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The work will see the front of the library building become part of the entrance to the new £500m scheme. A smaller temporary library is due to open in Castle Street in the city in late March. The central library is expected to fully reopen along with the development of 100 shops by autumn 2017.
Oxford Central Library has closed temporarily to allow the next stage of the Westgate shopping centre redevelopment to begin.
The annual event was scheduled to take place in George Square on Sunday evening. It has been cancelled for the safety of staff and the 13,000 members of the public who had tickets. The organisers said that due to the complexity of the event it would not be rescheduled this year. A spokesman for Glasgow Life, which is behind the event, said: "The stormy weather battering much of Scotland has created real problems for our teams working on the Glasgow Christmas lights switch-on. "Now, with a weather warning in place for further significant wind and rain over the weekend, public safety issues have been raised." Ticket holders will be able to exchange their ticket for a free hot drink at George Square's Glasgow on ice from 27 November - 31 December.
Glasgow's Christmas lights switch-on, which was due to take place over the weekend, has been cancelled due to bad weather.
A museum team has now put 165 million-year-old plesiosaur "Eve" together, although a few bones are missing and the skull is still embedded in clay. They hope to put her on show but admitted she is too long and heavy for any of their current display cases. Plesiosaurs were sea creatures that died out 66 million years ago. The "fantastic fossil" was discovered at Must Farm quarry near Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, by archaeologists from Oxford Clay Working Group It has an 8ft (2.5m)-long neck, a barrel-shaped body, four flippers and a short tail. They named the creature Eve, as it was their first major find. However, scientists at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, to which the bones were donated, are unable to confirm the sex of the plesiosaur. "We might never know," palaeontologist Dr Hilary Ketchum said. "It is very difficult to tell between males and females in the fossil record because soft parts are rarely preserved. "The only definite female plesiosaur ever found was one that was discovered with a foetus preserved inside." Dr Ketchum was tasked with putting together the "puzzle" of more than 600 pieces of bone uncovered by archaeologist Dr Carl Harrington and his team. When various pieces were glued they were left with 232 bones plus the skull, which is still preserved in a block of clay. Gradually, using the archaeologists' notes and Dr Ketchum's "own knowledge of plesiosaur anatomy", Eve began to take shape. 66 million years ago plesiosaurs became extinct 76 vertebrae in their necks - mammals such as humans and giraffes have just seven 5mph (8.2km/h) the top swimming speed of the creature 6m the average length 660lb (300kg) the approximate weight A number of bones are missing including the thigh bones and parts of the tail, Dr Ketchum said. The "delicate task" of removing the skull bones could take several months. The clay block which encases them was CT-scanned to help scientists extract the bones without causing damage. So far they have exposed part of the lower jaw and the back of the skull near the neck. Eventually they hope to release a time-lapse video of the process. Scientists have said Eve could prove to be a new species of plesiosaur, as she has anatomical features that differ from other plesiosaurs found in the Oxford Clay. The Jurassic sediment lies under parts of England from as far west as Dorset and north to Yorkshire - taking in the Peterborough area which was Eve's last resting place. Eve's upper and lower arm bones and wrist show some differences, as do parts of the neck vertebrae, Dr Ketchum said. "It is possible this is because Eve is a new species, however, we still have lots more research to do before we can be sure." The museum hopes to put Eve on temporary display in the autumn, however, first they have one large problem to solve. "Eve is the biggest and most complete plesiosaur specimen that we have. Our largest display case is just over four metres long, so it's not quite big enough for Eve to be displayed entirely straight," Dr Ketchum said. "We might have to bend the neck around a little." Eve was donated to the Oxford museum by Cambridgeshire landowners Forterra.
A Jurassic "sea monster" found in a quarry is taking shape as scientists carry out the painstaking task of putting together hundreds of bones.
"They needed the assistance of someone", Governor Andrew Cuomo told US television networks on Monday morning. Hundreds of employees and construction contractors are now being investigated to determine if they provided the power tools used to escape. "I don't believe they could have acquired the equipment they needed to do this without help," said Mr Cuomo. Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, used power tools to break out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on Friday night. The two men cut through the steel back walls of their cell before clambering along a catwalk to reach a series of pipes and tunnels, which they again cut their way through. The pair then climbed up through a manhole into a nearby street, "disappearing into the darkness some 20 miles (30km) south of Canada", said Mr Cuomo. The New York Post reported on Monday that a female employee has been questioned and removed from her post. A source tells the newspaper that Matt "has a way with the ladies" and that this may have played a role in enlisting a female accomplice. All of the tools belonging to the prison have been accounted for "so far," acting state Corrections Commissioner Anthony Annucci told the newspaper, leading investigators to believe the tools may have come from outside the prison. The breakout is the first escape from the prison, nicknamed "Little Siberia", in 150 years. Governor Cuomo said the age of the prison meant that outside builders frequently enter the prison for renovation work, and that it's possible the tools used were provided by one of them. New York state is offering a $100,000 (£65,000) reward for information. Matt was given a jail term of 25 years to life for beating a man to death in 1997. Sweat was serving a life sentence without parole for the murder of Broome County Sheriff's Deputy, Kevin Tarsia. Mr Tarsia's brother Steven said finding out that his killer had escaped "turns your world upside-down all over again". Mr Cuomo toured the prison on Saturday and posted pictures of pipes and walls with chunks cut out after he was shown the inmates' escape route. More than 250 officers are searching for the prisoners, using sniffer dogs and aerial surveillance. They may have crossed the border into Canada or headed to another state, Mr Cuomo said. There is "nothing to be afraid of" in Canada, Roland-Luc Beliveau, the mayor of Lacolle in Quebec told CTV on Monday. "We're well-protected", he said.
Police are questioning workers at a maximum security prison in New York following the escape of two murderers.
It will determine whether irregularities were committed and the election should be held again. Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer narrowly lost to the former leader of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen, by less than a percentage point. The court heard from about 90 witnesses during two weeks of public hearings. The Freedom Party argues that the way postal votes were handled was among numerous irregularities that culminated in its defeat to the Greens by just under 31,000 votes. It says that postal ballots were illegally handled in 94 out of 117 districts. Austrian far right challenges presidential poll result Is Europe lurching to the far right? Europe's nationalist surge, country by country Is populism a threat to Europe's economies? If elected Mr Hofer would have been the first far-right head of state of an EU country, Preliminary results in the vote count suggested he had a narrow lead but that disappeared after about 700,000 postal votes were counted. The party also claims it has evidence that under-16s and foreigners were allowed to vote. Mr Van der Bellen was eventually declared the winner of the largely ceremonial post with 50.3% of the vote against Mr Hofer's 49.7%. The president elect is due to be sworn in on 8 July. His lawyer insisted that any irregularities that did exist had a negligible impact on the ballot. Correspondents say that if the Constitutional Court disagrees with him, the election would be invalidated - a move that would send shockwaves throughout the country. Such a ruling would also mean that Austria would be compelled to hold another vote in the coming months. If a new election is ordered, departing President Heinz Fischer will be replaced on a temporary basis by three parliamentary officials, including Mr Hofer.
Austria's Constitutional Court is due to rule on the far-right Freedom Party's challenge to the result of last month's presidential run-off vote.
Media playback is unsupported on your device 20 October 2014 Last updated at 10:55 BST Sinkholes are hidden cavities in the earth that open up without warning. BBC Midlands Today's David Gregory-Kumar has been investigating.
Experts have said a dry September followed by above average rainfall this month have created the perfect conditions to trigger more sinkholes in the Midlands.
Media playback is unsupported on your device 28 August 2015 Last updated at 15:29 BST The storm caused powerful winds and major flooding which destroyed large parts of the city. Thousands of people lost their homes, and more than 1,800 were killed. US President Barack Obama will lead the events to remember those who lost their lives and special services will be held across the weekend. Watch Hayley's report.
Events are being held across America to mark ten years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans.
Police said the body was found when emergency services were called to Rowhill Road in Dartford at 06:20 BST. The police helicopter has been helping officers from the Kent force search the local area in Wilmington as part of the investigation. A spokesman said no arrests have been made at this stage but inquiries were ongoing.
A murder investigation is under way after a body was found at the scene of a vehicle fire in Kent.
But he warned that the so-called P5+1 (US, UN, Russia, UK, France and Germany) would not wait indefinitely. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted: "We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done." The pace at which sanctions are lifted is a major issue at talks in Vienna. Pressure is mounting on world powers and Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear programme and avoid the issue becoming bogged down in the US Congress. Congress has 30 days to review any agreement as long as it receives the text by midnight Washington time (04:00 GMT on Friday). Failing that the review period will be 60 days, which will delay the lifting of US sanctions. "We're here because we believe we are making real progress," Mr Kerry told reporters in the Austrian capital Vienna on Thursday. But he cautioned that "we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever" and that he was prepared to "call an end" to nuclear talks with Iran if "tough decisions" are not made. "We also recognise that we shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight. And I emphasise, given that the work here is incredibly technical and that the stakes are very very high, we will not rush and we will not be rushed." Mr Kerry said that any deal had to withstand the test of time. "It is not a test of a matter of days or weeks or months, it's a test for decades, that's our goal here." Mr Zarif, who leads the Iranian negotiators, earlier said he wanted to reach a deal. And he added on his Twitter page: "Mark my words; you can't change horses in the middle of a stream." Separately, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he would be staying in Vienna to continue the negotiations, saying that "things are going in the right direction". EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the talks as "sometimes heated" but overall "constructive". The White House has said that it is unlikely that the talks will go on for many more weeks. A 30 June deadline imposed by both sides has already been missed. The P5+1 and Iran are still believed to differ in three key areas - international inspections of Iran's non-nuclear sites, sanctions, and how Iran's compliance will be verified. Iran also wants a UN Security Council arms embargo to be scrapped - something the US has ruled out. World powers want to be satisfied that Iran is neither trying to develop a nuclear bomb, nor has the capability to do so in under at least a year. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes. If Congress rejects the deal, President Barack Obama can use his power of veto, but Congress can still overturn this. An extended review could help opposition to a deal build in the Republican-controlled legislature. Under an interim accord, Iran and the P5+1 agreed that crippling sanctions would be eased in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear programme. Both sides at the Vienna talks said they hoped for progress on Thursday, though there has been little concrete sign of a breakthrough.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that America and other major powers are not in a rush to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Sushma Swaraj tweeted that the number of Indians who had died now stood at 101. Thirty two others are missing. The Saudi authorities put the total death toll at 769 but foreign media reports and officials put the figure at well over 1,000. It is the deadliest incident to occur during the pilgrimage in 25 years. Ms Swaraj had earlier tweeted that Indian authorities were "doing everything to locate our people". At least 76 Pakistani have also died in the stampede, reports say. The crush happened as two large groups of pilgrims converged as they were taking part in one of the Hajj's major rites. The Saudis have been criticised over their handling of security and the slow publication of casualty figures. The nationality with the highest toll, with at least 464 dead, is Iran, and Iranian officials allege that the overall number of deaths is now more than 1,000. Pakistan, India, and Indonesia have also suggested that the death toll may be higher than the 769 reported by Saudi Arabia. BBC Monitoring puts the death toll at 1,216, based on official statements and media reports from 34 countries who lost citizens in the stampede. 2006: 364 pilgrims die in a crush at foot of Jamarat Bridge in Mina 1997: 340 pilgrims are killed when fire fuelled by high winds sweeps through Mina's tent city 1994: 270 pilgrims die in a stampede during the stoning ritual 1990: 1,426 pilgrims, mainly Asian, die in a stampede in an overcrowded tunnel leading to holy sites 1987: 402 people die when security forces break up an anti-US demonstration by Iranian pilgrims Timeline: Deadliest stampedes
The number of Indians killed in the stampede near the Muslim holy city of Mecca last month has crossed 100, India's foreign minister has said.
Last March, the government appointed former health minister Lord Norman Warner as external commissioner to oversee the running of children's services. Ministers have had his progress report since April, but will not say when it will be released. One young woman's experience of being in the care of the authority saw her being moved 39 times in just five years and raped several times while in care. Danielle, who has waived her right to anonymity, was taken into care in 1998 at the age of 11, after slash marks from a belt were spotted on her back when she changed for PE at school. She told BBC Inside Out West Midlands the first of the 39 moves she went through saw her transferred six times in the first six weeks. "I don't think any of us ever felt safe," Danielle, who is now in her 20s, said. "Half of us ran away because it was safer to run away than to be in the home sometimes." When she was 11 years old, she said, someone tried to rape her in the children's home she was staying in and aged 13 she ran away. "[I] got tricked into going to this flat and I got locked in. "Then he started calling people and they kept me there for hours and I got gang raped. They locked me in a cupboard and wouldn't let me go." By the time she left the care system at the age of 16, Danielle had been raped three times. As she left in 2003, a new director of children's services was appointed in Birmingham. Peter Hay inherited a zero-rated service that was already on a government watch list, where it has remained. "The first stage I think was to stop the thing falling off a cliff," he said. But high-profile cases have continued to come, including those of seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq, who starved to death at her home in Handsworth in 2008, and Keanu Williams, who in 2011 was found collapsed in his mother's partner's flat. Their deaths are among 23 serious case reviews published in Birmingham since the Local Safeguarding Board's inception in 2006. Between 2009 and October 2013, the authority had four different strategic directors of Children, Young People and Families. Mr Hay, who was in charge until 2006, before returning to oversee the department in 2013, said at the time of Keanu's death the council had been going through "an eight-year period of sustained failure" in spite of the previous warnings. Ofsted branded the service a "national disgrace" after the boy's death. The government warned the authority it was considering taking over the running of the department, but instead appointed Lord Warner. 23 Serious case reviews in Birmingham since 2006 7 Years Birmingham children's services has been rated inadequate £9.2m Pledged by the city council in 2014 to improve the department 161 Social worker posts unfilled by permanent staff in January Four months after he started, a new, integrated agency hub was created to speed up the safeguarding process. Birmingham Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (Mash) is based inside the council's headquarters and is made up of many organisations, including police, social workers and the NHS. Christine Wellington, Mash head of service, said: "Pre-Mash there was no feedback, there was almost the sense of 'what's the point of referring if nothing is going to be done?'." Now, when a safeguarding call comes in, it takes priority and the various agencies get together to discuss what action to take. But one social worker who has worked for the council on more than one occasion - in 2012 and again this year - said his experiences had put him off going back. The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said during his most recent time there, managers were being sacked, asked to leave and resigning, on a weekly basis. He said he was "fearful of a child death or a serious incident happening on my watch and I want to be able to sleep at night". The council has said a recruitment crisis in the department has been turned around - in contrast to May last year, when more than a quarter of frontline social worker posts were unfilled. Social worker Siobhan Patton said her case load is the lowest it has ever been, down from 30 to 10. And she said that was a big change from her "lowest point" - working from 06:00 until midnight. Despite the council having to save millions of pounds from several departments, the authority has invested £30m in children's services over the past two years, which Mr Hay said was "a real sign of that commitment to make this the number one service the council provides". 'A Dangerous Place To Be a Kid?' is available on the BBC iPlayer.
After the high profile deaths of several children in Birmingham, and subsequent damning reports into the way the city council cares for children, how is the authority changing how it works?
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said voters had "48 hours to get the Tories out". Former Labour leader Gordon Brown, who was campaigning with Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, said the SNP stood for "divide and rule". The Lib Dems said voters should stick with them and the Scottish Tories said a vote for them was a vote for the UK. During a visit to a nursery in Livingston, West Lothian, Ms Sturgeon criticised Prime Minister David Cameron who had warned the public they risked "five long years" of a minority Labour government reliant on "bribes" to smaller parties like the SNP. She hit back saying: "[There are] 48 hours to get the Tories out, to get an alternative to austerity and to make Scotland's voice heard. "The fact of the matter is, if there's an anti-Tory majority on Friday morning, I want to see that anti-Tory majority come together to get the Tories out, but then make sure that it's replaced with something better. Ms Sturgeon added: "The SNP will be a positive, constructive and progressive force in the House of Commons but will stand up very firmly for the things we believe really matter." In Glasgow, Mr Brown urged voters to reject the SNP and join what he called Labour's fight to reach the "the mountaintop of social justice". And he warned that the election was "not just about the future of the UK but about the very existence of the UK". In an impassioned address, he said: "While the SNP will talk only about deals and pacts and coalitions and bargains and hung parliaments, we will talk day after day, hour after hour, in this late stage of the campaign about only one thing - to end poverty, to end unemployment, to end injustice. "Within days and hours of getting into government, Jim Murphy could be providing money for our foodbanks and we could be ending foodbank poverty. Delivered under a Labour government, with Labour MPs - undeliverable under a Conservative government, even with 59 SNP MPs. "And within weeks, we could be providing the resources that the health service needs: 500 doctors, 1,000 more nurses - deliverable under a Labour government with Labour MPs - undeliverable under a Conservative government with 59 SNP MPs." Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said he wanted his party to continue to have influence on government at Westminster. He said: "Liberal Democrats have been at the heart of government over the last five years with 11 members of parliament in Scotland - many at the cabinet table giving a really powerful voice. "Danny Alexander, right at the heart of the government, making it tick - delivering tax cuts, pension rise childcare expansion. "I want that to continue, because Liberal Democrats can hold others back when they travel too fast." While on a visit to Aviemore, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson discussed the possible deals that could be done between parties after polls close and votes are counted. She said: "We have said from the very start that each and every MP elected across all parts of these islands has the same rights and voting as everybody else. But it is up to individual political parties who they do a deal with. "The Scottish Conservatives will not do deals with any nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland who want to break up our United Kingdom. "Each vote for the Scottish Conservatives is a vote to keep the UK intact."
With just two days until the polling stations open, all the Scottish party leaders are warning of the risks of backing their opponents.
When are the polls? Voting will take place from 7am to 10pm on 2 May. As is traditional in UK elections, they are being held on a Thursday again this year. What are people voting for? There will be elections for 34 local authorities in England - mostly county councils rather than the big cities. There will also be two mayoral elections, and also one local authority election in Anglesey. Here's the full list of where elections are being held. Who is standing? More than 2,300 seats are being contested in these elections. The Conservatives and Labour are putting up candidates in most seats, with 2,263 and 2,168 candidates respectively. The Lib Dems have 1,763 candidates. UKIP is fielding 1,745 candidates, three times as many as it did the last time these seats were fought in 2009, and the Greens have 893 candidates. Other parties standing include the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition's which is fighting 120 seats, the BNP, with 99 candidates and the English Democrats, with 38 candidates. There are around 900 independent candidates. When are we expecting the results? Only six of the county councils are counting votes overnight on Thursday - Lincolnshire, Dorset, Somerset, Essex, Gloucestershire and Hampshire - with results expected between 02:30 BST and 06:00 BST. All the other councils will start counting on Friday morning, with the bulk of the results due between 11:00 BST and 18:30 BST. Where can I watch the results? There will be full live text and video coverage of the results as they come in on the BBC News website, including the BBC's Vote 2013 programme presented by Huw Edwards. This will also be broadcast throughout the day on the News Channel from 08:30 BST to 18:00 BST, and on BBC 2 from 12:00 BST to 13:00 BST, from 14:00 BST to 15:00 BST and from 17:00 BST to 18:00 BST. Who can vote? You must be registered to vote, be at least 18 on polling day, be resident in Britain and be British or a Commonwealth or European Union citizen. Who is barred from voting? Convicted prisoners, anybody found guilty of election corruption within the past five years and people who are subject to any "legal incapacity" that impairs their judgement. How do I vote? If you are registered to vote you should receive a polling card any time up to the week of the elections, telling you where you should go to cast your vote on 2 May. You should take the card with you when you go to vote, although it is not compulsory. No other form of identity is required. If your polling card doesn't arrive, contact the electoral services department at your local council. Can I vote by post? Yes. But the deadline for asking for a postal vote from the electoral services department at your local council has now passed for these elections. If you have applied to vote by post, you cannot vote in person at the polling station. However, on election day you can return your postal vote to the polling station, before 22:00 BST, or to the returning officer at your local council (before they close), if you do not want to post it or it is too late to post it. See the Electoral Commission's guidelines for postal voting. What about proxy votes? You can only apply for a long-term proxy vote if you have a specific reason such as a disability or being overseas. To vote by proxy for just one election, you must have a reason, for example you will be on holiday or away owing to work. The deadline to vote by proxy in these elections has now passed, but if you are suddenly incapacitated or taken ill, you can apply to vote by proxy for medical reasons up until 17:00 BST on polling day. I'm away from home at university on 2 May, where do I vote? As long as you are registered to vote in both places you can choose to vote at either your home address or your student address - or in both places if they are in different council areas. What help is there for disabled voters? To help blind and partially sighted voters, there has to be a "tactile device" in each polling station and there are rules on the size of print on ballot papers. The vast majority of polling stations are now more accessible for wheelchair users. Proxy ballots are allowed for those unable to vote because of disability. A doctor's note is required if the person with disabilities is applying for an indefinite proxy vote. What happens if a voter is illiterate? There is no literacy qualification for voting: anyone who cannot read or write can ask the polling officer at the polling station to mark their ballot, or have the candidate names read out, or take a companion to help them. Is voting compulsory? No. People cannot be forced to vote and registration is not compulsory. Is my vote secret? Yes. The ballot papers contain a serial number and it is possible, but illegal, to trace all the votes to the people who cast them. The number is there to stop electoral fraud. Why don't I have a vote this year? Not all councils hold elections at the same time. All councillors are elected for a term of four years, but the four-year cycle of elections is different for different councils. This year it is the turn of all the English county councils, who last had elections in 2009, and seven other authorities. Next year will see elections to all the London boroughs and some of the smaller district councils. There are also some councils who elect a third of councillors each year for three out of the four-year cycle. Who can stand as a candidate? Candidates must be aged 18 or over and either be British, or citizens of other European Union or Commonwealth countries. In addition, those standing in English council elections must be on the electoral register of the council concerned or must have lived in or worked in the council area within the past year. Those banned from standing in the elections include anyone employed by the local authority: bankrupts; and people in a variety of politically restricted jobs. The deadline has passed to register as a candidate for these elections. How can I set up a political party? All political parties have to be registered with the Electoral Commission if they want their names to appear on ballot papers. The commission will need the names of three party officials and details of the party's financial structure. It can refuse to register a party if its name is confusingly similar to another party's or if the name is deemed offensive. The deadline has passed to register a political party for these elections. Who organises the election? The top official of the local authority is the returning officer for the elections in each constituency, with the day-to-day running of the poll left to the head of the council's electoral services department. Why are elections held on Thursdays? They do not have to be - it is just a convention. One theory about its origins is that people were not paid until Fridays and so holding polls on Thursdays ensured they were not too drunk to vote. The Electoral Commission has recommended trials of weekend voting to boost turnout. Are there rules for the BBC's coverage? Every part of the corporation has to follow election guidelines set down by the BBC Trust. They include advice on the "appropriate" level of coverage to give to each of the political parties.
A guide to the elections taking place in England and Wales in May 2013.
The France international is the Reds' fifth signing of the summer and will compete with Jose Enrique at left-back. "I think we have a great team and great fans and together we can achieve big things," said Cissokho. Cissokho made 25 league appearances and scored two goals for Valencia last season after signing from Lyon for around £5m in August 2012. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had wanted to sign another left-back, Guilherme Siqueira from Spanish club Granada, but the clubs failed to agree a fee. Cissokho joins goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, defender Kolo Toure, midfielder Luis Alberto and striker Iago Aspas as a summer arrival in Rodgers' squad. Liverpool are keen to bring in one more attacking player before the transfer window closes, but their hopes of bringing in Anzhi Makhachkala forward Willian appear to be at an end. The Brazilian is in talks with Tottenham about a £30m move to White Hart Lane.
Liverpool have completed a deal to sign 25-year-old defender Aly Cissokho on a season-long loan from Valencia.
The hotly contested campaign has been marred by internal squabbles within the governing party, which have turned violent. The township of Atteridgeville, west of the capital, Pretoria, is one of several areas to have experienced some of this violence. The working class community was outraged when the ANC foisted Thoko Dididza as the party's candidate for mayor of Tshwane, the metropolitan area which includes Pretoria. More on the riots: In pictures: Pretoria protests People took to the streets to express their displeasure; buses were burnt and road barricaded as they demanded that the current ANC mayor, Kgosientsho "Sputla" Ramokgopa be on the ballot again. The violence spread across many other areas in Tshwane - and five people lost their lives. Ms Dididza was chosen by ANC head office after the local party could not agree between "Sputla" and his challenger during the nomination process. Such local feuding has been most prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal province, where 12 ANC councillors have been killed in the last two months. Last week, another was shot dead in the Eastern Cape province. Atteridgeville itself was established in the late 1930s as a settlement for black people and now has a population of 200,000. What do Atteridgeville voters want? It is Mr Ramokgopa's hometown, and is a great example of a politician understanding local issues and addressing them head on. The paved streets are clean. It is like a mini Kigali, the Rwandan capital, known as the cleanest city in Africa. To test the temperature a month on from the protests, I walk the streets of "Peli" as locals here sometimes call Atteridgeville. In central Atteridgeville, I meet 62-year-old street vendor Moses Masemola. "I am going to vote for the ANC because 'Sputla' delivered for us here. Look at this place. It is clean," he says. However, 69-year-old Elizabeth Langa, who works as a domestic helper, says she admires the new opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) which promises to do more to tackle poverty and create jobs. "I'm going to vote for the EFF because I want change," she says. Down the road outside a local school I see a group of mostly teenage boys huddled together looking at their smartphones. They tell me they are using the free wi-fi provided to all residents by the city council - the signal is strongest near the school. They are quick to point out that it is a Sputla initiative, one of his most popular. However, one among them, 23-year-old McDonald Hopane, a third-year mechanical engineering student, explains that he is going to vote for the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). "The ANC has failed to provide jobs. I'm about to finish my studies and it is clear that I will not have a job come 2017." Twenty-year-old construction site labourer Happy Makhwiting stops to talk under a huge billboard of President Jacob Zuma. Pointing at the president and ANC leader, he says: "I will vote for the ANC but not because of this one. I'm voting because of what [Nelson] Mandela did for us through the ANC." Mr Makhwiting says he would like to be in the army but has taken a low-paid job just to make ends meet. But it seems the ANC cannot rely on such loyalty any more. If opinion polls are anything to go by, the governing party is going to have a tough time holding on to some of the major metropolitan regions such as Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape province. Local issues such as water, roads, refuse collection, community parks now mean more than anti-apartheid struggle credentials. People are tired of being fed the same diet of "we liberated you from white-minority rule so keep voting for us". They want material change on the ground. They want better schools for their children. They are also angry at the cancer of corruption creeping in - not just at a local level but also among those who hold high office. Political commentator Justice Malala tells me this is a test for President Zuma's leadership. "It's about national and local issues all at once. That's why you see President Zuma's face on the campaign trail. And the Democratic Alliance is using [its] leader Mmusi Maimane. There is a lot at stake," he says. "On local issues, in Nelson Mandela Bay people will tell you about the undignified bucket toilets they still use. "These issues are big for them. And in Alexandra township some say their lives are no different from the dark days of apartheid." So this election, as much as it is about local issues on the ground, it also about the ANC's national score card.
South Africa's African National Congress (ANC), which took power at the end of white-minority rule in 1994, is facing its toughest challenge - and not just from opposition parties in Wednesday's local elections.
But for her fellow fighters, Asia Ramazan Antar's portrayal in the press and social media came as both a surprise and disappointment. The 19-year-old, from the Syrian Kurdish city of Qamishli, was killed by Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Syria last month. Focusing their stories on her looks, some Western media said she was known as the "Angelina Jolie of Kurdistan" after the glamorous Hollywood actress. Some compatriots have decried these comparisons as sexism and objectification. The Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ), to which Asia Ramazan Antar belonged, say their philosophy is simplicity and modesty. No-one is judged based on his or her appearance, shape or size. Individuals, they say, make personal sacrifices for the collective good. Last year, despite resistance from conservative religious groups, female fighters pushed Syrian Kurdistan to pass progressive laws that make violence against women, forced marriage and polygamy illegal. An all-women police unit was created to implement the law. For the Kurdish media in Syrian Kurdistan (know to Kurds as Rojava) where she fought and died, Asia Ramazan Antar was simply another fighter who lost her life battling IS. Asia Ramazan Antar joined the YPG in 2015, adopting the nom de guerre Viyan Antar. After completing her military training, she went to the frontline to fight IS militants. Asia Ramazan Antar took part in five battles before she was killed around Manbij near the Turkish border on 30 August. She was a team leader and machine-gunner. Over the past two years, six of her cousins and uncles were also killed in the fight against IS. Just like Asia Ramazan Antar, hundreds of other Kurdish fighters have been killed. Most of them were young, in their late teens and early 20s - but none garnered the kind of publicity showered on Viyan. Choman Kanaani is one of the Kurdish fighters dismayed by Asia Ramazan Antar's treatment by the Western media. He is in charge of rebuilding Kobane, the Kurdish city occupied by IS and extensively destroyed in 2014-2015 before Kurdish forces drove the jihadists out. Mr Kanaani lost many of his fellow fighters, both men and women. "The entire philosophy of YPJ is to fight sexism and prevent using women as a sexual object," he said. "We want to give women their rightful place in society and for them to own their own destinies. Viyan died for these ideals. In the media, no-one talked about the ideals for which she gave her life, nor what Viyan achieved for women in Rojava in the past four years." Agrin Senna is a YPJ commander who lost one of her legs in the battle to liberate Manbij. She also lost many of her friends. She urged people to look at images of her fellow fighters who had died and had refused to live under IS's particular form of Sharia, or Islamic law. "Look at their pictures, they are all angels, all beautiful, you can't pick one just because she looks like a Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie or Julia Roberts. "They have nothing in common with them. They prefer to die rather than live under one of the most anti-women groups in the world." The BBC's Guney Yildiz contributed to this report.
She was, according to Western media, a poster-girl for her people, admired as much for her striking good looks as her military prowess.
The decision to ban the films came amid a rise in military tensions over the disputed territory of Kashmir. The boycott was imposed after some Indian film-makers had banned Pakistani actors from working in Bollywood films. Bollywood is popular in Pakistan, and the self-imposed ban is reported to have led to a dramatic loss of revenue. The move followed a surge in violence in Indian-administered Kashmir. Film distributors and cinema owners in Pakistan said they would resume screening the films on Monday. Pakistan first imposed a ban on Indian films following the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. The ban was eventually lifted in 2008. Disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir has been a flashpoint for decades and has sparked two wars between India and Pakistan, which both control parts of the territory. Today it remains one of the most militarised zones in the world. In September, an attack on an army base in Uri in Indian-administered Kashmir claimed the lives of 18 soldiers. It was the deadliest of its kind for years.
Major cinemas in Pakistan have agreed to end a ban on Indian films imposed when relations between the two countries deteriorated in September.
The group, which earlier tried to sell the encrypted cache of hacking tools in an online auction, released a password for it via a blog on 8 April. Some cyber-security experts have said some of the malware is real, but old. The NSA has not commented on the hacker group or the material that was released over the weekend. The Shadow Brokers said they had published the password as a "protest" about US President Donald Trump. The group wanted "America to be great again", the blog added. It criticised, among other things, "[Steve] Bannon's removal from the [National Security Council]" and the "US military strike on Syria". A list of alleged NSA hacking targets and the malware allegedly installed at them was also included in the release, according to some cyber-security experts. The Shadow Brokers say they are "not fans of Russia or Putin", but some experts have suggested the group may have links with the Russian government. "Russia is quickly responding to the missile attacks on Syria with the release of the dump file password that was previously withheld," said Jake Williams, chief executive of cyber-security firm Rendition Infosec in a blog. A similar opinion was shared on Twitter by Dan Gonzales, a senior scientist at the Rand Corporation think tank. The Shadow Brokers were "probably a front for or infiltrated by #Russia #cyber groups," he said. Neither commentator gave any evidence to support such claims. Russian officials have not commented but have strenuously denied involvement in other hacking cases associated with the US. "If Russia had stolen the hacking tools, it would be senseless to publicise the theft, let alone put them up for sale," cyber-security expert James Bamford wrote in an article for Reuters news agency. He suggested that the Shadow Brokers could be an NSA "insider". In a separate case, a series of cyber-attacks on 40 targets in 16 countries have been linked to a cache of hacking tools, according to cybersecurity firm Symantec. The cache, known as Vault7, was published online by WikiLeaks and said to contain malware used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The agency has not confirmed whether it authored the tools. The malware analysed by Symantec had been used to infect computers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. "On one occasion a computer in the United States was compromised but, following infection, an uninstaller was launched within hours, which may indicate this victim was infected unintentionally," Symantec noted. The malware contained logs documenting changes that closely mirrored such records in Vault7 malware, the firm claimed.
The "Shadow Brokers" hacker group has released malware allegedly created by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
Ryan Valentine, 39, donned a long black wig and skirt when he threatened staff at the shop in Leatherhead, Surrey. He and accomplice Raymond Price, 45, were bundled out of the premises by two staff members who had refused to hand over any cash or jewellery. Both men were jailed at Guildford Crown Court after they admitted possessing an imitation firearm. Valentine, of Carlton Road in Walton-on-Thames, managed to flee the scene but was arrested two days later at Gatwick Airport as he tried to board a plane to St Lucia. He was jailed for six years on Thursday. Staff and members of the public managed to detain Price, of Thamesmead in Walton-on-Thames, until police arrived. He was jailed for 45 months. Paula Jones, 29, of Grenside Road in Weybridge, was jailed for 15 months for assisting an offender. Det Sgt Joe Easterbrook praised shop staff, who "refused to be intimidated by the suspects and showed tremendous bravery."
A would-be robber who disguised himself as a woman in a botched attempt to raid a jewellers has been jailed.
The former Arsenal centre-half joined Swansea in 2012 and has now committed his future with the Premier League side until 2021. Bartley spent last season on loan with Leeds and played 45 Championship games. The 26-year-old has agreed terms with manager Paul Clement and will battle for a starting spot with Alfie Mawson, Federico Fernandez and Mike van der Hoorn. "I gained a lot more confidence and experience from my loan spell last season," said Bartley. "I feel a better person and a better player. "I want to be able to express that on the pitch and fight for a first-team place. "Federico and Alfie did fantastic last season, particularly towards the end, I thought they were our two star men."
Swansea City have given defender Kyle Bartley a new four-year deal.
King started his career in the late 1950s with The Drifters, singing hits including There Goes My Baby and Save The Last Dance For Me. After going solo, he hit the US top five with Stand By Me in 1961. It returned to the charts in the 1980s, including a three-week spell at number one in the UK following its use in the film of the same name and a TV advert. King's other hits included Spanish Harlem, Amor, Don't Play That Song (You Lied) and Supernatural Thing - Part I. The singer died on Thursday, his publicist Phil Brown told BBC News. Fellow musician Gary US Bonds wrote on Facebook that King was "one of the sweetest, gentlest and gifted souls that I have had the privilege of knowing and calling my friend for more than 50 years". He wrote: "I can tell you that Ben E will be missed more than words can say. Our sincere condolences go out to Betty and the entire family. "Thank you Ben E for your friendship and the wonderful legacy you leave behind." BBC Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris said on Twitter: "So sad to hear that Ben E King has passed away. More than almost anyone, he fired and inspired my love of music. #StandByMe #ThereGoesMyBaby." Actor Jerry O'Connell, who played Vern in the film Stand By Me alongside River Phoenix and Corey Feldman, tweeted: "You know you are good when John Lennon covers your song. Ben E. King was a wonderful and immensely talented man." Born Benjamin Earl Nelson, he initially joined a doo-wop group called The Five Crowns, who became The Drifters after that group's manager fired the band's previous members. He co-wrote and sang on the band's single There Goes My Baby, which reached number two in the US in 1959. But the group members were paid just $100 per week by their manager and, after a request for a pay rise was turned down, the singer decided to go it alone. In the process, he adopted the surname King. His first solo hit, in 1961, was Spanish Harlem, which was followed by Stand By Me. He originally intended Stand By Me for The Drifters, but said they turned it down. So he worked on the song when Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun paired him with writers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. "In my vocal I think you can hear something of my earlier times when I'd sing in subway halls for the echo, and perform doo-wop on street corners," he told The Guardian in 2013. "But I had a lot of influences, too - singers like Sam Cooke, Brook Benton and Roy Hamilton. The song's success lay in the way Leiber and Stoller took chances, though, borrowing from symphonic scores, and we had a brilliant string arranger." The song went on to chart nine times on the US Billboard 100 - King's version twice and seven times with covers by artists like John Lennon and Spyder Turner. It was also the fourth most-played track of the 20th Century on US radio and TV. Earlier this year, the US Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry, declaring that "it was King's incandescent vocal that made it a classic". Stand By Me, Spanish Harlem and There Goes My Baby were all named on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and were all given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. As the 1960s went on and rock 'n' roll took off, King's commercial success waned. He continued to tour and, in the mid-1970s, Ertegun was so impressed by one of his shows in Miami that he decided to re-sign him to Atlantic. That led to a return to the charts with Supernatural Thing - Part I, which reached the US top five in 1975. King returned to the spotlight again in the late 1980s when Stand By Me was the theme song for Rob Reiner's film about boyhood friendship and was used in a British TV commercial for Levi's jeans. The star also established the Ben E King Stand By Me Foundation, a charity that says it helps "deserving youths working to further their education and to assist various civic organisations and associations in their efforts to improve the quality of life of their constituents".
R&B and soul singer Ben E King, best known for the classic song Stand By Me, has died at the age of 76.
23 February 2016 Last updated at 12:38 GMT Two-thirds voted in favour of staying in the European Economic Community (EEC), as it was then known. For BBC Newsnight, veteran journalist and documentary maker Michael Cockerell - who reported on the 1975 referendum - looks at what we can learn from the vote 40 years ago. You can follow Newsnight on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
The last referendum in the UK on the issue of Europe was on 5 June 1975.
The gang swapped newborn babies with the bodies of dead infants in hospitals and maternity homes, and told their parents the child had died, police told the BBC. The babies were then sold to childless couples for between 70,000-300,000 rupees (£500-2,200; $650-$2,850). Pakistan has seen several high-profile cases of baby abductions recently. Police told the BBC they had received a number of complaints about stolen babies. Some women who had given birth to healthy babies said they were told within hours that their child had died Among those arrested were five women and two men, including a nurse, two health workers and an agent who allegedly struck the deals with childless couples. An abducted baby girl was rescued from the gang's custody. The gang had abducted and sold nine newborns, police said.
Pakistani police have arrested several hospital workers over a scheme that sold newborn babies in Peshawar.
It was supposed to be a moment that rocked the virtual world. Mr Modi, widely acknowledged as one of the world's most influential politicians on social media, enveloped a slightly stunned Mark Zuckerberg in a bear hug. But what was it that really happened in Menlo Park? Why did some people think Mr Modi wasn't acting in India's best digital interests when he hugged Mr Zuckerberg? India with an internet population of 354 million - which has already grown by 17% in the first six months of 2015 - is an obvious target for not only Facebook, but other Silicon Valley giants. And they have all been more than happy to pledge their support for digital India - a recently launched government initiative aimed at reinvigorating an $18bn (£11.6bn) campaign to strengthen India's digital infrastructure. Google offered to provide 500 railway stations with free WiFi and Microsoft pledged to connect 500,000 Indian villages with cheap broadband access. But this huge show of support and the increased interest in India has caused some concern within the country. "Is Digital India going to only make India a consumer of services offered by global tech companies in lieu of data? Personal data is the currency of the digital world. Are we going to give that away simply to become a giant market for a Facebook or a Google? Look at the way the tech world is skewed. Only China has been able to come up with companies that can take on these MNCs" Prabir Purkayasta, chairman of the Society for Knowledge Commons in India, told the BBC. "The British ruled the world because they controlled the seas," he said. "Is India going to be content to just be a digital consumer? To being colonised once again?" And in the aftermath of the Facebook townhall in particular, some talk has begun to surface about what Mr Zuckerberg's real India ambitions are. Soon after the townhall ended, both Mr Modi and Mr Zuckerberg declared their support for digital India by using a special Facebook filter to tint their profile pictures in the tri-colour of the Indian flag. Multitudes of Indians followed suit and timelines were awash with snazzy tinted profile pictures, all in support of "Digital India". But then a tech website released what it claimed to be a portion of Facebook's source code, which allegedly "proved" that the "Support Digital India" filter was actually a "Support Internet.Org" filter. Facebook quickly issued a denial, blaming the text in the code on an "engineer mistake" in choosing a shorthand name he used for part of the code. But the "mistake" which has been coupled with a huge advertising blitz for Internet.Org across television channels and newspapers has raised suspicion about Facebook's motives. A Facebook poll on Internet.Org that frequently appears on Indian user timelines has also been ridiculed for not giving users an option to say no. Instead the answer options to the poll question "Do you want India to have free basic services?" are "Yes" and "Not now". Internet.org (now called free basics), aims to extend internet services to the developing world by offering a selection of apps and websites free to consumers. Facebook's vice-president of infrastructure engineering, Jay Parikh has described the initiative as an "attempt to connect the two-thirds of the world who do not have access to the Internet" by trying to solve issues pertaining to affordability, infrastructure and access. When Facebook launched the initiative in India in February, it was criticised by Indian activists who expressed concerns that the project threatened freedom of expression, privacy and the principle of net neutrality. On the other end of the debate, Indian columnist Manu Joseph wrote in the Hindustan Times newspaper, hitting out at the "selfish" stand on net neutrality. He said concerns over the issue should be "subordinate to the fact that the poor have a right to some Internet". A massive campaign by India's Save the Internet Coalition exhorting Indians to speak out against initiatives threatening net neutrality caught public imagination and saw more than a million emails to India's regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), demanding a free and fair internet in the country. Internet.Org was one of the initiatives immediately affected. TRAI since released a draft policy on net neutrality, but a question that has been asked is whether it was appropriate for Mr Modi to visit Facebook given that the policy was still under consideration. Mr Purkayasta is of the opinion that it could have been avoided. "It was not the time or the place to go. Even if it was simply a publicity gimmick, it still sends a signal to officials involved in drafting the policy," he said. However, Sunil Abraham from the Centre for Internet and Society told the BBC he believed that while Facebook's intentions were suspect, Mr Modi's visit had the potential to safeguard net neutrality in India. "India is a hugely important market for Facebook, and the prime minister has the power to force positive changes to its policies," he said. "We gain nothing by shutting them out."
A bear hug, a photo filter and a new debate on net neutrality - Ayeshea Perera examines the domestic fallout of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook townhall in US.
The Frenchman raced onto a Hayden White flick and crashed in a dipping half-volley from 25 yards to send the home fans wild. Mansfield, unbeaten in eight games, had not beaten Stanley in their previous 11 league meetings and twice the visitors earned two-goal leads. In a rip-roaring first half, Stanley went ahead after only five minutes when Omar Beckles was allowed to steer home from eight yards from Sean McConville's free-kick. More poor home defending in the 29th minute saw Lee Collins fail to clear and Shay McCartan turned to fire in number two. Mansfield were back in it within two minutes as a Krystian Pearce header from a corner was blocked on the line and the referee ruled Rhys Bennett had forced the ball over before it was cleared. The pick of the goals came in the 44th minute as Billy Kee beat Bennett out on the right and turned to send a spectacular dipping shot under the far angle of post and crossbar. But the Stags stayed in touch in stoppage time as White headed home a Joel Byrom corner. Beckles headed against the right-hand post but it was 3-3 after 64 minutes when Shaq Coulthirst sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the penalty spot after Seamus Conneely had fouled Pearce. Pearce then blocked off Kee to concede a penalty two minutes later and the burly striker sent Jake Kean the wrong way. After both sides had hit a post it was left to Arquin to steal a late leveller. Report supplied by the Press Association. Match ends, Mansfield Town 4, Accrington Stanley 4. Second Half ends, Mansfield Town 4, Accrington Stanley 4. Foul by Janoi Donacien (Accrington Stanley). Shaquile Coulthirst (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt missed. Sean Clare (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Sean Clare replaces Sean McConville. Attempt missed. Shaquile Coulthirst (Mansfield Town) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Goal! Mansfield Town 4, Accrington Stanley 4. Yoann Arquin (Mansfield Town) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Shaquile Coulthirst. Attempt missed. Romuald Boco (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Shaquile Coulthirst (Mansfield Town). Lee Collins (Mansfield Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Lee Collins (Mansfield Town). Attempt missed. Krystian Pearce (Mansfield Town) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Foul by Mark Hughes (Accrington Stanley). Benjamin Whiteman (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. Matty Pearson (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Jonathan Edwards replaces Billy Kee because of an injury. Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Lee Collins (Mansfield Town). Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley). Benjamin Whiteman (Mansfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Mansfield Town. Yoann Arquin replaces Danny Rose. Attempt saved. Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Krystian Pearce (Mansfield Town). Attempt missed. Mark Hughes (Accrington Stanley) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Krystian Pearce (Mansfield Town). CJ Hamilton (Mansfield Town) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Romuald Boco replaces Shay McCartan because of an injury. Substitution, Mansfield Town. Matt Green replaces Alexander MacDonald. Attempt missed. Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Attempt saved. Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Goal! Mansfield Town 3, Accrington Stanley 4. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner. Penalty Accrington Stanley. Billy Kee draws a foul in the penalty area. Penalty conceded by Hayden White (Mansfield Town) after a foul in the penalty area. Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Krystian Pearce.
Yoann Arquin snatched a point for Mansfield with a last-minute goal as an incredible game ended 4-4 at home to bogey side Accrington.
Sussex Police believe they were attacked before their home in Chidham, near Chichester, was set alight. Their bodies were discovered after fire crews put out the blaze on Saturday. A murder investigation is under way. Detectives are waiting to speak to a man who was taken to hospital with severe burns later the same day. Sussex Police said he was known to the couple, whose names have not been released by officers, and is "critically ill". "It appears the couple were attacked before their home was set alight," said Det Ch Insp Tanya Jones. "We are waiting to talk to a man who is being treated in hospital for severe burns and we believe this may be connected. "He had attended an address in Rotherfield on Saturday lunchtime from where he was transferred to hospital. "The information we have so far has led us to treat this man, who is known to the couple, as a potential suspect in our investigation." She described the deaths as a "tragic incident" and said the force was supporting the family of the couple. "[We] are working with colleagues from the fire service along with forensic and crime scene investigators to establish the circumstances." Sussex Police initially said the couple who died were aged in their 90s.
A couple in their 70s whose bodies were found in a burnt-out bungalow died from head and neck injuries, police have said.
The price companies pay for oil fell by about a quarter over the summer (from around £72 to £53 per barrel). But the cost of petrol only dropped 6% in that time. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander says: "The public have a suspicion that when the price of oil rises, pump prices go up like a rocket. "But when the price of oil falls, pump prices drift down like a feather," he adds, although there's no research to suggest this actually happens. Average price per litre: Most expensive per litre: Cheapest per litre: Latest figures according to PetrolPrices.com According to comparison site PetrolPrices.com, on Tuesday the most expensive petrol in the country was 143.9p per litre. But fuel prices vary pretty dramatically around the country, so here are some of the cheapest prices Newsbeat listeners told us they've spotted today.
With average petrol prices around 124.2p per litre at the moment, the government's calling for fuel firms to bring down costs at the pump.
Investors' confidence took another hit owing to growing concerns about the eurozone debt crisis and the weak economic recovery in the US and Europe. European markets closed sharply lower for the second day but US shares recovered to close slightly higher. Meanwhile, a report suggests credit rating agency Standard & Poor's will downgrade US government debt. US network ABC reported that Washington expected S&P to cut its AAA rating following the protracted and acrimonious process of raising the country's debt ceiling. Any downgrade would further erode global investors' confidence in the US economy. S&P has declined to comment on the report. Earlier, a decline in the US jobless rate caused the US markets to open higher and gave temporary relief to European indexes. But London's FTSE and Frankfurt's Dax both closed down about 2.7%. US stocks recovered from a late-morning slump to end the day slightly higher. At a specially-convened press conference after European markets closed, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that G7 finance ministers would meet within days to discuss measures to combat the eurozone debt crisis, which is the main cause of the growing turmoil in global financial markets. He also said that Italy would speed up measures to balance its budget by 2013, a year earlier than planned, and work to amend the Italian constitution to make balanced budgets a requirement for future governments. He also announced some labour market reforms. European markets had been down as much as 4% in the morning, before recovering, and then lurching back down again by the end of the session. "Failed rallies are not a good sign," said markets analyst Louise Cooper, from BGC Partners. "Investors are just really, really nervous, thinking what can be done to get us out of this hole, and there are not many answers," she told BBC radio. The FTSE 100 closed down 2.7%, with banking shares such as Lloyds, RBS and Barclays suffering falls as large as 7%. The London market has now lost 10% in the past week. In Germany the Dax closed down 2.8%, while the French Cac 40 ended just over 1% down. US stocks ended the session up 0.5% as investors recovered their poise following heavy falls in late morning trading. Investors are also worried about the state of the US economy after recent data on economic growth and consumer spending raised questions about the strength of the recovery. Some analysts have even suggested the US could be heading for another recession. Earlier, the EU's Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said he thought the movements were "incomprehensible" and "not justified by the economic fundamentals", particularly in Italy and Spain, the latest focus of investors' concerns. Analysts suggested the instability would continue as the main reasons for the concerns had not gone away. "The markets are looking for a resolution on the eurozone debt crisis and that resolution is not easily at hand," said Jan Lambrets, head of financial markets at Rabobank, who forecast "a very grim road" in the months to come. Investors are worried as European authorities have so far been unable to control the crisis and are unhappy that changes to a key rescue fund agreed last month have not yet been enacted. "Until markets have seen some resolution, we're not going to see any return of confidence," Nomura economist Peter Westaway told BBC News. "There was a lot of mutual backslapping after the eurozone summit a couple of weeks ago, but they haven't delivered," he said. By Robert PestonBusiness editor, BBC News Peston: Origins of today's market mayhem US unemployment rate down in July Mr Rehn stressed that measures to improve the scope and effectiveness of the 440bn-euros rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), agreed on 21 July, should be in place by September. "The political will to defend the euro should not be underestimated," Mr Rehn added. On Thursday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on eurozone countries to approve those changes as soon as possible, but also to consider expanding the fund further. Many analysts argue these changes need to be implemented quickly in order to calm stock markets. Mr Barroso said that authorities were failing to prevent the sovereign debt crisis from spreading. "We are no longer managing a crisis just in the euro-area periphery," he said. His comments triggered sharp falls in markets across Europe because of fears that Italy and Spain might become engulfed in the crisis which has led to Greece, the Irish Republic and Portugal already being bailed out. That sentiment ripped across the world, hitting markets in Asia and the US, where the Dow Jones index had its worst day since December 2008, closing 4% down. This latest crisis of confidence has come at a time when many of Europe's leaders are on holiday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a telephone conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to discuss the latest problems in the eurozone. UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on holiday in Italy, discussed the financial situation with Chancellor Merkel and the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, on the telephone. There were rumours earlier that the European Central Bank (ECB) was preparing to buy Spanish and Italian bonds to try to help those countries, which briefly helped their stock markets. By Stephanie FlandersEconomics editor, BBC News Flanders: Echoes of 2008 The ECB was said to have bought up bonds issued by the Irish and Portuguese governments on Thursday. But traders were disappointed that the bank did not appear to have intervened to help Spain and Italy, whose borrowing costs have risen significantly recently. Reports suggest the Italian government is under pressure from the ECB to implement reforms, hence Mr Berlusconi's hastily-arranged press conference. On Friday, the head of the Belgian central bank and ECB governing council member, Luc Coene, said that a buy-back of Italian and Spanish debt was possible - if Rome and Madrid pressed ahead with economic reforms. The gap between German bonds - the safest in Europe - and Spanish and Italian debt again reached a record since the euro was introduced in 1999.
Instability on the stock markets has continued, despite better-than-expected US jobs figures.
If Rombertik's evasion techniques are triggered, it deletes key files on a computer, making it constantly restart. Analysts said Rombertik was "unique" among malware samples for resisting capture so aggressively. On Windows machines where it goes unnoticed, the malware steals login data and other confidential information. Rombertik typically infected a vulnerable machine after a booby-trapped attachment on a phishing message had been opened, security researchers Ben Baker and Alex Chiu, from Cisco, said in a blogpost. Some of the messages Rombertik travels with pose as business enquiry letters from Microsoft. The malware "indiscriminately" stole data entered by victims on any website, the researchers said. And it got even nastier when it spotted someone was trying to understand how it worked. "Rombertik is unique in that it actively attempts to destroy the computer if it detects certain attributes associated with malware analysis," the researchers said. The malware regularly carries out internal checks to see if it is under analysis. If it believes it is, it will attempt to delete an essential Windows system file called the Master Boot Record (MBR). It will then restart the machine which, because the MBR is missing, will go into an endless restart loop. The code replacing the MBR makes the machine print out a message mocking attempts to analyse it. Restoring a PC with its MBR deleted involves reinstalling Windows, which could mean important data is lost. Rombertik also uses other tricks to foil analysis. One involves writing a byte of data to memory 960 million times to overwhelm analysis tools that try to spot malware by logging system activity. Security expert Graham Cluley said destructive viruses such as Rombertik were quite rare. "It's not the norm," he said. "That's because malware these days doesn't want to draw attention to itself, as that works against its typical goal - to lie in wait, stealing information for a long time."
A computer virus that tries to avoid detection by making the machine it infects unusable has been found.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) officers are investigating following reports the water running through Llantwit Major was a milky colour. Chris Rees, NRW team leader, said officers were working to try to identify the source of the pollution and assess any further impact. He said if the source was found enforcement action would be taken.
About 100 eels and some brown trout have been killed after a stream in the Vale of Glamorgan was polluted.
No pope had resigned for 600 years. A second surprise was that after spending a short period of rest at the papal summer villa at Castelgandolfo, near Rome, he decided to take up residence again inside the walls of Vatican City where a former convent had been converted for his personal use. How would the ex-pontiff and the new reigning Pope manage to co-habit? When rival popes were elected for political reasons in different parts of Europe during the late Middle Ages, it caused confusion and conflict within the church. But in this case there has been an exceptionally smooth transition from one papacy to the next. Pope Benedict, or rather Emeritus Pope Benedict to give him his new official title, lives only a few hundred metres away from his successor Pope Francis. The two popes visit each other occasionally and communicate fairly frequently by telephone and letter. Pope Benedict, who for the previous eight years was one of the world's highest profile public figures, now keeps deliberately out of the limelight. "He lives discreetly without a public life, but that doesn't mean he is isolated," says Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's official spokesman. The 86-year-old former pope spends his time very quietly: reading, praying, studying, handling correspondence, receiving occasional visitors. He also plays Mozart and Beethoven on the baby grand piano that he brought with him when he left the spacious papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. The same four consecrated laywomen - who kept house for him when he was pope - continue to run his more modest new household. They have been photographed with him, taking his daily walk with the aid of a black cane in the well manicured Vatican gardens behind St Peter's Basilica, an oasis of tranquillity., situated in the heart of Rome, yet sheltered from the din and traffic chaos of the Italian capital. Benedict was guest of honour at a luncheon party given by Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta - the Vatican guest house where he has chosen to live - to celebrate his own 77th birthday just before Christmas. Writing a few days later to the dissident Swiss theologian Hans Kueng - with whom he had had a serious falling out years ago, banning him from teaching at a Catholic university - the former Cardinal Ratzinger showed a much more conciliatory attitude than he had shown during his years in positions of power inside the Vatican. "I am grateful to be bound by a great identity of views and by a deep friendship with Pope Francis," he wrote to Prof Kueng. "My only final task is to support his papacy in my prayers." Superficially, nothing much has changed inside the Vatican during the year of two popes. Some key new appointments - such as that of the pope's deputy, or secretary of state, have been made by Pope Francis - but the weekly rhythm of business inside the world's smallest sovereign state continues as before. Bishops from around the world are beginning to arrive again in national groups to make their annual five-yearly report to Rome on what is going on in their dioceses. Heads of state and government are received in private audience by Pope Francis. Attendance at the Pope's Wednesday General Audience and his regular Sunday blessing of the faithful in St Peter's Square has more than doubled since Pope Benedict's resignation. This reflects the growing international popularity of his successor, the first Pope from the Americas, who has not surprisingly been declared person of the year by Time Magazine and been celebrated by cover stories in the New Yorker and even the pop music magazine Rolling Stone. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein has been Pope Benedict's private secretary for nearly a decade and continues to live in the convent with the former pontiff. He is one of the few people who see both popes on a daily basis, as he is also responsible for arranging the diary and engagements of Pope Francis as Head of the Papal Household. "I try to be a bridge between both popes, and so far it has worked very well. I hope the two bosses are happy," the archbishop told Reuters news agency.
When Pope Benedict XVI suddenly announced exactly one year ago that he was resigning for health reasons, he sent shock waves around the world.
Ed Joyce and Chris Nash both hit half-centuries between interruptions in play, before Nash was bowled by Rob Keogh for 53 before lunch. Joyce was trapped lbw by Ben Sanderson after the break to give the visitors a slight hope of grasping a win. Bad light stopped play with the hosts 145-2 as they held on to share the points with no further play possible. Northants' seventh draw from their eight Division Two matches leaves them seventh and leave them trailing leaders Essex by 34 points. With only one side promoted from the second tier this season, both sides are struggling, with Sussex lying in sixth position and only three points better off - albeit with a game in hand.
Heavy rain denied Northants the opportunity to push for victory as they drew against Sussex at Arundel.
The finding is significant because it answers one of the major questions of the mission - namely, did magnetic fields play a major role in pulling together the material that makes up icy dirt-balls like 67P? On this evidence, it would seem not. Other formation processes must have been paramount in the nascent Solar System, 4.5 billion years ago. Researchers working on the European Space Agency mission released their assessment here at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly meeting. They have also published a paper in the journal Science. The data to support the discovery comes in part from the spacecraft Rosetta, but also from its lander Philae, which was dropped on to the surface of 4km-wide 67P last November. Both carry sensitive magnetometers. When the "mothership" and lander parted company, they began a series of measurements of their local environment. The pair could sense not only the magnetic field carried in the solar wind streaming off the Sun, but their interactions with it as they moved. In the case of Philae, this allowed scientists to understand changes in direction and even the action of onboard electronic equipment and the deployment of structures such as legs and booms. In the data, researchers can see the moment Philae first touches the surface of Comet 67P. It is detected in the movement of the magnetometer boom and a change in rotation. Famously, the robot bounced, and data indicates that after a period of 46 minutes, and after covering a distance of some 630m, Philae made its next contact with the surface. But this is clearly a glancing blow with a cliff structure, because the interpretation of the data is that the robot starts tumbling. A further 600 metres into its unexpected journey across the comet, Philae made a more solid touchdown, before briefly lifting up again and coming to rest, finally, in the dark ditch it managed to photograph just prior to running out of battery power. From first to fourth contact is a separation of 117 minutes. To tell this full story, scientists had to pull together a range of other information gathered during the descent, but the critical observation is that throughout the bouncing, Philae saw no correlation between the strength of the magnetic field and its height above the surface. This is not consistent with 67P itself being responsible for that field. The only field being sensed was the one carried in the solar wind. If there was an intrinsic field, Philae would have seen its strength increase as it got closer to the surface, and decrease as it moved away (after the glancing blow, it moved 240m above the surface). This is not to say materials at the surface are not magnetised. Some clearly are; dust particles will include iron in the form of magnetite. But the interpretation is that the comet in general would betray a global signal had magnetic fields played a prominent role during formation by aligning and clumping together the particles from which it is made. "We know of course that our spatial resolution is limited by the distance between the sensor and the surface, so we can only say something about magnetisation for scales of one metre or larger," explained Hans-Ulrich Auster, who leads the Romap instrument on Philae. "We can say nothing about millimetre of centimetre-scale particles, but for these larger particles we can exclude that magnetic forces have played a role in the accumulation of planetary building blocks." And Karl-Heinz Glassmeier, who works on Rosetta's magnetometer, added: "We feel that the magnetic fields in the early Solar System must have been much smaller than previously thought - because if they had been larger, we most probably would have seen a much larger magnetisation at the comet." To give an idea of the sensitivity of the measurements - the instruments are detecting signals down to 2 nanoTesla. By contrast, a magnetometer at the surface of the Earth would register a reading in the order of 50,000nT. Scientists do not know precisely where Philae is resting on Comet 67P. They have a good idea, to within 30-50m - but one of the interesting asides from this research is that they do know now very well, to within a few degrees, the orientation of the lander. The onboard magnetometer acts like a compass, and the last reported data tells the team which way Philae's legs and feet must be pointing. Meanwhile the search for the lander goes on. Rosetta is now routinely listening out for a call from the robot. If enough light can get into its dark ditch to illuminate its solar panels, Philae should be able to boot up. This could happen as the comet moves closer to the Sun in the next 3-4 months. The German space agency's lander manager, Stephan Ulamec, is cautious, however. He has concerns about the temperature in the ditch. If it is very cold, generated electricity would be diverted to heating the robot, not transmitting a signal to Rosetta. "We have been very, very cold now in the period of hibernation, which could cause damage to electronics boards," he told BBC News. "Also, in order to wake up, we need a temperature of at least minus 45C, and this could explain why we've had no contact with Philae yet." Sending Rosetta closer to the comet to try to photograph the robot's location once again seems to be out of the question. 67P is throwing off so much gas and dust that the probe gets confused about its position in space relative to the stars, which it uses for navigation. "We are at a distance of about 100km and stepping closer, but how closer we can get I just can't say at the moment. It could well be that now we have to stay at a considerable stand-off location," said Matt Taylor, the Esa Rosetta project scientist. August is when the comet will be closest to the Sun and at its most active. Only towards the end of the year will the emissions begin to die back.
The comet being trailed through space by Europe's Rosetta probe has no magnetic field of its own.
It means seven schools will continue to offer full-time nursery places in the 2017/18 school year. In March 2016, the BBC revealed that the EA planned to cut the hours children received in special school nurseries from 4.5 to 2.5 hours a day. That was criticised by the then education minister John O'Dowd, who ordered the EA to review it. A number of special school principals, parents of children with special needs and MLAs were also critical of the plans. The EA subsequently apologised and announced that a number of schools would continue to offer full-time places. Their review was to lead to new arrangements coming into place for pupils starting nursery in September 2017. However, any new arrangements will not now take effect until September 2018. EA chief executive Gavin Boyd said the delay was due to the assembly election in March, which meant a public consultation on the plans had not been held. "Public consultations on significant policy proposals could not be launched in the period before an election," he said. "There is not sufficient time now to complete an eight-week consultation, review responses, and prepare for implementation in line with the original timeframe. "Therefore, the consultation is likely to commence in September 2017 and interim arrangements are required." However, Alliance Party MLA Chris Lyttle said that the EA were ignoring the views of parents and principals. "A public consultation was scheduled to run from 10 January to 10 March 2017," he said. "The EA has instead claimed that the assembly election period, which only commenced on 26 January 2017, delayed this consultation and required an extension of the so-called interim cut. "Education Authority officials passed this decision to extend the reduction in hours for the 2017/18 academic year at an EA Board meeting in March 2017, when eight political board members had yet to be appointed further to the assembly election. "This review had been ongoing since at least October 2016. "It is hard to conclude that the presentation of this decision for approval in the absence of EA Board political appointees was anything other than an attempt to circumvent political accountability on this important matter."
The Education Authority (EA) has postponed a decision on cutting hours for special school nursery pupils.
Alan Drennan, a mechanic and doorman from Newtownabbey in County Antrim, had left with friends for a holiday to the Spanish island on Saturday. The 21-year-old is understood to have died less than 24 hours later. His body was found in his hotel room. Spanish police told BBC News NI there were no signs of violence and the death appeared to be of natural causes. However, they are waiting for an autopsy to be carried out and could not say when that would take place. On Wednesday evening, friends and family of Mr Drennan released balloons and lanterns at Loughshore park in Jordanstown, County Antrim. Mr Drennan's family have said a repatriation trust set up in the name of Kevin Bell, a Newry man who died in a suspected hit-and-run in New York in 2013, is covering the cost of bringing his body back to Northern Ireland.
Hundreds of people have attended a vigil in memory of a man from Northern Ireland who died in Ibiza last weekend.
Briton David Summers and his wife Maria left Canada for Hereford in 2013, but now Mrs Summer has left her husband in hospital to fly back to Canada. The retired pair claim immigration officials said they failed to prove their love and lacked finances. The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases. The couple, who returned to Hereford to care for his mother, said they were "self-sufficient" with pensions and a mortgage-free house in Holme Lacy. They have a son and granddaughter. Mr Summers, 70, a Herefordshire councillor for Dinedor Hill, underwent surgery for bladder cancer on Thursday and remains in hospital. Mrs Summers said she appealed to the authorities to be allowed to stay to care for her husband and his 95-year-old mother. However, she said the Border Agency asked for documents to prove his ill health but Mrs Summers did not hear back before her time was up and she flew back to Canada earlier on Sunday. "It's terrible that I can't be here for him," said Mrs Summers, a retired optician. "First they said we could not prove we had an affectionate relationship, then they said we don't feel you have the money to support yourselves. "But we both receive pensions from Canada, David has a salary as a councillor and I do optical consultant work." The 67-year-old said she is "treated like a criminal" every time she enters the country. "They take my fingerprints, they take my mugshot. It's extremely frustrating and humiliating." Mrs Summers was born in the Netherlands and emigrated to Canada with her parents when she was 10-years-old. Mr Summers, from Hereford, travelled to Canada when he was 18 and the pair met at a dance in 1966 and married four years later. "To say our marriage isn't genuine after 50 years and a son together is ridiculous," said Mrs Summers.
A couple who have been married for 45 years say they have been separated after immigration officials refused her visa as he began cancer treatment.
Alexander, who has fronted the daytime show alongside Martin Roberts since 2003, said it was "time for a change". They were joined in 2015 by a third presenter, ex-footballer Dion Dublin. BBC Daytime controller Dan McGolpin said Alexander's "infectious enthusiasm" for property meant "Britain's housing stock owes her a great debt". Alexander said she had "loved every minute" of making the show, which has an average audience of 1.1 million viewers. She wrote on Twitter that she was leaving the show with a "huge heavy heart" and stepping down was "not the outcome I wanted, but to pursue other work and a commercial deal, I had to leave". She added that she would miss Roberts, who she called her "TV husband". Referring to the programme's use of appropriate incidental music, Roberts responded: "Music plays..If you leave me now..Chicago I will always love you..Whitney Houston The show must go on..Queen". A BBC spokesman said Alexander would not be filming any more series of the show, but would still be seen in episodes that had already been filmed and in repeats. He added that Roberts and Dublin would "continue to lead a team of presenters who will host the programmes going forward". Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
Lucy Alexander is to step down as the co-presenter of BBC One property auction show Homes Under The Hammer.
The news comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over the North's nuclear ambitions. The Trump administration has made the issue one of its top priorities. Despite international condemnation, North Korea has increased its missile tests, with the aim of developing an intercontinental nuclear-armed rocket. The US Defense Intelligence Agency warned last month that North Korea was on an "inevitable" path to achieving this. US officials speaking anonymously to several news agencies said the latest engine test, on Thursday, could be one stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) engine that would be able to reach the US. Due to the secretive nature of all of North Korea's military activity, it is hard for experts to assess how close the country is to building a reliable ICBM. US-ally South Korea on Friday tested a missile of its own and President Mon Jae-in said dialogue with the North was possible only when backed by a strong defence able to "overwhelm the North". The South's military does not have nuclear weapons but is backed by strong support from US troops troops stationed in the country. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday urged China to use more diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang "if they want to prevent further escalation in the region". China is seen as North Korea's main ally and the US hopes Beijing can have greater influence on the totalitarian state to stop both its missile tests and nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump has said he would like to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically, but has previously warned that a "major, major conflict" is possible. Tensions spiked once again last week when US student Otto Warmbier, who was serving a hard labour sentence in North Korea for stealing a propaganda sign, died shortly after returning home in a coma. The US regularly conducts drills with Japan as well as South Korea, and is installing a controversial missile defence system in South Korea, known as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad). But South Korea recently said it was suspending the further deployment of the system until an environmental assessment was completed.
North Korea has tested a new rocket engine as part of its efforts to build a missile capable of reaching the American mainland, US officials said.
Lord Hardie said his inquiry must not rule on, and has no power to determine, a person's civil or criminal liability. But he said: "that does not mean nobody will be prosecuted as a consequence of their involvement in the project". The former Lord Advocate is preparing to take evidence from councillors and the public affected by the disruption. He said the inquiry "is not merely an academic exercise" given City of Edinburgh Council's indications it may extend the line, and said public co-operation was vital to enable him to make recommendations about future projects. The trams were originally designed to run for 15 miles by 2011 at a cost of £375m, but a truncated nine-mile service opened in 2014 at a cost of £776m - with interest charges expected to push the final bill to about £1bn. The inquiry will investigate the delays, cost overruns, redesigns, delivery, governance, management, contract oversight and the consequence of the failure to deliver the project in full, on time and within budget. Lord Hardie said: "Any question of prosecution will ultimately be a matter for the Lord Advocate and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), and their decision will depend upon the availability of evidence supporting such a decision. "As far as I am aware, neither the Lord Advocate nor COPFS has determined that nobody will be prosecuted. "Indeed, it might seem to be premature to express such a view without considering the terms of the inquiry report which will be written after the conclusion of the evidence sessions in public. "Furthermore, any question of civil liability must be determined by an appropriate court, having jurisdiction to do so." He said the inquiry is not prevented "from determining facts and making recommendations from which criminal and/or civil liability might be inferred", and could offer "criticism of an individual, including inferred criticism, during the course of proceedings".
The inquiry into the Edinburgh trams fiasco could lead to criminal prosecutions, the judge chairing the investigation has said.
Huw Jenkins, 54, of Tonmawr, died following the incident on the A7 near Galashiels, last May. Alastair Brearley, 67, told the hearing at Selkirk Sheriff Court how an HGV went into the back of a tractor and trailer being driven by Mr Jenkins. He said the front end of the trailer "rose like a horse on two feet". Mr Brearley said there were bits of glass and debris from the front of the lorry as he passed but when he looked in his wing mirror the vehicles were still moving. He added: "I expected to see them stop but they continued down the road which I felt was bizarre. "I later heard about the accident on the news with police asking for witnesses and that's when I came forward." Police witnesses described how they had raced to the accident scene but while en route they noticed a lorry which had come to a halt with a front bumper and metal grille at the front badly damaged and a cracked windscreen. PC Darren Howlett said he approached the driver, John Boyes, who was in the passenger seat. The officer said: "He asked me what happened and I replied I was hoping he could tell me that. "He did not have a clue at what had happened. He appeared very confused." PC Howlett said the lorry's paperwork was in order along with the tachographs while an alcohol breath test was negative. Special Constable Mark Laidlaw said Mr Boyes was under the impression his lorry had been struck by another vehicle. He said: "He did not understand what had happened or why his lorry could not move. "He kept asking me what happened. "I felt he was suffering from a severe state of mental shock and had no recollection of the events." The inquiry was told that following the collision Mr Jenkins had been thrown through the rear window of the John Deere tractor and was lying on the road - dead by the time police arrived. The inquiry into his death continues.
An inquiry has heard evidence from a driver who witnessed a crash which claimed the life of a man from south Wales working on the Borders Railway.
The review, led by new chairman Nick Basing, was set up after Goals reported its first annual loss in 12 years. The company said it expected to complete the review within the week. The news came as Paisley-based rival Powerleague announced it had opened the first of its "next generation" centres in London under a £40m expansion plan. East Kilbride-based Goals currently operates 46 centres in the UK and one in California. In a statement at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday, Mr Basing said: "The review of the company has included a wide-ranging view of the market, the performance of the company in recent years and an assessment of all assets that the company operates, along with consumer insights. "We are drawing it to completion by next week and we will announce the results of this review together with the strategic plan shortly afterwards." The review is one of six "short-term priorities" identified by Mr Basing when he took over the role of chairman in March. Goals appears close to completing another of those priorities - finding a new chief executive. Mr Basing said: "We have concluded the search for a high-quality CEO. Our expectation is that we will be able to announce details imminently." Mr Basing also reported that a near-term operational improvement plan was being implemented, adding that the company had been "encouraged by the early signs". However, he added: "On current trading, I can report that like-for-like sales are marginally negative for the first 18 weeks of the year. "However, the significant decline in last year's second half has been eroded. "This first quarter of trading in 2016 compares against positive sales growth in the same period last year." In a separate development, Powerleague announced it had officially opened the first of its "next generation" five-a-side centres in west London. The move marks the start of a £40m expansion plan by owners Patron Capital to open 13 new UK centres over the next three years. The new facility takes Powerleague's overall number of centres to 49 and strengthens the brand's presence in the south-east of England - a key growth area for the operator. The Next Generation programme marks a departure for Powerleague from its traditional focus on large three-acre sites. Under the new approach, the company is looking to build pitches on as little as 0.5 acres - including at the top of multi-storey car parks, in underground spaces and on the roofs of buildings.
Five-a-side football company Goals Soccer Centres is set to reveal a new strategic plan, after completing a full review of its operations.
The station is being rebuilt as part of the £6.5bn Thameslink Programme. The Conservative MP for Sevenoaks said there had been "too much disruption" and some "serious overcrowding". Network Rail admitted recent problems, as a result of work on the north side platforms, were "unacceptable" and "embarrassing". "We all want to see London Bridge rebuilt but they have been planning this for a long time now," Mr Fallon said. "These are works that are going to go on for the next two years and therefore it is important that they get it right, that we don't have overcrowded platforms and people have proper information and they are told clearly what their alternative routes are. "It is not yet working well." Charing Cross services, which stopped calling at London Bridge on 12 January, are due to resume in August 2016. Mr Fallon added: "This is week two. I've asked the managing director of Southeastern to travel up from Sevenoaks in the morning, as a commuter, and to come down in the evening at the peak hour to see how we can better manage the flow of people at London Bridge." He said he would like to see more staff helping commuters and also urged Southeastern to allow people to use their tickets at more stations. Network Rail apologised to passengers for major disruption 10 days ago when a new timetable was introduced for Southern and Thameslink trains at London Bridge. The company said it was reviewing services and had made changes to ease crowding on the station concourse, including new customer information screens and more staff. It also apologised for reliability problems with equipment on the railway near London Bridge, which caused further delays over the last week. At 178 years old, London Bridge is the city's oldest surviving rail terminus. The new concourse at the station will increase passenger capacity by 65% when complete, according to Network Rail. A Southeastern spokesman said David Statham, the rail company's managing director, had been travelling across the network since the new timetable was introduced on 12 January. "He met with Mr Fallon last Friday and welcomed the invitation to travel from Sevenoaks as part of his tour of the network," the spokesman said. "Southeastern is closely monitoring the feedback from passengers."
Travel disruption and overcrowding at London Bridge because of rebuilding work has been criticised by government minister Michael Fallon.
The corporation's biggest ever campaign event on 21 June will see representatives of both sides of the debate questioned by voters at the London concert venue. There will also be a young voters' show from Glasgow on 19 May and a special edition of Question Time on 15 June. Voters go to the polls on 23 June to decide whether the UK stays in the EU. The debate at the 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena will be hosted by David Dimbleby, Mishal Husain and Emily Maitlis, with the Glasgow event presented by Victoria Derbyshire. David Dimbleby will also moderate the Question Time programme, which the BBC said would feature "one senior advocate from each side".
A live event at Wembley Arena is one of three special EU referendum debates announced by the BBC.
The Beggarwood practice "put patients at risk of harm", the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said. CQC inspectors visited the Basingstoke surgery in February, and said two of GPs felt the practice was "clinically unsafe due to staff shortages". The GPs are leaving this month, but operator Cedar Medical insists the surgery has "adequate staffing". More on this and other stories from across the south of England. The CQC said it was "worrying" standards had "declined" since a previous inspection in May last year found the surgery "required improvement". It said patients' records were not kept up to date, some staff were not properly trained and the surgery team was "disengaged". Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice, said: "While the majority of staff were viewed as caring, there seemed to be a lack of commitment from the leadership." She said fire risk assessments had not been acted on and some staff did not know where emergency equipment was stored. Patients were waiting up to four to six weeks for routine appointments, the report said. A notice on the surgery website, which lists five GPs, said four of them were leaving between 1 and 9 June. It said: "We are in the process of recruiting two full time equivalent GPs and two full time equivalent Advanced Nurse Practitioners." Cedar Medical, part of the Integral Medical Holdings (IMH) group, said it was supporting Beggarwood after the surgery's funding was "reduced across the board". IMH director Richard Power, said: "There is currently an adequate number of clinicians." The NHS North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group said "taking all necessary steps" to ensure progress.
A GP surgery where four doctors have resigned at once has been placed in special measures.
The Chairboys had to come from a goal down after the visitors went ahead through a Kevin Dawson penalty in the first half. They quickly levelled with a spot-kick of their own from Jacobson but could not find a winner despite intense late pressure. Wycombe had come close to an opener through midfielder Dominic Gape, with his shot hitting the inside of a post. But Yeovil took the lead from the spot after 20 minutes, with Dawson converting after Sido Jombati had fouled Francois Zoko. Wycombe responded just six minutes later after Town defender Alex Lacey tripped Paris Cowan-Hall inside the box. Wanderers defender Jacobson stepped forward to take the resulting penalty and made it 1-1 as he sent goalkeeper Artur Krysiak the wrong way. Krysiak kept his side level with a brilliant save before the break, diving full-length to keep out a powerful shot from Luke O'Nien. Report supplied by the Press Association. Match ends, Wycombe Wanderers 1, Yeovil Town 1. Second Half ends, Wycombe Wanderers 1, Yeovil Town 1. Foul by Aaron Pierre (Wycombe Wanderers). Nathan Smith (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Luke O'Nien (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Brandon Goodship (Yeovil Town). Substitution, Yeovil Town. Bevis Mugabi replaces Francois Zoko. Attempt saved. Luke O'Nien (Wycombe Wanderers) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Substitution, Yeovil Town. Brandon Goodship replaces Ben Whitfield. Corner, Wycombe Wanderers. Conceded by Kevin Dawson. Foul by Sido Jombati (Wycombe Wanderers). Francois Zoko (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Aaron Pierre (Wycombe Wanderers). Nathan Smith (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt blocked. Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers) right footed shot from long range on the left is blocked. Substitution, Yeovil Town. Tom Eaves replaces Omar Sowunmi. Substitution, Wycombe Wanderers. Garry Thompson replaces Sam Wood. Will De Havilland (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Omar Sowunmi (Yeovil Town). Attempt saved. Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Dominic Gape (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Matt Butcher (Yeovil Town). Substitution, Wycombe Wanderers. Paul Hayes replaces Myles Weston. Dominic Gape (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Kevin Dawson (Yeovil Town). Attempt missed. Paris Cowan-Hall (Wycombe Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Substitution, Wycombe Wanderers. Will De Havilland replaces Anthony Stewart because of an injury. Corner, Yeovil Town. Conceded by Anthony Stewart. Foul by Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers). Nathan Smith (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Jamal Blackman (Wycombe Wanderers) is shown the yellow card. Nathan Smith (Yeovil Town) is shown the yellow card. Attempt missed. Alex Lacey (Yeovil Town) header from the centre of the box is too high following a corner. Corner, Yeovil Town. Conceded by Aaron Pierre. Attempt saved. Myles Weston (Wycombe Wanderers) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Attempt missed. Ben Whitfield (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match Anthony Stewart (Wycombe Wanderers) because of an injury. Anthony Stewart (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Omar Sowunmi (Yeovil Town).
Wycombe's march towards the League Two promotion places was slowed by a 1-1 draw at home to mid-table Yeovil, despite a leveller from skipper Joe Jacobson.
A man had approached staff at the One-Stop Shop early on Sunday morning as they were opening up. Police said he took a substantial amount of money from the safe and had appealed for witnesses to the incident. A 36-year-old man from Blaina, Blaenau Gwent and a 42-year-old man from Little Mill, Monmouthshire, have been arrested.
Two men have been arrested following an armed robbery at a convenience store in Usk, Monmouthshire.
Samantha Jenkins, 19, from Llanelli, fell into a coma and died in 2011. Her inquest heard she had low mineral levels, which may have been the result of malabsorption caused by chewing gum. Maria Morgan told BBC's Jason Mohammad programme: "It's something that happens over a period of time - eight or 10 months." After her death, Mrs Morgan said she found receipts showing Miss Jenkins had been buying chewing gum almost every day. "The pathologist said it was going down a road he doesn't know enough about, but he said there was enough evidence there to say it was a huge thing that it could be." Her husband, Wayne Morgan, said they believed Miss Jenkins's death could be linked to sweeteners used in chewing gum. Colin Phillips, acting senior coroner for Swansea, said the cause of death was a shortage of oxygen to her brain, resulting from a convulsion caused by an imbalance of minerals in her body. "The chewing gum inside her system did not end her life, but it's a possibility the over consumption of sorbitol and aspartame was the result of all her salts going low and that's what ended her life," said Mrs Morgan.
The mother of a Carmarthenshire teenager whose death may have been caused by chewing gum wants families to be aware of the potential dangers.
MP Damian Collins has asked the body to investigate whether the payment breached bribery laws. The £3.9m payment was made to the FIA for entering into an agreement with the teams and sport's commercial arm. The FIA says the payment was remuneration "for its regulatory role" and denies wrongdoing. Collins, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Parliamentary select committee, said he was "very concerned" about why the sport would need to make a payment to its governing body and regulator as part of the so-called Concorde Agreement, which was signed in 2013. "That's why I've written to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) asking them 'do they feel there was a breach of the Bribery Act and does it warrant investigation'?" he told ITV. An SFO spokesperson told BBC Sport: "The Serious Fraud Office is reviewing material in its possession in relation to these allegations. All matters referred to the SFO are assessed against criteria to establish whether they may fall within its remit to investigate." The FIA confirmed in a statement that it had received the payment and explained: "The Concorde Implementation Agreement entered into by the commercial rights holder of Formula 1 and the FIA in 2013 introduced a new governance structure for Formula 1 and redefined certain conditions applicable to their relationship, in particular to ensure that the FIA be properly remunerated for its regulatory role. "Within this agreement, a lump sum payment of $5m (£3.9m) was made to the FIA as part of the global consideration received in connection with the renegotiation of the terms of the agreements between the commercial rights holder and the FIA, and of the Concorde Agreement, at that time. "Following its approval, the Concorde Implementation Agreement came into force and this sum was paid to the FIA and properly accounted for. No individual received any payment out of this sum. Any allegation to the contrary would be defamatory."
The Serious Fraud Office is "reviewing material" relating to a payment made by Formula 1's commercial rights holder to the sport's governing body the FIA.
The boy was pulled over in Broken Hill in the New South Wales outback on Saturday after a patrol noticed the car's bumper dragging on the ground. Police said the boy had been attempting to drive 4,000km from Kendall in NSW to Perth, Western Australia. He was arrested and taken to Broken Hill police station. His parents, who had reported him missing, picked him up on Sunday. The journey from Kendall to Broken Hill involves driving hundreds of kilometres along straight, sealed highways which pass through some of Australia's most productive farmland and the featureless plains of the outback. The whole route to Perth would have taken about 40 hours, if travelling non-stop. Local media reported that the boy managed to evade suspicion partly because he looks much older. The manager of a petrol station in the town of Cobar was quoted as saying that he looked "maybe 19 or 20". Police also said the boy was "about six foot tall" (1.8m). "He'd taken the family car," Det Insp Kim Fehon told the Australian Associated Press. "His parents reported him missing immediately after he left home, so they were looking for him." A NSW Police spokesman told the BBC it was possible he could face charges under the Young Offenders Act. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning
A 12-year-old boy who was apparently trying to drive across Australia has been stopped by police 1,300km (800 miles) into his journey.
Sir Nicholas Winton was 29 when he smuggled 669 boys and girls, destined for concentration camps, out of Czechoslovakia in 1939. The 101-year-old attended the service earlier at Maidenhead railway station in front of a crowd of onlookers. The piece, forming part of a bench, is on the station's platform three. It was unveiled by Maidenhead MP Theresa May. Sir Nicholas, of Pinkneys Green, was joined by members of the Maidenhead Rotary Club, where he is also a member. Scrapbook found A motion was unanimously passed to install the £20,000 statue, created by local sculptor Lydia Karpinska, by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council last year. It depicts Sir Nicholas relaxing on a park bench, reading a book which contains images of the children he saved and the trains used to evacuate them. Councillor Derek Wilson, who put forward the motion, called Sir Nicholas "a true hero". He added: "He played a valuable contribution in evacuating these children at a time when it was extremely difficult. "We should never forget the contribution of the members of our community that put their own lives at risk. "He is extremely modest but I felt it was important that in Maidenhead we recognised his achievements." Sir Nicholas kept quiet about his work for 50 years until his wife found a scrapbook. Realising the danger that the imminent Nazi invasion posed, he worked to find British families willing to put up £50 to rescue the children and look after them until they were 17. His efforts have been likened to the work of the world famous "saviour" of Jewish prisoners Oskar Schindler. Sir Nicholas was knighted by the Queen in March 2003 and a year earlier was finally reunited with hundreds of the children he saved - including Labour peer Lord Dubbs and film director Karel Reisz.
A statue has been unveiled to honour the man dubbed the "British Schindler" for his work saving Jewish children from Nazi invasion.
World Orienteering Championships and orienteering's Scottish Six Days event were held in the summer. VisitScotland said consultants had calculated the economic boost from the events which brought 8,117 people to north and north east Scotland. Guest houses, restaurants and shops were among businesses that benefited. Stages of the two competitions were held near Inverness, Nairn and Forres.
Two major orienteering events which were held at the same time in the Highlands and Moray generated £9.4m for the Scottish economy, it has been said.
The law requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and clinics to maintain hospital-like conditions. Republicans contended the law protects women while advocates argued the measure restricts access to abortions. The key decision is the first major abortion ruling since 2007. Justice Anthony Kennedy sided with the court's liberals in the 5-3 decision, which marked the first time the High Court has limited state abortion legislation in more than 15 years. Nearly a thousand people gathered in front of the Supreme Court in the hot sun, holding signs and dancing to a Beyonce-heavy playlist. At times, the pro-choice crowd's loud music and shouting drowned out chants of "We are the pro-life generation" from the other side. But when the Court handed down its decision invalidating Texas's abortion laws, calling them unnecessarily restrictive, those who say they fight for life took to the microphones outside the court to say they would not give up. "Women were hurt today," one said. "There are two victims to abortion, and my heart is breaking." Sierra Lambert, 17, said: "I think abortions should stop altogether, but it's a great step." She was holding a sign that said "Abortion kills! At least make it safe for one of its victims." Celeste Anderson, 19, said: "I think it's really sad there are fewer regulations on abortion than there are on veterinary clinics. Wouldn't you want a clinic that isn't being healthy to be shut down?" A few feet away, women holding "Keep Abortion Legal" and "The Burden is Undue" signs danced, screamed and sang. Renae Vanwijk, 23, who grew up in El Paso, said if the Texas laws were upheld, the only two abortion clinics there would close. "There would be nowhere to get an abortion. You would have to travel to a city many miles away, or cross the border into Mexico." Marilyn Carlisle, 73, said she had had an illegal abortion in 1968 and never thought women fighting for abortion rights would get this far. "I can hardly believe we actually did it," she said. The ruling gives her hope for her granddaughters' futures, she said. The last time the top court issued a ruling on a major abortion case was nine years ago in a 5-4 decision to uphold a federal law banning a late-term abortion procedure. The Supreme Court legalised abortion nationwide in its landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling. The typically nine-justice court was one member short after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia earlier this year. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito dissented. In many parts of America, women have to travel for hours to get an abortion, because access to services is limited. Texas is one of those states. This decision strikes down laws which activists say were punitive and had no medical value. The majority opinion on the US Supreme Court may have agreed with that position, but this ruling alone can't change the deep divisions in America over the issue. More than four decades on from when the US Supreme court legalised abortion, many state legislatures continue to tighten access to it in other ways, such as reducing the time limits on when women can have one. Politicians in the state of Oklahoma recently voted to ban abortion but were later overturned by the state's governor. The strength of feeling there is mirrored across a number of southern states. In an election year, abortion is likely to be a key issue for debate - Hillary Clinton is a firm supporter of a woman's choice, while Donald Trump said he'd support measures which would criminalise doctors who carried out abortions. "By striking down politically motivated restrictions that made it nearly impossible for Texans to exercise their full reproductive rights, the court upheld every woman's right to safe, legal abortion, no matter where she lives," Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton said in a statement after the ruling. But Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the decision came "at the expense of children, women, and families". "Keeping abortion providers accountable should not be a political wedge issue. This ruling is further proof how much more work the pro-life movement has to do in the cause of life and human dignity." he said.
The US Supreme Court has struck down a 2013 Texas abortion law that imposed restrictive regulations on the procedure.
Lowry leads on seven under at Oakmont, with American pair Dustin Johnson (71) and Andrew Landry (70) tied for second. England's Lee Westwood is on two under after parring his final three holes. Sergio Garcia returned with five holes remaining but had two bogeys to drop back to level par, while world number one Jason Day is one over. Australian Day completed his third round, a four-under-par 66, before darkness halted play on Saturday with the leaders still out on the course. At that stage, Lowry led by two on five under with four holes to play. He returned to play them on Sunday in two under par to equal the lowest round of the week and match the lowest 54-hole score at Oakmont. He picked up birdies on the 15th and 17th holes, the latter after an excellent chip to nine feet from heavy rough. "I would have taken four pars and gone home for a little rest, " said Lowry, who is world number 41, the same as Angel Cabrera when he won the US Open at Oakmont in 2007. "It was a really good morning's work and that was one of the best rounds of my career. "I've never felt so comfortable on a course in my life. I'm not sure it's going to be the same story on the first tee this afternoon but I've worked hard to get here." None of the top eight on the leaderboard, who are the only players at par or better after three rounds, have won one of golf's four majors. Johnson, who had a birdie on the 15th to get to three under, came close to winning this title last year but three-putted the final hole to hand victory to Jordan Spieth. Landry, who bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes to drop back to one under, hit back with a tap-in birdie on the short par-four 17th before rolling in a 45-foot putt on the last to get back to three under as he seeks to win on his first appearance in a major. Westwood, 43, has had nine top-three finishes in a major without winning one. Should he be successful on Sunday, he will set the record for most majors played before winning one, breaking Tom Kite's run of 72 before he won the 1992 US Open. Live text commentary of the final round will begin at 16:00 BST on the BBC Sport website, with Radio 5 live Sports Extra coverage starting at 20:00.
Ireland's Shane Lowry takes a four-shot lead into the final round of the US Open after completing his third round in a five-under-par 65 on Sunday.
From allegations of keeping its currency artificially low to boost exports to the labelling of some of its firms as a security threat, China's growth has put the relationship between the world's two biggest economies to the test. And with both President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney promising to put further pressure on China, the tests are only likely to get tougher. Add to the mix the fact that China is also set for a once-in-a-decade leadership change over the next few days. Its new leaders will be keen to stamp their authority not just on the domestic front, but also on the global stage. This could potentially see both sides taking hardline stands on a range of trade issues which have been the focus of debate between them in recent times:
No other country's economic rise has been debated as ferociously or caused as much concern in the US, as that of China.
Despite good four-day form, they are bottom of their One-Day Cup group and second bottom in their T20 Blast group. Khan told BBC Radio Leicester: "I think we still need to strengthen - that is one of the things to come out of the white-ball competition. "We will certainly look to strengthen, perhaps with two or three players in the winter months." The Foxes' T20 match at home to East Midlands rivals Nottinghamshire was rained off without a ball being bowled on Tuesday. The point for the no-result moved Leicestershire off the bottom and above Derbyshire on run rate, but two points adrift of the top four with only three games remaining. "Perhaps we want a bit of firepower to support [pace bowler] Clint McKay and the work he does," continued Khan. "Quality is the key for us and value for money. They are the two areas, because we can't throw hundreds of thousands at various players, but we will try to be shrewd again in the signings that we make." Khan revealed that Warwickshire seamer Richard Jones will stay at Grace Road until the end of the season. "He has some good ball speed which will support the current crop we have," added Khan.
Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan says the club need new signings to improve their limited-overs results.
Sixteen research programmes have been announced to tackle the two conditions. MND is a rare condition affecting the nervous system, while MS causes the immune system to attack the lining of nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Training will be led by the University of Edinburgh, with involvement from Glasgow, Dundee and St Andrews. Three Phds into motor neurone disease and three which will research multiple sclerosis will be led by the University of Edinburgh. The universities involved will also provide an additional six studentships into the conditions, which affect more than 11,000 Scots. Additional funding will be provided by the Scottish government for two Phds at the University of the West of Scotland, while the university has pledged to fund a further two into MS. Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "The exciting new Phd programme being hosted by the University of Edinburgh exceeds the plans we set out in our programme for government. "This programme offers a unique opportunity to develop an integrated national Phd training programme recognising the shared underlying biological mechanisms in MND and MS. "Once again, Scotland is leading the way in clinical research and innovation." MND Scotland chief executive Craig Stockton said the investment was "extremely welcome". He added: "By attracting and developing outstanding young clinicians and scientists into the MND field we hope to build MND research capacity within Scotland and create the future scientific leaders in the field. "The more research we can undertake into MND the quicker we will find the cause, the better our care will be and ultimately, the closer we will get to finding a cure." Morna Simpkins, director of MS Society Scotland, said the new Phd funding would help develop a better understanding of the neurological condition that affects many Scots. "MS is an unpredictable condition that can affect the way we feel, think and see", she said. "It is a really exciting time for research into MS and the MS Society is delighted to see that Scotland will remain an essential part of the global network coming together to tackle MS."
Scottish universities are to lead research into the debilitating neurological conditions multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease.
The authority will hold public meetings between 16 November and 7 December to discuss services which could be cut. It believes it has found two-thirds of the £21m savings needed in the next financial year, but it still needs to find a way of slashing £7m more. Councillors and officers hope residents can help persuade the Welsh government to reduce the impact of the cuts. Council leader Aaron Shotton said: "We are trying to put up an argument and stand up for local services and not simply passport through austerity cuts. "There's a window of opportunity to save services in Flintshire." The council has previously warned it cannot find ways of saving the money and that, if the government cannot be persuaded to limit the loss to Flintshire's grant, then services may be at risk. It has suggested the grant to Clwyd Theatr in Mold could be withdrawn, bins may be emptied less frequently, leisure centres could be closed and winter road gritting could be cut to a minimum.
Flintshire residents have been invited to help save services threatened by £21m of council spending cuts.
The incident happened on Windmill Street shortly before 11:00 BST on Thursday. Police said they had now located a lorry believed to have been involved. They said a man was arrested "on suspicion of a number of motoring offences".
A man has been arrested following the death of an elderly man who was hit by a lorry in Ballynahinch in County Down.
Mr Bernardi confirmed his move in Australia's upper house on Tuesday, ending months of speculation. The outspoken senator has repeatedly criticised PM Malcolm Turnbull's government for being too moderate. Mr Bernardi's views on topics including same-sex marriage, climate change and abortion have polarised public opinion. "This has been a very difficult decision for me," Mr Bernardi said. "Perhaps the most difficult one of my political life." "The level of public disenchantment with the major parties, the lack of confidence in our political process and the concern about the direction of our nation is very, very strong." Mr Bernardi said he had not spoken "to any sitting MPs" about joining his party, but he would run candidates at the next election. The 47-year-old South Australian was first elected to the Senate in 2006 after becoming the youngest ever Liberal Party state president aged 29. The son of an Italian immigrant father and fourth-generation Australian mother, Mr Bernardi was a stockbroker, financial adviser and elite rower before entering politics. Backed by powerbrokers on the Liberal Party's right, Mr Bernardi was appointed a shadow parliamentary secretary, but resigned in 2012 after making controversial comments linking same-sex marriage to bestiality. He has maintained a high profile from the backbench, making regular forays into public debate. Mr Bernardi has his own website, blog, podcast, and is the self-published author of seven books - including two children's books. In an email to supporters in March 2016, Senator Bernardi said his mission was to build a movement "to fight against the tyranny of political correctness". "Unless the mainstream parties connect with the 'forgotten people' they will choose a different path," Mr Bernardi wrote. "It's a global phenomenon and would be foolish to think it won't emerge in Australia." A company controlled by Mr Bernardi's wife, Sinead, trademarked the name Australian Conservatives last year. Mr Bernardi has pointed to Brexit and the rise of far-right politics in Europe as evidence of the public losing faith in major parties. After spending time in New York observing Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Mr Bernardi wrote he had learned "what needs to be done". "My time in the United States has been invaluable not only in identifying some of the common problems evident in global politics but also formulating solutions," he wrote. Among his views that have attracted controversy, Mr Bernardi has been critical of abortion and questioned whether climate change was caused by human activity. "We will be united by the desire to create stronger families, to foster free enterprise, to limit the size and scope and reach of government while seeking to rebuild civil society," he said on Tuesday. "We will give hope to those who despair at the current state of Australian politics and who demand a better way for themselves, for their children and for the nation." Senior Liberal Party figures have been increasingly strong in their attacks on Mr Bernardi since reports he would defect emerged on Monday. "The Liberal Party's values are not limited to conservatism. We are Liberals because we are open to new ideas; tolerant of difference," tweeted Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne. Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said: "With one or two exceptions he's never laid a glove on the Labor Party. Every time he's been in the headlines it's been about criticism of his own parties." Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said voters would be "angry about the betrayal of the Liberal Party values". Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said: "A government which can't govern itself, can't govern the nation."
Australian right-wing Senator Cory Bernardi has defected from the nation's government to launch his own Australian Conservatives party.
Viewers were promised two births, two weddings and a death in the special hour-long ITV show, to mark the soap's 40th birthday. Viewing figures peaked at 9.7m in the final five minutes, at 19:55 BST. "An impressive acting showcase which wouldn't look out of place on the big screen or the serious stage," wrote The Mirror's Mark Jefferies "Yes, it was over-the-top, but Emmerdale Live gripped me from start to finish," he added. Spoiler alert: Plot details revealed below The soap, first broadcast in October 1972, took the lion's share of the audience on Wednesday between 19:00 and 20:00, with an average 41.7% of the available audience tuning in to the live episode. BBC One's The One Show was its closest rival, with an audience share of 18.1% and an average of 4 million viewers. However, audience figures for Emmerdale fell short of previous live episodes of both Coronation Street and EastEnders, which averaged 14 million and 15.6 million respectively in 2010. Directed by Tony Prescott, who oversaw the 50th birthday live edition of Coronation Street, much of the show was shot outdoors in the purpose-built village in Yorkshire - at the mercy of the elements - with cast and crew dashing between locations as the action evolved. Behind the scenes footage was screened simultaneously on ITV.com. "I was waiting anxiously for the first sign of disaster. But there was nothing," wrote the Telegraph's Rachel Ward. "Luckily for Prescott, the 70-strong crew and the 61 cast members, it was flawless." Typically, indoor scenes are shot at the ITV studios in Leeds, but the logistics of the live episode demanded that the entire show was shot on site, using interiors constructed especially for the anniversary edition. "It was all very over-the-top with some of the minor characters giving stagey performances, but Tom Lister [Carl King] and Lucy Pargeter [Chas Dingle] impressed, helping to slowly build up the tension to the death scene," added Ward. "Fireworks provided a fitting conclusion to the evening's events on-screen and off." The live episode involved 27 cameras - all controlled and edited in the same giant scanner truck - 350 extras and 110 hours of rehearsal. However, Radio Times's David Brown was startled by the violence of the show: "You sit down with the family to watch a special birthday episode of a pre-watershed soap and what do you get? Attempted rape in a campervan and death by polystyrene brick." "If I were to be mean and rank this special against recent live editions of Corrie and EastEnders, then I don't think it quite had the tension and pace of its contemporaries." "At times, almost too much seemed to be happening, the constantly shifting focus robbing some scenes of their dramatic potential." But he applauded the performance of Lister as soap bad boy Carl King, whose death brought the show to a memorable conclusion. "As Carl lay lifeless on the floor in those dying seconds, it really did feel like the end of an era."
An average of 9.2 million viewers watched Emmerdale's live episode, with one critic describing it as "flawless".
The buyers include China's Apex Technology, which makes ink cartridge chips, and PAG Asia Capital, one of Asia's largest private equity firms. The deal is yet to be cleared by the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Like its competitors, Lexmark has been struggling as more firms move to a digital workplace. The deal was sealed at a board meeting following an "exhaustive" review of alternatives, the company said. Paul Rooke, chief executive of Lexmark, said the takeover would allow it to "reach the next level of growth and innovation" faster than as a standalone company. "With the consortium's resources, we will be able to continue to invest in and grow the business to more fully penetrate the Asia-Pacific market for hardware, software and managed print services," he added. Apex Technology chairman Jackson Wang said Lexmark would be a "tremendous cultural fit" with his own company. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year if it is approved by regulators. The CFIUS will review it to ensure it does not compromise national security. Lexmark will remain headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.
US printer manufacturer Lexmark is being bought by a Chinese-led group for $3.6bn (£2.5bn).
They are responding to a call from the government's Business Champion for Older Workers, Andy Briggs. In February, he asked firms to increase older worker numbers by 12% by 2022. Mr Briggs warned that by then, there will be 14.5 million more jobs, but only seven million younger workers entering the workplace. He said older workers were vital in filling the UK's "colossal skills gap". Mr Briggs, who is also chief executive of Aviva UK Life, wants more companies to commit to his pledge and publish data about the age of their workforce to help ensure his target of one million more older workers by 2022. "Businesses can show leadership here, through committing to real change and actively seeking to recruit more over-50s into their organisations," he said. "By being open about the progress they are making, they can also lead the way in demonstrating the benefits of having a diverse team of employees that represents all sections of society." The eight companies that have signed up are: Aviva, Atos, Barclays, the Co-operative Group, Home Instead Senior Care, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), Mercer and Walgreens Boots Alliance. In the newly published data, the figures for Atos show 33% of its workforce are between 50 and 64. Aviva employ 18.3% in this age group, Barclays 17% and the Co-op Group 26%. While it is still uncertain what sort of agreement the next government will strike with the EU over freedom of movement, many employers are concerned about filling skilled and non-skilled jobs after Brexit. Mr Briggs said the average age in the UK is now 40, 10 years older than it was in 1974. By 2030, it is estimated half of all adults in the UK will be over 50.
Aviva, Barclays, Atos and five other firms have agreed to promote over-50s employment by publishing data about the age of their workforce.
Retired Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was elected president in May 2014, almost a year after he removed his predecessor, President Mohammed Morsi, from office. He had served as armed forced chief under Mr Morsi, and was a key figure in the interim government which took over after the ouster. Some Egyptians celebrated the possibility that Mr Sisi would bring stability to a country in upheaval since the removal of long-term leader Hosni Mubarak during the ''Arab Spring'' in 2011. To some Mr Sisi is a hero for ending the rule of Mr Morsi, who was voted into office in 2012 and who alienated many Egyptians who took to the streets demanding his resignation. Others worry that he represents a return to the authoritarian security state that prevailed under Mr Mubarak. Supporters of Mr Morsi resent what they see as his removal in a coup and have been vocal in calling for his return. Hundreds of supporters have been killed in street clashes with police and in a crackdown on Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood that underpinned Mr Morsi's presidency has been banned and declared a "terrorist group". In his long military career Mr Sisi has had little actual combat experience, latterly specialising mainly in military intelligence. On his appointment as army chief under Mr Morsi he was the youngest member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. He is the latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military that was only briefly broken during Mr Morsi's year in office. He was born in Cairo in 1954.
President: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
The 25-year-old shared the halfway lead on eight under with Scotland's Catriona Matthew but shot a six-over 78 to drop to two under. Matthew struggled to a one-over 73 and is two off the pace. American Danielle Kang, Japan's Haru Nomura and Korea's Jenny Shin share the lead on nine under.
England's Holly Clyburn saw her Australian Open challenge come to an end with a disastrous third round in Adelaide.
Mae disgwyl hyd at 170,000 o bobl yn y brif ddinas i wylio Juventus yn herio Real Madrid. Gyda llawer wedi teithio o'r Eidal ac o Sbaen, mae rhai cefnogwyr wedi dod mor belled â Brasil, Iran ac Awstralia. Mae'r Heddlu wedi rhybuddio pobl i beidio â phrynnu tocynnau gan dowtiaid. Daw'r rhybudd yn dilyn arestio tri pherson am droseddau tebyg. Fe fydd dyn 35 oed o Napoli yn ymddangos o flaen Llys ynadon Caerdydd ddydd llun ar ol iddo gael ei arestio ddydd Gwener yn dilyn gwybodaeth gan heddwas o'r Eidal nad oedd ar ddyletswydd. Dydd Sadwrn fe gafodd na ddyn 32 oed a'r llall yn 28 oed eu harestio ar amheuaeth o dwyll ar ol iddyn nhw gael eu darganfod gyda swm sylweddol o arian. Maen nhw'n parhau yn y ddalfa. Roedd yr Heddlu'n rhybuddio pobl sydd wedi prynnu tocynnau ar y stryd bydd posib iddyn nhw gael eu rhwystro rhag mynd mewn i'r stadiwm os mai tocynnau ffug neu rhai wedi ei dwyn oedden nhw. Mae 2,000 o blismyn ar ddyletswydd yng Nghaerdydd. Y ffeinal rhwng Real Madrid a Juventus yw digwyddiad chwaraeon mwyaf 2017. Cafodd nifer o ffyrdd eu cau am hanner nos, ac fe fydd y rhan fwyaf ohonyn nhw ar gau nes 03:30 fore Sul. Bydd yr heddlu hefyd yn dewis pobl ar hap i'w stopio a'u chwilio fel rhan o ymgyrch diogelwch anferth. Cyhoeddodd Heddlu'r De y bydd 2,000 o blismyn ar ddyletswydd ar draws y ddinas. Dywedodd y Prif Gwnstabl Cynorthwyol, Richard Lewis, mai'r flaenoriaeth yw i sicrhau digwyddiad cofiadwy a diogel, a bod pethau'n mynd yn dda hyd yma: "Mae'n dull plismona ni yn y de yn broffesiynol ond cyfeillgar - rhywbeth ry' ni'n falch iawn ohono a dull y mae'r cyhoedd wedi ei gofleidio'r wythnos hon. "Mae'r ŵyl ym Mae Caerdydd dros y dyddiau diwethaf wedi atgyfnerthu'r cydbwysedd rhwng dogelwch a mwynhad y cyhoedd yr oedden ni'n gobeithio ei weithredu. "Wrth i ni edrych ymlaen at y prif ddigwyddiad heddi, fydd hynny ddim yn newid." Yn y cyfamser, mae'r heddlu'n dal i ymchwilio wedi i 13 tocyn ar gyfer y rownd derfynol gael eu dwyn o westy ger Maes Awyr Caerdydd. Mae Cyngor Caerdydd wedi cynghori pobl i beidio gyrru i'r ddinas, ac mae Trenau Arriva Cymru yn annog pobl i osgoi defnyddio eu gwasanaethau os nad yw'n angenrheidiol. Mae gyrwyr wedi'u gwahardd o'r holl ffyrdd o amgylch y Stadiwm Cenedlaethol Cymru, Sgwâr Callaghan a Chanolfan Siopa Capitol. Yn raddol, mae mwy a mwy o ffyrdd wedi eu cau ers dydd Iau. Cafodd Heol Ddwyreiniol y Bontfaen ei chau rhwng yr Heol Gadeiriol a Stryd Westgate ddydd Mercher, a bydd y ffordd honno yn parhau ar gau nes 06:00 fore Llun. Mae Rhodfa Lloyd George hefyd ar gau o Sgwâr Callaghan hyd at y Bae, ac mae hynny nes 22:00 nos Sul. Mae disgwyl i orsaf drenau Caerdydd Canolog fod yn brysur iawn trwy gydol y diwrnod, a ni fydd unrhyw wasanaethau Trenau Arriva Cymru yn gadael yr orsaf rhwng 19:00 a 23:00. Ar ôl hynny, dim ond gwasanaethau i Fryste, Llundain, canolbarth Lloegr ac Abertawe fydd yn gadael yr orsaf, gyda rhai yn rhedeg nes 05:00 fore Sul. Bydd system giwio yn cael ei gweithredu, ond mae 'na rybudd i deithwyr y gallai gymryd hyd at 90 munud cyn y byddan nhw ar dren ac ar eu taith.
Mae miloedd o gefnogwyr pêl-droed ar strydoedd Caerdydd yn paratoi i wylio rownd derfynnol Cynghrair y Pencampwyr nos Sadwrn.
The Tate Modern show was the first in its history to attract more than half a million people. Matisse: The Cut-Outs drew attention to the final part of the French artist's career from 1937-54. Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, said he was "delighted" at the show's success. "The fact that the works have not been brought together for 40 years captured people's imaginations," he said. The exhibition opened on 17 April and came to a close on 7 September. While the large-scale exhibition of Matisse's later work did "slightly exceed expectations", this summer's Kenneth Clark - Looking for Civilisation show "did not quite get as many visitors as we hoped", Sir Nicholas admitted. Not every Tate show could expect "a very large" attendance, he added. "Part of our responsibility is to open up new areas of enquiry and to throw light on work that has been forgotten." Previous record attendances for Tate attractions were for the Matisse Picasso show in 2002, which drew 467,166 people, followed by Damien Hirst's 2012 exhibition which brought more than 463,000 visitors through its doors. A live tour of the Matisse exhibition was also broadcast in some 200 cinemas around the UK and initially pulled in 15,000 people. A film of Matisse Live is due to be released in screening rooms around the world shortly. The Tate has also announced plans to tour some of its key works around the country, including Tracey Emin's hallmark 1988 piece My Bed. Her then controversial work, which sold for £2.2m at auction earlier this year, will be displayed in her hometown of Margate at Turner Contemporary as well as Tate Liverpool. Sir Nicholas told the BBC that Emin herself would initially install the artwork, which features an unmade bed and a floor littered with empty vodka bottles, cigarette butts and condoms. "We have a extremely competent team of technicians and conservators who will map that piece very carefully so we can install it elsewhere without Tracey's necessary involvement, although I suspect she will turn up in Margate when it goes there," he said. Matisse's The Snail will be exhibited at Tate Liverpool, marking the first time it has been shown in the UK outside London. Artworks by Picasso, Constable and David Hockney will also be exhibited around the UK as part of the the scheme. Tate's annual report, published on Monday, showed that 7.03 million people visited the four galleries - Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives - in 2013-14, down from the previous year's record 7.74 million. "We will always expect to see a fluctuation year to year," Sir Nicholas said. "The general trend is to see more and more visitors seeing works from the Tate's collection - not just in London, but elsewhere."
An exhibition of Henri Matisse's cut-out art has become the most successful exhibition held to date at the Tate with more than 560,000 visitors.
It's been six months since Britain's first official astronaut blasted off to the International Space Station. He's been a busy man. Here are some of the firsts and records he's achieved while he's been up there... Tim set the world record for the fastest marathon in space - 3 hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds. He ran the London Marathon in April, at the same time as runners on Earth, but on a treadmill aboard the ISS. Take a look at the training and special equipment he needed to make it possible... Tim says his spacewalk outside the ISS is his finest moment from his time in space. As well as a chance to take a great selfie, Tim had to complete the spacewalk to carry out repairs to the space station - 250 miles above the Earth! Tim sent a one-minute message to the Queen in a video link live from the International Space Station. He thanked the Queen (after she sent him her own good wishes) and said he hoped his journey would help make the world a better place. Perhaps his message of thanks to the Queen got him into her good books, because she is making him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to space research and scientific education. Whilst others who were honoured by the Queen found out on Earth, Tim heard the news while he was up in space! Tim Peake completed a tricky mission while in space - he had to operate a rover that was back here on Earth! His task was to get the robot across a sandpit, made to be like the surface of Mars, and into a cave to look for targets. It was all part of a European Space Agency project that aims to learn how astronauts can control equipment remotely. The plan is for astronauts to do this when rovers are sent to Mars in the future.
Major Tim Peake is preparing for his return to planet Earth this weekend.
She led the contest from the start and never faced much of a challenge from her bickering centre-right opponents. The hard part will start in March when she takes office. Ms Bachelet will inherit a country with an economy that grew by 5.6% last year. Unemployment is low and inflation is under control. But things are likely to get worse. The growth rate is expected to ease to 4.2% this year and the central bank warns it might drop below 4% in 2014. The price of copper, Chile's main export commodity, is seen extending its recent decline and the bank expects the country's trade surplus to shrink to $600m (£368m) in 2014 from $2.5bn in 2013. None of this is good news for an incoming president who is promising sweeping and expensive social reforms. Ms Bachelet has placed education at the top of her priorities. At the moment, Chile's schools and universities rely heavily on household funding to supplement the meagre contributions they get from the state. She wants to change that, turning the entire apparatus into a state-funded system within six years. By the end of her four-year term she has promised that the state will pay the tuition fees of the poorest 70% of Chile's higher education students. "Her proposals reset the clock for the education system, and she'll probably have the support in parliament she needs to get them passed," says Kirsten Sehnbruch, professor of public policy at the University of Chile. "But the big problem with this strategy, aside from it being a significant investment, is that is doesn't address the issue of quality." Even Ms Bachelet's closest aides acknowledge her education reforms will be costly, eating up an extra 1.5% to 2% of gross domestic product each year. She says that money will come from taxes, particularly on big business. Ms Bachelet plans to raise Chile's basic corporate tax rate from 20% to 25% over four years and to abolish a mechanism that allows companies to defer indefinitely the payment of tax on their re-invested profits. "I expect the tax reform to be approved within the first year because it only requires a simple majority in parliament," says Claudio Fuentes, a political scientist at the Diego Portales University in Santiago. "That will pave the way for education reform between 2015 and 2018. Some of the changes she wants to make in education require a fourth-sevenths majority in parliament while others require a three-fifths majority. So, on certain issues she's going to have to negotiate with the right." The other big pledge of Ms Bachelet's campaign is constitutional change. She says Chile needs a new constitution to replace the one drawn up under Gen Augusto Pinochet in 1980, as well as a new electoral system. The current one ensures that the two big coalitions get almost all the seats in Congress, split fairly evenly between them. Small parties and independent candidates do not get much of a look-in. "There's a consensus on the fact that the electoral system needs to go," Ms Sehnbruch says. "The question is: what do you replace it with? Constitutional reform is more complex and will need more negotiation." Many Chileans want Ms Bachelet to address the country's deep economic inequalities. Of the 34 countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Chile has the biggest gap between rich and poor. She will also come under pressure from some quarters on ethical issues such as abortion and gay marriage. At present, Chile has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world. The practice is illegal in all circumstances, even in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger. Ms Bachelet, a paediatrician by training, wants to change that and has also come out in favour of gay marriage, although the majority of Chileans oppose it. "I imagine that therapeutic abortion will be legalised but gay marriage at this stage is unlikely to be passed," Ms Sehnbruch says. Ms Bachelet will have to work hard to keep her broad centre-left coalition united. The last time she was in power, she governed at the head of a four-party bloc, the Concertacion, but his time around she has seven parties in her rebranded New Majority coalition. "There are sure to be some problems," Mr Fuentes warns. "Managing seven parties is always going to be trickier than managing two or three." That said, Ms Bachelet will at least enjoy a healthy parliamentary majority, something she lacked during her first term from 2006 to 2010. Her coalition will have 68 seats in the 120-seat lower house and 21 of the 38 seats in the Senate. This should allow her to push through basic legislation quickly and easily. On foreign policy, Ms Bachelet will seek to improve ties with Chile's northern neighbours Peru and Bolivia, both of which have taken Chile to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over border disputes. The ICJ is due to rule on Peru's claim in January, before Ms Bachelet takes office. The Bolivian verdict is not expected for some years. But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Ms Bachelet is the weight of expectation. After four years of centre-right rule, marked by huge street protests organised by students, workers and environmentalists, Chileans are clamouring for change. "Expectations are very high, and not just among ordinary people but among the centre-left political elite," Ms Sehnbruch explains. "The opportunity to make significant changes has now come and yet the presidential term is only four years long. "To reconcile those two things - the massive agenda of what people want with the reality of what you can do in four years - is going to be very challenging."
Winning Chile's presidential election was pretty easy for Michelle Bachelet.
Versions of four genes increased the odds of all five disorders. Researchers hope to move the psychiatry away from describing symptoms towards fundamentally understanding what is going wrong in the brain. The findings were reported in the Lancet medical journal. The international study compared the genetic codes of 33,000 people with a psychiatric disorder with 28,000 people without a psychiatric disorder. Four genetic variants appeared to increase the risk of all five disorders studied. Two genes were involved in the balance of calcium in the brain. Hundreds of genes and the environment are likely to affect the odds of developing such conditions. However, the rapidly advancing field of psychiatric genetics is trying to describe these disorders on the basis of what is causing them, rather simply by symptoms. One of the researchers Nick Craddock, a professor of psychiatry at Cardiff University, said: "It signals the opening of a potential new era for psychiatry and mental illness. "This is a scientific method that helps understand what is going wrong in the brain, the chemicals, the brains systems, that are important in illness." He said that ultimately it could help devise treatments and better ways of diagnosing patients. Dr Gerome Breen, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said: "It points out fairly clearly that there is a common genetic effect between these disorders. "These studies give a window into the biology of these disorders, that's really valuable." Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, said the findings "highlight the need to understand the genetic and biological factors of these life-changing conditions, in order that more effective treatments and therapies may be found". She added: "While it may take a decade for research studies like this to translate into new drugs and other treatments, we may yet be working towards a breakthrough which has so long eluded scientists working in this field."
Autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia all share several genetic risk factors, according to a major study.
The new Smoke Free Policy replaces the City of Edinburgh Council's control of smoking at work policy. Under the policy, smoking restrictions have been extended from the workplace and vehicles to surrounding areas for council properties. The new rules - which include e-cigarettes - mean the ban now includes entrances, car parks and play areas. Andrew Burns, Edinburgh city council's leader, said: "It is well known that smoking is one of the biggest causes of ill health in Scotland. "As a local authority, we recognise our role in helping to achieve Scotland's smoke-free ambitions set out by the Scottish government. "The updated policy takes into account the effect passive smoking has on non-smokers, in particular children, who have no choice when it comes to protection from others' tobacco smoke."
Smoking will no longer be allowed in council play parks, car parks and courtyards in Edinburgh.
The record follows a break during which singer Billie Joe Armstrong went to rehab for prescription pill addiction and touring guitarist Jason White received treatment for tonsil cancer. "To have a chart-topping album at this stage of our career is especially gratifying," the band said. As with 2004's American Idiot, the record is a critique of US society. The album's first single, Bang Bang, addresses the culture of mass shootings, telling the story of one such incident through the eyes of a perpetrator. The title track was written after Armstrong joined a march in Manhattan, New York, protesting against a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer for the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson. "It was happening all over the country," he told Rolling Stone magazine. "It was a trip to see people rebel against the old order. "I was feeling that people don't want to feel obsolete in the things that we care about." Revolution Radio outsold its nearest competitor, Barry Gibb's In The Now, by a ratio of two to one, said the Official Charts Company. Other new entries in this week's album chart came from US rock band Alter Bridge, who landed at three with The Last Hero, and the Kaiser Chiefs, whose pop-centric album Stay Together debuted at four. Pop band OneRepublic scored a new entry at six with Oh My My, while Norah Jones entered at 10 with Day Breaks, a record that marks a return to the jazz-inflected style of her debut, Come Away With Me. In the singles chart, James Arthur holds on to the number one spot for the third week in a row, with his downbeat ballad Say You Won't Let Go. The singer strengthened his lead over the competition thanks to a performance on last week's X Factor, which resulted in 50,000 sales and 5.16 million streams - the highest figure his song has achieved so far. Bruno Mars was the highest new entry 24K Magic, a charismatic retread of his hit single Uptown Funk; while Swedish star Zara Larsson edged closer to the top 10 with her single Ain't My Fault rising three places to number 13. Actress-turned-pop star Hailee Steinfeld had the highest-climbing single of the week, as Starving - her collaboration with dance producer Zedd - leapt from 28 to 17. Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
Punk-pop band Green Day have hit number one for the third time in their career with their new album Revolution Radio.
Kodjia put the hosts ahead midway through the first half when Scott Hogan played him in and the Ivory Coast striker found the roof of the net. The game was all but settled when Ivo Pinto was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Jordan Amavi. Kodjia made sure of a home win in the 90th minute when he capitalised on a mistake in the Norwich defence. A third successive victory for Villa lifted them to 11th, just three points behind Norwich, who slipped to ninth and seven points outside the play-off places. Nelson Oliveira had the visitors' best chance, just before Kodjia's second, when he was played in on goal by Cameron Jerome, but the Portuguese could not get a shot away after a poor first touch. Jerome also went close to scoring in the opening 10 minutes, but his effort went inches wide as Norwich's poor return on the road continued. The Canaries have won just one of their past 14 away league games and remain without a manager following the sacking of Alex Neil last month. Villa were denied a second before Kodjia's late goal when Nathan Baker saw his header cleared off the line by Ryan Bennett and Conor Hourihane's follow-up skimmed the crossbar. Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce told BBC WM: "We showed a little bit of resilience and my goalkeeper has played very very well today. "I thought we were a little bit leggy but we've stuck at it again and we've kept a clean sheet. "We're improving. We've still got a lot to do. We weren't great again but we've done enough to win a game of football in this division." Norwich caretaker boss Alan Irvine: "I thought we played really well for most of the game, even with 10 men. "We dominated possession, we had territorial advantage, we got into some great positions and we fell down where we would normally be at our strongest. "The last pass, the last cross in the final third, the last attempt at goal were the things that let us down." Match ends, Aston Villa 2, Norwich City 0. Second Half ends, Aston Villa 2, Norwich City 0. Ryan Bennett (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jordan Amavi (Aston Villa). Offside, Norwich City. Russell Martin tries a through ball, but Cameron Jerome is caught offside. Attempt missed. Gary Gardner (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Jordan Amavi. Attempt blocked. Gary Gardner (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordan Amavi. Attempt blocked. Alex Pritchard (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Goal! Aston Villa 2, Norwich City 0. Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sam Johnstone. Substitution, Aston Villa. Andre Green replaces Henri Lansbury. Foul by Nélson Oliveira (Norwich City). Neil Taylor (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Russell Martin (Norwich City). Alan Hutton (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Alex Pritchard (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Albert Adomah (Aston Villa). Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Nathan Baker. Second yellow card to Ivo Pinto (Norwich City) for a bad foul. Foul by Ivo Pinto (Norwich City). Jordan Amavi (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt missed. Russell Martin (Norwich City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Alex Pritchard with a cross following a corner. Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Mile Jedinak. Attempt missed. Jonny Howson (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner. Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by James Chester. Substitution, Norwich City. Nélson Oliveira replaces Alexander Tettey. Alex Pritchard (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Gary Gardner (Aston Villa). Attempt missed. Ryan Bennett (Norwich City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Alex Pritchard with a cross following a corner. Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Neil Taylor. Steven Naismith (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by James Chester (Aston Villa). Steven Whittaker (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Albert Adomah (Aston Villa). Substitution, Norwich City. Yanic Wildschut replaces Jacob Murphy. Attempt missed. Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Albert Adomah with a cross. Substitution, Aston Villa. Gary Gardner replaces Conor Hourihane. Attempt missed. Jonny Howson (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner. Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Jordan Amavi. Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Nathan Baker. Attempt blocked. Cameron Jerome (Norwich City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Two goals from Jonathan Kodjia saw Aston Villa beat 10-man Norwich City at Villa Park.
The day ticket costing £10 for adults, £7 for children and £25 for a family is aimed at providing affordable public transport on the TrawsCymru network. Economy Secretary Ken Skates hailed it as "an exciting opportunity" to boost use of the government-funded service. TrawsCymru buses carried more than two million passengers last year. "The new TrawsCymru Day Ticket is an exciting opportunity to encourage people across Wales to enjoy this fantastic public transport service and travel Wales," said Mr Skates. "The ticket represents a significant saving for those looking to make long distance journeys and, hopefully, facilitate more hop-on hop-off travel across Wales too - boosting tourism and local economies in the process." The scheme allows unlimited travel on T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T9 services and on the X85 service between Newtown and Machynlleth.
New tickets offering unlimited long distance bus travel across Wales are being launched with hopes of boosting tourism and the economy.
The industry is worth about £80m a year to the economy, employs about 4,000 workers, with 105 million journeys taken in Wales each year. Economy Secretary Ken Skates said 2016 had been a "mixed year" with the "demise" of some service providers. He told Wales' first bus summit some communities had been left "vulnerable" and longer-term solutions are needed. Mr Skates added more young people should be encouraged to travel by bus, and services must work for both rural and urban areas. Between 2011 and 2014, nearly 100 subsidised bus routes were scrapped by local councils in Wales. Passengers and transport providers attended Monday's summit, which was one of five steps the Welsh Government recommended to strengthen the industry. Bus coordinators have also been appointed in north and south Wales to develop good practice. Mr Skates said: "It's a tough task but I'm positive we have the expertise and the will in Wales to deliver it. "I'm keen, amongst other things, to explore with others whether new legislation can play a role in this. "In the meantime, of course, we will continue to support local authorities and communities wherever possible, whether it be through taking on new services like the T1C between Aberystwyth and Cardiff or providing further financial support to areas affected by loss of service providers."
More passengers are needed to ensure the long term future of Wales' bus industry, a meeting in Wrexham heard.
Dzagoev, 25, broke a metatarsal during CSKA's 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan on Saturday, a result that clinched the Russian title for CSKA. Russia are in Group B at the Euros with England, Wales and Slovakia and kick-off against England on 11 June. "The medical examination confirmed the fracture of the second instep bone," the Russian Football Union said. Dzagoev, the joint-top scorer at Euro 2012, will be replaced by FC Krasnodar's Dmitri Torbinski, 32. We've launched a new BBC Sport newsletter ahead of the Euros and Olympics, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here.
Russia midfielder Alan Dzagoev will miss out on Euro 2016 after suffering a broken foot playing for CSKA Moscow.
She died in Milan after a long illness, Italy's Ansa news agency reports. Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of publishers Conde Naste International, described her as "one of the greatest editors who ever made a magazine". Celebrities including Madonna, Kanye West and Victoria Beckham paid tribute to her. In a post on Instagram, Madonna posted a photo of her with the caption: "RIP Franca Sozzani! A trail blazer and a True Rebel! You are loved and adored by so many! We will miss you." US fashion model Kendall Jenner tweeted: "Rest peacefully, Franca Sozzani." Sozzani took charge of Vogue Italia in 1988 and became a key figure on the global fashion scene. In 2008, she produced an "all black" issue, featuring black models only. It became an international hit. Once asked how to define style, she said: "I think people should buy more mirrors than clothes, to see themselves before going out... but I think that clothes need to correspond to one's own personality. That is style." Sozzani was also a champion of humanitarian causes. She served as goodwill ambassador to fashion for the UN, supporting workers in the fashion world in Africa and Asia and helping to raise money to fight hunger. In a tribute on the Vogue website, US Vogue editor Anna Wintour described Sozzani as "warm, clever, funny". "She made everything she worked on appear effortless, regardless of whether it was an event for several hundred; a whirlwind trip to Africa to support the continent's emerging designers; or the creation of yet another newsworthy, provocative, and utterly spellbinding issue of Italian Vogue," she said. Sozzani attended the Fashion Awards in London earlier this month where designer Tom Ford presented her with the Swarovski award for positive change.
Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia for 28 years and a champion of Italian fashion, has died at the age of 66.
The BBC news website looks at the debate in Finland, where the difference between opinions is clearly defined, even within the government. Last week, Finland's government said it was willing to double the number of refugees it was willing to accept this year, up to 30,000 from 15,000. Only 3,600 applications were made last year - and so far this year, most applications were from Iraq and Somalia. Some may even find themselves living with Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who said on Saturday that he was willing to give up one of his houses to migrants. Mr Sipila has said he feels Finland, a country of 5.5m people, should set an example to the rest of Europe on migration. But his coalition partners are the anti-immigration Finns Party, who came second in April's election. Last month, Jussi Halla-aho, a Finns Party MEP, said some members of society were not integrating well enough, adding there was a risk "the society begins to play by the rules of the Muslim minority rather than expecting the minority to play by the rules of the society". In July, Olli Immonen, one of the party's MPs, wrote of what he called "this nightmare called multiculturalism" on his Facebook page, adding: "We will fight until the end for our homeland and one true Finnish nation." While the online responses to his comments were finely balanced between those who were for and against immigration, government colleagues were not supportive. Finance Minister Alexander Stubb tweeted: "Multiculturalism is an asset. That's all I have to say." Mr Sipila wrote on Twitter that he wanted "to develop Finland as an open, linguistically and culturally international country". Finns Party chief Timo Soini, who is Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, wrote on his blog last week that Christian and Yazidi minorities could be given priority as refugees. But he came under heavy criticism and, in what Finnish newspapers noted was a significant swing, he changed course in an interview on Monday. Concerns among right-wing politicians about the possible Islamisation of Finland, where 78% of the population belongs to the Lutheran Church, are reflected by sections of the public. In August, before the new talks on migrant quotas, most Finns quoted in a survey said they would rather live next to an alcohol rehabilitation centre than a mosque, though no major polls have been conducted on people's opinions since then. On 2 September, the head of the Finnish Lutheran Church, Archbishop Kari Makinen, urged members to take in refugees. Soon after, 196 people resigned from the Church in one day, compared to 80 people on a typical day. "As the Finnish Church wants to help house IS fighters in Finland, I do not accept it," one person wrote on a website through which members can resign. "The Church no longer defends Christian values, ​​they support Islam's entry into Finland. Shame on you fools," wrote another. Among the most common concerns held by Finns, the state broadcaster says, is that: These are concerns, it says, that are generally unfounded but widely shared. Many anti-immigration bloggers concentrate on the financial burden of accepting more refugees. Finland's economy has slumped in recent years, having been in recession for three consecutive years. In one protest against a new refugee centre last week, one demonstrator said: "Everything has been taken from the unemployed, the poor and the sick. But the coffers are empty. "If these centres open, our taxes will go up." On social media, there are many tales to be found, true or not, of attacks by immigrants. They are often widely shared, but we could not find confirmation of the attacks in Finnish media. In one Facebook post written on 6 September, a man in western Finland detailed an alleged assault on two 12-year-old girls, purportedly by immigrants. "These people are paperless asylum seekers whose backgrounds nobody in authority knows," the post said. The post went on to be shared by more than 2,000 people and attracted many replies criticising immigrants. Vitriolic comments are increasingly common. Last week, two large media groups closed comments on their websites because of what state broadcaster Yle called "a flood of hate speech and weak quality discussion". "Particularly within the past year, the debate has become very sharp and aggressive, even including hate speech," Yle editorial director Atte Jaaskelainen said. Marches in favour of multiculturalism have taken place in Finnish cities, with one - organised after Olli Immonen's comments in July - drew several thousand people in Helsinki. In Finland's mainly neutral press, immigration is now rarely off the front pages. Articles concentrate largely on the plight of migrants and the work being done to help them. Online, the voices speaking on behalf of immigration in Finland are more in evidence than those against. On 12 September, a picnic to welcome migrants will be held in the capital, and has attracted more than 4,300 supporters on Facebook. Meanwhile, another Facebook page named Ennenolin Pakolainen (I was a refugee before) has drawn more than 17,000 likes and compiles the stories of people who were refugees and what they are now doing in Finland - among them a trainee pilot, a nurse and a model. Elsewhere, the Twitter account @TorillaOnTilaa brings together messages welcoming migrants - including many by Finnish national football team players. "We are all equal," Fortuna Dusseldorf player Joel Pohjanpalo wrote.
As EU member states consider whether to accept an increase in the number of asylum seekers they take in, particularly from Syria, they each face a vibrant internal discussion on how to respond to the challenges of immigration.
General secretary Russell Hobby says ministers should no longer be allowed to claim school funding is protected. The Department for Education has said school funding is at record levels. But the Institute of Fiscal Studies says this claim does not tell the whole story or take account of the impact of cost pressures on per pupil funding. It has just published research which says to keep school funding at its present levels in real terms, an extra £2bn will be needed between 2017 and 2022. Between 2015 and 2017, schools had been required to make £1.7bn savings, it added. Luke Sibieta, director of education, employment and evaluation at the IFS, said: "When the government says school funding is at record levels it isn't telling the whole story. "It doesn't take into account cost pressures and the impact of those on per pupil funding," he told the BBC News website. Mr Hobby, whose association is gathering for its annual conference in Telford, said that although a number of organisations had found significant cost pressures affecting schools, the government's standard line was that "school funding had never been higher". He said rising costs and additional expenses, like increases in National Insurance and pension contributions, meant cash was not going as far as it used to. "You can't expect it to. But the government is flatly refusing to admit the reality," he said. "Until they do, schools are at risk." The association has been highlighting, along with other teaching unions, the cost pressures facing schools in England. The rise in the amount that schools have to pay out is estimated to be £3bn by the National Audit Office between 2015 and 2020. In research carried out with 1,100 union members, nearly three-quarters (72%) said their budgets would be "untenable" going forward to 2019-20. Nearly a fifth, some 18% of respondents, said their schools were already in deficit. Incoming NAHT president Anne Lyons said: "In my own school I've got to find £200,000 from somewhere. "I don't know about you but that kind of cash isn't exactly lying around in reserves. "It isn't ready to be simply wiped off the balance sheet just by buying my toilet rolls from a different company," she added, referring to DfE advice urging schools to look at how they procure products and services. The Department for Education spokesman has said it has protected the core schools budget in real terms since 2010, with school funding at its highest level on record at almost £41bn in 2017-18 - and that is set to rise, as pupil numbers increase over the next two years, to £42bn by 2019-20. "We recognise that schools are facing cost pressures, which is why we will continue to provide support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways and make efficiencies. "This includes improving the way they buy goods and services and our recently published School Buying Strategy is designed to help schools save over £1bn a year by 2019-20 on non-staff spend."
The £3bn savings expected of England's schools threaten the stability of the whole education system, says the National Association of Head Teachers.
The Rams have picked up just two points during a six-game winless run and are 11th in the table, 10 points adrift of the Championship play-off places. Derby, who were fifth after beating QPR on 14 December, have not scored in their past three matches. "We have two home games and we need a reaction," McClaren told BBC Radio Derby after defeat at Blackburn Rovers. "We have challenged the players to give us a reaction." McClaren's side face Barnsley at Pride Park on Saturday and Preston North End on Tuesday, 7 March. The former England boss wants a return to the form which saw them climb from fifth from bottom when he took over following the 1-1 draw with Reading on 1 October. The 3-0 away win over struggling Ipswich Town on 31 January, four days after drawing with Leicester in the FA Cup, was their last victory. "These are home games that we have to win," McClaren said. "We are not performing individually and collectively the way that we did up until the Leicester replay. Has that taken too much out of us? I don't know. "We are not getting the rub of the green and we were doing that before. We are not scoring the first goal and we are not scoring goals. We have to start again on Saturday." Blackburn's 1-0 victory on Tuesday was just their eighth in the league this season, but they remain in the relegation zone. "It's another frustrating game we shouldn't have lost," McClaren added. "We've had 18 attempts on goal and only two on target. We should be coming here and keeping a clean sheet. "When we play teams we should be beating, we have to beat them."
Manager Steve McClaren says Derby County's standards have dropped and he has demanded an immediate response.
The two-vehicle accident happened close the entrance to Brucklay Castle, near Maud. The road has been closed in both directions. So far there are no indications of any injuries or how many people are involved.
An air ambulance and emergency crews are at the scene of a serious crash on a stretch of the A891 in Aberdeenshire.
Media playback is not supported on this device In a breathtaking tie of 54 chances, the League One side won 14-13 after 32 penalties had been taken. Media playback is not supported on this device Miguel Llera missed his first spot-kick before firing in the winner when City's Wayne Thomas saw his penalty saved. Paddy Madden's header had put Scunthorpe ahead but Sean Geddes coolly steered in a second-half equaliser. Carl Heeley's Worcester side, who play in the Conference North - the sixth tier of English football - can still feel proud of their efforts in this seven-match cup run, which included a 2-1 win at 1987 winners Coventry in the last round. In a game that saw 28 chances for Worcester and 26 for Scunthorpe, the visitors nearly took the lead in the opening minute, but home left-back Tyler Weir somehow managed to block the attempt. The visitors also went close when Lyle Taylor forced City keeper Nathan Vaughan to save with his legs. But, roared on by their noisy fans crammed into the home end, the rest of the first half belonged to City. Winger Jordan Murphy caused problems and from one of his mazy runs the home side created their best opening when Mike Symons shot over. However, the mood at Aggborough was shattered when City failed to keep out Madden's near-post header from Gary McSheffrey's corner in first-half stoppage time. But it was not long before Geddes - hero of the first-round win with two goals against Coventry - rounded off an excellent team move by slotting home from eight yards. That was enough to take the tie into extra time, during which Vaughan did well to parry a fiercely struck shot from Madden, before visiting defender Alex Davey placed a header just wide. Then it was all down to the drama of penalties. City's second penalty, from Nick Wright, was saved by Sam Slocombe, only for Vaughan to keep the home side in it when he saved Scunny's fifth crucial spot-kick from Llera. When Danny Jackman then fired over the bar in sudden death, Vaughan again came to the rescue by saving from Matt Sparrow. But, after a run of 16 successful penalties, visiting keeper Slocombe dived to the left to save from Thomas - and this time Llera kept his cool to earn his side a January meeting with either MK Dons or Chesterfield. Those two teams have to replay their second-round tie after Chesterfield fielded an ineligible player in the opening tie, which they won 1-0.
Non-league Worcester City's FA Cup heroics ended after the longest penalty shootout in the competition's history saw Scunthorpe reach the third round.
Leicester striker Vardy, 29, is deciding over a reported £120,000-a-week offer from Arsenal. Vardy, who is part of England's Euro 2016 squad in France, only signed a new three-year deal worth a reported £60,000-a-week in February. The Gunners triggered Vardy's release clause with a £20m bid on Friday. Leicester are reported to have made an improved counter-offer in a bid to keep Vardy, who scored 24 goals to help Claudio Ranieri's side claim an historic first top-flight title. Vardy had been expected to make a decision on Monday before flying to France with England, but he arrived at the team's base in Chantilly with no update on his future. Arsenal are continuing to wait and hope a decision will come before the tournament starts on 10 June. "If Jamie goes then one or two others might want to leave as well," ex-Northern Ireland international Taggart told BBC Radio 5 live. "The whole Leicester ethos over the last couple of seasons has been built around people like Vardy. "I know the backroom staff at Leicester very well and if it does happen they will try and bring in the best replacement they can for whatever money is available. But for the good of the whole team and the club it is important Vardy stays." Vardy joined Leicester from Fleetwood for £1m in 2012. He was named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for 2015-16 and has scored three times in eight games for England since his debut in 2015.
Jamie Vardy leaving Leicester to join Arsenal "could be catastrophic" for the Premier League champions, says former Foxes defender Gerry Taggart.
The Islamic State group (IS) said it carried out the attack in the town of Ameriyat Falluja, and had targeted local Sunni Muslim officials. Young men from the area have joined a Sunni tribal militia which has been fighting IS. It was the second attack claimed by IS in the region in recent days. On Monday, twin suicide bombings killed at least six people in the city of Falluja, which is north-west of Ameriyat Falluja. In June, Iraqi forces declared Falluja "fully liberated" from IS after more than a month of heavy fighting. The jihadist group is under intense pressure further north where a month-long government offensive is trying to drive them out of the city of Mosul. Bad weather on Thursday forced Iraqi forces to pause their advance. The military said poor visibility was hindering the ability of warplanes to provide cover. IS fighters were putting up fierce resistance, using snipers, booby traps and suicide car bombs but the army said troops would secure eastern areas they had entered.
A suicide car bomb attack on a wedding west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed at least 17 people and injured many more.
For months she's resisted closing her country's borders and setting an upper limit on the number of asylum seekers allowed into Germany despite rising, and at times frantic, public and political pressure to do so, including from within her own CDU party. Iron Angie - as she's sometimes known at home - demonstrated her unwavering determination once again at yesterday's EU-Turkey summit and in the lead-up to it. There have been dark mutterings in the German media that, despite increasing problems at home linked to the arrival of over a million asylum-seekers, the German chancellor has spent more time in Ankara than Aachen, Berlin or Cologne of late. But there was stubborn purpose behind the shuttling. Mrs Merkel's political future - and her legacy, after a decade as German chancellor - are hanging in the balance. She faces three key regional elections this weekend, with polls predicting huge gains for the anti-immigrant AfD party. She needed something big and bold on migration, allowing her to avoid performing an awkward U-turn on her national policies but at the same time sending a clear message to the people of Germany that she has the situation in hand. Make no mistake - it was Germany and no other European nation that insisted on a summit with Turkey this week. Turkey is key to resolving Europe's current migration chaos. That's where most refugees and others jump on board people smugglers' dinghies, risking their lives to enter Europe via the Greek islands. But trust between Turkey and the EU is not strong. An "action plan on migration" between the two back in November failed to yield many results. There has been little sign of Turkey cracking down on people-smugglers along its coastline, and limited evidence of the €3bn (£2.3bn; $3.3bn) the EU then promised Turkey in humanitarian aid. So Mrs Merkel began a new push for what she hoped would be a better Turkish deal. Donald Tusk, the head of the European Council, which represents all EU member countries in Brussels, joined in the efforts (after all, he would be the summit host), flying to Turkey ahead of Monday's meeting. But neither of these seasoned politicians were quite prepared for what is now being described as a "Turkish bazaar" here in Brussels. Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived at the summit all smiles for the cameras. "Turkey is ready to work with the European Union," he beamed - omitting to say at what price. Then, behind closed doors, he slammed the EU with a whole host of additional political and funding demands: Even a few months ago, my bet is that faced with this steep list of demands, EU countries would simply have turned their back and walked out. Not now. Chancellor Merkel isn't the only one desperate to solve the migrant crisis: The EU's credibility is crumbling, its members have never looked less unified and Greece, stuck with tens of thousands of stalled migrants on top of being saddled with crippling euro debt repayments, threatens to implode. The bottom line, for the EU, is to put off anybody and everybody from getting in dinghies or trying any means possible to get to Europe to improve their lives. It hopes to send every economic migrant back home and to pay to look after refugees in camps closer to theirs. Voters across Europe say they are spooked by the migrant crisis. But however much Europe's leaders and EU bosses in Brussels fear for their future, they can't compromise all their principles trying to make this problem "go away". And that is why last night's summit didn't end in a deal. Of course, triumphant words flew out of the mouths of leaders and broadcasters across Europe - "turning point", "Big Bang" and "breakthrough". But that is only if - and it's a big if - the proposals are written up and signed at another migrant summit next week - and "if" they are then implemented. There's a lot to think about. Can the EU afford to close its eyes to the Turkish president's increasingly autocratic and arguably anti-democratic behaviour in its rush to do a migration deal? Just before the summit, the Turkish government took over one of the country's best-selling newspapers and tear-gassed outraged protesters on the streets of Ankara, for example. And what of the legal implications of the EU exporting migrants en masse back to Turkey? The UN has warned this could go against international humanitarian law, with some asylum cases needing to be heard here in Europe, they say. Turkey does not have asylum laws in place for Afghans and Iraqis for example, so what will happen to those migrants? And then there are the logistical challenges. Imagine the scenes - not just young men, but old women, wheelchair users, pregnant mothers and screaming babies, many from Syria and other troubled areas. After all they've been through to to get to Greece, will they meekly accept getting on a boat or plane to be sent back to Turkey? And these are just some of the complications surrounding an EU-Turkey deal, never mind the splits in Europe over how to deal with the migrant crisis. So, on Monday Angela Merkel got what she needed for her weekend elections: a tough-sounding something with the promise of a Turkey deal in the offing. Conveniently for her, the votes will be counted in Germany before the talk from the summit begins to publicly unravel.
"Where there's a will, there's a way," Angela Merkel has insisted since the migration crisis exploded across Europe last year.
Cardiff are four points off the Championship play-offs, having lost only twice since a transfer embargo was imposed in January. Morrison, 25, says the Bluebirds have made big improvements during the campaign. "The boys would do anything for each other and fight for every point," Morrison said. "That's all credit to the gaffer - he deserves a lot of credit for the job he's done. "When he came in the club was in a difficult position. He's put a great changing room of players together and that's down to him and the coaching staff. "They make it an easy place to come and an enjoyable place to work. I think that shows on the pitch compared to maybe the beginning of last year." Slade's time at Cardiff since joining from Leyton Orient as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer successor in October 2014 has been eventful. The 55-year-old's contract expires at the end of the current season. Morrison featured in Cardiff's 0-0 draw at Burnley and played his part in a solid defensive display which frustrated the Championship leaders. Despite securing a point at Turf Moor wins for Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County saw Cardiff lose ground in the race for the play-offs. The Bluebirds are now four points behind the play-off places in seventh but Morrison remains hopeful. "There's still six games to go and they've got some hard games coming up and they're not going to win all of them," Morrison added. "We need to keep plugging away, doing what we're doing and pick up as many points as possible. "We're still on track and we'll just keep going." Saturday see Cardiff travel to Fulham, who eased their relegation fears by moving seven points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at Preston on Tuesday.
Defender Sean Morrison says manager Russell Slade deserves credit for the revival of Cardiff City's season.
Lilias Adie, a poor woman who confessed to being a witch and having sex with the devil, died in prison before she could be tried, sentenced and burned. So they buried her deep in the sticky, sopping wet mud of the foreshore - between the high tide and low tide mark - and they put a heavy flat stone over her. But why? In previous cases, people wanted rid of dead witches as cheaply as possible - dumping them naked in pits at the foot of the gallows. Why go to such bother to bury Lilias? One possibility is that Lilias killed herself. Right up to the 19th Century suicide victims were buried this way on the shore, outside consecrated ground. This seems strange and barbaric to us now, but it was believed that suicide was a terrible crime against God, inspired by the devil. Worse, it was believed people who died in this way were in danger of becoming revenants - corpses of bad people who had died a bad death, who then came back from the grave to torment the living. This has a strange and terrible relevance to witchcraft. Demonologists believed that such walking corpses were real and possessed by the devil, who animated them to do things like have sex with witches. Lilias herself had confessed publicly to having sex with the devil. All her friends and neighbours would have believed this was done by the devil putting on such a decaying corpse, just taken from its grave, to copulate with her. Folk belief said that certain bodies were much more likely to do this - executed people, suicides, witches. So now you see the problem, whichever way you look it Lilias is either (a) a suicide or (b) a witch, and even worse (c) possibly both. She was not only given the burial common for suicides but the large stone was placed over her, another folk remedy for revenants, to weigh them down so they can't get up and come back. After they buried her, the good folk of Torryburn must have breathed a contented sigh of relief like scientists entombing nuclear waste. They had made Lilias safe for the centuries, or so they believed. Unfortunately they hadn't made Lilias safe from them. By the 19th Century beliefs had changed, and some enterprising locals dug up Lilias to sell bits of her to the local antiquarians. Their biggest prize, her skull, went to St Andrews University Museum where it was photographed more than 100 years ago. You can still see the photographs today in National Library of Scotland - showing that poor Lilias, who was probably in her 70s when she died, had extremely prominent buck teeth. But sometime in the 20th Century the skull went missing and all inquiries to trace it have so far failed. So what's left on that lonely beach? Our programme went to take a look for the stone - armed with 19th Century descriptions of the area that mentioned "the great stone doorstep that lies over the rifled grave of Lilly Eadie", and a rock with "the remains of an iron ring". In the small group of rocks near the railway bridge, we found a seaweed-covered stone which fitted the doorstep description. Fife archaeologist Douglas Speirs, who examined and cleaned it, confirmed the slab was not natural to the beach but quarried and deliberately placed there. It had in its middle a small dimple which might have been mistaken as the socket for an iron ring. This, we think, is Lillias's stone, but is there anything left of Lilias there? Speirs pointed out that 19th Century curiosity-seekers were unlikely to have lifted the entire body. In the days when "reading someone's bumps on the head" was thought to be science, the skull was the thing. Maybe a few other bits were taken too, but it's unlikely that the whole body went. And if parts of her are left, the preservation in the area is excellent, she is unlikely to have rotted away. Without archaeological investigation, no-one can know for sure, but it's likely that this is the only known witch's grave of its type in Scotland and that parts of Lilias are still in there. The Walking Dead is on BBC Radio Scotland at 13:30 on Wednesday 29 October.
Back in 1704, in Torryburn on the south west Fife coast, they had a problem disposing of toxic material - it was what you might call a toxic witch problem.
Aidy Boothroyd's side beat the hosts 3-0 on Thursday to book their last-four spot. But they had to wait until Saturday to find out their opponents, with Germany finishing as the best runners-up from the three groups. England's semi-final starts at 17:00 BST before Spain face Italy, a rematch of the 2013 final, in Krakow at 20:00. Italy beat Germany 1-0 on Saturday, and secured top spot in Group C by virtue of their superior head-to-head record. Germany finished with six points but bettered the goal difference of Slovakia by one to progress. Elsewhere, Denmark beat Czech Republic 4-2 to move off the bottom of the group. England's Nathan Redmond and Nathaniel Chalobah will be assessed over the weekend to see if they have a chance of playing on Tuesday. Southampton forward Redmond and Chelsea midfielder Chalobah went off in the first half of the win over Poland. Boothroyd said: "They have been massive for us, in qualifying and here. We will see how they are."
England Under-21s will face Germany in Tuesday's European Championship semi-final in Tychy, Poland.
Over eight years, it claimed firms that transport gas and electricity - so-called energy networks - have made £7.5bn in "unjustified" profits. It blamed the regulator, Ofgem, which sets industry price controls, for "errors in judgement". Ofgem disputed the claim and said it had already helped to lower fuel bills. Citizens Advice said that network firms had enjoyed a multi-billion pound windfall at the expense of consumers. As an example, Citizens Advice said National Grid had made an operating profit of more than £4bn in 2015/16. However the company's annual accounts show that around a quarter of that profit was made in the US or on other activities. "Decisions made by Ofgem have allowed gas and electricity network companies to make sky-high profits that we've found are not justified by their performance," said Gillian Guy, head of Citizens Advice. "Through their energy bills, it is consumers who have to pay the £7.5bn price for the regulator's errors of judgment. We think it is right that energy network companies return this money to consumers through a rebate." Ofgem sets the charges that network companies like National Grid, SSE and Cadent - which distributes gas - can levy in any eight-year period. That is because they are monopoly operators. But in the current period, lasting from 2013 to 2021, Citizens Advice says Ofgem has been too favourable to the companies' interests. It claims that Ofgem: However, Ofgem said a number of the assumptions used by Citizens Advice were too high, and rejected the idea of a rebate. "We do think they raise some valid points, but we don't agree with their modelling or their figures," said Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem's senior partner for networks. On Wednesday Ofgem also announced a consultation on how it should set price controls after 2021. "We will take some of the issues into account when we examine future price controls," Mr Brearley added. He told the BBC that those controls are likely to be much tougher on the companies involved, providing downward pressure on bills. At the moment, around a quarter of the average fuel bill is taken up by transmission charges. The Energy Networks Association - which represents the operators - also said it did not agree with the modelling used by Citizens Advice. It said a similar claim filed by British Gas had already been rejected by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Every household in the UK should get a one-off rebate of £285 on its fuel bills as a result of excess industry profits, Citizens Advice has said.
The Welshman, 40, started the day two shots behind overnight leader Clement Sordet but nine birdies and two bogeys sealed his first win of 2015. Frenchman Sordet (70) and England's Lee Westwood (67) finished joint second. Donaldson and Westwood's efforts mean they have returned to the world's top 50 to qualify for the 2016 Open and Masters. Sordet also qualified for the Open, along with Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai, who finished sixth. The win for Donaldson was his first since claiming the Czech Masters in August last year. Spain's Sergio Garcia shot a two-under 70 to finish fourth alongside South Korean An Byeong-hun.
Jamie Donaldson shot a final-round seven under 65 to win the Thailand Golf Championship by three strokes.
The one-time crooner, who had a string of hit singles in the 1950s, went on to become one of radio's best loved presenters. During his career, a veritable who's who of royalty, politicians and celebrities subjected themselves to his gentle yet probing style of interview. His acrimonious departure from the BBC in 2002 led to a storm of protest, including questions in parliament. He was born Leslie Ronald Young in Cinderford, Gloucestershire on 21 September 1921. He was keen on music from an early age and learned to play the piano as well as having professional voice training. His parents divorced in 1939 and Young moved to South Wales. He signed up with the RAF on the outbreak of war after falsely giving his age as 18. He was, in fact, three weeks short of his 18th birthday. Shortly after he was demobbed in 1949, he was spotted singing in a club by a BBC producer and went on to make a number of broadcast appearances as well as touring across the UK. His first release, a cover of the Nat King Cole song, Too Young, was a huge hit just a year before the UK Singles Chart was born. He signed to Decca in 1952 and enjoyed a number of Top 10 hits. He was also asked to perform some of the songs in Gene Kelly's film, Invitation to the Dance. But, by the end of the 1950s rock and roll was the new craze and crooners like Young suddenly found themselves out of fashion. His income plummeted, he sank into depression and turned to drink to ease the pain. He later confessed that he had contemplated suicide. In desperation he visited a fortune teller who informed him he was going to be a great success. He picked himself up and went back into radio. After hosting a show called A Young Man's Fancy on Radio Luxembourg he moved to the BBC Light Programme. He became one of the hosts of Housewives' Choice, playing easy listening music while outside in the real world the Beatles and Rolling Stones fought for chart supremacy. Five years after the Beatles' first hit single the BBC finally launched Radio 1, a station devoted to pop music, to fill the gap left by the closure of the pirate radio stations. While many of the new station's young DJs were ex-pirate presenters, Young, by then 46, became part of the line-up. A lack of money meant some output was broadcast across both Radio 1 and Radio 2, as the old Light Programme was now called, and Young presented the mid-morning show. In contrast to the brash style of the Breakfast Show, presented by Tony Blackburn, Young's programme was much more sedate in tone. It included regular consumer information, recipes and discussions on current affairs. In 1973, the BBC revamped its music stations and Young's show was heard solely on Radio 2. Over the next 30 years, the format remained much the same with experts, such as Tony di Angeli from the Grocer magazine and "Legal Beagle" Bill Thomas dealing with listeners' queries. His shows were peppered with catchphrases such as "BFN" and "Orf we jolly well go", as well as the squeaky voice of Raymondo with his, "What's the recipe today Jim?" During his tenure he interviewed every prime minister as well as members of royalty and other celebrities. Margaret Thatcher appeared on the show 14 times and declared Young was her favourite presenter. His interviewing style was probing but gentle, something the Labour politician Roy Hattersley described as "courtesy with a cutting edge". His detractors claimed he was too soft with politicians, something that Young always strongly denied. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar," he once said. "I hold conversations. I am a listener." By the turn of the century, Young was in his 80s and BBC management was desperate to attract a younger audience to Radio 2. The new controller, Jim Moir had already ousted Ed Stewart and John Dunn and he now turned his attention to the Jimmy Young programme. When news that he was to be replaced leaked out, Young, who by now had collected a knighthood, hit back with a well-organised PR campaign. He gained huge support from listeners and a diverse range of well-known figures. An Early Day motion was put down in Parliament calling on the BBC to keep him on. Young himself was not going quietly. Saying that he was flattered that so many people wanted his job he went on to make clear he had no plans to leave. "Unless, of course, in the ageist pursuit of youth someone decides to ignore my record-breaking ratings and fire me." Eventually after much bitter wrangling it was announced that Young would be relinquishing his morning show to Jeremy Vine. "Just so that we're all singing from the same hymn book, it was not my idea to go - I didn't want to leave you at all and I know from your messages that you don't want me to go either." Young was asked to present a weekly show on Sundays but he turned the offer down venting his ire at the BBC's decision in a newspaper article. The hatchet was eventually buried and in 2011, Young was back behind a microphone in a special programme to mark his 90th birthday. While Radio 2 went through many changes during Young's tenure, his show remained much as it had begun and one of the station's flagship programmes. Jeremy Vine, the man who took over Jimmy Young's show, once summed up his appeal. "Jimmy was just a totally ordinary, honest bloke, the least pretentious person you could ever imagine. And his audience adored him for it."
For more than six decades, Jimmy Young was a key figure in British broadcasting.
Islwyn MP Chris Evans told BBC Wales' Sunday Politics Wales he feared strikes would create more refugees. MPs backed UK military action by 397 votes to 223 on Wednesday. All of Wales' 11 Conservative MPs supported the air strikes. Leader Andrew RT Davies said they were necessary for national security. Stephen Doughty, the Labour MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, backed the action but his constituency assembly colleague Vaughan Gething said he was undecided. Mr Gething said: "I don't think anyone with hand on heart can say we are absolutely guaranteed we are safer for action or that we can guarantee that we are safer than if we don't take action given that we are already a target."
A Welsh Labour MP has warned air strikes against so-called Islamic State in Syria could radicalise more young Muslims in the UK and Europe.
The part is a significant chunk of Edsac - a machine built at Cambridge in the late 1940s to serve scientists at the university. It came to light because of publicity surrounding an effort to rebuild the computer. The part has now been donated to the rebuild project and will be incorporated into the finished machine. Edsac, the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator, ran its first programs in May 1949 and through its working life aided many scientists by analysing data generated by many different experiments. Before now, it had not been known what happened to the parts of Edsac after it was decommissioned and dismantled in the 1950s. The uncovering of the part, called the Chassis 1A, solved part of that riddle, said Dr Andrew Herbert who is leading the reconstruction project at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. It now appears that at the end of Edsac's life it was sold off in an auction but it is not known who bought all the parts. "Details of the 'auction' are unclear, but there is a possibility that other parts of the original Edsac still exist and could even be in the Cambridge area stored away in lofts, garden sheds and garages," said Mr Herbert. The Chassis 1A found its way to the US after being bought by Robert Little, who currently lives in Pennsylvania. He got it from a Cambridge scientist called Dr Robert Clarke in 1969, who had bought several Edsac pieces in the auction intending to turn them into bookshelves. Mr Little contacted the Edsac reconstruction team after reading about the project online. The Chassis is designed to hold 28 of the 3,000 valves that formed the main computational elements of Edsac. The 12 vertical racks of Edsac held up to 14 individual chassis on to which the valves were fixed. Dr Herbert said the donated chassis was "quite distressed" by corrosion after being in storage for several decades. Work is now under way to see how much of it can be incorporated into the reconstructed Edsac. "It would be a major task to return this particular chassis to operating condition," he said. "However, we hope to try to use some of the valves, if they are still functional, in our reconstructed Edsac thus providing a very tangible connection with the original machine." The chassis is the second Edsac artefact that publicity about the reconstruction has brought to light. In June last year, detailed circuit diagrams of Edsac were discovered and are now aiding project workers. The reconstruction of Edsac is due to be completed by the end of the year.
An original part of one of the UK's pioneering computers has been found in the US.
Media playback is not supported on this device Adnan Akmal scored 74 not out as the hosts made 192, losing 12 wickets on day one of a two-day match as both teams agreed to spend a day batting. Finn took 4-16 but will battle with Mark Wood for the third seamer's place. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Adil Rashid, pushing for a Test debut, took 3-53. Finn, who took eight Australian wickets to win the third Ashes Test in July, and Wood played alongside Stuart Broad in the last two Tests against Australia after James Anderson was injured. But Finn expects Wood, Broad and the fit-again Anderson to be selected for the first Test, which begins on 13 October in Abu Dhabi, after the other three all played in the opening warm-up game earlier this week. "I'd say I've staked a claim but I'd still be surprised if I played the first Test," said the Middlesex bowler, who took the new ball with fellow paceman Liam Plunkett. "I think the guys bowled really well the other day, and it wouldn't surprise me if the team that was picked then is the team for the first Test. "At the moment, I'm back-up to those guys but nothing is set in stone." Finn's match-winning Ashes performance at Edgbaston came after he doubted if he would play Test cricket again during his two-year absence from the longest format. On that occasion, Wood was rested and Finn believes it will be a straight pick between him and the Durham seamer. "There will be disappointed people, regardless of who gets picked," added Finn. "I don't think the same attack is going to play all the way through the series. "So if you don't play the first Test, it's not the end of the world - there are two others in very quick succession." Attention will turn to England's batting on Friday, with Moeen Ali and Alex Hales both auditioning for the role as captain Alastair Cook's opening partner.
England pace bowler Steven Finn pressed his claims for a place in next week's first Test against Pakistan after taking four wickets in their final warm-up against Pakistan A in Sharjah.
Dumbuya remains out with an ankle injury but recent signings Antonio German and Aidan Nesbitt could make their debuts for the Jags. Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes faces up to four weeks out with a hamstring tear. However, Ryan Jack is available again after recovering from a similar injury and the Dons have no other injury worries. A win would draw Derek McInnes's side level on points with Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, who host Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday and already have a game in hand over Aberdeen. So who is more under pressure? Title-chasing Aberdeen - still clinging to the coattails of Celtic - or Partick Thistle, suddenly floating perilously close to the relegation dogfight? The Jags start to eat into their games in hand, they have played three less than Kilmarnock, who trail them by a point, but manager Alan Archibald would surely be privately happy with a draw against McInnes's side. A win though would lift them above Hamilton Academical and Motherwell into eighth spot in the table. February has not been kind to them - knocked out of the Scottish Cup by toiling Dundee United and then victims of an 11th hour postponement of their match against Hearts at Tynecastle. But Aberdeen fans will demand a battling performance after the defeat by Inverness on Monday, a result which rocked their hopes of pipping Celtic for the title. It is another chance to match Celtic's current points tally although by the time the league leaders kick off on Saturday they will have two games in hand. Aberdeen will be missing key player, Johnny Hayes, who has torn a hamstring and could be out until well into March. His absence is a huge blow. Thistle have failed to score in either of the two previous league fixtures between the clubs this season, losing 2-0 at Pittodrie and drawing 0-0 at Firhill. Oh, and Dons fans will be desperate for a decent refereeing performance. The good news from their perspective is that the referee is not Willie Collum, who awarded a controversial penalty in Inverness. Alan Muir gets the job.
Partick Thistle right-back Mustapha Dumbuya is out of Friday's Scottish Premiership game against Aberdeen.
Harris joined the Merseyside club from Wrexham last summer and has scored three goals in his 39 appearances. The former Everton trainee previously had spells at Chester and Accrington before his move to Prenton Park. "Hopefully we can go up this season and then look to do the same again next year," the 28-year-old told the club's website.
Tranmere Rovers midfielder Jay Harris has signed a new two-year contract with the National League side.
Media playback is not supported on this device McKibbin is playing in the European Challenge Tour event after an invite from the golf management company owned by One Direction star Niall Horan. "The invite was a total surprise but I don't think I will be nervous," said World Under-12 champion McKibbin. The County Antrim youngster says this week is all about "having fun". "I'll be using it as a learning experience. I don't have any expectations," he said. McKibbin's World Under-12 title triumph last year in the US saw him clinching a title which Rory McIlroy won as a nine-year-old. The Newtownabbey youngster played alongside McIlroy at the Irish Open Pro-Am at the K Club in May and his outings at this week's tournament venue Galgorm Castle near Ballymena include shooting a one-under 71 in last year's Northern Ireland Open Pro-Am. McKibbin will have his father Robin "on the bag" this week although McKibbin Snr insists he will adopting a "low-key approach". "My job will be just to keep him in the right frame of mind," adds Robin. "The only place the pressure will come from is himself. I'm not there to shout and roar at him. It will be a case of calming him down if something does go a bit wayward. "He's been around a lot of these players so it shouldn't be overly daunting for him. "We're just excited he got the invite and it's purely a learning experience for him. That's what the invite is based on. Nothing else and whatever score he shoots is whatever score he shoots." Tom, who also won this Junior Honda Classic in Florida earlier this year, is missing the Irish Under-14 Championship at Lurgan on Friday in order to tee up at Galgorm. "We knew this was such a huge opportunity here for him to learn from some of the best players in the world," continues Robin. This week's field includes tournament ambassador and five-time European Tour winner Michael Hoey, plus several other multiple winners from the continent's top golfing tier, such as England's Tom Lewis and Swedes Johan Edfors and Mikael Lundberg. McKibbin's playing partners over the first two rounds will be Ireland's Walker Cup star from last year Gavin Moynihan, who has since turned pro, and another home player David Rawluk. The youngster's father is optimistic that the prodigy will not be overawed by this week's surroundings. "The World Championship events and all the tournaments he has played in the States are a scaled down version of this but they are set up very much like a pro event," adds Robin. "The scoreboards and TV cameras are there. There is a lot going on at those events. So he has that experience that he can draw upon." After playing nine holes at Galgorm on Monday, Tom continued his preparations for the tournament with a practice round alongside Hoey on Tuesday, with coach Johnny Foster also keeping a watching brief. "The course is a lot longer than what I'm used to and the rough is also a lot deeper," added Tom. "I can't get to five of the par-fours in two shots so my chipping and putting is going to need to be on but I'm still really looking forward to the week." Never want to miss the latest golf news? You can now add this sport and all the other sports and teams you follow to your personalised My Sport home.
Thirteen-year-old golfing prodigy Tom McKibbin insists he will not be nervous when he tees up with seasoned pros at the Northern Ireland Open on Thursday.
Both said the talks would focus on relations across the Taiwan Straits. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and views the island as a breakaway province which will one day be reunited with the mainland. But ties have improved since President Ma took office in 2008. The Chinese government threatens to use military force against Taiwan if it ever attempts to gain outright independence. Taiwanese spokesman Chen Yi-hsin said President Ma's aim was "to promote peace cross the Taiwan Strait and maintain status quo". Analysis: Cindy Sui, BBC News, Taipei This meeting, less than three months before Taiwan's elections, is a sign of how concerned China is that the significantly improved ties of recent years could be jeopardised if the pro-independence opposition party's candidate becomes president. Opinion polls show Tsai Ing-wen is leading - a big worry for Beijing. Ms Tsai has said she welcomes dialogue with Chinese leaders, but Beijing has refused to meet her, indicating it does not trust her. She was a minister in charge of developing policy toward mainland China under the previous administration, which angered Beijing by trying to work towards formal independence. Mr Xi may believe he can sway Taiwanese voters but this could backfire. While some voters who want to maintain stable relations may heed his words, they may offend Taiwanese voters who are already worried that Beijing will have increasing influence over Taiwan if the candidate from President Ma's party is elected. And this could hurt, rather than help, the party favoured by Beijing. The two leaders are expected to handle the meeting in a delicate manner. Mr Ma's office has emphasised no agreements will be signed and no joint statement will be issued. Mr Ma will hold a news conference on Thursday to explain his decision to hold the talks. More details are also expected from Taiwan's mainland affairs council later on Wednesday. China's official Xinhua news agency said the two sides would "exchange views on promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations". The BBC's John Sudworth in Beijing says Saturday's meeting will mark a significant break with the long-established diplomatic stance. Contact of any kind between the two sides has been extremely limited and China has resisted anything that might be seen to be giving Taiwan equal status, he says. In a sign of how politically sensitive the meeting is, the leaders will address each other as Mr Xi and Mr Ma, rather than president, one Chinese government official has said. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US welcomed any steps to reduce tensions and improve relations, but added: "We'll have to see what actually comes out of the meeting." Taiwan profile China profile Ties with China have improved under President Ma, whose Kuomintang (KMT) party is seen as pro-Beijing. In July 2009 the two leaders exchanged direct messages for the first time in more than 60 years, albeit in their respective party functions, and not as national leaders. A year later, the two countries signed a historic trade pact. However, correspondents say growing fears over China's influence has led to widespread dissatisfaction in Taiwan. The KMT suffered a crushing defeat in local elections last year, a result that was widely seen as a rejection of President Ma's push for closer ties with China. Mr Ma steps down next year having served two terms, and earlier this month the KMT dropped its candidate for January's presidential election following a series of poor ratings in opinion polls. Analysts say China is likely to see a meeting between the two leaders as a final chance to press its case for improved ties, in case the KMT loses the election. China has insisted that countries cannot have official relations with both China and Taiwan, with the result that Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with only 21 UN member states. Taiwan also has no seat at the UN, having lost it to China in 1971. Repeated attempts to regain representation at the UN have been blocked.
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday - the first ever meeting between leaders of the two sides.
The university's congregation - which is made up of academics and administrative staff - voted down a call to axe the retirement age. Paul Ewart, a 69-year-old professor of physics at Oxford, said it was "disappointing... but not the end". Oxford University said its rule created "career progression" and "inter-generational" fairness. Prof Ewart has described the rule as "age discrimination" and said it affected many colleagues still teaching at "the peak of their form". He said he and his colleagues respected the vote but individuals could still take their cases to employment tribunals. Gill Evans, emeritus professor at Cambridge University, who has been involved in the Oxford campaign, said: "Nobody is surprised, everybody involved sees this as a stage in the process." The Equality Act prevents employers from forcing workers to retire at 65, although employers can still implement a compulsory retirement age where they can justify it. A motion to scrap the university's rule was debated by Oxford's congregation on 16 May, but was lost by 143 votes to 64. Campaigners then triggered the postal vote of all members the congregation - around 5,000 in total - over the future of the EJRA. The ballot closed on Friday but was defeated by 1,142 votes to 538. Oxford University said the postal vote was the sixth time in three months that the congregation had considered the "employer-justified retirement age" and that it had supported the policy every time. "By any standard, the frequency of discussion and voting has been exhaustive and the considerable majority against abolition speaks for itself," it added.
Academics at Oxford University have failed in a new bid to challenge rules forcing them to retire at 67.
Ray Houghton's tumbling goal celebration at the 1994 World Cup and Salvatore Schillaci's whoops of delight after scoring in the same fixture four years earlier are snapshots of the fervour on display. Angelo Fusco, 81, has been a keen observer of Italy's games against the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for decades, and can boast connections linking all three. He was brought up in Belfast, educated in Dublin, and his father had strong links with the Comino Valley. "I always supported Italy in football and Ireland in rugby as I went to school in Dublin at Blackrock," he said. "Italy comes just a wee bit above the Irish, my mother was Irish and my dad was Italian. "My brother, Carlo, supported Inter Milan and the other three brothers, myself included, supported AC Milan. "I remember in 1990 when Italy won against Ireland at the World Cup, someone threw a brick through the window of a brother's shop in Belfast. "My favourite Italian players have been Cesare Maldini and his son Paolo. I saw Cesare play for AC Milan in the 1963 European Cup final in London against Benfica, I went over to the match with my brothers. "I also went to the Rome derby once between AS Roma and Lazio - I don't know all the Italian curses, but there was a lot of swearing around me. "My brother Carlo played for Distillery, Cliftonville and Portadown in the Irish League. "At Portadown he was a teammate of Wilbur Cush who went on to play at the 1958 World Cup for Northern Ireland." Angelo and his brothers witnessed the infamous 'Battle of Belfast' in December 1957, when Northern Ireland and Italy drew 2-2 in an explosive encounter at Windsor Park. Juan Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia, who scored Uruguay's winning goal in the 1950 World Cup final before becoming a naturalised Italian, both featured in the game. It was invalidated as a World Cup qualifier after the Hungarian referee Istvan Zolt's flight was held up by fog, but its new designation as a "friendly" did not stop tempers boiling on and off the pitch. "We all, as brothers, went to the game against Northern Ireland in Belfast in 1957, we were all there supporting Italy and it was a shambles," Angelo said. "It was supposed to be a World Cup match, but the referee did not turn up. "In those days, the goalkeeper in Italy was sacrosanct and was not to be touched. Northern Ireland forward Peter McParland tackled the goalkeeper and took him out, the match turned on that. "When the fans invaded the pitch after the match, they got one of the full-backs on the ground, Harry Gregg and some of the other Northern Ireland players got round him and shielded him." Angelo also recalled how both sets of players met up at a dance hall venue in north Belfast after the game. "There was a big do at the Floral Hall at Bellevue, which was attended by players from the Italian and Northern Ireland teams," he added. "We as brothers sold tickets for the dance that night. The Northern Ireland players that were there included Peter McParland, Danny and Jackie Blanchflower and Wilbur Cush. "The Italian players that were there included Juan Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia "The match was rough, but when it is over, it is over and the players move on." Paul Loughran is one of 24 fans from the West Belfast Ireland Supporters Club who will be travelling to the Euro 2016 finals. He said a number of them would be attending the Italy v Republic of Ireland game on 22 June near Lille and highlighted the history that linked the two teams. "It is always a good match, there is always a lot of excitement and tension for both sets of supporters and across the generations," he said. "Ireland had Giovanni Trapattoni as manager, he was born on St Patrick's Day so that was his Irish connection, he also had Marco Tardelli who was Italian, as his assistant. "Liam Brady was a big player for Ireland and he also played for Juventus in Italy and Trapattoni managed him there." Angelo, meanwhile, is just happy to soak up the occasion, whatever the result. "It is great that that the three of them are there, (Italy, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) - it doesn't happen very often."
When the Republic of Ireland and Italy clash at football, passion and pride are usually not far away.
Tigers have paid a transfer fee to buy May out of the final year of his contract, while Slater, 29, leaves Welford Road after seven years. "Jonny is an out-and-out finisher with an outstanding try-scoring record," said Tigers head coach Matt O'Connor. Leicester have also signed Valentino Mapapalangi and Chris Baumann. Both have experience in New Zealand, with Tonga back-row Mapapalangi, 24, having played for Auckland, Waikato, Chiefs and Manawatu. United States prop Baumann, 30, featured for Wellington Lions last year and played in the 2015 World Cup. The arrival of May, who has 27 caps for England, will add to Tigers' wing options following the departures of Peter Betham and JP Pietersen. George and Joe Ford, Jonah Holmes, Nick Malouf, Gareth Owen, Sione Kalamafoni and Dominic Ryan have also signed for Leicester ahead of the new season.
England wing Jonny May has completed his switch to Leicester Tigers from Gloucester in a deal which sees Ed Slater move to Kingsholm.