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A statement said the tunnel had been constructed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas "in order to infiltrate Israel and execute terror attacks". Hamas, which dominates Gaza, said Israel had found an "old" tunnel. It is the first such tunnel to be found since the devastating war between Israel and militants in Gaza in 2014. During 50 days of fighting, Hamas fighters used tunnels to infiltrate Israeli territory on four occasions, killing 12 soldiers, while Israeli troops destroyed more than 30 tunnels. The conflict left at least 2,251 Palestinians dead - including more than 1,462 civilians, according to the UN - and 11,231 injured. Some 18,000 homes in Gaza were also destroyed or badly damaged. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed, and up to 1,600 injured. Rockets and mortars launched from Gaza caused damage to homes and other buildings inside Israel. Following the war, the Israeli military said it was developing technology aimed at countering efforts by Hamas to rebuild its tunnel network. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the find showed Israel had "achieved a global breakthrough in the ability to locate tunnels". A military statement said the "combined efforts of intelligence, technology and ground forces" had led to the latest discovery in southern Israel. "The ugly truth is that Hamas continues to invest millions of dollars to build tunnels of terror and death," spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner said. "The tunnel uncovered in Israel demonstrates once more Hamas's warped priorities and continued commitment and investment in tools of violence." Col Lerner said the tunnel was about 100-130ft (30-40 metres) deep and was found near the community of Sufa, about 3.5 miles (6km) from Gaza. He said the construction was new, lined with concrete, and fitted with an electricity supply, ventilation and rail tracks, but did not have an exit. However, Hamas claimed that the Israeli military had announced "the finding of an old tunnel in order to gain continued US support for its anti-tunnels project". The tunnel was "only a drop in the ocean of what the resistance has prepared in order defend our people, the freedom of the holy places and its land and captives," said Hamas's armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The Hamas-affiliated website, al-Majd, reported that the tunnel had been used two years ago. Earlier this month, Israel suspended deliveries of cement for private projects in Gaza, saying Hamas was diverting the material for its own purposes in violation of a UN-backed agreement following the 2014 war. The Israeli military launched Operation Protective Edge in July 2014 with the stated aim of stopping rocket attacks by Hamas and destroying the group's capabilities to conduct operations against Israel. After an initial phase focused on air strikes, the Israeli military launched a ground offensive that sought to degrade militants' infrastructure in Gaza and destroy their network of tunnels. The operation concluded that August, when both sides agreed to a ceasefire.
Israel's military says it has uncovered and "neutralised" a tunnel extending from the Gaza Strip several hundred metres inside Israeli territory.
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The council's cabinet will meet to discuss the new school for ages 3-16 which is set to replace Groes Primary School and Dyffryn Comprehensive. Funding for Ysgol Newydd Margam, which will accommodate 1,455 pupils, was announced in November. A report recommends approving the plans, with a 28-day public consultation set to begin on 5 January. The new school is set to open on 1 September 2018 and the council said the move would save 拢7.5m in maintenance backlogs for the current sites.
Plans for a new 拢31m school in Neath Port Talbot are set to be given the go-ahead on Wednesday.
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The lease from Cardiff Athletic Club ends in January 2022 and the region wants a long-term extension so it can redevelop the city centre site. It wants 15,000-seater stadium with a retractable pitch and sliding roof so it can be used as a concert venue. Blues chief Richard Holland says talks have taken place for some time. "We are in the final stages of completing that negotiation and I am hopeful we can call an EGM (emergency general meeting) for January for the athletic club to get them to ratify what is a memorandum of understanding. "I very much hope the members will ratify that an EGM." Any regeneration at the Arms Park site would add to the redevelopment of that area of Cardiff with the Central Square project next to Cardiff Central Station and the plans to transform the Brains Brewery site. But Mr Holland said: "Let's get the agreement secured and I am hoping to do that in the not too distant future at an EGM in January. "The future from there on in would be very exciting for everybody involved at Cardiff Athletic Club, Cardiff RFC and Cardiff Blues. "Not only have we got only four or five years at the Arms Park but and I am hopeful we can extend that out to a 150-year lease. "Built into that would be a development opportunity where we could put a new stadium or put in a subsequent development into the Arms Park that will be a fantastic thing for Cardiff Blues, Cardiff Rugby and the city of Cardiff. "If we could achieve that it would be a brilliant legacy for future generations and the future of Welsh rugby."
Cardiff Blues rugby region want to extend its lease on the Arms Park to rebuild the stadium as well as build an exhibition centre, a hotel and flats.
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Chris Erskine, back at Thistle for a third spell, underlined his status as a fans' favourite with the opening goal, curling the ball past goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams. David Amoo poked the ball over the line to double the home side's advantage. Foran's side were unable to fashion any genuine goalscoring opportunities. Their lack of cutting edge would have disappointed their manager, having scored 12 goals in their previous two matches in the League Cup, Tomas Cerny in the home goal was entirely untroubled over the course of the 90 minutes and though Thistle created few chances of their own, they were sufficiently clinical to punish their opponents. Media playback is not supported on this device Erskine's first-half strike was the solitary moment of class in a disappointing opening period. Callum Booth drove forward, slipped the ball to Steven Lawless who managed to feed Erskine despite a heavy first touch. Erskine's own first touch allowed him to fire past the diving Fon Williams from just inside the box - the ball arrowing inside the far post for a third goal of the young season for the midfielder. Caley Thistle looked a better side after the break but found themselves further behind as they failed to clear from a Sean Welsh set-piece. Abdul Osman headed across goal, Liam Lindsay also got his head to the ball and with the visiting defence struggling to clear the danger, Amoo pounced to stab into the net from close range. Lawless went close with a fierce drive and Kris Doolan had a late strike pushed away by Fon Williams as the home side looked to add to their lead. Though they were unable to do that, they came under little pressure at the other end to comfortably see out the victory. Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Richie Foran: "It's only early. You don't become a bad team overnight. We're going to stay positive. "I thought we had poor imagination in the final third. With the quality that we have up there I expect a little bit more but we didn't get enough help around Scott Boden. "(It's a) disappointing result but I can't be too hard on the lads. They've been magnificent since I've come in. "I think we're in for a good season. We've got the quality. We just need to work on a few bits and pieces." Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald: "I don't think there was a lot in the half until Chris (scored) - it was probably our first good bit of play and Chris had a great finish. "I thought it was a bit cagey. We looked a bit nervous to be honest but the goal settled us down and we started to play a bit. "There was one bit of magic from Chris - he's capable of that, we know that and we need to make sure we use him in the right way. He'd only trained a couple of days this week and that's why we took him off as soon as we could." Match ends, Partick Thistle 2, Inverness CT 0. Second Half ends, Partick Thistle 2, Inverness CT 0. Abdul Osman (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Scott Boden (Inverness CT). Foul by David Amoo (Partick Thistle). Carl Tremarco (Inverness CT) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Adebayo Azeez (Partick Thistle). David Raven (Inverness CT) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Gary Warren (Inverness CT). Adebayo Azeez (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Abdul Osman (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Scott Boden (Inverness CT). Attempt saved. Kris Doolan (Partick Thistle) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Alex Fisher (Inverness CT) header from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Foul by Abdul Osman (Partick Thistle). Ross Draper (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Kris Doolan (Partick Thistle). David Raven (Inverness CT) wins a free kick on the left wing. Adebayo Azeez (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Kevin McNaughton (Inverness CT). Corner, Partick Thistle. Conceded by Gary Warren. Abdul Osman (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Liam Polworth (Inverness CT). Substitution, Partick Thistle. Adebayo Azeez replaces Liam Lindsay because of an injury. Substitution, Inverness CT. Alex Fisher replaces Iain Vigurs. Delay in match Liam Lindsay (Partick Thistle) because of an injury. Attempt saved. Iain Vigurs (Inverness CT) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Substitution, Partick Thistle. Ryan Edwards replaces Chris Erskine. Attempt missed. Steven Lawless (Partick Thistle) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Liam Polworth (Inverness CT) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Liam Polworth (Inverness CT). Steven Lawless (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Callum Booth. Attempt missed. Greg Tansey (Inverness CT) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Substitution, Inverness CT. Ross Draper replaces Jake Mulraney. Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by David Amoo. Goal! Partick Thistle 2, Inverness CT 0. David Amoo (Partick Thistle) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal following a set piece situation. Foul by Iain Vigurs (Inverness CT). Sean Welsh (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Greg Tansey (Inverness CT) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Partick Thistle began the new league season in positive fashion, spoiling Richie Foran's first Premiership match in charge of Caley Thistle.
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Daniel Bell-Drummond made a hard-hit 84 while there were brutal innings from Darren Stevens and Mitch Claydon, as five batsmen passed fifty. Michael Hogan with 4-91 and Craig Meschede, who took 3-105, were the pick of an inconsistent Glamorgan attack. Stevens completed the visitors' misery by removing captain Jacques Rudolph. Kent's Daniel Bell-Drummond told BBC Radio Kent: "It was a brilliant day for the team as a whole. No-one got that big score, but everyone got a start and contributed to the team to post near enough 500. A brilliant team effort. "If partnerships come for Glamorgan now, we have to sit in and trust ourselves that the wickets will come. Hopefully we'll bowl them out short of the 228 lead but, if we don't, we need to back ourselves to get the runs. "We've got to be ruthless and try and go for the kill now, but they're a good team and, if they come back hard, it's no dramas. As long as we win, we'll be happy." Glamorgan fast bowler Michael Hogan told BBC Wales Sport: "We're behind the eight-ball a little, or a lot to be fair. We probably shot ourselves in the foot on the first day with the way we bowled. "Claydon is a dangerous player. You can't have fielders everywhere when you're behind in the game. These guys have a licence to tee off - that's the way the game goes. "My personal efforts don't mean much. It's nice to get a few wickets but you would trade it for them being bowled out for two hundred less. It's a difficult task but we won't shirk it. It's time for us to show what we're about as a team."
Kent's batsmen smashed their team into a winning position on a whirlwind day of action at Canterbury, after taking a massive first-innings lead of 228 runs.
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Aberdeenshire Council said the Scottish government was "content" with the project and the processes taken to reach the final proposed design. However, the local authority will hold a public hearing into its plans. An inquiry can take evidence from a wider range of interested parties, while a hearing normally hears from a council and affected landowners. Aberdeenshire Council hopes construction work can start on the scheme next year. Stonehaven has been affected by severe flooding for many years. Flood events led to the evacuation of homes several times between 1988 and 2012.
Plans for a flood protection scheme for Stonehaven will not go to a public inquiry.
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How does a Libyan graduate end up in a situation where he's willing to risk his life with people traffickers to get to Germany? One 24-year-old explains how he has reached the point where his goal is to save up enough money so he can pay smugglers to help him. Khaled, not his real name, thought that when he left Libya in 2009 for a scholarship to an international university in Dubai, his life would follow a set path. For five years he studied hard and enjoyed himself and, even as unrest broke out in Libya, he thought he'd be able to forge a new life. It was easy for a Libyan to travel to Dubai then and he thought his family back home would be fine as there was no sign of the troubles which were to break out with the emergence of the Arab Spring just two years later. "I was working in the morning, studying in the evening which was challenging but I told myself it would be worth it in order to secure my future. I even got a small dog so I wouldn't feel lonely or overwhelmed." Khaled couldn't fathom why his residency would not be renewed. "I'd lived in Dubai for five years with no problem, I'd never got in trouble with the law or had any issues. It didn't make sense. I couldn't return to Libya. The situation was impossible. My own parents had been forced to leave our family home by the militia." Khaled was advised by his employer to leave temporarily before his residence ended and that he would try to sort out the situation. "I went to Turkey as at that point we didn't need a visa to go there. It was the option that made more sense. "My boss told me to give him couple of weeks to sort it out. One week became two, two became three and so on, I was running very low on money and couldn't afford to stay in the country for much longer. I slept on the streets for a couple of weeks. My phone ran out of battery and I had to start using internet cafes to try to keep in touch with people and try to figure out what was going on. I even had to give away my dog who was back in Dubai. I loved her more than anything in the world but it didn't look like I could go back." He said he was asking everyone he knew for help when an Egyptian friend offered to pay for a flight ticket and entry visa to Egypt if Khaled paid back the favour by doing some translation work for him. "I'm fluent in English and Arabic so I thought this would help me. It was fine until I was required by law to get residency so that I could work legally. I applied for it in July last year and usually it takes two weeks but since the country is full of refugees escaping war, it's taking a lot longer. It took four months before I was rejected due to the high demand of applications." He was then subject to even more bad news when his friend said now Khaled owed him money and he would have to work as his driver and cleaner. His treatment of Khaled got worse and the friendship suffered. "After about six months, I worked off the debt but then I no longer had anywhere to stay. I worked in cafes as a cleaner, shisha boy, trying to find any job that I could. As I have no residence, I get paid just a third of the normal going rate." Khaled kept hoping that things had the potential to change. He started looking for job opportunities around the world. "I applied to a number of companies in Canada, USA, UK, and so many more. Companies liked my CV and would accept me, and even sent a full sponsorship letter for me to get a visa in a few cases. "But then I'd get a letter rejecting me, stating, "You have no proof that you will leave the country once your authorised work period is finished," or, "We require residence in the country you are applying from," as well as other reasons. The Egyptian government won't give me residency. I can't go back to Libya. I'm stuck in a rut. "I'm trying everything within my power to improve my situation but it feels like everything I worked for, all my degrees, do not mean anything due to something which is outside my control. "My dream is to have a home, a safe place to come back to, a place to work which most people have. They do not know how lucky they are. I even want to continue my studies. I would like to do my PhD, not clean the toilets and get beaten up on my way home just because I am Libyan. Five obstacles to an EU migrants deal Those who risk everything for a better life Global failure to help Syrian refugees "I'm now trying to save as much money as I can so I can go to Turkey and get on one of the boats which take people over to Europe. It's easy enough to do because when you are walking in Turkey, the traffickers see you are an Arab and offer you the chance. "I would rather drown than spend the rest of my life here in Egypt. I want to go to Germany because they welcome people like me. "I've never looked for handouts but opportunities. I want to give back to the community." The word migrant is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "one who moves, either temporarily or permanently, from one place, area, or country of residence to another". A refugee is, according to the 1951 Refugee Convention, any person who "owing to a well-founded fear" of persecution is outside their country of nationality and "unable" or "unwilling" to seek the protection of that country. To gain the status, one has to go through the legal process of claiming asylum. The word migrant has traditionally been considered a neutral term, but some criticise the BBC and other media for using a word they say implies something voluntary, and should not be applied to people fleeing danger. Battle over words to describe migrants
"If I don't get out of this place, I don't know what I will do."
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Interim chief executive Ellen Pao resigned on Friday after about 200,000 users had called for her dismissal. Ms Blount told website Recode she believed Ms Pao had been put on a "glass cliff" - or set up to fail. Victoria Taylor, who oversaw a popular question-and-answer section of the site, was sacked last month. "Victoria wasn't on a glass cliff. But it's hard for me to see it any other way than Ellen was," Bethanye Blount said in an interview. But Ms Blount, a former Facebook employee, added that her own decision to leave Reddit just two months after joining, had not been based on gender issues. And new chief executive, Steve Huffman, said he was "confident" that the site could recruit female executives. The phrase "glass cliff" is used to describe women placed in leadership roles during times of crisis, when positive change is hard to achieve. Ms Taylor's departure threw the Reddit community into uproar, with moderators shutting down popular parts of the site in protest. And Ms Pao was widely blamed for the sacking of the popular employee. However, her predecessor, Yishan Wong, has since suggested that it had not been Ms Pao's decision after all, blaming Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and board member. "Alexis wasn't some employee reporting to Pao, he was the executive chairman of the board, ie Pao's boss," he wrote. "He had different ideas for AMAs [Ask Me Anythings], he didn't like Victoria's role, and decided to fire her. Pao wasn't able to do anything about it." Mr Wong added that he was upset that Mr Ohanian had not defended his choice while Ms Pao had been receiving online abuse branded "sickening" by board member Sam Altman as a result. Writing separately on Reddit, Mr Ohanian, also known as kn0thing, appeared to confirm his role in the controversial upheaval. "It was my decision to change how we work with AMAs, and the transition was my failure, and I hope we can keep moving forward from that lesson," he wrote. He added that Ellen Pao was "a class act". Despite the ongoing turmoil, Reddit is in good financial shape, according to Mr Huffman, also one of its co-founders. "Reddit has a lot of cash," he said, in an Ask Me Anything session on the site. "Monetisation isn't a short-term concern of ours." The site currently attracts 164 million monthly users. It was bought by Conde Nast in 2006 but now operates as a spin-off enterprise of the firm's parent company Advance Publications. In an official blog post, Reddit described itself as a "part-sibling-once-removed" of the publishing giant.
Troubled community website Reddit has lost another female member of its senior team with the resignation of chief engineer Bethanye Blount.
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Pete McKee, an artist from Sheffield, has created 6 Weeks To Eternity to evoke childhood memories of being on holiday. The show is on display at Rotherham's Magna Science Adventure Centre until Sunday. It features McKee's paintings and snaps and artefacts from contributors. "The highlight of my holiday was getting a couple of quid off me mum and me dad at Cleethorpes and going into the arcades", he said. For the exhibition, he has added deckchairs, 1970s car and a caravan. Nicola Siddall said "Part of the six weeks holiday were spent on the east coast with aunties, uncles and cousins all going away for the same week and hiring caravans. "Here's our version of The Von Trapp family dressed in curtains!" Rob Naylor said: "Club trips were wonderful fun, they stopped the coaches at a cafe halfway there and handed each kid a fizzy orange and crisps (to give you something to be travel sick with on the last bit of the journey? Always worked for me!) "When you arrived they gave each of us five bob to spend. In later years this rose to 10 bob, but it still didn't last long in the penny arcades." Ms Siddall also has fond memories of going to the park during the holidays. "We'd usually go with the neighbours and make a day of it. This would have been my first taste of the six weeks holiday as I'd only just started school in 1976 when this was taken", she added.
An exhibition celebrating the salty tang of the six-week school summer holiday has seen the seaside recreated in a former steel mill.
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The 38-year-old victim, who is from Bradford, was punched in the face and hit his head on the road outside the takeaway on Westgate. West Yorkshire Police said the fight involved a number of people. Joshua Balmforth, 20, of no fixed address, has been charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. He is due to appear at Wakefield Magistrates Court later. Three other men who were arrested have been released on police bail. The injured man is being treated at Leeds General Infirmary.
A man caught up in a brawl that spilled out on to the street from a takeaway in Wakefield has been left with life-threatening injuries.
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These include plans to build railways, roads and airports along the Yangtze River - which connects China's less developed inland provinces to Shanghai. Meanwhile, China's central bank said it will encourage banks to lend more to exporters to boost shipments. The moves, the latest in a series of steps taken in recent weeks, come amid concerns over a slowdown in China's economy - the world's second-largest. China's economy expanded by 7.4% in the January-to-March period, from a year ago, down from 7.7% growth in the final quarter of last year. After years of robust expansion, China has seen its growth rate slow in recent years, in part due to a slowdown in demand for its exports from key markets. In an attempt to sustain a high growth rate, and to rebalance its economy, China has been looking to boost domestic consumption. However, there have been concerns that as China tries to move away from an export-led growth model, growth may slow down further. Data released earlier this month showed that China's imports declined 1.6% in May, from a year earlier, underlining fears that domestic demand may not be picking up as fast as policymakers had hoped. At the same time, China's exports have also been under pressure in recent months. Even though shipments rose 7% in May, they had increased just 0.9% in April and declined sharply in March and February. On Wednesday, the State Council said that the decision to build a multi-tier transport system along the Yangtze River will help create a new economic belt along the river. "Better use of the so-called 'golden waterway' can boost economic integration between developed and impoverished regions and inject fresh energy into China's economic growth," the State Cabinet was quoted as saying by the state-owned Xinhua news agency. According to official data, the 11 provinces and municipalities along the river account for almost 41% of China's overall gross domestic product. China has also announced various other steps to boost growth in recent weeks. In April, the government said it will cut taxes on small firms and speed up the construction of railway lines across the country. It said it will sell 150bn yuan ($24.6bn; 脗拢14.5bn) worth of government bonds to finance the increased investment in railways. Earlier this week, China's central bank said it will cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) - the amount of cash banks needs to keep in reserve - for banks engaged in lending to agriculture-related businesses and small companies. The ratio will be cut by 0.5 percentage points from 16 June. Banks eligible for the cut include those whose new loans to agriculture-related entities accounted for at least half of their total new lending in the last financial year. Lenders whose outstanding loans to agriculture-related entities accounted for 30% percent of their total outstanding loans in the last financial year will also be eligible for the cut. "The targeted RRR cut will cover around two-thirds of city commercial banks," the central bank said.
China has announced new measures aimed at bolstering its economic growth.
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Few companies have the fan base enjoyed by the yellow excavators, perhaps hitting a height when a single by Nizlopi (The JCB Song) reached number one in December 2005. A sell-out calendar the same year, featured women in flesh-coloured bodysuits dangling from the machinery's prongs. The company, established by Joseph Cyril Bamford (hence JCB), seemed to be going from strength to strength. But in 2008 and 2009 1,684 jobs were cut as the the construction industry was badly affected by the credit crunch and rising raw materials prices. By 2012, things were looking brighter for JCB as it posted a record profit of 脗拢365m, opened a 脗拢63m factory in Brazil, and announced a doubling of trade in Africa. UK employees were given a 脗拢500 Christmas bonus and a three per cent pay increase. In 2013, the company announced plans for 2,500 new jobs. But just a year later the company cut 150 jobs, and last September a further 400 jobs were lost after a "dramatic" slow down in world markets. Joseph Cyril Bamford began his business in a rented lock-up garage in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire in 1945. He used a second-hand welding set and some surplus military equipment to make tipping trailers for farmers to hitch to the new generation of petrol-driven tractors. In 1950 the company moved to a former cheese-making factory in nearby Rocester - where JCB is still based. In 1952, machines were first made in yellow - a colour now synonymous with the brand. In 1963, the design classic JCB 3C was born. The company said "it took backhoe performance to new levels". The 1970s and 80s saw more new concepts, and in 1990 the world's first fully suspended, high-speed draught tractor was produced. Two JCB diesel engines powered the JCB Dieselmax to the diesel world land speed record in 2006, and the millionth JCB machine was built in 2013. It was coated in special celebratory silver paint. A limited edition backhoe has been produced to mark the company's 70th anniversary.
JCB, Britain's best-known digger-maker, has reached its 70th - or platinum - anniversary.
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Ofsted says schools are not progressing there because there are too few academy trusts in the area with experience in improving struggling schools. It says the regional schools commissioners, who oversee standards in academies, are too slow to take action. The government said it had made progress but the pace of improvement in some areas was not good enough. The former chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw, often referred to the East Midlands as an area of concern. Derby is in the bottom 10 local authority areas for educational attainment and some of its schools will have large proportions of pupils from deprived backgrounds. It currently has 23 primary and secondary schools and academies requiring improvement or in special measures. But one head teacher involved in school improvement in the region, who did not want to be named, told the BBC standards in the city of Derby were an "utter calamity". A spokesman for Ofsted said there was "a dearth of effective academy trusts to take over failing schools". This is a concern because academisation is the government's key engine for school improvement. The spokesman told the BBC Ofsted was concerned about the amount of time being taken to to "rebroker" schools. Rebrokerage happens when an academy school is judged to be failing and the commissioner often has to look for another charitable trust - academy sponsor - to take over the school. This step is usually taken as a last resort. The local regional schools commissioner for Derby oversees a vast area of England's education system from the Midlands to the Humber. Ofsted said slowness in finding new sponsorship agreements was leading to inequalities for some of the poorest children. It also highlighted a lack of collaboration between good schools in the area and the rest. The government has promised more money for the city by making it an Education Opportunity area, where employers are being linked with schools to raise standards. But critics say projects have been delayed or stalled because of the general election. One local Labour MP, Chris Williamson, says regional schools commissioners are remote and unaccountable. He calls for the reintroduction of local education authorities. "For the first time since 1990, Derby has seen a reduction in spending going into schools - so clearly we need a different approach, because the present system is broken. " Under changes to the national funding formula for schools - yet to be agreed and introduced - Derby is one of very few metropolitan authorities receiving more money for 2018-19. The Department for Education said school underperformance was one of the reasons it selected Derby as an Opportunity Area. "This 脗拢72m programme is running in 12 social mobility 'coldspots' to create better opportunities for young people and develop solutions to raise educational outcomes. "As part of this we've just named a new research school to provide resources for teachers in Derby to tackle social mobility in their classrooms, and we have given over 脗拢1m of growth funding to enable eight Multi Academy Trusts to expand their reach across Derby's academies," it said. The concerns are being raised as new research from a cross-party commission reveals that geographical disparities are becoming an ever more important indicator of inequality in educational outcomes. The Commission on Inequality in Education, chaired by Nick Clegg, found that the educational gap between poor and rich children was wider than it was a generation ago.
School inspectors have raised serious concerns about educational standards in Derby.
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The 37-year-old achieved the feat in his 224th Test innings, during his side's second Test in New Zealand. India's Sachin Tendulkar and Australia's Ricky Ponting both needed 247 innings to surpass the mark. Sangakkara's 33 not out helped his side to 78-5 after the Kiwis were all out for 221 on day one in Wellington. New Zealand lead the series 1-0 after an eight-wicket win in Christchurch. Sangakkara began his innings on 11,995 runs and was given a standing ovation when he became the first Sri Lankan to reach 12,000 by knocking Trent Boult square for two. Tendulkar (15,921), Ponting (13,378), South African Jacques Kallis (13,289) and India's Rahul Dravid (13,288) are the only four players to have scored more Test runs than Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has become the fastest player to reach 12,000 runs in Test cricket - and only the fifth to reach the landmark.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device 27 March 2015 Last updated at 11:06 GMT It's after our big food survey, which showed more than half of kids don't eat any vegetables on a daily basis. But there are big differences in what people eat depending on where they live in the world and this can affect how healthy they are. With the help of the charity Oxfam, Newsround rated countries on how healthy their food is. We looked at whether the food people eat is good quality, whether it's cheap or expensive, if there's enough to go around and how many people are overweight, obese or have type 2 diabetes in the country. Watch Ricky's report to see how different countries did and where the UK came in the list.
All this week Newsround is looking at food - how it affects us and how we can eat more healthily.
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just released data on baby names for England and Wales in 2014. Their figures show that some children will grow up bearing the names of characters from the fantasy adventure. Arya is the most popular girl's name, with 244 babies named after the character played by Maisie Williams. There were also 53 babies named Khaleesi, nine Daenerys, six Sansas and four Briennes. The blonde Daenerys Targaryen, played by actor Emilia Clarke, is one of the most recognisable figures in the drama, and her image is often used on publicity material for the show. Daenerys is also known as Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, which has obviously caught the imagination of a number of parents across the UK. The Starks, Lannisters and Greyjoys are battling it out for popularity among the male Game of Thrones names. In 2014, 18 boys were called after the treacherous Theon, while 17 were named after the dwarf Tyrion. In addition, four boys each bear the names Bran and Sandor. The hugely-popular series is mostly filmed in Northern Ireland and contributes millions to the local economy. While the number of babies with cast names is relatively small, the ONS say there has been an increase since George R R Martin's original novels first appeared on TV screens in 2011. The boy band One Direction also remains popular with many parents across England and Wales, but it appears that Irish member Niall Horan is the least notable. Only 155 boys were given his first name in 2014, compared to 231 Zayns, 902 Liams, 999 boys called Louis, and 5,379 called Harry. The most popular names in England and Wales in 2014 were Oliver for a boy and Amelia for a girl. That is in contrast to Northern Ireland where statistics released earlier this year showed that the most popular baby names in 2014 were Jack and Emily. Those figures also showed no evidence of a Game of Thrones impact locally, but among the baby names used here were Devin, Kaanye, Peanut, Princeton and Rocco for boys, and Blessing, Piper, Coco, Texas, Suri and Mazie for girls.
It is famous for its gory violence and sex scenes, but that has not stopped parents naming their children after characters from Game of Thrones.
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Since 2013, households deemed to have "spare" rooms lose benefit, with children of the same sex under 16 expected to share bedrooms. The effects undermine other policies designed to support child wellbeing, say Manchester University researchers. The Department for Work and Pensions said the study was too small to reach meaningful conclusions. The benefit changes were introduced by the coalition government to encourage some social housing tenants in larger homes to move into smaller properties. The Manchester University researchers carried out in-depth interviews over 16 months with 14 families affected by the policy in two areas of the city as part of an "exploratory pilot project" to investigate the impact of the changes on children and young people and their education. They also spoke to a group of 40 head teachers, social workers, housing officers and religious leaders. Affected families lose the equivalent of 拢10 to 拢15 a week for one "spare" bedroom and between 拢20 and 拢25 for two, according to government figures quoted in the study. The "bedroom tax" or "removal of spare room subsidy" was probably the most significant of several benefit changes affecting income, say the researchers. Some parents said they cut back on food, heating and other essentials like school uniforms and winter coats. Others reported embarrassment, stress, anxiety and a sense of being socially isolated. Some children also became distressed, with consequences for their ability to engage with school, says the report. Hunger also affected children's behaviour and concentration, said teachers. Children whose families moved into smaller homes and shared bedrooms often lacked a quiet place for homework, or had their sleep disturbed, says the report. Some schools responded by spending more of their budgets on clothing, meals and advice, using Pupil Premium money, which supports students from low income families. Others included parents and siblings in school breakfast clubs. One school even opened an account with a shoe shop, says the report. The findings "confirm a wider picture" that the change is "contributing to significant hardships among low-income families", said author Prof Ruth Lupton. "This cut in benefits may also be working contrary to other policies intended to support child wellbeing and educational achievement and diminishing their effectiveness," she concluded. "The government should review its policy," added co-author Prof Erica Burman. A government spokesman described the study as small and unrepresentative, saying "it is misleading to generalise from such a tiny sample". A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said wider figures for Manchester suggested fewer than 20% of housing benefit claimants in the city had been affected by the policy, and many had offset the change by downsizing or increasing their incomes. "It is wrong that under the previous system, taxpayers had to subsidise benefit claimants to live in houses that are larger than they require. "Removing the spare room subsidy has restored fairness to the system and ensures people on benefits make the same choices as everyone else," said the spokesman.
Housing benefit changes leave some children hungry and stressed at school and need a rethink, says a small study.
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Sgt Stephen Chilton is seen using an unapproved neck lock to restrain a youth in a cell in CCTV footage from a Nottinghamshire Police custody suite. An expert witness said the technique was justified because the suspect tried to attack the sergeant. Sgt Chilton denies gross misconduct and the hearing continues. His actions at Bridewell custody suite carried the risk of serious injury or even death, the hearing was told. The date of the allegation was 9 January 2014. It is the first time Nottinghamshire Police has held a misconduct hearing in public.
A custody sergeant used excessive force that could have put a suspect's life in danger, a police disciplinary hearing has been told.
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The Salford taxi driver was captured by Islamic State militants while delivering aid to Syria in December. People of different faiths met at the Bolton Council of Mosques on Wednesday to call for his release. It comes after his family revealed they received an audio recording of the 47 year old "pleading for his life". Many of his supporters at the vigil wore T-shirts saying "Free 'Gadget' Alan Henning" - a nickname given to him by his fellow convoy members for his technical skills. Yasir Amir, 39, who travelled with Mr Henning in Syria, called him "a top guy" adding "he went there to make a difference, to help people". Imam Rashid Musa, one of Bolton's senior Muslim clerics, said: "Being a person of faith, there is always hope, and my hope is that Alan will be released." Canon Michael Cooke, from Bolton Council's Faith Leaders' Forum, also said prayers and led a two-minute silence. Canon Cooke read a message from Chris Edmondson, Bishop of Bolton, in which he urged people in the "coming days and weeks" to pray together "for Alan's release, safe and unharmed" and for his family "in their anxiety and distress". Last week, British Muslim leaders called for Mr Henning's immediate release in a letter in the Independent newspaper. IS militants issued a threat to kill Mr Henning in a video released on 13 September which showed the killing of another British man, David Haines. His death followed those of two US hostages, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. Earlier on Tuesday IS released a second video of UK journalist John Cantlie, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 and is being held hostage.
More than 100 people have attended a vigil in Greater Manchester in a show of support for the British hostage Alan Henning.
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Crews from Love Productions are filming on Kingston Road in Stockton for the Channel Four show, which follows people living off benefits. The area's MP said participants were being exploited, while one woman said 90% of residents work. But the team behind the show said they were giving a voice to people that "don't really have a voice". Labour's Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham told BBC Tees he was "deeply disappointed" Kingston Road had been chosen for the show. He said: "This is about exploiting people, about making television, growing audiences and selling advertising." Channel 4's head of documentaries Nick Mirsky, who has commissioned the new series, said: "Benefits Street fits perfectly with Channel 4's remit of producing programming that stimulates discussion and debate, the first series did this on a national scale. "It brought a very human focus to an issue that is at the heart of who we are in Britain today. I'm sure the new series will advance that debate and introduce viewers to a new group of compelling residents." Love Production's creative director for factual, Kieran Smith, added: "Like many places in the UK, Stockton has been hit hard by the recession and economic decline. "Those who are reliant on welfare for the majority of their income are some of the hardest hit. "We have been invited to share in the lives of the residents of one street where many people rely on benefits to survive. BBC Tees reporter Andy Bell visited the street to speak to residents, but a film crew he met refused to speak to him. Residents he spoke to said it was up to those taking part how they portray themselves. One woman said she believed they were only filming two families, adding: "We worked out the other week that 90% of the people in the street work so I can't understand why they are filming." Benefits Street sparked controversy when the first series filmed on James Turner Street in Birmingham aired in January.
Residents in a Teesside street are being filmed for the next series of controversial TV show Benefits Street.
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He was addressing his Scottish party's spring conference in Aberdeen. Recent polls have suggested that the Liberal Democrats could lose most of their Scottish Westminster seats. However, Mr Alexander said he was not daunted by the election because he knew "who we are fighting for, and what we are fighting for". He told the gathering: "Our vision is optimistic. It's positive. It's full of hope. Now you might be reeling in shock that I am talking about optimism. But I am. "And here's why - these last five hard years of repairing the economy, of having to take difficult decisions, of having to fight through the tough times, have put us in a place that is the envy of so many other countries. "We are now within touching distance of being able to finish the job of balancing the books." On Wednesday, Mr Alexander sat alongside Tory Chancellor George Osborne who delivered his final Budget before the country goes to the polls. And on Thursday the chief secretary to the Treasury revealed the Liberal Democrats economic plan, contained in a yellow box. Mr Alexander said the Budget had been agreed by the two halves of the coalition, but his party would not cut as much from public spending as the Tories, or borrow as much as Labour. In a speech to the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference, the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey said: "I want the plans contained in the Yellow Budget Box to shape a fairer, stronger Britain for the next five years. "Tax cuts for working people - an income tax personal allowance of 脗拢12,500. "Balancing the books fairly, not on the backs of the working people on low pay. "A new tax on high value property. "A new crackdown on tax dodgers. "Protecting education - from cradle to college. "No rises in the taxes that most people pay - VAT, income tax, National Insurance. "A Liberal Democrat plan, for a stronger economy and a fairer society, that's what we will deliver in the next parliament." He went on to criticise his coalition partners, the Conservative Party, saying that "they want to balance the books solely on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society". On Labour, Mr Alexander insisted the party was "still so deep in denial about its role in the greatest financial crash of modern history, that they seem determined to repeat the same mistakes again".
Liberal Democrat Coalition minister Danny Alexander said he was optimistic about May's general election despite the fight that lay ahead.
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A group of about 10 men were involved in the brawl on The Causeway in the town centre at about 02:40 GMT, police said. The 31-year-old victim was found with serious head injuries. He died later in hospital. Two men, aged 25 and 22, have been held on suspicion of murder, assault, affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
A man has died of injuries he sustained in a "gang fight" outside a bar in Altrincham.
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Old Trafford legend Giggs' position is unclear after Louis van Gaal was sacked as manager. Jose Mourinho is set to be named as the new boss on Tuesday, with no indication of what will happen to the Welshman who was Van Gaal's assistant. "It will be hard for him to leave, but it might also give him that little bit of a spark," Coleman said. "It would be a new challenge for him, something different and out of his comfort zone." Giggs played alongside Coleman for Wales and has been at United since joining on his 14th birthday in November 1987. He is club's most decorated player and made a record 963 appearances. Some senior figures at United were known to have reservations about the prospect of appointing the controversial Mourinho, with some preferring Giggs as an alternative. The club have made Giggs an offer to stay but it is not yet known what that role would be. Giggs is considering the offer but Coleman believes a move away could help him prove he is a future United manager. "He's a legend at United, but if he goes somewhere else he may find that little bit of a spring in his step," he said. "He's a determined character and it could work in his favour coming away from something he's known for so long because you can get a bit stale. "I'm not saying that he has, but it might be a bit of a kick-start for him." Giggs has spent the three seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement as United's number two, first to David Moyes and then in the past two years to Van Gaal. He was in charge as interim manager in April 2014 following Moyes' departure. And Coleman believes Giggs is capable of making the step up and becoming a manager on a permanent basis. "Has Giggsy got what it takes? Yes, definitely," he said. "He's quite quiet, but underneath that there is a very determined and strong character and a person the players will like. "He's got all that experience working with Moyes and Van Gaal, and obviously his time with Fergie as well, and could definitely do the job. "Man United is a massive job. So maybe he would be better going and cutting his teeth somewhere else and proving he has what it takes to then go back there." Who do you think should start at Euro 2016? Step into Chris Coleman芒鈧劉s shoes and pick your XI - and then share it with your friends using our brand new team selector.
Ryan Giggs could benefit from a move away from Manchester United, Wales manager Chris Coleman says.
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James Sullivan, 27, from Nottingham, pleaded guilty to murdering Sara West, 21, at her home on Aspley Lane in October 2010. Sullivan, who was serving a 20-year sentence at HMP Lowdham Grange, was found "unresponsive" on 24 March but it has only recently been confirmed. Nottinghamshire Police said it was helping prepare a file for the coroner. More on this story and other news in Nottinghamshire In January 2011, Nottingham Crown Court heard how Sullivan had become increasingly angry about the lack of contact with his son. Ms West had been stabbed in the neck and Sullivan left the house with their two-month-old son, the court was told. When police stopped him on a bus, the knife was found in a bin liner in the child's push chair. Judge Michael Stokes had told Sullivan: "To kill a mother in this horrific way simply because you disagreed with her views about your child is almost beyond belief". A Prison Service spokesman said staff attempted CPR and an ambulance was called but Sullivan was pronounced dead at about 08:34 GMT on 24 March. The Independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said it was investigating the death.
A man who stabbed his former partner to death following a row over their child has been found dead in his prison cell.
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"They are dictating it as policy... beyond what we have seen before," the UN special envoy told a House of Lords committee on sexual violence in war. Ex-UK Foreign Secretary William Hague told the committee the use of rape in war should "shame all men" but he said it was possible to combat the problem. The pair have been campaigning together to end the use of rape in war zones. Last year they hosted a global summit in London attended by representatives from more than 100 countries aimed at raising awareness and tackling the issue. Ms Jolie, who is also an actress, appeared before the newly established committee on sexual violence in conflict, as part of its first evidence session. She shared harrowing stories of girls she had met in war zones who she said had been repeatedly raped and sold for as little as $40 (脗拢26). It's not often that a Hollywood film star graces the dusty old rooms of the House of Lords, an institution whose average member is aged 70. So it was no surprise that a queue and a media scrum built up in the corridor outside the room where Angelina Jolie was due to appear. Chancellor George Osborne happened to stroll past. "I know my place. I'm in the committee next door but I don't expect to see you there," he joked. Ms Jolie made confident, eloquent and moving contributions during the session, which lasted for just over an hour. Acknowledging that while she could use her global reach to raise awareness of the issue, art and celebrity had their limits, she told peers and journalists. "Policy needs to change". Asked what the root causes of the problem were, Ms Jolie said: "I think the most important thing to understand is what it's not. It's not sexual, it is a violent, brutal terrorising weapon. "Unfortunately it is everywhere, in and out of conflict in every country basically. I can't think of one where there is not this issue." She said so-called IS was explicitly saying to its fighters: "We ask you to rape. "They are saying, 'you should do this, this is the way to build a society'." The actress said the group knows "it is a very effective weapon and they are using it as a centrepoint of their terror and their way of destroying communities and families, and attacking and dehumanising". Ms Jolie praised the work of people in the field, describing them as her "heroes", but added: "Laws need to change, policies need to change, governments and leaderships need to come together and that will make the real change." Mr Hague, who stood down as an MP this year, said sex crimes were committed during conflicts to make peace and reconciliation more difficult to achieve and to create greater flows of refugees out of conflict areas. Combating the problem, therefore, had to form a key part of any successful foreign policy, and not be simply an "add on", he argued. He added: "Often I have been asked why is a man pursuing this subject; a breathtaking question when you think about it. But you do get asked that. "But these are crimes that are committed almost exclusively by men - and that they happen and have happened for many years and go unchallenged should shame all men. "Men and male world leaders have a crucial role to play in tackling this issue."
Islamic State jihadists are using rape as a weapon to terrorise and destroy communities, Angelina Jolie has warned.
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The 31-year-old joins on a free transfer after leaving Championship side Rotherham United. Collin has played more than 200 league games in the past four seasons, one with Carlisle and three at Rotherham. But he only played twice for the Millers last term, with a further three appearances during a loan spell with Scottish club Aberdeen. League Two side Notts released veteran keeper Roy Carroll at the end of last season. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
Notts County have completed the signing of experienced goalkeeper Adam Collin on a two-year contract.
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Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning captain, 33, was presented with a number of mementos before Saturday's home win against Freiburg. Lahm played his 517th and final game for the Bundesliga champions. Midfielder Xabi Alonso, 35, and keeper Tom Starke, 36, were also presented with gifts as they prepare to retire. Bayern clinched their fifth successive Bundesliga title last month and finished 15 points clear at the top of the table after a 4-1 victory. Lahm announced in February that he would be retiring at the end of the season after spending his whole career - bar a loan spell with Stuttgart - at Bayern. The full-back or holding midfielder has won almost every major domestic and European trophy with the Bavarian club, including his eighth Bundesliga title - a joint record with Bayern legends Oliver Kahn, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mehmet Scholl - this season. Lahm fought back the tears when he was substituted with five minutes remaining, warmly hugging each of his team-mates before walking off to a standing ovation from the Allianz Arena. He blew kisses to the home fans, then embraced manager Carlo Ancelotti and Alonso - who had already been substituted - on the touchline. Lahm, who joined Bayern as an 11-year-old before making his debut in 2002, will be remembered as one of the club's all-time greats, said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He will be inducted into the club's Hall of Fame after the game, the first player since Kahn in 2008 to be added. "He deserves this accolade, which puts him up there with the greats of FC Bayern," said Rummenigge. "Both on the pitch and off it, in his role as captain, he has been a truly important person for the club." Former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Alonso, who said in March he would retire when his contract ended, also ended a memorable career in both domestic and international football. His triumphs include two Champions League wins, four domestic titles, including three with Bayern, as well as the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships with Spain. A trademark diagonal pass from Alonso allowed Arjen Robben to cut inside from the right flank and open the scoring against Freiburg, before second-half goals from Arturo Vidal, Franck Ribery and Joshua Kimmich sealed the win. Alonso was brought off in the 81st minute to another emotional standing ovation from the Bayern fans. "Alonso is one of our best signings of recent years, a real lucky find, a gifted tactician, a highly intelligent man and one of the most uncomplicated players I've ever witnessed," added Rummenigge. Match ends, FC Bayern M眉nchen 4, Sport-Club Freiburg 1. Second Half ends, FC Bayern M眉nchen 4, Sport-Club Freiburg 1. Goal! FC Bayern M眉nchen 4, Sport-Club Freiburg 1. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern M眉nchen) header from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski with a headed pass following a corner. Corner, FC Bayern M眉nchen. Conceded by Nicolas H枚fler. Foul by Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern M眉nchen). Alexander Schwolow (Sport-Club Freiburg) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Goal! FC Bayern M眉nchen 3, Sport-Club Freiburg 1. Franck Rib茅ry (FC Bayern M眉nchen) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Arjen Robben following a fast break. Corner, Sport-Club Freiburg. Conceded by Thomas M眉ller. Attempt blocked. Marc-Oliver Kempf (Sport-Club Freiburg) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked. Foul by Juan Bernat (FC Bayern M眉nchen). Maximilian Philipp (Sport-Club Freiburg) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt blocked. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern M眉nchen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Franck Rib茅ry. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern M眉nchen) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Florian Niederlechner (Sport-Club Freiburg). Substitution, Sport-Club Freiburg. H氓vard Nielsen replaces Aleksandar Ignjovski. Attempt blocked. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern M眉nchen) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Substitution, FC Bayern M眉nchen. Rafinha replaces Philipp Lahm. Franck Rib茅ry (FC Bayern M眉nchen) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Manuel Gulde (Sport-Club Freiburg). Attempt missed. Nils Petersen (Sport-Club Freiburg) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the left. Assisted by Julian Schuster with a cross. Substitution, FC Bayern M眉nchen. Franck Rib茅ry replaces Xabi Alonso. Attempt saved. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern M眉nchen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Arturo Vidal. Offside, Sport-Club Freiburg. Julian Schuster tries a through ball, but Florian Niederlechner is caught offside. Attempt saved. Florian Niederlechner (Sport-Club Freiburg) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Maximilian Philipp. Foul by Juan Bernat (FC Bayern M眉nchen). Maximilian Philipp (Sport-Club Freiburg) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt blocked. Arjen Robben (FC Bayern M眉nchen) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Philipp Lahm. Goal! FC Bayern M眉nchen 2, Sport-Club Freiburg 1. Nils Petersen (Sport-Club Freiburg) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Vincenzo Grifo with a through ball. Goal! FC Bayern M眉nchen 2, Sport-Club Freiburg 0. Arturo Vidal (FC Bayern M眉nchen) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Arjen Robben. Substitution, Sport-Club Freiburg. Julian Schuster replaces Mike Frantz. Attempt blocked. Thomas M眉ller (FC Bayern M眉nchen) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Arturo Vidal. Juan Bernat (FC Bayern M眉nchen) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Aleksandar Ignjovski (Sport-Club Freiburg). Attempt saved. Nils Petersen (Sport-Club Freiburg) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Nils Petersen (Sport-Club Freiburg) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Mike Frantz. Arjen Robben (FC Bayern M眉nchen) hits the bar with a left footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Xabi Alonso. Substitution, Sport-Club Freiburg. Nils Petersen replaces Janik Haberer. Offside, FC Bayern M眉nchen. Arjen Robben tries a through ball, but Philipp Lahm is caught offside. Attempt blocked. Florian Niederlechner (Sport-Club Freiburg) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Foul by Arjen Robben (FC Bayern M眉nchen).
Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm was given an emotional ovation as he waved farewell to the German club before his final career appearance.
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Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth said AMs are not being given the opportunity "to get under the skin" of government business. The government said it was the quality, not format, of scrutiny that mattered. AMs discuss issues in the Senedd chamber in sessions known as plenary held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Government business dominates Tuesday plenary sessions, while debates held by the opposition take place on Wednesday. Ministers can use their Tuesday time to make announcements - known as statements - which AMs can ask questions about but cannot vote on what is discussed. In debates, they can. Mr ap Iorwerth, Plaid AM for Ynys Mon, said: "We've seen a pattern in this term of government reading out statement after statement, some of them very important, but some of them rather spurious. "What that means is there is very little opportunity to debate issues." He suggested that announcements tabled on the Welsh Government's tourism initiative, the 2017 Year of Legends, and exotic animal disease could have been dealt with without a statement being read out. Meanwhile, proposals for the merger of the commercial functions of Cadw and National Museums Wales were dealt with in a statement, despite Plaid calls for a debate. Mr ap Iorwerth said the landlord registration scheme, Rent Smart Wales, should have also been dealt with through a debate. He suggested that without debates - where a vote is held and AMs can intervene - the "government is able to duck some tricky issues". Mr ap Iorwerth said the matter had been raised in the Labour/Plaid liaison committees, set up earlier this year as part of the deal between the parties to return Carwyn Jones to the position of first minister. He was confident that the Labour leader of the house, Jane Hutt, had taken his concerns on board. "I've got no problem with late finishing, that's fine," added Mr ap Iorwerth. "But to have late finishes because we have seven statements, one after another, that's not good use of assembly time. "It doesn't give assembly members the opportunity to really get under the skin of some government business in the way that we could and hopefully we will now." Figures shown to the BBC by a source suggest a majority of four recent plenary days of government time was taken up by ministers' statements. At four recent Tuesday sessions - 11 and 18 October, and 1 and 8 November - 64.9% of government time was spent on statements, amounting to 837 minutes. In comparison, on 14 and 21 October in 2014, and 4 and 11 November 2014, 41.8% of government time was spent on statements, a total of 422 minutes. Valerie Livingston, director of Newsdirect Wales which monitors the Senedd, said: "Certainly there do seem to be more Welsh Government statements now." She said some could be dealt with in written form rather than in the chamber, and she said there had been examples of the Welsh Government announcing things to the media "that probably should have been announced to AMs first". But Ms Livingston said the opposition's time is "not always used very effectively". She suggested the opposition "need to be more focused on what they are tabling debates on" instead of tabling "quite general motions on business or health care, or the environment". A Welsh Government spokesman said: "In an oral statement, a minister answers each point raised by individual AMs as they arise, rather than responding in general terms to points raised during a debate. "Therefore, a statement allows for more engagement and challenge between AMs and ministers than would be the case during a debate. "During the last two business questions to the Leader of the House, AMs have asked the Welsh Government to bring forward 23 statements, but only one debate."
The Welsh Government has been criticised for reading out "spurious" statements in the Senedd and not holding enough debates.
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Callum Harriott opened the scoring when his low, angled drive snuck under keeper Brad Jones' attempted parry. Colchester grew in confidence before Marvin Sordell's calm finish, set up by Owen Garvan's reverse pass, extended their lead. Tony McMahon came close for Bradford in the second half, but his strike from 20 yards out hit the underside of the bar.
Colchester United claimed their fourth consecutive League One victory with a comfortable win over Bradford City.
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Ross McCormack capitalised on poor defending to round the goalkeeper and slot Fulham ahead early on. Marnick Vermijl's fine solo effort drew Preston level but Moussa Dembele tucked in to earn Fulham back-to-back wins for the first time since October. The hosts almost levelled through Jermaine Beckford late on but he could not keep his close-range effort down. A first-half that lacked quality saw Preston's Tom Clarke suffer a serious-looking injury and he had to be replaced early on. But, despite the absence of their captain, Preston rallied after half-time and equalised when substitute Verrmijl skipped past two defenders and lashed in a low shot. But Dembele's winner inflicted a first home defeat since January on Preston. Fulham have now scored more goals away from home than any other Championship side so far this season, netting 29 times on their travels. Preston manager Simon Grayson: "It was a frustrating night. Sometimes in games you don't get what you deserve. "I thought that was the case tonight. We were the better team, created the better chances. "They got the early goal but we passed the ball better and there was only one team looking to win the game. We weren't helped by some of the tactics they used at times." Fulham head coach Slavisa Jokanovic: Media playback is not supported on this device "We are not safe. With six games in front of us, now it's six points we don't have reason to think about a holiday. "We need to do much for our away supporters who travel with us and push us towards safety. "It's not time for holiday, we need to give these people something back because we haven't given them too many happy afternoons. We can fix that in these six games ahead of us."
Fulham eased their relegation fears by moving seven points clear of the relegation zone with a win at Preston.
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She was only 21 at the time, but the event helped to inspire the fledgling scientist to crack how the brain is repaired. The discovery reported today could potentially help millions of people with multiple sclerosis who have a rogue immune system attacking part of the brain. Dr Fitzgerald's paralysis was caused by a similar condition to multiple sclerosis called transverse myelitis. Her spinal cord had been stripped of a fatty substance called myelin - a protective coating that allows electrical signals to travel down nerves. It serves the same function as insulation on an electrical cable. Without myelin, her brain could no longer control her body. The key difference between the two conditions is transverse myelitis is a one-off event, while multiple sclerosis is a life-long assault on myelin. Dr Fitzgerald's myelin slowly regenerated and was growing at about the same pace as the hair on your head. "I asked the doctor 'can you speed this up?' and they said 'not until some bright spark like you comes up with something'." She was, eventually, able to make a "95% recovery" and even taught herself to walk again. She told the BBC: "It shows how much regenerative capacity we have and on my mind was the repair process. "It was efficient and effective and that led me on to research on MS." In multiple sclerosis, the immune system mistakes myelin for a hostile invader and launches an assault. It can either just get worse, known as primary progressive MS, or come in waves of disease and recovery, known as relapsing remitting MS. "The reason people have relapsing-remitting is because that natural repair process kicks in," Dr Fitzgerald told the BBC. She is one part of a large research group made up of neuroscientists, immunologists and stem cell scientists that has cracked how the myelin is regenerated. They hope harnessing this process could lead to new therapies. Their series of mouse experiments, published in Nature Neuroscience, has unpicked how the body restores myelin (it is the same sequence of events that ultimately restored Dr Fitzgerald's movement). It starts with a type of white blood cell (called a T-regulatory cell) that is attracted to the damaged myelin in the brain. Once there it begins to co-ordinate the recovery like a foreman at a construction site. But rather than bark verbal instructions, the white blood cells do it chemically by using a protein with the technical name of CCN3. The protein then jolts nearby stem cells into activity. Stem cells have the rare ability to morph into other cell types and CCN3 tells them to become myelin-manufacturing cells. Dr Fitzgerald said: "From my perspective it is a fundamental step forward in the biology of repair. "Our goal is to eventually use this knowledge to develop drugs to drive the repair of myelin and potentially this could lead to patients regaining function. "I love my career, but I'd happily be unemployed if we cure multiple sclerosis." It is still early days and the next stage of the research will be to perform experiments using human rather than mouse tissues. "If only I had saved my T-cells from back then, when I was on the hospital bed I should have been saying 'save some of that blood for me'," she said while musing on a missed opportunity for an experiment. But even with treatments still on the horizon, the findings ask interesting questions about multiple sclerosis itself. Why does the repair process get worse with time? Does the disease become more severe and the repair process cannot keep up? Or does age make the repair less efficient? These will also be considered in the next stage of the research. Fellow researcher Dr Yvonne Dombrowski added: "This knowledge is essential to designing future treatments that tackle neurological diseases, such as MS, in a new way - repairing damage rather than only reducing attacks. "In the future, combining these approaches will deliver better outcomes for patients." Dr Sorrel Bickley, the head of biomedical research at the MS Society, said: "This exciting study gives us an important understanding of how myelin repair can be promoted, which could open up new areas for treatment development." Follow James on Twitter.
"I had a dead leg one Sunday morning and it progressed to full paralysis within two hours," says Dr Denise Fitzgerald, from Queen's University Belfast.
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The Reuse shop at Wrexham Industrial Estate sells cast-offs dumped at the area's three recycling centres. A similar site in Neath Port Talbot is saving about 10 tonnes of items a month from landfill or recycling. Meanwhile, Monmouthshire council plans to open a reuse facility at its Llanfoist depot, near Abergavenny. It intends to give an array of items, including architectural and building materials, a "second chance" while the Wrexham shop is selling furniture, china, toys, bikes and games. "You'll be gobsmacked by what people throw away," said Mac Kendrick, manager at the household recycling site in Wrexham. "There is treasure here. There is always the opportunity to find something of value." Staff and volunteers from Wrexham's Nightingale House Hospice will run the Reuse shop seven days a week. It will split the profits with partner FCC Environment, which manages waste and recycling operations on behalf of Wrexham council as well as running other Reuse shops at waste and recycling sites around the country. Items saved from the skips at those sites include musical instruments, antiques, war-time memorabilia and a human skeleton that was formerly used as a medical teaching aid and which has since been given a new home. Nightingale House managers are hoping the shop will boost its funds as it has to raise 脗拢2.8m a year to cover the hospice's running costs. Retail development manager John Donnelly said he was no longer surprised by the things people threw away as the hospice had been running its own charity shops for more than 20 years. FCC Environment helped to set up a Reuse shop at Briton Ferry with local charity Enfys Foundation and Neath Port Talbot council. Charity co-founder Richard Gaunt-Morris said it was selling in excess of 10 tonnes of goods a month which, in turn, enabled it to provide support to homeless people since it opened in 2013 at the household waste and recycling centre. "It added a whole new dimension to our charity," he said, adding the charity has to log the weight of goods saved from landfill or recycling as part of its arrangement with the council. Other local authorities are running similar services to meet the Welsh Government's zero landfill waste target by 2050. The amount of waste being recycled across Welsh councils hit 60% in the 12 months to the end of March, although the target for 2015-16 was 58%. It rises to 64% by 2020 and 70% by 2025. Swansea council runs an online "Swap Shop" for people to trade unwanted goods as well as a "Corner Shop" at its household waste recycling site at Llansamlet, with money going to educational projects. In Carmarthenshire, a council project is reusing faulty washing machines by turning the drums into planters and selling them on. Boss Nigel Williams said it was a welcome move as the price of scrap metal had fallen heavily in the last 12 months. He said it was also providing training and qualifications for people using the council's mental health and learning disabilities service. Meanwhile, FRAME (Furniture Recycled and Managed Effectively) has been running since 1994 in Pembrokeshire and now has a council contract to deal with householders' bulky waste, as well as saving items dumped at the county's recycling sites. Last year, Nightingale House Hospice shop volunteers found a 1837 Welsh Bible among a bag of donated items.
A second-hand shop has opened at a household recycling site in Wrexham to turn people's trash into cash and cut landfill waste.
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A study of older Canadian adults found that past benzodiazepine use for three months or more was linked to an increased risk (up to 51%) of dementia. NHS guidelines say the drugs should be used for eight to 12 weeks at most. The French-Canadian team says while the link is not definitive, it is another warning that treatments should not exceed three months. "Benzodiazepine use is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease," lead researcher, Sophie Billioti de Gage of the University of Bordeaux, France, and colleagues wrote in the BMJ. "Unwarranted long-term use of these drugs should be considered as a public health concern." The study involved about 2,000 cases of Alzheimer's disease in adults aged over 66 living in Quebec. All had been prescribed benzodiazepines. They were compared with about 7,000 healthy people of the same age living in the same community. While an increased risk was found in those on benzodiazepines, the nature of the link was unclear. Dr Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "This study shows an apparent link between the use of benzodiazepines and Alzheimer's disease although it's hard to know the underlying reason behind the link. "One limitation of this study is that benzodiazepines treat symptoms such as anxiety and sleep disturbance, which may also be early indicators of Alzheimer's disease." Prof Guy Goodwin, president of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, said the findings "could mean that the drugs cause the disease, but is more likely to mean that the drugs are being given to people who are already ill". Dr James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said with 1.5 million people in the UK being prescribed benzodiazepines at any one time, "evidence that their long-term use increases the risk of dementia is significant, and raises questions about their use". Benzodiazepines are used to treat anxiety disorders and insomnia. Despite published guidance on their appropriate use for short-term management, inappropriate prescribing of the drugs is still a concern. Experts are calling for better monitoring of side-effects, particularly in older adults.
Long-term use of pills for anxiety and sleep problems may be linked to Alzheimer's, research suggests.
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The bout will take place on the Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor undercard in Las Vegas. Welshman Cleverly said: "I've trained long and hard for this fight and I'm ready to be let off the leash. This is the biggest fight of my career." Swede Jack, 33, is based in Las Vegas and has 12 knockouts in 21 wins, with one defeat and two draws. Cleverly, 30, won the title by beating Juergen Braehmer in October 2016. Jack's super-middleweight unification fight with Britain's James DeGale ended in a controversial majority draw in January 2017. He is moving up a weight after holding the WBC super-middleweight crown for two years. Jack said: "I'm getting ready to take that belt, and win a title in my second weight class." If Cleverly - whose record is 30 wins, including 16 knockouts, and three defeats - wins, he must defend the belt against Russian Dmitry Bivol. According to WBA rules, a champion has 120 days to fight a mandatory challenger, and that deadline has expired. Russian Bivol, 26, claimed the interim championship in May 2016 by defeating Felix Valera, and has won all 11 of his professional bouts. The World Boxing Association says Cleverly and Bivol's teams have 30 days - from 27 July, 2017 - to reach an agreement or the fight will be called to purse bids. Get all the latest boxing news sent straight to your device with notifications in the BBC Sport app. Find out more here. Find out how to get into boxing with our special guide.
Britain's Nathan Cleverly will defend his WBA light-heavyweight title against Badou Jack on Saturday, 26 August.
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A team from Cardiff University's School of Mathematics found about every three in 50 questions contained an inaccuracy, were misleading or supplied a wrong answer. Publisher Hodder Education is now reprinting the edition and has asked for current copies to be destroyed. BBC research had led to the discovery. The One Show commissioned Cardiff University to look at Mastering Mathematics for WJEC GCSE Practice Book: Higher alongside workbooks for five UK exam boards: WJEC, AQA, Pearson/Edexcel, SQA and OCR, some of which had officially endorsed the books. Hodder Education apologised for the mistakes. Group managing director Lis Tribe said: "We are human. We do our best. We have made a mistake. "Where our process fell down, which is a real concern to me and to my team, is that there wasn't the final quality check that should have taken place. We simply missed a stage because of the pressure of getting the book out on time. "We are actually very grateful to The One Show for bringing these errors to our attention and enabling us to withdraw the book and put them right." A spokesman for the WJEC, whose exams are mainly taken in Wales, said: "We have worked with Hodder to produce endorsed material. However, we have not endorsed the revision guide in question. "As it has not been subjected to our endorsement process, we are not responsible for its content and cannot comment on it. "Of course, if we are made aware of any errors in non-endorsed publications, we make every effort to ensure that the relevant publisher is informed." Dr Matthew Lettington, who oversaw the research, said the level of mistakes was "unacceptable" and some errors would have been "highly confusing" for students. The WJEC practice book had the highest level of errors by a significant margin, with 90 mistakes out of 1,496 questions. The others were: The exam boards told the BBC final responsibility for fact checking lay with the publishers. Pearson/Edexcel said it had already spotted and corrected the eight errors in its workbook and it was being recalled and destroyed. Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press both said all errors were looked into and corrected in the next reprint. The One Show is broadcast on BBC One at 19:00 GMT.
Exam revision workbooks used by GCSE pupils taking Welsh exam board qualifications have been withdrawn after 90 mistakes were found in them.
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Leeds' Warrington fights Spanish former super-bantamweight world champion Kiko Martinez in his home city on Saturday. The 26-year-old, who takes an unbeaten 24-fight record into the bout at the First Direct Arena, has one eye on ending "friction" with Welshman Selby. "The fight and animosity have been stewing for a while and I'm very eager to prove my doubters wrong," he said. "Last year, Selby was red-hot favourite as the world champion I'd challenge. It didn't happen, but the fight's certainly not dead. "He gives me no credit. Let's just settle it." Warrington said Selby, world champion since 2015, has "good variety" in the ring and is "usually very busy for six rounds". But he added: "He thinks he's a banger when he's not. He puts far too much into his punches then fades." Selby, who has 24 wins and a single loss on his record, has been frustrated over the past 12 months. A fight against Jonathan Victor Barros in Las Vegas in January was called off with hours to spare, when the Argentine failed to make the weight. Selby, who has since left promoters Matchroom Sport, is due to meet Barros in June, by which time the Barry fighter will have had just one non-title match in 14 months. There has been talk of a fight between Selby and Northern Ireland's Carl Frampton, but Warrington is hopeful he will get his shot in a fight he believes would be staged in Leeds. Saturday's fight with Martinez - who lost the IBF super-bantamweight title to Frampton in 2014 - tops a bill on which two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams also features. Martinez, 31, has lost seven of his 44 fights but his past three defeats have come in world title fights - to Frampton, Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz.
Josh Warrington hopes to finally settle his feud with IBF world featherweight champion Lee Selby.
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The move follows a Police Scotland investigation into poisoning and the illegal use of traps at the properties in Stirlingshire and the Borders. General licences allow land managers to carry out actions which would otherwise be illegal. These include controlling some wild birds to protect crops or livestock. The three-year licence restrictions have been placed on Raeshawe Estate and Corsehope Farm in the Borders, and Burnfoot Estate and Todhalls Farm in Stirlingshire. Nick Halfhide, director of operations at Scottish Natural Heritage, said: "This measure should help to protect wild birds in the area, while still allowing necessary land management activities to take place, albeit under tighter supervision. "We consider that this is a proportionate response to protect wild birds in the area and prevent further wildlife crime." RSPB Scotland welcomed the restrictions which it said provided a "meaningful deterrent to the serious problem of the illegal killing of birds of prey". Spokesman Duncan Orr-Ewing said: "The use of the open general licence to control what are considered by some to be 'pest species' of bird, including crows and magpies, for conservation and other legal purposes, is a privilege and not a right."
Scottish Natural Heritage has placed licence restrictions on four properties over "clear evidence" of wildlife crime against birds of prey.
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Officers were called to the Cornton area of the city at about 21:45 on Friday after reports that two children had become unwell. The pair were both taken to hospital where they are being treated for non-life threatening injuries. A man has been arrested and charged over the incident. Police Scotland has now issued a drugs warning as officers believe they suffered an "adverse reaction". Chief Inspector Damian Armstrong said: "This incident is very concerning and highlights the dangers of taking illegal drugs. "I would urge members of the public to be aware of the dangers of illegal drug use and advise anyone who has taken drugs and feels unwell to seek urgent medical advice. "Additionally I would ask anyone with information that can assist us with our ongoing investigation to please get in touch."
A 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl in Stirling have been taken to hospital after taking an "illicit substance", police have said.
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Models will need to provide a doctor's certificate attesting to their overall physical health, with special regard to their body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height. The health ministry says the aim is to fight eating disorders and inaccessible ideals of beauty. Digitally altered photos will also have to be labelled from 1 October. Images where a model's appearance has been manipulated will need to be marked photographie retouch茅e (English: retouched photograph). A previous version of the bill had suggested a minimum BMI for models, prompting protests from modelling agencies in France. But the final version, backed by MPs 2015, allows doctors to decide whether a model is too thin by taking into account their weight, age, and body shape. Employers breaking the law could face fines of up to 75,000 euros (拢63,500; $82,000) and up to six months in jail. "Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour," said France's Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine, in a statement on Friday, French media report. France is not the first country to legislate on underweight models - Italy, Spain and Israel have all done so. Anorexia affects between 30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom are women.
A law in France banning the use of unhealthily thin fashion models has come into effect.
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It said police were now investigating "potential offences" at Raeshaw Estates near Heriot. SNH put a general licence restriction on the estate in 2015 on the basis of "clear evidence" from police that wildlife crimes had been committed. The estate has rejected any allegation of being engaged in wildlife crime. It previously challenged the 2015 restriction via judicial review but it was upheld. During a compliance check this month, SNH said its staff had found "multiple instances" of breaches of conditions of an individual licence that had been granted to cover essential management activities on the estate. It said the breaches could also constitute offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, so it has reported the details to Police Scotland. Robbie Kernahan, SNH's head of national operations, said: "After discovering several failures to comply with the terms, we have no other option than to revoke the licence. "In cases like this, we have to take breaches of licences very seriously and will work with Police Scotland as they investigate this case. "We hope this also spreads the message that we will take action to stop wildlife crime whenever possible." RSPB Scotland's head of investigations, Ian Thomson, said the move at the estate came as no surprise. He welcomed the licence revocation but said that it was clear that more needed to be done. "The time has come for a robust regulatory regime, including the licensing of gamebird shoots, where wildlife crimes with a proven link to estate management could lead to a loss of shooting rights," he said. A spokesperson for Raeshaw Estates said it rejected any allegation of being engaged in wildlife crime. "There is no suggestion by anyone of any protected bird found being dead, injured or trapped," he said. "We believe the issue here primarily surrounds the alleged incorrect siting of legitimate traps to catch crows. "The estate staff believe they have been acting in full compliance with the provisions of the licence and we will be seeking meetings with the relevant authorities as a matter of urgency." He said the company had always had a good working relationship with SNH and would work with them to resolve any issues as soon as possible.
Scottish Natural Heritage has revoked a licence to control wild birds on a Borders estate as a result of "ongoing concerns" about wildlife crime.
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Maj Richard Scott, 40, is accused of driving at speeds of up to 95mph (153km/h) in bad weather before the smash on a B-road in Wiltshire. Gareth Hicks, 24, suffered fatal injuries when the van he was asleep in was hit by Mr Scott's Audi A6. Maj Scott denies a charge of causing death by careless driving. Prosecutor Charles Gabb alleged the defendant, from Green Lane in Shepperton, Surrey, had crossed the carriageway of the 60mph-limit B390 in Shrewton near Amesbury. The weather was "awful" and there was strong wind and rain, he told jurors. He said Mr Scott's car was described as "twitching" and "may have been aquaplaning" before striking the first vehicle; a BMW driven by Craig Reed. Mr Scott's Audi then returned to his side of the road but crossed the carriageway again before colliding head-on with a Ford Transit van in which Mr Hicks was a passenger, the court was told. "There is no doubt that when the Audi smashed into the panel van he was on completely the wrong side of the road," Mr Gabb said. Mr Hicks, from Bath in Somerset, was asleep in the van being driven to a construction site in Salisbury by fellow DR Groundworks colleague, Patrick Gilleece. The jury was told the Maj Scott suffered "substantial injuries" and could not recall the crash, which happened shortly after 07:00 GMT on 6 October, 2014. He does not accept the charge and suggests it was in fact Mr Reed who had crossed the carriageway, causing the collision, Mr Gabb told the court. The trial continues.
An Army major who was involved in a crash which killed another man was "way over the speed limit" and on "the wrong side of the road", a court has heard.
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The Carl Vinson Strike Group comprises an aircraft carrier and other warships. US Pacific Command described the deployment - now heading towards the western Pacific - as a prudent measure to maintain readiness in the region. President Trump has said the US is prepared to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat from North Korea. "The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability," US Pacific Command spokesman Dave Benham said. The strike group comprises the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, two guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser. As well as massive striking power, the carrier group has the capability to intercept ballistic missiles. It was originally due to make port calls in Australia but instead has been diverted from Singapore to the west Pacific - where it recently conducted exercises with the South Korean Navy. North Korea has carried out several nuclear tests and experts predict more could be in the offing as the country moves closer towards developing a nuclear warhead with a big enough range to reach the US. On Wednesday North Korea test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile from its eastern port of Sinpo into the Sea of Japan. The test - condemned by Japan and South Korea - came on the eve of a visit by China's President Xi Jinping to the US to meet President Donald Trump. The two leaders discussed how to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes as the US steps up the pressure on China, a historic ally of Pyongyang, to help reduce tension. China has however been reluctant to isolate its neighbour, fearing its collapse could spawn a refugee crisis and bring the US military to its doorstep. Mr Trump said in a recent interview that Washington was ready to act without Beijing's co-operation: "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will." The North is banned from any missile or nuclear tests by the UN, though it has repeatedly broken those sanctions. Last month, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan from the Tongchang-ri region, near the border with China. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe called it a "new stage of threat". The US Treasury recently slapped sanctions on 11 North Korean business representatives and one company, while US politicians overwhelmingly backed a bill relisting the North as a state sponsor of terror. North Korea responded by warning that it will retaliate if the international community steps up sanctions, saying the US was forcing the situation "to the brink of war". China has long been North Korea's closest diplomatic ally and trading partner, but the relationship has become increasingly strained over Pyongyang's refusal to halt nuclear and missile testing. There are fears that Pyongyang could eventually develop the ability to launch long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the mainland US.
The US military has ordered a navy strike group to move towards the Korean peninsula, amid growing concerns about North Korea's missile programme.
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The "Lost Gardens" of Manchester has been produced by The National Trust as a "reminiscent homage" to the city's historical green space. A team of gardeners used 10 tonnes of compost to create the display. They took inspiration from Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Shudehill Orchards and The Royal Botanical Gardens. Parts of the display focus on the palatial glasshouses and grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Old Trafford. It welcomed 4.75 million visitors into the gardens for an exhibition celebrating Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. There are elements of the project that were inspired by the gardens at Shudehill in 1753, a contrast to the bus interchange in its place now. The gardens will evolve over the year and the project will culminate in a display of pumpkins for Halloween. National Trust Gardener in Residence, Sean Harkin, said: "Plants have been selected to give the true sense of what it would have felt like in each of the gardens and we have commissioned hand painted old signs similar to the ones people would have seen at Belle Vue and The Royal Botanical Gardens. "Visitors will be amazed by the sheer scale of the installation and will be able to enjoy the sights and smells of the plants, relax amid the foliage and find themselves a world away from the hustle and bustle of today's Manchester."
A gardening display which celebrates Manchester's rich horticultural past has been installed at the city's art gallery.
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Holten, who has been at the ROH in London's Covent Garden since 2011, said it felt "very painful" to leave. However, his departure appears to be amicable as Holten also said he had turned down the offer to renew his contract for family reasons. The search for his successor will begin in the new year, the ROH said. This past summer, Holten was offered a five-year extension to his time at the leading venue by Alex Beard, the ROH's chief executive. Holten declined, but instead asked for seven months to give him time to direct a new production of Wagner's Meistersinger early next year. Holten said in a letter to colleagues: "I love working at the ROH - and with all the amazing colleagues here. "But when I moved to London, my partner and I didn't have children. Now we do, and after much soul searching we have decided that we want to be closer to our families and inevitably that means we make Copenhagen our home where the children will grow up and go to school." Mr Beard said: "Kasper Holten is a wonderful colleague and a good friend, and continues to bring extraordinary energy and vision as our director of opera. "While I had very much hoped to work with him through to 2020 and beyond, I understand and respect his reasons for moving back to Copenhagen." Antonio Pappano, the ROH's director of music, also praised his colleague: "Kasper Holten has been electric during his time at the Royal Opera House, demonstrating an uncanny energy, perseverance and vision for the future of our great institution. "My collaboration with him on Krol Roger was one of the most fruitful experiences I have had during my time at this theatre. I am very sad that he has decided he must leave, as I believe it will be a major loss for our company." Holten's time at the ROH has not been without controversy. In early 2012, audience boos and walkouts greeted a modern-dress staging of a Dvorak work. The reason for the outrage was Holten's decision to set Rusalka - a version of The Little Mermaid - in a brothel populated by provocatively dressed prostitutes. "It is OK to have divided opinion when you try to move the boundaries," said Holten at the time. Similarly, this summer, audiences were unhappy with the ROH's staging of William Tell, with the opening night again marked by boos, this time over a rape scene with nudity. Holten's reaction was to apologise, saying he was sorry if some of the audience found the scenes "distressing" but he added: "The production intends to make it an uncomfortable scene, just as there are several upsetting and violent scenes in Rossini's score." He said the scene "puts the spotlight on the brutal reality of women being abused during war time, and sexual violence being a tragic fact of war". Analysis by Will Gompertz, Arts editor The director of opera at The Royal Opera has announced he is to leave the Company at the end of March 2017 and return to Denmark. The first thing you notice when meeting Kasper Holten is his energy and enthusiasm. Hang around a little longer and you discover a serious figure who is open-minded about his art form and experiential in his approach. They are good attributes for an organisation such as the Royal Opera House, that is genuine in its desire to develop new audiences and push the boundaries of opera. But it's not easy. It is an inherently conservative organisation with an old-school establishment core audience. I suspect Holten will feel creatively freer in a more avant-garde environment, which Copenhagen is likely to provide. He says he's going home to bring up his family. But maybe there's also an element of flying off before his wings have been clipped. Do expect him to carry on innovating. Don't expect him to take up the vacancy at the English National Opera. It's a loss - in my opinion - for London and the Opera House.
Kasper Holten, the Royal Opera House's (ROH) director of opera, has announced he is to leave the company at the end of March 2017 and return to Denmark.
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Dorset's County Hospital is carrying out a review of services, including maternity and paediatrics. It has prompted dozens of parents to post images of their children receiving care at the hospital in Dorchester. Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group said it was considering how to reorganise health services for the future. Photos shared on the group include children born prematurely and other poorly youngsters whose parents are opposed to any changes. Among the areas under review are the special care baby unit (SCBU), Kingfisher children's ward and maternity services at the hospital. Parents have been sharing the posts on the Save the SCBU, Kingfisher and Maternity at DCH Facebook page.
Parents have been sharing photos of their children in support of threatened child and maternity services.
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No inquest has been held into the 2012 murder at her family's request. Ms Meagher was originally from Drogheda, but moved to Australia from Ireland in 2009 with her husband. She worked for ABC Radio but went missing during a night out with colleagues. Her body was discovered six days later buried on the outskirts of Melbourne. Adrian Bayley, who had a history of violent sex attacks, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum jail term of 35 years for her murder. On Friday, coroner Ian Gray said Jill Meagher's death had been "preventable". He pointed to failings by Community Correctional Services (CCS), a division of Corrections Victoria and the Adult Parole Board (APB), a separate body within the Department of Human services. "A more rigorous, risk-averse approach by CCS and the APB would have led to a cancellation of Bayley's parole," Mr Gray said. "The approach taken is difficult to understand ... it did not bring dangerous and high risk parolees immediately to account." Bayley had been on parole for previous rapes when he raped and murdered Ms Meagher as she walked home from Brunswick in the early hours of 22 September 2012. He was also on bail pending an appeal of a three-month sentence after pleading guilty to attacking a man outside a pub at Geelong in 2011. At the time of that incident, Bayley had been on parole after serving eight years' jail for 16 counts of rape against five women. He had already served time for rapes committed from the age of 18. The coroner noted Victoria's parole system had been amended since Ms Meagher's murder. Had it been changed when Bayley was charged with the Geelong assault, a representative from Corrections Victoria told the coroner, his parole probably would have been cancelled automatically when he was convicted of that offence. "The poignant truth of this ... will resonate with Ms Meagher's husband, family and friends," the coroner said.
The Australian authorities could have prevented the rape and murder of Irish woman Jill Meagher by revoking her killer's parole as soon as he breached it, a coroner has found.
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The track will be linked to the city council's new ??28m velodrome and will be built on part of The Sanctuary nature reserve. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said it was a "great pity" that the council had approved the plans. But Labour councillor Sara Boulton said the new facility would only take up a "slice of the land". Councillors voted on the cycle track planning proposal on Thursday night, and it was passed by six votes to five. Ms Boulton, chair of Derby City Council's planning committee, said: "In actual fact it's only a slice of the land, it's 18% of the total area of The Sanctuary that will be made up of this close-circuit cycle track. "We listened to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and a [council] environmental officer, and it wasn't an easy decision." Tim Birch, a Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Conservation manager, said: "It's a very sad day for Derby city in terms of the wildlife that will now be impacted. "It's a great pity that a local nature reserve that was established by Derby City Council will now be destroyed by that council." Local ecologist Nick Moyes said: "It's not the end of it, we'll have to go away and have a think about that one." However, Peter Turner from Derby Mercury Cycling Club, who is also a member of the wildlife trust, said: "I see both sides of the issue. "I think the actual effect of people cycling on the track has been over emphasised. "Cycling is quiet, we're not noisy and I don't see that as being such a big issue for the birds as made out."
A cycle track will run through a Derby nature reserve despite concerns over its impact on wildlife.
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It highlights the need for multi-disciplinary teams working together at urgent care resource hubs across Scotland. The teams would include GPs, nurses, physiotherapists, community pharmacists, social care workers and other specialists. The review was commissioned by the Scottish government. It forms part of the government's plans to transform primary care services in light of the demands of Scotland's ageing population, and as health and social care services are integrated. The 28 recommendations, made by Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie in the Primary Care Out-of-Hours Review, have been welcomed by Health Secretary Shona Robison. The other recommendations include: The review found that the current arrangement for out-of hours services was "fragile, not sustainable and will worsen unless immediate and robust measures are taken to promote the recruitment and retention of sufficient numbers of GPs working in both daytime and out-of-hours services". The Scottish government said it had made 脗拢1m of initial funding immediately available to fast-track the testing of the new urgent care model. A detailed government response to the recommendations and a national implementation plan, including an outline of investment to support delivery, will follow next spring. Sir Lewis said: "The people of Scotland deserve a high-quality out-of-hours service which fully meets their needs and does so consistently and reliably throughout Scotland. "The Scottish government commissioned this review to ensure that person-centred, sustainable, high quality and safe primary care is delivered when GP practices are closed. "I hope the recommendations from this review help achieve that, but also look forward and begin to lay the foundations for consistent urgent and emergency care on a continuous 24/7 basis." Ms Robison said: "Our NHS is facing different demands from those of a decade ago and we need to ensure all parts of the system work as effectively as possible to support an ageing population and more people with more complex, multiple conditions. "This is why it was vital, more than 10 years since the current system was created, that we commissioned a review into out-of-hours primary care. "We are already taking a comprehensive range of actions across all areas of our health service in order to meet the changing demands and the recommendations in Sir Lewis' review will build on this, helping ensure a more effective and sustainable service for the future." She added: "There is still a lot of work to be done, but ultimately, by getting primary care right, both in and out-of-hours, we can ease the pressure in our hospitals and meet the demands of our patients, who should expect nothing less." Theresa Fyffe, director of Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said: "Overall, Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie's recommendations are a solid foundation on which we can build the future of round-the-clock primary care services." Dr Miles Mack, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, said: "The profession will be glad of this recognition of the pressures general practice as a whole is under to meet the needs of Scotland's population. "We hope this report can provide lasting, meaningful solutions to patients looking for urgent, out of hours medical care." Dr Andrew Buist, deputy chairman of BMA Scotland's GP committee, said the recognition that the out-of-hours workforce needed to be multi-disciplinary was "a welcome reflection of the vision for the future of primary care that we are working towards". "Providing greater support to GPs working and training in the out-of- hours environment, improving IT provision in primary care and creating a national performers list are also all positive steps that will help to improve the provision of out-of-hours care," he said. "It is essential that patients who need urgent care are able to access it when it is needed."
A new blueprint is needed for out-of-hours medical services in Scotland, an independent review has concluded.
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The 33-year-old from Londonderry was one of six people killed in Playa Prieta when a school collapsed. Her body is due to arrive in Dublin on Friday. A funeral Mass will be held at Long Tower Church in the city on Monday at 12:00 BST. At least 655 people died and whole towns were destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude quake. The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust has been working with the authorities in Ecuador on behalf of the family. Efforts to bring Sr Clare home had been delayed because of increased pressure on the authorities to issue death certificates. Sr Clare and another Irish nun, Sr Th脙漏r脙篓se Ryan from County Limerick, were part of the Home of the Mother order. They had been teaching guitar and singing with five young women postulants, who were entering the religious order, when the earthquake struck. It is believed that they were running out of the building and were trapped on a stairway. Fr Roland Colhoun, who knew Sister Crockett, described her as "a beautiful person".
The body of Ecuador earthquake victim Sister Clare Crockett will be returned to Ireland on Friday.
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Last night, the former chief executive of Torquing Group - the firm behind the Zano - resigned. That left the thousands who had backed the firm with more than 拢2m a year ago in despair. Ivan Reedman, the engineer driving the design of the mini-drone, explained why he was going in a post on a Zano forum. "My resignation is due to personal health issues and irreconcilable differences," he wrote. Reedman, who stepped down as chief executive to become R&D director last year after new investors bought into the business, had been the only executive to engage with worried backers over recent months. "To say I am devastated pales when compared to what I am feeling," his statement said. Those who had backed the project reacted with sadness. "Fingers crossed Zano can continue," wrote one backer, "for the benefit of everyone (including me) that has invested their hard-earned money." But many of the more than 12,000 backers have already despaired of receiving what they were promised in Zano's Kickstarter campaign. Its promotional video showed the tiny drone following a mountain bike down a wooded path, and a cliff diver plunging into the sea, all the while capturing high-quality video. But when I visited the Zano team in Pembroke Dock, south west Wales in August, it was already clear that the project was in trouble. I got the first demonstration of the drone and it was not impressive, staying airborne for only a few minutes, colliding with walls, and delivering very poor video. Reedman promised that these problems would be ironed out with later software upgrades, and that the priority was to start delivering the device to backers. Since then, some backers have received their drones. But as far as I can see, none has been happy. "Give me back my money, let me put it towards a drone that works," was one comment on a Zano Facebook forum. An American backer wrote about the frustrations of flying the drone compared with what was promised in the promotional video. "Follow me... Hold position... Gesture control... Return to base... all claims on the Kickstarter Campaign video," he wrote. "So, how close are they? Seems like most people are pleading with them to send one that flies... Jeez!" Anger mounted as Torquing Group started sending Zanos to people who had paid to pre-order them before those who had backed the Kickstarter project. That was seen as a betrayal to backers who could not get a refund. By contrast, pre-order customers were getting their money back if they cancelled. "Sending Zanos out to pre-order customers before backers was a huge mistake in my opinion," one backer, David Black told me. "The backers were the people that brought this project to life and should have been Torquing's priority. "Sending to pre-orders seems to show a lack of respect to backers and Kickstarter in general." Some attacked Kickstarter itself, saying the crowdfunding platform should not have allowed the project to go ahead without checking that the promotional video gave a true picture of the product. "I will never invest in a Kickstarter again," wrote Ashley Hall on a forum. "You save a small amount of money but ultimately you end up with a partially completed beta product." Earlier this month I contacted Reece Crowther, Torquing's marketing manager. I asked a number of questions about the project and its failure to deliver what had been promised, but received no response. Last night, after news of Reedman's resignation emerged, I got in touch again. This time Crowther did respond, but only to say this: "We will be releasing an official statement in the next 48 hours to address the recent resignation of Ivan Reedman. We are still digesting this news internally and we are in a state of shock at present." So, Zano's army of backers will have to wait a while to find out what happens next. It is safe to say that many, if not most, have already given up on what now looks like Europe's most disastrous Kickstarter project.
It was Europe's most successful Kickstarter project - but now the Zano mini-drone is in deep crisis.
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Football's world governing body Fifa also requested that all players wear black armbands in remembrance. Nineteen players and coaching staff were among the 71 who died when the Brazilian's team plane crashed. The team was heading to Colombia for the final of the Copa Sudamericana, the biggest game in the club's history. Periods of silence will also be held before next week's Champions League and Europa League matches. Similar tributes were held before all four of the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday. Three players - defender Alan Luciano Ruschel, reserve goalkeeper Jackson Ragnar Follmann and centre-back Helio Hermito Zampier Neto - were among the six survivors Of the survivors, Ruschel and Neto were said to be in critical but stable conditions, with the former having had spinal surgery. Follmann has had his leg amputated and could lose his other foot. Colombian authorities say evidence is growing that the plane crashed because it ran out of fuel as it tried to land. Club director Cecilio Hans said the club would "rebuild from scratch" in memory of those who had died. Arsenal's Brazilian defender Gabriel paid tribute to his late friend Caio Junior, the Chapecoense coach, after his team's quarter-final defeat by Southampton in the EFL Cup. The 26-year-old said he was "very close friends" with the coach, the backroom staff and two of the players. Media playback is not supported on this device "This is really hard to take. It is something we never imagine will happen with us or a close friend," he said. "The minimum I can do is send my condolences to all their families and wish that they can carry on. "I ask for strength for this team that enchanted Brazilian football, a group that five years ago was in the fourth division and surprised everybody. "We only have good memories to keep in our hearts from this team and the friends I made through football." Chapecoense were in the Brazilian fourth tier in 2009, but had recently made themselves a national force before their run in South American football's secondary continental competition - the equivalent of the Europa League. Three of Brazil's leading clubs have said they will offer players to Chapecoense.
A minute's silence will be held before every football match this weekend in memory of the Chapecoense players and staff who died on Monday.
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The 76-year-old was given the honour for his services to football and charity. Aberdeen-born Law, who scored 237 goals during his time at United, said the royal recognition was unexpected. The player rounded off his career by representing Scotland at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. Speaking after the ceremony he said: "I just think this is the type of honour that goes to other people. You do not expect to get something like this. It's fantastic." He said he enjoyed some brief football-related banter with the Duke of Cambridge, who is an Aston Villa supporter. The footballer said: "The conversation was a bit short because they (Aston Villa) are bottom of the league and things are not going well but the thing is, when you're a supporter you will support your team wherever they are. So I was glad that he supports them, because that's his team." Law was one third of what became known as Manchester United's Holy Trinity, when he played alongside George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton during his 11-year stint with the Red Devils. He left Manchester United in 1973 to return to Manchester City, where his 81st-minute back-heeled goal confirmed United's relegation from the top flight.
Former Manchester United and Scotland footballer Denis Law has described being awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace as "fantastic".
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Ms Heard, 29, escaped conviction after pleading guilty to falsifying documents before a Queensland court on Monday. A video of the pair apologising for flying their dogs Pistol and Boo into the country was played to the court. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said Mr Depp looked like he was "auditioning for the Godfather". "I don't think he'll get an Academy Award for his performance," Mr Joyce told the Australian Broadcasting Corp's AM programme. Heard avoids dog-smuggling conviction Depp and Heard's bizarre apology video "At the end of it we've got a message that is going all around the world right now, it's going off like a frog in a sock telling people that if you come into this nation and you don't obey our laws, you're in trouble," added Mr Joyce. "That's what this is about, it's making sure we keep this nation, protect our flora, our fauna and protect our biosecurity laws." In a separate interview with Channel 7's popular Sunrise breakfast TV programme, Mr Joyce denied directing the video himself. "As far as me directing this atrocious movie, no, even I could have done a little better than that," he said. "Do it again Johnny, do it with gusto mate, a little gusto." Mr Depp and Ms Heard recorded the video on the Gold Coast after arriving in Australia on their private jet to face Southport Magistrate's Court. In the video, Ms Heard calls Australia "a wonderful island, with a treasure trove of unique plants, animals and people". Mr Depp says at its conclusion: "Declare everything when you enter Australia." Its release sparked a frenzied reaction on social media, as internet wags compared the couple's stilted delivery to North Korean propaganda videos and hostage films. The judge in the case handed Ms Heard a one-month good behaviour bond after prosecutors dropped charges of illegally importing animals, reportedly in exchange for her guilty plea to the lesser charge of falsifying documents. The case, dubbed the "war on terrier", made international headlines in May 2015, when Mr Joyce threatened to have Pistol and Boo put down if they didn't "bugger off" back to the United States.
The Australian politician who threatened to kill Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's dogs has made fun of the star couple's apology video.
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The move is a reaction to the cost of ensuring that diesel engines comply with tighter emissions regulations. The crackdown follows last year's diesel emissions scandal involving German car maker Volkswagen. Renault's move was reported by Reuters and has not yet been officially announced. Senior Renault executive Thierry Bollore has said that tougher emissions standards and testing methods would make diesel engines uneconomic to make. He told a meeting of Renault bosses in July that diesel engines had already been removed from the company's smallest cars, such as the Twingo, even before the Volkswagen scandal. By 2020, when more stringent EU emissions standards come into force, larger Renault cars such as the Clio and the Megane are unlikely to have diesel engine variants. More than 60% of the 1.6 million cars Renault sold in Europe last year were diesels. Volkswagen's chief executive, Matthias Mueller, said in June that his company was now wondering "whether it still makes sense to invest a lot of money in further developing diesel". From 2019, tougher European rules on diesel engines will involve measuring emissions in real-world driving conditions, making the new standards much harder to comply with. For its part, Renault is being investigated by the French authorities for publishing suspected fraudulent emissions figures as the fallout from the Volkswagen scandal continues According to French road tests on 100 vehicles, Renault and Nissan cars emit more than eight times the current limits for nitrogen oxide.
Renault, the French car maker, may stop offering diesel engines in most of its cars sold in Europe.
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Archaeologists believe the faeces were left by dogs or cats that helped to control vermin towards the end of occupation of the roundhouse on Orkney. The coprolites, fossilised faeces, is thought to be about 2,000 years old. Examinations of the dung could reveal what kinds of scrap foods the animals were thrown by the broch's residents. The coprolites are among several interesting finds made at The Cairns on South Ronaldsay. Other discoveries have included a human lower jaw bone and teeth. The University of the Highlands and Islands is working on The Cairns Project along with others, including the organisation Orkneyjar. Site director Martin Carruthers said the coprolites were not the most photogenic of the discoveries, but added that they were still an important find. He said: "They tend to lose their integrity quite easily when they're just a couple of thousand years old rather than petrified as stony fossils if they're a great deal older. "These are probably from medium-sized mammals like a cat or dog and their significance is two-fold. "They tell us something of the conditions prevailing inside the broch during its use, at least towards the end of its use, in that there were animals probably feeding off the waste products of human food, as well as probably keeping numbers of vermin lower as well. "The other useful thing about these coprolites is that their contents may well give good additional proxy information on the foodstuffs present in the broch as these animals will probably be eating scraps from the human diet."
Fossilised dung unearthed at an Iron Age broch could provide interesting information on the diets of animals and humans that once lived at the site.
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The 23-year-old was disciplined along with Leicester's Manu Tuilagi because of "team culture issues" on 7 August. The pair were believed to have gone out drinking and contravened the team's standards of behaviour. "What happened was out of character. It was definitely a mistake on my behalf. I'll work harder to get back," he said. "I put that person behind me a long time ago." During the camp, it is understood the England players went out as a squad to dinner, and returned to their hotel as a group, but Tuilagi and Solomona then left the hotel for a second time, returning in the early hours of the morning, thought to be as late as 4am. Media playback is not supported on this device It is the first time since taking on the role that England head coach Eddie Jones has disciplined individuals for off-the-field behaviour. "[Jones] has just said to train harder and play harder and that's what I'll do. I need to do what he says. That's the only way I'll achieve what I want to achieve," Solomona continued. "By training hard, I'll improve my game capabilities and I'll learn a lot more. And in the game I'll go as hard as I can and give everything I've got every single game. "I'm hungry for it. I'm eager for it and I'm only going to train harder and play as good as I can to let my rugby do my talking."
Sale winger Denny Solomona says he is determined to win back his England place after being sent home early from a pre-season training camp.
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The hackneyed but good example is that if a dog bites a man it's not a story - dogs do that quite often. But if a man bites a dog, it is a story - because men, generally speaking, do not. In other words the "story" is something that is unusual, rare and unexpected. So what box do we put the Freddie Gray story in? It's obviously a story - but it is none too rare, sadly not that unusual - and if you ask many in the black community, not in the least bit unexpected. I heard one piece of commentary that more or less started "First there was Ferguson, now Baltimore"' - but in truth there has been a whole pile of incidents in between. I haven't the space to list them all - the 12-year-old boy shot dead in a park in Cleveland, Ohio, the student left bloody and bruised at the University of Virginia, the man fatally shot eight times in the back in South Carolina, the 44-year-old chased down and killed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after volunteer officer pulled a firearm instead of a stun gun. And there are more, culminating in Freddie Gray dying while in the custody of Baltimore police, after his spinal cord had been virtually severed. It's unlikely you would sustain an injury like that simply by slipping as you stepped into the police wagon. What the common features are of all these incidents is that the victims were black and the forces of law and order involved in them were for the most part white. All of these stories made news on the day, and maybe even a bit of follow-up on day two and day three. But have they stirred national debate, caused people to stop and reflect, led to serious - as President Obama has demanded - "soul-searching"? I am going to say not so much. Which brings us back to the opinion piece that made the point that first there was Ferguson, then there was Baltimore. The writer is correct, insofar as they both resulted in looting, burning and vandalising - all playing out on our screens last night. How could you not feel sickened to see some poor shopkeeper's life's work go up in flames, or being taken away in greedy armfuls by the lawless mob? There was something almost grotesque about sitting and watching for an hour or so the looting at a CVS pharmacy store as people very casually wandered into the store and wandered out with their arms full. And not a policeman in sight. If I were on the board of CVS I would be asking the authorities in Baltimore some pretty searching questions. And some pretty searching questions are being asked again today about American society - What to do? How to put things right? This has been a huge story because in 21st Century America you don't really expect the need to impose night-time curfews. From tonight in Baltimore, unless you are going to work or you have a medical emergency, you are banned from being outside. You don't really expect to see Humvees and the National Guard on patrol in one of the larger cities in America. It's astonishing. The cable channels are full of it, Washington has sat up and taken notice. If you could market hand wringing, you'd make a fortune. But here is the morally uncomfortable bit - is it the death of Freddie Gray that has caused everyone to sit up and take notice, or is it the rioting? From the hapless Baltimore mayor through to the president the point has been made - rioting achieves nothing. But, sadly it has. It has caught people's attention - because it has conformed to the journalist's law of what makes a story - it is rare, unexpected and unusual. Perhaps the lesson is we need to take more notice of things that lead to the riots and sense of alienation by disaffected young African-Americans. The white cop assaulting or shooting a black man may not be that unusual, but it has already led to dire consequences for those living in Ferguson and in Baltimore.
For students at journalism college there is always that initial debate of what constitutes a story.
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Amazon and Alphabet jumped more than 4% each after the bell, following stellar earnings. The S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed. Comcast rose 2.1% to $39.59 after touching a record high of $40.62 as strong subscriber growth brought a forecast-beating profit. The Nasdaq climbed 23.71 points to 6,048.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.24 points to 20,981.33, while the wider S&P 500 index edged up 1.32 points to 2,388.77. Much of the stock movement came in response to the quarterly earnings that a slew of companies are sharing with investors this week. American Airlines shares plummeted 5.2% after its release on Thursday, which included a 2% revenue increase - and the news it would provide raises to pilots and flight attendants. Rival carriers also came under pressure, with Delta down 1.4% and United Continental down about 1%. United is trying to move past bad publicity over its removal of a passenger from a flight, a case the company said it settled on Thursday. Under Armour shares soared 9.3%, despite the sportswear maker reporting its first quarterly net loss since the company listed on the market in 2005. It reported a net loss of $2.3m for the three months to March after a sharp fall in profit at its North American operations. However, the shares jumped as the loss was not as bad as feared.
The Nasdaq Composite ended at a record high on Thursday, boosted by results-related gains in Comcast, PayPal and Intuit.
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Two plain clothes police officers approached the men just before 04:30 BST in Sandmere Road, Clapham. Both men ran off, and one pointed a gun at the officer before firing one shot. Neither of the officers were hurt or injured. A man has since been arrested and is in custody in south London. No firearm was recovered and police enquiries continue.
An undercover officer was shot at after confronting two men "acting suspiciously" in south west London in the early hours.
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Mr Xi was marking the 15th anniversary of the territory's return to China. Like neighbouring Hong Kong, Macau is a special autonomous region and has experienced protests by pro-democracy activists this year. On Saturday, dozens of demonstrators marched in Macau's historic centre, demanding "universal suffrage". Correspondents say the communist authorities in Beijing do not want Macau and Hong Kong to become hotbeds of dissent. "We must both adhere to the 'one-China' principle and respect the difference of the two systems," Mr Xi said during his visit, where he was also present at the inauguration of Macau's Chief Executive Fernando Chui. "This is the only way leading to sound and steady progress," Mr Xi added. "Otherwise a misguided approach from the beginning, just like putting one's left foot into the right shoe, would lead us nowhere." Six months ago, demonstrators in Macau took to the streets to demand greater democracy. Mr Chui was the only nominee for the chief executive position, and was elected by a 400-person panel. On Saturday, the protesters also gathered in Macao. "We want universal suffrage!" they chanted. Some demonstrators also carried umbrellas - a symbol of protest movement in Hong Kong. In his speech, Mr Xi also referred to Macau's struggling economy. It is the world's biggest gambling centre, but has seen casino revenues fall about 20% over the past year. Mr Xi said the territory should reduce its dependence on one sector. "It is important for Macau to adopt a global, nationwide, future-oriented and long-term perspective," Mr Xi said. "Focus on building a global tourism and leisure centre... promote the Macanese economy's appropriate diversification and sustainable development." Macau's gambling industry has been in decline for several years. Analysts say the recent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong - a short ferry ride away - may have led to further losses in revenue by preventing tourists from visiting. Activists in Hong Kong wanted Beijing to allow fully free elections for the territory's next leader in 2017. China says everyone can vote but a pro-Beijing committee will screen candidates. The main pro-democracy protest camp was cleared earlier this month.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Macau residents to respect the "one-China" policy during a visit to the former Portuguese colony.
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Media playback is not supported on this device The event will take place despite a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) commissioned report, which made the allegations, advising against the country hosting major sporting events. Yarnold, who won gold in Sochi in 2014, said her sport was "by no means clean". The Briton, 28, has returned to training after more than a year out. A second Wada report from Canadian law professor and sports lawyer Dr Richard McLaren is due next month and is expected to clarify concerns about doping, specifically at the 2014 Winter Olympics. "We've had these McLaren reports which have lots of allegations and I just hope that if people can be convicted of doping they should serve their time," Yarnold said. "It's very important to me to compete in sport for the right reasons, to have sportsmanship and to be clean; to stand on the start line and to trust in the system - and at the moment the system just isn't up to it." Asked whether she would compete in 2017 as it stands, Yarnold said: "At the moment I want to leave it open that I don't know whether I'm going to compete in Sochi." The British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association said it "fully supports clean sport" and wants all its athletes to compete on an "equal footing". "We continue to seek reassurance from our international governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF)," the governing body added in a statement. "As an organisation, we are in regular dialogue with UK Anti-Doping, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IBSF and we await the publication of Professor Richard McLaren's second report, which is scheduled for December." The first McLaren report, which was released in July 2016, stated that the programme in Russia was "planned and operated" from late 2011 - including the build-up to London 2012 - and continued through the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics until August 2015. It looked into allegations made by the former head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory. Grigory Rodchenkov claimed he doped dozens of athletes before the 2014 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sochi. But a statement released by the Kremlin criticised the report as "accusations against Russian athletes" based on the the testimony of "a person with a scandalous reputation".
Olympic skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold says she may boycott the 2017 World Championships in Sochi following claims of Russian state-sponsored doping.
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Media playback is not supported on this device Amir, 24, served half of a six-month prison sentence and was banned for five years for deliberately bowling no-balls against England at the ground in 2010. He bowled the first over of England's innings from the Pavilion End. And while there were one or two half-hearted no-ball shouts from the stands, it was an otherwise subdued reaction. Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott criticised those who shouted 'no-ball': "I could hear a few idiots in the crowd shouting 'no-ball'. Why don't you go home? Disappear!" Earlier, Amir had jogged down the pavilion steps to gentle applause as he came out to bat in front of a capacity crowd in Pakistan's first innings with his side 310-8 on Friday morning. After edging the first delivery he faced past his leg stump for four, he was then hit a glancing blow on the helmet by Stuart Broad. Broad, who had hit his highest Test score of 169 in that infamous 2010 series, allowed himself a little smile but exchanged no words with the batsman. After a brief cameo, Amir was then caught in the slips by Joe Root off Broad for 12, the last wicket to fall as Pakistan were bowled out for 339. Media playback is not supported on this device
Mohammad Amir received a muted reception from the Lord's crowd as he bowled for the first time in a Test since being banned for spot-fixing.
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Vern Cotter's side meet the unbeaten Wallabies at Twickenham for a place in the semi-finals. Lawson, 34, is concerned Scotland have conceded the first try in each of their four matches in the tournament. "Too often in this World Cup, Scotland have struggled to get the scoreboard ticking," Lawson told BBC Scotland. "For Scotland, the key focus has to be getting out of the blocks. You have got to get out quickly and actually get into the game. "They've normally gone behind to early scores and if you do that against this Australia side it'll be incredibly tough to get back into the game." The Wallabies have impressed in this tournament, running in 15 tries and bravely keeping Wales out in their final Pool A win, despite defending for nearly 10 minutes with 13 men. Former scrum-half Lawson acknowledges the size of the task facing the Scots. "I think this is as good an Australia side as there's been," he explained. "For me, you've got to get your basics right, you've got to get the foundation game right around the set piece. "England were talking about being able to target their set piece and Australia showed how strong a set piece they have. "They've got a very good lineout maul, you've got to stop that. They've arguably got the most exciting backline attack at this World Cup and they're the form team." Cotter will be waiting more in hope than expectation that appeals against three-week bans for forwards Ross Ford and Jonny Gray will be successful. Lawson feels for both players, but it is 31-year-old hooker Ford's predicament that draws the most sympathy after he was cited for a tackle in Saturday's final Pool B win over Samoa. "I think best case scenario, it'll go to one week," he said of the suspension. "I hope I'm wrong and I hope I see it overturned, but ultimately it would arguably end Ross Ford's World Cup career. "Jonny Gray's got a lot of years ahead of him, but it would be a very sad way for Ross Ford to have to finish his career, not in international rugby, but at the World Cup."
Former captain Rory Lawson has warned Scotland they must make a fast start to Sunday's World Cup quarter-final to stand a chance of beating Australia.
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Public transport company Translink NI Railways said the majority of the prosecutions were against drivers. It said cases had been brought against motorists for ignoring warning signals or driving through level crossings as trains approached. The convictions cost offenders more than 脗拢14,000, it said. In total, 74 people were prosecuted. One of the incidents reported by Translink staff was a group of youths playing football on the tracks near Ballymoney station in County Antrim. Other incidents included pedestrians trespassing, hanging from barriers and running across tracks shortly before trains, travelling at speeds of up to 70mph, passed. Richard Knox of Translink said the company was working "more closely than ever" with police to identify "risk-takers" on railway lines. "We now have CCTV at the majority of our crossings and we will continue to prosecute offenders who take risks and put themselves, our employees and passengers at risk," he added.
More than 70 people have been prosecuted over railway safety incidents in Northern Ireland in the past year, figures have shown.
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The Uruguayan, 29, will complete a move once a work permit has been granted and other formalities are concluded. Caceres, who has 68 caps for his country, left Juventus in the summer and can join Saints as a free agent. He will provide cover after Virgil van Dijk was ruled out for up to three months with an ankle problem and Jose Fonte left for West Ham. It will be a short-term deal until the end of the season. Caceres made 77 appearances for the Italian champions across three spells, winning the Serie A title four times. He has also played for Barcelona - winning La Liga in 2009 - and Sevilla in the Spanish top flight. However, he has not made a competitive appearance since last February after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Southampton are close to agreeing a deal to sign former Barcelona and Juventus centre-back Martin Caceres.
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Acute stress induced cardiomyopathy is said to often follow bereavement, involvement in an accident, or divorce. Sufferers experience heart attack-like symptoms despite there being no blockage in the coronary arteries. The study, led by Dr Dana Dawson, has been awarded a British Medical Association grant. A previous University of Aberdeen study suggested sufferers still felt the effects up to four months later. Dr Dawson said: "Whilst the condition was originally thought to be self-limiting, we were surprised to see that, later, patients still lack energy or are unable to return to work. "There are also reports from other groups that these after-effects continue to linger with sufferers. "At the moment, we believe the condition is underdiagnosed because many front door physicians don't consider it as a possibility. Certainly we feel the number of cases diagnosed is far smaller than the real amount of sufferers." She added: "We will recall many of the previously diagnosed patients and hope to examine thoroughly to what extent their hearts have recovered. "Do they ever recover fully? Do they remain at an intermittent level of recovery, explaining why they couldn't do what they did before? Or is it a psychological issue?"
The long-term effect of what is known as "broken heart syndrome" is to be probed by University of Aberdeen researchers after the award of a grant.
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Earlier this month a US court ruled that Oculus had used ZeniMax's code without permission. If the ban is granted, it could limit the number of games available for sale with the Oculus Rift VR headset. A spokeswoman for Oculus said that the company was continuing with its appeal. Tera Randall told Reuters that the original verdict was "legally flawed and factually unwarranted". ZeniMax was awarded $500m (脗拢398m) earlier in February when a jury found that Oculus, which Facebook bought in 2014, had violated a non-disclosure agreement. The jury also ruled that Oculus had infringed some of Zenimax's copyrighted code - but did not agree that it had stolen its trade secrets. Oculus has already made the disputed code available to companies that develop games and it is also embedded in many of the games available for use on the Oculus Rift headset and some on Samsung's Gear VR, a device developed in partnership with Oculus. If the judge enforces the ban, it could be a blow to the nascent technology, which Facebook has big ambitions for, said intellectual property lawyer Matt Jones, a partner at law firm EIP. "It could be a very big deal. If they are granted the injunction, it will stop Oculus from using the code. It could get around that by writing new code but that would be time-consuming and expensive. "Will this push Facebook towards a settlement? Quite possibly, as often injunctions hurt businesses more than damage settlements."
The video game publisher that won a case against Facebook-owned Oculus has asked a judge to block the firm from using its code in virtual reality products.
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Chris Gard and Connie Yates lost their final legal bid to take their son to the US for treatment. Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital believe Charlie has no chance of survival. The court agreed, concluding that further treatment would "continue to cause Charlie significant harm". Charlie is thought to be one of 16 children in the world to have mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. His parents had previously seen a Supreme Court challenge to continue Charlie's life support fail. European Court judges have now concluded it was most likely Charlie was "being exposed to continued pain, suffering and distress" and undergoing experimental treatment with "no prospects of success... would offer no benefit". They said the application presented by the parents was "inadmissible" and said the court's decision was "final". The court "also considered that it was appropriate to lift the interim measure" which had required doctors to continue providing life support treatment to Charlie. BBC health correspondent Fergus Walsh said it is likely Charlie's life support machine will be turned off within a few days following discussions between the hospital and his family. Charlie's parents, from Bedfont, west London, raised 拢1.3m on a crowdfunding site to pay for the experimental treatment in the US. Ms Yates had already indicated the money would go towards a charity for mitochondrial depletion syndromes if Charlie did "not get his chance". "We'd like to save other babies and children because these medications have been proven to work and we honestly have so much belief in them. "If Charlie doesn't get this chance, we will make sure that other innocent babies and children will be saved", she said. Great Ormond Street Hospital said the decision marked "the end of what has been a very difficult process" and its priority was to "provide every possible support to Charlie's parents as we prepare for the next steps". "There will be no rush to change Charlie's care and any future treatment plans will involve careful planning and discussion," a hospital spokesman said. In April a High Court judge ruled against the trip to America and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity. Three Court of Appeal judges upheld the ruling in May and three Supreme Court justices dismissed a further challenge by the parents.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights have rejected a plea from the parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard to intervene in his case.
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The chamber voted 54-45 on Friday to seal the confirmation of Denver appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch. Republicans took the historic step this week of changing the chamber's rules in order to ram through their pick. At stake is the final legal say on everything from gun control to abortion to election finance to workers' rights. Mr Gorsuch, 49, was confirmed within 65 days of his nomination, but the battle to appoint another justice to the judicial bench began with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative darling, in February last year. It was the longest period a seat has remained unfilled on the Supreme Court since during the American Civil War in 1862. Though Mr Gorsuch proved evasive when questioned on legal matters during his confirmation hearings, he has a solidly conservative pedigree and is expected to rule accordingly. Republicans hope Mr Gorsuch will hand the bench's bloc of conservative justices a winning 5-4 majority. "He's going to make an incredible addition to the court," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. But Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who led the anti-Gorsuch opposition, said the court was "increasingly drifting towards becoming a more pro-corporate court that favours employers, corporations and special interests over working America". On Thursday, Mr McConnell triggered a legislative manoeuvre known as the "nuclear option" when Republicans lacked the 60 votes required to end debate on Mr Gorsuch. The chamber's majority leader tore up the rulebook after Democrats mounted the first filibuster of such a nominee in half a century. The result is a triumph for Donald Trump's young presidency. For many of those who voted for him, getting a conservative judge on to America's highest court was a top priority. "Congratulations to an exceptionally qualified and respected judge," the president tweeted. The vacancy on the nine-judge bench had left the justices to pass over many controversial issues, possibly to avoid a 4-4 stalemate. The Democrats were left fuming last year when Republicans refused to consider former President Barack Obama's nominee to the court. Democrats used the "nuclear option" in 2013 to overturn Republican filibusters against executive branch and judicial nominees for lower courts. But they left the filibuster in place for Supreme Court nominees. Mr Gorsuch may be sworn in as early as Friday so he can start getting ready for the court's next session of oral arguments this month.
The US Senate has confirmed President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, after a bitter, 14-month battle for control of the highest court in the land.
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A dominant second-half performance saw them defeat champions New Zealand 31-14, having trailed 14-7. Australia, beaten by England in the semi-finals, had won all three of the season's previous tournaments. "We really are building," said England captain Emily Scarratt. "We've gone away and worked really hard and that was the product of it." She added: "We knew it would be a tough game but that if we played to our style we could win. We're tired but we are very happy." Ireland finished 11th by beating Japan 12-5 but remain bottom of the 12-team standings. New Zealand are second with 64 points, 12 behind Australia, but are unlikely to catch the leaders. Should New Zealand win the next tournament, Australia would have to finish eighth or lower for them to top the rankings. The final tournament of the season takes place in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand on 28-29 May. Media playback is not supported on this device
England women won the season's penultimate World Rugby Sevens Series tournament in Canada.
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The 19-year-old has not played a first-team game for the Baggies since coming through their ranks, but has captained the Premier League side's Under-21s. The Republic of Ireland Under-19 international spent some of last season playing for National League North side Worcester City alongside brother Leo. He becomes Boro manager Darren Sarll's fifth signing of the summer. Donnellan follows left-back Andrew Fox and forwards Jake Hyde, Matt Godden and Rowan Liburd through the door at the Lamex Stadium.
West Bromwich Albion defender Shaun Donnellan has joined League Two side Stevenage on loan until January.
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He made the comments in a message at the launch of a report by Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need. This report said that religious freedom had deteriorated in 55 of the 196 countries studied in recent months. Prince Charles said events in Iraq and Syria, where civil war and Islamic State extremists have caused thousands to be displaced, were "heartbreaking". In Iraq, Christians have been driven out of their ancestral homes and maintain that "crimes against humanity" have been committed against them and Iraq's other minorities - such as the Yazidis. And in Syria, more than 100,000 Syrians have lost their lives in the escalating conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule. The report claims that across the world, Christians remain the most persecuted religious minority, while Muslim countries predominate among states with the most serious violations of religious freedom. During his message, the prince spoke of his mounting despair at the expulsion of Christians, Muslims and Yazidis from places in the Middle East that their ancestors had lived in for centuries. "The horrendous and heartbreaking events in Iraq and Syria have brought the subject of religious freedom and persecution to the forefront of the world's news," Prince Charles said in his video message to those attending the report's launch. He added that such incidents were not isolated and found in "some, though not all" of the Middle East, Africa and in many countries across Asia. "Thankfully, despite this bleak picture, there are inspirational people of different faiths, joining together to overcome division and hatred," he said. "It is an indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East, an area where Christians have lived for 2,000 years and across which Islam spread in 700 AD, with people of different faiths living together peaceably for centuries." The prince said faith leaders had a responsibility to ensure that people within their own traditions respect people of other faiths. And he called on governments to honour people's rights to practise their faith. The report's findings said: The report also says that as Western Europe becomes more diverse, political and social tensions are rising between different faith and cultural groups. John Pontifex, who compiled the religious freedom report, says all faith communities need to work together to stand up for the right to worship in peace. "We do not want to be alarmist but we do want to tell the truth in this report about the degree to which minority groups - Yazidis, and indeed of course Christians, are being pushed out of their homelands. "It is, in effect, a genocide. What more evidence does one need to point to it being a genocide?"
Prince Charles has described threats to Christians in the Middle East as "an indescribable tragedy".
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The Wales prop, 23, was called "Gypsy boy" by opponent Joe Marler during Wales' defeat by England on 12 March. Marler has escaped punishment but World Rugby has asked for an explanation. "I believe I am the first international rugby player with a Traveller background," Lee said in an interview, published on Saturday, which was given before the Marler incident. "I'm very proud of who I am and what I have managed to achieve on behalf of Travellers." The comments are in a Welsh language article, written by BBC Wales rugby correspondent Gareth Charles, which has appeared in the match programme for Saturday's Six Nations match between Wales and Italy. In the interview, Scarlets player Lee speaks of his pride at representing his community in international sport and talks fondly of the support his extended family have offered during his career. "I have a close family with more than 60 cousins," he said. "More than 20 of them come to see me when I play for the Scarlets or in home matches for Wales and some of the youngsters now are beginning to take more interest in rugby than boxing."
Wales prop Samson Lee has said he is proud of his Traveller background and what he has achieved for his community.
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Needing to win at Hove to keep the multi-format series alive, England were chasing 108 but slipped to 10-3 and 23-5, with Ellyse Perry taking 2-13. Lydia Greenway made 26, but was last out with five balls to go. Australia, who managed only 107-7, take an unassailable 10-4 lead on points with just one T20 remaining. In doing so, the Southern Stars win the Ashes for the first time since 2010-11, England having won on both occasions since the multi-format of three one-day internationals, a Test and three T20s was introduced in 2013. Behind 8-4 after losing the Test and two of the ODIs, a superb bowling display meant the hosts required only a modest target to take the series into a deciding T20 in Cardiff on Monday. But, as with most of the series, England's batting was once again below par and they crumbled to their lowest ever T20 score. On a slow pitch, the Australia decision to include seamer Rene Farrell over spinner Erin Osborne proved to be an excellent choice as the 28-year-old claimed 3-17, including Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight in her first over. Greenway gave England hope, her sixth-wicket partnership of 25 with Katherine Brunt the highest of England's innings between the only two players to reach double figures. But after Brunt was bowled by Megan Schutt and Danni Wyatt was unluckily run-out backing up, England, captained by Charlotte Edwards, looked beaten, a result confirmed when Greenway heaved Farrell to cow corner. Australian jubilation seemed a long way off earlier in the evening, when England opening bowlers Brunt and Anya Shrubsole again impressed. Their good work was backed up by spinners Rebecca Grundy and Danielle Hazell as the tourists lost three wickets for eight runs in 11 balls to collapse to 51-4. But star of the Test match Jess Jonassen and Jess Cameron both made speedy scores of 21, with Australia taking 16 from the final over. Their total did not look competitive, but it was enough to ensure 23-year-old Meg Lanning became the youngest ever Australia captain, male or female, to win the Ashes.
Australia regained the Women's Ashes after England collapsed to 87 all out to lose the second Twenty20 international by 20 runs.
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The programme, starring Josh Hartnett and Eva Green, was recognised in categories including costume, make-up and hair, and production design. BBC Two drama The Honourable Woman and BBC Three documentary Life & Death Row both landed four nods. The awards will be handed out at a ceremony on 26 April. Other shows which were nominated in multiple categories include Strictly Come Dancing, BBC Two's Peaky Blinders and fantasy drama Da Vinci's Demons, which received three nods each. Ripper Street, which was originally broadcast on BBC One, but revived on Amazon's Prime Instant Video, also scored two nominations - the first Bafta recognition for a programme shown on the subscription service. The comedy writer category features a number of well-known writer-performers. James Corden and Mathew Baynton are nominated for a second consecutive year for The Wrong Mans, while Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are up for dark comedy Inside No.9. They go up against Arthur Matthews and Matt Berry for Toast of London and Mackenzie Crook for Detectorists. Among the other programmes nominated across the 20 categories include Doctor Who, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, The Apprentice, Line of Duty, Downton Abbey and The X Factor. Industry-renowned vision mixer Hilary Briegel will receive this year's Bafta Special Award, recognising her extensive work on productions including Absolutely Fabulous, Only Fools and Horses, Newsnight and the Olympic Games. The full list of nominations are on the Bafta website. Actor Stephen Mangan will return to host this year's ceremony, held at The Brewery in London.
Sky's horror series Penny Dreadful has scored five nominations at this year's Bafta Craft Awards, which honour television's behind-the-scenes talent.
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Scottish Prison Service bosses had earlier told Kenneth Smith at the Court of Session that they would not open his confidential correspondence. However, the message was not passed on to guards at HMP Glenochil, who opened a letter addressed to him. Lord Pentland found ministers in contempt, but imposed no punishment. Smith had originally gone to the Court of Session after privileged letters from the Information Commissioners Office and Risk Management Authority sent to him at HMP Dumfries and HMP Edinburgh were opened between December 2010 and September 2012. The Scottish Prison Service gave an undertaking to the court that they would stop opening Smith's mail. However, when he was transferred to Glenochil in Clackmannanshire in December 2013, staff there were not informed of the undertaking. One guard opened a letter sent to Smith from the Risk Management Authority, and the inmate took the matter back to court. At the hearing at the Court of Session, the Scottish ministers admitted breaching the undertaking. Lord Pentland said it was clear that Glenochil staff should have been informed of the agreement. He said: "I consider that the failure to take that elementary and obvious step was so gross a nature as to demonstrate a disregard for the importance which the prison service should have attached to the undertaking. "In these circumstances I am driven to the conclusion that the admitted breach of the undertaking constituted a contempt of court. "I agree that no penalty should be imposed. The finding of contempt of court against the Scottish ministers is in itself sufficient to mark the gravity of the failure to honour the undertaking given to the court."
A judge has found Scottish ministers to be in contempt of court after breaking a promise not to read a prisoner's mail.
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The bomber ran into the crowd and detonated his device before he could be spotted, an organiser told AFP. The attack happened shortly after a man was arrested in possession of a bomb, a witness told the BBC. The blast took place in the village of Dakasoye, about 20km (13 miles) south of the provincial capital, Kano. "We lost 21 people and several others have been injured," Muhammad Turi from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) said. Police said they did not know who was behind the attack, but IMN organisers blamed the Sunni militant group Boko Haram. Meeting Nigeria's Shia leader The procession - an annual event lasting seven days - continued after the blast. "We are not surprised that we've been attacked because this is the situation all over the country. This will not deter us from our religious observance," said Mr Turi. The procession travels from Kano to Zaria in neighbouring Kaduna state, where the IMN, the country's biggest Shia organisation, has its headquarters. Security forces had been ordered away from the procession after clashes between pilgrims and the army left several people dead last year, including three sons of its leader Sheikh el-Zakzaky. Most of Nigeria's Muslims are Sunnis and correspondents say there are underlying tensions between them and Shia Muslims. Boko Haram's six-year insurgency has killed thousands and made more than 2m people homeless. The group condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed. The militants have increasingly attacked civilian targets since being pushed out of territory they controlled by a military offensive. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has given the military commanders until next month to end the conflict, but there are fears bomb attacks may continue.
A suicide bomber has killed at least 21 people in an attack on a Shia Muslim procession in Nigeria's Kano state, eyewitnesses and organisers say.
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It said the HyperAdapt trainers would be released to the public before the end of the year. A pair of Nike-branded shoes with self-tightening laces featured in the 1989 film Back to the Future II, but it was not until 2013 that the firm started trying to make real-world versions. In an unexpected move, the US firm has said that sales would be restricted to users of its apps. While some might see the self-lacing function as being more gimmicky than useful, the tie-in to the Nike+ software will help the company promote other goods to those curious about HyperAdapt. Nike+ apps are currently focused on tracking data about users' activities and offering them training programmes. But from June, the platform will introduce personalised shopping recommendations and an online store. "Nike has lost a fair bit of traction recently to sportswear upstarts including Under Armour, which bought the MyFitnessPal app, and Asics, which has acquired Runkeeper," said Marc McLaren, online editor of Stuff, a tech-focused magazine. "This will help keep people engaged, and we can already see from the reaction our readers are having to the announcement that they are very excited by it." Although Marty McFly's trainers appeared to tie themselves up in the Back to the Future movie, the effect was in fact created using a prop that was bolted to the ground, below which a stagehand pulled on the laces. Nike has achieved the effect for real by using small electric motors to adjust the laces. These are activated when the user's heel touches a sensor. Two buttons on the side allow the wearer to tighten or loosen the fit. A glowing component built into the sole acts as a wireless charging point, while LEDs on the back indicate how much charge remains. Attendees at the company's Innovation Summit in New York were able to try on functioning prototypes. The firm said the final product should need to be recharged about once a fortnight. In time, Nike added, it intends to develop the idea further. "Wouldn't it be great if a shoe, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it tighter or looser?" asked the trainers' designer Tinker Hatfield. "Could it take you even tighter than you'd normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick manoeuvre? That's where we're headed." The firm is not alone in developing self-tightening footwear. At the CES tech show in January, French start-up Digitsole unveiled a pair of self-tightening "smartshoes" that also featured an app-controlled heater - but they have yet to go on sale. Nike, however, has a stronger brand. "I think it's a canny move to get people to sign up to the Nike+ service, but if they do prove popular I'm sure the firm will open them up to a wider audience eventually," added Mr McLaren. "But maybe that will be another year down the line."
Nike has unveiled its much-anticipated range of self-lacing shoes.
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The incident happened just before 12:00 BST on the A4139 at Manorbier, Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed. The cyclist, who was taking part in the Long Course Weekend Sportive, was airlifted to hospital. Anyone who witnessed the incident has been asked to contact police on 101.
A cyclist competing in a triathlon in Pembrokeshire is in a serious condition after colliding with a vehicle, police have said.
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Rocco played Moe Greene, the casino boss who angrily resisted a takeover attempt from rising mafia boss Michael Corleone and paid for it with a bullet through his eye. In a career spanning half a century, Rocco won an Emmy for his role in 1990s sitcom The Famous Teddy Z. He also voiced the studio boss behind Itchy and Scratchy in The Simpsons. More recently, he starred as Matt LeBlanc's curmudgeonly father on BBC Two's Episodes. Born Alexander Federico Petricone in 1936 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Rocco was - according to a US organised crime informant - a young hanger-on of the Boston area's Winter Hill Gang. After he was arrested, but not charged, over a gang-related killing, he fled to California to work as a bartender. Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, he studied acting under Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy, a fellow Massachusetts native who advised Rocco to lose his Boston accent. "I wouldn't spend five bucks to see Leonard in a film, but he was one of the greatest coaches I ever had," he later said. Rocco made his debut in cult director Russ Meyer's 1965 film Motor Psycho. Six years later, he won a part in what was to become regarded as one of the best films ever made. He described his role as casino boss Moe Greene in The Godfather as "without a doubt, my biggest ticket anywhere" in an interview with the AV Club. His character met a sticky end after a financial dispute with Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, which leads Rocco to utter the immortal phrase: "Don't you know who I am?' I'm Moe Greene!" It was a line of dialogue which never left him. He later said: "People on the golf course will say, 'Hey, Alex, would you call my dad and leave a line from The Godfather?' "I say, 'Okay. I buy you out, you don't buy me out!... Don't you know who I am?' "But I enjoy doing it. It's fun. I've been leaving Moe Greene messages for 40 years. People's dads, girlfriends, whoever." Frequently cast as gangsters, his notable roles included appearances in The Friends of Eddie Coyle and Get Shorty. He also had a part in 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life. He said in a 2011 interview: "Playing gangsters is great. They usually dress you sharp. And you have a license to pretty much bully anybody. I mean, I wouldn't dare to that at home. My wife will give me a back hander." Aside from mobster movies, Rocco enjoyed a broad career in dramas, thrillers, comedies and even turned his hand to animation, working on projects like Pixar's A Bug's Life, Family Guy and Batman: Year One. He described voiceover work as "like stealing money". The actor died on Saturday afternoon of cancer at his home in Studio City, his family said. Jon Cryer, the star of The Famous Teddy Z, tweeted: "I am desolate. He was the sweetest man." Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who starred alongside Rocco in the TV series Magic City said: "For those of us lucky enough to get to know Rocco, we were blessed." "He gave the best advice, told the best and dirtiest jokes and was the first to give you a hug and kiss when it was needed. To know Roc was to love Roc. He will be missed greatly. There is a little less magic in the world today. Rest in peace, 'Pops.' Love and miss you madly." British comedy actor Stephen Mangan said: "Extremely sad to hear of the death of the lovely Alex Rocco. Moe Green in The Godfather but I knew him as Matt's dad in Episodes. Great guy." In a second tweet, he added: "Filming those scenes were the funniest days we had on set. RIP Alex Rocco."
Alex Rocco, the US actor best known for his role in crime drama The Godfather, has died of cancer aged 79.
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Wilton Lodge Park stretches across 107 acres on the western edge of Hawick and is currently undergoing a 脗拢3.64m facelift. It is also home to the historic museum and, as part of the regeneration, the Park Gallery has been created in the building. The new space will now house the permanent exhibition about the park. It traces how the grounds of Wilton Lodge moved from private to public hands, becoming the well-used park it is today. The display also recalls historic events which have taken place in the park, it looks at local wildlife and at how people have enjoyed the space in the past. The Park Gallery will be formally opened by councillor Vicky Davidson on Sunday. It follows the official unveiling of a new park bandstand last month. Ms Davidson said: "There is a great deal of local pride invested in Wilton Lodge Park and the new gallery is designed to reflect this and encourage this same pride in future generations. "The Park Gallery is the second element in the Wilton Lodge Park regeneration project to be completed, following the opening of the new bandstand. "It is designed to strengthen the connection between the museum and park and encourage visitors to extend their stay and explore the park."
The story of a much-loved Borders park is to be the main feature of a new display at Hawick Museum.
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After Wednesday's Fernando Forestieri had seen a goal ruled out for offside, Ross Wallace scored from 25 yards. The visitors lost four players to injuries, including top scorer Tomer Hemed and winger Anthony Knockaert. With Brighton down with 10 men, Kieran Lee slotted in a second to stretch the Owls' lead before Monday's second leg. Centre-back Connor Goldson and midfielder Steve Sidwell also left the field prematurely as the Seagulls, who narrowly missed out on automatic promotion by drawing at Middlesbrough on the final day of the season, saw their 14-game unbeaten run come to an end. Hemed had already headed against the post for Brighton during a frenetic start before the biggest talking point of the first half. Forestieri, standing several yards offside when goalkeeper Keiren Westwood cleared upfield, fired in low past Brighton's David Stockdale for what he thought was the opening goal. The home side were convinced that Gary Hooper had flicked the ball onto Forestieri - who by then had got himself into an onside position - but their protests were waved away by referee Andre Marriner, who consulted with his officials before deciding to disallow the goal. Wednesday, in particular head coach Carlos Carvalhal, were incensed by the decision, which was later proved to be correct by television replays. Wednesday had only lost twice in the league at Hillsborough all season and Brighton's chances of a positive first-leg result in South Yorkshire were severely hampered by the loss of four key men to injuries. Already without defender Lewis Dunk and Dale Stephens because of suspension, as well as injured veteran striker Bobby Zamora, manager Chris Hughton was forced into two first-half substitutions when Goldson and Hemed left the field within 30 seconds of each other. Sidwell followed soon after the interval and Brighton were faced with the prospect of playing the final 30 minutes with 10 men when Knockaert had to be carried from the field on a stretcher. Dunk will return from his ban for the second leg, which a depleted Brighton will enter needing to overturn a two-goal deficit to reach the play-off final at Wembley on 28 May. Chris Waddle, ex-Sheffield Wednesday winger on BBC Radio 5 live "This game's not finished. Sheffield Wednesday could have put it to bed. Give Brighton credit, they've had a horrendous night with injuries and everything's been against them. "I thought Sheffield Wednesday were excellent in spells tonight. I just hope they don't regret killing this game by three or four." Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal: "I think we did one of our best performances of the season and if you exclude a moment when Brighton had a chance early on, I think we played very well. "We are happy about the game and the score but we know we have won absolutely nothing - we have the advantage but we must understand that we can't play thinking we are winning 2-0. "The game will start at 0-0 and we will do our best to get a good result at Brighton." Media playback is not supported on this device Brighton manager Chris Hughton: "The injuries were all substantial enough to go off and not one of them wanted to go off. At the moment I wouldn't be too optimistic about all four of them. "I've never been involved in a game like that. We've gone through a decent period with injuries after a really tough period in the first half of the season, and whether it's the consistent games and the tempo we've had to play at in the last few weeks, I don't know. "We have to be realistic enough to know it's going to be a tough task, but it is something that can be achieved." Match ends, Sheffield Wednesday 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 0. Second Half ends, Sheffield Wednesday 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 0. Foul by Tom Lees (Sheffield Wednesday). Beram Kayal (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Liam Rosenior. Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Liam Rosenior. Attempt missed. Atdhe Nuhiu (Sheffield Wednesday) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Tom Lees. Beram Kayal (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Lucas Jo茫o (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Beram Kayal (Brighton and Hove Albion). Marco Matias (Sheffield Wednesday) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Marco Matias (Sheffield Wednesday). Beram Kayal (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Atdhe Nuhiu (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Beram Kayal (Brighton and Hove Albion). Foul by Atdhe Nuhiu (Sheffield Wednesday). Bruno (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Kieran Lee following a set piece situation. Kieran Lee (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Gordon Greer (Brighton and Hove Albion). Attempt blocked. Lucas Jo茫o (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Atdhe Nuhiu with a headed pass. Attempt blocked. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Atdhe Nuhiu (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Ga毛tan Bong (Brighton and Hove Albion). Attempt saved. Sam Baldock (Brighton and Hove Albion) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Liam Rosenior. Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Lucas Jo茫o replaces Gary Hooper. Attempt missed. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner. Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Sam Baldock. Foul by Atdhe Nuhiu (Sheffield Wednesday). Bruno (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Jiri Skalak (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Liam Rosenior. Foul by Jack Hunt (Sheffield Wednesday). James Wilson (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jiri Skalak (Brighton and Hove Albion). Goal! Sheffield Wednesday 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 0. Kieran Lee (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Foul by Marco Matias (Sheffield Wednesday). Ga毛tan Bong (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Jiri Skalak (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick. Daniel Pudil (Sheffield Wednesday) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sheffield Wednesday will take a two-goal lead into the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final with Brighton after winning at Hillsborough.
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The Killers and Nine Inch Nails, part of the Chicago festival's first line-up in 1991, will also perform, founder Perry Farrell has said. Phoenix, Thievery Corporation, Tegan and Sara, Cat Power, Lana Del Rey and Vampire Weekend are also confirmed. More than 130 acts have been booked to play the festival on 2-4 August. "It is so exciting to have The Cure at Lollapalooza for the first time because I love The Cure and we've never had them," said Farrell, lead singer for Jane's Addiction. "It's always frustrated me and made me feel incomplete and now I can feel complete and die." Meanwhile, Mumford and Sons are returning as headliners just three years after their last performance at Lollapalooza in 2010, when they played during the day. Mumford and Sons' latest album, Babel, has sold more than one million copies. The line-up reflects a mix of genres - indie bands, singer-songwriters, country, hip-hop, rock and electronic acts. The musicians will be travelling to the festival from all over the world. "We don't look to stylise our line-up so much as we just stay away from pop garbage," Farrell said, adding that he considers himself a curator in his role arranging the festival line-up. "Sometimes it's not what I'm going to do. It's what I'm not going to do that sets your trend." The festival will take place at Chicago's Grant Park for the ninth year, and three-day passes for the festival have already sold out. Some one-day passes are still available. Previous headliners included Lady Gaga, Green Day, Eminem and Coldplay.
Modern rock legends The Cure are booked to headline the Lollapalooza music festival for the first time, alongside Mumford and Sons, organisers have said.
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The White House will extend an existing protected area, known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Fishing and drilling would be banned from an area that could eventually cover two million sq km. The extended zone would double the world's fully protected marine reserves. The Pacific Remote Islands Area is controlled by the US and consists of seven scattered islands, atolls and reefs that lie between Hawaii and American Samoa. Essentially uninhabited, the waters that surround these remote islands are home to a wide range of species including corals, seabirds, sharks and vegetation not found anywhere else in the world. In 2009, President Bush declared the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, giving the islands the same level of protection as statues or cultural sites. Now President Obama has signalled that he will extend the area that will be off limits to fishing and mineral exploitation to the limit of US economic control - some 200 nautical miles around the islands. The White House said the final size of the protected zone would depend on consultations with scientists, fishing and conservation organisations. The Washington Post reported that this would eventually cover up two million sq km. "This area contains some of the most pristine tropical marine environment in the world," said White House senior counsel John Podesta, who made the announcement. "These tropical coral reefs and associated ecosystems are among the marine environments facing the most serious threat from climate change and ocean acidification." Speaking ahead of the announcement, President Obama said that protecting marine areas wasn't just a good idea for the environment, it made good economic sense as well. "If we ignore these problems, if we drain our oceans of their resources, we won't just be squandering one of humanity's greatest treasures, we will be cutting off one of the worlds major sources of food and economic growth," he said. Last year, attempts to create huge marine reserves in Antarctica failed when Russia blocked plans by the US and others for a third time. Ocean campaigners have welcomed the new US plan as an important step. "This is incredibly significant and shows global leadership from the US on this issue" said Karen Sack from the Pew Charitable Trusts. "There is an amazing array of biodiversity around these islands, there are sea mount systems with a lot of deep sea species, all types of marine mammals." Marine Protected Areas currently make up around 2.8% of the world's oceans - but Karen Sack says the areas that have a full ban on fishing, drilling and other activities are much smaller, which increases the significance of the US move. "Less than 1% of the global ocean is fully protected," she said. "While this area may be far away from anywhere the designation adds to the part of the ocean that is protected in this way which is critical." Conserving marine species isn't just the preserve of large nations like the US. In recent days the tiny Republic of Kiribati announced that the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, will close to all commercial fishing by the end of 2014. This fishing zone, which is close to the newly extended US MPA, is within a region that is home to the largest remaining stocks of tuna on Earth. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc
The US plans to create the world's biggest marine protected area (MPA) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
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These tiny creatures, sometimes called water bears, can survive radiation, freezing, extreme dehydration and even the vacuum of space. Researchers have now decoded the DNA of two species of tardigrade and uncovered the genes that allow them to be revived after desiccation. The study has been published in the journal, PLOS Biology. Just a millimetre or less in size, tardigrades are believed to be the toughest creatures on Earth. A recent study found that they could survive almost any cosmic disaster that could hit the planet. Tardigrades are often found in locations that dry out such as in moss and in ponds. Over time they have acquired the ability to survive extreme dehydration and spring back to life years later in the presence of water. In this new paper, scientists found that the key to their survival is genetic. Dry conditions trigger some of the creature's genes to produce proteins which replace missing water in their cells. Once water is available again it refills the cells dissolving the proteins. The researchers say understanding this innate survival ability of tardigrades could have benefits for humans, such as allowing live vaccines to be posted around the world and stored without refrigeration. Co-author Professor Mark Blaxter from the University of Edinburgh said: "Tardigrades, with their amazing abilities, can offer us some new ways of dealing with real world problems like transporting vaccines." Decoding the DNA blueprint of these hardy creatures has also allowed the team to make progress on a long-standing controversy. Are tardigrades more closely allied to insects, spiders and their kin or to roundworms? Their curious appearance, with eight stubby legs and claws, seems to be more insect-like than worm-like but analyses of their genetics says otherwise. HOX genes control head and tail development in the embryo, and the positioning of the limbs. Most animals have ten HOX genes but tardigrades have only five, and most roundworms are lacking the same five. It's unlikely that this is a coincidence and suggests that tardigrades are more closely related to worms. "This was a real surprise which we weren't expecting," said Professor Blaxter. "I have been fascinated by these tiny, endearing animals for two decades. It is wonderful to finally have their true genomes, and to begin to understand them." The scientists also discovered a different set of proteins which can protect tardigrade DNA, perhaps explaining how the creatures can survive radiation.
Genetic analyses of tardigrades has revealed some of the secrets of their incredible survival abilities.
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The airline says all flights to and from London Gatwick and London City airports will operate normally. The majority of flights to and from London Heathrow will operate as normal. But BA said it would be merging a "very small number" of flights to and from Heathrow. That means some customers will travel slightly earlier or later. The airline said in a statement that customers affected were being contacted with the options available for them. The dispute concerns about 4,000 staff - some 15% of BA's cabin crew - who have joined the airline since 2010 on "mixed fleet" contracts and who do not feel they are paid enough. About 2,900 of them are Unite members. Earnings were advertised between 拢21,000 and 拢25,000, but the Unite union says that in reality, they start at just over 拢12,000 - plus 拢3 an hour flying pay. BA cabin crew will start selling food from Marks and Spencer from next week as the airline introduces pay-as-you-go meals on its short-haul flights. The Unite union said M&S store staff who sell this same food would be earning over 拢6,000 per year more on a full-time basis than the basic starting salary of a member of BA's "mixed fleet" cabin crew. BA disputes these figures, and insists that full-time mixed fleet cabin crew do, in reality, earn above 拢21,000. The strike reflects cabin crew's rejection of a new pay offer of 2% in the first year and 2.5% in years two and three - a rise that the union said would leave staff 拢20 a month better off after tax. An earlier strike, planned for Christmas, was suspended after that offer was made, but members rejected it by 7-1.
British Airways says all customers will be able to fly to their destinations on Tuesday 10 January and Wednesday 11 January, despite proposed industrial action by Unite union cabin crew.
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Rohan Beyts, 62, said she had to "answer the call of nature" at sand dunes after walking on the beach near Mr Trump's Menie resort in April. Ms Beyts was reported to the procurator fiscal but no action was taken. A three-day civil hearing for breach of privacy will be heard next year. Mike Dailly, acting for Mrs Beyts, said attempts to have the case dismissed had failed and the case would now be heard at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in April. Mrs Beyts told the BBC Scotland news website she was "glad" the case was proceeding, adding that April would mark a year since the incident. The retired social worker told BBC Scotland in October she had no option when she needed to answer the call of nature. She said: "When I discovered men had been filming me I felt really uncomfortable - mortified. "It's ironic they said my act was disgusting but you hear about Donald Trump's claims about women. I know which I think are disgusting." A spokeswoman for Trump International said: "Our position on Rohan Beyts' claim remains unchanged and the matter is now in the hands of our lawyers." Mr Trump opened his Menie course in July 2012 after lengthy opposition from local residents and environmentalists. The course, which is owned by Trump International Golf Club Scotland, lost just under 脗拢1.1m in 2015.
A woman who was filmed by staff as she urinated at US president-elect Donald Trump's Aberdeenshire golf course has been cleared to pursue damages.
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Opposition parties are bidding to have the legislation, which is aimed at tackling sectarianism, repealed. SNP MSP John Mason said the chaotic scenes at Hampden showed that "this would not be an appropriate time to relax the law" in relation to football. But Labour's James Kelly said it showed up the "inadequate nature" of the act. Former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said the legislation could be "reviewed and refined" in light of the Hampden disorder. All four opposition parties pledged to repeal the act in their manifestos, with only the minority SNP administration backing it. Mr Kelly has started work on a Member's Bill to repeal the "hated" legislation, which was introduced in 2012. Critics say there is already sufficient legislation in place to tackle sectarianism and other football-related offences including disorder at matches, and say the act unfairly targets law-abiding fans. However, Glasgow Shettleston MSP John Mason said the scenes of disorder at Hampden, when supporters clashed on the field after Hibs beat Rangers 3-2, showed this was not the time to roll back the law. The Clyde FC fan's motion notes that parliament "shares widely the disappointment at the scenes felt following the game", which saw mounted police deployed as fights broke out and fans tore up the turf and broke a set of goalposts. He said that while "football can be a great opportunity for fans to let off steam...there have to be limits as to what behaviour is acceptable". The motion further states that parliament should "note calls to change the law in relation to football, including repealing the ban on alcohol and relaxing the rules on offensive behaviour, and, in light of the recent situation, considers that this would not be an appropriate time to relax the law in either of these areas". Mr Kelly said that, on the contrary, the "unacceptable scenes" at Hampden were evidence that the act was "not adequate". He said: "Charges brought against those involved are likely to be for breach of the peace or assault. "This underlines the inadequate nature of this legislation, which has caused distrust between football fans and police. I will therefore be pressing ahead with my plans to repeal the discredited football act." Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has updated the Scottish government cabinet on the police and Scottish Football Association investigations into the incident. He has urged the SFA to come back with a report on the matter before the new football season begins, so that any lessons can be learned before more matches are played. Meanwhile, Mr Matheson's predecessor Mr MacAskill, who retired as an MSP at the election earlier in May, said the legislation could be improved. He said: "I think it has to be retained, but I think it could perhaps be improved to make sure that some who have not been prosecuted can be. "Scotland still has an issue. Saturday could have been catastrophic - albeit a lot of it was done with the good intentions of [fans] enjoying themselves. "Let the SFA, let Police Scotland do the work. I have no doubt parliament will review this, but what we can't do is go backwards in the legislation - we've maybe got to go forwards in making it better." Labour MSP Iain Gray has also lodged a motion about the final, congratulating Hibs on their first Scottish Cup win since 1902. His motion, supported by Edinburgh Northern and Leith's SNP MSP Ben Macpherson, said parliament should "congratulate both teams on an exciting and close-fought final". It further said parliament should "commend what it sees as the hard work, commitment and perseverance of the players and staff in delivering the historic victory and ending the 114-year wait to lift the cup again". Rangers hit out at First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for tweeting her congratulations to Hibs without making any reference to the disorder which followed the match.
An MSP has lodged a motion at Holyrood claiming the Scottish Cup final disorder shows the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act should be kept.
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Reds midfielder James Milner opened the scoring after 66 seconds against his former club from 20 yards. Striker Sturridge doubled their lead after the break with a volley following a one-two with Milner, but Rudy Gestede pulled one back from close range. Sturridge scored his second from Philippe Coutinho's pass, but Gestede gave Villa hope with a fine header. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had been under pressure after six games without a win, other than Wednesday's League Cup penalty shootout victory over Carlisle. Slightly, but probably not that much. There were plans for Liverpool fans to dress up as Jurgen Klopp, the former Borussia Dortmund coach who some would like to see replace Rodgers, though there was little evidence this came to fruition. Liverpool will be happy to have ended such a poor run and move up to seventh in the Premier League - but they were made to work for victory against one of the worst sides in the division. The Reds played some decent football for their goals, but they were caught out by Villa twice. Their next Premier League games - against Everton, Tottenham and Southampton - could go a long way to deciding Rodgers's future. Media playback is not supported on this device The huge boost from this game for Liverpool was the return of Sturridge's name to the scoresheet. The England international was making his second appearance since recovering from hip surgery. While he still has some fitness to gain before reproducing the form that saw him score 24 goals in 2013-14, he was the reason Liverpool won this game. His first strike was a brilliant volley with the outside of his foot, and the second a calm finish after a one-two with Coutinho, who backheeled the ball to him. The 26-year-old had two chances to complete his hat-trick in the final 10 minutes. First he failed to beat Micah Richards on the edge of the box, something a fully fit Sturridge might have been able to do. Then he forced a good low save from Brad Guzan who tipped his effort past the post. Rodgers said: "Sturridge showed what we missed for over a year - he makes the difference and helps you compete. His finishes were brilliant. "He's nowhere near 100% fit yet. There was a couple of moments when he'd be away at his best but wasn't today. His two goals were the difference." Gestede, who replaced the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor in the line-up, was the only reason Villa - who played quite defensively - ran Liverpool so close at Anfield. The Birmingham side, who were unbeaten on their last four trips to Anfield, have now picked up four points from seven games and drop into the relegation zone. They had only four shots on target against the Reds, with Gestede, a summer signing from Blackburn, scoring both of his - to take him up to four for the season. His first was a close-range scramble and his second a brilliant towering header as he beat centre-back Mamadou Sakho to a Jordan Amavi cross. Media playback is not supported on this device Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva: "We wanted to win for the manager. We know what has been said about him and I think we showed we are a group of players behind him and trying to make everything right. The pressure is on him but we wanted to play the way he wanted us to play and I think we did that." Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood: "We can't score two away from home and lose - it happened against Leicester as well. You score twice at Anfield and you expect to leave with something. I've told the boys the goals were avoidable and we have to tighten up - Liverpool did not have to work too hard to get them, and we have to put that right. "Our performances have merited better than one win in seven games but I said from the start it would be an uphill struggle. We need to stay in the division and if we do we will be stronger next year." Villa host Stoke in the Premier League next Saturday, while Liverpool are at home to Sion in the Europa League on Thursday - before Sunday's Merseyside derby at Everton.
Daniel Sturridge scored his first two goals since March as Liverpool beat Aston Villa in an entertaining game.
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Brookes, originally in the squad before having to undergo surgery in December, proved his fitness in Friday's Premiership match against Wasps. He will replace Henry Thomas, who had been an injury replacement for Brookes. The 20-stone tight-head has won 15 caps and could start in Saturday's Calcutta Cup match against Scotland. England head coach Eddie Jones is expected to announce his matchday squad on Thursday. Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Alex Goode (Saracens), Chris Ashton (Saracens), Jack Nowell (Exeter), Anthony Watson (Bath), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Ollie Devoto (Bath; injury replacement for Manu Tuilagi, Leicester), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Sam Hill (Exeter; injury replacement for Henry Slade, Exeter) Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath), Danny Care (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester) Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester), Paul Hill (Northampton), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Kieran Brookes (Northampton), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley, Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Josh Beaumont (Sale), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), James Haskell (Wasps), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester; injury replacement for Dave Ewers, Exeter), Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
England have added Northampton's Kieran Brookes to their Six Nations squad after the prop made a swifter than expected recovery from a knee injury.
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After serving 15 days for obstructing police, the anti-corruption blogger was freed in the early hours. A few hours later, the first parliamentary session since the election began in the State Duma. Police say 25 people were arrested as they staged a rally outside the building, Russian media report. Speaking to reporters as he left prison, Mr Navalny said "extraordinary efforts" would be made to continue the protest movement. The protesters' demand for a re-run of the 4 December elections remained in force, he said. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won a narrow majority. But activists identified instances of ballot-stuffing and used social media to report them. Days after Mr Navalny was detained on 6 December, Moscow saw its biggest anti-government protest in decades. A new mass protest against ballot-rigging is planned on Saturday in Moscow. "I'm not afraid and these 15 days convinced me there is nothing to fear," Mr Navalny said. "Let them be afraid instead." Mr Putin is widely seen as favourite to win Russia's presidential election in March. "The party of swindlers and thieves is putting forward its chief swindler and its chief thief for the presidency," Mr Navalny added. "We must vote against him, struggle against him."
Alexei Navalny, a key figure in the rallies after Russia's disputed parliamentary elections, has left jail in Moscow promising new protests.
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Manuel Lanzini converted Aaron Cresswell's low cross to secure the Hammers' first win in six Premier League games in an uninspiring match at Selhurst Park. Benteke missed two chances to level for Palace, floating a woeful spot-kick wide after he was fouled by Angelo Ogbonna and heading against the post moments later. West Ham, who started the game in the bottom three but are now up to 15th, were reduced to 10 men for the last 15 minutes when Cresswell received two bookings within the space of 51 seconds. Hammers keeper Adrian had to make a point-blank save from Connor Wickham's header in injury time, but Alan Pardew's eighth-placed Palace were generally lacking in attack as their five-game unbeaten run in the league came to an end. Media playback is not supported on this device It was a timely result for West Ham boss Slaven Bilic, whose only other league win this season had come against Bournemouth in August. After leading West Ham to a seventh-placed finish last season, Bilic had overseen the Hammers' worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1988-89 in the first seven games this term. But this solid, if not exhilarating, win will ease fears of a relegation battle for a club that has moved into the London Stadium, which currently has a 57,000-capacity. The Croat reshaped his side from the 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough two weeks ago, playing with three centre-backs and bringing left wing-back Cresswell back into the team for the first time this season after a knee injury. And it was Cresswell, who has been touted as a possible England international, who provided the tantalising ball from the left that Lanzini side-footed past Steve Mandanda for his eighth West Ham goal. The Hammers almost finished the game off before Cresswell's dismissal, but Jason Puncheon was on hand to clear Michail Antonio's header off the line. Instead, West Ham had to hold on to their lead with a one-man disadvantage after a harsh sending off for Cresswell. His first booking, moments after the Antonio chance, was given for a dive in the area, although there looked to be some contact from Yohan Cabaye's challenge. And less than a minute later he was shown another questionable yellow card for putting an arm across Wilfried Zaha when the pair were chasing a ball down the Palace right flank. Palace, who had improved in the second half, immediately saw more of the ball and pinned back the visitors, but only produced the late chance for substitute Wickham. For Crystal Palace, it was a performance uncharacteristic of their season so far, having won four of their first seven league games and soaring into the top half of the table. And even though they failed to register a shot on target until the 57th minute, the Eagles could have won the game had Benteke not been so wasteful. The Belgian has three goals already this season and scored a hat-trick for his country against Gibraltar on Monday, but his wayward penalty, alongside a pair of headed chances - one that hit the post and another that went over from close range - could have salvaged something for Palace from an uninspiring display. The result continues Palace's recent struggles against West Ham, having won just one of their past five top-flight meetings with their London rivals. West Ham manager Slaven Bilic told BBC Sport: "We opened them up really well and created chances. We produced a really good performance. "The second yellow card was an extremely, extremely harsh decision. Those two decisions were not correct. I don't like to moan. I'm the first to say it's very hard for referees... but those two decisions today... thank God it didn't affect the result. "It was by far Simone Zaza's best performance today. He won more balls in the air than in the previous games. I hope we have turned the corner. We need to repeat this. We have to have this kind of approach. It's a cruel league but I never stop believing." Media playback is not supported on this device Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew told BBC Sport: "I was disappointed with a lot of aspects of the game. "We didn't start well and they got a deserved lead. We had to make changes at half-time because weren't playing with the fluidity as we have done. We were better in the second half. "We should have at least got a draw. With the penalty I was thinking with the week Benteke has had it'll go in. "That would have been a lifeline and would have turned the game on its head. We would gave gone in 1-1 at half-time. This happens in the course of the season. Adrian made a good save at the end." Match ends, Crystal Palace 0, West Ham United 1. Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 0, West Ham United 1. Attempt blocked. H氓vard Nordtveit (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jonathan Calleri. Cheikhou Kouyat茅 (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card. Foul by Connor Wickham (Crystal Palace). Adri谩n (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Winston Reid. Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Adri谩n. Attempt saved. Connor Wickham (Crystal Palace) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Andros Townsend with a cross. Foul by Connor Wickham (Crystal Palace). Jonathan Calleri (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the left wing. Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by H氓vard Nordtveit. Ezekiel Fryers (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jonathan Calleri (West Ham United). Substitution, West Ham United. H氓vard Nordtveit replaces Manuel Lanzini. Foul by Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace). Jonathan Calleri (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing. James Tomkins (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jonathan Calleri (West Ham United). Substitution, West Ham United. Jonathan Calleri replaces Simone Zaza. Attempt missed. Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Simone Zaza (West Ham United). James Tomkins (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Simone Zaza (West Ham United). Attempt missed. Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jason Puncheon with a cross following a corner. Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Simone Zaza. Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Mark Noble (West Ham United). Substitution, West Ham United. Edimilson Fernandes replaces Dimitri Payet. Foul by Ezekiel Fryers (Crystal Palace). Simone Zaza (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Second yellow card to Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) for a bad foul. Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United). Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card. Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) has gone down, but that's a dive. Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by James Tomkins. Attempt blocked. Pedro Obiang (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Dimitri Payet. Attempt saved. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
West Ham beat Crystal Palace to climb out of the relegation zone as Christian Benteke missed a penalty for the hosts.
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Dr Blix told the Iraq inquiry the UK had sought to go down the "UN route" to deal with Saddam Hussein but failed. Ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, who advised the war was lawful on the basis of existing UN resolutions, "wriggled about" in his arguments, he suggested. Dr Blix said his team of inspectors had visited 500 sites but found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction. As head of the UN's Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) between 1999 and 2003, Dr Blix was a key figure in the run-up to the March 2003 invasion as he sought to determine the extent of Saddam's weapons programme. Asked about the inspections he oversaw between November 2002 and 18 March 2003 - when his team was forced to pull out of Iraq on the eve of the war - he said he was "looking for smoking guns" but did not find any. While his team discovered prohibited items such as missiles beyond the permitted range, missile engines and a stash of undeclared documents, he said these were "fragments" and not "very important" in the bigger picture. "We carried out about six inspections per day over a long period of time. "All in all, we carried out about 700 inspections at different 500 sites and, in no case, did we find any weapons of mass destruction." Although Iraq failed to comply with some of its disarmament obligations, he added it "was very hard for them to declare any weapons when they did not have any". He criticised decisions that led to the war, saying existing UN resolutions on Iraq did not contain the authority needed, contrary to the case put by the UK government. "Eventually they had to come with, I think, a very constrained legal explanation," he said. "You see how Lord Goldsmith wriggled about and how he, himself, very much doubted it was adequate." Lord Goldsmith has acknowledged his views on the necessity of a further UN resolution mandating military action changed in the months before the invasion and that the concluded military action was justified on the basis of Iraq breaching disarmament obligations dating back to 1991. But Dr Blix said most international lawyers believed these arguments would not stand up at an international tribunal. "Some people maintain that Iraq was legal. I am of the firm view that it was an illegal war. There can be cases where it is doubtful, maybe it was permissible to go to war, but Iraq was, in my view, not one of those." He said he agreed with France and Russia, who argued that further UN authorisation was needed for military action. "It was clear that a second resolution was required," he said. In the run-up to war, he said the US government was "high on" the idea of pre-emptive military action as a solution to international crises. "They thought they could get away with it and therefore it was desirable to do so." While he believed Iraq "unilaterally" destroyed its weapons of mass destruction after the 1991 Gulf War, Dr Blix said he never "excluded" the prospect that it had begun to revive some form of chemical and biological capabilities. By Peter BilesBBC world affairs correspondent at the inquiry At the age of 82, Hans Blix retains considerable stamina. He came out of retirement a decade ago to lead the ultimately futile search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. On Tuesday, he gave evidence to the Iraq inquiry for three hours, before heading off to conduct a round of TV interviews. The inquiry panel wanted to know what this mild-mannered former Swedish diplomat had made of Saddam Hussein's behaviour. "I never met him", replied Dr Blix, "but I saw him as someone who wanted to be like Emperor Nebuchadnezzar.... utterly ruthless.... and he misjudged it at the end". Dr Blix trod a neutral path during the build-up to the Iraq conflict, but, in his evidence, he repeated much of what he has said on different occasions since 2003. Crucially, he had serious doubts about the intelligence that lay behind the move to go to war. In September 2002, he said he told Tony Blair privately that he believed Iraq "retained" some WMD, noting CIA reports that Iraq may hold some anthrax. However, he said he began to become suspicious of US intelligence on Iraq following claims in late 2002 that Iraq had purchased raw uranium from Niger, which he always said he thought was flawed. Since the war, Dr Blix has accused the UK and US of "over-interpreting" intelligence on weapons to bolster the case for war but he said the government's controversial September 2002 dossier on Iraqi weapons seemed "plausible" at the time. He stressed that Tony Blair never put any "pressure" on him over his search for weapons in Iraq and did not question that the prime minister and President Bush believed in "good faith" that Iraq was a serious threat. "I certainly felt that he [Tony Blair] was absolutely sincere in his belief. "What I question was the good judgement, particularly of President Bush but also in Tony Blair's judgement." Critics of the war believe that had inspectors been allowed to continue their work they would have proved beyond doubt that Iraq did not have active weapons of mass destruction capability - as was discovered after the invasion. Dr Blix said the military momentum towards the invasion - which he said was "almost unstoppable" by early March - did not "permit" more inspections and the UK was a "prisoner on this train". If he had been able to conduct more inspections, he said he believed they would have begun to "undermine" US-UK intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons and made the basis for the invasion harder. The US and UK have always maintained that Saddam Hussein failed to co-operate fully with the inspections process and was continuing to breach UN disarmament resolutions dating back to 1991. In his evidence in January, former foreign secretary Jack Straw said the regime had only started complying in the final period before the invasion "because a very large military force was at their gates". The inquiry, headed by Sir John Chilcot, is coming towards the end of its public hearings, with a report expected to be published around the end of the year.
The UN's former chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has said it is his "firm view" that the Iraq war was illegal.
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Wedi wythnosau o gystadlu brwd roedd pump c么r wedi cyrraedd y rownd derfynol - C么r Ieuenctid M么n yng nghategori'r plant; C么r Merched Sir G芒r yng nghategori y corau ieuenctid; C么r Meibion Machynlleth yng nghategori y corau meibion; Ysgol Gerdd Ceredigion yng nghategori y corau merched a C么rdydd - enillydd categori y corau cymysg. Cafodd y gystadleuaeth, sy'n digwydd bob dwy flynedd, ei chynnal nos Sul yn Aberystwyth. Yn 么l y beirniaid Christopher Tin, prifardd ac enillydd dwy Grammy, Mar铆a Guinand o Fenweswela a'r Athro Edward Higginbottom o Brifysgol Rhydychen, roedd y safon eleni yn hynod o uchel. Wedi iddo glywed fod C么r Meibion Machynlleth wedi ennill categori y c么r meibion, roedd Aled Myrddin, arweinydd y c么r yn ofni y byddai'n dipyn o dasg i gael yr holl aelodau i'r ffeinal gan ei bod yn dymor 诺yna - ond fe ddaeth pob un! Roedd gan bob c么r ei rhaglen gerddorol unigol ar gyfer y gystadleuaeth ond eleni am y tro cyntaf bu'r corau yn cyd-ganu c芒n o waith un o feirniaid y gystadleuaeth sef Christopher Tin o Galiffornia. Enw'r g芒n a gyfansoddwyd ar gyfer y corau i gyd oedd 'Adain C芒n' - ac y mae'n g芒n o ddathlu. Ysgrifennwyd y geiriau - yn Gymraeg, Sbaeneg, Almaeneg a Saesneg - gan y Prifardd Mererid Hopwood. Roedd pob c么r wedi dewis darnau hynod o amrywiol a rhyngwladol. C么r Merched Sir G芒r oedd y cyntaf i ganu a'u dewis o ddarnau yn y rownd derfynol oedd 'Waltz' - Novello, 'Il est bel et bon' gan Pierre Passereau, 'Turot eszik a cigany' gan y cyfansoddwr Hwngaraidd Kodaly, 'Beth yw'r haf i mi?' a medli o ganeuon gospel. Dewis C么r Meibion Machynlleth oedd 'Heriwn, wynebwn y wawr' gan Gareth Glyn, 'Beati mortui' - Mendelssohn, 'Joshua' a 'Gwinllan a roddwyd' (trefniant Caradog Williams). Roedd C么r Ieuenctid M么n yn cystadlu am y pumed tro a'u dewis y tro hwn oedd 'In Paradisum' - Faur茅, 'C芒n Crwtyn y Gwartheg', 'The Lamb' - John Tavener a 'Rhosyn yr I么r' (Gareth Glyn, y geiriau gan Si芒n Owen). C么rdydd oedd y pedwerydd c么r i ymaddangos ar lwyfan y Neuadd Fawr a'u dewis nhw oedd 'Benedicamus Domino' - Peter Warlock, 'Heilig' - Mendelssohn, Alleluia - Jake Runestad, 'Gwrando 'ngweddi, O Dduw' - Purcell a 'Don't let the sun go down on me' (trefniant o g芒n Elton John). C么r Ysgol Gerdd Ceredigion oedd y c么r olaf i ymddangos - a hwn oedd yr ail g么r i Islwyn Evans arwain ar y llwyfan gan mai ef hefyd oedd yn arwain C么r Merched Sir G芒r. Fe ddewison nhw, hefyd, ddarn gan Gareth Glyn sef 'Henffych Datws' (y geiriau gan Gwyn Thomas). Y tri darn arall oedd 'Ave Maria' - Franz Biebl, 'Ukuthula' o Dde Affrica a 'Pseudo Yoik Lite' gan Jaakko M盲ntyj盲rvi o'r Ffindir. Roedd 'na wobr yn ogystal i'r arweinydd gorau ac fe aeth y wobr honno i Eilir Owen Griffiths - arweinydd CF1 a fu'n cystadlu yng nghategori y corau cymysg. Roedd gan y gynulleidfa hefyd gyfle i bleidleisio am eu hoff g么r a'u dewis eleni oedd C么r Ieuenctid M么n. C么r Meibion Machynlleth oedd ail ddewis y gwylwyr a thrydydd dewis y gwylwyr oedd ffefryn y beirniaid sef C么r Merched Sir G芒r. Yn ogystal ag ennill 拢5,000, bydd enillwyr C么r Cymru 2017 eleni yn cael cynnig mynd i gynrychioli Cymru yng nghystadleuaeth C么r y Flwyddyn Eurovision 2017. Mae S4C wedi sicrhau'r hawliau darlledu a bydd y gystadleuaeth i'w gweld yn fyw ar y sianel ar 22 o Orffennaf. Dyma'r flwyddyn gyntaf i Eurovision gynnig y math yma o gystadleuaeth a bydd yn cael ei chynnal yn Latfia. Bydd y noson yn cael ei harwain gan y cyfansoddwr a'r arweinydd corawl byd-enwog Eric Whitacre ac ymysg y beirniaid bydd y cyfansoddwr corawl John Rutter a'r soprano Elina Garanca. Bydd C么r Merched Sir G芒r felly yn cael y cyfle i fod ymysg rhai o gorau mwyaf disglair Ewrop ac fe fyddant yn ymddangos gyda'r goreuon o Awstria, Gwlad Belg, Denmarc, Estonia, Yr Almaen, Hwngari, Slofenia a Latfia. Meddai Hefin Owen, Uwch gynhyrchydd C么r Cymru, "Dyma ddatblygiad pwysig iawn o ran cystadleuaeth C么r Cymru ac mae'n gyfle gwych i'r c么r buddugol a Chymru fedru serennu ar lwyfan Ewropeaidd. "Mae'n gyfle gwych hefyd i gynulleidfa S4C fwynhau gwledd o ganu gan rai o gorau mwyaf safonol Ewrop." Bydd hyd at 50 o aelodau c么r buddugol C么r Cymru 2017 yn cael gwahoddiad i fynd i gystadleuaeth C么r y Flwyddyn Eurovision 2017 a gynhelir yn Arena Riga yn Latfia. Meddai Elen Rhys, Comisiynydd Cynnwys Adloniant, S4C, "Mae S4C yn hynod o falch o ddarlledu'r gystadleuaeth Eurovision yma ac o'r ffaith y bydd cynrychiolaeth o Gymru yno. "Mae'n gam naturiol yn esblygiad y gyfres boblogaidd C么r Cymru ac yn gyfle gwych i arddangos ein talentau corawl ar lwyfan Ewropeaidd." Nos Sadwrn fe gipiodd C么r Ysgol Pen Barras o Ruthun y teitl C么r Cynradd Cymru 2017. Yn 么l Caryl Parry Jones, a oedd nos Sul yn sedd y sylwebydd: "Mae'r safon drwy gydol y gystadleuaeth wedi bod yn anhygoel o uchel ond roedd heno yn ddyrchafol."
C么r Merched Sir G芒r yw C么r Cymru 2017 wedi iddynt drechu pedwar c么r arall yn y rownd derfynol nos Sul.
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Almost 10,000 climate simulations were run on volunteers' home computers. The projections,published in Nature Geoscience, are somewhat higher than those from other models. The researchers aimed to explore a wider range of possible futures, which they say helps "get a handle" on the uncertainties of the climate system. People planning for the impacts of climate change need to consider the possibility of warming of up to 3C by 2050, even on a mid-range emission scenario, the researchers say. The study - run throughclimateprediction.netwith the BBC Climate Change Experiment - ran simulations using a complex atmosphere-ocean climate model. The representations of physical parameters were varied between runs of the model, reflecting uncertainties about precisely how the climate system works. And the forecast range was derived from models that accurately reproduced observed temperature changes over the last 50 years. The low end of their range is similar to that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2007 report, but the high end is somewhat above the range their analysis produced. Myles Allen of the School of Geography and Environment and Department of Physics, Oxford University, principal investigator of climateprediction.net, said other climate modelling groups' data did not "set out to explore the full range of uncertainty, which is why studies like ours are needed." The research was described as "an important step toward estimating uncertainty more comprehensively," by Gabi Hegerl, professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh. The results were also described as "very promising" by Prof Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. "Better constrained climate projections are needed to help plan a wide range of adaptation measures, from sea defences to water storage capacity and biodiversity conservation areas," she added. However, the research was questioned by Julian Hunt, emeritus professor of climate modelling at University College London. He said: "I have reservations about relying on a model that combines land temperatures - which are clearly rising - with sea temperatures which can be subject to big decadal fluctuations." He said the higher range of the prediction was looking "increasingly likely", but for three particular reasons:
Global temperatures could rise by 1.4-3.0C (2.5-5.4F) above levels for late last century by 2050, a computer simulation has suggested.
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What is school performance data? School performance data is statistical information showing how well pupils in England have done in public examinations taken at key points in their educational journey. Data is published for children's attainment in national curriculum tests, often known as Sats, which are sat at the end of primary school at age 10 or 11. At secondary school level, data is published detailing pupils' performance in GCSEs (and equivalent exams) at age 16 and A-levels (and equivalents) at age 18. Secondary schools are considered to be "underperforming" if fewer than 40% of their pupils get five GCSEs at grade A*-C, including English and maths, and if the school has a below average score for pupils making the expected progress between Key Stage 2 (end of Year 6) and Key Stage 4 (end of Year 11) in English and maths. Yes. From this year, only a pupil's first attempt at a qualification is included for league tables, aiming to end the practice of schools repeatedly entering pupils for exams in order to could boost their ranking. The list of qualifications included has also been restricted to those which the government says are of the highest, academic quality and the number of non-GCSEs counting has been capped at two. This is part of government reforms designed to make the exams and accountability system more rigorous. The recognition of some popular unaccredited International GCSE qualifications have been phased out and no longer count for league table purposes. Overall GCSEs have been toughened with exams taken at the end of the course and detailed changes to core subjects. This year, primary schools are considered to be "underperforming" if fewer than 65% (up from 60% last year) of pupils get a Level 4 in maths, reading and writing, and pupils are not making the expected progress in these three subjects between the end of infants (age six or seven) and age 10 or 11, when they prepare to leave primary school. Results of English grammar, punctuation and spelling tests are not taken into account in these floor standards. In the past, only media organisations used the data to produce rankings in the form of school league tables. But now the Department for Education effectively publishes tables, with a facility on its website that allows users to rank schools by different measures. Wales and Northern Ireland abolished league tables in 2001, followed by Scotland in 2003. Scottish exam data is still published online. It is not in a format where schools can be easily compared. Wales recently began publishing tables placing schools in one of five performance bands. The performance data in league tables is used widely by parents to judge how well schools in their area perform. Supporters argue that the tables help drive up standards by increasing the accountability of schools and providing valuable information for parents. Research carried out by Bristol University suggested the abolition of league tables in Wales had led to a drop in standards in the lowest 75% of schools. Opponents say comparing schools in this way is too crude a measure of a school's quality, achievements and character. They argue that the tables often say more about the intake of a school than the teaching and learning that goes on there. And increasingly head teachers says the constant state of flux in the exams system makes comparisons between not very meaningful. It is claimed they encourage competition rather than collaboration between schools in local areas and can lead to middle-class parents pushing to get their children into top schools, further driving down standards at less popular schools. There are also suggestions that children are pushed into subjects and choices that make the school look good, rather than broadening their education. The tables show how well a particular year group of pupils at a given school has performed in tests or exams. Most of the pupils will have started school a few years before taking the tests or exams and there may have been changes of staff or policy at the school in the interim. The tables do not include information about the more holistic elements of a school such as extra-curricular activities on offer - for example, sport and drama - or details about a school's pastoral care system. Some of these details may feature in the school's Ofsted report. It is always advisable to visit a school - most schools run open days or evenings for prospective pupils and parents.
The BBC News website looks at key questions about the publication of school performance data in England.
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Claire Cashmore, who was born without a left forearm, was told she could not go on the ride for safety reasons. The swimmer, of Kidderminster, tweeted her frustration while celebrating her birthday at the Staffordshire park. Bosses apologised but said the policy was in place in case the ride had to be evacuated. See more from Stoke and Staffordshire here The park's operator Merlin was fined 脗拢5m after 16 people were injured when two Smiler carriages crashed in 2015. Ms Cashmore, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics' 100m relay, said: "The Smiler was the first ride I went to. At this point my arm was quite evidently on show - I'm not the type of person to hide my arm. "The lady said, 'I'm sorry, but are you an amputee?'. When I said yes, she told me, 'Unfortunately I won't be able to let you on the ride'." She asked for the manager to be called, but was still unable to get on the ride. "You'd think people would be able to see past the disability and just ask if I could do it," said Ms Cashmore. She said it was the first time she has been refused access to anything because of her disability and called for more clarity on ride restrictions. "I want to make sure there are no barriers for disabled people," she said. Alton Towers apologised for the inconvenience, but said health and safety was its "main priority" and the resort "would never put any guest at risk." "In the rare event that it is necessary to evacuate the ride, this may require guests to descend a short distance on a ladder using a harness and safety line," it said. "Current Health and Safety Executive guidance states it is essential to maintain three points of contact when using a ladder." Richard Lane, head of communications at disability charity, Scope, said: "It would seem that this policy hasn't been properly thought through. "Disabled people are too often told what they can and can't do by other people or organisations. "Businesses should be looking at ways to attract Britain's 13 million disabled people - after all they have a combined spending power of 脗拢250 billion - rather than turning them away."
A gold medal-winning Paralympian was refused entry to The Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers because she only has one arm.
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They seem hard to explain - and Theresa May stumbled awkwardly when asked about them during the election campaign, getting no further than saying they were used by people for "complex reasons". But what are the reasons? And who are the people depending on food handouts? Are they struggling families in need of help? Or are food banks magnets for scroungers? Are they mostly being used by local people or by migrants? A major study from researchers at Oxford University and King's College London has tried to get beyond the stereotypes, looking at those using the Trussell Trust's network of food banks. In the most basic terms, these are people with many overlapping forms of "destitution". They have been missing meals, often for days at a time, going without heating and electricity. One in five had slept rough in recent months. They are at the lowest end of the low-income spectrum, with an average income below 脗拢320 per month, described as living in "extreme financial vulnerability". These are usually people of working age, middle-aged rather than young or old, mostly living in rented accommodation. About five out of six are without a job and depending on benefits. But among those in employment, this is usually unpredictable, insecure work, with an unreliable income. The long stagnation in wages seems to have made it harder to be self-reliant through work - and the research warns of the rising number of jobs that are low-paid and insecure. The best inoculation against needing a food bank seems to be a full-time permanent job. Although there have been reports of people in regular jobs turning to food banks, the research suggests this remains very unusual. But there are some distinct characteristics of food bank users that are different from the general face of poverty. The most typical users are single men, lone mothers with children and single women - between them accounting for about two-thirds of all food bank users. Social isolation, the lack of a friend in need, plays a part, as well as threadbare finances. Ill health is a very common feature. Almost two-thirds of users had a health condition, half of households using food banks included someone with a disability and a third had mental health problems. Debts and a long tail of repayments are often dragging them down. They can be months behind with bills and having to pay back bank loans, credit cards, loan sharks, pawn shops and payday lenders. Food bank users are overwhelmingly UK born and even though 4% have a university degree, they have much lower education levels than the average working-age population. Put together, it shows people living closest to the edge being the first to be pushed over. Lone adults, saddled with debts, with ill health, high levels of depression and anxiety and few qualifications to get a more secure job. These are people on the margins in many ways. But the researchers show that living on "chronic low incomes" and facing "severe food insecurity" are not necessarily the tipping points. There is often something else - an income or expenditure "shock" - that puts them on the road to the food bank. This can be a rise in rent, energy bills or the cost of food; or it could a delay in benefits or fewer working hours. On wafer-thin margins, it can be enough to literally turn out the lights and leave nothing for food. The research is also a reminder that the prevalence of food banks is a recent phenomenon, a tale of our times. In 2010-11, the Trussell Trust gave out 61,500 food parcels, but by 2016-17 this had risen to almost 1.2 million. Rachel Loopstra, lead author of the report and lecturer in nutrition at King's College London, said people had been "surprised and shocked" at the growth in food banks. But there had not been enough understanding of the circumstances that meant people ended up having to ask for food. Dr Loopstra said the study showed how apparently small changes in income or outgoings could leave people with absolutely nothing, even for the most basic of needs. Over two-thirds of food bank users had often been going without food. "The severity of food insecurity and other forms of destitution we observed amongst people using food banks are serious public health concerns," she said.
Food banks are an intensely divisive image, an uncomfortable underbelly of austerity often in touching distance of conspicuous wealth.
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The handover to US Marines marks the end of the British mission in Sangin, after four years and more than 100 UK lives lost. ''It makes no difference," said Sangin resident Wali Shah. "They are both the two ears of the same horse. They don't care about us because they are more concerned about securing their own interests." British forces fought a bitter counter-insurgency campaign against the Taliban in Sangin. But Abdul Manan, a shopkeeper in the dusty market town of Sangin, which shares the name of the wider district, did not think the UK mission had changed much for the better. ''British troops didn't have any major success or a significant achievement," he said. "They came and made big promises but brought violence and displaced a lot of people.'' Sangin - situated around 100km (62 miles) north-east of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah - is a hotspot for insurgent violence and opium production. "The security situation was much better before the arrival of British forces," said Khairullah, a local farmer. "We couldn't go to work. We hope that it will get better soon." However, tribal elder Muhammad Khan says British troops were mindful of local culture, and treated people well. ''The former infidels [British] were better than these new ones [Americans]," said Mr Khan. "Britons were respectful of our culture and traditions. They wouldn't search someone on a motorcycle with his wife in the back seat. ''But American troops don't care. They stop us and search both man and his woman. This is what we know of Americans.'' A number of residents have reservations about the arrival of US forces. Gul Muhammad, from Sangin town, said: ''I liked the way British soldiers conducted operations. "After they were attacked, they would go to the exact house and target the very attacker without harming others." Another resident expressed his concerns about civilian casualties. ''Americans behave differently," said Aazar Gulalai. "They attack indiscriminately and target everybody in the vicinity after they are targeted by the Taliban, or suffer casualties in a mine explosion. ''All of them shoot at us. They all target us. We and the Taliban become the same for them after they are attacked. ''We are civilians. We don't have any animosity with the Taliban, or government.'' Sangin is one of the most heavily populated districts in Helmand, with a population of around 150,000. But a number of people left the town of Sangin in recent years as a result of fighting. One of them, Abdul Wali, hopes that he will be able to return home soon. ''We left Sangin because of continual attacks and fighting," says Abdul Wali. "I hope Americans will bring security with them and schools will be opened." Over the past few months, Americans have already taken on security responsibility for many other districts in Helmand, including Nawa, Garmsir, Marjah, Khanshin and Nawzad. A number of people in these districts claim that British forces failed to bring security there because they did not want to risk fighting the Taliban. ''Americans are serious," says Muhabbat Khan, a resident of Nawa district. "Security is much better now here. The British were only concerned about their on security. ''British troops couldn't handle casualties. They used to retreat all the time and this would further embolden the Taliban.'' A few residents of Sangin expressed hope that Americans would bring not only security to their district, but much needed development and jobs for the people. ''We are poor people and fighting has destroyed our businesses and livelihoods," said Haji Naik Muhammad, a tribal elder in Sangin district. "The British didn't have money to spend. How can they kill the thirst of others if they are thirsty themselves? ''We hope America will spend a lot of money to improve our lives.'' All names in this article have been changed to protect anonymity.
There has been a mixed reaction from Sangin residents to the transfer of security from British to American forces in the Helmand district.
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The 28-year-old striker netted after just a minute, bundling in the ball after Toto Nsiala's header came back off the post. Steven Hewitt's second-half effort forced home keeper James McKeown into an impressive save as Grimsby hung on. Victory saw the Mariners move to within 10 points of second-placed Forest Green in the National League. Grimsby Town manager Paul Hurst told BBC Radio Humberside: Media playback is not supported on this device "A great three points on the back of Friday night. We couldn't have got off to a better start and I thought for the first 15 minutes we were excellent but fair play to Southport I thought they came back into it. "The lads stood strong and it's a really good three points for us. "We won the game and it's just a case of us trying to keep our shape and discipline which was good. We've just got to try and look after the ball better."
Padraig Amond scored his 27th goal of the season to hand Grimsby a narrow win over Southport at Blundell Park.
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