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"Dum" means off and "sor" means on in the local Twi language and Mr Mahama has come in for criticism for his inability to tackle the problem - as well as for the ailing economy and corruption scandals.
But on Wednesday Mr Mahama is asking voters to disregard such problems and give him a second term.
Vice-president under John Atta Mills, the 58-year-old became president when Mr Mills died, before winning the 2012 election by a slender margin.
During his "Accounting to the People" tour this year, he sought to convince Ghanaians at home and abroad that he was delivering on his campaign promise of creating more jobs.
He said a revamped sugar factory in Ghana's central region would create 7,300 jobs and reduce the bill for sugar imports, which he said amounted to $300m (£237m).
He also commissioned a new "Dubai-style" flyover in a busy business district in the capital, Accra, completed last month.
However, his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has not been able to deliver all of the 200 senior high schools it promised four years ago, while the local currency, the cedi, has fallen against the dollar and pound.
The Mahama administration has also been hit by major corruption scandals.
A major blow to his presidency has been his government's inability to retrieve 51.2m cedis ($11,7m; £9.3m) paid by the government to a ruling NDC party financier, even though the Supreme Court ruled back in 2014 that the payment had been unconstitutional.
When the president met Ghanaians in the UK in May, he told them that corruption had to be dealt with in a "more systematic manner" and indicated that he was "working towards a cashless society by 2020".
"I'm taking Ghana to the next level," Mr Mahama told the audience.
A Christian, Mr Mahama is a respected historian, writer and communications specialist who is known for having a sense of humour.
His book, "My First Coup d'Etat", looked at the political problems that have gripped African countries since their independence and was published while he was serving as vice-president.
The current president was born at Bole-Bamboi in Ghana's northern region. He spent much of his 20s and 30s studying, including a period in Moscow, and worked at the Japanese embassy in Accra and for the NGO Plan International.
He became an MP in 1996 and was communications minister from 1998 to 2000, when Jerry Rawlings was in power, and also served as a member of the Pan African Parliament based in Pretoria from 2004 to 2011, where he was Chairman of the West Africa Caucus. | Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has joked he is known as "Mr Dumsor" - a reference to the power cuts that have plagued Ghana during his first term in office. | 18980639 |
The 15-year-old was reported missing in August 2007, but has never been found.
Robert Ewing, 60, of Kincraig Place, Bispham, was convicted of murder at Preston Crown Court on 10 July.
Gareth Dewhurst, 46, of Duncan Avenue, Bispham, who was found guilty of helping dispose of her body is to be sentenced later. | A man convicted of murdering Blackpool teenager Paige Chivers has been jailed for life and will serve at least 33 years. | 33678178 |
Progress has been described by shadow chancellor John McDonnell as a "right wing conservative" group who had never accepted Mr Corbyn as Labour leader.
Mr Corbyn will address its members, which include some of Labour's best-known MPs, at their conference in central London.
Labour's leader in Scotland, Kezia Dugdale, is also due to speak.
Speaking in January, after several resignations from the Labour front bench, Mr McDonnell said: "They do all come from a narrow right wing clique within the Labour Party, based around the organisation Progress largely. I don't think they've ever accepted Jeremy's mandate really."
He added that the group had "a right wing conservative agenda" and there were some within it "who are quite hard right".
Progress, which was founded by Lord Mandelson to promote New Labour ideas, backed heavily-defeated Blairite candidate Liz Kendall in last year's Labour leadership contest. Ms Kendall is among the other speakers on Saturday.
Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair all gave speeches at Progress annual conferences when they were party leader. Mr Corbyn is not thought to have attended the event before.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said it was interesting that Mr Corbyn was meeting some of his fiercest critics - some of whom have been talking privately about trying to get rid of him as leader.
It could be seen as a sign that he is reaching out to his critics in the party rather than retreating into his comfort zone, he added.
But although the party is not briefing the contents of his speech, he is likely to repeat his tough message that MPs should not be giving a running commentary on his leadership.
Progress has borrowed Mr Corbyn's "straight talking, honest politics" slogan for its 2016 conference in a further sign it is offering an olive branch to the Labour leader. | Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to address the annual conference of Blairite group Progress on Saturday. | 36287322 |
The world number two from Northern Ireland needs victory in the Masters to become only the sixth player to have won all four major titles.
McIlroy's closing 69 came after rounds of 72, 73 and 71.
"It wasn't quite good enough - I gave a decent account for myself and will come back next year and try again," he said.
McIlroy felt he still had a chance of claiming a first green jacket if he could match, or better, his lowest score in the Masters, a 65 in the first round having seemingly set himself on course for victory in 2011.
However, after making a birdie on the par-five second, he three-putted the fourth from 95 feet and had to scramble to save par on the next two holes.
Birdies on the eighth, 13th and 16th ensured McIlroy broke 70 for the first time this week and he refused to blame a limited schedule this year, caused by a rib injury, for his performance.
McIlroy finished on three under and six shots behind winner Sergio Garcia.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"It wasn't quite as adventurous as previous Masters have been for me," added McIlroy.
"I didn't get too high with some really low nine-hole scores, but I didn't shoot any nine-hole scores that were in the 40s. It was quite a consistent, steady Masters for me.
"I felt like I had an opportunity on Saturday to shoot something in the mid to high 60s which would have got me closer to the lead and I didn't quite do that."
McIlroy is the only player to have finished in the top 10 in each of the last four Masters. | Rory McIlroy admits he underperformed after finishing tied for seventh at the Masters to miss out on completing a career Grand Slam. | 39555078 |
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was always going to have to walk a fine line in his effort to keep both moderates and hardcore conservatives in the party on board with his healthcare reform proposal.
After his first draft failed to garner sufficient support, he came out with a new version that moved farther to the right in key areas while throwing money to keep the moderates satiated.
That strategy worked in the House, where Freedom Caucus arch-conservatives and just enough moderates came around to rescue the legislation from death's doorstep.
In the Senate, the entire rickety structure came tumbling down. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran balked, citing insufficient tax and regulation rollbacks.
Expect a stampede for the exits in the coming days, as everyone abandons what was always an unpopular bill.
On Monday night the president himself led the way, calling for repeal without so much as a plan for what to do next.
Then again, the Republican Party never really had a replacement plan, and its attempts to craft one on the fly - something that would perform better than Obamacare while costing less money - were like one of those hapless early airplane designs that flapped its wings or spun its wheels but never left the ground.
The Senate may very well try to vote on straight-up repeal, as the president has suggested - one with a two-year fuse - but it stands little chance of winning majority support. If and when that fails, it's back to the drawing board for Republicans.
The urgent need to do something, anything, to fulfil their years of healthcare promises is still there.
The White House is pledging to keep up the pressure.
There could even be a move, as some Republicans are now urging, to reach out to Democrats for help crafting a bipartisan solution to fix some of the current system's more glaring shortcomings.
This isn't the end of congressional efforts to pass healthcare legislation. But it's likely the end of the repeal-and-replace war as it's been waged for the past six months.
The final casualty list won't be tabulated at least until the midterm elections in November 2018, but it's not too early to wonder exactly how high the political death count for Republicans might run.
All the members of the House of Representatives who gathered on the grounds of the White House to celebrate voting for a bill that was both politically toxic and will now never see the light of day have to be wondering if they stuck their neck out only to see the glint of the guillotine.
Others may be left wondering if the grassroots Tea Party faithful who rallied to their sides in opposition to Barack Obama and the Democrats in years past may find better things to do than vote when the next election day rolls around.
Political epitaphs aren't written in a day, and Mr Trump and the Republicans still have the opportunity to regroup and recover. They could find solace in a tax reform package or some new, as yet unrevealed infrastructure spending plan.
This is a serious setback, however. And time is a commodity in increasingly limited supply. | In the end the death blow to the latest iteration of Obamacare repeal came from the right flank. | 40640439 |
Vice-captain Trott has made over 25,000 runs for the Bears in all competitions since joining them in 2002.
The 35-year-old won 52 Test caps for England between 2009 and 2015, scoring 3,835 runs at an average of 44.08.
"He continues to be one of the leading batsmen in the professional game," sport director Ashley Giles said.
"He makes an outstanding contribution to Warwickshire as a batsman, vice-captain and mentor to the younger members of the squad.
"He's a proud Bear and ensuring that he remains at Edgbaston for at least the next two years is a huge boost to the club as we build towards the new domestic season."
Trott has helped Warwickshire win two County Championship titles, the T20 Blast, the ECB 40 and the One-Day Cup in his time with the county. | Former England batsman Jonathan Trott has extended his contract with Warwickshire until the end of the 2018 county season. | 39028060 |
Paul Domanski made the threats at Falkirk Police Station after he was arrested on an outstanding warrant.
Prosecutor Samanatha Brown told a court that Domanski was initially calm when led into the charge bar on Wednesday.
However, the 22-year-old then began to shout aggressively and threaten the police officers.
Domanski told them: "I'll chop up your kids with a machete. I'll wipe out your families.
"When I see you in the street, you're dead. I'll chop up your daughters."
Miss Brown said: "He continued to shout and swear at the officers for several minutes and required to be restrained and removed straight to a cell."
Domanski, from Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, appeared from custody at Falkirk Sheriff Court and admitted threatening and abusive behaviour.
Defence agent Abigail McMurtrie said: "He has a lengthy and unenviable record of analogous previous convictions."
She said Domanski wanted to be jailed and would not co-operate with any community-based order. | An amateur bodybuilder who told police officers he would "chop up" and "wipe out" their family members has been jailed for six months. | 38467716 |
They included allegations that the CIA had developed ways to listen in on smartphone and smart TV microphones.
The CIA has been criticised by civil rights groups who say the agency "stockpiled" security flaws in devices to use them for its work, but left the population at risk by doing so.
"Our digital security has been compromised because the CIA has been stockpiling vulnerabilities rather than working with companies to patch them," said Nathan White, from the civil liberties group Access Now.
"It's not a surprise that people who have a mission to find bad guys and protect nations are using every means at their disposal to gather intelligence on a focused target," said Don Smith from cybersecurity firm SecureWorks.
"If the CIA doesn't have capabilities for eavesdropping, it's not doing its job."
Alan Woodward, a security researcher who advises Europol and previously advised UK spy agency GCHQ, said the public should be "encouraged" by the information published.
"Most of the leaked documents are about targeted attacks. This is not about mass surveillance and vacuuming up a haystack of data to search for a needle," he told the BBC.
"They need warrants, they can't just tap in to any phone - it doesn't work like that. One of the reasons people have faith in the security services is that they tend to obey the law, and when they don't it comes out.
"If Wikileaks has the code behind these exploits, it has a responsibility not to publish that. To do so would expose the public to the very real danger of criminals reusing those exploits still working. These were kept in a controlled environment for a reason."
However, Access Now said the CIA's decision to keep security flaws to itself had "significant repercussions for human rights and digital security".
Whistleblower Edward Snowden criticised the scope of the CIA's methods.
"Imagine a world where the actual CIA spends its time figuring out how to spy on you through your TV," he wrote on Twitter. "That's today".
Homes are becoming increasingly "smart", with everything from light switches to voice-activated kitchen appliances connected to the internet. If unsecured, these could reveal our activities in the home.
"The concept that intelligence agencies are doing broad personal surveillance using these devices is not realistic," said Mr Smith.
"I would be amazed if that was the case because the resources to make sense of all the data just aren't there.
"My concern is much more what online criminals might be able to achieve with these devices. There are plenty of examples of things such as baby monitors being open to the wider internet."
The documents published by Wikileaks detail ways in which some Samsung televisions could be used to spy on their owners. Mr Woodward said it was unlikely the exploit was widely used.
"They're talking about a few models of Samsung TV. If you read the documents, they have been vulnerable for a while. It would be surprising if the CIA was not looking into that," he said.
"Has the CIA remotely hacked them? No. They have to get into your home and plug a USB drive in to them. It's a high risk. If you have to get in to somebody's house you can give yourself away."
Mr Woodward said anybody worried that their appliances were spying on them could "unplug them at the wall".
That advice may not help those with a modern voice-controlled fridge-freezer, the likes of which have started to go on sale.
However, SecureWorks' Mike McLellan, who previously worked at the UK government's National Cyber Security Centre, said the average household should have "bigger concerns".
"You are more likely to be a victim of cybercrime or ransomware, than happen to become a subject of interest for an intelligence agency."
Encrypted messaging apps offer people some peace of mind that their private messages cannot be intercepted as they travel across the internet, as the messages are scrambled.
The CIA documents describe methods to compromise smartphone operating systems such as Android and iOS, which could let agents read messages sent via encrypted services such as WhatsApp and Signal.
Mr Woodward said the documents did not suggest the CIA had "cracked" the encryption of either platform. Instead, messages could be read by compromising the "end point" - the sender or receiver's smartphone - where the messages are already decrypted.
He said the documents indicated that governments "accept that encryption is going to become commonplace on networks" and that they must focus efforts on "getting in to the end points to read messages".
"They know banning encryption is not going to work," he said.
Mr Snowden has described the CIA as "reckless beyond words", for keeping knowledge of security holes in devices such as smartphones to itself.
"The CIA reports show the [United States government] developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open," he wrote on Twitter.
"Why is this dangerous? Because until closed, any hacker can use the security hole the CIA left open to break in to any iPhone in the world."
Mr Woodward said he was not surprised that the CIA had not disclosed security holes it had found to manufacturers such as Apple and Google.
"If your mission is to spy, are you going to tell people something only you know about?" he asked.
"This is the CIA, not a computer security agency. If they have [exploits] they are going to use them. It's somebody else's job to fix them."
Mr McLellan said it was "a fact of life that intelligence agencies will look for security vulnerabilities", but added that private companies were also searching for flaws and "selling them to the highest bidder".
That concerns Mr White, who suggests keeping flaws secret puts ordinary citizens at risk.
"It's simply a fantasy to believe that only the 'good guys' will be able to use these tools," he said in a blogpost.
"It is critical for governments, law enforcement, technologists, and civil society to have an honest conversation about the impact of government hacking in the digital age."
However, Mr Woodward said it was likely that many of the security flaws in the leaked documents had already been fixed.
"The idea that the CIA is hoarding [security flaws] is not true. These things are relatively rare... and fixes for them move so quickly that a year or two is almost another era in technical terms," he said.
"I would be surprised if they were 'stockpiling' such exploits. I think you'll find they use them while they still can."
Routine recording of the population would be a huge, and potentially unfeasible, undertaking for an intelligence agency. However, developments in artificial intelligence could make processing data faster and easier.
Companies - including Amazon and Google - already sell voice-controlled speakers and smartphones that can understand commands and transcribe speech. Such technology could one day be used to help monitor citizens.
"There is the ability to collect telephony en masse now," said Mr Smith. "AI may speed it up and make more sense of the data, but I don't think it's something the average person should be worried about. It could be a future risk, among many future risks."
Mr Woodward added: "Think of the volumes of data you'd be dealing with. They don't have the ability to record every phone conversation in the world, let alone every conversation within ear-shot of a phone.
"If you're not a person of interest, they just don't have the capacity." | Thousands of documents said to detail the CIA's hacking tools were published by Wikileaks on Tuesday. | 39205405 |
The team at Yale School of Medicine, in the US, showed diet could change the structure of mice brains.
They argue this could explain why the children of obese parents are more likely to become grossly overweight.
Experts said the study had merit, but brain changes in humans were unproven.
Obesity can run in families and shared eating habits are a major factor.
However, there is evidence that diet during pregnancy can also influence a child's future waistline, such as through changes to DNA.
The latest foray into the field, published in the journal Cell, shows the structure of the brain itself may be changed.
The experiments on mice showed that mothers on a high-fat diet had pups with an altered hypothalamus, a part of the brain important for regulating metabolism.
These mouse pups were more likely to become overweight and develop type 2 diabetes than the pups of mothers given a normal diet.
One of the researchers, Prof Tamas Horvath, from Yale, told the BBC: "It could be a signal to the pup that it can grow bigger as the environment is plentiful in food.
"We definitely believe these are fundamental biological processes also affecting humans and influencing how children may eventually become obese.
"It seems, at least, that this could have a major impact and we need to explore it further in both animal and human studies."
He says a healthy diet during pregnancy may help to break the cycle of obese parents having obese children.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Graham Burdge, from the University of Southampton, told the BBC: "Twenty years of research shows nutrition in early life has lasting effects on cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis and some cancers. It's extremely well established.
"This is an intriguing technical advance showing neurological circuits are being changed, which hasn't been shown before."
He said the "concept fits in well with the data" but pointed out there were key differences in the way mice and people process fat, so the same might not be happening in pregnant women.
He added: "Much of what we know about the process comes from animals. The next big thing is to establish the same mechanisms operate in humans and if we can modify that."
For now he advises parents to "have a healthy balanced diet and ensure the diet of your child is balanced as well". | A high-fat diet during pregnancy has the potential to alter a baby's developing brain and increase its chances of obesity later in life, animal studies suggest. | 25864893 |
Miheso alleges the incident took place on 14 January at the South African club's offices in Durban.
The 24-year-old is seeking a transfer ban or other sanction to be placed on Golden Arrows and also wants $22,000 he claims he is owed in wages.
Golden Arrows denied the allegations and have since declined to comment.
The winger's legal representative says the club has failed to provide any satisfactory information about the incident.
Miheso has won 14 caps for Kenya and scored five goals. | Kenya international Clifton Miheso has filed a complaint to Fifa over his claim he was forced at gunpoint to end his contract with Golden Arrows. | 39433844 |
Wicketkeepers standing up to the stumps and most fielders closer than eight yards will also have to wear helmets.
Slips, behind the wicket on the off side, will be exempt.
The announcement by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) comes almost a year to the day since the death of Phillip Hughes after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball.
The Australian batsman died aged 25, two days after being hit during a domestic match in Sydney, in November 2014. He was wearing a helmet.
The changes mean batsmen will have to wear helmets to face medium-pace and spin bowling as well as pace.
All male and female cricketers playing in professional cricket matches will be required to use helmets which meet the latest British safety standard.
The ECB is also recommending that all recreational cricketers wear helmets.
The recommendations follow a joint review by the ECB and the Professional Cricketers' Association, and were designed to reduce the risk of head and facial injuries within the game.
ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce said: "As we have seen in recent times, the cricket ball can cause significant injury and it is extremely important that players take the appropriate precautions when batting, keeping wicket or fielding close to the stumps." | Helmet use is to be made mandatory for batsmen from next season in English first-class cricket. | 34940416 |
Kyle Bell, 25, from Scunthorpe, died of stab wounds. He was found in the Mary Street area early on Tuesday morning, Humberside Police said.
A 21-year-old man was also taken to hospital earlier on Tuesday. The force is appealing for witnesses.
Refuse collections in the area have been stopped by police request.
Collections will be completed on Monday if inquiries are completed, North Lincolnshire council said. | A murder investigation has been launched after the body of a man was found in Scunthorpe. | 40506549 |
About 65% of children aged five years from disadvantaged backgrounds had below average results in vocabulary tests, compared with 38% of more affluent children, the 'Ready to Read' Northern Ireland report said.
The report, from the Read On Get On coalition, involved 1,955 children from 63 council wards across Northern Ireland.
It calls for more investment in the early years workforce and extra support for parents.
Save the Children - which is part of the coalition alongside organisations like Libraries NI, Parenting NI and Early Years - published the research.
The head of the charity in Northern Ireland, Fergus Cooper, said that getting more parents involved in their child's education was crucial to developing literacy skills.
"Every parent wants their child to succeed but many parents don't know what the key things they need to do to reinforce that learning are," he said.
"Early language development is a key skill that leads on to good reading, so we need to invest and engage much earlier."
Black Mountain Primary School in west Belfast, which has almost 150 pupils, has been working with the charity for a number of years.
Parents can come into the school during the school day to read with their children.
Stacey Brittan's son AJ goes to Black Mountain Primary School, and she says the school's approach has helped them both.
"I never read - I would have watched a film rather than read a book," she said.
"So we started at night reading books, and now AJ can't wait to buy a new book and read a new book, so his reading has really improved.
"He gets more enjoyment out of it because it's quality time with mummy."
Elaine Crossman also comes into the school to read with her son Riley.
"It's brilliant because with working sometimes I don't get the chance to do it at home," she said.
"So it's great on the days that you can get to spend that one on one with your child and read to them, and also see how well Riley has come on with reading."
The school's principal Jill Black said that parents' involvement had made a huge difference in reading skills.
"We started encouraging parents to come into school about three years ago, and the enthusiasm for reading has particularly improved, particularly in Primary One and Primary Two," she said.
Ms Black said the initiative has also strengthened the relationships between teachers and parents, and improved pupils' reading test results.
"That parents are able to enjoy reading has a knock-on effect for their children," she added.
"We see a huge increase in their achievement and attainment in reading."
The 'Ready to Read' report features new analysis by University College London of a Northern Ireland sample from the Millennium Cohort Study, a project following the lives of thousands of UK children.
The UK-wide Read On Get On organisation has set the goal of getting every child reading well by the age of 11 by 2025. | Many children from poorer backgrounds already struggle with language when they start primary school, a new study suggests. | 35444576 |
North Wales Police officers spent two weeks working with North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the Motor Insurance Bureau and the DVLA.
A total of 86 arrests were made for offences including drink-driving, drug-driving and driving while disqualified.
Ch Insp Darren Wareing said: "This campaign was about denying criminals the use of the roads." | Police have seized 40 vehicles and arrested more than 80 people as part of a campaign targeting illegal drivers. | 33913251 |
The Superfast Cymru contract was set up to connect 96% of businesses and homes excluded from commercial roll-out.
The project has so far reached 581,000 premises across Wales.
Concerns have been raised about the deadline being met, although Superfast Cymru said it was "on track".
The Welsh Government has part-funded the project, investing £205m into the initiative.
Industry experts thinkbroadband.com said they do not believe the deadline can be met.
Andrew Ferguson, editor of thinkbroadband.com, said: "We don't believe 96% can be hit this month at all. Current rates suggest the end of 2016."
He said the scheme had a "confused history" with "targets all too often misrepresented".
According to thinkbroadband.com, the cost of the project is £430 per customer.
It said 88% of Wales was now covered by superfast broadband speeds of 24 Mbps or more - less than England's 90.7% coverage, but more than Scotland's 85.3% and Northern Ireland's 80.1%.
The latest Welsh Government figures from March showed Cardiff has the lowest Superfast Cymru completion rates, with just 53% of eligible premises connected.
Blaenau Gwent has the highest connection rate, at 96%, followed by Merthyr Tydfil on 94%, and Rhondda Cynon Taff on 93%.
Across the rural counties, 57% of eligible customers in Powys are connected, Ceredigion is on 53%, Gwynedd 74% and Carmarthenshire 60%.
BT said Cardiff was the lowest as the vast majority of the city was covered by commercial fibre broadband.
NFU Cymru president Stephen James raised concerns that the figures are not broken down into rural and urban areas.
"I believe if we received this breakdown then we would see that a high number of rural areas continue to be excluded from superfast broadband," he said.
"Whilst we welcome the improvements that Superfast Cymru has made to areas of Wales, without a comprehensive strategy for targeting superfast broadband to rural areas, we fear that this could only widen the digital divide between urban areas and rural communities.
"If distribution of broadband remains uneven, there is a risk that some farming businesses and rural communities could become competitively disadvantaged."
There needed to be a "focus" on rollout in rural areas "from now up to the end of the rollout in 2017", he added.
In a joint, BT and Welsh Government said: "The original Superfast Cymru contract target is anticipated to be completed by BT by end of June 2016, followed by robust Welsh Government testing and verification taking it to summer 2016.
"We are currently exploring the geographical and technical aspects of extending coverage of superfast broadband to the final few premises in Wales.
"This means that every premises in Wales has the ability to request faster broadband, helping make sure that no communities are left behind."
They added they were "still confident" that 40% of premises will eventually have access to speeds of 100 Mbps through a combination of FTTP (fibre to the premises) and FOD (fibre on demand) technology. | A scheme to deliver superfast broadband to 655,000 premises in Wales will be completed by the end of June, BT and the Welsh Government have insisted. | 36559141 |
Greece has hired her London law firm to ramp up its claim to the sculptures.
The 5th Century BC treasures, known as the Elgin Marbles in the UK, are kept in the British Museum in London.
Fellow lawyer Norman Palmer said he hoped a "conciliatory and amicable resolution" could be found.
"If it cannot, then other considerations will have to be examined," he added.
The marbles - depicting gods, men and monsters - were removed from the Parthenon in Athens in 1811 by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Greece at the time.
Mrs Clooney and her colleagues from Doughty Street Chambers in London were visiting the Parthenon on Wednesday after taking part in a news conference with Culture Minister Costas Tassoulas.
Mr Tassoulas told reporters his country was campaigning to have the marbles returned in the name of Greece but also "in the name of world heritage".
Red carpet for Clooney - by Nick Malkoutzis in Athens
Greece gave Amal Alamuddin Clooney a rare treat today as she was guided around the Acropolis Museum by its president Dimitris Pantermalis and Culture Minister Kostas Tassoulas - an honour usually reserved for foreign dignitaries.
The Greek government has asked the human rights lawyer and her colleagues to secure the return of the Parthenon Marbles - a momentous mission.
The legal complexities will come later. For now Greeks are simply basking in her celebrity glow. Local media have been poring over her chic dresses and what she had for lunch. Reporters are following her every step, literally, even debating whether she would have the appropriate shoes to walk up the slippery marble steps to the Parthenon.
During a news conference at the museum, the new Mrs Clooney described the Greek claim to the Marbles as a "just cause". She didn't have to say anything more.
Greece maintains the marbles were illegally removed and should be returned for display in a new Athens museum.
But the British Museum and British government reject the argument.
A leading Oxford expert on classical archaeology, Sir John Boardman, recently warned that such a move would set an "appalling precedent" for the British Museum and museums like it.
"It would set a whole flood of things going as well," he told the Daily Telegraph. "It would... ruin any of the major museums of the world", such as the Louvre in Paris or museums in Berlin, he said.
Correspondents say the hiring of Mrs Clooney will raise the profile of the Greek campaign.
She married her actor husband in Venice on 27 September at a wedding which attracted other top show business stars.
Amal Alamuddin, as she was before she married, is a Lebanese-born British lawyer who has defended Julian Assange of Wikileaks and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko among others.
George Clooney himself backed the campaign earlier this year, when asked by a reporter at the Berlin Film Festival.
"I think you have a very good case to make about your artefacts," he said. | The new wife of Hollywood star George Clooney, lawyer Amal Clooney, has had talks with Greek PM Antonis Samaras as part of a campaign to return the Parthenon sculptures from Britain. | 29627621 |
It will connect Sale with Manchester City Centre and will also take passengers from Castlefield to the Trafford Centre during rush hour.
The "waxi" is the first water taxi service in Greater Manchester and can carry up to 10 passengers.
The 4mph (6km/h) journey is free during the trial period ahead of a full launch on 21 November.
Two boats will operate morning and evening on Mondays to Fridays between Sale and Castlefield, and a circular route which runs from Castlefield to Old Trafford and the Trafford Centre. | A water taxi has started running a trial service on the Bridgewater Canal to take commuters into Manchester. | 37893893 |
Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the distribution of electricity, said engineers were dealing with the situation in Wetherby.
Powergrid manager Mick Hickling said the storm began at about 03:00 BST.
He said: "It has been quite a dramatic night, it got really intense about 04:30."
The company said the cut had been caused by power lines being struck by lightning. | About 1,000 homes near Leeds were without electricity on Saturday morning after severe thunderstorms in the early hours. | 33394032 |
Sullay Kaikai blasted in for the home side after visiting goalkeeper Luke Daniels dropped a first-half corner.
Kyle Wootton levelled for Scunthorpe from 12 yards before Paddy Madden intercepted a backpass to net his 19th goal of the season for the visitors.
However, Akpa Akpro's cross from the left drifted in after Daniels was distracted by Andy Mangan.
His first League One goal in almost six months stretched Shrewsbury's unbeaten league run to seven games, nine points clear of the relegation zone while Scunthorpe drop to 13th.
Shrewsbury Town manager Micky Mellon told BBC Radio Shropshire:
"You have to say the result is frustration and relief for us. The players have rallied. It was a fantastic fightback from the lads. We have shown different qualities yet again.
"We didn't keep the ball in the second half and too many 50-50 decisions went against us from the referee. It was just foul after foul and that made it difficult for us.
"It's a big result for us and we have to work very hard to get results. We have to respect the point, but this is a massive learning curve and the future is looking good for this football club.
"We have battled on and we have picked up a really useful point against a very good side."
Scunthorpe United manager Nick Daws told BBC Radio Humberside:
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"To concede in the 95th minute is always disappointing but that's how long the game lasts. I certainly wouldn't have argued if we had scored in that time.
"We're frustrated and disappointed but it just goes to show you can't switch off and you can't allow opportunities into your area and not keep clean sheets all the time.
"It's another point to the tally, keeps the unbeaten run going, one defeat in 10, and we've got work to do from now and working towards next week against Chesterfield.
"It was unfortunate but the effort in the second half to get back in the game was exactly what we asked for and exactly what we expected." | Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro's stoppage-time goal rescued a League One point for Shrewsbury Town at home to Scunthorpe. | 35733101 |
An official attendance of 59,563 was given for Thursday's game, but large sections of empty seats were visible.
Asked for a message to fans, Wenger said: "Come and support the team. If you love football, you go out there and I think you see quality football."
Alexis Sanchez scored twice in the win.
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Clubs usually count season ticket holders in official attendances whether they are actually present or not, and there were reports before Thursday's game that as many as 2,500 fans had returned their tickets.
Wenger said there was no way of knowing why fans did not attend, but defended his side's performance.
He said: "It was a special night as well, a Thursday night, and I don't know if you are intelligent enough, nor am I, to detect exactly why everybody that did not turn up tonight did not turn up.
"I believe we dominated from the start to the last minute and in fact, was what we did in the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"Overall I believe the quality of our game was very good. Maybe, we could have scored more goals." | Arsene Wenger has urged Arsenal's stay-away fans to turn up and see "quality football" after his side moved third in the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over West Brom at Emirates Stadium. | 36106478 |
At least eight people died in Garland, near Dallas, five of them when their cars were blown off a motorway.
In west Texas, snow combined with high winds to cause drifts that left a number of roads impassable.
Heavy rains have caused flooding further north, leaving 12 people dead in Missouri and Illinois.
The storms across the south have been unusually powerful for winter.
Reports from Texas said churches were destroyed, cars mangled and trees toppled across a 64km (40 mile) zone from south of Dallas up to suburbs in the north-east.
Garland police believed that tornado-strength winds late on Saturday were the cause of car accidents, Melinda Urbina from the Dallas County Sheriff's office, told the BBC.
Ms Urbina said the winds "tossed cars around" and vehicles were later found below Interstate 30, about 15 miles (24km) north-east of Dallas. She urged local residents to stay off the roads.
In a Sunday morning briefing, Lt Pedro Barineau, of Garland police, said 600 buildings had been damaged.
"It is total devastation," he said.
The Red Cross is setting up shelters for those with damaged homes.
Two people were also found dead at a petrol station in Copeville, and a third was killed in Blue Ridge, reports in Dallas media said.
Kevin Taylor, a church pastor in Glenn Heights, south of Dallas, described to WFAA how his church began collapsing around him.
"Doors began to turn inward, when I saw that I figured the glass was going to shatter and hit me in the face, so I broke and ran down the hallway and by the time I got just a few feet everything collapsed and went dark and fell on top of me," he said, adding: "By the grace of God I'm here though."
Some 25,000 people were without power on Sunday morning.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared Dallas County and three other counties disaster areas.
He warned the death toll could rise.
The National Weather Service confirmed that several tornadoes had touched down near Dallas and other towns in northern Texas.
In the Texas Panhandle and parts of New Mexico and Oklahoma, the problem was snow - high winds caused drifts that have made a number of roads impassable.
Interstate 40 west of Amarillo to the New Mexico border is set to be shut until Monday morning.
The deaths in Dallas come as much of the south-central region of the US has been hit by severe weather in the past week.
Further north, six people died in two incidents when cars drove into flooded roads in Missouri. Another driver was found dead in his car in a creek.
Three adults and two children also drowned in southern Illinois when their vehicle was swept away.
While extreme weather in the US around Christmas is not unknown, meteorologists say that unseasonably high temperatures in some areas contributed to the severity of the storms.
The forecast for the eastern US is of continuing high temperatures - Washington DC pushed close to 70F (21C) on Sunday. | Eleven people have been killed in tornadoes in Texas, police say, with heavy rain and snow causing deaths and disruption in a number of other states. | 35184869 |
Northants rocketed through the morning session, scoring 160 runs in just 29 overs, before Adam Rossington (78) fell after lunch.
Olly Stone (60) registered his highest first-class score as his record 10th-wicket stand with Monty Panesar pushed Northants to 498.
Panesar dismissed Tom Latham (24) but Kent closed on 88-1, trailing by 14. | The bat continued to dominate as Northamptonshire and Kent's bowlers struggled to make an impact. | 36307905 |
Filipino Pacquiao, 37, has hinted that Saturday's Las Vegas fight will be the last of a career in which he has won world titles at six different weights.
But Roach said: "I do think Manny has more quality fights in him. His power, speed, work ethic are still superior to most others."
Pacquiao and American Bradley have fought twice before, with one win each.
Pacquiao, whose only other defeat came last year against Floyd Mayweather, has political ambitions and is running for a seat in the Philippines senate.
WBO welterweight champion Bradley, 32, has won five world titles and lost only once in his professional career.
American Roach, who has also trained former world champions Mike Tyson, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De la Hoya, added: "I personally don't know if this will be Manny's last fight but he is training like it's going to be his last fight.
"Manny has achieved so much in his boxing career and if this is going to be his swansong I know he wants to go out blazing with a spectacular performance." | Manny Pacquiao may fight on after his world title bout against Timothy Bradley, says trainer Freddie Roach. | 35982105 |
A host of players from his teams were among mourners who gathered for the service, which was open to the public.
Three former Everton stars delivered eulogies looking at different aspects of Kendall's life and earlier the funeral cortege completed a lap of the club's Goodison Park stadium.
Kendall, Everton's most successful manager, died aged 69 on 17 October.
On the circuit of the stadium, the cortege paused next to the statue of Everton's all-time record goalscorer Dixie Dean, which had been draped with tributes to Kendall.
The funeral procession entered the cathedral to Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues".
The congregation applauded loudly.
Canon Myles Davies, the Vice Dean and Canon Precentor of Liverpool Cathedral led the service, in which the first hymn was Do Not Be Afraid.
Fellow Everton legend Joe Royle, who played alongside Kendall and managed the club in the 1990s, delivered a eulogy for "Howard the footballer".
He described how Kendall was a "a friend to everyone" and how he "loved to chuckle", saying the former Toffees boss was a "man of the people" who never changed from "player to manager".
Royle said Kendall was an "immaculate dresser and and immaculate player", adding: "You've left us way too early."
Peter Reid, an Everton star of the Kendall era, delivered a eulogy called "Howard the Manager" - or the "gaffer", as he put it, calling him "the greatest manager in Everton's history".
He described Kendall's belief in young players and his great management, saying he had "no wavering in his belief", was a "great psychologist" and a "manager who would talk to you".
And another former Everton player Graham Stuart delivered a third eulogy on "Howard the Man".
He said Kendall was a "people person" who saw his relationship with Everton as a marriage, saying he "idolised" the club and his favourite day of the week was match day.
He talked of Kendall's charm and charisma, of the "cheeky glint in his eye" and of his "infectious laugh", adding: "We've lost a legend, a great Evertonian - Blue dreams, you'll be forever in out thoughts and in our hearts."
Former Everton player and FA Cup winner Duncan Ferguson also made a reading during the service.
Bill Kenwright CBE, chairman of Everton, delivered the final tribute.
He talked of Howard Kendall "my idol for over 50 years, and a friend for over 30 years."
He described the "overwhelming privilege of being an Evertonian" and said: "We loved Howard so very, very much - he understood Everton... that's what made him great.
"More than anything, he was a Blue. Thank you 'H' for everything."
The funeral came to a close with a blessing from Canon Davies and the sound of the Z Cars theme tune - the music that Everton come out to at every home game.
An organ version of the same music followed as the funeral procession left the cathedral to applause.
Fans queued up outside the cathedral from 11:00 to make sure they could attend.
Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, an Everton fan, tweeted before the service: "Heading home to celebrate the greatest Evertonian we will see. He gave us memories we treasure & best team in Europe".
A number of former Everton stars were at the service, including legends of Kendall's successful 1980s teams such as Peter Reid, Kevin Sheedy and Graeme Sharp.
Peter Beardsley, who played for both Everton and Liverpool, was at the funeral, as were Everton's current first team squad, along with many other great names from past teams, including Mark Ward, Henry Newton and Ronnie Goodlass.
Adrian Heath, a player Kendall signed three times, said as he arrived: "Obviously it's a sad day and last weekend when I found out the news I was devastated because nobody's done more for me in my career than this man.
"I'm sure there'll be a few tears but I know there'll be some laughter this afternoon because we had some incredible days on and off the field with Howard. He was a very larger-than-life character."
The club's great rivals Liverpool were also represented by the likes of former captains Mark Wright and Phil Neal.
Fans applauded as the funeral cortege passed the crowds at the ground. Everton tweeted: "Howard at Goodison, one final time #RIPHoward"
Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish tweeted how sorry he was he would not be attending the funeral.
"Really sad that I'll be unable to make Howard Kendall's Funeral. He was a fantastic person & friend; an Everton legend. Will be sadly missed."
Kendall led the Toffeemen to two First Division titles in 1985 and 1987, as well as an FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.
In a managerial career lasting more than 700 games, he also took charge of Blackburn, Manchester City, Notts County and Sheffield United.
His first club was Preston North End and he became the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup Final when he played in North End's defeat to West Ham, aged 17 years and 345 days in 1964.
I'm at Liverpool's magnificent Anglican Cathedral, where hundreds of fans, players and former football managers have gathered for Howard Kendall's funeral.
Many Evertonians are wearing blue shirts, blue scarves, blue jackets. There are blue flowers at the entrance to the cathedral - one woman told me that she "was part of Howard's army. He's on his way to Blue heaven".
Former Everton player Peter Reid said: "Tactically, he was ahead of his time."
Many people are waiting outside the cathedral gates as there is no more room inside.
As a player, Howard Kendall enjoyed two spells at Everton - the first included helping the club win the league title in 1969-70 when he was part of the "Holy Trinity" midfield, which also featured Alan Ball and Colin Harvey.
He went on to play for Birmingham City, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers before returning briefly to his beloved Everton and finally hanging up his boots in 1981. | Legendary former Everton manager Howard Kendall's funeral has taken place at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. | 34660169 |
Robert Fidler hid the four-bedroom home behind hay bales for four years before it was discovered by officials.
He failed to appear at the High Court for a contempt of court hearing after refusing to demolish the house.
A warrant was issued for his arrest and the case was adjourned until 2 November.
Mr Fidler then arrived at the court after the hearing, saying he had missed the case because he thought it was taking place later in the day.
He said: "Apparently, at some point, without my knowledge, it's been changed and there's a warrant out for my arrest."
He said he was still "hopeful" the property could be saved from demolition, but he would be "homeless" if it was knocked down.
Mr Fidler built the house in 2002 at Honeycrock Farm in Salfords.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council first ordered the house to be knocked down in 2007, before a government planning inspector rejected Mr Fidler's appeal a year later.
This decision was upheld first by the High Court in 2010 and then by the Court of Appeal.
Mr Fidler had been due to face a claim of contempt of court at the High Court earlier, brought by the council after he failed to knock the house down by the 26 June deadline, but he failed to attend.
Judge Mr Justice Dove said it would be unusual to proceed without offering him "one last opportunity to provide some explanation of matters relating to the breach of the injunction".
If the claim is upheld, Mr Fidler could face a jail sentence.
In 2008, he said he hid the four-bedroom "castle" because he believed a house that stood for four years without objection had a legal right to remain.
In a statement the council said it would set an "unacceptable precedent for development in the green belt" if the house was allowed to remain. | A High Court judge ordered the arrest of a farmer who refused to tear down a mock-Tudor castle he built in Surrey without planning permission. | 34604171 |
Producing a film or TV series is a long and laborious process - the whole operation can often take years, during which time the project can be thrown into uncertainty as a result of reality suddenly rendering the project distasteful.
Bastille Day, which stars Idris Elba in a story about civilians killed by a bomb going off in Paris, was pulled from cinemas in France the day after it was released because of what happened in Nice.
StudioCanal stopped adverts for the film immediately after the attack and soon cancelled it altogether, commenting that it was "not in line with the national mood".
"Studios, like many major corporations, are risk averse," says Andreas Wiseman, head of news at Screen Daily.
"The performance over its opening weekend can often make or break a film, so distributors spend a long time strategising over an optimum release date.
"If there is a chance a social or political context might turn media or audiences against a film, studios will reroute."
The studio's request to pull Bastille Day out of French cinemas was supported by the film's lead actor - Elba told The Sun that the producers probably thought the film was "insensitive" and did not "feel right to have out there".
Many French film fans, though, were disappointed with the studio's decision - one told Reuters he "didn't make the connection with Nice".
"There are so many differences. I think it's a coincidence and I find it a shame for the people who made the film."
In America, TV series Shooter - a drama about a sniper - was postponed after unrest prompted by the shooting of black men by police.
USA Network initially delayed the show's debut by a week - "after further consideration", it was subsequently postponed until the autumn.
Paris-based film journalist Lisa Nesselson, who saw Bastille Day in a French cinema after the Nice attack, says she is unsure whether TV networks and film studios should react in the same way.
"I don't know if films are delayed or pulled out of respect for terror victims, because it's assumed that nobody will be in the mood to see that topic or a little of both," she says.
"I might be in favour of changing television programming in deference to a violent national event, but I find it much harder to grasp why a movie that requires an individual to make the decision to pay to get in should be punished for being about the 'wrong' thing at a particular moment in time."
Perhaps the biggest single event of recent times to affect the film and TV industry was the 9/11 attack in 2001.
A scene in Spider-Man featuring the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center was deleted from the film and the trailers in light of the sombre national mood and the location was also edited out of Men In Black II and Zoolander.
On television, Friends - one of the most successful sitcoms of all time - cut an entire storyline from one episode which saw Chandler detained at an airport after making a joke about a bomb.
It was swiftly replaced by a new storyline involving Monica and Chandler and the already-filmed footage was only released years later as part of a box set.
In the UK, one of the longest delays to a major film came in 2007, when Gone Baby Gone was due to be released.
It came out in the US in October and was set for a UK release in December - but was halted by the disappearance of Madeleine McCann as the producers felt the plot, which dealt with a young girl going missing, was distasteful.
Wiseman says that while audiences like to identify with characters and storylines, a story which appears to reflect a real-life horror can be difficult to watch.
"Hollywood studios want and need audience identification in their films, but too much identification can become uncomfortable for some unsuspecting viewers who find material too close to real-life tragedy."
He adds that once promotion has begun, films can be more difficult to change or postpone than TV shows.
"Delays can be very costly, especially if they happen after advertising has already been booked and campaigns are underway.
"If a campaign is fragmented or becomes confused in its timing, then audiences are likely to find something else to watch."
However, he says it "can work both ways".
"While many films about terrorism were shelved around 9/11, a whimsical and sweet film like Amelie unexpectedly took off in the US and in many other countries [because] audiences wanted a joyful escape."
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or email [email protected]. | A movie set in France about a terrorist plot on Bastille Day had to be pulled from cinemas in the country after the Nice lorry attack - it is a situation that film studios and TV networks have become accustomed to as release schedules are affected by horrific real-life events. | 36772250 |
Glasgow University has taken over the 14-acre site of the old Western Infirmary.
It said it planned to create a research and innovation hub and new buildings for social sciences, health and engineering.
An estimated 2,500 jobs will be created during the construction period.
The extension to the university's Gilmorehill campus will see a central square linking to Byres Road, and commercial opportunities in the form of restaurants, bars and a hotel.
Glasgow University principal Professor Anton Muscatelli said: "We hope to use the new site as a catalyst to attract and grow the very best academics, to attract the very best students and to ensure that Glasgow continues to be one of the top universities in the world."
The university moved from High Street to the Gilmorehill site in 1870.
A clause was signed stating that if the hospital, which opened in 1874, ever ceased to be a hospital then the university could buy back the site.
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick said: "What is especially impressive is the ambition the university has to create what is effectively a new district in the west end". | Plans to transform a former hospital site into a learning hub will see an estimated £1bn investment over the next decade. | 36019300 |
It lowered its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 5.1%, saying the move was aimed at boosting development.
Last year's growth rate - 7.4% down from 7.7% in 2013 - was the weakest in 24 years.
The cut is the third in six months and will take effect from Monday. It follows other measures designed to spur growth in China, including tax cuts.
China's slowdown is expected to continue for some years. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted China's growth would stabilise at about 6% by 2017.
Also last week, weaker than expected official figures on both trade and inflation were released. The rate cut suggests data to be published this week, on industrial output and investment, may also disappoint.
The country's economic problems also include the property market, which is cooling after a damaging period that saw a speculative bubble emerge.
The central bank said in a statement: "China's economy is still facing relatively big downward pressure.
"At the same time, the overall level of domestic prices remains low, and real interest rates [interest rates relative to inflation] are still higher than the historical average."
Recent rate cuts have not yet fully filtered through to market rates.
Li Qilin, an economist at Minsheng Securities, said: "The effectiveness of the rate cut won't be very big.
"The PBOC has already cut benchmark interest rate by a total of 75 basis points, but borrowing costs have only fallen marginally."
One economist suggested Chinese interest rates have far further to fall.
Li Huiyong, an economist at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, said: "This won't be the last cut. "The rate could be lowered to 2% at least, and we expect the economy to gradually stabilise in the coming two quarters." | China's central bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year, amid a continuing economic slowdown. | 32680744 |
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The figure represents a 70% increase on Sky and BT's current £3bn deal.
It is unclear whether the increase will affect ticket prices, although Sky pundits and former England internationals Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville said prices should be cut.
The Premier League said £56m a year has been earmarked for grassroots projects, including 50 artificial pitches.
Under the new contract, 168 games will be shown live, at an average cost to the broadcasters of £10.2m per match.
Sky paid £4.176bn to show 126 matches per season, including the first ever Friday evening games and both Sunday packages.
BT paid £960m for 42 games per season - four more than its present deal.
Pundits and politicians clamoured for the rise in revenue to be passed down to fans and grassroots football.
The BBC's Price of Football survey showed that the average price of cheapest tickets in England has risen at almost twice the rate of the cost of living since 2011.
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Gary Neville, co-owner of Evo-Stik league side Salford City, added: "I want sensible ticket pricing and grassroots football to benefit as much as possible from this deal. Who doesn't? This is a big issue!"
Former Liverpool defender Carragher said: "The amounts involved in ticket pricing, especially for away fans, has to change."
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore told BBC Sport: "Clubs understand that the number one strategic priority is to keep the stadiums full.
"They also need to understand that young fans must be encouraged to attend games. The clubs will do the right thing.
"Our record stands for itself. Ever since the time when we invested a percentage of our income in grassroots football and the Football Foundation, that whole activity area has grown.
"We will this year give away £250m. It will be over £800m over the course of this deal."
Sky are currently paying £760m a year to broadcast 116 live games - £6.6m a fixture. That sum has risen to £11m on average for each of their matches.
Asked if the figure was obscene, Scudamore said: "It is not. It is market forces. It is unscripted drama, the show the clubs put on.
"People want to see the top stars here. Look at the excitement of transfer deadline day.
"I am surprised by the size of it. Burnley are now, economically, bigger than Ajax.
"This is a good deal for all the clubs in English football and all the other organisations and charities that depend on Premier League revenues."
The fact the football clubs are in for a big payday was reflected on the New York Stock Exchange, with Manchester United's value rising by almost 5% in the immediate aftermath of the news of the new deal breaking.
Shares in United closed at $17.03, up 77 cents, having risen sharply after the 5pm GMT announcement - 12pm on Wall Street.
BBC Business Reporter Rebecca Marston said: "What's happened in New York is evidence clubs are expecting their payday. Investors clearly believe this is a wise investment as a direct result of this announcement." | Sky and BT Sport have paid a record £5.136bn for live Premier League TV rights for three seasons from 2016-17. | 31357409 |
While English and Welsh are the usual forms of communications in the Senedd, it opted for the native tongue of the enemies of Star Trek's Captain Kirk.
Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar had asked for details of UFOs sightings and asked if research would be funded.
A Welsh government spokesman responded with: "jang vIDa je due luq."
The Welsh government statement continued: "'ach ghotvam'e' QI'yaH devolve qaS."
In full it said it translated as: "The minister will reply in due course. However this is a non-devolved matter."
It is believed to be the first time the Welsh government has chosen to communicate in Klingon.
Mr Millar, shadow health minister and AM for Clwyd West, submitted three questions to economy, science and transport minister Edwina Hart about UFO reports around the airport and across the rest of Wales.
Responding to the government's unusual diversion into trilingualism, Mr Millar said: "I've always suspected that Labour ministers came from another planet. This response confirms it."
Mr Millar asked: | Klingon was the chosen language for the Welsh government in its response to queries about UFO sightings at Cardiff Airport. | 33479808 |
The Standard gave me permission and, because Radio Solway's opening actually fell on a Friday, I featured on the very first programme transmitted from the Dumfries studio.
My contribution was pre-recorded the night before and I remember listening to it in bed with my head under the covers, somewhat mortified by hearing my voice on the radio for the first time. You get used to it.
Less than a year later, I joined the BBC first as producer, then as senior producer from 1989 to 1993.
The main daily programme was Solway Report, an all-speech news magazine intended to reflect Good Morning Scotland from which it opted out between 07:30 and 08:00.
At lunchtime we did a shorter 10-minute news bulletin, followed by a feature programme of 50 minutes which changed each day. These included the rural affairs programme Country Matters, an arts magazine called Spotlight Tuesday and the end-of-the-week music request show Friday Call-Out.
One of the most popular lunchtime programmes we ever did came about largely by accident after someone donated a large quantity of old 78 LPs.
They weren't really of a good enough sound quality to play in a normal record show, but I got William Williamson and the late Davie Shankland to build a nostalgia programme around them and called it And That Reminds Me. It was a great success with listeners.
We had a lot of autonomy from the powers-that-be in Glasgow and were allowed pretty much to get on with what we wanted, within reason. Often this involved great invention and stretching meagre resources to breaking point and beyond.
Examples included Children in Need nights when we embarked on some pretty ambitious outside broadcasts using what little equipment we could assemble, and masses of goodwill from all involved.
We persuaded entertainers like Alasdair Macdonald and Bill McCue to come and appear for nothing as well as local singers and bands.
Technically, these programmes were held together for hours on end with little more than sticky tape and string, but they were great fun to do.
On the news front, we also did local election specials.
I particularly remember one district council result programme anchored by Gary Robertson, now one of the mainstays on Good Morning Scotland. We went on air at either nine or ten in the evening just as votes were starting to be counted.
We had reporters at each of the district count centres in Annan, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Stranraer and Gary also had a studio panel representing the political parties.
The plan had been to intersperse the election news with a smattering of records to give everyone's tonsils a rest and to help fill in the gaps between results.
However, such was Gary's ability to "gab" that he somehow kept it going as a speech-only programme until about twenty to one the following morning when we were still waiting for one outstanding result from either Stewartry or Wigtown which had been recounted several times.
At that point Gary did eventually run out of words and had to resort to playing a disc.
Things changed in 1993 when Radio Scotland's then head of radio James Boyle decided to reduce the amount of local programming around the country and redirect some of the resources involved in making it towards the national service.
That sparked a huge and very vociferous local campaign to "Save Radio Solway" which was ultimately unsuccessful and probably proved counter-productive in the long run.
When local programmes were withdrawn in February 1993, a lot of people thought it meant the BBC was withdrawing from Dumfries altogether, which was not the case.
What was lost from the output was the voluntary "community" element. The staff remained at Lover's Walk, but in changed roles.
Twenty years on we are STILL here providing three things: local radio news for Dumfries and Galloway (daily opt-outs at 0654, 0750, 1254 and 1654); online local news on the South of Scotland Website; and news from the region for network programmes.
Back in 1993, I became the regional radio reporter providing news from Dumfries and Galloway for programmes such as Good Morning Scotland and Newsdrive. Later, my role was extended to include TV and I started appearing on Reporting Scotland.
Later still, the job changed technically as well so that now I self-shoot most stories with my own camera and edit them myself on a laptop. Changed days!
Without doubt the biggest story we ever dealt with during the 30 years was the Lockerbie Disaster. It was still in the days of Radio Solway and, as well as telling the news of what happened and the aftermath, we provided a vital information link between the authorities and the community.
It may have happened in 1988, but Lockerbie has never gone away as a story and remains in the headlines today as the 25th anniversary approaches.
In 1995, I was privileged to go to America for the dedication of the Lockerbie memorial in Arlington cemetery and got to know some of the bereaved relatives on their "patch".
The hospitality and kindness shown me will never be forgotten. Then, in 2000 and 2001, I spent a considerable time at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands covering the trial and subsequent appeal of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
Apart from Lockerbie issues, the start of this millennium was an incredibly busy news time in Dumfries and Galloway with the Solway Harvester fishing disaster in January 2000 and the foot and mouth outbreak in February 2001. These stories both ran for several months and were far-reaching in their impact.
Thirty years on I think the triple role fulfilled by the news staff in Dumfries is a very vital one, appreciated by viewers, listeners and online readers.
Despite budget restraints, the BBC in Scotland has remained committed to its local output and having regional reporters round the country to ensure it remains a truly national network. | Before Radio Solway went on air, I was a reporter on the Dumfries and Galloway Standard and was approached to see if I would be interested in preparing and broadcasting sports bulletins on Friday and Monday on the Solway Report half-hour morning news programme. | 22270266 |
Lizelle Lee hit 72 in the Stars' 169-6 before Western Storm were all out 117.
Spinner Linsey Smith took 3-14 as Lancashire Thunder were bundled out for 87, and Danni Wyatt's 46 helped the Vipers ease to 88-4 with 31 balls left.
Storm, Yorkshire Diamonds and Loughborough Lightning can still qualify with one group match left.
The top three sides go through to Finals Day on 1 September at Hove - the Storm and Diamonds both have eight points, with Lightning on five ahead of Saturday's final round of matches.
Stars' innings got off to a disastrous start when England opener Tammy Beaumont was trapped lbw by Claire Nicholas off the first ball of the match.
However, Lee went on the attack, launching Storm captain Heather Knight for three huge sixes in five balls before being caught at cover off the final ball of the 12th over.
All-rounder Marizanne Kapp's measured 48 took the hosts to their biggest total of the Super League this season before the South African took two wickets in two balls to reduce the visitors to 26-2.
Stars captain Nat Sciver (3-11) had Rachel Priest (17) and Stafanie Taylor (4) caught as Storm collapsed to 47-5.
A 59-run sixth-wicket partnership between Alice MacLeod and Georgia Hennessy put the away side back in contention but Storm lost their last five wickets for 11 runs to give the Stars a convincing 52-run victory.
Defending champions Southern Vipers bounced back from their defeat by Surrey Stars on Sunday as the swept aside Thunder with a six-wicket win.
Spinners Hayley Matthews and Smith, took four wickets in four overs between them as Thunder collapsed to 10-4, but captain Danielle Hazell's 37 helped them to 87 all out.
The visitors' response in Liverpool faltered on the slow turning pitch, as Sophie Ecclestone had Matthews caught before bowling Georgia Adams.
But, an unbeaten 46 of 29 balls from Wyatt, which included seven fours and a six, steered Vipers to a resounding win. | Holders Southern Vipers and Surrey Stars became the first sides to book their places at the 2017 women's Super League Finals Day following victories. | 41027536 |
The community spirit is strong and despite some economic problems there are some other encouraging signs:
Ferndale Community School is just inside the Maerdy village boundary on the road up the valley. Some locals still call it "Maerdy Comp." After some difficult years, it has been showing remarkable progress.
Two years ago it became the only school in Wales to jump from a Band 5 to a Band 1 in a single year in the Welsh government's performance rankings. It has now been picked as one of the pioneering schools to develop Wales' new national curriculum.
Three years ago, barely a quarter of teenagers left school with the benchmark qualifications - at least five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and Maths.
But last summer, 52% of pupils at Ferndale Community School earned these top grades - not far behind the Wales average of 57.9%.
Even more striking is the progress among children from poorer backgrounds.
More than a third of Ferndale's 650 pupils qualify for free school meals.
At a low point five years ago, only 2.3% from this group left school with five good grades, which the school admits was a "shocking" figure.
Last summer, 37% got five *A-C from the free school meals category - better than both the Wales and local council averages.
What's behind the turnaround?
New head teacher Heather Nicholas arrived in May 2011 after a poor inspection and with the school in danger of being placed in special measures if the decline wasn't reversed.
There was a vicious circle of poor performance and unhappy pupils not wanting to be in classes.
"The school was rated at the bottom of any and every kind of table that exists - poor attendance, poor attainment," said Mrs Nicholas.
"The behaviour wasn't good and conducive to learning. There was a heavy focus on a few, very troubling students and there was less time for the vast majority."
She said the staff felt passionate about the school and were ready for change.
"There was a lot of anger and agitation amongst staff and pupils; we looked at making the biggest impact," she added.
Bad behaviour was tackled by a standard disciplinary warning system for each class.
It meant exclusions were high but it looked to end disruption for those who wanted to learn. A "more business-like" school uniform of shirts and ties for older pupils was also brought in, to encourage maturity.
"There was a tendency in the school to try to be everything; what we're clear about is we're excellent teachers, we're not great social workers, police officers or community workers," said Mrs Nicholas.
"All of these roles we were doing badly, really. We focus on our jobs but strengthen our links with the specialists outside schools - youth workers, community police and drug awareness teams.
"We don't try to do it all ourselves or punish the child for having the problem."
The school has worked hard on literacy and communication skills, giving pupils more confidence to express themselves. An extra English teacher has been employed. In Maths, where pupils struggle with specifics - like fractions - all years come together for special focused sessions.
Attendance - at 86% one of the lowest in south Wales - has also improved to nearly 93%.
As well as 36% qualifying for free school meals, the school estimates another 38% of pupils also have poverty issues.
The school steps in to try "to play the role of the middle class parent" and fill in the gaps but takes a "blanket approach".
"There's a danger of thinking everyone on free school meals has feckless parents; they don't," said Mrs Nicholas.
"There are a lot of things we've done for the whole school because families are very adept at hiding [poverty], they're proud. Although 20% don't need us to, we buy all Year 7 a uniform to start with - every single one of them."
The school sources funding so every pupil has an experience during their time of a residential trip with friends away from the valley.
For the bigger trips - which have included skiing and a trip to Hollywood for 130 pupils - pupils raise funds and earn time credits to pay for them.
"It's confidence," Mrs Nicholas explained. "We want them to get all the experiences we can so they can hold their own.
"We've a proportion of children who've never seen the sea - I want children here to have the things that my daughter had."
The school takes a sensitive and personal approach for dealing with poverty issues as they affect individuals.
Punctuality can still be an issue with some pupils having to get themselves up for school. But pupils have set up a texting system to wake each other up.
"We've also got a washing machine and tumble dryers on the go all the time," she added.
"We have conversations with children, without offending them, that 'mum and dad are great but they aren't ever going to be good at laundry are they?' We persuade the children to look after it themselves.
"We want to get to a place where we can treat all the children the same. It's hard to tell off a child for not doing their homework when you know they're in darkness in the winter nights because there's no electricity.
"We provide homework facilities here, at Maerdy library and in Penrhys. So now we can say, you may not have electricity however you should have used those [facilities]."
Mrs Nicholas - who received a Welsh inspirational teacher award last year - said she was confident the new generation can fulfil their potential.
Students are looking for work in the civil service, teaching and in legal firms.
Now she wants to encourage more engineers and entrepreneurs and is looking to forge links with the University of South Wales aeronautics department.
"The mine's never coming back, neither is the railway line. You don't want to negate history but it's looking forward rather than wishing backwards.
"With this generation coming through they're ready for that. The number of boarded up buildings is depressing. We're working with the council to stop the library being another boarded up building - there's the line, let's move forward."
"It's not all negative living here - the traffic and house prices - Cardiff is just 35-45 minutes down the road, you can still live here and work there.
"Our goal is that a child can leave here and walk into any job interview and say, 'stay out of the way Cardiff High School students, that job's mine'.
"For the first time we've had Oxbridge applicants, they had interviews. They didn't get in this time but we rejoiced that our children felt they could sit at that table.
"Not that local universities aren't fantastic but now many of our students are going further afield, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham - it's great."
Mrs Nicholas says her long term hope is that the school will offer a facility for the weekends and holidays too, where there is a need.
Already there is something of a hub in an old school building in the grounds.
A youth club runs after school and also on some evenings. A minibus picks up teenagers in surrounding villages to take them to the valley sports centre for football.
The school site also has a crèche, operated by the Friends of Ferndale charity with funding from the Welsh government-backed Flying Start initiative.
The plan is for training and classes to be put in place for mothers, with free childcare for 2.5 hours, five days a week for 20 children. It operates all day and mothers can pay a top-up if they need it for longer.
Nikki Beach, project manager, said after removing the cost of childcare as a barrier, rather than just putting on off-the-shelf courses they were listening to what sort of training mothers actually wanted.
"People need a little support and encouragement," she said.
Councillor Keiron Montague said with the skills and aspirations, people can do anything.
"A child in Maerdy is going to get the same opportunity in education than a child in any other area - if not more, because the actual provision is so good.
"And I think they have the aspirations - they're the same as the children I've met in Cardiff, Barry and mid Wales.
"Just because an area is classed as deprived doesn't mean that the family infrastructure isn't solid and sound. They might not have the money but they have the time and effort and work with their children as well.
"Some struggle with that, like any area, but you go up to the community hub there are parents volunteering, working with their children on drama, arts, dance projects, IT projects. It's not just what goes on in the school, it's after school too."
Jess Richards, 21, is a film and photography graduate - and ex-Ferndale Community School student - who has set up her own business in the village with the help of a community wind farm grant.
She covers weddings and local events and said she hopes to document Maerdy on film as it develops in the future.
"We've got a pub and a couple of clubs but there's not a lot for young people to do at the moment and the skate park in Ferndale closed recently so we need something like that," she said.
"I'd like to see more shops and local businesses too.
"It's important to me to stay in Maerdy, it's my home village and I feel proud to be from here.
"It's also near some beautiful countryside, so we need more things to do with nature - for instance, there's a good project they're setting up with local woodlands."
Where the old colliery's pithead once stood is now a factory car park.
After Mardy's closure in 1990, the land was reclaimed and with great fanfare - and some controversy - a new £25m plant opened in 1997, making rubber parts for cars.
Money from the old Welsh Development Agency and Welsh Office was enough to beat off competition from France and Ireland. Fenner's Polymers moved work from Hull, Peterborough and further down the Rhondda to Maerdy.
It promised 500 jobs but within three years turnover had dropped to £6m and the next few years is a story of takeovers, administrations and a slimmed-down workforce.
In hindsight, the feeling is the owners were trying to do too much, too soon and the quality wasn't always there.
Avon Engineered Rubber took on the challenge in 2007, with just 84 workers left.
So the factory wouldn't be vulnerable to fluctuations in demand in the car industry, the new owners diversified.
As well as making rubber hoses for the likes of Aston Martin, Land Rover and Nissan, the key to keeping Maerdy's factory open and thriving is tiny - a seal for aerosol spray cans and bottles.
Avon can make up to 24 million of them - a day. They're being exported to five continents and supply brands ranging from Lynx to Chanel.
On a tour, Kevin Harrop, manufacturing and operations director, admits when they took over the factory was in danger of going under.
The company got back to basics.
"It was about getting housekeeping right, cutting waste and in a nutshell during the first 18 months we turned the plant into profit and invested it back into new equipment," says Mr Harrop.
The aerosol gaskets have been a lifeline and now an important driver of the business.
"It means all our eggs aren't in one basket. It paid dividends in 2008 when the recession came and automotive crashed and we could maintain our turnover through aerosol and ensure we're still here today.
"The engineering which goes into the gaskets is second to none. The precision has to be fundamentally correct but we've also been driving the amount of waste down to ensure we're competitive in a world market place."
The company has its own chemists and a development lab to ensure the product is perfect.
"If you buy a bottle of Chanel - you expect to spray Chanel and get the perfume scent everyone recognises," said Mr Harrop. "If we start changing the formulas within the compound we use - and start using different ingredients - the compounds will look the same, smell the same but they can react differently with the perfume in the bottle and when you spray it - the perfume it could be horrendous.
"The tolerances on dimensions of the gasket are 2000th of an inch - 15 years ago I'd have said it was nonsense to be able do that but that's what we're able to do."
The company's main competitor is in North America and its sales director travels the world to customers in China, India, America and across Europe.
Mr Harrop, who grew up close to the south Yorkshire coalfield, has lived in the south Wales valleys for 14 years after joining one of the factory's previous owners as technical manager.
"I moved the family down, my son works here and my daughter lives in Aberdare. I'm fully committed. I've put a lot of time and effort in over the last three years to get where we are today."
Now the workforce is up to 150 with 83% living within 12 miles of Maerdy. There's still a union - but the GMB has replaced the NUM at this location.
Literacy, common sense and "giving 150%" are more important than formal qualifications.
"There are some very good people, who are keen, hard working and loyal - 95% of people in this plant," said Mr Harrop.
"There's a spirit within the plant of everyone pulling together. At the moment we're not quite where we've been with orders and I've had to restructure the business a little but 95% are giving 150% to make sure we survive."
If there is any doubt on the progress, he occasionally reminds people of where the factory was 10 years ago.
While a new road would be welcome, Mr Harrop is content with the existing one as long as lorries can get over the mountain in the depths of winter.
It's a tough, lean environment with fine margins; there are no jobs for life any more. But there are hopes Maerdy can continue to push forward globally.
"I say this to the union - I'd love to see realistically 300 people working on this site and us having 50% of the market share on aerosol gaskets or more," said Mr Harrop.
"In injection moulding, I'm already looking at the next technology so we can compete worldwide - we have to be on the front foot."
Hopefully, Maerdy will be able to look to the stars for its future.
Plans for a National Planetarium for Wales are in their early stages, but those behind the Dark Skies project hope to bring tourism, an education centre and around 64 jobs in three years time.
The planetarium - one of Europe's biggest - would be built on reclaimed colliery land at Castell Nos along the old pit road. As well as a 350-seat auditorium, there would be an education centre, with simulators of the Mars rover, and a café.
There would also be a small observatory for sky gazers, taking advantage of the lack of light pollution.
Allan Trow, manager with Dark Sky Wales, says a feasibility study will firm up the plans, which hopes to attract 400,000 visitors a year eventually.
"We want the whole village, the businesses and the shops to benefit from it, from the people coming into the area" he said.
"We'd be recruiting from the local area for many of the jobs."
Maybe it will be that "something" that a number of local people I spoke to have hopes for. A spark that can ignite recovery.
Will that be a better road - whether to commute out or entice more business in?
Could even the south Wales Metro reach the village? "Why can't they start it in Maerdy and work down?" said one resident. At the moment, with no existing rail line, Maerdy and the Rhondda Fach are not even on the outline Metro map for south east Wales.
The Metro in Maerdy would be a statement of ambition, if probably unrealistic. But is there room for some blue-sky thinking among the Dark Skies tourism? Could subsidised or free bus links for those who need them for work be an alternative?
What strengths the village still has - shaped by its mining past - lie from within and even more so after the pit's closure, the great outdoors.
Asked what he'd like Maerdy to look like in another 25 years, Keiron Montague said: "I can open my back door and walk my dog straight onto a mountain, visit two reservoirs full of fish and pass 30 or 40 people on their cycles that same day. We should utilise the environment and say this is a fantastic place to live."
"But alongside that we want have a vibrant economy in Maerdy in terms of shops, small business. I think we're getting there now."
There's a plaque in the park marking the pit's closure. It ends with a challenge and no question mark: "A glorious past is surely the cornerstone for a glorious future."
Mr Montague says: "The community has certain skills and traits it wouldn't have had, if the colliery hadn't happened.
"It's all well and good sitting back and saying we've lost something, but we've so many assets in this community, let's build on that."
Maerdy still fighting after 25 years
Mardy Colliery - the day the pit closed | The mine may have now been gone for 25 years but what are the hopes for the next generation in Maerdy? | 35063091 |
So it matters that he says western politicians expected too much of central bankers over the past few years, and that governments were too obsessed with making budget cuts.
In an interview with me, he says that the administrations of the US, UK and eurozone over-did austerity, with the consequence that the Fed, Bank of England and European Central Bank were forced to engage in extreme monetary stimulus - cuts in interest rates to almost zero and massive money creation through quantitative easing - that many regard as dangerous.
In remarks that will fuel the intense debate between the Labour and Tories in Britain on austerity, he said: "I think politicians have been too focussed on near-term budget cuts in all of these major countries [the US, UK and Europe]".
He added: "Way too much of the burden [of engineering recovery] has been placed on central banks… The central banks are trying to use the tools they have to accomplish their objectives.
"If you had a more balanced monetary/fiscal mix - and I am talking here about the US, as well as Europe and the UK - the central banks could do less."
Ben Bernanke is in the UK to promote his book on his eight years as Fed chairman, The Courage to Act. | As the chairman of the US Federal Reserve during the crash and Great Recession, Ben Bernanke is the most influential central banker of our age. | 34643363 |
The 24-year-old IT analyst has admitted the crime, said police, for which he could face up to six years in jail.
Motorists were left in shock last week when footage from a Japanese porn film was displayed on an electronic screen in south Jakarta.
The video ran for five minutes on Friday before power was eventually cut.
However the clip had already been captured on many mobile phones and soon spread across social media.
The man, who was arrested in his office, allegedly carried out the prank after seeing login details displayed on the billboard.
"The suspect claims he worked alone," Jakarta Police Chief Muhammad Iriawan told news agency AFP. "But we are still investigating whether he was working alone, whether he had a particular motive or whether he was just fooling around."
Access to pornographic websites is blocked in Muslim-majority Indonesia, which has in the past also banned popular websites such as Tumblr and Vimeo for adult content.
The police chief previously told the Associated Press that the perpetrator could be charged under either the Electronic Transaction Law, which carries a maximum prison sentence of six years and a fine of 1 billion rupiah ($77,000; £60,000) or the Pornography Law, which carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years. | Indonesian police have arrested a man accused of hacking into a public billboard in Jakarta and streaming a pornographic film. | 37559500 |
Gavin Swankie opened the scoring with a fine finish before goals from Ewan McNeil and David Gormley put Clyde ahead.
Martyn Fortheringham equalised, but Peter MacDonald's penalty looked to have won the points for the visitors.
Jim Lister's header levelled matters, before Cox lashed in a winner.
Match ends, Forfar Athletic 4, Clyde 3.
Second Half ends, Forfar Athletic 4, Clyde 3.
Jim Lister (Forfar Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Chris Smith (Clyde).
Substitution, Forfar Athletic. Marc Scott replaces Gavin Swankie.
Grant Adam (Forfar Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! Forfar Athletic 4, Clyde 3. David Cox (Forfar Athletic) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jamie Bain.
Corner, Forfar Athletic. Conceded by Chris Smith.
Attempt saved. Danny Denholm (Forfar Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Ewan McNeil (Clyde) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Eoghan McCawl (Forfar Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ewan McNeil (Clyde).
Goal! Forfar Athletic 3, Clyde 3. Jim Lister (Forfar Athletic) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jamie Bain.
Substitution, Forfar Athletic. Jim Lister replaces Josh Peters.
Foul by Ross Perry (Clyde).
David Cox (Forfar Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Ewan McNeil (Clyde) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by David Cox (Forfar Athletic).
Goal! Forfar Athletic 2, Clyde 3. Peter MacDonald (Clyde) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Penalty Clyde. David Gormley draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Jamie Bain (Forfar Athletic) after a foul in the penalty area.
Corner, Clyde. Conceded by Gavin Swankie.
Martin McNiff (Clyde) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Stuart Malcolm (Forfar Athletic).
Attempt saved. Peter MacDonald (Clyde) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Forfar Athletic. Eoghan McCawl replaces Lewis Milne because of an injury.
Corner, Forfar Athletic. Conceded by Chris Smith.
Corner, Clyde. Conceded by Stuart Malcolm.
Attempt missed. Michael Kennedy (Forfar Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Goal! Forfar Athletic 2, Clyde 2. Martyn Fotheringham (Forfar Athletic) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by David Cox.
Chris Smith (Clyde) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Cox (Forfar Athletic).
Attempt missed. Ewan McNeil (Clyde) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Second Half begins Forfar Athletic 1, Clyde 2.
First Half ends, Forfar Athletic 1, Clyde 2.
Goal! Forfar Athletic 1, Clyde 2. David Gormley (Clyde) header from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Peter MacDonald following a set piece situation.
Jamie Bain (Forfar Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Jamie Bain (Forfar Athletic).
Ewan McNeil (Clyde) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Clyde. Conceded by Michael Kennedy. | David Cox's last-minute goal saw Forfar come from behind late on to re-establish their League Two lead with victory over Clyde. | 38361377 |
Between October and the end of December almost 1,000 trains were cancelled or delayed due to driver shortages.
Managing Director Patrick Verwer said he was confident the company's problems had been tackled.
Train drivers union Aslef, however, said it was impossible to rule out further shortages in future.
Mr Verwer said London Midland had first identified it would have a shortage of drivers during the summer.
He said: "We knew we had a massive problem coming up... due to a higher turnover than anticipated.
"Training up a driver and getting them into effective operation will take at least a year, so there was this big challenge.
"People are obviously looking for a continued, punctual, good, reliable service and I'm fully aware, and everyone else is at London Midland, that we've let our passengers down over the last four months."
He said alongside training up more staff, London Midland had restructured its rotas to make them more efficient.
Last month the rail operator was told to offer a £7m compensation package to passengers.
Mr Verwer said: "It was not what were were supposed to deliver and therefore people are entitled to be frustrated.
"We need to work hard, very hard, to win them back."
National organiser for Aslef, Simon Weller, said London Midland and some other operators had become "effectively a kindergarten" for drivers.
He said it cost an estimated £70,000 to train drivers up because of the time and resources needed.
According to Aslef, London Midland pays drivers more than £10,000 a year less than Cross Country in basic salary.
"If Cross Country puts up an advert at Birmingham New Street saying it wants 30 drivers, there's virtually a stampede," Mr Weller said.
He said job satisfaction was also a reason for taking up a job with another rail operator.
"There's no chance to progress at London Midland, there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
"They do all the gutsy work, suburban routes with lots of stations. You can almost see the tail light of the train in front. It's intense work, you have to concentrate.
"It's pretty mind-numbing and monotonous." | The head of London Midland trains has said he is "embarrassed" by the company's performance over the last four months. | 21024808 |
Mount Zartak overlooks a plain that stretches to Mosul, the city seized by IS in June.
The mountain fell to the Islamists last month when they staged a lightning attack on Iraqi Kurdistan.
Since then Kurdish "peshmerga" fighters have been slowly pushing back, assisted by US air power.
Mosul is a mainly Sunni city which Kurdish forces say they do not intend to recapture on their own.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Iraq says Mount Zartak was retaken in a short, sharp battle that left more than 30 IS fighters dead.
The Kurdish forces said US air strikes had made a "big difference".
Nearby villages still occupied by the Islamic militants are now at the mercy of Kurdish guns that dominate the entire plain of Nineveh, our correspondent adds.
The commander of the Kurdish elite commandos who took the mountain, Gene Aziz Oweisi, told the BBC that its capture was important, not only for the defence of Kurdistan.
"For the Iraqis it's important too because it's a step towards taking back Mosul," he said.
Last week, Iraqi state media said senior Islamic State military commander Abu Alaa al-Iraqi had been killed in an air strike on Mosul, along with an aide to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Neither death has been confirmed.
IS, also known as Isis, has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months, declaring the land it holds a "caliphate".
The United Nations and human rights groups have accused IS of committing atrocities, including mass killings of ethnic and religious minorities. | Kurdish forces in northern Iraq have recaptured a strategically important mountain from Islamic State (IS) militants, helped by US air strikes. | 29098099 |
Owner Mavji Ahir says his new chai (tea) stall is helping him make daily profits of 2,000 rupees ($32; £19).
Mr Modi often talks about his "humble beginnings" as a tea vendor.
At the weekend, he is due to meet people at a tea shop in Gandhinagar city to connect with the voters. India is to hold elections in a few months.
Gandhinagar is the capital of the western state of Gujarat and Mr Modi is the charismatic, thought controversial, chief minister of the state.
Taking a cue from the BJP leader's "chai-wallah" story, Mr Ahir, 25, opened a small tea stall in Gujarat's Kutch district.
"I was almost unemployed and not able to earn even 5,000 rupees ($80; £48) a month. But now I am able to sell more than 300 cups of tea every day, which helps to generate a net profit of over 2,000 rupees a day," The Pioneer newspaper quotes Mr Ahir as saying.
Within a week of the "Modi Tea Stall" starting on the Anjar-Bhuj Motorway, Mr Ahir's business has become a hit, the paper says and adds that many people passing through the highway have made it a point to stop by for a cup of tea at his stall, mostly out of curiosity.
Mr Ahir now wants to rise like Mr Modi - but he says he has no political ambition and wishes to open a luxury hotel in the future.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | A tea stall named after India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi is doing brisk business, media reports say. | 25974768 |
The world number one came through 3-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours and three minutes to reach round four.
Tempers frayed at the end of the second set, with Azarenka waving away Williams's explanation over a disputed line call.
"I was really down and out and I just really zeroed in," said Williams. "I focused and really wanted to win that."
Asked about her argument with Azarenka, the American added: "We talked about this a long time ago.
"We said, 'we're going to leave everything on the court, we're going to give 500% and when we're off the court, we'll be really cool'.
"I love that relationship, because she's a really fun girl. It's not often that you can have that with someone. So it's cool."
Williams will continue her bid to win a third French Open and 20th Grand Slam title against compatriot Sloane Stephens in the last 16.
The 33-year-old is trying to win a third French Open and 20th Grand Slam title.
It is two years since Azarenka had her best run in Paris, reaching the semi-finals, before injury decimated her 2014 and led to a fall down the rankings.
She had shown earlier this month that her best form was back when she earned three match points against Williams in Madrid, only to blow her chance.
The Belarusian, seeded 27th, was in a strong position once again at a set and a break up, but let a 4-2 lead slip in the second as the top seed came roaring back.
Azarenka saved three set points but reacted angrily on the fourth when her shot was incorrectly called long, and the umpire ordered they replay the point.
Williams insisted she had been distracted by the call but Azarenka, up at the net in discussion with the umpire, angrily waved away the American.
She duly lost the following point and headed straight for a bathroom break to cool down ahead of the final set.
Azarenka came out firing again with an early break but the increasingly pumped-up Williams was not to be denied, racing through six straight games and sealing victory with a brilliant forehand winner.
After the match, Azarenka called for a review system to deal with disputed points.
"I'm not saying this as an excuse," she said. "But in that moment, if you don't have a review like that, it's causing a lot of problems."
And she played down the row with Williams, adding: "We don't have any air to clear. But I gave her a pair of my shorts because she really liked them. True story." | Serena Williams battled past Victoria Azarenka in a heated third-round contest at the French Open. | 32946571 |
Police said late on Friday that unidentified assailants had also burnt a number of houses in the village in Bauchi state, near Tafawa Balewa.
Bauchi is in Nigeria's middle belt, where the predominantly Muslim north meets the mainly Christian south.
There are long-standing tensions in the area rooted in power struggles and land disputes, correspondents say.
This has caused violence in the past between indigenous Christian or animist groups, and Muslim settlers from the North.
Hundreds have died in clashes in Nigeria following national elections last month in which Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian, won the presidential poll against a Muslim, Muhammadu Buhari.
The worst of the violence was in Bauchi and Kaduna states. | At least 16 people have been killed in an attack on a predominantly Christian village in northern Nigeria. | 13322307 |
The 29-year-old surprisingly announced his retirement from cricket on Monday to take up a job in property finance.
Mommsen had latterly led the side, having played for the national team since 2010.
"I found myself not playing enough and felt that stunted our development," Mommsen told BBC Radio Scotland.
"The cricketing landscape is such that the opportunities have been quite limited in the last 12 months."
Scotland last played in September and had 19 scheduled matches across all competitions in 2016 - less than half that of England.
Mommsen believes more must be done to enhance cricket for those countries outside the Test arena.
"It is a slight concern," he said. "I think the ICC has made efforts to address this. I know recently we just won some funding.
"It needs a lot more collective effort from the member countries around the world to make sure that the game does continue to grow globally.
"We've made some fantastic strides in recent times and there's no reason why we can't keep growing as a national side."
Cricket Scotland declined to comment.
Former Leicestershire batsmen Mommsen was named associate cricketer of the year in 2014 and was the first Scotland captain to lead his side to victory at a global event, beating Hong Kong at this year's ICC World Twenty20.
"It is disappointing to be leaving," he said. "You could argue that, at 29, you're coming into the prime of your career. On one hand, I guess it is bitter-sweet for me.
"I know I could've given a lot more to the game and I would've loved to have given a lot more but I need to keep one eye on my second career, post-cricket." | Former captain Preston Mommsen fears Scottish cricket is being hindered by a lack of matches for the senior international side. | 38064122 |
Gatland wants "rugby to do the talking" when the tourists meet the All Blacks in Auckland (08:35 BST kick-off).
The New Zealander, who on Thursday named his team for the game, did say he was happy to be "getting up the nose" of All Blacks counterpart Steve Hansen.
But he added: "It's not about me - this is about the Lions."
Hansen has criticised the Lions' style of play and suggested last week that morale in the tourists' camp could be damaged by Gatland adding six players to his squad.
But speaking on Thursday, he said: "It's not about the coach. Well, it shouldn't be.
"It's got to be about the team and what you're trying to do as a team, and what you're trying to build."
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Ireland flanker Peter O'Mahony will skipper the Lions at Eden Park after impressing in the back row in the final tour game against Maori All Blacks. Tour captain Sam Warburton is among the replacements.
Welshman Liam Williams and England's Elliot Daly are surprise inclusions in the back three, alongside another Englishman, Anthony Watson.
England's Maro Itoje misses out to former Lions skipper Alun Wyn Jones in the second row.
Kieran Read has been named as All Blacks skipper after returning from injury.
Gatland said: "We know it's going to be a tough encounter. Let's let the rugby do the talking because there's been enough trash talking already.
"Let's get excited about what could be a fantastic series. A couple of sideline things have taken the focus away from that."
The first of the three Tests between the sides takes place at a venue at which the All Blacks are undefeated in 23 years.
But Gatland said his side must take confidence from their victories over the Crusaders and the Maori All Blacks.
"We squeezed the life out of those two teams and we won't stop being aggressive defensively," he said.
"To play against the All Blacks you've got to have a strong set-piece, you need a platform to be able to work off to start with.
"I think we've played some lovely rugby. We struggled at the start of the tour, but we've outscored opponents nine tries to three in the last four games."
The second Test takes place in Wellington on Saturday, 1 July, before the teams return to Eden Park on Saturday, 8 July.
New Zealand: B Smith; I Dagg, R Crotty, SB Williams, R Ioane; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden/L Sopoaga, A Lienert-Brown.
British and Irish Lions: L Williams (Wales); A Watson (England), J Davies (Wales), B Te'o (England), E Daly (England); O Farrell (England), C Murray (Ireland); M Vunipola (England), J George (England), T Furlong (Ireland); AW Jones (Wales), G Kruis (England); P O'Mahony (capt, Ireland), S O'Brien (Ireland), T Faletau (Wales).
Replacements: K Owens (Wales), J McGrath (Ireland), K Sinckler (England), M Itoje (England), S Warburton (Wales), R Webb (Wales), J Sexton (Ireland), L Halfpenny (Wales).
Chris Jones, BBC radio 5 live rugby correspondent
By his own admission, tour captain Sam Warburton hasn't been at his best yet in New Zealand, but not selecting the skipper is still a headline decision from Gatland. It has seldom been done before.
O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien and Taulupe Faletau formed a balanced and imposing back-row unit in the wins over the Crusaders and the Maori All Blacks and their selection is a sensible call.
Elsewhere, the coach has rolled the dice. Itoje was a force of nature against the Maori, but he has been consigned to the bench with the experienced Jones given the nod alongside George Kruis in the second row.
Jones' pedigree cannot be questioned. He led the Lions to a series win in Australia in 2013, and is an inspirational figure. But Itoje is the form man, and the Lions coaches would surely have been tempted to unleash the Saracen from the start. He will surely be tasked with making a major impact off the bench.
Gatland is not adverse to throwing selectorial curve balls, but the make-up of his back three is startling. It had been widely expected the Kiwi would opt for his tried-and-tested Welshmen - George North and Leigh Halfpenny - but instead Williams and Daly join Watson.
These inclusions have been made on recent form. Both excelled in the win over the Chiefs in Hamilton in midweek and have made late charges into the Test team. These selections have sent a clear message to the wider squad: perform, and you will be picked.
It means no place in the 23 for North, and while Jones has perhaps been selected on reputation, the opposite is the case here. While this puts paid to the theory that Gatland is risk-averse, it also shows that he is aware that to beat the All Blacks, the Lions must pose an attacking threat to ally with their suffocating defence and dominant set-piece.
Gatland knows playing it safe at Eden Park won't be enough. | British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland says he wants to end the "trash talk" in the build-up to Saturday's first Test against New Zealand. | 40364334 |
The two-time champion said the Honda had "no reliability and no power", with only two days of testing remaining before the first race of the season on 26 March.
But the Spaniard said he was "enjoying" driving the faster 2017 cars and added: "I feel confident that this year we will be competitive.
"I don't know at which point."
Alonso said he felt said the performance of the McLaren chassis "feels good".
But he admitted the lack of power of the engine made it difficult to properly assess the quality of the car.
"I think we are 30 km/h down on every straight," he said. "When you are 30 km/h down on every straight, it is difficult also to have a feeling on the car. Everything feels good, but you don't know what is going to happen when you arrive at normal speed."
The McLaren was actually 26.4km/h (16.5mph) slower on the straight than the fastest car at the test on Wednesday, the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, which set the fastest lap.
Alonso was 12th fastest, 3.7 seconds slower than the Finn.
Honda said at the launch of the McLaren car last month that they hoped a fundamentally redesigned engine would by the start of the season be producing as much power as Mercedes did last year. But the engine is currently far away from that level of performance.
"Definitely we need to improve and we must improve," Alonso said.
"The situation is far from ideal, but we are a big team. We need a reaction from everyone, stay united, working close to each other."
Honda has had a series of reliability problems with the engine in the six days of testing so far, starting with an oil-tank problem on the first day which Alonso described as "amateur".
The 35-year-old is out of contract with McLaren at the end of this season and has said he will not make a decision on whether to stay in F1 until September.
But on Wednesday he gave the strongest indication yet that he will not retire.
"I want to win races and I want to be on the podium," said Alonso, who took the last of his 32 grand prix victories nearly four years ago.
"If everything goes in the wrong direction, I will attack next year.
"It brings me more motivation to continue and win because I will not stop racing without a good feeling and a good result that I think I deserve.
"If one day I am in the car and I see other drivers in the corners do fantastic lines, they brake later than me, they accelerate earlier than me and do better starts than me, on that day I will stop and say: 'It's time.'
"What I am seeing now is really the opposite, more than ever this year and this winter.
"What I see on the track and what I see in myself is at the best level, so now it's time to attack." | Fernando Alonso heavily criticised McLaren's Honda engine after another dispiriting day in pre-season testing. | 39212377 |
Meaghan Sargeant nodded Blues ahead with their first effort on goal.
Drew Spence sent the game into extra-time, making it 1-1 with a fine right-footed shot into the top corner.
Blues keeper Ann-Katrin Berger made a string of saves in normal time and the shootout as Chelsea's hopes of a third successive trip to Wembley were ended.
Berger foiled Millie Bright from the spot after Eniola Aluko hit the post for the London club, who were beaten by Arsenal in last year's final, having lifted the trophy in 2015, in what was the first Women's FA Cup final hosted at the national stadium.
Birmingham, who beat Chelsea at Ashton Gate in their only previous final appearance in 2012, take on a Manchester City side that overcame Liverpool 1-0 to keep alive their bid for a fifth trophy in the space of nine months.
The final on 13 May will be the first time either side has played at Wembley.
Match ends, Birmingham City Ladies 1(4), Chelsea Ladies 1(2).
Penalty Shootout ends, Birmingham City Ladies 1(4), Chelsea Ladies 1(2).
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1(4), Chelsea Ladies 1(2). Ellen White (Birmingham City Ladies) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Penalty saved! Millie Bright (Chelsea Ladies) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom right corner.
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1(3), Chelsea Ladies 1(2). Kerys Harrop (Birmingham City Ladies) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top right corner.
Penalty saved! Eniola Aluko (Chelsea Ladies) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1(2), Chelsea Ladies 1(2). Sarah Mayling (Birmingham City Ladies) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1(1), Chelsea Ladies 1(2). Hannah Blundell (Chelsea Ladies) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1(1), Chelsea Ladies 1(1). Aoife Mannion (Birmingham City Ladies) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1(1). Maren Mjelde (Chelsea Ladies) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
Penalty Shootout begins Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1.
Attempt saved. Katie Chapman (Chelsea Ladies) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Charlie Wellings (Birmingham City Ladies) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
(Birmingham City Ladies) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ramona Bachmann (Chelsea Ladies).
Attempt missed. Eniola Aluko (Chelsea Ladies) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Attempt saved. Katie Chapman (Chelsea Ladies) header from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Foul by Abbey-Leigh Stringer (Birmingham City Ladies).
Katie Chapman (Chelsea Ladies) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Ramona Bachmann (Chelsea Ladies) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Second Half Extra Time begins Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1.
First Half Extra Time ends, Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1.
Corner, Birmingham City Ladies. Conceded by Katie Chapman.
Attempt saved. Maren Mjelde (Chelsea Ladies) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Foul by Abbey-Leigh Stringer (Birmingham City Ladies).
Katie Chapman (Chelsea Ladies) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Paige Williams (Birmingham City Ladies).
Hannah Blundell (Chelsea Ladies) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
First Half Extra Time begins Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1.
Second Half ends, Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1.
Corner, Birmingham City Ladies. Conceded by Maren Mjelde.
Jessica Carter (Birmingham City Ladies) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Drew Spence (Chelsea Ladies).
Substitution, Birmingham City Ladies. Charlie Wellings replaces Freda Ayisi.
Corner, Chelsea Ladies. Conceded by Sarah Mayling.
Aoife Mannion (Birmingham City Ladies) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Aoife Mannion (Birmingham City Ladies).
Katie Chapman (Chelsea Ladies) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal! Birmingham City Ladies 1, Chelsea Ladies 1. Drew Spence (Chelsea Ladies) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the top right corner. | England striker Ellen White sent Birmingham City into the Women's FA Cup final against Manchester City as they beat Chelsea 4-2 on penalties. | 39608470 |
Labour MEP David Martin was speaking as the European Parliament debated its negotiating objectives after the triggering of Article 50.
MEPs will have to approve any deals between the UK and the EU.
The UK government has previously said a separate Brexit deal for Scotland would be unrealistic.
Instead, it pledged to negotiate a deal that worked for all parts of the UK and called on the Scottish government to focus on that goal rather than a second independence referendum.
The Scottish government published proposals in December which it said would allow Scotland to remain in the European single market even if the rest of the UK leaves, as the prime minister has indicated it will.
The document said this could be done by allowing Scotland to remain within the European Economic Area (EEA).
It argued that the arrangement could safeguard both Scotland's access to the European single market without disrupting free trade across the UK.
Mr Martin told MEPs during the debate in Strasbourg that the feeling in Scotland was that "we are being dragged out of Europe against our will - a feeling only compounded by Mrs May's determination to pursue a hard Brexit".
He added that the Scottish government's proposals were an "imaginative and flexible solution for Scotland" which "deserves serious consideration in this house".
The Labour politician went on to warn: "If the UK is not flexible in these talks, the UK will not only be leaving the European Union. The UK will cease to exist."
The UK government has said it is looking carefully at the Scottish government proposals - but has not yet given any indication it is likely to pursue them during the forthcoming negotiations with the EU.
Speaking in the House of Commons last month, Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Scotland would be leaving the EU regardless of whether or not it was independent.
She added: "What we need now is to unite, to come together as a country and to ensure that we can get the best deal for the whole of the United Kingdom."
Mr Martin, who has been an MEP since 1984 and voted against independence two years ago, has previously revealed that Brexit had left him unsure how he would vote in any future independence referendum.
Interviewed by the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme ahead of the debate, he again insisted he had "no idea at the moment" about where he stood on independence.
He added: "The very fact that I can't give you a straight answer indicates that I have moved. If you had asked me that question 18 months ago it would be a definitive that I would vote to remain in the United Kingdom.
"Now I think Brexit has put up a whole lot of questions that have yet to be answered."
His stance potentially puts him at odds with Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who has insisted that the party would never support independence while she is leader
A spokesman for Scottish Labour distanced the party from Mr Martin's comments, saying: "Leaving the UK would mean an extra £15bn worth of spending to cuts to schools and hospitals in Scotland.
"Labour will never sign up to something that would be so catastrophic for working families in Scotland."
But the Scottish Conservatives said the MEP's remarks suggested that Labour was "all over the place" on the constitution, and that the Tories "are the only party serious about keeping Britain together".
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Edinburgh in December, UK Chancellor Philip Hammond appeared to rule out a special Brexit deal for Scotland, saying it was "not realistic".
He added that it was "clear that we can't have a different deal or different outcomes for different parts of the UK", and that it would be a "disadvantage" for Scotland to be outside whatever new relationship the UK negotiated with the EU.
This echoed earlier comments from Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who told MSPs that while Scotland's concerns would be "right at the heart of the process", there would be no "special deal". | Scotland's longest serving MEP has predicted the UK will no longer exist unless a "flexible and imaginative" Brexit solution is found for Scotland. | 39501235 |
A five-year plan warned the NHS would need an extra £8bn by 2020 along with new arrangements such as letting GP practices offer hospital services.
The health secretary said the Tories could "deliver an NHS people want" but it would take "difficult decisions".
Labour said a failure to increase NHS budgets risked a "full-blown crisis".
It comes as a report - called the NHS Forward View - again highlighted that an annual £30bn shortfall would open up in the next Parliament.
It said a programme of changes - including GPs offering hospital facilities - would help to plug a large part of the funding gap, but warned the NHS would still need above-inflation rises of 1.5% over the coming years.
That works out at an extra £8bn a year above inflation by 2020.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hunt said the government had increased funding to the NHS by about £5bn during this Parliament.
The Conservatives were committed to "protecting and increasing" NHS funding in real terms, he added.
"A strong NHS needs a strong economy - then it is possible to increase spending this report calls for," he said.
"We will need to find greater efficiency savings. It will be tough to do so, and don't underestimate the challenge."
£100bn
NHS England budget for 2014-15
£30bn
Shortfall predicted by 2020
That could fund 100 hospitals
New ways of working could save £22bn
But NHS still needs an extra £8bn
The Conservative chairman of the Commons health select committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston, said pressure on the NHS would be eased if the public were helped to look after themselves better.
"What we want to achieve is better care for people and so we should look at all the possible mechanisms to make that happen. But I think yes, incentives to help people live healthier lifestyles," she said.
"The use of incentives to actually put forward that whole public health agenda, I think that's really important and crucial to making the NHS finances work."
However, Labour's shadow health minister Andy Burnham - who tabled an urgent Commons question on the report - said current Tory funding plans raised "the spectre of rationing, longer waits and charges".
"The report could not be clearer; simply protecting the NHS budget in the next Parliament - as the Conservatives propose - will not prevent it tipping into a full-blown crisis," he told the Commons.
He said some of the proposals were ideas Labour had already suggested.
In reply, Mr Hunt accused Mr Burnham of "houdini-like spin" for claiming the NHS was at the point of collapse.
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to make sure the budget rises by more than inflation.
The report said the future of the health service depended on it becoming more efficient. To achieve this, it called for a rethink about the way services were delivered.
It put forward a range of models - although stressed it was up to each local area to decide which ones to adopt.
These include:
Many of these measures are designed to curb the rise in hospital admissions and impact of the ageing population - the source of most pressure in the health service.
But the report - produced by NHS England, Public Health England, the regulator Monitor, the NHS Trust Development Authority, Care Quality Commission and Health Education England - said more needed to be done to reduce obesity, smoking and drinking rates.
It suggested employers should be encouraged to encourage their staff to become healthier by taking steps such as offering them shopping vouchers for healthy behaviour.
Nurses and doctors from Airedale Hospital in West Yorkshire have set up video link-ups with local care homes.
It allows consultations to take place with residents on everything from cuts and bumps to diabetes management.
Emergency admissions from these homes have fallen by 35% and A&E attendances by 53%.
Meanwhile, councils could play their part by using their powers in areas such as planning and licensing to limit the opening of junk food outlets and the sale of cheap high-strength alcohol, it adds.
Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, the lead body for Forward View, said the NHS was at a "crossroads".
"We have no choice but to do this. If we do it a better NHS is possible; if we don't the consequences for patients will be severe," he said.
He said there was no reason why a tax-funded NHS would not continue if the plans outlined were followed.
Whitstable Medical Practice, in Kent, is one of the new super-practices that are being developed. It offers the traditional GP services alongside a host of services more associated with hospitals.
It operates out of three sites and employs nearly 150 staff, providing care for 34,000 people.
It runs maternity services, a minor injury unit with X-ray facilities and dedicated diabetes, heart disease and asthma clinics as well as diagnostics and minor surgery.
NHS medical director for England Sir Bruce Keogh warned patients would lose out if the NHS could not make the appropriate funding and support it needed.
"There is a risk, as outlined in the report, that services may have to change or even be cut, that we will have shortages of staff, that we will have issues with waiting times and that there is a risk that we will have to restrict treatments," he said.
However, Nigel Edwards, the chief executive of the health think-tank the Nuffield Trust, said there were questions about whether the NHS could make such large efficiencies.
"This isn't just a little trimming at the edges; this will require people to re-think how they run their services," he said.
Do you work for the NHS? Or are you a patient? Will giving the NHS extra money help improve services? Share your experience by emailing [email protected]. | Raising NHS spending in England - as demanded in a report by health bosses - would be tough but was possible within a strong economy, Jeremy Hunt has said. | 29745465 |
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The auction for the 20-over franchise competition is scheduled to be held in Bangalore, India in late February.
When asked how much Stokes was worth, Yuvraj, who went for a record £1.6m in 2015, said: "A couple of million.
"He's a quality hitter, fast bowler and fielder. He'll definitely get the big bucks. He brings a lot to the table."
Yuvraj, 35, has lined up against Stokes, 25, in the recent one-day and Twenty20 series between India and England, and has enjoyed watching England's talisman close up.
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"I always see Ben and Virat [Kohli] having a go at each other," Yuvraj told BBC Sport. "It's great for cricket to have passion.
"We always have banter with the English. My old battles were with Andrew Flintoff."
This year the IPL will run from 5 April to 21 May, with England's players available for much more of the tournament than usual because of the lack of a Test match in May.
This availability, coupled with eye-catching performances in limited-overs cricket, mean England's players could be highly sought.
Sam Billings and Jos Buttler are already signed to teams, but the likes of Stokes, Chris Woakes, Jason Roy, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills and Alex Hales could attract interest.
"If these guys come and play the IPL, their skills will improve," Yuvraj added. "The more they play in different conditions, the better they will become."
Stokes could become the subject of a "bidding war", according to freelance T20 journalist Freddie Wilde.
Wilde believes Kolkata Knight Riders may target the Durham player now West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is suspended following a doping code violation.
However, he might not be the only player to swell his bank balance.
"Jason Roy could be hot property at this auction too," said Wilde.
"Over the past year, Roy has established himself as one of the leading opening batsmen in the world and his form in the England-India ODI series, as well as the World T20 last year, proves he can do it in Indian conditions.
"Tymal Mills is the most likely of the England bowlers to be picked up. High pace is valuable in India, where the pitches generally offer little in the way of lateral movement to seamers.
"I also think Chris Woakes could prove to be a useful, perhaps under-valued, acquisition for somebody."
Read more: Where the IPL contract money goes (Daily Telegraph)
Statistical insight provided by cricket data analytics company Cricviz
The IPL had a television audience of 347 million in India last year, with more than a third of that believed to be female viewers.
"It's quite simply one of the biggest tournaments in the world - not just in cricket," said Isa Guha, a former England women's international who is now an IPL commentator and analyst for television.
"All eyes are on it right across the globe because it's where cricket meets entertainment.
"I liken it to a sitcom because families sit down and enjoy it when they get home from work. It's not just father and son. It's wife and daughters too.
"The Indian public buy into the heroes and villains. AB de Villiers, for example, is revered. They'd be excited to see Ben Stokes play in the IPL."
Is Ben Stokes really worth millions? Perhaps you agree that Chris Woakes offers value for money?
Have a little fun with our ranking tool, which allows you to pick the three English players you think should attract the most attention at the IPL auction.
You didn't think we'd leave out KP, did you?
Pick your top three IPL signings from our list. | England's Ben Stokes could earn "millions" when he enters the Indian Premier League auction, says India batsman Yuvraj Singh. | 38830273 |
The incident happened at about 16:00 BST on Thursday.
The teenager has been charged with four counts of common assault.
The man was charged with two counts of assault, occasioning actual bodily harm, and assault on police. He was due to appear in court on Friday.
Police have appealed for witnesses. | A 17-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man have been charged by police over assaults in Botanic Gardens in south Belfast. | 39816113 |
Sarah McManus, 29, is said to be among those hurt on the "tower jump" at the Flip Out Park in Chester.
The personal assistant, from Oswestry, Shropshire, said she fractured her spine jumping into a foam pit from a 13ft (4m) high platform in January.
A spokesman for Cheshire trampoline park said the tower jump has been replaced by another attraction.
Miss McManus, who is taking legal action against the park, said: "I followed the instructions on the sign and landed in the seated position as suggested, but when I hit the foam I heard a crack in my back and felt like I'd been winded.
"I was barely able to breathe and couldn't shout for help, so I had to throw some of the foam sponges in the air to get attention."
She added: "I was eventually fitted with a back brace that I wear daily and only remove to shower and sleep."
Following her injury, three other people all reportedly suffered back injuries on the same attraction.
One was student George Magraw, 21, from Ellesmere Port, who fractured his spine at the park in February.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has launched an investigation into the park.
The council said two other people were injured on the same day as Mr Magraw.
A spokesman for Flip Out Chester said: "Since opening in December, more than 200,000 people have visited Flip Out Chester and we have an excellent safety record.
"Safety is our number one priority and we strive to ensure that everyone who visits can enjoy all of the activities in a safe environment.
"We are investigating these claims to establish exactly what happened." | A trampoline park is investigating claims four people were "seriously injured" on an attraction in one month. | 39248095 |
The move by the former world champions comes after months of uncertainty about Red Bull's future in Formula 1.
The team scrapped its previous contract with Renault, which ran until the end of next year, and was looking around for an alternative supply.
After failing to find one, Red Bull have negotiated a new Renault deal.
Renault will be assisted in its development of the engine by British company Ilmor, which has been acting as a consultant for Red Bull on engine design for more than a year.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Ilmor's involvement "gives us confidence" in Renault's ability to improve the engine's performance.
Renault announced on Thursday night it was returning to F1 as a constructor by taking over the Lotus team.
Relations between Red Bull and Renault soured as the car giant failed to produce a competitive engine under the new turbo hybrid rules introduced into F1 in 2014.
After telling Renault they no longer want to be their official partner, Red Bull were rejected by Mercedes and Honda and were unable to reach a satisfactory deal with Ferrari.
The team therefore had to renegotiate its contract with Renault, and the TAG Heuer deal is way of helping the team pay for the engines.
TAG Heuer has moved to Red Bull after ending its 31-year relationship with McLaren.
That started when the brand's parent TAG paid for the development of a Porsche engine that, under the TAG name, powered McLaren to three consecutive drivers' titles, in 1984 with Niki Lauda and in 1985 and '86 with Alain Prost.
The TAG Heuer brand split from the TAG parent group in 1999 when it was sold to the luxury goods group LVMH.
The wider TAG Group is still run by Mansour Ojjeh, a 25% owner of McLaren Group. | Red Bull will continue with Renault engines in 2016 and the power-units will be named after the luxury watch brand TAG Heuer. | 35004203 |
Although the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, suggested to the BBC that the government had gone far enough on raising taxes on the self-employed, any companies that use self-employed workers should start looking down the back of the sofa for some money.
Uber and Deliveroo - the Treasury is on your case.
Philip Hammond regularly cites evidence that the growth of self-employment is undermining the tax base - by between £3.5bn and £5bn a year by 2020 potentially.
The self-employed tend to be lower paid and also still pay, even with the tax increases, a lower level of national insurance compared to the 12% paid by full-time employees.
Those who are self-employed point out that they are in a much more precarious employment and have often decided to take a risk as entrepreneurs.
And they do not receive pension contributions and entitlements such as holiday pay, which are rights for those directly employed by companies.
Oddly, the government decided to raise taxes on the self-employed first, rather than tackle the advantages gained by companies that use self-employed workers.
Those firms often pay lower levels of national insurance and do not pay pension contributions.
Mr Gauke admitted the area was "more complicated" - but gave a clear signal that action would be taken.
Later this year, Matthew Taylor, the head of the Royal Society of Arts, will produce his report for the government on the world of work.
It is expected to call for a better "balance" between the treatment of employed and self-employed workers, in terms of both tax and rights.
It is likely Mr Hammond will use that as a trigger point for major changes to the tax and rights treatment of the self-employed and those who employ them. | The growth of the gig economy, self-employment and hyper-flexible working - big issues that the chancellor wants to tackle. | 39211099 |
Regane MacColl, from Duntocher, West Dunbartonshire, became ill at Glasgow's Arches club on Saturday 1 February.
She died at the city's Royal Infirmary in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The 17-year-old's funeral service was held at St Mary's Church in Duntocher, Clydebank. She was later buried at North Dalnottar Cemetery in Clydebank. | Hundreds of people have attended a funeral service for a teenage girl whose death has been linked to an ecstasy-like 'Mortal Kombat' tablet. | 26174503 |
Hundreds of people attended the funeral in Camborne of Cpl James Walters, who was from Leedstown. He died on 26 April.
Friends described him as a "beautiful bloke" who would be massively missed by anyone who knew him.
On Sunday, a special rugby match between two teams he had played for, was staged in his honour.
Reverend Simon Cade, the Rector of Redruth who led part of the service, said: "Many people will remember James as a little boy riding his pony down these lanes.
"It is right that today's service was a mix of army and civilian."
Cpt Lee Woodhouse, who served with Cpl Walters in the Army Air Corps, said: "He had a great sense of humour.
"He was a wonderful guy to be around."
At Sunday's rugby match between the Redruth Colts and the Army Air Corps, the Royal British Legion led the teams out on to the pitch and held a minute's silence.
Olly Pryor, a childhood friend, said: "He never talked down to anyone. He was a beautiful bloke, a legend who will be massively missed."
Earlier, his family paid tribute saying: "We cannot begin to comprehend the tragic loss of a beautiful and loving husband, daddy, son and brother. James has left a huge hole in all our hearts."
The others killed in the helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan were Cpt Thomas Clarke, Warrant Officer Class 2 Spencer Faulkner, RAF intelligence officer Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan and L/Cpl Oliver Thomas of the Intelligence Corps. | A full military funeral has taken place for a soldier who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. | 27467930 |
His main rival Edward Lowassa has rejected the official results that gave him 40% of the ballots cast.
The opposition Ukawa coalition candidate earlier claimed he had won with 62% of the vote.
The elections on Sunday were the most fierce the governing party faced after 54 years in power.
Africa Live: BBC news updates
Analysis: Ruth Nesoba, BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam
John Magufuli is celebrating his 56th birthday so the presidency is a perfect gift for him. He was never a CCM insider and confounded many when he was elected as the ruling party's presidential candidate.
As works minister in the outgoing government, Mr Magufuli was reputed to be a no-nonsense, results-driven politician. He became known as "The Bulldozer" for driving a programme to build roads across the country.
He campaigned for the presidency on a platform of hard work, and will now have to tackle far bigger problems facing the East African state. This includes constant power outages, and corruption - an issue which led to many people turning against CCM in the election.
'The Bulldozer' in profile
In Zanzibar, elections for the semi-autonomous archipelago's parliament and president were annulled on Wednesday.
Zanzibar's election chief Jecha Salum Jecha said the poll had been marred by gross irregularities, including rigging and physical fights between rival election commissioners.
CCM supporters have been celebrating Mr Magufuli's victory outside CCM's headquarters in Tanzania's main city, Dar es Salaam.
President Jakaya Kikwete, who is standing down after two terms in office, retweeted a CCM photo of Mr Magufuli and the accompanying words: "Our next Commander-in-Chief, Dr John Pombe Magufuli, the President-elect of The United Republic of Tanzania."
Abdallah Safari, vice-president of Chadema, one of the four opposition parties that make up Ukama, told the BBC that Tanzanians "have been robbed of their victory".
BBC Tanzania analyst Zuhura Yunus says the result is a big blow for Mr Lowassa after four opposition parties put their faith in him, uniting for the first time to field a single candidate.
She says Mr Lowassa is convinced he won and the question now is whether he will challenge the result further, or throw in the towel.
European Union observers said that the elections were "generally well organised" but "with insufficient efforts at transparency from the election administrations".
Teams from the African Union and southern African regional body Sadc said that the vote had largely been "free and fair", despite all groups raising concerns over the subsequent annulment of Zanzibar's local elections. | Tanzania's governing CCM party candidate John Magufuli has won the presidential election with 58% of the vote, the electoral commission says. | 34669468 |
That is the first increase since the May-July period of last year.
The unemployment rate remained at 5.1%, which is still down on the same time last year, when it was 5.6%.
Earnings, including bonuses rose by 1.8% in the three months to February, which is a slowdown from the 2.1% rate for the previous three-month period.
"It's too soon to be certain, but with unemployment up for the first time since mid-2015 - and employment seeing its slowest rise since that period - it's possible that recent improvements in the labour market may be easing off," ONS statistician Nick Palmer said.
There were 31.41 million people in work in the three months , a rise of 20,000 on the September to November period.
Some economists believe uncertainty linked to the 23 June referendum on EU membership could be deterring companies from taking on new staff.
"Last week the Bank of England said that concerns about the EU referendum had begun to affect the real economy," said Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"The increase in unemployment announced today adds some weight to that hypothesis. It's possible businesses are delaying decisions about hiring and investment until after June's vote, which could lead to a slowdown in the first two quarters of this year.
"Nevertheless, the bigger picture is that the UK labour market remains in reasonable health," he added.
The increase in unemployment was too low to change the rate when expressed to one decimal place, which stayed at a decade low of 5.1%.
The figures also show that there were 5.35 million people employed in the public sector for December 2015. This was scarcely change compared with September 2015 but it was down 50,000 from a year earlier.
The ONS said the number of people employed in the public sector has been generally falling since March 2010.
In the private sector there were 26.07 million people employed for December 2015 - that is 113,000 more than for September 2015 and 529,000 more than for a year earlier.
In the October to December 2015 period the number of UK nationals working in the UK increased by 278,000 to 28.2 million compared with the same time in 2014. At the same time the number of non-UK nationals working in the UK increased by 254,000 to 3.22 million. | UK unemployment rose by 21,000 to 1.7 million between December and February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says. | 36090124 |
Last year, Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes revealed the results of DNA tests on hairs said to be from the Abominable Snowman.
The tests matched the samples with the DNA of an ancient polar bear.
But two other scientists have said re-analysis of the same data shows the hairs belong to the Himalayan bear, a sub-species of the brown bear.
The results of the new research by Ceiridwen Edwards and Ross Barnett have been published in the Royal Society journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Among Dr Edwards' previous work was an attempt to carry out DNA analysis of a sample taken from bones of a polar bear washed into caves in north west Scotland 18,000 years ago.
According to legend, the yeti is a large and elusive ape-like beast.
For many years experts have been seeking a scientific explanation for the Abominable Snowman.
Prof Sykes, along with other genetics experts, conducted DNA tests on hairs from two unidentified animals, one from Ladakh - in northern India on the west of the Himalayas - and the other from Bhutan, 800 miles (1,285km) further east.
The results were then compared with the genomes of other animals stored on a database of all published DNA sequences.
The scientists found that he had a 100% match with a sample from an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway, that dates back to between 40,000 and 120,000 years ago - a time when the polar bear and closely-related brown bear were separating as different species.
The species are closely related and are known to interbreed where their territories overlap.
The sample from Ladakh came from the mummified remains of a creature shot by a hunter around 40 years ago, while the second sample was in the form of a single hair, found in a bamboo forest by an expedition of filmmakers about 10 years ago.
The samples were subjected to the most advanced tests available.
Prof Sykes said the most likely explanation for the myth was that the animal was a hybrid of polar bears and brown bears.
The research was reported widely by the media last year and, in July this year, published by the Royal Society.
However, following re-analysis of the same data, Dr Edwards and Dr Barnett argue that the hybrid bear does not exist in the Himalayas.
They said the previous research mistakenly matched DNA to an ancient Pleistocene polar bear, instead of a modern polar bear.
In their paper, Dr Edwards and Dr Barnett said their tests identified the hairs as being from a rare type of brown bear.
The scientists said: "The Himalayan bear is a sub-species of the brown bear that lives in the higher reaches of the Himalayas, in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and India.
"Its populations are small and isolated, and it is extremely rare in many parts of its range.
"The common name for these bears in the region is Dzu-teh, a Nepalese term meaning 'cattle bear', and they have long been associated with the myth of the yeti."
The yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman, is said to be a large ape-like beast that roams the Himalayas in Nepal and Tibet.
Bigfoot, or Sasquatch (above), is the legendary beast of North America. Explanations to sightings include hoaxers using a gorilla suit.
The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdui is said to haunt the UK's second highest mountain. Scientific explanations for this Scottish creature include a meteorological phenomenon known as the brocken spectre, which causes a person's shadow to be cast on low cloud.
Prof Sykes and the other members of the team behind the earlier yeti hairs analysis have acknowledged that there was an error caused by an incomplete search of the DNA database used.
However, they said in a statement: "Importantly, for the thrust of the paper as a whole, the conclusion that these Himalayan 'yeti' samples were certainly not from a hitherto unknown primate is unaffected."
The response added: "We stressed in the original paper that the true identity of this intriguing animal needs to be refined, preferably by sequence data from fresh tissue samples derived from a living specimen where DNA degradation is no longer a concern."
Other hair samples said to belong to the yeti have been scrutinised by experts before.
In 2008, scientists in the US examined hairs given to the BBC which some had claimed were from a yeti.
The scientists concluded that the hairs - obtained from the north-east Indian state of Meghalaya - actually belonged to a species of Himalayan goat known as a Himalayan goral.
In 2007, Dr Edwards began a process to extract DNA from what are believed to be the only polar bear remains to be found in Britain.
The skull, of which only a part survives, was discovered at the Bone Caves in Inchnadamph, in Assynt, Sutherland, in 1927.
Prehistoric remains of animals - including an almost complete skeleton of a brown bear - and humans have been uncovered in the caves.
Dr Edwards hoped to shed light on what the polar bear was doing in Assynt 18,000 years ago.
However, DNA had not survived in the bone fragment.
Dr Edwards was also involved in a DNA study of ancient brown bear bones that suggested the maternal ancestors of modern polar bears were from Ireland.
Previously, it was believed that today's polar bears were most closely related to brown bears living on islands off the coast of Alaska. | A theory that the mythical yeti is a rare polar bear-brown bear hybrid animal has been challenged. | 30479718 |
Dillon Turner, from Coundon, County Durham, was fatally wounded in the incident in Ingleton on Tuesday.
North Yorkshire Police said inquires into the theft of a quad bike had led officers into County Durham where the crash took place.
It has informed the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which will decide whether to investigate. | A quad bike crash in which a 19-year-old died has been referred to the police watchdog. | 36547613 |
The shooting happened at about 22:00 GMT on the Tullymore Road.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment.
His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. | A man in his 60s has been shot a number of times through the window of a house near Poyntzpass, County Armagh. | 38928417 |
2 May 2016 Last updated at 18:12 BST
The announcement by Craig Wright that he was behind the Bitcoin virtual currency has sparked controversy.
Mr Andresen said evidence he had seen convinced him that Mr Wright is who he claims to be.
"He fits the kind of person I was interacting with way back in 2010," he told the BBC. "He provided cryptographic proof using the very first Bitcoin block to show he possessed that key."
The early Bitcoin blocks are the ones widely accepted to be connected to Satoshi Nakamoto - the pseudonym adopted by the creator of Bitcoin.
"To me he's proved it beyond a reasonable doubt." | Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, has spoken about the revelation that an Australian businessman was the founder of Bitcoin. | 36185273 |
Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) hopes its new mobile scanner will help to improve Scotland's sheep stocks.
Using low dose x-rays, the scanner produces images showing muscle shape, internal fat and pelvic shape of live animals.
SRUC's sheep geneticist Dr Nicola Lambe said the scans could help indentify "attributes" that produce the best lambs for meat.
Dr Lambe told BBC Alba: "The scanner is the same as you would get in a hospital and it is usually used for medical purposes.
"But we use it for CT scanning sheep.
"The interesting thing is that you can look at all the different body tissue and organs.
"We can use it to select the top animals for breeding with."
A number of pedigree sheep breeders have already made use of the mobile scanner to check for their best animals. | A medical CT scanner is being used to identify the best sheep for breeding. | 40117711 |
"I want to tell the fans not to be scared of my gender," she said. "This is a really exciting time."
It is an exciting time and not just for Jodie - female leads have been cropping up with increasing regularity on the big and small screens.
And sci-fi and superhero films have been leading the way.
Recently, Wonder Woman was credited for inspiring a new generation of girls, by teaching them they can save the world, too.
And in the Star Wars universe Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, and Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, also proved that male-dominated franchises could be reinvented for the modern day with women taking a leading role.
Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games have also portrayed women as strong leaders, rather than being relegated to the sidelines as minor characters.
And A Wrinkle in Time, starring Mindy Kaling as a character called Mrs Who, will be out next year. The 2018 American sci-fi film is directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Jennifer Lee.
The novel it was based on also has a woman behind it - Madeleine L'Engle.
"Casting a woman in a part that's always traditionally been played by a man is hugely important," Morgan Jeffery, Digital Spy's TV editor, tells the BBC regarding Doctor Who.
"This is the age of The Hunger Games; of the Star Wars movies being fronted by a female lead; of Wonder Woman utterly demolishing its box office rivals.
"By casting its first female lead in 2017, Doctor Who gets to be a part of something - something hugely exciting - instead of being left behind."
Will Howells, who writes for the Doctor Who magazine, feels the decision shouldn't be considered a big deal.
"Fifty years ago the idea of changing the lead actor in Doctor Who was groundbreaking.
"In 2017 there shouldn't be anything major about a TV series changing from a male lead to a female one.
"We'll also maybe see a solo male companion as a regular feature for the first time. I don't think it's a risky choice at all but if a show that can go anywhere and do anything can't take risks, what can? This opens so many potential new dynamics for the shows."
Empire's editor-at-large, Helen O'Hara, agrees.
"It's not just that you can do whatever, it's that you should do whatever. We should not allow our prejudices to colour our imaginations.
"We need more female directors, more female writers. It shouldn't be enough that we have one white woman in the leading role. That doesn't mean we shouldn't consider female companions. Bill was great last series, not just a woman of colour but a gay woman. We need representation across the board."
She believes the decision to choose a female Doctor is seismic.
"Doctor Who is one of the great legacy titles that we have in our culture… so it makes a big statement to have a female Doctor," she says.
"Leaving aside diversity of casting being a good thing in itself, it's great because if you tell the same story with someone of a different race or gender, it feels different. It's an absolute shortcut to making yourself seem more imaginative.
"I'm thrilled about it."
Hollywood actor Zoe Saldana, who stars in three sci-fi franchises - Avatar, Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy - says she's attracted to the genre because of the freedom it offers.
"It makes me feel superhuman because, obviously, it's been brought to my attention continuously since I was born that I'm not a conventional person because of the colour of my skin or my gender or my cultural background," she told the Daily Telegraph in a recent interview.
"So I think science fiction has given me the ability as an artist to be colour-blind, and gender-blind, and to imagine and reinvent myself and be the chameleon actors are supposed to be."
O'Hara also points out that leading women are selling big at the box office - and film companies aren't there to address gender equality, they're there to make a profit.
"Something like Wonder Woman shows that if you do put the money in and the push behind them, they will absolutely make money. In the US now, 51% of cinema-goers are female.
"Even for supposed male films, the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, a superhero and a sci-fi film, [the audience] was something like 47% female. We like these films and we want to see ourselves reflected in them."
But while there has been a lot of positive reaction to the Doctor Who news, for some it is a bridge too far.
It's bad news for those wanting to turn the clock back, though - or at least stop it going forward - because the genie is well and truly out of the bottle.
While there seems to have been a push for female talent in 2017, the presence of strong women in sci-fi is actually nothing new.
Think Princess Leia in Star Wars, Dana Scully in The X-Files, and of course the groundbreaking Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, in the Alien films.
Not to mention Kate Mulgrew - now starring in Orange is the New Black - as Captain Janeway in the Star Trek: Voyager TV series.
And it's 20 years - yes, 20 - since Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer was first hailed as a feminist icon.
Long before Doctor Who writers had thought of it, Ron Moore changed the gender of the character Starbuck when he launched the re-boot of Battlestar Galactica in 2003.
The original was played by Dirk Benedict in the 1978 series. Moore cast Katee Sackhoff, who just happened to tweet "Fantastic!" when she heard the Jodie Whittaker news.
And now the decision to cast a woman as Doctor Who has led to some speculation on which other roles could be filled by women.
The producers of the James Bond films have just announced they are to make a "female-driven" thriller starring Gossip Girl's Blake Lively, so could that mean changes for the Bond franchise itself?
While the Doctor is an alien, so technically has no gender, there are some who are concerned at the prospect of James Bond being a woman - a vacancy that will be going when Daniel Craig leaves the role.
The names being associated with the franchise so far include non-white actors - as well as a handful of women - meaning that change could be on the way for that franchise, too.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | It looks like Jodie Whittaker was prepared for the criticism that she might get as the first female Doctor. | 40626596 |
Former WBA featherweight world champion and boxing 'hall of famer' Barry McGuigan is reflecting on how he moved from being a world-class boxer to head of a family promotional and training business that is gaining a burgeoning reputation in the hardest game and is the subject of the BBC documentary series Fight Game: The McGuigans.
"Boxing is such a tough business and it's often not a nice business and people fall out all the time. There's so much jealousy," he says.
Step inside the ropes at the McGuigan Gym as trainer Shane talks you through a flurry of punches from his champion boxer Carl Frampton.
McGuigan is an authority on the tough side of boxing having endured his share of harrowing lows alongside the glittering highs as a fighter.
The Clones Cyclone, as he was known, became a cult hero, proving a unifying force during the Northern Ireland Troubles due to his ability to cross the sectarian divide and appeal to both sections of the community, even choosing to have Danny Boy played before his fights rather than the British or Irish anthems.
His greatest moment in the ring came when he defeated the legendary featherweight world champion Eusebio Pedroza, on a memorable night at London's Loftus Road stadium, watched by a record television audience of 19 million with a crowd of 75,000 providing a raucous welcome for him on his return to Belfast.
But McGuigan also experienced the devastating post-fight death of one of his opponents, Nigerian Young Ali, following a fight in 1982 and lost his world-title to Mexican Steve Cruz in 1986 when he wilted in the crucifying 120 degrees heat under the arc-lights in their fight in an open-air car park at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
He then went through a lengthy, costly lawsuit with his former manager Barney Eastwood, following their acrimonious split, which led Barry by his own admission to fall out of love with boxing for a period, at a time when also he lost his father to cancer. He would also later endure the heartache of his brother Dermot's suicide in 1994, and his daughter Danika's battle with leukaemia, from which she made a full recovery.
McGuigan reflects that boxing can often end in sadness: "Every fighter has a story that could break your heart. The losses are hard to deal with and retirement can prove very difficult.
"Many fighters don't know how to deal with life after boxing - how to replace the buzz of the ring, so they turn to drink, drugs or other destructive behaviour."
Thankfully this fate didn't befall McGuigan, as his ability in the ring was matched by a knowledge of the sport and his eloquence in commentating on it. So he quickly took up a role as a commentator for ITV, which led to a lengthy career as a boxing pundit.
But eventually this ran its course and the Clones man was ready for a new challenge. He had been asked to look after many fighters over the years and had always declined until he came across "the most exciting talent I'd seen in 30 years".
"It was at the EU Amateur Boxing Championships in Dublin when I happened to watch a featherweight fight, and I was struck by the talent of one of the fighters, so I said to my colleague 'Who is this kid?'"
They found out he was called Carl Frampton, and was from Belfast, so McGuigan went over to meet him later that day. He knew from the first time he saw him fight that Frampton was going to be a superstar.
"Everything changed when I saw Carl Frampton for the first time," says McGuigan, who was struck by the parallels between them.
"I just thought he's my weight, featherweight, he's a Protestant going out with a Catholic girl - while I'm a Catholic married to a Protestant - and he's from loyalist Tigers Bay, with cross-community support, and he had such huge potential - I had goose bumps."
Barry and his wife Sandra started their own promotional company, Cyclone Promotions, with Frampton their first signing, and they brought him over to England to train.
McGuigan was convinced Frampton would get right to the top, and has been proven correct with 'The Jackal' since becoming a two-weight world champion.
But McGuigan's stable is bigger than just Frampton, with a number of exciting fighters including current European Middleweight Champion Conrad Cummings and the highly-rated Josh Taylor, who became Commonwealth Super-Lightweight Champion in just his ninth fight, and who McGuigan is convinced will become a world star.
He explains how the family business operates: "Shane is the coach and Blain and Jake are promoters. I want things done a certain way, but they're grown men and are intelligent, so I leave them to do their jobs. I say what I want for my fighter, and Jake and Blain go out and try to make that happen."
"Shane is a fabulous coach, and I don't need to tell him anything. He's gone way above my ability as a coach. On occasion he likes to sound things out with me. But sometimes I say too much, and he'll say 'now please stop it dad, shut up'.
Shane McGuigan, who was an amateur boxer but gave up fighting as he didn't want constant comparisons with his father, became one of the youngest coaches in history to train a world champion, aged 25. Shane, who also trains David Haye and George Groves, has taken an innovative approach to the trade.
Instead of hiring specialists, he looks after the strength, nutrition and conditioning side of things as well as all the tactical aspects of coaching.
There are many factors that make up a great boxing coach, as Barry explains: "You need an innate ability to understand fighters, to get their trust and work with different personalities. Some you can shout at and cajole, with others requiring love and attention.
"So you have to be a psychologist, a tactical and technical expert, and regularly come up with new drills. It's very physically draining - Shane will frequently do 14-hour days and endless rounds holding the pads, which puts a real strain on your body."
It is clear there a close bond between the fighters in their gym and Barry has an ethos for hiring fighters: "I don't care how talented they are I really don't want to work with fighters I don't like. I only want to work with guys I like, so that's a narrow band, but that allows me to get the best out of them.
"Frampton, for example, is a fantastic young man. We try to cultivate a behaviour pattern and encourage fighters to have self-respect and respect for others."
So, does he have any regrets about investing so much of his own life, and that of his family, in as bruising a business as boxing?
"No. Because, although sometimes we drive each other mad, it's also hugely gratifying. The greatest thrill in the world is to work with your family and your children - people you can trust.
"Boxing is not something you can easily walk away from - it's brutal but I love it. Boxing is the honesty business. Half a second and you're knocked out, you're looking up at the stars and it's over." | "If someone had said to me 20 years ago that someday I would have my own family boxing business with two sons promoting, my other son as a coach and my wife providing an overview of the whole operation, I would have said 'lock that person up'." | 40018429 |
The H5N8 strain of avian flu was found in Leicestershire and Somerset in two dead wigeons - a type of duck.
It follows the discovery of the virus in the wild in Scotland and Wales and on a Lincolnshire farm last week.
Chief vet Nigel Gibbens said the public risk was "very low" but experts would "strengthen surveillance" of the virus.
"Today's confirmed findings mean that avian flu has now been found in wild birds in widely separated parts of England, Wales and Scotland," he added.
"This is far from unexpected and reflects our risk assessments and the measures we have taken including introducing a housing order for poultry and a ban on gatherings.
"We'll continue to work with ornithological groups to further strengthen surveillance and our understanding of the extent of infection in wild birds."
The H5N8 strain has been circulating in Asia since 2010 and has caused two separate outbreaks in Europe following the autumn migration.
It is a highly infectious strain of flu in birds but there have been no recorded cases in humans anywhere in the world, the BBC's health and science reporter James Gallagher said.
The government imposed a protection zone earlier this month, ordering all kept birds to be housed in doors.
Hundreds of thousands of birds have been culled in Europe with the virus reported in poultry and wild birds in 14 countries. | Two wild birds have tested positive for bird flu - the first cases in the wild in England, the UK's Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed. | 38421337 |
Jack Etienne, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Cloud9, has bought the rights to field a London team in the sci-fi video game competition.
The BBC understands he paid roughly $20m (£15.4m) for the privilege.
The league represents game producer Activision Blizzard's most ambitious venture into e-sports yet.
The company believes the "family-friendly" shooter should have wider appeal to both audiences and advertisers than existing e-sports events.
It has suggested the contest could eventually become more lucrative than England's Premier League or the US's National Football League for those involved.
The company will split revenues generated by the competition with each of its team owners.
"We view this as a major milestone marking the league as truly global - it now has representation in Europe, Asia and North America," Pete Vlastelica, an executive in Activision Blizzard's e-sports division, told the BBC.
Several of the previously announced investors had ties to traditional sports teams, including the New England Patriots American football team, the New York Mets baseball team and the Sacremento Kings basketball team.
Mr Vlastelica said that there had been discussions with unnamed European equivalents to buy the London rights, but that Cloud9 - which already fields an Overwatch team in other competitions - had won out.
"Cloud9 may be a new name for some in the traditional sports world, but I can assure you they are not a niche or fringe player in e-sports," he said.
"As we build this league, it was really important to us to combine the capabilities of owners from both traditional sports and the world of e-sports."
The league will get under way later this year, with its initial matches held at a studio in Southern California.
But the intention is for later games to be played locally to help teams attract supporters.
It is not yet clear where Cloud9 will host its home matches.
"Buying into the Overwatch League for a franchise remains relatively high risk because of the costs involved and Overwatch's immaturity as an e-sports title," said Piers Harding-Rolls, from the IHS Technology consultancy.
"Traditional sports team owners have to be prepared to commit fully to an e-sports strategy to make this work, and it is clear that US-based teams are more willing to make the transition at this early stage.
"For European buyers, I think the risk increases somewhat due to the fragmented nature of the market in the region, the more diversified gaming tastes and the impact that can have on sponsorship rates, advertising and consumer interest."
Activision Blizzard also announced that it had licensed the rights to a second Los Angeles team.
Stan and Josh Kroenke - who have investments in the UK's Arsenal football club and the Los Angeles Rams American football team - bought the franchise.
Noah Winston, the chief executive of the Immortals e-sports organisation, owns the city's other Overwatch League team.
The first-person shooter features about two dozen characters who engage in team-based battles set across a near-future Earth.
Each character has a distinct personality - including a genetically engineered scientist ape, a cowboy-styled bounty hunter and a nerdy-looking climatologist - and unique abilities.
The heroes divide into four broad categories:
Squads of six characters are pitched against each other in a range of challenges, including protecting/capturing a location; defending/destroying a vehicle as it is driven across a zone; and being first to wipe out the enemy team. | The American founder of a leading e-sports business has become the first owner of a European squad in the forthcoming Overwatch League. | 40890956 |
The 30-year-old joined the Millers from Charlton in June 2014 and helped the club retain their Championship status last season.
"I'm very happy. After the last couple of seasons I wanted to get my future sorted out in the Championship," Wood, who also had loan spells with Fleetwood and Chesterfield last season, said.
"It was straightforward and I agreed it before I went away on holiday." | Rotherham defender Richard Wood has signed a one-year deal. | 36539215 |
Both country's militaries have been on alert after a brief exchange of fire at the border last Thursday.
The North had threatened to use force to stop propaganda broadcasts by the South, started after two of its soldiers were injured by a landmine.
High-level negotiators have been meeting since Saturday to agree a deal.
Yonhap reported that the deal, to be announced later on Monday, would see North Korea express "regret" over the landmine incident earlier this month.
In return, it said South Korea would stop the loudspeaker broadcasts that were resumed after an 11-year hiatus, in apparent retaliation for the landmine attack. | South and North Korea have agreed a deal to defuse tensions after a series of recent border confrontations, South Korea's Yonhap news agency says. | 34039187 |
Turner, 34, won at Windsor aboard the 11-2 shot Flying Sparkle, trained by Michael Bell.
The ride was a warm-up for Turner's appearance in the new Lady Jockeys' Thoroughbred World Championship in Sweden on Tuesday.
Turner was unseated after the winning line but was unhurt.
She retired in 2015 but came back to ride for the female team at last year's Shergar Cup event at Ascot.
Turner, who returned again for one ride at Windsor before the Swedish event, says she has no plans to resume her career as a jockey. | Britain's most successful female jockey Hayley Turner rode a winner on Monday evening as she made a brief comeback from retirement. | 40488794 |
The row had resulted in delays in more than 900 court cases, including charges ranging from murder to drink driving.
Barristers and solicitors had claimed the lower rates would undermine their ability to properly represent clients who could not afford pay legal fees.
Since May of last year, many refused to work on criminal cases involving legal aid but the strike is to end on Friday.
It follows fresh talks between the Department of Justice, The Law Society and Bar Council which began on Wednesday.
The talks were chaired by a senior English barrister and a breakthrough was announced on Thursday evening.
In a joint statement, the department, the Law Society and the Bar Council said they were "pleased to report that an agreement has been reached".
"All parties have worked to achieve this outcome in the interests of ensuring the continued effective and efficient operation of the criminal justice system in this jurisdiction."
The Bar Council and the Solicitors' Criminal Bar Association confirmed that their members will resume representation of defendants in criminal cases on Friday.
Justice Minister David Ford thanked all those involved in the mediation process and said: "The immediate return to representation for defendants will allow the justice system to continue in an effective and efficient manner." | A dispute between lawyers and Northern Ireland's justice minister over cuts to legal aid payments has been resolved. | 35554610 |
The cartoon depicts a beer-swilling Aboriginal man being handed back his errant son by a police officer - and, on being instructed to teach the boy about "personal responsibility", struggling to remember his name.
Drawn by one of Australia's best known cartoonists, Bill Leak, the satirical image caused an uproar when it appeared in The Australian newspaper in August.
Some condemned it as unfairly tarnishing all Aboriginal fathers; others applauded it for highlighting an unpalatable truth. But was it racist, and should it have been banned by law?
These questions are exercising federal politicians as they prepare to hold an inquiry into the Racial Discrimination Act, focusing on a contentious section which outlaws behaviour likely to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" people on the basis of race, colour or ethnic origin.
The section, 18C, is anathema to conservatives, who call it a gag on freedom of speech. They point to the cartoon and another recent case, involving racism allegations against three Queensland University of Technology (QUT) students, as underlining the need for reform.
Defenders of the law, though, who include opposition Labor politicians, ethnic community organisations and the UN special rapporteur on racism, say it has worked well for 20 years, protecting Australians from ethnic minority backgrounds from harassment and intimidation.
They also note that the act - under which discrimination complaints are initially investigated by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) - operated without controversy until 2011, when the Federal Court ruled it had been breached by a leading right-wing commentator, Andrew Bolt.
Mr Bolt had published articles and blogs in which he accused nine fair-skinned Australians with mixed heritage of playing up their Aboriginality to secure jobs, grants and awards.
The judgement outraged his friends and ideological soulmates, who include former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Abbott's government drafted amendments diluting the act in 2014, but backed down following an outcry from community groups - and from MPs in the ruling Liberal Party who represent ethnically diverse urban electorates.
Those same groups are now mobilising again as battle lines are drawn on an issue which arouses strong opinions and emotions on both sides of the political divide.
While Australia prides itself on its multiculturalism, with more than one in four people born overseas, some are uneasy at what Tim Wilson, a prominent libertarian turned Liberal MP, calls "the direction of the country... its ethno-cultural make-up and whether we're holding to our values and traditions".
The parliamentary inquiry has been ordered by Mr Abbott's successor, Malcolm Turnbull, who only a few months ago ruled out changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Once known as a social progressive, Mr Turnbull, who won power in July by the narrowest of margins, is discovering that government requires harsh compromises. Not only is he under pressure from right-wing Liberals, but he has to court the likes of Pauline Hanson's anti-immigration One Nation to get legislation through the Senate.
One of four One Nation senators, Ms Hanson wants 18C repealed, as does David Leyonhjelm, another Senate cross-bencher who espouses libertarian causes.
The push for reform gathered momentum following the cartoon and QUT rows, the latter involving Facebook posts by the three students after they were asked to leave a computer lab reserved for Aboriginal students. One wrote: "I wonder where the white supremacist lab is."
Both affairs prompted complaints to the AHRC by apparently injured parties. In the Bill Leak case, the complaints were subsequently dropped. In the QUT case, the Federal Court dismissed the discrimination claim as having no reasonable chance of success.
On Monday, the UN special rapporteur on racism, Mutuma Ruteere, called for the Racial Discrimination Act to be protected, describing it as a "useful balance" between free speech and protecting minority groups.
Removing it would "open the door to racist and xenophobic hate-speech which has been quite limited thanks to this provision", he said.
While there is little likelihood of 18C being repealed, opponents are calling for, at the very least, the words "insult" and "offend" to be removed, maintaining that they "set the bar too low" for a claim to succeed under the act.
Mr Wilson told the BBC that the passions surrounding the topic "feed into a cultural concern about whether we're preserving the best type of society we've been in the past ... based on Western traditions of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and liberal democracy".
He said: "It's about whether the law should be used as a weapon to censor and silence conversations on difficult subjects. The reality is: people use their freedom of speech to say challenging and offensive things all the time, and that's what a free society is."
A recent study found that only 1.8% of complaints end up in a court or tribunal, with the rest dropped, dismissed or conciliated by the AHRC.
The QUT and Leak cases were "highly exceptional", one of the report's authors, Katharine Gelber, from the University of Queensland, told the BBC. She also noted that the following section of the Act, 18D, provides a broad "public interest" defence.
At a time of rising populism globally, including a growing backlash against "political correctness", the 18C debate "hits right at the heart of the political divide", Prof Gelber said. | Two high-profile cases involving allegations of racism have reignited a row about free speech in Australia, and mobilised the nation's ideological forces, writes Kathy Marks. | 38205024 |
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On Saturday, 25 June people around the UK and around the globe will be showing off their handstands for the world to see.
To join in, post a photo or video of your handstand using #HandstandDay.
Need to brush up on your handstand skills? The Make Your Move how-to guide will give you all the tools you need to do your free-standing handstand. | As we prepare for International Handstand Day 2016 this Saturday, 25 June, we look back at some of 2015's best efforts. | 36586480 |
He urged the congregation to rid Mexico of drug dealer "merchants of death".
Ecatepec, with 1.6 million inhabitants, is notorious for drug violence, kidnappings and gangland-style killings, particularly of women.
The Pope was speaking at the biggest scheduled event of his visit to Mexico.
Throughout his trip he has condemned the evils of forced emigration and drugs, urging Mexico's leaders to provide "true justice" to suffering citizens.
The Pope has described drug trafficking as a cancer that has devoured and destroyed Mexican society, while calling on the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico to do more than just condemn the problem.
Mexicans hope papal visit brings change
Thousands of admirers lined the route of the Pope's motorcade as it made its way to the huge field in Ecatepec where Sunday's Mass was celebrated.
In a final prayer in Ecatepec he urged Mexicans to turn their country into a land of opportunity "where there will be no need to emigrate in order to dream, no need to be exploited in order to work".
On Saturday he celebrated mass at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in front of tens of thousands of people.
On Monday, he visits Mexico's poorest and least Roman Catholic region, the indigenous state of Chiapas in the south of the country.
The following day he heads to the capital of Michoacan, a western state also scarred by drug violence.
The Pope concludes his five-day trip in Ciudad Juarez on the US border, a city which has been blighted by drug-related murders. A mass there will highlight the plight of migrants. | Pope Francis has delivered a strong denunciation of the drugs trade before an audience of 300,000 people attending an open-air mass in Ecatepec, one of poorest suburbs of Mexico City. | 35575820 |
Armagh must make the trip to Westmeath while Cavan are at home to Tipperary.
Monaghan were beaten by Down in the Ulster semi-finals on Saturday while Wexford saw off Limerick in the first round of qualifiers.
McEnaney guided Monaghan to the 2007 and 2010 Ulster finals, losing to Tyrone on both occasions.
Monaghan will be favourites to get past Wexford despite playing away, while Armagh should fancy their chances of seeing off a Westmeath team heavily beaten by Dublin at Croke Park on Sunday.
Wexford and Westmeath were promoted from Division Four of the Football League earlier this year. | Wexford manager Seamus McEnaney will face his old county Monaghan in the second round of the All-Ireland Championship qualifiers. | 40403143 |
Wednesday's and Thursday's concerts unexpectedly drew the curtains on an epic global odyssey that has taken her to almost 50 cities in 20 different countries.
The "devastated" singer said on Friday night that she had sought medical advice after damaging her vocal cords and could not perform her final two gigs at Wembley on Saturday and Sunday evening.
The 29-year-old singer has been on the road since 29 February last year, performing one sold-out gig after another to her adoring legions of fans.
There have been plenty of memorable moments along the way - and plenty of bad language too. According to The Sun, her Wembley date earlier this week contained 56 swear words.
Here are six classic moments that ensured it wasn't just her vocals that her fans went home remembering.
If Adele's fans want to stand up to watch her sing, they can damn well stand up.
It's a lesson one steward at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium learned to his cost in March this year for conduct that saw him get an ear-bashing from the main attraction.
"Excuse me sir, I know you work here but can you stop telling people to sit down?" she can be heard saying in one fan video.
"This is a music show," she continued. "If people can't see, then they can stand up."
While performing at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Adele found time to attack magazines for speculating about her private life.
Her diatribe, captured on Twitter, singled out "those terrible trashy gossip celebrity magazines".
"I can't even read them anymore because they're normally writing [nonsense] about me," she went on - using a slightly different word to nonsense. "I swear to God it's all lies."
The rant came just a few days after a concert in Brisbane in which she casually confirmed she had married her long-time partner Simon Konecki.
Brisbane was also the location for the memorable moment when Adele lost her cool over a rogue mosquito.
"There's a bug on me!" she was seen screaming in one YouTube video. "I'm sorry, I'm not Australian - I don't like bugs.
"It was sucking my blood!" the singer went on. "They're everywhere, they're all trying to kill me! Oh my god, how embarrassing."
Adele was in more forgiving mood while performing in New Zealand, enlisting the aid of an audience member to shoo some beetles off the stage.
Marriage proposals were a regular occurrence during Adele's concerts, much to her delight.
It all began on her opening night in Belfast on 29 February last year, when she encouraged an audience member to accept a leap-year proposal from his female partner.
A few weeks later a fan proposed during one of her London concerts - a moment the singer called "the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed at one of my shows".
In May last year, while performing in Copenhagen, Adele looked on as a fan proposed to his boyfriend. She then offered to be the surrogate mother of their children.
Further proposals followed in Zurich, Barcelona, Toronto and Melbourne, as documented by this article on Vulture.
Adele is usually tight-lipped about her private life off stage. On it, though, she can be an open book.
While performing in Nashville in October, for example, she was hilariously candid about her plans to give her son Angelo a sibling.
"My son is about to turn four very, very soon," she was quoted as saying. "I'm starting to get very emotional about it because I feel like once they turn four, they're not really your actual baby anymore.
"So my womb is starting to ache a little bit. It's like, 'Baby, baby, baby. Need a baby, need a baby.'"
But she immediately insisted she was not pregnant and had no plans to become so "until the end of the tour".
Adele made the news again earlier this week by encouraging fans at Wembley Stadium to donate money to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower blaze.
"It's our job as human beings to be compassionate," she told the 98,000 present on Wednesday. "You'll be hearing a lot more from me about [Grenfell] in the days and weeks and probably years to come.
"They're not receiving the things we think they are," she said the following night. "No information is getting through, people feel helpless. It's chaos."
Her plea followed her attendance at a vigil for victims of the fire and the visit she made - with cake - to see firefighters at Chelsea Fire Station.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Thousands of fans hoping to catch the finale of Adele's world tour are missing out after it came to an abrupt end at Wembley Stadium. | 40455460 |
John O'Neill, 45 of York, now has to inform police "as soon as is reasonably practicable" if he wants to form a sexual relationship with a partner.
District Judge Adrian Lower imposed 12 conditions, including Mr O'Neill's internet usage being monitored by North Yorkshire Police.
Mr O'Neill said "I still have to tell police to have sex, in practical terms I am not seeing much difference."
"This is a predictive allegation of a sex crime and the new law allows it to be offloaded to a civil court", he told the BBC.
Mr O'Neill said he may appeal against the new order and complied with it because of the "threat of prison".
"Every medical assessment determines me to be no risk", he added.
Mr O'Neill also said he had made a notification to police under the terms of the order covering "sexual contact" so he could "talk frankly" with a friend.
Under the new conditions Mr O'Neill is not allowed to discuss fantasies and sadomasochistic tendencies with medical staff.
A third party is to be required to be present at his medical appointments, except in an emergency.
The judge, sitting at York Magistrates' Court, described Mr O'Neill as a "manipulative man" and said "I'm quite satisfied you are a risk to women".
Mr O'Neill had been the subject of an interim sexual risk order despite being cleared of rape.
The judge reimposed the order with terms aimed at protecting women.
Mr O'Neill was cleared of rape at Teesside Crown Court in November last year, but after the jury had been dismissed the judge called him a "very dangerous individual".
North Yorkshire Police then applied for the order on the basis of comments he had made to health professionals.
During an earlier hearing the court heard details of confessions to medical staff that included choking a woman unconscious and thinking "a lot" about killing her.
North Yorkshire Police said the sexual risk order and the prohibitions applied showed the force had taken the "correct course of action" to protect the public from the risk the court "acknowledged Mr O'Neill poses to the public". | A man no longer has to notify police 24 hours before he has sex. | 37444357 |
The 276-year-old New Room, in Bristol, is set to be "transformed" with grants of £2.5m from the lottery and £1.4m from the Bristol Methodist District.
It is said to be the oldest Methodist chapel in the world - used by Wesley for those responding to his message of Christian faith and social justice.
A library, new lecture rooms and a cafe are all planned for the site.
These will sit inside a brand new, three-storey building in the Horsefair Courtyard, which will be linked to the New Room building by a glass roof.
The interior of the chapel itself will not be changed.
The Reverend Ward Jones, chair of the New Room Trustees and the Bristol Methodist District, said the "significant" grants gave the opportunity to "look to the future in a very exciting way".
"We will be able to upgrade our current facilities, so that we can properly welcome and inform visitors from the local area, from schools and colleges, and from all over the world," he said.
Building work is subject to meeting planning conditions but is expected to begin in the autumn.
The head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the South West, Nerys Watts, said: "Thousands of shoppers pass the entrance to the New Room every day without realising that it is one of the most important buildings in the history of Methodism.
"This grant...will transform the museum's offering to visitors, ensuring its internationally important collections and archives are better maintained and displayed." | The first meeting room used by preacher John Wesley, founder of Methodism, has been given £3.9m to make improvements. | 31126313 |
Joanne Latham, 38, was found hanging by a prison officer at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes in the early hours of Friday.
A Prison Service report seen by the BBC said the prisoner, who was serving life for three attempted murders, had barricaded the door of her cell.
It is the second recent death of a transgender woman in a men's prison.
Last month inmate Vikki Thompson, 21, was found dead at HMP Leeds. She had said she would kill herself if she was sent to a male prison.
Updates on this story and others from Buckinghamshire here
The Prison Service report said as well as the cell door at HMP Woodhill being barricaded, the "observation panel" had been obscured.
"After receiving no response from her, staff requested permission to enter the cell," it said.
The report said the cell occupied by the "transgender prisoner" was checked at 04:02 GMT on Friday.
Paramedics were called and arrived at about 05:40. Attempts to resuscitate her were halted at 06:00.
A doctor pronounced the inmate dead at at 06:20.
Latham was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 for an attempted murder.
She was later handed further life sentences for the attempted murders of a prisoner at HMP Frankland, in Durham, in 2007 and of a fellow patient at Rampton secure hospital, in Nottinghamshire, in 2011.
The BBC understands she was in the early stages of changing her gender.
A Prison Service spokesman said: "HMP Woodhill prisoner Joanne Latham was found unresponsive on the morning of Friday.
"As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman."
A Thames Valley Police spokesman confirmed the force was aware of the death of an inmate at Woodhill prison.
A spokesman for the coroner's service said a post-mortem examination had yet to be carried out.
Following the death of Ms Thompson, the government announced it was re-examining its policy on transgender prisoners.
Her death prompted the prisons minister Andrew Selous to respond to an urgent question in the House of Commons.
He told a debate the government was "reviewing prison service instruction".
HMP Woodhill, a Category A prison, opened in 1992 and can hold 819 inmates, according to the Ministry of Justice website. | A transgender prisoner has been discovered dead in her cell at an all-male prison, the BBC has learned. | 34972221 |
Watkins, 36, from Pontypridd, pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court last month to 13 child sex offences.
His two co-defendants, who are the mothers of children he abused, were jailed for 14 and 17 years.
Sentencing the three, Mr Justice Royce said the case broke "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was sentenced to 29 years in prison with a further six years on licence, but he will be eligible for parole after serving two thirds of the prison term.
He was sentenced alongside the two mothers known as Woman A and Woman B who also pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.
Woman A was jailed for 14 years and Woman B was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape.
He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said: "Those who have appeared in these courts over many years, see here, a large number of horrific cases," he said.
Ian Watkins has been given what is called an extended sentence. It is used for public protection in the case of offenders who are deemed particularly dangerous.
His total sentence is 35 years, 29 of which will be served in prison plus a six year period served in the community on licence. If he were to breach the terms of that licence, he could be immediately returned to prison.
He will have to serve two thirds of the 29 year custodial part of his sentence before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board - it does not mean he will be released at that point. At the time of release from prison, the six year extension on licence kicks in.
The legislation says the extension period is "of such length as the court considers necessary for the purpose of protecting members of the public from serious harm".
"This case breaks new ground. Any decent person... will experience shock, revulsion and incredulity."
He added it was a "classic case that the evidence was so overwhelming" there should not be credit given.
The judge said Watkins had a "corrupting influence", and had shown a "complete lack of remorse". He also said Watkins posed a significant risk to the public in particular to women with young children.
He told Woman A: "What you were both doing is both sickening and incomprehensible" and said to Woman B that she did not regard her child as a human being.
Earlier on Wednesday, defending barrister Sally O'Neill QC said how Watkins "belatedly realised the gravity of what happened" and was "deeply, deeply sorry".
She told the court how he had developed an "obsession" with filming himself having sex and had become addicted to drugs at the age of 30.
She said Watkins had no memory of the crime involving Woman A and her son, where he admitted to the attempted rape of a baby.
"Because he had no memory he could not believe he had done that," she said, adding he had now "confronted reality" over what he had done.
Watkins was on 15-minute suicide watch while on remand, the court heard.
Jonathan Fuller QC, defending for Woman A, said she felt genuine remorse and was devastated by what she had done.
Christine Laing QC, defending Woman B, said she was clearly remorseful for her behaviour and the loss of her child was her punishment.
Meanwhile, South Wales Police are investigating whether Watkins also committed offences in Germany and America and the IPCC has confirmed it was investigating three police forces over the case.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, senior investigating officer, said the sentences reflected the gravity of the crimes and the investigation uncovered "the most disturbing child abuse evidence" he had seen in his 28 years as an officer.
"Today's sentence does not mark the end of our investigations and we will work tirelessly to identify any other victims or witnesses and seek the justice they deserve.
Police watchdog the IPCC is investigating three forces over their handling of allegations made about Ian Watkins between 2008-2012.
South Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and South Wales are being investigated over information received about Watkins prior to his arrest in December 2012.
Three other forces, Essex, West Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Police, also supplied information that they had been given about Watkins for the inquiry but are not currently under investigation.
An officer from South Wales is the focus of the IPCC probe there.
Three reports were made to South Yorkshire between March and May 2012 relating to Watkins.
A member of the public reported an allegation of child abuse against Watkins in October 2012 to Bedfordshire Police.
"In the last few weeks we have received further information that will now be looked at by the investigation team."
Earlier he said the investigation was large scale because the amount of data involved - 27 terabytes - was "four or five times" the size of the databases held by South Wales Police.
And he said how he was sure there were other child victims.
Suzanne Thomas, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS Wales, said Watkins was the ringleader and the defendants conspired to commit "appalling crimes of abuse against young and defenceless victims".
She added: "He is a highly dangerous and manipulative individual who preyed on his victims in a calculated manner.
"The other two defendants were active participants in the most shocking abuse of their own children. They too have received sentences that reflect their admissions of guilt for these offences.
"It is incomprehensible that adults would commit such appalling acts against children and young people and our thoughts remain with the victims and those close to them." | Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been sentenced to 35 years for a string of child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby. | 25412675 |
A total of 79,965 people were left with unmanageable debts last year, down 19% on 2014, official figures from the Insolvency Service show.
This was the fifth successive decrease in the annual total.
Despite the annual fall, the figures show a rise in personal insolvencies in the final three months of the year.
The total grew to 20,404, a 3.6% increase on the previous quarter, and the second quarter-on-quarter rise in a row. However, this was 10.5% lower than the same quarter in 2014.
Bankruptcy: The traditional way of escaping overwhelming debt. Ends after one year, but you are likely to lose all your assets, including your house, to pay something to the creditors
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA): A deal between you and your creditors, overseen by an insolvency practitioner. Less stigma, less chance of losing your home, but involves paying some of your debts in one go.
Debt Relief Orders: Introduced in April 2009, these allow people with debts of less than £15,000 (£20,000 since October 2015) and minimal assets to write off debts without a full-blown bankruptcy
An estimated total of 14,629 companies entered into insolvency in 2015, which was 10% lower than the total in 2014 and the lowest annual total since 1989.
The number of companies that faced a compulsory winding up order in 2015 was at its lowest level for 34 years.
Analysts say companies are dealing with debt earlier and banks are seeing little value in shutting them down for unpaid debts.
Andrew Tate, vice-president of insolvency professionals trade body R3, said: "There has been a general trend of companies looking to turn things around before reaching a position where they need to enter a formal insolvency process.
"Creditor forbearance is playing a part too: banks, in particular, are much more willing to work with companies in financial trouble than they were in the early 90s.
"Compulsory liquidation is often seen as less dynamic process, which is less likely to lead to a rescue of the business than other insolvency procedures. It is generally used by creditors as a last resort when a company doesn't pay.
"Finally, the 'zombie business' phenomenon could play a role. 'Zombie businesses' are those that can service the interest on their debts but not the debt itself; they can keep going but have little short-term prospect of turning things around. Numbers of companies in this position have fallen recently, but they have acted as a drag on insolvency numbers since the recession."
Ian Gould, business restructuring partner at BDO, said: "We see creditors increasingly viewing compulsory liquidation as a risky tool for recovery, given the additional costs it incurs and the fact that the process typically ends with a liquidation which, historically, offers little returns for creditors." | The number of people being declared insolvent was at is lowest level for a decade in 2015, but debt problems started to pick-up late in the year. | 35438152 |
Anglia Ruskin University, based in Chelmsford and Cambridge, will launch a masters degree in the subject in 2018.
Centre director Helen Marshall said the "current interest in alternative facts and George Orwell's 1984" made the subject "relevant".
It will also offer science fiction and fantasy modules for undergraduates.
The centre, which will be run within the university's English faculty, will officially open on Wednesday with 10 staff.
Dr Marshall said: "While these genres might be seen to look backwards to the distant past and forward to myriad potential futures.
"As Orwell himself says, 'He who controls the past controls the future.
"'He who controls the present controls the past'."
The centre has set up its own so-called "shadow jury" to critique the results of this year's for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, thought to be a first for a science fiction book prize
Judges will include the academic Dr Nick Hubble and author Nina Allan and they will each select their own shortlist from the award and nominate their favourite,
Dr Marshall said it was inspired by the shadow juries that have "worked wonders in enlivening the climate of debate around mainstream literary awards such as the Man Booker Prize".
She added it would "investigate issues surrounding the definitions of science fiction". | A centre dedicated to science fiction and fantasy - understood to be the first of its type in the UK - has been set up by a university. | 38928786 |
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said the Care Quality Commission (CQC) expected improvement by 10 March.
Among possible options open to the CQC is to recommend appointing a trust special administrator to take over running the trust's three hospitals.
The trust, which has been in special measures since 2015, said it apologised for "any failings in the past".
The trust runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Treatment Centre and Alexandra Hospital, Redditch.
A spokesperson said the section 29A warning letter from the CQC was received on Friday.
In a message to staff released to the media, bosses said concerns raised related to all three main hospital sites and concerns focused around patient safety, compliance and governance.
Possible action in the future could include a trust special administrator being brought in and the trust being prosecuted, BBC Midlands Today health correspondent Michele Paduano said.
Read more news for Herefordshire and Worcestershire
Alexandra Hospital's in-patient paediatric ward was shut in 2016, which campaigners claimed was effectively a downgrade of accident and emergency, and neo-natal services were taken away in 2015.
The trust was placed in special measures in December 2015 by the CQC, which raised safety concerns over A&E, paediatrics, maternity and gynaecology departments.
In the message to staff, the trust said it fully accepted the CQC concerns.
It said: "As staff we must all be held accountable for our actions." | A hospital trust has been told to make significant improvements having been issued a warning notice. | 38815967 |
It comes ahead of peace talks between the left-wing group and the government, which begin on Tuesday in Ecuador.
The soldier, Freddy Moreno, has been handed over to delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Arauca province.
"The ELN has stood by its word," the rebel group tweeted.
The ELN talks follow successful negotiations between the government and Colombia's largest rebel group, the Farc, which took place in the Cuban capital, Havana, and lasted four years.
The head of the Red Cross in Colombia, Christoph Harnisch, said the gesture would "reinforce trust between the Colombian government and the ELN before the imminent opening of the public phase of peace negotiations".
The talks were due to begin at the end of October. But they were delayed as the government refused to go sit down for formal negotiations while the rebels still held Odin Sanchez, a former congressman.
Mr Sanchez was released last Thursday, after 10 months in captivity.
The rebels had demanded that in exchange the government pardoned two of its members serving time in Colombian jails.
The two sides struck a deal and the two ELN members were released on Saturday.
How significant is Colombia's ELN rebel group?
The two who have been released are expected to serve as rebel negotiators at the peace talks in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito.
The government reached a peace agreement with Colombia's largest rebel group, the Farc, last year.
Members of the Farc have been gathering in "transition zones", where they are to demobilise and lay down their weapons under the supervision of United Nations monitors.
The last of the Farc rebels are expected to reach the designated demobilisation areas by Wednesday, government officials said. | Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has released a soldier it had been holding hostage for two weeks. | 38887758 |
From ancient times to the present day, security, codes and puzzles have been intertwined, as have the people who have tried to crack those codes to read messages they were never meant to see.
During World War Two, the code-cracking centre at Bletchley Park was known to recruit people who were a dab hand at solving crosswords and other puzzles. The thinking was that success at those challenges demonstrated an ability that could aid attempts to crack German codes and ciphers.
In the modern day, the ability to work through a problem and decipher it is essential to anyone who works in cybersecurity, partly because a lot of what they do involves working out what is going on with less than perfect knowledge.
The puzzles below have been drawn up with the help of the team behind the UK's Cyber Security Challenge, which uses similar tests to find people who are good at problem solving who could be of use for attacking and defending computer networks.
They range in difficulty from simple to knotty and fiendish. We will let you know the answers next week.
Good luck.
This first puzzle is pretty straightforward. You even get the key. Use it to decipher the questions and then choose the right answer.
This time there is no key to help decipher this short string of numbers, so it is a bit harder. However, here is a hint - once deciphered the string will reveal the name of a famous maths code that uses numbers.
5 8 1 14 13 0 2 2 8 18 4 16 20 4 13 2 4
Code-breaking was practiced in Roman times: Julius Caesar was known to use a code to securely send messages to his armies. This message uses a type of cipher named after the Emperor to conceal its meaning. When you crack it you will find out where he kept his armies.
X S K L V V O H H Y L E V
Now the puzzles get more tricky. This code does not use numbers and letters to hide what it says. Instead, it swaps those familiar characters for symbols. Once cracked, the following message reveals who famously made use of this type of enciphering and the name of the technique. Here is a hint: it requires a code that shares its name with a place where a smelly farm animal is kept.
Challenge Five
This one is a real step up in difficulty. It can probably be done by trial and error, but it will be quicker to work out the rules governing the substitution and apply them. The key to cracking the message is elementary and you may find it easier to sit at a table rather than a desk to crack it.
Breaking the cipher will reveal a question. The solution is the answer to that question.
81, 1, 68, 59, 68, 86, 53, 76, 105, 53, 24, 22, 89, 5, 57, 68, 77, 50, 89, 81, 85, 4, 113, 71, 95, 86, 47, 44, 45, 33, 11, 64, 99, 12, 63, 10, 73, 8, 87, 52, 67, 68, 24, 72, 63, 25, 77, 6, 13, 3, 68, 57, 63, 101, 99, 60, 43, 14, 76, 88, 64, 47, 7, 53, 50, 99, 66, 76, 60, 22, 1, 99, 5, 47, 62, 53, 106, 8, 9, 81, 2, 68, 53, 75, 89, 52, 8, 25, 77, 27, 28, 113, 42, 4, 63, 75, 34, 63, 71, 63, 27, 52, 88, 76, 11, 17, 8, 11, 26, 77, 32, 113, 45, 13, 52, 77, 76, 11, 14, 13, 11, 66, 44, 63, 6, 114, 44, 37, 77, 7, 31, 6, 67, 63, 42, 77, 17, 13, 57, 84, 45, 8, 15, 63, 86, 43, 77, 68, 62, 74, 68, 23, 63, 92, 14, 68, 66, 53, 22, 52, 8, 24, 44, 68, 13, 81, 63, 18, 17, 53, 46, 72, 68, 44, 83, 39, 92, 62, 77, 28, 31, 52, 67, 63, 53, 28, 77, 43, 53, 13, 3, 3, 68, 65, 43, 63, 45, 34, 8, 26, 73, 67, 63, 68, 3, 63, 42, 68, 60, 65, 21, 4, 92, 73, 52, 74, 8, 57, 68, 65, 43, 63, 44, 38, 20, 13, 10, 52, 5, 63, 92, 50, 68, 66, 74, 67, 13, 81, 33, 75, 68, 81, 80, 63, 70?
Good work if you have got this far. This final challenging set of puzzles has three parts; when each one is completed it will reveal a quote from a well-known work of literature, whose author loved intellectual games of all kinds. Can you find all three?
Bear in mind while you are working on these that each puzzle is not necessarily just a cipher - there are some computer science basics mixed in. Each one is designed to be solved independently so if one of the puzzles defeats you then move on. Here's one final clue: Alice fell down a rabbit hole and left clues so Bob could find her...
The BBC would like to thank Bryony Chinnery and the UK's Cyber Security Challenge for helping to draw up this set of coding challenges. | If you want to stop people reading your secret messages, use a code to conceal the meaning. | 34312697 |
The attacker, 24, is contracted until next summer and has been the subject of failed bids by Rangers this summer.
"Jamie's been under a lot of attention, a lot of speculation all linking him to one particular club," said boss Cathro.
"We'll support him but everyone has to do the right things and respond properly."
Walker started the earlier League Cup first-round group games against Elgin City, East Fife and Peterhead but Cathro decided not to include him against the Pars - a match Hearts needed to win to secure qualification to the next round but drew and then lost the resulting penalty shoot-out.
"It's been quite a difficult situation for him, which I think at first, he's managed to deal with well and of course we'll support him," Cathro told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound before Saturday's game.
"I love his talent, I love the way that he plays but I would say just now it's just starting to affect his focus and his performance levels with us a little bit.
"So, naturally, in situations like that there are some players who are more deserving of being with us today and they're more deserving of their starting place in the team.
"Jamie's a Hearts player, an incredibly talented one, one I enjoy working with and he just has to respond correctly and work his way back into the team.
"There's just been a drop-off, a little drop off in his performance levels and his focus, which just takes us below the level that he needs to be at - like everyone, like all of his team-mates need to be at in order to be part of our team."
Asked if he thought Walker would respond to being left out and stay at the club, Cathro replied: "100%. That's his responsibility.
"He's a Hearts player, he's a fans' favourite, he's a top talent, he's someone who knows how highly regarded he is by everyone in the club - myself being one of the loudest in giving praise to him." | Jamie Walker was left out of his Hearts' squad against Dunfermline after "a little drop-off in his performance levels and his focus", Ian Cathro says. | 40763691 |
An oil tank at Muckery Orange Hall, on the Eskey Road near Derrytrasna, was set on fire in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police said the fire caused scorch damage to the hall's gable wall.
The Orange Order said it was the 10th reported attack on property owned by the order this year and fourth attack in the last month.
The order added that the hall was destroyed in a previous arson attack in 1997.
An Orange Order spokesperson described the arson as "utterly reprehensible".
"It is extremely fortunate that the consequences of their reckless behaviour was not much more serious."
DUP MLA Carla Lockhart described it as a "sickening attack".
"On speaking with members of the lodge, I am pleased to say that this attack will not deter them and they will ensure that the hall is restored."
UUP councillor Colin McCusker said "this type of intimidation will not succeed".
"This hall has been attacked before. It has been destroyed," he said,
"As we approach the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, it is vital that all right thinking people from right across the political spectrum ensure this activity has no support whatsoever." | An Orange hall in County Armagh has been damaged in an arson attack. | 36635178 |
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1 March 2015 Last updated at 08:40 GMT
Ben is 10 years old - he's a lover of rugby and has become a real talent.
He was born with just one full arm and three quarters of his right arm but it hasn't stopped him from enjoying his passions.
Hayley went to meet the inspiring young player... | A young boy who loves his rugby isn't letting his disability stop him from getting to the top of his sport. | 31659617 |
But when French teenagers sitting an exam about the book were asked to cope with a tough question, they fell short on one key element - the word "coping".
Now almost 12,000 students have signed a petition saying the question was "impossible" to answer because they didn't know the word.
The 17-year-old behind it claims "only someone bilingual" would understand it.
The students of the baccalaureate English exam were asked how Robbie Turner - who is falsely accused of rape - is "coping with the situation".
But thousands of them took to social media after the test, using the hashtag #BacAnglais, to claim that the question was too difficult.
Addressed to France's Minister of Education Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the petition calls the question "incomprehensible and impossible to answer".
The pupil behind it, a 17-year-old known only as Arthur, told a local TV station that coping was "not a very common word" and only someone with "excellent" English would know it.
The petition calls for the question either to be annulled from the marking scheme or that bonus points are awarded to those who answered it.
However, others defended the question. Hugo Travers, 18, tweeted: "In 2015 you find a question a little difficult, you launch a petition full of mistakes. No, just no."
The complaint follows a similar controversy in the UK two weeks ago, when a petition over a maths question attracted almost 40,000 signatures. | The characters in Ian McEwan's novel Atonement are called upon to cope with all sorts of tricky situations. | 33238996 |
Fred Reynolds, of Haywards Heath, said the government should have acted sooner to honour those who risked their lives.
A year ago, Prime Minister David Cameron, said the veterans should get medals and the issue was referred to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
An MoD spokeswoman said an independent review into the rules governing military medals would start soon.
The Arctic convoys transported four million tons of crucial supplies and munitions to Russia between 1941 and 1945 to fight off Hitler's advances.
In 2005 an arctic badge was awarded to the veterans but they say that does not go far enough.
Caroline Dineage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, is backing the veterans' campaign.
She said: "I think this is our way of saying 'we recognise that you suffered the most unimaginable hardships in order to keep this country safe'." | A Sussex war veteran has made a fresh call for sailors on the WWII Arctic convoys to be awarded military medals. | 16365864 |
Ministers are to takeover decisions on what language rules, or "standards", apply to which organisations.
Welsh language minister Alun Davies said he wanted to make the system as efficient as possible.
Commissioner Meri Huws called for evidence that changing the current system would lead to improvement.
Campaigners at Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, who held a protest at the launch of the proposals at the National Eisteddfod on Wednesday, are concerned it will lead to a weakening of Welsh-speakers' rights.
Instead of a single figurehead, the Welsh Government wants to create a Welsh Language Commission to promote the language.
Like the current commissioner, the body would also be responsible for policing the system.
The changes are the Welsh Government's preferred options in proposals for new legislation outlined in a White Paper launched at the National Eisteddfod on Wednesday.
Any shake-up would need to be approved by AMs before becoming law.
Banks, supermarkets and other organisations in the private sector would not immediately face new rules, despite such suggestions earlier this year.
"We are not proposing that the Welsh Government will imminently be imposing Standards on bodies which do not currently come within the Standards system," the white paper said.
"Given the current economic uncertainty following the decision to leave the EU, further pressures on private sector companies and inward investment would certainly carry a risk."
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg responded by claiming the proposals were aimed at "just making civil servants' jobs easier".
Chairwoman Heledd Gwyndaf told the BBC's Good Morning Wales programme she feared a new body would not have the same clout as a commissioner, and that being both promoter and regulator would result in a "clash of interests".
"It seems that our Welsh Labour Government are looking after big corporations and big companies... at the expense of the Welsh people," she said.
Plaid Cymru chairman Alun Ffred Jones, a former minister with responsibility for the Welsh language, said it was simply "rearranging the deckchairs".
"The government has failed miserably to promote the language," he added.
Mr Jones called for better co-ordination in Welsh Government departments covering areas such as schools, education and planning to increase the use of Welsh.
The changes to the commissioner's role are likely to be amongst the most controversial.
The current commissioner, Meri Huws, has been in post since the job was created in 2012.
Earlier this week she launched an investigation into claims retailer Sports Direct had instructed staff to converse in English only.
Asked about the proposals, she said: "I think it's a case of my job expanding. I think it's a case of my job moving forward.
"I think there is a need to look at the role of regulator and promoter - regulator and advocate side by side.
"Can they coexist in one structure? I believe they can, and if that means then that the Welsh Language Commissioner becomes a commission with that all encompassing role I would welcome it."
Ms Huws added: "I think change is acceptable if it is change that which lead to improvement.
"We need the evidence that any structural change will lead to that improvement, will lead to that strengthening of the Welsh language.
"Change for change's sake is not acceptable. And I don't think we should do that, because I think we will lose momentum.
"We cannot afford to lose momentum in terms of the Welsh language and of the government targets."
Mr Davies said a consultation earlier this year indicated there was too much "bureaucracy" involved in the "standards" system, which sees individual organisations given bespoke official requirements to provide certain services in Welsh.
"We want to refocus our efforts on promotion and make changes to the way the Welsh Language Standards system works to make sure it is as efficient and effective as possible in giving people rights to use Welsh," he said.
"I believe the Welsh Language Commission will be a powerhouse for achieving both these aims."
He later told BBC Wales he was "not here to please" Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg.
Mr Davies launched the Welsh Government's strategy to meet the target of one million Welsh speakers alongside First Minister Carwyn Jones and Wales football manager Chris Coleman in July.
The 2011 census had reported a drop in the number of Welsh speakers from 582,000 in 2001 to 562,000, about one in five of the population.
It's clear from reading today's proposals that ministers in Cardiff Bay do not think the system works at the moment.
The document talks about a system which is "too complex, time consuming and costly to implement" and "an urgent need to make changes so we avoid undermining the confidence of Welsh speakers and the goodwill of people who don't speak Welsh".
But it's also clear there isn't a silver bullet which means Welsh speakers can access services without hindrance while avoiding "a bureaucratic and costly system which threatens to choke off goodwill towards the Welsh language".
The answer, according to today's proposal from the Welsh Government, is to get rid of the arms-length Welsh Language commissioner and bring its responsibilities in-house.
The relationship between ministers and Meri Huws has, at times, been strained. Her attempts to create Wales-wide standards for public bodies in 2013 were rejected as being too complex.
While the proposals outlined today accepts there aren't any easy answers, it's also clear that ministers think they have a better chance of finding the best solution. | The job of Welsh language commissioner is to be scrapped as ministers try to hit an ambitious target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050. | 40865834 |
Kirkersville police Chief Steven Eric Disario, 36 - only recently appointed - was among the dead, his deputies told US media.
Two employees were found dead inside the Pine Kirk Care Center, and Disario was found outside the building.
The authorities have not given a motive for the shooting, and have not identified the other victims.
It is unclear if the gunman killed himself or whether he had a relationship with any of the victims.
Disario had only taken over the job about three weeks ago, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp told reporters on Friday afternoon.
He had six children, and one more "on the way", Mr Thorp said, adding that "it's a real hard day for all of us".
"It's just a tragic event," Mr Thorp said, adding that Disario had been responding to reports of a man with a gun when he was shot around 08:00 local time.
"I believe the last radio transmission we had from (Disario) was that he had the subject in sight," he said.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the accused shooter took two hostages in an alley, but both were released unharmed.
The 23 residents of the nursing home, who barricaded themselves inside during the shooting, have been moved so that investigators can analyse the crime scene.
Kirkersville is a small village about 25 miles (40km) outside Columbus, the capital of Ohio.
A primary school near the shooting scene was placed on lockdown, and classes were later cancelled for the day.
Governor John Kasich has taken to Twitter to pay his condolences, also ordering that flags at the state capitol fly at half-mast.
"Ohio mourns the loss of Kirkersville Chief Eric Disario, who died in the line of duty," he wrote, adding "blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God". | Three people and the suspected gunman have been found dead after a shooting at a nursing home in Ohio. | 39892293 |
Her body was found in a lock-up store on the allotments on Sheaveshill Avenue in Colindale.
Ms Adri-Soejoko, who was secretary of the Colindale Allotment Association, was reported missing at 01:40 GMT on Tuesday and found 20 minutes later.
Police have not released the cause of death but said she lost her life "in the most tragic way possible".
Det Ch Insp Noel McHugh of the Met Police said: "At this stage we are keeping an open mind about any possible motive and would ask any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.
"An elderly woman lost her life in the most tragic way possible and was left inside a storage unit similar to a garage."
According to police, Ms Adri-Soejoko was last seen at 18:30 on Sunday and spoke to a friend on the phone on Monday afternoon.
Det Ch Insp McHugh said a friend "became concerned and alerted family members" after the 80 year old did not turn up to a meeting in the Barnet area.
Cindy Matthews, who gardened in the allotment, described Ms Adri-Soejoko as "a lovely lady".
Another neighbour, Danila Catruta said the murder had left her "scared" and "very surprised".
Extra police patrols have been added in the area, Scotland Yard said. | An 80-year-old woman found murdered at an allotment in north-west London has been named as Lea Adri-Soejoko. | 39138825 |
Matthew Maer also told the Al-Sweady Public Inquiry he did not order the destruction of photos of dead Iraqis.
The inquiry is investigating claims detainees were mistreated and killed at a British base after a battle in 2004.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) denies the allegations.
Former brigadier Mr Maer, who was commanding officer of First Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (1PWRR) at the time of the so-called battle of Danny Boy, left the Army in 2012.
Lawyers acting for several Iraqi clients claim some were taken alive following the battle and mistreated or unlawfully killed at the nearby Camp Abu Naj (CAN) base.
The MoD has said any deaths occurred on the battlefield.
It has remained unclear so far as to who ordered the unusual decision of taking bodies from the battlefield back to the CAN base.
The British army says it wanted to check whether one of the dead Iraqis was an insurgent thought to have been involved in the killing of six Royal Military Police officers in 2003.
Mr Maer told the inquiry he thought the order had come from brigade headquarters in Basra, but had focused on dealing with its potential consequences rather than questioning it.
"I was concerned because it was a sensitive issue in a number of ways, not least of which was religion which was the need to have the dead buried before sunset the following day. So there were cultural and religious sensitivities as well," he said.
Mr Maer said there "was no policy whatsoever" to not make witnesses available to the Royal Military Police (RMP), which was conducting the investigation into allegations of wrongdoing.
He also said he did not remember giving an order to a fellow officer, Captain James Rands, to make sure any inappropriate photograph of enemy dead, wounded or prisoners were destroyed.
In a statement to the inquiry, dated November 2013, Mr Maer said the allegations were a "slur" on British troops.
"Had the alleged mistreatment and murder taken place, I have no doubt that the truth would have come out by now," he said
"Otherwise, there would have to be a massive conspiracy amongst a very large number of people, holding for over nine years now, despite the RMP and the judicial reviews proceedings and this inquiry."
Set up in 2010, the inquiry is named after one of the Iraqi men, 19-year-old Hamid al-Sweady, who is alleged to have been unlawfully killed while being held after the so-called Battle of Danny Boy.
The inquiry continues. | A former army officer has denied he or his troops were deliberately uncooperative with an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by British troops in Iraq. | 26025358 |
Planned Parenthood said the claims by an anti-abortion group are false and the foetal tissue is not sold for profit, but donated for research.
It is illegal to sell the body parts of aborted foetuses in the US.
House Speaker John Boehner urged the White House "to denounce, and stop, these gruesome practices".
"When an organisation monetises an unborn child - and with the cavalier attitude portrayed in this horrific video - we must all act,'' Mr Boehner said.
The group that filmed the video, the Center for Medical Progress, claimed in a statement that Planned Parenthood was selling body parts of aborted foetuses.
"Partial-birth" or late-term abortions - where foetuses are removed intact - are prohibited in most cases in the US. Medically they are known as intact dilation and extraction procedures.
Planned Parenthood called those claims "outrageous" and "flat-out untrue" and said the costs discussed in the video were to cover expenses.
"At several of our health centres, we help patients who want to donate tissue for scientific research, and we do this just like every other high-quality healthcare provider does," said Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood.
They say all donations are done in accordance with US laws regarding tissue donation and all patients who provide tissue do so voluntarily.
In the hidden camera video, Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical research, discusses providing foetal tissue.
She tells the filmmakers - who posed as employees of a biotech firm - that abortion doctors can adjust their methods to leave organs intact.
"We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact," Ms Nucatola said in the video.
The governors of Texas and Louisiana have also launched investigations into Planned Parenthood.
Several Republican candidates for president - including former Florida Governor Jed Bush and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina - also condemned the organisation.
"This isn't about 'choice.' It's about profiting on the death of the unborn while telling women it's about empowerment," Ms Fiorina wrote on Facebook. | The US Congress has launched an inquiry after a video claimed to show a Planned Parenthood doctor discussing the sale of foetal body parts. | 33545006 |
Wales elects 40 MPs to the House of Commons in 40 constituencies.
All 40 Welsh MPs from the last parliament are standing again - with a total of 213 candidates taking part.
Here's what you need to know ahead of Thursday's poll.
WELSH LABOUR
Welsh Labour is standing in 40 seats in Wales. It is defending 25 of them.
Its focus has been on defending what it holds - with the party playing down the chance of gains.
But it has said it has run serious campaigns in Gower, the Vale of Clwyd and Cardiff North, where the Conservatives have small majorities.
Manifesto guide
Ask the leader debate
Expert view
WELSH CONSERVATIVES
The Welsh Conservatives are standing in 40 seats and are defending 11.
All of its big targets are Labour-held seats, with Bridgend and Wrexham the most prominent.
Party sources have also talked about the Newport seats, Alyn and Deeside, Clwyd South, Cardiff South and Penarth and Cardiff West as possible targets.
Manifesto guide
Ask the leader debate
Expert view
PLAID CYMRU
Plaid is standing in all 40 seats and is defending three.
Earlier in the campaign Plaid said it was targeting six seats for gains - Ceredigion, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Rhondda, Ynys Mon and Llanelli.
Manifesto guide
Ask the leader debate
Expert view
WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
The Lib Dems are standing in 40 seats and are defending one seat.
The party is targeting Cardiff Central, Montgomeryshire and Brecon and Radnorshire, all seats it has previously held.
Manifesto guide
Ask the leader debate
Expert view
UKIP
UKIP is standing in 32 seats. It has yet to win a seat in Wales at a general election.
It would be a major shock if UKIP was to win a Westminster seat in Wales at this election.
Manifesto guide
Ask the leader debate
Expert view
Read more on the major parties' target seats.
Early on in the campaign BBC Wales produced a list of seats to keep an eye on on the night - seats which could spell out the story of this election.
They include Bridgend, the backyard of First Minister Carwyn Jones, that is being eyed-up by the Conservatives. The challenge for the seat was explored by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Other key seats to watch, include:
It may also be worth keeping an eye on Blaenau Gwent, which is held by Labour and is also being targeted by Plaid Cymru.
Voters elect MPs through a system known as first-past-the-post - the winner of the poll is the candidate with the most votes.
Polling stations open at 07:00 BST on Thursday and close at 22:00.
The ballot paper will list all the candidates standing in your constituency. Put a cross in the box next to the candidate you want to vote for.
The deadline to register to vote was 22 May. It is now too late to do so.
If you need an emergency proxy vote - if you are called away unexpected for work or you suffer a medical emergency - you can apply by 17:00 on polling day.
For more information visit the Electoral Commission website.
You can find your candidates for the election by putting your postcode in this box:
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Enter a postcode or seat name | Tomorrow Wales and the rest of the UK goes to the polls in 2017's general election. | 40161599 |
The 2010 world champion from Wrexham, 32, was part of the lightweight men's four that missed out on gold by less than a second four years ago.
Bartley is part of the Team GB quad that competes in the men's lightweight four heats on Saturday.
"To get on the podium in our event at the moment is very tough," he said.
"There's very, very strong crews out there... There's more depth over this four years.
"There is one or two stand-out crews each year, but the field behind that is so tightly packed and making the final from the top three in the semi-final just gets harder and harder every year and that semi-final has turned into a final in itself.
"If you don't get the pressure on yourself right in that position you're not going to make it.
"We've got to row two gold-standard A finals just to get there."
Bartley has been an ever-present in the four since 2009 and is one of Team GB's most experienced rowers.
He says the disappointment of missing out on gold in London motivated him to continue to Rio.
"I never intended to carry on after London. The plan was for that to be the end for me," he said.
"We just missed out by a tiny margin in the final, which I think in front of the home crowd is pretty painful.
"I think we all thought we were good enough to win, but things just didn't quite go our way.
"I think had they gone our way I might not be here now."
Find out how to get into rowing with our special guide.
Bartley's journey to Rio leads him to be philosophical about Team GB's chances of going one better than 2012.
"Winning a gold in Rio is not the be all and end all," he said, adding: "I've had a great time along the way... I've really enjoyed my four years.
"[I have] the hope that we'll stand on the top step definitely, but I think it's not going to be the end of the world if we don't, [but] obviously we'll be aiming up there." | Olympic silver medallist Chris Bartley says it will be harder to get on the podium at Rio 2016 than it was at London 2012. | 36990705 |
But what is behind this success?
Eyebrows were raised when the results of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's international maths, science and reading tests - the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests - were published.
Shanghai, taking part for the first time, came top in all three subjects.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong which was performing well in the last decade of British rule, has gone from good to great. In this global ranking, it came fourth in reading, second in maths and third in science.
These two Chinese cities - there was no national ranking for China - had outstripped leading education systems around the world.
The results for Beijing, not yet released, are not quite as spectacular. "But they are still high," says Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's head of education statistics and indicators.
Cheng Kai-Ming, Professor of Education at Hong Kong University, and closely involved in the Hong Kong and Shanghai tests, puts the results down to "a devotion to education not shared by some other cultures".
More than 80% of Shanghai's older secondary students attend after-school tutoring. They may spend another three to four hours each day on homework under close parental supervision.
The World Bank has looked at the distinguishing features of successful school systems.
According to the World Bank's education specialist, Harry Patrinos, this includes: improving the quality of teachers and making sure that teachers are highly regarded; providing information to make schools accountable and giving autonomy to schools and head teachers.
Putting money into the system does not necessarily lead to better results.
This matters not only for individual pupils but for the well-being of countries, he says, because improving educational performance has a direct impact on improving economic performance.
Successful school systems include Finland and South Korea.
Such diligence also reflects the ferociously competitive university entrance examinations.
"Not all Chinese parents are 'tiger mothers'," insists Prof Cheng. "But certainly they are devoted to their children's education."
Certainly both these open and outward-looking cities set great store by education, willing to adopt the best educational practices from around the world to ensure success. In Hong Kong, education accounts for more than one-fifth of entire government spending every year.
"Shanghai and Hong Kong are small education systems, virtually city states, with a concentration of ideas, manpower and resources for education," says Prof Cheng.
The innovation in these cities is not shared by other parts of China - not even Beijing, he says.
Under the banner "First class city, first class education", Shanghai set about systematically re-equipping classrooms, upgrading schools and revamping the curriculum in the last decade.
It got rid of the "key schools" system which concentrated resources only on top students and elite schools. Instead staff were trained in more interactive teaching methods and computers were brought in.
The city's schools are now a showcase for the country. About 80% of Shanghai school leavers go to university compared to an overall average of 24% in China.
Meanwhile, dynamic Hong Kong was forced into educational improvements as its industries moved to cheaper mainland Chinese areas in the 1990s. Its survival as a service and management hub for China depended on upgrading knowledge and skills.
In the last decade Hong Kong has concentrated on raising the bar and closing the gap or "lifting the floor" for all students, says a report by McKinsey management consultants.
The report, How the World's Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better, rated Hong Kong's education system among the best in the world.
But Hong Kong schools are undergoing another huge reform, lopping off the final year of secondary school and instead moving towards four-year university degrees from 2012 to align it with China.
Abandoning the old British model is a gamble and no-one knows how it will play out in terms of quality.
However, Hong Kong believes it has laid solid, unshakeable foundations.
"In the late 1990s we moved to all-graduate [teachers]. If we want to have high achievement, subject expertise is very important for secondary schools," said Catherine KK Chan, deputy secretary for education in the Hong Kong government.
Hong Kong, like Singapore, now recruits teachers from the top 30% of the graduate cohort. By contrast, according to the OECD, the US recruits from the bottom third.
Shanghai recruits teachers more broadly. But it is already a select group.
Shanghai controls who lives and works in the city through China's notorious "houkou" or permanent residency system, allowing only the best and the brightest to become residents with access to jobs and schools.
"For over 50 years Shanghai has been accumulating talent, the cream of the cream in China. That gives it an incredible advantage," says Ruth Heyhoe, former head of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, now at the University of Toronto.
The OECD's Mr Schleicher believes teacher training has played a part in Shanghai's success, with higher-performing teachers mentoring teachers from lower-performing schools, to raise standards across the board.
"What is striking about Shanghai is that there is quite a large socio-economic variability in the student population, but it does not play out in terms of its Pisa results," said Mr Schleicher.
"Some people have even suggested we did not include Shanghai's fairly large immigration population. Around 5.1% of the population are migrants from rural areas. Their children are definitely included," he said.
Last year Shanghai claimed to be the first Chinese city to provide free schooling for all migrant children. This year migrants outnumbered Shanghai-born children for the first time in state primary schools, making up 54% of the intake.
Prof Cheng agrees the Pisa results reflect a broad cross section. However the majority of migrant children are below 15 - the age at which the tests for international comparisons are taken. It is also the age of transfer to senior secondaries.
"If they were allowed to attend senior secondary schools in the city, the results would be very different," said Prof Cheng.
Even now "to some extent, where people are born largely determines their chances of educational success", said Gu Jun, a professor of sociology at Shanghai university.
Their societies are changing rapidly and for both Shanghai and Hong Kong, being top might prove to be easier than staying there. | China's education performance - at least in cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong - seems to be as spectacular as the country's breakneck economic expansion, outperforming many more advanced countries. | 14812822 |
The veteran socialist has led from the front in the civil rights and trade union movements, particularly in his home city of Londonderry.
His political activities even cost him his place as a psychology student at Queen's University in Belfast, when he was expelled in 1965.
His voice is an unmistakable one, be it on the airwaves or in newspaper print.
And he is no stranger to the ballot box, having contested his first election in 1969.
He stood in Foyle for the Northern Ireland Labour Party that year in the Stormont general election.
But he lost out to the independent nationalist John Hume, who went on to lead the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
A long-time opponent of military action right back to the days of the Vietnam War, he landed himself in court over a 2006 protest at the Derry operation of the US defence firm Raytheon.
He was acquitted of a charge of destroying property belonging to the missile manufacturer, but he was convicted of stealing discs from the firm.
Mr McCann's climb to Stormont has been a slow one.
He started building his power base in Foyle in the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election, standing for the Socialist Environmental Alliance, and was on the ballot paper in 2007, 2011 and 2016.
In between times, he fought Westminster polls in 2005 and 2010.
Mr McCann's electoral breakthrough finally came with People Before Profit (PBP), 47 years on from his first poll.
While the party does not have a leader as such, he assumes the role of its front man during assembly election campaigns.
In 2016, he took a seat from the SDLP in Foyle.
Mr McCann was one of two PBP members elected to Stormont for the first time last May, with Gerry Carroll topping the poll in West Belfast at the expense of Sinn Féin.
The anti-austerity PBP held seats in the Dáil in the Republic of Ireland, but that was the first time it had gained a parliamentary presence north of the border.
After a long time shouting on the outside, Mr McCann's voice was finally heard echoing around the chamber.
Now 73, he is back on the streets of Derry with his loudhailer, trying to keep hold of his seat. | For decades, Eamonn McCann has been at the heart of the politics of protest in Northern Ireland. | 38892843 |
Atzaz Khan, 40, pleaded guilty to six counts of disseminating terrorist publications under the Terrorism Act at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday.
Khan, of Otley Road, Bradford, used several accounts to post terrorism material online, police said.
When they were shut down, he activated others and posted links to publications praising the Paris terrorist attacks.
More stories from Leeds and West Yorkshire
Officers said Khan was arrested in March 2016 after making posts on social media in support of the so-called Islamic State group.
Det Ch Supt Clive Wain, from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "Due to the vast reach and influence of social media, the implications of posting such material should not be underestimated.
"Tackling extremist material is an essential part of protecting the public and preventing offences that incite or encourage acts of terrorism." | A man has been jailed for a year after admitting terrorism offences relating to posts he made on social media. | 39666129 |
Noe Iniguez posted a photograph of his ex-girlfriend naked to her employer's Facebook page alongside derogatory comments.
The 36-year-old is the first person to be convicted under the new law.
Thirteen US states have enacted revenge porn laws over the past two years. England and Wales are also making it a criminal offence.
However, it remains a contentious issue.
California's revenge porn law bans the posting of nude or sexual images of an individual, including selfies, with the purpose of causing emotional distress.
Los Angeles-based Iniguez posted the photograph of his victim in March, accompanied by a message that called her a "drunk" and a "slut" and urged her employer to fire her. He used an alias in an attempt to hide his identity.
The woman had previously secured a restraining order against him after receiving abusive text messages following the break-up of their four-year-long relationship in 2011.
Iniguez was sentenced to one year in jail, 36 months of probation and instructed to attend domestic violence counselling after being found guilty of breaking the revenge porn law and violating a restraining order.
"California's new revenge porn law gives prosecutors a valuable tool to protect victims whose lives and reputations have been upended by a person they once trusted," said state prosecutor Mike Feuer.
"This conviction sends a strong message that this type of malicious behaviour will not be tolerated."
Revenge porn laws are intended to make it easier for prosecutors to gain convictions for internet-based offences without having to appeal to pre-existing laws governing harassment and other offences.
California enacted a relatively tough law, requiring prosecutors to prove perpetrators had intended to cause distress at the time of their actions.
But other states have attempted to take a broader approach.
Arizona tried to ban all posts showing anyone "in a state of nudity or engaged in specific sexual activities" unless the person pictured had given their explicit permission.
This prompted a backlash from free speech campaigners, who suggested it would have prevented newspapers publishing pictures of abused naked prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
A judge subsequently halted enforcement of Arizona's law until it was rewritten.
England and Wales' new Criminal Justice and Courts Bill is set to make "the distribution of a private sexual image of someone without their consent and with the intention of causing them distress" illegal.
This will include images posted to social networks including Facebook and Twitter, as well as "offline" sharing via text messages. Those convicted will face a maximum two-year jail sentence.
The Scottish government has said that it is exploring the introduction of its own revenge porn law. And a member of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party has urged the nation's justice minister to introduce its own legislation.
The former Culture Secretary Maria Miller has, however, called for further action.
On Monday the Tory MP urged internet firms to adopt the same technologies they already used to prevent the spread of child abuse images in order to stop the proliferation of revenge porn pictures.
"This sort of industry-wide approach is what we should all expect from a mature, multinational sector of our economy," she said.
"We should not expect the burdens of removing illegal images from commercial websites to be solely the responsibility of the police.
"And if websites are hosted in more obscure countries then splash pages should be used to block illegal pornography images from being viewed in the UK in exactly the same way as they have been used to block child abuse images." | A man has been jailed after breaking a "revenge porn" law introduced in California last October. | 30307657 |
He also broke his pelvis, his back in four places, shattered his arm and chest, as well as sustaining a massive brain injury in the bomb attack.
Flanked by hundreds of people, he walked for nearly half an hour with an assistant who supported his arm.
Day 39 of the torch relay
began in Sheffield and ended in Cleethorpes
.
Lance Bombardier Parkinson's nomination stated: "The brain injury took his speech, but not his personality and sense of humour," adding he now speaks unaided.
It said: "Determined to prove everyone wrong, he fought back every step of the way. Ben's intelligence and wit [are] unchanged. Still the same funny and caring Ben."
He spends 12 hours a day in the gym and rehab and walks with crutches, spending "the rest of his time spent raising money for many military charities and as patron of his beloved
Pilgrim Bandits
".
Major David Walker, his commanding officer, said he was in "absolute awe" of his colleague.
"I'm just about managing to keep it together," Major Walker told the BBC. "Ben's tenacity and sheer courage and determination is absolutely amazing."
A total of 130 torchbearers took part in the 39th day of the relay, covering 77 miles in generally good weather.
Doncaster Council said about 80,000 people turned out to see the torch in the town.
The first torchbearer of the day was Lucy Brunt, 13, from Sheffield, who completed a lap of the Don Valley Stadium running track to start the relay.
Ms Brunt was nominated to run at the athletics stadium for her courage and determination in coping with Down's Syndrome.
Poet and storyteller Debjani Chatterjee carried the flame into the
Magna Science and Adventure Centre
in Rotherham, which included a spark-filled visit to the Fire Pavilion.
The centre was opened in 2001 and was built on the site of the Templeborough Steelworks, which was once the largest in the world.
Just before the end of the relay the flame was taken on a brief trip on the
Cleethorpes Light Railway
before the final part of the day's journey was undertaken by 92-year-old World War II veteran Jack Andrew, from Sheffield.
He was nominated for his passion for sport, which has driven him to coach local football and cricket teams and continue to play golf despite having both knees replaced.
Other torchbearers on the day included James Needham, 28, an England wheelchair rugby gold medallist who teaches wheelchair skills to newly injured people.
In Rotherham, Chloe Birch, 16, carried the flame. She has been playing badminton since she was eight and has been representing England since she was 11.
Former footballer and TV pundit Chris Kamara carried the flame in Doncaster.
Throughout the day the flame travelled through Rotherham, Dalton, Thrybergh, Conisbrough, Warmsworth, Doncaster, Armthorpe, Dunsville, Hatfield, Scunthorpe, Brigg, Wrawby, Immingham and Grimsby before arriving in Cleethorpes.
Search maps, check street routes and join in 70 days of live coverage in video, stories and pictures
Find out where the Olympic torch is going
The evening celebration in Meridian Park, which got under way at 17:00 BST, was to feature a community street dance performance and a showcase of music from the
East Coast Elite Brass and Percussion Corps
, which is based in Grimsby.
London-based band Tribes and dance act Twist & Pulse were also due to perform.
A total of 8,000 people will carry the flame during its 8,000 mile, 70-day journey to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London on 27 July. | Ben Parkinson, a Paratrooper who was injured in Afghanistan in 2006 and lost both legs below the knee, has walked with the torch through Doncaster. | 18579631 |
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