had to instruct officers and staff to call in after their tour of duty to let us know they had returned home safely."

Summary: A PC who falsely claimed a fellow officer was going to be kidnapped by terrorists has been convicted of perverting the course of justice.


Some 670 arts organisations will receive annual grants worth a total of £340m per year. Three quarters of those have had their funding frozen. Among the losers is the English National Opera which has a funding cut close to 30%. Here, some of the other winners and losers reflect on their positions. The news that Richmond's Orange Tree Theatre had lost all of its funding came on new artistic director Paul Miller's first official day in the job. The funding represents almost a quarter of the theatre's income. "I think the big, national contradictory pressures that are on the Arts Council were just so great that something had to give - and on that occasion it was us," Mr Miller told the BBC. "I think there is an element of rebalancing out of London. Perhaps there was a perception about the kind of work that the Orange Tree was doing that was not easy to shift. "Once upon a time, the Orange Tree was a fledgling start-up company that had its first Arts Council funding. For new younger companies to get into the system, it means that existing organisations cannot simply take for granted that they will continue to be regularly funded." He said talks with the Arts Council would continue while until he developed a new business model. "There are still many ways in which we can continue to take wonderful theatre in our lovely space. We just have to find a financially different way of doing it." Salford's The Lowry arts centre had a 22% funding drop to £800,000 per year. But it also received a £3m capital grant from the Arts Council and a £1 million private donation - the largest in its 14-year history. "It's a mixed result for us but one that we're broadly pleased with," said chief executive Julia Fawcett. The Arts Council funding currently represents about 6% of The Lowry's total budget, and this will drop to about 4% from 2015. "It means we'll have to recalibrate, refocus and work harder," said Ms Fawcett. She didn't see "too many seismic shifts" in the way funding had changed outside the capital. "The shift out of London is so marginal it hardly bears attention. It does look as if London-based organisations have taken a cut but it's at the margins. "There's been some degree of restoration for some of our significant touring companies - like Birmingham Royal Ballet and Opera North." Unicorn Theatre, which specialises in arts for young people, had a 30% boost taking its annual grant to £1.3m from April. "Children's theatre has come a long way since the Unicorn was founded in 1947 and it's a terrific milestone to be recognised in this funding round as being equally important to the cultural life of the nation as any of the country's leading theatres," said artist director Purni Morell. "We're absolutely committed to making this vital public investment count, not just for the Unicorn but for the whole of children's theatre in the UK, as we embark on an ambitious programme of commissions, productions, tours

Summary: The Arts Council for England (ACE) says its spending plans for the three years from 2015 will help strengthen and promote activity outside London.


Howard, who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), died at his home near Los Angeles on Wednesday. He was best known for the 1970s high school basketball series The White Shadow, in which he played the coach. SAG-AFTRA acting president Gabrielle Carteris said he was "inspirational" and "a light that never dimmed". A spokesman for the union added that Howard left "a legacy of service, commitment and superlative success". "He was an extraordinary actor, a Tony and Emmy Award winner, whose career spanned Broadway, motion pictures and television," he said. Stars of TV and film took to social media to pay tribute to Howard, who began his acting career on Broadway in 1968 after touring Europe and recording two albums with his college choral group, The Zumbyes. Mindy Kaling, who worked with Howard on The Office, tweeted he was "a great guy", while Terminator 2 star Robert Patrick wrote "glad I worked with 'Class'". Rob Lowe, who starred alongside Howard in The West Wing, tweeted he would "always remember" working with him on one of his "favourite scenes ever" from the show. George Clooney shared a memory with Deadline about meeting Howard while auditioning as a young actor. "I didn't get that audition, but I did get the chance to work with him years later. It was an honour," he said. "Today, his obituary read that he was six foot six, but he was so much taller than that." Born in California on 24 March 1944, Howard first came to prominence on stage, winning a Tony Award for his role in Child's Play on Broadway in 1970. He made his Hollywood debut in the same year, opposite Liza Minnelli in the drama Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, and would go on to star in a wide variety of films, including 1994 thriller Clear and Present Danger and 2005 comedy In Her Shoes. However, the SAG-AFTRA spokesman said it was as Coach Reeves in the "groundbreaking" series The White Shadow he would be best remembered, adding that years after the show ended in 1981, Howard was "frequently recognised on the street by fans who greeted him with a handshake and a 'Hey, Coach'". Howard won two Daytime Emmys for his work on television and starred in a range of shows, including Dynasty, The Colbys, Melrose Place and Crossing Jordan. He also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Murder She Wrote, The Golden Girls and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. He was elected as the Screen Actors Guild's president in 2009 and later helped it merge with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to form a new 160,000-member union. In 2011, he said in a letter to members that serving them as president was "the most important thing I have ever done". He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Linda Fetters Howard, and three adult stepchildren from a previous marriage.

Summary: Veteran TV and film actor Ken Howard has died at the age of 71.


Tommy Thompson was arrested on a criminal contempt warrant for evading a civil case brought by his investors. They accuse him of cheating them out of promised proceeds from one of the biggest shipwreck hauls in US history. In 1988 Thompson recovered millions of dollars' worth of gold from a ship that sank off the US coast in 1857. Thompson went missing in 2012 amid demands he appear in court. He and an associate, Alison Antekeier, were arrested in January in Boca Raton, Florida. They had been at the hotel for two years, paying cash for their room under a false name and using taxis and public transport to avoid detection. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Thompson's plea deal with prosecutors requires him to turn over $425,380 (Â£286,000) to the court, money that was seized when he was arrested. Under the deal, Thompson will be sent to prison for no more than two years, but in exchange the government will not charge him with other offences arising from the case. A total of 161 investors had given Mr Thompson $12.7m (Â£8m) to find the ship on the understanding they would see returns on their investment. Thompson, then an oceanic engineer at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, and his crew brought up thousands of bars and coins in 1988, much of them later sold to a gold marketing group in 2000 for about $50 million. But the criminal complaint unveiled in January said the gold bars and coins he recovered from the seafloor were worth up to $400m (Â£260m). One of the investors has asked an Ohio state judge to freeze all of Thompson's assets.

Summary: A US treasure hunter - who spent years evading authorities - will go to prison rather than testify about gold he discovered in a historic shipwreck.


But Mr Obama said those who looted and started fires on Monday "should be treated like criminals". The rioting came after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a black man fatally injured in police custody in Baltimore. A week-long curfew has been announced and thousands of troops have been deployed to the city. The National Guard has been sent to Baltimore to stop unrest for the first time since 1968, when some of the city's neighbourhoods went up in flames after the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. On Tuesday evening, hundreds of protesters took to the streets to express their frustration with what they see as excessive police force. The peaceful demonstrations were a contrast to the day before, when about 200 people were arrested as more than 100 cars were set alight and 15 buildings destroyed. Mr Obama harshly criticised "a handful of people" for "senseless violence and destruction". "That is not a protest, that is not a statement, they are stealing." But the US president said the rioting had distracted from the frustration over Gray's death. "This has been a slow-rolling crisis. This has been going on for a long time. This is not new. And we shouldn't pretend that it's new," Mr Obama said. He added such problems would not be solved just by changes to policing. "It would require everybody saying this is important, this is significant, and that we don't just pay attention to these communities when a CVS burns and we don't just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped." At an afternoon briefing, Baltimore Captain Eric Kowalczyk was asked why the police had not responded with more resources to prevent fires and rioting. He said police had originally deployed for a "high school event", expecting young students. "I don't think there's anyone in the country that would expect us to deploy automatic weapons and armoured vehicles to an event with 13, 14 and 15 year olds," but saw it turned into an incident that drew in older troublemakers and escalated in violence. It's been hours since the CVS was set alight here at Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, but fire fighters are still battling the flames. Earlier the stench of burning fumes filled the air as groups of people, armed with brooms and bin bags helped clear the mess from the night before. As the day progressed the crowds of protestors built up. A line of police, wearing full riot gear and carrying batons and shields have been blocking one of the road's here. For most of the afternoon protestors, danced and beat drums close by. There was the air of a carnival - a contrast to the violence this same area witnesses just the night before. At one point things did get a little tense. A conversation between protestors and police ended with pepper spray being directed at the crowds. But things have been calm overall. Protestors formed a human chain as the sun beat down on this bruised city. As nightfall a there'll be a curfew.

Summary: President Barack Obama has said police violence against African-Americans is a "slow-rolling crisis" after a night of violence in Baltimore.


Officers forced entry to the house in Wood End Lane, Northolt, west London, at about 20:10 BST and detained a man in his 40s. They say a search of the house is under way to make sure it is safe so that evacuated neighbours can return home. Police said negotiations with the man had been unsuccessful. A cordon of 200m had been in place at Wood End Lane since 01:00 BST on Friday, which was extended to 300m on Saturday. About 80 residents have had to spend two nights away from their homes as officers negotiated with the man. Scotland Yard said officers from the Territorial Support Group were supported by the London Fire Brigade as they moved in on the address. Ch Supt Paul Martin said: "I am really pleased that this incident has now ended, and importantly ended without anyone coming to harm. "Our key priority throughout this was to get the man out of the address safely as we had growing concerns about his well-being and believed him to be in crisis. "After attempts to negotiate over a number of days did not work we used specialist officers to work out how we could gain entry to the address as safely as we could. They did that this evening." Ch Supt Martin said police had also worked closely with the ambulance service and the local authority during the operation. Searches of the property will be conducted "as quickly as we can to make sure people get home", he added. Police had said there was no suggestion the incident was terror-related or linked to any ongoing police operations or investigation.

Summary: A three-day stand-off between armed police and a man feared to have stockpiled petrol at his home has ended after officers entered the property.


Her account comes after a report from the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group said pregnant women were "systematically overlooked" in the UK's trafficking response. Marta, not her real name, told the Victoria Derbyshire programme that she came to Birmingham in November 2014 thinking she would get a job in a poultry factory, where a number of her friends were working. "But my boyfriend and I had our passports taken and we were put to work on a dump," she explained. "They took our documents and our bank cards and they took our wages. We were being moved from site to site. We were given old stale food that was obviously very cheap." Marta and her partner do not speak English so they struggled to get help. She claims it was during this time she realised that she was pregnant. "If you didn't follow and obey their orders you were not given any food," she said. "The worst time was when I was five months pregnant, we were so hungry that we had to eat from rubbish bins. "We found a sandwich factory who were throwing out old sandwiches so we mainly survived on them." Marta claims when she told the gang she was pregnant they reduced the amount of work they sent her out to do. "Even though I was pregnant I was losing a lot of weight," she said. "I wasn't feeling well and they gave me my phone. I was able to get wi-fi and texted my friends in Ireland telling them where I was working. "They went to the police and the police found us three days later." Marta was rescued in April 2015 and taken to a safe house in Manchester where volunteers got her medical help and took her to see a midwife. She was told she was malnourished and that the baby was not feeding properly in the womb. She was also interviewed by police and claims the translator told her that the reason the gang had stopped her working is that they probably had plans to sell her baby. "I was really worried when I heard they might have sold my baby," she said. "There was another pregnant woman there and when her baby was born we never saw her again." After leaving the safe house Marta returned to Poland. Her son is now six months old and his health is beginning to improve. No charges have been brought in relation to her case. In a statement, Home Office Minister Karen Bradley said:"We are currently working with a broad range of interested parties on how best to support trafficked children and intend to announce proposals before Easter." The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:15 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.

Summary: A young Polish woman has described how she was forced to eat rubbish from bins while she was pregnant after being trafficked to the UK.


Government plans would give applicants a right to complain to an employment tribunal if they believed they had suffered discrimination. Jeremy Hunt said he wanted to create "a culture of openness" where staff feel they can speak up about patient safety. Barrister Sir Robert Francis recommended the measure after a public inquiry into Stafford Hospital deaths. Protecting NHS whistleblowers was a key recommendation from the inquiry into the scandal, which resulted in the trust that ran Stafford Hospital being fined Â£500,000 for "basic" blunders linked to the deaths of four patients. Sir Robert, the inquiry chairman, warned that staff often faced bullying and isolation if they tried to speak out and that staff struggled to find new jobs in the NHS. Under the UK-wide plans, applicants for an NHS job would have the right to complain to an employment tribunal if they had been discriminated against because they had previously raised concerns about the safety of patients. Applicants would also have the right to bring a claim in court in order to prevent discriminatory conduct. And the draft guidelines, which are out for consultation, say that discrimination of an applicant by an NHS worker should be treated like discrimination by the NHS body itself. Health Secretary Mr Hunt said: "Today we move another step closer to creating a culture of openness in the NHS, where people who have the courage to speak up about patient safety concerns are listened to, not vilified." He said the changes would ensure "staff feel they are protected with the law on their side". There has been a growing focus on patient safety since Sir Robert's inquiry in 2013. One of the main findings of that report was that people within the NHS had known about the poor levels of care at the hospital, but did not raise the alarm. Since then, a number of initiatives have been launched to improve safety. In 2015, the government introduced plans to appoint guardians to support staff who wanted to speak up about concerns over patient safety. Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action against Medical Accidents, said the plans were modest, but a "welcome move in the right direction". "It is clearly unfair that staff who have been forced to become 'whistleblowers' should be discriminated against when they seek alternative jobs. "However, this is a symptom of a much deeper cultural problem in the NHS which will not be solved with tinkering with rules here and there. "So far we have not seen a joined-up approach to supporting and protecting staff from unfair treatment when they try to do the right thing and end up having to be whistleblowers." Mr Walsh said many NHS trusts had still not appointed guardians, as recommended by the Stafford Hospital inquiry. The current consultation is open for eight weeks and will close on 12 May.

Summary: NHS whistleblowers could be protected against discrimination if they apply to work for the health service again.


Jonathan Browning, a former chairman of Vauxhall, has succeeded him. UK Sport was expected to publish a report this month after an independent investigation into the culture and practices at British Cycling - but that has been delayed. The governing body is also being investigated by UK Anti-Doping over allegations of wrongdoing. Howden, who was re-elected in December, has denied that the move is related to the publication of the report. A former managing director of Jaguar Cars, Browning was appointed to the British Cycling board as a non-executive director in March 2015. "British Cycling has delivered tremendous success at every level over the past two decades, but there is clearly work to do to take the organisation to the next level," he said. Ian Drake left his post as chief executive officer in January, saying it was the "natural moment" as preparations began for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Browning's appointment comes after a turbulent year for one of the country's most successful and well-funded sports governing bodies. British Cycling is preparing for the results of the investigation into whether there was a culture of bullying at its world-class performance programme. Publication of a report sources have described as "explosive" has been delayed until next month. Former world champion Nicole Cooke has accused the organisation of sexism. And Howden was criticised for his performance in front of a parliamentary select committee at the end of last year. "The appointment of an independent chair brings British Cycling more closely in line with the new code for sports governance," Howden said.

Summary: Bob Howden has stepped down as chairman of British Cycling, but will remain the organisation's president.


The Navitus Bay project was for up to 121 turbines off Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The Department of Energy and Climate Change rejected the offshore project in September. The developers' "extensive" research will be made available via the Crown Estate's Marine Data Exchange. The Â£3.5bn plan, developed jointly by Dutch firm Eneco and French giant EDF Energy A, would have seen up to 121 8MW turbines at 200m (656ft) high constructed. Developers said it would have provided electricity for up to 700,000 homes, but opponents argued it would damage tourism and was too close to protected coasts. It was only the second time the government rejected an offshore project. A statement on the Navitus Bay website read: "After careful consideration, Navitus Bay has chosen not to challenge this decision. "We would like to thank the communities on the South Coast and all our stakeholders for their engagement throughout the project." It added a "wealth of information" gathered, including bird and mammal surveys, archaeological data and sediment sampling, would be left as a "legacy...to stimulate research, support academia and contribute towards the sustainable management of the seabed". The Challenge Navitus campaign group, which had opposed the development, said in a statement it was "delighted and relieved" at the announcement. "The examiners' recommendation for refusal to the government was unequivocal and carefully considered, as was the Secretary of State's decision, so it would have been surprising if there were legal flaws in the process that the developer could challenge," it added.

Summary: Developers behind a wind farm plan off the south coast of England which was refused consent by the government have decided not to appeal the decision.


The Israeli ambassador to the UN called the database a "blacklist" and said the body was acting obsessively against it. But the Palestinian envoy said the move was a "message of hope" for his people. Settlements built on territories occupied by Israel in 1967 are considered illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this position. About 500,000 Jews live alongside 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Thirty-two of the 47 members of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council voted on Thursday to adopt the motion calling for the establishment of the database. None voted against the motion, while 15, mostly European nations, abstained. The BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says the database will provide a resource for any organisation wanting to divest from companies involved in Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. It will potentially include a number of Israeli and international firms working in industries from banking to construction and security services, our correspondent adds. The Palestinians have been campaigning for tougher sanctions against settlements. The Palestinian envoy to the UN said that the passage of this resolution and others by the Human Rights Council were a "message of hope" to his people. "Israel continues to systematically violate the inalienable rights of the Palestinians while enjoying impunity from the international community," Ibrahim Khreisheh added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the body "an anti-Israel circus which attacks the only democracy in the Middle East and ignores the blatant violations of Iran, Syria and North Korea". He added that it was absurd to condemn Israel rather than deal with attacks by Palestinians on Israelis and by so-called Islamic State in Europe.

Summary: Israel has criticised the UN Human Rights Council for voting to establish a database of firms doing business in settlements in the occupied West Bank.


Media playback is not supported on this device Bolt, who completed a sprint double in Beijing with Thursday's 200m win, added he would run at the 2016 Olympics. "I want to run but I think the sport is not as fun as it used to be - it's more taxing," the 29-year-old, who has won 10 world titles, told the BBC. "I can't enjoy it as much as I want to because I have to sacrifice more." He added: "It is 50-50." Media playback is not supported on this device Bolt could make his gold-medal tally to 11 this weekend when he competes for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay. Once again he is likely to face Justin Gatlin in the final, with the United States one of the favourites for gold. The Jamaicans were beaten by an American quartet at the IAAF World Relays in May. "In the World Relays, Justin Gatlin had a big game in their victory," added Bolt. "I guess he will be tired now. There will be no reason why we should not win the relay." Some media outlets have been accused of portraying Gatlin as the "villain" to Bolt's "hero" following two career doping bans. He came into the World Championships having set the best times over 100m and 200m this season. Bolt pipped Gatlin to the 100m title, before the American fell to a more emphatic defeat in the longer sprint on Thursday. Asked by BBC Radio 5 live if a double silver was a disappointment, Gatlin said: "Not at all. I'm out here competing. I'm aged 33. "I think a lot of people now see the hard work and effort I put into it. It's not a personal race, it's also for my country. "In the 100m, I beat myself. In the 200m, technically I ran to the best of my ability." When asked about the media's portrayal of him in the lead up to Beijing 2015, Gatlin said: "I go into shutdown mode. I don't worry about what the media has to say. "You guys do your job, sensationalise stories sometimes. My job is to compete and get to the line."

Summary: Jamaica's Usain Bolt says he is "50-50" to compete at the 2017 World Championships in London because athletics is less enjoyable for him.


The EU said the meeting in Istanbul, which ended early on Wednesday, was "useful and constructive". Mr Jalili said they assessed "common points" reached by technical teams. Talks in June between Iran and the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - ended without a breakthrough. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said afterwards that the proposals they had seen from Iran had been "non-starters". State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the purpose of Tuesday's meeting was to gauge whether the Iranians were "prepared to bring anything new". The talks between Baroness Ashton and Mr Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, were not considered formal negotiations. Afterwards, an EU spokesman said in a brief statement that it had been "a useful and constructive meeting and an important opportunity to stress once again to Iran the urgent need to make progress". Baroness Ashton would brief representatives of the P5+1 next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, it added. Mr Jalili said he and the EU's foreign policy chief had assessed some proposals agreed at a lower-level technical meeting in July. "We discussed common points found by the experts and technical teams... so that they may be brought closer together and that a framework for future talks can be drawn," he added. "We hope [our] talks can help bring the common points closer together." "We are awaiting the result of the six powers' assessment." On Monday, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency might have been infiltrated by "terrorists and saboteurs" who "might be making decisions covertly". Fereydun Abbasi-Davani cited an incident on 17 August, when power lines from the city of Qom to the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo were cut, shortly before an unscheduled visit by IAEA inspectors. His comments came days after the IAEA's governing body expressed "serious concern" that Iran had continued to defy UN Security Council resolutions demanding it suspend uranium enrichment and had failed to resolve questions about possible nuclear weapons development. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran was only six or seven months from having "90%" of what it needed to make a nuclear bomb, and urged the US to draw a "red line" which if crossed would lead to military intervention. Iran has insisted that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes, and warned that it will retaliate if it comes under attack.

Summary: EU foreign affairs representative Catherine Ashton has held talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in a bid to end the stand-off over the Iranian nuclear programme.


He has not scored the runs, and his technical difficulties around fourth stump have not withstood the severe cross-examination of the high-profile media pundits who fuel the opinions of so many others in and around the sport. It's a tough place to be - knowing you are good enough to excel but feeling so out of form, and feeling your chances of success are diminishing innings by innings, partly because of the unwelcome focus on you when the selectors' guillotine is hovering over your head. The only way to rid yourself of it is to score big runs. Hopefully Jennings can find his best form again for Durham and return for England's Ashes tour this winter. He may even discover that his style of play is better suited to Australian conditions. The England selectors will have debated whether or not to allow him an extended spell in the team. Maybe he would have come through the experience a better player? But playing with the axe hanging over you is not helpful to recovering your best form. I felt in May of 2013 that if Alastair Cook and I had the opportunity to open together for the whole summer, we could have made a real go of the job. The lack of backing I received was because of my poor performances against New Zealand, but I reckon if I could have been allowed to move through that challenging learning experience of my first real dip in form as an England player, I would have been better for it. After all, my partnership with Cook was a success in terms of the runs we put on together, and the team was winning matches and series. Moving through the difficult learning process of being a newcomer to Test cricket is not straightforward and, should a player receive the full support of selection when experiencing a dip in form, it offers a healthy return on the investment of your initial selection. Very few players experience a consistent graph of top performance in their first 15 Tests, but the best ones benefit from the exposure and learning over time. After all, South Africa's Jacques Kallis did not enjoy the best of starts to his Test career and look what happened to him. Now the focus of attention is on Mark Stoneman, who looks set to become England's oldest debutant this century when England face West Indies in the first Test at Edgbaston on Thursday. England's selectors have received much criticism for the number of players coming and going since the days of Geoff Miller when the panel embraced a 'consistency and continuity' policy. Rather than blaming the selectors, it is ultimately down to players to be in charge of their own destiny and make the most of any chance that comes their way. If anyone is looking for a scapegoat for England's recent problems at the top of the order, then I can recommend pointing the finger at me. If I had taken my first chance with both hands in 2013 as Andrew Strauss' replacement, none of

Summary: I watched England's final Test against South Africa and really felt for Keaton Jennings.


The Irish, who have set 2020 as their target entry date, are currently ICC associate members, which means they play one-day internationals and T20 games but not Test matches. They have earned wins over Pakistan and England at the last two World Cups. Central contracts are to be given to 23 Ireland players while coach Phil Simmons has signed a new two-year deal. Simmons's contract extension will keep him in charge until the completion of the qualifying campaign for the next World Cup. Cricket Ireland published a strategic plan on Tuesday which, it maintains, outlines a road map that will take the country to the Test arena by 2020. The plan outlines proposals to establish a domestic first-class cricket structure in Ireland and to increase the numbers playing the game to 50,000. Cricket Ireland chiefs also believe the country can improve its one-day world ranking from its current position of 11th to eighth and that the sport can become firmly established as the country's fourth most popular team sport behind Gaelic games, football and rugby. "We have set ourselves a very clear long-term ambition - to become a full Test nation by 2020, nothing less," said chief executive Warren Deutrom. "This is not a dreamy aspiration but a real ambition founded on the playing talent being developed on this island, the growing passion and profile of the game here, a sustained and proven track record of achievement on and off the field, and a clear roadmap set out by us for how to get there." Cricket Ireland also confirmed that several new commercial funding deals are in place, while principal sponsors RSA Insurance are understood to have extended their deal until 2015. Ireland's application for Test status aims to build on the momentum created by last year's memorable World Cup victory over England. Irish cricket was stunned a month later when the International Cricket Council appeared to close the door on qualification for the 2015 World Cup by announcing plans to restrict places at the tournament to its 10 full member nations. But after an outcry, the world governing body's executive board said in June that it was retaining the 14-team format and Ireland are already in a qualifying campaign for the 2015 tournament. The win over England came four years after the heroic performance at their first World Cup appearance in 2007 when they shocked Pakistan to qualify for the second round of the competition. But while Ireland have claimed notable scalps in the one-day game, the lack of Test cricket has led to players such as Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan declaring for England - albeit Joyce later resumed his Ireland career. Irish fast bowler Boyd Rankin has also spoken of his desire to represent England at Test level and has already represented the England Lions side.

Summary: Ireland have announced that they are applying to the International Cricket Council for Test match status.


At an event in New York on Monday, Madonna, Beyonce, Kanye West, and 13 other performers announced they had become co-owners of Tidal. The service launched last October, but was recently bought by rapper Jay Z. It is hoping to compete with the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Google Play. However Tidal offers 25 million music tracks, fewer than the 30 million offered by many rival services. As well as a standard subscription for $9.99 a month, Tidal offers a "high fidelity" option for $19.99, which claims to deliver better sound quality. Singer Alicia Keys spoke on behalf of the artists as they all lined up on stage at Skylight at Moynihan Station in Manhattan. Describing the event as a "graduation", she said the artists hoped Tidal would alter musical evolution. "So we come together before you on this day, March 30th, 2015, with one voice in unity in the hopes that today will be another one of those moments in time, a moment that will forever change the course of music history." Their mission, she said, goes beyond commerce and technology. "Our intent is to preserve music's importance in our lives,'' she said. Notably, the majority of the company will be owned by artists, a symbolic move in a business where musicians often have little control over how their work is distributed and consumed. Jay Z's strategy will include encouraging artists to lobby their labels to give Tidal new music a week in advance of other services, giving it a short window of exclusivity. He told Billboard: "We didn't like the direction music was going and thought maybe we could get in and strike an honest blow. "Will artists make more money? Even if it means less profit for our bottom line, absolutely. That's easy for us. We can do that. Less profit for our bottom line, more money for the artist; fantastic."

Summary: Some of the biggest names in entertainment have re-launched the music subscription service Tidal, which they are billing as the first artist-owned platform for music and video.


They have been removed to stop the spread of ash dieback, a fungal disease that can infect mature trees and saplings. Scientists have warned that if it is not contained it could change the landscape and affect our biodiversity. It has been found on around 100 sites in Northern Ireland. All those sites were planted with imported saplings, some of which had the infection. Infected ash trees were destroyed along with any others planted alongside. That led to the removal of 100,000 young trees. The disease is widespread in Europe where it is killing mature trees. In Northern Ireland, it is mostly in saplings planted within the past five years. It spreads on the wind by spores. Scientists at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Belfast are trying to establish if that is happening in Northern Ireland yet. Prof Alistair McCracken, a plant pathologist with AFBI, said: "This is a serious disease. In Denmark they say up to 90% of the ash trees have been infected. "Now they haven't all died, but they have been affected and are looking quite sickly so potentially this could have a huge impact on the Northern Ireland environment." Infected ash trees will not recover, although mature trees can survive for a long time. The fungus appears between June and September on leaf litter. Each pinhead size fungus can produce large numbers of spores. When they land on a fresh ash leaf they germinate, penetrate the surface and grow into the stem. The first symptom is wilting leaves. As it gets worse the trees will develop a diamond-shaped dark-coloured lesion on the bark. In Denmark, Sweden and east European countries, where the disease has been present for 30 years, large numbers of trees have become infected. Scientists are worried about its impact in Northern Ireland, where ash is a common tree. They are carrying out a survey of more than 1,000 sites to identify any further problems. And they have asked for the public's help. The authorities have developed a smartphone app called Tree Check that the public can use to report potential problems, including a picture and a GPS position. They will then be assessed and, if necessary, the site visited by experts. Jim Crummie, plant health expert with the Forest Service urged the public to download the app and to be the "eyes and ears" of the authorities in the fight to combat the disease. Tree Check can be used to report all tree diseases, not just ash dieback.

Summary: One hundred thousand young ash trees have been destroyed in Northern Ireland in an attempt to combat a potentially devastating disease.


Celtic lead the Dons on goal difference with a game in hand after losing at Pittodrie on their last league outing. "They're going to be more hungry," manager Deila said of his team. "They know that it is very important to keep momentum and winning games and getting performances. So, it [Aberdeen drawing level] is doing us better." Aberdeen beat Celtic 2-1 three days after Deila's side lost their League Cup semi-final to Ross County, who visit the champions on Saturday. "I am very impressed with what Aberdeen have done," he added. "We have won many games in the league, we have lost three games in one year and they have done very well. "Up in Aberdeen is always a tough game. We should have doe more there but now we need to just get back on track again. "You need to react even better if you are pushed from behind." Deila rejected the notion that Saturday is an opportunity for revenge but added that his team has a point to prove against County. Celtic took an early lead at Hampden but were soon reduced to 10 men following a red card for Efe Ambrose and lost out 3-1 to the Dingwall outfit. "We really want to bounce back after the semi-final," said Deila. "We have to take with us the first 12-15 minutes when we created a lot of chances and do that for 90 minutes. "It's about getting momentum now, getting on the right track, winning football games. If we do that, everything will be good, we'll get confidence in the team and play well." Deila also said that it was "normal" that other clubs would be interested in signing Charlie Mulgrew, who is out of contract at the end of the season. He insisted that the focus for the player and the club just now is to "get him back up to his highest level" following a prolonged spell out with injury. There was no progress to report on midfielders James Forrest and Stefan Johansen, who have 11 and 17 months to run on their respective deals. "It's never [straightforward] in football," said Deila. "They have to really want to play for Celtic as well. We will see in the end who is with us for the future and who is not." Deila added that he has not spoken to Leigh Griffiths following threatening remarks aimed at the striker's family on social media but is confident that the player's form will not suffer. "He's quite strong mentally and he knows what's right or wrong," he said of Celtic's top scorer. "He's performed very well this season and he just needs to keep his focus on the same things as he did earlier."

Summary: Ronny Deila thinks the challenge from Aberdeen will only increase the determination of his Celtic players to stay at the top of the Premiership.


Gwent Police said the man was arrested in Hamburg on 12 August and will be extradited to the UK. The man is believed to be Thomas Doran, who is wanted as part of Gwent Police's Operation Imperial - an investigation into serious offences against vulnerable adults on the Gwent Levels. The extradition process can take six weeks, police added.

Summary: A 60-year-old man from Cardiff has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap.


The 23-year-old arrived on trial with the Dingwall club last month following his release from Go Ahead Eagles in the second tier of Dutch football. Having started his career at NAC Breda, he will provide competition for Liam Boyce, Brian Graham and Craig Curran. Curran has not featured since suffering a head injury in late August. Boyce is the Staggies' leading scorer with 11 goals, while Graham has netted once during the current campaign.

Summary: Ross County have signed former Netherlands Under-21 striker Alex Schalk until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.


Sufism or Islamic mysticism was once suppressed by the Taliban, but the sect is recovering its place in the country and its millions of followers are once more emerging from the shadows. Sufis have considerable influence in both rural and urban settings - they are an effective popular force to bring change into society - and people consider them as disinterested mediators in disputes. ''The influence of Sufis will be very significant in bringing peace and tranquillity,'' says Sayed Mahmood Gailani, a Sufi master. ''There are a few people with Sufi backgrounds who are involved in the peace process. But there hasn't been any concerted effort to give the Sufis a systematic and prominent role in it.'' Sufism in Afghanistan is considered an integral part of Islam. People in general respect Sufis for their learning and believe they possess "karamat" - a miraculous spiritual power that enables Sufi masters to perform acts of generosity and bestow blessings. Ziyarats - Sufi shrines - are popular pilgrimage sites all over the country. In addition to Afghanistan, Sufi orders have millions of followers in both Pakistan and India too. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the following armed resistance by the mujahideen resulted in the arrival of thousands of Middle Eastern fighters and the introduction of foreign ideologies including Wahabism. Wahabism insists on a literal interpretation of Islam and sees Sufism and its ideas as anathema. This created tension between Sufis and Ulamas (religious scholars) in some parts of the country. But it was during the Taliban's rule (1996-2001) when many Sufis were driven underground. A number were initially part of the Taliban movement but gradually people influenced by the Wahabi ideology became more prominent. Sufis were silenced. Some Sufis, especially members of the Chishtiyya Sufi Order which considers music to be an effective route to reach Allah, were prosecuted. "The Taliban invaded Sufi gatherings, humiliated and beat up many of them and their musical instruments were smashed,'' said Afghan Culture Minister Sayed Makhdoom Rahin, who has a Sufi background. ''Sufis are free to hold their ceremonies once again with the same old exuberance denied to them by the Taliban.'' Given the respect and influence Sufis enjoy among the local population, their involvement at the grass roots level could help the peace process in war-torn Afghanistan. Although Taliban members come from various backgrounds, some have great respect for Sufis and are even followers of Sufism. "Influential and knowledgeable Sufis can persuade a large number of Taliban to lay down their arms and can also provide guarantees to the Taliban about their safety and peaceful future,'' a Sufi leader, Ahmad Shah Maududi, said. ''But we need to be careful and vigilant because many so-called Sufis have exploited and fooled ordinary people in the garb of Sufism.'' Sufism has been part of Afghanistan almost as long as Islam itself - more than 1,300 years. Afghanistan is commonly called "the home of Sufi saints". The mystics have been an integral part of the life of the people for centuries. The word Sufism is derived from "suf",

Summary: As the Afghan government and its international allies intensify efforts to bring the conflict to an end, the role and influence of mystics is being sought to help bring the Taliban into talks on a political solution.


Molloy has made 40 appearances for the Wildcats since joining from Huddersfield in April 2013. Meanwhile, centre Bill Tupou will also miss Saturday's Challenge Cup semi-final at Warrington after suffering a minor tear in his hamstring. "The injuries are a loss but we've got depth in the squad," head coach Chris Chester told BBC Radio Leeds.

Summary: Wakefield Wildcats second-row forward Jon Molloy will be out for four weeks after suffering a torn pectoral muscle.


The streets of Sur - the city's old town - are slowly filling with people again but there is still a sense of unease in the air. There was little mood to celebrate the Kurdish New Year last week, known as Newroz. "People are waiting something to happen," says cafe-owner Mustafa, summing up the feelings of many in Diyarbakir. "We feel like we are in purgatory, either there will be peace again or a full-on war." It was during Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakir in 2013 that a statement was read out by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for a cease-fire with the Turkish state. Ocalan's message of ideas and politics rather than guns and bombs was relayed by Kurdish officials to some two million people who had gathered in the city. There was dancing in the streets adorned in yellow, green and red - the Kurdish national colours. It raised hopes for an end to a decades-long conflict that has claimed some 40,000 lives. But the peace process that followed was short-lived, and collapsed last July, plunging south-east Turkey back into violence. Mustafa's cafe is in the Hasanpasa Hani, a 16th-Century inn and market normally bustling with shoppers, students and artists. Despite the end of a three-month curfew, only a handful of people are sitting in Hasanpasa Hani's shady courtyard, sipping tea. "This place used to be full of people," he says. The district of Sur has been at the centre of some of region's fiercest battles between the security forces and the PKK. The Turkish military says it killed 279 militants in Sur. Activists say some of the dead were civilians. Thousands fled their homes, and some neighbourhoods are still cordoned off by police barricades. Lorry-loads of rubble are being removed from residential areas. The violence has also spread to big cities outside the southeast, including two car bombs in the capital Ankara that left dozens of people dead. Critics have accused the Turkish government of responding with an authoritarian clampdown on all Kurdish dissent. Recently, three academics were arrested after calling for an end to the security operations. Young locals in Diyarbakir are also feeling the government's tight grip. "We censor our lives a lot. We're scared to share anything on social media," says Bahri, 28, one of four young residents sitting around a table in Hasanpasa Hani. "We have friends who were detained for posting tweets." Sevket, a university student, says young people have been pushed towards the PKK by the government's "heavy-handed approach". For Ozge, the end of the peace process has meant dashed hopes. "Politics has failed us: both the government and the Kurdish political movement," she says. The fighting is over for now, but the police presence in Sur is very prominent, and visitors trying to enter are searched at checkpoints. The district is full of shops but there is little trading to be seen. "Sur is part of me, it makes me sad to see it like this," says Dilek, a painter and teacher buying painting supplies. "I don't think the city will heal

Summary: The mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, in southeast Turkey, appears shell-shocked after three months of fighting between the security forces and the militant Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).


The measures include killing animals in infected areas and banning sales of poultry products from those areas. The Dutch government has reported the "highly contagious" H5N8 strain at a poultry farm there. The UK reported a case at a duck farm in East Yorkshire, and the Commission said it was "probably identical". H5N8 can potentially affect humans. EU officials say the outbreaks may be linked to bird flu recently found in Germany. They say it could have been spread by migratory wild birds heading south for winter, but that tests are continuing to confirm any links between the three cases. The European Commission said in a statement that the UK and the Netherlands were already applying directives on culling affected poultry, prohibiting sales of affected poultry products and live birds, and establishing protection zones. It said: "The measures aim at quickly bringing the disease under control and at preventing the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza within the affected member states, to other member states and to third countries." At the scene: BBC's Anna Holligan in Hekendorp It was a tense and traumatic day at the farm. The idyllic Dutch image was destroyed by the hum of a truck carrying an industrial size gas canister and the appearance of men in orange boiler suits. The health and safety teams came to Hekendorp to gas 150,000 hens. Their primary concern is to contain the outbreak. Poultry farmers, even those operating outside the 10km exclusion zone, have an additional concern. Many are worried about the potential damage to the reputation of Dutch poultry products. The industry has been brought to a standstill. A nationwide transportation ban will remain in place until at least Tuesday. The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. It exports more than six billion eggs annually. We watched from behind the fire retardant barrier as diggers poured hundreds of dead chickens into trucks. Neighbours living around the contaminated farm see the cull as an unpleasant but essential sacrifice. The Dutch authorities have already begun destroying 150,000 hens at the infected farm, in the village of Hekendorp. "This highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza is very dangerous for bird life," the Dutch government said in a statement (in Dutch). "The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans." The Dutch economics ministry says humans can only be infected through very close contact with infected birds. The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs. Earlier this month, a farm in north-eastern Germany detected cases of H5N8, which had previously not been reported in Europe. The strain has never been detected in humans, but an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain it. Also on Monday, Egyptian health officials said a woman had died from the deadliest strain of the virus, H5N1, after coming into contact with infected birds in the south of the country. Meanwhile, officials in the UK confirmed at least one case of bird flu in Yorkshire, but insisted

Summary: The European Commission has adopted protective measures to try to contain a bird flu outbreak after new cases were reported in the UK and the Netherlands.


AMs are not meant to use assembly facilities for party-political campaigning. But in March, South Wales Central AM Neil McEvoy discussed the campaign at a press conference held in an assembly briefing room. Mr McEvoy accepted that he was in breach of the AM's code of conduct. The standards committee has recommended to the assembly that Mr McEvoy be censured for the breach - a formal reprimand. Their conclusion follows an investigation by the standards commissioner Sir Roderick Evans who said Mr McEvoy "failed to comply" with the rules on 14 March. The press conference was held while Mr McEvoy was suspended from his party group in March - a suspension that was later lifted. In a statement, Mr McEvoy said he distributed copies of a document at the press conference which contained seven policies relevant to the local elections, saying they were relevant to his suspension. He said: "This was not appropriate. I accept that it was in breach of the code of conduct." A Plaid Cymru spokeswoman said: "This is a matter for the individual member who apologised and we are pleased that this matter has been resolved."

Summary: A Plaid Cymru AM has apologised for discussing his party's council election campaign at a press conference in the Senedd building.


Sir Thomas Winsor was consulted about Avon and Somerset PCC Sue Mountstevens' plans to "call upon" Nick Gargan to resign. The PCC says Mr Gargan has lost the confidence of the force at all levels, having been found guilty of misconduct. But some local Conservative MPs say he has been treated unfairly. In August, Sue Mountstevens became the first police and crime commissioner to say she would start the process of using new powers to call upon a chief constable to quit, a process which would effectively force him out. She referred her decision to Sir Thomas - her office has not confirmed his response. But BBC Points West's home affairs correspondent Steve Brodie said he understood the letter backed Ms Mountstevens' decision. Mr Gargan told the BBC he was unable to comment further. Now the decision will go to the local police and crime panel for scrutiny, although ultimately, Ms Mountstevens has the final word. Mr Gargan was suspended in May 2014, amid allegations of inappropriate conduct towards female staff. An IPCC investigation found those allegations were not proven, but that he had "repeatedly breached data protection principles" and had stored "intimate" material on his police-issue phone. An independent QC-led panel cleared him of gross misconduct, a sackable offence, but found him guilty of eight misconduct charges and recommended eight final written warnings. But his three predecessors as chief constable said he should quit for the good of the force. Announcing her decision in August to initiate the process to call upon him to go, Ms Mountstevens said his position had become "untenable". But MP for Bridgwater Ian Liddell-Grainger said Mr Gargan was the victim of a "witch hunt", and Bristol North West MP Charlotte Leslie said he had been tried in a "media court".

Summary: Moves by a police commissioner to force out her suspended chief constable have been backed by the chief inspector of constabulary, the BBC understands.


England won the toss and chose to bat but went from 110-2 to 184 all out as they were dismissed in 40.2 overs. Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored with 51 but it was in vain as England went 3-0 down in the five-match series. Sri Lanka A reached their target in 37 overs as Shehan Jayasuriya followed up his 5-35 with a knock of 83.

Summary: England Lions have lost their one-day series against Sri Lanka A after being beaten by four wickets in the third ODI in Kurunegala.


Asif Khan, 25, fled Afghanistan to come to the UK 11 years ago, but his younger brother Aimal, 14, stayed behind. Six months ago, his sibling made it to Calais, but had not yet made the final leg of his journey across the Channel to be reunited with his brother. Now he is one of 14 migrant children who have been brought into the country to join their families. Asif, who works as a chef, told the Press Association: "I really appreciate this. It was a blessing to receive him from there - I'm really happy. "His journey was so difficult, it was by walking, by bus to Calais. He gets a new life now, because there are many people who died in Calais." He said his journey to the UK was "hell" every night and he felt huge relief that the experience was over for his brother. Asif added: "I will just hug him because I haven't seen him since I left - I just miss him." The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, travelled to Croydon, south London, to meet the children on their arrival and accused the government of dragging its feet over accepting the young people from Calais' Jungle camp. All 14 migrant children aged 14 to 17 have now arrived in the UK and will later be reunited with relatives. French President Francois Hollande has said he wants the camp to be shut by the end of the year and on Monday, signs began to go up on shops giving them 48 hours to vacate. The chief of police in Calais would not confirm the date that the camp would be demolished, but said notices would go up either 48 or 24 hours beforehand to warn people. But Lord Williams said no process had yet been put in place to accept children without family in the UK. Home Secretary Amber Rudd last week indicated unaccompanied children, both those with and without relatives in the UK, would be allowed into Britain. An EU regulation allows children to seek UK asylum because they have close relatives in the country but a number of other children became eligible for admission under an amendment to the Immigration Act introduced in May by the Labour peer Lord Dubs. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Williams said the UK had a "basic moral imperative" to offer security to "deeply traumatised and deeply needy people". He said: "We have the beginnings of some sort of response to what is still a hugely troubling... situation." Lord Williams said more than 3,000 places for children without relatives in the UK had been offered by 44 local councils. He said while it was "very welcome that at last the government has taken some official steps to get the children coming... I'm not sure why there is such foot-dragging". He added: "But we have had confirmation that the home secretary is eager to see movement... and we want to press that willingness and make sure it delivers". Under EU rules, asylum claims must be made in

Summary: The brother of a child migrant coming from Calais to the UK said it will be a "blessing" to have him back.


Media playback is unsupported on your device 25 July 2014 Last updated at 20:04 BST A company based in Solva has developed new mobile phone technology to record the animal's position. The app is free and can be used in remote areas without wi-fi. Its inventor told Abigail Neal how mapping these sightings could help protect the birds.

Summary: Technology pioneered in Pembrokeshire is being used to track endangered birds of prey in Africa.


The open prison, in Warrington, houses 304 young adults aged 18 to 25. A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found it is "safe", with low absconding rates, low incidence of self-harm and any anti-social behaviour addressed. However, some prisoners criticised officers as "petty" and complained the food was poor. The report found security levels were appropriate, but some rules were being used unnecessarily, with disciplinary procedures invoked too hastily. Most prisoners were engaged in learning and many of those go on to earn qualifications. Inspector Nick Hardwick said more work was needed to promote diversity and integrate foreign national prisoners. He added: "In three of our four healthy prison assessments, we have awarded our highest marking, and managers and staff should be commended for this. "This report highlights a small number of important issues requiring improvement and our recommendations will, hopefully, assist in that process." Michael Spurr, CEO of the National Offender Management Service, said: "I'm pleased that Thorn Cross has been recognised for its continued good work around preparing the young men for their release."

Summary: Thorn Cross is "one of the better" prisons, with low levels of violence and high numbers of inmates achieving qualifications, inspectors said.


A public sale of the items will be held at the venue on Saturday and Sunday. Aberdeen Performing Arts, the organisation that manages the hall, held the last performances there earlier this month. The building is due to be fully closed to the public for 20-months of building work. A new performance studio and new creative learning space will be created. The box office and reception will also be moved and ramped entrance added to the main doors from Union Street, as well as improved access to the balcony.

Summary: Aberdeen Music Hall is selling off props, clothing, mirrors and other furniture ahead of a £7m revamp of the 155-year-old building.


The U's are now three games unbeaten in League One, but remain seven points from safety with six matches to play. "The club as a whole is going in the right direction," Keen told BBC Essex. "The players are playing with heart and soul and they're having a right go. "I thought it was a good competitive game with both teams going at it." The result means the U's have only conceded once in their last three games, a drastic improvement for a team with the worst defensive record in England's top four divisions. "I thought we were fantastic defensively," continued Keen. "I'm really pleased with the clean sheet. The boys are disappointed because they know we've got to win matches, but to get a clean sheet against that team, I'm pleased for them. "They're up in the play-offs for a reason. Realistically, a point is probably a fair result."

Summary: Colchester United are "going in the right direction" following their 0-0 draw against sixth-placed Millwall, according to manager Kevin Keen.