document
stringlengths 0
39k
| summary
stringlengths 1
329
| id
stringlengths 8
8
|
---|---|---|
Greater Manchester PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were lured to a house in Mottram, Tameside on 18 September 2012.
Dale Cregan opened fire on the officers before throwing a grenade at them.
Mr Cameron attended the unveiling of a memorial stone at The Hub in Stockport Road in his first engagement since leaving Downing Street.
The memorial stone is less than a mile away from the scene of the attack.
Police Memorial Trust chairman Geraldine Winner, widow of former movie director Michael Winner, attended the service along with Greater Manchester's Chief Constable Ian Hopkins.
Mr Cameron said: "I spoke last night outside Number 10 Downing Street for the last time and I spoke about the extraordinary ethic of service in our country particularly our police, our intelligence, our armed forces.
He added the officers' murder had been "an act of pure evil" adding that it "shook the policing family to its very core".
"Our fallen heroes in the police exemplify the very best of us. To me they are the very epitome of service, bravery and sacrifice.
"This monument will ensure that their stories live on."
He added: "Fiona and Nicola are lights that will never go out. We are grateful of the service that they gave to the community. We will never let them be forgotten. We are so proud of them. May they rest in peace."
PCs Bone, 32, and Hughes, 23, were the 46th and 47th officers killed in the course of duty to be honoured by the trust since its formation 32 years ago.
Mr Hopkins said: "None of us will forget the morning of 18 September 2012 when PC Fiona Bone and PC Nicola Hughes were brutally murdered doing the job they both loved so passionately.
Cregan, who was also convicted of two other murders, was told in June 2013 that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. | Former Prime Minister David Cameron spent his first day out of power honouring two police officers murdered on duty four years ago. | 36793970 |
Tinder leads the market in the UK, boasting 26 million "matches" per day globally. The company says it broke its own records last Valentine's Day as people flocked to the app looking for love.
Behind the app is dating giant Match, which also owns other big names including match.com, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish - but there are plenty of start-ups hoping to charm singles and top the app store charts.
"Whatever competitors do, they will need to be cash rich and able to support the business to stand a chance of success," says Paolo Pescatore, director of Multiplay and Media at CCS Insight.
"But there is scope for new players to emerge that focus on a specific niche."
Combining match-making with games and quizzes, DatePlay is designed to generate "more meaningful matches" than its rivals.
Behind the app is entrepreneur Vana Koutsomitis, who first pitched her idea on the BBC television series The Apprentice.
She did not win Lord Sugar's investment - he judged the project too risky - but she has continued work on her app, which she hopes will make online dating more fun.
"If you sign up for any of the online dating sites that focus on meaningful relationships, you'll be asked to fill out tonnes of questions about yourself," she says.
"What we're doing is making an interface that is a game instead of these self reports."
Singles hoping to challenge strangers to a round of battleships or gin rummy will have to look elsewhere, for now. The app will be launched with its first game this summer, with more added later.
"Our first game is a Buzzfeed-style game where you will be answering questions about your preferences in terms of photos. You'll work through it in a fun and interactive way."
One concern raised on The Apprentice was that people might spend all day playing a game, only to be matched with somebody they did not find attractive. But Koutsomitis says playing for longer improves your chances of finding the perfect date.
"As you continue to play the game we continue to get more data about you... that allows us to match you with better people," she explains.
"We think it's more important to have a few meaningful matches."
In a bid to cut out "creeps and timewasters", Hanky lets existing members decide whether new joiners should be allowed in.
The app, for men only, launched in January. At the time, founder Jonas Cronfield boasted: "Our users are nicer and more sexy."
But critics say Hanky fosters superficiality and superiority, by providing an environment where people are judged on their appearance.
And while it is not the first dating service that lets people judge others on their looks, critics say the app divides a community that has fought discrimination.
The company insists it has good intentions.
"The vetting system is there just because we are trying to narrow it down a little bit, it's trying to help people not waste so much time on these apps," says Johan Andersson, the firm's chief evangelist.
"The process of joining is harder than normal. You can't just go on there, upload a photo and start chatting to people. By the time you're approved, if you're still just looking to waste people's time, you've gone through a lot of trouble to do that."
The app has attracted 85,000 members since its launch - although many more have tried to join. Andersson says eight out of 10 applicants are rejected by existing members.
A system that can validate members' identities has an obvious appeal to a community of men that has been targeted by criminals through rival apps.
But critics say Hanky's self-regulating process falls short, letting members judge whether new joiners are "creeps" or "timewasters" just by looking at their photographs.
"The point was never to stop crime," says Andersson. "We can take no responsibility for what happens between two people when they communicate online."
While other apps focus on providing you with a wide choice of singles, Once strives to provide quality over quantity.
The app allows you just one match a day, hand-picked by a human curator and delivered to your phone at noon.
Daters have 24 hours to initiate a conversation and move things forward, before their "match" disappears and is replaced with a new one to consider over lunch.
"You have 24 hours of full, undivided attention," says the app's creator Jean Meyer. "There's nobody else, no noise. It's a special moment for 24 hours."
A special moment, or perhaps 24 hours of awkward silence.
While rival apps such as Tinder give you plenty of people to scroll through, with Once there is no skipping ahead, and your first "match" is chosen by a stranger.
"Anybody can pick someone who is very good-looking and smart, that's easy. But you need this person also to like you," explains Meyer.
"When we have a matchmaker forcing you into a match, you have a lot of chances that the person you're being matched with is also going to like you."
Rejection is easy to accept on Tinder, where a new match is only a swipe away. Does Once risk upsetting people who could go a week without anybody saying hello?
"It's a dating app, not a self-esteem app. It's not about boosting your ego, you have Instagram for that," says Meyer.
One in three matches turns into a conversation, he reassures me. And those unhappy with today's match can take control and choose somebody they would like to speak to from a list of 10.
But they won't be offered up for conversation until at least noon the following day - and with a maximum of seven introductions a week, finding "the one" could be a lengthy process.
"If you pass, your next match is going to come the next day, so you can do something else," says Meyer.
"Go take a hike, or walk, or go to the movie theatre with your friends... don't spend three hours swiping, because technology should help you gain time not waste it.
"When you're done with your match of the day, do something else - please! Live your life." | Valentine's Day is not just a big day for couples - millions of singles are expected to fire up dating apps today in search of romance. | 35493443 |
1498 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama visits Tanzanian coast.
First president Julius Nyerere was influential in Africa's independence movement
Julius Nyerere: The conscience of Africa
BBC World Service: The Story of Africa
1506 - Portuguese succeed in controlling most of the East African coast.
1699 - Portuguese ousted from Zanzibar by Omani Arabs.
1884 - German Colonisation Society begins to acquire territory on the mainland.
1886 - Britain and Germany sign an agreement allowing Germany to set up a sphere of influence over mainland Tanzania, except for a narrow piece of territory along the coast which stays under the authority of the sultan of Zanzibar, while Britain enjoys a protectorate over Zanzibar.
1905-06 - Indigenous Maji Maji revolt suppressed by German troops.
1916 - British, Belgian and South African troops occupy most of German East Africa.
1919 - League of Nations gives Britain a mandate over Tanganyika - today's mainland Tanzania.
1929 - Tanganyika African Association founded.
Tanzania has many natural wonders, some of which are under threat
In pictures: Tanzania's toad haul
Tanzanian tree facing extinction
1946 - United Nations converts British mandate over Tanganyika into a trusteeship.
1954 - Julius Nyerere and Oscar Kambona transform the Tanganyika African Association into the Tanganyika African National Union.
1961 - Tanganyika becomes independent with Julius Nyerere as prime minister.
1962 - Tanganyika becomes a republic with Mr Nyerere as president.
1963 - Zanzibar becomes independent.
1964 - Sultanate of Zanzibar overthrown by Afro-Shirazi Party in a violent, left-wing revolution; Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to become Tanzania with Nyerere as president and Afro-Shirazi leader Abeid Amani Karume as vice-president. Socialism
1967 - Nyerere issues the Arusha Declaration, which launches drive for socialist economic self-reliance.
1977 - The Tanganyika African National Union and Zanzibar's Afro-Shirazi Party merge to become the Party of the Revolution, which is proclaimed as the only legal party.
1978 - Ugandans temporarily occupy a piece of Tanzanian territory.
1979 - Tanzanian forces invade Uganda, occupying the capital, Kampala, and help to oust President Idi Amin.
1985 - Mr Nyerere retires and is replaced by the president of Zanzibar, Ali Mwinyi.
1992 - Constitution amended to allow multi-party politics.
1995 - Benjamin Mkapa chosen as president in Tanzania's first multi-party election.
US embassies were hit in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam by the al-Qaeda terror group
US embassy attacks remembered
1998 August - Al-Qaeda Islamist terror group bombs US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
2000 - Mkapa elected for a second term, winning 72% of the vote.
2001 26 January - Tanzanian police shoot dead two people in Zanzibar while raiding the offices in Zanzibar town of the Civic United Front. Front chairman Ibrahim Lipumba charged with unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace.
2001 January - At least 31 people are killed and another 100 arrested in Zanzibar in protests against the government's banning of opposition rallies calling for fresh elections; government sends in troops.
2001 March - Governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi and main Zanzibari opposition Civic United Front agree to form joint committee to restore calm and to encourage return of refugees from Kenya.
2001 April - Tens of thousands of opposition supporters march through the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, in the first major joint demonstration by opposition parties in decades.
2001 July - Huge new gold mine, Bulyanhulu, opens near northern town of Mwanza, making Tanzania Africa's third largest producer of gold.
2001 November - Presidents of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya launch regional parliament and court of justice in Arusha to legislate on matters of common interest such as trade and immigration.
2001 December - Britain approves controversial deal to sell military air traffic control system to Tanzania. Critics say it is a waste of money.
2005 March-April - Political violence in semi-autonomous Zanzibar ahead of voter registration for October poll.
2005 October - Governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi wins Zanzibar elections. Opposition Civic United Front claims vote-rigging and announces an indefinite boycott of Zanzibar's parliament.
2005 December - Jakaya Kikwete, foreign minister and ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi candidate, wins presidential elections.
2006 April - High Court outlaws traditional practice of entertaining candidates during elections. Critics of "Takrima" - the giving of tips - said it encouraged corruption.
2006 June - Visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, on his seven-nation African tour to secure energy deals and strengthen economic ties, signs agreements to help Tanzania's health, transport and communications sectors.
2006 August - The African Development Bank announces the cancellation of more than $640m of debt owed by Tanzania, saying it was impressed with Tanzania's economic record and the level of accountability of public finance.
2007 July - Former US president Bill Clinton launches a programme aimed at making subsidised malaria drugs available in a pilot scheme that could spread to the rest of Africa.
2008 January - Central Bank Governor Daudi Ballali is sacked after an international audit finds the bank made improper payments of more than $120m (£60m) to local companies.
2008 February - President Kikwete dissolves cabinet following corruption scandal which forced the prime minister and two ministers to resign.
2009 November - Main opposition party in Zanzibar, Civic United Forum, ends five-year boycott of the island's parliament ahead of upcoming elections.
2010 July - Tanzania joins its neighbours in forming a new East African Common Market, intended to integrate the region's economy.
2010 September - President Kikwete says construction of highway through Serengeti game reserve will go ahead, despite criticism from environmental experts.
2010 October - President Kikwete wins re-election.
2011 January - Two killed as police try disperse demonstrators demanding release of Chadema opposition party leader Freeman Mbowe, detained ahead of a rally against government corruption.
2011 July - British arms and aircraft firm BAE Systems admits setting up sham compensation arrangements worth £8m for the sale of an overly-complex air-traffic control system, and agrees to pay Tanzania £30m in compensation.
Gas find
2012 March - The Statoil and Exxon Mobil oil exploration companies make major discovery of gas reserves off the coast of Tanzania.
2012 May - President Jakaya Kikwete sacks six ministers after the inspector of public finances notes the "rampant misuse of funds" in at least seven ministries. The ministers of finance, energy, tourism, trade, transport and health lose their jobs.
2012 August - Tanzania confirms 36 Iranian oil tankers have been using Tanzanian flags to evade US and EU economic sanctions on Iran's crude oil exports. The US warns Tanzania that it could face sanctions unless the flag operation stops.
2013 August - Pressure group Human Rights Watch reports that thousands of children work in small-scale Tanzanian gold mines, at great risk to their health.
2013 December - Four cabinet ministers are sacked over allegations of human rights abuses during a campaign against ivory poaching.
2015 April - Referendum on a new constitution is postponed after delays in registering voters.
2015 November - Works Minister John Magufuli of the governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi wins presidential election by large margin over former prime minister Edward Lomassa.
2016 April - Tanzania and Uganda agree to build East Africa's first major oil pipeline.
2017 April - Gunmen kill eight police officers in the eastern region of Kibiti, the latest in a string of killings targeting politicians and security officers. | A chronology of key events: | 14095868 |
Junior Lewis, Tom Hitchcock, Jai Reason, Kenny Davis, Jason Goodliffe, Ben Goodliffe, Ben Nunn, Femi Ilesanmi and Matt Paine will all depart.
Ferrier declined the offer of a new deal and will be allowed to leave if the "right offer" comes in.
The 22-year-old England C international was Wood's top goalscorer in 2016-17 with 12 goals in 32 appearances.
"For any clubs interested or reading this, we have recently turned down offers in excess of £50,000 for Morgan and we do expect movement on this over the summer," said the club website. | Nine players are set to leave National League side Boreham Wood, who have also put striker Morgan Ferrier up for sale. | 39986615 |
Andrea Lewis, 51, was discovered at the home in Fairyland Road, Tonna, Neath, at about 08:00 GMT on 30 January.
Rhys Trevor Anthony Hobbs, 43, of Tonna, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday charged with her murder.
He was remanded in custody until his next court hearing on 24 March.
A second man, 46, also arrested in connection with her death, has been released on police bail. | A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found at a house in Neath Port Talbot. | 35502823 |
Their study, in the journal Nature Neuroscience, has revealed an intimate relationship between an ageing brain, sleep and memory.
Experiments showed that changes in the ageing brain damaged the quality of deep sleep; this in turn hampered the ability to store memories.
Scientists want to test ways of boosting sleep to halt memory decline.
Wisdom may come with age, but both the brain and the body take the strain of time. Many people will be aware that both their memory and sleep are not as good as in their earlier years.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, said it was unknown whether changes in the brain, sleep and memory were all separate signs of ageing or deeply connected.
They performed a series of experiments on 36 people - an even split of those in their twenties and their seventies.
First the team showed that they could use the state of a region of the brain, called the medial prefronal cortex, to predict how much deep, or slow-wave, sleep a person would have.
That part of the brain is essential for entering deep sleep, but with age the region degrades.
Secondly, they showed that the amount of deep sleep could be used to predict how well people would do on memory tests.
The younger patients getting loads of good quality sleep performed better on tests than their older colleagues who had worse quality sleep.
One of the researchers, Dr Matthew Walker told the BBC: "Taken all together, the deterioration of the brain leads to the deterioration of sleep to the deterioration of memory."
"Slow wave sleep is critically important for cementing new memories you've recently learned. It's like clicking the save button.
"It's especially depressing as I continue to get older, but there might be a silver lining."
Researchers are not able to restore the ageing section of the brain, but they believe they can do something about sleep.
It is possible to boost the quality of sleep by stimulating the right region of the brain with electricity during the night.
The researchers said this had been shown to boost memory performance in young people and they wanted to begin experiments on elderly patients too.
"You don't have to restore brain cells to restore sleep," said Dr Walker who described their aim as "jump-starting" the system.
In patients with dementia, the symptoms of brain cells dying, bad sleep and memory loss are far far worse than in normal ageing.
Some studies have suggested a link between and dementia. A report, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggested problems sleeping may be an early sign of Alzheimer's.
Dr Simon Ridley, from the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, said further studies were needed to confirm the link.
"Increasing evidence has linked changes in sleep to memory problems and dementia, but it's not clear whether these changes might be a cause or consequence.
"The people studied here were followed for a very short period, and one next step could be to investigate whether a lack of 'slow-wave' sleep may also be linked to a long-term decline in memory." | It may be possible to slow the decline in memory and learning as we age by tackling poor sleep, researchers hope. | 21199949 |
A public consultation has opened on the plan, which proposes more parenting classes held in local halls and extra health visitor home visits.
Wiltshire Council cabinet member Laura Mayes, said 15 would remain untouched because they were in "densely populated areas where they are being well-used".
The centres were created between 2006 and 2011 under the Labour government.
Children's centres run classes on parenting skills, nutrition and health.
Conservative Ms Mayes said: "Let's not have our money tied up in expensive buildings, let's use that money to get the staff to go out to families where the help is needed."
The council has said all its children's centres were delivered by four voluntary and community sector organisations but all the contracts were due to end next June.
The authority hopes to carry out the consultation before talks to re-tender services.
In Swindon, the borough council closed seven of its 12 centres in the past year due to budget cuts.
Hayley Jackson regularly used her local centre in Swindon before it closed last year.
She said: "The children's centres are really useful in that, if you're going to those groups already, you're used to those surroundings, you're used to people who work there, so if you've got a problem you're able to talk to somebody about it.
She said staff at the centres were potentially well-placed to spot issues parents were struggling with, such as domestic violence or post-natal depression.
"The health clinic is now in a sports hall, there's nowhere private to talk to health visitors so if you have got a problem you're going to feel embarrassed about talking openly about it in front of other parents," Ms Jackson said. | Half of Wiltshire's 30 children's centres are likely to close next July in a bid to save £400,000 a year. | 34267617 |
The designation of the protected site at Horse Tail Sand, in the Solent, near Portsmouth, has been made by English Heritage.
Also included are Sandycombe Lodge, in Richmond, London, and The Orangery at Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire.
HMS Invincible ran aground in 1798 after its rudder became jammed.
It was launched in 1744 as a third rate 74-gun French warship, but was captured by the British Navy at the first Battle of Finisterre in 1747.
Source: English Heritage
English Heritage described the wreck site as "unusual" and said it had been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register 2013 because archaeological monitoring had revealed significant parts of the site are becoming exposed due to lowering seabed levels.
Dan Pascoe, of Pascoe Archaeology Services, has been commissioned by English Heritage to record exposed areas and add them to the existing site plans before they deteriorate further.
The marine archaeologist said he had already discovered lids from gunpowder barrels and musket flints at the site of the wrecked 15m-long (50ft) ship.
"It's important that we record fragile and vulnerable artefacts of the ship when they become exposed so we can save it forever - preservation through record," he said.
In total seven Royal Navy warships have been named HMS Invincible - the last being the aircraft carrier which was scrapped in Turkey, in 2011.
The Heritage at risk register is an annual survey of Grade I and II* buildings, scheduled monuments, landscapes, battlefields, conservation areas and wreck sites. | The wreck site of the Royal Navy's first HMS Invincible warship has been listed among the top 10 most at risk heritage sites in the country. | 24463265 |
Piles of waste soil and construction materials suddenly collapsed, engulfing a nearby district.
The manager of the company that ran the landfill site and the former head of Shenzhen's administration bureau were jailed for 20 years.
Nearly 20 of those sentenced were government officials.
They were convicted of negligence and abuse of power.
The dump site had a storage capacity of four million cubic metres and a maximum stacking height of 95m (310 ft) but when the landslide happened it was holding 5.8m cubic metres of material and the waste heaps stood 160m high, Xinhua reported.
The landslide covered an area the size of 50 football pitches and more than 200 diggers were brought in to clear the slurry.
A week later one official, whose job involved regulating construction sites and who had authorised the landfill site, apparently jumped to his death. It is not clear if he was under investigation. | Forty-five people have been sentenced for their part in a landslide in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen that killed 73 people in 2015. | 39829627 |
Martin Kitts-Hayes, of the Progressive Independent Group on Aberdeenshire Council, was due to attend the North Sea Commission earlier this month.
He later said his decision to leave Legoland was a "poor one".
Councillors called for Mr Kitts-Hayes to consider referring himself.
It is believed the aborted trip cost the council a four-figure sum.
The decision to return home led to the council's chief executive announcing the circumstances would be investigated.
Mr Kitts-Hayes is the councillor for Inverurie and District, and is co council leader with the SNP's Richard Thomson. | The Aberdeenshire Council co-leader is being urged to refer himself to the Standards Commission for not staying at a foreign conference because the accommodation was not good enough. | 36671620 |
The Women's Super League leaders will be the first English professional women's football club to stream a competitive game on the social network.
Man City Women's Facebook account currently has more than 4.5m 'likes'.
Wayne Rooney's testimonial on Wednesday was the first match involving Premier League teams shown live on the network.
By 16:00 BST on Thursday, Rooney's testimonial had received almost 2.4m views.
Worldwide, 1.7bn people use Faceboook. | Manchester City Women's Continental Cup quarter-final at home to Doncaster Rovers Belles on Sunday will be streamed live on City's Facebook page. | 36977828 |
When a man in the US wrote to his local newspaper criticising women over the age of 20 for wearing yoga pants in public, it did not go down well.
Rhode Island resident Alan Sorrentino wrote the letter to the editor to say why he thought women should stop wearing yoga pants outside a yoga studio.
In his letter he wrote: "Yoga pants can be adorable on children and young women who have the benefit of nature's blessing of youth.
"However, on mature, adult women there is something bizarre and disturbing about the appearance they make in public."
One woman who read the letter, Jamie Burke, felt so strongly about its contents she began to organise a parade calling for women to wear their yoga pants.
"When I saw this about yoga pants, it was like a punch in the gut," says Jamie. "I was so upset by the entire letter and the fact that it was even published."
"For years men have been policing our clothes choices and I thought it was important that women had their say."
When Jamie posted the letter on her Facebook page, the response was immediate.
"Friends said we should do something like stage a protest or a parade. I'm originally from New Orleans, so a parade was a natural response for me.
"I wouldn't say I am a staunch feminist or activist but I just believe in women's rights."
Jamie galvanised support from family and friends and started a social media campaign and planned the parade in her local area.
"I saw the letter on Wednesday and the parade was on Sunday but I didn't know what to expect. As each day went by the event grew and grew. I think around 400 people turned up. I was really pleased."
Jamie also took the opportunity to use the event to highlight the issue of domestic violence.
"It's domestic violence month in Rhode Island and we used the day to donate to Sojourner House, a local advocacy supporting women coming out of domestic violence situations."
Kyle Silva from nearby East Providence also attended the event after hearing about it on social media.
"A friend of mine from Barrington shared information about the parade on Facebook and it sounded intriguing.
"I live about 10 minutes from where it was happening so I thought I'd head down to check it out.
"I'm all for a woman's right, or anyone's right really to choose what they want to wear without feeling like they're being critiqued or policed on their personal preference.
"It was fun, peaceful, and somewhat silly, but it also highlighted an issue that many people have to deal with that shouldn't have to, so I was glad to be a part of it."
Danielle Blasczak was at the parade after hearing about the story behind it from friends.
"I went along with my three-year-old daughter. I think there were 300 or 400 people there.
"The neighbours were happy about it and there were children handing out lemonade and water.
"We also donated goods like diapers [nappies], soap, etc to a domestic violence charity.
"At the end, a woman led a yoga session from a picnic table. Everyone was in good spirits."
Jamie says she was surprised by the response she received.
"I talked to so many people at the parade and how they felt the power of community. I am still receiving messages of thanks. People have told me how the parade touched them on a personal level.
"It has had a ripple effect and I'm excited to see what happens next."
By Andree Massiah, UGC & Social News team | What would you do if someone said you shouldn't wear something because of age or size? | 37751422 |
Luke Cowan-Dickie's early try put the Chiefs ahead, before two Stephen Myler penalties narrowed the gap to a point.
Tommy Waldrom went over twice, while Gareth Steenson took his tally to six points as Exeter led 21-6 at half-time.
The hosts hit back with scores by Tom Stephenson and Jamie Elliott but the Chiefs hung on for a thrilling victory.
Exeter created some early possession, with Saints full-back Ben Foden required to pull off a try-saving tackle to deny Jack Nowell within the first 30 seconds, and it was no surprise when the visitors went ahead soon afterwards.
A brilliant lineout drive saw Cowan-Dickie force his way over, with Steenson adding the extras, before Myler quickly cut the gap to four points with a penalty.
The hosts slowly got into their stride and Myler's second penalty made it a one-point game, but Waldrom intercepted a pass and ran in from the halfway line to touch down for Exeter's second. Steenson's conversion gave his side a 14-6 lead.
Exeter had a try disallowed but, from the resulting five-metre scrum, Waldrom powered over for his second try and Steenson's third successful kick from three gave the visitors a 15-point advantage at the break.
Steenson scored the first points of the second half with a penalty, before Ryan Wilson's inside offload set free Stephenson to go over and give the home side hope.
Elliott wriggled over in the left corner after great work from Stephenson, while at the other end Steenson missed a drop-goal attempt.
It did not matter, though, as Exeter recorded an impressive victory away from home.
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder:
"We conceded a really sloppy try from the kick-off and then gave away an interception try.
"We talked about their line speed during the week and we struggled with that.
"They came with a very simple game plan to kick most of their ball away and then take their opportunities and they did it well."
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter:
"We are level-headed enough to know that if we were going to have a good season, then this was an opportunity to come to Franklin's Gardens and pick up four points, because we are all very aware that they have a lot of good players missing.
"The kicking and set-piece battle was always going to be key in these conditions and I think we deservedly edged that.
"Thomas (Waldrom) has just proved what he is, which is a good player. We knew when we signed him he was still a good player and he still has plenty left in the tank."
Northampton Saints: Foden; Elliott, Stephenson, Burrell, Collins; Myler, Dickson; M Waller, Haywood, Ma'afu; Manoa, Day; Clark, Butley, Dowson (capt).
Replacements: McMillan, E Waller, Denman, Woolford, Harrison, Hodgson, Wilson, Waldouck.
Exeter Chiefs: Dollman; Nowell, Slade, Hill, Jess; Steenson, Chudley; Rimmer, Yeandle, Francis; Mumm (capt), Welch; White, Armand, Waldrom.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Moon, Low, Caldwell, Horstmann, Thomas, Whitten, McGuigan.
Att: 13,362.
Referee: Dean Richards | Exeter moved up to second in the Premiership table with victory over leaders Northampton, who were beaten for only the second time this season. | 30038127 |
Ian McGuigan, 39, of Ty Croes, Anglesey, was locked up for eight years after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine and a firearms offence.
Anthony Donovan, 33, and Brian Townsend, 36, both from Liverpool were jailed for four years and eight months for the drugs charge.
Caernarfon Crown Court heard it was an "unsophisticated" drugs enterprise.
On 5 September, McGuigan was filmed by police handing over more than £35,000 in cash to Donovan and Townsend, who officers described as "drug couriers".
North Wales Police said McGuigan was watched stashing cocaine in a field, which officers searched and found drugs worth up to £176,000.
Officers also found eight hollow point bullets "designed to expand on impact" in his car and a taser disguised as an iPhone in his home.
McGuigan was given a concurrent five year sentence for these offences.
Speaking after the case, Det Ch Insp Brian Kearney said: "Ian Paul McGuigan was considered by some as 'Anglesey's drug lord' where in fact he was a leech preying on the vulnerable in our towns and villages whilst portraying himself as a legitimate car dealer and horse breeder.
"Until his recent arrest he believed he was untouchable." | A "drugs lord" who felt "untouchable" and two of his associates have been jailed for a cocaine conspiracy. | 38267880 |
Michael Johnson, 50, of Tiverton, Devon knifed director Carl Watson in the chest after their cars clipped each other, Truro Crown Court was told.
The attack happened after both men pulled into a disused quarry entrance, the jury heard.
Mr Johnson, of Redvers Way, denies stabbing Mr Watson, 42, on the A30 near Launceston in Cornwall on 2 June.
Mr Watson was airlifted to hospital with a single stab injury to the chest.
A surgeon who treated him at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, said the 12cm (4.7in) deep wound came within 5mm (0.2in) of his heart.
Mr Watson was discharged from hospital the next day.
He told the court he had been returning from a business trip in north Devon when a car driven by Mr Johnson pulled out to overtake but clipped his vehicle.
He said the vehicles then pulled over and he was "calm", but as the men exchanged insurance details the attack happened.
The case continues. | A driver was stabbed within millimetres of his heart in a road rage row, a court has heard. | 30319726 |
A five-year Serious Fraud Office (SFO) inquiry will see charges brought against both Barclays PLC, the holding company of Barclays Bank (an important distinction as I'll try and explain later) as well as four executives, including former chief executive John Varley, and Roger Jenkins, who was head of investment banking and wealth management for Barclays in the Middle East.
The charges relate to an injection of cash that Barclays received from Middle East investors in 2008.
Taxpayer bailouts of freewheeling high-paying banks stoked public anger and contributed to the loss of trust in business that can be seen in every line of both main parties' manifestos going into the recent election. Which begs a question. Why, over the past decade, has the SFO been at its most dogged in the pursuit of a bank that DIDN'T require a taxpayer bailout?
In fact, it was Barclays' very efforts to SPARE the taxpayer that gave rise to this investigation.
In October 2008, around the time that Lloyds and RBS were being propped up with taxpayer money, Barclays raised £7.3bn from investors in the Middle East, including Qatar Holdings - a state owned investment fund.
There are two features of this deal that prompted investigation.
First was a payment to Qatar Holdings - which was initially not disclosed - for "advisory" services. Barclays later admitted that £332m was paid to this company over five years. The charge is essentially that this advisory agreement sweetened the deal for Barclays' new benefactors for non-existent advice.
Second was a loan of £2bn extended by Barclays to the Qataris at around the time of the investment. An adviser to a separate investor has claimed in court that Barclays was lending to Qatar Holdings to fund its investment in Barclays shares. The allegation essentially was that the bank was lending to itself: a very big no-no with banking regulators and today the SFO charged that this amounted to unlawful financial assistance.
Roger Jenkins has said he will vigorously defend himself against the charges. Barclays has said it is considering its position and is waiting for further details of the charges.
The BBC understands that Barclays PLC (the holding company for the operating company Barclays Bank) is considering pleading guilty to the charges. Not because they accept they acted wrongly, but if pleading guilty means that it can continue its operations unimpaired, while accepting a fine in the low hundreds of millions of pounds, then it might enable it to move on from an episode that has provided another unwelcome distraction to an entirely new management team.
That decision is thought to depend on whether the SFO brings similar charges against the operating company (Barclays Bank PLC rather than Barclays PLC). So far it has not, but Barclays acknowledged this morning that this remains a possibility.
Companies often go to extraordinary lengths to avoid criminal proceedings as they can lead to them being barred from bidding from contracts in certain countries - including the US.
Jet engine maker Rolls Royce agreed to pay £671m to settle corruption cases spanning nearly 30 years. A criminal conviction could have barred it from winning civil and military aviation contracts in the US.
In that case, the judge took the interests of thousands of employees into account while also pointing to the high level of co-operation it received from Rolls Royce and the installation of a new leadership team.
By charging the holding company rather than the bank, it would appear the SFO has considered the damage a conviction against the UK's last full service retail and investment bank would cause.
Barclays might feel slightly hard done by, if a similar option was not offered to them.
In Barclays' defence, insiders point to the fact that unlike decades of internal corruption at Rolls Royce, these were transactions done at a time of unprecedented stress in the financial markets and in an effort to avoid a partial nationalisation.
The old guard are similarly all gone and as for co-operation, Barclays said it was advised that certain documents it withheld from the SFO enjoyed legal privilege and questioned whether it was fair to penalise a company for exercising its rights. The boss of the SFO, David Green, saw it differently, saying Barclays had led it a "merry dance".
The net practical result, however, may be much the same. Although the Barclays holding company gets a rap sheet, the operating company doesn't - so can continue to do business in the US.
Meanwhile the SFO tries to claims a big corporate scalp and may pocket enough money to offset its investigation expenses and then some. Finally - and for many, the most important and most overdue element of this episode - is that the individuals at the top will face a court of law.
It's worth remembering that taxpayers didn't bail out Barclays and small shareholders didn't suffer the massive losses that those of RBS and Lloyds did. One former Barclays insider said that if there was a crime then it was "victimless" and you could argue that Barclays - and its executives - did taxpayers and its own shareholders a massive favour.
A decade after the financial crisis, while the mounties at the SFO may one day finally get their man - some will wonder if it was the right one. | Former top executives at Barclays will be the first senior managers to face criminal charges over their activities during the financial crisis nearly a decade ago. | 40327899 |
The group waved torches and chanted "White lives matter" as they marched through the Charlottesville university.
There were clashes with counter-protesters, while the local mayor condemned the march as racist and a "parade of hatred".
A larger "Unite the Right" rally is planned in the city on Saturday.
The protesters are angered at the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E Lee from Charlottesville. Lee commanded forces of the pro-slavery Confederacy in the US Civil War.
Protest organiser Jason Kessler, who has previously accused the town of "anti-white hatred", described the event as an "incredible moment for white people who've had it up to here and aren't going to take it anymore".
The New York Times and Washington Post reported that the crowd chanted "You will not replace us" and "Jew will not replace us" during the event.
Demonstrators held lit torches - which some observers described as a reference to the Ku Klux Klan - and chanted "blood and soil" and "one people, one nation, end immigration".
The rally was met by a smaller group of counter protesters who had surrounded the university's statue of Thomas Jefferson, holding a banner that read "VA Students Act Against White Supremacy".
The marchers were tightly organised. They gathered after dark at Nameless Park, where they lit their torches and formed into a line, which snaked out of the park and into the University of Virginia campus.
Almost entirely white and male, and in their twenties and thirties, they chanted "You will not replace us", "Blood and soil", and "Our streets".
They marched through the campus to the university's statue of Thomas Jefferson, where they were met by a small group of counter-protesters. One of the counter-protesters apparently sprayed pepper spray at the marchers and the two groups clashed violently. Police moved in and the marchers extinguished their torches, filling the hot air with acrid smoke.
"The heat here is nothing compared to what you're going to get in the ovens," shouted Robert Ray, a writer for white supremacist site Daily Stormer.
"I never thought I'd have to see this in America in my lifetime," said one of the counter-protesters, a student who did not want to be named.
The marchers slowly dissipated. Across the street, more than 500 people were packed into St Paul's Memorial Church, where they had heard readings from the Bible and the Quran and prayers for peace and unity in Charlottesville.
At the end, the congregation filed slowly out of a side door to avoid the white nationalists walking back down Main Street.
The protest was criticised by many local residents and politicians. Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer called the march "a cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism and intolerance".
He wrote on Facebook: "Everyone has a right under the First Amendment to express their opinion peaceably, so here's mine: not only as the Mayor of Charlottesville, but as a UVA [University of Virginia] faculty member and alumnus, I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus."
Charlottesville is considered a liberal college town - and 86% of the county voted for Hillary Clinton in last year's presidential elections.
However, the town has become a focal point for white nationalists after the city council voted to remove a statue of General Lee.
Some observers also argue that US President Donald Trump's election to the White House re-energised the far right across the US.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organisation, says that "Trump's run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man's country."
Last month, Ku Klux Klan supporters staged a march in Virginia - but were outnumbered by counter-protesters. | Hundreds of US white nationalists have rallied at the University of Virginia, protesting against plans to remove a statue of a confederate general. | 40909547 |
Baird led 5-4 overnight only for a tentative start to the second session see him trail 7-6.
But a seemingly nerveless four-frame burst, which included a break of 103, took the Devon man through.
"I don't mind chatting. It kind of lightened the mood," said Baird, 27.
"It was stressful out there. He was a nice guy.
"He asked me what the table was like because he heard on commentary they weren't very good."
World number 59 Baird was thrilled to have shown his talents on snooker's biggest stage, having been brushed aside 10-2 by Stuart Bingham in his only previous Crucible appearance in 2013.
"I didn't think it was too high quality all the way through," Baird added. "We were both under a lot of pressure.
"I am thrilled with how I finished it, but I don't really know where that came from. I am over the moon. I don't know what happened to me.
"I really wanted to give a good account of myself. Winning never crossed my mind. It has all been a bit of blur, but I just wanted to play well and near how I can play."
Baird took advantage of an outrageous fluked red to win the 15th frame and go 8-7 ahead and he closed out the win with breaks of 103 and 62.
His victory, which has guaranteed him £22,000, could see him face Mark Selby in the second round. Selby leads Robert Milkins 7-2.
"It's my biggest pay day by miles and has put me up the rankings a fair bit," he said. "But the money hasn't sunk in yet.
"Playing Mark would be an incredibly tough game. He is the world number one and would be a be a big favourite against me over a long match."
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app. | Qualifier Sam Baird said a mid-match chat with a fan in the crowd helped relax him in his shock 10-7 first-round win over world number 15 Michael White in the World Championship. | 36080527 |
Speaking on the future of north-south relations, he suggested the UK could have a customs arrangement with the EU similar to the one with Turkey.
Turkey's customs union gives it tariff-free access for industrial goods.
That deal does not cover agriculture, though, apart from processed products.
It is also a deal in which Turkey has little power to shape the rules.
It must apply the EU's common external tariff, but is not on the decision-making bodies that formulate tariffs.
It must also open its markets to countries with which the EU strikes a trade deal - but those countries are not obliged to open their markets to Turkey in return.
That model is not at all attractive to those advocates of a so-called Global Britain, who want the UK to have a fully independent trade policy.
The second arrangement mentioned by the taoiseach was the European Free Trade Area (EFTA).
It is effectively an organisation that allows the non-EU countries of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein to participate in the single market.
Switzerland is also in EFTA, though its relationship with the EU is conducted through bilateral deals.
The political advantage is that the UK would not be subject to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) - one of Prime Minister Theresa May's red lines.
However, it would likely be subject to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and judicial control by the EFTA Court, the bodies which make sure EFTA members follow the rules of the single market.
EFTA also has its own trade deals which the UK could participate in and crucially EFTA members also have freedom to do bilateral trade deals.
However, there is still the question of freedom of movement.
EFTA members are required to follow EU commitments on free movement, albeit with the potential of an opt out. | During his first official visit to NI, Irish PM Leo Varadkar mentioned two specific arrangements which he suggested could soften the impact of Brexit across the island of Ireland. | 40827798 |
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 136,119 new cars were built in May, 9.7% fewer than the same month in 2016.
However, in May 2016 output had risen by more than 26% to the highest total for the month in more than a decade.
The SMMT said carmakers were now set to ramp up production of new models, with exports the main driver of demand.
Some 576,556 new cars have been shipped abroad since January, a 0.8% increase year-on-year. although production for overseas markets fell 9% in May.
Almost 80% of all cars made in Britain are exported, with more than half going to Europe.
Meanwhile, production for the home market fell 12.8% in May, with 153,199 cars destined for UK showrooms.
"After a record start to the year, car production in the UK has slowed as production lines gear up for a range of new models," said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
"Global demand is strong and exports remain the driving force for British car production volumes in the UK.
"Maintaining our current open trade links with Europe, our biggest market, and further developing global markets is vital for this sector." | Production of new UK cars fell by almost 10% last month compared with a year ago, latest industry figures show. | 40441054 |
The 24-year-old has won every major Welsh honour during his time with the Saints and joins for a fee of £35,000 which could rise to £50,000.
Quigley scored eight goals last term as they won a sixth consecutive WPL title.
"I'm 24 and it's about time I made the step into the English system. I'm glad to have the opportunity," Quigley said.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Blackpool have signed forward Scott Quigley from Welsh Premier League champions The New Saints on a two-year deal with the option of a further year. | 40948252 |
Officials thought the bill would save £4.8m over four years but Lifelong Learning Minister Alun Davies said it is now expected to cost £8.2m.
Plaid's Simon Thomas said the change suggested a "serious miscalculation".
The Welsh Government said the bill is still expected to save more money than the existing system.
Mr Davies outlined the changes in a letter to two assembly committees.
It came after a charity disputed the Welsh Government's figure for the cost to councils of resolving disagreements over the provision of help for children with special educational needs.
SNAP Cymru, which provides resolution services to most of Wales' councils, told AMs earlier this year that one of the figures which appeared in the bill's regulatory impact assessment had "no basis in reality".
The proposed law's passage through the assembly has now been delayed until officials complete work to revise the figures - following a request from Mr Thomas to allow AMs to look at them again - with the bill not to return before the autumn.
If passed, the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill will set up a single system - called an individual development plan - to replace "statements" which currently address the needs of an individual aged up to 25.
It will also allow parents and young people to appeal to the special educational needs (SEN) tribunal, set to be renamed the Educational Tribunal for Wales.
Originally, the impact assessment suggested it could save £4.8m over four years, with the savings outweighing the costs.
Estimated savings were expected to be achieved from provisions in the bill which aim to remove the current adversarial nature of the statement process, the document said.
But in his letter, Mr Davies said that estimated savings had fallen from £14m over four years to £3.6m.
The overall cost of the bill had changed from a saving of £4.8m to a cost of £8.2m.
He said the figures were revised after new figures from SNAP Cymru suggested a reduction in the number of cases of dispute resolution and the cost to local authorities of services for resolving disagreements.
"Changes of this scale are disappointing," he added.
SNAP Cymru had disputed a figure in the assessment that 20 out of 22 councils spent an average of £2.7m a year for 1,394 disagreements around wanting or having a statement.
Chief executive director Denise Inger said she was "really pleased that the minister has listened".
The Welsh Government already had to alert the children, young people and education committee to "errors" in the financial assessments over the bill in February, including an instance of "double counting".
Mr Thomas, chairman of the finance committee, said: "The whole thing suggests they left the final calculations until far too late in the day when they didn't have sufficient background or discussions with people in the sector."
A Welsh Government spokesman said the bill will "support tens of thousands of children and young people with additional learning needs in Wales, by helping them realise their potential".
"In the light of revised financial information received from SNAP Cymru during stage one of scrutiny, a programme of work is now underway to revise the Bill's regulatory impact assessment," he said.
"These changes do not lead to an increase in the cost of running the new system. The new system is still expected to cost less than the current SEN system." | A Senedd bill revamping the special education needs system will cost £13.1m more than previously thought, according to the Welsh Government. | 40189297 |
Geoffrey Mark Ball has a history of sexual assaults on women and is due to be released from prison.
The 44-year-old, who has lived in Middlesbrough and Wales, defrauded his victims and lied about his identity.
Cleveland Police applied for the sexual harm prevention order "due to the risk he poses to vulnerable females", they said.
Ball was convicted of indecently assaulting a woman in 1989 and jailed for six months.
He was sent to prison for four years in 2006 for grievous bodily harm.
Following a prison sentence in 2010 for sexual assault he was was put on the sex offenders register until 2017.
In 2013 a police manhunt was launched for Ball after he breached the requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.
He is due to be released from Holme House Prison in County Durham. | A sex offender has been banned from making friends with women without telling police. | 35246943 |
Having lost out on gold to Max Whitlock, Smith tweeted: "I am actually really bitter. The cut is open and deep and the judges are rubbing salt in it."
British Gymnastics issued a statement saying he was "extremely remorseful".
Smith, 26, said he realised it was wrong to have "aired my frustrations".
He added: "Having had time to cool off and following conversations with British Gymnastics, who have helped me see the consequences of my actions, I realise the way that I expressed my feelings was wrong and it should never have happened.
"I want to say sorry to my team-mates, to my fans, to the judges involved and to British Gymnastics for any offence caused." | Three-time Olympic medallist Louis Smith has apologised after comments he made about the judges at the recent British Championships led to a rebuke by the national governing body. | 36074412 |
Steven Brazier had lost 11 stone in two years on a weight-loss programme he joined when he weighed 19 stone.
Mr Brazier, of Minster, Kent, had lost his teeth and could barely walk, before he had a fatal cardiac arrest, in 2014.
Kent and Medway NHS Trust admitted the 20-year-old's care was not of the standard he should have expected.
His mother Melanie said he might have lived if he had the mental health help he needed.
"He was left with no care at all. Nobody seemed to know who was looking after him," she said.
"He would say 'I can't go on like this mum, I just want to die'."
Mr Brazier was described by his grandmother Pauline as a "skeleton with a bit of skin stretched over him" while under the care of the Social Care Partnership Trust, a body within the NHS trust.
A spokeswoman said: "Communications between the services providing care for Mr Brazier was not adequate.
"Patients should expect a standard of service which was not provided on this occasion."
The trust added it made improvements "as a result of learning from the failings in Steven's case".
Mr Brazier was assessed by the trust's eating disorders unit in December 2011.
But, it took months to admit him, but he was then repeatedly discharged from care and allowed to self-discharge.
It led to him becoming withdrawn and isolated, and he began to self-harm as his condition became increasingly life-threatening.
His mother caught him standing in the middle of a busy dual carriageway and pleaded unsuccessfully with hospital staff to detain him for his own safety under the Mental Health Act.
In June 2012 he was transferred to a mental health treatment centre for more than a year.
The trust discharged him, despite the Community Mental Health Team refusing to accept his case, and he died soon after in February 2014. | A man was failed by medical staff because he did not get "adequate treatment" for the eating disorder he had when he died, the NHS has admitted. | 39437244 |
3 June 2016 Last updated at 15:36 BST
Trees more resistant to fire have been planted as part of a redesign of Swinley Forest near Ascot, Berkshire.
More than 100,000 trees were destroyed in the 2011 blaze which lasted for about a week.
Five years after the event, the Forestry Commission say they have changed their practice guidance on wild fire resistance. | A woodland ravaged by a suspected arson attack has been redesigned to limit the effects of any future fires. | 36445647 |
People have until 25 October to respond to Horizon Nuclear Power's refined plans.
The proposals will be on display at a series of exhibitions across north Wales.
The company said the project will bring significant investment to the island.
Horizon estimates Wylfa Newydd, near Cemaes, will take about nine years to build and will have an operational life of 60 years. It will employ 850 people, with recruitment to begin early in the construction phase.
The final price tag will be around £12bn.
People are being asked for their views on issues like proposed bus routes for the workers and the design and landscaping of buildings around the new power station.
But the public will have no influence on the technology used or the site location.
Dylan Morgan, from the People Against Wylfa-B pressure group, said it was a "mock consultation".
"They should put the serious question, 'Is this the right way to move forward in in the 21st Century?'
"The industry in Britain hasn't got an answer to the waste they've already produced over the past 50 to 60 years, let alone dealing with radioactive waste from any new stations that would be doubly hot and doubly radioactive."
Carl Devlin, programme director at Horizon, said: "This is the last scheduled consultation on the project as a whole before we submit our application for a Development Consent Order in 2017, so it's really important that people have their say on what matters to them."
Meanwhile, Horizon has called on Anglesey council to revise a specific clause which states that a proposal could be refused if it impacts development on the Welsh language. The company claimed it was too limiting and could endanger the project.
But council leader Ieuan Williams said it had "emphasised the importance of the Welsh language from the start" and that he was "very disappointed with Horizon's attitude in this case".
The final application will be submitted next year. | The company behind the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station on Anglesey has launched its second formal public consultation. | 37230304 |
Watson, the world number 53, won 6-3 6-0 and will now face Romanian fourth seed Monica Niculescu in round two.
But British number one Johanna Konta is out after a first-round defeat by Slovakia's third seed, Dominika Cibulkova.
Konta lost 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 after failing to convert five first-set points.
"It doesn't happen every day that you win a tie-break from 1-6 down against such a good serving player," said Cibulkova, 26.
There were no such problems for Watson, 23, as she served seven aces in a dominant win against the world number 46.
Former Wimbledon finalist, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, made it through but American Madison Brengle and Czech Barbora Strycova, seeded fifth and sixth respectively, are out of the tournament, the former after retiring because of a respiratory illness when trailing 6-0 1-1.
Strycova lost 6-4 6-4 to Sweden's Johanna Larsson. | Defending champion Heather Watson took just one hour and 13 minutes to beat Brazilian Teliana Pereira at the Hobart International. | 35278786 |
Following prolonged overnight and morning rain at Edgbaston, an early lunch was taken at noon.
But the decision was then taken at 12:45 BST to call off play for the day.
It is the fourth complete day's play lost by luckless Warwickshire in the Championship this summer.
The Bears took 11 points from a game they had dominated to stay within reach of top spot, having gained two more bonus points from the match than Division One leaders Lancashire.
Nottinghamshire, in seventh, stretch further clear of bottom club Hampshire, but they have not won in eight games since the opening round of the season.
With both Jake Ball and Luke Fletcher having picked up injuries in this game, they now hope to have England fast bowler Stuart Broad available for their next game against Lancashire.
Captain Chris Read could also be back, following over a month out injury, for the four-day game, which starts at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
Veteran spinner Imran Tahir could further reinforce them as he due to arrive on Friday in time to play and, in fact, may make his Notts debut in Friday's T20 Blast tussle with Durham.
Warwickshire director of cricket Dougie Brown told BBC WM:
"A lot of teams have suffered from the weather this season but of course it is pretty frustrating. That's 740 overs we have lost in Championship cricket so far this summer - nigh on eight days of play.
"When you are looking to play a style of cricket that evolves over the entirety of a four-day game it's annoying when you keep having to try to cram in a result in three days because of the weather.
"It has cost us a few match-winning positions but we still take plenty of positives. The guys bowled beautifully and the way they challenged the batsmen all the way through was high quality."
Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell told BBC Radio Nottingham:
"We have to be realistic and say we were on the wrong end of the game for what was played.
"So, from our perspective, eight points from a draw is welcome at the moment.
"We weren't in a position where we were winning the match at any stage but we would like to think we would have turned it round." | Warwickshire reached the midpoint of their County Championship season with a sixth draw in eight matches as rain prevented any play on the final day of the game against Nottinghamshire. | 36657021 |
The EU spacecraft uses a technique called interferometry to sense surface movements.
Its data shows rock above the blast zone going down by up to 7cm in one area and rising 2-3cm in another.
The imagery was released by Germany's Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).
It advises the federal government on matters related to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The 6 January event was described by North Korean media as a miniaturised hydrogen bomb detonation, but there has been no independent confirmation of this claim.
All of North Korea's tests (2006, 2009, 2013, 2016) appear to have occurred at a site called Punggye-ri, also known as P'unggye-yok, in a remote region in the east of the country, near the town of Kilju.
The data picked up by international seismometers has given very good location information, but the new Sentinel imagery refines these estimates further.
Satellite interferometry works by finding the difference in "before" and "after" radar pictures of the Earth's surface. It allows even quite subtle ground movements to be detected.
Sentinel-1a got its first view of the test site following the explosion on 13 January, and this was compared with an observation acquired on 1 January.
The effects of both subsidence and uplift are evident.
"This is a very important result because in the past the location of nuclear tests was based only on seismological data and now we have an indication from other technologies," said BGR's Nicolai Gestermann.
At the moment, the 12-day repeat in observations is the best this radar satellite can achieve, but on Friday a sister spacecraft will be launched by the European Space Agency that should reduce the re-visit time to just six days.
Because of the gap in time between the blast and the subsequent image retrieval, scientists cannot say whether the ground deformation occurred at the same time as the detonation or a few days later.
Seismologists say the bomb test had a magnitude of 5.1.
Its characteristics were very similar to the previous explosion conducted in 2013, suggesting the 6 January event was not, as claimed, a thermonuclear blast, said Dr Gestermann.
The estimated yield was 10 kilotons of TNT-equivalent, plus or minus three kilotons, he added.
The BGR scientist was presenting his institute's work here at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly.
[email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | The ground convulsion resulting from North Korea's underground nuclear bomb test in January has been mapped by Europe's Sentinel-1a radar satellite. | 36103812 |
Tools based on the way the birds co-operatively hunt for fish are being developed to test different ways of organising in-car software.
The tools look for safe ways to organise code in the same way that penguins seek food sources in the open ocean.
Experts said such testing systems would be vital as cars get more connected.
Engineers have often turned to nature for good solutions to tricky problems, said Prof Yiannis Papadopoulos, a computer scientist at the University of Hull who, together with Dr Youcef Gheraibia from Algeria, developed the penguin-inspired testing system.
The way ants pass messages among nest-mates has helped telecoms firms keep telephone networks running, and many robots get around using methods of locomotion based on the ways animals move.
Penguins were another candidate, said Prof Papadopoulos, because millions of years of evolution has helped them develop very efficient hunting strategies.
This was useful behaviour to copy, he said, because it showed that penguins had solved a tricky optimisation problem - how to ensure as many penguins as possible get enough to eat.
"Penguins are social birds and we know they live in colonies that are often very large and can include hundreds of thousands of birds. This raises the question of how can they sustain this kind of big society given that together they need a vast amount of food.
"There must be something special about their hunting strategy," he said, adding that an inefficient strategy would mean many birds starved.
Prof Papadopoulos said many problems in software engineering could be framed as a search among all hypothetical solutions for the one that produces the best results. Evolution, through penguins and many other creatures, has already searched through and discarded a lot of bad solutions.
Studies of hunting penguins have hinted at how they organised themselves.
"They forage in groups and have been observed to synchronise their dives to get fish," said Prof Papadopoulos. "They also have the ability to communicate using vocalisations and possibly convey information about food resources."
The communal, co-ordinated action helps the penguins get the most out of a hunting expedition. Groups of birds are regularly reconfigured to match the shoals of fish and squid they find. It helps the colony as a whole optimise the amount of energy they have to expend to catch food.
"This solution has generic elements which can be abstracted and be used to solve other problems," he said, "such as determining the integrity of software components needed to reach the high safety requirements of a modern car."
Integrity in this sense means ensuring the software does what is intended, handles data well, and does not introduce errors or crash.
By mimicking penguin behaviour in a testing system which seeks the safest ways to arrange code instead of shoals of fish, it becomes possible to slowly zero in on the best way for that software to be structured.
The Hull researchers working with Dr Gheraibia turned to search tools based on the collaborative foraging behaviour of penguins.
The foraging-based system helped to quickly search through the many possible ways software can be specified to home in on the most optimal solutions in terms of safety and cost.
Currently, complex software was put together and tested manually, with only experience and engineering judgement to guide it, said Prof Papadopoulos. While this could produce decent results it could consider only a small fraction of all possible good solutions.
The penguin-based system could crank through more solutions and do a better job of assessing which was best, he said.
Mike Ahmadi, global director of critical systems security at Synopsys, which helps vehicle-makers secure code, said modern car manufacturing methods made optimisation necessary.
"When you look at a car today, it's essentially something that's put together from a vast and extended supply chain," he said.
Building a car was about getting sub-systems made by different manufacturers to work together well, rather than being something made wholly in one place.
That was a tricky task given how much code was present in modern cars, he added.
"There's about a million lines of code in the average car today and there's far more in connected cars."
Carmakers were under pressure, said Mr Ahmadi, to adapt cars quickly so they could interface with smartphones and act as mobile entertainment hubs, as well as make them more autonomous.
"From a performance point of view carmakers have gone as far as they can," he said. "What they have discovered is that the way to offer features now is through software."
Security would become a priority as cars got smarter and started taking in and using data from other cars, traffic lights and online sources, said Nick Cook from software firm Intercede, which is working with carmakers on safe in-car software.
"If somebody wants to interfere with a car today then generally they have to go to the car itself," he said. "But as soon as it's connected they can be anywhere in the world.
"Your threat landscape is quite significantly different and the opportunity for a hack is much higher." | Hungry penguins have inspired a novel way of making sure computer code in smart cars does not crash. | 38637006 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
The 30-year-old Scot admitted there was "obviously something there" in relation to Murray's hip injury but feels his movement against Benoit Paire suggests "we shouldn't be too worried".
"There's a day off between matches and he'd a straight-sets win," said Baker.
"He has more time to let that heal."
Baker believes the truest indicator of his good friend Murray's fitness is how he moves during play, and that his ability to race to the net to return Frenchmen Paire's drop shots in their last-16 game on Monday showed he is coping with the injury.
"If it was a real concern we wouldn't see him out on the practice court in between matches so he will be ready to go for the quarter-finals," said Baker, who retired from playing in 2013.
Media playback is not supported on this device
However, while some may already be looking forward to Murray playing a semi-final against Rafael Nadal's conqueror Gilles Muller or seventh seed Marin Cilic, Baker believes Murray will have to be on his guard against the big-serving American.
"Everyone was probably looking at the draw, seeing how well Nadal had started the tournament, and thinking it could be a seriously tough match against Andy Murray in the semi-final," Baker told BBC Scotland.
"Let's not forget Sam Querrey beat (Novak) Djokovic here last year. Nothing really flusters him. He is a dangerous opponent.
"However, if you'd said Andy Murray would have Querrey in the quarters and potentially Cilic in the semis, you'd take that."
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is another warning Murray, in his 10th consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, not to under-estimate 24th seed Querrey, who beat South Africa's Kevin Anderson in five sets to reach the last eight.
"He has a big game; he has nothing to lose," said 2001 winner Ivanisevic of the American.
"Andy is the absolute favourite, he sees himself in the semi-finals already, but he has to be careful not to be too defensive because Querrey is going to go for it.
"Andy hasn't played his best tennis yet and he is in the quarter-finals, which is great. Maybe we're about to see Andy at his best." | Jamie Baker has played down concerns about Andy Murray's fitness as the world number one prepares to face America's Sam Querrey in Wednesday's Wimbledon men's singles quarter-final. | 40571953 |
The children at Newington Church of England Primary School in Sittingbourne were aged between four and 11 and received the news in Friday assembly.
The scenario had not been discussed with parents or senior staff first, the school admitted.
It said the exercise was part of a week of learning about refugees.
In a statement, the school said: "We intended to provide a scenario that would enable the children to empathise with those we were raising money for.
"In future all activities of this nature will be discussed with a member of the senior leadership team prior to being undertaken.
"Only options that allow the children to empathise and understand without causing them unnecessary stress and anxiety will be considered and approved."
The school said the message could have been delivered in "a more appropriate manner" and has apologised to parents and children.
It had been taking part in Christian Aid's refugee week.
Charity Christian Aid, for whom the school has fundraised, said: "We have very little information about what pupils were actually told in the assembly, but we would never recommend any teaching approaches that put undue stress on children." | A school has apologised for telling pupils they would be taken away and might not see their parents again, in what later emerged as role play. | 40046472 |
Killybegs' Eoghan Ban Gallagher and Gweedore duo Stephen McBrearty and Michael Carroll are the only members of the squad with senior experience.
Under-21 boss Declan Bonner will be in charge of the team in the competition.
The Ulster University squad includes the McHugh cousins Ryan and Eoin plus another Kilcar man Patrick McBrearty.
A number of other Donegal players including Martin O'Reilly of Queens, will play for third-level teams in the January season-opening competitions which also include the O'Byrne Cup in Leinster and the Connacht League.
The Donegal McKenna Cup panel includes Inishowen-based players Tony McClenaghan, Dylan Doherty, Ciaran Diver (all Moville), Danny Monagle (Carndonagh) and John Campbell (Buncrana).
Last month, Tyrone manager Mickey Harte said that he was "sceptical" following reports that Donegal would use an under-21 squad in the McKenna Cup.
However, Donegal manager Rory Gallagher is said to have taken decision in order to give his experienced players an extra break prior to the start of the Football League in early February.
Holders Tyrone open their McKenna Cup defence against Cavan at Breffni Park on Sunday.
Antrim's Section B opener against St Mary's has been switched from Corrigan Park to Glenavy.
Donegal McKenna Cup panel: Danny Rodgers (Dungloe), Daire O'Baoill (Gweedore), Tony McClenaghan (Moville), Niall Friel (Gweedore), Stephen McMenamin (Ballyshannon), Ciaran Gibbons (Glenswilly), Colm Kelly (Ballyshannon), Michael Lynch (Newtowncunningham), Conor Morrison (St Eunan's), Danny Monagle (Carndonagh), Andrew McClean (Kilcar), Eoghan Ban Gallagher (Killybegs), Stephen McBrearty (Kilcar), Jamie Brennan (Bundoran), Michael Carroll (Gweedore), Dylan Doherty (Moville), Christian Bonner (Na Rossa), Daniel Clarke (Newtowncunningham), Niall O'Donnell (St Eunan's), Naoise O Baoill (Gweedore), Michael Langan (St Michael's), Ciaran Diver (Moville), Jason McGee (Cloughaneely), Brendan McCole (St Naul's), John Campbell (Buncrana), Ethan O'Donnell (Naomh Conaill).
2017 Dr McKenna Cup
Round 1: Sunday, 8 January, 14:00 GMT
Section A
Down v QUB (at RGU Downpatrick)
Derry v Armagh (Owenbeg)
Section B
Antrim v St Mary's (Glenavy)
Monaghan V Fermanagh (Clones)
Section C
Cavan v Tyrone (Kingspan Breffni Park)
Donegal v Ulster University (Pairc MacCumhaill)
Round 2: Sunday, 15 January
Section A
Down v Derry (Pairc Esler)
Armagh V QUB (Athletic Grounds)
Section B
Antrim v Monaghan (Corrigan Park)
Fermanagh v St Mary's (Brewster Park)
Section C
Donegal v Cavan (Pairc MacCumhaill)
Tyrone v Ulster University (Healy Park)
Round 3: Wednesday, 18 January
Section A
Derry v QUB (Owenbeg)
Armagh v Down (Athletic Grounds)
Section B
Fermanagh v Antrim (Brewster Park)
Monaghan v St Mary's (Inniskeen)
Section C
Cavan v Ulster University (Kingspan Breffni Park)
Tyrone v Donegal (Healy Park)
Semi-finals: Sunday, 22 January
Section C Winner V Best Runner Up
Section B Winner V Section A Winner
Final: Saturday, 28 January | Donegal have followed through with their plan to field a under-21 squad in their McKenna Cup campaign which starts against Ulster University on Sunday. | 38497207 |
Bad weather throughout the afternoon in Northampton left no chance of play starting at the scheduled time of 18:30 BST and it was called off at 18:50 BST.
It is the first match of this season's competition to be washed out.
Both sides collected one point and have three in total, having won one and lost one of their first two group games. | The T20 Blast North Group game between Northamptonshire and Yorkshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain. | 40574019 |
The 24-year-old Dane came off during Saturday's 2-1 friendly win over Wolfsburg after colliding with visiting goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.
It was a very different side to the one that lost 1-0 in Gibraltar.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said: "He's OK. He has spoiled his good looks for a few days, but he is fine."
"There was obviously a clash of heads and he's a bit swollen below the eye," he added.
Rodgers brought on 18-year-old Kristoffer Ajer to play alongside Eoghan O'Connell at the heart of the defence on Saturday.
Following an early deflected strike from Wolfsburg defender Paul Seguin, goals from Callum McGregor and substitute Ryan Christie gave Rodgers' side a win over the German Bundesliga visitors.
Midfielder Nir Bitton missed the game with a hip flexor problem.
"He was in a lot of pain yesterday," said Rodgers. "We didn't have to risk him and we will see how he is for Wednesday."
However, Rodgers insisted that he is more than covered in that area of the pitch as Stefan Johansen has shaken off an ankle complaint.
"He should be able to train on Monday," the manager said of the Norwegian. "He has had an injection in it which has settled it right down.
"The idea is he will make the first steps on Monday and we will see how he is for Wednesday.
"I don't need to worry about losing a midfield player. I think we have another 20 to pick from." | Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko is expected to recover from a head knock when his side face Lincoln Red Imps in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier. | 36817810 |
The supermarket chain said it took the action against those from Ysgol John Bright after trouble was caused at the store before the Easter break.
But the school's head teacher Graham Davies told BBC Wales he was "not aware" there would be a blanket ban and has spoken to the store's manager.
Asda said it would continue to work with the school to reach a positive outcome.
A spokesperson added: "Following a number of complaints from customers about the school children causing trouble, we've taken the decision to enforce a temporary ban on groups of children during school time."
Ronnie Hughes, deputy leader of Conwy council, said the store had "gone too far" stopping all pupils in the school's uniform from going in. | Pupils at a Llandudno school have been banned from the town's Asda store. | 32330266 |
A team of "the best Ukrainian doctors" would examine her on Wednesday, said Iryna Gerashchenko, from President Petro Poroshenko's party, on Facebook.
Ms Savchenko is said to have been refusing food and water since Friday.
US Vice President Joe Biden has added his voice to a global campaign for her release.
Ms Savchenko is on trial in Russia after being captured while fighting pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
She is accused of directing artillery fire that killed two Russian journalists - a claim she denies.
In a statement, Mr Biden described Ms Savchenko as having been "unjustly imprisoned in Russia since 2014 - detained and facing trial on trumped up charges".
"Today, as we mark International Women's Day and honour all the brave women who struggle with injustice in this world, we also stand with Nadia and with the Ukrainian people. And we call on Russia to make the right choice - to drop all charges and release her at once," his statement said.
The EU has expressed concern about her wellbeing, and Nobel prize-winner Svitlana Aleksievich is among more than 4,300 signatories to an open letter urging European leaders to act to secure her freedom.
Ms Savchenko has been refusing food and water since Friday - the day after her trial was abruptly adjourned before she had the chance to make a final statement.
Her detention sparked protests in both Ukrainian and Russian capitals on Sunday.
Amid fears that her health could be irreparably damaged ahead of her next hearing, on Wednesday, Ms Gerashchenko said on her Facebook page that Ukrainian doctors would depart for the southern Russian detention centre in which Ms Savchenko is being held.
"Ukrainian diplomats managed to receive a promise from the Russian authorities that our doctors will get to Nadia on 9 March," said Ms Gerashchenko, who negotiates humanitarian issues with Russia on behalf of Kiev.
"The Ukrainian president gave instructions to immediately form a mobile brigade consisting of the best Ukrainian doctors, taking into account the stance and wishes of Nadia's family, mother and sister, in this important issue."
The Ukrainian consul in the Rostov region where Ms Savchenko is being held, Olexandr Kovtun, told the BBC he had seen Ms Savchenko and that she appeared to be well and focused on Wednesday's court hearing.
Ms Savchenko, 34, has become a heroine in Ukraine and is seen as a symbol of the country's resistance against Russia. She was elected to the Ukrainian parliament from prison.
Relations between Ukraine and Russia have deteriorated following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and its support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. | Ukrainian doctors have been granted access to hunger-striking pilot Nadia Savchenko, on trial in Russia, a Ukrainian lawmaker has said. | 35755323 |
A council in the Republic of Ireland has decided new laws are needed to clean up its parks - and the mouths of park users.
Waterford City and County Council is not just cracking down on litter and anti-social behaviour.
It has banned cursing in a bid to prevent the air around its green spaces from turning blue.
New byelaws have put the stopper in any shouts of Fr Jack's favourite phrases.
The move is reminiscent of Craggy Island's most famous residents' attempts to give up various vices for Lent.
Drinking, smoking and rollerblading are all strictly banned from the park. Even vaping, or using e-cigarettes, is not allowed.
Likewise, barbequing, flower picking and flying model aeroplanes are illegal.
According to the new laws, anyone caught indulging in the above, perhaps while swearing up a storm, is liable to get slapped with a 1270 euro (£900) fine and kicked out of the park, Bishop Brennan style.
So is Waterford set to put a legislative bleep on public expletives or is it just a flippant attempt to get people to park their potty mouths?
Councillor Lola O'Sullivan says it's more about the spirit, rather than the letter, of the law.
"The 'no cursing' rule is creating a lot of headlines," she said. "But that law has come about simply because you might have a group of teenagers who are in the park and are loud and using bad language.
"In fact, it might be the only time they use bad language, because they are out of the house.
"So we want to put up a sign that says 'no cursing, no smoking' among other things.
"I know in other cities, including Belfast, they have signs in their parks with a list of rules and regulations. So it'll be like that.
"Waterford doesn't have any more anti-social behaviour problems than anywhere else - we just want to encourage people to be respectful in the parks."
The Fine Gael council member said the new byelaws came about because the amalgamation of two councils - Waterford City and Waterford County - required a review of the legislation.
It passed through council unanimously, she added, and "nobody mentioned" the no swearing law during a six-week public consultation.
Still, are these laws enforceable? And what about accusations that this is another instance of the 'nanny state' telling people how to behave?
"Well, look, you're not going to have people hiding behind bushes, trying to catch people out when they say the odd swear word," she said. "The police are not going to bring someone up to court over something like that."
She added that the laws are for extreme cases.
"Say you were to pick one flower from the park, and present it to your other half," she supposed. "It's no problem. But say you pick every flower you can carry and presented them to your work colleagues.
"Well, they'd love it, but you'd be in trouble then."
In fact, the councillor suggested a tongue-in-cheek additional measure that could be used to curb any gratuitous grubby language.
"We should consider using swear boxes at the entrances and exits of the parks, get people to donate for any curse words. Maybe that would help us keep the parks respectful." | It would be enough to bring a bout of scandalised swear words from the lips of Father Jack Hackett. | 33242147 |
Ethan Matthews, from Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, was told in December 2014 he needed the non-functioning organ removed.
He was put on an urgent waiting list at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales without success until his parents were given the date of 17 May on Tuesday.
Ethan's father Robert Matthews said the family were "over the moon".
Mr Matthews said the family missed a phone call on Monday and when they rang back on Tuesday, they were told they could have the operation.
Ethan will have tests at his GP surgery beforehand, with the information sent to the hospital so any potential infections can be treated ahead of his surgery.
Mr Matthews said: "We're over the moon. Ethan was really pleased, really happy with it. We can't wait for it - we've had such a stressful time over the last two-and-a-half years.
"We can't wait to have it done so Ethan can get on with his life and be a normal teenager.
"Your teenage years are some of the best of your life, he's missing out on so much. He'll lead a perfectly normal life with one kidney, he just needs the one removed."
Ethan's operation was originally due to take place in January, but had to be cancelled because he had a urine infection.
Before Ethan was given his date for surgery, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said the time a patient waited was based on factors such as clinical urgency and the type and complexity of the surgery required.
Ethan is fitted with a tract in his side after suffering from a build up of fluid and visits his GP up to three times a week to have his dressing changed.
At the moment, he is unable to play contact sports or go swimming with his friends.
"If he gets bumped playing football, it causes him a lot of pain and with swimming there's a risk of infection," said his father.
Ethan's family will take him into hospital on 16 May for last-minute checks before his kidney is removed the following day. | A 14-year-old who has waited two-and-a-half years to have a kidney removed has been given a date for his operation. | 39712081 |
It has hundreds of crossing points and the removal of the fortified border checkpoints which used to monitor north south traffic is seen as one of the lasting achievements of the peace process.
Re-creating "unapproved crossings" or putting those physical posts back to police a new customs regime would be a security nightmare, providing a focal point for dissident republicans intent on reviving the "Troubles".
So it was no surprise that the latest UK paper made good on previous pledges of "no return to the borders of the past" by promising there should be no physical infrastructure installed on the border.
What was surprising is that rather than installing unobtrusive CCTV cameras set back from the border, the UK wants to a large extent to have no customs border at all.
UK government and Customs officials argue that 80% of Northern Ireland firms are small or medium sized engaging in local trade within an established local market. Their proposal is to leave them alone with no requirement for new bureaucracy.
Where the technology might come in would be for the bigger established traders declaring online their imports and exports.
Officials acknowledge some may try to abuse any Northern Ireland exemption, but reckon the chances of this distorting international trade flows are manageable and low risk.
The question is will the EU buy this? The UK lauds the EU's role in bolstering the Northern Ireland peace process and proposes that EU peace funding could continue for Northern Ireland and the Irish border counties after Brexit.
But Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill reckons the UK is using the peace process as a bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations. She predicts the EU will reject the "deluded, untested and unrealistic" plans.
By contrast, the DUP's Sammy Wilson welcomes the proposal to exempt small businesses from new customs tariffs arguing that the EU has previously entered into waiver arrangements for Cyprus, Croatia and Bosnia.
The EU Commission says it will study the UK plans carefully, reiterating that it is "essential" there's a "political discussion" on the issue of Ireland and Northern Ireland "before looking at technical solutions".
As one of the EU's 27 remaining members, the Irish government response will obviously prove vital.
The Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has expressed his support for the principle of maintaining a frictionless border. But he is also concerned about a lack of detail on how the UK's plans for trade, especially in the vital agri-food sector will work in practice.
Within Northern Ireland the focus has been on trade, as it's long been assumed it would be unrealistic and politically unacceptable to introduce any impediment to the movement of people north and south.
As expected the latest UK paper looks forward to a continuation of the British Irish Common Travel Area which enables British and Irish citizens to live and work in each others' states without having to obtain permission.
Immigration isn't addressed in detail in the latest paper, but if the government introduces a stricter regime post Brexit, could Northern Ireland become a "back door" to the UK?
Just as there is no plan for physical customs posts, fixed immigration checks on the land border are ruled out. Politically it would also be unacceptable to have such checks carried out between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
There is no proposal to stop EU citizens travelling to Ireland and then making their way via Northern Ireland into the UK. However immigration officers do operate within Northern Ireland - as in the rest of the UK - checking whether workers have valid visas and permits, and this appears to be the only way such a "back door" will be monitored in the future. | If the vote for Brexit represented UK voters symbolically pulling up the drawbridge to Europe, then the 310-mile land border which divides Ireland always represented a headache. | 40951607 |
Natural Resources Minister Alun Davies said it would look at December and January's flooding incidents and cover all coastal authorities in Wales.
The first phase this month will look at the direct impact of the floods.
The second part will look at what lessons can be learnt and the flood risk management in the affected areas.
Mr Davies ordered the review on 5 December following some of the some of the worst weather conditions Wales has seen in over 20 years.
There was severe flooding along the coast and several train lines remain closed due to damage.
Hundreds of residents on Aberystwyth's seafront were evacuated while the A487 in Newgale is still closed after tons of pebbles were washed ashore.
Mr Davies said the storms had severely tested Wales' coastal defences, but things could have been much worse.
He praised the response of emergency services who he said had "undoubtedly saved lives".
Flood defence improvements in areas including Newport, Borth, and Colwyn Bay, had prevented or lessened flooding, Mr Davies added.
"We are now looking at how we prioritise future investment in flood defences so we can not only protect homes and businesses but also maximise opportunities for economic regeneration and growth in the long term," he said.
"We know that our changing climate means that extreme weather events such as this are not going to go away. It is impossible to prevent flooding but we are working hard to build resilience around our coasts in Wales."
The Welsh government is working with local authorities and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to see how they can help in the aftermath of the floods.
Mr Davies said they were in talks with the UK government about an application to the EU Emergency Solidarity Fund, originally set up to help those affected by the 2002 floods in Eastern Europe.
Councils will be able to apply for grant funding for emergency works to restore damaged defences, he said.
Several roads in Pembrokeshire were damaged during the storms, including the road along Amroth seafront, which was partially wash away.
Darren Thomas, head of highways for Pembrokeshire council, said they had applied for emergency funding, but were pressing ahead with repairs in the meantime.
"Clearly the sooner we get any sort of financial support the better. We are not hanging back in terms of our response to the conditions, we will execute the repairs at Amroth as quickly as we can," he said.
"If any additional finance comes in, that's going to help us enormously."
Emyr Roberts, chief executive of Natural Resources Wales, said staff had already completed emergency work on many sea defences, but warned some repairs would take much longer.
"We will then look at what lessons can be learned from these storms and what can be done to improve the situation for the people who live and work along the Welsh coastline," he said.
Over the term of the current administration, the Welsh government is investing more than £240m in flood and coastal defences. | A review ordered following the recent storms will look at the impact of flooding and the state of Wales' coastal defences. | 25673786 |
Coyle's side were beaten 2-1 at Leeds United on Tuesday and remain bottom of the Championship with just two points from their opening seven games.
"When all is said and done, I've got the ultimate responsibility to go and win games and points," the Scot said.
"We've not not done that well enough at this point and that is something we need to address quickly."
The 50-year-old former Burnley, Bolton and Wigan boss took over at Ewood Park in the summer after a spell at Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamos.
"People say talk is cheap and I certainly understand that," Coyle told BBC Radio Lancashire. "We now have to starting getting win after win, which we're capable of doing.
"We've not been blessed by luck but we've got to start making our own luck and going an earning the points that we crave, which are wins."
Coyle has indicated that former Manchester United and Sunderland defender Wes Brown, who has been training at the club over the summer, could be offered a contract.
"I've spoke to Wes over the last number of weeks," he added.
"It was important that we got him up to speed in terms of fitness and he has now come through that process, so that is something we would look to do." | Blackburn Rovers manager Owen Coyle has accepted the responsibility for their disappointing start to the season. | 37360223 |
Marches were held on several river bridges between France and Germany over the Rhine while there were further protests at German nuclear plants.
The protests come on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine.
Japan is currently struggling to contain radiation at the quake- and tsunami-damaged Fukushima power plant.
One of the main protests in Europe took place over the Pont de l'Europe, linking France and Germany over the Rhine between Strasbourg and Kehl.
People waved banners with anti-nuclear slogans and chanted: "Chernobyl, Fukushima, never again!"
As a siren wailed, the protesters threw flowers on to the Rhine and lay down on the pavement of the bridge in what they termed a symbolic "die in".
Protesters were also calling for the closure of France's oldest nuclear power station, at Fessenheim.
Several thousand people also protested at a number of nuclear power stations in Germany, including Biblis, Grohnde and Grafenrheinfeld.
"After Fukushima it's now clear enough that the danger of nuclear power is real," said Erhard Renz, one of the organisers of the Biblis demonstration.
"We can not allow the business needs of the very few to destroy our world - like what happened 25 years ago," he told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
The anti-nuclear movement had already been particularly strong in Germany, even before Japan's nuclear accident, says the BBC's Europe correspondent Matthew Price, in Brussels.
In recent weeks tens of thousands of people have staged demonstrations.
It has become a political issue, says our correspondent, helping the German Green party to victory in regional elections, and further damaging the standing of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Meanwhile in India, security has been tightened around Jaitapur, where protesters are planning to march on the site of a planned six-reactor nuclear power plant.
Campaigners against the power station, on the west coast of India, have been given a boost by the radiation leaks at Fukushima.
It was on 26 April 1986 that the power station at Chernobyl, then part of the Soviet Union, exploded in the world's worst nuclear accident.
The accident sent a plume of radiation over a large part of Europe.
At least 30 people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the explosion at its Number Four reactor - though others died later from radiation-related sicknesses such as cancer.
The number has been fiercely debated.
Soviet officials held off reporting the accident for several days.
The operators of the Fukushima plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, have also come under fire for not quickly disclosing information on radiation leaks from the plant.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said there must be greater transparency in nuclear emergencies.
"I think that our modern states must see the main lesson of what happened at Chernobyl and the most recent Japanese tragedy as the necessity to tell people the truth," he told survivors of the clean-up effort at a meeting in the Kremlin.
He is to visit Chernobyl on Tuesday, as will Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Ukraine, western Russia and Belarus after the accident.
There is still a 30km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the plant.
Soviet engineers encased the damaged reactor in a temporary concrete casing to limit the radiation but a new shield is needed.
A donors conference in Kiev, Ukraine, last week raised 550m euros ($798m) of the 740m euros needed to build a new shelter and a storage facility for spent fuel. | Thousands of people in France and Germany have staged protests calling for an end to nuclear power. | 13188507 |
The two cabinet ministers clashed over allegations of a hard line Muslim plot in some Birmingham schools.
David Cameron was said to be furious as a briefing war between the two sides erupted in the media, overshadowing this week's Queens Speech.
Theresa May's special adviser has stood down over her part in the row.
Fiona Cunningham was found by a Downing Street inquiry to have been the source of a negative briefing against Mr Gove.
Downing Street announced the disciplinary action after Mr Cameron received the findings of an investigation into the row by Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood.
The briefing war began when sources close to Mr Gove spoke to the The Times over the alleged Birmingham schools plot, accusing the home office of failing to "drain the swamp" of extremism.
The "anonymous source" also criticised Mrs May's counter-terrorism adviser, Charles Farr.
In response, the Home Office released a letter she had written to Mr Gove, accusing his department of failing to act when concerns about the Birmingham schools were brought to its attention in 2010.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Mrs May could have breached the Ministerial Code by publishing the letter to another minister - something that would normally have remained confidential - on the Home Office website. It has now been removed.
Ms Cooper called on Mr Cameron to take action against the home secretary. She also accused the government of being "too busy fighting each other" to properly address the issue of extremism.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, Ms Cooper said: "We've so far heard nothing from the home secretary, even though it looks pretty clear that she has breached the ministerial code by writing and then authorising the publication of this letter."
She added: "I think Theresa May needs to come out publicly and answer what she did to publish this letter."
Foreign Secretary William Hague said Mr Cameron had taken firm action "to make sure there is team discipline", stressing that there was no need for further action.
The prime minister's response had been a "product of the cabinet secretary's investigation, based on the facts," he added.
Mr Gove will be quizzed by MPs over the alleged "Trojan Horse" plot on Monday.
Education watchdog Ofsted is inspecting 21 schools in Birmingham as a result of the allegations of a plot. These reports are due to be published on Monday.
By Chris Mason, Political Correspondent
Two of the government's most senior Conservative ministers are wounded.
The home secretary has lost a close and trusted adviser in Fiona Cunningham; the education secretary will face the humiliation tomorrow of appearing before MPs in the Commons after publicly apologising not just to the prime minister, but also to a senior Home Office civil servant he'd criticised.
The row between Michael Gove and Theresa May, which had burst into the open in The Times on the morning of the Queen's Speech, angered the prime minister.
He will hope his swift response will draw a line under this damaging outbreak of indiscipline at the top of the government.
Mr Gove has also apologised to Home Office counter-terror chief Charles Farr after comments critical of him appeared in the Times attributed to a Department for Education source.
The claims were detailed in a so-called "Trojan Horse" letter, which was made public in March. It has not been authenticated and some believe it to have been a hoax.
The anonymous letter alleged there was a group of conservative Muslims attempting to usurp school governing bodies.
It has led to investigations by Ofsted, Birmingham City Council, the Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency.
The shadow schools minister, Kevin Brennan, said Mr Gove and Mrs May had both breached the Ministerial Code as a result of the briefings to the Times.
He told the BBC: "Really, neither of them should remain in post".
According to the Ministerial Code, ministers "should be able to express their views frankly in the expectation that they can argue freely in private while maintaining a united front when decisions have been reached".
It adds: "This in turn requires that the privacy of opinions expressed in cabinet and ministerial committees, including in correspondence, should be maintained." | Education Secretary Michael Gove has been forced to apologise to the prime minister after a bitter public row with Home Secretary Theresa May. | 27750921 |
South America barely received any mention from either US presidential candidate during the campaign, leaving analysts and pundits in the region to second guess the future.
Washington is the main trading partner for many nations in South America.
The heads of central banks in countries such as Brazil and Chile had to calm wobbly markets on Wednesday, by saying that authorities were ready to intervene if needed.
Leaders from most nations in the region were in a rush to congratulate the Republican politician, but some of the messages did not seem entirely whole-hearted.
Brazil's President Michel Temer sent a congratulatory note to Mr Trump, saying he was looking forward to deepening the friendship between both nations.
But only a few weeks ago, Mr Temer's foreign minister, Jose Serra, scoffed at the prospects of Mr Trump being elected.
"That won't happen. It can't happen," Mr Serra told reporters during a TV interview.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri also expressed his wish to work with Mr Trump for the good of both their people.
Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra congratulated the Mr Trump but said that "it was a pity not to see a woman as capable [as Hillary Clinton] elected to office".
Chilean leader Michelle Bachelet and Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski also sent their good wishes to Mr Trump only days after expressing either criticism of the Republican candidate or a preference for Mrs Clinton.
The left-wing leaders of Ecuador and Venezuela, Rafael Correa and Nicolas Maduro, have so far remained silent.
Earlier this year, Mr Correa said that he hoped for the good of the world and of the US that Hillary Clinton would win.
But he conceded that Mr Trump could end up inadvertently uniting and reviving the fractured left in the region.
"He is so basic that this will generate a reaction in Latin America which will build more support for progressive governments," Mr Correa told Venezuela-based broadcaster Telesur.
Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales congratulated Donald Trump on Twitter and said he hoped to work with the new US president to tackle "racism, sexism and anti-immigration (feelings)".
Mr Trump's victory also elicited comment from the far-right in the region.
Jair Bolsonaro, a controversial Brazilian Congressman who wants to run for president in 2018, congratulated Americans for choosing Mr Trump who, he said, went against "everything and everyone".
Mr Bolsonaro, who is hugely popular with his supporters, has in the past caused outrage for his homophobic comments and for dedicating a vote he cast to the memory of a colonel accused of human rights abuses.
Mr Bolsonaro said Brazilians would follow suit two years from now and support his bid for Brazil's top job.
Normally experts on bilateral relations say that a Democrat in the White House is more likely to affect trade in the region.
They argue that close ties between the US Democratic party and workers' unions usually result in more protectionist policies.
But in this campaign, it was Mr Trump and not Mrs Clinton who was advocating more protectionist policies.
Chile's Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said he was concerned about the future of the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement signed by 12 nations but which still needs to be ratified by national parliaments.
Mr Munoz said that even if President Barack Obama were to push for the deal to be approved by the US Congress before his term ended, Mr Trump could still unilaterally abandon it.
Brazilian farmers are worried that Mr Trump's rise to power could result in more protectionist policies for US agribusiness, putting foreign farmers at a disadvantage.
The director-general of the World Trade Organization, Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo, congratulated Mr Trump on his victory, but urged him to lead US efforts towards free trade.
"It's clear many feel trade isn't working for them. We must address this and ensure trade delivers the widest benefit to the most people," he tweeted.
There are also concerns about immigration.
President Obama was in negotiation with Brazil to find a way to ease visa restrictions between the two countries.
But as Mr Trump ran on an anti-immigration policy, those talks are now in doubt.
Another point of uncertainty is the future of financial markets.
Many analysts had predicted a hike in US interest rates later this year, which could provoke an outflow of capital from South American markets to the US.
But as Mr Trump has been a fierce critic of Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen, that move, too, is now in doubt. | US president-elect Donald Trump has received a series of congratulatory messages from South American leaders amidst uncertainty of what his election will mean to the region in terms of policy. | 37929218 |
Finding the answer is not as simple as drawing a straight line on a map, as contrary to the belief of ancient philosophers the Earth is not flat.
Map experts at Esri UK have created an interactive map which shows precisely which countries are directly across the sea from the UK coastline.
Pembroke in Pembrokeshire, for example, faces Antarctica 7,898 miles away.
And if you stand on Barmouth beach in Gwynedd you might be forgiven for thinking you were looking towards Ireland, but you would be facing in the direction of Brazil some 4,447 miles away.
Esri UK cartographer Ben Flanagan explained that traditional 2D maps cannot be used to find out what country is across the sea as they "distort the true nature of the globe".
"Instead you need to factor in the curvature of the Earth," he said.
To calculate which country is across the sea the map draws a geodesic line, which represents the shortest route between two points on the globe.
Almost 2,000 points were plotted around the UK coast.
These were placed every time there was a major change in the direction of the coastline.
At each viewpoint it was assumed the person was facing outwards, perpendicular to the coastline. The software then drew straight lines out from the point until another landfall was reached.
Mr Flanagan said: "The map was created to make people think about the relationship between maps and the globe and used to demonstrate just how many neighbours the UK has directly across the sea." | Have you ever stood on a beach in Wales and wondered what was on the other side of the ocean? | 38331563 |
The council said it took the measure due to the number of needles found by cleaners and members of the public.
The first bin was installed on the Dublin Road at the end of 2014.
Since then, four more have been put in public toilets in Custom House Square, Lombard Street, the Gasworks site on the Ormeau Road and the Antrim Road.
The needle bins are small silver plaques sited on the wall with the words "sharps disposal" on them.
There is a hole in the middle to allow people to dispose of used needles in a secure container.
The council said they are also designed to be used by people with medical conditions such as diabetes.
The initiative was welcomed by Jake, a former injecting drug user, who spoke to the BBC.
"It's a safe place to dispose of any sharps so there's no debris left around in toilets and public places - it's really quite a progressive move," he said.
"I think people have this image of injecting drug users as dangerous criminals, and we're not.
"We're just normal people who use drugs and we want to keep people as safe as possible.
"Our drug addiction is our own, and if we can protect the general public from harm then that's a very positive thing."
Sinn Féin councillor Stephen Corr, chairman of the council's health and environmental services committee, said they were responding to public demand.
"Unfortunately we have a drug issue here in Belfast, and we want to have a safe mechanism to deal with these needles and sharps," he said.
Mr Corr said the bins may be put in other toilets in the city, including in parks.
"We're keeping an eye on it to see if any other hotspots for drug taking emerge in the city - we will act where we have to," he said.
"We will keep an eye on other parks like Botanic and Ormeau as that seems to be where users are gravitating towards."
"If we need to put them in there, we will do it to respond to the need where appropriate." | Needle bins to allow injecting drug users to safely dispose of used syringes have been installed in five public toilets in Belfast city centre. | 31632053 |
Conflict minerals, as they are known, are mined in areas of fighting or human rights abuses, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The first published list detailed 104 suppliers that were unverified for compliance with ethical guidelines.
Electronics firms are being pressured by human rights groups to use their influence to force suppliers to change.
Most electronic devices contain either gold, tantalum, tin or tungsten. The gathering of these raw materials is often controlled by violent militias who may profit greatly from the activity.
"The ethical sourcing of minerals is an important part of our mission to ensure safe and fair working conditions," Apple said in its latest Supplier Responsibility Report, published annually.
"In January 2014 we confirmed that all active, identified tantalum smelters in our supply chain were verified as conflict-free by third party auditors, and we're pushing our suppliers of tin, tungsten, and gold just as hard to use verified sources."
The first published list showed that 59 smelters were compliant with its guidelines.
A further 23 have agreed to be audited by the Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP), meaning their status should soon be known.
But the document stated that the status of 104 smelters was unknown, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
Bandi Mbubi is a director of Congo Calling, a UK-based campaign group calling for greater transparency in the sourcing of minerals, particularly for electronics.
He told the BBC that Apple's announcement was to be applauded.
"What we want is the whole industry to start transforming the way they do their business," he said.
"The way Apple has gone, even though it is not 100%, is something that is quite encouraging."
In an interview with the Financial Times, Apple's senior vice president of operations Jeff Williams explained why the company would not just use smelters it had identified as conflict-free.
"Quite honestly, if we did that, we could wave our conflict-free flag but it would do nothing to affect the workers on the ground," he told the newspaper.
"And so what we are focused on is getting a critical mass of suppliers verified such that we can truly influence the demand situation and change things."
Last month, Intel announced that it would no longer use conflict minerals in its microprocessors.
The declaration came as a response to a law passed in 2010 that gave companies a May 2014 deadline for reporting the source of its raw materials.
Mr Mbubi said he hoped the moves from Apple and Intel would spark a race for other technology companies to show they too were taking action.
"I think the competition has now started. I think very soon Microsoft will have to say something, or Nokia, or Samsung.
"The competition is good for places like the Congo."
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC | Apple has begun publicising which of its suppliers may be sourcing minerals from conflict zones. | 26144981 |
Quarterly economic growth leapt to 7.9% in the three months to April from a revised 7.2% in the previous quarter, government data showed.
That acceleration was greater than analysts had predicted.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said with China slowing, the world was seeking "other shoulders to rest... growth on".
Speaking at the Future of Asia conference, he said that India, with planned infrastructure spending, could be a very powerful economic driver.
The sectors that registered growth of more than 7% during the year were; financial, real estate and professional services (10.3%), manufacturing (9.3%), trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting (9%), and mining and quarrying (7.4%).
Agriculture, forestry and fishing grew by 1.2% and construction by 3.9%. Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services posted growth of 6.6%, as did the public administration, defence and other services sector.
Analysis: Sameer Hashmi, India business reporter
The big question is, can India sustain this growth momentum over the next decade? That's the key if Asia's third-largest economy is to achieve its true growth potential and reach the point where China is today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has introduced some key reforms in the last two years, including easing rules for foreign investments in sectors such as defence and railways, pushing for manufacturing and drawing up a national bankruptcy law. But what has really helped India is the fall in crude oil prices, given that the country is a net importer.
Despite these steps, the economy still faces some big hurdles that could derail its fast pace of growth. Poor infrastructure, high levels of bad corporate debt and low job creation are some of those challenges.
The last one is particularly a serious issue. India needs to create 10 million jobs every year to absorb its young population entering the workforce.
And all these problems will need concrete measures to be effective in the long run.
Craig Botham, emerging markets economist at Schroders, said he still had doubts about India's actual pace of growth.
"Industrial production, for example, was barely positive in the first quarter. In general, the rest of the economic data looks more consistent with a 6% growth rate than one approaching 8%," he said.
"Concerns over measurement aside, momentum does seem to be improving and combined with recent legislative gains, this should provide reassurance that the economy is headed in the right direction."
India's GDP estimate for the three months to June - the first quarter of 2016-17 - will be released on 31 August. | India's economy grew by 7.6% in 2015-16, up from 7.2% the year before, as the country retained its place as the world's fastest-growing major economy. | 36419266 |
The suspects are all aged in their 50s and from the York area, North Yorkshire Police said.
Miss Lawrence disappeared after leaving her house on Heworth Road, York, for work on 19 March in 2009.
The latest arrests come after a local man, aged in his 50s, was detained on suspicion of murder on 23 March 2015. He remains on police bail.
Miss Lawrence was 35 when she disappeared. Her body has never been found.
Searches are being conducted by detectives, who have cordoned off a house near to Miss Lawrence's home in the Heworth area of York.
North Yorkshire Police said the searches were expected to continue for a number of days.
Her family have been notified about the arrests and are being supported by trained officers, police said.
Miss Lawrence's mother Joan, told BBC Radio York police had informed her of the arrests but they had "come out of the blue".
"It has all come as a shock," she said.
Det Supt Dai Malyn asked that members of the public and the media do not identify the men who have been arrested.
"This is to ensure the investigation and legal process are not compromised or potentially damaged in any way," he said.
"I urge everyone to again show restraint and patience while we carry out these very important inquiries."
A review of the case in October 2013 led to two arrests but no-one has ever been charged.
A 59-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder last May and was later released from bail.
Detectives said a 47-year-old man held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice last July had also been released from bail. | Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering missing chef Claudia Lawrence. | 32411332 |
He told BBC Newsnight it was "a job that doesn't exist" and compared the role to that of "director of football".
He also said his attitude to rebels who opposed his leadership would be one of "charity" rather than "malice".
Mr Smith says Mr Corbyn is "not a leader" but could "speak for the party" to the wider membership as president.
He said he would make Mr Corbyn party president if he managed to unseat him as leader, praising him for helping Labour "rediscover its radical roots" but saying he had "sloganised" about anti-austerity but had "never spelt out what he wants to spend".
Mr Corbyn, who launched his campaign to be re-elected Labour leader on Thursday, following the challenge from Mr Smith, told BBC Newsnight: "Owen Smith has offered me unopposed election to a job that doesn't exist.
"I don't want to be president of the party, I'm not even sure we should have a president of the party. What's a president for? It sounds to me a bit like a director of football. So no."
"The creation of a position of president of the party would actually require a rule change, and a constitutional change. It's not in his gift to offer unopposed election to anything - unless he has some control over the whole electorate that I haven't been told about."
Asked whether he would accept rebels who opposed his leadership back into the party, Mr Corbyn said: "Let's have some charity towards people - not malice. I don't do malice."
He said he had at no point felt like resigning - and said he has been coping with the pressure just fine. "Do I sleep well? Yes. Do I do other things? Yes. Do I read widely? Yes. Look at me I'm very happy."
During the interview, Mr Corbyn was asked if he stuck by his statement on the morning of the referendum result when he called for article 50 to be invoked "immediately".
"I may not have put that as well as I should have done. My view was, and is, that at some point article 50 is going to be invoked, obviously, it has to be."
But he made it clear he does not favour a second referendum. "I think you have to respect the result of the referendum, whether you welcome it or not, and respect the result which was, unfortunately, a vote to leave."
On immigration, he told Newsnight: "I have made the point all along that the single market does include free movement of labour and if you go away from that you're not in the single market.
"Let's look at the other ways of dealing with it first, rather than rushing to immigration."
Some 183,000 people have signed up in the 48-hour registration period to vote in the ballot which pits Mr Corbyn against Mr Smith, with the result due to be announced on 24 September.
They paid £25 each to become registered supporters by Wednesday's deadline, enabling them to have a say in the contest along with party members who had signed up before 12 January and people who joined affiliated trade unions and organisations before that date and who register by 8 August.
In his speech launching his campaign for re-election, Mr Corbyn vowed to tackle the "five ills of 21st Century Britain" - inequality, neglect, prejudice, insecurity and discrimination.
He also said that there would be a "full and open selection process" to choose every would-be Labour MP if new constituency boundaries were in place before 2020, in which current MPs would be able to "put their name forward".
Mr Smith said the Labour leader was effectively threatening to sack Labour MPs - Mr Corbyn's team said he had simply been setting out the existing rules.
However, the current rules state that selections following boundary changes are only open to sitting MPs.
Watch the full interview on BBC Newsnight on 21 July at 22:30 BST on BBC Two. | Jeremy Corbyn has dismissed an offer from challenger Owen Smith of becoming party president in the event his rival wins the Labour leadership. | 36861500 |
A £2,640 grant to pay for "bespoke earplugs" for residents near Hinkley Point C in Somerset has been approved by the local council cabinet.
Energy firm EDF has already paid for new double-glazing in some homes.
But councillors said outdoor noise was "very obtrusive" and further measures were needed.
EDF began moving heavy machinery onto the site at the beginning of January.
It said excavation work to prepare the ground for the new plant will involve removing the equivalent of four Wembley Stadiums-worth of soil.
West Somerset Councillor Sue Goss, who proposed the earplugs, said the noise was "24/7" and "very obtrusive" but developers EDF Energy said it was within the required limits.
"EDF has acknowledged there is a noise issue in the hamlets closest to the site by providing double glazing to all affected properties," she said.
"Unfortunately the double-glazing doesn't extend to the outside of people's properties, where the noise is very obtrusive."
But an EDF spokesman said the firm monitored and controlled site noise levels "very carefully" and has complied with the limits placed on it.
"We have developed a package of measures to support our neighbours during the construction of Hinkley Point C and these go well beyond statutory requirements."
The measure, which is recommended for approval, will go before a full council meeting next week.
If approved, funding for the earplugs will come from a fund set up by EDF for local residents. | People living near the site of a new nuclear power station are set to be given earplugs to block out the noise of "24/7" construction. | 31732169 |
Murray is one of four Britons in singles action with Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Dan Evans also hoping to progress. Here is what you should not miss on the fourth day of Wimbledon.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Former champion Murray will play Chinese Tapei's Yen-Hsun Lu, a man who beat three-time finalist Andy Roddick in 2010 to reach the quarter-finals at SW19. He also knocked out Murray at the 2008 Olympics.
The 29-year-old expects a tough match against the world number 78 - who is on an 11-match winning streak - but the Scot has won three of their four encounters.
"It's a very tough match. He's played the three grass-court Challengers in the build-up. He's won two of them and lost in the final of one," said Murray, who is scheduled second on Centre Court, with the match expected to start at about 15:00 BST.
Andrew Castle, former British number one and BBC Sport commentator, said: "Lu is a regular and genuine top-100 player. This will be a demanding match - but Andy is hitting the ball as well as I have ever seen him hit it.
"I don't see him getting into too much trouble. I still suspect we will be seeing him in the final."
Media playback is not supported on this device
British number one Konta experienced her first victory at Wimbledon on Wednesday after four previous first-round losses and is back in action on day four.
The 25-year-old is one of many players who will have to make a quick turnaround this week to clear the backlog caused by the rain delays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The 19th seed is facing Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, a player who has failed to find form since reaching the Wimbledon final in 2014 and is now ranked 48th in the world.
The pair, who have never faced each other before, are due on Centre Court after Murray's match, possibly at about 17:00 BST.
British number two Heather Watson will hope she can finally complete her first-round match on the third day of trying.
The world number 55 let the second set slip against Annika Beck on court 12 so will contest a decider on Thursday, with Beck having broken early in the third for a 1-0 lead before rain stopped play.
The pair will resume on the same court at 11:00 BST.
Dan Evans was competitive against Ukrainian 30th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in their second-round match, taking the first set to 6-6 before rain prevented a tie-break.
The British number four and Dolgopolov are first on court two with play set to start at 11:00 BST.
It is also the start of the doubles and there will be a conflict of interest for British fans as Jamie Murray and his Brazilian partner Bruno Soares take on Briton Colin Fleming and Jonathan Erlich of Israel in the final match on court 18.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Andy Murray will attempt to reach the third round on Thursday as Wimbledon starts play earlier than usual after two rain-disrupted days. | 36668904 |
McGoldrick, 25, who trains in the same gym as world champion Lee Selby, was a 40-36 victor on the referee's card in his debut at bantamweight.
The gold medal winner at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, who also claimed bronze at the 2014 Games, has signed professional terms with MGM.
He is trained by Tony Borg in Newport.
McGoldrick featured in the first fight of the night on the undercard of Anthony Crolla's WBA lightweight title rematch with Jorge Linares.
Find out how to get into boxing with our special guide. | Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Sean McGoldrick won his professional debut via a comfortable decision over Brett Fidoe in Manchester. | 39395252 |
The 29-year-old played in the Cranes' first two matches at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon but missed their last group game because of injury.
In January, Onyango was voted Africa-based Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football.
He is the only goalkeeper, and the first Ugandan, to achieve that feat. | Uganda goalkeeper Denis Onyango has signed a four-year contract extension with South Africa's Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns. | 38900615 |
Many more support staff and journalists covering the club were among the 71 who died in the crash outside Medellin.
A minute's silence was held at matches in England and Scotland on Saturday.
Chelsea's Brazil defender David Luiz, whose side beat Manchester City 3-1, said: "I give this victory to the people who died."
Luiz's former team-mate, Arthur Maia, was one of the victims of the crash.
"It was a difficult week for us, especially emotionally," added Luiz, who held up his black armband alongside team-mate Willian when the latter scored against Manchester City.
"It was difficult to prepare the head for this type of game. Now we pray for the families, for comfort they have as it is a very hard time for them."
Blues midfielder Willian said he "wanted to do this for them, to say they have to keep strong".
Chelsea's Brazil-born striker Diego Costa added: "We pray for them, that God comforts their hearts.
"We have this job and sometimes we travel a lot. We need to pray for everyone inside the plane - the journalists as well as the players.
"I had some friends there also. It's a sad moment for everybody and we hope we can help them somehow." | Premier League players have paid tribute to the victims of Monday's Colombian plane crash that killed 19 members of Brazilian side Chapecoense. | 38196365 |
Mother-of-two Isobel Parker, 23, who was known as Becky, was found dead in the bath in her flat in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, last July.
Matthew Smith, 24, had admitted killing Ms Parker but denied murder.
A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court found Smith, of Wood Corner Caravan Park, Maldon, guilty by a majority verdict following a three-week trial.
Follow updates on this story and other Essex news
Judge Charles Gratwicke said Smith could expect a substantial sentence when he returns to court on Tuesday.
Det Ch Insp Martin Pasmore said Smith "could not accept his relationship with Isobel was over after she had moved on to the extent that she was six months pregnant by a new partner".
"The jury has today seen through his lies and convicted him of murder."
Ms Parker's body was found by her sister in the property in Booth Place on 17 July 2015.
During the trial, the court heard she had been strangled to death with cable ties.
Ms Parker ended her relationship with Smith in December 2014. He had not taken the split well and had tried to kill himself, the jury was told.
The court also heard Smith was "unhappy" and "very jealous" that she was pregnant by her new boyfriend. | A factory worker has been convicted of the "sickening murder" of his former partner who was six months pregnant. | 35860494 |
The singer's sixth studio album, his first since 2010, outsold its nearest rival - Bon Iver's 22, A Million - by 4,500 copies.
David said: "Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what's going on right now."
He described scoring the second number one album of his career with Following My Intuition as "the most amazing feeling".
David had last hit the top spot with Born To Do It in 2000.
"I'm seeing two generations connecting - the people who have been with me since 1999 and the crew who are just discovering me, both connecting on the same music," he said.
All of the top four albums this week were new entries.
My Universe by The Shires debuted at number three, becoming the fastest-selling album by a British country music act in chart history.
Van Morrison's Keep Me Singing, the singer's 36th studio album, entered at number four.
Radiohead rounded off the top five with A Moon Shaped Pool, which leapt 80 places up the chart after a new deluxe edition was released.
In the singles chart, X Factor winner James Arthur held on to the number one spot for a second week with Say You Won't Let Go.
Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk rose to number two, while The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey's Closer dropped a place to three.
Calvin Harris's My Way held its number four position, while Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj rose one place to break the top five for the first time.
Further down the top 10, One Direction's Niall Horan scored his first chart hit as a solo artist, with his debut single This Town landing at number nine, following a surprise release last Thursday.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Craig David has scored his first number one album for 16 years. | 37585442 |
Rumours that the band would return to Worthy Farm began to circulate on Wednesday, when the band's logo appeared near the Pyramid stage.
Eagle-eyed fans saw two men painting the "angry bear" symbol onto the grass via the BBC's Glastonbury webcam.
The festival confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon, posting a photo of the logo on its official Twitter page.
"YES! Radiohead will be back at Worthy Farm and we really can't wait," wrote organiser Emily Eavis on Instagram.
The band will play the opening night of the festival on 23 June, 2017 - marking their first UK festival appearance since 2011, when they played a "secret set" on Glastonbury's small, outlying Park Stage.
Other headliners have yet to be confirmed, although The Stone Roses, Foo Fighters and Lady Gaga have all been rumoured.
French dance duo Daft Punk were also through to be in the running, but organiser Eavis recently shot that one down, telling fans: "As ever, 99% of the rumours are untrue!"
Earlier this week, rock band Kings of Leon also told the BBC they were keen to return to the Pyramid stage.
"We love Glastonbury. I think that was the first festival we ever played in Europe," said drummer Nathan Followill, before asking: "Do they still do it where it's on one year, off one year to let the grass grow?"
On being told that the next fallow year was 2018, he replied: "OK, then we'll have to get on it in 2017. I'll have to text Mr Eavis."
I've grown up with Radiohead and they're about as good as it gets for me. They're just in a league of their own aren't they? Some of my happiest memories at the festival have been watching them play, from headlining in the rain 20 years ago when I was a teenager, to surprise sets in The Park and DJ'ing late night in Shangri-La. We are beyond excited that they're finally coming back to the Pyramid, it's incredibly special for everyone here.
Radiohead have headlined Glastonbury twice before, in 1997 and 2003 (you can still watch the former on BBC iPlayer). Guitarist Ed O'Brien recently told BBC 6 Music he would "love to" reprise the experience.
"I go to Glastonbury every year, it's my carnival," he told Matt Everitt's First Time programme.
"To be asked to play at Glastonbury again would be magic. I also think Glastonbury is like our spiritual home. It is the mother of all festivals... there's nothing like that one... it would be great to play there."
The band, whose ninth album A Moon Shaped Pool went to number one earlier this year, have recently played a handful of international festivals, including Primavera, Summer Solstice and Lollapalooza, but their only UK dates in 2016 were held at London's 1,700-capacity Roundhouse.
Coincidentally, their symbol was co-designed by artist Stanley Donwood, who creates all of Glastonbury's posters and logos.
The 2017 festival has already sold out, but there will be a resale of any returned tickets in the spring.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Rock group Radiohead will headline Glastonbury next year, in their first UK festival appearance in six years. | 37713488 |
Tipped for the top job long before Alastair Cook resigned in February, a quirk of the fixture list has meant a five-month wait for Root to lead his country against South Africa.
The 26-year-old is a prolific run-scorer, a proud Yorkshireman and a new father - that much we know.
Here, those who have been with Root at key moments in his life reveal what has made him into a leader; from the baby with a bat in his hand, to teenage prodigy, a "cheeky chappy" who became a captain.
Root's grandfather was one of five boys, all of whom played cricket. His father Matt, good enough to represent the MCC at Lord's, turned out for Sheffield Collegiate, the club that produced former England skipper Michael Vaughan. Root's younger brother Billy currently plays for Nottinghamshire.
"I made him a little cardboard bat and he had it in his hand on the day he came out of hospital," said Matt. "As soon as he could walk, we put him into one of those things where he could wheel himself around and he was whacking furniture with a bat.
"When he was old enough, he would field when the Sheffield Collegiate first team were netting, then he would insist on having some throw-downs until it went dark or the thrower got tired. On Saturdays, I'd be playing, Joe and Billy would put their stumps in on the other side of the boundary and have their own game all day.
"When Joe was about eight, I was playing for the Yorkshire League against the Bradford League. We were fielding and the ball went towards the boundary. He ran on to the pitch, picked it up and threw it in, straight into the wicketkeeper's gloves. He got a round of applause from the crowd.
"He was opening the batting in under-13 cricket at the age of nine or 10. He was very small, so the ball was always around his shoulders. That's probably why he's so good off the back foot now.
"Joe just used to grind out runs. He really, really didn't want to get out. He loved batting at a really early age. More often than not he'd be run out, either because he didn't cover the ground very quickly, or team-mates would get fed up with him occupying the crease all the time.
"There was always cricket, but Joe also played football for Nottingham Forest under-eights. He packed it in because it interfered with his Sunday morning nets.
"When he was about 11, I asked Joe what he wanted to when he grew up. He said he wanted to play for England. Someone has got to do it and, maybe because he'd seen Michael Vaughan do it, he didn't see any reason why he couldn't be one that got the privilege."
At 13, Root became the youngest player to be given a scholarship by Yorkshire. As part of his introduction to the club he went to Headingley one winter evening to meet batting coach Kevin Sharp. Before the meeting, ex-Tykes batsman Sharp had been working with Anthony McGrath, who played four Tests for England in 2003.
"The way he talked, he could have been an adult," said Sharp. "He knew the strengths of his game, what he needed to work on in order to get better. It was quite remarkable. I thought 'if he can bat as well as he can talk, he's going to be very good'.
"He said he wanted a challenge, the same session that [former Yorkshire captain] McGrath had just had. I'd been training McGrath for Championship cricket, bowling with a new ball off only eight yards. I said to Joe 'we can't do that, I'll hurt you'. He just smiled and said that he'd be all right. I said 'put all your protective equipment on, because I'm coming for you'.
"We had 20 minutes of very quick, very intensive stuff and Joe dealt with it unbelievably well. He had a great technique. He knew when to play, when to leave. He loved the short ball. I bowled a bouncer, which I shouldn't have done because if it had knocked him out I would have lost my job. It clipped his helmet grille. He just smiled and said 'that was a good ball'.
"He always challenges himself to get better, practises out of his comfort zone, as if he is getting ready for the next level. He makes training harder than matchplay, so he is prepared for whatever may come.
"Once, when he was about 17, we were on a pre-season tour to Barbados. We were at the Three Ws ground [named after Windies legends Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott] and there was a dark indoor school with a concrete floor. He went in and set up an eight-yard pitch, put his gear on and then came to me with a new ball.
"He said 'coach, we're going to play Test cricket for 15 minutes. All you have got to do is run in and hit me on the head'.
"I did as he asked. I hit him on the head, the chest and the throat. He just kept smiling and nodding at me. After 15 minutes, I said 'I've done what you asked. I've hit you on the head four times'.
"He said 'I know, but you haven't got me out'."
Root made his Yorkshire debut in 2009 at the age of 18, scoring 63 in a one-day game against Essex. Less than two years later he was opening the batting for England Lions in a side captained by fellow future Test batsman James Taylor.
"When people say that he arrived in the England team as a fully formed batsman it makes me laugh, because we never saw it with the Lions," said Taylor. "When he went on to play for England, we were thinking 'where has this come from?'.
"I didn't see that period of progression from Lions to England. When I saw him playing for England I was thinking 'how's he got this good?' We were all baffled because we didn't see him growing up and all the hard work that went into it. We saw a guy that, in the Lions, was technically good but didn't score too many runs. Underneath that, the talent was unbelievable.
"We played with him a fair amount and never saw him being that good. It was phenomenal how quickly he learned and progressed.
"I'm a big believer that the best players are the quickest learners, and Joe is an exceptionally quick learner. He went on England's tour of India in 2012 and that's where he made massive strides forward, making huge progress in the nets.
"He didn't play in the first three Tests. Some people, when they are out of the side just think 'oh, I'm carrying the drinks' and they sit on their backside wishing they were playing.
"Others use that time to learn, work hard, get better and fitter. Joe did that and that was the difference between having the potential to be exceptional, and actually being very good in the England team straight away. Not many people perform on debut and Root did it."
Root, aged 21, had only played two full seasons of first-class cricket when he was called into the England squad for the tour of India in late 2012. His selection was more on potential than weight of runs. That summer, he had managed 738 in Division Two of the County Championship.
He joined a team full of Ashes winners that had topped the world rankings the 12 months beforehand - the likes of Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann. He was such a rookie, that some of them barely knew who he was.
"I'd never come across him before that tour," said Swann. "I knew his name, but knew nothing about his game. When he turned up I thought 'brilliant, we've got a mascot to take on tour with us', because he looked about 16 at a push.
"When you haven't seen anyone before, you sum them up the first time you bowl at them in the nets. Straight away I thought 'wow, this kid can actually bat'. Instantly he was the best player of spin in the team. He was very confident, punchy and almost arrogant in a good way.
"I think all the bowlers were chivvying Andy Flower, the coach, saying that we had to get him in the team because he was brilliant. I certainly was.
"In the dressing room, it was like having your cheeky little brother around. He was always there being a pest, doing stupid little jokes, or getting stuck into the cake trolley. He was a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of youngsters who were straight-down-the-line robots.
"From the first time I saw him in the nets I thought he would be an England player for the rest of his life. That was confirmed after he had faced about 15 balls in his first Test."
Root made 73 on debut in the final Test as England secured a first series win in India for 27 years, and was in the side for the back-to-back Ashes series that followed. However, with England having a miserable time down under in 2013-14, he was left out of the final Test in Sydney.
His return at the beginning of the following summer sparked a remarkable period of run-scoring. Just over a year later, he was ranked as the number one Test batsman in the world.
"It wasn't like he was getting dropped and being tossed aside," said England fast bowler James Anderson. "It was pretty obvious he was going to play a big part in the future of English cricket, but he was still very young. It was probably a clever thing to take him out of the firing line in order to look after him.
"Clearly, it wasn't a great trip. When you're 20 years old, all you want to do is go out there and play cricket. At the same age I was at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and we had all the distractions of whether we should go to Zimbabwe or not. It was probably a shock for Joe that international cricket isn't just turning up and scoring runs.
"I remember how hurt he was when he did get dropped. He has always been desperate to play for England and to get a taste of that and then have it taken away can be difficult to deal with. I think that showed in the way he went away and worked on his game. He went to the relevant coaches and picked some brains to figure out what he could do to develop his game.
"I like the way that he prepares individually for series - he knows who he is going to come up against, so he'll tailor his game. That's something you think is a given in a lot of players, but even in international cricket you'll see some that, once they have had a few good scores, they will keep practising nicely at the things they are good at.
"Joe is someone who takes himself out of his comfort zone in practice. It's tough to bowl to him in the nets. I always think I can get him out, but then there are times when you can see how good he is. He's probably not the best guy to bowl at when you're trying to build confidence in preparation for a Test.
"People talk about Joe, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson as the best four players in the world. If Joe was to rank them, he'd put himself at number four. He's that sort of person. Because he's quite shy, I don't think he likes that praise too much."
Root was named England vice-captain in the summer of 2015, confirmation that he was Cook's successor-in-waiting. When Cook resigned in February this year, Root's elevation was close to a formality. He was made skipper a month after the birth of his first son, Alfred.
"He's always been the cheeky chappy off the field, in the dressing room and even on the pitch," said England all-rounder Chris Woakes. "He's always smiling and joking around. I think that's his way of staying in the zone, not getting too serious.
"People talk about him being a prankster, but that's not what I see in Joe, it's more the banter. He's very happy to give it out in the dressing room, but he also occasionally keeps himself to himself, especially on tour.
"You might not see him for a couple of days and you might think 'where's Rooty been?' There was one tour when he was in his room for a couple of days and the lads were calling him Casper the ghost. Then, all of a sudden, he's at the forefront again. He probably needs to take himself away, have his little bit of 'me time', then come back champing at your heels again.
"Being a dad has matured him a fraction. From a social side it does change your life a bit - you're not always going to be the first one in the bar. You have other duties. Still, he's very much a team man and will try to spend as much time with the team as possible.
"Fatherhood will help his time away from cricket. As an international, you're always thinking about cricket, so that might be good for him to get away from it. It might even help his batting.
"He hasn't changed in the months since he was made Test captain, but that will probably have to come because captains need to have difficult discussions with players. I think he'll embrace the job and I'm sure he'll pick the brains of Alastair Cook. The more he stays himself, the better he'll be."
This content will not work on your device, please check Javascript and cookies are enabled or update your browser
Additional reporting by Tim Peach. James Taylor was talking to BBC Test Match Special. | On Thursday, Joseph Edward Root will walk out at Lord's to toss the coin as the 80th man to captain England in Test cricket. | 40474015 |
The Italian, 64, led the Foxes to their first top-flight title in his first season with the club.
Ranieri joins key players Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan and Jamie Vardy in extending his contract.
"The energy that exists here - from the owners and the staff, to the players and supporters - is something very special," he told the club website.
"Last season, that spirit and our hard work helped us to achieve something magical. If we can continue to work hard, maintain our passion and continue to fight with all our hearts, I am sure we can continue to be successful together."
Ranieri's side won last season's title at odds of 5,000-1, and will be one of the top seeds in the Champions League draw later this month.
The Foxes, beaten 2-1 in the Community Shield by Manchester United on Sunday, begin their Premier League season with a trip to promoted Hull City on Saturday.
Vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: "Twelve months ago, we brought to Leicester City a man whose knowledge and experience, we felt, could lead us into the next phase of our long-term plan.
"What he would go on to help us achieve, in the time we have achieved it, has been beyond anything we could have anticipated."
Leicester captain Morgan, who extended his contract until 2019, told BBC Radio 5 live that Ranieri's new contract was "fantastic news".
He added: "He played a big part in our success last season and all the boys are right behind him."
Former Leicester and England striker Gary Lineker referenced a tweet he sent when Ranieri was appointed last June.
The Match of the Day presenter tweeted at the time: "Claudio Ranieri? Really?"
He also said of the appointment: "Claudio Ranieri is clearly experienced, but this is an uninspired choice by Leicester. It's amazing how the same old names keep getting a go on the managerial merry-go-round." | Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League champions. | 37032152 |
It confirms that farming spread across Europe due to the influx of ancient people from what is now eastern Turkey.
Many modern Europeans owe their taller stature to these early farmers - and a later influx of Bronze Age "horsemen" - say international researchers.
In the study, researchers mapped the genes of 273 ancient people who lived in West Europe and Asia from about 8,500 to 2,500 years ago.
Of these, 26 were part of a population that gave rise to Europe's first farmers.
Prof Ron Pinhasi of the School of Archaeology at University College Dublin, a lead researcher on the study, said: "We now have the first clear evidence that agriculture in Europe started with the first farmers coming from what is now Turkey.
"This is very exciting because there's been a dispute for the last 40 years over whether that's the case or not.
"Some have argued that it was diffusion of ideas but not of people. We now have the evidence that it was actually movement of people."
The study, published in the journal, Nature, adds to growing evidence that two events in prehistoric times have had a big impact on the genetic make-up of modern Europeans.
The first was the arrival of an ancestral "tribe" of early farmers from Anatolia around 8,500 years ago.
The later arrival of a tribe of ancient "horsemen" in Bronze Age times also shaped the genes of modern Europeans.
Both had an influence on the way genes for skin colour, eye colour and susceptibility to various diseases were shaped in prehistoric times.
Two populations appear to have had an impact on the height of Europeans - early farmers and horse-riding herders called the Yamnaya who entered Europe from the eastern Steppe region - in present day Ukraine and Russia - about 5,000 years ago.
Prof Pinhasi told BBC News. "Early farmers were already tall when they came into Europe.
"Part of the modern day higher stature - for example in Northern Central Europe - has its origins in the first farmers coming from Turkey into Europe."
Most modern Europeans have a genetic make-up that suggests they are descended from three ancient "tribes" - western hunter gatherers, early European farmers and "horsemen" known as the Yamnaya.
The first layer of European ancestry, the hunter-gatherers, entered Europe before the Ice Age 40,000 years ago.
But 7,000 years ago, they were swept up in a migration of people from the Middle East, who introduced farming to Europe, followed 2,000 years later by the Yamnaya.
Eppie Jones of Trinity College Dublin, co- researcher on the study, said: "This paper is taking our journey back in time ever further.
"It is looking at our genes and how the interactions and innovations through history have shaped who Europeans are today." | A study of ancient DNA has shed new light on European genetic history. | 34883225 |
Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal was sent off for two bookable offences, while Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo scored in extra time from an offside position as the Spanish holders won 6-3 on aggregate on Tuesday.
"We had thought of everything going into this game - except the referee," Ancelotti said.
"You can't decide a semi-final spot like this. It shouldn't happen at this level."
Ancelotti said Real manager Zinedine Zidane agreed with his assessment of Hungarian referee Kassai's "negative" performance at the Bernabeu.
"The referee probably wasn't up to the task," said the Italian, a former Real boss.
"I don't think Real Madrid have any influence on referees. The officials simply got it wrong. I had never been in favour of video technology, but I must admit it's necessary now."
Goalline technology - to determine whether the ball has crossed the line - was brought into the Premier League for the start of the 2013-14 season and the Bundesliga from 2015-16.
Video assistant referees (VARs) are being trialled worldwide, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino keen to employ the system at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
VARs - which rule on key incidents concerning goals, red cards, mistaken identities and penalties - could be used in English football as early as August, with the EFL Cup first round touted as a possible initial testing bed for the technology.
Video has already been used at international level, with two wrong decisions corrected by VARs as Spain beat France in a friendly in Paris on 29 March.
Uefa has not committed to the trials but in a statement said it was "constantly looking at ways in which it can improve the matches taking place in its competitions".
It added: "Regarding video assistant referees, there are currently trials taking place, so let's see the results and if or how the system can work while preserving the flow of the game."
BBC 5 live pundit Pat Nevin: "I don't want the referee to have spoiled the entirety of this game because it was a fantastic tie over two legs - but the referee killed it with the sending off.
"It was terrible, and then he gets the decision wrong for Ronaldo's goal.
"The referee will probably get as much chat as anyone else."
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: "It was an extremely emotional spectacle, you can only compliment both teams. Our team has given everything, we must not forget that.
"It was great football, but unfortunately the referee gave some extreme decisions at our expense. The referee was of course the killer."
This content will not work on your device, please check Javascript and cookies are enabled or update your browser | Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti said referee Viktor Kassai "wasn't up to the task" of a Champions League quarter-final and called for video technology "as soon as possible". | 39637306 |
His comments came as the BBC published for the first time the pay of stars earning £150,000 and more.
The figures reveal that about two-thirds of stars earning more than £150,000 are male, compared to one-third female, according to the BBC annual report.
The top seven earners in the list of the BBC's 96 best-paid stars are all male.
The pay gap is the percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women.
Across the UK men earned 18.1% more than women in April 2016 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This figure is calculated on a 1% sample of employees' jobs. It takes the median for men and women, which is the figure at the mid-point of the range of earnings.
The pay gap isn't the same as equal pay. Equal pay - that men and women doing the same job should be paid the same - has been a legal requirement for 47 years.
As the following graph shows, the gap between men and women's earning for both full and part-time work has fallen from 27.5% in 1997 to 18.1% in 2016. If you only look at full-time workers the pay gap drops to 9.4%. For part-time workers the pay gap favours women, who now earn 6% more than men.
The numbers do not tell the whole story.
The list does not distinguish between people who are paid for doing multiple jobs within the BBC and those who are paid for just one.
The figures only include what the BBC pays its talent directly. So if a presenter is paid by an independent production company or by the BBC's commercial arm, this is not included.
Questioned by Mishal Husain on Radio 4's Today programme, director general Lord Hall said that, compared with an 18% gap in pay between genders across the UK, the BBC pay gap across the corporation was 10%, which will be audited in the autumn.
The BBC press office said that covered full and part-time employees. Reality Check asked for the part-time figures but the press office said that was all it had in terms of breakdown at the moment.
The ONS provides some pay gap data for groups of occupations based on their annual earnings survey.
The following graph shows the gender pay gap by major occupation groups.
According to ONS definitions, elementary occupations require "a minimum general level of education". This category includes farm and postal workers, cleaners and security guards.
Skilled trades include jobs requiring a "substantial period of training", such as landscape gardeners, vehicle mechanics and TV engineers.
Associate professionals and technical occupations include jobs such as civil engineers technicians, paramedics and youth workers.
It is possible to look at jobs within these broad groups. For instance, the pay gap for the category "journalists, newspaper and periodical editors", which includes broadcast journalists, is 7.1%.
Likewise, for "artistic, media and literary occupations", which includes presenters, actors, producers and directors but also professions such as dancers and choreographers, the gap is just 2.7%.
Another way to look at the pay gap is by industry sector rather than by occupation. This shows that for the programming and broadcasting sector, looking at employees' hourly pay, the gender pay gap is 9.4%.
The 10% figure quoted by Lord Hall covers everyone employed by the BBC, so will include a wide range of jobs including technical staff, journalists, human resources and marketing.
By April 2018, all companies with 250 or more employees will have to publish figures showing average pay for men and women including any bonuses. This will reveal how widespread the gender pay gap is and will enable comparisons with other companies.
Meanwhile, Lord Hall has made a commitment to closing the pay gap in the BBC altogether. "I have said that by 2020 we will have equality between men and women on air and we will have the pay gap sorted out."
Read more from Reality Check
Follow us on Twitter | BBC director general Lord Hall has said the BBC gender pay gap across the organisation is 10%, compared with an 18% gap across the UK as a whole. | 40657010 |
Nadia Eweida took her case to the ECHR after BA made her stop wearing her white gold cross visibly.
The court said BA had not struck a fair balance between Ms Eweida's religious beliefs and the company's wish to "project a certain corporate image".
It ruled the rights of three others had not been violated by their employers.
But they said Ms Eweida's rights had been violated under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The four Christians had brought cases against the UK government for not protecting their rights but ministers, who contested the claims, argued that the rights of the employees were only protected in private.
By Robert PigottReligious affairs correspondent, BBC News
Although Nadia Eweida's victory shows that Christians can see wearing a cross at work as part of behaving in accordance with their religion, the court's decision was based on special circumstances - including the fact that a discreet cross would not have adversely affected British Airways' public image.
It's perhaps more significant that Shirley Chaplin's case was dismissed, along with those of Gary McFarlane and Lillian Ladele. Today's judgement sets the legal seal on years in which traditionalist Christians have tried, and failed, to defend their values against secular ones in British courts.
The message coming from Strasbourg is that although people are entitled to hold religious views, that right is severely limited in the workplace when it comes into conflict with the rights of other people. The judgement also hands considerable discretion to employers to set reasonable policies and then insist that employees follow them whatever their religious beliefs.
Ms Eweida, 60, a Coptic Christian from Twickenham in south-west London, told the BBC she was "jumping with joy" after the ruling, adding it had "not been an easy ride".
British Airways said its uniform policy was changed in 2007 to allow Miss Eweida and others to "wear symbols of faith" and that she and other employees had been working under these arrangements for the last six years.
It said Ms Eweida did not attend work for a period of time in 2006 while an internal appeal was held into her refusal to remove her cross but she remained a British Airways employee.
The British government was ordered to pay Ms Eweida 2,000 euros (£1,600) in damages and 30,000 euros (£25,000) costs.
A tribunal decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in the UK before she took her case to the ECHR.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "delighted" that the "principle of wearing religious symbols at work has been upheld", adding that people "shouldn't suffer discrimination due to religious beliefs".
The other cases involved nurse Shirley Chaplin, 57, whose employer also stopped her wearing necklaces with a cross, Gary McFarlane, 51, a marriage counsellor sacked after saying he might object to giving sex therapy advice to gay couples, and registrar Lillian Ladele who was disciplined after she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies.
The four had made individual applications to the ECHR after losing separate employment tribunals but their cases were heard together.
They argued their employers' actions went against articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protected their rights to "freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and prohibited religious discrimination.
Ms Ladele was disciplined by Islington Council, in north London, after saying she did not want to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies. Her lawyers said the service could have been performed by other employees who were prepared to carry them out.
ECHR judges said the council's action was legitimate as it was obliged to consider the rights of same-sex couples.
Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute, which backed Ms Ladele's case, said: "What this case shows is that Christians with traditional beliefs about marriage are at risk of being left out in the cold."
Mr McFarlane, a Bristol relationship counsellor, worked for the Avon branch of national charity Relate but was sacked for gross misconduct in 2008 after saying on a training course he might have an objection to discussing sexual problems with gay couples.
The court said clients of the service where he was employed could not be allocated in accordance with their sexual orientation.
Source: BBC Religion and Ethics
Why is the cross important to Christians?
Mr McFarlane told the BBC that the decision in his case was "a regrettable judgment" for all faiths, not just Christians.
Ms Chaplin, from Exeter, was transferred to a desk job by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital for failing to remove a confirmation crucifix on a small chain, which she had worn to work for 30 years.
The court said the decision was necessary to protect the health and safety of nurses and patients.
She said she thought British Christians would be "devastated" by the ruling.
The three plan to ask for their cases to go to appeal to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR.
Employment lawyers at firm Slater and Gordon said the decision did not change the situation that discriminating against a person purely because of their religion was against UK law.
They said it also showed that corporate image did not trump a person's right to reasonable expression of their religious belief.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and the Equalities Minister Maria Miller both welcomed the ruling.
Keith Porteous-Wood, of the National Secular Society, said: "Religious people who feel elements of their job go against their conscience can always find employment that better matches their needs. That is true religious freedom."
Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said the judgment was "an excellent result for equal treatment, religious freedom and common sense".
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said the Equality Act "encourages employers to embrace diversity - including people of faith". | A British Airways employee suffered discrimination at work over her Christian beliefs, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled. | 21025332 |
The Met Police's figures showed there were 2,544 gun crime offences from April 2016 to April 2017 compared to 1,793 offences from 2015 until 2016.
Knife crime also increased by 24% with 12,074 recorded offences from 2016 to 2017.
The Met said although crime rates were rising they remained at a much lower level than five years ago.
Scotland Yard registered annual rises across a number of serious offence categories in the past 12 months, following several years of falls.
The total number of offences during the 2016 to 2017 financial year was 774,737, an increase of 4% from the previous year when total offences stood at 740,933.
Knife crime offences that resulted in an injury also increased, by 21% to 4,415 from 2016 to 2017, compared to 3,663 offences the year before.
The force said robbery offences, which increased 12% year-on-year, were at about half the level of 2006-2007 and there were 58 fewer homicides this year compared to 10 years ago.
Martin Hewitt, assistant commissioner responsible for territorial policing, said: "Similar to the rest of England and Wales, crime rates in London are rising, but many of these are still at a much lower level than five years ago and are against the backdrop of significant reductions in resources.
"Whilst we continue to focus on reducing stabbings by taking weapons and dangerous offenders off the streets, prevention and diversion from knife crime is key.
"There are complex social reasons why more young people are carrying knives and this cannot be solved by the police alone, we must work with communities to help combat knife crime."
Drug offences fell by 9%, from 41,164 to 37,374. Burglary offences also fell slightly, from 69,703 to 69,501.
Sophie Linden, London's deputy mayor for policing, said: "These figures are deeply disturbing, and a stark reminder of the enormous pressure our police are under every day as they work so tirelessly to protect us."
A report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said it was satisfied with the Met's overall performance, but warned there were areas of "serious concern" about its effectiveness that needed to be addressed. | Gun crime offences in London surged by 42% in the last year, according to official statistics. | 39578500 |
Olly Woodburn's score inside 70 seconds put Exeter ahead, but tries from Will Hurrell, Jason Woodward and Gavin Henson helped Bristol go 14 points up.
Geoff Parling and Ian Whitten tries for Exeter helped restore parity.
Waldrom grabbed his brace either side of Mitch Eadie's effort, which ensured two crucial bonus points for Bristol.
If not for Waldrom's ninth try of the season three minutes from the end, Bristol would have moved to within five points of second-from-bottom Worcester.
As it is, they remain eight points adrift of safety, but the losing and four-try bonus points on their trip to second-placed Exeter will give them renewed hope of staying up even though games against league leaders Wasps and defending champions Saracens are still to come.
The hard-fought victory against a plucky Bristol side inspired by former Wales international Henson, who finished with 19 points, moves Exeter equal on points with Wasps at the summit, and with Bath beating Leicester earlier in the day, they are assured of a top-four finish.
Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter: "You must give Bristol credit as they snatched every chance they had.
"It was a tough old game and while there were excellent individual performances from Thomas Waldrom, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Olly Woodburn, we weren't collectively at our best.
"I felt the last two games (Sale and Bristol) have been no-win games for us and we need an exciting game to challenge us.
"Next Friday we are at Harlequins live on TV and hopefully that will bring the best out of us."
Bristol interim head coach Mark Tainton: "We were minutes away from a famous victory, as the players put in a hell of a shift and our defence was magnificent.
"When they scored an early try, it looked it could be a long afternoon but I'm frustrated that we didn't get the win.
"It's getting more and more difficult to avoid relegation but the boys aren't going to give in and we are hoping for a big crowd at Ashton Gate next Sunday against Wasps."
Exeter: Dollman; Nowell, Whitten, Devoto, Woodburn; Slade, Maunder; Moon, Cowan-Dickie, Williams; Lees, Hill; Dennis, Armand (capt), Waldrom.
Replacements: Yeandle, Rimmer, Holmes, Parling, Ewers, Townsend, Steenson, Campagnaro.
Bristol: Woodward; Edwards, Hurrell, Henson, Tovey; Searle, Mathewson; Bevington, Jones (c), Cortes, Phillips, Sorenson, Jeffries, Lam, Eadie.
Replacements: Crumpton, O'Connell, Ford-Robinson, Glynn, Fenton-Wells, Williams, Newey, Amesbury.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | Thomas Waldrom scored two second half-tries to ensure Exeter a Premiership play-off spot with a dramatic victory over relegation-threatened Bristol. | 39490904 |
Officers were called to Orford Ness just before 11:00 BST by the National Trust, which reported the discovery at its nature reserve.
A police cordon is in place on the beach and an investigation is under way.
The death is currently being treated as unexplained and the body has not yet been identified. | A body has been found on a beach in Suffolk. | 34307263 |
In its first price-hike for four years, Power NI is increasing residential prices by 5.6%, which will make the average annual household bill £27 more expensive from October.
Some 34,000 farms and businesses will also see their prices rise by about 6%.
One reason is because it costs more to generate electricity, as a result of increasing gas and coal prices.
Exchange rates are also making this more expensive as coal is traded in dollars and the pound has weakened significantly against the dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU in June.
Until now, customers have not been exposed to this volatility, as Power NI hedges its electricity prices up to a year in advance.
Stephen McCully, managing director of Power NI, said: "So much is dependent upon world fuel costs, which are outside our control and which have an effect on the price we pay for wholesale electricity.
"We have not increased our prices since 2013, so it is particularly disappointing for us that we have to do so now."
Since its last tariff, gas prices have risen about 10% and rising inflation has pushed up network costs.
The Federation of Small Businesses said the price hike - which amounts to twice the rate of inflation - was "disappointing and unwelcome".
"It adds a further adverse burden to what are already some of the highest operating costs faced by SMEs, at a time of increasing uncertainty," said FSB NI's policy chairman Wilfred Mitchell.
"Rising costs are already having to be absorbed by business owners, making it increasingly difficult for them to invest, expand and create jobs; this price hike will undoubtedly have a negative impact on economic growth."
Jenny Pyper, Utility Regulator chief executive, said: "Agreeing an increase to Power NI's domestic electricity tariff is not a decision that we take lightly."
"We carry out extensive scrutiny of Power NI's costs to ensure that any change to their tariff is justified."
"Domestic electricity prices in Northern Ireland have not increased in four years, but unfortunately, due to rises in wholesale energy costs, this increase is unavoidable," she added. | Almost 500,000 households across Northern Ireland are going to see a rise in their electricity bills. | 40954433 |
The blaze broke out at a terraced house in Rosamond Street, Bolton, at about 09:00 BST on Saturday.
The victims were five-year-old Khadija Umerji, her brothers Yusuf, 10, and Hammad, 12, and their mother Anisha Umerji, 40.
The children's father Zubair Umerji jumped from the first floor.
He tried to smash through glass on the ground floor window to reach his family. He is being treated for his injuries.
Senior firefighter Tony Hunter said: "He was absolutely distraught, screaming [that] his wife and children were in there."
A neighbour, Fatima, said: "I heard screaming, banging and shouting. 'Save my kids, save my wife. Help. Help.'
"Everyone started to try to break the door and the windows but the flames were already all over.
"It is a loss to our neighbourhood. God bless their souls."
Their funerals will take place in Bolton on Tuesday.
Following a joint investigation, officers from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) believe the fire was caused accidentally by a halogen heater in the living room at the front of the house.
Jim Hutton from GMFRS said: "We believe a halogen heater may have caught a sofa alight.
"We're looking into [how the heater came to be on]. We're trying to speak to the father following this tragedy to see if he can give us some more information."
The two youngest children attended Brandwood Primary School in Bolton.
In a statement the school said it had been a "privilege" to have been part of the lives of the Umerji family.
The school would do all it could to support them, it added.
Community safety teams and firefighters have since visited more than 200 homes in Bolton offering safety advice.
Chairman of the fire committee at Manchester City Council, councillor David Acton, urged people to check electrical appliances, plugs and cables and make sure they do not overload sockets. | A house fire which killed a mother and her three children was caused accidentally by a halogen heater, fire investigators have found. | 40557082 |
Rodgers' side, who were seeded in the 'champions route' section of the draw, beat the Kazakh outfit in last season's third qualifying round.
The first leg at Celtic Park is on 16 August, with the return six days later.
"We know what it's like - the hotel, the astroturf, it's virtually the same managers and players," said Rodgers.
"It will be as tough as last year but we look forward to it and will be ready for it."
The trip to Kazakhstan involves a seven-hour flight and a five-hour time difference, and Rodgers will adopt the same technique that served his side well last season as they drew 1-1 away and then won 2-1 in Glasgow to progress.
"We stayed on British time because obviously there is the time difference which can really throw you," he said.
"I have done it in the past, we stayed on British time to keep our body clocks the same.
"Some of our staff outside the football stayed on the time in Astana and they actually felt it would have been better to stay on the British time.
"You are not sure if you are having your dinner or breakfast but it certainly helps you. You couldn't really do it over a sustained length of time but when it is only a short trip, to throw your body out sometimes isn't ideal.
"We did last time and it worked well for the players."
The 10 play-off winners will join 22 teams already qualified for the group stage, including four English, three Spanish and three German teams.
In the 'league route' of the play-off draw, Liverpool were paired with Hoffenheim and will be away first.
Losing teams at the play-off stage enter the Europa League group stage.
Celtic, who defeated Linfield earlier in the competition, beat Rosenborg 1-0 on Wednesday to secure an aggregate win by the same scoreline in the Champions League third qualifying round while Astana overcame Poland's Legia Warsaw 3-2 on aggregate. | Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is happy that his side's Champions League play-off against Astana is not a trip into the unknown for the Scottish champions. | 40823768 |
A 46-year-old woman was assaulted in Hadleigh on Friday night in an area behind a chip shop in Angel Street.
A 43-year-old Hadleigh man was arrested on suspicion of rape and taken to Bury St Edmunds police station.
He was released on Sunday to return to the police station on 6 May. Police appealed for anyone with information to contact them. | A man has been questioned and released on bail in connection with a rape in a car park in a Suffolk town. | 32007062 |
They were flagged down just before midnight on Saturday near the block of flats in Roland Gardens, Chelsea.
London Fire Brigade said it was called to an apartment on the second floor, but the fire had already been put out.
The man was taken to hospital, but his condition is not believed to be serious.
Four officers were also treated for smoke inhalation but they have since returned to duty.
Insp Chris Downs said: "These officers acted with great courage. Their quick thinking and heroic actions in entering a burning flat and rescuing the occupant have averted a potentially lethal situation." | Two officers from Scotland Yard have been called "heroic" after forcing their way into a burning building and rescuing an unconscious man. | 32274732 |
The former Essex player, 33, broke a bone in his shoulder during South Africa's first Test win in Australia.
He had the operation on Thursday and team doctor Mohammed Moosajee said: "We are positive he will make a successful return to international cricket."
South Africa lead the three-Test series and bowled Australia out for 85 on day one of the second Test in Hobart.
Day two was rained off without a ball bowled with the tourists on 171-5.
Steyn will be able to begin a rehabilitation programme "in a few weeks", according to Moosajee.
"It is crucial to give the injury enough time to heal and to make sure that he is completely pain-free before he starts bowling again," added the team doctor.
The Cape Cobras fast bowler has taken 417 Test wickets for his country, just four short of Shaun Pollock's South Africa record. | South Africa bowler Dale Steyn will be out for at least six months after having surgery on his shoulder. | 37967187 |
Twenty seven councillors supported the plan which will form the council's housing development strategy for the next 15 years, with 14 voting against.
The council said a lack of brownfield land meant removing the green belt status of areas had to be considered.
The 12-week public consultation period for the Local Plan begins on 1 July.
Monika Juneja, the lead councillor for planning at the council said that building on brownfield sites was still the preferred option for development.
But with 89% of land designated as green belt there was not enough brownfield land to provide homes for a growing population.
A final decision on the Local Plan is not expected until 2015. | A plan to remove 15 Surrey villages from the green belt is to be put forward for public consultation after being agreed by Guildford Council. | 27943072 |
The race in Cambridgeshire sees 50 sheep run around a 70m grass track with stuffed toy jockeys on their backs.
However, a petition raised by local campaigners garnered almost 40,000 signatures in a matter of days.
Woodditton Parish Council said it was "conscious of the need to treat animals with care".
More news from Cambridgeshire
The annual fete in Wooditton takes place on 9 July and the sheep race has been a feature for the last two years.
Samantha Francis, who lives locally, started the Care2 petition after seeing a road sign advertising this year's event.
"On 9 July sheep, who are timid, nervous and easily frightened, will be made to race and jump along a race course, in the heat, with a teddy bear tied to their back, while a noisy crowd shout and cheer," she said.
"This must be terrifying for them.
"There will also be a barbecue so they will also be able to smell the dead flesh of their fellow creatures being cooked."
In a statement, a parish council spokesman said that in previous fetes "the races were organised and managed superbly and without incident by the professional shepherds".
He added: "The sheep used were mature ewes, not in lamb, and did not carry 'jockeys' of course. The races were straight, with proper barriers and no hazards for the sheep."
But the spokesman said the parish council had decided, along with the owners, not to proceed with the race this year.
"We wouldn't be involved in anything we remotely regarded as cruel," he added.
"But clearly some people do have other views, which we understand." | A parish council has pulled a live sheep race from its annual fete over claims the event is "cruel" and "terrifying" for the animals. | 40446009 |
Coffins of the victims, including those of two children, were laid out in a marquee on the edge of the town.
The venue was chosen at the last minute after relatives rejected a plan for the funeral to be held in a hangar in Rieti, about 40 miles (64km) away.
PM Matteo Renzi and President Sergio Mattarella were among the mourners.
Of the 292 people known to have died in last Wednesday's earthquake, 242 were from Amatrice or nearby Accumoli.
Tuesday's funeral Mass in Amatrice began with the names of the victims being read out. Many families were overcome with grief during the ceremony.
In an address, Bishop of Rieti Domenico Pompili urging leaders present not to allow "political quarrels" to delay reconstruction.
"If we abandon these villages, we will kill them for a second time," he said.
Most victims were Italian, but several foreigners were among those killed, including three Britons.
Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos attended Tuesday's funeral to honour the 11 Romanian nationals who died in the earthquake, most of them in Amatrice.
Teams of workers are still searching the rubble in the town for up to 10 people still missing, presumed dead.
It was the second state funeral held for earthquake victims. Another was held on Saturday for 50 people killed in the neighbouring Le Marche region.
Italy is to build wooden chalet-style huts within three months for the 2,500 people displaced by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, Italian media reported.
Authorities want to get survivors into safe, warm accommodation before winter arrives in the mountainous central region.
Mr Renzi discussed reconstruction plans on Sunday with Renzo Piano, one of Italy's most renowned architects.
There has been criticism in the Italian press over building standards in high-risk areas. Some of the buildings that collapsed had recently been renovated. | A state funeral for 37 victims of the Italian earthquake has been held in the town of Amatrice, which bore the brunt of the disaster. | 37226407 |
The 33-year-old scored from the penalty spot in their 2-1 loss at the Amex.
"It was just one of those nights, but it is only three points, there's 12, 13, games left to go and we will be fighting for every point," Murray said.
"We will regroup, we will look towards Nottingham [Forest] at the weekend, and hopefully get three points."
Newcastle are now two points clear of the Seagulls at the top of the Championship table.
Murray, in his second spell with Brighton, gave the home side the lead in their top of the table clash after a controversial penalty award.
The spot-kick was given after United's Ciaran Clark was adjudged to have pulled down the striker, although the two players appeared to be grappling with one another.
"It was a penalty," Murray said of the clash, which ultimately led to his 17th goal of the season.
"It was a coming together in the box. There are lots of comings together in the box, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. I think it was a little bit clumsy more than anything."
Media playback is not supported on this device
A fortuitous goal by Mo Diame hauled Newcastle level nine minutes from time, with substitute Ayoze Perez scoring a minute from time to secure an away victory.
"Unfortunately a freakish goal got them back into it, and once they have got the momentum it is quite difficult to stop," Murray continued,
"I think we held our own, we tried to protect what we had, but unfortunately we couldn't do that."
The defeat was only Brighton's second at home this season, but they are still six points ahead of third-placed Huddersfield Town.
And manager Chris Hughton pointed to Diame's equaliser as the turning point.
"I wondered at the time how it had gone in," he said. "But that gives Newcastle momentum going into that last period.
"I didn't think we were at our best, but I still thought we would go on to win." | Brighton striker Glenn Murray believes the Seagulls can immediately bounce back from their disappointing defeat by Newcastle United. | 39126421 |
Nicole Sedgebeer, 22, from Milton Keynes, was shown to a 24-hour cafe by a man called Mark after failing to catch the train at Euston station.
She said she was "close to tears" when he took her to safety and back to the station the next day.
Her fundraising page has attracted more than 1,000 donations.
Ms Sedgebeer was left outside the station in central London at about 03:00 GMT on 4 March, with no phone battery and hours until her next train.
She said she was feeling "very vulnerable" when she was approached by Mark, who took her to an all-night cafe and promised to return to walk her back to Euston.
Though she doubted his word, he returned at 05:00 GMT to escort her to the station.
"Not only did he turn up, but he had to get a bus to come get me," she said. "Mark you are one special man."
Ms Sedgebeer set up a crowdfunding page to raise £1,000 to thank him but received more than 1,000 donations.
She is now working with charities on how the money can be used to "get [Mark] on his feet" and described her experience with him as the "most eye-opening event of my life". | A woman who was helped by a homeless man when she missed the last train home has raised more than £13,000 to say thank you. | 35820762 |
The Xperia XZ Premium captures video at up to 960 frames per second (fps).
The achievement was made possible by a new type of image sensor that has built-in memory of its own.
Sony's smartphone market share is small, but it usually makes its sensors available to rivals about six to 12 months after they debut.
Apple, Samsung, LG and Xiaomi are among those to have used its technology in recent handsets.
The new phone was unveiled alongside several lower specification devices on the first day of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.
"Despite this being one of the best devices at MWC, I don't see it changing Sony's fortunes," commented Francisco Jeronimo, from the market research firm IDC.
"If you go through Sony's financial statements you can see it now makes more money from selling phone cameras to its competitors than selling its own smartphones, which is quite remarkable
"So, its phones are a way to show off its capabilities, and the new camera is outstanding - not just the slow-mo but also the picture quality."
Sony shipped about half as many smartphones in 2016 as the previous year and has about 1% share of the market, according to IDC, putting it in 17th place.
Nokia 3310 mobile phone resurrected
Samsung unveils tablets but no phones
LG G6 phone is made for split-screen apps
Huawei P10 has smarter selfie camera
Google brings Assistant to more Android phones
Blackberry revives classic keyboard phone
Sony calls the new technology Motion Eye.
It uses a three-layer stacked sensor fitted with one gigabit of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). Doing so lets the component temporarily store a rapid burst of video data locally before it is transferred to other memory components, which takes more time.
When the firm first announced the sensor earlier this month it said it was capable of 1,000 fps in 1080p "full high definition".
However, on the Xperia XZ Premium it has been restricted to slightly fewer frames per second at 720p resolution.
In practice, users can only capture 0.18 seconds of footage at this speed, which produces six seconds of video when played back.
But they can do so in the middle of filming normal footage to create a slow-down-and-speed-back-up effect. The challenge is to press the button at the right moment.
"It's only a very brief amount of time and you've got to be really on the ball to use it effectively," commented Tim Coulling from the Canalys tech consultancy.
"But it's a great feature."
The built-in DRAM memory also lets users record action that happened a second before they pressed the record button.
This buffer function is intended to help them avoid missed moments, but only works if the device detects motion, which triggers the facility.
Other unusual features include:
Analysts were less positive about another of the Japanese firm's announcements.
Sony confirmed its Xperia Touch projector would go on sale later "this Spring".
The Android-powered device was first teased at last year's MWC.
The machine uses ultrashort-throw projection technology to display apps on a nearby wall or table. The resulting 720p image can be configured to be between 23in to 80in (58.4cm to 203.2cm) in size.
Built-in sensors let the surface used act like a large touchscreen.
Sony says it expects families to "huddle" around the image when using it, and showed the BBC a multiplayer game where several players interacted with graphics projected onto a table at once.
The machine is designed to be used while connected to a power source, but can work for up to an hour unplugged.
A potential problem, however, is its price: Sony plans to charge €1,499 ($1,584; £1,269) when it goes on sale in Europe and Japan.
"I think Sony should be applauded for being bold enough to push into a new category, but unfortunately it's out of reach to all but the most affluent gadget addicts," commented Ben Wood from CCS Insight.
Mr Jeronimo was more harsh in his criticism.
"It's a huge mistake," he said.
"If Sony combined a projector with a device like the Amazon Echo or Google Home for a third of the price, that would be a very interesting.
"But asking for more than $1,500 - there's no way they will sell them." | Sony's latest smartphone is capable of filming smooth slow-motion footage at four times the rate possible on Apple and Samsung's top-end models. | 39098186 |
The move by the owner of British Airways (BA), which bought BMI from Lufthansa last month, puts almost 500 jobs at risk.
IAG is still open to offers for BMI Baby, but expressed doubts last month that a buyer would be found.
The airline, based at East Midlands Airport, is losing about £25m a year.
While BMI's mainstream operations are being integrated into BA, talks are described as "positive" on a sale of its Aberdeen-based Regional division, which has 300 staff, says BBC's Scotland business and economy editor Douglas Fraser.
IAG had already made it clear that BMI Baby and BMI Regional would not be part of its long-term plans.
"BMI Baby has delivered high levels of operational performance and customer service, but has continued to struggle financially, losing more than £100m in the last four years," said BMI's interim managing director Peter Simpson in a letter to all staff.
"To help stem losses as quickly as possible, and as a preliminary measure, we will be making reductions to BMI Baby's flying programme from June. We sincerely apologise to all customers affected and will be providing full refunds and doing all we can with other airlines to mitigate the impact of these changes."
The changes mean that all BMI Baby flights to and from Belfast will cease from 11 June 2012.
Services from East Midlands to Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Nice, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newquay, and from Birmingham to Knock and Amsterdam, will cease on the same date.
"Customers can continue to book summer holiday flights from East Midlands and Birmingham," the airline said.
"It is proposed that all BMI Baby flights departing from Monday September 10, 2012 onwards will no longer operate." | BMI Baby, the budget airline, will be grounded from September, with some routes being stopped from next month, owner IAG has announced. | 17940539 |
The young female was discovered on a beach in Deerness on the east of the Orkney mainland.
Local marine mammal experts worked alongside the Scottish SPCA and tourists in a bid to help keep the animal alive on Wednesday.
They managed to refloat the whale at high tide, and it has not been seen since.
Last week, 21 long-finned pilot whales stranded on the shore at Staffin on Skye.
While the majority were successfully floated back out to sea, several of the whales then stranded on the shores of nearby Staffin Island.
Eight whales died, including a female and her newborn calf. | The operation to save a pilot whale which beached itself in Orkney appears to have been successful. | 33087422 |
The infant's remains were found in bushes in Manor Park, Church Hill, Aldershot, at about 13:30 BST.
A group of about 10 officers and a marine unit arrived on Saturday to scour the undergrowth for clues.
Police said there were "growing concerns' for the welfare of the mother who may need "urgent medical attention".
Ch Insp Debbie Brooks of Hampshire Constabulary said: "I would like to reassure the communities of Aldershot that our priority is to ensure the welfare of the mother of the baby.
"This must be a very distressing time for the mother, however it is important that she seeks urgent medical care - I would urge her to contact us on 101, or to go to a hospital for medical attention."
Hampshire Police has appealed to any friends, relatives or healthcare workers with information to come forward. | Police have resumed their search of a park in Hampshire where the body of a newborn baby was discovered on Friday. | 39985338 |
Michael Peter Blanchard, 67, was flying solo when he is believed to have lost control and crashed into a tree.
The retired management consultant, of Pwllglas, near Ruthin, arrived in Kathmandu on 21 January.
The accident occurred the following day in the picturesque Pokhara district, about 120 miles from the capital.
He was rushed to the Metro City Hospital in Pokhara where he died the same day. He was identified by his passport.
At a brief hearing in Ruthin, John Gittins, the coroner for north Wales east and central, said a post-mortem examination carried out in Nepal found the cause of death to be "blunt force injuries to the head and pelvis".
The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association is carrying out an investigation.
The inquest was adjourned to a full hearing later in the year. | A Denbighshire man involved in a paragliding accident on his first full day in Nepal suffered head and leg injuries, a Ruthin inquest has heard. | 38885990 |
Money was invested in shares and other assets around the world, not just by individuals, but by the sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).
But with the oil price sinking to around a 12-year low, there are signs that SWFs are having to dump assets to raise money. And that is exacerbating the turmoil on world markets.
SWFs are a bit like a savings account for a country, with money put aside for a rainy day. The money was spent buying shares, currencies, property or other assets.
But with oil hovering around $28 a barrel, it seems that day has arrived. There appears to be a fire sale of assets going on quietly in the markets.
It hasn't been a good start to the year for the financial world. There has been lots of selling, and when you have too much of something, naturally the price gets cheaper.
At the same time, China's economy is not growing as much as it used to. But the other major factor has been discreet selling by those who need cash quickly.
In particular, this means oil-rich countries which are finding shortfalls in their national coffers because the sale of their oil is not bringing in as much cash as it used to.
It is difficult to put an exact value on the assets held by sovereign wealth funds of oil-producing countries. The vast majority of them don't publicly say what assets they hold.
However, the general estimate of the worth of the top 26 SWFs has been put at about $4.5 trillion (£3.2 trillion).
According to eVestment, the data provider, at least $19bn was withdrawn by state institutions (or SWFs) during the third quarter of 2015. And that trend is set to continue this year.
These countries, relatively rich because of their natural resources, still have bills to meet and services to deliver.
And for countries such as Russia, which are facing a double whammy of sanctions and a recession, the most important thing is to get their hands on any cash they can. So that means selling their investments.
A similar picture is emerging from the oil-rich Gulf states. Saudi Arabia has just had to adjust its spending. In its last budget, it raised the price of water and electricity for households.
The danger for the sovereign wealth funds is deciding when and how much of their investment to sell.
If prices continue to fall, they might be forced to liquidate, which, as any market trader will tell you, is much worse than selling when you want to. Forced sellers could flood the markets - and that may trigger a crisis.
Simon French, chief economist at stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, said: "The current weakness in equity markets is the second wave of the commodity rout. First, it was the valuations of the miners and oil and gas majors being marked down.
"This second wave is being led by the governments of countries dependent on commodity revenues. They built up equity portfolios in the good times and are raiding these 'rainy day funds' to balance their 2016 budgets."
It is believed that Blackrock, Aberdeen Asset Management and JP Morgan are among some of the financial institutions that have seen outflows from sovereign funds last year.
Some of the SWFs have made poor investment decisions and consequently, their worth has fallen.
Qatar was one of the biggest investors in Volkswagen, and since the emissions scandal, the German car company's share price has fallen substantially.
Ratings agency Moody's has carried out its own report, called Sovereign Wealth Funds: Sizeable Assets Provide Important Fiscal Buffers Against Lower Oil Revenues.
The agency says 73% of sovereign wealth fund assets globally are funded from oil and gas export revenues.
Elena Duggar, author of the report, said: "As oil prices remain lower for longer, fiscal and current account balances of oil exporters will be under increasing pressure. As a result, we expect increasing use of sovereign wealth fund assets to finance budget deficits and support domestic economies."
The sell-off has been relatively controlled for the time being. But if the price of oil remains low, the sell-off will intensify and start hitting sectors such as banking.
And that looks pretty grim for the rest of us, as it's our pensions and savings that are invested in those shares.
A crisis of sorts is brewing. | When the price of crude was riding high at about $120 a barrel, oil-rich countries seemed to have plenty of cash to go around. | 35361661 |
In it, he said he believed the party did not give him enough support over controversial remarks on homosexuality and child abuse.
Neither Mr Wells nor the DUP has made any comment on the contents of the internal DUP e-mail.
Earlier this month, the Public Prosecution Service said he would not be prosecuted for his comments.
He insisted this decision vindicated his view that his comments about children being at risk of neglect in unstable relationships had been reported out of their full context. The comments were made at a hustings event for the Westminster election.
However, an internal e-mail seen by the BBC reveals that the South Down MLA feels he has lost the confidence of the DUP's party officers and did not receive enough support from the party's press office.
In his frank email, Mr Wells suggested three options were open to him:
A short while after writing this email, Mr Wells issued a statement describing the last five months as "the most difficult" of his life and confirming he was taking a two week break to "recharge his batteries".
However, this week he told the Newry Democrat he was using the fortnight to prepare for legal proceedings against a number of media outlets.
It is understood no legal action has yet been initiated.
He has also told the paper that he would not contest another assembly election, if one were called before Christmas, because of his wife's health. | The BBC has seen an email in which former health minister Jim Wells threatened to resign from the DUP. | 34650203 |
The guardsmen performing for their colonel in chief on the parade ground were fighting soldiers.
Centuries ago, the colour or flag was a rallying point on the battlefield.
It's now a symbolic affair. Today, it was held in honour of the Queen who inspected her troops - as Queen Victoria did once, and as all monarchs have done since the time of Edward VII.
The annual pageant ended with the fly past and the Queen and other royals appearing on the balcony.
Dedicated royal watchers will have been delighted by the sight of Princess Charlotte and an animated Prince George.
With Prince Charles and Prince William also there, this was the British monarchy, its present and its future on display. | This was an unmissable monarch - wearing, as she was, a vibrant, lime green coat - at an annual occasion she's never missed - an occasion where the dominant colour is usually the scarlet of the ceremonial soldiers' tunics. | 36508458 |
Sunderland Hospital is no longer taking new referrals and dozens of patients are having to be treated at other hospitals.
Sunderland's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said it could no longer provide a consultant-led service.
But a spokesman added that patient treatment was not being compromised.
He said he hoped the service would resume soon, but it would take months rather than weeks.
Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said it had had around 100 more referrals from the Sunderland area since the service was halted in December.
Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary said it used to have five referrals from Sunderland a month, but that had gone up to 50.
A spokesman for Sunderland Hospital said: "This difficult decision was made in the interests of patient safety as we cannot currently provide a consultant-led service for our local population, despite our best efforts.
"We continue to work to ensure local residents have access to a high quality local breast service.
"This is clearly not an ideal situation, but the quality and safety of the breast service that is provided to local residents is of paramount importance."
Hospitals taking on extra breast cancer patients include the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), in Newcastle and Bishop Auckland General Hospital.
A spokeswoman for the RVI said the extra workload had not "compromised" treatment quality and waiting times were being met. | Breast cancer surgery has been suspended at a North East hospital because of a staff shortage, the BBC has learned. | 32314021 |
That is one of the criticisms in a report from the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).
It says the handling of the crisis raises issues of transparency and accountability.
The IEO acknowledged, however, that the crisis posed "extraordinary challenges" to policy makers.
The report, which looked at the bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland, examines the IMF's role in a crisis it was quickly drawn into.
The first bailout was agreed for Greece in 2010. Although it was funded mainly by the rest of the Eurozone there was a contribution from the IMF as well.
Financial packages for Ireland and Portugal followed.
The IEO report focuses on these three programmes. Later the IMF also got involved in a second package for Greece and one for Cyprus. In the case of Spain and a third bailout for Greece the IMF has contributed advice but not finance - or at least not yet for the third Greek package.
The programmes were controversial. Critics said the austerity - intended to get government borrowing needs down - was excessive and did immense economic and social damage.
The IEO report says that in the case of Greece and Portugal, the IMF's economic growth projections were too optimistic. A more realistic assessment would have allowed countries to prepare better and might have persuaded the Eurozone countries to provide more generous financial aid.
There is also criticism of the process by which Greece came to get what's called "exceptional access" finance - assistance above the limits that normally apply to member countries seeking help.
Such access was limited to cases where the country's debt could be regarded as sustainable "with a high probability". Greece did not pass that test, so financial assistance would have required the private creditors to take losses on what they were owed first.
But there was great reluctance in the Eurozone to allow that, so a new exemption was introduced to the IMF approach policy for cases where there was a high risk of international financial contagion.
It was a change of policy and the IEO report says "the modification process departed from the IMF's usual deliberative process whereby decisions of such import receive careful review".
This "systemic exemption" as it's known, has subsequently been removed.
The report says the IMF's handling of the crisis helped create the impression that it treated Europe differently.
The IMF's managing director Christine Lagarde responding to the report described the agency's role in the Eurozone crisis as a "qualified success".
She says it is too easy to forget what the world looked like in 2010. There were fears of another event like Lehman, the American investment bank whose failure in 2008 led to the most severe phase of the international financial crisis. She says in the Eurozone case "major contagion" was avoided. | The International Monetary Fund was "overly optimistic" about economic growth in Eurozone countries that received bailouts. | 36909107 |
The 22-year-old has made six appearances in all competitions for the League One side this term.
Long, who made his first-team debut in April 2013, is a graduate of the U's academy.
"He can play in a few positions and is improving all the time," Oxford head coach Michael Appleton said.
"He has had to be a bit patient but he will get his chance at some stage and we know he will take it with both hands when that happens." | Oxford United defender Sam Long has signed a new one-year contract with his hometown club. | 39157304 |
Eloise Parry, 21, from Shrewsbury, took tablets which police believe included dinitrophenol, known as DNP.
The warning was initially prompted by France after a Frenchman was left critically ill having taken weight loss pills containing the toxic pesticide.
Interpol said the products were being made in "clandestine laboratories".
Miss Parry, who was a student at Glyndwr University, died at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 12 April and her mother, Fiona, has warned others to avoid the chemical.
Interpol has raised the alarm with forces in 190 countries after French authorities raised concerns about DNP last October and following an investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency earlier this year.
In the Orange Notice, a public safety warning that Interpol issues, DNP was described as an "imminent threat" to consumers.
Online distributors have tried to mask its supply from customs and police officers by labelling it as the yellow spice turmeric because it looks similar, Interpol said.
A statement from the Interpol said: "Although usually sold in yellow powder or capsule form, DNP is also available as a cream.
"In addition to being produced in clandestine laboratories with no hygiene regulations, without specialist manufacturing knowledge the producers also expose consumers to an increased chance of overdose." | A global alert has been issued by Interpol over the "serious and imminent threat" of online diet pills which claimed the life of a Shropshire woman. | 32587330 |
Schweinsteiger, 31, has endured an injury-interrupted first season at Old Trafford since joining on a three-year contract from Bayern Munich last July.
The 2014 Germany World Cup winner tore a knee ligament while training for the March friendly against England.
"I think, next season, he is prepared," van Gaal told MUTV.
United have six Premier League games remaining while they will meet Everton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on 23 April.
Schweinsteiger, an eight-time Bundesliga winner with Bayern Munich, has made 31 appearances in total for United, his last coming in the 1-0 derby win at Manchester City on 20 March.
"I don't think Schweinsteiger shall play this season," added Van Gaal, whose team is fifth in the Premier League table, 19 points behind leaders Leicester City.
However, Schweinsteiger could be fit in time to be included in Germany's squad for Euro 2016 in France this summer.
"Maybe he is prepared for the European Championship, I cannot predict," added the former Netherlands boss.
"It is possible, but then that is also in our favour because then he is fit for the new competition." | Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is unlikely to play for the club again this season, says manager Louis van Gaal. | 36055837 |
Wasim Thajudeen was found dead inside a burning car after an apparent accident in the capital Colombo in May 2012.
But the case was reopened earlier this year after claims that Mr Rajapaksa's security officials killed Thajudeen.
Thajudeen is said to have been in a dispute over a woman at the time of his death with Mr Rajapaksa's son Yoshitha.
His body was exhumed from a Muslim burial ground at a mosque outside Colombo on Monday, watched by a judge and other officials.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the mosque, holding placards with anti-Rajapaksa slogans.
After initially ruling Thajudeen's death an accident, police have now cited post-mortem reports saying his body had torture marks, as well as broken teeth and bones.
"The body had been wrapped in a plastic bag so it is well preserved and we hope to be able to finish our work very soon," chief judicial medical officer Ajith Thennakoon told reporters.
The removal of the body came as new evidence emerged that the victim had been abducted in a car owned by the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, according to police.
In response, the Red Cross said the vehicle had belonged to them but that it was being used by a charity of the then first lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, at the time of the rugby star's death.
Police have impounded the car as part of their investigation, the Red Cross said.
On Sunday, Mr Rajapaksa denied his youngest son, who is also a former member of Sri Lanka's rugby union team, was involved in the mysterious death.
The former president also said the allegations, mainly by members of the current ruling party, were politically motivated to discredit him ahead of parliamentary elections next week.
Mr Rajapaksa's eldest son, Namal, also denied any link to his family and said his family had been close friends with Thajudeen.
"We totally deny this," he told the BBC's Azzam Ameen. "Even without doing a proper investigation they are pointing the fingers at the Rajapaksas."
"They began this investigation just ahead of the election so we all know it's politically motivated to target us," Namal added.
Mr Rajapaksa was defeated in presidential elections earlier this year but hopes to become prime minister if his party does well enough in the parliamentary elections.
The investigation is the latest blow to Mr Rajapaksa, who himself is under investigation over allegations he siphoned off billions of dollars from the state during his rule.
Is this the last battle for Sri Lanka's 'warrior king'? | Sri Lankan investigators have exhumed the body of a former national rugby player in a murder inquiry linked to ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa's son. | 33850551 |
The 26-year-old will return to his first club in a deal which sees England fly-half George Ford rejoin Tigers.
"I am really happy but I would be lying if I said I was happy with how it came about," Burns told BBC Radio Leicester.
"I had a year on my contract. I'm a man of integrity and wanted to see it out."
Burns said that he is filled with "immense pride" by the prospect of playing for Bath, despite the circumstances of his Leicester exit.
"The direction the club wanted to go in was told to me and then I made the best decision to go home and represent my childhood club," he added.
"Everything keeps moving and I am really excited. I am disappointed with the way it came about and the way it was dealt with, but you cannot affect those things sometimes and you have to crack on."
Burns joined Tigers from Gloucester in 2014 and said it will be "tough to walk away".
"I have a lot of motivation in the last part of the season," he explained. "Hopefully I can make it a successful one and I can leave with my held up high and with people thinking a lot of me." | Departing Leicester Tigers fly-half Freddie Burns says he is unhappy at the way his move to Bath was handled despite relishing the chance to play for his hometown team from next season. | 39209244 |
William, who was 15 when Diana, Princess of Wales died, said the loss of a parent "never leaves you".
"I still have shock within me - people say it can't last that long but it does," he told the BBC One documentary, Mind Over Marathon, airing on Thursday.
Prince Harry also said it was "only right" to talk about painful memories.
William, Duke of Cambridge, told the BBC that he had to "learn to deal with" the loss of a parent.
"The shock is the biggest thing [which] I still feel 20 years later, about my mother," William said.
"You never get over it, it's such an unbelievably big moment in your life that it never leaves you. You just learn to deal with it."
The two princes, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, are promoting the Heads Together mental health campaign, the London Marathon's charity of the year.
Prince Harry told BBC News that he had "shared just as much as everybody else" during the course of the campaign.
He said: "Based around what people have experienced - and the mental anguish that's happened - it was only right to share my experiences".
He said he hoped that talking about the loss of his mother would "encourage others to come forward".
During the weekend, Harry revealed that he had received counselling to cope with the impact of Diana's fatal car crash in August 1997.
He told the Daily Telegraph that it was not until his late 20s that he processed the grief - after two years of "total chaos" and coming close to a "complete breakdown".
In the two-part documentary, the princes and Kate meet a group of 10 runners living with or affected by different mental health issues, as they prepare for the start of the marathon on Sunday.
The two-part series, Mind Over Marathon, starts on BBC One at 21:00 BST on Thursday 20 April, as part of a Minds Matter series of programming about mental health issues. | Prince William has said the "shock" of his mother's death is still with him, 20 years after she was killed in a car crash in Paris. | 39639264 |
Over the next six weeks, a public consultation will be held in Pembrokeshire and residents can make their suggestions or at drop-in sessions.
It comes as the Treasury cut funds to the Welsh government, and Cardiff Bay slashing council budgets.
Pembrokeshire must save about a quarter of its £200m net expenditure.
The public will be asked questions, such as which services do they value the most, are they prepared to pay more council tax in order to keep them and are there services which communities can run themselves.
They will also be asked whether some services can be run more efficiently. | A council in west Wales has asked the public how to save £50m over the next four years. | 29481266 |
Polmadie footbridge, which connects Glasgow Green with Oatlands and Richmond Park, opened in 1955.
It was closed to pedestrians, cyclists and river users earlier this year following concerns over safety.
Work to remove the bridge deck, leaving the concrete piers in place, will begin on 12 October. Restrictions on river users will be lifted when complete.
The process is expected to take about five months, after which access to footpaths along the riverbanks will also be restored.
Glasgow City Council has appointed demolition contractors, JCJ Group, to carry out the work.
Councillor Alistair Watson, executive member for Sustainability and Transport, said: "This is good news. It's a popular and busy bridge, used by the local community and residents from both sides and I know its closure is having quite an impact on the area.
"Obviously there is a lot of preparation work required before the main removal work can begin, however, I'm sure the local residents, cyclists and river users appreciate the work is required to ensure public safety.
"The bridge deck is in such a poor condition that repairing or strengthening it is not an options. By removing the deck we can lift the restrictions on river users and the walkway below."
The council said it was investigating funding options to replace the bridge deck. | Work will begin next week to demolish a structurally unsafe footbridge over the River Clyde in Glasgow. | 34443758 |
Ruth Walsh says her local children's centre almost literally saved her life.
A lone parent living in West London, she became profoundly depressed after the birth of her son Billy, now two.
She began to turn a corner, she thinks, when an outreach worker from a Sure Start programme almost "dragged" her to a mother and baby session.
"Without that, I was heading for a very, very dark place, and I'm not sure that I would even still be here, to be quite honest. I certainly wouldn't be the mother I am to Billy," she says.
"I interacted and played with Billy more when I was in the children's centre than I possibly did at home. It encouraged me and showed me the best way to do that.
"And for me, it became somewhere to go," she adds. "It was a place of human contact."
The Sure Start programme was set up by the Labour government in the late 1990s, and today there are 3,500 children's centres in England which are run under its auspices.
But while parents across the country - including Ruth Walsh - are campaigning against council cuts which could threaten the future of many of the centres, some academics are questioning whether they have really changed the lives of the poorest children as much as politicians hoped they would.
Huge claims were made for Sure Start in its early years - that it would cut child poverty, reduce social exclusion and even save money by creating well-balanced youngsters who would be less likely to get involved in crime.
It was hoped the programme would also bring benefits to health, education and family life.
But 12 years after the first Sure Start centres opened, one leading academic who was part of the government's official evaluation of the scheme says there is still no clear evidence it has helped children.
Sir Michael Rutter, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at King's College, London, told BBC Radio 4's Analysis programme that he has doubts:
Analysis is on BBC Radio 4 on Monday, 11 July 2011 at 2030 BST and Sunday 17 July at 2130 BST
Listen on the BBC iPlayer
Download the podcast
Join Analysis on Facebook
"The fact that the parents liked it - and I think by and large they did like it and do like it - is not enough.
"It was set up to improve the outcomes for children."
Asked what evidence there was that Sure Start was helping children, Sir Michael replies: "We don't know - that is still lacking."
One major problem, he says, was that ministers ignored calls for a properly controlled evaluation of the programme - in which children would have been randomly assigned to a Sure Start or a non-Sure Start group.
He accuses Labour of deliberately ignoring the possibility the programme might not work:
"Academics were I think pretty unanimous in their view that a randomised controlled trial was the way ahead. But government vetoed that - I guess probably because evidence that it was less than perfect would be unwelcome."
Evidence from the evaluation, which has now been running for ten years, has shown some positive results for children.
A study published in December 2010, comparing five year-olds in Sure Start areas with their contemporaries in non-Sure Start areas, found there were fewer obese children in the areas where the programme had run. And parents felt there had been a number of benefits - they said their children were healthier and better behaved.
But the study found no measurable improvement in Sure Start children's assessment scores when they started school. And mothers in Sure Start areas were actually more likely to report depressive symptoms, while parents covered by the scheme were less likely to attend school parents' evenings.
The study compared children in Sure Start areas with children in similarly-poor non-Sure Start areas.
Professor Edward Melhuish of Birkbeck College, London, who leads the National Evaluation of Sure Start, says there has been some progress.
But he admits the evidence could have been more positive: "I wouldn't say it was a complete ringing endorsement."
"We've been operating Sure Start for roughly ten years. We've overcome some of the problems, but still there's a great deal of room for further improvement."
Despite the question mark that still hangs over the evidence for Sure Start, the coalition government has underlined its commitment to keeping it - though it has handed control of funding to local authorities, some of which have decided to make cuts.
Sarah Teather, the Children's Minister, told the BBC more research was needed because the evaluations published so far had only covered Sure Start's first few years.
"But I do think that there's an awful lot more that we need to do to improve the way in which children's centres are targeting those children and families who most need that support," she says.
"What happens to you in your early years can often define your life chances both for good and sometimes, sadly, for bad as well."
Last week Ms Teather announced a slimming-down of the early years curriculum, progress checks for all two-year-olds and payment by results for children's centres.
She said the centres would move away from their early aim of cutting child poverty: "We want them to focus on parents' aspirations and skills because the evidence says that's what makes the difference.
"And we also want centres to be more responsive to local need, so we want parents to be more involved in decisions," she says.
Parents like Ruth Walsh are pleased the government is committed to the programme - but is concerned that the funding for Sure Start is not ring-fenced, leaving budget decisions to cash-strapped local councils.
She still believes her local centre is making a huge difference.
"It would be a crime to lose it," she says. "I know in my heart, in my soul, that it's benefited my child. I've seen other children come to the children's centre and they develop and they grow and they become socialised.
"If it does just help parents, it is of huge value. But that is not the true picture."
Analysis is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Monday , 11 July at 2030 BST and repeated on Sunday, 17 July at 2130 BST. Listen again via the BBC iPlayer or download the podcast. | The Sure Start centres were set up to give more deprived children a better chance in life, but how much evidence is there that they are actually making a difference? | 14079117 |
The 2012 Tour de France winner retired from cycling in December 2016 and has taken up rowing in the gym to keep fit.
He first raised the idea of switching sports in his 2012 autobiography My Time, and has now outlined his intent to compete at the British Indoor Rowing Championships in December.
"I might be being a bit delusional, but the times suggest I'm not," he said. "I'm going to see how far I can take it. Maybe a sixth Olympic gold?"
So can Wiggins turn his rowing dreams into a reality? How does he go about bringing those plans to fruition? And what obstacles stand in his way on the road to Tokyo 2020?
BBC Sport asked three-time Olympic champion Andrew Triggs Hodge what it will take for the mercurial cycling talent to become rowing royalty.
Triggs Hodge, 38, has won gold medals at three different Games, adding four World Championship titles to boot, and the now-retired Great Britain rower is excited to see what Wiggins can offer the sport.
"It's awesome Wiggo has thought about transferring to rowing," he told BBC Sport. "I think that's never been done before, so congratulations for at least attempting it.
"I love the fact that he is trying, and I can't wait to see what he can do.
"He's going to have to do something that hasn't been done before, so I wish him all the luck and he will be welcomed into the sport with open arms."
With the experience of five Olympic Games behind him on a bike, Wiggins appears to have put his hopes of reaching a sixth in a boat.
Rebecca Romero, who became the first Briton to win medals in two sports at a summer Olympics, successfully made the switch in the opposite direction, so how will Britain's most decorated Olympian fare?
"The best advice I can give him is he is going to have to put all that to bed," added Triggs Hodge. "If he comes on to the scene expecting to be an Olympic champion, he will put himself under a lot of pressure.
"If he has got the confidence and the presence to say 'OK, I will start off as a novice rower and expect nothing more' but train with that desire and that passion to put himself in the picture and let his body dictate to him a little bit, then I think he will get the most out of himself.
"I hope everyone will give him the time and space to explore the sport at his own pace, not put any pressure on.
"Give him the respect first for trying, and then give him the few years he'll need to start performing - it will be a long journey and his last stroke will be his best.
"Until that point he is on a trajectory and we should definitely give him the time and space and credit for venturing on this journey."
Wiggins is not averse to attempting new things. He successfully made the transition from winning on the road to winning on the track and back again, clinching world and Olympic titles in both disciplines.
Triggs Hodge says the former Team Sky rider obviously boasts a "great engine", but weight could be an issue for the 2012 Tour de France champion.
Wiggins said himself: "I'm trying to get to 100 kilos, so I'd be 31 kilos heavier than when I went on Tour."
And British Rowing performance director Sir David Tanner echoed those concerns in May: "He's not the biggest of guys, so I'd guess if he did want to do rowing he'd want to be a lightweight, for which we only have two places these days."
"Physiologically he might be up for the challenge," explained Triggs Hodge. "He's got a lot of work to do with his core and his upper body, especially when he gets into the boat, that'll be a big component.
"There's an aspect of retraining his body, retraining his aerobic system, his lactate system with the new muscles, a different capacity on his heart - there is a lot there to work and retrain.
"The tactical side in cycling is also huge. Getting a tactical advantage when you're in the peloton or in the time trial, so his advantage there is probably less so in rowing.
"But his biggest challenge is going to be the technical side. Rowing is a whole different ball game to cycling."
One obstacle facing the 37-year-old is his age. By the time the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games arrive, Wiggins will be 40.
Even the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent bowed out before hitting the same age, and Triggs Hodge says transferring any skills later in life is a challenge.
"Most of the top people retire between 35 and 40," added Triggs Hodge, who announced he was hanging up his oar shortly before his 38th birthday earlier this year.
"The reason being, the training volume really takes a toll on the body. Less specific muscles or bones, more just the metabolism, your kind of 'wholeness'.
"Physiologically, if you are able to take it a bit easier you can go on indefinitely. It depends how his body is going to be able to adapt."
Triggs Hodge says the challenge for a lot of young rowers is coping with the volume of training needed, rather than actually progressing as a rower.
"You tend to see that first when people get into the national team," he added. "They'll take a step back or stay static for a few years. When their body is then able to cope with the training, they will move forward and progress.
"He'll have to cope with some adjustments and it usually takes a youthful body to get over that hump.
"It won't be easy. Everyone is mortal, everyone only has one body and he will to have to take his time like the Redgraves and Pinsents did when they were young."
Wiggins plans to showcase his talent at the British Indoor Rowing Championships in December at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, where competition takes place on static rowing machines.
He has yet to reveal whether he has been in the water, and Triggs Hodge says Wiggins' biggest challenge may be transferring from the gym to the regatta.
"If he's going to give it a go, he needs to get into a boat as soon as possible," said the 38-year-old.
"There's a classic saying in rowing that Ergos (rowing machines) don't float. As much as I know British Rowing are pushing indoor rowing, it simply isn't a water sport - it doesn't have the grace or elegance or even probably the injuries that the water sport has.
"There's no way to get side-by-side than to actually get on the water. He needs to see what it's like to get in a boat, that's where the magic lies in this sport.
"Especially when you are inside of it, you get to really appreciate what the sport has."
Wiggins is used to competing as part of a team, winning Olympic team pursuit gold medals in 2008 and 2016 and experiencing success on the road, but Triggs Hodge says the tactical element of rowing is different.
"Cycling teams yield to the main guy, the one that is leading and one you want to push to the front," he said. "In rowing, it is a whole new dynamic in the team environment."
So is there a particular event that would suit Wiggins best?
"It's going to be tricky whatever," added the Molesey Boat Club rower. "The best he can do is get himself into the middle of an eight, that's where he'll pick up the skills the fastest.
"The challenge with rowing in an eight is the team aspect is the most different to an individual sport or a sport where you have a leading star. There is a big challenge there to integrate into a top team.
"The smaller the boat class you go, down to the pairs or a single, you rely on more precision technique - it's more about the individual. You have just got to dive in and see where you prefer to be, accept the challenges wherever they may lie.
"All credit to the guy. He's going to have a big challenge but I look forward to seeing him have a go." | Sir Bradley Wiggins is a five-time Olympic cycling champion, but will the 37-year-old's plans to swap his racing bike for a rowing boat see him reach a sixth Games? | 40490883 |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.