Ms Sturgeon, 46, who has no children, revealed that she had a miscarriage while she was deputy first minister. She said she hoped allowing the details to be written about in a new book would challenge assumptions made about women. "Sometimes... having a baby just doesn't happen - no matter how much we might want it to," she added. In the book, Scottish National Party Leaders, Ms Sturgeon spoke about how she lost the baby when she was 40, shortly before the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign period. Ms Sturgeon, who is married to SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was in the early stages of her pregnancy and preparing to share the news when the miscarriage occurred. She told author Mandy Rhodes that instead of dealing with her grief at home on 3 January 2011 she attended the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster, in which 66 Rangers football supporters were crushed to death. In a statement released following the publication of extracts from the book in the Sunday Times magazine, the first minister said: "This was obviously a painful experience for Peter and I and while Mandy has known about it for some time, she has always respected our decision not to talk about it publicly. "I gave her the go ahead to make reference to it now in the hope that it might challenge some of the assumptions and judgements that are still made about women - especially in politics - who don't have children. "There are many reasons why women don't have children. Some of us simply don't want to, some of us worry about the impact on our career - and there is still so much to do, through better childcare, more progressive working practices and more enlightened attitudes, to make sure we don't feel we have to choose. "And sometimes, for whatever reason, having a baby just doesn't happen - no matter how much we might want it to. She added: "For me, as for many women, all of these things have been true at different times of my life - the point is that judgements and assumptions shouldn't be made about what are personal choices and experiences." On Sunday morning, Ms Sturgeon also tweeted: "Thanks for all your kind messages this morning. @PeterMurrell & I really appreciate it." In extracts from the book in The Sunday Times Magazine, Ms Sturgeon said she was uncertain if she could have been a mother as well as leading Scotland's devolved government. She said: "If the miscarriage hadn't happened, would I be sitting here as first minister right now? It's just an unanswerable question. I just don't know. "I've thought about it but I don't know the answer. I'd like to think 'yes', because I could have shown that having a child wasn't a barrier to all of this, but in truth I don't know." Miscarriage Source: NHS Choices

Summary: Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has spoken for the first time about her "painful experience" of losing a baby in 2011.


The concept involves using technology, such as smartphones and software, to help people chose food and drink best suited to their health needs. UHI believes it could offer protection from allergies and too many calories. The idea is similar to the "internet of things" which sees domestic products, such as washing machines, being controllable via online tools. Prof Maged Boulos, an expert in digital health at UHI, who is leading the research, said: "A new breed of automated food scanner apps, devices and methods is emerging which aim at identifying the nature of food and drinks in our diet. "Methods include barcode scanning, weighing with portable electronic scales, measurement of weight/portion size with smartphone photos and remote food and drink recognition by crowdsourced volunteers or dieticians. "However, these methods are of limited value if we cannot reason with the identified food and drink items in the context of a user's health conditions and preferences." Prof Boulos said increased use of technology to help people make selections of food and drink could greatly improve health. However, he added that it would require further research and funding. Prof Boulos said: "This will be a huge academic undertaking involving multiple research centres, universities and industry. "Based on the development of other technologies of similar scale, it will likely require several years and millions of euros of funding to complete an initial base version."

Summary: University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) scientists have been exploring the idea of the "internet of food".


The body of 39-year-old Anayat Bibi was discovered with multiple stab wounds at a house in Vickers Road, in Firth Park, at the weekend. A 42-year-old man from Sheffield is expected to appear before magistrates on Friday. Police said two other men, aged 83 and 20, arrested in connection with the killing remained on police bail. Ms Bibi's body was found by police at about 11:35 BST on Sunday.

Summary: A man has been charged with the murder of a woman who was found stabbed in Sheffield.


29 December 2016 Last updated at 18:10 GMT Ryan Holmes, 21, has covered more than 2,500 miles so far, running an average of two races a week. His efforts have also raised thousands for Cancer Research in honour of a good friend who is suffering from myeloma. "It's been challenging at times but it's been a good journey," he told BBC South East Today.

Summary: A Whitstable man is aiming to become the youngest person to run 100 marathons when he completes a race in Deal on New Year's Eve.


The 1-0 win, courtesy of Nicky Cadden's penalty, kept Livi a point clear of Airdrieonians, who have a game in hand and beat Peterhead 4-2 away. Queen's Park moved above Albion Rovers into fifth place by beating Brechin. The Spiders, who won 2-0, are now five points behind third-placed Brechin, with Alloa, who are fourth, inactive. The Wasps, like Stranraer, East Fife and Stenhousemuir, were not in league action, though Stenny beat Forres Mechanics in the Scottish Cup. At Cliftonhill, Ross Dunlop fouled Dale Carrick in the box and Cadden converted the spot-kick in the penultimate minute. There was further misery for the hosts as Alan Reid was sent off in stoppage time following his second booking. Airdrie raced into a three-goal lead at Balmoor with Andy Ryan's strike, Sean McIntosh's header and Iain Russell's finish all coming within the opening 20 minutes. Nicky Riley replied for the hosts before half-time and Leighton McIntosh's penalty following Jack Leitch's foul on Riley further reduced Peterhead's arrears. But Ryan's second effort of the match deep into stoppage time clinched the visitors' win. Brechin City lost ground on the top two after losing at Hampden. Ross Millen opened the scoring from the penalty spot after a first-half foul by goalkeeper Graeme Smith on Dario Zanatta and Ryan McGeever headed home a late Sean Burns corner.

Summary: Livingston maintained their slender advantage at the top of Scottish League One with a narrow and late victory over Albion Rovers.


Richard Garvie, 30, who stood for Wellingborough and Rushden, bought train tickets using a bank account he knew contained insufficient funds. He said he "did not set out to defraud East Midlands Trains". At Corby Magistrates' Court on Friday he was also ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge and court costs of £400. Garvie, from Corby in Northamptonshire, denied the offence but was convicted at Wellingborough Magistrates' Court on Thursday 30 April. At the time he told magistrates he ran up a debt in his own name in 2012 because he had been "desperate to see the people he cared about" in Berkshire. "I didn't know I'd get into trouble. I intentionally went overdrawn on my account, that account was then sent to a debt collection agency and the debt was paid off," he said. Garvie said he would appeal against the conviction. According to a Labour Party spokesman he resigned on the day of the elections when he lost to Conservative Peter Bone who had been MP for Wellingborough since 2005.

Summary: A parliamentary candidate for Labour at the May election must pay £894 compensation and do 60 hours of unpaid work after being convicted of fraud.


The 30-year-old has joined the Cards following a short spell at Eastleigh, who signed him in January after he was released by Portsmouth. Poke made three appearances for Woking while on loan from Southampton - where he started his career - during the 2006-07 season. He has also had spells at Brighton and Torquay United and has been on loan at Oldham, Northampton and Bristol Rovers. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Summary: National League club Woking have signed goalkeeper Michael Poke.


More mothers now need surgery to deliver a baby due to their narrow pelvis size, according to a study. Researchers estimate cases where the baby cannot fit down the birth canal have increased from 30 in 1,000 in the 1960s to 36 in 1,000 births today. Historically, these genes would not have been passed from mother to child as both would have died in labour. Researchers in Austria say the trend is likely to continue, but not to the extent that non-surgical births will become obsolete. Dr Philipp Mitteroecker, of the department of theoretical biology at the University of Vienna, said there was a long standing question in the understanding of human evolution. "Why is the rate of birth problems, in particular what we call fetopelvic disproportion - basically that the baby doesn't fit through the maternal birth canal - why is this rate so high?" he said. "Without modern medical intervention such problems often were lethal and this is, from an evolutionary perspective, selection. "Women with a very narrow pelvis would not have survived birth 100 years ago. They do now and pass on their genes encoding for a narrow pelvis to their daughters." It has been a long standing evolutionary question why the human pelvis has not grown wider over the years. The head of a human baby is large compared with other primates, meaning animals such as chimps can give birth relatively easily. The researchers devised a mathematical model using data from the World Health Organization and other large birth studies. They found opposing evolutionary forces in their theoretical study. One is a trend towards larger newborns, which are more healthy. However, if they grow too large, they get stuck during labour, which historically would have proved disastrous for mother and baby, and their genes would not be passed on. "One side of this selective force - namely the trend towards smaller babies - has vanished due to Caesarean sections," said Dr Mitteroecker. "Our intent is not to criticise medical intervention," he said. "But it's had an evolutionary effect. " The researchers estimated that the global rate of cases where the baby could not fit through the maternal birth canal was 3%, or 30 in 1,000 births. Over the past 50 or 60 years, this rate has increased to about 3.3-3.6%, so up to 36 in 1,000 births. That is about a 10-20% increase of the original rate, due to the evolutionary effect. "The pressing question is what's going to happen in the future?" Dr Mitteroecker said. "I expect that this evolutionary trend will continue but perhaps only slightly and slowly. "There are limits to that. So I don't expect that one day the majority of children will have to be born by [Caesarean] sections." The research is published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Commenting on the study, Smithsonian paleoanthropologist Dr Briana Pobiner said there are "probably many other biological and cultural issues that factor into the Caesarean sections rate, which varies widely across the developed and developing world". And Daghni Rajasingam, a consultant

Summary: The regular use of Caesarean sections is having an impact on human evolution, say scientists.


Murphy has made 111 appearances for Leeds since arriving from Crewe for a fee of about £1m in July 2013. But the 27-year-old has played in just one first-team game this season, in a 1-0 EFL Cup win at Luton in August. "Burton are a very ambitious club and they've proved that in the last few years," he told the club website. "With the manager that's here I've always wanted to try and play for him and hopefully I can help the team do well." Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here.

Summary: Burton Albion have signed midfielder Luke Murphy on loan from Championship rivals Leeds United until the end of the season.


Investors Steve Kaplin and Jason Levien, who run sports teams in the United States, are drafting in the former Everton striker as an adviser. The £100m takeover was agreed subject to Kaplin and Levien passing a Premier League test for prospective owners. But Donovan, now 34, will not take part in Swansea's day-to-day activities. Current chairman Huw Jenkins and deputy Leigh Dineen will retain their roles when the Americans take control but Donovan is seen as ideal to have on the board with football and commercial expertise. Levien, the managing general partner of Major League Soccer side DC United, and Kaplan, head of a capital investment fund and vice-chairman of NBA franchise Memphis Grizzlies, lead a consortium which has bought a controlling stake of 60% in the club. Donovan, who was on loan at Premier League side Everton in 2010 and 2012, is his country's record goalscorer and the second most capped United States international. The former LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes forward also had spells in the Germany Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Summary: Former United States captain Landon Donovan is to be part of the American investment group taking over Premier League club Swansea City.


Pro Rugby America, in a statement, described Pro12 as an "interloper" and claimed the league "does not have a legitimate business plan." Pro12 officials held talks about US and Canadian sides being involved, which had been backed by World Rugby. "It's ridiculous. What they're doing is just disrespectful," Pro Rugby America chief Doug Shoninger told BBC Wales. "I understand Pro 12 is under a lot of stress, a lot of problem, but it's not our problem. And they need to solve that problem where they sit." Pro12 is made up of four teams each from Wales and Ireland plus two each from Scotland and Italy. Pro Rugby America is sanctioned by governing body USA Rugby to run a professional rugby division in the United States. The US league started in April with five teams based in Denver, Ohio, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco and Shoninger told BBC Radio Wales they were negotiating a deal with the southern hemisphere Super Rugby league. "We're bidding on a Super Rugby team," he said. "We're talking to big established countries, ones I feel that have player exchange at academy levels. "We're very honest about who we are - we have the potential great commercialism and we need the support of the rugby world to build up our infrastructure." Pro12 is commercially smaller than the English and French professional leagues, and in August, Scottish Rugby chief Mark Dodson said they were "seriously investigating" the possibility of expanding into the American market. The two Italian teams that compete in the league, Zebre and Treviso, have faced calls to be dropped from the Pro12 and were almost expelled in 2015 over money owed to the rest of the teams. Pro12 Rugby declined to comment.

Summary: Plans for American sides to join the Pro12 have been dismissed by the company running the pro game in the US.


Archaeologists made the discovery at Tresness in Sanday while on a walk in poor weather on Monday. The remains of 14 houses and stone tools, including knives, have been described as "one of the biggest complexes of Bronze Age settlement in the Scottish isles". The finds on the beach could be more than 4,000 years old. Archaeologists believe the houses were buried by sand dunes in the second millennium BC - but have recently been exposed by the actions of weather and the sea. Prof Jane Downes and Christopher Gee, of the University of the Highlands and Islands, Prof Colin Richards, of the University of Manchester and Dr Vicki Cummings, of University of Central Lancashire, made the discovery. They were on a sea shore walk to visit a known archaeological site when they spotted the remains of the houses and stone tools. Prof Downes, who specialises in the Bronze Age, said: "This must be one of the biggest complexes of Bronze Age settlement in the Scottish isles, rivalling the spreads of hut circles in other parts of mainland Scotland." The scale of the Sanday has been described as "unparalleled in Orkney". The islands are well-known for the Skara Brae Neolithic settlement. Cath Parker, leader of the Sanday Archaeology Group, said: "This is incredibly exciting. "The archaeological landscape concealed beneath Sanday's shifting sands never ceases to amaze us. "I'm sure the local community will relish the opportunity to be involved with any work which stems from this thrilling discovery." Important Bronze Age discoveries have been made in recent years in other parts of Scotland. Skeletal remains found at Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness were identified in February as dating back to the Early Bronze Age. A wrist guard, for use with a bow and arrow, and shards of pottery were among remains found in a burial cist that was uncovered during work to build a new health centre. Evidence of Bronze and Iron Age settlements were found at the site of the new Inverness Campus. The remains of timber-built roundhouses and crop marks were recorded at East Beechwood.

Summary: Shifting sands have revealed a significant complex of Bronze Age buildings in Orkney.


WWT Washington Wetland Centre has sighted 16 adults and 21 young this year, in comparison to 23 adult birds last year. They have nested by a lake and shingle island which expanded by the centre last autumn. Breeding at the site started in 2006. Reserve manager John Gowland said it was a "real conservation success story". "The high number of youngsters is a positive sign on the success of the improved shingle islands and emphasises the growing confidence of the nesting adults," he said. The birds, which are a rare on Wearside, were once declared an extinct breeding species in the UK. The avocet returned in the 1940s and is the emblem of the RSPB.

Summary: A wildfowl centre has recorded its highest number of rare avocet birds.


It is an important question and the public deserves a straight answer. Yet in the current heated debate it risks being both politicised and blurred by conflation with other issues like the economy, migration and policies towards Russia. So what are the facts? The UK is currently at threat level "severe", the second highest on the scale, meaning the government judges a terrorist attack to be "highly likely" (but not necessarily imminent). Britain is right up at the top of so-called Islamic State's target list, along with France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark. MI5 and police estimate there to be more than 2,000 individuals living here who have sympathies with or connections to international terrorism, most of it IS-inspired. There are two principal reasons why the UK has not yet suffered the sort of Marauding Terrorist Firearms Attack (MTFA) experienced twice by Parisians last year. One is better intelligence, the other is better borders. That said, no-one in counter-terrorism circles is being complacent that such an attack could not still happen here. After the 9/11 attacks of 2001 and then again after the London bombings of 2005, Britain's counter-terrorism infrastructure was reformed to break down inter-agency barriers and do away with the sort of departmental "silos" that, sadly, still exist in many European nations. So Britain's MI5, the domestic security service, works closely with MI6, the external intelligence-gathering agency, GCHQ and the Metropolitan Police. Old rivalries have largely been set aside. Yet in France and Belgium the police and intelligence agencies hardly talk to each other, they share very little. Absurdly, for a Belgian police officer to find out what Belgian intelligence knows about a threat, he or she sometimes needs to learn it from the UK police, who learn it from UK intelligence, who learn it from Belgian intelligence. When it comes to EU-wide counter-terrorism, national intelligence agencies are even less willing to divulge their secrets. On borders, Britain has something that continental European countries do not: A single coastline. British counter-terrorism officials say that because the UK is not part of Europe's Schengen open borders agreement it is considerably more difficult - though not impossible - for terrorists and organised criminals to acquire the sort of powerful automatic weapons, notably Kalashnikovs, used in the Paris attacks last November. A senior EU counter terrorism official admitted to me last year, prior to the migrant crisis, that although the EU's external borders had been strengthened, once weapons had crossed over that border from the Balkans there was little to stop them being moved freely around Europe. The UK's strongest intelligence-sharing and security co-operation relationships are not with Europe, although those still matter. They are with the United States, with its massive eavesdropping and interception capabilities, and the other Anglophone so-called Five Eyes partner nations: Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Nearly all the most important intelligence-sharing with Europe tends to be done bilaterally, country to country, rather than through any EU-wide organisation. Britain also works closely with other partner nations like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Summary: Is Britain more - or less - at risk of a major terrorist attack if it leaves the EU?


15 June 2017 Last updated at 16:01 BST Carlos is famous for his free kicks. And now you can see what it's like for a footballer to take one in front of a huge crowd. See his point of view as he runs out onto the pitch, watches an incredible Luis Figo goal and hears the crowd roar. Video courtesy of Real Madrid TV

Summary: Former Real Madrid footballer Roberto Carlos wore a body camera at the legends match against Roma on Sunday 11 June.


Chief prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand said police were "98% sure" that the man was Iraq-born Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly. Abdaly, 28, is believed to have died minutes after setting off a car bomb on Saturday. Two other people were hurt. Seven US FBI bomb experts are heading to Stockholm to help the investigation, Sweden's intelligence agency said. Although Abdaly was a Swedish citizen, he had been living in the UK. British police have been searching a house in Luton, north of London, where Abdaly lived. Mr Lindstrand said Swedish police were now trying to work out what the bomber's target had been before he blew himself up prematurely. "He had a bomb belt on him, he had a backpack with a bomb and he was carrying an object that has been compared to a pressure cooker. If it had all blown up at the same time, it would have been very powerful," he said. A car containing gas canisters blew up first in a busy shopping street in the area of Drottninggatan at 1700 local time (1600 GMT) followed minutes later by a explosion in a street about 300m (985ft) away that killed the bomber. Abdaly was named as the registered owner of the car. Mr Lindstrand said they believed the bomber had intended to kill "as many people as possible". "Where he was headed... we don't know," he said. "It is likely that something happened, that he made some kind of mistake [and] part of the bombs he was carrying went off and caused his death. "This was during Christmas shopping in central Stockholm and he was extremely well-equipped when it came to bomb material. It is not much of a stretch to say he was going to a place with as many people as possible." Mr Lindstrand said possible targets included the city's central train station or to Aahlens, a popular department store. In a profile on the Muslim dating website Muslima, Abdaly said he was born in Baghdad and moved to Sweden in 1992, before arriving in the UK in 2001 to study. He said he had got married in 2004 and had two young daughters. "I want to get married again, and would like to have a big family. My wife agreed to this," he wrote. Mr Lindstrand said Abdaly was completely unknown to Swedish security services before the blasts. However, he pointed out: "He didn't live in Sweden; he lived in the UK. He left Sweden maybe 10 years ago." Meanwhile, British police have been searching Abdaly's house in Luton. His wife and children are reported to live in the UK, although their exact whereabouts are not known. It has emerged that Abdaly had attended the Luton Islamic Centre but left after other members accused him of having a "distorted view" of Islam. A Swedish news agency has released an audio recording apparently made by Abdaly, in which he says oppression against Muslims in Europe will not be tolerated. He refers to drawings of the Prophet Muhammad and to the presence of foreign soldiers - including Swedes - in

Summary: A man who blew himself up in Stockholm was carrying three explosive devices and intended to kill as many people as possible, prosecutors say.


In a statement, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) said that airstrikes on Thursday and Friday killed at least 18 civilians. It said the Taliban was also to blame, killing at least seven civilians in a suicide bombing on Saturday. The US military says that it is investigating the air strike incidents. The pilots have been defended by the Afghan government who pointed out that such events are inevitable when the Taliban use civilians as human shields. The UN statement said the air strikes were carried out by "international military forces". But US officials say only American planes have recently been in action over the skies of Afghanistan. "The people of Helmand have suffered greatly due to the armed conflict in Afghanistan, with 891 civilians killed or injured during 2016," the statement said. "This figure was the highest in the country in 2016 outside of Kabul." The statement urged all parties to the conflict "strictly to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law" to protect civilians from suffering. World powers jostle in Afghanistan's new 'Great Game' Did the UK leave Afghanistan's Helmand too soon? Afghanistan Taliban: Mistrust and fear in battle for Helmand US military officials say aircraft have carried out about 30 attacks in Helmand over the last week. "We are investigating the allegations and [are] working diligently to determine whether civilians were killed or injured as a result of US air strikes," Brigadier General Charles Cleveland told the Reuters news agency. But the families of those killed last week are outraged. "How could women and children be Taliban?" one man - who said 11 people were killed in his brother's house in Sangin by an air strike on Thursday - asked a correspondent for Reuters news agency. British forces were stationed in Helmand province since 2006, but left in 2014 when Nato ended its combat mission in Afghanistan. Since then the insurgency has continued unabated, and the drugs trade fuelling it is still booming.

Summary: The United Nations has said that it is increasingly worried about the high number of civilian deaths in the Afghan province of Helmand.


David Davis said "some people" were exploiting practices "to delay and dispute the outcome" of the inquiry, which began in 2009. The government said it was a matter for the independent inquiry. It comes amid growing pressure on Sir John Chilcot to set a publication date. The inquiry, which is looking at the reasons for the UK's involvement in the 2003 US-led invasion, held its last public hearing in 2011. The war saw British troops remain in Iraq until 2009 and a total of 179 UK service personnel were killed in the conflict. Sir John this week wrote to families of UK soldiers killed in Iraq saying he understood their "anguish" at delays, blaming the "Maxwellisation" process - where those criticised are given an opportunity to respond. His response came after some bereaved families threatened legal action. Mr Davis said: "What appears to be happening is that some people are using the Maxwellisation process to delay and dispute the outcome of Chilcot." The purpose of the process, he said, was to give people notice that they were going to be criticised and give them time to prepare for it and correct any errors of fact. He said it was not meant to be a "process of private dispute and debate between the inquiry and those being criticised in order to influence the conclusion of the inquiry". Mr Davis told the Telegraph ministers should now act. "Surely the reasonable action for the government to take now is to say 'there should be a limit in time and money on what can be spent on government lawyers to allow this inordinate delay to continue'," he said. When the Chilcot inquiry was launched, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it would take at least a year. Sir John has faced criticism in recent weeks, with Prime Minister David Cameron expressing his frustration at the delays. The government spokesman told the Telegraph: "This is an independent inquiry and as such Maxwellisation, publication and timing are a matter for Sir John."

Summary: The government should limit the amount of money spent on legal advice for politicians, officials and military figures as part of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war, a Tory MP has said.


It was over in seconds. The hare disappeared into a hedge and the lurcher slowed down to a trot. No luck for the hare coursers this time. Although the practice is against the law in the UK, the chase was clearly still happening in this field near Walcott - just one of more than 500 reports Lincolnshire Police received in the latter half of 2012. A group of men seen nearby were stopped by officers, and made no attempt to deny what they had been doing, or how they felt about it being illegal. "We chase and kill the hare but a farmer can take a shotgun on his land and blast the hell out of a hare - is that fair?" one told police. "This is diabolical - all this police action is just costing the taxpayer - do you see the four-by-four he's driving around in?" he added, pointing to the wildlife officer's vehicle. The three men were arrested, and officers also confiscated a lurcher and a greyhound. An hour later, we found the carcass of a hare floating in a ditch a few miles away. An eyewitness told the police a gang of men had let a greyhound off the lead, which easily caught it. "They leave the hare in the field or in a ditch - they don't have any monetary value at all - they don't even eat them," wildlife officer Nick Willey said. "It's not like the old days where it was one for the pot." Hare coursers often bet on their dogs, which are sometimes worth as much as £9,000 if they are successful. "A massive amount of money is involved... it is the betting that drives them," PC Willey said. "They are not fazed by the law because they don't think they doing anything wrong "They don't think it should ever have been made illegal." Lincolnshire farmer Mark Leggott, who grows vegetables near Coningsby, said: "I heard once a few years ago that a few cars came on to a farmer's land and the last one was an expensive car with a bookie in it - and he had £20,000 to handle the bets." Coursers prefer flat, rural areas where the dogs can see their prey more easily - and tend to hunt in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Cambridgeshire Police has dealt with more than 100 hare coursing calls this season - resulting in dozens of arrests and vehicles being seized. The Hunting Act 2004 made hare coursing illegal and anyone convicted can be fined up to £5,000 by a magistrate - although it is more common for suspects to be convicted for trespassing in pursuit of game - with smaller fines of about £300. Mr Leggott said he has had a few run-ins with coursers. "I have confronted hare coursers in my drive and they have spat at me and threatened me." Lincolnshire Police's dedicated hare coursing team, dubbed Operation Galileo, feels it is making some headway in tackling the problem, and Mr Leggott agrees. "The police are doing a great job

Summary: The flash of brown fur was difficult to see as it raced across the muddy field, but the dog was easy to spot.


There will be no Gatwick Express service and most Southern services will be diverted via London Bridge. Gatwick passengers will be able to use alternative services from Blackfriars or London Bridge. No services will operate between London Victoria and Brighton, but trains between the city and London Bridge will run in the early mornings and evenings. On Sunday, buses will replace trains between Gillingham and Faversham, and between Sittingbourne and Sheerness in Kent. Southeastern said rail replacement buses would also operate between Shepherdswell and Dover Priory on Monday. Network Rail has advised passengers planning to travel over the three-day holiday weekend to check timetables.

Summary: Rail passengers using the Brighton Main Line will face disruption over the bank holiday weekend from engineering work.


ESPN has been struggling as younger audiences choose outlets like Netflix and Amazon Prime over cable television. In a statement president of ESPN, John Skipper, said though sports viewership was not diminishing cuts were necessary to keep a "competitive advantage". Disney, which owns ESPN revised its profit expectations in August after the channel saw a decreases in subscribers. ESPN gets money from cable companies when subscribers buy bundles that include the sport channel. As more people choose cheaper cable packages or opt for online subscription TV such as Netflix, ESPN is having to rethink its strategy. Disney said in August it was considering selling access to ESPN directly to viewers in the way outlets like HBO and Showtime already do.

Summary: Sports channel ESPN announced it is cutting 300 jobs or 4% of the company's workforce.


The Belarusian challenger was relentless in his pursuit of the 33-year-old Scot in Glasgow but lost a superb battle unanimously on points. Burns made the most of his greater experience to try to quell Relikh, 26. "Boy, he could whack," remarked Burns, who now hopes to finalise a fight against America's Adrien Broner. "There were a couple of times when he shook me with body shots and head shots, but I managed to hide it from him and I stuck to my tactics and stayed on my bike." Broner had intimated that he would be ringside but did not travel across the Atlantic to assess Burns at close quarters. Burns' winning margin seemed generous, with one judge scoring the bout 118-110 and another two putting it, more accurately, at 116-112. Previously unbeaten Relikh, trained by Ricky Hatton and based in Manchester, began in a lively fashion, evidently enjoying the challenge. He chased Scotland's first three-weight world champion around the ring and succeeded in landing some good shots to his ribs. Even by round four, Burns, with 40 wins from 46 bouts prior to this bout, had to use his superior movement and many years of ringcraft to get himself out of tight spots and hope that his opponent would tire. The fifth round offered signs that Burns was finding his range and, although the eager Relikh did not take a step backwards, the Scot scored with blows to the chin. Relikh was becoming more ragged, but he maintained his work-rate with a series of assaults. However, despite the challenger having 19 knockouts in his 21 previous fights, it was Burns who looked the heavier hitter. The pattern continued into the middle rounds as Burns kept his focus to jab away at Relikh and then try to hurt him with body shots. The fight began to turn in Burns' favour by the eighth as he increased the tempo and connected strongly with his right. Relikh had never fought beyond eight rounds and, in the ninth, perhaps becoming increasingly desperate, he threw his shoulder up into Burns' jaw and was reprimanded by the referee. The 10th was the pick of the rounds. Relikh took two thumping shots to the jaw, but his aggression had not lessened and when he landed a big left he appeared to have Burns in trouble for the first time in the fight. The final action was no less engaging with the SSE Hydro crowd roaring Burns on, enough to see him over the finishing line. For Burns, a lucrative defence awaits. Relikh, surely, will fight for another world title. "Fair play to him, he stuck at it for the full 12 rounds," said Burns. "He was still in there at the end. He'll definitely come again, he's a good fighter."

Summary: Britain's Ricky Burns was given a stern test as he made a successful first defence of his WBA world super-lightweight title against Kiryl Relikh.


Put together in 1973, the band enjoyed UK chart success with Gaelic songs in the 1990s and last year released their 14th and final studio album. Their song An Ubhal as Airde reached number 18 in the charts in 1995. The film, Journey Bound, is a romcom road movie being directed by Ryan Hendrick and starring Clare Grogan, Sylvester McCoy and Karen Dunbar. Runrig founding member Calum Macdonald said: "It's a refreshing and exciting challenge, so far removed from the familiarity of normal Runrig business." Still Game's Ford Kiernan, who also stars in Journey Bound and is an executive producer, said: "I first saw Runrig perform live at Glasgow University Union in the 1980s whilst I was working there, the place was jumping, the atmosphere was incredible. "It really is the icing on the cake for us and I'm over the moon they are onboard. They are the perfect musical fit for this quintessential Scottish movie."

Summary: Veteran Celtic rockers Runrig are to appear in a new Scottish film and will also compose the movie's title music.


Marvyn Iheanacho, 39, attacked Alex Malcolm in Mountsfield Park, Catford, on 20 November 2016. Witnesses heard a "child's fearful voice saying 'sorry'", loud banging and a man screaming about the loss of a shoe, Woolwich Crown Court was told. Iheanacho, who denied murder, will serve a minimum of 18 years in prison. The jury heard Alex suffered head and stomach injuries and died in hospital two days after the beating. His mother, Lilya Breha, 30, told the court Iheanacho had also attacked her after she tried to call an ambulance when he returned to her flat carrying her injured son. In a tearful interview, she said: "He (Alex) was bubbly. He was just perfect you know, he was a really, really special little boy. "He was shy, he was so shy, and very polite. He would always say 'Mummy thank you' and 'I love you Mummy'." Ms Breha described Iheanacho as a "good liar" and pathetic. Recalling how she met him through a friend after he left prison, she said he had convinced her he was innocent and a good person. She said: "When I think about it now, to be honest I feel like it was all such a big lie and he just pretended to be a good guy pretty well." Prosecutors revealed there had been "problems with witness interference" during the trial, with Iheanacho phoning Ms Breha from prison to try to persuade her to back him in court. In a victim impact statement, Alex's father said he would "never forget seeing him in his hospital bed fighting for his life. That image will stay with me forever." "Just thinking about what's happened and trying to put words on paper is tearing me apart," he said. Sentencing, Judge Mark Dennis QC said the killer had a deeply entrenched character flaw that "leads you to overreact and lose your temper". "You used your undoubted strength and simple brute force," against a "completely defenceless" child, he said. He said Iheanacho, who has a string of previous convictions for violent offences, had given fake and misleading accounts to paramedics, hospital staff and police.

Summary: A man who battered his girlfriend's five-year-old son to death in a London park for losing a trainer has been jailed for life.


Speaking on RT?? radio, the minister said it would not be possible to get rid of the Health Service Executive structure this year. He said he wanted to focus on reforms that improve GP practices and building and developing hospital groups. Mr Varadkar said the 500m euros overrun in healthcare spending was due mainly to a significant increase in the number of people using services this year. He also said he could not put a deadline on when free GP care for children under six would be available. When asked if it would be in place as promised by the end of this year, he said: "I can't say that for certain. "That depends on how the talks and negotiations go with the IMO (Irish Medical Organisation). It is very important to me that we bring GPs with us. "This is a huge opportunity to put resources back into general practice, I hope they see that, and as well as that, it's an opportunity to change the way we provide healthcare." Mr Varadkar said he hoped to have a report from an expert group by the end of this month looking at whether medical cards should be issued to people on the basis of their medical condition. The minister said he would have to see what the group proposed, whether it was affordable and then discuss it in the context of the budget. He also said the issue of tax relief on health insurance was an issue for Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

Summary: Irish Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said the timeframe for the reform of the country's health service was overambitious from the start.


Moorways had been used only by clubs since it closed to the public in early 2016 due to maintenance costs. Now the city council and clubs have said it is too expensive to continue. It will shut by the end of January. Double gold medallist Ross Davenport tweeted the awards won by Derby swimmers, while others labelled the move "disgraceful" and "ridiculous". Moorways, which was built more than 40 years ago, has struggled with maintenance and health and safety issues. Its loss was made more acute by the ongoing closure of the main pool at nearby Queen's Leisure Centre, due to structural problems, although two other pools remain open for public use at the centre. Peter Spink, chairman of the City of Derby Swimming Club, said they had met the council several times over rising costs. "The facility just could not made to be viable in the way it was being operated for any longer," he said. "So we made the decision that we should pull out sooner rather than later so we could stop incurring further costs." But former Olympic and Commonwealth swimmer Ross Davenport tweeted: "So glad the city hasn't produced an Olympic Champion, 2 Olympic, 8 World, 10 Commonwealth & 14 European swimming Medals in the past 10 years!" Paula West was one of a number of people to reply, saying: "Derby Clubs can't even access pool time in their own town, having to travel everywhere else #absolutely disgusted". The council said it regretted the situation but problems with the Queen's Leisure Centre were "unforeseeable" and it was working towards plans for a new 50m pool on the Moorways site. However the opening of this has already slipped from 2018 to 2020.

Summary: A former Olympian says he's dismayed one of Derby's last large council-run swimming pools is about to close.


York Minster Police has been given the same powers as regular police officers within the minster's precinct. Eight constables and the cathedral's head of security were sworn in at a special ceremony on Tuesday. The force, established in the 13th Century, lost its powers in the 1930s when officers ceased to be attested. York Minster is one of only a handful of cathedrals to maintain its own police force. Those that do have a police force include Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, St Peter's Basilica in Rome, and Washington's National Cathedral in Washington DC. Mark Sutcliffe, Inspector of Cathedral Police at York Minster, said: "I feel very proud of the whole team for attaining their attestation. "It has been an important day for everyone involved but also a significant milestone in the history of the force, which has played an important role in life at the cathedral for hundreds of years. "The attestation and training the officers have completed ensures our cathedral constables have the professional skills and powers necessary to execute their duties." Powers were returned to the force following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Chapter of York and the chief constable of North Yorkshire. The memorandum recognises that although security provision inside the minster and its precinct remain the responsibility of cathedral constables, North Yorkshire Police will be responsible for investigating all crime. Any arrested people will be handed over to North Yorkshire Police for transport and processing and the force will be responsible for the submission of prosecution files. The Minster Police constabulary is thought to be the oldest continuing police service in the country.

Summary: A cathedral police force has been given back the power of arrest for the first time in nearly 80 years.


About 1,000 people attended a rave at Twyford Wood near Bourne in Lincolnshire on 23 May. Police carried out an operation to close it down, which led to 21 officers and a dog being injured. Chelsea Harvey, 21, from Norfolk, admitted dangerous driving and was jailed for 12 months. Harvey, of Ashley Walk, Dereham, drove her Peugeot 206 about 350 metres (1,148ft) at speeds of up to 30mph (77km/h) with PC Rob Bentley on the bonnet, Lincoln Crown Court heard. At one point she was involved in a collision with a camper van, but continued with the officer still clinging on. PC Bentley suffered "relatively minor physical injuries" but the court heard the psychological damage had had a lasting impact. James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said Harvey, who had two female friends in her car, had been told to stop by PC Bentley, but instead had "jerked forward violently" knocking the officer off his feet and leaving him "spread-eagled" on the bonnet. Judge Michael Heath, passing sentence on Wednesday, told her: "If you drive as you did with a police officer on your bonnet for the distance that you did, and at the speed you did, there can only be one sentence that I can impose upon you. That is immediate custody." Jonathan Straw, defending, said Harvey works in a centre for deaf-blind people run by the charity Sense. He described her as acting in "blind panic" and added: "She is very sorry for what happened. She didn't intend to hurt anyone. She went out with two friends that day simply to enjoy a party." Harvey was also disqualified from driving for a year.

Summary: A woman drove at a police officer manning a road block and carried on for 350 metres with him "spread-eagled" on her bonnet, a court heard.


The plan would see 150 homes built, 37 refurbished and about 280 demolished. The Department for Communities and Local Government ordered the hearing after deciding the plan for Toxteth "may conflict with national policy". Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said it was "patronising" for the government to tell residents what they need. The three-week inquiry will hear from the city council, residents, the housing association Plus Dane and the charity Save Britain's Heritage (SBH). A site visit will then take place to look at the extent to which the proposed development "is in line with Government policy on good design, enhancing the historic environment, bringing back empty homes and supporting healthy communities". Following the decision to delay the planning process, Mr Anderson said it was "hugely frustrating and bitterly disappointing for the local community". "Residents made clear in no uncertain terms that they backed what has been put forward," he said. City councillor Ann O'Byrne said "the evidence was overwhelming to show that the condition of these properties is such that it would cost more to refurbish them than it would to build new ones". The current proposal, which will see a small number of the houses saved from demolition, has been backed by residents organisation, Welsh Streets Homes Group (WSHG). A spokesman for WSHG said that for "further houses to be spared, it would take a leap of faith", including a "change of heart" by the council and Plus Dane and the "approval of residents on the south end of the site [whose] existing walls are crumbling around them". "WSHG wanted to avoid a public inquiry but since it is happening, we will be asking the inspector to encourage all parties back to the negotiating table in search of an agreement that would allow work to begin on site in 2015." The housing association Plus Dane has previously warned that any delays to the scheme would "seriously jeopardise" the available funding. Save Britain's Heritage, which owns a house in one of the streets, campaigned for the inquiry and wants more of the houses to be renovated, instead of demolished. Jonathan Brown, from the group, said structural engineers had said the houses were "still solid and viable and estate agents still say that they could sell them". Designer Tilly Hemingway, who is working on one of the houses in Madryn Street, said the homes had a lot of potential, which would be lost if they were demolished. "It seems absolutely insane that you'd knock these type of houses down when they are perfect in terms of space standards and they're beautiful," she said. The inquiry, which is set to run until 4 July, is due to deliver its findings in a report later in the year.

Summary: Campaigners supporting a £15m plan for Liverpool's Welsh Streets have protested outside the opening of a public inquiry into it.


The woman alleges the former TV star and artist assaulted her at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London in 1977. The woman told the trial "it was like a hawk pouncing on his prey" as Mr Harris spread his hands over her body. Mr Harris, appearing at Southwark Crown Court via video link from Stafford Jail, denies seven charges of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. The woman, who has been disabled since birth, was totally blind and had to walk with a stick when the indecent assault allegedly took place. She was 27 at the time and a jury was told how the incident left her feeling "absolutely invaded". In a pre-recorded interview from July 2014, the court heard her recall hearing a door to the hospital room she was in opening and recognising the voice of the TV star, whom she had been expecting to meet. She said she remembered feeling hot air from Mr Harris's nostrils and his beard tickling the back of her neck after he approached "from absolutely nowhere", and could tell he was getting excited as his breathing got heavier, the court heard. "I have never met anyone who could spread their hands across my body so quickly," she said. "They covered all my back really really fast and he got his hands going up both sides of my body and he was saying, 'Well don't you like this then?' and I said 'No I don't like it. Nobody has ever touched me like this, get off'." He then allegedly replied: "Well you can't see me." The complainant, who has two full-time carers, went on: "What annoyed me was that I just could not escape, and being blind I couldn't always tell where he was. "I was completely and utterly trapped." The woman said: "One (complainant) later described him as an octopus. I thought 'that's exactly what it felt like with his arms and fingers spread as far as he could spread them'." The woman said the way he had allegedly taken "advantage" of her was "as degrading as it gets". She went on: "No-one has ever behaved like that to me in my life and I want to say even my husband, at his most passionate times, never covered my body in a way that he has done." The alleged victim said she repeatedly asked Harris to stop touching her and at one point he replied: "Don't be like that, I'm only being friendly." She then said she grabbed his fingers and bent them back in a bid to stop the entertainer squeezing her breasts. She said he allegedly responded: "'I can't get to you now'." The court heard how after the alleged assault, she spent a while with Mr Harris in the room during which he spent a few moments teaching her how to play the didgeridoo he had brought. Wearing a black suit and black-and-white tie Mr Harris appeared via video link from Stafford Prison where he is serving a sentence for a series of offences of indecent assault carried out on four

Summary: A blind, disabled woman felt "utterly trapped" by Rolf Harris as he groped her, a court has heard.


The ministry is asking for 180.5bn yen ($2.1bn, £1.3bn), some of which an official said would be spent on missile interceptors and fighter jets. The move comes with Japan embroiled in a territorial row with China. It also follows North Korea's recent successful long-range rocket launch. "We will request 180.5bn yen to be allocated to military spending from a stimulus package," a defence ministry spokesman told Agence-France Presse news agency. He said that part of it would fund the purchase of PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile systems and modernise four F-15 fighter jets. The defence ministry spokesman said the funds were needed "to prepare for the changing security environment surrounding Japan". The finance ministry has to approve the request before it can be added to the government stimulus package expected later this month. Q&A: China-Japan islands row The request for funds is in addition to news on Tuesday that the new government, which won elections in December, would increase the defence budget request by more than 100bn yen. Officials say the increase would be used for research into a new radar system and maintenance costs for military aircraft. The mooted increase is not large - the defence budget for the year ending in March 2012 stood at 4.65 trillion yen - but it represents a change. For 10 years, Japan's defence budget has been gradually declining. But in the last few months the country has been shaken from two sides, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo. In December, North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket that flew over southern Japan. Much more worrying for Tokyo is China's push to claim disputed East China Sea islands, our correspondent adds. The dispute over the islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, has rumbled for years. Japan controls the islands but its purchase of three of them from their private Japanese owner in September sparked a renewed row. Since then Chinese ships have been sailing in and out of what Japan says are its territorial waters around the islands, prompting warnings from Tokyo. New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is known as a conservative, has pledged a strong stance on the territorial issue while also calling for dialogue with China.

Summary: Japan's defence ministry says it is seeking more funds for military spending, a day after news the government would boost the defence budget for the first time in 10 years.


Brogan Mearns, 13, had not been seen after leaving for a walk from her father's house in the Castlemilk area of the city last Saturday. Police Scotland had expressed concern for her wellbeing. The force said on Friday that the teenager had been traced in Glasgow city centre.

Summary: A teenage girl who had been missing for almost a week has been found "safe and well" in central Glasgow, police have said.


Lord Davies, Britain's former trade minister, said women now accounted for 20.7% of board members in the FTSE 100 firms, up from 12.5% in 2011. He wants women to occupy a quarter of all board positions by 2015. The report also said there was a "growing recognition" of the benefits of equality to business. The social and economic benefits of having more women on boards were also increasingly appreciated, Lord Davies' review found. He said: "The rate of change that we have seen at the heart of our biggest companies over the last three years has been impressive. "The voluntary approach is working and companies have got the message that better balanced boards bring real business benefits. "We are finally seeing a culture change taking place at the heart of British business." But he said the "eyes of the world" were on Britain, and the UK needed to prove it could promote equality on a voluntary basis, not by regulation. Businesses are coming round to having women on boards, Newton Investment Management chief executive Helena Morrissey told the BBC. "Mysteriously, the chairmen often say that the men behave better when the women are around," she said. "Really the arguments are that you need diversity of thought, diversity of perspective," she added. "This has moved away from being politically correct, this is a move to being regarded as good business sense." Lord Davies published a review in 2011 called 'Women on Boards'. He said "real progress" had been made in the intervening years, with "more women than ever before" in top positions. Business Secretary Vince Cable said the figures showed businesses were getting the right mix of talent "around their boardroom table". He said: "98 of the FTSE 100 boards are now made up of at least one woman and we need fewer than 50 new women appointments to FTSE 100 boards to reach our target of 25% of women on all FTSE 100 boards in the next year. "This is a huge improvement from where we started just three years ago." Mr Cable called for a "renewed, concentrated effort" by company chairs and chief executives to "change the make up" of their "top table". He added: "More needs to be done to improve the number of women in executive positions. "These will be the CEOs of tomorrow and businesses still aren't tapping into the vast talent pool available to them." Shadow minister for women and equalities Gloria De Piero said the UK was making "decent progress" but it was a "bit early to be celebrating" as women represented 50% of the population. She said a lack of diversity led to poorer company performance and that Labour would consider introducing quotas if progress was not made. Ms De Piero added: "But there's also a role for government to play in setting the right example to business. "With just five women out of 33 in the cabinet, and women only making up 20% of government ministers, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have shut women's voices out of their own top table." Maria Miller, minister

Summary: The boardrooms of top UK companies have undergone a "culture change", with a growing number of women in decision-making roles, a report has said.


Alexander was centrally involved at McLaren for more than 40 years after being recruited by driver Bruce McLaren to help set up the team in 1963. He left in 1983, two years after McLaren was taken over by current boss Ron Dennis, but returned in 1989 and worked there until he retired in 2008. "Tyler was one of the first pillars of our company," said Dennis. "Bruce couldn't have asked for a sturdier pair of shoulders upon which to help build the team's reputation. Quite simply, Tyler lived and breathed McLaren." In the early years of the team, Alexander worked alongside Bruce McLaren and fellow American Teddy Mayer in F1, first as chief mechanic and then chief engineer before becoming a director of the company. The company continued under Mayer following McLaren's death in a testing crash in 1970. In the late 1960s, Alexander moved to run the company's successful programmes in the US, first in the CanAm sportscar championship and then in Indycar racing, before returning to F1 in 1979. Dennis took over McLaren in 1981, first running it alongside Mayer before taking total control, and two years later Alexander sold his shares to Dennis and left the company. He returned to the US to join Mayer in running an Indycar team, which recruited as engineer a young Adrian Newey, now Red Bull's chief technical officer and the most decorated design engineer in F1 with world titles at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. Alexander and Mayer were the joint team principals of the short-lived US-based F1 team Beatrice in 1985 and 1986. After its collapse, Alexander returned to Indycar racing before Dennis re-signed him as McLaren's special projects engineer in 1989. During his final 20 years with the company, McLaren won six drivers' and five constructors' world titles with Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton. In a tribute to Alexander on the McLaren website, Dennis said: "Tyler was one of the finest of the old school: hardy, humble and wise, leaving a reputation and a legacy that will remain indelible in the history of international motorsport."

Summary: American Tyler Alexander, one of the key figures in the founding of the McLaren team, has died aged 75.


The Iceland midfielder, 27, scored nine goals and assisted 13 to help save the Swans from Premier League relegation. Sigurdsson's fine form has prompted speculation linking him with a move to clubs such as Everton. "It's a good honour for me. It's always nice when you get voted for by the fans and the players," he said. "It's been a very good season for me personally with goals and assists and a good ending for the team." Centre-back Alfie Mawson, 23, was named Swansea's young player of the year having joined from Barnsley in 2016. There were also awards for top-scorer Fernando Llorente and Oliver McBurnie, who is under-23s player of the year. But it was Sigurdsson who dominated Wednesday's awards ceremony at the Liberty Stadium. After playing a starring role in Iceland's improbable run to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals, Sigurdsson signed a new four-year contract with Swansea in August. He has continued to impress this season and, despite the Swans languishing towards the bottom of the Premier League table for much of the campaign, Sigurdsson has provided more assists than any other player in the division. As a result, the former Tottenham playmaker continues to be linked with a move away from the Liberty Stadium, though Swansea head coach Paul Clement has said keeping Sigurdsson will be one of his priorities this summer.

Summary: Gylfi Sigurdsson has been named Swansea City's players' and supporters' player of the year for the second successive season.


The 22-year-old Bath man will have a scan on Saturday. If Watson, who missed the autumn internationals with a broken jaw, is ruled out, then it could present an opportunity to Gloucester's Jonny May. England, Grand Slam winners in 2016, start their title defence at Twickenham on 4 February.

Summary: England winger Anthony Watson is a doubt for the Six Nations opener against France after suffering a hamstring strain.


The walls in the lobby of his San Diego, California, office are dominated by photos in which he's smiling alongside Republicans - Presidents Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush, and 2008 nominee John McCain. He's donated thousands of dollars to Republican politicians over the past several decades. When the self-made millionaire talks about government meddling in private industry - his car dealerships, currency exchange stores and real estate ventures - he takes a page right out of the Republican playbook. "In my business 30% is owned by the United States government and 10% is owned by the state of California. I didn't pick them as partners, but they sure know how to mess in my business," Mr De La Fuente says. "It appears that the more people are trying to be productive, the more government tries to disrupt." The Rocky De L Fuentes of the world ought to have been easy pickings for a Republican Party whose leaders just over three years ago acknowledged that they were facing a demographic doomsday scenario if they didn't broaden their appeal to the growing numbers of Hispanic voters. Because of population growth rates, if the Republican presidential candidate won the same percentage of the Hispanic vote in 2016 as nominee Mitt Romney did in 2012 (27%), according to a study by Republican strategists, he would have to win 64% of the white vote. No Republican has done that since Ronald Reagan's re-election landslide in 1984. 2012 Mitt Romney reiceved 27% of the Hispanic vote and 59% of the white vote 2008 John McCain received 31% of the Hispanic vote and 55% of the white vote 2004 George W Bush received 44% of the Hispanic vote and 58% of the white vote An even more daunting estimate, from UCLA researchers, finds that if Mr Trump wins the same percentage of the white vote that Mr Romney did (59%) he would have to carry 47% of the Hispanic vote - a number only George W Bush in 2004 approached. If the party were to thrive, Republican National Committee analysts wrote in their 2012 post-mortem, they would have to find a way to make their party more welcoming to minority voters - particularly Hispanics. Immigration reform should be a priority. Outreach efforts must be improved. Off-putting rhetoric should be adjusted. Instead the party nominated Donald Trump. And a few months after Mr Trump launched his presidential campaign with a sweeping condemnation of a Mexican nation that he said allows its drug-dealers and rapists to enter the US, Mr De La Fuente - who was born in the US but grew up and attended university in Mexico - announced he was also running for president. As a Democrat. Since then Mr De La Fuente has used his personal fortune to get on the ballot in dozens of states and has received nearly 60,000 votes - good enough for fourth place behind Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. Mr De La Fuente may be an unusual man with an unusual reaction to Mr

Summary: Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente should probably be a Republican.


On Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Dyson called for an easing of immigration laws to keep more overseas engineers. He also said he would vote to leave the EU to avoid being "dominated and bullied by the Germans". The firm has committed £1bn to 100 new products over four years. "Export is vital for Britain to create wealth," said founder and chairman James Dyson. "In order to export you have to have high technology products that are better than those produced elsewhere in the world." To boost UK research and development, engineers who come to study in UK universities should be encouraged to work in the UK after their course has finished, Mr Dyson said. "One important thing we should do is to keep those engineers in Britain. A lot of them come from overseas, in fact, 90% of researchers at British universities come from overseas, and we must encourage them to stay here." "I would change our immigration laws to allow the right sort of people to stay here," he said. In addition, Mr Dyson said he didn't particularly want to stay in the EU. "I think it's a European Union dominated by Germany, and in our particular field we have these very large German companies who dominate standards setting and energy reduction committees, and so we get the old guard and old technology supported and not new technology. "I want to keep EFTA - European free trade - and free movement of peoples, but I don't see that we need to be dominated and bullied by the Germans." Dyson's £1bn investment plan represents a significant increase in R&D spending at the company, which first made a name for itself selling bagless vacuum cleaners. Since then it has produced fans, heaters and powerful hand dryers for public toilets. Dyson also announced an extra £45m investment in research at UK universities. The company has already made a commitment to spend £5m on a robotics lab at Imperial College London, but there was no indication as to which other institutions would receive funding. In January, the firm said it would invest £250m to expand its Malmesbury research and development campus, and create 3,000 jobs. Reacting to Dyson's announcement, Prime Minister David Cameron said it signalled that the company was "looking to the future", and that its investment would "help to cement its leading role on the global stage". Dyson also announced an investment of £200m for manufacturing expansion in South East Asia. A proportion of the investment will go to its West Park motor factory in Singapore. Dyson faced criticism for a 2002 decision to shift its vacuum cleaner manufacturing to Malaysia with a loss of hundreds of jobs. Mr Dyson said; "We manufacture where our suppliers are in South East Asia and Singapore." He added that his family and firm paid UK taxes. In the past there have been reports of schemes being set up in locations including Malta for tax purposes, then wound down. "It's quite clear and quite simple," Mr Dyson said. "Our companies are based here in Britain, I

Summary: James Dyson has told the BBC it's important to keep engineers in the UK to produce hi-tech exports, as he announced a £1bn investment in research and development.


The first minister will say Wales needs two Labour governments to ensure the economy works "for everyone". The party says it will deliver tidal lagoons, rail electrification and the Wylfa Newydd Nuclear Plant. It will also create a Development Bank of Wales, if in power in Cardiff and London. The party says it will ensure the level of funding Wales currently receives from the European Union continues beyond Brexit. Welsh Labour has so far been attempting to run a largely separate election campaign, fronted by First Minister Carwyn Jones rather than UK leader Jeremy Corbyn. At a launch for the campaign in Cardiff two weeks ago, Mr Jones made no reference to Mr Corbyn, and three of the five pledges unveiled related to the work of the Labour-run Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay, rather than issues under Westminster control. Speaking at the launch in the Delyn constituency in north Wales later today, Mr Jones will say: "Our manifesto is an ambitious, comprehensive plan of what Welsh Labour can do, together, working in the assembly and Westminster." He will add: "Working in partnership, Welsh Labour will commit to protecting the funding that would have come to Wales through the EU. "That money will be spent in Wales, and on Welsh priorities, and not stashed away in Whitehall as the Tories now threaten." The first minister will say a Labour government at Westminster would ensure an "estimated Â£1.5bn extra" will come to Wales every year. The general election manifesto says Welsh Labour will also work with a UK Labour government to abolish the Severn bridges tolls and hand over responsibility for policing from Whitehall to the Welsh Assembly.

Summary: Welsh Labour is promising a "real partnership" with a Labour government in Westminster as it launches its manifesto on Monday.


The company said Messenger Lite had the "core features" of the full app such as the ability to share text and photos. The app will compete with Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which the company says is used by more than a billion people. One analyst said offering a stripped-back service for developing markets would "drive adoption of services". "Targeting users in emerging markets with 'lite' apps is not a new phenomenon," said Jack Kent, of the IHS Markit consultancy. "Companies such as Google and Line also offer streamlined services for users in emerging markets. "It makes sense to provide streamlined service to drive adoption of services rather than monetise users immediately." Facebook was criticised in June after it removed access to messages from its mobile website, in an attempt to steer people to use the Messenger app. Stan Chudnovsky, head of product at Facebook Messenger, said the company found people sent more messages when messenger was offered as a separate app. He told BBC News people also found it easier to discover new features when they were not "buried" inside the bigger Facebook experience. The company has slimmed the Messenger Lite app down to under 10MB, so it takes up less space on smartphones with limited storage. That is up to 95% smaller than the full-size Messenger app, which case top 150MB on Android devices. The Lite app will be released for Android devices in Kenya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela first.

Summary: Facebook has announced a "slimmed down" version of its Messenger app for countries where older smartphones and slower net speeds are more common.


Singer Trevor Grills, 54, and tour manager Paul McMullen, 44, died after being hit by a falling metal door at G Live in Guildford on 9 February 2013. David Naylor, 56, from Bridgnorth in Shropshire, is facing two counts of manslaughter by gross negligence. He appeared at Guildford Crown Court and is due stand trial in September. His lawyer have indicated he would enter not guilty pleas when he next appears at the same court on 11 March. The company which manufactured the doors involved in the incident has been summonsed for breaches of duty imposed by the Health and Safety at Work Act. Express Hi-Fold Doors Limited, of which Mr Naylor is a director, is accused of failing to ensure equipment was safe. Mr Grills, from Port Isaac in Cornwall, and Mr McMullen, from Disley in Cheshire, were at the venue ahead of a performance due to be staged by the 10-piece group.

Summary: A man charged over the deaths of two members of the Cornish shanty group Fisherman's Friends has appeared in court.


Australia levelled the Ashes series with a 405-run win at Lord's that saw England's top order collapse in both innings and the bowlers struggling. Gary Ballance has now been replaced by Jonny Bairstow in the squad for next week's third Test at Edgbaston. "This shows nobody is safe in the team," said Lyth. "Gary is averaging almost 50 and he now finds himself out of the side so if you aren't scoring runs you aren't in the side," Lyth wrote on his Facebook page. However, the Yorkshire opener believes such competition is "healthy" - and says he is in better form than his dismissals for a duck and seven at Lord's showed. "I played a bad shot in the first innings at Lord's," he said. "Hopefully there is a big score around the corner. I feel in good nick so I'm not too worried." The 27-year-old said he was "gutted" to see county team-mate Ballance dropped - he averages 47.76 from 15 Test matches, and scored a half-century in the first Test in Cardiff. But Lyth believes Bairstow - another Yorkshireman - will continue his strong domestic form for England. The return of Bairstow will see Ian Bell moved up the batting order to three. Bell has averaged just 14.50 with the bat this summer and there have been suggestions he could also be dropped if he fails to get runs in the third Test. However, Australia batsman David Warner says his camp is wary or writing off the Warwickshire batsman too soon. "He's got the weight of runs behind him, the experience in the games. I think he's a world class player," said Warner. "He may be out of touch at the moment, but we know what he's capable of, he killed us last time when we were over here, scored a lot of runs and we have to respect that." Meanwhile, Australia players are "very happy" that batsman Kevin Pietersen is not playing in the Ashes though, according to former England spinner Shaun Udal. Pietersen, 35, was left out after what previous captain and now England and Wales Cricket Board director of cricket Andrew Strauss called "trust issues". But the nature of the Lord's defeat means his omission is "unfair" on fans and "ridiculous", according to Udal. "That's also the view of three Aussie players I saw at Lord's," Udal said. "They are very happy Kev isn't being picked because, in their words, if he came back the 'chances of Australia winning the Ashes would be reduced'. Udal, who was Pietersen's captain at previous team Hampshire told Kicca.com: "If that's what the opposition thinks then that speaks volumes."

Summary: England batsman Adam Lyth says every player is at risk of being dropped from the team following their humiliating defeat in the second Test.


Darren McDonald, 40, travelled from Ballymena, County Antrim, to support his team. At Glasgow Sheriff Court he admitting running on to the pitch after the final whistle and kicking the other man on the head or body. McDonald was also given a three-and-a-half year football banning order. He is currently serving a sentence in Northern Ireland and the latest jail term will begin after that ends. McDonald was named and pictured in the media after the game that saw Hibs beat Rangers 3-2 on 21 May. Footage from the match was played to the court and newspaper reports from the time were brought to the sheriff's attention. McDonald was seen clearly wearing a pink T-shirt and had distinctive tattoos. The unknown Hibs fan was on the pitch after the match and was on the ground, having been assaulted by someone else. McDonald ran over to him and pulled his right leg back to kick him but slipped and fell backwards. The court heard that the momentum meant his leg made accidental contact with the Hibs fan's head or body. He then got up and ran off after the attack, leaving the Hibs fan on the ground.

Summary: A Rangers supporter who kicked a Hibs fan during a pitch invasion at last year's Scottish Cup Final has been jailed for nine months.


James McGowan, 58, denies killing Owen Brannigan by repeatedly stabbing him at a house in Coatbridge, on 28 or 29 November 1999. The High Court in Edinburgh heard recordings of two July 2012 phone calls to a mental health service made by Mr McGowan, who was an expat in Australia. Mr McGowan told an On the Line adviser he had "crossed a line". During the phone calls, he told the counsellor he was feeling suicidal. He also spoke of his sons Ryan and Dylan who both played for Hearts. The jury heard how Mr McGowan, formerly of Coatbridge, told the operator that there was something "slowly eating away" at him. He added: "Once you've crossed the line and you jump back... you know you can always go across the line. "Some people can't go across it and I know I went and done it and it's a frightening thing - a frightening thing to deal with. "You go 'Jesus, I can't kill people. But I did.'" He also said: "I would have been better off getting caught... you know I probably be coming out to join society again as a better person than what I'm doing - because every single frickin' day it's slowly eating away at me." The tape recordings were played on the second day of proceedings against Mr McGowan, who was extradited from Australia to Scotland last year. The court heard Mr McGowan had asked the counsellors not to tape the conversations, but they were recorded in error. The recordings were later recovered by Police Scotland officers investigating the death of Mr Brannigan. Mr McGowan and his wife emigrated to Australia in 1980. Prosecutors claim Mr McGowan murdered Mr Brannigan after he travelled back to Scotland for his mother's funeral in November 1999. Murray Macara QC, the solicitor advocate representing Mr McGowan has lodged a special defence of incrimination on behalf of his client. The defence states that a now deceased man called Thomas Stewart was responsible for the alleged murder. Mr McGowan also denies a charge of assaulting Thomas Duggan at a social club in Coatbridge on 28 November 1999. The trial, before judge Lady Scott, continues.

Summary: The father of former Hearts footballer Ryan McGowan told helpline counsellors he had killed a man, a court has heard.


Evans lost his serve just once as he beat Italian top seed Luca Vanni 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, and he will face Israel's Amir Weintraub in the second round. Ward sent down 16 aces in a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 win over Canada's Peter Polansky. Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios suffered a pre-Open scare when he pulled out of his opening match at the Kooyong Classic. The 20-year-old Australian handed Belgian David Goffin victory as he retired with a foot injury. He later tweeted that it was precautionary. The year's first Grand Slam starts in Melbourne on Monday. .

Summary: Britain's Dan Evans and James Ward both won their opening Australian Open qualifiers to move within two victories of the main draw.


Arpad Kore and Bartosz Bortniczak, both 18, and Jordanna Goodwin, Megan Storey, and Blake Cairns, all 16, died in the crash in South Yorkshire. Their car collided head-on with another vehicle on the A630 near Conisbrough on 15 November, 2014. Doncaster coroner Nicola Mundy ruled that each of the five teenager's deaths was accidental. The other car driver was injured. Jonathan Earp was in a car ahead of the Toyota Corolla at the time of the crash. Giving evidence at the inquest, he said when he got to the vehicle all the teenagers except his friend Arpad Kore were unconscious. "He was screaming out in pain and begging me not to leave him," Mr Earp told the court. He said he was unable to open the car doors and held his friend's hand until the emergency services arrived. Ms Mundy said she agreed with collision investigators that the most likely cause of the accident was that Mr Bortniczak took his foot off the accelerator as he negotiated a right-hand bend, causing a classic case of "lift-off over-steer". The car, which had been travelling at about 73mph in a 60mph zone, skidded and was side-on when it hit the Seat. Tests showed the car would have been able to safely take the bend at that speed if the driver had kept his foot on the accelerator. Recording her conclusion, Ms Mundy said: "It was the most tragic of accidents. Five young people, who had their lives ahead of them, losing their lives in these circumstances. "I do not think there were any signs of recklessness. It was a mistake and a high price was paid for it." The crash happened after the five friends met up with two others - Ben York and Jonathan Earp - who were in a Vauxhall Corsa. The court heard there had been an investigation into whether the cars had been racing after one witness, Michael Staton, said he had seen two unidentified vehicles at traffic lights revving their engines and then "set off like a dragster start". Mr York, the driver of the Corsa, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving but never prosecuted. But the coroner said: "I do not think there's evidence of them racing or being reckless on the road." Ms Mundy said she would be writing to Doncaster Council to ask it to consider moving the transition from 60mph to 40mph on the A630 further away from Conisbrough.

Summary: A teenager has described how his friend, killed alongside four teenagers in a car crash, begged him for help.


Malorie Bantala, 21, was eight months pregnant when she was attacked by two men in Talfourd Place, Peckham, in south-east London, in June. A 20-year-old man has been charged with child destruction and grievous bodily harm with intent. But officers have yet to identify the second suspect. Det Insp David Suddick said: "The victim has recovered physically from her ordeal, but naturally remains devastated at the loss of her baby. "Somewhere out there is a very violent individual and we hope the offer of this reward may encourage someone to come forward." He added that the victim's white iPhone 5s went missing during the attack and is yet to be traced. Ms Bantala's former boyfriend, Kevin Wilson, of Longfield Estate, Bermondsey, south-east London, is due to face trial in November.

Summary: A £20,000 reward is being offered to find a "very violent" man involved in an attack which resulted in a heavily pregnant woman losing her baby.


The breaches caused rivers of mud to descend on nearby villages in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais. Eleven people were killed and 12 are missing, presumed dead. Samarco is owned by mining giants Vale, from Brazil, and Anglo-Australian company BHP Billiton. Vale and BHP Billiton "made all possible effort to prioritise the needs of the people who were in the accident area" on 5 November when the dams burst, it said in a statement. Samarco says the "preliminary commitment" it signed will guarantee payment for "preventive emergency, mitigation, repair or compensation measures". The authorities acknowledge that the amount agreed will not be enough to cover the damage to the environment and to the local population. "This is only a first instalment," state prosecutor Carlos Eduardo Ferreira Pinto told O Estado de Minas newspaper. Last week, Brazilian environmental agency Ibama fined Samarco 250m reais (Â£43.6m; $66.3m). Ibama described the dam bursts as "the worst mining accident in Brazil's history". The village of Bento Rodrigues was totally destroyed. More than 500 people lost their homes there. Samarco could face even higher fines from environmental regulators for water pollution and damage to local areas. The mud is being tested for potential toxins from the mine. The cause of the dam breaches has not yet been determined, but one of the structures was being extended as part of an expansion project at the time.

Summary: Brazil mining company Samarco has agreed to pay at least 1bn reais (Â£170m; $260m) in compensation for the collapse of two dams it used to hold waste water from iron ore.


While global warming seems to have set the polar north on a path to floe-free summers, the latest data from Europe's Cryosat mission suggests it may take a while yet to reach those conditions. The spacecraft observed 7,500 cu km of ice cover in October when the Arctic traditionally starts its post-summer freeze-up. This was only slightly down on 2013 when 8,800 cu km were recorded. Two cool summers in a row have now allowed the pack to increase and then hold on to a good deal of its volume. And while the ice is still much reduced compared with the 20,000 cu km that used to stick around in the Octobers of the early 1980s, there is no evidence to indicate a collapse is imminent. "What we see is the volume going down and down, but then, because of a relatively cool summer, coming back up to form a new high stand," said Rachel Tilling from the UK's Nerc Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at University College London (UCL). "So, what may be occurring here is a decline that looks a bit like a sawtooth, where we can lose volume but then recover some of it if there happens to be a shorter melt season one year," she told BBC News. The British researcher is presenting her work this week at the American Geophysical Union's Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Cryosat is the European Space Agency's (Esa) dedicated polar monitoring platform. It was sent up with a sophisticated radar system that enables scientists to work out the thickness of the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean. In the three years following its launch in 2010, the satellite saw a steady decline in autumn volume at the end of the summer melt. The deep lows in this short series were 5,300 and 5,400 cubic km in 2011 and 2012, respectively. But then came the bounce back, with colder weather over the following two years resetting the minimum. Indeed, Cryosat's five-year October average now shows pretty stable volume - even modest growth (2014 is 12% above the five year-average). Cryosat's view of sea-ice thickness What Tilling and colleagues see in the data is a very strong link between autumn thickness and the degree of melting in a year. "You might think, for example, that wind conditions would be important because they can pile the ice up and make it less susceptible to melting, while at the same time exposing more water to freeze," the University College London researcher explained. "But we've looked at this and other factors, and by far the highest correlation is with temperature-driven melting." Long term that looks bad for the Arctic because average temperatures are climbing. However, the Cryosat team cautions against extrapolating limited observations to predict future trends in Arctic sea ice. Far more data is required, over a much longer period of time. Cryosat: Delivering operational services Scientists would like this information to be acquired by Cryosat. But the Esa mission is currently categorised as a one-off scientific venture with no planned successor. And although

Summary: Arctic sea ice may be more resilient than many observers recognise.


Manas Kongpan is among more than 60 people convicted in Bangkok of trafficking Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims, a minority fleeing Myanmar. Another top former official was sentenced to 75 years in prison. More than 100 defendants were on trial. Muslim Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar for years, paying people smugglers to help them escape. The arrest of the general in June 2015 was seen as part of an effort by Thailand to close down a human smuggling route through the country. The judge found him guilty of human trafficking and organised transnational crime. A former head of administration in the southern province of Satun, Ko-Tong (also known as Patjuban Aungkachotephan), received a sentence of 75 years in prison. Several other defendants were handed jail terms of similar length. Sentences ranged from four to 94 years. In 2009, Manas told the BBC that Thailand treated migrants humanely after he was accused of ordering more than 1,000 Rohingyas to be set adrift at sea on boats with no engines. Correspondents say he is the first member of the military in army-ruled Thailand to be implicated in the trafficking of migrants. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, head of the country's ruling junta, urged the public not to blame trafficking on military figures. "There are many people in this human trafficking network," he told reporters. "Don't group all soldiers in the country as one." In 2015, thousands of refugees were left stranded at sea as they tried to escape through southern Thailand and on to Malaysia and other destinations. The crisis escalated after international pressure forced the Thai authorities to crack down on the smuggling networks. This led to the smugglers abandoning the refugees, leaving them on their sea and land routes with no neighbouring country willing to take them in. The current trial was sparked by the discovery of mass graves of refugees in jungle camps near the Thai-Malaysian border. Most of those indicted are from Thailand but several citizens of Myanmar (also called Burma) and Bangladesh are also being held. A senior policeman who led an investigation into human trafficking in Thailand, Major General Paween Pongsirin, fled to Australia fearing his life was in danger from influential figures implicated in trafficking in his country. The Rohingya - a distinct Muslim ethnic group who are effectively stateless - have been fleeing Myanmar for decades with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia the most desired destinations. While they say they are descendants of Arab traders who have been in the region for generations, Myanmar's government insists they are not a genuine ethnic group but rather Bengali migrants. Among the refugees stranded during the 2015 crisis were also many economic migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Summary: A former Thai general has been sentenced to 27 years in jail for human trafficking at a landmark trial.


First Minister Carwyn Jones and Welsh Language Commissioner Meri Huws will also join the "Making Welsh Work" conference at Bangor University. Mr Jones called the event "timely" and said having more chances to use the language were key to learning it. Gwynedd council and Natural Resources Wales are among those taking part.

Summary: The best ways to encourage people to speak Welsh at work will be discussed on Friday by more than 100 delegates from organisations across Wales.


Mother-of-two Rukshana Miah, 35, was found critically injured in Longford Road West, Stockport, Greater Manchester, on August 18. She died in hospital on Saturday. Post-mortem tests showed she had suffered fatal compression to the neck. Mrs Miah's husband, Abdul Kashem Miah, was initially charged with her attempted murder. The 36-year-old, of Florist Street, Shaw Heath, appeared at Stockport Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, but Greater Manchester Police said the charge against him would now be reviewed. In a statement, Mrs Miah's family said: "Rukshana was a wonderful daughter, mother, sister, aunty, cousin and friend that will be greatly missed by us all." Des Howlett, head teacher at Broadoak Primary School in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, described Mrs Miah as "a wonderful and talented teacher." He said: "Rukshana was the heart of the school, an outstanding teacher who was devoted to the success of the children that she taught. "She always wanted to be the best and for her children to be the best and her belief that anything was possible if you work hard enough had an impact on everyone she met. "Her loss is absolutely devastating. Ruk was the best of us and will always be remembered. Our thoughts are with Ruk's children and family at this terrible time." A statement on the school's website also paid tribute to the Year 6 teacher, and invited parents to sign a book of condolences.

Summary: A murder investigation has been launched after a teacher died five days after she was attacked at her home.


Emergency services, including an air ambulance were called to Coate Water, Swindon at about 19:30 BST on Friday, after reports a girl had collapsed. Wiltshire Police said the 17-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers do not believe the death to be suspicious. A spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with the girl's family and friends at this extremely difficult time."

Summary: A teenage girl has died after suffering a cardiac arrest in a Wiltshire park.


But the focus on the manhunt - and the shock and grief inspired by the attack - cannot hide the fact that there are also major questions about the atrocities and the response which lie unanswered. One set of questions relate to whether France could have detected such a large plot. After attacks in the UK, there are often questions about "intelligence failures". The 7/7 attacks in 2005 sparked multiple investigations after it emerged that some of those responsible had been "on the radar" of the security services and police. Similar questions were asked after the killing of Lee Rigby in May 2013. The cell behind the Paris attacks appears to have been built around individuals who had gone from France and Belgium out to Syria, received training and then been sent back. Former French intelligence officials acknowledge in this case that there was a failure. Men who were known to the authorities managed to travel and plan and then carry out a deadly attack. Who were the attackers? What is 'Islamic State'? But the reasons for this partly lie in the scale of the challenge France faces. The authorities say they are dealing with 11,000 extremists on their radar. Working out who to follow amidst so many is a challenge for any security service. The problems with travel into and inside Europe's Schengen area pose an additional challenge, along with that of weak information-sharing amongst countries. In the past, attacks were inspired by the so-called Islamic State (IS) but this one was different - it was directed and organised by the group. From the start it was clear that it was highly organised and sophisticated - not the work of so-called "lone actors", but a group working together. Abaaoud may have been the ringleader but it is not clear yet if there was further supervision and direction from the top of IS. Learning that could help the process of discovering whether there are other cells who have been sent to undertake similar operations in France or other countries. France does have experienced security services because it has been dealing with the threat of jihadism longer than most. The legacy of the conflict in Algeria always made it a target. In the mid-1990s, a series of attacks rocked Paris with bombs on the subway. These were linked to Algerian groups whose reach often extended to the UK. With figures like Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza radicalising and preaching, the French christened the British capital "Londonistan" and chided it for offering a safe haven so long as no violence was directed its way. France sent its spies undercover to try to penetrate the groups in Britain and pushed for more action. British officials only understood the danger after 9/11 though and belatedly began acting. Meanwhile France managed to successfully avoid major attacks in those years at the same time as London and Madrid were hit. Special report: In-depth coverage of the attacks and their aftermath The French Security Service enjoyed a robust reputation for running extensive networks of informers across mosques and the

Summary: There was applause for the French security services and police in the National Assembly on Thursday when it was announced that they had caught - and killed - the planner of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.


Iain Henderson, Dan Tuohy and Peter Nelson are the latest to join a long-term casualty list which already includes Tommy Bowe and Jared Payne. Darren Cave is also set to miss the back-to-back games against Toulouse. "Despite all the injuries, I believe we have the capability to win this weekend," said Ulster skipper Best. Ireland star Henderson could miss the remainder of this season after tearing a hamstring in Friday's Pro12 win over Edinburgh with Nelson out for the rest of the campaign after suffering a dislocated foot in the same game. Irish international lock Tuohy will be missing for at least two months after fracturing an ankle against Edinburgh while Ireland centre Cave will be out for a couple of weeks because of a shoulder injury. After the opening Champions Cup home defeat by Saracens, another reverse at Kingspan Stadium would leave Ulster's qualification hopes in trouble but Best is refusing to get too worried. The Ulster captain is calling for a repeat of the kind of committed display which saw them shock Toulouse at the quarter-final stage of the 1998-99 European Cup. Best, as a 16-year-old, was in the stands at the old Ravenhill that day and says the occasion was formative in his decision to commit all his energy to forging a professional rugby career. "You don't remember much about games from when you were that young. You remember two or three standout moments in the game but ultimately what you remember is the atmosphere and being surrounded by screaming people. "Those are the sort of moments that make your mind up for you that you will do anything you can to be an Ulster rugby player. "That's what we want to create again on Friday night." Given Ulster's injury crisis and comparatively slow start to the season, Best has acknowledged that there appears to be a sense of pessimism from the club's supporters about the remainder of this season. "People are very down on us. Media playback is not supported on this device "I've heard people saying that if Ulster lose on Friday night that we are completely gone from Europe but actually that's not the case, because we will have played only two games. "Bath lost their first two games last year and still went through - although they were the first team to do that." Best believes Ulster must attempt to impose their game on Toulouse early on rather than adopting a cautious initial strategy. "We have to pick it up. We can't wait to see what Toulouse are doing. "We have to show them from the off: 'This is what Ulster Rugby is all about'. "Yes, we have a couple of injuries but that hasn't affected our build-up. We've got to try to force them to have to cope with us."

Summary: Rory Best has urged Ulster not to wallow in their injury woes and instead produce a big performance in Friday's European game against Toulouse.