document
stringlengths 0
39k
| summary
stringlengths 1
329
| id
stringlengths 8
8
|
|---|---|---|
A clinical study by British scientists has shown that the improvement is long-lasting and so the therapy is suitable to be offered as a treatment.
The researchers will apply for approval to begin trials to treat more common forms of blindness next year.
The therapy involve injecting working copy of the gene into the back of the eyes to help cells regenerate.
The results of the therapy, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have been tried out on 14 patients in the UK and 18 in the US, Canada and Germany over the past four and a half years.
A team at Oxford University is treating a rare disorder called choroideremia. The disorder affects young men whose light-detecting cells in the backs of their eyes are dying because they have inherited a faulty gene.
Until now, there has been no treatment and they gradually become blind.
The researchers found that not only does the treatment halt the disease, it revives some of the dying cells and improves the patient's vision, in some cases markedly.
A 24-year-old history teacher Joe Pepper, who works at St John's school in Leatherhead in Surrey, is the latest patient to have been treated.
Joe played for Hayes Cricket Club in Kent as a boy, but was forced to give it up at 16 when his vision deteriorated.
But he could see well enough to continue his love of the game as a coach at his school.
Without the gene therapy, he would have had to give that up too within a few years, as he gradually became blind. The prospect terrified him.
"When I was 18, my vision was in a very bad place," he said. "[My sight] was degenerating at quite a speed."
He told me: "I was scared of what would have happened; I was scared of not being able to see or live the life I had.
"And now to have the belief that that's not going to happen is a weight off your shoulders."
Joe is popular with the pupils. He is jovial and laughs a lot. He teaches sport and history with a passion and enthusiasm that are infectious.
But his positive personality belies the fact that the past few years have been challenging for him as his sight worsened.
"It was really quite upsetting, not only for me, but for my family.
"I was never blind but every year there would be something new to compensate for, so my life was never steady and it was the constant changes that affected me the most, particularly when I was 18. Not being able to do what my peers were doing I found quite hard for a while."
Joe had his operation in October and began to notice an improvement soon after.
"After the operation I was looking into our garden and I could see more but I wasn't sure.
"I didn't tell my mum and dad. I didn't want to let anyone get excited until we had done a simple vision test in a week's time."
The test involved reading a sight chart of letters. Each line on the chart had progressively smaller letters.
He read line after line, going four lines beyond where he had ever read before. The medical staff were astounded.
"Everyone in the room just looked at me and I looked at them," he said reliving the moment.
"Anna, the research nurse, was taking me back out of the waiting room and she just looked at me and said it was 'fantastic' - both of us just had tears in our eyes."
Joe met his father in the waiting area. He was alarmed at the sight of his son in tears.
"He thought that it was [bad news] and he just looked at me and we both sat there in each others' arms just realising that actually it had..." [Joe could not finish his sentence].
It was only when he was giving me his account of the joy and relief he felt with his father that the full emotional impact of the moment hit him for the first time.
After a brief pause he continued: "I cannot explain how terrifying and upsetting it was when I was younger," he continued.
"And now to know that there is so much opportunity, there is so much that I can actually do and do the things that I have actually wanted to and continue to do the things I really enjoy."
There are others with similar stories to Joe's.
Wayne Thompson, a 46-year-old IT worker from Staffordshire was delighted to be able to see stars in the night sky for the first time following his operation. Jonathan Wyatt, a 68-year-old former lawyer, says "it has opened a new chapter of my life for me when I thought that the book was about to close".
As the researchers have gained confidence in their treatment, they have tried it out on progressively younger patients who still have reasonably good vision.
Joe is the youngest and the most successful so far. This suggests that the gene therapy may be most effective on younger patients before the disease becomes irreversible.
The study also indicates that the treatment is long-lasting. The first patient received the therapy four and a half years ago and his treated eye has shown no drop-off in vision. Indeed, there are still slight improvements in his vision in that eye.
This is the first indication that the treatment is viable and could be widely used on patients, according to the eye surgeon leading the trial, Prof Robert MacLaren of Oxford University.
"The concept of gene therapy is that it corrects gene defects. Ideally, we should only have to do that once, because once the DNA is corrected and inserted into the correct cell, that cell should be able to continue its function as normal," he told BBC News.
"We seem to have achieved this concept of one single treatment that does not need to be repeated which is unlike traditional medicines."
Prof MacLaren says that if the next phase of larger trials goes as he anticipates, a gene therapy for choroideremia will be licensed in three years.
He has also begun to develop gene therapy trials to treat more common forms of blindness, such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. These could begin as early as next year.
Treating these disorders will be more challenging. Choroideremia is caused by a defect in a single gene, whereas the more common forms of blindness involve several.
But Prof MacLaren believes that the choroideremia trials have laid the ground for the next phase of studies and, crucially, shown that gene therapy for blindness is safe and works.
"When I started my career as an eye surgeon when we had these patients that had inherited diseases, not only did we tell them nothing could be done but we would actually discharge them from the clinics.
"We are now calling them back in to test them, to look at them in great detail because potential treatments are available. To treat a disease at the genetic level is surely the most efficient way of treating a disease, to prevent it from happening in the first place.
"We would like to develop treatments for more common forms of blindness and this may be available in the next five to 10 years," he told BBC News.
The Research is funded by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund which is a partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health.
Follow Pallab on Twitter | A genetic therapy has improved the vision of patients who would otherwise have gone blind. | 36101786 |
Police found the cannabis patch, covering an area the size of a football pitch, after a call from a member of the public in Kingston.
They found more than 150 plants, some more than 5ft (1.5m) tall. The plants are to be destroyed.
PC Sarah Henderson said it looked like "a small forest of Christmas trees and was complete with a gazebo".
The plants were found near Lower Marsh Lane.
"Whoever set this up used a really remote spot - the only way to get there was a 20-minute walk through wasteland.
"But all their time, trouble and gardening skills will go unrewarded, as the whole lot will now be destroyed by police," she said.
There have been no arrests and inquiries continue, the police said. | Scores of cannabis plants have been discovered growing in a remote area of disused land in south-west London. | 34359775 |
Renfrewshire Council member Terry Kelly, who wrote strongly in defence of Ken Livingstone, has been suspended by Labour pending an investigation.
In posts on his blog, Mr Kelly refers to Israel as a "war criminal state".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has set up an independent inquiry into anti-Semitism and racism in the party.
It comes after former London mayor Mr Livingstone was suspended from the party for making comments about Hitler while speaking in defence of MP Naz Shah, who had earlier been suspended over accusations she was anti-Semitic.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the row, which has chiefly focused on Westminster figures, was having an impact on her Holyrood campaign north of the border.
Writing in defence of Mr Livingstone, Paisley North West representative Mr Kelly described himself as "anti Zionist and anti Israel".
He wrote: "To accept the charge of anti-Semitism you have to also accept that opposition to Zionism and Israel means you are anti-Semitic.
"I like many many others fit that bill of being anti Zionist and anti Israel, and also like those others I refute that accusation because I and they are not anti-Jewish in any way, nor are millions of Jews worldwide who agree with me."
In posts dating back to 2008, Mr Kelly complained about the "Jewish lobby" attempting to influence the Academy Awards, as well as comparing the actions of Israelis to the Holocaust.
Commenting on the situation in Gaza, Mr Kelly wrote: "Israel decided that the children and old and sick would continue to suffer and die. This is being done by the survivors of the Holocaust, it beggars belief that the Jewish people who suffered so much could treat innocent children this way but that's what they are doing.
"They are bringing shame on decent Jewish people all over the world. There must be millions of Jews all around the world who abhor what Israel is doing, why don't we hear their voices, when will they stand up and shout 'enough'?"
Renfewshire Council said Mr Kelly had not been suspended as a councillor, but said he could not serve on boards or committees he attends as a party representative while he is suspended by Labour.
A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Council's SNP group said Mr Kelly's conduct was "proof that Labour are not fit to govern".
"Councillor Kelly has made clear many times on social media his support for the view of the Iranian leadership that Israel has no right to exist, this denies the voice of the Israeli peace movement and progressive voices that want a change of policy on the Palestinian question," the spokesperson said.
"Councillor Kelly was a Militant supporter in the 1980s, and comes from the same hard left stable as Jeremy Corbyn. Labour is simply unelectable these days, and this is proof."
A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "Terry Kelly has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation." | A Scottish Labour councillor has been suspended from the party over a series of posts on his blog about Zionism and Israel. | 36206832 |
The Wave wants to build the facility on land at Over Court Farm in Almondsbury and Washingpool Farm in Easter Compton.
A public consultation on the plans, which would create a freshwater lagoon on the 40 acre site, will run until 1 September.
The finalised plans will then be submitted to South Gloucestershire Council.
A spokeswoman for The Wave said if the plans were approved this year, the lake could be completed next year.
A company based in San Sebastian in Spain would create the technology needed to generate waves of up to 1.5m (5ft) high.
The Wave said it would be "joining forces" with an outdoor activity centre which already has an established business at the site. | Plans for a £6m artificial surfing lake near Bristol have gone on display to the public. | 23335868 |
"It doesn't seem to me that he's unhappy," Idle told the Radio Times. "He hasn't forgotten who he is, yet. Terry's still here. He's not gone."
Earlier this year it was announced that the 73-year-old has primary progressive aphasia, a severe variant of dementia.
"It's been coming on for about five or six years," Idle revealed.
"We've all known about it. I was only happy that we managed to do the Monty Python shows at the O2 while we could still get him through it."
Jones and Idle performed a series of shows with John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin at the London arena in 2014.
"We said, 'Look, Terry, don't worry, we're going to get you through this,'" said Idle. "'We're all in this together.'"
Idle went on to say Jones's condition was "becoming noticeable" last year and that he was "glad" his illness had been made public.
Idle will be seen on BBC Two this Christmas in The Entire Universe, a comedy special co-starring Professor Brian Cox.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Terry Jones's dementia has not got to the stage where he has become unhappy and unaware of who he is, his Monty Python co-star Eric Idle has said. | 38169450 |
The Wales forwards made their debuts for the west country club in Saturday's 32-17 win over Scarlets.
Priestland lasted only 10 minutes against his former team before leaving the field after a knock to the head.
"They're a couple of of boys I know pretty well and they've both settled in well," said the 48-times capped Wales fly-half.
"Taulupe started today and Luke came off the bench and they both added a lot to the squad.
"Hopefully throughout the season we'll see just how good they are and they can bring their experience and knowledge and add something to the squad and I'm sure they will do."
Number eight Faletau joined Bath from Newport Gwent Dragons at the end of the 2015-16 season while second row Charteris was at Racing 92 in France.
The 29-year-old Priestland is in his second season with Bath after eight years with Scarlets.
He was understudy to England fly-half George Ford last season, but says he is enjoying playing at the Recreation Ground where former All Black Todd Blackadder has taken over as coach from Mike Ford following Bath's ninth-placed Premiership finish.
"I'm really enjoying it," added Priestland, who has been linked with Bristol and Worcester despite having a year left on his contract with Bath.
"It's a very talented squad and a good group of people involved in the club.
"We were all disappointed with the way the season went last year but fingers crossed this year we've got new coaches, hopefully we'll have some fresh ideas and it's been a good pre-season."
Priestland, a Six Nations Grand Slam winner with Wales in 2012, was disappointed not to get more time against the Scarlets.
"It was pretty strange. It's the first time I've ever played against a team I've played for before and it's just a shame it lasted about 10 minutes," he added.
"I just got a bang on the head - I passed all the tests in there but I think these days everyone wants to play it safe when it comes to head injuries and the doctor made the call it was out of my hands
"I'm showing no symptoms now and hopefully I can play next week if selected against Leinster." | Rhys Priestland believes new recruits Taulupe Faletau and Luke Charteris will "add something" to Bath this season. | 37148833 |
He's releasing a brand new solo album, touring with Iggy Azalea in the US and still starring in Kingdom as an MMA fighter.
Now he's announced that he'll be starring in Ryan Murphy's new Fox mini-series Scream Queens and Nick says filming for that kicks off in March.
He will be appearing alongside the likes of singer Ariana Grande and Lea Michelle from Glee.
Also starring in the show will be Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Scream Queens is being described as a comedy-horror, where a murder on a college campus throws everything into turmoil.
"As an actor I was trying to find projects that I was passionate about and that would help me to grow," he said.
"Kingdom is a really serious dramatic role. I play Nate Kulina on that show.
"So we were looking for something that would break that up a little bit, on the comedy side. So this is a darker comedy.
"Ryan Murphy is obviously a creative genius and has had major success in the last couple of years, whether it's Glee or American Horror Story.
"So I think this will be another success story."
Nick's new single Jealous is due out at the end of February and has already clocked up some impressive hits on YouTube (more than 31 million views) and Spotify (more than two and a half million streams).
Call us cynical, but it may have to do with him ditching his purity ring and flaunting his six pack at every given opportunity.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | It is set to be a very busy year for Nick Jonas. | 31008517 |
Pembrokeshire council investigated Torquing Group after complaints were made against the project.
About 12,000 backers lost money after more than £2m was invested in the initiative, based in Pembroke Dock.
But the council said there was "not enough evidence to justify a successful criminal prosecution".
Backers lost their money, which was invested through crowd funding, when the firm went into voluntary liquidation in November.
Following complaints, the council's trading standards team launched an investigation relating to the advertising and sale of the Zano drones.
On Thursday, Huw George, cabinet member for environmental and regulatory services, said: "Over the past six months we have carried out a thorough and exhaustive investigation into the Zano project.
"We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to justify a successful criminal prosecution on several grounds - including that there was insufficient proof that the drone was incapable of carrying out the functions advertised at the time of the launch." | No legal action will be taken against a Pembrokeshire firm behind a failed Zano mini-drone project, an official investigation has concluded. | 36610685 |
The plane will be part of a £16m Bristol Aerospace Centre and museum at the former Filton airfield in neighbouring South Gloucestershire.
Labour and Conservative general election candidates for Filton and Bradley Stoke called on George Ferguson and Bristol City Council to invest in the project.
The BBC has invited Mr Ferguson to comment.
The comments were made during a general election debate on BBC Radio Bristol.
'Very appropriate'
Labour's Ian Boulton said the museum would benefit the whole region.
"There's a real danger that this will become the South Gloucestershire aero collection so we'd like to get Bristol on board with that," he said.
Conservative Jack Lopresti said: "I still haven't given up hope of getting a meeting with George Ferguson to see if Bristol are willing to help with the project."
The Liberal Democrat candidate Pete Bruce, said it would be "very appropriate" for Bristol to contribute towards the cost of the museum.
"It will be good for the area as a whole and good to have Bristol as a partner helping with the exhibits and renovations," said Mr Bruce.
Last week, a £2m Budget windfall towards the cost of the centre was announced.
The airfield site includes two Grade II-listed hangars built by the Royal Flying Corp during World War One.
They were later home to 501 Squadron, which won seven honours in World War Two and was one of the most heavily-engaged units in RAF Fighter Command. | Bristol's mayor has been urged to help pay for a permanent home for Concorde. | 32146429 |
They say that 133 people were rescued, but 16 are still missing after the four-deck Almirante went down near the popular resort town of Guatapé.
There were about 170 people on board. Witness Juan Quiroz told the BBC the boat sank in less than five minutes.
Leisure boats quickly came to the rescue, hauling victims from the water and the top deck of the vessel.
Some survivors complained that they had not been given life jackets.
Army helicopters and divers later joined the search-and-rescue operation.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who travelled to the scene on Sunday evening, said six people had been killed, revising down an initial death toll of nine given by officials.
More than 20 people have been taken to a hospital in Guatapé.
Eyewitness Louisa Murphy told the BBC: "We saw things flying off the side of the boat. And within, I think, probably about 20 second the boat had sort of sunk with just the top deck visible."
Luis Bernardo Morales, a fire service captain involved in the rescue, said the boat was very close to the port when it sank.
"We do not know whether it was a mechanical failure, an overloading or something to do with the currents that caused it to sink," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
Local residents said that the vessel had sunk twice before but had then been repaired before being used again.
Guatapé is a popular Andean resort town, known for its water sports and recreational activities. | At least six people died when a passenger boat sank on a reservoir in north-western Colombia, officials say. | 40401146 |
The system has been used five times so far in Russia, causing confusion - at times - for spectators.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: "We have seen how video assistance has helped referees to make the correct decisions.
"I am extremely happy with VAR so far. This is a milestone tournament."
Video assistance was introduced for the first time in a Fifa competition at the Club World Cup in Japan last December, and is being used in selected competitions.
England had their first experience of the technology last week when France defender Raphael Varane was sent off after a referral in their friendly match in Paris.
Portugal defender Pepe had a goal disallowed for offside after a referral to VAR against Mexico, while Chile forward Eduardo Vargas had a strike correctly ruled out for a very marginal offside against Cameroon.
His goal in the 91st minute was also referred to the video assistant referees - presumably to check on another possible offside - but it stood.
On Monday, Tomi Juric's goal for Australia against Germany was allowed to stand despite a suspected handball after a review by the VAR.
Fifa said all five incidents were goal situations: four related to offsides, and one to a handball.
Infantino added: "The VAR tests during this Confederations Cup are also helping us to improve the processes and fine-tune communication.
"What fans have been waiting for over so many years is finally happening."
Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live's Monday Night Club:
You can't blame the referees at all [for referring to VAR], because if they don't look up what the players are claiming and it turns out it did happen then they're going to get in an awful lot of trouble.
The problem you've now got is players will claim for absolutely anything, any reason to review the goal and have a look. It's going to cut down the amount of goals being scored, because every time a goal goes in, it will get reviewed.
There will be 10, 15, 20% of goals that they find a tiny reason why they should rule them out. It frustrates me already, I dislike it completely.
There will be teething problems but it's on the way to becoming part of football and I just can't see it being stopped. | Fifa has defended the use of video assistant referees (VARs) in the Confederations Cup, saying the technology is 'the future of football'. | 40335718 |
Forest Green opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Rob Sinclair picked the ball up in midfield and set Elliott Frear in on goal down the left channel,and he made no mistake to fire past Alan Julian and into the bottom corner.
Sam Russell then produced a superb save to deny Blair Turgott and preserve the lead before Rovers doubled their advantage when Christian Doidge got on the end of Frear's low cross into the box.
Rob Swaine headed Bromley back into the game five minutes after the break but it did not take Rovers long to restore the two-goal advantage as Keanu Marsh-Brown picked up a loose ball on the right and fired home a minute later.
And just moments later Forest Green made it four when Frear's free-kick was headed into the net by Ethan Pinnock before Swaine was dismissed late on for a second caution.
Doidge then wrapped it up in stoppage time with his second of the afternoon after being set up smartly by Liam Noble.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Bromley 1, Forest Green Rovers 5.
Second Half ends, Bromley 1, Forest Green Rovers 5.
Blair Turgott (Bromley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Christian Doidge (Forest Green Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! Bromley 1, Forest Green Rovers 5. Christian Doidge (Forest Green Rovers).
Fabien Robert (Forest Green Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Second yellow card to Rob Swaine (Bromley) for a bad foul.
Lee Minshull (Bromley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, Forest Green Rovers. Shamir Mullings replaces Rob Sinclair.
Substitution, Forest Green Rovers. Charlie Cooper replaces Keanu Marsh-Brown.
Substitution, Bromley. George Porter replaces Dave Martin.
Substitution, Bromley. Lee Minshull replaces Ben Chorley.
Substitution, Forest Green Rovers. Fabien Robert replaces Elliott Frear.
Goal! Bromley 1, Forest Green Rovers 4. Ethan Pinnock (Forest Green Rovers).
Ben Chorley (Bromley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! Bromley 1, Forest Green Rovers 3. Keanu Marsh-Brown (Forest Green Rovers).
Goal! Bromley 1, Forest Green Rovers 2. Rob Swaine (Bromley).
Dave Martin (Bromley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Second Half begins Bromley 0, Forest Green Rovers 2.
First Half ends, Bromley 0, Forest Green Rovers 2.
Goal! Bromley 0, Forest Green Rovers 2. Christian Doidge (Forest Green Rovers).
Rob Swaine (Bromley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! Bromley 0, Forest Green Rovers 1. Elliott Frear (Forest Green Rovers).
Charlie Clough (Forest Green Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | Forest Green closed the gap to second-placed Tranmere to just a point with a comfortable 5-1 National League win over 10-man Bromley at Hayes Lane. | 38475181 |
The victims, aged 18 to 38, were assaulted in East Acton between January and March.
Officers are also asking for any women who may have been attacked in the area to come forward.
Detectives have issued CCTV images of a man they wish to speak to in connection with the incidents. He is described as white or Asian, aged between 20 and 32, 6ft tall, and of slim build.
Timeline of attacks | Police have linked four sex attacks on women walking alone in west London. | 36583797 |
They said the move was part of US-led investigations into corruption at Fifa, world football's governing body.
Last month the president of Conmebol, the Paraguayan Juan Angel Napout, was extradited to the United States to face charges there.
Mr Napout has pleaded not guilty to taking millions of dollars in bribes.
Paraguay's state prosecution service said in a statement it was "searching for documentation related to the granting of commercial and broadcast rights for sporting events".
A lawyer for the confederation, Alfredo Montanaro, said the raid was "irresponsible".
"It is very strange. We have been cooperating with the judicial authorities of the United States, Uruguay and Paraguay."
Who are the indicted Fifa officials?
Mr Napout, 57, was also a Fifa vice-president. He was arrested in a dawn raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, on 3 December.
He is accused of taking bribes worth millions of dollars linked to the sale of marketing rights to South American tournaments.
He resigned as Conmebol president on 11 December following his arrest and is currently banned from football.
Meanwhile, the former general secretary of Guatemala's football federation, Hector Trujillo, who has been charged with corruption in the US, has been allowed out on the terms of his house arrest.
He must wear an electronic monitor and cannot travel more than 50 miles (80km) from a federal courthouse in Brooklyn as part of a bail agreement set by a US magistrate.
The FBI investigation into Fifa corruption was initially sparked by the controversial award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, as well as the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup awarded to Russia.
But the inquiry has since been widened to look at Fifa's dealings over the past 20 years. The US says the corruption was planned in the US and US banks were used to transfer money. | State prosecutors in Paraguay have raided the headquarters of Conmebol, South America's football confederation, near the capital Asuncion. | 35258875 |
During their last TV debate in Iowa a week before the selection process begins, he also admitted that he would raise taxes if he won, adding some families would still be better off.
Mrs Clinton once had a comfortable opinion poll lead in the state.
The pair are now running neck-and-neck. Martin O'Malley is a distant third.
Profile: Hillary Clinton
Profile: Bernie Sanders
Does America need to change how it elects its presidents?
The contenders
Billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz have a clear lead over five other candidates seeking the Republican nomination.
CNN's televised debate in Des Moines, Iowa, could be summarised as pragmatism versus passion, reports the BBC's Laura Bicker.
During the event, at which the three candidates appeared separately, Hillary Clinton praised the "poetry" of Senator Sanders's campaign but said the country was "governed in prose".
Her critics "throw all this stuff at me - and I'm still standing", she said.
The Vermont senator, who has energised young voters with his call for a political revolution, repeated his pledge to "take on the greed of corporate America".
He contrasted his own commitment to a "Medicare-for-all" programme and free public university tuition to Mrs Clinton's vote to authorise the Iraq war and early support for the controversial Canada to Texas Keystone pipeline.
Mrs Clinton highlighted her "40-year record in going after inequality" and suggested Mr Sanders was ill-equipped to face the tough challenge of being president.
She also said she was "really touched and gratified" to see comments from President Barack Obama in a Politico interview, in which he called her "wicked smart" and suggested Mr Sanders benefited from "the luxury of being a complete long shot".
Mr Obama has not endorsed any candidate and the Sanders campaign has applauded his "even-handedness" throughout the campaign.
Mr O'Malley, meanwhile, was cheered when he cited climate change as the issue young Americans should be most concerned about.
He enjoined his supporters to "hold strong" and continue the struggle for the presidential ticket. | Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has said his judgement is as important as the experience of his rival Hillary Clinton. | 35407839 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
Rose, 36, sunk five birdies in the last seven holes in his five-under-par 67 to join Garcia, who hit 70, on six under.
Rickie Fowler finished a shot back, while Jordan Spieth carded a 68 to move level with fellow Americans Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore on four under.
Lee Westwood (68) moved to one under while Rory McIlroy (71) is level par.
Rose is one of four previous major winners in the top 10 going into Sunday's final round, which will be live and uninterrupted on BBC Two from 18:30 BST.
Garcia, Fowler and England's Westwood are all hoping to finally land one of golf's four most prestigious tournaments.
Olympic champion Rose, 36, has not claimed a major since his maiden triumph at the 2013 US Open, but lifted himself into contention for a first Masters title with a stunning finish on Saturday.
The Englishman, who has four previous top-10 finishes at the Augusta National, was level par for the round after 11, only to blitz the final seven holes.
He rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the 17th, then a 10-footer at the last, to join Hoffman in the lead.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Garcia, playing alongside the 40-year-old Californian, birdied the 15th to briefly make it a three-way tie at the top.
But Hoffman, one of four to share the overnight lead after the second round, slipped behind Rose and Garcia after finding water on the par-three 16th and ending with a double bogey.
"The key for me was staying patient early in my round. For me the test was around six when I made bogey, I stayed with it and played well on the back nine. Everything clicked into gear," said Rose.
"Patience is the key on Sunday. This is a golf course where you have to pick your moments. That will be the game plan."
Two-time major winner Spieth is hoping to banish memories of last year's spectacular final-day collapse by winning his second Masters.
And the 23-year-old Texan, who has finished second, first and tied second in his three Augusta appearances, put himself in the frame again with a nerveless third-round display.
After an opening-round 75 which featured a quadruple-bogey nine on the 15th, Spieth was 10 shots adrift of leader Hoffman.
No previous Masters winner has trailed by more than seven shots after 18 holes.
Spieth, who recovered with a three-under 69 on Friday, started his third round with five pars, but three birdies in four holes before the turn catapulted him into contention.
Further birdies at 13 and 15 moved him into outright second, only for a bogey on 16 - his first in 30 holes - to drop him back into a share for fourth.
"We wanted to shoot four under and thought if we did the lead would move to six or seven and I'd creep on it," said the 2015 champion, who is bidding to become the youngest two-time Masters winner.
"Moments present themselves on Sunday here - it is about being patient.
"I know better than anyone what can happen on a Sunday."
World number eight Fowler putted solidly on his way to a hard-fought one-under-par 71, while Moore responded to the grief of losing his grandmother earlier this week with six birdies in a three-under 69.
Like Garcia, Worksop's Westwood has long been considered one of Europe's finest players, only to have an excellent career somewhat tarnished by the absence of a major title.
And the 43-year-old, who was third after an opening-round 70, appeared to have scuppered his chances of ending that long wait following a five-over 77 on Friday.
However, he is back with an outside chance after converting six birdies in a four-under-par 68.
"Obviously I would like to be deep in the red, but one under is pretty good," said Westwood, who finished tied second with Spieth last year.
"I've got half a chance if I can get a roll going on the front nine."
Media playback is not supported on this device
World number two McIlroy's hopes of becoming only the sixth man to win all four majors look slim.
The Northern Irishman, 27, made a strong start with birdies on the second and third, only to be set back by three-putts on the fifth and seventh which cost him a bogey and double bogey.
Further birdies on the eighth and 12th provided hope, but he could not add any more to close the gap on the leaders.
"I had some chances on the back nine that I could have converted," said the four-time major winner.
"I think I probably could have shot a 67 or 68, but I had just a few too many wasted opportunities.
"I'm going to need my best score around here, 65, to have a chance."
Find out how to get into golf with our special guide. | England's Justin Rose jumped into a share of the lead with Spain's Sergio Garcia as the battle for the Masters intensified on day three at Augusta. | 39543008 |
The Committee on Climate Change says the business plan for Heathrow projects a 15% increase in aviation emissions by 2050.
If that increase is allowed, members say, ministers will have to squeeze even deeper emissions cuts from other sectors of the economy.
The government said it was determined to keep to its climate change targets.
The Committee on Climate Change is a statutory body set up to advise the UK government on emissions targets.
It warns that creating the space for aviation emissions to grow will impose unbearable extra emissions reductions on sectors like steel-making, motoring and home heating.
The committee also says that in making the decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow, ministers appear to have jettisoned their policy that aviation emissions in 2050 would be frozen at 2005 levels.
Its chair, Lord Deben, wrote to the Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark, saying: “If emissions from aviation are now anticipated to be higher than 2005, then all other sectors would have to prepare for correspondingly higher emissions reductions.
“Aviation emissions at 2005 levels already imply an 85% reduction in other sectors. My committee has limited confidence about the options (for achieving the compensatory cuts needed).”
Already since 1990, aviation emissions have doubled while economy-wide emissions have reduced by more than a third. Ministers see aviation as a special case because low-carbon technology for planes is not well advanced.
The committee says the Department for Transport appears to be planning to solve the aviation overshoot by buying permits to pollute from poor countries which have low levels of CO2 emissions.
This is permitted internationally under a new code recently agreed by the aviation industry.
But it is a departure from the government’s own existing policy - and rules stipulate that the change should have been checked with the committee before being agreed.
A committee spokesman told BBC News: “The committee has consistently said the government should not plan to use credits to meet the 2050 target because these credits may not be available in the future and they may not be cheap.”
Doug Parr from Greenpeace said the affair showed climate change was still an afterthought from a government pursuing business as usual.
He said: “What ministers know full well but don't want to admit is that a third runway means other sectors of the economy will have to bear the costs of further carbon cuts - whether it’s regional airports or the manufacturing and steel industries.
“If that's the plan, it's time ministers came clean about it with those concerned and the British public."
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told BBC News: "The government agrees with the Airports Commission's assessment that a new runway at Heathrow can be delivered within the UK's carbon obligations.
"We are considering how we will continue to reduce our emissions across the economy through the 2020s and will set this out in our emissions reduction plan, which will send an important signal to the markets, businesses and investors.
"Our commitment to meeting our Climate Change Act target of an at least 80% emissions reduction below 1990 levels by 2050 is as strong as ever."
But it’s not just on aviation that climate policies are struggling. The government’s long-awaited master plan for reducing long-term emissions has been delayed again - until early 2017.
The government did signal help for electric vehicles in the Autumn Statement, although critics say it has much more to do.
But the biggest challenge is the UK’s leaky housing stock: since the government scrapped its ill-fated Green Deal programme of home insulation it has had no nationwide plan to improve comfort and reduce emissions from existing homes.
Follow Roger @rharrabin | Plans to expand Heathrow Airport are set to breach the government’s climate change laws, advisers have warned. | 38098451 |
Problems were identified at Drumpellier Lodge, at Bargeddie in North Lanarkshire, by the Care Inspectorate.
Its owners, Clancare Limited, have been ordered to improve staffing levels and the standard of care to residents.
The Care Inspectorate said it would "not hesitate to take further action" if further checks found no progress on the problems identified.
A Care Inspectorate spokesman said: "We have clearly set out the areas which require swift improvement at Drumpellier Lodge so that the care provided to residents reaches a standard that they have a right to expect.
"We will inspect this service again soon to check on progress and to ensure that improvements have been made.
"If we are not satisfied that sufficient progress is being made quickly, we will not hesitate to take further action."
The Care Inspectorate said it had served a formal improvement notice on Drumpellier Lodge.
The notice states that it must demonstrate that it is making "proper provision for the health, welfare and safety of service users".
It calls for "a written personal plan for each resident" which is reviewed "at least every six months".
Residents must have access to "sufficient meaningful activities" and have "access to outdoor space and events".
The care home has also been told to review staffing levels to make sure residents are properly cared for and make sure that the staffing schedule is followed.
The Care Inspectorate previously called for improvements at Drumpellier Lodge after finding failings in 2014. | Inspectors have told a care home to make "swift improvements" or face having its registration cancelled. | 35985700 |
Bale, 27, was sent off for only the second time in his career after shoving Jonathan Viera while playing for Real Madrid against Las Palmas this month.
Wales travel to Dublin on 24 March for a pivotal match against Group D leaders the Republic of Ireland, who they trail by four points in third place.
"I'm not at all worried," said Coleman.
"Anybody sensible looking at him, he never does that. I don't even know what happened. But he is a human being and sometimes you do something and regret it."
Bale's red card against Las Palmas was his first since he was dismissed in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 defeat by Stoke City in October 2008.
His furious reaction to a push from Viera was in startling contrast to his usual placid demeanour.
And although Bale is frequently a target for robust challenges from opponents, Coleman does not believe Wales' talisman is affected by attempts to unsettle him.
"If you look at his past he has been kicked from pillar to post, so I won't be worried," he added.
"I remember when we played Scotland and some ex-Scottish player said 'He can't play if he hasn't got any legs'.
"I looked at that and thought, 'Does he really seriously think that is going to bother him?' If you look and see where he is playing, under the pressure, in the spotlight, week in, week out, so whatever the opposition have got planned for him, he's seen it before and dealt with it before." | Wales manager Chris Coleman has dismissed concerns the Republic of Ireland might attempt to rile Gareth Bale in their World Cup qualifier. | 39296445 |
Despite being branded "total turtle turkey" by The Guardian and "dreadful" by The Telegraph, the Michael Bay-produced reboot starring Will Arnett and Megan Fox opened with £4.79m.
David Fincher thriller Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck, took £2.36m.
Pre-Halloween horror Annabelle was in third with £1.47m, ahead of young adult drama The Maze Runner in fourth place.
Romance The Best of Me starring James Marsden - the latest adaptation from Nicholas Sparks of The Notebook fame - took £636,842 in its first week.
The week's other new releases appeared at the bottom of the week's top ten.
Courtroom drama The Judge, starring Robert Downey Junior and Robert Duvall, was in ninth place after taking £420,720 and independent drama Northern Soul was in tenth place with £278,829. | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has topped the UK and Ireland box office, ending Gone Girl's two week run at number one. | 29708554 |
It will go on the wall at the Paralympic wheelchair tennis venue. During the Olympics, Eton Manor will have aquatic training pools on site.
Ms Duffy was appointed the first female poet laureate in 2009.
In March, 2012 organisers Locog said a line from Alfred Tennyson's Ulysses would be engraved as an installation at the park to inspire athletes.
The line "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" will be set in the centre of the village.
Alongside Ms Duffy, other poets who have been commissioned to write work for the park include Lemn Sissay, Jo Shapcott, Caroline Bird and John Burnside.
London 2012: Latest Olympic news, sport, features and programmes from the BBC
Ms Duffy said of the announcement, on National Poetry Day: "I'm delighted that poetry will be present in the Olympic Park and thrilled that my own contribution celebrates and remembers the history of this wonderful space."
After the Games, the plan is to turn Eton Manor into a sports centre for tennis, five-a-side football and hockey, and able to host elite hockey games for up to 15,000 spectators.
It is built on the site of a disused sports club. A war memorial there, to members who died in World Wars I and II, is being restored.
The Olympic Park poetry commissions are part of a nationwide programme, Winning Words. | A poem to be written by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy will go on display at Eton Manor in the Olympic Park. | 15196672 |
The Blaencwm tunnel was buried during the Beeching cutbacks of the UK railway network in the 1960s which led to the closure of thousands of train stations.
Volunteers are now drawing up plans to try to re-open the 3,300 yards (3017m) tunnel in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
They hope to receive funding to excavate the tunnel to attract tourists and create a cycle trail. | The longest railway tunnel in Wales could be dug out and re-opened to become a tourist attraction. | 30306243 |
The facility in Stafford Place will stock more than one million books and includes access to 3D printing.
Labour councillors disapproved of the new library, which has been relocated from Shire Hall, because it is not in the town centre.
Staffordshire County Council said it could be "used flexibly to meet the changing needs of local communities".
An Innovation Suite at the library features technology for local businesses, community groups, schools and individuals, the county council said.
Maureen Compton, a Labour councillor, said: "People are used to the Shire Hall... and the library being in the centre of town.
"It's a modern building... but people will have to get used to it because it's not going to move."
Ben Adams, Conservative cabinet member for learning and skills, said the area needed "flexible modern library spaces that suit the way people live now, and this is a perfect example".
The council launched a consultation into the future of its 43 libraries in 2014, after a drop in the number of people using them. | A new £1m library has opened in Stafford despite nearly 3,000 people signing a petition against the plans. | 34187495 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
Ian Parkhill headed an early goal from a corner and teenager Brad Lyons made it 2-0 with a superb long-range shot.
Aaron Burns revived Linfield's hopes with a firm header from a Ross Gaynor corner before the interval.
The visitors equalised six minutes after the break through Mark Haughey and the Blues defender scored with another header to clinch the victory.
Coleraine were unhappy about the winning goal as it came from a free-kick for a foul by Howard Beverland which they felt should not have been awarded.
It was an important comeback for David Healy's men as defeat would have left them 10 points behind leaders and defending champions Crusaders.
Linfield manager David Healy: "We were disappointing in the first half but the goal from Aaron Burns gave us something to hang on to at half-time.
"I asked the players to show guts. People outside Linfield have been questioning this team, but they delivered today.
"Cliftonville are not going to give it up and we aren't either."
Coleraine manager Oran Kearney: "When you go 2-0 up at home you expect to have enough to see the game through.
"The manner in which we conceded the goals was disappointing. We know Linfield are dangerous from set pieces." | Linfield came back from two goals down to keep their title hopes alive with a 3-2 win away to Coleraine. | 35622116 |
A damning Ofsted report will be published on Thursday after the company failed to block it in the courts.
The Department for Education has now announced it will withdraw all funding from the company by July 2018 and has stopped it taking on new apprentices.
The company has said it will work to support everyone in training.
Learndirect, which offers apprenticeships and adult training at sites across England, is responsible for almost 73,000 trainees and employs more than 1,600 staff.
Although the company has not been allowed to recruit new learners since May, people can be recruited on to training commissioned by employers and funded through the new apprenticeship levy through its sister company, Learndirect Apprenticeships.
It is understood that Ofsted inspectors gave Learndirect the lowest possible grade - a four.
In its application to the High Court, Learndirect said publication of the critical Ofsted report could lead to the "catastrophic" withdrawal of government funding, according to the education publisher FE Week, which successfully lobbied for reporting restrictions to be lifted.
Now the government has announced the contract with Learndirect will be wound down gradually, ending in July next year.
Typically in these sorts of cases, a three-month termination notice is served on providers, but this gives Learndirect an additional eight and a half months.
A spokesman for the DfE said: "Where providers are failing to meet the required standards it is right that action is taken.
"We are working with Learndirect and employers to put safeguards in place and ensure no apprentices lose out as a result of the contract ending."
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: "The treatment of Learndirect looks highly unusual, presumably because of the sheer number and geographical spread of the learners and the challenge that represents in terms of transferring them to other providers.
"The key question has to be whether this is in the best interest of students and apprentices who are, according to Ofsted, not getting the quality of teaching and support that they deserve."
FE Week editor Nick Linford added: "It was clear from the court case that Learndirect had been told by the government funding agency that they would not receive special treatment.
"So in recent days I think political pressure has been put on the government's funding agency to give Learndirect special treatment."
According to reports passed to the BBC by FE Week, which was in court, the Ofsted report says the "management of apprenticeships is ineffective".
It says about one in three of the apprentices did not receive their entitlement to off-the-job learning, failing to develop the skills required to progress to the next step in their career.
The court also heard concerns about the proportion of apprentices who did not complete their apprenticeship on time, which has been increasing "steadily over the past three years".
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think thank calculated that the company had received £631m of public money since it was privatised in 2011.
Senior research fellow Joe Dromey said: "This should be investigated by the Public Accounts Committee, and if Learndirect goes down, government should seek urgently to reclaim as much public funding as possible."
The watchdog Ofsted said it was pleased at the High Court's decision to overturn the injunction and would publish its report on Thursday. | The government contract with one of the largest training companies in the UK, Learndirect, is to be gradually wound up over concerns about standards. | 40946779 |
Sarah Williams, 35, told Preston Crown Court, she did not know why her friend Katrina Walsh, 56, wrote about a plot to murder Sadie Hartley, 60.
Ms Hartley was paralysed with a stun gun and stabbed 40 times in Helmshore, Lancashire on 14 January.
Both Ms Williams and Ms Walsh deny murdering the mother-of-two.
The crown alleges Ms Williams' obsessive desire for Ms Hartley's partner Ian Johnston, 57, led her to incapacitate Ms Hartley with a 500,000-volt stun gun before murdering her.
It is alleged she put a tracking device on Mr Johnston's car in the weeks prior to the murder and discovered that the couple were living together in Helmshore.
But Ms Williams told the court it was Ms Walsh's idea to buy the stun gun and the tracker.
Gordon Cole QC, took his client Ms Williams through entries recorded in diaries that were recovered at Ms Walsh's workplace.
In September 2014, Ms Walsh wrote: "Sarah came round so got caught up in endless murder plots for Ian's other half."
Mr Cole asked Ms Williams: "Were there any murder plots discussed between you and Katrina Walsh?"
She replied: "No, not at any time in any way."
Another diary entry read: "We're also seriously talking of getting rid of her opponent. I agree is probably a good play... she does seem to be a totally evil bitch."
Ms Williams told the court: "I couldn't account for what she wrote and why."
The jury heard the stun gun and tracker were bought when the women visited Germany in December.
Ms Williams, who said the pair had planned to visit a Celtic museum and Christmas markets, said when she asked Ms Walsh why she bought the stun gun she was told it was for "self-defence".
She said she thought Ms Walsh bought the tracker because of her "excessive and obsessive" interest in the Channel 4 programme Hunted, where people try to avoid former police officers and intelligence officers for 28 days.
Ms Williams added she thought the tracker was for one of Ms Walsh's "hare-brained" business schemes.
The case continues. | A plot to murder a woman's love rival was recorded in the diary of one of the accused, a court has heard. | 36978678 |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 164.84 points to 17,721.25.
The S&P 500 climbed 19.73 points to 2,061.72, while the Nasdaq added 37.34 to 4,496.04.
Oil prices surged during the day with US crude reaching $41.96 per barrel, its highest level for the year.
As a result petroleum stocks rose. Mid-size producer ConocoPhillips was up 5.5%, while Apache climbed 6.7%.
Bank shares moved up ahead of earnings reporting that starts Wednesday with JP Morgan . Its shares were up 1.8%.
Bank of America stocks climbed 2.3%, while Wells Fargo was up 1.6% - both companies report first quarter results on Thursday.
The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast, but investors said it was expected.
The IMF now predicts global growth of 3.2%, a cut of 0.2 percentage points from its previous forecast. It said Brazil's economic troubles, worsening outlook for emerging economies and slow growth in developed countries were to blame.
"If you're trading based on the economic forecast from the IMF, your view is going to be lagging, not leading the market," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities. | (Close): US shares rose on Tuesday as the price of oil shot up following predictions that Saudi Arabia and Russia were close to a deal to cut petroleum production. | 36028673 |
The 21-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur youth player has scored six goals in 32 appearances in all competitions this season for the Posh.
However, Newport do not expect international clearance for Coulibaly before their Easter weekend games.
"It's very frustrating, as today is a working day for everyone," said Newport manager Warren Feeney.
"It will be disappointing after doing the hard graft to get the player signed that he is likely to miss the first two games."
Newport travel to leaders Northampton on Friday and host Accrington Stanley on Monday.
A Newport statement read: "Unfortunately following confirmation that the Fifa offices closed at 11:00 GMT on Thursday morning, it is unlikely the club will be able to gain international clearance for the player until Tuesday 29, March 2016 at the earliest.
"Both the FA (Football Association) and FAW (Football Association of Wales) are assisting us in trying to contact Fifa out of hours.
"The club will be disappointed if Souleymane is unable to feature in our Easter games due to the holiday season in Switzerland. | Newport County have signed Peterborough United forward Souleymane Coulibaly on loan until the end of the season. | 35891231 |
The law, only fully repealed in West Germany in 1994, dates to 1871 but was rarely enforced until the Nazi era.
An estimated 5,000 surviving victims will receive €3,000 (£2,630; $3,350) in compensation along with €1,500 per year spent in jail.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas called the new law a "belated act of justice".
It "created unimaginable suffering, which led to self-denial, sham marriages, harassment and blackmail", he said.
The law, known as Paragraph 175, outlawed "sexual acts contrary to nature... be it between people of the male gender or between people and animals".
Sex between women was never criminalised.
Under the Nazis, the offence was punishable with 10 years of forced labour, with tens of thousands of men sent to prison or concentration camps, where many perished.
Between 1949 and 1969, when the law was relaxed, 50,000 men were prosecuted and there were a further 14,000 cases until 1994.
But the law also wrecked additional lives, say historians. Some men living in fear of being discovered or convicted committed suicide, they say. Others lost jobs or were forced into sham marriages.
The vote by the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, will need to be approved by the Bundesrat upper house, though it is expected to be uncontroversial.
The law was welcomed by Germany's Lesbian and Gay Association (LSVD).
"After long years of ignorance the victims of homophobic persecution are regaining their dignity. This is a historic step," it told the BBC.
"But the law also has serious gaps. The designated compensation payments are too low."
It also criticised a change to the draft bill due to pressure from the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, which restricted eligibility for compensation to those who had sex with over-16s only (from over 14), saying it was discriminatory. | Germany's parliament has voted to quash the convictions of tens of thousands of gay men criminalised under notorious historical anti-homosexual laws. | 40380064 |
Ellen ap Gwynn sacked Gethin James from the cabinet for joining UKIP, but he had remained in the Independents group.
The Independents group accepted Mr James's resignation on Wednesday.
The group then voted to continue in coalition with Plaid Cymru, Independent Voice and a Labour councillor.
Plaid leader Leanne Wood made a strong attack on UKIP at her party's spring conference last week.
She said "a vote for UKIP is a vote against Wales", describing its politics as having "no place in our country".
On Tuesday, it emerged that the council leader had dismissed Mr James from his role as cabinet member for lifestyle services and waste.
It is understood Ellen ap Gwynn then told the Independents' group leader, Ray Quant, a decision needed to be made on Mr James's continued membership of the group, or the coalition would be in question.
Mr James was elected as an independent councillor representing the Aberporth ward.
He told BBC Wales that he joined UKIP three weeks ago and "challenging the vast amount of EU legislation doesn't make me un-Welsh or against Wales". | A UKIP member has resigned from a group of independent councillors in Ceredigion, after the Plaid Cymru council leader threatened to break up the ruling coalition if he remained. | 26546237 |
20 November 2015 Last updated at 12:44 GMT
The unusual creature was spotted in Grove Park, Dunstable, where Bedfordshire Wildlife Rescue has spent the past fortnight searching for it.
Dr Helen McRobie, a lecturer in biomedical science at the Anglia Ruskin University, said its lack of hair is probably caused by a genetic defect.
"This is very rare, I have been studying squirrels for years but I have never come across one without any hair," she said.
"Sadly, the squirrel is probably not going to survive the winter if it remains at large. It needs to be kept in the warm once the temperature drops."
BBC journalist Toby Friedner said he came across the squirrel on his way to the supermarket. | A bald squirrel that has evaded capture by animal experts concerned it could freeze has been caught on camera. | 34876813 |
Richard Davies, 41, was killed when officers were called to a house in Duck Lane, St Neots, on Wednesday evening.
A post-mortem examination carried out on Friday revealed he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
His mother Gill Davies said in a Facebook post he was "loved and respected" and asked people not to speculate about his death.
"Have muddled through another day with support from my friends and family," she wrote on the social media site on Saturday.
"May our dear son Richard be at peace now and please God bring peace to all the family."
In an earlier post, she thanked people for their support following the loss of her son, who had three children and worked at nearby engineering firm Bosch Rexroth.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the shooting after Cambridgeshire Police referred the case to them.
The watchdog said a firearm and two knives were found inside the Duck Lane house, and this would form part of its inquiry.
IPCC associate commissioner Guido Liguori said: "I would like to send my condolences to Mr Davies' family and friends at this difficult time.
"It is essential when the police use lethal force that there is a thorough and independent investigation of that decision." | The mother of a man who was shot dead by police in Cambridgeshire has said she hopes he is now "at peace". | 34626771 |
Her film La Tete Haute, starring Catherine Deneuve, gives Bercot the dubious honour of being the first woman to open Cannes since Diane Kurys in 1987.
In fact, it's rather a defiantly European slate of films in competition for the Palme d'Or, including directors Paolo Sorrentino, Nanni Moretti and Yorgos Lanthimos in the running.
That's not to say Cannes will be without A-list powerhouse stars with Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender among those expected on the red carpet.
Over the next week, we'll have more of the daily goings on at the world's biggest and oldest film festival.
There are some interesting people to be met in Cannes.
Last night, I attended an event onboard a yacht which is looking to award film trailers - best actor... in a trailer; best actress... in a trailer; best hairstyle... in a trailer. (Okay, the last one I may have just made up.)
I spoke with a former child actor who is now a director/producer in Thailand. He was in Cannes in a semi-official capacity to promote the country's film industry and to sell Thailand as a location for film productions.
I also met a very confident young German in an evening suit, possibly the only one on board, who has a film showing in the short film strand at Cannes. He is currently working on a very high concept script which he described as an "underwater film noir".
Like I said, interesting people.
No less interesting was the son of late actor Steve McQueen, in town to promote a documentary about his father's struggle to create the racing film Le Mans in 1970.
Now a custodian of the McQueen estate, he himself is a former racing driver who still bears the some physical scars from an horrific crash which almost cost him his life.
He is also a former actor (and this is where I get really geeky) who played one of Danny Laruso's tormenters in the original Karate Kid film.
"My son is an actor, he's in a TV show called Vampire Diaries so I tell him not to worry, that talent in our family clearly skips a generation, so he should be fine," he joked.
And, sadly, that is it for this reporter's diary at Cannes this year, as we decamp the Croisette.
Highlights were the fantastic Amy Winehouse documentary and the weird and wonderful Colin Farrell film The Lobster.
Sadly the biggest low was Gus Van Sant's misfiring Sea of Trees, one which I had been looking forward to. Never mind Gus, there's always next year.
Showing as part of the director's fortnight at Cannes is the film Green Room and, with more than a week of the festival yet to run, it is already a contender for the most brutally violent film to be given an official screening.
On top of that, British national treasure Patrick Stewart plays the leader of a white power gang.
The basic premise is that a travelling punk band are offered a gig at a skinhead bar deep in the backwoods of Portland. There they witness the aftermath of a murder and are barricaded inside the bar's dressing room - the Green Room of the title.
What follows is an hour and half siege/horror movie, during which the Nazi gang try to break into the room as the band frantically try to find a way out.
There are slashings, shootings, dog attacks and a particularly gruesome disembowelling. And it's all to a thrashing hardcore punk soundtrack. It's really quite a lot of fun. If you like that sort of thing...
Stewart's accent veers between RSC and generic American, but Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin is good in his role as the softly spoken yet surprisingly resilient guitar player.
There is also a neat running gag about picking one band you could listen to if you were deserted on an island, with a great pay-off in the film's closing moments.
Not one for the faint-hearted or weak of stomach, but a treat for gore aficionados.
American director Todd Haynes has announced his return to Cannes with a finely crafted feature which is already generating buzz as a genuine contender for this year's Palme d'Or.
Carol, a love story between two women set during the socially uptight 1950s, stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara - best known for the US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
It is based on a 1952 novel by Patricia Highsmith, The Price of Salt, then considered hugely controversial for its portrayal of a lesbian relationship but now recognised as a ground-breaking work.
Mara is impressive as the younger women transfixed by the older socialite, who leaves a pair of gloves behind during their first meeting at a department store. At one point during their exchange, Blanchett remarks on Mara's oddness saying she seems to have fallen from space.
Mara's stillness gives a sense of the character's struggle to understand the new feelings she has for this woman. She quizzes her boyfriend on what he thinks about two women or two men who fall in love. It is a test of herself as much as a test of him.
But the film belongs to Blanchett, whose latent ability to disappear into every character she plays continues to wow audiences and delight critics.
Every look, every elegant gesture is loaded with meaning and yet the performance is understated, in comparison with Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine which earned her an Oscar two years ago,
And, as early in the year as we still are, some are already suggesting that, come awards season, this performance and this film, will be recognised with some nominations.
Another film in competition, is the French relationship drama Mon Roi (My King).
Starring Emmanuelle Bercot - whose film Standing Tall opened this year's festival - and Vincent Cassel, who has already been seen in the Matteo Garrone fairytale Tale of Tales, it's a story of addiction.
Bercot's lawyer is addicted to Cassel and his joie de vivre and over ten years we watch their relationship develop. They fall in love, they fight, they separate, they reunite. Neither can live without the other, nor can they live with each other.
Funny and sad, plus two great performances from Cassel and Bercot.
Asif Kapadia's Amy, about the life of singer Amy Winehouse serves as a sad reminder of the huge talent that was lost when she died in 2011 at the age of just 27.
Using archive footage of Winehouse from childhood and throughout her glittering but all too brief career, the BAFTA-winning filmmakers paint a portrait of a smart, funny, emotional, supremely talented but troubled young woman.
The story is told by those who knew her best, her oldest friends who stuck by her from childhood throughout her later fame, alcoholism and drug abuse.
It includes testimony from her former husband, managers and musician friends such as Salaam Remi - who produced her Back to Black album - Mark Ronson, rapper Mos Def and her idol, Tony Bennett.
Her father Mitch Winehouse is also featured, as is her mother, but the family have since distanced themselves from the film and it's not difficult to see why.
They do come in for some criticism, Mitch in particular. An example being when he brings his own TV crew to St Lucia, where his daughter was trying to stay clean from drink and drugs.
An awkward exchange with some fans starts a small row, as she tells him that his cameras make her feel "like a mug".
Inevitably the finger of blame is also pointed at the media, in particular, the British tabloid press and its voracious appetite to document the fall from grace of a young singing superstar.
What comes across from the combined testimony, and clips of Amy herself, is that she never craved fame, never wanted celebrity and was never happier than when in the studio armed with a guitar and a microphone. Or in front of an audience of 50 at some smoky jazz club.
Footage shot just months before her death, singing opposite Bennett for a duets album, are touching, the shy 20-something eager to impress a man, a music legend, whose songs she has held dear since childhood.
"I'm like you, every take is different," the older singer says soothingly to the bashful and starstruck young artist.
"No, I'm like you is what you mean," she counters. "I'm like you."
Somewhat fitting the final words are left to the 88-year-old jazzman as he eulogises: "Life teaches you how to live. As long as you live long enough to learn."
Wonderful words spoken tragically too late for Amy Winehouse to hear.
Day three of the festival and already so much has happened, the Mad Max juggernaut rolled into town, there were boos for festival favourite Gus Van Sant's new film and today journalists will get the chance to see the new documentary about Amy Winehouse.
Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia, whose documentary about the late F1 driver Ayrton Senna was a huge critical hit around the world, has already generated some controversy. Winehouse's family, which initially backed the film has withdrawn its support.
Her father in particular, has complained that it paints an unfair and inaccurate portrait of their relationship.
Later tonight is the first screening of Todd Hayne's film Carol which stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as women in love in the 1950s set drama.
The early word is that, once again, there's a towering performance by Blanchett.
So the first real boos at this year's Cannes and it was for a former favourite on the Croisette Gus Van Sant. His new film Sea of Trees sees Matthew McConaughey as a suicidal scientist who travels to a beautiful forest at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan to do the deed.
There he meets a similarly lost and blooded soul, in the form of Ken Watanabe, who forces him to re-evaluate his decision to kill himself.
Such a sensitive subject matter is not handled particularly well and the film quickly becomes a buddy movie survival-style romp. Flashbacks to McConaughey's troubled marriage to Naomi Watts and a fireside confession scene end in a denouement which was easy to see coming and dripped of sentimentality.
As the credit rolled, there were sounds of boos and jeers from the balcony. Which would not have been music to the ears of the director who is due in town with his stars to promote the movie.
It's in the running for the Palme d'Or but on the reaction of this crowd, a win is not particularly likely.
Single people are sent to a hotel to find love. If they find a mate who shares similar attributes, they can return to the city to live in happiness. If they fail, they become animals and are allowed to roam the forest. Or they can choose to be loners and live a feral existence in the woods, where they risk capture and involuntary metamorphosis into a creature.
Yup, The Lobster, by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is definitely as weird as it sounds.
We follow David, the only named character (played by Colin Farrell) as he tries to find love in the most oppressive of places, the tightly regimented hotel - run by Olivia Colman.
He is joined on his quest for love by John C Reilly as Lisping Man and Ben Whishaw as Limping Man. Extras star Ashley Jensen plays Biscuit Woman. Seriously...
What follows is a bizarre, frightening, moving and darkly funny tale. And one which is very much open to interpretation.
Rachel Weisz, who - as short-sighted woman - may be David's saviour said: "One of my friends thinks its a scathing satire on suburbia. To me, the first thing I think of is narcissism, that you have to fall in love with someone who has similar qualities to yourself."
"I don't think I really know what the film is about," said Whishaw - who is yet to se the completed film. "I suspect it's a film that would make you feel differently every time you see it."
Farrell, who sports a moustache and middle-aged paunch throughout the movie, added: "One thing that stayed with me after I read the script was the deep loneliness that permeates it.
"But just being in it doesn't mean I know more about this than any audience member who will see it."
As an audience member I can attest to that. I enjoyed it but I'm still trying to decide what it was all about.
Maybe I never will.
Possibly the strangest film in competition this year is about to begin. The Lobster is set in a near future when people have 45 days to find love in a hotel or they must be turned in to an animal and released into the woods.
Actors who signed up for this bizarre take include Colin Farrell, Ben Whishaw and Olivia Colman. Expecting some weird goings-on.
Elsewhere, the new documentary Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans, about his torturous labour of love, a movie about motor racing shot at top speeds, has screened.
It's an interesting insight into the actor and the behind the scenes struggles to get the movie made. For some, the film was a pure recreation of what makes a man drive a car at over 200mph, for others it's massively self-indulgent and almost unwatchable.
I'll be speaking to the filmmakers and McQueen's son Chad on Monday.
Managed to see last night's opening film at Cannes, the French drama La Tete Haute (or Standing Tall in English).
Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot and starring Catherine Deneuve and first-time actor Rod Paradot, it tells the story of a young delinquent and the exhaustive attempts by the local authorities to help him curb his anti-social behaviour which revolves mainly around bunking off school and stealing cars.
Deneuve is a steely, yet kind-hearted juvenile court judge, perhaps the one authority figure who can get through to the volatile and violent teenager.
In Paradot, there is a refreshing un-actorly performance, often raw and explosive and he exudes cockiness and vulnerability in equal measure. However, the untethered performance of an amateur performer brings its own problem as there is little to show in the way of character development, permanently rooted as he is in the role of angry teenager.
The drama often relies on the procedural, with frequent expository explanations of how the French juvenile system works. His mildly drug addicted mother is also something of a stereotype.
That fact this was selected as the opening film for this year's Cannes however, over a Hollywood crowd-pleaser, is not to be overlooked.
Perhaps still stinging from the vicious reviews for last year's Grace of Monaco and the lukewarn reaction to The Great Gatsby a year earlier, the festival organisers are putting a French stamp on Cannes.
And Standing Tall, though not a perfect film, was certainly an admirable choice on their part.
Think Point Break, an undercover thriller but without Patrick Swayze, amazing action sequences and surfing, set it in France over a century ago and you're in the right ballpark for the film The Anarchists.
It stars two actors who both made a splash at previous Cannes festivals.
Tahar Rahim, whose blistering performance in A Prophet made him one of Europe's hottest talents, stars as Jean, a lowly policeman in 1899 Paris, sent by his senior officer to infiltrate a gang of anarchists - bent on ending the subjugation of the poor working classes by destroying the bourgeois,
There, he is inevitably drawn in to the close inner circle of the band's passionate leader and his beautiful girlfriend, played by Adele Exarchopoulos, who shared the Palme d'Or award at Cannes with Lea Seydoux and director Abdellatif Kechiche for the explicit lesbian love story Blue is the Warmest Colour.
Jean's loyalties are tested and he is torn between his duty to serve, his growing friendship with Elisee and his feelings for Judith.
The grimy underbelly of working class Paris is well recreated and the performances are strong. It moves a little slowly in places but the stakes are high as the conclusion moves towards the planning of a violent attack.
What is perhaps a little disappointing is that, for a group calling themselves anarchists, actual anarchy is in short supply. These would-be rebels prefer instead to sit about drinking and musing on whether social change should ever justify violence.
There is a bank heist, which naturally ends with a casualty, like I said Point Break but definitely not as slick as the Ex Presidents. But at least they too never go for the vault.
The film is screening as part of the critics fortnight strand. There's a lot there to like but I was frustrated at a lack of genuine suspense. Like Jean, I was torn.
Every once in a while a film comes along which is just a little bit different than everything else you will see at Cannes.
Such is the case with the new film by Italian director Matteo Garrone. This is his first film in the English language and his first in the realm of fantasy.
Tale of Tales is a twisted fairytale portmanteau of three separate stories, which nevertheless are also finely connected.
Based on the stories of the 17th Century writer Giambattista Basile, this is a world of sea monsters and ogres, witches and magic.
One story tells the tale of a lustful king who mistakes the voice of old crone for that of a young girl and goes all out to woo her. Another tells of a distracted monarch who is more obsessed by his pet flea than the daughter he is about to marry off to a mindless giant.
Salma Hayek plays an obsessed queen whose desire for a child robs her of everything else she holds dear.
It's an all-star cast, with appearances from the likes of Toby Jones, Vincent Cassel, and John C Reilly. Much has been made of Garrone's foray into English, perhaps to broaden his appeal beyond Europe's borders. But the film has such a defiantly European sensibility that it's a risky move by the director, who may alienate his existing audience.
However, it's lavish, beautifully realised and darkly funny.
An interesting proposition this morning is a film screening as part of the critics' fortnight. The Anarchists stars Tahar Rahim, who made his name in the film A Prophet, and Adele Exarchopoulos, who shared the best actress title with Lea Seydoux for Blue is the Warmest Colour at Cannes two years ago.
Set in Paris in 1899, the period drama tells the story of a humble police corporal sent to infiltrate a group of anarchists, who finds his loyalties tested when he falls in love with one of them.
So we begin this morning, whisked off in people carriers with tinted windows to the impossibly glamorous and exclusive Hotel du Cap, about 30 minutes outside of Cannes, to meet the director and cast of the post-apocalyptic Mad Max: Fury Road.
Sadly there was no grand entrance through the hotel lobby - instead we were taken around the back of the building, through the tradesmen's entrance as it were.
Luckily any fears of feeling a little bit like a dirty secret were allayed by the youthful enthusiasm of the film's 70-year-old director George Miller. It's been 35 years since he first burst onto the screen with Mad Max and its then unknown star, Mel Gibson.
"Mel sat beside me at the premiere with Tom Hardy sat behind us and Mel is one of those people who can't censor himself... I kept seeing him chuckle.
"He's directing a movie in Australia now and would ask, 'Oh who's that actor?' He really loved it and it meant a lot to me and he gave me a hug.
"He's a great film-maker and I know he's had awful problems but he's a really good man struggling with his demons. I got his respect as a film-maker which was great."
Hardy stars as the largely silent Max, while Nicholas Hoult plays "war boy" Nux, a devoted follower of the movie's bad guy Immortan Joe.
The original film was already more than a decade old by the time Hoult was born, and he admits he'd never seen it before he auditioned for the part.
"I had seen George's other films, like Happy Feet, but I was amazed that no -one had told me about them.
"But then all these pop culture references made more sense to me, watching Tupac and Dr Dre's California video and seeing this is where all of those guys got their ideas from."
Hardy's first exposure to the violent films was a little more damaging, he says.
"I was about six or seven and I saw my cousins watching it and it was just weird because I was young and it's quite grown-up.
"It's very unusual and I didn't understand it, a bit like the first time I heard Jimi Hendrix as a kid, it was too grown up for me.
"I felt a little bit dirty and a little bit abused and I kind of left it because it's odd. Then later when I was about 15, I knew about it. I knew about the character and the Interceptor (Max's power V8 engine car) but I still had never seen it.
"I got a dog called Mad Max when I was 17 and I didn't like the name because I remember the film and it was weird. So I changed his name and he died the year I was offered Max, and then I watched the movie and then I got it."
That would make his dog about 20 when he died, which is pretty old.
Charlize Theron, Imperator Furiosa in the movie, arrived with a glass of tomato juice, which could have been mistakenly identified by yours truly as a Bloody Mary.
"No, this is virgin all the way," she insists. "There are too many studio people about, I don't want to get fired."
The film, surprisingly, has a strong feminist streak. Her character is, to put it simply, a bit of a bad ass - not to be messed with, she drives a massive rig called the War Machine and is central to the film's plot.
More importantly, she is not there to serve out a romantic storyline between her character and Max.
"You can't say 'the stakes are this high' and you're literally in a driving war and we cannot stop because 'if we stop, we die' - and then have them pull off to the side of the road to have sex, like fall in love, because then immediately the anxiety has been relieved for the audience.
"Unfortunately some film-makers think you can have both. What was great about this is that the luxury of a love story was not where we were, I mean they can't even talk to each other.
"We never even talked about it - it was never there, no one said 'maybe', we never had to fight against it.
"It was always going to be two warriors on par, starting off with very little respect for each other and ending up with a massive respect for each other."
Mad Max: Fury Road is showing out of competition. Find out what else is screening at Cannes this year with our guide to the films to watch out for.
You know it's going to be a Cannes Film Festival of excitement and unpredictability when, on arriving at the airport in Nice, you spot - in no particular order Charlize Theron, John Legend and... former This Is Your Life host Michael Aspel.
I should add they didn't all arrive together. Which would have been weird.
The festival itself kicks off later, not with a Hollywood movie, but rather a French drama Standing Tall, directed by Emanuelle Bercot. Perhaps the organisers have learned a lesson after the lukewarm reception given to Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby in 2013 and the all-out pasting meted out to last year's opening movie Grace of Monaco.
Or maybe it was just a great opportunity to open the oldest and most French of film festivals with a local tale, starring the first lady of French cinema Catherine Deneuve.
Either way, there is a lot of excitement ahead of the first opening film at Cannes to be directed by a woman since 1987.
Theron is of course here for the screening of Mad Max: Fury Road in which she stars with Tom Hardy. He's taken on the iconic role first played by Mel Gibson more than 30 years ago.
Aimed squarely at petrolheads and Fast and Furious fiends, the film nevertheless has a strong feminist streak slicing through the male machismo.
There is some truly astounding stunt work on the chase scenes, filmed in a north African desert, and the cinematography is incredible. And it has souped up cars and trucks - lots of them. All very powerful and very, very loud.
Bercot's drama, about a French delinquent, seems almost sedate by comparison.
Which one is Mr Aspel looking forward to most? | The 68th Cannes Film Festival kicks off this year, not with a Hollywood feature but rather a French drama directed by Emmanuelle Bercot. | 32547167 |
Have a go at the second of our 2014 quizzes and see how much you remember about the past 12 months.
You can also try our film brain-teaser. Television and music-themed quizzes will also be published on 29 and 30 December. | Do you think you know what happened this year in the world of entertainment? | 30546672 |
Dr Mark Porter hit out at the government at the start of the union's annual conference.
He accused ministers of putting patients at risk and "picking the pockets" of NHS staff because of the squeeze on wages.
But ministers rejected the criticisms, saying they were putting more money into the health service.
Dr Porter launched the attack as doctors gathered in Bournemouth.
He said: "We have a government trying to keep the health service running on nothing but fumes. A health service at breaking point.
"Run by ministers who wilfully ignore the pleas of the profession and the impact on patients.
"It doesn't have to be this way. It is the result of an explicit political choice."
Since 2010, the budget has been increasing by 1% a year on average, compared to 4% before then.
Mr Porter went on to point out that compared to other developed economies, less was being spent on the NHS than other health systems.
And he said this was having a direct impact on patients, pointing to the rise in the numbers of patients facing long waits for a bed following an emergency admission - up four-fold in five years - as proof.
"The government wants a world-class NHS with a third class settlement," he said.
It comes as the BMA unveiled the results of a poll of more than 1,000 adults on the state of the NHS.
It found:
The concerns were echoed in a poll of 422 doctors, in which 71% said it has become more difficult for patients trying to access NHS care over the past year.
But a Department of Health spokesman said: "This does a disservice to the achievements of NHS staff."
He said the NHS was seeing the "highest cancer survival rates ever", improving mental health services and better access to GPs.
He also added independent polling showed public satisfaction rates were also high in contrast to the BMA poll. | The NHS in England is "running on fumes", the leader of the British Medical Association is warning. | 40401311 |
She rose to fame in the 1970s after founding the dance group Hot Gossip.
She went on to choreograph numerous West End and Broadway musicals, films and television shows and has been a judge on both Strictly Come Dancing and So You Think You Can Dance.
Here are her top 10 tips for being a choreographer.
It is absolutely vital to be determined from the start. You have to know that you want to dance as much as you have to breathe if you want to make a career of it.
You have to truly know that and you have to be prepared to give up everything to make that career happen. It really is tough and there is so much competition. You will face rejection all the time and you have to make yourself strong enough to deal with that and keep going.
I grew up in Manchester and I started dancing when I was only two years old. By the time I was eight, dancing was all I could think about and it was all I wanted to do. My parents couldn't afford all the ballet lessons that I wanted and it wasn't easy.
You could always hear ballet music in our house being played on scratchy records on an old gramophone.
My mother died when I was 15 and it was her love of dance and ballet that inspired me and in some way lives inside me. She was so proud, but I don't think she ever thought that my dancing would build into the career that I have had.
We lived in Didsbury and I'll always remember going to buy my first pair of ballet shoes with my mother. I can remember shelves and shelves of beautiful pink ballet shoes, but we just couldn't afford them.
And then on the bottom shelf, there was a pair of bright green ballet shoes. They were very cheap and they fitted me so I had to get them! That was fine with me, but I definitely wanted pink ones.
When I walked into my very first class, it was filled with little girls all in pink. The whole room stared at me in my green shoes, but I just held my head up and walked in. I sort of figured that if I could do that, then I truly did want to dance and nothing was going to stop me.
When I was 16 I wrote to Manchester council, to see if I could get a grant to study dance.
They only gave grants to girls who were going to the Royal Ballet School in London and I wanted to know why they wouldn't give a grant to someone who wanted to study in their home town.
I fought very hard and with the help of my aunt, I eventually did get my way. After four years of studying, I started to teach in Manchester. When I was 23 my boss sent me to London for a week to spend time at a new dance school.
On my last day, I saw a sign for a class up on the wall that I'd never seen before, it said 'Modern American Jazz, Molly Molloy, 8pm'. That class changed everything, and was the day my new life in London began.
When dance came on television it seemed that every dancer had a fixed smile glued on to their face. I was making my living by teaching American Jazz and Rock Jazz in London, and I decided to form my own dance group that would have the voice of the street, and the voice of the clubs, sexy, moody, and hot, hot, hot.
I took the best students from my class, turned them into what I thought was the hottest group in London, and for three years, despite having a cult following, could not break into TV, everyone thought they were far too sexy. It took one photograph falling into the hands of one director looking for something new, and everything changed overnight.
If I could go back in time and give my younger self some advice, it would be to be a little softer and kinder. I was so ambitious for many of the students I worked with and so determined for them to succeed, that I demanded everyone worked and pushed themselves in the same way I pushed myself.
Looking back I realise, it worked for some of them but not others, but I think my attitude in the way I deal with people has changed after having my children, and now I search to find another way to discover how to bring out the best in those around me.
The way that I discovered I was not continuing on Strictly was not the way I would like to have found out, however, I had far more important things to deal with as my manager was very ill and passed away the day before the news broke.
He wasn't just a manager of 30 years, but a close friend and someone I depended on so completely that it really put everything into perspective. Sometimes one has to close doors on things and not allow yourself to think about them.
I like to get the best out of people, and strive to use very different methods to do this, depending on how and what we are working towards.
I often find that people react in different ways to the same instruction, and if something isn't working I will often find outrageous or unusual ways to make it happen.
Dancing isn't just steps, it's using the body to tell a story with the movement. I like to develop characters and use any ingenious idea I can to bring them to life and get what I want.
I spend my life listening to music, and I've been very lucky in working with so many different stars from when music videos first began and one could invent and create extraordinary ideas.
I worked with Aretha Franklin in Detroit, Robbie Williams here at home, Whitney Houston in New York, Elton John all over the world, and with Queen in the strangest of places; one being with 350 dancers in Canary Wharf when it was a wasteland!
Music is so emotive, and I think the one video that always brings back the strongest memories and still takes my breath away today was working on Duran Duran's Wild Boys, trying to create a strange world of the future. Let music take you to where you want to be.
I'm passionate about working in musical theatre, and I've had some very tough task masters, but I'm always grateful to work with those I respect and can listen to and learn from. Andrew Lloyd Webber truly is a creative genius, working with him is like being on a roller coaster, but I love being on the ride.
As a choreographer, you have to be ready for anything, and I've been rollerskating for Starlight Express, head banging for We Will Rock You, jiving for Grease, pole dancing for Flashdance, disco dancing for Saturday Night Fever, ran down a mountain for The Sound of Music and danced down the yellow brick road for the Wizard of Oz, and that's to name a few! So my advice is, be ready for anything…! | Arlene Phillips CBE is a British choreographer and theatre director. | 29825187 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
Cast as the underdogs seemingly by all bar the team and its inspirational captain Nigel Edwards, the home side upset the formbook and secured their 14-12 win with three matches still on the course.
"Fantastic, they are a very special bunch of guys," said a jubilant Edwards. "Our preparation and desire to win probably gave us the edge. I told my players that they all deserved to be here."
GB&I took a 10½-5½ lead into Sunday's final singles but despite holding the initiative, many of the matches still had the potential to swing either way. The nervy situation meant that Jack Senior's brilliant birdie putt from the front of the final green to snatch an unlikely half against Nathan Smith was crucial.
"Emotions were seriously running high when it went into the hole," Senior admitted after taking his side to within one-and-a-half points of the decisive 13½ needed for victory.
Michael Stewart's 3&2 win over Patrick Rodgers steadied home nerves and he was among several heroes, included the outstanding 17-year-old Rhys Pugh, who made it three wins out of three when he beat US amateur champion Kelly Kraft 2&1.
Media playback is not supported on this device
And moments after Stewart's win GB&I's Steven Brown parred the last to force a half against Blayne Barber to secure the trophy.
The foundations for this astonishing victory over a USA side containing the top four amateurs in the world were laid in a windswept morning session when Great Britain and Ireland came within a putt of a clean sweep of foursomes victories.
Two-time American junior champion Jordan Spieth holed from 16ft at the last to claim an unlikely half with Rodgers against Lewis and Stewart after the home pair had led the match by four holes with just six to play.
Although failing to convert such a healthy advantage into a full point left the home pair frustrated, they inspired the rest of their team by leading the top match from the second hole onwards.
Paul Cutler stretched his 100% record to three matches as he and fellow Northern Irishman Alan Dunbar claimed a 2&1 victory over Kraft and Barber.
The world's top amateur Patrick Cantlay, playing with Chris Williams, fell to the youngest player in the match, Pugh, and Scot James Byrne 5&3.
American skipper Jim Holtgrieve would have expected more from Cantlay, as well as the pairing of Peter Uihlein and Harris English, a formidable-looking combination that failed to yield a point in either foursomes when their challenge ran out on the 16th green against Jack Senior and Andy Sullivan.
England's Tom Lewis claimed one-and-a-half points from a possible four, but the 20-year-old, who led after the first round of the Open in July, lost both of his singles matches, including a 4&2 defeat by Russell Henley to end his amateur career.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Great Britain and Ireland's indomitable spirit saw them to a famous victory as they won the Walker Cup for the first time in eight years and only the eighth occasion in the history of the match. | 14875297 |
At the UN General Assembly in New York, she said the UK would not "walk away from our partners in the world".
She announced that hundreds of British troops will be sent to Somalia to help combat al-Shabaab jihadists.
And she urged leaders to work together to tackle "the big security and human rights challenges of our time".
Mrs May warned that people felt left behind by the "increasing pace of globalisation".
In her first address to the general assembly, Mrs May said: "We must never forget that we stand here, at this United Nations, as servants of the men and women that we represent back at home.
"And as we do so we must recognise that for too many of those men and women the increasing pace of globalisation has left them feeling left behind.
"The challenge for those of us in this room is to ensure that our governments and our global institutions, such as this United Nations, remain responsive to the people that we serve. That we are capable of adapting our institutions to the demands of the 21st Century."
Announcing the deployment of British troops to Somalia, Mrs May said that Britain had played a "leading role" in the fight against al-Shabaab.
Some 30 training teams will be sent to Somalia, involving up to 70 troops at a time, and a new UK headquarters is to be set up in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Previously, just 12 training missions had been planned, with two deployed at present.
The plan involves £7m of funding to improve the skills of the Somali and African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) forces.
The UK will also use £20m of aid money to help return refugees to Somalia, spending more than half in Kenya which has been housing displaced Somalis.
She said: "Since 2010, with huge support from across the region, and critically the commitment of Somalis themselves, al-Shabaab has been driven from all the major cities it used to control.
"It is vital that as an international community we continue to support countries in the region that are contributing thousands of troops, and that we continue to build the capacity of Somali security forces."
Mrs May - who also addressed the UN summit on refugees on Monday - said the organisation was "uniquely placed" to tackle war, terrorism, climate change, human trafficking and mass migration.
"The biggest threats to our prosperity and security do not recognise or respect international borders," she said, adding: "And that if we only focus on what we do at home, the job is barely half done."
Mrs May will also hold a series of face-to-face meetings with other leaders and take part in a summit on refugees called by US president Barack Obama.
In his final address to the general assembly, President Obama said countries should do more to help refugees, "even when the politics are hard".
"We have to imagine what it would be like for our family, for our children, if the unspeakable happened to us," he said.
"And we should all understand that ultimately our world will be more secure if we are prepared to help those in need and the nations who are carrying the largest burden with respect to accommodating these refugees." | The UK did not "vote to turn inwards" when it backed Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May has told the United Nations. | 37422692 |
But it is hard to divorce the dispute from the bigger issue of the shake up to the sector in recent years.
Overall budgets were cut and jobs have gone. Colleges across Scotland have merged into a series of so-called "regional supercolleges".
Mergers in any field can often be difficult - they can lead to job losses and the inevitable challenges of bringing together the culture and practices of different institutions.
These concerns were exacerbated by rows over pay offs for some senior staff. The public spending watchdog raised concerns about the practices followed by some.
At the former Coatbridge College there were claims of collusion though, when questioned by MSPs, the former principal denied any wrongdoing.
Indeed at some colleges, the merger process itself has been difficult.
A distinct but related debate has also been going on. This is the question of just what role colleges should have in the education system.
Colleges were told to focus on full time courses which led to recognised qualifications - such as HNCs And HNDs.
Their principle aim is to help develop the skills of the workforce and, perhaps inevitably, an even higher proportion of the students than before are in their teens or 20s.
The number of part time student numbers fell dramatically.
A report by Audit Scotland argued there was no evidence that students had suffered from the shake up but also questioned whether there had been any actual benefits beyond savings.
This big shake up in the system inevitably colours the question of pay.
Each college used to have its own pay and conditions. But a move back to national pay deals has thrown up discrepancies between institutions.
Dealing with those would inevitably be an expensive, long term business.
A formal vote on industrial action is expected within weeks and some in the EIS Further Education Lecturers Association anticipate a strike in February if the issue is not resolved.
Some in the colleges sector have long complained that they can feel as if they're overlooked: political, media and public attention can, some argue, tend to focus unduly on schools and universities.
Any national college dispute, in the run up to May's Holyrood election, could certainly put the focus on the sector. | The impending dispute in colleges is specifically about pay. | 35070477 |
Peter Cox and David Jasper saw their relatives' uniforms on BBC Midlands Today when the former private base in Dudley was featured.
The station was used by the Co-operative Wholesale Society's (CWS) company crew.
"I thought I just need to be there. I need to see," said Mr Jasper.
Mr Jasper, whose father Ron started work at the co-operative in 1951, said: "When I saw [the fire station] on the telly it was quite poignant.
"It's like a time capsule - nothing's changed.
"It's really nice to see my father's uniform and bring back some happy memories."
Rob Silk got in touch using Your Questions when he saw his late father's name marked on the wall in a photograph on BBC News Online.
"The thought that this place may be connected to my father's history stopped me in my tracks," said Mr Silk, who grew up in Netherton and now lives in Stratford-upon-Avon.
"I immediately sent the link to my only sibling - my sister who lives in Lancashire.
"Because I lost my father when I was 10 I have always felt that I missed out on so much.
"His stories of wartime Dudley are one aspect of this. So any link with him now is a wonderful bonus."
Mr Cox, whose father Len was in the CWS fire service in the 1940s and 1950s said he had felt "excited" and "apprehensive" to go inside the abandoned station.
"It's 74 years since he was here and to see it as it is - it's unbelievable," he said.
"In this day and age normally this place would have been knocked down and everything would have just gone in the skip," said Mr Cox.
He said he hoped the items could be put on display at the Black Country Living Museum.
Anna Bamford, marketing manager for the Alan Nuttall Partnership, which owns the building, said other relatives had also been in touch about the old station.
Have you got a question about the Birmingham and the Black Country?
Use the tool below and we could be in touch and your question could make the news. | Two firefighters' sons have taken a tour of their fathers' abandoned station, which was found untouched after half a century. | 37569556 |
Gina Campbell said she was "humbled" his achievements were still recognised, half a century on from his death.
She and former friends and colleagues took to the water as part of several days of events to mark the anniversary.
Campbell died at 08:51 GMT on 4 January 1967, while trying to break his own water speed record in Bluebird.
Follow our live coverage of the anniversary
Commemorative events, including a flypast by an RAF jet, are taking place in Coniston over the next few days.
Campbell was travelling at more than 300mph (483 km/h) when the Bluebird K7 boat was catapulted 50ft (15m) into the air after its nose lifted.
The 45-year-old was killed instantly as the boat hit the water and disintegrated.
His remains and boat wreckage were not recovered until 2001 by engineer Bill Smith, who is restoring Bluebird at his yard in Newcastle.
Campbell was just 200 yards (183m) from the end of the second leg of his attempt when the crash happened.
Ms Campbell was among a small party to take to the lake, where prayers were said at the exact time of the crash.
She clutched her father's teddy bear mascot, Mr Whoppit, which was found among the wreckage.
A public remembrance service also took place at his memorial on the village green, before more wreaths were laid at Coniston Cemetery.
She said: "My dad did not do things for public display but I think he would be delighted to see the public here today.
"I feel so humbled and honoured that what my father achieved all those years ago is still remembered in the way it is.
"If my father could have chosen a way to die it would have been this way.
"If he had died a couple of weeks ago there would have been a few paragraphs in the Daily Telegraph. But here we are in 2017 talking about a hero that I still remember as a handsome young man.
"The enormity of what he did I just didn't grasp for a long time. I never quite appreciated the magnitude of what he did.
"I'm so pleased and proud it's not just old fogies like me that have been inspired by what he did. It's young people too."
She recalled receiving the news of her father's death while she was working abroad.
She said: "On the day he died I was working in a ski resort and got a message there was a phone call for me.
"I had to go down to the hotel phone to be told my father had died. It was slightly surreal, but somehow I knew.
"In those days you didn't get phone calls abroad unless it was bad news.
"My mind just went to nothing. It went blank.
"I had never really feared for my father's life because he always came home. It was always the reward that counted and not the risk."
Paul Hannaford, chairman of the Speed Record Club, which has jointly organised the anniversary events, said Campbell's achievements would "never be equalled."
He said: "Donald Campbell was a great patriot and a very brave man.
"His world speed records on land and on water in the same calendar year will never be bettered.
"To many of us he is an absolute hero and never did anything for personal gain. It was always about prestige and advancing British engineering.
"He wanted nothing more than to showcase what Britain could do best, which was so important in the late 1940s when the country was still recovering from the war.
"What we're doing at Coniston is a celebration of a great man's achievements."
Donald Campbell took up the mantle of his father Sir Malcolm Campbell, who died in 1948 and had also broken speed records.
In 1955 he famously told reporters: "If you're going to succeed, you've got put what you're trying to do first. Way before your own comfort, way before your own pleasure and way before your own family considerations."
It is hoped a restored Bluebird will take to Coniston Water again later this year or in 2018. | The daughter of record-breaker Donald Campbell has placed flowers at the spot where he died on Coniston Water 50 years ago. | 38496708 |
Caerphilly MP Wayne David, who was an advisor to former leader Ed Miliband, also called for unity among Labour MPs in the wake of Saturday's result.
Veteran left-winger Mr Corbyn - who started off as rank outsider - won by a landslide over his three rivals.
The Tories said the win was bad for Labour and the UK.
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement, Mr David, who despite supporting Andy Burnham, welcomed Mr Corbyn.
"It's a vote for a different kind of politics, something entirely new, something entirely inventive," he said.
"As someone said to me, it's like throwing a hand grenade into the political system."
Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn voted for Liz Kendall but said: "Politics has been comatose for a long time and suddenly it's come back to life again. We face the excitement of the unexpected."
As the dust began to settle on the leadership result, Corbyn supporter and former Welsh government minister John Griffiths called on the party in Wales to respond by hitting the ground running in time for next year's assembly election.
"I do believe there is a challenge now for the Labour party in Wales to understand that we have a new radical position as far as the UK Labour party is concerned and that needs to be reflected in Wales," he told the programme.
"We do need a radical manifesto for those Welsh assembly elections next May."
But a political expert has claimed Mr Corbyn's win may hinder Labour at the elections because the Tories will hope it will "make things easier for them" in key marginal seats.
Welsh Labour holds 30 of the 60 assembly seats and will be targeting a clearer majority in the 2016 election as the party defends its record in office.
Labour peer Eluned Morgan, who is standing in the assembly election and backed Yvette Cooper, expressed concern about the impact of Mr Corbyn's leadership in the marginal seats where Labour will be up against the Conservatives.
She said: "In the past there has been a discipline, an understanding that if we want to win elections you have to win the marginal seats which are Tory-Labour constituencies and that discipline has evaporated for now.
"Let us have a look at what happens and where we go next but there is an opportunity also to reach out to the social excluded, people who do not vote, that is the real opportunity here."
Meanwhile, Tory peer Lord Bourne said the leadership result was not a chance to celebrate.
He said: "A Jeremy Corbyn leadership is not just bad for the Labour Party, I think it's bad for the country.
"We do need an effective opposition and we do need opposition to put forward a platform that is at least credible." | A senior Welsh Labour MP has described Jeremy Corbyn's victory in the party's leadership contest as a hand grenade going off in British politics. | 34237637 |
The Mercedes drivers were in a league of their own as Hamilton beat Rosberg by 0.319 seconds, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
There were tense moments for Hamilton after he had his first pole lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
But he nailed it on his final lap as Rosberg failed to get close at Silverstone.
The result sets up a mouth-watering battle between the two Mercedes in the race, which starts at 13:00 BST on Sunday and is live on the BBC Sport website and Radio 5 live.
They have been given a "final warning" by their Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after their crash together on the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend and risk being dropped from a subsequent race or heavy fines if they do it again.
Rosberg heads into the race 11 points clear in the championship.
Hamilton thanked the crowd for their support after they had cheered him around the track and said: "The penultimate lap was a very good lap and was unfortunately taken as I touched the kerb and it just pulled me further [wide].
"So a lot of pressure for that last lap. I couldn't let the guys down."
Verstappen, who out-qualified Ricciardo for the first time since being promoted to Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix back in May, was 1.026 seconds behind the Mercedes and 0.305secs clear of Ricciardo.
But the Red Bull has shown strong race pace and may be in the mix in the race.
Ferrari, though, are having a torrid weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen, who was re-signed for 2017 on Thursday evening, and Sebastian Vettel qualified fifth and sixth, but Vettel will start 11th because his gearbox failed in final practice - which resulted in his second five-place grid penalty for an illegal gearbox change in as many races.
The top 10 was completed by Williams's Valtteri Bottas, Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who was eighth before his best lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits at the final corner.
His team-mate Jenson Button, who has not been on Alonso's pace all weekend, was eliminated in first qualifying.
The 2009 world champion, who had a new floor that Alonso tested on Friday fitted for Saturday morning, was 0.5 seconds slower than the Spaniard after his rear wing came loose at Turn Eight yet McLaren decided not to send him out for a second run.
He was demoted by Renault's Kevin Magnussen and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat. Button said he did not go out again as they thought Magnussen would have his fastest time deleted for exceeding track limits but the stewards decided to take no action on the Dane and Button was out.
Magnussen's English team-mate Jolyon Palmer qualified 18th for his first home grand prix.
British Grand Prix qualifying results
British Grand Prix coverage details | Lewis Hamilton took a superlative pole position ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg at the British Grand Prix. | 36754453 |
The taking of Abu Saif means troops now have a direct line of sight to the Mosul's airport and its heavily-populated western areas.
But a network of tunnels under the small town means there is still resistance, reports the BBC's Quentin Sommerville from the scene.
Eastern Mosul was liberated last month.
Our correspondent, who is embedded with Iraqi forces, says troops are now trying to secure Abu Saif.
Police special forces are moving through the streets and across rooftops, backed by helicopters and artillery.
An airstrike overnight destroyed a house full of suspected IS fighters, killing all seven people inside.
Follow Quentin Sommerville on Twitter
Troops had come under heavy fire as they advanced on the town. Progress had been slowed by improvised bombs planted by IS along the route.
The bodies of some IS fighters were seen by the roadside, apparently hit by mortar fire or other artillery.
As the army reached Abu Saif, a small group of civilians waving a white flag was spotted.
Thousands of Iraqi troops, backed by artillery and air power, are involved in the assault to retake Mosul - and have now all but surrounded western parts of the city.
The UN has voiced concern about the welfare of civilians trapped in the city, amid reports that they could number up to 650,000.
Leaflets warning residents of an imminent offensive were earlier dropped over western Mosul.
Military officials say western districts, with their narrow, winding streets, may prove a bigger challenge than the east.
Although slightly smaller than the east, western Mosul is more densely populated and includes districts seen as pro-IS.
All bridges linking the east and west of the city, across the Tigris river, were destroyed in the earlier offensive.
That began on 17 October, more than two years after jihadists overran Mosul as they spread across much of northern and western Iraq.
The UN said in late January that almost half of all the casualties in Mosul were civilians.
At least 1,096 have been killed and 694 injured across Nineveh province since the start of October. | Iraqi forces have taken a strategically important town close to western Mosul on the third day of their renewed push against so-called Islamic State (IS). | 39038509 |
Planets with atmospheres that orbit too close to their host stars are bombarded by a torrent of high-energy radiation.
The gaseous outer layers of these worlds are then stripped away, according to the international team of scientists.
Their work appears in the journal Nature Communications.
The researchers used data from Nasa's Kepler space telescope, which was launched to identify and study exoplanets, which circle stars other than our own.
They focused on a category of planet called "super Earths", which are roughly 2-10 times more massive than our own planet.
Co-author Dr Guy Davies, from the University of Birmingham, said: "For these planets it is like standing next to a hairdryer turned up to its hottest setting.
"There has been much theoretical speculation that such planets might be stripped of their atmospheres. We now have the observational evidence to confirm this, which removes any lingering doubts over the theory."
The astronomers used a technique called asteroseismology, which probes the internal structure of stars, to confirm the idea.
By characterising the host star, the team was able to also determine the precise sizes of the exoplanets around them.
The results of the study have important implications for understanding how stellar systems, like our own Solar System, and their planets, evolved over time - including the role played by the host star.
Dr Davies added: "Our results show that planets of a certain size that lie close to their stars are likely to have been much larger at the beginning of their lives. Those planets will have looked very different." | Astronomers have confirmed the existence of planets that have had their atmospheres stripped away by their host stars. | 36016748 |
Environmental watchdog Sepa received a large number of complaints after a fault at the site caused high-pressure steam venting on Tuesday.
Ineos said the fault happened during the recommissioning of one of its turbines.
One resident said the noise was "like an aircraft landing or taking off".
In a statement, Ineos Grangemouth said: "We apologise to our neighbours for the noise last night, caused by the venting of steam from our power station during the recommissioning of one of our turbines. "
"This was safely managed but led to considerable disturbance of those living close to our site."
Sepa said about 30 people called its pollution hotline to complain about the noise, which continued for a number of hours during Tuesday evening.
The fault was fixed at about 23:00.
Sepa said its inspectors would be following up the incident with Ineos.
Scott Cumming, 42, who lives in Linlithgow, about seven miles away from the site, said: "It was a bit like the noise from an aircraft landing or taking off." | Petrochemical firm Ineos has apologised after excessive noise from its Grangemouth site caused "considerable disturbance" to the public. | 35428317 |
UKIP also successfully campaigned to leave the EU less than 10 months ago.
BBC Wales' analysis of nominations suggests there are 944 Labour candidates, 630 Conservatives, 577 Plaid Cymru candidates, 280 Liberal Democrats, 80 UKIP and 78 Greens.
There are 160 candidates standing for other parties and 714 independents.
Altogether 1,254 seats are up for grabs in Wales' 22 local authorities.
But 92 candidates have already been returned unopposed, a similar number to the 2012 elections.
One ward, Yscir in Powys, has attracted no candidates at all.
Last year UKIP won seven of the 60 seats in the Senedd, taking more than 12% of the vote.
David Rowlands, UKIP AM for South Wales East, said the party was planning to appoint a regional organiser, but added changes were "still up in the air" and "that's why we aren't as well organised as we might have been for the council elections".
He said: "Nothing has been ratified yet. [Party leader Paul Nuttall] is going to each of the regions and once they see how it's all panned out and can they get the same sort of agreement in the English regions that we seemed to have settled on in Wales."
"We're a party that has really grown from the top down. We had MEPs before we had any councillors.
"Now we're looking to interact much more with the grassroots of the party and get those involved, truthfully in the same way as the Lib Dems have done," he said.
Mr Rowlands also suggested UKIP were "a little bit like Leicester City".
"We've had this fantastic situation where we won the Brexit election," he said.
"Of course you then have a huge restructuring of the party after it, where do we go from here, how do we now reinvent ourselves in some ways." | Just 80 UKIP candidates are standing in May's council elections in Wales, despite the party finishing fourth in the 2016 assembly poll. | 39506347 |
The speed camera in Caister Road, Great Yarmouth, should be triggered by sensor strips in the road being passed too quickly.
But when the road was resurfaced in June the strips were covered with tarmac.
Norfolk County Council said it would aim to "do better in future".
Live: For more on this and other stories from Norfolk
The cause of the problem appears to be the change in speed camera type from a Gatso machine to a Truvelo device. The former uses radar to monitor speed while the latter has piezo electric strips in the road and takes a forward-facing image of the driver.
A spokesman for the council said: "There is usually a tried and tested system for contractors to follow when carrying out road repairs at sites where safety cameras exist.
"This has worked successfully for a number of years, but in this particular case involving a new kind of camera it's clear that the system has not worked.
"We will therefore be talking to the Safety Partnership shortly, to ensure we do better in future."
Anne Pointon, from the Norfolk and Suffolk Camera Partnership said: "Norfolk County Council tend to tell us in advance of resurfacing work. But on this occasion it didn't happen."
The new strips have been put into the road and the camera is operational again. | A road camera failed to catch any speeding motorists for two months because of a blunder by workmen, it has emerged. | 37219747 |
The Canadian star achieved millions of sales and billions of streams with his fourth album, Views, which topped the charts around the world.
He managed to beat Adele and Coldplay, who also achieved big sales last year.
The news comes from music industry bigwigs the IFPI, who've given Drake their Global Recording Artist of the Year Award.
"Drake's phenomenal success reflects how deeply his unique sound appeals to an enormous global audience," said chief executive Frances Moore.
In the UK, Drake's single One Dance topped the charts for 15 weeks, nearly beating the all-time record, held by Bryan Adams' (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
However, Views only ended the year as the country's eighth best-selling album, behind Little Mix's Glory Days and Adele's 25 - which took the top spot for the second year in a row.
In Germany, the world's third-biggest music market, the album was only the year's 100th best-seller.
The IFPI declined to release figures for Drake's overall sales, or a country-by-country breakdown, so it is hard to decode how he made up the difference - but the star's phenomenal success on streaming services is likely to be key.
Views became the first album to reach one billion streams on Apple Music (where it was initially available as an exclusive); while One Dance was the first song to be played one billion times on Spotify.
The album also topped the year-end charts in the US, still the biggest music market in the world, with sales of 4.1 million.
The IFPI Global Recording Artist Award was established in 2013, and previous recipients have been One Direction (2013), Taylor Swift (2014) and Adele (2015).
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | He only had One Dance, but it was a pretty popular one: Drake has been named the best-selling artist of 2016. | 38911377 |
Bradford Crown Court heard how 48-year-old arthritis sufferer Ray Thompson barged into Dr Usman Hanif's room at the Shipley Health Centre and demanded his prescription for painkillers.
He then locked the door and barricaded it with an examination couch until he got his medicine.
Thompson of Dirkhill Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.
More on this and other West Yorkshire stories
Prosecutor Laura McBride told the court the incident, which took place in February, started when Thompson entered the office as Dr Hanif was talking to another patient on the phone.
Ms McBride said Thompson disconnected the call and said he would "deal with" the doctor if he didn't get his painkillers.
The doctor asked a nurse to call the police.
The court heard that during the 15-minute ordeal Thompson made racist remarks towards the GP and threatened to physically hurt him if he did not get the prescription.
After the GP printed out the prescription Thompson pulled the furniture away from the door and went to a nearby pharmacy, where he placed chairs by the entrance while he went behind the counter to get the painkillers.
He was arrested by police about an hour later.
In a victim impact statement Dr Hanif said he had not experienced anything on that scale before and he described Thompson as being aggressive, abusive and extremely violent in his nature. | A patient who took a doctor hostage in a row over a prescription has been jailed for three years. | 40013524 |
A study in the journal JAMA found people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease on high doses of vitamin E had a slower rate of decline than those given a dummy pill.
They were able to carry out everyday tasks for longer and needed less help from carers, say US researchers.
The Alzheimer's Society said the dosage was very high and might not be safe.
In the study, 613 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease received either a daily dose of vitamin E, a dementia drug treatment known as memantine, a combination of vitamin E and memantine, or placebo.
Changes in their ability to carry out everyday tasks - such as washing or dressing - were measured over an average of two years.
The study found participants receiving vitamin E had slower functional decline than those receiving placebo, with the annual rate of decline reduced by 19%.
Those on vitamin E (also known as alpha tocopherol) also needed less help from carers.
"These findings suggest that alpha tocopherol is beneficial in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease by slowing functional decline and decreasing caregiver burden," said a team led by Dr Maurice Dysken of Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
Commenting on the study, Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer's Society, said treatments which can help people with dementia carry out everyday tasks are key to enabling those with the condition to live well for as long as possible.
But he said more research was needed to see if vitamin E really does have benefits for people with dementia, and whether it would be safe to be taking such a high dose on a daily basis.
"It is vitally important that people always seek advice from their doctor before considering taking supplements," he said.
"In this instance, the dosage of vitamin E taken by participants was much higher than the recommended daily allowance and was at a level that could be significantly harmful for some."
Dr Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said the trial suggested vitamin E may modestly slow the decline in day-to-day functioning in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, but without having an effect on memory and thinking skills.
He said it was too early to recommend vitamin E as a treatment.
"Until the findings from this trial have been replicated, we would not encourage people to take high doses of vitamin E supplements to try to prevent or treat Alzheimer's," he added.
"If people are concerned about their vitamin intake or diet, they should talk to their GP." | A daily dose of vitamin E could help people with dementia, research suggests. | 25552768 |
It is smaller camp than the more notorious "Jungle" camp just down the road in Calais but conditions here are said to be much worse.
I imagine seeing the camp emerge as we approach from a distance but it was not like that.
The camp is situated right next to a residential area of the town; the houses are nice - balconies, 4x4s outside, and just 50m (164ft) from these front doors is a line of French police officers guarding the camp.
Mud can be seen on all the pathways in and out, it is as if it is escaping.
Inside the camp your senses are bombarded straight away and the smell hits you - it is a mix of drains and rubbish. There are some portable toilets in the camp, 15 at the most.
But during the time I am in the camp I only see one person venture in to use them.
The rubbish is incredible.
Piles and piles of bin bags everywhere just yards from where people are a sleeping. Lots of it does not even make it into the bags; there are cardboard plates with leftover food dumped on the side and banana skins everywhere. I do not see any rats when we are in the camp, but they are there.
They have named the main route through the camp "Queen Elizabeth II Street" but there is nothing regal about this road.
The mud is not like any mud I have ever seen before. Thick and gloopy - it looks more like slurry. And it is everywhere.
Then there is the noise. Flimsy tents, many with tarpaulin over them, flapping furiously in the wind - it must be deafening at night.
The camp is home to a mix of people but there are many more families here than in the Jungle camp.
One family catches my eye. A man carries a toddler on his shoulders - she is a pretty little thing, smiling under her dummy, seemingly content. Her mother follows, slightly behind.
As the day goes on I see them several times, they seem to be walking back and forth along the main path all day.
There are not any soft play centres or swimming pools to keep a toddler occupied, so I suppose it is best just to keep walking.
As a mum of a little boy of a similar age, I cannot help thinking silly things when I see her..."I hope that dummy doesn't fall in the mud".
But I suppose her mother has more important things to worry about.
Many of the people here are Iraqi Kurds. We spoke to one man called Pesewa who agreed to show us where he sleeps.
As he opened the zip of the tent, my first impressions were: "It's cosy in here, it's clean - it's not that bad."
But here are the facts; This is a one-man tent where Pesewa lives with his wife. So the couple are not sleeping on the mud, there are two palettes as a base in the tent.
On top as padding is a blanket. That is it. The heat is coming from a small gas stove.
"Is this safe?" I ask Pesewa. He smiles sheepishly.
This is where Pesewa's wife spends the whole day. She will soon be making dinner - rice and beans and maybe some chicken.
Pesewa is a UK passport holder. He was working in Luton when his wife rang and said she was in France. The UK authorities will not let her into the country.
"Where are you from?" Pesewa asks.
"Wales." I say.
"Cardiff?"
It turns out Pesewa lived in Cardiff when he first claimed asylum in 2004. He remembers the city well. It is clear he has good memories of living and working in the UK. He does not want to be here.
As we leave the camp, it is difficult to process what we have seen. One person we are travelling with says: "It's like Glastonbury but gone horribly, horribly wrong".
It is a crude comparison in many ways, but it works. | It is a wooded, boggy piece of land in Dunkirk 3,000 migrants have made their home. | 35562073 |
A Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary review in December 2014 found issues, including delays in investigating some cases.
Following a post-inspection review in August 2015, improvements were found such as more officers assigned.
However, concerns still existed over children still being unnecessarily detained overnight.
There were also worries over the timeliness of forensic medical examinations in child sexual abuse cases and children involved in online grooming allocated untrained staff.
Inspector Wendy Williams said that while she is "encouraged" by improvements, the force will continue to be monitored.
An NSPCC Cymru spokesman said: "It is clear there is more work to do and we remain extremely concerned at some of the inspectors' findings."
Det Chf Supt Andy John said the force continues to make progress against the recommendations made. | Concerns still exist over the child protection work of Dyfed-Powys Police, despite improvements in some areas. | 35370334 |
The Durham force said it was "shocked" after getting hundreds of calls after a BBC programme about sexual and physical abuse was shown in January.
A spokeswoman said there were now up to 500 victims claiming physical or sexual abuse at the Medomsley juvenile centre.
Two members of staff at the centre were jailed in 2003 and 2005 over the abuse.
Durham Police said many former inmates who had been in touch since the BBC Inside Out programme was shown were now get counselling.
The majority of men - about 340 - claim they were physically assaulted and around 160 said they were sexually abused.
The centre closed in 1988 after the abuse came to light, but has since reopened as a secure training unit.
Neville Husband, who worked at the detention centre as a prison officer, was jailed for 12 years for in 2003 for sexual abuse.
Leslie Johnson, a store man, was sentenced to six years in 2005. Both men have since died.
However, police are investigating if other people were involved in abusing boys at the centre.
A spokeswoman for Durham Police said: "We are now looking at potentially 500 victims linked to Medomsley." | Hundreds of vulnerable boys at a detention centre may have been abused by a paedophile ring in the 1970s and 1980s, police fear. | 26792083 |
Firefighters were called to the former site of the Drumpark Primary School in Coatbridge Road, Coatbridge, at about 07:00.
The school - which caters for children with special needs - has since been relocated to Albert Road where it merged with Greenhill Primary School.
A thick plume of black smoke could be seen from the M8. | A fire has broken out at a disused primary school in North Lanarkshire. | 32426541 |
Brian Reader, 76, was jailed over the £26m Brinks Mat armed robbery in 1983.
Terry Perkins, 67, was jailed for 22 years for robbing the vaults of Securicor, also known as Security Express, in the same year.
Reader and Perkins have already admitted conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden safe deposit.
Reader, of Dartford Road, Dartford, was jailed for eight years for conspiracy to handle stolen goods after the gold bullion robbery in Hounslow, west London, in 1983.
Jurors at Woolwich Crown Court were told he was also sentenced to a further year in prison for dishonestly handling £66,000 in cash.
Perkins, of Heene Road, was part of a gang which broke into the Security Express depot in Shoreditch, east London, and escaped with £6m on Easter Monday, 1983.
The jury also heard details of the previous convictions of the other men who have already admitted their role in the Hatton Garden raid.
John "Kenny" Collins, 75, of Bletsoe Walk, Islington, has convictions for offences including breaking in, theft and handling stolen goods.
Daniel Jones, 60, of Park Avenue, Enfield, has been sentenced for offences of robbery, burglary and handling stolen goods.
Four other men are on trial accused of being involved in the Hatton Garden raid:
Collins, Jones, Perkins and Reader are due to be sentenced at a later date.
The trial continues. | Two of the men involved in the Hatton Gardon raid were previously jailed for their roles in two of the UK's biggest-ever robberies, a court has heard. | 35051392 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
The Scot, 24, has been spending an hour at a time in the machine to simulate the conditions he could face in Brazil.
Having recently returned from a two-week training camp in Mallorca, he will top up his acclimatisation work before heading to Team GB's holding camp.
"It is usually the humidity which is the killer," Hawkins told BBC Scotland.
"Or the 'slow killer', as we call it. It is about trying to take it as easy as possible.
"There is no point in blasting it and then ruining yourself at the end.
"That is the problem with the heat. You feel fine at the start, but it will soon kick you in the head."
Paisley-born Hawkins finished eighth in this year's London Marathon - only his second attempt at the distance - in a new personal best of two hours 10 minutes 52 seconds and says he is hoping for a "top-20" finish in Rio.
He will be joined by older brother Derek, 26, and Tsegai Tewelde, a Glasgow-based Eritrean who claimed asylum in Britain in 2008, for the men's marathon on Sunday, 21 August, the last day of the Games, with a 09:30 start local time (13:30 BST).
"It is all about pacing," the younger Hawkins explained. "I found out the hard way when I was in Mallorca.
"I did a session and went at a pace that I would normally do back here. But it was lot hotter there and it caused me to 'pop'.
"But it was a great lesson to learn. This way, I can work out my pace and calculate what I need to run at certain temperatures."
Hawkins finished ninth in the half-marathon at the European Championships in Amsterdam earlier this month, a race run in relatively cool conditions.
However, he believes using the heat chamber at Glasgow University - under the supervision of Shannon Connolly, an exercise physiologist at the national agency Sportscotland - will provide a mental edge in Rio.
"It is not so much the acclimatisation," Hawkins explained. "Just getting used to it mentally and knowing this is normal in these type of conditions will help stop me panicking on the day.
"A huge part of running is mental - it is probably a 50/50 split. You can feel down and out but you are not actually."
Connolly says they have looked at the worst possible conditions Hawkins might face in Rio and tried to simulate the extremes - the high-end temperatures and high-end humidity.
"There are a number of physiological changes when Callum is exercising in the heat," Connolly said. "The more accustomed his body is, the lower his perceived rate of exertion will be.
"So that is one benefit, but also the mental aspect is really important. Knowing he has done this on a number of occasions before the big day is really important." | Great Britain's top Olympics marathon hope Callum Hawkins believes training in a heat chamber in 35C heat and 80% humidity will give him an edge in Rio. | 36924114 |
The 24-year-old escaped the peloton on the penultimate climb for a solo finish on the 193.5km route from Aubagne to Fayence.
Yates finished 17 seconds clear, leaving him one minute and 37 seconds behind leader Julian Alaphilippe who retained the yellow jersey.
"I was just full gas to the finish, I gave everything I had," he said.
The Orica-Scott rider added: "I was still quite far down in the general classification before today so I had some freedom.
"I expected some guys to come with me and work together for the finish but I found myself on my own."
The race concludes on Sunday. | Britain's Simon Yates won stage six of the Paris-Nice to move up to eighth overall with two stages remaining. | 39238078 |
He said his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko must now bear direct responsibility for the conflict.
Mr Poroshenko blamed "criminal elements" as he ended the ceasefire and launched a full-scale military operation using aircraft and artillery.
Four people were killed in a minibus when shells hit the rebel-held town of Kramatorsk in Donetsk region.
In other fighting
At the scene: Oleg Boldyrev, BBC Russian, Kramatorsk
We have seen the results of the overnight and morning shelling here. Lots of building have been damaged; some have balconies missing.
Locals had time to hide in basements before the shelling began. There is no word of the casualties overnight. However, following a second wave of shelling early in the morning, a minibus was hit and at least four people died.
We can still hear shelling going on now. Some locals say there have been more casualties.
Mr Putin said he and European leaders had tried but failed to keep Ukraine on a path to peace.
Speaking to Russian ambassadors in Moscow, Mr Putin said: "Unfortunately, President Poroshenko has decided to resume military action.
"Neither myself nor our colleagues from Europe have been able to convince him that war cannot lead to well-established and lasting peace."
A four-way teleconference on Monday between Mr Poroshenko, Mr Putin, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had raised hopes the truce would be renewed.
But Mr Poroshenko said in an emotional late night televised address on Monday: "The decision not to continue the ceasefire is our answer to terrorists, militants and marauders." He accused the separatists of multiple violations of Ukraine's unilaterally called ceasefire.
Mr Putin countered: "Up until now, President Poroshenko was not directly involved with orders to start military action. He has now assumed this responsibility fully - not only militarily, but also politically."
Mr Putin vowed he would continue to defend ethnic Russians abroad, using all means available from humanitarian aid to "self-defence".
Mr Putin also said the West was using the Ukraine crisis to destabilise the whole region as part of a policy to "contain" Russia.
He said Ukraine's affairs were an internal matter.
"We need some kind of insurance net around all of Europe so that the Iraqi, Libyan, Syrian - and unfortunately we have to mention the Ukrainian - scenarios do not become a contagious disease," Mr Putin said.
Russia's foreign ministry said Ukraine would "have to answer for crimes against peaceful civilians".
Analysis by Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow
Every two years, Russian ambassadors fly to Moscow to hear their president set out his foreign policy objectives and describe his view of international affairs.
From what he said, the world according to Vladimir Putin is one of growing "unpredictability", where the "potential for conflict is rising" and where "elementary norms of decency are being ignored".
There are those in the West who argue that President Putin bears some responsibility for this, following Russia's annexation of Crimea. What's more, the EU and the US have accused Moscow of fanning separatist flames in eastern Ukraine.
But President Putin doesn't accept the blame. He criticised the US and Nato. He accused Ukraine of shunning peace. He said Russia preferred co-operation to confrontation. But he warned that Russia would "energetically defend the rights of Russians and compatriots abroad": a message to the West that Russia will take the path of confrontation if it believes it has no choice.
In his address, Mr Poroshenko insisted: "Peace has been and will remain my main goal. Only the means to achieve it have changed.
"We will attack, we will free our land."
Ukraine and some Western powers accuse Russia of arming the separatists - a claim Russia denies.
The trigger for the current crisis was whether Ukraine should lean more towards Russia or the EU.
The refusal of Mr Poroshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, to sign an EU trade deal late last year - under pressure from Russia - led to protests in Kiev and his eventual overthrow.
Russia has since annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, and separatists in the east declared independence from Ukraine.
President Poroshenko signed a landmark EU trade pact last Friday. | Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned Ukraine for ending a truce with separatist rebels in the east. | 28113680 |
A controlled explosion was carried out by the Army on an object at St Mary's on the Hill church on the Carnmoney Road.
An alert at the Church of St Mary, Star of the Sea, at Whitehouse, Newtownabbey is also now over.
A controlled explosion was also carried out there.
Residents have been allowed to return after the alerts. | Security alerts at two Catholic churches in Glengormley and Newtownabbey on the outskirts of north Belfast have been declared hoaxes. | 31174915 |
The prices you'll see on most websites are asking prices. The value of a done deal - the real price - can take land registries weeks to process, by which time a fast-paced market will have moved on.
So those on the inside doing the deals, such as estate agents and developers, have a distinct advantage.
Could technology help blast open this closed market?
Teun van den Dries, chief executive of Dutch software company GeoPhy, believes his data analytics software program could do just that, starting with commercial property, a global market worth about €22.5tn (£15.7tn), according to the European Public Real Estate Association.
His program crunches lots of different data sets - public transport, roads, congestion, location, demographics, local economy, building quality and so on - to calculate an estimated value for a property.
And he has data for 41 countries, from Singapore to Spain, Brazil to Belgium.
"If you look at the current property market, almost all transactions are handled by estate agents that will describe property as being well situated, with great accessibility and beautiful views," he says.
"And that could all be true, but it doesn't mean anything and it doesn't allow you to compare."
Location accounts for 70%-75% of the weighting in the algorithm - a mathematical set of rules - and his pricing is accurate within about 5%, he says.
Estate agents are known for their creative euphemisms when it comes to property descriptions, but data could help cut through the sales speak to arrive at a more realistic assessment, he believes.
But, he notes, "a valuation is never right until someone pays. So, it's the same price point a surveyor will put their signature on."
The only difference is that it's derived from data and a set of comparable rules, he says.
However, there are some valuations it can't help us to understand - parts of London, such as St James's Park or Mayfair, home of the £90m mansion, simply defy data analysis.
At present, his customers are pension funds and other large institutions that own property portfolios. They want quick access to property valuations, as well as other data, such as the energy efficiency of their buildings.
But he hopes this type of analysis could also help make the residential property and rentals markets more transparent, too.
So when your landlord says prices are rising in your area and hikes up your rent, you'll be able to see if that's really the case, says Mr van den Dries.
What do clients think about this data-driven approach?
"It's an acquired taste in a way," says Hans Op 't Veld, head of listed real estate at PGGM, a Dutch asset manager which looks after about €155bn (£110bn) of investors' money.
"We are not that used yet to using data that massively improves understanding and transparency in the market," he says. "We are used to operating in a rather opaque market and that is changing rapidly."
He adds: "For people who are uncomfortable with that, I'd say you have to shape up... this is a trend that is unstoppable, really."
What does this all mean for estate agents?
"The biggest challenge facing the property industry generally, is that whoever controls the most amount of data, in theory, can be the most powerful, and we've always prided ourselves on having the most data," says Michael Davis of property services company JLL, which as well as being an agent also provides advice and construction services.
His firm understands the attraction of data and it is also developing its own software to help fund managers benchmark the buildings they own.
But Mr Davis believes that so long as people are parting with large amounts of money - sometimes hundreds of millions of pounds for large commercial buildings in the world's metropolises - a human will be needed to provide advice, assurances and a dash of local intelligence.
A computer can't do that, he says.
For example, a good agent will know whether a particular tenant is more or less creditworthy than recent data suggests. Thus, while the shop window part of the industry may become less profitable, areas such as advice, planning and sustainability will still be needed, he believes.
For him, access to data would mean more competition from small firms but would lead to a more efficient marketplace.
"All our property listings would benefit from as many people as possible looking at them," he says.
But not everyone is so sure about the benefits of data analytics in the commercial property market.
The diversity of commercial buildings makes them hard to compare, says Robbie Duncan, a property analyst at Numis Securities. And property investors will buy and sell buildings for differing reasons.
For example, a seller may offload a building to make a loss to offset against tax and as such will sell at a lower "rational" price, he says.
And shifts in economies thousands of miles away - China or in the Middle East, perhaps - could suddenly empty money out of a given market, without the data giving any warning.
While many large publicly owned property owners have talked about using data, many "just don't really know where to start and are only at the start of the journey," he says. "Commercial property is the last imperfect market."
"Homes may be better, as they are more homogenous and could be more comparable," he adds.
Mr van den Dries admits that there is some resistance to this new data-driven approach - a number of property owners have expressed displeasure at having their buildings benchmarked, he says.
But he, and others, remain convinced that better analysis of more data is key to a more efficient - and less mysterious - property market.
Follow Technology of Business editor @matthew_wall on Twitter | The property market, like that of gold and oil, is a rather murky world. | 34531638 |
Desmond D'Mello of Gedling, Nottinghamshire insisted he cared for many of his patients "as friends".
He faces 56 allegations of malpractice, including reusing dirty gloves, at a General Dental Council hearing.
The dentist described the investigation as "callous and very humiliating".
Mr D'Mello was suspended in June 2014 after a whistleblower secretly filmed him allegedly breaching clinical standards across three days.
He is accused of reusing dirty gloves on different patients and failing to decontaminate dental instruments.
The hearing was told Mr D'Mello, who qualified in 1977, had a contract with the NHS for the financial year 2014-15 worth nearly £675,000.
The dentist has not attended the hearing but sent an email addressing the charges to the committee.
In it, he said: "As you can imagine, this was a total shock to me and I have to say that the way the three officers from NHS England handled the whole situation was callous and very humiliating.
"I was so shocked to be accused of such serious failings in infection control, I offered them a chance to carry out an inspection immediately."
He said the screening of his patients for blood-borne viruses had produced positive results "far below" the average for the population.
The fitness-to-practice hearing was told 22,000 patients listed on the practice database were written to and offered blood testing following the allegations.
NHS England said 4,526 patients of Mr D'Mello were tested following the recall, with five of these found to have hepatitis C. None were diagnosed with hepatitis B or HIV.
The statement, parts of which were read in private due to confidentiality issues, concluded: "I loved my job and found it an honour and privilege to treat my 22,000 patients, many of whom I cared for as friends.
"Several of my own family were my patients out of which half of them were general medical practitioners."
He added he had applied for "voluntary erasure" from the GDC register on two occasions.
The hearing continues. | A dentist who sparked a major health alert prompting the screening of thousands of patients for blood-borne viruses has spoken of his shock at allegations of malpractice. | 37024879 |
More than 1,500 children were held over alleged firearm offences between 2013 and January 2016.
Among the figures, the Metropolitan Police made 679 arrests, while seven children aged under 11 were held in Nottinghamshire.
The number of arrests rose by 20% last year, the Press Association said.
The data, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed 1,549 children were arrested for suspected crimes involving firearms, air weapons or imitation guns.
A total of 506 charges were brought by police.
The brother of a fatal shooting victim said he believed gangs were using children to carry guns to avoid detection.
Ian Cameron Swanston, whose 20-year-old brother Dorrie was shot dead in Hulme, Manchester in 1999, also said some youngsters carried guns for "status".
Mr Swanston, who is a counsellor and trustee of the charity Mothers Against Violence, said: "The more guns within the community, the more likely it is we will see younger children getting access to them.
"Gangs use children, they use their girlfriends. They use people who the police are unlikely to search.
"For some it's about status. Having a gun is seen as having power and people become fearful of you."
Merseyside Police said 73 children were arrested between 2013 and 2015. Fourteen boys were charged with crimes involving firearms including robbery, possession of a firearm, possession of an air weapon in a public place, sending threats, wounding and false imprisonment.
West Midlands Police said 83 boys and one girl had been charged with firearm offences since 2013, including an 11-year-old boy in 2015, a 12-year-old boy in 2013 and eight boys aged 13.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said nine boys and one girl were arrested for suspected firearm offences in 2015, compared with six boys in 2014 and seven boys and one girl in 2013.
Greater Manchester Police, which has investigated a string of gang-related shootings since "Salford's Mr Big" Paul Massey was shot dead in July, and Police Scotland were among the forces which did not provide figures.
Among the other forces which provided data:
A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said firearms offences in the UK accounted for less than 0.2% of total recorded crime.
"Forces across the country and community safety partnerships are working together to prevent young people getting involved in gangs and firearms," he said.
"This is a key piece of work for all agencies and communities in breaking the cycle of young people becoming involved in gangs and the associated criminality." | Children as young as 10 were among hundreds of youngsters arrested for suspected gun crimes in the last three years, new data has revealed. | 35915168 |
20 September 2016 Last updated at 12:59 BST
The British coastline is home to 38 percent of the world's population of grey seals.
Ayshah has travelled down to the south coast of England to learn more a bit more about one of our native sea mammals.
But while it's great to keep an eye out for the seals, some people have been getting too involved or accidently scaring them.
The Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust say that you should not approach, touch or encourage a seal pup back into the sea.
Rescuers have warned that some tourists have thought that seals were in trouble when they see them on their own, and tried to 'save' them by throwing them back into the sea. Instead of helping, it's actually dangerous for the pups, who can't swim yet!
If you see a pup on its own and think it might be in distress then get in touch with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue who can help. | It's pupping season for the UK's seals, meaning that you might spot furry baby seals appearing along the coastlines. | 37417499 |
The 34-year-old was "strongly reprimanded" by the IOC after losing to Or Sasson in Friday's first-round bout.
The IOC said the Egyptian Olympic Committee also condemned El Shehaby and had sent him home.
However, Egypt's judo federation said he arrived home as scheduled.
Spokesman Sameh Moubasher, quoted by the AFP news agency, said: "He returned with his colleagues. The whole team judo team returned yesterday."
El Shehaby was roundly booed by the crowd and was called back to the stage for his failure to bow to his opponent as it contravenes judo rules.
Sasson later revealed his coaches had warned him El Shehaby might refuse to shake his hand as the Egyptian had come under pressure from some conservative voices in his homeland to withdraw from the bout.
The IOC said the Egyptian judoka's conduct was "against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic values".
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby has been sent home from Rio after he refused to shake the hand of an Israeli opponent, the International Olympic Committee has said. | 37090339 |
The lock-rings - worn either as earrings or in the hair by a person of wealth and status about 3,000 years ago - were discovered in Rossett.
The ornaments will now go on display in Wrexham County Borough Museum.
It is thought the prized rings were buried as gifts to the gods, perhaps at the end of their owners' lives.
In Wales, lock-rings have previously been found at Gaerwen, Anglesey, the Great Orme, Conwy and Newport in Pembrokeshire.
National Museum Wales said the largely coastal pattern hinted at possible trading and communication links between late Bronze Age communities living in Wales and Ireland.
They were declared to be treasure by the coroner for north east Wales. | Two Bronze Age gold rings which were found by a metal detectorist on farm land in Wrexham have been declared treasure by a coroner. | 32072587 |
The men, aged 21, 22 and 33 were arrested along with a 45-year-old woman on Thursday after police seized a large quantity of diazepam tablets in north Belfast.
The men face a number of drug offences.
They are due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Saturday.
The 21-year-old is also charged with possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances.
The 22-year-old man is also charged with money laundering.
On Friday, a 45-year-old woman appeared in court charged with conspiracy to supply class C drugs.
Kelly Clarke, of Ardoyne Road in Belfast, also faced a charge of being concerned in the supply of diazepam between 1 August last year and 16 April this year.
She was granted bail. | Three men have been charged in connection with a police investigation into the supply of prescription drugs into Northern Ireland. | 32357140 |
It is the story of a wily political operator, backing the right political horses and shifting allegiances when expedient.
Given slightly different circumstances, according to one observer, it could have seen Ibori in the presidential villa rather than a British jail cell.
Ibori's defence in the face of allegations had always been that he had a successful business career and had made money independent of government.
But in 1991, he was working in a hardware store in the London suburb of Neasden.
The prosecution in this trial told a judge he was earning around £15,000 ($24,000) a year.
He was caught by his employer allowing his wife to walk through the till he was manning without paying for goods.
They both pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court and were fined.
In 1992, he was convicted for possession of a stolen credit card, which had £1,000 spent on it, and was again fined in a UK court.
Ibori then returned to Nigeria intending to become a political operator. The country was about to be tipped into a tumultuous period.
Military leader Ibrahim Babangida had scheduled elections to return Nigeria to democracy in June 1993.
Ibori worked for the governorship campaign of a friend.
The experience gave him good connections with the parties that would eventually merge to form the People's Democratic Party, currently ruling Nigeria.
The 1993 elections were cancelled by Mr Babangida. Later that year, Gen Sani Abacha staged a coup, cementing the military's grip on power for another five years.
According to Antony Goldman, who worked as a journalist in Nigeria for many years and has followed Ibori's career closely, this is when Ibori made his first shift of political master, offering his services to Abacha.
"He had an unspecified role in security," Mr Goldman said. "That could be anything, it was a very murky business."
Abacha was accused of murdering political opponents and ruthlessly crushing dissent and pro-democracy movements.
In the mid-1990s, Ibori was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the US about how he came into the possession of millions of dollars that he transferred to accounts in the US.
The FBI suspected the money came from advance fee fraud, the infamous Nigerian 419 scam, but he was able to prove the money came from his work with Abacha, Mr Goldman said.
Abacha died in 1998 and Ibori switched horses again, attaching himself to influential northern politician Atiku Abubakar, who went on to become vice-president.
In 1999, Ibori took out a mortgage on a property in Abbey Road, London.
To do that, he got a new passport with a false birth date to mask his previous convictions.
The birth date he chose was in fact medically impossible as it was only a month after his sister's birthday, the prosecution told the court.
Ibori was installed as the governor of the oil-rich Delta State in the 1999 elections.
In order to take office in Nigeria, he had to swear an affidavit that he had no convictions. To do this, he used the same birth date he had made up to acquire his mortgage.
It was this evidence that would, in a London court 14 years later, spell the end for Ibori.
Soon after he became governor, Ibori paid off the Abbey Road mortgage in cash.
He went on to buy three other properties in the UK. He paid £2.2 million in cash for a house in the plush London suburb of Hampstead.
In 2005 the Metropolitan Police began to take an interest in Ibori after they came across a purchase order for a private jet, made through his solicitor in London.
It was just after this that Ibori shifted horses again, switching his allegiance from Mr Abubakar to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In 2006, President Obasanjo recruited Ibori to help him force through a change in the constitution to allow him to run for a third term as president.
When that plan failed, Ibori promised his allegiance to Mr Obasanjo's anointed successor, Umaru Yar'Adua.
At the ruling party's pre-election convention in 2006, Ibori was on hand to lift up the northern governor's hands in a display of victory - hours before delegates from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) voted to select him as their candidate.
Ibori is then accused of bankrolling the 2007 Yar'Adua election campaign, although this has been denied.
Mr Goldman says he understands Ibori was promised the vice-president's job, in return for his support.
But Mr Yar'Adua, who had been ill for many years, died in office.
His Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan succeeded him and remains Nigeria's president.
Despite being a fellow former governor of a neighbouring oil state, Ibori and Mr Jonathan were by now political enemies.
In 2010, President Jonathan set the country's anti-corruption police, the Economic and Financial Crimes commission on him, but their officers were ambushed when they came to arrest him.
Ibori left Nigeria shortly afterwards.
He went to Dubai, whose government arrested him and transferred him to the UK to face trial.
Mr Goldman says had Yar'Adua lived, and made Ibori his vice-president, he would have had a clear run to become president.
"Then Mr Ibori would have met Queen Elizabeth at the state house, instead of serving at her pleasure," Mr Goldman said. | The story of how James Ibori went from convicted thief in London in the 1990s, to become governor of a wealthy oil-producing Nigerian state and then to a British prison is a remarkable one. | 17184075 |
The sculpture, which could potentially stand 7m (23ft) high and 30m (98ft) wide, symbolises a giant rusted crown.
It is said to represent the relationship between the medieval monarchies of Europe and the castles they built.
When opened in 2018, visitors will be able to walk along the £395,000 sculpture.
The winning design was selected by a panel from the Arts Council for Wales, following a nation-wide competition.
It will be engraved with words and sayings, to be chosen with the local community.
Flint was one of the first castles to be built in Wales by Edward I - construction began in 1277.
It was the setting as Richard II surrendered the crown to Henry IV - an event impacting the history of Britain and Europe.
"The sculpture will take a balanced form, some buried beneath the ground, the remainder projecting into the air, to demonstrate the unstable nature of the crown," said George King from the architects behind the design.
He said: "From afar its striking, iconic form resembles a giant ancient artefact, washed up on the shore of the Dee Estuary.
"However, as you approach the sculpture it becomes obvious that the piece is more than just a sculpture."
Further improvements to the castle include the installation of a stainless-steel spiral staircase within the north-east tower.
The project also includes a newly-commissioned regeneration strategy for Flint foreshore, which is still in its early stages.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates, who unveiled the design, said: "In its prime, Flint Castle played a pivotal role in not only shaping the future of Wales but that of the UK and Europe.
"The iron ring sculpture is a perfect way of marking this significance while attracting more people to visit the site, bringing positive economic benefits to the area." | An iron ring sculpture will be part of a £630,000 investment project at Flint Castle. | 40680039 |
In the 12 months to September, assets under management fell by 12.5% to £283.7bn.
The company also recorded its 10th consecutive quarter of net fund outflows.
Aberdeen said weak investor sentiment towards Asia and emerging markets was a major contributing factor.
By mid-morning, its share price was down by more than 4%, at 320.3p.
Aberdeen said: "Asian and emerging markets are undergoing a cyclical correction.
"Traditionally these are areas of significant strength for Aberdeen, but we have experienced outflows from some investors who have made their asset allocation decisions on the basis of their macroeconomic views on these markets."
Despite the increase in net outflows, Aberdeen reported a 5% increase in net revenue, to £1.17bn, while underlying pre-tax profit was up slightly at £491.6m.
Chief executive Martin Gilbert said: "These solid financial results reflect, in part, the work we have undertaken to diversify the business and maintain a strong balance sheet.
"The cyclical correction in Asian and emerging markets and resulting negative investor sentiment has, as expected, led to further flows from our equities business.
"While we believe the current weakness may have some way to run, the long term fundamental attractions of investing in these high growth economies remain compelling for patient investors."
He added: "We continue to rebalance and diversify the business, to focus on managing our costs and to generate cash and this has helped to mitigate the impact of the outflows we've seen.
"We intend to continue with this strategy alongside ensuring we continue to deliver long term value for our clients and shareholders." | Aberdeen Asset Management's share price has taken a hit after the company reported a sharp fall in the value of funds under its control. | 34963537 |
The 500lb (250kg) device was found on a building site in Grange Walk, Bermondsey on Monday.
Two primary schools were closed and hundreds of homes were evacuated as a precaution.
A cordon and 656ft (200m) exclusion zone was lifted at about 18:15 GMT as the bomb was removed to a quarry in Kent to be detonated, police said.
The Metropolitan Police force said the device was a 'SA' 250kg WWII German air-dropped bomb, known to the Army's Royal Logistic Corps bomb disposal experts.
Southwark Borough Council thanked people affected by the disruption for their patience.
Earlier the Met's Southwark Borough police tweeted an apology for its "blunt" leaflet urging people to leave their homes as a safety precaution.
The flyer said: "If the bomb explodes buildings in the 200m zone will be significantly damaged and those close to the bomb will be destroyed.
"Remaining in your home is placing your life at significant risk."
Southwark ward councillor Lucas Green said the council had rehoused about 100 people who were unable to return to their homes on Monday night and the Red Cross had helped to provide them with food and supplies.
London Fire Brigade said that between 2009 and 2014 it was called to seven unexploded Second World War bombs and five unexploded hand grenades. | An unexploded World War Two bomb found in south London has been driven away safely under police and Army escort. | 32030875 |
Restrictions were in place as Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 on Saturday.
There was a "significant" police presence at the final day of the Champions League Festival on Sunday following the London terror attack.
After the festival finished nearby roads in Cardiff Bay, such as Lloyd George Avenue, reopened by 22:00 BST.
All other roads were accessible to motorists, apart from Cowbridge Road East, Castle Street and the bottom of North Road, which were open to pedestrians and cyclists only.
However, these were due to be fully open by 03:30 Monday. | With 170,000 fans departing following the Champions League final, Cardiff is expected to return to normal with all roads reopened on Monday. | 40152830 |
More than £9.2m was spent by the BBC charity on 159 active projects in every county in Wales last year which helped 20,000 disadvantaged children.
Singer Wynne Evans hosted a night of entertainment and fundraising from Swansea University's Great Hall.
"It's a truly staggering amount," said Jemma Wray, the charity head in Wales. | Children in Need raised £2.55m in Wales as the national appeal total hit £46.6m on a record-breaking night dedicated to former host, the late Sir Terry Wogan. | 38037142 |
Constance Davies, 88, was at home in Maesteg, Bridgend county, when Gavin Tainton burst in demanding money.
Debt-ridden Tainton, 32, was jailed in February after being convicted of robbery at Cardiff Crown Court.
His sentence was increased at the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday.
Lord Justice Fulford, sitting with Mr Justice Spencer and Mr Justice Holgate, noted the "extreme frailty" of Tainton's victim - who is 5ft 2in and weighs barely seven stone.
He said: "This vulnerable and elderly lady was brutally attacked in her own home.
"Her injuries, given her time of life and her frailty, were significant and the impact of this offence - both physically and psychologically - will be permanent."
His case reached the Court of Appeal after lawyers for the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, urged the three judges to increase his "unduly lenient" sentence. | A window cleaner who tied up an 88-year-old woman, threatened her into silence and stole £15 has had his "significantly too short" 10-year sentence increased to 14 years. | 32616045 |
So usually on a Wednesday "sources close to the ECB" or "people familiar with the situation" have briefed the major financial wires that the central bank's governing council has given permission to Greece's central bank to lend a bit more to Greece's banks, to keep them afloat.
Here is a typical example.
And the likelihood is that again today, we will probably learn in this opaque manner that the amount the Bank of Greece can lend to Greece's tottering banks, to allow those banks to repay their depositors, has risen again - from the current ceiling of 83bn euros.
This is a very rum job.
Because the instant the ECB says it won't allow an increase in central-bank lending to the banks, the game would be up for Greece. There would be a run on the banks, because depositors would rightly at that point fear their money wasn't safe, and the banking system and economy would collapse.
So there is probably no more market-sensitive decision being taken anywhere in the world right now than whether the ECB is prepared to keep propping up Greece's bank.
That is why it is somewhat unnerving - to put it mildly - that the ECB doesn't disclose its actions in a normal transparent way, and trusts instead to unattributable briefings.
The point, I suppose, is that the ECB wants to maintain the fiction that the power of life and death over the Greek financial system and economy is actually with Greece's creditors, namely the IMF and eurozone governments.
But hang on a minute, there is another huge creditor as well, which has been intimately involved in the bailout discussions.
It's the European Central Bank, which is owed 20bn euros directly by the Greek government and considerably more indirectly via the collateral placed with it and with the Bank of Greece for credit provided to commercial banks.
So the ECB cannot escape its massive conflict of interest here.
Anyway, the point is that at the moment the bailout talks collapse, and the Greek government is unable to keep up the payments on its 320bn euros of official debts, the implicit value of Greece's debts - both public sector and private sector - would collapse.
At that juncture, Greek banks would - of course - be bust. They would be unable to lend, deposits would be frozen, and the entire economy would seize up.
Now of course the convention in central banks is that they can only lend to solvent banks.
But it is unarguably the case that Greece's commercial banks are only alive right now because the central bank is lending to them.
The notion that they are only suffering from a liquidity crisis, and that their assets are fundamentally ticketyboo is a fiction as magnificent as War and Peace - almost no economist in the world thinks the Greek government can repay all its debts, and few would place big bets on the ability of the private sector to keep its creditors, notably the banks, whole.
And yet the ECB is maintaining the fiction that the banks are sound, because it dare not be dragged into big politics.
So I imagine that yet again we will learn today, via off-the-record briefings to the wires, that the Bank of Greece is lending a bit more to commercial banks.
Of course that is the rational thing to do, pending some kind of resolution of the rescue talks between the Greek government and eurozone governments, led by Germany
But I am not sure the ECB's reputation is enhanced by the maintenance of the conceit that its judgement about lending to the banks is a routine technical one - especially if Greece collapses, and it ends up losing a fortune of eurozone taxpayers' wealth. | One of the oddest bits of central banking behaviour in the world right now is that pretty much every week since Greece's financial problems went nuclear again, at the start of the year, the European Central Bank has let it be known in a cloak-and-dagger way that it is still providing cooling fluid to the whole combustible mess. | 33164642 |
Maris, 20, was released by Barnsley this summer after playing four first-team games, and has had loan spells at Nuneaton, Guiseley and Lincoln.
Gregory, 21, came through the Crystal Palace academy and spent part of last season on loan at Leyton Orient before being released by the Eagles in May.
The pair join following the signing of winger Piero Mingoia on Thursday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Cambridge United have signed midfielder George Maris and goalkeeper David Gregory on one-year contracts. | 36443718 |
Sir Stephen House has been under growing pressure following the force's handling of a fatal crash on the M9.
Lamara Bell, 25, died in hospital at the weekend after lying critically ill for three days in a crashed car, next to her dead partner John Yuill, 28.
A review of police call handling in Scotland has been announced by the Scottish government.
Although the couple were not found until Wednesday, Police Scotland admitted the crash was reported to them three days earlier.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Matheson was asked about calls for the police chief to "consider his position".
Mr Matheson said: "I think the chief constable has a number of challenges which he has dealt with coming into post.
"He has also acknowledged there has been a number of mistakes made over the last couple of years, and clearly there's been a mistake made with this particular case, and he's sought to try and address them.
"It's important the focus now has to be on making sure this type of thing cannot occur again and we learn the lessons from that.
"We also have to make sure we have the right safeguards in there to ensure that if anyone makes a call to one of the Police Scotland contact centres then it is dealt with effectively."
The urgent review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) will focus broadly on all call handling procedures and will be in addition to the ongoing independent inquiry specifically into the M9 incident by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc).
Sir Stephen has admitted that the initial information received about crash was not entered into police systems.
Ms Bell had been in a medically-induced coma at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow after suffering kidney damage from dehydration from lying in the wreckage for so long. She died at about 06:50 on Sunday.
A statement on behalf of the Bell family said: "Sadly, our daughter has passed away. We now request that the media respect our privacy to grieve for Lamara at this very difficult time."
The Yuill family said: "The family of John Yuill would like to say that their prayers and thoughts are with Lamara and her family. We are devastated by the sad news.
"The families have messaged each and our thoughts are with John and Lamara's children at this very sad time."
Sir Stephen has welcomed the review into call handling. He said Police Scotland needed to be able "to reassure the Scottish public that we have both the capacity and the capability to deal with their calls".
There had been pressure from opposition politicians for a wider inquiry into the operation of Scotland's single police force in light of the incident.
Speaking on Good Morning Scotland, Scottish Labour's justice spokeswoman, Elaine Murray, said a review of how the police call handling system was working should have taken place sooner.
"It's easy to be wise with hindsight," she said.
"But I think there were warning signs there that the system was not working well and perhaps inquiries should have been made sooner.
"I think Sir Stephen House has a number of problems and if I was Sir Stephen House I would be considering my position this morning. However, it's important that we don't just make a scapegoat of the chief constable."
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie welcomed the review but said it should go further.
"With reports of police officers backfilling civilian posts, huge workload pressures and morale at rock bottom there is a strong case for a wider independent review," he said.
Calum Steele, from the Scottish Police Federation, told BBC Scotland: "My members and police officers up and down the length and breadth of Scotland are working harder and are busier than ever before.
"I suppose all of this highlights that human beings do make mistakes. Of course we try to make sure that we design systems to prevent those mistakes being made, the unfortunate thing is that human beings are fallible." | Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has said he has "full confidence" in the chief constable of Police Scotland. | 33503587 |
The $6.5bn (£4.06bn), 1,800km (1,118 miles) all-weather road will stretch from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh state to where the borders of India and China meet with Myanmar.
The road will connect sparsely populated and poorly-connected hill communities living in four large frontier districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
It will also help farmers in the mountainous region to transport their organic crops and medicinal herbs to low-lying and busy markets in neighbouring Assam state.
"This road will not boost our defences but help connect far flung communities for economic development denied to them for so long," says India's junior home minister Khiren Rijiju, himself a resident of Arunachal Pradesh.
But Indian military officials say the road will help consolidate Indian defences.
This represents a change in Indian military thinking that has so far opposed developing roads near the border, in case it is used by the Chinese during a conflict for speedy movement inside Indian territory.
The road, however, could could ignite fresh tensions between India and China.
The world's two most populous countries disagree over the demarcation of several Himalayan border areas and fought a brief war in 1962.
Chinese foreign office spokesperson Hong Lei has said India's plan may "complicate" the boundary dispute which he described as a "colonial legacy".
"Before a final settlement is reached, we hope that India will not take any actions that may further complicate the situation. We should jointly safeguard the peace and tranquillity of the border area and create favourable conditions for the final settlement of the border issue," he told reporters in Beijing.
Chinese officials say it is not fair of India to undertake such a huge road building project in an area which is still in dispute.
"Once the dispute is resolved and the boundary is clearly demarcated, India can build such roads in its territory, but it would be unfair to build a road in a disputed territory," says Kong Can of the Yunnan Development Research Institute.
He says India should agree to develop the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) highway and economic corridor from Calcutta in India's West Bengal state to Kunming in China's Yunnan province cutting through Bangladesh, India's north-eastern states of Assam and Manipur and Myanmar's northern provinces.
"This highway and economic corridor will help integrate our economies and open huge opportunities for developing our under-developed frontier provinces and create a climate of trust that will help resolve the border dispute," Kong Can said.
India is going slow on the project, so far just agreeing to "explore" its possibilities.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded to demands from his security establishment to develop its defences against China, which has reportedly beefed up its military infrastructure in Tibet with a string of new railway lines, roads and at least five new airports.
Also, the rail route to Lhasa is likely to be extended to Nyingchu, close to the Arunachal Pradesh border, Indian military officials say.
"China has vastly beefed up its military infrastructure in Tibet and we are only catching up. Unless we do that, China will always arm-twist us on the border and try to impose a solution on its terms," says Lt Gen JR Mukherjee, former chief of staff in India's eastern army.
Last month India and China pulled back troops after a two-week stand-off near their de facto border in Ladakh. Chinese President Xi Jinping was visiting India when India accused his country of the fresh territorial incursion.
Many believe that has added to Indian apprehensions and could have influenced the decision to build the long border road that now upsets China.
Subir Bhaumik is a former BBC correspondent and author | India has unveiled plans to build a mountain road along the disputed border with China in the country's remote north-east. | 29639950 |
John Pielmeier's play, about a young girl possessed by the devil, will run at Birmingham Rep from 21 October to 5 November.
The play is based on William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel that also spawned the 1973 film starring Max von Sydow.
Audiences will be warned it "contains adult material which may shock and offend".
The age recommendation is 18+.
Pielmeier's play had its world premiere in 2012 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles with a cast that included Brooke Shields as the possessed girl's mother and Richard Chamberlain as the demon-battling priest.
Running alongside The Exorcist at The Rep is Seance by Glen Neath and David Rosenberg (18-29 October) - a 15-minute "immersive performance" that takes place in absolute darkness inside a shipping container outside the theatre in Centenary Square.
The Rep's autumn and winter season opens in September with a "stylish contemporary spin" on Oscar Wilde's classic The Importance of Being Earnest. | The stage version of supernatural shocker The Exorcist is to have its UK premiere around Halloween. | 36301422 |
What started as a pilot in 2013 has grown into a database "without any public debate or oversight", said the American Civil Liberties Union.
It amounted to "runaway surveillance", director of technology Nicole Ozer tweeted.
The FBI said it was developing "best practices" for iris image capture.
The project was launched in September 2013 and has seen the FBI collaborate with agencies in Texas, Missouri and California.
The iris data, taken from people who have been arrested, can be scanned in a fraction of a second.
Privacy International told the BBC: "It is deeply concerning that hundreds of thousands of people's iris scans are being added to a biometric database without public debate, proper safeguards, or even awareness that such data has been taken and is being stored.
"If our biometric data is to be collected at all, such systems should not be introduced or continued before a public debate, strong legal frameworks, and strict safeguards are in place."
The scan takes a detailed image of the ridges in the coloured part of the eye, which are as detailed and distinctive as a fingerprint.
An average of 189 iris scans were collected every day in California at the start of 2016, according to documents obtained by The Verge.
The programme was started to "evaluate technology, address key challenges and develop a system capable of performing iris image recognition services", according to the FBI's website.
Such technology is necessary in order to easily track criminals and quickly catch repeat offenders and suspects who try to hide their identities, the FBI argued.
The project falls under its $1bn (£750m) next-generation identification system that aims to expand the bureau's old fingerprinting database to other identifiers such as facial recognition and palm prints. | The FBI has collected nearly 430,000 iris scans over the past three years, an investigation by technology website The Verge, has revealed. | 36783515 |
The Eagles missed out on a Finals Day place after a dramatic batting collapse saw them slump to a 39-run loss.
But Essex are top of Division Two in the County Championship and still in the quarter-finals of the One-Day Cup.
"We are still in two competitions, I think it's important we remember that," the 41-year-old told BBC Essex.
"Obviously we're really disappointed, it hurts, as it should do, we have to build ourselves back up now," the former England and Yorkshire paceman added.
Monday's match at Trent Bridge came just 24 hours after the conclusion of their drawn County Championship match against Sussex at Colchester which sent Essex one point clear at the top of Division Two.
But Silverwood said they were not using that as an excuse.
"We had a few tired bodies kicking around but it is what it is, the schedule is how it is, we've got to get on with it," he added. | Essex head coach Chris Silverwood says his team must refocus quickly after Monday's T20 Blast quarter-final defeat by Nottinghamshire. | 37022237 |
Monza has signed a new contract until 2019 with Formula 1's commercial arm worth a total of 68m Euros (£60.5m).
F1 will receive €22m in 2017 and 2018 and €24m in 2019, according to a source close to the deal.
The move ends a period of uncertainty over the future of Monza, which is the oldest race on the calendar. It first held the Italian GP in 1921.
The F1 group will also receive an additional figure - said by sources to be in the region of €3-4m - to exploit a space outside the back of the paddock formerly occupied by a museum and the rights to some of the merchandise shops at the track.
The deal is one of the final pieces to fall into place before the publication of the official 2017 calendar later this week following a meeting of the world council of governing body the FIA on Wednesday.
There are expected to be 20 races next season, one less than in 2016 because Germany has failed to agree a commercial deal for the race to be held at Hockenheim instead of the financially-troubled Nurburgring, whose turn it is.
There have also been question marks over the Brazilian and Canadian Grands Prix.
The mayor of Montreal announced last week that the Canadian race was safe but the future of Interlagos in Sao Paulo remains in doubt as a result of a contractual dispute with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
The season is expected to take a very similar shape to this year, with the opening race in Melbourne, Australia on 26 March.
The cancellation of Germany is likely to lead to Hungary being moved back a week, creating a three-week gap between the British Grand Prix on 9 July and the Hungaroring on 30 July.
Sources say there may be some shuffling of the end-of-season races since the publication of the provisional calendar in September, with the races in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, USA and Mexico reverting to this year's positions. | The future of the Italian Grand Prix at the historic Monza circuit has been secured for the next three seasons. | 38146270 |
The 57-year-old Baggies head coach has been a manager for over 23 years - or fast approaching 1,000 football matches - at eight different clubs.
"It's become a lot different to what it used to be," he told BBC WM.
"But, unless you're prepared to change, if I had not adapted, then Tony Pulis wouldn't be in football."
Pulis has been in charge at Bournemouth, Gillingham, Bristol City, Portsmouth, Stoke City (twice), Plymouth Argyle, Crystal Palace and now Albion since he first entered management.
It was in June 1992 that he stepped up from player-coach to replace Harry Redknapp at Dean Court when his old boss left to return to West Ham as assistant manager to Billy Bonds.
Since then, he has won more of his 958 games in charge than he has lost - 353 to 323 - in the top four divisions of English football.
But, in a revealing exchange with BBC WM's Paul Franks, despite the frustrations of having to keep within the budget of a lowly but now established Premier League club who are still open to takeover offers, he makes it clear that he remains as committed and passionate as ever about football management.
"If you said I can have another three years at the club and do what I wanted to do within those three years, then I'd be more than happy," he added.
"Dealing with players. Years ago, they weren't all multi-millionaires. They weren't earning what they're earning now. Players have become like the film stars of the 1960s and 70s. They're recognised everywhere they go.
"Football has gone through the roof in lots of respects. Not all good, in my opinion, but you have to deal with it and work with it. There's too many other things that go on now and surround football.
"There used to be a little bit more respect and perspective and love of what they were involved in. But I don't say that in a bad way."
"You can get on a team bus now and the lads will stick their earphones on and get their computers out and do what they do. But I'm not into all the gadgets. I'm just a human being who enjoys other people's company.
"When we were young, on coach trips to away games when I was at Bournemouth, there'd be four of us at the front of the bus - myself, Sean O'Driscoll, Gerry Peyton and Mark O'Connor (now part of Pulis' Albion coaching team).
"All we'd do is sit there and talk football. We'd discuss the game, the training, the things that were relevant to our our lives.
"If we'd been up at Middlesbrough we'd talk football all the way back to Bournemouth. Unfortunately, I just don't see that so much any more."
"Everybody has an opinion. Everybody understands the game better than you do.
"You respect people's opinions. But, if you listened to what everybody said, it would drive you insane.
"This is the best footballing nation in the world. Without the support the clubs get, the passion and the commitment that supporters show their clubs, we wouldn't be where we are now. It's almost tribal.
"But it makes it more difficult than ever to manage."
"I'm a nightmare. If we lose, even at this stage of my career, I manage it a little bit better but I'm not good to be around. I analyse things too much. My wife's been able to put up with me for a long time now and the children understand and accept the way I am. But I can be a nightmare at times.
"My wife's been with me since I was 18. She knows how I work, accepts the way I am, how I am as a person, as an individual. She works around me.
"My son [Anthony] is away working in America at the moment. He's decided to go into coaching now, taking the Under-21s at Orlando City. He understands what Dad goes through and the life I lead. We talk twice, maybe three times a day. It'll be interesting to see how he works and reacts to the rigours of management.
"My two daughters tell me if I need to lighten up. lf there's two people in the world who can get away with it, it's Laura and Stephanie. But the girls are also very protective of me."
BBC WM's hour-long special with Tony Pulis, including his favourite music, will be on BBC WM 95.6, DAB & Online on Thursday's Football Phone-In (19 November, 18:00 GMT). | West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis says he would no longer be in football management if he had not learned to adapt in the way he handles players. | 34860557 |
Bartek Plachta, eight, from Poland, and Monika Lewandowska-Ritchie, 36, from Durham, were killed following the crash at 14:55 on Monday on the A92, north of the Redhouse Roundabout, Kirkcaldy.
Bartek died shortly after the crash. Ms Lewandowska-Ritchie died in hospital.
Another child, aged nine, suffered serious facial injuries in the crash.
The collision involved a Ford Focus car and an Iveco lorry.
The driver of the lorry and a 36-year-old male front passenger in the car were not injured.
Bartek was a backseat passenger in the car driven by Ms Lewandowska-Ritchie.
The nine-year-old boy was also a backseat passenger in the car.
Bartek's family said: "Bartek was a much loved and treasured son and brother. He was a very popular boy who touched the hearts of many and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew and cared for him."
Ms Lewandowska-Ritchie's family said: "Monika was a loving wife, mother, sister and daughter who was much loved and will be sadly missed by all who knew and cared for her. Our are requesting privacy at this most difficult time."
Police are appealing for witnesses.
Insp Brenda Sinclair, of Police Scotland, said: "Once again, our sympathies are with the families of Bartek and Monika and we will continue to provide them with all the necessary support and they assistance they require.
"Fife Road Policing Unit has been conducting a thorough investigation into the full circumstances surrounding this tragic incident and we remain keen to speak to any motorists who were on the A92 at around 2.55 p.m. on Monday and witnessed the collision.
"In addition, anyone with any further information that can assist with our inquiries should also get in touch." | The families of a woman and boy killed in a Fife crash involving a car and a lorry have paid tribute to them saying they would be "sadly missed". | 35977121 |
The athlete won Team GB's first medal of this year's Games when he took first place in the 100m breaststroke in world record time.
The 21-year-old, who trains with City of Derby Swimming Club, received the accolade at a ceremony at the Council House.
It comes amid concerns for Derby's limited public swimming facilities.
Moorways Swimming Pool, where Peaty used to train, has been closed since March due to budget cuts.
The family pool at the city's Queen's Leisure Centre has also been shut for repair work.
Before accepting his award, Peaty urged the authority to "push those facilities forward" and use the Olympic legacy as an advantage.
Derby council leader Ranjit Banwait replied he was "committed" to building a new £50m pool at the Moorways site by 2018.
The Labour councillor added giving Peaty the freedom honour was a chance to celebrate his "fantastic sporting success".
Peaty's coach Mel Marshall and Lewis White, who won a bronze medal in the S9 400m freestyle at the Rio Paralympics, were also honoured at the ceremony.
The Staffordshire swimmer's Olympic success made him the first British man to win a swimming gold medal since Adrian Moorhouse, in Seoul 1988.
Earlier this month hundreds of people lined the streets of Peaty's hometown of Uttoxeter during an open top bus tour. | Swimmer Adam Peaty has received the freedom of the city of Derby following his gold medal win in the Rio Olympics. | 37585153 |
The report said that there was accumulating evidence that the figures may not be reliable - and they needed to be thoroughly overhauled.
The decision to "de-designate" police statistics does not affect the reliability of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), which is the other official measure. But it is damaging all the same, given that the police should be fairly well-placed to tell us what is happening on the streets.
Sir Andrew Dilnot, the head of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), has now confirmed to MPs that the problems look so bad that the effort to fix police failings will probably lead to a rise in the number of recorded crimes.
Speaking to the the Public Administration Select Committee on Tuesday, he said: "It is quite conceivable, indeed I think quite likely, that if there is proper auditing introduced, the recording of crime is improved, that we will see recorded crime increase."
There's no dispute that crime has been steadily falling since the mid-1990s across the UK - as it has been in many other industrialised nations.
But about seven years ago, incidents recorded by the police began to fall faster than those uncovered in the extensive face-to-face interviews conducted by the rolling national survey.
What emerged from Tuesday's evidence was that the two measures of counting crime began to diverge in 2006-07. That coincides with the period when the Audit Commission lost its role in overseeing the police's collection and presentation of the data.
Experts at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) appear to have long suspected that the two events were linked - but they only began their own analysis when responsibility for crime data passed from the Home Office in April 2012.
After nine months of number-crunching, the ONS concluded in a technical report that there could be a real problem with police practices.
Within the pages of neutrally-presented evidence, the ONS said some police forces might be guilty of a "gradual erosion of compliance" with the national rules on counting crime. The report made headlines at the time because it begged a question: are police figures exaggerating falls in crime?
The ONS warned UKSA that the matter needed investigating - ultimately leading a year later to the decision to downgrade the police figures.
Those suspicions are now supported by evidence. While statisticians think some under-counting comes from human error, they say some mistakes could be caused by specific factors. These include a lack of training, failing to record offences which are dealt with informally at a neighbourhood level and even confusion among some officers over whether an offence even occurred when a suspect has gone free.
More seriously, the figures in some categories may have been massaged down to hit local performance targets. This could include defining a partially-reported offence as "no crime" or a "crime-related incident" - neither of which make it into national figures.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has separately reported on major problems with figures from Kent. It is now preparing a national review of all forces and the inspectorate's chief, Tom Winsor, has warned that he expects his forthcoming report will uncover "fiddling".
All of that chimes with controversial evidence to MPs from police officers who explained how figures have been manipulated down the years - including allegations that the true level of sexual offences has been masked.
During his appearance before MPs, Sir Andrew Dilnot conceded that, with hindsight, the watchdog could have acted a little more quickly - and that's a lesson learnt.
But he stressed that the real question is how to best audit the police stats to ensure the figures can be trusted.
So we can expect to see audit and oversight teams walking into police headquarters - and that will ultimately lead to more crimes being recorded.
The paperwork will ultimately show a rise in the total numbers of crimes in England and Wales - and that will worry some people, even if, in reality, the actual crime rate hasn't changed at all.
Assuming those police stats go up, while the Crime Survey continues to show falls, it could be very, very confusing in the run-up to the 2015 General Election.
But in the long-term, we may get a clearer and more trustworthy set of figures that explain the real impact that crime has on society. | Last week, the UK Statistics Authority, the watchdog that oversees the publication of official data, said it could no longer approve crime figures based on information recorded by the police in England and Wales. | 25831906 |
Emergency services were called to Muscle Junction health supplements store in Glasgow Road, Barrhead, at about 23:10 on Saturday.
The entire shop front was blown off in the blast but no-one was injured as the premises were unoccupied at the time.
Police have appealed for witnesses in a bid to trace who was responsible and establish why the shop was targeted.
Police Scotland said that following a joint investigation with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, "officers can now confirm it was a deliberate act".
Det Con Mark Hendry said: "It's important we establish why this property was targeted and trace whoever is responsible.
"I am appealing for anyone who may have seen someone in the area or near to the premises who was perhaps acting a little suspiciously.
"If you have any information, no matter how insignificant it seems to you, please do pass it on."
Police said officers were gathering CCTV images from the area in a bid to help the investigation. | A fire and subsequent explosion that destroyed a shop in East Renfrewshire was a deliberate act, police have said. | 35959678 |
A selection of photos from across the African continent this week: | Images courtesy of AFP, AP, EPA and Reuters | 37376976 |
The government wants to reduce pensions payable to 130,000 current and ex-steel workers, to make Tata's Port Talbot operations more attractive to a buyer.
Meanwhile the Commons Work and Pensions select committee is investigating the £571m deficit at the BHS scheme.
Now it will also investigate how many pension schemes are at risk of failing.
Proposed changes to the British Steel scheme, from one based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), inflation measure, rather than the Retail Prices Index (RPI). could see some future pensioners 17% worse off.
And current and former BHS employees who had not yet reached retirement age when it went into administration in March could see a 10% cut to their pensions.
"The state of the British Steel pension scheme is further worrying evidence of a wider danger to one of the biggest savings successes in Britain during the last century - occupational pension schemes," said pensions committee chair Frank Field.
"The select committees' in-depth case study on BHS is illustrating how such schemes are already creaking from rising life expectancy and record low returns on capital.
"Pension law and regulation must urgently adapt to the issues of the future, rather than the problems of the past. The whole savings edifice is in danger."
Mr Field said that while he welcomed discussions with the government on finding a way forward on the British Steel issue, it was far from an isolated case.
Mr Field said 11 million people had private "defined benefit" pensions, but that more than 5,000 of the associated schemes were in deficit by a total of £805bn.
Meanwhile, the combined surpluses of other schemes was just £4bn.
"This will be a major inquiry considering radical solutions to one of the great problems of this age," said Mr Field, the Labour MP for Birkenhead.
"The inquiry will consider, amongst other things, radical solutions that could be more easily implemented if real returns on capital rise again." | An inquiry is to be launched into the UK's 6,000 occupational pension schemes after question marks about the future of the BHS and British Steel schemes. | 36408238 |
3 February 2015 Last updated at 06:47 GMT
Leap seconds are added to our clocks in order to keep up with the Earth's rotation.
We use something called an Atomic clock, which measures the vibrations of atoms to get a super accurate time.
As the Earth rotates at different speeds, leap seconds are added or taken away to the Atomic clock every now and then.
Since 1972, when leap seconds were first introduced, 25 of them have been added to our clocks, the most recent leap second was added in 2012.
Not everyone believes in adding an extra second to the clocks, but scientists say over hundreds of years, this could cause a lot of inaccuracy.
This year's leap second will be added to our clocks at the end of June. | This year is going to be an extra second longer, because of the addition of a 'Leap second'. | 31093380 |
Officers were called to Egremont Promenade, Wallasey, shortly before 14:00 GMT on Friday after the body was spotted close to the shore.
Police are appealing for help in identifying the man, thought to be in his mid to late 50s.
He was described by police as white, of slim build with grey to ginger hair. | The death of a man whose body was recovered from the River Mersey is being treated as "unexplained" by police. | 38781749 |
The body of 60-year-old Elizabeth Mackay, or Muir, was discovered at a house in the city's Hilton area on Thursday by two of her friends.
Ms Mackay, who was originally from Nairn and had been living in Inverness for eight years, had a number of injuries.
Police said she had been described as "a loner" and a "private person".
Det Ch Insp Keith Hardie, who has arrived in Inverness with a team of detectives from Edinburgh, said murder was a "rare crime" in the Highland capital.
He told BBC Scotland: "It is quite apparent from a number of injuries that this has been a fairly sustained and brutal attack in the safety of her home."
Ms Mackay was last seen on Tuesday afternoon and her body was discovered at about 16:45 on Thursday.
Det Ch Insp Hardie appealed for other sightings of her and also for help from the public in "building a picture" of her life.
He said: "We know she was a bit of a loner, kept herself to herself. As far as we are aware she never had any enemies in the community or elsewhere.
"She has been described by family and friends as a gentle person who wouldn't hurt a fly, making this horrible crime even harder to comprehend."
Police have appealed to the community in Hilton for help with their investigation into her death.
Det Ch Insp Hardie said the local community would have been "shaken" by the murder.
But he added that it was "best placed" to have noticed anything suspicious or out of the ordinary at the time.
The senior detective said: "Neighbours and the wider community of Hilton will be understandably shaken and upset by this tragic event and officers will continue to carry out patrols.
"Local communities are best placed to pick up on things that are out of place or events out of the ordinary, so we would appeal to anyone who heard or saw anything unusual or suspicious, even if its appears insignificant."
The house in Kintail Court is the same terraced bungalow where the body of hairdresser Ilene O'Connor, 39, was found in 2006.
Brian Grant, 50, was jailed in 2007 for beating Ms O'Connor to death and burying her body in the garden. | A woman found murdered in her home in Inverness had suffered a "sustained and brutal assault", police have said. | 35959985 |
Forest Green old boy Jon Parkin twice equalised against his former club after two strikes from Omar Bugiel.
But, having looked like they might survive, Guiseley's late equaliser at home to Solihull Moors sent York down.
City now have only the consolation of an FA Trophy final against Macclesfield to look forward to in three weeks.
But, next season, they will play in English football's sixth tier for the first time, in National League North.
Forest Green, already qualified for the play-offs, finish third and will now have home advantage in the second leg of their play-off semi-final against fourth-placed Dagenham & Redbridge, who could only draw at home to Woking.
Rovers made a great start on six minutes when Dan Wishart wriggled his way into the left side of the penalty area before cutting back for Bugiel to drill home right-footed into the far right corner.
York should have been level on 15 minutes when Parkin squared a low ball from the right, only for an off-balance Vadaine Oliver to slide in and horribly screw his shot over the top of an open goal from four yards.
But City did equalise when, from a poor clearance by goalkeeper Sam Russell, Drissa Traore was caught in possession by Simon Heslop, who played in January signing Parkin to coolly bend home his low finish.
Just 82 seconds later, a great turn from Fabien Robert played in Bugiel for his second goal.
And, although Parkin scored again to level for a second time three minutes into the second half, the 35-year-old Yorkshireman's 17th goal of the season - and his 13th in 23 games back at York - it was not quite enough.
Match ends, York City 2, Forest Green Rovers 2.
Second Half ends, York City 2, Forest Green Rovers 2.
Substitution, York City. Aidan Connolly replaces Amari Morgan-Smith.
Substitution, York City. Scott Fenwick replaces Asa Hall.
Substitution, Forest Green Rovers. Olly Mehew replaces Dale Bennett.
Sean Newton (York City) is shown the yellow card.
Dale Bennett (Forest Green Rovers) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Forest Green Rovers. Marcus Kelly replaces Keanu Marsh-Brown.
Substitution, Forest Green Rovers. Curtis Tilt replaces Drissa Traoré.
Sam Muggleton (York City) is shown the yellow card.
Goal! York City 2, Forest Green Rovers 2. Jon Parkin (York City).
Second Half begins York City 1, Forest Green Rovers 2.
First Half ends, York City 1, Forest Green Rovers 2.
Goal! York City 1, Forest Green Rovers 2. Omar Bugiel (Forest Green Rovers).
Goal! York City 1, Forest Green Rovers 1. Jon Parkin (York City).
Goal! York City 0, Forest Green Rovers 1. Omar Bugiel (Forest Green Rovers).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | York City suffered relegation for the second season running as they could only draw at home to National League high-flyers Forest Green Rovers. | 39676553 |
He made 36 appearances last season, including as a substitute in the Championship play-off final.
Kelly, 21, has been with Reading since the age of eight.
"He took first-team football in his stride last season and certainly deserves this new contract," chief executive Nigel Howe said. | Reading midfielder Liam Kelly has signed a new three-year contract with the club following an impressive first full season in the senior side. | 40523487 |
There is speculation the SNP may try to do a deal with Labour in the event of a hung Parliament in May, even if the Tories win the most seats in England.
Deputy Leader Stewart Hosie said this could be justified if it meant stopping David Cameron getting back into power.
And he said voters would have no right to "whinge" in such a scenario.
Recent opinion polls have suggested that the SNP, which currently has six MPs, could substantially increase its representation at Westminster in next year's general election.
Former Scottish first minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond - who is standing himself for the UK Parliament - has talked of the possibility of the party holding the balance of power after the election.
His successor Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out any accommodation with the Conservatives in the event of no party winning an outright victory in May, prompting speculation about a potential arrangement with Labour to form a coalition or support a minority government led by Ed Miliband.
Election expert Professor John Curtice told the BBC that such an arrangement would intensify debate over the question of English devolution, since in order to "prop up" a Labour government, the SNP might be forced to vote on laws affecting only England, something the party has previously said it would never do.
Speaking on Radio 4's World at One, Mr Hosie was asked whether it would be wrong for a party that wanted Scotland to leave the United Kingdom to have a decisive say in the running of the UK government.
"I think the bottom line is if we are in the position where, through whatever mechanism, we can stop a Tory 'austerity government' and we may be able to offer help to a minority Labour administration... we would obviously want to ensure the policies that government followed were the right ones for everyone across the whole of the UK," he said.
"Let me put that another way. We have one Tory MP in Scotland yet our economy is run by George Osborne. I don't think it is right for people to whinge on a UK-wide basis if we help form part of a government."
"Unionists cannot have it both ways. They cannot argue that this is a union, a family of nations, and all the other stuff they say and then start whingeing and whining when people from Scotland form part of a majority government. That would not do at all."
Mr Hosie said the current Conservative-Lib Dem coalition had "not been squeamish" in pursuing policies, such as spending cuts and welfare changes, which he suggested were deeply unpopular in Scotland..
He dismissed suggestions that it was in the interest of the SNP to introduce policies in Scotland which "stirred up resentment" in England in order to try and drain support for the Union.
"This is politics," he added. "Obviously we have our policies and we want to see these put into practice, put into play because we think they are the best thing, not just for the people of Scotland but the whole of the UK.
"I keep hearing this argument that we do good things in Scotland on purpose to stir up resentment (in England). I happen to think free education is a good thing full stop and I would love to see it in England.
"We don't do good things in Scotland to stir up resentment... but because they are popular and necessary...I only wish there was a political party that represented the English people who took the same view." | The SNP has dismissed claims that it would be hard for it to keep a future UK government in power if it did not include the largest party in England. | 30623652 |
The A$5bn (£2.9bn, $3.8bn) airport will be located at Badgerys Creek, 50km (31 miles) west of the city's centre.
PM Malcolm Turnbull said the government would take on the project after the operator of Sydney's existing airport turned it down, citing financial risks.
It comes more than 70 years after the idea was first conceived, and follows promises from successive governments.
The current Sydney Airport, 8km south of the city, has become increasingly stretched amid increased demand in recent years.
Mr Turnbull described the airport as a "vitally important project" for both Sydney and the nation.
"The airport will be a major catalyst for jobs and economic growth in western Sydney, injecting more than A$1.9bn into the economy during the construction phase alone," he said on Tuesday.
"It is expected to deliver 9,000 new jobs to western Sydney by the early 2030s, and 60,000 in the long-term."
The Sydney Airport Group declined its first option to build the airport, citing "risks" to investors including demand and growth potential and construction costs.
The debate on the need for a second airport in Australia's largest city dates back to 1946.
"I think the community wants to see the project come to life as opposed to necessarily worrying about who builds or who operates it," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
Details of the plan will be announced next week when Mr Turnbull's government unveils its annual budget. | The Australian government has announced it will build a second international airport in Sydney. | 39728713 |
Ian Stewart is set to leave the newspapers where he has spent the majority of his career in March.
The announcement comes just three weeks before The Scotsman is due to celebrate its bicentenary.
Mr Stewart is in charge of The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News, as well as sister title Scotland on Sunday. He first joined The Scotsman in 1991.
He has edited The Scotsman since 2012 and Scotland on Sunday since 2009.
Mr Stewart said: "It has been an honour and a privilege to have been editor of these titles through what has been a truly significant time in Scotland's history.
"I leave with the greatest respect and admiration for my colleagues who do an extraordinary job day in and day out."
Jeremy Clifford, editor-in-chief of owners Johnston Press, said they would be recruiting for Mr Stewart's successor "immediately".
He said: "I would like to thank Ian for his leadership of The Scotsman in challenging times and during one of the most important eras in modern Scottish history.
"As well as the editorial director, he also served on the editorial board as my deputy chairman when it was first set up just over four years ago.
"I would like to thank him for everything he has achieved and wish him every success for the future." | The editor-in-chief at The Scotsman Publications has announced he is leaving the post. | 38531055 |
The University of Bath's "Derhill Terrace" accommodation sign went missing in 2005.
A note sent with it thanked the university "for the loan", said it had been well looked after, and was signed by "A sorry former sign thief".
The 3ft-long sign will now be replaced on the wall of the accommodation block.
The note stated that the thief had "grown up a lot since graduating from Bath" and added they "now work in management for a very well-known multinational brand and no longer steal signs".
Andrew Monk from the university said: "Our students take away lots from the university - impressive qualifications and experiences which prepare them for a variety of top jobs across all sectors - as well as occasionally, it seems, the odd sign too.
"As the university prepares for its 50th anniversary in 2016 we're delighted to hear from our alumni wherever they are in the world and of course we're always very grateful whenever they choose to give back - including when it's parts of our fixtures and fittings." | A sign stolen by a student has been returned anonymously more than a decade after it was taken. | 33992461 |
It says the Royal College of Midwives has overhauled its professional guidance and women will now no longer be advised that they should have babies without medical interventions, including caesareans and epidurals.
In an interview with the paper, the chief executive of the RCM, Cathy Warwick, denied that what is known as the "campaign for normal birth", which has run since 2005, had compromised safety.
But she said: "We don't want to contribute to any sense that a woman has failed because she hasn't had a normal birth."
In an editorial, the paper says midwives are right to revisit received wisdom on what counts as a "normal birth".
The paper welcomes the shift in emphasis with the focus now on what will work best for mothers and babies.
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning
The Guardian reports that students waiting for next week's A-level results have described the stress of sitting new, untested, qualifications, which some say they have felt ill-prepared to tackle.
The paper says they are the first student cohort to be examined using a more demanding set of qualifications, brought in as part of the government's education changes.
It has left them feeling like "guinea pigs", the paper says.
Some students have told the paper that the changes were "rushed in" with teachers struggling to master new syllabuses and with few revision materials available.
One told how they felt like a "lab rat", saying: "No past papers. No examiner reports. No practice. It's been awful".
The Daily Telegraph says universities have been accused of allowing admissions to descend into a "free for all" as they battle to attract new students.
The paper reports that many institutions are set to lower their entry grades drastically to entice young people after A-level results are released next week.
It warns that the lifting of a number of controls in England in 2015 gave universities the freedom to recruit as many undergraduates as they wanted and it says the move has led to accusations that they now act like businesses, seeking to maximise their revenue by recruiting as many students as possible.
The paper reports that some A-level pupils have been told their conditional offers - based around their predicted results - will be "upgraded" to unconditional offers if they confirm the university as their first-choice.
Under the headline "How insurers rip you off" there is a warning on the front page of the Daily Mail that drivers and homeowners who opt to pay for insurance by monthly instalments are unwittingly being charged hundreds of pounds extra each year.
It reports that, in some cases, those who pay monthly end up being charged £300 a year more than if they paid in a lump sum.
The paper says it believes the practice has netted three of the country's largest insurance firms more than £122 million in the first six months of this year.
The Daily Mirror reports that online touts are already offering tickets for Premier League fixtures before the football clubs have opened their own sales.
The shadow culture secretary, Tom Watson, has described the inflated prices being charged as "obscene" and he tells the paper: "It's been taken to a whole new level where the websites can sell tickets for matches that haven't even gone on sale."
Mr Watson has called for tougher action from the Premier League to tackle the issue.
And the cartoonist Matt in the Daily Telegraph combines the current tensions in international relations with recent domestic concerns over contaminated food.
A couple are depicted relaxing on a balcony overlooking the sea with a mushroom cloud clearly visible in the distance rising over the water.
Turning to the woman, the man says: "Oh to hell with it - pass me the egg salad." | The Times leads with a report that midwives have dropped their campaign for natural childbirth on the grounds that it has been making women feel bad. | 40907545 |
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who was allegedly found with several passports, pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of fraud.
He appeared along with seven other judges, who all denied the charges.
The fight against corruption was a campaign pledge of Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari who came to power last year.
Africa Live: More on this and other stories
Last month, Nigeria's security agency said it had seized $800,000 (£645,200) in cash in raids targeting senior judges suspected of corruption.
Justice Ngwuta and his co-defendants were arrested in those raids.
The raids did not go down well with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) which accused the authorities of carrying out a "Gestapo-style" operation.
The NBA successfully argued that the judges should be released on bail.
The judicial regulatory body of Nigeria, the National Judicial Council (NJC), suspended the judges pending their trial. | A Supreme Court judge in Nigeria has been charged in court in the capital Abuja with corruption and money-laundering. | 38053755 |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.