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John and Lynette Rodgers died on a beach at Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape on Friday 24 October.
A joint funeral is to be held for the couple at First Holywood Presbyterian Church in Holywood, County Down, where they were married two weeks ago.
The ceremony is due to take place on the morning of Monday, 2 November.
Mrs Rodgers, 26, was a physiotherapist from Holywood.
Her 28-year-old husband was originally from Ballygowan, County Down, and worked for a printing company in Holywood. | The bodies of a newly-wed couple who drowned on their honeymoon in South Africa have been brought home to Northern Ireland for their funerals. | 34679809 |
Holders Chelsea were drawn to play at home and beat City 2-1 in extra time at Staines Town FC's Wheatsheaf Park.
Last year's semi-final between the two sides, which Chelsea also won, was played at a neutral venue - Adams Park.
"An FA Cup semi-final at Staines doesn't sit right with me. It should be a neutral venue," said Houghton, 27.
"I don't understand the reason, how somebody can get an advantage at home.
"We have to congratulate Chelsea and make sure, when it comes to the league games, we're right on it."
England striker Fran Kirby won the game for the hosts in the final minute of extra time, after the regular 90 minutes finished 1-1.
"I think we were the better team. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be," defender Houghton added. "Chelsea brought a lot of fresh legs on and a lot of experienced players.
"The effort levels and the attitude, we were unbelievable. I'm gutted for the staff because I know how hard we work.
"Now we just use this as motivation to kick our season on even more and try to stay top of the league."
Chelsea will now face Arsenal in the final at Wembley on Saturday 14 May, following the Gunners' 7-0 thrashing of Sunderland. | England and Manchester City Women captain Steph Houghton has questioned why Chelsea Ladies had home advantage in Sunday's Women's FA Cup semi-final. | 36076506 |
The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for equality, said Caribbean and white Irish working women, on average, earn more than men from the same background.
Its report found that, for most ethnic groups, men earned more than women.
It used hourly pay data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covering full-time employees in the UK.
The gender pay gap, or the average difference in hourly pay between men and women, currently stands at 13.9% for full-time workers, according to the ONS.
The society found the biggest pay gap between white British men and women, where male full-time workers were paid £15.35 an hour on average and women £13.21, between 2010 and 2015.
Caribbean women, by contrast, earned £14.51 on average, compared with £13.34 for their male counterparts.
White Irish women also had higher earning power - £18.04 per hour, compared with £17.39 for men, the Fawcett Society found.
The report is based on analysis of ONS Labour Force Survey figures from 2010 to 2015, which collects information from 100,000 people every three months.
The research excluded Arab people because of the sample size being too small, but included other groups such as Indian and Chinese people working at least 30 hours a week.
The smallest sample was for Chinese workers, at 534, and the largest sample was available for white British workers - 106,123 people.
The "reverse" pay gap for black Caribbean people could be explained by mothers in this group returning to work while their children are very young, explained Anthony Breach, one of the report's authors.
But he said that black Caribbean men and women were more likely to experience discrimination in the workplace.
"They have more difficulties in the labour market as a whole and we know men's unemployment rate is higher," he said.
Meanwhile, pay for white Irish women in the UK has outpaced counterpart male salaries since the 2000s, the report said.
Mr Breach said white Irish women were more likely to do full-time work than white British women, and have a low unemployment rate compared with the rest of the population.
Sam Smethers, the Fawcett Society's chief executive, added that the gender pay gap was a "complex picture" in which many women were still left behind.
"This is a story of low labour market participation and low pay when they are in work - together with high levels of unpaid caring work," she said. | Working women in some ethnic groups in the UK have not only narrowed the gender pay gap but have overtaken men's earning power, analysis suggests. | 39181532 |
David and Kathleen Long, from Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, won their first £1m in 2013.
Lottery organisers Camelot said the couple struck lucky again in the 27 March EuroMillions draw.
The firm said it was an "extraordinary situation" for someone to be fortunate enough to win twice.
"As you can imagine, we see winners who win once who are very, very shocked. It must be even more shocking to win twice," a spokesman said.
But former HGV driver Mr Long did not seem too surprised by the windfall.
"I always knew I'd win, even the first time," he said.
"I just had a feeling it was going to be me."
Two years ago Mr Long came close to disaster after his first winning ticket ended up in the rubbish bin after the couple mistakenly thought they had won just £2.70.
The pair have since married after being engaged for 12 years.
Mr Long said the first win had been "fantastic" and had changed their lives.
"Times had been really tough and I had been really ill for three years, unable to work leading up to it," said Mr Long.
"I lasted three days at work and then took early retirement.
"We've had an amazing 18 months, have been able to treat the family, buy a new car and even finally get hitched," he said. | A couple have scooped a £1m lottery prize for the second time - just two years after their first seven-figure win. | 32149418 |
Player sales rose from nearly £7m to £12.6m, thanks to Virgil van Dijk's move to Southampton.
Revenue rose 2% to £52m, while operating expenses were up 7% to £57m.
Chief executive Pater Lawwell stressed the "paramount importance" of reaching the Champions League group stage after missing out in the last two years.
Celtic won a fifth consecutive league title last season but did not reach the final of either domestic cup and exited the Europa League without winning a group match.
Apart from the sale of players, the loss on operations rose from £2.2m to £5.1m. Much of this was explained by the cost of football and stadium operations going up from £44m to £47m, while income in that category fell from £28m to £25.1m.
The surplus from merchandising, such as replica shirts, changed little at £4.7m, though on higher revenue of £12.5m.
The surplus from multimedia and other commercial activities was £3m higher than in the 2014-15 accounts, at £12.1m.
Chairman Ian Bankier, commented: "Following two seasons in which the club did not qualify for the Group Stages of the UEFA Champions League, the increased contribution from player trading enabled the company to maintain investment in football operations and to continue to build for the future.
"The board continues to believe that the company's self sustaining financial model provides the necessary stability to preserve the long term future of the Club and player trading remains an important element of that model".
Peter Lawwell, the chief executive, said: "For a club like Celtic, operating in a market where television values have fallen significantly behind our neighbours across Europe, qualification for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League is of paramount importance.
"The financial rewards allow for investment in the playing squad and physical assets, but moreover, the prestige of participating in the premier club competition in the world reinforces the reach and importance of the club to so many people around the world.
He added: "Fundamentally, Celtic is a Champions League club; our infrastructure and continued investment reflect that. At a time when the direction of travel in European football is towards elite level clubs, we must remain at the forefront of developments in the game domestically and across Europe.
"Celtic should be at the top of the game in Europe and the board and I have that objective as a priority. We continue to work tirelessly on seeking to improve the football environment in which the club operates."
That is understood to refer to developing ideas for a league structure that would allow Celtic to get more experience of competing with similar clubs outside Scotland, which play in other national leagues with less resource than the major European clubs. | Celtic have announced a profit of £500,000 for the financial year ending on 30 June, compared with a loss of nearly £4m in the previous 12 months. | 37411556 |
The Scottish climate change secretary has written to the UK government saying that Scotland is "paying the price for the UK's lack of climate ambition".
The Scottish government publishes its 2013 greenhouse gas figures on Tuesday.
The Greens said Scotland was failing to pursue policies that would get emissions down.
A spokeswoman for the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said: "There is absolutely no lack of ambition in tackling climate change from the UK."
The Greens say that only an unprecedented drop in emissions can stop Scotland from missing its fourth annual climate target in a row.
Greenhouse emissions rose by 400,000 tonnes in 2012 despite a projected drop of 178,000, but the target for 2013 will require a massive drop of eight million tonnes.
Scottish Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod said Scotland remains "on track to meet our world-leading target of a 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020".
International negotiations continue on a new global climate change treaty to be agreed in Paris in December.
Ms McLeod said: "For that treaty to stand a good chance of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, the UK and the rest of the international community must match Scotland's high climate change ambition."
She added: "Scottish emission levels also depend to a significant extent on policies at UK and EU level. And Scotland is paying the price for the UK's lack of climate ambition."
The DECC said: "We have already cut our emissions by 30% since 1990, we're on track to meet our domestic carbon budgets, and we led Europe to get an ambitious EU carbon plan for 2030."
Green MSP Patrick Harvie, a member of Holyrood's economy and energy committee, said: "Since the Scottish Parliament agreed to set challenging climate change targets there has been a failure of the current Scottish government to pursue policies that will get our emissions down.
"An area the Scottish Greens have consistently pushed in parliament has been community and public ownership of energy assets."
He added: "The Scottish government needs to be bolder on community energy and should seek to increase not cut its investment, otherwise we can only conclude it does not understand the urgent need for a transformational policy agenda." | The Green party has warned that Scotland could miss its annual climate change target as ministers urge Westminster to match its ambitions. | 33034930 |
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The incident happened during Sunday's 2-2 draw between the sides.
The 26-year-old later apologised for biting the Chelsea defender and was fined by Liverpool on Monday.
The club, who have until Friday at 12:00 BST to appeal, said they were "shocked and disappointed" at the length of the suspension.
Uruguay international Suarez had accepted the FA charge of violent conduct but claimed his ban should be three games, the standard punishment for violent conduct.
The ban covers their final four games of this season and the first six games of 2013-14 - which could mean Suarez not playing again until late September or even October.
An FA statement read: "A three-person independent regulatory commission today upheld the FA's claim that a suspension of three matches was clearly insufficient and the player will serve a further seven first-team matches in addition to the standard three. The suspension begins with immediate effect.
"The Liverpool forward had accepted a charge of violent conduct but had denied the FA's claim that the standard three-match sanction was insufficient for the offence.
"The incident was not seen by the match officials and has therefore been retrospectively reviewed.
"Suarez has until midday on Friday 26 April to appeal [against] the additional suspension, above the standard three matches."
Reds managing director Ian Ayre said: "Both the club and player are shocked and disappointed at the severity of today's independent regulatory commission decision.
"We await the written reasons tomorrow before making any further comment."
It is not the first time Suarez has been charged with such an offence. He was banned for seven games when he was at Ajax after biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal's shoulder during a match in November 2010.
During his time at Liverpool, he has also received an eight-match ban and £40,000 fine by the FA for racially abusing Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra in December 2011.
"The FA has often been criticised for being too slow and too soft on big disciplinary decisions. It can be accused of neither today.
"The 10-match ban for Suarez for biting Ivanovic was harsher than most people expected and sends a really firm message that persistent offenders like the Uruguayan will be punished unless they set a better example.
"Liverpool must now decide whether to appeal. Given how valuable he is to the club, they surely will."
BBC football pundit Mark Lawrenson, a former Reds defender, told BBC Radio 5 live: "I think they will appeal and might get it to eight. He's now becoming a constant offender. There's probably a sheet of A4 paper with all his offences over his career.
"He needs to learn quickly. It's distracting for everyone. Even if it gets reduced to eight, that's 20% of the season. Liverpool are going to have to make a decision on his future.
"He and Ivanovic had a few niggles before the incident but nothing really seriously untoward. Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard said maybe he needs some help - he obviously does. At the moment it's to the detriment of the football club. You wonder what he will do next.
"It [Suarez leaving Liverpool] is a possibility. But any business where you have an asset worth £30m or £40m, nobody is going to sack him."
Suarez is on the six-man shortlist for the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year award and PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor earlier said: "It would be embarrassing if he is named player of the year.
"But we have got to deal with it and make sure he is player of the year not just in a footballing sense but as a human being as well and we will be trying to do that."
Liverpool Supporters Club chairman Richard Pedder said: "I don't think it's a shock, I think he deserves everything he gets.
"It's down to the club to tell him 'this is your last chance'. He won't leave the club [this summer]. They shouldn't have said anything and just accepted the ban.
He challenged the FA with a ridiculous assumption that three games was sufficient and that may have backfired on him
"With them releasing a statement, it's going to go on and on again and we want it closed. We haven't had enough but we're concerned. Nobody is bigger than the club."
Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge said: "It's a massive, massive hit for both the player and the club.
"But he has to control it, for the sake of himself and Liverpool Football Club, he can not let anything go wrong on the pitch again."
Former FA chief executive Mark Pallios said: "They do have the latitude in their regulations to do this. Tomorrow we will see in the written reasons the weighting they have given to the image of the game and his previous record.
"It's a strong statement from the FA. Biting has no part of the game but tackling does. You expect to get tackled and that's more subjective."
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker said on Twitter: "Very strong punishment. Vital now that FA are consistently strong on all issues eg racism, abusing refs etc. Also this ridiculous nonsense of 'if the ref saw it they can't punish retrospectively' has to be addressed!"
Former FA compliance officer Graham Bean thinks Suarez's claim that a three-game ban would be the right punishment could have been behind the length of the suspension: "I expected it to be seven or eight. He challenged the FA with a ridiculous assumption that three games was sufficient and that may have backfired on him. There is a degree of window dressing, the FA trying to send a message out as a PR exercise." | Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been banned for 10 games by the Football Association for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic. | 22278258 |
It is part of a series for adults written in the style of the well-known children's books that aims to clearly explain complicated subjects.
The 52-page guide has been co-authored by former Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper and climate scientist Emily Shuckburgh.
Mr Juniper said he hoped the book would "stand the test of time".
Ladybird produced a series of books for children in the 1960s and 1970s and has recently found renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults.
Titles include the Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis and the Ladybird Book of the Hangover.
The latest series involves experts explaining complex subjects in simple form.
The prince previously co-authored a book with Mr Juniper and Ian Skelly called Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. He also wrote a children's book entitled The Old Man of Lochnagar.
Mr Juniper told the Mail on Sunday: "His royal highness, Emily and I had to work very hard to make sure that each word did its job, while at the same time working with the pictures to deliver the points we needed to make.
"I hope we've managed to paint a vivid picture, and, like those iconic titles from the 60s and 70s, created a title that will stand the test of time."
A publishing director for Penguin, which produces Ladybird books, revealed Clarence House had put the latest idea to the publisher.
Rowland White told the Sunday Times: "It was a coincidence where we were thinking about a new series for adults after the huge success of the spoof books, but this time wanted some factual books by experts on science, history and arts subjects."
Penguin Books said the title, which will be released on 26 January, had been read and reviewed by figures within the environmental community.
The other books in the series are Quantum Mechanics by Jim Al-Khalili, and Evolution by Steve Jones.
Asked how the book might be received in the academic community, Dr Phillip Williamson, an associate fellow at the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "There's the obvious danger that this won't be taken seriously.
"But if the style is right, and the information is correct and understandable, the new Ladybird book with royal authorship could be just what is needed to get the message across that everyone needs to take action on climate change." | Prince Charles has co-authored a Ladybird book on the challenges and possible solutions to climate change. | 38627650 |
Recent photos of Major Mariam al-Mansouri in her F-16 jet were released as a report circulated that she had led her squadron in Tuesday's raids.
While the UAE is a largely conservative state, it has seen pioneering efforts to allow women to occupy top jobs.
A son of Saudi Crown Prince Salman, Khaled, also joined the air strikes.
Commenting on the involvement of Major Mansouri, a UAE source told AFP news agency that a "coalition Western officer was surprised when she called in to refuel from [an] aerial tanker".
News of her mission electrified sections of social media, with tweeters hailing her as "the woman of the day" and using the hash tag "ladyliberty" to praise her. Angry Islamist sympathisers denounced her "criminal" act. | The United Arab Emirates' first female air force pilot has taken part in air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, UAE officials have confirmed. | 29367214 |
Clashes between police and protestors killed at least three people. More than 300 others were reportedly arrested.
Mr Maduro said the strike was minimal and that its leaders would be arrested.
Since April, when opposition protests intensified, almost 100 people have died across the country.
Protesters barricaded roads in the capital, Caracas, and other cities with rubbish and furniture. The opposition said that 85% of the country joined the strike.
But in pro-government areas of the capital, life went on as usual, with shops open and streets busy. Public employees also appeared to have worked normally.
In several cities, police fired tear gas as they clashed with protesters. One death was reported on the outskirts of Caracas while two others died in the northern city of Valencia.
More than 360 people had been arrested across the country, a local rights group said.
Colombia, France, Spain, the US and the EU have urged the Venezuelan government to cancel the vote for a new constituent assembly on 30 July.
But Mr Maduro has rejected the calls.
In a speech on TV, he claimed "triumph", saying that key sectors had not joined the strike.
"Work has triumphed, love, life, and hope; work has triumphed. They [the Venezuelan opposition] who have never worked, let them carry on not working, we are moving forward, comrades."
"I've ordered the capture of all the fascist terrorists."
The assembly would have the power to rewrite the constitution and to bypass the opposition-controlled legislature.
Opposition politicians say Mr Maduro wants to use the assembly to entrench himself in power, while the president argues a new constitution will promote dialogue in the polarised country.
The opposition have ramped up their schedule of protests in the days leading up to the elections, including Thursday's general 24-hour strike and a mass demonstration on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Isaias Medina, a senior diplomat representing the country at the UN, resigned, saying he could no longer represent the government because of human rights abuses.
Venezuela's ambassador to the UN, Rafael Ramirez, said Mr Medina had acted "dishonestly" and been fired.
Earlier, the head of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, warned of a "calamitous deterioration" of the situation, accusing Mr Maduro's government of having "blood on its hands".
"Behind every detainee, every political prisoner, every person tortured and every person killed there is someone that is institutionally responsible," Mr Almagro wrote in a report.
"The fear that is on everyone's mind, but we are too afraid to speak out loud, is our fear that this will escalate into a bloodbath."
Mr Almagro has long been one of the fiercest and most outspoken critics of the Venezuelan government.
More on Venezuela's turmoil | Millions of Venezuelans have joined a general strike called by the opposition as pressure mounts on President Nicolás Maduro to cancel elections for a new constituent assembly. | 40667309 |
Silver Hydro has submitted the proposals for the old Caddonfoot Primary at Clovenfords.
Pupils moved out of the school nearly three years ago and into a brand new building.
It is now hoped the old property could be turned into what developers describe as a "sustainable water-based energy research facility".
The proposal would see water engines and their electronic components assembled and tested in what was the assembly/dining area.
Developers said the site of the building - next to the Caddon Water which flows into the River Tweed - would be ideal for their project.
Silver Hydro said it had made a successful bid to purchase the building, subject to planning approval.
It added that externally-visible alterations would be minimal. | Plans have been lodged to create a hydro energy research centre at a former school building in the Borders. | 32058160 |
John Berry told the Australian the US was "surprised" by the extent of China's involvement in politics.
He urged greater transparency around political donations.
Last week, Labor Senator Sam Dastyari resigned from the opposition frontbench after admitting taking money from companies linked to China.
The scandal has led to debate about reforming rules on foreign donations, with Labour calling for a ban.
Mr Dastyari did not break the law by accepting money from the Top Education company, but said he was wrong to have accepted the money to cover personal costs.
Top Education, which has links to the Chinese government, has also donated money to both the Labor party and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal party.
In an unprecedented critique, the outgoing ambassador said China was an undemocratic country exploiting Australia's democratic system.
"I can see no argument of how a foreign government's involvement through political contributions advances Australia's interests," Mr Berry said.
"In our country it's illegal. It would be against the law for any foreign donation to be accepted by any level of government or member of government."
He said the US had been "surprised, quite frankly, at the extent of the Âinvolvement of the Chinese government in Australian politics".
"There is concern. Our hope is that, in resolving this, Australia will consider doing what many other democracies have done: that is to protect their core responsibility against undue influence from governments that don't share our values." | The outgoing US ambassador to Australia has expressed concern about the influence of Chinese money on Australian politics. | 37335545 |
Their screening of the 1980s Michael J Fox film went ahead at the Olympic Park in east London on Thursday.
The organisers have created an immersive experience using actors and replicas of buildings from the film.
Media reviews of the event have been positive, while it was also well-received by audience members.
Satisfied fans took to Twitter. "Seriously impressive," wrote Holly Hunter. "Incredibly ambitious and totally brilliant! Fantastic evening!"
Ally Sinyard said the screening was "so brilliant, especially when everyone got up and danced during Johnny B Goode".
And Kat Brown said the show was "really wonderful".
The "only downside(s) were food queues and the prom photos breaking down. Everything else pure joy", she added.
Their responses contrasted sharply with the hundreds of angry messages that ticket-holders posted on Secret Cinema's Facebook page last week when they discovered shows had been cancelled with just a few hours notice.
Tickets for the event cost £53.50 each and, encouraged by the organisers, many had spent more money on 1950s-style fancy dress.
Some said they had travelled from as far away as the United States to see the show and would not be able to re-book.
Despite the one-week delay in opening the show, reviews in the Independent and the Guardian both gave it four out of five stars.
"Sometimes the immersive experience was so good that it blurred the line between fiction and reality," said the Independent.
"So many audience members dressed up in 1950s clothes which were as authentic as those of the actors employed by the production, [so] that everyone was a co-contributor," wrote the Guardian.
The Evening Standard talked of a "celebratory mood" at the screening, and The Public Reviews blog said "scenes from the movie are recreated as they play out on the giant screen. All of these are masterful".
The set for the event included 1950s-styled burger bars and a replica of the clock tower that featured in the film.
There was also a record shop, comic shop and a barber's - for anybody who wanted to leave with a 1950s-style haircut. | Secret Cinema has opened its Back to the Future show a week after the opening night was cancelled at short notice. | 28601964 |
Senior figures from both parties reacted to reports PM Theresa May may be considering lifting the existing ban in England to boost "social mobility", calling it a backwards step.
The Sunday Telegraph said a new wave of selective schools could be announced as soon as the Tory conference in October.
The education secretary has previously said she is "open minded" on the issue.
Grammar schools are state secondaries that select their pupils by means of an examination at age 10 to 11.
There are currently about 163 in England - out of some 3,000 state secondaries - and a further 69 in Northern Ireland.
But under a law created by the Labour government in 1998, no new grammar schools are allowed to open in England. Education policy is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Why not bring back grammar schools?
Grammar schools: What are they?
The return of the grammar school?
The Sunday Telegraph quoted an unnamed government source as saying that allowing new grammars would be about "social mobility and making sure that people have the opportunity to capitalise on all of their talents".
Mrs May, who herself attended a grammar school which became a comprehensive school while she was there, is thought to be a supporter of new selective schools.
She has previously backed a grammar school's proposal to open a new "annexe" in her Maidenhead constituency, while her new chief of staff Nick Timothy has been quoted as supporting new selective schools in the past.
Responding to the Sunday Telegraph report, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the party would oppose such a move, while shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said selective schools belonged "in the dustbin of history".
Labour leadership contender Owen Smith said grammar schools "entrench disadvantage - they don't overturn it", and promised he would "fight tooth and nail" against any plans to lift the ban.
And Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron tweeted: "Lib Dems will work to block any Tory attempt to create grammar schools."
Grammar schools make up around 5% of secondary schools in England; and a third of secondary schools in Northern Ireland. There are no grammar schools in Scotland and Wales.
For at least a generation, standing up for them has been a political minority sport. In this context, while the new prime minister and Education Secretary Justine Greening are coy in their language, their public willingness to be "open minded" is itself revealing.
Should the government decide to advocate an expansion of grammar schools - in whatever form - the opposition to that would be fierce.
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said "selection belongs in the dustbin of history and has no place in modern society". The Liberal Democrats are also strongly opposed.
But those in favour argue they can offer children from ordinary backgrounds an education often only available to those who can afford to pay for it.
Ms Greening has said she is "prepared to be open-minded" about school selection, but signalled that this might not mean a return to the old pattern of grammars and secondary moderns.
She stressed that education was no longer a "binary" world and that there were already a range of different types of school on offer.
Asked for comment, a Downing Street spokesman said: "Policies on education will be set out in due course."
He also said: "The prime minister has been clear that we need to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.
"Every child should be allowed to rise as far as their talents will take them and birth should never be a barrier." | Labour and Liberal Democrats MPs have vowed to fight any move to allow new grammar schools to be created. | 37002495 |
The state-run KCNA news agency said the weapon was now ready to be deployed for military action.
The White House said the missile had a shorter range than those used in North Korea's last three tests.
It comes a week after North Korea tested what it said was a new type of rocket capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead.
Last Monday, the UN Security Council again demanded that Pyongyang conduct no further such tests.
It stressed the importance of North Korea "immediately showing sincere commitment to denuclearisation through concrete action".
The Council is now scheduled to meet behind closed doors on Tuesday - a meeting requested by the US, South Korea and Japan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the launch of the Pukguksong-2 missile on Sunday, KCNA reports, adding that he had "approved the deployment of this weapon system for action."
South Korea's foreign ministry earlier said the launch was "reckless and irresponsible", while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described it as "disappointing" and "disturbing".
The latest missile flew about 560km (350 miles) towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Last week's missile travelled about 700km.
Japanese news agencies said the missile probably fell into the sea outside Japanese waters.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference a protest had been lodged with North Korea.
North Korea is known to be developing both nuclear weapons - it has conducted five nuclear tests - and the missiles capable of delivering those weapons to their target. Both are in defiance of UN sanctions.
South Korea said the latest test was conducted in Pukchang, in the west of the country. A missile exploded soon after take-off from Pukchang last month.
Earlier on Sunday, the North's state-run media had said it would continue to launch more "weapons capable of striking" the US.
In early May, the US said a missile defence system it had installed in South Korea was now operational.
The Thaad system can intercept North Korean missiles, although full operational capability is still some months away. North Korea and its ally China have condemned the installation of the system.
However, there is no sign that Thaad was used against the missile tested on Sunday.
Newly-installed South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is seeking deeper engagement with the North, has convened an urgent meeting of his national security council in response.
This would be the 10th detected missile launch by North Korea this year - outside experts agree that it's making progress in its stated aim of having the ability to strike the mainland US with nuclear weapons.
Though it's not there yet, the latest tests have been of missiles capable of reaching American bases in the Western Pacific, albeit with some failures.
There is intense pressure on Kim Jong-un from the US, which is seeking the help of China. Repeated and more frequent testing of missiles, despite prohibition by the United Nations, indicates the North Korean leader feels able to defy that pressure. | North Korea has confirmed it "successfully" launched another medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday. | 39990836 |
"They've got a big summer ahead," Sport England director Phil Smith told BBC Sport. "The track record of participation in tennis has been pretty poor. The crunch time is December."
"We need to start again, no matter how long it takes. Spending money on players at the top has not worked. The important thing is to create a base from the bottom up."
Former British number one and ex-Davis Cup captain John Lloyd
Read more
Sport England, the government body that distributes taxpayer money to sports, will discuss the situation with the LTA on Tuesday.
Smith says he has been "encouraged" with the changes already implemented by the LTA, which has a turnover of £60.2m, but insists participation remains a key concern.
In response, the LTA insisted it is "fully focused" on using the summer to inspire more people to play the game, with Wimbledon, one of the key drivers of participation in Britain, due to get under way in less than a week's time.
"Over the next few months, we are delivering a series of promotional events around the country to encourage people to play tennis," said the Simon Long, the LTA's chief commercial officer.
"At the centre of this activity is a marketing campaign which focuses on personal experiences by imagining what tennis means to different people.
"We are also working with a range of partners from the commercial sector, public sector and through our club network to deliver the right offers to people interested in playing tennis to encourage them to get involved in our sport."
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In December 2012, Sport England decided to from £24.5m to £17.4m for the next four-year cycle up to 2017, amid concerns the LTA was not making best use of the cash.
The LTA was still given £3.75m for talent development, but only received a one-year award of £3.35m for participation.
The remaining £10.3m has been withheld while Sport England decides whether the LTA is doing its job well enough.
"We invest in the talent system of tennis through the LTA and we find that largely to be going really well," Smith said.
"Participation is where we have more concern. The track record of participation in tennis was pretty poor in the last four-year cycle.
"The LTA presented a plan to us in December that we didn't feel was appropriate to fix the problem. It was weak in a number of areas."
Sport England's showed 424,300 people aged 16 and over played tennis once a week from April 2012 to April 2013, up 0.95% on the 420,300 from April 2011 to April 2012 but down 4.7% on the 445,100 recorded from October 2011 to October 2012.
The LTA is contracted to raise the figure to 450,000 by December, while also achieving three other key milestones:
Smith: "That wasn't very evident in their original plan last year. I know they're working very hard at fixing that now."
Smith: "There's never been any doubt about the endeavour at the LTA, but there was doubt about their level of focus and whether they were working in the right places and on the right things."
Smith: "Whether in parks, clubs etc the LTA must know whether what its doing is having the desired effect before it's too late."
Tuesday's meeting will provide Sport England with its first opportunity to assess the LTA's progress in depth.
"They've got to prove themselves this summer and our attention is firmly fixed on the results we'll get in December," said Smith.
"We've put in place some pretty tough conditions, but there's not going to be any knee-jerk reaction on Tuesday because we've deliberately given them a year to review the situation. You can't fix these things over night and we'll stick with that original plan."
Long is confident the LTA is on the right track.
"Our goal is to get more people playing tennis, more often," he said.
"It is encouraging to see that tennis participation is up year on year from the latest Active People Survey Results out this week.
"However, we are not complacent and know much more needs to be done and have been working very closely with Sport England to develop our plans around participation to achieve this goal.
"Sport England has stated that they will make a decision on future funding in December, so that will be a significant milestone for us."
The LTA's task is complicated by the of chief executive Roger Draper, with a successor yet to be appointed. But the LTA's new independent chairman, David Gregson, has made a strong impression since joining the governing body in January.
Singles rankings only
"The mission they've recently created and the level of engagement from David Gregson and the board is very impressive," said Smith.
"It is certainly more impressive than I've ever seen before in tennis. What I've seen since December has been a dedicated and concerted effort to fix the problem."
Although the number of people playing tennis is 0.95% up on April 2012 - many other sports were down - that is still a drop of 7% compared to the inaugural figures from 2006 and 23% below 2009.
"They're not the only sport in this position," Smith added. "Growing participation in sport is not as simple as money in, people out.
"I don't dismiss the LTA's efforts as missing an open goal, but what they've done hasn't worked thus far, which is why we're building a new plan. If they can't, I'll find somebody who will."
Former British number one Tim Henman agrees with Smith that the LTA has so far failed to deliver when it comes to developing the game at grassroots level.
Despite the success of Andy Murray, the rise of Laura Robson and Heather Watson, plus various doubles and junior triumphs, Britain has only one man and two women ranked in the world's top 100.
"If you look at Spain and France, their base of the pyramid is vast compared to the British system," Henman told the Mail on Sunday. "They have so many kids playing,
"You need massive investment at the bottom and strong leadership from the top. I left the junior game in 1992 and if you think about the hundreds of millions invested since then, it's frightening."
Should the LTA satisfy Sport England's requests, the ring-fenced £10.3m will arrive.
"We've used what we've learned from other sports about how to grow participation and we're trying to help the LTA learn how that might be done," said Smith. "We're hopeful they can get there.
"The alternative - and one that is not our preferred solution - is we find a different way of investing in tennis.
"Our priority is to look after, nurture, develop and grow the number of people playing the sport. If we think we can't do that through the national governing body, we will find another way of doing it." | Sport England has warned the Lawn Tennis Association it faces a critical summer that will dictate whether or not it is stripped of valuable funding. | 22902803 |
Five of the schools - including three academies from the Park View Educational Trust - are being placed in special measures. A sixth school was already in special measures for its poor educational standards.
This table shows the results of the new Ofsted inspection reports and the previous grade where appropriate. | Ofsted has carried out inspections of 21 schools, following claims in an anonymous letter that hardline Muslims were trying to impose their view on a group of schools in Birmingham. | 27765372 |
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22 October 2014 Last updated at 07:22 BST
The wet and windy weather made it tricky for pilots landing at Manchester Airport, with planes wobbling as they came in to touch down.
At the UK's busiest airport, Heathrow, around 10,000 passengers were affected by flights being cancelled. | Strong winds were felt across much of the UK on Tuesday as the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo hit Britain. | 29719320 |
Lang is not so much a thinly veiled portrait of Tony Blair as an explicitly, obviously exotic extension, with added warts and delusions, of our former prime minister.
Now, according to one Sunday newspaper, the Chilcot inquiry could, in reality, accuse Tony Bair of such crimes.
The added spice is that while Lang merely faced his former foreign secretary, current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would apparently back Blair's prosecution at the Hague.
No novelist would be quite so obvious as to cast his revenging fury as a current party leader, the very embodiment of all his victim had exiled from mainstream politics. The Ghost indeed.
The Labour Party is still haunted by the manifest success and equally spectacular failure of Tony Blair.
Mr Blair has just suggested that simple lessons should be learnt about genies and bottles, saying: "We underestimated profoundly the forces that were at work in the region and that would take advantage of the change once you topple the regime."
Chilcot may not be as dramatic as the weekend headlines suggest, but it is still very far from ancient history.
What is the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war for?
Iraq Inquiry: Timeline of key moments
The legacy of the Iraq War is a critical part of the vital, current debate within the Labour party.
Still, Mr Blair looms too large for his erstwhile supporters to either praise him or bury him.
Crucially, the road to Baghdad was paved with political ambitions for his party.
One was dealing with the outsized fear, after 9/11, of enemies getting hold of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The mingling of realistic fears, the actual facts and convenient fantasy is what Chilcot has to disentangle, and there will be plenty of time to chew over the findings.
What may get lost is the wider context of Mr Blair's enthusiasm for action.
Central to Mr Blair's transformation of the Labour Party was killing off negative perceptions that the party was "too left wing" for power.
He didn't bother to dispute the accusations of a hostile press and the worries of swing voters - instead his technique was to flamboyantly adopt policies that spoke loudly of their opposite.
In one area, he saw a double lock on Labour's door to power - the claims it was:
Both had deep roots, from the pacifism of party leader George Lansbury in the 1930s to protests over Vietnam in the 1960s.
But more important was CND in the 1980s and a view of the world that saw the US not as a valiant bulwark in a Cold War against tyranny, but the inheritor of an Western imperial legacy, giving succour to dictators and oppressors who made the world safe to sell Coca-Cola.
Jeremy Corbyn was firmly, prominently, consistently one of those who saw the ills of the world through the lens of American imperial power.
Mr Blair thought the world needed that power, almost irrespective of its actual actions.
Curious as it seems in retrospect, he feared that George W Bush (pre-9/11) would disengage the US from the world.
An enthusiastic "liberal interventionist", as set out in his Chicago speech, Tony Blair realised the US was an essential part of his vision of a West that righted wrongs with enthusiasm and military power.
As he has made clear since, he didn't just go along with President Bush.
"It's worse than you think," he said. "I believe in it. I am truly committed to dealing with this, irrespective of the position of America.
"If the Americans were not doing this, I would be pressing for them to be doing so."
He is still at it, urging a new ground war in Syria and Iraq, involving the UK, US and France.
Born: 6 May 1953
Educated: Choristers school, Fettes, Oxford
Family: Married, four children
1976: Barrister specialising in trade union and employment law
1983: Labour MP for Sedgefield, shadow City spokesman
1984-87: Shadow trade and industry minister
1987-88: Shadow energy secretary
1989-92: Shadow employment secretary
1992-94: Shadow home secretary
1994-97: Opposition leader
1997-2007: Prime minister, winning three successive general elections
2007-2015: Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East
2008: Launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation
After Mr Blair, after Iraq Labour supporters could bitterly, wryly, reflect that their party had put to bed forever the idea that it was weak on defence, such was his enthusiasm for offensive action.
Except that is no longer true. We are witnessing the same old debates, the same old questions, about Trident, about Nato, about military spending.
And perhaps that is appropriate. But it is not very helpful for the Labour party itself to be squabbling in the past tense.
On the eve of the Iraq War, I reflected that we were sailing into uncharted waters - a British prime minister taking a country into a war, that as far as one can tell, the population didn't want.
A war against the will of the people. It could have turned out differently, perhaps. But no WMD were found, and the occupation was both occasionally brutal and usually incompetent.
New Labour staggered on, but those who had always mistrusted Mr Blair found a fitting locus for their dislike.
Party members and voters peeled off, so slowly, but so certainly.
His behaviour out of office has made him even more of a hate figure for some on the left.
Although he is the ghost who haunts the party's halls, he is a very bouncy, upbeat, jet-setting sort of spirit - defiantly unapologetic, made extravagantly rich in part, some say, by consorting with questionable regimes.
I can't be the only one who sees something of Mr Blair in Hugh Laurie's brilliant portrayal of Richard Roper in the Night Manager - not that anyone's suggesting Mr Blair is a corrupt arms dealer, its just there's something familiar about his breezy, easy way with power, wealth and entourage.
Wherever Mr Corbyn's subsequent career takes him, it is impossible to imagine him following these footsteps.
It is only one of the myriad ways in which he is the austere anti-Blair.
Not, however, Mr Blair's exorcist, but his primal antithesis, all the tribe's most atavistic instincts reanimated, all that Mr Blair buried, resurrected.
He will not lay the family ghost.
The leadership may despise Mr Blair's techniques for winning power - but they haven't yet found their own.
Part of Mr Blair's skill was in the much-mocked art of triangulation, rising above left and right, to hover somewhere not only midway between the two, but with a certain degree of moral altitude above both.
No-one in the Labour party has yet attempted this between Mr Blair and Mr Corbyn. It is perhaps too soon. But the world does not wait.
The lessons drawn from Iraq by a former senior civil servant may be clear by the late summer, but the foreign policy debate generally grows ever more complex.
It is too early for Labour to deal with its devils, but it will probably means it will be stuck in a black-and-white debate in an increasingly multi-hued world. | Adam Lang, the fictional British Prime Minister in Robert Harris' novel The Ghost faces prosecution for war crimes in an international court. | 36370560 |
The car overturned at the Forgan roundabout on the Tay road bridge at about 08:50.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters used hydraulic cutting gear to remove the trapped driver from the car.
Only one vehicle was involved in the crash. The woman was taken to Ninewells Hospital where she is being treated for her injuries. | A woman has been cut free from her car after a crash on the A92 in Dundee. | 35026593 |
The 37-year-old was due to board a flight for Turkey on Tuesday evening when he was held on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism.
His arrest is not connected to Monday night's suicide bomb attack at Manchester Arena, Scotland Yard said.
Two residential addresses in north London are being searched.
The UK's terror threat level has been raised in the wake of the arena attack, which killed 22 people and injured 59.
It stands at its highest level of "critical", indicating further attacks may be imminent. | A man has been arrested at Stansted Airport in Essex by counter-terror police who suspected he was planning to travel to Syria. | 40024493 |
According to the Daily Mail, Farah's first missed test appears to have been in early 2010, months before he joined Alberto Salazar's Nike Oregon Project.
The Mail says the second one came at Farah's home in February 2011, when he claimed not to have heard the doorbell.
Salazar is accused of doping Galen Rupp in 2002 but denies the claims.
Allegations Salazar practised doping techniques on US runner Rupp were made in a BBC documentary called 'Catch Me If You Can', produced by Panorama and US investigative journalism specialists ProPublica.
Rupp has denied allegations in the programme that he was given the banned anabolic steroid testosterone by Salazar as a 16-year-old.
The documentary made no suggestion that middle distance runner Farah, 32, has been involved in doping.
Farah announced he was joining Salazar in early 2011.
His gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m at London 2012 were among the defining moments of the Games.
At the time, UK anti-doping (Ukad) rules stated that an athlete who missed three tests in any 18-month period could face up to a two-year ban.
That meant Farah could have been ruled out of his home Olympics with one more breach of the rules. Nine UK athletes missed two tests in the same year.
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The rules have since been amended and today athletes who miss three tests in a 12-month period can be banned for four years.
The Mail claims to have had access to legal documents showing Farah and his team appealed to Ukad over his second missed test.
Ukad accepted that "intent and negligence are not the same thing" but, according to the Mail, added it was clearly Farah's "own fault" he had missed the second test.
The Mail claimed further correspondence showed Salazar had warned Farah on 5 May, 2011: "If you miss another test, they will hang you."
A source close to Farah has told the BBC that the athlete has not missed any tests since that second missed test.
Ukad would not comment on the missed drug tests allegations but issued a statement on Thursday that read: "UK Anti-Doping does not disclose personal data relating to an individual's test history.
"Ukad has a dedicated Athlete Support Officer who works with athletes on the National Registered Testing Pool, and with National Governing Bodies of sport to ensure they manage their whereabouts reporting responsibilities."
Farah announced on Wednesday that he will compete at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on 17 July in what will be his first race since doping allegations were made against his coach.
Farah withdrew from a 1500m race in Birmingham on 7 June because he felt "physically and emotionally drained".
After pulling out, Farah returned to the United States to spend time with his family and "seek answers" from Salazar about the doping claims. | Great Britain's Mo Farah missed two drugs tests before he went on to become a double gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics, a newspaper has claimed. | 33178292 |
The court in Hamburg ruled that Jan Boehmermann's poem was satire, but said the sexual references were unacceptable.
However the comments on President Erdogan's treatment of freedom of speech were allowed, it said.
Mr Boehmermann's lawyer said the ruling went against "artistic freedom".
"We believe that the court's decision in its concrete form is wrong, given that it deems those parts dealing with Erdogan's approach to freedom of expression to be acceptable," said Christian Schertz.
Mr Boehmermann himself responded by tweeting a link to the Beastie Boys song "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)".
The Turkish president had filed a criminal complaint against the satirist in a case that prompted a debate in Germany over freedom of speech.
Mr Boehmermann, considered Germany's most incisive satirist, had read the obscene poem on his Neo Magazin Royale programme on 31 March, making clear that it included material that broke German laws on free speech. Section 103 of the criminal code bans insulting representatives or organs belonging to foreign states.
In particular, the poem made references to sex with goats and sheep, as well as repression of Turkish minorities.
Last week it was read out in full in the German parliament by an MP during a debate over proposals to abolish the law against insulting foreign leaders.
To some the poem was puerile, vulgar and irresponsible at a time when Europe needs Turkish help in the refugee crisis.
To others it was an ingenious work of subversive art, which highlighted the importance of freedom of speech - a sketch in which even President Erdogan is now playing his part.
Either way, Jan Boehmermann always goes a step further than polite society generally allows. Clever, funny and complicated, he has singlehandedly revolutionised German state broadcasting.
During the height of tensions between Athens and Berlin over the Greek debt crisis, Boehmermann portrayed Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis as a vengeful motorbike-riding sex bomb. But it was his fellow Germans, and the rest of the media establishment, that the comedian was mocking.
A jaunty 1930's-style Springtime for Hitler remake wittily highlighted the similarities between the views of the anti-migrant party AfD and Nazi-era politics.
Even refugee helpers have been fair game, as Boehmermann mercilessly portrayed modern, multi-cultural Germans as a self-righteous unstoppable horde of muesli-eating, Birkenstock-wearing sexual perverts.
But for Boehmermann's many fans the fear is now that taking on Turkey's president has been a step too far. | A German court has banned a German comic from repeating parts of an obscene poem he wrote about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. | 36317006 |
The face-off between Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez marks the first time in the state's history that Republicans will be absent from the Senate race.
The two women came first and second among 34 candidates for the seat that will be vacated by Sen Barbara Boxer.
Only the two top candidates advance to a run-off, California's rules state.
Ms Harris, 51, California's attorney general, is polling about 40% of the vote in Tuesday's election, according to partial results.
Congresswoman Sanchez, who is 56, is trailing far behind with about 17%.
If elected in November's run-off, Ms Harris - the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica - would become the first woman of Indian heritage to hold a Senate seat and the second black woman in the chamber.
Meanwhile, Ms Sanchez - whose parents are immigrants from Mexico - could become one of the first Latinos in the Senate.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton thanked her supporters for helping her reach a historic moment for women - the US Democratic nomination for president.
Mrs Clinton hailed "the first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee". | Two Democratic women candidates, both from ethnic minorities, will compete in a run-off for California's open seat in the US Senate, officials say. | 36478704 |
Banks and building societies are unveiling their deals as part of the government-backed scheme which begins on Tuesday.
As with a traditional cash Isa, interest will be free of both income and capital gains tax.
The government will also top-up savings in these accounts.
When savers take money out to buy a house or flat, the government will add 25% to whatever is in the account, up to a maximum of £3,000.
Among those to have unveiled details of their new Help to Buy Isa products are the Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, which will offer an interest rate of 4%. The Nationwide will pay 2% interest and offer access to other perks, while the NatWest will offer 2% but vows not to give bonus rates for new customers which quickly disappear.
The rates are variable so may change over time.
Charlotte Nelson, of financial information service Moneyfacts, said: "It looks like the competition is now on to entice these new savers and to be seen as the first-time buyers' choice."
Plans for a Help to Buy Isa scheme for potential first-time buyers were announced in Chancellor George Osborne's Budget in March. Rising house prices and rents have meant it can take longer for these young adults to save the deposit required to secure a mortgage.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said that a "key test" for the measures would be whether they would work for people on average and lower incomes. | Interest of up to 4% will be paid on new Help to Buy Isas - accounts aimed at helping potential property buyers save for a deposit. | 34945116 |
The main reason is the affordability of housing, the company said.
The study forecasts that 3.8 million people aged between 21 and 34 will be living at home by 2025, a third more than at the moment.
The number of households containing two or more families is also expected to rise, from 1.5 million to 2.2 million.
Its figures assume house prices will continue to rise at the same rate they have done over the last ten years.
Charlotte Nisbet and her boyfriend Jay Arkell - both aged 24 - were forced to move back in with his parents in east London, as they could not afford to rent by themselves.
Both of them are in work, but could not afford the £650 a month to rent a one-bedroom flat.
Instead they pay £100 each to Jay's parents.
"It would be nice to have our own space, and not to worry about treading on his parents' toes," she told the BBC.
She cannot foresee being able to get a place of their own in the near future.
"I'm pessimistic. On our current salaries, no way. If we did, we wouldn't be able to eat out or go on holiday."
Five ways to survive a three-generation household
But not everyone is gloomy about the prospect of sharing their living space with other couples.
The advantages include having other people around for company, cheaper living costs, and more people to share the chores, Aviva said.
"Multigenerational living is often seen as a necessity rather than a choice, particularly when adults are forced to move back in with family to help save for long-term goals like buying their own house," said Lindsey Rix, managing director of personal lines at Aviva UK.
"But rather than being an inconvenience, our report shows it is often a positive experience, with shared living costs reducing financial strain and the added benefit of constant company."
Figures from the 2011 census show that 1.1 million households in England and Wales were officially overcrowded.
In London 11.3% of all homes were overcrowded, rising to 25% in the London borough of Newham, the worst affected area in the country. | A million more young people are likely to find themselves living with their parents over the next decade, according to the insurance company Aviva. | 36391621 |
Brian Scrine was airlifted to hospital on 2 April after chasing a gang of "toe rags" on bikes who were "carving up" the pitch at Trowbridge Cricket Club.
According to the club, Mr Scrine suffered a heart attack about an hour after the confrontation and was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
The news was announced on the club's Facebook page over the weekend.
A spokesman for the club, said: "Brian was chasing a few ignorant teenage toe rags and an hour later he ended up having a bad heart attack.
"The said mindless idiots were riding and carving up the cricket square on their bikes.
"Confrontation then ensued and we think this is what resulted in the current situation. I'm sure we all wish him well and all our thoughts and prayers are with him."
As well as playing host to Trowbridge, the ground often serves as Wiltshire's home ground and is a favourite spot traditionally for touring international sides to play the Minor Counties at the start of a summer tour.
Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara played at Trowbridge at the start of their international careers. | A cricket club chairman has been hospitalised after confronting vandals at a pitch in Wiltshire. | 35958231 |
Her family escaped war-torn Yemen on a United Nations evacuation flight two years ago.
"I don't think anyone in the world would want to live that way," she said. "We were asleep one day and we heard a really big bomb nearby. It was really scary.
"I still have friends in Yemen. They tell me people are dying of cholera. Some of them do try to leave, but they can't because no-one will accept their passports now."
Amar is neither in Malta as a refugee, nor an economic migrant. The 21-year-old, her parents and four siblings are now all Maltese citizens.
They weren't born in Malta, and they didn't have any Maltese family. So how do they have Maltese passports?
They bought them, as have several thousand others in Malta since the country started selling passports in 2014.
Unlike residency programmes or investor visas, which many countries (including the UK) offer to foreigners, Malta's Individual Investor Programme grants full citizenship to successful applicants.
It costs a minimum of 880,000 euros (£800,000; $1m), rising for each additional family member.
Three quarters of that is a non-refundable contribution to Malta's National Development and Social Fund, which finances education, health and job creation projects. The rest is split between investments in government bonds and owning or renting a home for at least five years.
For more, listen to Simon Tulett on BBC World Service's Business Daily programme
The Caribbean island of St Kitts and Nevis has been selling citizenship since 1984, but since 2011 Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Cyprus have all launched their own schemes.
"It's the insurance policy of the 21st Century," according to Christian Kaelin, the head of residency and citizenship planning firm, Henley and Partners.
He says there's been a "rapid expansion" in this area, partly fuelled by governments looking for new revenue sources, but also because of geopolitical unrest, for example in the Middle East.
Wealthy people can use such schemes as a way of escaping trouble or dramatic political change. But aside from security concerns, many simply want to offer opportunities to their children or make it easier to run a business.
"It's about mobility and personal flexibility, with access to other countries. We have a client who is an American but he has two important investments in Italy and the Netherlands," Mr Kaelin says.
"He needs a work permit in both. If he acquires citizenship in Malta, we don't need to deal with any work permit or other issues," says Mr Kaelin.
That's because Malta is in the European Union and part of its Schengen Area - enabling passport-free movement across most of EU. This is one of the scheme's strongest selling points.
Enquiries from the UK rose slightly after the Brexit vote, but no-one has yet signed up. "It's clear the UK will find some sort of arrangement with the EU," says Mr Kaelin.
"If a Brit comes to me and asks if they should buy a Maltese passport I'd say no forget it, just relax."
Malta's citizenship scheme is also popular because it's relatively cheap and quick. Applicants usually receive their passports within 12 to 18 months.
The programme requires applicants to either buy a property worth at least 350,000 euros, or rent one for at least 16,000 euros a year for five years.
More than 80% of applicants for passports take the rental option. However, there is increasing concern that many properties remain, leading some people in Malta to question applicants' intentions.
"These billionaires aren't interested in living in Malta, they just want access to the EU" says Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. "They probably have no intention of ever setting foot here. If they were really interested in staying they would buy a home."
Malta's central bank has said the Individual Investor Programme is one of the factors pushing up house prices in Malta by some 7% each year, and rents by about 10%.
Jonathan Cardona, chief executive of Identity Malta, which runs the programme, agrees EU access is a key selling point for a Maltese passport but argues that the island is an attractive investment in its own right.
"I know one who has invested about 70m euros in Malta. Another one is in the process of opening a factory in the pharmaceutical industry, and I know of another who has opened an IT company.
"Some of them might not have invested seriously yet, but you can never tell what might happen in a few years' time."
Mr Cardona is keen to point out the financial significance of the donations applicants have made. These now total more than 220m euros and are worth about 2.5% of Malta's GDP.
"Because of their wealth and what they have done to achieve their status, they have quite a large footprint so we are able to do a lot of due diligence on them," he says.
"Other economic migrants, especially when they come without any documentation - we don't even know where they are coming from or the language they speak."
But for some, citizenship is about more than just numbers.
"A passport is something which should not be for sale, it's something you belong to, part of your DNA," says Helga Ellul, who was born in Germany but has lived in Malta for more than 40 years.
She moved to the island to run German toymaker Playmobil's operations there, employing more than 1,000 workers. She married, had two children and now has three grandchildren, and 15 years ago she applied for and was granted Maltese citizenship, without handing over hundreds of thousands of euros.
"It wasn't an easy decision for me to give up my German passport," she adds.
"When I took the decision it was because I really felt I belong to this country, that I would remain here. I have so many more friends here, I'm so recognised here, and part of this whole society, and I think if you would ask people in Malta I think they would all say I earned it."
But what right can any of us really claim to citizenship? After all, most of us acquire it through our parents, by chance.
Javier Hidalgo, a political theorist at the University of Richmond in Virginia, believes citizenship is always unearned and that there's often an inherent hypocrisy in a moral aversion to treating it as a commodity.
"If you're a sceptic about immigration restrictions, like me, then you'll be sceptical about selling citizenship, because you might think we're obligated to give people access to the country for free.
"But most countries and most people are quite happy to restrict immigration. If you think that's OK, then what's the problem with selling it?
"You're already in favour of excluding a lot of people. Why not make some money off of admitting some of them who you would otherwise be entitled to exclude?"
More from the BBC's series taking an international perspective on trade:
How to turn a hit TV show into an international success
Cars for cheese - why a free trade deal may not be free
Is time up for plain vanilla flavour ice creams?
Read more global trade series here.
Amar Al-Sadi and her family have bought and live in their Maltese home, and she is studying in the country along with her siblings.
She says they've immersed themselves in Maltese life and have been welcomed by their new neighbours, making plenty of friends.
"But I don't think everyone is as fortunate as we were, and that's really sad." | Fiddling distractedly with her headscarf and in words little louder than a whisper, Amar Al-Sadi tells me Malta has saved her from a life of bombs, rubble and deadly disease. | 41013873 |
The Skipchen volunteers have been funded by the Help Refugees group to build a field kitchen in Lesbos.
They picked up an old police van, nicknamed Iffy, and are travelling by road visiting the Calais migrant camp en-route to Greece.
Previously they ran a pop-up cafe in Bristol using unwanted food.
Since the cafe in Stokes Croft closed in May the group have run two trips to the Calais refugee camp and have toured the Bristol area in their food rescue ambulance.
The volunteers plan to set up their field kitchen in Lesbos and run it with a mix of local staff and international volunteers.
Sam Joseph, who co-founded Skipchen, said he would be using social media "to provide a human perspective of the reality refugees are facing on a day-to-day basis".
"What we aim to do is to create the infrastructure to have a long-term kitchen that could be run using local employment, stimulating the Greek economy, as well as relying on the great work of volunteers travelling to the island," he said. | A group of anti-food waste campaigners are travelling to a Greek Island to help cook hot meals for refugees heading for Europe. | 34889976 |
Thames Valley Police said a number of people were involved in a fight in Whaddon Way in Bletchley on Tuesday afternoon.
The teenage victim from Lord Grey School was taken to hospital with two wounds, believed to have been caused by a knife.
A police spokesman said the injuries were "not life-threatening".
The force said the incident may have been filmed on mobile phones and have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to come forward.
Supt Gez Chiariello said officers would " leave no stone unturned" in the investigation.
"Patrols in the area have also been stepped up, so the police presence has been heightened and this will be visible to members of the public as a sign of reassurance," he said. | A 17-year-old boy has been arrested after a sixth-form pupil was stabbed near his Buckinghamshire school. | 31035153 |
Mr Ward tweeted on Tuesday: "The big question is - if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? - probably yes."
In a statement subsequently released by the Lib Dems, he said: "My comments were not in support of firing rockets into Israel. If they gave the opposite impression, I apologise."
A Lib Dem spokesman had said the party "utterly condemned" the MP's tweet.
The spokesman later added: "In light of this apology, the party and the whips will decide in due course if further disciplinary action should be taken."
Mr Ward, the MP for Bradford East, was suspended from the Lib Dem parliamentary party in July 2013 and had the whip withdrawn for three months over comments he made about Israel.
He was asked on Wednesday morning by BBC Radio 5live if he stood by his tweet on Tuesday or would apologise for it.
Declining to apologise, he said he condemned violence on both sides of the conflict, but had been seeking to understand the motives of those firing rockets at Israel.
"The question is why would they want to fire missiles when they know that the missiles will result in further Palestinian deaths, to a disproportionate level? Why are they doing it?" he said.
"They are doing it because they are absolutely desperate and politicians in the West are failing them."
He continued: "The people in Gaza cannot escape... I understand the plight of the people firing the rockets."
Referring to his original tweet, the Lib Dem MP later added, in another BBC interview: "What I was saying was, if I was there, if I had been living for year after year after year, hemmed in by air, land and sea by a mighty military force that was brutally killing my people, and the world was not responding, I think I would have to do something."
Asked if he might decide to leave the Lib Dems in protest over the official party line on Gaza, he said: "I am not going to walk away from the Liberal Democrats. They may decide to walk away from me, but I certainly am not going to walk away from them."
His later statement released by the party, containing his apology, also said he supported "the right of Israel to exist and defend itself".
Mr Ward's comments came as the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel and the Palestinians to "stop fighting" and "start talking" to end the conflict in Gaza.
More than 600 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed in the past 14 days of fighting, officials say.
The MP for Bradford East commented on the crisis in a series of tweets on Wednesday. In a follow-up message, he wrote: "Ich bin ein #palestinian - the West must make up its mind - which side is it on?"
A Labour spokesman said: "At a time when all sides should be working for a ceasefire and a peaceful settlement, it defies belief that a Liberal Democrat MP should tweet something so vile and irresponsible."
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps urged Mr Ward to withdraw the "appalling" comments.
He said: "No MP should tweet what's essentially incitement to violence. Completely irresponsible."
A Lib Dem spokesman said: "Nick Clegg has been at the forefront of calling for peace in Israel and Gaza.
"We utterly condemn David Ward's comments, they are not representative of the Liberal Democrats."
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Israel to "exercise restraint" in its military operations and to avoid targeting civilians.
But he has also defended its right to self-defence and said the "fastest way" to bring about a ceasefire would be for Hamas militants in Gaza to stop firing rockets into Israel. | The Lib Dems say David Ward has given a "categorical apology" for his comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. | 28424396 |
Alex Bell, who was Mr Salmond's head of policy for three years, believed the SNP's model was "broken beyond repair".
The party hit back by pointing to opinion polls suggesting growing support for independence.
However, Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said the Rattle.Scot article was a "powerful condemnation".
Mr Bell claimed the economic case presented during the referendum - which took place on 18 September last year - was based on wishful thinking.
He suggested the current SNP leadership knew this but continued to lead a "morally dubious" government which opposed Tory cuts without any credible alternative.
In response, the SNP said its continuing case for "self-government for Scotland" was being backed by a growing number of Scots who were angry that the UK government "has not delivered on their vow of more powers".
The people of Scotland voted against Scottish independence by 55% to 45%.
Writing on current affairs blog Rattle.Scot, Mr Bell said: "The SNP's model of independence is broken beyond repair. The party should either build a new one or stop offering it as an alternative to Tory cuts.
"The campaign towards the 2014 vote, and the economic information since, has kicked the old model to death.
"The idea that you could have a Scotland with high public spending, low taxes, a stable economy and reasonable government debt was wishful a year ago - now it is deluded."
It is "debatable" whether a separate Scotland could maintain British levels of spending, he added.
Mr Bell suggested Scotland's long-serving Finance Secretary John Swinney would be "unfit for the job" if he does not understand these obstacles "so we must assume these bright people know that the old model, once optimistic, is now dead".
Mr Bell went on: "The fact is a gap exists - Scotland does not earn enough to pay for its current level of spending. Once you accept that, you acknowledge that the SNP's model is broken."
He added:
Mr Bell said that it was "reasonable to assume that all these obstacles can be overcome, but it is stupid to deny they exist".
The SNP spokesman said: "In the year since the referendum, every opinion poll conducted on the matter has shown an increase in support for independence, with some putting Yes ahead.
"This is due to the widespread anger that the UK government has not delivered on their vow of more powers for Scotland - but also because the SNP continues to make the case for self-government for Scotland, and demonstrate a strong track record in office."
Scottish Labour's Jackie Baillie said the "extraordinary intervention" came from a man who was "at the heart of the SNP's campaign for separation".
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said the online piece was confirmation that the "SNP is merely a propaganda machine which hopes it can trick people into thinking it is a competent government".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "Immoral fools with no credible alternative is a powerful condemnation from someone who knows the SNP leadership well." | A one-time adviser to former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has written an online blog saying the current case for an independent Scotland "is dead". | 34837167 |
India's food safety regulator says tests have found the instant noodles "unsafe and hazardous" and has accused Nestle of failing to comply with food safety laws.
The company insists that the noodles are safe and is challenging the ban.
Nestle has 80% of India's instant noodles market.
The company said in a statement that the value of withdrawn noodles include stocks taken off the shelves and stocks stored in factories and with distributors.
"There will be additional costs to take into account, for example bringing stock from the market, transporting the stock to the destruction points, destruction cost etc. The final figure will have to be confirmed at a later date," Nestle said.
Earlier this month, Nestle began withdrawing the Maggi brand from stores, after regulators said they found higher-than-allowed levels of lead in some packets.
The company is challenging the ban in the high court in the city of Mumbai and "raised issues of interpretation" of India's food safety laws.
Nestle's global chief executive Paul Bulcke has asked to see the results of the laboratory tests and promised to return Maggi to store shelves soon.
Several states have also been testing the noodles for the chemical monosodium glutamate, widely known as MSG.
The instant noodles arrived in India in 1983 and can be found in corner shops across the country. | Nestle says it will destroy more than $50m (£32m) worth of its hugely popular Maggi noodles, following a ban imposed by India's food safety regulator. | 33144830 |
His sheep graze the slopes of the Eden Valley. Last month, when unprecedented floodwaters engulfed Cumbria, he watched 160 of them drown.
On the 12th December Mr Stobart got a phone call at 08:30 to say that some of his sheep were stranded.
It should have been a short drive to the field, but roads and bridges were impassable.
By the time he got there several hours later, he found a lethal fast-flowing expanse of water between him and his flock.
"It was awful. The sheep had been standing in the water for hours," he said.
"The fire service were trying to do their best, but as we walked out they moved away from us, out in to the current. We rescued a couple but the others were swept away - it was too dangerous to try to reach them."
Sheep are very vulnerable in floods, their wool becomes waterlogged and they get dragged under.
"It was absolutely horrendous," he says, his eyes shining with tears. "You've worked all year to see the best out of them, and then something happens that is out of everyone's control and there's nothing you can do. It's absolutely torture to watch."
Every sheep is tagged - if they are found, then James gets a call. He has some photos of the piles of mangled bodies of his sheep.
"We've found about half of them. We don't know if we'll ever find the rest."
Across Cumbria some 630 farms were affected by the flooding, and around 2,000 sheep drowned. Mr Stobart puts the value of his ones that he lost at £12,000.
This won't put him out of business - the family has 1,300 breeding sheep. He is insured and the government has set up a Farming Recovery Fund allowing farmers to apply for emergency funding of up to £20,000 each.
However, he says that he wouldn't want anyone to see animals suffering in that way.
Responding to those who criticise the decision to farm in areas like this, he says.
"At the end of the day, we have to eat, and that gets forgotten about."
Follow Claire on Twitter. | James Stobart is a third generation hill farmer from the north Pennines. | 35254850 |
It will look into the "book building" process used ahead of a share sale to gauge investor demand, and whether this could be improved.
Former City minister Lord Myners will lead the review.
It comes ahead of a select committee report on the Royal Mail sale which is expected to be critical.
The review will look at recent UK private and public sector stock market listings which have seen significant rises or falls in share trading prices following flotation.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said the review would help him to "assess whether changes are needed to the current system government operates for the sale of its assets".
The review follows controversy over the £3.3bn privatisation of Royal Mail, where the government has been accused of selling off shares in the firm too cheaply.
The government initially priced Royal Mail shares at 330p each, but they have risen sharply since and are now trading at about 470p a share.
A report by the National Audit Office found that ministers in charge of the privatisation were too cautious when setting the sale price.
In April, Mr Cable insisted that the Royal Mail sale was "successful" and "the government achieved its objectives".
The review will examine:
Analysis, Kamal Ahmed, BBC Business editor:
Critics of Mr Cable will seize on the timing of this announcement, coming as it does a mere two days before what is expected to be a highly critical report by the House of Commons Business Select Committee on the controversial Royal Mail share sale.
Are they connected? Well, put it this way, my sources inside the business department are not denying it.
The best form of managing a controversy that you know is just around the corner? Get your retaliation in first.
Chuka Umunna, shadow business secretary said: "By announcing this inquiry, the Government is admitting what everyone else has known for months - that its privatisation was a first-class short-changing of the taxpayer.
"Taxpayers have been short changed to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds while large City investors, who were placed at the front of the queue by ministers, have been laughing all the way to the bank at the public's expense." | Business secretary Vince Cable has launched a review of the way the government conducts stock market flotations of public assets. | 28231412 |
The ban follows other restrictive measures imposed by Russia and Ukraine on each other since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
They have barred each other's main TV channels on their territory.
Ukraine has blacklisted 83 cultural figures, most of them Russian, whom it considers a national security threat.
Those on the list - barred from visiting Ukraine - mostly support Russia's annexation of Crimea and the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The list includes film directors Karen Shakhnazarov and Pavel Lungin and the actors Vasily Lanovoi, Valentin Gaft and Oleg Tabakov, Russia's Tass news agency reports.
The cultural tit-for-tat war has escalated during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists control much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukraine accuses Russia of waging a propaganda war against it, and of helping the rebels with heavy weapons and professional soldiers. Moscow denies that, but says some Russian "volunteers" are helping the rebels.
The international security organisation OSCE says there are many daily violations of the Minsk ceasefire accord by both sides.
Ambassador Martin Sajdik, an OSCE special representative, spoke of 4,700 violations in just 24 hours, including deployments of heavy weapons that should have been stored.
Russian is widely spoken in Ukraine - not just in the east - and millions of Ukrainians have ethnic Russian relatives. There was a shared culture in Soviet times, before 1991, and most Soviet-era films can still be shown in Ukraine.
Similarly, Russia has banned many Ukrainian performers. That blacklist includes many Ukrainian pop and rock stars popular in Russia, BBC Ukraine specialist Olexiy Solohubenko reports.
Last August, a Russian court jailed Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov for 20 years for plotting terrorist acts in Crimea. He pleaded not guilty.
The new ban on Russian films was signed into law by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday.
It also includes any Russian films made since 1991 that "glorify the work of [Russian] government bodies".
It widens an existing Ukrainian ban on Russian films and TV series that, in Kiev's view, positively portray Russian secret police or other security forces.
Dozens of Russian books are also on a Ukrainian blacklist, because they are perceived to contain Russian nationalist messages.
Wide-ranging tit-for-tat trade embargos are also costing both countries billions of dollars.
Ukraine has stopped exporting arms and military components to Russia and no longer buys gas from Gazprom.
Russia and Ukraine have hit each other with food import bans, including dairy produce and vegetables. | Ukraine has banned Russian films, including TV dramas and documentaries, made since 1 January 2014 in what Kiev regards as "an aggressor state". | 36099885 |
The England striker, sidelined since 18 September with an ankle injury, scored from the penalty spot early in the second half after Kevin Wimmer's own goal three minutes before the interval gave Arsenal the advantage.
The Gunners knew victory would put them top of the table, and Theo Walcott almost put them ahead, crashing a shot against the post, before Wimmer glanced Mesut Ozil's free-kick past Hugo Lloris.
Spurs responded well with Kane's spot-kick after Laurent Koscielny tangled with Mousa Dembele. They then threatened to take all three points, Christian Eriksen forcing a fine save from Petr Cech before his angled free-kick bounced back off the post in the closing minutes.
Arsenal could have gone top of the Premier League with victory here - moving ahead of Chelsea and Manchester City - and all the omens seemed good for them.
The Gunners were in prime form - they remain unbeaten since the opening day of the season - and faced a Spurs side in reduced circumstances, without a win in six games and missing the influence of injured defender Toby Alderweireld and midfielder Dele Alli.
With Kane also returning after a seven-week absence, Arsenal would have entered this north London derby high on optimism - yet had to settle for a draw.
Arsenal were pushed on to the back foot for the first 20 minutes but then exerted their authority to lead by half-time, only to be knocked off track by the concession of that cheap penalty.
The Gunners still showed plenty of grit but in the end they did not possess enough guile to unlock a resolute Spurs defence, who held out in relative comfort for a point.
It may seem strange to suggest, but spirits appeared low at Spurs despite the fact they entered this game as the only unbeaten team left in the Premier League.
Spurs were on an indifferent run after a superb 2-0 win against Manchester City in early October, and their Champions League campaign is in real danger of fizzling out after that second Wembley defeat in the group stage against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
They left Emirates Stadium in better heart after a strong performance and the return of their main marksman Kane, who looked dangerous, albeit short of full match fitness.
Spurs overcame the loss of important players to fully deserve their point and the manner in which they responded to conceding that unfortunate own goal just before half-time will have left Mauricio Pochettino more satisfied than counterpart Arsene Wenger.
England striker Kane got a standing ovation from the visiting fans when he was replaced by Vincent Janssen after 72 minutes.
He proved once more that he is this team's talisman, stepping up to score coolly from the spot and showing plenty of energy considering this was his first game back.
Spurs had played 903 minutes without Kane before this game, scoring 13 goals - five of which came against Gillingham in the EFL Cup - and while his strike was not from open play, the signs were there that they will profit from the extra menace he brings.
He was in a dangerous position but did not get on the end of Son Heung-min's cross in the first half and also glanced a header narrowly wide. As well his penalty, it also took a superb challenge from Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal to stop him putting Spurs ahead after the break as he stole in at the far post.
All in all a very satisfactory comeback.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, speaking to BBC Sport: "It is disappointing to drop two points at home. We created plenty of chances in dangerous situations.
"In the second half we looked more laboured, there were plenty of aspects I did not like, the desire was there but we were too nervous.
"We lacked what we are strong at; the fluency of movement, vision around the box. We usually play better from the back, there was a lot missing.
"Spurs go home happy, we go home and are not happy. We wanted to win the game, but overall it is not mathematically a disaster."
On the Spurs penalty: "From the outside it looked a very soft penalty, I was surprised."
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Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, speaking to BT Sport: "It was a strong performance from my team. Arsenal were on a good run, our players deserve full credit, they were fantastic.
"They played well, we created some chances to win the game, it was very competitive and good to see."
On Arsenal's opener: "Some people say to me it is offside, it is unlucky but we showed big character, we didn't suffer, we started the second half well, deserved the penalty and scored."
On Harry Kane's return: "I am happy with Harry Kane, it is tough after not playing for a few months,. I am happy he is back, it is important for the team to feel one of our best players is available."
Arsenal play away to Manchester United in a 12:30 GMT kick-off on Saturday, 19 November after the international break.
Tottenham welcome West Ham in a 17:30 GMT start later that day.
Match ends, Arsenal 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1.
Second Half ends, Arsenal 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1.
Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Eric Dier tries a through ball, but Kieran Trippier is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Attempt missed. Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Danny Rose with a cross following a set piece situation.
Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal).
Attempt saved. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Alexis Sánchez with a cross.
Attempt saved. Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Christian Eriksen.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Harry Winks replaces Son Heung-Min.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Kevin Wimmer.
Foul by Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal).
Hand ball by Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Foul by Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal).
Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal).
Foul by Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur).
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Kieran Trippier replaces Kyle Walker because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Mesut Özil.
Foul by Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur).
Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Vincent Janssen replaces Harry Kane.
Attempt missed. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high following a corner.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Hugo Lloris.
Foul by Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur).
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Arsenal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Theo Walcott. | Harry Kane marked his return from injury with the equaliser that kept Tottenham as the only unbeaten team in the Premier League after a north London derby draw at Arsenal. | 37814331 |
Diego Costa put the Blues ahead with their first attempt on target as he headed in from Cesar Azpilicueta's floated cross.
Marcos Alonso nearly doubled the visitors' lead as he hit the underside of the crossbar with a curling 25-yard free-kick.
Palace's best chances fell to Jason Puncheon, but he headed wide and fired a free-kick narrowly over.
Antonio Conte's side, who have 43 points, have played a game more than Liverpool in second and third-placed Arsenal, who are both on 34 points.
Arsenal meet fourth-placed Manchester City on Sunday, before Liverpool visit Everton in the Merseyside derby on Monday.
Chelsea also won 11 matches between April and September 2009, with the Premier League record being Arsenal's 14-game winning run in 2002.
On 17 December 2015, Chelsea sacked Jose Mourinho for a second time, seven months after he had led them to the Premier League title, with the club 16th and only one point above the relegation zone.
Fast forward a year and the Blues, who finished the 2015-16 season in 10th after Guus Hiddink steadied things, are nine points clear as they chase a fifth Premier League title.
All four of their previous titles - in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2014-15 - have come having topped the table at Christmas.
Only several fine saves from Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey denied Chelsea a wider margin of victory at Selhurst Park, the Welshman doing well to deny N'Golo Kante and Alonso, who later struck the woodwork.
Chelsea have the top goalscorer in the league in Costa and are also continuing to impress at the other end of the pitch through goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, centre-halves Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and David Luiz, and the cover provided in front of them by Nemanja Matic and Kante.
Hosts Palace did not have a shot on target in the first half and Chelsea defended superbly to deny them any clear-cut opportunities in the second half.
Conte's side have now conceded only two goals in 11 Premier League matches since changing to three at the back following a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 September.
If they can continue this defensive excellence throughout the rest of the season, the title will surely be heading back to Stamford Bridge.
While it has been a fine 12 months for Chelsea, the same cannot be said for Palace.
Yes, they reached the FA Cup final, losing 2-1 after extra time to Manchester United, but they have won only six of 36 Premier League games in 2016.
They have kept just one clean sheet in 22 top-flight matches, and are only one point above the relegation zone.
Scott Dann was at fault for Costa's goal - he was caught not watching the ball and failed to get off the ground to challenge.
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Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "It was a strong performance but they did not give us anything and that was as good a defensive display that we have seen. Once we conceded, it was very difficult.
"We could not get Wilfried Zaha isolated. We kept the ball and passed it well, but the final pass was very difficult. For our offensive players, it was the toughest game they have had. This team is not getting what it is deserves. That will change.
"We have all come up against this system before but it is with outstanding players. They ask questions and do not make errors. N'Golo Kante gives so much energy like he had at Leicester and fills holes which goes unnoticed.
"You don't really expect a centre-half [Azpilicueta] to have that quality - it was a Cesc Fabregas-type ball for the goal and it was a crucial one before half time. I take heart from the last two performances. We deserved something."
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Chelsea boss Antonio Conte: "The run is fantastic. Congratulations to my players, not me. I am pleased for them because they deserve this. I see every single moment, every day. It is commitment, the way we prepare for the game and the way they fight. I am pleased for the fans who are fantastic home and away and who push us.
"We can improve though. You can always improve in different aspects. I am pleased with this level we have reached, but it is important to understand we are only at the 17th game in the season. We must not look at the table. We must not look at our rivals and continue working hard ourselves.
"We have reached a good balance between offence and defence. In some moments, our goalkeeper has been decisive. We dominated the last game but Thibaut made a fantastic save. After last season when he conceded lots of goals, this season is very good for him. We attack and defend as a team."
Both sides are in Premier League action again on Boxing Day, with Crystal Palace at Watford in the early game (12:30 GMT) and Chelsea hosting Bournemouth (15:00 GMT).
Chelsea will be without 13-goal top goalscorer Costa as a first-half foul on Joe Ledley saw the Spain striker get booked, his fifth yellow card of the season, and he will now serve a one-match suspension. Team-mate Kante will also be missing as he was also shown a fifth yellow card, following a number of fouls.
Match ends, Crystal Palace 0, Chelsea 1.
Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 0, Chelsea 1.
Foul by Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace).
David Luiz (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left from a direct free kick.
Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea).
Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).
Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea).
Substitution, Chelsea. Michy Batshuayi replaces Diego Costa.
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea).
Hand ball by Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea).
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Ezekiel Fryers replaces Martin Kelly.
Attempt saved. Gary Cahill (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) hits the bar with a left footed shot from outside the box from a direct free kick.
Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace).
Eden Hazard (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by James McArthur (Crystal Palace).
Eden Hazard (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Damien Delaney.
Attempt blocked. Diego Costa (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Cesc Fàbregas.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Fraizer Campbell replaces Yohan Cabaye.
Substitution, Chelsea. Branislav Ivanovic replaces Victor Moses.
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Martin Kelly.
Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nemanja Matic (Chelsea).
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Andros Townsend replaces Jason Puncheon.
Attempt saved. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Victor Moses.
Attempt saved. N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Victor Moses.
Attempt saved. Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Damien Delaney.
Attempt saved. Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Eden Hazard.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) because of an injury. | Chelsea equalled a club record as they beat Crystal Palace to secure their 11th successive Premier League win and move nine points clear at the top of the table. | 38272816 |
Quoting Robert Burns, Mr Salmond is wont to say: "The mair they talk, I'm kent the better." *
By which Mr Salmond implies - and presumably the bold Rabbie implied - that popular attention is welcome, even if the original cause might be tricky.
It is an 18th Century version, if you like, of the more contemporaneous saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
That modern version is a fine statement. It is a bold statement. It is a courageous statement. Just one snag. It is piffle. Bilge from beginning to end.
Of course, there is such a thing as bad publicity. When the FBI director (that's the departed one) announced that he was resuming inquiries into Hillary Clinton's emails, did she punch the air and declare: "Yippee, there's no such thing as bad publicity"?
Well, I wasn't there when the news was broken to her, so perhaps she did. But I'm willing to wager that she did not. (Actually, I'm not because I regard gambling as arithmetically daft but you get the concept.
Back, however, to Mr Corbyn. How does he respond to the leak of his party's manifesto for the UK general election?
The only available option is chutzpah. And that, presumably, is the path he will eventually pursue. His first response, understandably, was to withdraw from a scheduled engagement in order to address the internal controversy.
Internal political leaks generally have three potential purposes.
I think we may discount option one: a manifesto is scarcely a fit topic for kite-flying. Too serious, too comprehensive. Option two may also be ruled out for the same reason. This is not an early draft: it is close to the final publication.
Which leaves option three. That this leak was motivated by malice, internally. That it was designed to make trouble for the leadership. Given the pre-existing state of the Labour Party, that is an all too credible presumption.
The impact for Scotland? The Scottish Labour Party will, of course, publish their own version, tailored to devolved reality. But it is the UK version which will prevail in issues like business taxation, Brexit negotiations, the broad economy, renationalisation - and Trident, where the leaked manifesto supports renewal, contrary to the views of Mr Corbyn and the Scottish Labour conference.
There has been input from Labour in Scotland to the process - and there has been more in the run-up to today's London meeting to consider the manifesto process.
I understand that Scottish Labour would like the manifesto to state more firmly that the Barnett funding formula would be retained. They would also welcome clarity on the point that some social security powers are devolved (the manifesto is long on defending benefits). And they want further overt support for the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Trident? Kezia Dugdale told me that the Scottish party argued for one option within the democratic procedures of the Labour Party.
Was Scotland overruled, I asked? No, said Ms Dugdale, open and fair procedure was followed.
Rival parties have, not surprisingly, pounced. The SNP said the Trident verdict showed the relative irrelevance of the Scottish party. The Tories seized upon the renationalisation plans as a step back into the past. And the Liberal Democrats - like others - said the leak showed "chaos" within Labour.
Ms Dugdale's view on developments? The leak, she said placidly, was "far from ideal".
*Glossary: Mair = more. Kent = known.
This is provided as a service for those whose knowledge of Scots has waned or never rose in the first place. | Perhaps Jeremy Corbyn might take comfort from the wise words of Scotland's National Bard, as regularly disseminated by Alex Salmond, he who formerly led the SNP. | 39887289 |
He is credited with helping achieve economic growth after the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge regime, responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century.
But the prime minister, 60, is also seen as an authoritarian figure with a poor human rights record and the resources to thwart any real political challenge.
He shows no signs of wanting to relinquish power - in May he said he wanted another decade at the top.
His ruling Cambodia People's Party (CPP) is expected to dominate elections on 28 July 2103, most likely extending his leadership, despite the return of opposition leader Sam Rainsy.
Born into a peasant family in 1952, Hun Sen was educated by Buddhist monks in Phnom Penh.
In the late 1960s, he joined the Communist Party, and for a while he was even a member of the Khmer Rouge - although he denies accusations that he was any more than an ordinary soldier.
He lost his left eye during an exchange of gunfire and he has reportedly said he can only see a limited distance.
During Pol Pot's tyrannical regime in the late 1970s, under which as many as two million people died, Hun Sen fled to Vietnam to join troops opposed to the Khmer Rouge.
When Vietnam installed a new government in Cambodia in 1979, he returned as minister of foreign affairs, becoming prime minister in 1985 at the age of 33.
Hun Sen lost the 1993 elections, but he refused to accept the results and forced a negotiation to become second prime minister alongside the Funcinpec Party's Prince Norodom Ranariddh.
He went on to seize power in a bloody coup in 1997, forcing Prince Ranariddh to temporarily leave the country.
The CPP won general elections in 2003 but did not have two-thirds majority, so it struck a deal with Funcinpec in 2004, ending almost a year of political deadlock. Hun Sen was re-elected prime minister by parliament in July 2004.
In Cambodia's 2008 elections the CPP won most of the contested seats. But the polls were criticised by international monitors, with the EU saying the ruling party made "consistent and widespread" use of state resources for its own campaign.
Rights groups have also regularly criticised the country's human rights situation.
"The human rights situation in Cambodia deteriorated markedly in 2012 with a surge in violent incidents, as the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) prepared for national elections," Human Rights Watch said.
At least 35 rights activists "opposing land grabs and demanding better working conditions were killed, wounded, arbitrarily arrested, threatened with arrest, or kept in exile by CPP-led security forces and the CPP-controlled judiciary".
Ahead of these elections, Hun Sen faced calls from the US to allow his main rival, Sam Rainsy, to return.
A royal pardon was subsequently granted to Mr Rainsy, who had been living abroad after being jailed in absentia on charges he said were politically motivated.
Mr Rainsy returned to Cambodia but remains unable to run in the polls on a technicality. And observers say that the conditions for a fair election do not exist because of the CPP's tight control over the media, judiciary and other key state organs.
Hun Sen has not campaigned for his re-election bid.
"I will not participate during the campaign. I don't want to face confrontation because during that time of year many people will criticise the CPP," he said.
But in a speech in June he said Cambodians should keep the polls from "breaking our nation, society, village and family".
"I am calling on all of our people and officials not to retaliate to acts of insulting [from opposition parties]."
"If they insult us... you just kindly and politely respond: 'For me, I think the Cambodian People's Party is good because it saved people from the genocide regime of Pol Pot, rebuilds the country. I wonder if I have seen the opposition party has done anything for the country so far'." | Cambodia's Hun Sen has been in power since 1985 and is one of the world's longest-serving prime ministers. | 23257699 |
One of the fastest growing online dating companies is Global Personals, based in Windsor, which was set up eight years ago.
It currently employs 100 staff and has 14 websites including Just Widower Dating and Just Divorced Singles which cater for very specific markets.
But 85% of Global Personals' income is from selling software for other people to host their own rebranded sites - known as "white-label" sites.
"We provide the technology, customer care and database for other brands to put their label on it and market it to consumers," says founder Ross Williams.
"In the last eight years, we went from nothing to £30m a year in revenues."
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It is a good money-spinner for Global Personals as they take half of any revenue generated by the white-label sites.
The service is used by individuals who want to set up a dating business and also by several media companies for their linked dating sites like FHM, Bizarre and Maxim magazines. In total it hosts 6,000 white-label sites.
But industry insiders point to the downside.
Marc Leznick, who runs internet dating conferences for the industry, identifies potential drawbacks: "There are two things. Number one, I'm sharing the revenue. And now, let's say, three or four years pass and I want to sell this business. All those users are the value of the business, but I don't own them - the white-label host does."
One person who did not want to share his revenue is Richard La Ruina. He runs one of the new crop of courses springing up and advertised online, which teach people how to pick up partners.
Called "Pick Up Artist Training", it is for men looking for women and involves spending two days at "boot camp". It teaches how to secure a woman's number, how to text her, where to go on a date and how to behave. The charge is £779.
Dharam Raja who teaches on the course did it himself three and a half years ago.
"By the end of it, I felt I could go out and meet a woman and take her out on a date and get into a relationship if I wanted one."
Critics have suggested the course concentrates more on picking up women than developing a relationship.
The website bears testimonials like "Managed to pick up three girls in a week."
Dharam rejects this: "If we advertise as 'Come and find your one true soul mate' - for women that might be spot on, but most men would search online for 'How do you meet women?'
"You have to be on top of search terms for such things. Not all guys who come on the course want to sleep their way through the world. Many guys want to just meet the right person."
Another specialist target is the Asian market, where sites such as Shaadi.com appeal to people who are more interested in settling down than dating.
The Mumbai-based company claims to have fixed more than two million weddings worldwide since it opened 15 years ago.
The site uses the same search criteria that families would use when trying to arrange a marriage in the traditional way but does everything online.
Sanjay and Sunita met using the site and have been married for eight years.
Sunita says: "I wasn't getting any younger and had already been through a bad marriage where I was formally introduced.
"So this was a platform where the parent aspect was not there, and this would mean it was my decision rather than been influenced by outsiders."
Her husband Sanjay believes matrimonial sites can help bridge the gap between traditional family values and modern dating.
"It still isn't acceptable for people from our community to come home and say 'This is my boyfriend' or 'This is my girlfriend', so sites like this can act as a buffer until that does become the norm."
You And Yours investigates consumer issues daily at 12 noon on BBC Radio 4. The investigations into the dating business can be heard from Wednesday 7 December to Friday 9 December. Or catch up later at the above link. | With many people looking for a partner preferring to search online than in a bar or club, the web dating business is worth more than £2bn a year worldwide and niche targeting is helping businesses meet customer needs. | 16054422 |
Dennis Vogelaar denies being part of a £1.6bn plot to smuggle "top quality" drugs into the UK.
Co-defendant Leonardus Bijlsma said: "I can't read" when asked about a diary of names and addresses found in a car, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Both deny conspiracy to supply drugs.
Prosecutors allege the "lucrative criminal conspiracy", fronted by a bogus ambulance company in Holland, may have seen up to £420m of drugs reach the UK, with a street value four times higher.
When National Crime Agency (NCA) officers swooped on a meeting near a scrap yard in Smethwick in June, they found an ambulance with six hiding places, according to Robert Davies, prosecuting.
Inside were neatly-stacked packets of drugs including 193kg of cocaine with a street value of more than £30m, and 74kg of heroin worth £8m in individual deals.
Officers also found 19,920 ecstasy tablets and 2kg of MDMA (ecstasy) crystal powder.
Bijlsma and Vogelaar, both of Amsterdam, were arrested along with two other men - Olof Schoon, aged 38, and 51-year-old Richard Engelsbel.
The jury has already been told that Schoon and Engelsbel have admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.
In interview, 56-year-old Bijlsma told officers he had left school aged 14 and had only been in the UK to look at an old BMW to scrap.
CCTV was played in court showing how, on one occasion in May, the same ambulance seized by the NCA in Smethwick was driven to the Moorside Industrial Estate in Colchester.
The footage also showed Bijlsma and Schoon arriving separately in a Mercedes car just minutes before, then meeting the ambulance crew at a lock-up.
The Crown has alleged that the industrial unit was just one of several locations where the drugs were unloaded for distribution.
Mr Davies described the firm and its operations as nothing more than "a veneer" for the smuggling operation which sometimes even boasted fake patients.
The trial, set to resume on Tuesday, continues. | The driver of a fake Dutch ambulance "rammed to the roof" with £38m of cocaine and heroin claimed he had "no clue" what was in the back, a court heard. | 34882250 |
First they gathered at an office near the airport where they were due to meet an official from Malaysian Airlines for one of their regular, two-monthly briefings.
After being denied permission to bring the media with them to that meeting, they marched on.
Next stop, the Malaysian Embassy, where there were a few scuffles and skirmishes with the police before they were eventually allowed to hold a protest at the gates.
And then, after that proved fruitless, they headed off shouting and chanting for truth and justice to the Malaysian ambassador's residence, where they set about punching and kicking the gates.
They were quickly hustled away by the police with the promise of a meeting with a Malaysian government representative, so in the end, perhaps, there was a victory of sorts.
But it is, you can't help but conclude, a very sorry sight.
Seventeen months after the loss of their close family members, they've been reduced to a small, despairing band of protesters.
Today, they at least managed to make their point in front of the foreign media although some muttered quietly of constant control and harassment by China's plain-clothed police.
It is a treatment normally reserved for those perceived as a political nuisance rather than the bereaved family members of the victims of an air disaster.
But then, that is, arguably what they have indeed become.
Around 30-strong, they do not, of course, represent all of the 153 Chinese passengers on board MH370.
But it is still a sizeable sample and they are united by that one, abiding belief; that they have not been given the truth by the Malaysian authorities.
Their biggest fear is that they are being duped.
The discovery of the wing part on the island of Reunion is, in their view, perhaps a convenient device to help draw a line under the whole affair without the plane, or the bodies, ever being produced.
On one level, you could argue, it is simply a refusal by the grief-stricken to accept the obvious.
The evidence after all is strong; the satellite data shows the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean and now that debris find - matching the sea current patterns - does indeed seem to add further corroboration.
But the unwillingness of many of the Chinese relatives to believe is not as illogical as it sounds.
There are indeed real question marks over the way the Malaysian authorities have handled both the search for the plane and the release of information - marred by delay, confusion and apparent self-interest.
And here in China too, the families feel there is no-one they can trust.
There are no independent media voices campaigning on their behalf or doggedly pursuing the truth.
Their own attempts to demand answers here in Beijing, as we saw today, are falling on deaf ears.
Bewildered and despairing, it is perhaps little wonder that some find comfort in the myriad conspiracy theories swirling online: that the plane might not be at the bottom of the ocean and that their loved ones might still be alive. | For the best part of a day we have followed Chinese relatives around the streets of Beijing, defiant and determined to make their point that they do not accept the conclusion that the plane is lost. | 33819820 |
Sir Mike Tomlinson, appointed in the wake of the controversy, says the phrase was "not helpful" to attempts to improve Birmingham's schools.
He said that it could have an adverse impact on teacher recruitment.
Sir Mike said no-one in his department was now allowed to use the phrase.
The so-called Trojan horse inquiries followed the sending of an anonymous letter claiming that there was a conspiracy among a group of Muslim parents, teachers and governors to wrest control of several schools in the city.
It gave its name to a long-running and high-profile scandal, which became a major issue for the education secretary and the leader of Ofsted.
The authenticity of the letter has never been established, but Sir Mike said he believes it accurately reflected events that had taken place in schools.
Speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum, Sir Mike said that staff who opposed such "infiltration" were "targeted, bullied and harassed until they resigned".
The letter prompted a series of investigations by the Department for Education, Ofsted and the local authority.
In the wake of these inquiries, the need for schools to promote "British values" was introduced and Sir Mike's current role, overseeing schools in the city, was created.
But Sir Mike, a former Ofsted chief inspector, said that the term Trojan Horse was now no longer acceptable and was seen as damaging the image of the city's schools.
The claims had only related to 21 out of more than 430 schools in Birmingham.
Although believing that there had been co-ordinated attempts to change the character of schools, he said the investigations had found no evidence of extremism or that any young person had been radicalised.
The problems facing Birmingham's schools could happen in other cities, he said.
"The events were unprecedented but not impossible to happen elsewhere," he said.
Sir Mike said that in response to the controversy there had been improvements to whistleblowing arrangements and staff training and greater scrutiny of the role of governors.
"Young people are now undoubtedly safer," he said. | Birmingham's education commissioner says he has banned the use of the term "Trojan Horse" to describe alleged attempts by groups to take over schools and covertly impose a Muslim ethos. | 35794359 |
They formed a circle and made speeches. A Lakota Sioux man sang prayers, cutting through the winter air in a mournful, high-pitched chant.
The mood was solemn.
Earlier that day, the US Army Corps of Engineers granted the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline an easement to pass beneath Lake Oahe and the Missouri River, north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
Since the middle of 2016, thousands of Native Americans have been fighting to prevent the pipeline's completion. In the final days of Barack Obama's presidency the White House put construction on hold pending further assessments, and for a moment the protesters believed they had won. Crowds celebrated with fireworks on the snow-swamped prairie of North Dakota.
But everything changed with the arrival of President Donald Trump.
Within days of taking office, he issued an executive memorandum on 24 January calling for the pipeline to proceed.
Two weeks later, the president's order was obliged, and the Corps granted the easement.
For the Sioux people who opposed this venture and the coalition of 200 tribal nations that joined them, this development is a crushing blow.
"We are a sovereign nation and we will fight to protect our water and sacred places," David Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Tribe, responded in a statement.
News spread quickly once the easement was passed, sweeping through Instagram and Facebook under Standing Rock's signature hashtag: #NoDAPL.
For those who have been campaigning for the pipeline, including workers unions, oil and gas advocates and some Republican politicians like Sarah Palin, this was a pivotal victory.
"Our hope is that the new administration in Washington will now provide North Dakota law enforcement the necessary resources to bring closure to the protests," said Kyle Kirchmeier, the sheriff of the local Morton County Police, in a press release.
The last 1.5 mile (2.4 km) stretch of the pipeline is expected to be completed in less than 90 days.
Activist groups have mobilised in an attempt to reverse the decision, planning direct actions in New York, Chicago and hundreds of other locations across the US.
These marches will culminate in a large-scale "Native Nations" march in Washington DC on 10 March, led by the leaders of the Standing Rock Tribe and an array of their core advocates, including the influential Indigenous Environmental Network.
"Take action, any way you can, now," Erin Wise, a member of the Jicarilla Apache and Laguna Pueblo nations, instructed the crowds outside the White House.
"We have not lost. We are still here," she cried.
Campaigners have already enjoyed some success. Following a "boycott" initiate aimed at depriving the multi-billion dollar oil infrastructure project of funding, two city councils, most notably Seattle, have cut ties with Wells Fargo Bank - a chief lender to Dakota Access LLC - on account of its ties to the pipeline.
The move will deprive the bank of $3bn (£2.4bn) in city funds, a significant financial and public relations blow, which could deter future investment in Dakota Access.
A legal challenge against the pipeline has also been mounted.
A lawsuit has been ongoing between the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River tribes and the federal government since September 2016.
The plaintiffs filed a request for a temporary halt to pipeline construction in federal court in Washington DC on 9 February.
They argued that the Army Corp of Engineers was wrong to terminate an Environmental Impact Statement they were compiling, which had been initiated by President Obama, but was swiftly shelved once President Trump assumed office.
The tribes may also request a summary judgement on their lawsuit, which would fast-track their case and compel the judge to make a ruling ahead of schedule - either in favour of the tribes or in favour of the government.
"It's a long shot," said Dallas Goldtooth, a Lakota activist and prominent leader of the Standing Rock movement, in a statement on Facebook.
"Both scenarios [the temporary injunction and the summary judgement] are extremely risky."
If legal action and protest marches fail, a statement on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's website says the tribe will seek to "shut the pipeline operations down."
By what means remains unclear.
Although as many as 10,000 people were camped out in North Dakota in solidarity with Standing Rock in December, the Native American camps have shrunk considerably since.
Between 300 and 500 people are currently living near the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers in three camps: Oceti Sakowin, Sacred Stone and Rosebud Sicangu.
Residents there - who include representatives of dozens of indigenous nations, environmental activists and military veterans - will be at risk of flooding when the snow melts.
In a slow, bitterly cold process, they are currently relocating their tents, trucks, yurts and teepees to higher ground leased by the Cheyanne River Sioux. The original camps could be vacated within a matter of weeks.
"People are scared," says Linda Black Elk, who runs a permanent medical facility in the area.
"There is a feeling that the police can move in at any moment, and that they can do anything now they have the government on their side."
Theda New Brest, a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, also believes the Standing Rock tribal alliance faces difficult days ahead.
"We are on the edge of a precipice," she says.
"We have to stand. Mother Earth is life."
Neither the Standing Rock Tribe, nor its allies, intend to stand down in the wake of their latest setback. | Clutching hand-painted signs reading "Water is Life" and "Resist Dakota Access", approximately 500 protesters gathered outside the White House on the evening of 8 February. | 38924160 |
Eloise Burton-Cope, 33, admitted the manslaughter of her four-month-old son Leon, who died from head injuries.
At Birmingham Crown Court, Burton-Cope was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
Her barrister, Jane Humphryes QC, said she had been "lost in a bureaucratic system short of funding... and passed from department to department".
Sentencing Burton-Cope, who lived at Glebe Road, Deanshanger, Northamptonshire, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said "no-one should feel guilty about what happened".
The judge said it was "unfortunate" that her medical condition was not recognised at the time but "no-one is to blame", adding "it is very easy to be wise after the event".
The court heard that Burton-Cope, who had depression, called paramedics on 29 March 2014 after shaking her son.
Leon was taken to hospital with a fractured skull and brain damage. He died two days later.
Ms Humphryes said: "This was a distressed, tired, mentally ill lady. She was doing her best to look after her child and she panicked.
"There's nothing to suggest she didn't love and care for him.
"Her devastation is total and she will certainly never overcome that.
"She did seek help from medical professionals. She was lost in a bureaucratic system short of funding.
"She was passed from department to department, each one thinking the other was looking after her. There was no proper plan."
Ms Humphryes added: "She will have to live with these tragic events for the rest of her life."
Leon had been "crying for four days" and would not feed properly, the court heard.
Burton-Cope, who now lives in Milton Keynes, suffered bouts of "psychotic behaviour" and had been "hearing voices".
She was last seen by a health visitor on 22 January 2014 and no concerns were raised, the court heard.
Burton-Cope, whose not guilty plea to murder was accepted by the prosecution, admitted manslaughter in June. | A woman who killed her baby while she was mentally ill has been given a suspended jail sentence. | 34719993 |
Gedling Country Park opened in March on the site of a former colliery, where the miners died.
The Friends of Gedling Country Park must win public votes to receive £25,000 from the OneFamily Foundation, which funds community projects.
Chairman Terry Lock said the garden would feature old mining artefacts.
Voting started this week for 100 projects that applied for OneFamily Foundation funding.
When voting ends on 29 June, the top four would receive £25,000 each.
"It's a beautiful place with spectacular views and it's easy to forget the dangerous work that used to go on here," Mr Lock said.
Rings that supported the original mining tunnels at the Gedling Colliery would be used to create pergola rings if the memorial garden was built, the group said.
The 240-acre Gedling Country Park cost £1.1m to convert. There were plans to create the country park since the colliery shut in 1991. | A community group is hoping to win funding for a memorial garden inside a new country park to commemorate 128 dead miners. | 33036019 |
The Ashburn Colored School in Virginia, about 30 miles (50km) west of Washington DC, was discovered covered in swastikas and "white power" slogans.
Local students had been restoring the crumbling building, hoping to create an education museum.
The group, which had raised $20,000 (£15,000) for the project, said it was "heartbroken about this senseless act".
Loudoun County Sheriff's Office has opened an investigation.
"The vandalism to the Old Ashburn School is reprehensible and will not be tolerated here in Loudoun County," said Sheriff Mike Chapman.
The Ashburn Colored School opened in 1892, when schools were racially segregated by law, to teach African American students in Loudoun County.
It remained open until the late 1950s, years after the US Supreme Court banned segregated education.
Former student Yvonne Neal she : "It's like a landmark for those of us who went there."
Students from the neighbouring Loudoun School for the Gifted, who have been working on the restoration, hope to transform the interior into a museum of education.
"While we are heartbroken about this senseless act, please know that our students, volunteers, and community will work even harder to complete the dream of renovating the Ashburn Colored School," the group said on its Facebook page.
A crowdfunding campaign for the project raised over $21,000, with a fresh wave of donations arriving since the vandalism.
The organisers estimate the total cost of the project at close to $100,000. | A historic black school in Virginia which was being restored has been vandalised with racist graffiti. | 37533947 |
The prime minister was greeted by the public in Martyrs' Square in the capital Tripoli, having spoken to recruits at a police training college.
He has also met Prime Minister Ali Zidan and President Mohamed Magarief.
At a press conference, he announced that police investigating the 1988 Lockerbie bombing are to visit Libya.
Officers from the Dumfries and Galloway force had been granted permission to pursue their investigations in the country, he said.
The BBC's political correspondent Tim Reid said discussions had been taking place about the issue since the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 and while the Libyan authorities had always been supportive, it is only now that it has been approved.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person ever convicted of the bombing, died last year after having been released from a Scottish jail in 2009.
Downing Street had requested a news blackout ahead of the prime minister's arrival from Algeria for security reasons.
Mr Cameron, who is being accompanied by his national security adviser and the head of MI6 on the trip, told police recruits at the training centre, which is receiving support from the British government, that it was "very good to be back".
In September 2011, Mr Cameron travelled to Libya with the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy to celebrate the liberation of this country from Colonel Gaddafi.
"I will never forget the scenes I saw in Tripoli and Benghazi," he said.
"The British people want to stand with you and help you deliver the greater security that Libya needs.
"So we have offered training and support from our police and our military. We look forward to working together in the years ahead."
Earlier this week, the Foreign Office warned of a "potential threat" to the British embassy in Tripoli.
This came less than a week after UK citizens were urged to leave the second city, Benghazi, because of a "specific and imminent threat to westerners".
The security situation has deteriorated since the PM's last visit. As he toured Martyrs' Square, a police helicopter hovered overhead and security forces were close at hand.
Acknowledging Libya faces major security challenges, Mr Cameron told the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson the country was on a "long, painful, hard road to a genuine, secure and stable democracy".
The UK, he added, would assist Libya to take the necessary steps to improve its security, such as help with disbanding militia, training the army and supporting a singe police force.
He also defended the French intervention in neighbouring Mali and rejected suggestions that foreign involvement in Muslim countries was the best recruiting sergeant for al-Qaeda.
On the contrary, he said terrorist groups would be encouraged if the international community ignored "ungoverned spaces and chaotic countries" and allowed them to fester - adding that this "was the lesson from Afghanistan and Somalia".
The UK's former Ambassador to Libya, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC that Libya faced many challenges, including agreeing a constitution, setting up new ministries, integrating the militias and diversifying an economy that has been heavily reliant on oil exports.
"But Libya has got a lot going for it still because its people are determined to protect the new freedoms that they have," he added.
Visiting Algeria on Wednesday in the first leg of his trip to Africa, the prime minister said the international community should use "everything at its disposal" to fight terrorism.
The recent hostage crisis at the In Amenas gas plant, in which some 37 foreigners died, was "a reminder that what happens in other countries affects us at home", he said.
He was the first British prime minister to visit Algeria since it became independent in 1962. | David Cameron has told Libyans that "the British people want to stand with you" as he visited the country on the second stage of his African trip. | 21277683 |
Preet Gill secured 24,124 votes to hold the seat in Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour with a majority of 6,917.
The seat had previously been held by Gisela Stuart who stepped down when the election was called.
Ms Gill said after leaving the count at about 05:00 BST, she went to a temple to give a prayer of thanks for her success followed later on by the school run as "life just carries on".
Citing the fight against education cuts as one of her top priorities, said she had a good team of people and had a really "strong" campaign.
"Theresa May clearly thought she had an overwhelming majority, but I saw a different mood out there when campaigning," she said.
West Midlands election results
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Ms Gill was followed by Conservative Caroline Squire with 17,207 votes.
Lib Dem Colin Green received 1,564 votes, Green candidate Alice Kiff received 562 and Common Good candidate Dick Rodgers secured 155 votes.
Filling the shoes of her predecessor Ms Stuart, whose strength as a local MP was borne out by her holding the seat since 1997, was something Ms Gill said she was well aware of.
"It's been 19 years since Gisela's iconic win and I want to build on the great work she did.
"Our Brexit opinions might not have been the same [Ms Stuart was chair of the victorious Vote Leave campaign] but she was an excellent constituent MP."
She said her priorities as an MP were to now get to know people in the different areas and their different issues.
Being the first female Sikh MP was also a "huge privilege" and she said she hoped she would become "one of many" who would now come forward and get involved.
"The fact there has never been one before, it's a big issue," she added.
Ms Preet's father came to Birmingham in the 1950s and worked in a factory, becoming the foreman and later a bus driver on the number 11 route in the city which he became known for, she said.
"He was president of the Smethwick gurdwara... and was involved in the community. He was very passionate and active and always said you should contribute and try to give something back.
"He died three years ago but he would have been immensely proud of me becoming an MP."
Overall, she said her win is still sinking in and she was looking forward to "such an amazing opportunity."
Sikh business leaders in the West Midlands have congratulated her on her win saying they had felt under represented in the governmental decision making processes.
Roger Wouhra, from East End Foods - founded by his family in the West Midlands in the 1970s - said her success meant Sikhs would have more of a voice in the House of Commons, especially after Conservative Paul Uppal lost his Wolverhampton seat in 2015.
"It's fantastic news to have a Sikh MP," he said.
"It's early days but she will be able to speak for Sikhs in the Commons in areas that need addressing."
Black Country businessman and local enterprise board member Ninder Johal said it was a "breakthrough" for Sikhs.
"The Sikh community for generations has been a vital contributor to the economy and community, but for too long not represented in the decision making process in the Houses of Parliament.
"It's great that we have someone from the local area as a voice for Sikhs there." | The first female Sikh MP has been elected to the Houses of Parliament. | 40212954 |
The Scarlets are set to sign the Wales full-back on a National Dual Contract (NDC) with the WRU, after Halfpenny left Toulon in the summer.
Davies wants Halfpenny, 28, back in Wales after three seasons in France.
"Talks are ongoing," Davies confirmed to BBC Wales News' Welsh language Newyddion 9 programme.
"I think the Union and the regions are eager to ensure that the best Welsh players play in Wales.
"Those discussions are ongoing but there is no development that can be announced as yet."
Davies refused to be drawn on which of the four regions Halfpenny would be joining if he agreed to return to Wales.
"We're looking forward to bring him back to play his rugby in Wales so that he's considered as one of the game's heroes and that the kids and the next generation can see one of our best players play in Wales," Davies said.
Halfpenny has spent three seasons in Toulon after joining from Cardiff Blues but is set to link up with the Scarlets rather than his former region.
The WRU would pay 60% of his contract as part of the NDC, with the Scarlets contributing the other 40%.
"The regions are always looking to retain, first of all, and then repatriate our leading players to play rugby in Wales," added Davies.
"It's important for the young generation to see their star players being readily available for them to watch most weekends."
Scarlets general manager Jon Daniels remained coy on whether Halfpenny was heading to Llanelli.
"We are preparing for next season with the squad that we have got," said Daniels.
"If there is anything on Leigh Halfpenny in the near future, I am sure the Welsh Rugby Union will be making that statement when they are ready to do so. Until then we are getting on with our preparations.
"We have a squad here who has been working hard for a good couple of weeks and we are looking forward to the challenge." | Talks are under way to bring Leigh Halfpenny back to Wales, Welsh Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies has confirmed. | 40774614 |
But the Chamber was positively awash with it on Monday as MPs debated how they should address their colleagues - especially those who have served in the armed forces.
In recent weeks, Defence Minister Julian Brazier has revived a time-honoured parliamentary practice of referring to colleagues who have served their country as the "right honourable or honourable gallant member".
He has even extended the courtesy to those, such as Crispin Blunt, who have been rather less than complimentary about current changes to the armed forces, which will ultimately see the regular army downsized by a fifth and, if all goes to plan, more than 10,000 new reservists recruited.
Mr Brazier, who himself served as an officer in the Territorial Army for 13 years, has been in the firing line as he has had to defend the level of recruitment to the reserves amid claims that only 20 new members have been signed up in the past year.
As he has faced questions on the subject, the MP for Canterbury has been quick to recognise those with personal experience of the subject at hand.
He was at it again during monthly Defence Questions in Parliament when he offered the sobriquet to a number of fellow MPs.
This prompted Labour MP Barry Sheerman to seek guidance from Commons Speaker John Bercow, in the form of a point of order, as to who qualified for such recognition.
For instance, he wondered whether he, having served in the cadet force at school, should be accorded such status.
"I have tried to find out who is gallant and who is not," he told Mr Bercow. "Could you clear up who is gallant and who is not gallant in this way?"
On a more serious note, he added: "I am told that a non-commissioned soldier, an ordinary soldier who won the Victoria Cross, would still not be able to be called gallant as it only applies to officers."
Mr Bercow, who has rarely been described - even by his critics - as a member of the officer class, was able to reassure Mr Sheerman that the honorific title could be applied to Army, Navy and RAF personnel no matter what their rank.
As for the question of its use, Mr Bercow said this was a matter of "parliamentary taste" and there was no need for a formal ruling from him.
He remarked that one of Mr Brazier's predecessors in the Ministry of Defence, Andrew Robathan, had been "partial" to using the phrase and that MPs should always seek to refer to their colleagues in a "tasteful" manner.
Mr Robathan's own gallantry can certainly not be called into question.
He served in the Army for 15 years and then came out of retirement during the First Gulf War to head a unit guarding prisoners of war in Iraq and Kuwait.
Giving his view on the matter, Mr Robathan said the title should "not be taken too far", and while insisting this was not a dig at Mr Sheerman, added: "I am sure you would agree that we should not extend it to former members of cadet forces."
Veteran Labour MP David Winnick had his own perspective on the matter, saying he had "no wish" to be referred to as gallant despite his two years of national service.
While acknowledging not all parliamentary traditions are respected, Sir Gerald Howarth - a former RAF reservist - said this was one that should be jealously guarded, particularly at a time when the country was commemorating the centenary of the start of World War One.
"Whilst the traditional practice may have fallen into desuetude, surely at this time when the nation has been committed to military operations and there is an enhanced concern for the welfare of our armed forces, there is a purpose served in maintaining the tradition in that it indicates that many members have served," he remarked.
"I think that sends a message to the nation and surely in this case, tradition will serve the house and the nation."
The sheer number of former military personnel in the Commons, on all sides of the House, means that a regular outbreak of gallantry is unlikely to disappear from the green benches when defence matters are discussed.
Nearly 60 members of the House of Commons have either served in the regular army or the reserves, Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois pointed out.
"That is almost one in 10 members of the House of Commons," Mr Francois, himself a member of the club, added. | In the "theatre of war" that is the House of Commons, gallantry is not always to the fore - particularly during the partisan jousting of Prime Minister's Questions. | 30184063 |
Cleaning up after the attack could cost millions of euros and involve replacing or wiping computers, said Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Federal investigators are looking into the scope of the attack to see how much data has been taken.
It is still not clear who carried out the cyber-attack.
The attack on the lower house of the German parliament came to light in May.
It involved attackers using malicious programs to infect many of the 20,000 machines used by politicians, support staff and civil servants that sit on the Parlakom network.
German newspaper Der Spiegel quoted a parliamentary source who said the malware was still "active" and stealing data from infected machines.
A Russian intelligence agency has been blamed for the attack, but Moscow has not commented on the allegations.
One report suggested that the federal office for computer security (BSI) had said that cleaning up the infection could cost millions of euros and involve replacing all the computers.
However, a later report said no decision had yet been taken on how many machines needed to be replaced or whether they could be disinfected another way.
And an investigation was looking into whether the attack could be removed by simply replacing servers taken over by attackers.
Conclusions from a secret report into the attack and its scope is expected to be delivered to politicians on 11 June.
"This is the biggest cyber-attack on the Bund, on the German parliament," Bernhard Kaster, secretary of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union political bloc, told Sueddeutsche Zeitung. | A cyber attack on the German parliament uncovered a month ago is still stealing data from Bundestag computers, report German media. | 33093895 |
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20 July 2015 Last updated at 08:44 BST
During the World Surf League competition, Mick Fanning was approached by two sharks - but moments later he was rescued from the water by jet-skis.
The events unfolded on live TV. The surfer was unharmed but a little bit shaken up.
The surfing competition was cancelled and Mick thanked the team who safely brought him back onto dry land.
Watch the surfer's lucky escape... | Most of the time, sharks leave humans well alone but this weekend one surfer was caught up in a really unusual situation that he'll never forget. | 33591211 |
The Association of Electoral Administrators is investigating the vote in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which Labour's Paul Farrelly won by 30 votes.
Complainants said some postal votes had not been issued and there were problems joining the Electoral Register online.
Returning officer John Sellgren said the probe would highlight "any shortcomings" in the voting process.
More stories from Staffordshire and Cheshire
On the day of the election, students from Keele University reported turning up to polling stations and being told their "names were not on the list".
Tom Snape, chairman of the Keele Students Union said he had taken at least 140 complaints from students about the problems.
"There are thoughts of a general problem with the council being able to handle the number of voters," he said.
Mr Farrelly described the issues on polling day as a "shambles".
Mr Sellgren, also Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council's chief executive, said: "We have commissioned the most suitably qualified organisation in the country to investigate the issues....and to determine whether there were any shortcomings in relation to the conduct of the election.
"We are hopeful the association can start its work immediately and produce their report as soon as possible.
"In the report we have asked them to set out the details of the investigation undertaken, comment on the matters investigated and come forward with any recommendations for action."
A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said: "We welcome this review and will support it in any way we can.
"We will be reporting on the administration of the polls in due course." | An investigation has been launched after constituents complained they were unable to vote in the general election. | 40260810 |
Gaizka Garitano was sacked on Saturday as Deportivo registered their fourth consecutive league defeat.
Mel, 54, only lasted 17 games in charge at West Brom in 2014 and has not managed since he was sacked by Real Betis in January 2016.
Deportivo, league champions in 2000, are two points above the relegation zone having not won since December.
He is the club's seventh manager in six years and has been put in charge until the end of the season. | Former West Brom manager Pepe Mel has been appointed coach of struggling La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna. | 39121633 |
The mint, which employs about 900 people at Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taff, saw its profits increase from £11.4m the year before.
Its revenue rose 39% to £360.6m and bullion sales "contributed largely" to the success, according to chief executive Adam Lawrence.
The mint is producing 1.4 billion new 12-sided pound coins for next year.
The company's circulating coin sales also grew 17% to £124m over the period, with demand from the UK market remaining "strong".
But the number of coins manufactured dropped from 4.6 billion for 30 countries in 2014/15, to 4.4 billion for 40 countries throughout 2015-16.
In May, the company launched a new visitor attraction, The Royal Mint Experience, which includes a factory tour explaining how the coins are made. | The Royal Mint has announced a big rise in profits to £13.1m for 2015-16. | 36892007 |
PC Andrew Reid, a beat police officer for Upton Grey and the Candovers, near Basingstoke, for more than a decade will be relocated.
One dedicated officer for a 50 sq m (130 sq km) area will be replaced by two police officers and PCSOs covering a 200 sq m (518 sq m) area.
Hampshire Police must make £80m in savings by 2017.
PC Reid, who lives in a "police house" in Preston Candover, had become so popular villagers had clubbed together and offered to pay for him to stay.
They also offered to sponsor a marked 4X4 response vehicle.
However, the Hampshire Police Federation raised concerns over a possible "two-tier" service, with affluent communities able to pay for better police coverage.
A compromise has now been reached after the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Hayes, met villagers to discuss their concerns.
PC Reid will have lead responsibility for his previous rural beat area, but will be deployed to the wider area as required.
A review will be held in six months to check residents are happy with the arrangements.
Mr Hayes said residents were "satisfied" with the actions being taken.
Councillor Mark Ruffell, borough councillor for Upton Grey and the Candovers, said he remained "concerned" about the "operational effect" of the restructuring, and said residents were "unhappy that the level of police cover is now too low".
"My residents don't wish to have police cover spread so thinly that it appears non-existent," he said. | Villagers will lose their beat bobby despite offering to pay £60,000 annually for three years to keep him. | 34641547 |
Samples from 10 victims had been analysed at four laboratories, OPCW head Ahmet Uzumcu said.
The attack on rebel-held Khan Sheikhoun killed at least 87 people.
The Syrian military denied using any chemical agents.
Its ally Russia meanwhile said an air strike hit a rebel depot full of chemical munitions - but this suggestion has been widely rejected.
The US responded to the attack by launching air strikes on a Syrian military airfield.
Footage following the incident showed civilians, many of them children, choking and foaming at the mouth.
Mr Uzumcu said samples had been taken from three people who died in the attack and were analysed at two OPCW designated laboratories.
Another set of samples from seven people being treated in hospitals were also analysed in two other laboratories.
"The results of these analyses from four OPCW-designated laboratories indicate exposure to sarin or a sarin-like substance. While further details of the laboratory analyses will follow, the analytical results already obtained are incontrovertible," Mr Uzumcu said.
An OPCW fact-finding mission was ready to deploy to the town if the security situation meant it was possible, he said.
The team was continuing to conduct interviews and collect samples, he added.
Syria had been obligated to give up its chemical weapons arsenal under the terms of a deal agreed between the US and Russia in 2013 following a deadly chemical weapons attack in Damascus earlier that year.
The UN said sarin had been used in the attack which killed hundreds of people in the Ghouta agricultural belt to the west and east of the capital. | "Incontrovertible" test results show sarin gas or a similar substance was used in the chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this month, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says. | 39648503 |
The famous regiment was amalgamated in 1994 to become part of the Highlanders, with Prince Charles its last colonel-in-chief.
Saturday's event was held in the Moray town of Buckie.
It honoured recipients of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry.
Speaking before the event, retired regimental Major Grenville Irvine-Fortescue said it would be a significant day.
He said: "Some people are concerned that this may be the last big gathering, I think of its size it will be.
"Of course the regimental association has a number of branches scattered from Inverness to London, and those branches will continue to have reunions and gatherings on a smaller scale.
"But everybody is getting a little bit older, and gathering everybody together for one big event where we are all still fit enough to march and enjoy the occasion and treat it with the dignity that such an occasion is due, it's really going to be the last opportunity we have."
A plaque was also unveiled to commemorate Private George McIntosh, who was one of the regiment's VC recipients, and is buried in Buckie.
In November, BBC Scotland told how Peter and Elspeth Tocher from Aberdeen lost five sons who served with the Gordon Highlanders in World War One.
The father of the five men also enlisted as he was so distraught to be losing his sons one by one. | Hundreds of veterans of the historic Gordon Highlanders regiment have taken part in what is thought likely to be their last major parade. | 40751687 |
Darren Jones, standing for Bristol North West, felt unwell and left his podium about 45 seconds before the programme on Made in Bristol TV began.
Tory Charlotte Leslie rushed to assist Mr Jones as he lay on the studio floor.
Mr Jones said he was "perfectly fine now" and was "raring to get back on the campaign trail".
He was taking part in a live debate, on Wednesday, with other candidates standing in the constituency, including Liberal Democrat Clare Campion-Smith and UKIP's Michael Frost.
An ambulance was called but cancelled after Mr Jones said it was "not needed".
Mr Jones said his fainting was not due to a medical condition but "the fact that I had a cold, it was a hot room, I'd had a busy day".
He said he had been feeling "quite poorly all day" but he had wanted to ensure Labour was represented in the debate.
Mr Jones said he was very grateful to Ms Leslie, the TV production team and the audience but added he was "amazed that having a cold is so newsworthy".
The candidates for the constituency are:
Clare Campion-Smith, Liberal Democrat
Michael Frost. UKIP
Darren Jones, Labour
Anne Lemon, TUSC
Charlotte Leslie, Conservative
Justin Quinnell, Green | A Labour candidate who fainted during a live TV election debate in Bristol and was helped by his Conservative rival has blamed his collapse on a cold. | 32436333 |
Det Con Michael Stokes, 35, from Glynneath, and Stephen Phillips, 47, of Swansea, had denied taking cash seized from homes in 2011.
Phillips was cleared of a further theft charge, while Stokes was cleared of two at Cardiff Crown Court.
The jury had already been directed to find a third officer not guilty.
The trial was told cash was taken during a count of the money after the houses were raided four years ago.
An investigation was started after the money was returned to its owner, who complained some of it was missing, the court heard.
Sentencing the men, Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Eleri Rees, said: "You demonstrated contempt for the laws you were meant to uphold. There was planning and subterfuge in the way the offences were carried out.
"These offences represent a gross abuse of the trust placed in you as police officers. Such corrupt behaviour does untold damage to the public's confidence in the police and tarnishes the reputation of the vast majority of officers."
Ass Chf Cons Jon Stratford, of South Wales Police, said he hoped the prison sentences handed to the men sent out a "clear and unequivocal message that South Wales Police will identify and deal with anyone who engages in this type of corrupt behaviour".
Gemma Vincent, of the Crown Prosecution Service's Wales Complex Casework Unit, said Stokes and Phillips had breached the trust placed in them as police officers and failed in their duty to act diligently and professionally to protect the public and uphold the law. | A detective and his former colleague have each been jailed for two years for stealing £10,000 in a police raid in Swansea. | 34936232 |
Vikki Louise Hull, 29, was found at the home in Heaton Close, Speke, at about 03:10 GMT on Sunday.
She was taken to hospital where she was confirmed dead at 04:14. A post-mortem examination found she died from strangulation.
A 31-year-old man from Speke was arrested on Sunday evening and is being questioned by police. | A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman's body was discovered at a house in Merseyside. | 39551592 |
Peter Mullan and former model Agyness Deyn star in Lewis Grassic Gibbon's tale, which was shot on location in Aberdeenshire, New Zealand and Luxembourg.
Published in 1932, Sunset Song follows a farming family struggling to make a living in north east Scotland leading up to World War One.
The release will be on 4 December.
What's happening in Scotland today? Keep in touch through our live page.
The film, directed by Terence Davies, will get its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival later this month.
In 2005 Sunset Song was named the "Best Scottish Book of All Time" at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The BBC turned the book into a TV series in 1971. | A film adaptation of one of Scotland's best-loved novels - Sunset Song - will be released in the UK in December. | 34128780 |
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Aleksander Ceferin, who heads the Slovenian FA and holds more than 20 pledges of support for his presidential candidacy, insists any closed super league is "out of the question".
Talks involving leading European clubs and Uefa have been ongoing for a number of months, with a Champions League format revamp under discussion.
A decision on potential changes could be announced as early as Friday.
Such reforms could end threats by some elite clubs to break away and form a super league before 2021.
The Premier League's new £9bn TV deal is one of the main reasons why European sides are so keen to see change.
Real Madrid took home £81m for winning the competition last season. But the side finishing last in the Premier League this season is guaranteed about £97m.
With such a financial gulf beginning to emerge across the continent, Uefa is under pressure to deliver a significant uplift in revenues for Champions League TV rights when negotiations begin later this year.
Sports companies in the US and China have proposed a breakaway league but Ceferin insists European football will remain united.
"One of the main issues awaiting the next Uefa president is relations to the big clubs," he said.
"My firm opinion is that some kind of closed super league with just a few clubs in, without the possibility for the others to enter, is out of the question. It will mean a kind of war between Uefa and the clubs.
"If they want more revenues we should work on it. It is possible. The Champions League is the best sports product in the world, for sure. But it doesn't generate the most money. So we should include them [the clubs] more."
Ceferin is one of three candidates standing in next month's Uefa presidential election, called after Michel Platini was forced to step down after being banned by Fifa's ethics committee in relation to a payment he received from former Fifa president Sepp Blatter.
Michael van Praag of the Netherlands and Angel Maria Villar of Spain are also seeking to win the ballot which will be held in Athens on 14 September.
But Ceferin is increasingly confident his coalition of support is gaining momentum.
As he prepares for a meeting in Glasgow on Thursday with officials from the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations, Ceferin insists Uefa must now seek a new direction.
"We can work on transparency and inclusion. Before, with Michel Platini, we had a charismatic leader. Now, if I come there, we will have a team leader.
"I think Uefa has, in principle, a good administration. We have great experts in the FAs which were not included in the decision-making. So I think that should change.
And after the controversial years of Blatter and Platini, he thinks football is ready for a new face despite his relative inexperience.
"Of course, we should work together with some people who are experienced but to try to say only the one who is there for 30 years could lead Uefa? It's quite silly. Nobody would believe that.
"If anything, I am independent. Everybody who knows me knows that. Maybe there's a time for a person whose not a member of the football establishment to come.
"Uefa at this moment needs fresh blood, new ideas, new faces."
Following Euro 2016, which was marred by violence, Ceferin also believes Uefa must now improve how it deals with discrimination and security issues.
A small number of England, France and Russia supporters were involved in the most serious incidents of violence during the tournament.
Uefa had threatened to disqualify England and Russia from the tournament following violent scenes during the 1-1 draw in Marseille.
"It's never enough, you never do enough. And Uefa doesn't do enough.
"I think we should create a department within Uefa - let's call it 'Protection of the game' - where we will deal with anti-doping, safety and security, fight against match-fixing and, of course, racism.
"We've seen the situation now at the Euros and obviously the security situation in Europe is not getting better, it's getting worse every day.
"We should be pro-active, we should work on it because if a person dies, even a bigger catastrophe happens it's a disaster for football, for Uefa, for Europe. | Any move to form a breakaway super league involving Europe's top sides would lead to "war" between the clubs and Uefa, says a leading presidential candidate for the governing body. | 37168955 |
Jamaica's quartet clocked 36.84 seconds, smashing the old mark by two-tenths of a second and leaving the United States with silver.
Nesta Carter and Michael Frater produced excellent first and second legs but it was 100m and 200m silver medallist Yohan Blake's blistering third leg that set the platform.
Bolt provided the perfect finale - exploding away to leave Ryan Bailey trailing as the capacity crowd stood to acclaim him.
Canada were initially given bronze before being disqualified when third-leg runner Jared Connaughton stepped outside of his lane, meaning Trinidad and Tobago were promoted to third place.
After winning the and in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, plus the 4x100m relay, the latest gold means Bolt now has six Olympic golds before his 26th birthday.
"It was electric. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and it was all because of this race. The big difference was when Blake received the baton he tore around the bend - and he was up against Tyson Gay! Usain Bolt was watching that clock all the way down the home straight."
It was a fitting way to conclude a wonderful nine days of athletics in the Olympic Stadium.
Bolt said London 2012 had been "amazing" and on the race added: "It's a wonderful feeling to end on a high note. It was a great championships, I'm happy, the team came out and gave it their all, I wish we could have gone faster but we leave room for improvement."
He said he did not know if he would be aiming for a third treble gold haul in Rio 2016: "It's going to be hard. Yohan is running hard and I'm sure there's going to be more young cats coming up."
Usain Bolt celebrated with a "Mobot" as he crossed the line, paying tribute to Britain's 5,000m and 10,000m double Olympic champion, Mo Farah. | Usain Bolt won his third gold medal of the 2012 Olympics as he anchored Jamaica's sprint relay team to a sensational world record. | 18913023 |
Radiohead headlined the first night of the Glastonbury festival with an "absorbing, challenging and achingly beautiful" set that was "typically Radiohead" according to BBC Music reporter Mark Savage.
On the last day of Glastonbury it was time for something completely different as Barry Gibb performed Bee Gees classics in the festival's coveted "legend spot".
This week saw the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book's publication. We looked at the way the boy wizard has cast a spell on the cultural landscape over the last two decades.
Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond opened up about how he thought he was going to die when he crashed a car earlier this month.
Marmalade sandwiches were raised in tribute to Michael Bond, the creator of beloved children's character Paddington Bear, who died at the age of 91.
Adele paid tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire at her Wembley Stadium concert on Wednesday and encouraged fans to donate money to help survivors.
"Real" people took to a catwalk in Manchester's city centre for a live "self-portrait of the city" - an idea dreamed up by artist Jeremy Deller.
Radio One controller Ben Cooper admitted to being concerned about recruiting new talented presenters, saying "it's really weird how it's getting harder."
Emma Watson has one and so does Reese Witherspoon. But are celebrity book clubs a great thing for reading? We looked under the cover.
Eurovision Song Contest bosses said they were fining Ukraine over its organisation of this year's competition in Kiev, whose problems included a stage invasion during a performance by the previous year's winner.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | A look back at some of the top entertainment stories over the past seven days. | 40456383 |
The risk of salmonella from UK eggs produced to Lion code or equivalent standards should be considered "very low", the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food said.
It said this meant eggs could be served raw or lightly cooked to "vulnerable" groups like the elderly and the young.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has begun a consultation on the issue.
The committee's report said there had been a "major reduction in the microbiological risk from salmonella in UK hen shell eggs" since a report it produced in 2001,
Its recommendation to classify certain eggs as "very low" risk only applies to UK hens' eggs produced under Lion code or equivalent standards.
It also warns that safety guidelines including proper storage and eating eggs within best before dates must be followed.
The FSA said it had launched an eight-week consultation in response to the report.
"The consultation is inviting views on the recommended changes to the FSA's advice from a range of stakeholders, including food and hospitality industries, consumer and enforcement bodies, and health care practitioners," it said.
It currently advises members of vulnerable groups against eating "raw eggs, eggs with runny yolks or any food that is uncooked or only lightly cooked and contains raw eggs" due to the risk of food poisoning.
Louise Silverton, Director for Midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, said: "We are concerned that media headlines may be confusing for women.
"Whilst this latest evidence from the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food says that the risks are greatly reduced, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to recommend that vulnerable groups including pregnant women do not eat raw or lightly cooked eggs, or any food that is uncooked or only lightly cooked and contains raw eggs. The RCM will continue to support this position.
"We await the conclusion of the FSA's consultation and would call for the analysis of the consultation to be done swiftly, to provide clarity and clear guidance for women and other groups about this issue." | Pregnant women should no longer be told not to eat raw or lightly cooked eggs, a safety committee has recommended. | 36888285 |
Mr Netanyahu on Wednesday became the first sitting Israeli PM to make a trip to Australia.
He arrived hours after Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull wrote an article criticising the UN for "one-sided resolutions" unfavourable to Israel.
Mr Turnbull reaffirmed Australia's commitment to a two-state solution.
Last week, US President Donald Trump broke with decades of US foreign policy by not committing explicitly to backing a future independent Palestine.
Mr Netanyahu is in Australia for talks about expanding co-operation in cyber security, technological innovation and science.
In an opinion column, Mr Turnbull reiterated his government's opposition to a UN resolution in December that urged an end to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"Many view Israel exclusively through the lens of its conflict with the Palestinians," Mr Turnbull wrote in The Australian newspaper.
"They demand that the [Australian] government take the side of those in the international community who seek to chastise Israel - and it alone - for the continuing failure of the peace process."
Mr Netanyahu thanked Mr Turnbull for being willing to "puncture UN hypocrisy", describing Israel and Australia as "extraordinary friends".
"The UN is capable of many absurdities, and I think it's important that you have straightforward and clear countries like Australia that often bring it back to Earth," Mr Netanyahu said in a joint press conference.
Mr Turnbull called Israel a "truly miraculous nation", and stressed the countries must co-operate on security.
He said Australia had always supported a two-state solution.
"It needs to be resolved by direct negotiations between the parties and we certainly encourage that," he said.
More than 60 prominent Australians, including business and religious leaders, academics and entertainers, signed an open letter opposing Mr Netanyahu's visit before his arrival.
"Mr Netanyahu's policies consistently aim to provoke, intimidate and oppress the Palestinian population which increase that imbalance, thus taking Israel irretrievably further from peace," said the statement, organised by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
Security is expected to be tight for Mr Netanyahu's four-day trip.
A "two-state solution" to the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is the declared goal of their leaders and the international community.
It is the shorthand for a final settlement that would see the creation of an independent state of Palestine within pre-1967 ceasefire lines in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, living peacefully alongside Israel.
The UN, the Arab League, the European Union, Russia, Australia, and, until last week, the US routinely restate their commitment to the concept. | Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked Australia for defending his nation against UN resolutions during a historic visit to Sydney. | 39047638 |
The minibus was carrying pupils from Balfron High School when it was in collision with a 4x4 on the the A811 Dumbarton Road near Gargunnock at 14:30.
All six casualties were taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital with "non-life-threatening injuries".
The injuries include broken legs, head injuries and wrist injuries.
The Scottish Ambulance Service said the pupils and the female minibus driver were all in a stable condition.
A spokesman said: "Five ambulances, a specialist operations team and a helicopter from Glasgow attended, as well as a specialist trauma team."
A police spokeswoman said the 4x4 had been towing a trailer.
She said: "The incident happened on a stretch of road between Kirk Lane and the Cambusbarron turn-off near Stirling shortly before 3pm.
"The female driver of the minibus and five of her passengers have been transferred to Forth Valley Royal Hospital for assessment, however, their injuries are not thought to be life threatening."
Local diversions were set up. | Five school pupils and a minibus driver have been taken to hospital following a crash near Stirling. | 35787228 |
Five Jersey surfers have been on an intensive course to get the qualification needed to work as lifeguards next season.
They have been learning about hazard awareness, accident prevention, first aid and open water rescue skills.
Rob Stuteley, RNLI lifeguard supervisor in Jersey, said they had worked with the Jersey Aquatic Rescue Club on the training course.
He said : "We have developed a good working relationship with them over the summer as they've carried out voluntary patrols on the beaches alongside the RNLI lifeguards.
"One of our aims is to increase the number of local lifeguards working year on year so we hope this course will play a big part in encouraging more local people to sign up to join the RNLI lifeguard team for 2013."
Mr Stuteley said islanders who are interested in lifeguarding should contact the charity. | A group of new lifeguards have been trained by the RNLI in Jersey. | 20167777 |
Traditionally, Christians would eat pancakes on the last day before Lent begins, to use up foods like eggs and milk, before starting 40 days of fasting for lent.
Now, Pancake Day is celebrated by people all over the world, and some people even hold pancake-flipping competitions.
If you want to join in, you could try this basic pancake recipe, adapted from celeb chef Delia Smith, to make enough mixture for 12-14 pancakes. Yum!
But don't forget to ask your mum and dad to help!
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it.
Begin whisking the eggs.
Gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking.
Whisk until all the liquid has been added and the batter has the consistency of thin cream.
Melt the butter in a pan.
Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in. Use the rest of the butter to grease the frying pan before you make each pancake.
Get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium - be really careful doing this bit. You might want to get your mum and dad to help at this point!
Ladle 2 tbsp of the batter into the hot pan all in one go.
Tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter.
After about half a minute, and when the bottom is golden in colour, flip the pancake over.
The other side will only need a few seconds to cook.
Slide the pancake out of the pan onto a plate.
To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar.
Enjoy! | On Shrove Tuesday, people will be tucking into a pancake feast, as part of a tradition that has lasted for centuries. | 14169054 |
The ex-Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan forward, 42, wants to replace Sepp Blatter as boss of world football's governing body.
Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) president Michael van Praag also said on Wednesday he will be a candidate.
Blatter, 78, has been Fifa boss since 1998 and said in June 2014 that he intended to run for a fifth term.
Retired France international player David Ginola and fellow Frenchman Jerome Champagne, a former Fifa executive and ex-diplomat, have already announced their intention to stand against him, along with Prince Ali of Jordan who is backed by the Football Association.
Van Praag, meanwhile, is backed by the Scottish Football Association.
Figo is standing after Blatter was criticised for Fifa's handling of Michael Garcia's report into alleged corruption during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
"Football has given me so much during my life and I want to give something back to the game," the ex-Portugal international, who won 127 caps, said in a CNN interview.
"I look at the reputation of Fifa right now and I don't like it. Football deserves better. In recent weeks, months, and even years, I have seen the image of Fifa deteriorate.
"As I speak to many people in football - to players, managers and association presidents - so many of those people have told me that something has to be done."
Figo won the Ballon d'Or in 2000 and was Fifa world player of the year in 2001.
In 2000, he made a controversial move from Barcelona to bitter La Liga rivals Real Madrid for a then world record fee of £37m, and won the Champions League with Real in 2002.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has offered his support to his fellow countryman's presidency bid.
He said: "Luis Figo's candidacy is a great step forward for football. His career over many years grants a better future for Fifa.
"I believe in his character and determination, as well as his passion for the game. He will be a president focused on football and its general improvement, acting closely with all federations."
KNVB chief Van Praag says he wants to clean up Fifa's sullied image and expand the World Cup if he succeeds Blatter as president.
The Dutchman, 67, said that under Blatter's stewdardship, Fifa "is doing badly and has lost all credibility".
He added: "Fifa is constantly under suspicion. Of conflicts of interest, of nepotism, of corruption."
Van Praag said he submitted his candidacy to Fifa this week with backing from the necessary five federations - Belgium, Sweden, Scotland, Romania and the Faroe Islands - as well as the Netherlands.
Scottish Football Association president Campbell Ogilvie said: "We believe Michael has the experience, integrity and gravitas required to expedite the modernisation of world football's governing body.
"Having known him for more than 20 years, I believe he is the right candidate at the right time to restore harmony to the game."
Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the former head of Fifa's technical committee had been expected to announce his candidacy but the Chilean said on Wednesday that he will now not add his name to the ballot because he would not expect to beat Figo.
All potential candidates have to register their interest in standing before Thursday's deadline.
According to Fifa electoral committee member Dominico Scala, all confirmed challengers must pass an anti-corruption test. | Portuguese great Luis Figo has become the latest shock candidate for the role of Fifa president. | 31019910 |
Lawrie-Lin Waller, 33, said she and her friends were upgraded to business class, treated to bottles of champagne, and posed for selfies with the captain.
And on their trip from Gibraltar to Heathrow on 17 December, her friends Laura Stevens, 34, and Sarah Hunt, 35, enjoyed three-course meals.
Ms Waller said: "We're never going to experience anything like that again."
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She said their plane had been delayed, but when they arrived at Gibraltar airport everyone else had boarded an earlier flight.
Ms Waller, from Glasgow who is staying with her family in Witney in Oxfordshire over Christmas, said: "We were the only ones in the airport.
"It was very, very quiet, some of the duty-free shops were closed. and I thought 'oh that's strange'.
"I realised the only other people were staff and we were the only people on the flight."
She said once the three friends were on the plane the crew "found it very funny".
She said the captain told them he had never flown a flight with just three people on it before.
"They made us feel absolutely fantastic," Ms Waller added.
"I asked, 'is it okay if we sit in business class, instead of way back at the end of the plane?'
"And they said, 'yeah, sit right there in the front row' and they served us Champagne, which was lovely."
She said when it was time to land the pilot actually came out of the cockpit to tell them how they were going to land.
"[He said] it was going to be 'a blind landing', I think it's called, using only the radar," Ms Waller said.
"So I said at that point, 'I think we need another bottle of Champagne'." | Three British Airways passengers had a once-in-a-lifetime flight after finding they were the only ones on board. | 38415730 |
Left-back Echiejile, 29, has joined Sivasspor from French side Monaco on a season-long loan.
Defender Troost-Ekong, 23, has left Belgian club KAA Gent for Bursaspor on a three-year deal.
Striker Imoh Ezekiel, also 23, has penned a three-year deal with Konyaspor from Qatari club Al-Arabi.
The move to Turkey is Echiejile's third loan switch since joining Monaco from Portuguese club Braga in January 2014.
He has previously played on loan at Belgian club Standard Liege and Spanish side Sporting Gijon.
Capped 51 times by Nigeria, Echiejile helped the Super Eagles to their third African title in 2013 and played at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Troost-Ekong, who joined Gent in July 2015, moves to Turkey in search of regular first-team football.
He played the 2015/16 season on loan at Norwegian club FK Haugesund, but only made eight appearances for Gent last season.
He started his career with the Tottenham Hotspur youth side before returning to the Netherlands to join Groningen in 2013 and played on loan at Dordrecht.
He was a former Netherlands youth international before switching allegiances to represent the country of his father at senior level.
Troost-Ekong won Olympic football bronze with Nigeria at the 2016 Rio Games and has 10 caps for the Super Eagles.
Ezekiel, who began his professional career at Belgian side Standard Liege, is delighted with his return to European football.
"I thank Konyaspor for the opportunity to come here and I hope to make a significant contribution," Ezeikel, who scored 38 goals in 104 games for Standard Liege, told BBC Sport.
Despite sealing a big-money move to Qatar in 2014, the striker had previously returned to Belgium for loan spells with former club Standard Liege and giants Anderlecht.
Ezeikel made his debut and lone appearance for Nigeria in a friendly against Mexico in March 2014. | Nigeria internationals Elderson Echiejile, William Troost-Ekong and Imoh Ezekiel have joined Turkish Super Lig clubs. | 40543668 |
Now Miranda Hart is making her West End theatre debut in the musical Annie.
The Call the Midwife star, who will play orphanage owner Miss Hannigan, described it as "a dream role" that she never thought would become a reality.
"But here we are and I have a newly found musical theatre-esque spring in my step," she said.
Set in 1930s New York during the Great Depression, Annie tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who wants to escape from a life of misery at Miss Hannigan's orphanage and find her parents.
The score includes the songs It's A Hard Knock Life, Tomorrow and Easy Street.
"I hope people will leave the theatre feeling life is a little better and dreamier and jollier after watching it, as much as we feel that performing it," added Hart, who broke the "fourth wall" by addressing the audience directly in her sitcom Miranda.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some leg-warmers to put on."
The show will begin previews at London's Piccadilly Theatre on 23 May. Further casting will be announced shortly.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | She's best known for falling over and breaking "the fourth wall" on her BBC One sitcom. | 38991843 |
The decision raises the possibility that Spain may be forced to hold a third election after seven months of uncertainty.
Mr Rajoy said he would try to form a new government if asked by the king.
The PP is the largest party in parliament but cannot form a coalition.
June's general election was the second in six months, after a poll in December was inconclusive.
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The PP - which claimed Spain's improved economic performance showed its policies were working - won 137 seats in the 350-seat parliament, up 15 from the 122 they won in the December ballot.
But Pedro Sanchez, whose PSOE came second in June, insisted there would be no "grand coalition" of the main right- and left-wing parties, as has been seen in other European countries.
"Right now, his Popular Party has no support. Right now, the Socialist party reaffirms its vote against Rajoy," he said.
However Mr Sanchez also said he would do anything to avoid a third election, a prospect described by Mr Rajoy as "madness".
The left-wing Unidos Podemos alliance - which had been expected to become the country's main left-wing party but in fact lost more than a million votes and came third - has also rejected a deal with the PP.
Its leader Pablo Iglesias said the Socialists now had to come to an agreement with either the PP or Podemos or Spain would have to hold a third election.
Meanwhile centre-right Ciudadanos, which came fourth, said it was prepared to abstain in any vote over a possible new coalition to give it a chance of success.
MPs are due to assemble next Tuesday, after which King Felipe VI will consult party leaders and could nominate one of them to try to form a government.
December's election was a watershed for Spain, because the PP and the PSOE had previously alternated in power since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s. | There is no end in sight to Spain's political deadlock after the Socialist party leader again ruled out supporting re-election for acting PM Mariano Rajoy's People's Party (PP). | 36786206 |
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A 1-0 win over Venezuela in Sunday's final in South Korea gave England their biggest international title since 1966.
So can the nation dare to dream that some of these players could go on to help revive the full senior side, perhaps even in time to help the FA achieve its stated aim of a World Cup victory in 2022?
Having not won a single match in the U20 tournament since 1997 - and failed to even qualify on four occasions over the past 20 years - manager Paul Simpson's side have confounded the theory that English youngsters are not as technically proficient as their European or South American rivals.
Yet as well as pride and excitement, their success has also been met with scepticism about the inevitable talk of a new 'golden generation', and concern that this proves another false dawn.
What does bode well for the future is that this squad appears to have been the result of a long-term plan, testament to the FA's National Football Centre at St George's Park, and its adherence to the sometimes derided 'England DNA' philosophy, in which consistency of tactics through the various development teams - both male and female - is paramount.
The FA may not have anywhere near as much control over youth coaching at the clubs as their counterparts in Germany - the DFB - but their vision does at least set a template for coaches, and now has a tangible example of what can be achieved.
Certainly St George's Park has become familiar territory for the U20s, the core of which won the U17 Euros in 2014 under John Peacock, and then reached the semi-finals of the U19 Euros last year under Aidy Boothroyd.
The Staffordshire site's location and cost has not been without controversy. And after England's abject humiliation at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016, a solution to a generation of under-achievement seemed further away than ever. Several coaches, meanwhile, have left to join club set-ups.
But five years after St George's Park opened, there are signs the FA's investment is paying dividends, and that it finally has players who can handle the pressure of tournament football.
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"It is enormous what the FA have done" Simpson told BBC Sport before the final.
"We want to develop the players into a certain style of play. Everything you see from the top national teams, we want to recreate that.
"This is the first group to come right through that pathway. We have eight teams qualified for tournaments this summer, both men and women, that is an unprecedented summer for English football teams."
He pointed to the "massive financial investment" in the facilities at St George's Park, the support staff, and the tournaments they have put the players through.
"I have been working with the U16s and we put the players on a trip to Brazil so they could experience South American opposition, the travelling, different climates," he said.
"This U20 group, we sent to South Korea last year so they experienced playing with an eight-hour time difference, and the humidity and temperature."
He said the FA had been trying to get its players accumulating caps at youth level in a way that players from countries like Germany and Spain do.
"There has been a level of consistency for selection, and they are now battle-hardened for tournament football," he said.
"We are trying to get our players to that level where they have played in major tournaments, played in Uefa competitions."
Simpson is quick to highlight the role of the clubs too, not only for the work done at their academies where most of the players' development is conducted, but for what he sees as a refreshing new attitude when it comes to the release of players.
FA technical director Dan Ashworth appears to have improved relations with managers, with Everton boss Ronald Koeman for instance allowing five players to miss the last two weeks of the season to prepare for the U20 World Cup.
Brought in to raise youth development standards, the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan - or EPPP - has seen significant investment in club academies, but is contentious.
There are concerns that the replacement of the old tribunal system with a fixed-price compensation scheme has led to smaller clubs being short-changed, the stockpiling of young talent at the richest clubs, and even the closure of some lower-league academies.
However, the Premier League believes the success of the U20s also suggests the EPPP is working, five years after it was established.
But the clubs of course, can also be a problem.
With the Premier League's record broadcast rights deals making it easier than ever for them to buy the best overseas talent, and the financial imperative of staying in the top flight often dissuading managers from taking a longer-term view, the task of breaking into first teams has never been tougher.
A 2015 study found the percentage of club-trained players in Premier League squads had reached a new low, with just 11.7% graduated from their club's academy.
A report released by Uefa in January found that 62% of players in England's top tier were foreign — the highest in Europe.
Analysis by football365.com has revealed that 41 English players under the age of 22 played at least one Premier League game last season, totalling 16,532 minutes at an average of 403 minutes per player.
In France it was 98 players, with 79,062 minutes of action, at an average of 806 minutes per player. Four Premier League sides - Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Stoke and Sunderland - did not give a single game to an English player currently under the age of 22.
Despite the efforts of the FA's former chairman Greg Dyke, and calls for quotas in starting XIs, the Premier League has resisted pressure to further restrict foreign imports, sticking with the rule that eight places in 25-man squads must be 'home-grown players'.
While 16 members of the U20s played first-team football last season, half of them had to go on loan to do so, with some - like goalkeeper Freddie Woodman (on loan at Kilmarnock from Newcastle) and forward Adam Armstrong (on loan at Barnsley from Newcastle) - enjoying highly successful spells at their adopted clubs.
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Midfielder Kieran Dowell - one of the most impressive performers in South Korea - made no senior league appearances for Everton but stayed at Goodison, captaining coach David Unsworth's academy team to the title in the inaugural Under-23 competition - dubbed 'Premier League 2'.
Some clubs - with Chelsea and their army of loanees the most obvious example - prefer to farm out their young players so they gain first-team experience.
They say the pressure of matchday crowds and the intensity of competition is better for development than the more sheltered environment of the Under-23 league. Others question this strategy however, and prefer to keep their best young talent in-house.
"It is not for me to tell the clubs how to do their business, they have their own pathways lined up" says Simpson diplomatically when asked which approach he prefers.
"We want to see as many of our players playing first-team football as possible. There are certainly some very good players in the Under-23 league involved in our teams.
"The money that is available to clubs is brilliant for our game, and we will not complain about that. But it also means there is more money to bring foreign players in.
"What we have to do is keep working with our English players and try and get them to a level where clubs can trust them to go in and play. This tournament has really put players on the map."
With Tottenham's core of English youngsters proof of what is possible, the Premier League is encouraged that last season there was a 20% increase in the number of minutes (716) played by home-grown debutants.
But the danger for the FA is that players who struggle to get first-team football - and remain uncapped in a competitive fixture at senior England level - could be tempted to switch allegiance.
Six of the U20 squad qualify to play for Nigeria for instance, and with the FA having recently seen Wilfried Zaha and Alex Iwobi play for England's youth teams - but then slip through their fingers (to Ivory Coast and Nigeria respectively), Simpson admits it is a worry.
"It is the reality of it, and we always share a concern about that. If we do things properly, if we have the right facilities and treat the players properly then we have a feeling they will want to come back," he said.
"There will be the odd case like Wilfried where we will lose them, but we have to do everything we can and make an effort to build relations with the clubs and the positive relationship with the players so they are happy to come and represent England."
Simpson points out how impressive England's depth of talent is, with the likes of Patrick Roberts, Izzy Brown, Tammy Abraham, Marcus Rashford and Tom Davies all young enough to play at U20 level.
When asked how many of his squad he hopes will go on to play for Gareth Southgate's full senior side, Simpson laughs.
"If I am going to be greedy, I would love to see them all of them do it, but that is living in a bit of a dream world," he said.
"There are no guarantees. But if we can just get a real core of them through. If we can keep them involved in first-team football then the future is really bright. That is what everyone inside the walls at the FA are keeping their fingers crossed for."
With former U21 manager Southgate as England manager, the sense is that players who come through the FA's age-group system will have more chance than ever to break into the senior squad.
Whether they get sufficient opportunities at their clubs remains in doubt. But at least the U20s' exploits in South Korea may have made some managers pause and think whether they really need to look elsewhere. | England's Under-20 World Cup winners have been a revelation, sparking a fresh debate on youth development. | 40226926 |
Tensions have been raised in the Castlemara estate due to a dispute involving the South East Antrim UDA.
At a Policing Board meeting on Thursday, Ass Ch Con Stephen Martin said he was concerned someone was going to "end up hurt or dead."
17 people have been arrested on offences relating to criminal activity since May.
These offences involve the paramilitary organisation and include drugs, intimidation, and possession of weapons.
Nine people have been charged.
He said this was the reason why police officers are being sent in on a daily basis,
A number of searches have been carried out and two handguns seized, as well as cocaine, fireworks, and more than £5,000 in cash.
ACC Martin said the row in the estate was a "real cause for concern" and described the potential for violence as "extremely high".
He said there was no obvious criminal justice resolution and called for the parties involved to undertake mediation to solve the dispute. | The PSNI has spent £1.6m policing a loyalist row in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, in the past five months. | 38175173 |
Look no further. French luxury brand Chanel has your back: a boomerang for $1,460 (€1,260; £1,130). A hefty price tag.
Surely it must be designed by a famous indigenous artist. Sadly, no.
The indigenous community in Australia says this is yet another example of crass cultural appropriation.
The item is listed on Chanel's website under Other Accessories in the 2017 Spring-Summer pre-collection, along with other gadgets like a pair of beach rackets with balls for £2,860.
Spending a little extra to give you that air of luxury should of course not come as a surprise when it comes to brands in the league of Chanel.
It's the name you pay for and the perceived status that comes with it and Chanel will likely not be bothered about having that pointed out to them.
But accusations of offending or even humiliating an entire indigenous culture are a different ball game and the French luxury brand certainly is feeling some heat.
"It's simply a misappropriation of aboriginal culture," Gabrielle Sullivan, chief executive of the Indigenous Arts Code, tells the BBC.
Her organisation has been lobbying against imported and mass produced fake aboriginal artefacts for years.
"Chanel is a big company and they really should know better. I don't see how this is different from a cheap fake boomerang sold at the airport. It's just an expensive version of this."
Boomerangs have traditionally been used by Australia's indigenous people as a hunting weapon.
But they are more than that, explains aboriginal artist Bibi Barba. They carry significant cultural attachments, are used to pass culture and tradition from one generation to the next.
"They are a cultural symbol for us," she tells the BBC. "A lot of indigenous artists do artwork on them and this artwork is different in different parts of the country, it holds different meaning."
But it's not just the artwork on the boomerangs that carries cultural signifiers and tradition - even things like the selection process for the wood is of crucial importance.
Boomerangs are still made by artists in the indigenous community and are popular tourist souvenirs in the country. But most of the boomerangs that tourists carry back home are not made by local communities but mass produced - in many cases not even in Australia.
The Indigenous Arts Code launched a campaign earlier this year to ban imported fake artefacts made in China or Indonesia.
The whole point, Ms Sullivan explains, is that "mass-production is taking away the potential for aboriginal people and artists to sell authentic products."
The lack of cultural sensitivity combined with the hefty price tag is a perfect set-up for cynicism and ridicule.
So what should Chanel do? The backlash on social media in the past two days since the boomerang appeared on their website has already sparked a first reaction.
"Chanel is extremely committed to respecting all cultures, and regrets that some may have felt offended," the French company said in a statement circulating in Australia's local media.
But just being sorry might not cut it. The countless comments range from witty jokes to straight-forward criticism, calls for apologies but also demand for compensation.
It's a demand that artist Bibi Barba couldn't agree more with.
"They should donate the money they make with this to the campaign against fake culture so we can lobby the government to do something about this problem," she says.
"This current case gets a lot of attention because it's Chanel. But it happens on a huge scale and it happens all the time. Not just with boomerangs but with paintings, didgeridoos and other things."
And she points out the irony of the bigger picture.
"Chanel and other luxury fashion brands hate it when people steal their logos and make copies of their products."
"So it would be a good point for them to make amends." | You've done your shopping but there's just one thing missing, the thing you absolutely don't need but somehow still want to set yourself apart? | 39932776 |
The group of MPs is putting pressure on the government ahead of its new plan for preventing suicides, which is expected in the New Year.
The number of deaths by suicide was 4,820 in England in 2015 - part of a UK-wide figure of 6,188.
The committee said support needed to be more accessible to those at risk.
One bereaved mother who gave evidence to the committee said: "My son wasn't hard to reach, it was the services that were hard to reach."
Angela Samata's partner, Mark, took his own life thirteen years ago. She says there was no warning or hint of what he intended to do.
"One minute you are talking to them on the phone and the next minute you are never going to speak to them again. The shock of that, your head kind of tricks you into thinking this can't be real."
She now heads a national charity supporting those affected by suicide. "If there's one thing I've learnt, above all else, it's that you have to talk about this. It's really important to talk."
The group of MPs called for the NHS to "embrace innovative approaches" such as online services.
The MPs' report also said GPs needed more training in spotting people at risk of suicide and that there should be more support after patients are discharged from psychiatric services.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, the committee's chair, said: "4,820 people are recorded as having died by suicide in England last year, but the true figure is likely to be higher.
"Suicide is preventable and much more can and should be done to support those at risk."
The group of MPs also attacked "irresponsible" reporting of suicide by the media that leads to "copycat behaviour" by those at risk of taking their own lives.
The government's revised suicide prevention strategy is due to be published in January.
However, the committee said government needed to do better than last time as "the government's 2012 suicide prevention strategy has been characterised by inadequate leadership, poor accountability and insufficient action".
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Every death by suicide is a tragedy and devastating for families, friends and communities.
"We are investing almost £1bn in providing mental health support in A&E and home-based crisis care and are currently updating our suicide prevention strategy, which we are confident will address many of the issues raised by the committee."
Ruth Sutherland, the chief executive of the Samaritans, said: "People are continuing to die and suicide prevention is still not being prioritised.
"Every six seconds someone contacts Samaritans for help.
"This report should serve as a wake-up call to the Government and we are delighted that our request for a clear implementation programme has been included in this report."
Ian Hulatt, from the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Any suicide is a profound individual tragedy.
"The NHS has a duty towards individuals and the community to improve care for people with known mental health problems, as well as those who may be at risk of developing them."
Marjorie Wallace from the mental health charity SANE said: "We believe at least one in three suicides could and should be prevented, and it is unforgiveable that we allow people to be sent to a lonely and preventable death. One of the most marked findings of our own research is that people experience suicidal exhaustion; they are left with no more energy to fight the daily battle with mental ill-health, and this is only reinforced with the lack of care being offered.
"There are fewer and fewer safe places for patients to go, and the one-on-one relationships they crave have been taken away by the fragmentation and cuts to services."
The Royal College of Psychiatrists called for more investment in staffing, saying: "If there was liaison psychiatry service in every A&E department available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it would significantly reduce the time it takes from assessment to the point of being seen and save lives - but we need the staff in order to achieve this." | The number of people taking their own lives in England is unacceptably high, says a report by the Health Select Committee. | 38343186 |
Derek Sheerin, 24, was found dead in the east end of Glasgow in September 1994.
Officers from Police Scotland and the PSNI detained the man in Derry on Tuesday morning.
The suspect has been taken to Glasgow for questioning.
Det Ch Insp Michael Harvey has appealed to people in Derry who have any information about the death to contact detectives at Maydown using the non-emergency number 101, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. | A 39-year-old man has been arrested in Londonderry as part of an investigation into the death of a man in Scotland 21 years ago. | 34455319 |
They proposed to remove the "non-Belfast Rapid Transit system (BRT) related bus lanes as an experiment."
Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard said: "I will happily meet anybody who can evidentially show bus lanes are "bad for business".
But the proposals have been criticised by cycling charity Sustrans, which called them "retrogressive".
BRT is the system which will link the city centre to west and east Belfast and the Titanic Quarter.
It is due to be operational by 2018.
The concerns arose at a briefing at the Committee for Infrastructure on Wednesday 7 December.
President of the Chamber of Commerce, Gordon McIroy told the committee: "Our members and the people who deal with them are most concerned about the amount of confusion that is being created by the bus lanes in Belfast.
"They are concerned that the bus lanes are operating at different times.
"It does not mean that there should not be bus lanes or lanes set aside for specific types of traffic to improve transport flow.
"We really support the introduction of Belfast rapid transit, and the bus lanes that serve it should be there.
"We propose to the department that it be more radical and remove the non-BRT-related bus lanes as an experiment, as was done in Liverpool, where it was found that traffic was freed up and moved much more easily through the city."
The move has however, been criticised by Gordon Clarke, Northern Ireland Director for the charity Sustrans, who expressed concern at the proposal.
"Removing bus lanes is a retrogressive step especially when many of these bus lanes will be required for the future proposed expansion of the Belfast Rapid Transit network," he said.
"Bus lanes are also protected routes for cyclists and are therefore vitally important for bike commuters until such times as there is better infrastructure.
"Removing bus lanes and encouraging more cars in the city centre will cause air quality to deteriorate further and is off-putting for people living and working in the city."
The concerns were first published in an article written by nigreenways.
Minister Chris Hazzard said: "In modern cities with efficient public transport systems bus lanes are the norm.
"Bus lanes are an important element in keeping city traffic flowing well and a vital benefit for the many thousands of users who opt to travel by bus to school, work or for pleasure. Filling one bus with passengers equates to the removal of around 50 cars from our roads, that is a queue of cars about 1/3 km long.
"Increasing the use of public transport and active travel is a fundamental element of the Programme for Government. Belfast Rapid Transit, an Executive flagship project is a multi million pound investment in sustainable transport and will deliver high quality public transport services.
"In developing the detailed designs for the BRT system, the Department has sought to balance the needs of all those using the route and we will continue to work with the many stakeholders to the BRT project to ensure that we deliver the best possible outcome for the people of Belfast." | Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce has called for bus lanes to be scrapped in certain areas of the city. | 38316153 |
14 July 2017 Last updated at 16:00 BST
Featuring a number of different events focusing on BMX, skateboarding and motorcycling to name a few.
There's lots of big air, big tricks, excitement and some pretty bad falls as well.
Jenny has been finding out a bit more, so if you want to find out a bit more check out the video! | One of the biggest extreme sports competition in the world, the X-Games has been bringing the world of extreme sports to the mainstream since 1995. | 40607735 |
Model Laura Lacole is due to marry footballer Eunan O'Kane, who plays for Leeds United and the Republic of Ireland, in Northern Ireland in June.
Humanist weddings are not recognised by law in Northern Ireland, so couples must also have a civil ceremony.
Northern Ireland's Attorney General is expected to intervene in the case.
The couple attended a judicial review hearing at Belfast High Court on Friday to challenge the current legislation.
Opening the case, their lawyer claimed the pair were being denied rights afforded to religious couples.
He said all they were asking for was the same protection afforded to those of different belief systems.
Ms Lacole, from Belfast, and Mr O'Kane, from County Londonderry, have both described themselves as humanists - a non-religious combination of attitudes, ethics and beliefs centred on human experience and welfare.
Humanists adhere to a scientific view of the world and believe humans steer their own destiny.
Ms Lacole, 27, is also vice-chair of Atheist NI.
"Religious people, from pagans to Free Presbyterians and everything in between, enjoy a substantial legal privilege under law," their lawyer said.
He argued that the State "gives its legal blessing to such marriages" but "denies the same privilege to equally valid groups".
Their lawyer added that, as the law stood in Northern Ireland, the couple's wedding on 22 June would be "legally meaningless".
Humanist wedding ceremonies are legally recognised in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland but not in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The couple are taking the judicial review against the General Register Office for Northern Ireland and Stormont's Department of Finance.
Their lawyer told the court the case was of "huge public interest".
He pointed out that were 4,290 humanist weddings in Scotland in 2015 - more than those conducted by the Church of Scotland.
Northern Ireland's Attorney General, John Larkin QC, has applied to participate in the landmark legal challenge and could make submissions on Friday. | A couple who want their humanist marriage ceremony to be legally recognised are being discriminated against, a court has been told. | 40060346 |
A little help, perhaps, from an old friend?
In a wide-ranging interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera at the weekend, the Russian president spoke at length about his country's "special relationship" with Italy and used the opportunity to detail what he sees as Moscow's unfair treatment by the international community.
"There's no need to threaten us with sanctions," he said, adding there was "no need to fear Russia."
Some wondered whether the interview and the visit, coming at a time when European leaders are discussing whether to continue punishing Russia for its alleged involvement in Ukraine's civil war, might represent an attempt to weaken EU resolve.
EU trade and investment sanctions expire at the end of July. A decision on whether or not to renew them will be taken at a leaders' summit at the end of this month.
And under EU rules, the decision has to be unanimous among all 28 members.
Mr Putin only needs one dissenter to avoid an automatic rollover.
With this in mind, some of the references in Mr Putin's interview to the range and depth of Russia's economic relationship with Italy (including an elevenfold increase in trade in recent years and almost a million Russian tourists visiting Italy last year) seemed somewhat pointed.
"We are, of course, ready to reciprocate and go further in expanding our co-operation as long as our Italian partners are willing to do the same," he said. "I hope that my upcoming visit to Milan will help in this respect."
But if he's looking to the government in Rome to help him out, Mr Putin is unlikely to get satisfaction.
As a member of the G7, Italy was party to Monday's communique in Bavaria, which said sanctions would remain in place unless Russia met its commitments to February's Minsk agreement. It also warned of "further restrictive measures" if required.
To drive home the point, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said his government wanted dialogue with Russia but was standing alongside its European and US allies.
"I do not believe that Russia is really that interested in Italy breaking the front with its allies," he told Corriere della Sera, "because it knows that is not going to happen."
In truth, it's been apparent since the spring that European leaders were likely to renew sanctions, but this hasn't prevented Mr Putin from seeking out chinks in Europe's armour, whether by wooing cash-strapped Greece or developing ties with Europe's far-right parties, like France's National Front.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warned of this last week.
"Of course we are concerned about what is clearly a Kremlin strategy of trying to pick off, shall we say, the brethren who may be less committed or more vulnerable in the run-up to the June decision," he told an audience at the London think-tank Chatham House.
But he said that, for now, the strategy was doomed.
"So long as they see a very clear message coming from Berlin on this issue, it would be a very, very high-risk strategy for any of them to decide to defy the will of the other 26, 27 members of the European Union."
A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, put it more bluntly.
"If Greece or Cyprus says 'We're with Russia', they're finished. It won't happen."
But he suggested the Kremlin knew this and was probably playing a longer game, counting on international weariness with an increasingly frustrating Ukraine crisis.
Kadri Liik, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, also believes Mr Putin is looking further ahead.
"He hopes the West will get tired of the situation," she says, "and then he'll try to impose his interpretation of the Minsk agreement."
And that means currying favour where he can.
There's plenty of sympathy for Russia in Italy, as well as a widely held belief that the EU has mishandled the crisis in Ukraine.
In Hungary, it's less the country, more the leader who Mr Putin thinks might be helpful.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted the Russian president last February, during his only other European visit this year, apart from Belarus.
Mr Orban, like Czech President Milos Zeman, has been critical of EU sanctions.
For the controversial Hungarian leader, it's partly a case of competing economic priorities.
Germany is Hungary's top trading partner, but Russia is the country's main oil and gas supplier.
From Italy to Hungary, France to Greece, President Putin will continue to exercise what leverage he can.
And, says Ms Liik, it is not just about persuading the EU to see things his way. It is also about showing his own people that he matters.
"He needs to show that he's not isolated, that he's an actor in Europe." | As Vladimir Putin makes a rare trip to Western Europe, meeting Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Milan on Wednesday, what does he hope to achieve? | 33061626 |
Bydd pencadlys y corff sy'n gyfrifol am gasglu trethi yn Nhrefforest, gyda'r penderfyniad i'w leoli yno yn cael ei adolygu wedi 18 mis.
Ym mis Ionawr awgrymodd AC Arfon, Siân Gwenllian wrth Carwyn Jones y gallai'r swyddfa symud i Gaernarfon.
Wrth ateb, dywedodd Mr Jones: "Mae hwn yn rhywbeth rydw i wedi gofyn i swyddogion i'w ystyried."
Yn ôl arfarniad Llywodraeth Cymru o'r opsiynau ar gyfer lleoli'r awdurdod, ni chafodd yr un safle yng Ngwynedd eu hystyried.
Dim ond un o'r chwe safle a gafodd eu gwerthuso oedd yn y gogledd, sef Cyffordd Llandudno.
Mae'r arfarniad yn dangos fod Parc Cathays yng Nghaerdydd wedi sgorio'n uwch na Threfforest, gyda Chyffordd Llandudno yn cael y marc isaf.
Mae AC arall Plaid Cymru, Llyr Gruffydd eisoes wedi cyhuddo'r llywodraeth o "anwybyddu'r gogledd" yn sgil y penderfyniad i leoli'r awdurdod "ychydig filltiroedd yn unig" o Gaerdydd.
Dywedodd Siân Gwenllian wrth raglen Newyddion 9 BBC Cymru: "Mae 'na gamarwain wedi digwydd, prun ai yn fwriadol, dwi ddim yn gwybod.
"Y gwir amdani ydy bod y meini prawf eu hunain yn gweithio yn erbyn y gogledd, yn wir unrhyw ran arall o Gymru ar wahân i goridor yr M4."
Arfarnwyd yr opsiynau ar y rhestr fer yn erbyn y gallu i ddenu a chadw staff medrus, ac agosatrwydd y lleoliad at gwsmeriaid a rhanddeiliaid.
Dywedodd llefarydd ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru: "Roedd nifer o awgrymiadau wedi eu cyflwyno ar gyfer lleoliad i bencadlys Awdurdod Treth Cymru.
"Cafodd pob un eu hystyried yn y broses o ble y dylid lleoli'r awdurdod." | Cafodd aelodau'r Cynulliad eu "camarwain" gan y prif weinidog ynglŷn â lleoliad Awdurdod Treth Cymru, medd AC. | 38899241 |
Kiara Nirghin beat students from around the world for a $50,000 (£38,000) scholarship with her "fighting drought with fruit" submission.
Her work was in response to the recent drought that has hit South Africa .
The drought, the worst since 1982, led to crop failures and animals dying.
Ms Nirghin, a student at the Anglican Church-founded St Martin's High School in the main city Johannesburg, said three experiments over 45 days resulted in her coming up with the "orange peel mixture" as an alternative to expensive and non-biodegradable super-absorbent polymers (SAPs).
It was made out of waste products from the juice-manufacturing industry, she said.
These included molecules found in orange peels and naturally occurring oils in avocado skins.
"The product is fully biodegradable, low-cost and has better water retaining properties than commercial SAPs. The only resources involved in the creation of the 'orange peel mixture' were electricity and time, no special equipment nor materials were required," Ms Nirghin added in her online submission.
The student, who was awarded the prize at the annual fair in California, said she hoped it would help farmers save both money and their crops.
The competition was open to children from the ages of 13 to 18. | A 16-year-old South African schoolgirl has won the grand prize at Google's science fair for using orange peel to develop a cheap super-absorbent material to help soil retain water. | 37497682 |
Sir Jeffrey, who was born with spina bifida, was the principal conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Opera House in the 1980s.
He recently worked in Germany and was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to British music overseas.
Sir Jeffrey, who had curvature of the spine and a paralysed left leg, would conduct while sitting on a tall stool.
He has featured as a guest conductor with almost every major orchestra and opera house in the world.
Since 2007, Sir Jeffrey has been the chief conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and is recognised as one of the foremost interpreters of German music.
He received his knighthood from Prince William at an investiture ceremony in London on 19 April.
Sir Jeffrey, who went to school in Farnham in Surrey, turned to conducting at 27 - after studying medicine at Cambridge and beginning training as a doctor at St Thomas' Hospital in London.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 1989, he said his conducting career came "purely by accident".
He began musical training at the Royal Opera House in the 1970s.
He made his conducting debut in 1978 with the opera Carmen at the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden. By 1986, he was principal conductor at the Royal Opera House, where he recorded extensively.
Sir Jeffrey told Radio 4 the course of his career was surprising - since he sometimes "loathed" opera.
"I used to go to Covent Garden and wonder why the singers were never with the beat, always sang out of tune, and why the productions looked so horrible and I'd much rather go to the Royal Shakespeare Company," he said.
"But when it works it's the most wonderful thing in the world."
He added: "Maybe I've got the wanderlust inside me, that I perhaps will never actually feel I am at home in any one thing."
Sir Jeffrey, who has been president of the UK spina bifida charity Shine since 1989, also spoke of feeling self-conscious performing with a disability.
"I always feel a bit sort of odd walking in front of all those people," he said.
"I used to rush on, I suppose out of fear, and once in fact fell down."
On his first appearance at Cologne opera house, he recalls rushing to the podium: "I in fact slipped on the first step and fell into the arms of the viola player, and of course it took me about half an hour to recover from that.
"I learnt a savage lesson from that - despite feeling nervous and self-conscious that I have to walk very, very slowly."
But he told Radio 4 that he had got "jolly used" to sitting on a stool.
"Occasionally I stand up, and that is an advantage, because if you do stand up occasionally, you can produce an effect."
"There is in the last resort no limit to my physical energy if I know what I'm doing and want to do it," he said. | The respected classical conductor Sir Jeffrey Tate has died at the age of 74, his agency has confirmed. | 40140053 |
The National Schools Rugby Tournament (NSRT) has introduced a weighted scoring system, with the potential to dock points if teams or their supporters do not respect officials.
The approach has been endorsed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
Organisers say it aims to "reward more positive aspects of the game of rugby".
There's still noise, but we want [people] excited and vociferous in the right way
As well as awarding bonus points for tries and good defence, officials will also grade both the team and supporters on their sportsmanship and respect of others.
Zero points will be given if "a clear, and repetitive, lack of respect for the referee and his decisions" is displayed, while "exceeding the expectations of the RFU core values" will gain a team three points.
"The idea is to reward all of these elements rather than simply 'win at all costs'," said Mark Robinson of the NSRT.
"I wouldn't say we had a problem per se with the tournament in terms of disrespect to referees by players or supporters.
"Obviously, you expect the odd isolated incident in a tournament of this size but what is interesting is that the new system seems to have worked really well and been well received by parents, coaches and children alike."
Qualifying festivals for the tournament have already begun, with the finals to be played at Epsom College in Surrey on 19 March.
Up to 80 schools regularly enter teams of players aged 13 and under.
"We've had very few problems at all this year," added Robinson.
"The parents and children seem to have embraced the new rules and it pretty much polices itself, which is great news for the referees and for the vast majority of people who come to watch rugby in the right spirit.
"We hope that this could be a template that could be rolled out to other children's rugby tournaments. I wonder whether it could even be adopted in adult rugby or other sports?"
Tournament director Tim Button says he can empathise with parents who get caught up in the emotion of watching their child compete, but that the new rules are intended to eliminate "unpleasant incidents on the touchline".
"There's still noise, but we want [people] excited and vociferous in the right way," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
The RFU implemented changes to age-grade rugby at the beginning of the season, based on feedback from young players.
"As part of the new age-grade rugby framework we encourage a range of different competition options including those like the one being run by NSRT, with whom we have a good relationship, that put all players and their enjoyment front and centre," an RFU spokesperson said.
"We are committed to ensuring the offer to young players from clubs, schools and colleges is consistent, progressive and attractive in order to keep them enjoying rugby and playing the game longer." | New rules at a national junior rugby tournament that penalise teams for unsporting behaviour should be adopted more widely, say organisers. | 39151693 |
Another six were injured when the avalanche hit close to Valfrejus, not far from the Italian border.
French President Francois Hollande has expressed "the nation's solidarity" over the deaths.
Only days earlier, two school pupils and a Ukrainian tourist died in another avalanche in the French Alps.
The soldiers killed were among a group of about 50 taking part in an off-piste skiing exercise.
They were at an altitude of 2,200m (7,200ft) when they were caught up in the avalanche shortly before 14:00 (13:00GMT) on Monday.
Search dogs and helicopters immediately began looking for the soldiers.
About 10 were soon found by rescuers - but five died after going into cardiac arrest. One of those found is in intensive care after suffering hypothermia.
Mr Drian is expected to arrive at the scene early on Tuesday.
The nationalities of those killed has not been released. The group was a mixture of veterans and new recruits, lawmaker Julien Aubert told France's BFM television.
The group were said to be well-equipped at the time of the avalanche. Their regiment specialises in mountain warfare.
It is not the first tragedy to strike the French Foreign Legion, which was established to allow foreign nationals to serve in the French armed forces.
In 2012, an avalanche swept away five members of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment, killing one.
French ski resorts see deaths each year from avalanches, but risks have been heightened in recent days following heavy snowfall. | French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is to visit the site of an avalanche in the Alps that killed five French Foreign Legionnaires. | 35349254 |
Paul Moffat allegedly carried out various sex attacks between January 2014 and April 2015 at an address in Kinloss.
The jury at the High Court in Glasgow heard a recorded interview with the girl, a police officer and a social worker when she described what allegedly happened to her.
Moffat, 30, denies the charges against him.
The child, now six - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said the accused had her carry out sex acts on him and touched her.
The trial before judge Lord Matthews continues. | A man has gone on trial accused of raping a four-year-old girl in Moray. | 39260572 |
Along with Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, his son, Saif al-Islam, and brother-in-law, Abdullah al-Sanussi, head of Libya's intelligence services, are accused.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi - the second of Col Gaddafi's nine children - has had a far more prominent role in the Libyan political scene than his brothers or sisters.
Well-educated and a fluent English speaker, Saif al-Islam was previously viewed by the West as the reform-minded face of the Gaddafi regime.
The 38-year-old holds an MBA from Vienna University and in 2008, received a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE).
He also runs the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation.
Some saw him as his father's most-likely successor, a suggestion he played down.
He owns a house in London and has had links to British political figures as well as the royal family. He has met the Duke of York many times and is said to have visited both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
But his ties to Britain went under the microscope after the crackdown on Libya's protests when they broke out in February.
In March, LSE director Howard Davies resigned from his post after facing criticism for accepting donations from Saif al-Islam's foundation.
The university is also investigating the authenticity of Saif al-Islam's PhD thesis, which focused on good governance and civil society.
Despite his musings on democracy, Saif al-Islam appears to have sided with his father over the need to quash protests in Libya and the armed rebel groups which have emerged from them.
Shortly after the uprising began, he described protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi as "drunkards and thugs" and warned of civil war.
Full Profile: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
Intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi, who is married to the sister of Col Gaddafi's wife, is one of the veteran leader's most trusted aides.
A prominent figure in Libya, Brig Gen Sanussi held various roles during Gaddafi's tenure, including deputy chief of the external security organisation.
He is also said to be a close adviser to Saif al-Islam, according to leaked US embassy documents.
He has been accused in the past of human rights abuses, including his implication in the massacre in 1996 of more than 1,000 inmates at the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli.
He has been unable to travel abroad since he was convicted in absentia in 1999 by France for his role in the bombing of a French UTA passenger plane in 1989.
The plane blew up over the West African country of Niger, killing 170 people.
He was already on a US treasury department blacklist of senior Libyan officials whose assets can be frozen if they are found inside US jurisdiction.
He is also said to have extensive business interests, like other members of Libya's political elite.
Since the Libyan revolt broke out, Brig Gen Sanussi has been accused of ordering the killing of protesters and recruiting foreign mercenaries fighting for Col Gaddafi.
Some media reports initially suggested he was planning to defect, joining the former foreign minister Moussa Koussa, but the claims were soon denied. | Three top Libyan figures are wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. | 13416319 |
One man has died and five others have become ill after contracting a rare strain called 'Legionella longbeachae', which appears to come from compost.
The unusual strain is well known in Australia and New Zealand, where bags of compost carry warning labels.
But these are the first cases linked to compost to be confirmed in the UK.
As many gardeners head out to their gardens and allotments to enjoy the warm weather, experts are warning them to wash their hands after using compost, particularly before eating or smoking.
"Gardening is a very healthy hobby but like anything in life there's a few risks," said Dr Martin Donaghy, medical director of Health Protection Scotland.
"Over the past five years we've had three confirmed cases of Legionella longbeachae, plus two 'probable' and one 'possible' so we do need to take steps to reduce the risk even further."
Doctors all over the UK are being urged to be alert for a link with gardening if they see patients with unusual pneumonia.
Symptoms of Legionella longbeachae include headaches, diarrhoea or a dry cough followed by pneumonia.
Most people recover after treatment with antibiotics and Dr Donaghy said other cases may have gone unreported.
"One of the features of this phenomenon is that we've only seen it in Scotland," he said.
"We're working closely with colleagues in England to find out the reasons for that.
"Are our services better at picking it up, or is it something to do with the nature of compost up here?
"We've got no evidence it's anything to do with the compost so we think it's more to do with being better at picking it up."
Like all forms of Legionnaire's disease, longbeachae is transmitted via very small droplets of water in the air.
All those who have contracted the illness so far were very keen gardeners, using different brands of compost.
Specialists are now investigating whether recent changes to compost formulas might be to blame as manufacturers move away from traditional peat-based growing media.
Health Protection Scotland is in discussions with the Scottish government on whether Australian-style warning labels should be recommended to manufacturers.
A spokesman for the Growing Media Association said: "Since 1990, of the 12 reported cases of Legionella potentially connected to the longbeachae microbe in Great Britain, only three are thought to be related to gardening.
"In the same period, the UK public has used well over a billion bags of compost.
"The exceptional rarity of these cases would seem to indicate that any associated risks are exceedingly minimal."
The spokesman added: "Nevertheless, the growing media industry is committed to acting in a responsible manner on this important issue and is therefore conducting a detailed global analysis of the situation.
"For the moment, appropriate precautionary/hygiene measures are unclear, an observation supported by Health Protection Scotland."
A spokesperson for the Association of Organics Recycling added that compost is routinely heated to at least 60C for 48 hours as part of the manufacturing process, which is considerably hotter than the preferred temperature for Legionella bacteria. | Gardeners are being warned to wash their hands after using compost following a series of Legionella cases in Scotland over the past five years. | 18206191 |
Following a "phenomenal demand" for tickets, comedian Peter Kay has announced on Twitter that a 13th date for his charity gig has been added.
The star originally said there would be just two Phoenix Nights Live shows next year.
However, an extra 10 shows were added within the first 60 minutes of the tickets going on sale.
According to organisers, more than 120,000 tickets were sold in three hours on Sunday.
Then on Sunday evening, Peter Kay confirmed tickets for a 13th date at the Manchester Arena would go on sale the following day.
To put those numbers into context, Phoenix Nights Live will now have more shows at the venue than Take That's 2015 run.
Peter Kay's project has also beaten comedy legends Monty Python, who performed 10 shows at the O2 Arena in London in July.
Cast members are donating their time for free so all the money raised can go to Comic Relief.
A spokesperson for the charity said: "This is the first time a comedy show has been produced solely for Comic Relief on this scale and what an unbelievable result so far."
The award-winning Channel 4 comedy is based on one man's dream to run a popular nightclub in Bolton.
Unfortunately for Brian Potter, played by Peter Kay, his venues keep burning down.
Kay had previously admitted that he was concerned that he would struggle to reunite the original cast, 12 years after the show finished.
He told Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 that he thought everyone would be too busy with their own careers, including Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness, who plays doorman Paddy.
"I rang all the cast and they overwhelmed me with their generosity. Everybody's doing it for free," he said.
"We're all looking forward to doing it.
"It's been lovely getting together with everybody and working out ideas and what we're going to do."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | The number 13 may be unlucky for some, but it seems not for Phoenix Nights fans. | 30273032 |
Sir John Chilcot is due to publish his report in June or July 2016 after beginning it in 2009.
Mr Weston, from Nelson, Caerphilly county, was badly injured during the Falklands campaign.
He said: "The Chilcot inquiry has been one of the worst episodes of political interference for any inquiry."
Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed frustration about the delay and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the time taken was "getting beyond ridiculous".
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb called the delay "a disgrace".
The inquiry is considering how UK forces came to participate in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its aftermath.
Sir John said the two million word report would be finished in April and then given national security checks.
Mr Weston, who suffered 46% burns to his body and face when the Sir Galahad came under fire in 1982, said: "It is an insult to the memories of every single person that died, every single family that suffered because of injury and because of death of their loved ones over there."
The former Welsh Guard has echoed the frustrations of families about the time the publication has taken.
Reg Keys, who lived in Gwynedd when his son L/Cpl Thomas Richard Keys died in Iraq, said he was "bitterly disappointed" with the publication date.
Mr Weston added: "Whether Mr Chilcot can look at himself in the mirror in the morning and not feel ashamed, I don't know, but I think he should." | Falklands veteran Simon Weston has described the much-delayed Iraq war inquiry as "an insult to the memories of every single person that died". | 34748779 |
They entered Central House in Whitechapel, home to the Cass art school, on Wednesday night, demanding it be taken off the market.
The university says the closure will allow it to consolidate all its courses on one site.
But the group, Occupy the Cass, says the plan will lead to cuts to courses and jobs and is an attack on education.
More than a dozen students are camped out in the Bank Gallery, inside Central House, saying its proposed sale "to luxury property developers or the banking industry would be a disgrace".
They say there is not enough room to accommodate all the courses currently taught in Central House at the university's main campus in north London's Holloway Road and 93 jobs are at risk.
"Shrinking London Met to one campus will mean course cuts, job losses and a cut to student places," they say.
"It's being done in such a dreadful way with no consultation with students," said Maggie, one of the organisers.
She said the changes amounted to "asset stripping", suggesting the cuts were deliberately designed to put prospective students off applying to London Met so that the university could be "dismantled".
"We don't know how long we are going to stay," she added.
The occupation has the support of the University and College Union and Unison, says the group, as well as artist BobandRoberta Smith.
In a statement the university said it was investing £125m to create a new home for the Cass "complete with new workshops and studio spaces".
"We appreciate that some students are concerned about the move, but we'd like to reassure them that the Cass is not closing, nor will it's making ethos or successful studio model of teaching be lost," it said.
The move would mean the art faculty could be in one location rather than being split between two sites, the statement said.
"Students have already highlighted the success of the previous merger between the School of Architecture and School of Art and Design to form the Cass three years ago, and we believe another move, with considerably more investment, can only be positive.
"We are inviting students to work with us to shape the Cass's future together, and we'd urge those occupying today to accept that offer." | Students at London Metropolitan University are occupying a campus building, angry at plans to sell it. | 35062093 |
The Teddington Action Group claims the Airport Commission failed to conduct a fair consultation on air quality.
It said there had been a "lack of proper engagement" over the consultation and was considering launching a judicial review.
The BBC has contacted the Airports Commission and is awaiting a response.
The commission gave people three weeks to submit further evidence about air pollution on 8 May, but campaigners argue this was shorter than the consultation time usually recommended by the government.
The Teddington Action Group also claims the period was insufficient for people to read the report's 200 pages of technical data.
Spokesman Paul McGuinness said: "The lack of proper engagement by the Commission in relation to the latest air quality consultation is unacceptable and local people should be consulted in a meaningful way on an issue that directly impacts their health and wellbeing."
The group also alleges there could be a potential conflict of interest with commission chairman Sir Howard Davies also acting as a chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland which works with companies that own Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
The campaigners said they intended to take legal action unless another consultation on air quality is conducted and Sir Howard stands down from his role with the Airport Commission.
Analysis by Kamal Ahmed, Business Editor
It is the first legal challenge to the commission's work. And speaking to members of the Teddington Action Group, they certainly believe it will be the first of many.
Each will delay the commission's findings being implemented - if the government even agrees to them in the first place.
My colleague Richard Westcott wrote about another legal challenge expected by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England.
And Gatwick has also said it is already considering its legal options should the commission back Heathrow.
Many believe the long grass beckons for the commission's work - and that's before it has even published its final report.
In May, four West Kent parish councils called for more time to put together a "correct and democratic answer" to the consultation on air quality.
The Airports Commission is expected to publish its final report into airport expansion this summer.
It has shortlisted three options: a third runway at Heathrow, lengthening an existing runway at Heathrow or building a second runway at Gatwick. | Campaigners fighting the expansion of Heathrow Airport have threatened legal action over an "unfair" air quality consultation by the government. | 33133123 |
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18 December 2014 Last updated at 09:00 GMT
Officially opened in 2004, the £70m building has attracted six million visitors - hosting more than 4,000 performances beneath its "iconic" exterior.
Mark Tewdwr Jones, professor of town planning at Newcastle University, said the Sir Norman Foster-designed building is "loved" by visitors.
A festival of events is being held this week to celebrate its birthday. | The Sage Gateshead, a hub for performing arts which has helped transform the banks of the River Tyne, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. | 30523145 |
The Epping Ongar Railway, set to host an Easter egg hunt this weekend, featured in a video by adult film company Brazzers.
Dean Walton, business development manager at the heritage railway in Essex, apologised to customers for what he called "an error of judgement".
He said any further approaches for such productions would be refused.
Ongar station is clearly recognisable in the opening sequences of the 28-minute movie.
Mr Walton said the railway, which describes itself as "family friendly", had been made available for commercial hire "on a number of occasions" to generate money to run the trains.
He said: "Earlier this year we took a decision to allow an adult film, subject to certain conditions, to be filmed on the railway.
"We are sorry that our decision may have caused offence. It is clear that this decision was an error of judgement."
Mr Walton said the railway had no "editorial control" over the content of the movie and that filming took place when the attraction was closed to the public.
A spokeswoman for the railway said conditions included insisting Brazzers worked in line with the legislation governing the porn industry and that it showed "discretion".
She said officials "would have imagined there would be a film that did not look like it took place at the railway". | A heritage railway line has apologised for allowing the attraction to be used to shoot a hardcore pornography movie. | 32149393 |