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The men were told they could not board the Monarch flight to Dalaman at 07:00 BST after arriving at the gate late. The pair "talked themselves into being arrested" for being drunk and disorderly, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said. The rest of the family continued with their flight from Manchester Airport. In a Facebook post, GMP said the pair, aged 60 and 27, had "let the drink get the better of them". "The flight wasn't delayed as they didn't get there on time," the force said. "However, the other members of the party did and should be shortly landing in Turkey to enjoy their holiday."
A father and son who spent "too much time in the bar" were refused on a flight to Turkey - despite the rest of their family being onboard.
Human population growth and international travel have helped the bug become a source of irritation in hotel rooms around the world. Insecticides are the most common way to kill them, but they have rapidly developed resistance. Now, an Australian team writing in Plos One journal thinks it has found one of the reasons why. Killing resistant strains of the bug may require concentrations 1,000 times larger than those needed to eliminate non-resistant creatures. Infestations have spread to homes and offices and the bugs are extremely hard to get rid of once they gain a foothold. They can survive for up to a year without feeding and a single fertilised female can infest a whole building. While they were a common part of life in the 1940s and 50s, the introduction of DDT and other powerful insecticides initially restricted their populations. But there was a resurgence as the bugs quickly developed resistance to DDT and subsequent classes of chemicals deployed to kill them. Like all insects, bed bugs are covered by an exoskeleton called a cuticle. Using scanning electron microscopy, David Lilly from the University of Sydney and colleagues compared the thickness of cuticles taken from bed bugs that were resistant to insecticides with cuticles from those that were more easily killed by insecticides. The results showed that the thicker the cuticle, the more likely the bugs were to be resistant to insecticides. "One way bed bugs beat insecticides is by developing a thicker 'skin'," said co-author Mr Lilly, a PhD candidate. The researchers say the results could explain why bed bug infestations are so difficult to control and could assist the search for more effective strategies. "If we understand the biological mechanisms bed bugs use to beat insecticides, we may be able to spot a chink in their armour," said David Lilly. However, there may be other ways that the organisms beat widely used bug sprays. Another team of scientists in the US thinks that bugs there may be able to produce large quantities of enzymes that break down toxic chemicals, including insecticides. iWonder: Is my house crawling with pests?
Bed bugs might be developing thicker "skins" to help them survive exposure to common insecticides.
Erol Incedal, from London, was recorded saying he hated white people and wanted to do "a drive-by". The Old Bailey heard lengthy recordings made by police after they bugged his car in September last year. Mr Incedal, 26, who is being tried partly in secret, denies all charges. The recordings were played in court, with many difficult to clearly hear. In one video, Mr Incedal sings about killing Shia Muslims by cutting their throats. In another, Mr Incedal and two others, who were watching or listening to accounts from fighters in Syria and elsewhere, are heard laughing and commenting on the deaths of enemies of al-Qaeda or Islamic State fighters. At one point, Mr Incedal comments to another man, Mounir Rarmoul-Bouhadjar, about the types of weapons being fired, adding the incomplete phrase "we used that". The jury were told that one video, called Dola, related to al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I've watched so many different like jihadi people's videos and it doesn't do nothing to me," says Mr Incedal on the tape. "But the Dola ones, it just puts this thing in your head that you just want to do drive-by." Mr Incedal and his companion are then heard laughing. "They do it a lot bruv," says Mr Incedal. "And they've got this special like machine uzi gun like and silence on it - it's nuts." The jury was told on Tuesday that Rarmoul-Bouhadjar had pleaded guilty to possessing bomb-making plans. Mr Incedal denies the same charge. He also denies preparing for acts of terrorism. Earlier on Wednesday the court was told that Mr Incedal's home was searched after he was arrested on 13 October last year in central London. During the search of the property in south-east London, officers found a document referring to a "Plan A" on top of a wardrobe in a bedroom. It listed "three to four workers, two tennis racquets, one month's surveillance, rent nearby flat, transport, assess security, assess risk, legitimacy, action etc", prosecutor Richard Whittam QC said. Mr Incedal's wife Kadeejah Baluch and four children were at the property, prosecutors said. Three were his own children, aged six, four and 11 months, they added. The court heard Mrs Baluch confirmed she was married to Mr Incedal, and said: "He normally lives here but not for the last four days." Police also searched a second property near Paddington, which Mr Incedal failed to disclose, jurors were told. Officers found signs a number of people lived there, including three pairs of shoes, three beds, condoms and various DVDs, the court heard. They also found a laptop in a drawer in the bedroom, which prosecutors say contained coded messages referring to a "Mumbai-style" attack and Kalashnikov rifles. In the recordings, Mr Incedal is heard arguing and complaining to his wife about how he was stopped and held for a few hours while the police examined his car. He tells his wife: "I hate white people so much… we might have to destroy everything, and do something else, Plan B. "These pigs, I just feel like running them over. Talking about the police." The court was told on Tuesday that prosecutors believe he was planning either an attack similar to the one in 2008 in Mumbai, which left 174 dead, or to target a prominent figure. An address belonging to former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie were among items recovered from his car, jurors heard. The prosecution has said he had no settled plan. Jurors were told on Monday that parts of the trial would never become public. Some sessions, such as one being held on Wednesday afternoon, will only be open to a limited number of journalists. They will not be able to report what is said. A third part of the trial will see even these accredited journalists excluded from hearing the evidence.
The trial of a man accused of planning to target Tony Blair or carry out a Mumbai-style terror attack has heard secret recordings of him praising jihadist battles in Syria and Iraq.
Thomas Gallagher, 16, was discovered by a member of the public in Old Kays Park in Tottington, Bury, in July 2015. An inquest concluded the schoolboy took his own life and police shortcomings did not contribute to his death. But an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report found Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) conduct was "below the standard expected." The teenager's parents criticised police, saying there had been serious failings in the handling of the case, the Manchester Evening News reports. In a statement they said: "We explained his vulnerabilities concerning his recent mental health history. Subsequently two members of the public found Tom five hours later. GMP failed to respond at all." The IPCC found police delayed looking for the schoolboy because of staffing shortages in the Bury division, which were "foreseeable". "No officers were deployed...until the discovery of Thomas' body some five hours later," the investigator found. The report said the response of four officers and a radio operator was "unsatisfactory". It said the conduct of an inspector, a police sergeant, an acting police sergeant, a police constable and a civilian radio operator, "whilst not amounting to misconduct, did fall below the standard expected." IPCC Associate Commissioner, Guido Liguori, recommended GMP "should address" the "under-resourcing" of the police division in Bury as well as "ensuring police officers and staff are properly supported" for "the benefit of the local community." Ch Supt Chris Sykes from GMP's Bury division said: "Thomas Gallagher's death was a tragedy and our deepest condolences remain with his family. "Unfortunately, it was not possible for GMP to resource the original missing report, due to staff abstractions and a higher than usual number of incidents on the night." Changes have already been implemented in Bury, including new shift patterns, to ensure the force could respond to unanticipated spikes in demand in future, he added. He said: "Whilst the jury concluded that none of the shortcomings in GMP's response caused or contributed in any way to Tom's death, we fully acknowledge the comments made by the jury in delivering their conclusion at today's inquest. We will also await the coroner's report on any recommendations."
No officers were deployed to search for a vulnerable teenager who was later found dead, the police watchdog said.
The International Judo Federation said the 16-year-old must fight without the headscarf for safety reasons, but the Saudis threatened to withdraw Shaherkani. An International Olympic Committee spokesman said: "The judo federation will allow her to wear something which will not compromise her safety, which I think they use for competitions in Asia." A Saudi official said earlier this month that the country's two female athletes at London 2012 - Shaherkani and 800m runner Sarah Attar - must obey Islamic dress codes. But judo officials claimed a headscarf could cause choking, in a sport that involves grabbing and throwing. Shaherkani will fight Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica, ranked 13 in the world, in the first round of the +78kg category on Friday. There is almost no public tradition of women participating in sport in Saudi Arabia, who have found it difficult to select athletes for the London Games who met the minimum qualifying standards.
Saudi Arabia judoka Wojdan Shaherkani will compete at the Olympics after a dispute over a hijab was resolved.
20 December 2015 Last updated at 13:02 GMT Andrew Russell, 36, was found unconscious in a car park on Bradshaw Way, in Derby, shortly before 02:00 on 16 November. He was taken to hospital but later died. Det Insp Graham Prince, of Derbyshire Police, said: "We are trying to trace a number of cars seen driving along London Road between 1.30am and 2.15am that morning, along with several lone people walking down the road during the same time period. "These people have yet to come forward and they could have information which may help with the inquiry." A 41-year-old man has been charged in connection with the alleged attack.
Detectives investigating a fatal assault have released CCTV footage of potential witnesses who have yet to come forward.
1492 - Christopher Columbus visits the island, which he names Hispaniola, or "Little Spain". 1496 - Spaniards set up first Spanish colony in Western hemisphere at Santo Domingo, which subsequently serves as capital of all Spanish colonies in America. 1697 - Treaty of Ryswick gives western part of Hispaniola island (Haiti) to France and eastern part (Santo Domingo - the present Dominican Republic) to Spain. 1795 - Spain cedes its portion of Hispaniola island to France. 1808 - Spain retakes Santo Domingo following revolt by Spanish Creoles. 1821 - Uprising against Spanish rules is followed by brief period of independence. 1822 - Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer marches his troops into Santo Domingo and annexes it. Republic is born 1844 - Boyer overthrown; Santo Domingo declares its independence and becomes the Dominican Republic. 1861-63 - President Pedro Santana returns the Dominican Republic to Spanish rule. 1863-64 - Spain withdraws from, and annuls its annexation of, the Dominican Republic following a popular revolt. 1865 - The second Dominican Republic proclaimed. 1906 - Dominican Republic and US sign 50-year treaty according to which the US takes over the republic's customs department in return for buying its debts. 1916-24 - US forces occupy the Dominican Republic following internal disorder. 1924 - Constitutional government assumes control; US forces withdraw. Trujillo dictatorship 1930 - General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina establishes personal dictatorship following the overthrow of President Horacio Vazquez. 1937 - Army massacres 19,000-20,000 Haitians living in areas of the Dominican Republic adjacent to Haiti. 1960 - Organisation of American States adopts resolution calling for severance of diplomatic ties with the Dominican Republic. 1961 - Trujillo assassinated. US invades 1962 - Juan Bosch, founder of the leftist Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) elected president in the first democratic elections for nearly four decades. 1963 - Bosch deposed in military coup and replaced by a three-man civilian junta. 1965 - Some 30,000 US troops invade the Dominican Republic following a pro-Bosch uprising. Return to democracy 1966 - Joaquin Balaguer, a Trujillo protege and former leader of the Reformist Party (later to become the centre-right Christian Social Reform Party (PRSC)), is elected president. 1978 - Silvestre Antonio Guzman (PRD) is elected president and proceeds to release some 200 political prisoners, ease media censorship and purge the armed forces of Balaguer supporters. 1979 - Two hurricanes leave more than 200,0000 people homeless and cause damage worth 1 billion dollars as the economy continues to deteriorate due to high fuel prices and low sugar prices. 1982 - Another PRD candidate, Jorge Blanco, elected president. Austerity, unrest 1985 - IMF-prescribed austerity measures, including price rises for basic foods and petrol, lead to widespread riots. Joaquin Balaguer's political career spanned seven decades 1986 - Balaguer (PRSC) re-elected president. 1988 - Jorge Blanco tried in absentia and found guilty of corruption during his presidential tenure. 1990 - Balaguer re-elected, defeating Bosch by a small majority. 1994 - Balaguer re-elected, but agrees to serve only a two-year term after being accused of fraud. 1996 - Leonel Fernandez Reyna of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) elected president. 1998 - Hurricane George causes widespread devastation. 2000 - PRD returned to power with Hipolito Mejia as president. 2001 May - Appeals court quashes a conviction against former president, Salvador Jorge Blanco, on charges of corruption. 2001 November - US jet bound for Santo Domingo crashes in New York killing all 255 people on board. Three days of national mourning declared. 2002 July - Former president Joaquin Balaguer dies aged 95; thousands pay their last respects to a man who dominated politics for more than 50 years. 2003 November - Deadly clashes between police and protesters during demonstrations against high prices, power cuts. Two months later, demonstrations about economic policies leave at least five dead. Fernandez elected 2004 May - Former president Leonel Fernandez defeats incumbent Hipolito Mejia. Severe floods in the south-west, and in parts of neighbouring Haiti, leave more than 2,000 dead or disappeared. 2005 September - Congress approves a proposed free trade agreement with the US and Central American nations. The DR enters the accord in March 2007. 2008 May - President Leonel Fernandez is re-elected. 2010 May - Congressional elections. Governing Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) retains firm grip on power. 2010 October - Dominican Republic tightens border restrictions to prevent cholera spreading from Haiti. 2012 May - Governing Dominican Liberation Party candidate Danilo Medina wins close presidential election over former president Hipolito Mejia. 2012 October - Hurricane Sandy causes extensive damage. 2013 September - Dominican Republic's highest court rules that the children of undocumented migrants are not eligible for Dominican nationality. Human rights groups warn that it could leave tens of thousands of people of Haitian descent stateless. 2014 May - The Dominican parliament approves a bill to grant citizenship to Dominican-born children of immigrants. 2016 May - President Danilo Medina is re-elected with a large majority. 2016 November - More than 20,000 people are displaced in flooding. The government declares a state of emergency.
A chronology of key events:
Mustafa Bashir, 33, was spared a custodial term in March as the judge heard he would lose out on a cricket contract with Leicestershire. Judge Richard Mansell QC, reviewing the sentence at Manchester Crown Court, said he was "fundamentally misled". He sentenced Bashir to 18 months. Bashir, who has played cricket for Oldham and Bolton, denied telling his barrister at the last hearing that he was about to sign the contract with Leicestershire. He claimed he "wasn't listening" to his barrister's comments, was "extremely emotional" and there were a "series of misunderstandings". Judge Mansell rejected Bashir's claims, saying: "You were clearly making a claim to court you had a professional cricket contract." Leicestershire CCC accused Bashir of "inventing" the job offer "in order, it would seem, to evade a prison sentence". The club later contacted the Crown Prosecution Service to deny any contact with Bashir. However the court heard the club accepted he may have taken part in an open nets session. Bashir, of Hebers Court, Middleton, Greater Manchester, earlier admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating, destroying or damaging property and using a destructive substance with intent to maim. Judge Mansell ordered the case back to court under the "Slip rule" which allows judges to re-sentence if new information comes to light. He had asked Bashir to provide evidence but said the defendant had produced only a "handful of emails" to support his claims. The court heard a sports agent had written a letter to the earlier hearing saying Bashir "had a very bright future ahead of him" as he had been selected for Leicestershire. The sports agent, who the new defence team said had "mistyped" the letter to court, has since been spoken to by police, the court heard. Bashir's barrister also said the previous defence and probation officer had "got the wrong end of the stick" over the job offer. Imposing the new sentence, the judge told Bashir: "You were clearly making a claim to the court you had a career in professional cricket ahead of you which was false. "You made that quite clearly in the hope you would avoid a prison sentence. "There's not a shred of evidence you were ever chosen to play for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, let alone you had received any offer of a full time contract." Welcoming the sentence, Leicestershire CCC chief executive Wasim Khan said the club was "horrified at being used as a means for someone who had been convicted of appalling violence to his wife to escape imprisonment". He said the new sentence was "a much more fitting punishment for what he did and good news for the fight against domestic violence". Judge Mansell drew criticism from domestic abuse campaigners and several MPs when he told the court last month that the victim was not vulnerable as she was "an intelligent woman with a network of friends" and had a degree. Reviewing Bashir's sentence, he said his earlier comments were meant as an explanation of advice issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council about the vulnerability of witnesses. He said he wanted to make clear Bashir's wife had been believed, she was "plainly vulnerable", but he had been explaining the different factors which can make a victim especially vulnerable.
A man who admitted attacking his wife with a cricket bat and forcing her to drink bleach has been jailed after a judge said the court was "misled" over a cricket contract.
Thieves attempted to steal a cash machine at the Sainsbury's on Station Road at 03:30 on 17 October. Officers said the van may have been in Airth, near Falkirk, before or after the crime in Kinross took place. The van has a blue, white and grey logo of "Bishop Auckland Car & Van Hire" on the side. Det Insp Nicola McGovern said: "Extensive inquiries have already been carried out into this crime and this vehicle is of significant interest to the investigation. "It is important that we identify exactly where this van was overnight between the Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October." Anyone with information is asked to contact the police.
Police investigating the attempted theft of a cash machine in Kinross have said they are looking for a distinctive white van.
The accident happened at about 09:15 GMT on Friday on the Saltway - an unclassified road near Northleach. The woman, from Cheltenham, was driving the car and suffered fatal injuries in the crash, Gloucestershire Constabulary said. Anyone who witnessed the crash has been asked to contact the force with information.
A 32-year-old woman has died in a crash between a car and a lorry in Gloucestershire.
All O'Keefe's scalps came as India lost seven wickets for 11 runs to be 105 all out - captain Virat Kohli making his first Test duck in 45 innings. Australia, bowled out for 260 in their first innings, then moved to 143-4 to lead by 298 runs. Captain Steve Smith, dropped three times, was unbeaten on 59 at the end of day on which 15 wickets fell. O'Keefe claimed three wickets in one over, first dismissing top-scorer KL Rahul (64) before Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha fell for ducks. All of his six wickets came in the space of 24 deliveries as the 32-year-old claimed career-best figures in his fifth Test. Despite Ravichandran Ashwin dismissing David Warner (10) and Shaun Marsh for a duck, Smith and Matt Renshaw (31) steadied the innings to put Australia on top. Only one team has chased more than 300 to win a Test in India - India scored 387 to beat England by six wickets in 2008.
Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe took 6-35 to give Australia control of the first Test against India in Pune.
The man died at the scene at about 05:20 BST. Police are investigating any link to a crash minutes earlier on a bridge over the motorway. Both incidents were close to junction 23 in Leicestershire with the first crash involving one vehicle. The northbound motorway and the nearby A512 were reopened by 14:30. Vehicles trapped in the tailbacks were taken off the motorway by police. The Highways Agency said there was still congestion in the area but this should ease by 15:30. More on this story and other news in Leicestershire
A section of the M1 was closed for nine hours after a man was hit by a lorry.
A European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling last November gave passengers the right to compensation for long delays, not just cancellations. But the High Court has, at the request of UK airlines, referred the matter back to the ECJ for a further hearing. It means UK courts will not hear any more cases until the ECJ rules again. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which enforces the airline regulations, said it would defend the current position at the next ECJ hearings. "The High Court stayed our enforcement powers so the courts won't hear cases in the interim," a spokesman said. "But our view of the law hasn't changed - we wish to enforce the position laid down by the 2009 ruling." Until last November, European rules awarded airline passengers cash compensation if their flights were cancelled, but not if they were delayed. If passengers were delayed the airlines had only to offer meals, refreshments, two free telephone calls and, for an overnight delay, hotel accommodation and transfers to and from the hotel. That changed when the ECJ effectively re-wrote the original 2004 regulations, and said that people whose flights were delayed should be treated as if their flights had been cancelled. That meant cash compensation should be awarded, in addition to their other rights, if delays lasted longer than three hours. However, the UK airline industry opposed the move. BA, Easyjet, the tour operator TUI and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) took the matter to the High Court, to persuade it to ask the European court to look at the issue again. "It was an unexpected judgement last November," said aviation lawyer Sue Barham at law firm Barlow, Lyde and Gilbert. "The rules don't say there is an obligation to pay compensation for delayed flights but the ECJ decided that that is what they meant." Sarah McIntyre at Easyjet said: "It is important to clarify that this case will not affect delayed passengers' right to care such as phone calls, hotel accommodation and food, and we will continue to fully comply with EU regulations for claims relating to cancellations or denied boarding." Since November some airlines have been paying up when delayed passengers have demanded compensation, while others have tried to stall and avoid paying, arguing that the ECJ judgement was wrong. A stay on any new compensation cases in the UK courts, and refusal by UK airlines to pay compensation to passengers who merely ask for it, could last for two years. "There will be a further hearing and I do not expect another judgement until the first half of 2012," said a source close to the airlines. Despite the new round of court hearings, a CAA spokesman explained that a UK passenger could still make a claim for delay compensation in another EU country if an EU airline was involved. The referral back to the ECJ is not a formal appeal - such a procedure does not exist - but it is being asked to reconsider the issue and change its mind. Separately, some airlines have been fighting their obligation to pay food and hotel costs, for instance following the widespread disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud over much of Europe during the spring. Last week, the European Commission threatened to take legal action against the Dutch airline KLM which has been reimbursing its passengers for the cost of just one day and one night's delay. Ryanair initially threatened not to reimburse passengers whose flights were cancelled due to the ash cloud, but it backed down under pressure from the UK and Irish authorities.
The right of UK air passengers to force airlines to pay compensation for long flight delays has been suspended by the High Court.
Settlements were reached in cases brought against Wallace High School, Lisburn, St Brigid's College, Londonderry, and Lislagan Primary School in Ballymoney. The schools had been identified as suitable by the education authorities. The families ended up sending their children to alternative schools. The families brought cases against each school to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal with the support of the Equality Commission. The Equality Commission said the schools had also agreed to work with the commission to ensure their procedures and policies conform with the law. Michael Wardlow, chief commissioner with the Equality Commission, said there was a "lesson from these cases for every school". "When a disabled child applies for a place, they should proactively give proper consideration to how they can adapt to meet the needs of that pupil. "These are children who have enough barriers facing them in life. "They don't need the additional barriers that can be thrown up when schools decide that their needs cannot be accommodated." He added: "The children who are at the heart of each case have moved on with their education and we wish them well as they progress through life. "By challenging the decisions which were taken they, and their families, hope to ensure that other children, in similar circumstances, can avoid the additional, and unnecessary, difficulties which were placed before them." Wallace High School said that a £3.2m investment in a school enhancement programme would secure a "significant improvement in disability access for all young people, staff, parents and other visitors to our school".
Three schools have apologised to the families of children with special educational needs after initially refusing to accept them as pupils.
WRU Chairman Gareth Davies confirmed the move was made after regions had "upped the ante" over the Wales international's contract. At least one other Welsh region has shown an interest in Williams, whose current contract ends next summer. "It's over to the regions really to try and hopefully keep Scott Williams," Davies told Radio Wales Sport. "The central contract from the union has been withdrawn after some of the regions started upping the ante, as it were." The union's offer would have kept the player at the Scarlets. Dual contracts are funded 60% by the WRU and 40% by the region, and Davies' comments suggest the regions are offering bigger deals than the one they put on the table. It also hints that the WRU are not prepared to get involved in an auction of escalating bids. However, it appears that the player will stay in Wales, but with a region paying his contract in full. That situation would not upset the governing body, who set up the dual contracts to stop players moving abroad. "It's difficult because we can't centrally contract everybody because of the funding issues - some players will be, some won't be," added Davies. "But the important thing is that between the union and the regions that we work together to ensure that we can retain as many of the top stars as possible, and the youngsters coming through as well."
The Welsh Rugby Union have withdrawn an offer of a dual contract for Scarlets centre Scott Williams.
Lynn Harter found the sepia card from Edinburgh among birthday cards that came through her letterbox in Garstang. "I thought at first a friend knowing my interest in history had sent it," the former town councillor said. But when she examined the card closely she found it had a 1955 postmark and was addressed to a Mr and Mrs Phillipson. The postcard of Edinburgh Castle, which was addressed to the couple at Bridgefield, Kepple Lane, reads: "I am having a great holiday here, staying with friends. The weather is good and doing lots of sightseeing. Trust you are both keeping well, my love and best wishes Madge Johnson." Mrs Harter checked the deeds of her home to find Mr and Mrs William Phillipson bought it in 1943. She said: "Interestingly Mrs Helen Phillipson died in 1951 so either the sender of the postcard, Madge Johnson, didn't know she'd died, or William may have married again?" Mr Phillipson died in 1961. Mrs Harter said: "A friend of mine who is a postman said there are several reasons it may have taken so long. It could have been found by someone who just forwarded it or it could have got lodged in an old sorting machine and only unearthed when the machine was changed." A keen local historian, Mrs Harter found out Mr Phillipson had moved to Garstang after retiring from the police force in Bolton. "I know he kept a horse in a stable at the back of the bungalow and I have heard stories about a former policeman who used to ride a horse bareback through Garstang," she said.
A postcard sent from Scotland to Lancashire has arrived at its destination 62 years later.
The Principality Stadium's gates open at 17:30 BST on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the support act starting at 19:00 and Coldplay on stage at about 20:30. Those driving to Cardiff are urged to use a park-and-ride at Cardiff City Stadium. Visitors by train have been strongly advised to leave plenty of time, with the network expected to be busy. The Principality Stadium, which will have its roof open for the concert, has issued new policies on bringing bags into the stadium, as well as information on prohibited items and body searches. Only small bags, no larger than 35cm (13in) x 40cm (15in) x 19cm (7in), will be allowed into the stadium. A queuing system will run at Cardiff Central Station. Queen Street Station will close at 21.45. All train passengers are advised to buy a ticket before they board a train. Road closures Scott Road and Park Street will be closed earlier on each day to allow for a barrier system to be put up on the approach to gate five. A full programme of city centre road closures will be in place from 18:00 until 23:30, including: The following roads will be closed in their entirety: Duke Street, Castle Street, High Street, St Mary Street, Caroline Street, Wood Street, Central Square, Westgate Street, Quay Street, Guildhall Place, Golate, Park Street, Havelock Street and Scott Road. The following roads will be closed from 21:00 until 23.30: Saunders Road from the junction with St Mary Street, Customhouse Street, throughout its length and Penarth Road, from the junction with Saunders Road to the entrance leading to the back of Cardiff Central station. Buses Buses will be diverted out of the central city centre bus stops. Those displaced from stops within the closure will relocate to either Churchill Way for the east, Greyfriars Road, for the north, and Tudor Street, for the west.
Cardiff city centre roads will be shut as 60,000 people head to the capital for each of Coldplay's two concerts.
One resident who managed to escape dropped his son into the arms of a neighbour before fire crews arrived just after 04:00 BST. A man, a woman, and a young girl were pronounced dead at the scene, in North Street, Langley Mill. East Midlands Ambulance Service said a member of the public told them a car fire had spread to nearby flats. Resident Sean Needham said: "I heard my smoke alarms going off and I opened the door and saw the house full of smoke. "One of the neighbours climbed over his garden fence and I passed my lad down to him. "I dropped him about six feet into the neighbour's arms. Me and my wife got out down a ladder." Mr Needham, who believes all his belongings have been lost through fire and water damage, said his six-year-old son was "traumatised and frightened". "My main concern was for him because he was born with chronic lung disease... but he was checked out at the hospital and was shaken but fine. "I am still shaking and... I am in shock but I am glad I am still here. I owe my neighbour my life as he saved my little boy." Alex Clark, who helped rescue Mr Needham's son, said: "Sean passed his little lad down to me - I'm not a hero - I am just a person that has helped to rescue a family." He added: "It is tragic. It is the sort of thing you wish would never happen." Five people were taken to hospital - four to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham and one to the Royal Derby Hospital, the ambulance service said. Several neighbouring properties were evacuated as the fire caused a gas leak. Neighbour Craig McFarlane said: "There was a lot of noise and confusion - I went round and there was a car on fire. "We went to get a few ladders and managed to get a few people out. There were about 30-40 people running around. Everyone was out there doing what they could do. "Flames were climbing up the stairs and up the flats so fast. Nobody stood a chance." Another neighbour Paul Barber said: "We saw people trapped in the property and one of our neighbours threw his son… to safety. "There were two people hanging out of a window screaming for help but they managed to get out." John Dunkley, a watch manager with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted: "Terrible night shift. Thoughts with all personnel from all emergency services involved at Langley Mill this morning." A fire service spokesman said: "Two people from the property affected by the fire, and a further three residents from adjacent flats were able to escape. "Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the family and friends of the deceased." Four fire engines were sent to the blaze. A police spokesman said they were "keeping an open mind as to the cause of the fire", but said nothing had been ruled out.
Three people have died and five have been injured in a flat fire in Derbyshire.
The smart tank has a camera that detects the fish's movements and makes it travel in the direction the fish is swimming. Thomas De Wolf from Studio Diip, the company that invented it, says he wanted to bring fun back to technology. The company are working on this version of the tank to protect the fish from becoming stressed if they go too fast.
A design team have built a tank on wheels that gives fish a chance to 'drive' around on land.
Rhodri Talfan Davies told Radio Wales a 20% reduction in spending over the past six or seven years had had consequences for areas such as comedy. On Tuesday, during a speech in Cardiff, BBC director-general Tony Hall said programming in Wales had been "eroded". BBC Wales is marking 50 years in 2014. Mr Hall's speech to celebrate the anniversary at the National Assembly for Wales' Pierhead building included a declaration that English language broadcasting from and for Wales from all broadcasters had been declining for almost a decade. Speaking on the Sunday Supplement programme, Mr Davies agreed with some of Mr Hall's points. "The decision we took, and I think rightly, was to protect the bedrock of BBC Wales, its news, its current affairs, its political coverage. "I think what Tony put his finger on in the speech is that clearly in making those decisions, the right decisions, they have consequences. "[With] other programmes in some programming areas such as comedy or light entertainment or some areas of documentary, the programming gets thinner and that's the consequence of living within our means," he told presenter Vaughan Roderick. Mr Davies said he believed what Mr Hall had recognised in his speech was that BBC Wales had a disproportionate scale of responsibility in journalism and broadcasting, with the press in Wales being limited in comparison to Scotland, for example. "The responsibility for not just reporting Wales but making sense of Wales culturally, socially, linguistically, to a very large extent falls on the BBC," he said. "[Tony Hall] has clocked the issue in Wales, particularly how we serve the 80% of the population who don't speak Welsh. "There is a deficit there, not so much in the journalism which is often the focus of our political leaders, but in other areas such as comedy and light entertainment. "What he's asking for is a broad-based debate, not a debate that is seen solely through the prism of news or the Welsh language, that looks at the full cultural needs of Wales." He said there were examples of Wales-based drama and other output produced for network BBC such as The Indian Doctor and the forthcoming A Poet in New York, a drama about Dylan Thomas starring Tom Hollander, but "not enough". Mr Davies added: "The money has been declining, but creatively we're not declining. "The scale of ambition is there. What we're seeing from our in-house teams and from the indie sector is a real ambition to deliver."
Cuts which led to a decision to protect "bedrock" BBC Cymru Wales services like news and political coverage have led to "thinner programming" in other areas, its director has said.
It says the current measures are inadequate, and suggests buyers should be forced to give proof of ID. The report also challenges re-sale sites to observe the law, by displaying the original face value of any tickets they list for sale. A recent survey by Which? found the rules were consistently being breached. While it is not illegal to re-sell tickets, it is thought that some of the selling patterns are only possible because of software known as "bots", which automatically sweep up huge numbers of tickets the moment they go on sale. Touts then resell them at a profit on secondary market websites. Tickets to see Radiohead in the UK this week are being advertised for as much as £6,000 - nearly 100 times face value - but that pales in comparison to Adele. In February, it emerged that tickets for her UK tour were being advertised for £25,000 each. The singer called out the touts during one of her recent London shows, calling them "terrible people". "I hope no one paid that much," she said. "If you did, I'll pay you back." However, secondary sites say these highly-priced tickets rarely sell. Sir Elton John has also branded secondary ticket sites "disgraceful" and urged fans not to pay over the odds, telling the BBC: "I'd rather have empty seats." Meanwhile, an anti-touting petition launched by the unlikely combination of Mumford and Sons and Little Mix three weeks ago has already attracted 42,000 signatures. The government review was authored by Professor Michael Waterson, economics professor at Warwick University. He said primary sites like Ticketmaster, Ticketweb and Seetickets should "take seriously the possibility of mass purchase by individuals using bots who have no intention of attending the event and guard against this". "Mass purchases of this kind are usually undertaken with a view to resale at a profit, resulting in the primary sites selling out very quickly and tickets ending up on the secondary ticketing market at inflated prices." He praised Glastonbury's ticketing model, whereby tickets are "deliberately personalised" and ID is checked at the gates - and encouraged more sellers to introduce ID requirements. Professor Waterson was also critical of ticket pre-sales, revealing that often "85-90% of a venue's inventory has already been sold" by the time the general sale begins. He also cited oral evidence suggesting that some concert promoters "quietly" gave tickets to secondary sites at higher prices "because they recognise the gains to be made". The review also looked at whether consumers were being sufficiently protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Under the law, buyers must be told the original face value of any tickets being resold and, where appropriate, the seat numbers and any other restrictions - for example age limits. But a Which? survey of the four main ticketing sites - Viagogo, Seatwave, Stubhub and Getmein! - found "numerous examples" of the rules being breached. Professor Waterson agreed that the sites needed to be monitored more closely, perhaps by Trading Standards, and penalties imposed when they broke the rules. However, he dismissed calls for an outright ban on the secondary market, arguing it would simply drive the sector underground. He added that around 30% of tickets on resale sites were sold below face value, thus "offering a useful service to consumers". During the consultation, many fans asked the government to prevent tickets being resold at a profit, capping the price at 10% above the original face value. However, Professor Waterson vetoed the idea, saying it would be "difficult to police" and arguing it would "legitimise" touting through legislation. His report was given a cautious welcome by musicians including Arctic Monkeys, One Direction, Florence + the Machine, Ed Sheeran and Iron Maiden. A joint statement, signed by their managers, said: "Professor Waterson exposes a dysfunctional and under-regulated ticketing market. His review calls on Government to enforce the law, and for secondary ticketing sites to apply the law and show responsibility. "We believe that fans should be given every opportunity to buy and exchange tickets at the price they were intended - not see them used as collateral to boost the profits of scalpers." A spokesperson for Stubhub, which is owned by eBay, said: "We welcome Professor Waterson's recognition of the benefits for consumers from the secondary market and his decision to reject further legislation at this stage, including price caps. "But we are concerned that there are still insufficient legal safeguards to stop event organisers using row and seat number details to cancel, without compensation, tickets offered for resale. Transparency should not come at the expense of people's right to resell their tickets." Shadow sports minister Clive Efford said: "The Government was forced to concede to a number of Labour's demands on the secondary ticketing market during the passage of the Consumer Rights Act. "This report shows that secondary ticketing companies are ignoring existing regulations and that there is no enforcement taking place. "Due to the Government dragging its feet on this issue, sports fans have been needlessly ripped off for tournaments such as the Rugby World Cup, the Ashes and currently the European Football Championship."
Companies like Ticketmaster should take more action to prevent touts "harvesting" concert tickets, a government review has recommended.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has been granted permission by Westminster City Council to replace the Warner Stand at the London ground. The MCC said the new structure, which includes a 135-seat restaurant with views of the ground, will improve sight-lines and accessibility. Work is set to begin on the £21m project at the end of the 2015 season. The redevelopment must first be approved by the club's membership, with the committee set to seek approval at a special general meeting in the summer of 2015. The current Warner Stand was built in 1958 and its replacement is the first phase of development in the 15-year Masterplan for Lord's, which was unveiled last May. MCC chief executive Derek Brewer said the club "wants Lord's to be the world's finest cricket ground and this new stand combines the best in architecture with world-class facilities to help achieve that". "Lord's celebrates its 200th birthday this year and we have a duty to ensure any changes made to the ground will stand the test of time and bring long-term benefits." He added the MCC, who remain the guardians of the laws and spirit of cricket, will continue to consult with local residents in St John's Wood about the ground's redevelopment.
Plans to redevelop a stand at Lord's, the home of cricket, have been given the go-ahead.
Media playback is not supported on this device Brady, 38, and the Patriots were sanctioned after a 243-page report into what became known as 'deflate-gate'. Brady's ban was overturned in September by a federal judge, who said the NFL's ruling had "legal deficiencies". But the NFL's subsequent appeal was upheld on Monday. Brady is now set to miss the first four games of the 2016 season, which starts in September. The four-time Super Bowl winner, considered one of the best ever quarterbacks, maintains neither he nor the club did anything wrong. The Patriots won the match in question - against Indianapolis Colts in January 2015 - 45-7, and then won the Super Bowl. The league fined the Patriots a record $1m (£660,000) and stripped the team of two draft picks, with its report finding Brady was "generally aware" of the scheme. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's inquiry concluded Brady "knew about, approved of, consented to, and provided inducements and rewards" to ensure balls were deflated. But US District Judge Richard Berman found the league's disciplinary process was "fundamentally unfair" and there were "several significant legal deficiencies" in the penalty issued by Goodell - including failing to notify Brady about the possibility of a punishment. After his ban was lifted in September, Brady played the full season - his 16th as a professional footballer. He said at the time: "I don't think it has been good for our sport, to a large degree, we have all lost." Deflated balls are considered easier to throw and catch.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has had a four-game ban restored over allegations footballs were deliberately under-inflated before an NFL play-off game last year.
The Spanish foreign ministry says the stopovers have now been cancelled. Spain had been under pressure from Nato allies not to allow the refuelling of the Russian warships bound for Syria. Russia's defence ministry later said no request had been sent for the main vessel, aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, to be refuelled in Ceuta. In a statement (in Russian), the ministry said the Russian vessels had the necessary resources to carry out tasks. The ministry added that it had considered - upon agreement with Spain - the possibility of a "business" docking of some of the ships or a maintenance ship into Ceuta's port. Russia's battle group has been sailing for the past week from Russia to the Mediterranean. "Given the information which appeared on the possibility that these ships would participate in supporting military action in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the ministry of foreign affairs requested clarification from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Madrid," the Spanish foreign ministry said earlier on Wednesday in a statement to the BBC. It added that permission had been granted in September for three Russian ships to dock in Ceuta between 28 October and 2 November. It said such stops for Russian naval vessels had taken place for years in Spanish ports. But following its request for clarification, the ministry said, the Russian embassy in Madrid said it was withdrawing its request for refuelling. The Russian embassy has confirmed the withdrawal. Nato had earlier expressed concern that the ships could be used to help bomb civilians in Aleppo, but said the final decision on resupply rested with Spain. Nato's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had warned that warships could be used to target civilians in Syria. "We are concerned and I have expressed that very clearly about the potential use of this battle group to increase Russia's ability and to be a platform for air strikes against Syria," he told journalists on Tuesday. In the end it was little more than a storm in a petrol pump. Russia withdrew its request to refuel its warships in a Spanish port, and so Moscow and Madrid both found a diplomatic way to get themselves off a difficult hook. But the passions aroused by Spain's apparent willingness to refuel Russian vessels were real, especially since this time the Russian task group was on its way - as the British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon put it - "to bomb Syrian civilians in Aleppo". How would it look, just as Nato defence ministers met to strengthen their forces in the Baltic, in Poland and around the Black Sea, if one of their members was helping a Russian task group on its way to a conflict where many Nato governments have accused Moscow of carrying out war crimes through its indiscriminate bombing? Led by Russia's only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the naval group includes a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, two anti-submarine warships and four support vessels, probably escorted by submarines. The battle group carries dozens of fighter bombers and helicopters and is expected to join about 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast. Some 2,700 people have been killed or injured since the Russian-backed Syrian offensive started last month, according to activists. Western leaders have said Russian and Syrian air strikes on Aleppo could amount to war crimes, an accusation rejected by Russia. About 250,000 civilians who live in Aleppo have been trapped by the fighting. Moscow announced last week a "humanitarian pause" in attacks as part of a plan to allow civilians and fighters to leave the area.
Russia has withdrawn a request for three warships to dock at the Spanish port of Ceuta for refuelling, following concern among Nato allies.
Malaysian police named one as Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 18, and said he was probably migrating to Germany. Interpol identified the other as Delavar Seyed Mohammadreza, 29. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing on Saturday, after taking off with 239 on board. The search has been widened. Experts have said the presence of two people with stolen passports on a plane was a breach of security, but one that is relatively common in a region regarded as a hub for illegal migration. Malaysia's police chief, Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar, said the younger Iranian was "not likely to be a member of a terrorist group", adding that the authorities were in contact with his mother in Germany, who had been expecting her son to arrive in Frankfurt. Speaking in Paris later on Tuesday, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said the two men had travelled from Qatar's capital Doha on their Iranian passports, and switched to stolen Italian and Austrian passports to board the Malaysia Airlines flight. "The more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident," he added. The authorities' statement supports an account given to the BBC by a young Iranian in Kuala Lumpur, who says he was a school friend of one of the men who boarded the airliner using stolen documents. He says the friend and another Iranian stayed with him before taking the Malaysia Airlines flight, and that they had hoped to settle in Europe. Reports from Thailand suggest that the tickets of the two men, routing them to Amsterdam via Beijing, had been bought through a Thai travel agent and an Iranian middleman. Officials say they still have no idea what went wrong with the aircraft. None of the debris and oil slicks spotted in the water so far have proved to be linked to the disappearance. Four areas of investigation were focused on the possibility of human agency, the police chief said: hijacking, sabotage, psychological problems or personal problems with passengers or crew. Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese. Others were from various Asian countries, North America or Europe. Relatives have expressed frustration at the lack of information about the plane's fate. At least 40 ships and 34 aircraft are taking part in the search in the seas off Vietnam and Malaysia. Search teams from Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, New Zealand and the United States of America are assisting. Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said on Tuesday that the search was being conducted "on both sides" of the Malay Peninsula. The area has been expanded from 50 nautical miles (57 miles; 93km) from where the plane had disappeared - over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam - to 100 nautical miles. Malaysia Airlines said it was considering the possibility that the aircraft had tried to turn back to an airport at Subang, near Kuala Lumpur, leaving its flight path.
Two men travelling on stolen passports on board a missing Malaysian airliner were Iranians with no apparent links to terrorist groups, officials say.
Lonnie David Franklin Jr killed nine women and a 15-year-old girl between 1985 and 2007, before dumping their bodies, often in alleyways. The sentence against the 63-year-old was decided by a jury. Franklin was convicted last month. He will be formally sentenced at a later hearing. Prosecutors said Franklin stalked vulnerable young black women before shooting or strangling them. He began by targeting drug addicts during LA's crack cocaine epidemic. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of an 11th victim who survived being shot, raped and pushed out of a car in 1988. He was dubbed the Grim Sleeper because of an apparent 14-year gap in attacks after that incident. Franklin was eventually caught after detectives began working on the final killing in 2007 when DNA from his son, who was in prison, showed similarities to genetic evidence found on some of the victims. A detective posing as a worker in a pizza parlour later collected utensils and crusts from Franklin while he was attending a birthday party. DNA tests connected him to evidence found on several of the bodies. The jury called for the death penalty on all 10 murder counts.
A former rubbish collector convicted of the "Grim Sleeper" serial murders in Los Angeles has been given the death sentence.
The first half was a dull affair with neither side taking control in the wind and rain. Cambridge did have the ball in the net after only four minutes, but an offside flag was raised before Luke Berry headed home from six yards. On 32 minutes it took a superb sliding tackle by Stags defender Mal Benning to stop Conor Newton in his tracks as he shaped to finish. Mansfield's three best goal attempts all came from Mitch Rose. The midfielder volleyed over on 11 minutes, forced Will Norris to block his 20-yard snapshot on 24 minutes and saw Norris well-placed for his ambitious 35-yard dipper just before the break. The second half was no better, though Newton wasted the chance of the game for Cambridge on 61 minutes. Unmarked, and only eight yards out, he turned Berry's cross wide of the far post. Report supplied by the Press Association. Match ends, Mansfield Town 0, Cambridge United 0. Second Half ends, Mansfield Town 0, Cambridge United 0. Foul by Pat Hoban (Mansfield Town). Brad Halliday (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Luke Berry (Cambridge United) is shown the yellow card. CJ Hamilton (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Brad Halliday (Cambridge United). Krystian Pearce (Mansfield Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Krystian Pearce (Mansfield Town). Luke Berry (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Adam Chapman (Mansfield Town) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is too high. CJ Hamilton (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Leon Legge (Cambridge United). Foul by Adam Chapman (Mansfield Town). Adam McGurk (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Cambridge United. Max Clark replaces James Dunne because of an injury. Substitution, Mansfield Town. Pat Hoban replaces Mitch Rose. Corner, Mansfield Town. Conceded by James Dunne. Attempt blocked. CJ Hamilton (Mansfield Town) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Foul by Mitch Rose (Mansfield Town). James Dunne (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Corner, Cambridge United. Conceded by George Taft. Foul by Ashley Hemmings (Mansfield Town). Brad Halliday (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt missed. Rhys Bennett (Mansfield Town) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Corner, Mansfield Town. Conceded by Piero Mingoia. Attempt missed. Piero Mingoia (Cambridge United) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Substitution, Cambridge United. Adam McGurk replaces Conor Newton. Rhys Bennett (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Greg Taylor (Cambridge United). Substitution, Mansfield Town. Ashley Hemmings replaces Kevan Hurst. Matt Green (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Tom Dallison (Cambridge United). Substitution, Cambridge United. Ben Williamson replaces Joe Pigott. Attempt missed. Conor Newton (Cambridge United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Corner, Cambridge United. Conceded by Krystian Pearce. Corner, Cambridge United. Conceded by Krystian Pearce. Foul by George Taft (Mansfield Town). Piero Mingoia (Cambridge United) wins a free kick on the right wing. Substitution, Mansfield Town. CJ Hamilton replaces Darius Henderson.
High-flying Mansfield were forced to settle for a drab 0-0 draw against bottom side Cambridge in difficult conditions at Field Mill.
The MPC will publish its regular decision on borrowing costs at midday. Mr Posen, interviewed on the Today programme on Radio 4, said rates may not rise until next year. "I think they are not going to vote for a rate hike at this time and probably not until at least November and maybe not even until 2018", he said. The Bank last changed interest rates in August last year when it cut its bank rate from 0.5% to 0.25% in the immediate aftermath of the UK's referendum vote to leave the European Union. Mr Posen was asked why the Bank should not raise rates now, given the worrying rise in consumer borrowing and the past year's rise in inflation to 2.6%. He said the Bank's role was to judge where inflation might be in two to three years time - and he said that the Bank's current forecast was "too high". "It is pretty clear the economy is slowing... it's a credit-fuelled expansion and so it's likely to come to an end soon," Mr Posen said. "There's no good reason for the pound to appreciate further right now, particularly against the euro," he added. He also disagreed with the widespread view that the Bank's policy of low interest rates had stoked up excessive consumer borrowing and that this problem should be dealt with by raising rates. "The big lesson of the financial crisis is that the one interest rate the central bank controls doesn't have that much implication for the whole range of financial products and borrowings that exist in a modern economy," he said. "We were unable to stop [the crisis] solely by moving down the interest rate and we've been unable to reflate the economy just by moving the bank's interest rate also," he added. Instead, he argued, the Bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) should use its powers to limit the lending of commercial banks where it thought this had got out of hand. In recent months members of the MPC, including the Bank Governor Mark Carney, have differed publicly over whether or not rates should rise soon. For instance, in June Mr Carney said the time was not right for a rate rise. The next day the Bank's chief economist, Andy Haldane, said he favoured increasing the cost of borrowing later this year. Then a week later the Bank's deputy governor, Sir Jon Cunliffe, publicly suggested that now was not in fact the right time for such a move. That flurry of debate reflected the unusually divided vote at the last MPC meeting in June, when its eight members voted by only 5-3 to keep rates at their current level. Mr Posen, who was an MPC member from 2009 to 2012, said there was nothing wrong with close votes as it indicated that active debate was taking place within the committee. And he said there was "no mistaking the fact" that following Brexit, the UK economy would suffer a shock and that in two years' time it would be in "much worse shape" than it is now, with higher inflation.
A former member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Adam Posen, has predicted that the Bank of England will not change interest rates this month.
The 23-year-old, who spent three years at the Spireites, has penned a two-and-a-half-year deal. The former Ivory Coast Under-20 international made 82 league appearances for Chesterfield, scoring 10 times for the League One side. Meanwhile, first-team coach Kevin Nugent has left the O's after the arrival of Kevin Nolan as player-boss. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
Leyton Orient have signed striker Armand Gnanduillet from Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee.
Kendal College already operates an animal rescue and rehabilitation centre within its teaching department. Animal care students can now spend a third year at the University of Cumbria to gain a full degree in British animal management and wildlife rehabilitation. If there are enough applicants, the course could start in September. Students will spend two years at Kendal College, which has an operating theatre, and an intensive care room, as well as a cattery, aviary and hedgehog houses. The third year will be studying at the university's campus in Ambleside, looking at conservation issues. Tutor Sarah Neil said: "The course is one of a kind. There will be a British focus, so it will be animal management, ecology, conservation management and the rescue and rehabilitation of British species."
What is thought to be the UK's first degree-level course solely for caring for and rehabilitating native wildlife is due to launch in Cumbria.
"History," he replies simply. The two main players in the current Greek crisis are Greece and Germany. History has taught the two countries different lessons and has complicated the search for compromise. Even as the clock counts down towards default the shadow of the past still falls. Greece's chief negotiator Euclid Tsakalotos warned Germany against taking Europe back to the "politics we had in the 1930s". Another Greek minister demanded €278bn ($315bn; £199bn) in reparations for Germany's wartime occupation. Politicians in Berlin called that "'stupid" and a Bavarian MP accused the Greeks of "behaving like clowns at the back of the classroom". It has largely been that way since the Greeks revealed in 2009 that their accounts were as good as fakes and that their real deficit was close to 13%. The Germans, initially, were against rescuing Greece. One of the conditions Germany had insisted on when it gave up its beloved Deutschmark was that countries would not have to take on the debt of others. The German press was quick to discover a country riddled with corruption and political favours. Greece's swollen public sector had nearly a million workers, almost 20% of the working population. There were irresistible details - more than 500 people receiving pensions would have been over 110 years old. In a moment of candour the then Greek Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangelos conceded: "We ate the money together." In those early days of the crisis, in 2009 and 2010, Angela Merkel took to praising the wisdom and thrift of the Swabian housewife. Her Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said that "Greece has to realise that when you break rules over a long period of time, you have to pay a high price." It was Merkel's view too: "There are rules and they have to be adhered to," she said. Merkel was against bailing out the Greeks, but the bond markets made it clear that the crisis went way beyond Greece. It threatened the entire single currency. And the Americans demanded action. The United States Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, told his European counterparts that "if Europe goes down, we'll go down with it". The fear was that if Greece went bankrupt the crisis would spread to other heavily-indebted eurozone countries. It would be impossible to bail them all out and the markets would test what ultimately stood behind the euro. The president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, told Europe's leaders: "We have the worst financial crisis since World War Two." In the face of such pressure Merkel gave way. Greece not only was bailed out but a giant fund was set up to demonstrate that Europe's leaders had the will and the means to stand behind any eurozone country with funding problems. Greece was bailed out but it only piled debt on debt. The financier George Soros described the situation as "eerily reminiscent to the 1930s". The rescue came with harsh conditions. Budget cuts of €30bn were demanded over a three-year period. Many Greeks were outraged and took to the streets in a wave of protests. Some of the protests were anti-German. There were placards with Angela Merkel dressed in Nazi uniform. The composer Mikis Theodorakis railed against debt servitude and what he called "the Germans' intention to impose on us a new Gauleiter". Even though that was never the view of the majority of Greeks, the German press responded by portraying the Greeks as "lazy, profligate and irresponsible". The best-selling tabloid Bild came up with the headline "sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks. . . we give you cash, you give us Corfu". The Greeks were slow to implement reforms and the medicine did not work. There were open doubts that it could work. "It is impossible to cut wages and prices by 30% without major riots," said Hans-Werner Sinn, president of the Institute for European Reform in Munich. Others pointed out that "you cannot reduce the debt burden by shrinking the economy". Within a year Greece needed a second bailout. Other countries like Ireland and Portugal had had to be rescued. Merkel remained cautious and risk averse. To much of Europe she was known as Frau Nein, a leader resistant to taking the big steps needed to save the single currency. Some in Berlin began openly debating whether Greece should leave the euro. And then Angela Merkel's language changed. She started describing the Greek problem as an existential crisis not just for the euro but for the entire European project: "If the euro fails, then Europe fails," became her much-repeated refrain. She told her supporters that for Europe to survive it would have to integrate much more closely. That would mean "not less Europe but more Europe". As part of the second bailout private investors took a haircut and the total of Greek debt fell but the economy was shrinking. It contracted by 25% in five years. There were many who doubted that the policy could work. Former UK Chancellor Alistair Darling said that to impose on a country "something that would have been worthy of the Treaty of Versailles is absolutely ludicrous. It just isn't going to work." In 2012 Angela Merkel took on the doubters inside Germany. "Some people," she said, "ask whether Greece isn't a bottomless pit. . . that the opportunities outweigh the risks of turning away from Greece. I believe those risks are incalculable and therefore irresponsible." Chancellor Merkel threw her authority behind keeping Greece in the eurozone and for a period the crisis subsided. It eased further when Mario Draghi, the president of the ECB, said he would "do whatever it takes to defend the euro". But in Greece hardship was deepening. Suicides were up sharply. Middle-class families relied on soup kitchens. The Greek prime minister told Bill Clinton that Greece was living through its "Great Depression". It was out of this mood of resentment and despair that the left-wing coalition Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, came to power this January. His party believed they could count on the support of the French and the Italians in insisting that austerity had to be eased. But the German voters - and those in other countries - were not in the mood for further concessions to a country that had already been loaned €240bn. The German position was summed up by Wolfgang Schaeuble: "You get assistance, but only if you agree to go for reforms." He stressed the word "only" by wagging his finger. And during this period Angela Merkel had learnt a powerful lesson. After the second Greek bailout the then Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou had surprised everyone by saying he would put the deal to a referendum. The German chancellor realised that any leader could throw the eurozone into crisis. The currency was vulnerable to a political squall. That could not continue. Leaders had to be bound by their commitments. The eurozone would not survive if it kept breaking its rules. So she has used much of the past three years ensuring that countries inside the eurozone do not exceed their deficits. Wider reforms have greatly reduced the risk that a Greek default would undermine the eurozone. The risks have certainly diminished even if they have not disappeared. But Angela Merkel and the other eurozone leaders have been steadfast in insisting that countries had to be bound by their commitments. The new Greek government's miscalculation was to believe that the fear of a default would force the Germans to compromise. €320bn Greece's debt mountain €240bn European bailout 177% country's debt-to-GDP ratio 25% fall in GDP since 2010 26% Greek unemployment rate But the mood in Germany had hardened; some 58% of Germans say they want Greece to leave the euro. As to the Germans, they under-estimated what austerity had done to the Greek people. Yes the Greeks had backed off some reforms but no economy in the modern era had shrunk by 25%. To the Germans it was about honouring commitments; to many Greeks it was about resisting further poverty and inequality. If Greece defaults it will demonstrate that the eurozone is not irreversible. The day after it will be a different monetary union. Angela Merkel's authority will be diminished. She has staked her legacy on insisting that "if the euro fails, then Europe fails". No doubt a Greek departure would prompt a push for closer integration, for advancing fiscal and political union. If a deal emerges then it will have to address the sustainability of Greece's debt. The country, which represents less than 2% of the euro-zone's economic output, owes over €320bn. Greece will have to agree to more painful reforms but no deal will survive unless the country is given a route map to escape this crisis. History shapes countries and, even now, nearly six years after Greece said it was in trouble, the past limits the room for compromise.
In the film The Godfather Michael Corleone is asked about Sicily: "Why is such a beautiful country so violent?"
Claudio "Claude" Callegair, 53, from Broxted, Essex, became well-known after regular appearances on an Arsenal fan site. He disappeared on Thursday night. In a statement, Essex Police said the taxi driver was no longer being treated as missing. Mr Callegair frequently appears on ArsenalFan TV, which describes itself as "an online channel for all Gooners". Police said they were "extremely concerned for his welfare" at the time he vanished. The appeal to find Mr Callegair was widely shared on social media, with Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan tweeting to say: "Hope he's ok".
A prominent Arsenal fan who went missing three days ago has made contact with his family, police have said.
The 16-euro ($17.80; £11.60) fee is likely to deter travellers from completing bookings on services including Expedia, Opodo and ebookers. It marks the latest effort by the airline industry to steer customers towards its own websites. One expert said this not only helped cut airlines' costs but also allowed them to them promote add-on services. However, the booking services suggest their own platforms are often easier to use and help keep prices low. Lufthansa Group's move will affect tickets bought for Lufthansa itself as well as Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss from 1 September. There are two types of travel price comparison sites on the net: Lufthansa's move is expected to be damaging to the former, while allowing its own site to appear the most attractive option on the latter. "The distribution cost charge will drive up the cost of tickets booked via so-called online travel agencies like Expedia or Opodo," Martin Riecken, a spokesman for the German airline, told the BBC. "However, it is not about... trying to discourage anyone from comparing prices. "We rather aim for more transparency. Our rationale is twofold. "Firstly, to allocate the high distribution cost of global distribution systems [the flight inventory and fare databases used by online travel agents] - we are talking about a high three-digit million euro amount per annum for the Lufthansa Group - to those that are actually using the services, instead of evenly distributing these cost to all passengers. "Secondly, to take advantage of greater degrees of freedom in our sales activities, providing customers with the exact tailor-made service that they are looking for." Opodo said online travel agencies were opposed to the move and lawyers at the European Travel Agents' and Tour Operators' Associations (ECTAA) were looking into the matter. "[This] is a global issue that affects all countries and worldwide travel agencies, traditional or online, corporate and leisure, and which is already being legally examined by the associations of European agencies," said a spokeswoman for the company. "Lufthansa Group will clearly be the one whose most affected by this decision. "The fact that they have not provided any automated alternative to the global distribution systems will cause Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss to suffer a severe lack of competitiveness against other companies that are present in these channels and don't have an extra cost for the travellers." One industry watcher said Lufthansa might have felt it had to act to boost its earnings. The company recently reported 55m euros of net profit for its last financial year, representing an 82% drop on the previous period. Its services have also been disrupted by a series of pilots' strikes and the crash of one of its Germanwings flights in March. "If you look at Lufthansa's recent performance, they have been through difficulties," said Laurie Price, an independent airlines consultant. "So they've been looking at every way to increase their bottom line. There is only so much cutting you can do. "A better way is to generate revenue. And if you can get sales direct and offer add-ons, then that's a much better way." Lufthansa Group's stock traded slightly higher following the announcement. But shares in Amadeus - the Spanish travel booking technology company that serves Expedia, Opodo and others - closed the day 10% lower. Lufthansa's action represents the latest in a series of clashes between airlines and price comparison booking services. Last August, American Airlines briefly removed its flights completely from the online travel agency Orbitz in a row over fees. More recently, the US Travel Technology Association complained that Delta Air Lines had removed its schedule and fare information from more than a dozen online travel agencies, including TripAdvisor, Fly.com and Hipmunk. It added that the UK-based metasearch service Skyscanner had lost access to Delta's flights as a consequence earlier this year. Skyscanner now points customers directly to Delta's site, benefiting the airline. "Heightened attempts to lead travellers away from online travel agencies and metasearch travel sites is likely to lead to higher average airfares, increase consumers' search costs, make entry into city-pair routes by smaller airlines more difficult, reduce transparency, and strengthen the market power of the major airlines," a report prepared by a Yale professor for the Travel Technology Association said. Delta responded saying it had the right to determine who it did business with.
Lufthansa Group is to introduce a surcharge for customers who buy its flights through third-party websites.
Senior ministers are "absolutely furious" about his resignation and departure from government. Some ministers believe the claims in his letter are "just not true because he is well aware that the welfare changes have always clearly been about saving money as well as improving the systems". It's suggested that his central motivation is the EU referendum, and, for others who are supporting him, a strategy to kill off George Osborne's hope of taking over from David Cameron. IDS's team is adamant that his exit is entirely about the handling of PIPs (Personal Independence Payments) and nothing to do with the EU. Whatever the truth, it is very dangerous for a political party to be so publicly divided, and, on a very simple level, for its members to be so angry with each other.
It's not just Iain Duncan Smith who's angry.
The 26-year-old, who was a target for Premier League side Liverpool, has become the Chinese Super League's latest high-profile recruit. Ex-Chelsea midfielder Ramires was signed by Jiangsu Suning for £25m. That was followed by Jackson Martinez's £31m move to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao from Atletico Madrid. The total outlay on those three players is just over £94m (122m euros). According to the transfermarkt website, which tracks commercial dealings in the sport, they have spent £199.5m (258.9m euros) in their current transfer window, which runs until 26 February. That could rise, with more big signings expected. In contrast, Premier League clubs spent £175m (227m euros) in their window, which closed earlier this week. Their costliest signing was the £18.3m Stoke City paid for Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula. Liverpool had been closely linked with a move for Teixeira during the January transfer window. Shakhtar Donetsk claimed they rejected a £24m offer from the Reds for the attacking midfielder before agreeing to sell him to Jiangsu. The CSL season gets under way in early March. According to Rowan Simons, a Beijing-based football reporter, interest and investment in football has been "growing for five years". He also says it is politically motivated, backed by the President of the People's Republic of China. "President Xi is a big football fan," Simons told BBC World. "There has been a huge and unprecedented football revolution in China led by him, which has turned the game on its head." Simons said schools were focusing more on football, adding: "It was seen that football was only useful if it was carried on into a profession. "It's no longer just seen as a profession. It's an incredible transformation." The recent spate of signings has started to attract attention in Britain. Asked if the Premier League should be concerned about the CSL's spending power, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger replied: "Yes, of course. "China looks to have the financial power to move the whole league of Europe to China." However, he wondered whether CSL clubs would continue to pay out huge sums of money on transfer fees. "Will they sustain their desire to do it?" he asked. "Let's remember, Japan started to do it a few years ago but slowed down. "I don't know how deep the desire in China is. If it is a very strong political desire, we should worry." China appears to be on the radar of Manchester City, who will play there this summer as past of their next pre-season tour. They will feature in the International Champions Cup, an annual tournament series that features some of the world's top clubs. Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne and former ex-Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Nicola Anelka have all experienced football in China, which has a population of about 1.3 billion. So has former Nottingham Forest and West Ham striker Marlon Harewood, who spoke to the BBC's World Service about his time there. "China has a lot of wealth and they love their football," he said. "They want to make it even bigger and bring bigger names in. "There's not many countries that can compete with the top names in Europe, but they are trying to compete. "By bringing in players like Martinez and others, they are trying to bring the standard to that level. It's not far off. "The experience I had was amazing. I would definitely recommend it, even if they just try it for an experience. I know they would love it." He says the move "happened very quickly", adding: "I immediately wondered whether it would be good for me, my family, the club, and took the appropriate decision." But not before a quick search on the world wide web. "I checked out the city and the location I am moving to on the internet," he said. Teixeira also confirmed there was interest from Premier League clubs. "Unfortunately, all the proposals that came from them were somewhat windy and did not contain anything concrete," he said. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. Have you added the new Top Story alerts in the BBC Sport app? Simply head to the menu in the app - and don't forget you can also add score alerts for the Six Nations, your football team and more.
The Chinese transfer record has been broken for the third time in 10 days, with Jiangsu Suning spending £38.4m to sign Brazil midfielder Alex Teixeira.
The president of Family Division of the High Court said there would be "blood on our hands" if the 17-year-old did not now receive adequate supervision. She is due to be released in 11 days, but a secure unit place has not yet been found for her - a situation Sir James Munby said was "utterly shaming". NHS sources later indicated that three possible beds had been found. Dr Mike Prentice, medical director for the NHS North Region, said: "A number of options have now been identified, with detailed clinical and social assessments taking place tomorrow (Friday) to ensure the right package of care can be put in place before her release date." The girl, identified only as "X", has tried to kill herself several times. The judgement in the case of X - who is in the formal care of Cumbria County Council - revealed she was convicted at a youth court and has been detained in custody for almost six months. Sir James had previously noted the "enormity of the task facing the local authority" but stressed that the need for a final care plan was "overwhelming". During the latest hearing in July, he emphasised this need further, adding: "On a large number of occasions... X has made determined attempts to commit suicide". Staff at the unit where she is being held have said sending her back to her home town would be a "suicide mission to a catastrophic level". The judgement said: "Staff do not think it will take more than 24 to 48 hours before they receive a phone call stating that X has made a successful attempt on her life." An earlier ruling heard how unit staff had witnessed "a profoundly disturbing and distressing scene when X self-harmed by repeatedly banging her head and face against the wall". Staff have said she has to be checked every 50 seconds when she is in the shower. Earlier, Simon Rowbotham, the solicitor for the legal guardian of the teenage girl, told the BBC that X has a "determined wish" to kill herself and lives in a stripped-down room and is restrained "for hours on end". By Mark Easton, home editor, BBC News The problem of providing suitable services for disturbed children and young people has been flagged up to ministers before. Two months ago, after complaints from police that cells were being used to accommodate youngsters who should have been in a mental health unit, the government introduced a law banning their use for such purposes. Doctors are warning there is still a critical shortage of appropriate care beds. A survey of child and adolescent mental health workers, conducted by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2015, found 62% had seen adolescent patients held in inappropriate settings, with 14% saying patients had attempted to kill themselves while waiting for a suitable bed. The prime minister has promised a "revolution" in mental health care, and the number of mental health staff in the NHS in England is rising by 21,000. But the agonies of a judge unable to help a suicidal young woman suggest the revolution still has some way to go. When X was younger, she "was a child with poor school attendance, low-level criminality and periods of absconding", a previous judgement said. In Sir James' judgement, delivered in private in the High Court family division sitting in Manchester, he said: "If this is the best we can do for X, and others in similar crisis, what right do we, what right do the system, our society and indeed the State itself, have to call ourselves civilised? "The honest answer to this question should make us all feel ashamed." He went on: "I feel shame and embarrassment; shame, as a human being, as a citizen and as an agent of the State, embarrassment as President of the Family Division, and, as such, Head of Family Justice, that I can do no more for X". Liberal Democrat former health minister Norman Lamb told the BBC that the judgement reflected a "wholly unacceptable situation in our country". "This is not a unique case, families are being let down routinely across our country and there is a moral imperative that we address this as a matter of real urgency," he said. By Philippa Roxby, health reporter, BBC News There are about 1,440 hospital beds for children and young people with mental health problems in the NHS in England. But a recent review found that they were not evenly spread across the country - for example, some areas had no in-patient beds within a 50-mile radius. The picture is also complicated by who those beds are for - some are in specialist units for children with eating disorders, others are in high dependency units for young people with complex needs. And there are many more specialist beds than high dependency ones. This means that children and their families often travel large distances to access in-patient treatment. NHS England says it wants to change this by increasing the number of beds in badly-served parts of the country and by offering crisis help to children and young people in the community, at an earlier stage. Mr Lamb said if investment was not made up front in the NHS, families would continue to be let down. "The real problem is that the whole of the finances of the NHS are under such strain that the government's fine words about recruiting extra staff won't be delivered, because the money won't get through to mental health. "Mental health always loses out whenever the money is tight and I fear that that will be the same again this time." Earlier this week, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that thousands more mental health workers were to be recruited by the NHS in England. The government said an extra £1bn already promised for mental health services in England would fund the scheme - part of a pot of £1.3bn committed in 2016 to transform provision. The judge said copies of the ruling would be sent to the chief executive officer of NHS England Simon Stevens, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Education Secretary Justine Greening and Justice Secretary David Lidington. Labour MP Luciana Berger, who previously served as shadow minister for mental health, tweeted that it was a "devastating" judgement, while Conservative MP and former children's minister Tim Loughton said it was "worrying". End of Twitter post by @lucianaberger End of Twitter post by @timloughton Professor Wendy Burn, president of The Royal College of Psychiatrists, said some mental healthcare units were "desperately short" of suitable beds. She said the college urged the government in 2015 to prioritise investment in crisis care services for children and young people. It had also called on NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and social services to ensure emergency care pathways were in place. "It's alarming to see that two years later, children are still not getting the support they need," Prof Burn said.
Society should be "ashamed" for not protecting a suicidal girl in secure custody, a senior judge has said.
Campaign group UK Uncut said hundreds had protested in town and cities such as London, Manchester and Northampton. It said plans aimed at saving £220m from the criminal legal aid bill in England and Wales would "block access to justice for millions of people". The Ministry of Justice says legal aid costs too much and can not be "immune" to efficiency commitments. Proposals for possible savings include stopping defendants with a disposable income of more than £37,500 from automatically receiving legal aid, and curbing prisoners' right to legal aid. Legal aid costs taxpayers about £2bn every year, with criminal defence making up more than half of the expenditure. The government says the situation is unsustainable and wants to see fewer, bigger organisations providing legal aid as part of a streamlined system. However, the Bar Council has argued this would result in the end of the long-standing right of a defendant to choose a legal aid solicitor, saying people would effectively be allocated a representative on the basis of cost. Some groups have also expressed fears that the changes could deny justice to the poorest in society. UK Uncut said protests had taken place in London, Manchester, Hull, Liverpool, Northampton, Cambridge and Norwich on Saturday. In London, demonstrators gathered on the Strand at about 12:00 BST to set up a roadblock. Many protesters sat on the road and others put their bicycles in the way of traffic. The area was reopened around two hours later when the demonstration was contained in a smaller area. Protesters also held a mock trial for Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, and attached a banner to the fence of the court building which warned: "No justice, no peace." The Metropolitan Police did not comment when asked about the number of protesters. But the City of London Police said it had warned the group they were stopping the emergency services from travelling around the capital. UK Uncut said roadblocks had also been set up in Manchester, Northampton and Cambridge. Spokesman David Conway said: "The government's plans will block access to justice for millions of people. "We're blocking roads to make a stand against that and to make it clear how strongly people around the country oppose these outrageous plans. "People will have to represent themselves in court and get compensation much later than they should." An MoJ spokesman said: "We have one of the best legal professions in the world, but cannot close our eyes to the fact that - at around £2bn - legal aid is costing too much." He said the government's planned reforms would create a sustainable legal aid system that would "still be one of the most generous in the world". The spokesman added: "At a time when major financial challenges are being felt by businesses and households across the country, the legal sector cannot be immune from the government's commitment to getting better value for every penny of taxpayers' money we spend." Plans to remove the right for defendants in criminal cases in England and Wales to choose their solicitor under the legal aid system were scrapped in July. The government had planned to put the onus on lawyers competing for contracts, but has said it now recognises that choice is seen as "fundamental".
Demonstrators have staged events across England in opposition to planned changes to legal aid.
He said the renamed Sustainable Development Bill would create jobs, enable growth and tackle poverty. Mr Jones told AMs reducing domestic violence and abuse of women was also a priority for the next 12 months. Conservatives welcomed some of the plans but said they were not enough to "inspire confidence" in the government. Announcing eight new bills altogether, Mr Jones said the Future Generations Bill was to ensure public services made key decisions with the long term well being of Wales in mind - "future proofing" communities from pressures that threaten their viability and survival. "This bill is about how we tackle the generational challenges Wales faces in a more joined up and integrated way, we cannot afford to leave this burden behind for our grandchildren," he said. The Ending Violence against Women and Domestic Abuse Bill would "tackle all forms of violence against women and domestic abuse", he said. Legislation on the abandonment of horses and ponies and so-called "fly grazing" would give local councils the powers to "seize, impound and dispose of horses either through selling, re-homing or destruction in as humane a way as appropriate, and when circumstances dictate". Local health boards will also be given the scope to break even over a three year financial period rather than the current one financial year. Mr Jones said a housing bill aimed to strengthen homelessness legislation and would introduce a licensing system for landlords and letting agents. It would also allow councils to charge higher council tax rates on long-term empty properties. There are also bills to give the Higher Education Funding Council greater powers to maintain standards in colleges and legislation on planning matters to set out new roles and responsibilities for Welsh ministers, councils, developers, local authorities and communities. There are limited details on the Public Service Workforce Bill, but it is expected to seek to bring about more consistency in the terms and conditions of public sector workers in Wales. Mr Jones said: "At the heart of our legislative programme is a firm commitment to improve public services and create opportunities for everyone. "I am confident the plans I have set out today will help transform our society and make Wales a better place in which to live." Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies welcomed some of the proposed bills, but said the plans would "hardly inspire confidence" when education, the NHS and the economy were "getting worse by the day". "While we support the proposals to give local health boards greater flexibility in finance planning to help them cope with Labour's record-breaking NHS cuts, fast-tracking the bill limits the ability for AMs to properly scrutinise the plans," he said. "Announcing the decision to fast-track the NHS Finance Bill on the day the Welsh government is using an emergency procedure to rush through legislation on agricultural wages shows a reckless contempt for scrutiny and a slapdash and lazy approach to law-making." Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood urged Mr Jones not to "water down" his commitment to sustainable development and questioned how the bill on ending domestic violence would work when the police and criminal justice system were not devolved to Wales. She also urged Welsh ministers to meet opposition parties before bills were published to avoid what she called "thorny issues" with legislation over the previous 12 months. Ms Wood said she wanted to ensure that "this Senedd uses its resources in the best way possible, to produce good, if not excellent, legislation that will improve the lives of people here in Wales". Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts questioned whether some of the proposed bills were affordable and warned it was difficult to support legislation if it had not been given a "full financial assessment". He also urged Welsh ministers to ensure that local health boards provided "greater assurance with regard to the robustness of their own financial controls" if they were to be given greater financial flexibility.
Plans to "future proof" communities across Wales against economic and social decline are among new laws put forward by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
The problem is that so many of the initiatives and ideas sold to the country as ground-breaking prove to be business as usual. So the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid went out of his way to sound no-nonsense and tough today. He accused some English councils of "fudging" the numbers on housing need in their area and warned them that he was not going to allow that to happen anymore. But the response to the government's proposals has been decidedly mixed. Labour's shadow housing minister John Healey described them as "feeble beyond belief". "Re-treading old ground" was how the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers described the White Paper. "Kicking the can down the road," one big investment fund said. The chief executive of the housebuilder Inland Homes, Stephen Wicks, bemoaned the failure to relax rules on green belt development. "Brownfield in itself can't possibly sustain the long-term housing requirements of the UK," he said. "It can go an awful long way but there needs to be a relaxation of some green belt to enable us to deliver the numbers that we are required to do." The White Paper does include measures to encourage developers, housing associations and councils to build more affordable homes more quickly, both to rent and to buy. But this government seems to speak with two voices on housing: the communities department wants to shift the balance of power firmly towards new development in places people want to live, but Number 10 and some influential Tory backbenchers are sympathetic to the passionate concerns of those who wish to protect the countryside and particularly the green belt. The real question that lies behind all the rhetoric and policy bullet-points is whether the balance of power between development and local opposition has fundamentally changed. Ministers now accept England needs 250,000 new homes every year, they have described the housing market as "broken" and they agree that radical change is the only way to mend it. But many have yet to be convinced that this White Paper amounts to a "realistic plan" to achieve that.
Over the last three decades, governments of various stripes have promised radical change to solve England's housing crisis and today's White Paper is no exception.
Media playback is not supported on this device The 39-year-old made 121 in the 24-run victory over Yorkshire at Headingley, his 39th limited-overs hundred to go with 61 first-class centuries. Sangakkara, who retired from international cricket in 2015, says he will quit first-class cricket after this season. The left-hander has scored 45,529 runs in all forms of cricket. He brought up his hundred - his eighth of the season in all formats - with a single to third man off Matt Fisher as Surrey posted 313-7. Yorkshire managed 289-9 in reply. Sangakkara has enjoyed a stellar summer in County Championship Division One, averaging 90.60 in six matches. Last month he fell 16 runs short of becoming only the fourth player to make six consecutive first-class centuries. The former Sri Lanka captain is fifth on the all-time list of leading Test run scorers with 12,400 in 134 Tests, and only India legend Sachin Tendulkar has made more than Sangakkara's 14,234 runs in 404 one-day internationals.
Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara scored the 100th century of his career in Surrey's One-Day Cup quarter-final win.
The European Commission had called for a two-year EU-wide moratorium, but a number of nations opposed the plans. A recent report by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) concluded that the pesticides posed a "high acute risk" to pollinators, including honeybees. The commission is expected to redraft its proposals ahead of another vote. Member states were unable to reach a qualified majority in order for the proposals to be adopted. The news of the stalemate has angered groups that had been campaigning in favour of the ban. Unknown consequences A spokeswoman for Defra, the UK's environment department, said 14 out of the 27 EU nations - including the UK and Germany - had not supported the commission's proposals as they currently stood. "Bee health is extremely important but decisions must be based on sound scientific evidence and rushing this through could have serious unintended consequences both for bees and for food production," she added. "We are currently finalising studies that will give us the evidence on which to base a proper decision. But as we do not have the evidence yet, it is impossible for us to vote either way." Global web-based campaign group Avaaz condemned the UK's and Germany's decision to abstain, saying the governments had "caved in to the industry lobby". "Today's vote flies in the face of science and public opinion and maintains the disastrous chemical armageddon on bees, which are critical for the future of our food," said Avaaz senior campaigner Iain Keith. In a YouGov poll commissioned by the campaign network, 71% of almost 2,000 people questioned in the UK supported the commission's proposals to impose the moratorium on the insecticides. Avaaz said that it, along with other groups, would be taking legal advice as to whether the outcome of the vote could be challenged in the courts. The chemicals in question - imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianindin - belong to a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids. The insecticides work by affecting the central nervous system of insects, causing paralysis and death. 'Data shortcomings' A report published by EFSA scientists in January identified a number of risks posed by the three insecticides. It assessed the possible threats to the pollinators from exposure to residues in pollen and nectar, dust and guttation fluid (some plants exude sap in the form of droplets). However, it added that in some cases it was "unable to finalise the assessments due to shortcomings in the available data". Bee expert Prof David Goulson from the University of Stirling said he was disappointed that the proposals had not been adopted. "The panel of independent experts at EFSA spent six months studying all the evidence before concluding that current use of neonicotinoids posed an unacceptable risk to bees," he observed. However, Prof Lin Field, head of crop protection at Rothamsted Research, said she was pleased with the outcome of the vote. "In my view there is still is not enough clear evidence supporting a ban on neonicotinoids," she explained. "Of course they can kill bees; they are insecticides. But whether they actually do this or whether sub-lethal effects occur and damage the colonies on any important scale has not been proven." A number of EU countries, including Italy, have imposed a ban on the use of the chemicals at a national. Arable farmer Mark Leggett echoed Prof Field's comments, adding: "We must be careful not to remove a product from the marketplace which is proving itself of massive worth in terms of controlling pests. "We would be forced to go back and use old chemistry and less environmentally friendly alternatives… and if the aphids have resistance, we might not be able to control the aphids," he told the BBC's Farming Today programme. In a statement, pesticide manufacturer Bayer CropScience said the failure to reach agreement showed that there was "no convincing argument against the continuing use of neonicotinoid-based products". "Not only had the commission incorrectly based their rationale on recent EFSA reviews of these products, they had failed to make the appropriate impact assessments of any decisions they proposed on the broader interests of European stakeholders," it added. Friends of the Earth's head of campaigns Andrew Pendleton said that there was "more than enough evidence that these chemicals are linked to bee decline to place immediate restrictions on their use". "This is a cop-out by a significant number of European governments, including the UK - it means yet more dither and delay while our bee populations plummet," he added. Chris Hartfield, head of bee health for the NFU, the UK's largest farming organisation, said: "We maintain that the proposed ban is not a proportionate response to the evidence we have available." Dr Hartfield added that bee health in the EU was "challenged by a range of different factors". "Since there is no evidence to pin the widespread declines of bee populations on any single factor, a proposed ban on neonicotinoids is unlikely to deliver any benefits that will halt or reverse these declines," he suggested. Professor Jim Iley, executive director of science and education at the Royal Society of Chemistry told BBC News that gaps in data meant there was still a "degree of uncertainty" about the impact of the chemicals. "If the cause is wrongly diagnosed, the precautionary action taken may be inappropriate," he said. Following the vote, EU officials said that EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg would "consider the next step".
EU nations have been unable to reach agreement on proposals to ban the use of three pesticides that have been linked to the decline of bees.
His signing follows the news that the Stags could be without injured striker Alex Fisher for four weeks. Oliver, 23, signed his first professional contract with his hometown club Sheffield Wednesday. He left the Owls in 2012 and made an immediate impact at Lincoln City, scoring 14 goals in 41 matches, before joining Crewe last summer. Oliver could make his debut at York on Saturday.
Forward Vadaine Oliver has joined Mansfield Town on an emergency one-month loan from Crewe Alexandra.
It sparked a major police operation in the town last week before the man was eventually traced in Scunthorpe. The public was warned not to approach the missing Midpark hospital patient and children kept in some schools. NHS Dumfries and Galloway said it would be looking at the circumstances of the incident and aim to "minimise the likelihood" of it being repeated. A statement from the health board confirmed it would be looking into how the patient had been able to abscond. "NHS Dumfries and Galloway have well established processes for undertaking reviews of incidents that occur," it said. "As per these guidelines, a review of the event will be undertaken." However, it said that there had been no immediate changes to operations at the unit. "NHS Dumfries and Galloway have well established standard operating procedures in place that are regularly reviewed in line with national legislation," said the statement. "However, no known changes have been made to the procedures following the event." The health board added that it would make every effort to avoid any similar incidents. "NHS Dumfries and Galloway can give assurance that standard operating procedures are in place and regularly reviewed to comply with national legislation around the treatment offered to patients, while maintaining a person-centred approach," concluded the statement. "The procedures will aim to minimise the likelihood of such an incident re-occurring."
A health board is to carry out a review after a patient absconded from a Dumfries mental health unit.
They say the social affairs minister's actions breached government regulations on tobacco promotion. However, Khofifah Indar Parawansa said she distributed the cigarettes as a goodwill gesture, reports said. Indonesia is estimated to have more than 50 million smokers. It is thought to be the world's fifth-largest tobacco market. High levels of smoking among children in particular have added to concerns about the state of the nation's health. Ms Khofifah is reported to have handed out gifts, including cigarettes, on a recent visit to an under-developed part of central Sumatra. Campaigners have threatened Ms Khofifah with legal action unless she apologises within two weeks. "The social affairs minister was deliberately ignoring public health by distributing free cigarettes," Tulus Abadi, operational manager at the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe. The newspaper said the minister was visiting the indigenous tribe to express her condolences for the death of 11 people who had died of starvation. "Whatever the reasoning was, it is incomprehensible that a high official would distribute cigarettes to her own people," Mr Tulus said. "It would have been more becoming if money spent on the cigarettes had instead been used to buy basic necessities or other useful things." But Ms Khofifah is reported to have argued that the free cigarettes were "just a way to get on the good side of the locals". "I don't want to argue but you'd better go there yourself. Greet them and ask them about their culture. Do not see things from a Jakarta-centric perspective," she was quoted by Merdeka.com as saying. The foundation argues that her actions in distributing the cigarettes are "in direct violation" of 2012 government regulations on tobacco control, which disallow free distribution and discounts for tobacco products. The BBC's South Asia editor Jill McGivering says that pictures of the cigarette distribution sparked a heated debate after they began circulating on the internet.
Indonesian anti-smoking groups have threatened to take legal action against a government minister for distributing free packets of cigarettes to members of an indigenous tribe.
Greg Duffy accused Tony Fadell of "insulting" Dropcam employees who had joined Nest as part of the takeover. He also suggested Mr Fadell had "fetishised" some of the worst traits of Apple's Steve Jobs. Neither Nest nor its owner Alphabet - Google's parent - have responded. But in an interview published by the Information news site last week, Mr Fadell was quoted as saying: "A lot of [Dropcam's] employees were not as good as we hoped. It was a very small team and unfortunately it wasn't a very experienced team." The article said Nest later clarified that this only referred to Dropcam employees who had left the business following the merger. Mr Duffy is among their number. One expert called the affair "embarrassing". "American corporates are usually surprisingly discreet and manage to keep grief hidden behind their walls," commented Matthew Gwyther, editor of Management Today. "You've obviously got an enormous personality ego clash between the two men. "But I bet this kind of thing is far more common than we normally hear." Mr Duffy said he posted his thoughts to Medium's site to "set the record straight". "The 50 Dropcam employees who resigned did so because they felt their ability to build great products being totally crushed," he said. "All of us have worked at big companies before, where it is harder to move fast. But this is something different, as evidenced by the continued lack of output from the currently 1,200-person team and its virtually unlimited budget. "According to LinkedIn, total attrition to date at Nest amounts to nearly 500 people, which suggests that we were not alone in our frustrations." He also challenged Mr Fadell to publish Nest's accounts to reveal how well its internet cameras were faring compared to its smart thermostats and net-connected smoke alarms. And he attacked Mr Fadell's management style. "The current leadership of Nest... seems to be fetishising only the most superfluous and negative traits of their mentors. For the sake of the customers and for the talented employees that remain there, I hope they find a way through these struggles." This appears to be a reference to Mr Fadell's time working alongside Apple's late chief executive Steve Jobs. The two - along with others - developed first the iPod and then the iPhone. "I've built a lot of my success off finding these truly gifted people and not settling for B and C players, but really going for the A players," Mr Jobs said in an interview. Apple's co-founder famously added that settling for B players risked creating a "bozo explosion... that kind of company never ever succeeds". According to the Information, Mr Fadell and Mr Duffy repeatedly clashed in the brief time they worked together. Mr Fadell recalls telling Mr Duffy he had not "earned" the right to report directly to him. In turn, Mr Duffy says he told Nest's co-founder that he was running the division like "a tyrant bureaucrat". It is also reported that Mr Duffy tried and failed to convince Alphabet's chief executive Larry Page to sack Mr Fadell and let him take charge. Mr Duffy says he now thinks it was a "mistake" to have sold his firm to Nest for $555m (£385m). "Larry Page is said to be a friend of Fadell, but he would do very well to stay completely out of it," remarked Mr Gwyther. "It looks terrible to appear to be taking sides against people in your organisation. "But the wider affair is a reflection of the incredibly high expectations that there are of these tech companies - that you think stuff will happen very quickly and work pretty fast. "But it's a reminder that it's not always straightforward, and there can be stumbles along the way when trying to create new products."
The chief of Nest - the internet-connected home tech specialist - has been attacked in a blog by the founder of Dropcam, the video camera start-up it acquired less than two years ago.
The unemployment figures, due out later, are seen as one of the main factors affecting the timing of any rate rise by the US Federal Reserve. US companies are expected to have created 175,000 jobs in June after a disappointing 38,000 in May. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.11% to end at 15,106.98, while the Topix index lost 1.3% to 1,209.88. "The Fed is likely to keep its cautious stance. More jobs data will be necessary to ensure that the recovery of the labour market is entrenched," said Cynthia Jane Kalasopatan from Mizuho Bank. "Overall, if non-farm payrolls continue to point to solid job gains in coming months, then the Fed may be comfortable to hike policy rate once this year especially if there is more clarity as regards to Brexit risks." Japan's share market also had to digest weaker-than-expected data, with figures showing Japan's wage growth turned negative in May. Labour cash earnings, a measure of worker pay including bonuses, fell 0.2% from a year earlier. That is the first time the measure has contracted in a year. Estimates were for a 0.5% rise. Japan also reported disappointing trade data. Its current account surplus narrowed to $18bn in May, which was below economist expectations. However, shares in Nintendo jumped nearly 9% on hopes its Pokemon GO smartphone game will prove a success. Other Asian markets also fell on Friday. In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index ended 0.6% weaker at 1,963.10. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.7% lower at 20,564.17 while the Shanghai Composite closed down 1% at 2,988.09. Australia's ASX 200 edged up 0.05% to close at 5,230.50.
Japanese stocks ended lower as investors took a cautious approach ahead of the latest US jobs figures.
Ex-soldier Dylan Jones, 37, from Llansawel, who had post-traumatic stress disorder, was awaiting treatment when he died, according to his sister. Amanda Jones believes his life may have been saved had he been treated sooner. A total of 274 men took their own lives in 2015, an increase of 27% compared with 2014, according to ONS figures published in December. The Welsh Government said, while it could not comment on individual cases, mental health treatment, support and prevention services were among its "priorities". Speaking on BBC Radio Cymru's current affairs programme, Manylu, Ms Jones, said her brother had been told in March 2015 he had to wait five months to be treated for PTSD. But four months later the father to twins took his own life. "He suffered with terrible nightmares and insomnia and it affected his everyday life very much," she said. "Dylan did seek help in March 2015 and he was told there was a five months waiting list. "If he had been seen sooner, would he still be with us here today? I think, yes. "I think it's important that men in general know that it's important to be able to talk to someone who can help you about mental health issues." A Welsh Government spokesman said: "Our suicide and self-harm strategy for Wales, Talk to Me 2, focuses on groups of people known to be most vulnerable to suicide. "For veterans, we continue to make £585,000 available each year to fund the Veterans' NHS Wales Service, providing therapeutic interventions from dedicated veteran therapists in each local health board." The spokesman said since its inception in 2010, the service has seen over 1,800 veterans, according to figures up to December 2016. "The expectation for this service is the same as with other mental health services - individual patients, whatever their background, are seen according to clinical need."
A family from Carmarthenshire has called for easier and quicker access to mental health treatment for men.
People with mental illness and psychiatric disorders are excluded too. Last year, the Canadian Supreme Court struck down a law banning doctors from helping someone die. This bill, which is backed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, must now be studied by committee and then voted on by both House and Senate. It seeks to protect "the conscience rights of medical practitioners", said Canadian Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. Asked why foreigners would be excluded from the new legislation, she refused to answer. "We have considered this question in the context of Canada and Canadians," she said at a press conference. Cases brought on by the families of two deceased British Columbia women spurred last year's decision by the court to strike down the law. The court said outlawing assisted suicide deprives people of dignity and autonomy. Prior to that, counselling, aiding or abetting suicide was illegal in Canada. The Liberal government had four months to come up with a new law, a time period that was extended. Last year Quebec's top court ruled that the province can allow terminally ill patients the right to die with medical help. Currently, assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, Albania, Colombia, Japan and in US states Washington, California , Oregon, Vermont, New Mexico and Montana. What different countries say about assisted dying More US states introduced aid-dying legislation last year, but only California's became law.
An assisted suicide bill has been put before Canada's Parliament that legalises euthanasia but will exclude foreigners from coming to die.
Triumphs for Sir Chris Hoy and Laura Trott at the London Velodrome, coupled with success for the dressage team and Alistair Brownlee in the triathlon, took Team GB's tally to 22 golds at London 2012 - ahead of the return of 19 in 2008 with five days of competition still to come. It is now Britain's best medal haul since the 1908 Games, which were also held in London, when the team secured 56 gold medals, although that was far from a modern Olympics, with events such as the tug of war and motor boating contested. Great Britain have also bettered their overall Beijing medal haul of 47 following high jumper Robbie Grabarz's bronze - Team GB's 48th of the Games. They also look certain to add to that tally in the coming days - UK Athletics had set a target of a minimum 48 medals at London 2012. Here, BBC Sport looks back at Britain's best and worst performances at previous Games.
Great Britain achieved their best gold medal haul in an Olympics for more than a century on Tuesday as they surpassed their achievements in Beijing four years ago.
Jack Phipps, 53, was admitted to hospital on 22 June after an incident in Harefields in north Oxford. He died from his injuries on 1 July. Police have carried out a post-mortem examination but are still continuing to establish the cause of death. A 48-year-old man from Oxford arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder is still in custody. Senior investigating officer, Acting Ch Insp Ailsa Kent, of the major crime unit, said: "Our thoughts are with the family of Mr Phipps at what must be a very difficult time for them, and we are offering them support." She said her team were "still investigating the circumstances of this incident" but appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
A man thought to have been murdered in Oxford has been formally identified by police.
The assembly's presiding officer Elin Jones has told AMs that there are several possible choices. Welsh Parliament has been proposed previously but one AM said the name Senedd should be considered. But UKIP AM Gareth Bennett said some organisations with Welsh-only names were only known in the "Welsh-speaking colony" of Pontcanna in Cardiff. First Minister Carwyn Jones said some would find his comments offensive. No new name was agreed at an assembly debate to discuss the issue on Tuesday, but the presiding officer and assembly commission will now consider the implications of such a change. AMs unanimously approved, without a vote, a motion which said the assembly "should change its name to reflect its constitutional status as a national parliament". The assembly will soon get the power under the Wales Bill, which is passing through the UK parliament, to rename the National Assembly of Wales with agreement of two thirds of the chamber, with calls for the name change to reflect its growing powers. The Welsh Government had planned a vote calling for the assembly to be known as the Welsh Parliament unofficially before a legal change could be made, but the vote was pulled. Ms Jones said the next step "will be to consult soon on what the name should be". "There are several possibilities and many associated terms which would stem from that choice," she said. "The name should continue to inspire confidence and pride among the people of Wales." She added she will notify the assembly of the next steps at the "outset" of the autumn term. Bethan Jenkins, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, has proposed that the Welsh word Senedd, which is used to refer to the assembly building, is used to refer to the institution itself. "Let us be self-confident enough to discard our mental baggage and take this opportunity to be unique by adopting an official Welsh name for our Senedd," she told the debate. She said some AMs wish to retain the name National Assembly, but added Senedd is already used widely on the ground. Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies, who suggested the Assembly was renamed to the Welsh Parliament back in 2012, said: "I couldn't see why we couldn't have Senedd and Parliament, because obviously for people there is a complete understanding of the word Parliament, in the way UK democracy works." "Over time I think the word Senedd could be readily taken on board," he added. UKIP group leader Neil Hamilton wondered whether the public at large would regard the debate as "pretentious navel gazing". "As an when the Wales Bill passes and tax raising powers are devolved to this institution there is, of course, a serious argument for calling ourselves a Parliament," he said. He said he was personally attracted to the idea of the Senedd as a name. "I wonder whether that would make us Senators", he added. But Gareth Bennett, UKIP AM for South Wales Central, called for the term Senedd to be "kicked into the long grass" and said it would distance the assembly "from the majority of the people of Wales". "Bethan is from a Welsh speaking background, or a bilingual background, and in her social circle Senedd may be a well used term," Mr Bennett said, to laughs and derision from Ms Jenkins. "In the Wetherspoons pub in Canton few people would know what I was talking about if I started talking about the Senedd, and I can tell you that from experience." Referring to a list of organisations with Welsh-only names, including the Urdd and Chwarae Teg, that Ms Jenkins had read out Mr Bennett said: "The problem is most people outside the Welsh speaking colony of Pontcanna, most people in Cardiff don't know what these things are." First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "If someone stood up in this chamber and described people in Ceredigion or in Gwynedd who are English speakers as a colony there would be uproar." "It makes it sound as if people in Wales who speak a certain language don't belong in our capital city, and that is a wholly wrong remark," he said, adding it would be "highly offensive to a number of people" although he wasn't sure Mr Bennett meant it that way.
AMs have agreed that the National Assembly for Wales should change its name.
Some 22 survivors have so far been pulled from the rubble, and 40 others are feared trapped in the debris. More than 70 workers were in the 11-storey building which was under construction when it toppled in heavy rain late on Saturday. India has seen frequent building collapses, many blamed on lax safety and substandard materials. At least six people, including construction company officials, have been arrested in connection with the collapse in Chennai (Madras), the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu. "It appears they have not adhered to approved plans. The building appears to have serious structural defects," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said. Hundreds of rescue workers, including personnel from India's National Disaster Response Force, are working with cutters, shovels and other equipment to search for survivors. "Clearing the debris is a huge challenge. This would take almost two to three days and we are hopeful of saving many lives, going by our previous experiences in other places," senior police official SP Selvan told the NDTV news channel. While the cause of the latest collapse is still under investigation, a lack of construction codes, leading to lax safety, is one reason for frequent collapses of buildings and other infrastructure projects in India. There is also a high demand for housing, pushing up costs and forcing less affluent people to risk their lives in decrepit or badly constructed buildings. Earlier on Saturday, a four-storey building came down in the capital Delhi, killing 10 people, including five children. In January, at least 14 people died when a building under construction came crashing down in the western state of Goa. At least 42 people died after a four-storey building collapsed in Mumbai last September.
At least 17 people are now known to have died when a building collapsed in the southern Indian city of Chennai.
He was speaking at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He strongly criticised President Donald Trump and his team, who are being investigated over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Russia's Foreign Ministry responded by saying the former US administration should have read the poems of Soviet propagandist Vladimir Mayakovsky. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova singled out a Mayakovsky poem which glorified Russian as the language of VI Lenin, who led the communist revolution in 1917. Russia is marking the centenary of the revolution, which resulted in Cold War rivalry between the USSR and the US. "I'm often asked what the secret is to have a real impact on government. Well, it's recently changed. I used to say, either run for office or get a degree from Harvard Kennedy School. With this White House I'd say, buy Rosetta Stone and learn Russian," Mr Kerry said on Wednesday. Rosetta Stone is an online language-learning resource. Russia: The scandal Trump can't shake Putin wades into Trump-Russia row Russian official says Jews backed Trump In a Facebook post, Ms Zakharova said it was a mistake that Russia had not given the US state department under ex-President Barack Obama a collection of Mayakovsky poems. She quoted a verse from Mayakovsky's long poem from 1927 called To Our Youth, which translates as: "Even if I were an elderly black man I would learn Russian, without being despondent or lazy, just because Russian was Lenin's language." The poem suggests that Russian can serve as a lingua franca binding the diverse nations of the Soviet Union in a new communist order. Mayakovsky is still much-admired in Russia for his poetry and avant-garde Socialist realist posters. He made searing criticisms of the US after touring North America in 1925, comparing its cultural diversity to the Tower of Babel. "I don't know which Russian language textbooks should be bought for 'this' US administration, but for the 'last one' it would be best to get a little volume of Vladimir Vladimirovich [Mayakovsky], on the eve of the 1917 centenary," Ms Zakharova wrote. Russian President Vladimir Putin has revived some elements of Soviet life, including pro-Kremlin youth movements and displays of military hardware. In 2005 he called the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th Century.
Americans who want to influence the new US government should learn Russian, US ex-Secretary of State John Kerry says.
Ross, 39, has agreed a deal that runs initially until the summer of 2016. The former St Mirren defender has coaching experience from stints at Dumbarton and Hearts, where he departed in October. Ross will be in the dugout for Saturday's home match against the Buddies. Alloa are bottom of the Championship, three points adrift of Livingston, who they beat 1-0 on Saturday.
Scottish Championship strugglers Alloa Athletic have appointed Jack Ross as their new manager following the resignation of Danny Lennon.
Lee Joon-seok, 68, is accused of leaving the ship as it was sinking while telling passengers to stay put, reports Yonhap news agency. He was among the first to be rescued by coast guards at the scene. The Sewol ferry disaster on 16 April killed 281 passengers, most of whom were high school students. Another 23 are still missing. Besides Mr Lee, three crew members - the chief engineer, the chief mate and the second mate - are also being charged with manslaughter. If convicted, they could face life imprisonment. "The [four people charged] escaped before the passengers, leading to grave casualties," prosecutor Ahn Sang-don told journalists. Prosecutors have indicted another 11 crew members for negligence. Only 172 passengers survived the sinking of the ferry, including 22 of the 29 crew members. Meanwhile, the results of an interim investigation has found that a sharp turn was the main cause of the sinking, Yonhap said. The Sewol "made a sharp turn at a 15 degree angle before tilting and capsizing", Yonhap reported, quoting police and prosecution officials. The overloading of cargo and the lack of water in ballast tanks to balance the load made recovery from its sharp turn difficult, officials added. The captain of the ferry was not on the bridge when the ferry capsized, with a third mate at the helm. The authorities have also arrested several people who were not on the ferry at the time of the sinking. These include five officials of the ferry owner, Chonghaejin Marine Company, and an employee of a private safety device inspection company. The latter is suspected of conducting poor inspections of the ferry's safety equipment. South Korea is looking to reform its safety and emergency response system in the wake of the ferry's sinking. President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday that the government would soon release details of this move, said Yonhap. She has previously apologised for the way the government handled the incident, amid questions over the initial rescue effort. Following the recent death of a civilian rescue diver, Seoul also plans to provide psychological help for rescue workers "suffering from physical and mental agony", said local media. It comes amid reports the ship, submerged for nearly a month, has begun to deteriorate, making it even more difficult for divers to search for bodies. Officials said that divers had spotted walls "getting weaker and about to collapse". Rescue workers are now plotting new routes through the hull. Earlier reports said that some bodies had floated away from the ship, prompting workers to deploy nets around the site.
The captain of the sunken South Korean ferry has been charged with manslaughter, reports say.
All Bar One has agreed a deal to establish its first presence in the city. It will be the chain's fourth Scottish outlet, with two already in Edinburgh, and one in Glasgow. Marischal Square is expected to open in the summer of next year. Offices and a hotel are being built on the site of the former council headquarters. It is a £107m development. Protestors failed in their bid to get the development halted last March. Councillors voted by 22-21 to continue with the project.
A leading drinks and restaurant chain is to open a bar in the Marischal Square development in Aberdeen.
It was hit by a coup in March 2012 - and a rebellion in the north that has caused alarm around the world. The former colonial power has now deployed troops after an appeal from Mali's interim president. Here is a guide to some of the main players: The five main Islamists groups in Mali are Ansar Dine, Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao), al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Signed-in-Blood Battalion and the Islamic Movement for Azawad (IMA). Ansar Dine is seen as a home-grown movement, led by renowned former Tuareg rebel leader Iyad Ag Ghaly. Its objective is to impose Islamic law across Mali and its full name in Arabic is Harakat Ansar al-Dine, which translates as "movement of defenders of the faith". In contrast, AQIM - the north African wing of al-Qaeda - has its roots in the bitter Algerian civil war of the early 1990s, but has since evolved to take on a more international Islamist agenda. It emerged in early 2007, after the feared Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) aligned itself with Osama Bin Laden's international network. The group has since attracted members from Mauritania and Morocco, as well as from within Mali and its neighbours, such as Niger and Senegal. AQIM says its aim is to spread Islamic law, as well as to liberate Malians from French colonial legacy. The movement is known for kidnapping Westerners, and ransom money is believed to be a key source of revenue for AQIM, alongside drug-trafficking. The third Islamist group, Mujao, is an AQIM splinter group, formed in mid-2011. It says its objective is to spread jihad to West Africa rather than confine itself to the Sahel and Maghreb regions - the main focus of AQIM. But Mujao's first major operation was in Algeria in October 2011, when it kidnapped three Spanish and Italian aid workers in the town of Tindouf. The hostages were freed in July 2012, reportedly after a ransom was paid. Although it has many Malian Tuaregs within its ranks, Mujao is believed to be led by a Mauritanian, Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou. Before France launched a military offensive on 11 January 2013 to drive out the militants, Mujao's sphere of influence was mainly in north-eastern Mali, where it controlled key towns such as Kidal and Gao, regarded as the drug centre of Mali. Ansar Dine's influence was mainly in the north-west, where it captured the historic city of Timbuktu in May 2012. The group split in January 2013, when the IMA - led by Alghabass Ag Intalla, an influential figure in Kidal - was formed. Mr Intalla was a high-ranking member of the Ansar Dine team which negotiated with Mali's government until late 2012. He says he split from Ansar Dine because he opposes "terrorism", and favours dialogue. The IMA says it champions the cause of the people of northern Mali, who say they have been marginalised by the government based in far-off Bamako since independence in 1960. AQIM operated freely across the north since its formation in 2007, and helped Ansar Dine and Mujao to seize power of key northern cities in 2012. Its recruits were said to have been part of the police force which imposed Sharia in Timbuktu. The Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera reports on its website that its correspondent saw top AQIM commander, the Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel who is also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud, touring Timbuktu's main market last year. There are unconfirmed reports that AQIM has also given training in the vast Malian desert to Boko Haram, the Islamist group which has carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations in Nigeria. The Signed-in-Blood Battalion, led by the Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, also has strong ties with Ansar Dine and Mujao. It was formed late last year as an AQIM offshoot after Belmokhtar fell out with the group. According to Mauritania's Sahara Media website, which has strong contacts among the militants, Belmokhtar joined the administration of Gao after it was seized by Mujao. All these militants follow the Saudi-inspired Wahhabi/Salafi sect of Islam, making them unpopular with most Malian Muslims who belong to the rival Sufi sect. They have tried to impose their version of Islam, amputating limps of people convicted of crimes and and destroying Sufi shrines, which they claim promote idolatry. The UN Security Council has warned that that the destruction of shrines in Timbuktu, a world heritage site, could amount to a war crime. According to a report in India's The Hindu newspaper, Ansar Dine and Mujao have expanded the rebellion beyond the Tuaregs by incorporating a number of other ethnic groups like the Bella and Songhai (who have historically opposed the Tuareg) into a multi-ethnic force, motivated by religious fervour. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (known by its French acronym of MNLA) is ethnically driven, fighting mostly for the rights of Mali's minority Tuareg community. It was formed by Malian Tuareg in 2011, as a successor to previous rebel groups. During Col Muammar Gaddafi's rule in Libya, many Malian Tuareg joined his army, in a move that was welcomed by Mali's government to end conflict within its borders. After Col Gaddafi's overthrow in 2011, they returned to Mali, swelling the ranks of the MNLA as it spearheaded an uprising against the Malian army, in alliance with the Islamists. The Tuareg who were in Libya - described by some analysts as an "arms bazaar" - also brought with them weapons, including surface-to-air missiles which the MNLA said it had used to shoot down a Malian Air Force MIG-21 jet in January 2012. By April of that year the MNLA-led fighters had routed government forces and the group declared the north an independent state, named Azawad. However, no other country recognised the state, showing the MNLA's isolation in the global arena. At the same time, its alliance with the Islamists collapsed and Ansar Dine and Mujao drove its forces out of the main northern towns. Some analysts believe that the MNLA's influence waned after it ran out of money, causing many of its fighters to defect to Ansar Dine and Mujao. The Islamists are far richer, earning money in recent years by kidnapping Westerners for ransom and trafficking cocaine, marijuana and cigarettes. The MNLA has come out in support of France's military intervention, hoping that this will help it regain control in the north. Two important figures in the MNLA are the general secretary Bila Ag Cherif and Mohamed Ag Najim, the head of the movement's military wing. At the same time, the group has watered down its demand for independence, saying it will settle, as a first step, for autonomy. Last year, the MNLA endorsed mediation efforts by Burkina Faso to end the Malian conflict. Ansar Dine - the home-grown Islamist movement - also expressed support for the initiative. It had announced a ceasefire in November to give peace talks a chance. But in early January, the ceasefire broke as Ansar Dine and the Malian army accused each other of resuming hostilities. As the rebels were gaining ground in the north in early 2012, Malian soldiers staged a mutiny at the Kati military camp located about 10km (six miles) from the presidential palace in Bamako. It culminated in a coup, led by a mid-ranking army officer Capt Amadou Sanogo, one of the few officers who did not flee the Kati camp when the rank-and-file soldiers began rioting and then headed for the seat of government. Having overthrown President Amadou Toumane Toure, he promised that the Malian army would defeat the rebels. But the ill-equipped and divided army was no match for the firepower of the rebels, who tightened their grip over the north in the immediate aftermath of the coup. Capt Sanogo, who is in his late 30s, is from Segou, Mali's second largest town some 240km (150 miles) north of Bamako, where his father worked as a nurse at Segou's medical centre. Former Mali-based journalist Martin Vogl describes the army officer as a forceful, confident and charismatic man, friendly but with a slightly abrupt manner. In the army all his professional life, Capt Sanogo received some of his military training in the US - including intelligence training. Ironically, Mali was until recently seen as a relative success story in terms of US counter-terrorism efforts. The US had trained Malian forces to tackle Aqim, but these soldiers - led by Capt Sanogo - staged the coup in Mali. US Africa Command head, Gen Carter Hamm, has said he is "sorely disappointed" with the conduct of some of the US-trained Malian soldiers. Some of the elite US-trained units are also said to have defected to the Islamist rebels, who they were originally trained to fight. Capt Sanogo has since handed power to a handpicked civilian government, but was recently named the head of a committee to oversee reforms in the military and is believed to be paid about $7,800 (£5,250) a month. Dioncounda Traore had long harboured presidential ambitions - but he had hoped to come to power in elections originally scheduled for April 2012. He was born in 1942 in the garrison town of Kati, just outside of the capital Bamako. He pursued his higher education in the then Soviet Union, Algeria and France, where he was awarded a doctorate in mathematics. He returned to Mali to teach at university - before getting involved in politics. He was a founding member in 1990 of the political party Alliance for Democracy in Mali and between 1992-1997 he held various ministerial portfolios including defence and foreign affairs. In 2007, he was elected as speaker of the National Assembly. He was an ally of the deposed President Amadou Toumani Toure, who had become deeply unpopular. As a consequence, many Malians are wary of Mr Traore, who is not seen as charismatic, says former Bamako-based journalist Martin Vogl. This boiled over in May 2012, when supporters of the coup attacked Mr Traore in his office, forcing him to seek medical treatment in France. When Ansar Dine ended its ceasefire and entered the central town of Konna on 10 January, the interim president appealed to France - the former colonial power - for military help. He declared a state of emergency, arguing that the rebels wanted to expand "criminal activities" across the country. France agreed to his request, saying it could not allow a "terrorist state" to emerge in Mali. Amadou Toumani Toure - the army general widely credited with rescuing Mali from military dictatorship and establishing democracy in Mali - fled to Senegal after the March 2012 coup. At first, forces loyal to him resisted the military junta, but he eventually accepted that his rule was over. Known as ATT, Mr Toure himself first came to power in a coup in 1991 - overthrowing military ruler Moussa Traore after security forces killed more than 100 pro-democracy demonstrators. He handed power back to civilian rule the following year - gaining respect and the nickname "soldier of democracy". He went on to win presidential elections in May 2002, and was re-elected in 2007. Born in 1948, ATT had no official party - and had always sought the backing of as many political groupings as possible. His critics repeatedly accused him of being soft on militant Islamists, diverting US-supplied money and weapons to fight the MNLA, whom he saw as a bigger threat. Analysts doubt that Mali will have another democratically elected president anytime soon. At first, the West African regional body, Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) - of which Mali is a member - spearheaded initiatives to resolve the complex Malian conflict. Alongside Burkina Faso's mediation effort, it was drawing up plans to send troops to Mali. But a UN-approved deployment was expected to take place only in September, so that the mediation effort could be given a chance to succeed and troops could be given training. African leaders did not seem confident that a regional force could win a war against the rebels and appealed for help from Western powers. In early January, the African Union chairman - Benin's President Thomas Yayi Boni - called for Nato to lead an Afghanistan-styled intervention in Mali. Of the Western powers, the US was said to be most reluctant to support military action. In contrast, France was a staunch advocate of intervention soon after the rebels' 2012 gains, but wanted an African force to be in the forefront of battle. Following the new rebel advance in January this year, France felt it could no longer wait for African troops to be deployed and declared war on the rebels. Now, Ecowas has started to deploy troops, which are expected to number more than 3,000 troops. Nigeria will form the backbone of the force, contributing 900 soldiers. Other countries that have pledged troops include Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger. Chad, which is not part of the regional body Ecowas, has also sent a large number of soldiers to work in co-ordination with French troops. Among North African states, Egypt has condemned France's intervention and has pushed for peace talks to end the conflict. Algeria was known to have privately argued against military intervention when the idea was first mooted, fearing that the rebels would retreat to its side of the border in the face of a military assault, destabilising its territory even further. However, it has since changed its position, allowing France to use its air space to launch strikes in northern Mali.
Mali is in the grip of an unprecedented political crisis, one of the most serious since the landlocked West African country gained independence from France in 1960.
Photographer Olivia Acland has been documenting the barber shops that line nearly every busy street in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. Most people will tell you that they have a trusted hairdresser who they visit on a regular basis. Geoffrey, a 29-year old tour guide, said: "Appearance is very important in Sierra Leone, people want to make sure their hair looks good." Barbers also take on the role of counsellors, listening to clients agonise over their love lives or confide in them about family crises. The barber shop provides a safe space for people to sit back and unwind - after all, it's important to feel relaxed as someone takes a knife to your chin or a pair of scissors to your head.
All photographs by Olivia Acland
In a blistering speech at the United Nations, John Kerry said the future of Syria was "hanging by a thread". He said Monday's attack, which killed 20 civilians, had raised profound doubt over whether Russia and the Syrian government would live up to the terms of the ceasefire deal. Moscow has denied being involved. The Russian defence ministry now says a US drone was in the area where the aid convoy was struck. Gen Igor Konashenkov said a Predator strike drone appeared above the convoy several minutes before it caught fire, and left the area 30 minutes later. "We are not jumping to unfounded conclusions. Only its owners know why the drone was in the area at the right time and what kind of tasks it was pursuing there," the general said. He did not directly accuse the US of firing on the aid convoy from a drone but pointedly said that such a drone could carry out high-precision strikes against targets on the ground. His comments follow Mr Kerry's declaration that Russia should stand up and take responsibility for air strikes, criticising Russia's defence ministry for changing its story. He said he felt like Russia was in "a parallel universe" after listening to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov address the council. The UN says it has resumed preparation for convoys of aid to Syria and hopes to deliver aid to besieged and hard-to-reach areas as soon as possible. Monday's attack prompted the UN to suspend all aid convoys to those areas. Mr Kerry said flights should stop "in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded". The attack had "dealt a heavy blow to our efforts to bring peace to Syria," he said. A further attack on Tuesday night killed five medical workers for an international aid agency. A partial truce brokered by the US and Russia lasted just a week. Heavy air raids have continued in Syria, especially in and around Aleppo. A senior US official told the Associated Press that the US believes "with a very high degree of confidence" that the strike was carried out by a Russian-piloted aircraft. Speaking after the UN Security Council meeting, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said "the overwhelming responsibility for the breaches in the ceasefire that we have seen lies with the Assad regime and indeed its sponsors". But he said, the peace process that led to the truce could be revived. The Syrian ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari said the future of Syria would be decided by its people. "Syria will not become another Libya or Iraq," he said. "We will never allow this." A spokeswoman for the Syrian opposition delegation at the UN in New York told the BBC she was pessimistic about the future of the ceasefire. "What are the Russians doing to enforce the regime or to pressure the regime to comply and not violate this agreement? "The Russians themselves are violating this agreement," she claimed. Syria's five-year civil war has left more than 250,000 people dead and displaced more than 11 million others. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposal that all aircraft should be prohibited from flying over certain areas of Syria so that humanitarian aid can be delivered unhindered probably falls short of a formal no-fly zone. Who for example might police such a zone? Would aircraft intruding into it be shot down, and if so by whom? Managing such small parcels of air space could also be a problem - any aircraft flying into them could be many miles away in a very short space of time. Mr Kerry's idea though is probably to be seen more as a declaratory policy: an attempt to get the Russians and Syrians - the only people likely to fly aircraft that might strike targets in these zones - to formally acknowledge that they will not do so.
The US Secretary of State has called for all planes to be grounded in key areas of Syria to save the truce there, following an attack on an aid convoy.
Officers who checked drug containers removed from the courier believed one was missing and carried out a search. Five grams were found in the clothing of the surgeon, who was himself found to be in a state of narcotic intoxication, police say. The suspect told police he would not comment without his lawyer. The unnamed surgeon was arrested in Bogotol, a town of 21,000, about 3,100km (1,930 miles) east of Moscow. He has been charged on two counts: with illegally acquiring and possessing a large quantity of drugs, and stealing a large quantity of drugs. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 15 years. In 2009, Russia announced that it had become the world's biggest consumer of heroin. Cheap supplies of the drug enter the country from Afghanistan by land via the former republics of Central Asia or by air. Police video shows the hospital where the alleged crime took place and also the suspect himself in custody. Vladimir Yourchenko, police press secretary for the Krasnoyarsk region, said that the drama had begun when a passenger aboard a train from the city of Krasnoyarsk to Bogotol had become ill. Police had information that the passenger, a national of one of the former Soviet republics, was carrying several containers of heroin in his stomach. Removed from the train, the man was taken to a district hospital where an operation was performed to extract the containers. Police then received information that the surgeon had taken one container for himself, Mr Yourchenko said. He added that the suspect had been investigated for illegal possession of drugs in the past.
Russian police have arrested a surgeon suspected of stealing heroin he removed from the stomach of a drug courier in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.
Caroline Jones, 46, began Knickers Model's Own in memory of her mother Mary Benson who died of breast cancer. The Cancer Research UK (CRUK) shop in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, where she volunteers, has also seen a "noticeable increase in customers and donations". "People are so generous, it's captured the imagination," Ms Jones said. Mary Benson, who volunteered at the Harpenden shop for 13 years, died last October, aged 72. Ms Jones started wearing charity clothes on 1 January and posts a daily picture on social media - she has now increased her fundraising target to £36,500. "Other than her pants" she gets her look from the Harpenden store's "treasure trove" and other CRUK shops around the UK. As well as her daily blog, there have been "numerous" newspaper and radio interviews, an appearance on Loose Women and a part in a documentary with Blur's Alex James. "It's just snowballed, it still amazes me that people are so interested in what I am wearing," she said. "There are people who are just interested in fashion and thinking 'what will she wear today', and there are people with their personal cancer stories - whether they are having treatment or suffering bereavement, they can relate to it," she said. "The third angle is the whole ethical, renewable fashion one. People are really drawn to the campaign because of the message - that you can be fashionable and ethical. "I have got the best wardrobe I've ever had, nothing is missing, except for shoes... it's always a challenge to find good footwear." Ann Jay, who manages the Harpenden shop said the campaign had "really caught the attention of local people". "We've seen a noticeable increase both in the number of customers and donations... we are also witnessing more and more younger customers," she said. "Her unique idea has transformed the way people think about charity shops, really showing off the great value one can get by buying pre-loved items."
A woman who wanted to raise £1,000 for cancer research by wearing charity shop outfits every day for a year has raised more than £11,000 in five months.
Militants led by the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) took over parts of the cities of Falluja and Ramadi in late December. Since then, troops and allied tribesmen have struggled to regain control. The number displaced by the unrest is the highest since the peak of the sectarian insurgency from 2006 to 2008. A further 1.1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) have still not returned to communities in Iraq wracked by violence since 2003. By Nahed AbouzeidBBC Arabic, Baghdad The tourist village of Habbaniya, south-west of Falluja, was once a popular destination for the Iraqi elite during Saddam Hussein's rule. It has now turned into a refuge for those fleeing the fighting in Anbar. Inside the village's chalets and seven-story hotel are hundreds of families, crammed into rooms that lack adequate sanitation and other basic facilities. In the absence of appropriate medical care due to the army's blockade of the area, skin diseases and viral and bacterial infections are spreading uncontrollably. Children and women are the most vulnerable, especially pregnant women who cannot get access to female doctors. The main roads in and out of Fallujah and Ramadi are part of the battlefield as the army aims to secure supply routes for troops and tries to cut off militant groups. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said some 50,000 families had fled their homes since clashes erupted in Ramadi and Falluja after security forces dismantled a long-standing anti-government protest camp led by the Sunni Arab community. While security forces backed by pro-government tribesmen have made steady progress in retaking areas of Ramadi, they have not launched an offensive to recapture Falluja, fearing a repeat of the two bloody urban battles US troops fought in the city in 2004. Over the weekend, Anbar Governor Ahmed al-Dulaimi gave the militants a week to surrender, but said officials would not negotiate with Isis. "With the conflict in Anbar continuing UN agencies continue to receive reports of civilian casualties and sustained hardship in communities impacted by the fighting and the influx of internally displaced persons," said UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. Most of the displaced had fled to outlying communities in Anbar province, while 60,000 had ended up in more distant provinces, she added. Many are living in schools, mosques and other public buildings and urgently needed humanitarian aid. In Anbar, Ms Fleming said access remained a challenge, citing reports that a consignment of World Health Organisation (WHO) medical supplies had been detained at an Iraqi army checkpoint since 30 January. Many bridges have also been destroyed and roads blocked.
Up to 300,000 people have now been displaced by the fighting between Sunni militants and security forces in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the UN says.
Dr Reg Bunting, who died in 2013, was Avon and Somerset Police's chief medical officer between 1990 and 1997. The victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the force "fuelled Dr Bunting's fantasies" by doing nothing. The force has since apologised "unreservedly" to those affected. Most of Dr Bunting's victims were new recruits to the force. Following a number of allegations against him between 1981 and 2002, including groping, fondling and reported sexual assault, an independent investigation was commissioned by the force. It found in 44 of the 112 cases looked at, his examinations "fell below a common or acceptable standard for the time" and "woefully or grossly below" in 10 cases. The officer, a frontline policeman for more than 20 years, said he was groped by Dr Bunting during his medical assessment. "I thought this wasn't right, but what do you do?" he said. "He knew that we needed to get through the medical. "He had the power to abuse his position and do what he wanted. I don't think anyone would have complained because it was a hard job to get into." The report identified three opportunities for the force to have intervened after concerns were raised. The victim said: "They were fuelling Dr Bunting's fantasies and feeding him victims. "They gave him carte blanche and missed three chances to prevent crime." Two further victims of Dr Bunting told the BBC they were unhappy at how the force dealt with their complaints. Avon and Somerset Police has since apologised to victims for "failing to ensure acceptable medical conduct during their examinations", and praised the people who had come forward. "Had Dr Bunting been alive, there would have been sufficient evidence to interview him under caution as a criminal suspect," a spokesman said.
A victim of a police doctor, who carried out "grossly" unacceptable examinations, has criticised a force for failing to act on complaints about his behaviour.
Townsend's troops dismantled the English outfit in a 37-10 bonus-point win at Scotstoun in their European Champions Cup Pool 4 opener. And a trip to French side Montpellier is next up for Warriors. "We know how hard it's going to be next week but we've made the best possible start," said the head coach. "I'm really looking forward to going to Montpellier, I played a season out there, and it will be great to go back there as a coach. "I've told the players to turn on the TV tomorrow and watch Toulouse against Montpellier so they can get a picture of what's facing us this weekend. "As coaches we've watched their last few games and they're very similar to Bath in terms of the set-piece - strong line-out drive, strong scrum and some dangerous attackers." Bath opened the scoring against Glasgow, who are second top of the Pro-12 after five wins from six matches. But the Warriors hit back through tries from Mark Bennett, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour, with Niko Matawalu and Bennett adding further tries. Duncan Weir also added two penalties and three conversions. "We started with real good intent," Townsend added. "We got the detail right - our restarts, exiting, and then when we kept ball we looked dangerous. "It was really our defence in the second half that kept Bath out when they had a lot of pressure, and created a couple of turnovers for our last two tries. "It really was a squad effort, it takes a lot of effort to play the rugby we aspire to play in attack and defence, and when you come up against a team like Bath who will move the ball a lot you need to be fit, you need to be tough. "There were players picking up injuries who were cramping up because of the effort, but then the bench players came on and did fantastic jobs."
Gregor Townsend is relishing Glasgow's date with Montpellier after describing Warriors' win over Bath as their "best team performance of the season".
The full-back has not played for his French club in the 2015-16 season after suffering a serious knee injury in Wales' final World Cup warm-up against Italy in September 2015. "I'm not paying anyone who's not here in June," Boudjellal said. "If anyone leaves in June, wherever they go, they'll have to pay them." The French Top 14 final will be played on 24 June, the eve of Wales' third and final Test against the All Blacks in Dunedin. France are expected to tour Argentina without players involved in the French play-off system, which continues during the international window. World Rugby's article nine states that clubs have to release players during official international periods, with several of Toulon's South Africans also possible absentees. "We'll go to all the tribunals in the world, but anyone who's not playing for us won't be paid by the club," Boudjellal added. "I'm not stopping anyone leaving because there is article nine - but anyone who leaves us before our final match won't be paid by the club." Halfpenny had been scheduled to return in mid-April and was registered in Toulon's European Champions Cup squad. The 27-year-old may be fit by the time of the Wales tour and the French play-offs. "After the episode of the World Cup and the episode of the injuries, the third episode that is about to happen is the [fixture] calendar," warned Boudjellal. "We could find ourselves in June without three or four players at least because they are going to play friendly matches for their federations. "I hope the federations have the intelligence to see that in a World Cup year, they'll say to themselves that the Top 14 is a real competition and you have to respect the clubs who look after the players all year." Boudjellal's comments come as Warren Gatland prepares to name the Wales squad on Tuesday 10 December for the Test against England at Twickenham on 29 May. Toulon lie third in the French Top 14 with three rounds of the regular season still to play.
Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal has suggested Leigh Halfpenny will not be paid by the club if he tours New Zealand with Wales in June.
The England Under-23 international scored 14 goals last season as Doncaster finished second in WSL 2 and were promoted back to the top flight. England, 21, said: "I feel I am at the stage in my career to test myself at a higher level. "There is no doubt that will happen at Chelsea, not just during games but in every training session." Her arrival is Chelsea's fourth signing of the close season. They have also brought in midfielders Karen Carney and Jade Bailey and goalkeeper Becky Spencer. England will be reunited with Chelsea assistant manager Paul Green, who signed her during his time at Doncaster. "Beth is a great character and a young player who is hungry to develop and improve her game," said Green.
Women's Super League champions Chelsea Ladies have signed forward Bethany England from Doncaster Belles.
The town is littered with references to the 1612 trials which resulted in 10 people being hanged for witchcraft. They have spawned many commercial spin offs today - including the name of an express bus service to Manchester and a brand of beer. But not everyone wants to bask in the area's association with the trials. The Bishop of Burnley campaigned against a giant artwork installation on Pendle Hill to mark the anniversary of the trials. But there are some who make a living from the town's notorious history. Maureen Stopforth, 72, runs the Witches Galore shop Newchurch-in-Pendle. She said: "Every day is different. I get people coming in from all over the world - I've had people from Russia to Australia visit and even a Canadian couple on their honeymoon." She said Americans in particular are fascinated by the area's heritage. "I think they're intrigued because they haven't got our history and when they come here they love it because the countryside is so stunning and unspoilt. "They say it is like stepping back in time." The shop and tearoom sells witch memorabilia ranging from crystals to cards and handmade models of witches. Mrs Stopforth added: "A lot of customers collect them - one woman has a collection of over 300." Her best seller is Robert Neill's book Mist Over Pendle. "I can't be without that book; it flies off the shelf.". Neil McDonald, 50, has been running tours for nine years with his 15-seater minibus. Even now he said the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when he traces the gruelling journey the witches made from Pendle to their trial at Lancaster Castle in 1612. "I still get an eerie feeling when I take people on the journey over the tops," he said. "They (the witches) will have been exhausted, hungry and frightened. They probably knew they were being dragged to their death. "I love anything to do with cults or anything that is hidden. "And the people who come on the tour are the same. They love the story but then it has all ingredients of a blockbuster novel." He said his favourite part of his 10-hour tour is at St Mary the Virgin Church in Gisburn, where a cast iron unmarked grave is rumoured to be Jennet Preston's. Author of Wardstone Chronicles Joseph Delaney, from Preston, was so fascinated by the Pendle witches he devoted two of his best-selling books to them. The Spooks series are all set in a mythical Lancashire, which he calls County, and he decided "to confront the Pendle Witches" in the fourth book, the Spook's Battle. He invented his own version of Pendle witches because "otherwise I would have been a prisoner of the historical events". "The trials really stimulated my imagination," he said, "and [Pendle Hill] too casts a spell over me with its brooding presence." He said the Spook's Battle is his favourite book from the series. "I discover my plots and often they need a lot of re-drafting to achieve a sound structure but that was the exception. "It flowed from my imagination as if it already existed." Mr Delaney often does talks in Lancashire schools and said children are "fascinated by the fact that the events happened so close to home".
The story of the Pendle witch trials helps bring in over £85m to the local economy each year, according to council figures.
The new directive brings new definitions to "dressing decently". Women are not allowed to: While men must: Adah Muwanga, human resources director at the Public Service Ministry, said the new circular was needed because of complaints - especially about female public officers - from male counterparts, who say "body parts should be covered". Civil servants are made aware of the dress rules at induction, says Moses Sempiira, a teacher. "Each profession has got its code of conduct. "When you're at work, you have to dress up the way you're expected. "I have no problem with it." However, Rita Achiro, head of the Uganda Women's Network, describes the order as a diversionary move. "How does dress code affect service delivery?" she asks. "What Ugandans need are more teachers and nurses. "We have high maternal mortality, children in schools without teachers. "I don't see how the banning of mini-skirts and bright-coloured shirts is going to fix that." The debate on hemlines and neck-ties has gone beyond the formal setting of the public service. In May, photos of two Makerere University students were shared widely on Facebook, with many Ugandans criticising them for wearing revealing skirts to a party. Rebecca Naddamba, one of the two young women in the photos, was a final-year education student. She was dressed in a two-piece red outfit, with a long skirt made up of strips of cloth, showing her legs. "People have asked me whether I am sane. Some said I shouldn't be allowed to become a teacher," she says. The university wrote to her, citing "misconduct at a university function" and asking her to explain why she should not face disciplinary action. Ms Nadamba thinks dressing should simply be about appropriateness. "I am looking forward to becoming a teacher. I will tell my students that there is a difference between dressing for a classroom, a place of work and a party." Her case raised questions on whether Uganda, as a society, spends too much time and effort nit-picking what people should and should not wear. "If decency was contained in clothes, we would spot a rapist or a corrupt politician from miles away" Lawyer and activist Patience Akumu calls it the "institutionalisation" of the policing of women's bodies. She thinks that public entities like Makerere University "shouldn't pick and choose when to moralise". "Recently a girl jumped out of a window to near-death, after a friend allegedly tried to rape her," she continues. "Makerere did not issue a statement. Why are they now suddenly enraged?" Uganda is caught up in rapid social change. It takes only a short time for the latest trends seen in American films and pop music videos to arrive on the streets of Kampala. Ripped jeans, crop-tops, micro-minis and tight trousers for men are everywhere. On one side of life is the tabloid press, which thrives on daily pictures of half-naked women and columns about sex exploits. On the other, you have government officials telling people to cover up. And there has been a spate of attacks on women deemed to be wearing clothes that are too revealing. Lindsey Kukunda, an artist and writer, thinks it is an obsession with culture and religion - a fusion that oppresses women. "If you're a woman, your decency is in your clothes. "If decency was contained in clothes, we would spot a rapist or a corrupt politician from miles away," she argues. The founder of Not Your Body, an online movement that documents incidents of harassment, Ms Kukunda has herself been a victim on Kampala's streets. "About a year ago, I was standing on the roadside waiting for a friend to pick me up. I was wearing shorts. "Men started calling me a prostitute. I sought help from a traffic cop, who looked me up and down and said: 'Well, isn't that what you want?'" For her, this is a sign that those in authority constantly promote the thinking that women should be questioned, or even punished, for their clothes. Mrs Muwanga, from the Public Service ministry, says wearing a mini-skirt to work is tantamount to sexually harassing male colleagues, and if the new orders are violated, public officers are likely to face disciplinary action. Ms Kukunda says her online movement is against this sort of thing. "If there were more Lindsey Kukundas saying: 'No, I will not let you inconvenience me because your eyes have a problem with my dimpled knees', the people who push this attitude will start to keep quiet." Radio presenter and social critic James Onen believes men and women should wear whatever they want, but should accept the consequences of their choices. "It is universally accepted that there are a certain set of physical attributes that men generally find appealing in women. "When a woman dresses in such a way as to call attention to those physical attributes, it's difficult for most people not to view it as deliberate action to draw attention," he says. Uganda's Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Fr Simon Lokodo, referred me to the 2014 Anti-Pornography Act, when contacted for an interview. But the law says nothing about a national dress code. Confusion over a clause that was removed before the bill became law, led to incidents of Ugandan women being publicly undressed. When a group of women tried to get to the parliament building to protest against the public strippings, they were surrounded by heavily armed anti-riot police. Ms Akumu, who was among the protesters, says little has changed since the grossly misinterpreted law was passed. Ms Achiro, from the Uganda Women's Network, refers to the new public service directive as a celebration of being colonised. "We are insisting on neckties and suits. What does a man who likes to wear his African-batik shirt do? "Our rights are being taken away piece by piece and soon we will have no space to speak," she says.
A new crackdown on what civil servants can wear in Uganda has reignited a fierce debate about morality, clothes and women's rights in the country.
Thomas, 29, was crowned champion after finishing fifth in the final stage. The Team Sky rider can now look ahead to the season's classics, having beaten former Tour de France champion Alberto Contador and three-time World Time Trial winner Tony Martin. "It's definitely a great confidence boost," he told BBC Wales Sport. "Coming here as the sole leader of the team as opposed to last year, when I was part of a two-pronged attack with Richie Porte. "I took on that extra responsibility and it was a super-strong field as well with Contador and [Fabio] Aru, who both won grand tours last year. "So to come away with a win and take some big scalps along the way is really special." The prestigious week-long Paris-Nice and one-day Milan-San Remo races await in March, while April's schedule includes classics such as the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. "I've got two weeks training now and a big block of racing, some really big races," Thomas added. "I'm sure a lot of those big names are going to step up again, so it's going to be tough, but hopefully I can take something out of the next few months." Thomas could be among the favourites for some of the classic one-day races, having impressed in several last year. The two-time Olympic team pursuit gold medallist also caught the eye with a strong display at the 2015 Tour de France. Thomas' rise has seen him tipped as a future grand tour leader by Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford, and he is relishing the added expectation. "I guess with the profile in the peloton and with wins like this, you're watched a bit more," said Thomas. "But I really enjoy it and enjoy that responsibility. It's a different mindset. "Over the last two to three years, I've slowly taken more and more responsibility in races and fortunately the success has followed that."
Geraint Thomas hopes retaining the Volta ao Algarve against a stellar field can inspire success in some of cycling's most prestigious races.
Officials confirmed that Linda Vatcher, 62, died in an attack by gunmen in the Jordanian city of Karak. Jordanian security forces say they have killed four gunmen after flushing them out of a historic hilltop castle in the city. The shooting on Sunday left at least 10 people dead and 27 injured. Vatcher's son Chris, who she was visiting for Christmas, was among those injured. The attackers have not been identified. Jordanian officials said events began earlier in the day with a shoot-out between police and armed men at a house near Karak. The gunmen then fled by car into the city. The Vatcher family has asked the media for privacy, but Burgeo Mayor Barbara Barter, a former teaching colleague of the slain tourist, told the BBC that she was a "soft-spoken, conscientious, very kind person" who loved teaching and volunteer work. The retired school teacher grew up in Burgeo, Newfoundland and later moved to Corner Brook, a larger community on the island 210 km (130 miles) away. The mayor said Vatcher poured hours into her work in local soup kitchens and food banks, and always returned to Burgeo for its annual cancer society fundraising event. "She spent most of her life in two communities and she contributed greatly to both, so she's certainly left a very impressive imprint wherever she's gone," she said. Barb Rhymes, Vatcher's cousin, told the Associated Press she was visiting her son in the Middle East, where he works. "She was very friendly, outgoing." Ms Rhymes said. "It's devastating. It has hit the town hard." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is "shocked and saddened" to learn about Vatcher's death and her son's injury in "this heinous act of violence". "This is a sad reminder of the very real threat of terrorism around the globe and of the need to continue working closely with trusted allies such as Jordan to help prevent horrific attacks of this nature. The people of Canada stand in solidarity with all Jordanians during this difficult time," Mr Trudeau said in a statement.
A Canadian woman killed in an attack in Jordan is being remembered as conscientious, kind and dedicated to her charity work.
The UK voted to leave the EU. The vote north of the border was to remain. Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, said government cooperation was needed. Earlier this month, a flotilla of fishing boats sailed up the Thames to urge Parliament take back control of British waters. The SFF's Mr Armstrong said: "The result of the referendum brings both opportunities and challenges for the fishing industry. "The Scottish Fishermen's Federation will be doing everything in its power to ensure that the best possible deal is achieved for fishing during the exit negotiations. "To aid this process, it is vital that we have clarity from both the UK and Scottish governments on their future intentions for fishing. "Our national governments must work closely with the industry over the coming months and years to ensure that the right framework is put in place to deliver a prosperous future." Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers' Association (SWFPA), said: "European Union fisheries policy is flawed - that is why so many fishermen voted to leave. "But we need to recognise that there are significant dangers to the industry if the UK and Scottish governments do not react to the very clear message by focusing on a new approach that recognises fishermen themselves and their communities as the key stakeholders. "Members of the SWFPA insist that we stay on course with regard to sustainable harvesting and sensible fishing, and they are equally insistent that unworkable laws be changed." Peter Willox, a founding member of the Fishing for Leave campaign, told BBC Scotland: "It's a brand new set of challenges. "The industry should revert back to an own-government system where the leaders at the top are accountable for decisions." The Scottish government said before the result that EU membership was in the "best interests" of Scotland's fishing industry. In 2014, Scotland exported £449m of fish and seafood to Europe - 68% of the total value of Scottish food exports into that market. Worldwide, seafood exports are the second largest food and drink export behind whisky, and the industry supports thousands of jobs.
The UK leaving the EU offers the Scottish fishing industry "opportunities and challenges", industry leaders have said.
American businessmen Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan lead a consortium that is in talks to buy a 60% stake. Swansea City Supporters' Trust will retain its full 21.1% holding, but former player Nurse, 78, is worried the club could lose its identity. "I'm concerned because it's going out of the hands of local people," he said. "I'm not going to say they're not going to advance the club, because we don't know what the future is going to hold. "But up until now the club has been run by Swansea people." Nurse was speaking after being given the freedom of the city in Swansea on Thursday. He played more than 250 games for the club and made 12 appearances for Wales. After retiring as a player Nurse invested in property in the city and emerged as a key character in saving the club from insolvency in 2002. He led the consortium that acquired the the Swans from then-owner Tony Petty. In addition to their financial problems Swansea were struggling in the bottom tier of the Football League, but have since climbed through the divisions and are in their fifth season in the Premier League. Nurse stood aside before the club's meteoric rise. Swansea's success means the value of shares is understood to have increased tenfold since the current board took charge in 2002, with the club now valued at about £100m. More than 70% of the shares are currently held by supporters and directors from south Wales. Swansea's directors have been impressed by Levien and Kaplan's plans, with chairman Huw Jenkins stating when news of the takeover first broke that additional investment would help the club "progress both on and off the field". Levien, the managing general partner of Major League Soccer side DC United, has been in Wales for discussions He and Kaplan, principal of Oaktree Capital investment fund and vice-chairman of NBA franchise Memphis Grizzlies, had initially been negotiating a deal which would have seen them acquire more than 75% of Swansea's shares. That would effectively have given the American consortium complete control, including the power to issue more shares. However, the modified acquisition of 60% will see the trust retain its 21.1% stake and ensure continuity at board level with the retention of Jenkins and vice chairman Leigh Dineen. They hope to complete a deal before the end of the Premier League season. *Martin Morgan resigned from his post as a director of OTH Ltd on 4 April 2016 **Brian Katzen and Jeffrey Crevoiserat own one more share than the Swansea City Supporters' Trust, giving them less than 0.1% more of a share.
Mel Nurse, who led the group that helped save Swansea City from bankruptcy in 2002, has concerns over plans for a US takeover of the club.
The Istanbul club confirmed on Sunday that Mancini had met club directors, posting a photo of the 48-year-old with chief executive Lutfi Aribogan. The Italian replaces Fatih Terim, who after failing to agree a new contract. exactly a year after he led them to their first Premier League title. Galatasaray have made a disappointing start to the Turkish league season, picking up only one win from their first five games. They are in a Champions League group with Real Madrid, who beat them 6-1 in their opening game, Juventus and FC Copenhagen. Terim, 60, is one of the most influential people in the club's history, having led them to six of their record 19 domestic titles, as well as the 2000 Uefa Cup following an 11-year spell as a player. Mancini won three successive Italian league titles and two Italian Cups with Inter Milan, before winning the FA Cup and Premier League with City. The Italian's first match in charge will be Wednesday's Champions League clash at Juventus.
Roberto Mancini has been named as the new manager of Turkish champions Galatasaray on a three-year contract.
The body, which had "multiple serious injuries", was discovered near Ten Acres Lane, Manchester, at about 17:00 BST on Tuesday, police said. Officers believe they know the victim's identity however formal confirmation is yet to take place. A 60-year-old woman, who was held on suspicion of assisting an offender, also remains in custody.
A 57-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a man was found in woodland.
1768 - Gurkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu and lays foundations for unified kingdom. 1792 - Nepalese expansion halted by defeat at hands of Chinese in Tibet. 1814-16 - Anglo-Nepalese War; culminates in treaty which establishes Nepal's current boundaries. 1846 - Nepal falls under sway of hereditary chief ministers known as Ranas, who dominate the monarchy and cut off country from outside world. 1923 - Treaty with Britain affirms Nepal's sovereignty. 1950 - Anti-Rana forces based in India form alliance with monarch. 1951 - End of Rana rule. Sovereignty of crown restored and anti-Rana rebels in Nepalese Congress Party form government. 1953 New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. 1955 - Nepal joins the United Nations. 1955 - King Tribhuwan dies, King Mahendra ascends throne. 1959 - Multi-party constitution adopted. 1960 - King Mahendra seizes control and suspends parliament, constitution and party politics after Nepali Congress Party (NCP) wins elections with B. P. Koirala as premier. 1962 - New constitution provides for non-party system of councils known as "panchayat" under which king exercises sole power. First elections to Rastrya Panchayat held in 1963. 1972 - King Mahendra dies, succeeded by Birendra. 1980 - Constitutional referendum follows agitation for reform. Small majority favours keeping existing panchayat system. King agrees to allow direct elections to national assembly - but on a non-party basis. 1985 - NCP begins civil disobedience campaign for restoration of multi-party system. 1986 - New elections boycotted by NCP. 1989 - Trade and transit dispute with India leads to border blockade by Delhi resulting in worsening economic situation. 1990 - Pro-democracy agitation co-ordinated by NCP and leftist groups. Street protests suppressed by security forces resulting in deaths and mass arrests. King Birendra eventually bows to pressure and agrees to new democratic constitution. 1991 - Nepali Congress Party wins first democratic elections. Girija Prasad Koirala becomes prime minister. 1994 - Koirala's government defeated in no-confidence motion. New elections lead to formation of Communist government. 1995 - Communist government dissolved. 1995 - Start of Maoist revolt which drags on for more than a decade and kills thousands. The rebels want the monarchy to be abolished. 1997 - Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba loses no-confidence vote, ushering in period of increased political instability, with frequent changes of prime minister. 2000 - GP Koirala returns as prime minister, heading the ninth government in 10 years. 2001 1 June - Crown Prince Dipendra kills King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and several members of the royal family, before shooting himself. The king's brother, Gyanendra is crowned king. 2001 July - Maoist rebels step up campaign of violence. Prime Minister GP Koirala quits over the violence; succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba. 2001 November - Maoists end four-month old truce with government, declare peace talks with government failed. Launch coordinated attacks on army and police posts. 2001 November - State of emergency declared after more than 100 people are killed in four days of violence. King Gyanendra orders army to crush the Maoist rebels. Many hundreds are killed in rebel and government operations in the following months. 2002 May - Parliament dissolved, fresh elections called amid political confrontation over extending the state of emergency. Sher Bahadur Deuba heads interim government, renews emergency. 2002 October - King Gyanendra dismisses Deuba and indefinitely puts off elections set for November. 2003 January - Rebels, government declare ceasefire. 2003 August - Rebels pull out of peace talks with government and end seven-month truce. The following months see resurgence of violence and frequent clashes between students/activists and police. 2004 April - Nepal joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO). 2004 May - Street protests by opposition groups demanding a return to democracy. Royalist Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa quits. 2005 February - King Gyanendra dismisses the government, restores an absolute monarchy and declares a state of emergency, citing the need to defeat Maoist rebels. 2005 April - King Gyanendra bows to international pressure, lifts the state of emergency and reinstates parliament. 2005 November - Maoist rebels and main opposition parties agree on a programme intended to restore democracy. 2006 April - King Gyanendra agrees to reinstate parliament following weeks of violent strikes and protests against direct royal rule. Maoist rebels call a three-month ceasefire. 2006 May - Parliament votes unanimously to curb the king's political powers. The government holds peace talks with the Maoist rebels. 2006 November - The government sign a peace deal with the Maoists - the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) - formally ending the decade-long insurgency. 2007 January - Maoist leaders enter parliament under the terms of a temporary constitution. 2007 April - Maoists join an interim government, a move which brings them into the political mainstream. 2007 September - Three bombs hit Kathmandu in the first attack in the capital since the end of the Maoist insurgency. Maoists quit the interim government, demanding the abolition of the monarchy. November's constituent assembly elections are postponed. 2007 December - Parliament approves the abolition of monarchy as part of peace deal with Maoists, who agree to rejoin government. 2008 January - A series of bomb blasts kill and injure dozens in the southern Terai plains, where activists have been demanding regional autonomy. 2008 April - Former Maoist rebels win the largest bloc of seats in elections to the new Constituent Assembly (CA), but fail to achieve an outright majority. 2008 May - Nepal becomes a republic. 2008 June - Maoist ministers resign from the cabinet in a row over who should be the next head of state. 2008 July - Ram Baran Yadav becomes Nepal's first president. 2008 August - Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda forms coalition government, with Nepali Congress going into opposition. 2009 May - Prime Minister Prachanda resigns following a row with President Yadav over the integration of former rebel fighters into the military. 2009 May - Britain announces that Gurkha veterans with at least four years' service in the British army will be allowed to settle in the UK. 2009 December - Four people are killed in clashes triggered by a Maoist-led land grab in the far west, giving rise to fears for peace process. 2010 May - The Constituent Assembly (CA) votes to extend the deadline for drafting the constitution, the first of four extensions. 2011 January - UN ends its peace monitoring mission. 2012 May - The Constituent Assembly (CA) is dissolved after failing to produce a draft constitution. 2013 November - The left-wing Nepali Congress wins the second Constituent Assembly elections, pushing the former ruling Maoists into third place and leaving no party with a majority. 2014 February -Nepali Congress leader Sushil Koirala is elected prime minister after securing parliamentary support. 2014 April - Sixteen Nepalese sherpa guides die in an avalanche on Mount Everest in the worst recorded accident in the mountain's history. 2014 November - Nepal and India sign a deal to build a $1bn hydropower plant on Nepal's Arun river to counter crippling energy shortages. 2015 April - A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Kathmandu and its surrounding areas killing more than 8,000 people, causing mass devastation and leaving millions homeless. Landmark constitution 2015 September - Parliament passes a landmark constitution, which defines Nepal as a secular country, despite calls to delay voting after more than 40 people are killed in protests. 2015 October - K.P. Prasad becomes the first prime minister to be elected under the new constitution. 2016 February - Government lifts fuel rationing after the ethnic minority Madhesi communities, partially backed by India, end a six-month border blockade in protest over the new constitution which they say is discriminatory. 2016 July - Maoist party pulls out of the governing coalition. Prime Minister K.P. Oli resigns ahead of a no-confidence vote in parliament. 2016 August - Parliament elects former communist rebel leader and Maoist party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda as prime minister for the second time. 2017 April - Three former soldiers are convicted over the murder of a 15-year-old girl during the civil war, the first time serving or former members of the army have been found guilty of crimes linked to the conflict. China and Nepal hold their first ever joint military exercise. 2017 June - Pushpa Kamal Dahal replaced as prime minister by the Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba under a rotation agreement reached the previous April and set to last until elections in February 2018.
A chronology of key events:
Few other British footballers have been analysed so widely as the 33-year-old, including Barton's own extensive self-reflections, yet still he remains impossible to pin down. From the moment he was linked with a move to Rangers, previous comments - mostly on Twitter, where he is a regular and intriguing voice - about supporting Celtic, about the quality of Scottish football, even about the monarchy have all been recirculated. That effort misses the essential point, of course, that Barton's commitment is to living and working on his own terms. He has eschewed the archetypal life of the top-flight footballer and, eventually, his childhood background. He has often spoken of his upbringing in Huyton, a hard and impoverished area of Liverpool, and the common currency of violence and aggression. The arc of his life in the public eye has moved from a thuggish reputation to a studious, philosophical air. He has spent time in jail but also at university, and once described Joey as a "stage name", an adopted persona that he has used on football pitch since it was once written down on a team-sheet even though friends and family call him Joe. The midfielder once used anger to fuel his professional life, railing against fans, sports writers, managers. There were, as a consequence, flashpoints that for a long time defined him; stubbing a cigar out in the eye of a youth teammate at Manchester City, a training ground fight with Ousmane Dabo, off-field altercations. Barton has reinvented himself; in a shorthand way, he has gone from CCTV footage of fighting to being a guest on Question Time. So nobody ought to be surprised that on the verge of a return to the English Premier League, and all its riches and glamour, Barton has chosen to sign for Rangers. The offer of a two-year contract, as opposed to the shorter deal proposed by Burnley, would have helped, but Barton was genuine when he spoke of having already sampled life in the Premier League - particularly the slog of a relegation battle - and of seeking new experiences. His past is a clutter of events: outbursts, aggression, analysis, but also a playing career based on tireless energy and enough technical ability for Barton to have been capable of playing at the highest domestic level with Manchester City and Newcastle, and impressing in Ligue 1 with Marseille. Barton's previous comments, and his prior indiscretions, are not relevant to his arrival at Ibrox. His performances for Rangers will carry far greater weight, and on the evidence of last season Barton remains a player capable of influence. He made 40 appearances for a Burnley side that delivered enough consistency to rise to the top of the Championship. Barton scored three goals, received 10 yellow cards and played his way into the division's team of the season. Rangers' head of recruitment, Frank McParland, held a similar role at Burnley last summer, and is also a fellow Liverpudlian. Mark Warburton is a close friend of Burnley boss Sean Dyche and the Rangers management team are convinced that they are signing a player with the experience and application to bring steeliness and leadership to the side. Barton and Dyche formed an effective working relationship, although the player has not always responded so positively to managers. The dynamic between the midfielder and Warburton will be critical, but Barton has in effect chosen to perform in a particular environment rather than with a particular individual. At Rangers, he will hope to compete for trophies, and be asked to be a figure of authority and know-how to help develop younger players, in particular fellow Scouser Jordan Rossiter, who has joined from Liverpool. With his three million Twitter followers, well defined sense of his own identity, and colourful back story, Barton brings a slew of attention with him. He might find Glasgow constricting, since Old Firm players tend to find that life in the city can be intense and intrusive, but Rangers believe they have signed a good player but also a man whose family life has grounded him - he and his long-term partner have a young son, Cassius, who joined Barton at his first Rangers press conference. To thrive at Ibrox, Barton will have to deliver on the field and avoid pitfalls off it. On recent evidence, he has found the means to apply that balance to his life.
Unpredictability has been the constant in Joey Barton's life.
As part of making the case for a robust diplomatic process, the prime minister noted that as many as 70,000 fighters who did not belong to extremist groups were still committed to fighting President Bashar al-Assad. The figure has raised eyebrows: there was no clarity offered as to who these fighters are, where they are fighting, and what sort of relationships these moderate groups have to al-Qaeda, and indeed IS. Many politicians and commentators have outright dismissed the figure as fantastical, feeding into the Russian propagandists' line that there are no "moderate" rebels left in Syria. In the past week, a number of analysts have taken up the challenge to identify these rebels. Officials say the source for the 70,000 figure is the UK's Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), drawing on assessments by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK intelligence agencies and open sources. The figure, the officials add, refers to Syrian rebels who fulfil two basic criteria: Frank Gardner: Is PM right about the Syrian 'moderates'? Charles Lister of the Brookings Institute puts the number of fighters in strategically influential groups at around 65,000 - with 10,000 fighters in smaller groups. They are spread over six identifiable fronts, stretching along a fairly narrow strip of territory from the northern city of Aleppo, down through the capital Damascus and into the southern borderlands with Jordan. But while it may be possible to identify 65,000-75,000 personnel in brigades that fight both Assad and IS, the problem is that these groups of fighters, particularly in the north of the country, are not powerful enough to take on al-Qaeda or IS by themselves, or in many cases break their current alliances/ceasefires with them. For example, Jaysh al-Fatah - a coalition of seven different groups operating around the northern cities of Aleppo, Idlib and Hama - is comprised of Salafist jihadists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, and the equally unpalatable Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa. Yet two other groupings in the alliance, Ajnad al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham, display little such sentiments. The problem is that numerically within Jaysh al-Fatah the more moderate groups do not stand a chance against the hardliners. In eastern Damascus and the southern part of the country, the picture is clearer. Militias with Jordanian and Saudi backing have fared well against Mr Assad's forces, and have been ruthless whenever they have come into contact with IS. In July, Jaysh al-Islam released a video of its fighters shooting dead rivals from IS in a style that mimicked those produced by the jihadist group to announce the killing of regime soldiers and Western hostages. Although hardly a palatable group in and of itself, Jaysh al-Islam does at least represent Syrians that live in that area, and is explicitly not jihadist. But it is important to note that these rebels do not form a cohesive military force, able to simultaneously launch co-ordinated attacks in the manner of a standing army. Rather, they form the backbone of piecemeal opposition, looking to establish social and political control in various different guises, and co-ordinating across a number of fronts in which they vary dramatically in terms of operational fighting strength. Regardless of the lack of clarity, the 70,000 figure does not include the Kurds. Their Popular Protection Units (YPG) form part of a larger umbrella movement known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is engaged in battle with IS across a 900km (560-mile) frontline in areas where Kurds are largely the majority ethnic population. The SDF generally operates in a tense ceasefire with the Assad regime and has even been accused of being in open alliance with it, and as a result the British government does not include the YPG or the SDF - which may have as many as 40-50,000 troops - in its estimate. But let's be honest - Western airpower and reconnaissance have been aiding the Kurdish forces for more than a year, and they are part of the West's anti-IS strategy in Syria, whether they fight Assad or not. It is strange to think that the forces the West backs most keenly are ignored when a strategy for bombing in Syria and bringing it to a political solution is outlined. So, counting the number of "allies" that the West considers vital to its dual strategy of defeating IS and pushing Mr Assad to the negotiating table makes the magical 70,000 number actually more like 100-120,000. It should also refer to areas of the country already under relatively stable control, rather than the scattered assortment of opposition militias that operate in the west and south. Lack of clarity was always going to be a problem in Syria, but the government has oversold the strength of potential allies, whilst simultaneously underselling the strength of others. Such is Syria, where one man's ally is another's mortal enemy, leading to a strategy in which the best solution is to back the groups we dislike the least. Michael Stephens is the Research Fellow for Middle East Studies and Head of Rusi Qatar. Follow him on Twitter @MStephensGulf
In advocating a case for extending UK air strikes into Syria, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined a strategy of targeting so-called Islamic State (IS), paralleled with a diplomatic track in which the main opposition groupings sat down with the Syrian regime and worked out a transition of power.
The peacock, which villagers have named Kevin, has become a talking point in Breadsall parish council meetings since it appeared in the village last summer. Villagers have placed adverts online to try to find the bird's owners, so far without success. While some have welcomed the bird into their gardens, others have accused him of making "mischief". One resident, Marilyn Balsom, said she heard a neighbour had become trapped in the village's Memorial Hall by the bird. "The person was trying to leave and Kevin wouldn't let them out," she said. "You do hear other reports of him causing mischief." Mrs Balsom described the bird as "absolutely beautiful". "One morning in March, he walked right the way up our driveway, proud as anything," she said. "He was investigating the bird feeder, which is meant for much smaller birds than him. "He has enormous tail feathers. He's probably the biggest peacock I've ever seen. It's a mystery how he arrived in the village, though." Mrs Balsom said her husband had tried placing an advert on a lost pets website to try to find Kevin's owners, but so far had had no response. Another resident, Linda Morris, said Kevin had been discussed at parish council meetings. "He's a bit of a danger on the road because he seems to wander wherever he feels," she said. "We have tried to catch him a couple of times so he can be properly looked after. Last summer there were about five of us chasing him, including the local policeman. "We got very very close to him at the school and then, all of a sudden, he jumped over a wall and into the next-door garden and that was it."
Residents are trying to trace the owners of a peacock that arrived in a Derbyshire village a year ago.
He will leave the programme at the end of March, with guest presenters being used from April. Martin said he was looking forward to working on new projects - and having a lie-in on Saturday mornings. BBC Daytime controller Dan McGolpin thanked Martin and said it was "an exciting opportunity" to have new chefs presenting the show. Martin said: "I would like to personally thank all the viewers for turning Saturday Kitchen into a three million-plus smash hit. "I could not have done it without them. I would also like to thank the BBC and Saturday Kitchen for the great opportunity they gave me. "It has been an amazing journey and I have been privileged to work with some of the world's greatest chefs and some of the greatest names in showbiz. I wish the new chefs every success. "I am looking forward to getting stuck into my new projects and to lots of lie-ins on a Saturday morning." He also tweeted the announcement, saying it had been a "great pleasure" to work on Saturday Kitchen. The show sees Martin ask celebrity guests for their 'food heaven' and 'food hell' - to have one of the dishes, voted for by viewers, cooked at the end of the programme. It also sees chefs compete against each other in the omelette challenge - creating a three-egg omelette in the fastest time. Martin took over from Antony Worrall Thompson as host when he joined the show in 2006. McGolpin said: "On behalf of our viewers, I'd like to thank James for the last 10 years in which he has given up his Saturday mornings and more to help make Saturday Kitchen into the much loved institution that it is today. "James works extremely hard, not just on TV but across all of the other things that he does, I can understand his decision to concentrate on other things and I think we'll see him back on the BBC before long." He said the show would "continue to ease millions of viewers into their weekends". Martin will still be seen on Saturday Kitchen Best Bites, which airs on BBC Two on Sunday mornings.
TV chef James Martin is stepping down as host of BBC One show Saturday Kitchen after 10 years.
The project, which will record every last detail of Orkney's St Magnus Cathedral, is to begin later this year. Orkney Islands Council is currently looking for experts to carry out detailed scans of the internal and external structure of the cathedral. A 3D record of the building can then be compared with future scans to detect any changes in its fabric. It will allow for analyses of weathering, erosion, decay, moss build-up or shifts due to subsidence. It is also hoped the scans can be used to aid research and enhance tourism by developing digital tours of the cathedral under separate proposals for a major exhibition on the history of Kirkwall. The Society of the Friends of St Magnus Cathedral have given the project their backing, committing to contribute half of the costs of the laser scanning. The society's secretary David Oddie said they were delighted to be contributing. He said: "It goes right to the core of our chief aim - protecting and safeguarding the condition of this majestic building. The joint funding of this work is a reflection of the good relationship we've had with the council for many years." The Romano-Gothic cathedral, built from red and yellow sandstone, is of international significance. The foundations were placed in 1137, and the building, dedicated to Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, took about 300 years to build. It was assigned to the inhabitants of Kirkwall by King James III of Scotland in a charter dated 1486.
A 12th Century cathedral in Orkney is to undergo a laser scan as part of efforts to preserve the building.
They were found near the banks of Isleworth in west London as pupils took part in a wildlife project close by. "I couldn't believe it," said Jason Davey from Berkshire, who alerted the teacher when he discovered the blades. The Port of London Authority said most of the blades had been collected but it advised people to take extra caution when in the foreshore area as some may have been missed in the mud. "Because this is a fast flowing tidal river some are no doubt already elsewhere in the river," Jon Beckett from the Port of London Authority said. Mr Davey said: "I couldn't believe it to be honest. I looked down and saw all these razor blades. I've no idea what was going through the mind of whoever did this." Anyone who spots a razor blade or other harmful material on the river is asked to contact the Port of London Authority.
More than 500 razor blades have been dumped in the River Thames.
The viability of playing day-night Tests, to boost crowds, is being explored by the game's governing body, the International Cricket Council. And Morris told Radio 4's Today programme: "This may be a next step." Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott is an advocate. "You have to change or sadly [Tests] are going," he said. Speaking on BBC Radio's Test Match Special programme on Monday, he added: "We don't market the game. We just believe that this has been Test cricket for 200 years but you have to change. "If you're selling something to the public - and sadly, rightly or wrongly, we are selling it - you have to change to what the public want, what they can afford and when they can go." While accepting that change was inevitable, Morris said a degree of caution was needed. "I've got a pretty open mind on whether we play under lights as far as Test match cricket is concerned," he continued. "The colour of the ball we would potentially use under lights would be important and trialling it in other forms of the game before we do it at international level would be important. "We have to keep an open mind. There has been a lot of change in our game in recent years. This may be a next step but we'd need to make sure we'd got it right before it was played at international level." Playing day-night Tests is not a new initiative. In December 2009, the then-ICC president David Morgan said he believed they would be introduced within two years. One of the big issues is finding a coloured ball that is easy for the batsman, fielders and spectators to see under floodlights. A pink ball has already been trialled in first-class cricket in Pakistan this year but the ICC have recommended that all nations test the ball in their four-day competitions to ensure it is up to standard.
England cricket managing director Hugh Morris has declared himself "open minded" about the prospect of playing floodlit Test matches.
The Federal Reserve ruled unanimously to keep its benchmark interest rate in a range of 0.5% to 0.75%. The jobs market and economic activity had continued to strengthen, it said. "Measures of consumer and business sentiment have improved of late," the central bank also said in a statement. The Fed had raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% in December, only the second increase in a decade. President Trump has promised to boost growth through tax cuts, spending and deregulation, raising the prospect of higher inflation. Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen warned last month that, with the economy near full employment, the central bank risked a "nasty surprise" on inflation if it was too slow with rate hikes. On Wednesday, the Fed said inflation "will rise to 2% over the medium term", but did not comment on the effect of the Trump administration's plans. Despite being upbeat, the central bank also signalled the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC), the body which sets rates, would still only make "gradual increases". It did not give any update on when the body might next raise rates. Investors were hoping for guidance on when the next rise would be and how many were planned for this year. "This is only the first FOMC meeting of eight in 2017 so there are still plenty of opportunities for the Fed to raise interest rates throughout the year and it is likely that we will see a rate rise in March or June," said Kully Samra, UK managing director of wealth management firm Charles Schwab. "In our view, two rate hikes this year would be sufficient to stave off inflation concerns and would not negatively impact economic growth." Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, said that uncertainty about Mr Trump's economic policies could further delay the next rate rise. "With Trump still light on any concrete plans or time lines, [chairwoman Janet] Yellen may be forced to wait even longer before pulling the trigger," he said. Official figures last week indicated the US economy grew at an annual pace of 1.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, a slowdown from growth in the previous quarter of 3.5%. However, the central bank's outlook suggested "the economy continues to chug along and sentiment has improved", said Brian Jacobson, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo. The dollar and US stock markets were little changed on the Fed's announcement, as investors had widely expected rates to be left untouched. The Dow Jones index rose 0.1% at 19,891 points. The S&P 500 index moved less than 1 point to 2,279 and the Nasdaq edged up 0.5% at 5,643.
The US central bank remained positive on the economy, as it kept interest rates on hold in its first meeting since President Donald Trump took office.
It might seem but a short wait for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, given the amount of gloomy economic analysis that has been published on what may happen should Britain vote to leave the European Union. All the different effects are actually derived from one significant starting point - that the economy would be smaller if the UK left the EU relative to where it would be if "remain" won on June 23. On this issue, with varying degrees of pessimism, there is widespread - though not total - agreement among economic institutions from the International Monetary Fund to the Bank of England. Whether that effect is short-term or long-term is more widely disputed. The main challenge for today's pensions analysis is that it is a snapshot which takes little account of how different parts of the economy might react if there were a downturn. It is difficult to model all the "dynamic" effects of a shock to the economy, but they are often the most important factors when considering how different sectors will be effected. On trade, most economists agree that moving out of the single market will negatively effect Britain's economic relationship with what is left of the EU. It is also argued that British exporters will find it difficult to replace that trade by increasing economic links with countries such as America and China, particularly in the first few years. But when it comes to pensions, the direct relationship between a smaller economy and the value of pensions is less easy to quantify. As Tom McPhail of Hargreaves Lansdown says, understanding the complex dynamics in play is "ambitious". Some might say foolhardy. First, if there were a recession, would the Bank of England raise interest rates? Although the Bank has been studiously unclear on what its response might be, if interest rates did rise that may be good for pensioners as returns on annuities - the basis of many people's pension wealth - would rise. Though of course, if inflation also rose as some predict, the value of that pension would be eroded. Second, if markets in the UK did fall then those funds investing pension assets could seek to find better returns elsewhere. Asset investment is a global business. Third, there is the question of EU regulation, often at the heart of a long and uneasy relationship between the UK's huge and global pensions industry and Brussels. How would that relationship change if Britain were out of the EU and would that help or hinder UK pension providers? Yes, as Mark Wilson, the highly regarded chief executive of Aviva, one of the UK's largest pension firms with major interests across the EU, says uncertainty tends to "spook markets". And if the value of shares falls dramatically, that can have a negative effect on pensions. But, in the complicated, interconnected world we live in, relationships between the many moving parts of the economy are not always amenable to simple analysis. Particularly when it comes to our pension pots which are invested over many decades, not just one or two years.
House prices lower, unemployment higher, real incomes down, a year long recession and now, poorer pensioners.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) warn that the already saturated ground could encourage localised floods if rain persists. Heavy showers are expected to reach Wales on Monday evening and are likely to be heaviest across south Wales. NRW are advising people to take extra care on roads because of flooding caused by blocked drains. South-west Wales was the badly hit by storms this weekend, with several flooding incidents in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion following a yellow "be aware" warning for the South Wales coast. MET Office Weather Warnings:
Flooding alerts are being issued as bad weather is set to continue this week.
A new exhibition called "How Cats Took Over The Internet" has opened at the Museum of Moving Images in New York. The exhibition looks at the history of how they rose to internet fame, and why people like them so much. Almost half of all original YouTube videos are of people's pets, and around 26 billion views are just for cats, making them the single most popular category. Some cats have even become famous, and earn millions of pounds after their owners posted their pictures online. So how did cats become so popular? We've been taking a closer look... Since the internet became widely used in the 1990's people have been sharing pictures of their cats via email. In 2005 one of YouTube's co-founders Steve Chen posted a video of his cat called Pyjamas playing with a rope, making him the first person to upload a cat video to YouTube. However, it wasn't until the next year that the first cat video went viral. "Puppy vs Cat" uploaded by a user called Sanchey, has now racked up more than 16 million views on YouTube. In 2007 Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami started a website sharing funny pictures of cats. The site quickly became popular, with users being able to upload pictures of their cats, and turn them into LOLcat memes - pictures with writing over the top. It now has over 100 million views a month and created a whole new form of internet speak. A scientific study which came out earlier this year has proved that looking at videos of cats can improve your mood. Assistant Professor Jessica Gall Myrick from Indiana University, America, asked 7,000 people how they felt before and after watching videos of cats. The results found that people felt happier after watching videos of cats, and that they felt less anxious or sad. The internet has also been responsible for creating a number of cat celebrities such as Grumpycat, Lil' Bub and Maru the cat. These marvellous moggies became viral superstars after their owners posted their pictures online, and they were quickly shared by a lot of people. Both Grumpycat and Lil Bub have a form of Dwarfism, which makes them smaller than regular cats, and more like a kitten. The famous felines have now become minor celebrities and have appeared on lots of TV shows, adverts and film festivals, they even have their own brand of merchandise. Lil' Bub even has her own charity, and has raised around £130,000 for pets with special needs. The most infamous kitty on YouTube, with more than 123,000,000 views, is "Nyan cat". The 8-bit cartoon cat was first designed by artist Chris Torres in 2011, and has a pop tart for a body, flies through space and has a rainbow trailing behind. The name Nyan cat, comes from the Japanese sound "nya" which is similar to meow in English, and is considered cute. There have been lots of remixes of the musical animation and it even has its own game and merchandise.
With more than two million videos on YouTube, cats are one of the most searched for things on the internet.
But he turned out to be a "Walter Mitty character" who, over the next three years, poisoned her with laxatives. He made her so ill that doctors thought she may have motor neurone disease. Smith, 62, also convinced her he had been in the SAS and carried out the raid on the Iranian Embassy. He also said his first wife was a professional ballerina who died along with their unborn child, and claimed he owned a factory which made top secret components for the MoD, which he was planning to sell in a multi-million pound deal. They were all lies. Smith has been jailed for three and a half years and was told by a sheriff he was guilty of a "prolonged and evil course of criminal conduct". Elizabeth, 62, had met Smith, who is from Telford in Shropshire, in a TK Maxx store and they had gone for a coffee. "He was the kindest - just a normal, lovely guy," she told BBC Scotland. "He was a family man - a wonderful man who came across as so genuine and real. "I did think 'did that just happen?'. It was all quite surreal really." The relationship developed quickly and the couple were soon regularly phoning, texting and emailing each other. Smith told Elizabeth, who is from Ayr, he had been divorced for four years but it turned out he had only been apart from his second wife for four weeks. The next time the couple met up was about eight weeks later at Glasgow Airport after Smith had travelled up from Telford. "He was an absolute gentleman," Elizabeth said. She said she had no doubts about the man she later married. Elizabeth suffered from severe migraines and side-effects which included double vision and sickness. However, over a period of time, her symptoms became worse and she was suffering from severe sickness and diarrhoea. "Looking back, my migraines gave him something to work on," Elizabeth said. "On one occasion when I was down at his house I was so ill with sickness and diarrhoea. I was in a dreadful mess and he cleaned it all up. I thought 'you're a keeper'. What guy at the start of a relationship would do that?" About six months into the relationship Elizabeth's health was going quickly downhill. "It got so rapid that that they thought I had early stages of motor neurone disease," she said. "I would be sitting working with my clients and all of a sudden I would feel really dizzy and I would think 'oh no, god' thinking it was my head. "I would go to stand up - then I was out cold, blue-lighted to hospital. "My son thought his mum was dying." Elizabeth's symptoms became so bad she paid to see a private neurologist. "I used to have to go upstairs on my bum because I had no strength, then the sickness and diarrhoea just got worse," she said. "I was in bed for almost two years on and off. I was just so ill I couldn't do anything. It was absolutely horrific." Elizabeth eventually discovered that money was missing from her bank account. "I very foolishly had given him my card number, but were married," she said. Elizabeth said Smith was very upset when she asked him about the money and denied any involvement. He said he did not need any money as the sale of his factory was about to go through. Smith's web of lies unravelled after he staged a break-in at the couple's home. On their way to a new house, Smith had asked Elizabeth to pull the car over and he had run back to their house, leaving her waiting in the car. "After about 10 minutes he came running out saying there had been a break-in," she said. "I had money in a safe and it was lying in the front garden." A few days later, in the presence of family members, Elizabeth said to Smith: 'Thank the Lord you're ok. I felt as if I'd sat out there forever." He had told CID he had noticed the break-in and gone straight back out to the car to tell her. "That was what tripped him up," Elizabeth said. "Money was found in the car. That was when everything unfolded. "My world just collapsed after that." Elizabeth still can't believe she was duped by Smith. "For me there were no signs of anything," she said. "Even about the SAS and everything - that part of his life - at one point I did say to him 'Dave, I haven't seen anything about your past'. He tried to tell me his ex-wife had everything locked in the attic. "He's a 100% 'Walter Mitty character'. He has got caught up completely in his web of lies. "I don't think that man knows what love is. He even took me to Mexico for my 60th birthday but then I found out he had paid for it with my money. "Why didn't he just tell me he worked as a tool-maker in his ex-father-in law's factory? "You never believe that these things can happen to people like us." She added: "I want people to be aware that there are people like this out there and they are very, very dangerous men. "He has taken away five years of my life. It's heartbreaking."
When Elizabeth Smith met her husband Dave she found him to be "just a normal, lovely guy".
Brann lead the second qualifying round tie against Ruzomberok 1-0 before next Thursday's second leg in Norway. Everton, back in Europe for the first time since 2014-15, will host the first leg at Goodison Park on 27 July with the second leg away on 3 August. Aberdeen will play Apollon Limassol of Cyprus or Moldova's Zaria Balti, if they get past Siroki Brijeg. The two teams drew 1-1 at Pittodrie on Thursday, with the second leg in Bosnia-Herzegovina on 20 July (19:45 BST). Full Europa League third qualifying round draw Ronald Koeman's side will advance to the play-off round if they beat Brann or Ruzomberok. Brann finished runners-up in Norway's top-flight in 2016, while Ruzomberok were third in Slovakia's Super Liga last season. Cork City will face Rabotnicki of Macedonia or Dinamo Minsk of Belarus if they can overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against AEK Larnaca. Shamrock Rovers face a trip to Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty or Albania's Skenderbeu if they overturn a 3-2 deficit against the Czech Republic's Mlada Boleslav. Holders Manchester United, who beat Ajax 2-0 in the final in May, will start their 2017-18 European campaign in the Champions League group stage.
Everton will face Slovakia's Ruzomberok or Brann of Norway in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
Liam Wray said he voted for TUV leader Jim Allister because he "does not trust" nationalist parties' abortion policy. Former Sinn Féin mayor Anne Brolly revealed on Thursday that she had quit the party because of the same issue. Mr Wray and Mrs Brolly said there were many voters who shared their concerns. In Northern Ireland, unlike the rest of the UK, abortion is only allowed if a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her physical or mental health. In their 2016 manifesto, the TUV said that this was "sufficient" and that they were not in favour of any change in the law. Liam Wray, whose brother, Jim, was shot dead on Bloody Sunday in 1972, told the BBC that he voted for the TUV in the European Elections because he is "pro-life". "I would normally vote nationalist or republican, depending on the candidates and on their policies, from I was able to vote at 18," he said. "This time around, the only party that I could see was unambiguous (on abortion) was either the DUP or Jim Allister. "For me the foremost thing, no matter what comes after that and whether I believe in a united Ireland or whether I believe in the health service, the first and foremost point has to be the protection of human life," he said. Thirteen people were killed on Bloody Sunday when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march through Londonderry in January 1972. A 14th died later. TUV leader Jim Allister has previously described the Saville report, which investigated the events of Bloody Sunday, as a "jamboree". Mr Wray said it was a not an easy decision to break from his tradition of voting for the Sinn Féin or the SDLP. "It was difficult, at the time, because I had to break from what my traditional view was. To support somebody who, for many years I had no time for and whose policies I thought were not mine. "But I could not vote for a party, that in all consciousness, does not support pro-life in regards to protecting the most vulnerable in our society. "It's not that I'm anti-women, and I hope I say this right, but I don't think it's a woman's choice. "I'm a grandfather and a father and in those situations I'd like to think I'd be supportive. I do understand that it is a terrible difficult situation for women but I think sometimes it's very blasé for politicians. "I worry about that, I worry about a culture that to me is pro-death rather than pro-life," he added. In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for the TUV said: "The TUV is not in the least surprised that people from a traditionally nationalist or Roman Catholic background choose to vote for the party because of our clear stand on issues such as abortion. "It is clear from looking at votes in the European election that the party was receiving votes from what is traditionally described as the "community divide". "Additionally, we regularly receive correspondence and phone calls from people in the Roman Catholic community commending us for our stance on abortion."
The brother of a Bloody Sunday victim has said he now votes for the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) because of its stance on abortion.
The hotel was the location for two police raids in 2015. The raids saw a number of members from football's world governing body arrested in connection with bribery and corruption allegations. As part of a cost saving exercise, Fifa Council members are to be relocated when they attend a key meeting later this month. Officials, including England's David Gill, will not have to suffer too much though. They will now stay at the equally high-end Park Hyatt, another five-star residence located nearby. The luxury Baur au Lac has been a favourite of football's world governing body for many years. The service and discretion of its staff was famously highlighted when they held up white tablecloths to hide the identities of arrested executives during the first early morning raid in May 2015. Fifa is under pressure to save money after losing a number of sponsors and incurring expensive legal bills in the wake of investigations led by the Swiss Attorney General and the US Department of Justice. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.
Fifa officials will no longer stay at the Baur au Lac hotel when they next visit Zurich.
Evidence from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) showed Andreas Lubitz had repeatedly changed the setting of the altitude controls during the plane's flight from Duesseldorf to Barcelona earlier, but as the plane was on autopilot its planned descent was not affected. Later the same day Lubitz was alone in the cockpit during the flight from Barcelona back to Duesseldorf when he initiated the plane's dive. He refused to allow the captain back through the cockpit door or respond to air traffic control. Speculation over the reasons for his actions has centred around the co-pilot's mental wellbeing. The German A320 Airbus flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf came down in a remote mountain valley in France on Tuesday 24 March, killing all 150 people on board. The plane took off from Barcelona at 09:01 GMT on 24 March. Reports from Flightradar24, which tracks air traffic around the world, said the Airbus climbed to 38,000ft within the next half hour. At 09:30 the plane made its final contact with air traffic control - a routine message for permission to continue on its route. One minute later it began to descend. The descent lasted nearly 10 minutes before last radar contact with the Airbus at 09.40:47. The Airbus crashed in a remote, snow-covered mountainous region - some parts reaching about 1,500m (4,900ft) high - that is inaccessible by road. On 26 March, French investigators said information from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) - found at the crash zone revealed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had taken over the controls of the plane and sent it into a dive intentionally. The captain, named by German media as Patrick Sonderheimer, had left to go to the toilet, leaving Mr Lubitz in sole control. At this point, the co-pilot activated the plane's descent. It was Mr Lubitz's "intention to destroy this plane," Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said. The cockpit voice recorder, discovered at the crash site, has given investigators details of the last 30 minutes of the flight. For the first 20 minutes, the two pilots talked normally, prosecutors said, then the captain is heard asking the co-pilot to take over. The sound of a chair being pushed back can be heard followed by a door being closed. Then, during the final minutes of the flight's descent, pounding can be heard on the door and muffled voices as the captain tried desperately to get back into the cockpit. Alarms also sounded, warning the pilots to "pull up". The Marseille air traffic control centre and the French Air Defence system both attempted to contact the flight crew several times. While the co-pilot did not say a word after the commanding pilot left, his breathing could be detected, indicating he was still alive at the time of the impact, Mr Robin said. At 09:41:06 the CVR ceased recording when the plane hit the ground. There has been speculation that the co-pilot's actions were a result of mental health problems. Investigators found anti-depressants at his house along with evidence of treatment by various doctors, including a torn-up sick note for the day he flew the plane. There have also been a number of newspaper reports he had faced problems with his eyesight - possibly a detached retina - which could have affected his ability to carry on working as a pilot. The interim report by French accident investigation agency BEA confirmed Lubitz had been treated for depression in April 2009 and subsequently his pilot's licence was issued on condition he undertook certain regular medical checks. More: How are cockpit doors locked? The plane's CVR - one of its two "black boxes" - was retrieved from the crash zone, although in battered condition. The second box, recording technical data, was recovered a few days later. It was also severely damaged - but did reveal information about the previous flight from Duesseldorf to Barcelona. An aircraft's flight recorders are often the key to establishing what caused a plane to crash. Each plane carries two recorders: the CVR and the flight data recorder (FDR). Although they are popularly known as black box recorders, they are, in fact, orange to aid in recovery. The CVR, as the name suggests, records the voices of the pilots and other sounds from the cockpit. It retains two hours of recording - on longer flights, the latest data is recorded over the oldest. On some older models, magnetic tape is still used for the recording, but newer models use memory chips. The FDR records technical flight data, including at least five basic sets of information: pressure altitude, airspeed, heading, acceleration and microphone keying (the time radio transmissions were made by the crew). The FDR retains the last 25 hours of aircraft operations and, like the CVR, data is recorded on an endless loop. Both recorders are designed to withstand a massive impact and a fire reaching temperatures up to 1,100C for 60 minutes. The interim report by BEA, released on 6 May 2015, published a chart using data from the FDR, showing how Lubitz altered the altitude setting to the minimum 100ft several times, when the captain left the cabin. But each time he changed it back to the correct level after just a few seconds. Because the plane was on autopilot on a planned descent to Barcelona, its actual course was not altered. "I can't speculate on what was happening inside his head - all I can say is that he changed this button to the minimum setting of 100ft and he did it several times," BEA director Remy Jouty told Reuters news agency. Debris from the aircraft was spread across an area of about four hectares (10 acres), about 1,550m up the mountainside in a sloping rocky ravine. The largest pieces of wreckage were 3-4m long. Parts of the plane's wings and fuselage were found towards the bottom of the ravine, where tree trunks had been uprooted and the ground was churned up. The plane is one of the oldest A320s in operation. It entered service for the German airline in 1991. It had passed a routine maintenance check only the day before the flight. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, 27, joined Germanwings in September 2013, directly after training, and had flown 630 hours. Lufthansa said the captain had more than 6,000 hours of flying experience and had been with Germanwings since May 2014, having flown previously for Lufthansa and Condor. Lufthansa said its cockpit protocols are in line with rules established by the German aviation safety authority. These stipulate that when there are two crew, one can leave the cockpit but only for the absolute minimum time. EASA - the European Aviation Safety Agency - has since issued new guidelines requiring two authorised staff to remain in the cockpit at all times. There were 144 passengers on board the plane, four cabin crew and two more crew in the cockpit. Germanwings officials said victims included 72 German nationals, among them 16 school students. The Spanish authorities say there were 51 Spaniards. Other victims were from Australia, Argentina, Britain, Iran, Venezuela, the US, the Netherlands, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Denmark and Israel.
The co-pilot of a Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps may have practised a rapid descent only hours before he sent the plane plunging into the mountainside "intentionally", according to French investigators.
The link was made by the international Cochrane group, which looked at medical trials involving some 40,000 women. While HRT pills can ease menopausal symptoms and may offer some protection against heart disease, this must be weighed against other possible harms. Women facing the dilemma should discuss it with their doctor, experts say. The Cochrane researchers say their study is not the final word on HRT - more investigations are needed to get a clearer picture of all the benefits and risks. Experts also point out that many women now take HRT as a patch or gel rather than a tablet - the study did not look at these formulations. Over the years, there has been a lot of research into and negative press about HRT. Its use has been linked to breast and ovarian cancer, as well as blood clots. But while risks do exist, most experts agree that HRT can be a good and safe treatment to help many women control unpleasant menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes. One million women in the UK are on some form of hormone replacement therapy - be that pills, patches or gels. The Cochrane Review only looked at women taking oral HRT tablets. It found HRT may: But the findings were not clear-cut - the effect varied according to a woman's age, when she experienced the menopause and how long she had been taking HRT. For example, the heart protection was only seen in the youngest women in the study - those younger than 60 when they began taking HRT, or women who had started the treatment relatively soon after reaching the menopause. And in terms of absolute numbers, the risks were small. By the researchers' calculations, if 1,000 women under 60 years old started hormone therapy and stayed on it for seven years, you might expect to see five extra cases of blood clots and four more strokes, compared with 1,000 similar women not on HRT. At the same time, there would be six fewer deaths and eight fewer cases of heart disease in the HRT group. Lead researcher Dr Henry Boardman said the findings needed careful consideration. "This is a complicated health issue, where the same treatment offers benefits in some women, but harms in others." The risk of stroke and blood clots is listed in the product information for women and prescribers. And experts already advise that women on HRT should have regular health check-ups, and their need to continue treatment should be re-assessed at least annually. Maureen Talbot of the British Heart Foundation said: "This study supports what we already know and indicates a possible increased risk of stroke or formation of a blood clot in some women. "It is important that women have a full understanding of the risks and benefits of HRT and should talk this through with their GP." Janice Rymer is professor of gynaecology, spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a member of the British Menopause Society. She said that women should not be scared off from seeking help and treatment for menopausal symptoms. "If you are severely overweight and have a family history of clotting problems then it probably isn't going to be for you. "But we know about the risks and, for most, they are small. The absolute numbers are very small."
Women on HRT pills should be aware that there is a small chance of an increased risk of blood clots and possibly stroke, according to a study.
Johnson is understood to be one of 10 names on an initial potential target list put together by Villa following Roberto di Matteo's departure. But Johnson has assured supporters he has no intention of moving on again. He told the Bristol Post: "Why would I want to leave when I'm so happy?" Johnson added: "I want people to know I'm doing nothing to put myself in the shop window or attract interest from outside." Bristol City are one of four teams to have beaten Di Matteo's Villa this season, three of whom - including Luton's Nathan Jones and Preston's Villa old boy Simon Grayson - have had their manager's name linked with the job via various media reports. Johnson, 35, who has been in charge at Ashton Gate since February, is already into his third job in football management, having previously been at Oldham - from March 2013 to February 2015 - and then Barnsley for just under a year. "Aston Villa have interviewed no-one yet for the vacant manager's job, with none planned until next week. "Background checks and due diligence are still being done on the favoured candidates and Villa have to consider if an approach should be made to clubs employing any of those. "Money is no object in terms of compensation but Villa realise an approach may be knocked back. "I understand Burnley's Sean Dyche and Huddersfield's David Wagner attract Villa, while free agent Steve Bruce remains the bookies' favourite. "Eventually a shortlist of three will be drawn up and the owner Dr Tony Xia will take the final decision after consultations with the recruiting panel - chief executive Keith Wyness, technical director Steve Round and former Villa manager and player Brian Little. "Caretaker Steve Clarke is also being considered and Villa are relaxed about the possibility of him being in charge for the next league match, at home to Wolves a week on Saturday."
Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson is focused 100% on his own Championship club, following reports linking him with the managerial vacancy at Aston Villa, reports BBC Radio Bristol.
All three emergency services were called to a collision between a truck and motorcycle at Altarnun, Launceston, on Sunday 9 August at about 10.15pm. The arrested truck driver was a 21-year-old man from Bodmin. The main arterial route through the county was closed westbound at Trewint Gap for almost seven hours. Devon and Cornwall Police said the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
A pick-up truck driver was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a male motorcyclist was killed on the A30 in Cornwall.
Ireland are currently ranked 10th and Zimbabwe 11th, with the Irish holding a two-point advantage over their rivals. Kevin O'Brien is set to make his 250th appearance on Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury which kept him out of August's defeat by Australia. Zimbabwe fell to a 2-1 series defeat by Pakistan in Harare last week. They are keen to re-establish their place in the world's top 10 but the Irish could extend their advantage as much as 14 points with a 3-0 victory, or six points if they take the series 2-1. Conversely, a Zimbabwe series win would move them above Ireland, while the tourists would drop below Afghanistan into 12th place if they lose 3-0. Previous meetings between the two sides suggest a very tight affair, with the last six encounters between the sides bringing three final-over finishes, including the famous final-ball tie at the 2007 World Cup. Media playback is not supported on this device The sides then met in another World Cup tie earlier this year, with Alex Cusack producing a spectacular final over to secure a five-run win for Ireland. Cusack has since retired, but the rest of the squad from that day have travelled to Zimbabwe, and along with Stuart Poynter all are fit heading into the opening game. The forthcoming series will take place at the Harare Sports Club, the same ground where the three Pakistan games were played. A theme that emerged in those fixtures was the dominance of spin bowling, with Zimbabwe losing all 10 wickets to spin in one of those games - only the sixth time that has happened in ODI history. That leaves Ireland coach John Bracewell with an interesting dilemma over whether to play two full-time spinners, along with Paul Stirling as a third option, or stick with the more traditional line-up of one specialist spinner and Stirling as the second. Stirling was part of the squad the last time Ireland toured Zimbabwe in 2010, Zimbabwe winning a tight series 2-1 on that occasion, and he is keen to make up for that this time around. "It was tough to take coming here and losing the series last time, so we are really keen to make sure we come away with a win this time," said the Middlesex batsman. "Conditions are really tough here, but we have worked hard this week to acclimatize to the heat and the altitude. We know how important these matches are in terms of ranking points and we want to leave Zimbabwe ranked 10th in the world." Ireland squad: William Porterfield (Warwickshire, capt), Andrew Balbirnie (Middlesex), George Dockrell (unattached), Ed Joyce (Sussex), John Mooney (Balbriggan), Tim Murtagh (Middlesex), Andrew McBrine (Donemana), Kevin O'Brien (Railway Union), Niall O'Brien (Leicestershire), Stuart Poynter (Durham), Max Sorensen (The Hills), Paul Stirling (Middlesex), Stuart Thompson (Eglinton), Gary Wilson (Surrey, wk), Craig Young (Bready).
Ireland go into their three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe in the hope of defending their lead over their opponents in the world rankings.
Media playback is not supported on this device Paul Heatley put the Crues ahead from a penalty on seven minutes after he himself had been fouled by Mark Hughes. Jordan Forsythe doubled the lead on 23 as he side-footed home after good work by Michael Carvill. Forsythe extended the Crusaders lead with a superb strike on 65 with Daniel Hughes pulling a goal back on 73. Hughes's free-kick strike was another tremendous shot but the goal was little consolation for the struggling home side, with the game already out of reach. The win keeps Crusaders five points ahead of their north Belfast rivals Cliftonville at the top of the table. Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter:"We're just trying to commit ourselves to winning football matches and we let the points gather up as well. "We've a lot to do. It's only early. We'll try and get into January and hope we're still in and around it." Warrenpoint Town manager Barry Gray:"The scoreline didn't reflect how we felt we played today against a very good Crusaders team. "We gave away the two early goals but it was a very, very positive display. I couldn't really ask for much more from the players."
Champions Crusaders remain five points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership after handing an 11th straight league defeat to Warrenpoint.
Historic Royal Palaces, the charity responsible for overseeing the plans, said the garden was in the "very early stages of development". It will be the fourth London memorial created in tribute to Diana if it reaches completion. Diana died in a car accident in Paris with her partner Dodi Fayed in 1997. Historic Royal Palaces recently advertised for a new gardener to help with the project, which is expected to be completed before the anniversary on 31 August 2017. A spokesman for Kensington Palace confirmed that plans were being explored by palace officials and management at Historic Royal Palaces. He said Diana's sons, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, were being kept "informed" about the garden project. A spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces said: "Our plans are still at the earliest stages of development, and we're recruiting for staff to help us explore the possibilities." The other London memorials are the Diana Memorial Playground at Kensington Palace, the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, and the Diana Memorial Walk at St James's Palace.
A memorial garden in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, is being planned ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death, Kensington Palace has said.
The Investor Forum, which has £14.5 trillion of investments, says the company should conduct a thorough independent review. Investors are uncomfortable about the company's illegal underpayment of staff and an unusual arrangement with founder Mike Ashley's brother over deliveries. Concerns have been raised at the highest level. The Investor Forum wants Sports Direct to address a comprehensive list of issues: The organisation says this "highly unusual" public call for a review is necessary to rebuild the company's reputation. The public call comes as Sports Direct's board faces mounting pressure. In June, Mike Ashley, who is known for being publicity-shy, but outspoken in his views, faced intensive questioning by MPs over the way his company was run, following a Guardian investigation that revealed his staff were being kept at work for searches for such long periods of time that their pay dropped below the legal minimum wage. MPs also heard workers' stories alleging they were so worried about their jobs that they feared to call in sick, resulting in a number of ambulances being called to the warehouse in Shirebrook in Derbyshire. This week, the revelation of the distribution arrangement with Mr Ashley's brother has drawn the attention of City regulator the Financial Reporting Council, which is said to be looking into the agreement and why it was not disclosed in Sports Direct's annual report. The UK's largest union, Unite, backed demands from the Investor Forum for a thorough, independent review of the retailer. It called on Sports Direct to confront "endemic abuses"' within its labour supply agencies and move long-standing agency workers on to direct, permanent contracts. Major shareholder Royal London Asset Management recently said it had "lost confidence" in the directors of the retailer to protect the interests of investors other than Mr Ashley, who owns more than 50% of the business he founded in 1982. Shareholders will be able to voice their feelings about the company at the annual shareholders meeting on 7 September, which it said on Wednesday would be open to all interested parties - an unusual move for any company, whose AGM is generally restricted to those who own a stake in the business. They will have no active voice in proceedings. A number of those that do are expected to rebel against the board, particularly against the reappointment of Keith Hellawell as chairman. Legal & General Investment Management is a major shareholder and a member of the Investor Forum lobby group. Sacha Sadan, director of corporate governance at the fund said: "For the third consecutive year we will be voting against the re-election of the chairman at Sports Direct. "We will also be voting against the re-election of all non-executive directors as we believe that Sports Direct needs a stronger body of independent non-executive directors to ensure the business is run in the interest of all shareholders. We are disappointed that there have been no new non-executive board appointments in the last five years." Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb commented: "It remains to be seen how 'open' Sports Direct will be at its 'open day' on 7 September, but management have clearly calculated that the company's reputation is so low that it can only get better, despite the constant risk that Mike Ashley says something stupid." The BBC asked Sports Direct for a comment on the call for a review of the company. Mr Ashley's spokesman sent a brief email which did not directly address that but said it "[acknowledged] the appreciation of [Mr Ashley's] efforts in terms of hosting an open day." It continued: "He looks forward to meeting everyone and answering all your questions." The company's shares were down 2% in early Thursday trading at 304p. They have fallen around 50% since the start of this year.
A group of influential investors are urging Sports Direct to overhaul the way it is run.
Joel Grant headed the visitors in front but Jordan Moore-Taylor turned a cross into his own net as Carlisle levelled. Goals either side of the break had Exeter in control, Ryan Harley stroking home and David Wheeler finding the net. But John O'Sullivan's overhit cross floated in and sub Shaun Miller nodded in as the hosts dramatically came back. Exeter had two goals disallowed for borderline offside calls, and hit the post through Jake Taylor with the final action of the match. Keith Curle's Carlisle have trailed in all three games between the sides this season but are yet to be beaten by the Devon club. Jamaica international Grant was influential with two assists to add to his goal, but Exeter are still yet to beat any of their play-off rivals this season. Carlisle had a penalty appeal waved away in stoppage time after Pierce Sweeney controlled Nicky Adams' cross onto his arm. Only Plymouth had a better away record in the regular-season than Paul Tisdale's Exeter, who will feel frustrated by the offside flag denying both Ollie Watkins and Reuben Reid when they appeared to be level with the last defender. The second leg takes place at St James Park on Thursday at 19:45 BST. Carlisle boss Keith Curle: "The players deserve a lot of credit for the character they have shown. They were challenged today, they were challenged at 3-1 down and a goal having just been disallowed as well. "As soon as we got that goal, the supporters were absolutely phenomenal and then with that little bit of rub of the green that we get, we get something out of this game. "To be honest at 3-3, I looked at the clock and there were eight, nine minutes to go and thought we could walk out of here 4-3 up." Exeter manager Paul Tisdale told BBC Radio Devon: "It was the type of game we wanted. It went to plan in terms of the way the game flowed, and I think we were rather unfortunate. "I don't think we've had our fair share of fortune during the season, so why should it change now? "We played so well and we weren't here to hold on and grab a draw - we tried to win that game and probably deserved to do so." Match ends, Carlisle United 3, Exeter City 3. Second Half ends, Carlisle United 3, Exeter City 3. Jake Taylor (Exeter City) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Reuben Reid. Attempt saved. Tom Miller (Carlisle United) header from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Nicky Adams with a cross. Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Pierce Sweeney. Attempt saved. Ryan Harley (Exeter City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Reuben Reid. Attempt missed. Reggie Lambe (Carlisle United) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left following a set piece situation. Foul by Lee Holmes (Exeter City). Shaun Miller (Carlisle United) wins a free kick on the right wing. Offside, Exeter City. Ollie Watkins tries a through ball, but Reuben Reid is caught offside. Foul by Jake Taylor (Exeter City). Nicky Adams (Carlisle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Jake Taylor (Exeter City) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Shaun Miller (Carlisle United). Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by George Waring. Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by Mark Gillespie. Attempt saved. Reuben Reid (Exeter City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ollie Watkins. Reuben Reid (Exeter City) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Danny Grainger (Carlisle United). Attempt missed. Reggie Lambe (Carlisle United) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Jake Taylor. Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Pierce Sweeney. Attempt blocked. Jamie Proctor (Carlisle United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by George Waring with a headed pass. Offside, Exeter City. Jordan Moore-Taylor tries a through ball, but Lee Holmes is caught offside. Substitution, Exeter City. Lee Holmes replaces Joel Grant. Substitution, Exeter City. Jack Stacey replaces David Wheeler. Robert Olejnik (Exeter City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by George Waring (Carlisle United). Attempt blocked. Nicky Adams (Carlisle United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jamie Proctor. Attempt blocked. Jordan Moore-Taylor (Exeter City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Ollie Watkins (Exeter City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Tom Miller (Carlisle United). Goal! Carlisle United 3, Exeter City 3. Shaun Miller (Carlisle United) header from the left side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Nicky Adams with a cross. Goal! Carlisle United 2, Exeter City 3. John O'Sullivan (Carlisle United) right footed shot from long range on the right to the top left corner. Assisted by Luke Joyce. Foul by David Wheeler (Exeter City). Danny Grainger (Carlisle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. Luke Joyce (Carlisle United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Jamie Proctor. Hand ball by Pierce Sweeney (Exeter City). Substitution, Exeter City. Reuben Reid replaces Craig Woodman. Substitution, Carlisle United. George Waring replaces James Bailey.
Carlisle scored twice in two second-half minutes to salvage a draw against Exeter in a frenetic League Two play-off semi-final first leg.
The animated programmes ask youngsters to choose between two options at several points in their plots. The firm says the nature of its online streaming platform has allowed it to experiment with "branching narrative" tech in a way that would not be possible for traditional broadcasters. But it acknowledges that such shows are more costly to make than normal. "It was actually a little bit more than twice as much animation as a typical episode," explained Doug Langdale, executive producer of the Puss in Book series, which was made in conjunction with Dreamworks Studios. "It was about 50 minutes [of footage] where it would normally be 22. Especially with computer animation, that's tremendously more expensive. "It's not easy or cheap. But it's the next thing, and we've got to try it." The programmes can be watched and controlled via smart TVs, games consoles and iOS devices - but cannot be downloaded and viewed offline. In addition to the special episode of Puss in Book - subtitled Trapped in an Epic Tale - Netflix is making an interactive episode of the stop-motion series Buddy Thunderstruck available. The former has two possible endings and the latter, four, but in both cases there are several ways that viewers can steer the stories to their conclusions. It has taken two years to bring the shows to screen, with part of the challenge being trying to ensure their plots remain logical and compelling whatever choices are made. A third child's show, based on the superhero Stretch Armstrong, is planned for 2018. But at present Netflix has no plans for adult-themed choice-based shows, nor has it committed itself to making further examples for children. "The main priority right now is starting to learn how our members are going to engage with this [and] learning how we can tell these stories," Carla Fisher, Netflix's director of product innovation, told the BBC. "Then we will go from there." Netflix is far from being the first to develop interactive programming. Beyond the many video games that have adopted the format, there have been: However, one media analyst said scripted entertainment risked being made "gimmicky" by being forced into an interactive format. "When it comes to linear entertainment there is an attraction to being presented with a fixed story, and having that crafted narrative presented to you by the director and writers," explained Tom Harrington of Enders Analysis. "I doubt Netflix is going to be filled with these kind of interactive shows in 10 years. "But it does know the value of great press, and it will get lots of publicity out of this."
Netflix is launching two interactive children's TV shows that let audiences determine the on-screen action.