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The 22-year-old, who lives and trains in Cardiff, broke the world record with a throw of 41.68m but broke it again in her final throw to win gold.
Davies beat South Korea's Young Dae Joo 14-12, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5 in his final.
Arnold beat New Zealander Holly Robinson and Poland's Katarzyna Piekart who won silver and bronze respectively.
Arnold finished 11th and fifth in the event at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
"This has been my absolute dream - I cannot believe I am Paralympic champion and double world champion. It is so surreal," Arnold told Channel 4.
"I've been injured for two months but coming here has been as clean slate and I just went out there with nothing to lose.
"I actually thought I had one more throw! When my coach told me I had won gold I just burst into tears. I didn't expect to break the world record by that much."
Welsh world number one Davies is a former Brecon rugby player who suffered a broken neck in September 2005 following a collapsed scrum against Ynysybwl.
"I'm not really sure how I'm feeling right now! I can't believe I kept it together. I have played Young Dae Joo twice in competition before and lost both times," Davies told Channel 4.
"I must thank everybody for their support. We've been working hard behind the scenes and it has paid off. I'm chuffed I managed to keep it together.
"I haven't beaten any of the Koreans for a while so to do it on the biggest stage is brilliant. Come on!"
Find out how to get into disability sport with our special guide. | Hollie Arnold threw a world record 43.01m to win Paralympic gold in the F46 javelin final while Rob Davies won gold in the class 1 table tennis final. | 37353419 |
Manager Roy Hodgson resigned after the abject embarrassment of losing to a nation ranked 34th in the world - and with a population of just 330,000 - despite taking the lead through Wayne Rooney's fourth-minute penalty.
Iceland equalised within a minute as England failed to deal with a trademark long throw and Ragnar Sigurdsson bundled home from close range.
England's shameful performance was summed up by Iceland's 18th-minute winner when goalkeeper Joe Hart was badly at fault - just as in the win over Wales - as he let Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's shot through his hand.
Hodgson made changes as Iceland dug in, but the underdogs had as many chances as England before the final whistle blew on their Euro 2016 hopes and his four-year tenure as manager.
The ultimate responsibility lies with the manager but, make no mistake, he was badly let down by players capable of so much better - not just on this black night for English sport but throughout Euro 2016.
Hart has had a nightmare tournament, young hopes such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli failed to live up to their performances last season, and captain Rooney, who had been England's best player up until this game, chose this night to give one of his worst performances in an international.
England were shown up by the work-rate, desire and sheer physical commitment of their counterparts. Yes, Hodgson will take the blame and has paid the price but these highly paid Premier League players should not escape criticism.
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke had flagged up a quarter-final place as a minimum requirement, but Hodgson's England could not even achieve that.
Hodgson's thinking had been muddled even before England arrived in France, with constant changes of personnel and approach exemplified by the sudden re-introduction - and subsequent substitution - of Raheem Sterling, although the Manchester City forward did win the penalty from which Rooney scored.
As the game went on, Hodgson cut a detached figure, seemingly powerless to influence the game - and he waited too long to introduce the fearless pace and direct running of Marcus Rashford, who posed more problems in four minutes than most of those who had gone before.
Hodgson has never given off any sort of assurance during Euro 2016, unsure of his best team and strategy.
England have won one game out of four, with a last-minute winner from Daniel Sturridge against Wales - and this defeat will be a scar forever on Hodgson's record and reputation.
England's players slumped to the ground in despair and embarrassment when one final corner was wasted and Iceland had completed their landmark win.
It left them within range of the fury of England's travelling support, who had gathered in their thousands as usual in Nice in the expectation of seeing them reach the last 16 of Euro 2016.
And they wasted no time in letting England's players feel their full fury, frustration that had built up throughout the game exploding in anger directed at those who had failed to perform.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart held his hands up in apology to no avail as some supporters hurled England shirts and flags in the team's direction.
When England left Brazil after their failure there in 2014, they were actually applauded at the end of a 0-0 draw in a dead rubber against Costa Rica - there was no such escape here as the supporters came to terms with one of the most embarrassing, painful nights in the history of English sport.
While England will begin to pick apart a wretched tournament, Iceland will go on to the quarter-finals and undoubtedly the biggest game in their history when they face hosts France at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Wales' quarter-final against Belgium on Friday will be broadcast live on BBC One, with build-up starting at 19:30 BST.
The quarter-finals in full (all games start at 20:00 BST):
England goalkeeper Joe Hart: "As a group it is down to us. All the plans are put in place, we knew everything about Iceland - but ultimately we didn't perform. Personally I didn't perform.
"It's not a question of wanting it, there's nothing we want more - they are just words though. We were in a good place but we haven't done it.
"We will get a lot of flak and we deserve it. We will learn from this and try and bring English football back to where it belongs. We have put it in a low place.
"We just couldn't find a way back into the game. The next manager has a tough job on his hands. We worked hard but with no success. That is how this team will be remembered."
England captain Wayne Rooney: "It's a sad day for us.
"Sometimes not always the best team win. Once they got in the lead we knew it would be difficult to get the goal back because they are well organised.
"Going into the last 16 facing Iceland we were confident we could win the game. It's disappointing but we have to move on.
"It's tough. There are always upsets in football - it's not tactics, it's just unfortunate. We know we're a good team.
"I can't stand here and say exactly why it's happened. Roy Hodgson will look back and think what he could have done differently.
"I'm still available to play. It'll be interesting to see who comes in."
Match ends, England 1, Iceland 2.
Second Half ends, England 1, Iceland 2.
Attempt missed. Dele Alli (England) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Harry Kane with a cross following a corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Kári Arnason.
Attempt blocked. Jamie Vardy (England) header from very close range is blocked. Assisted by Daniel Sturridge with a cross.
Hand ball by Teddy Bjarnason (Iceland).
Corner, England. Conceded by Birkir Saevarsson.
Foul by Gary Cahill (England).
Ari Freyr Skúlason (Iceland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Iceland. Arnor Ingvi Traustason replaces Jón Dadi Bödvarsson.
Danny Rose (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland).
Substitution, England. Marcus Rashford replaces Wayne Rooney.
Foul by Harry Kane (England).
Ragnar Sigurdsson (Iceland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, England. Harry Kane tries a through ball, but Daniel Sturridge is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Kári Arnason (Iceland) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Johann Berg Gudmundsson with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Iceland. Conceded by Joe Hart.
Attempt saved. Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Johann Berg Gudmundsson.
Gary Cahill (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Birkir Bjarnason (Iceland).
Foul by Jamie Vardy (England).
Ragnar Sigurdsson (Iceland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Jack Wilshere (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Teddy Bjarnason (Iceland).
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (England) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Jack Wilshere with a through ball.
Substitution, Iceland. Teddy Bjarnason replaces Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.
Offside, England. Joe Hart tries a through ball, but Jamie Vardy is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Birkir Saevarsson (Iceland) left footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Aron Gunnarsson.
Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (England) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Daniel Sturridge.
Corner, England. Conceded by Ragnar Sigurdsson.
Chris Smalling (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jón Dadi Bödvarsson (Iceland).
Attempt missed. Jack Wilshere (England) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Wayne Rooney.
Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right from a direct free kick.
Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Dele Alli (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland).
Gary Cahill (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Birkir Bjarnason (Iceland). | England suffered their worst humiliation since they were knocked out of the 1950 World Cup by USA in Brazil as Iceland shocked them in the last 16 of Euro 2016. | 36573171 |
"He's our best," Mr Trump said, as he announced his pick in a speech in Ohio.
Gen Mattis, who is known as "Mad Dog", was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration's Middle East policy, particularly on Iran.
He has referred to Iran as "the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East".
Mr Trump made the announcement in Cincinnati at the start of a "USA Thank You Tour 2016" for his supporters.
"We are going to appoint 'Mad Dog' Mattis as our secretary of defence," he told the crowd.
"They say he's the closest thing to General George Patton [World War Two commander] that we have."
This was billed as the first stop on President-elect Donald Trump's "thank you" tour of states he flipped from Democrat to Republican in the 2016 election.
It ended up being more like an extended end zone dance, an "in your face" primal scream at all his critics and naysayers.
He took swipes at Hillary Clinton, to a chorus of "lock her up" chants from the crowd. He bemoaned the lack of support he received from his own party. And, as always, he fired invective at the media, as the boos rained down on the reporters typing away in their cordoned-off pen.
The one bit of news he did reveal - that he had picked retired General James Mattis to be defence secretary - was seemingly impromptu. "Don't let it out of this room, promise," he said, to cheers.
It was Campaign Trump in top form. He clearly had a script - unveiling his "action plan" for his presidency - but he enthusiastically deviated from it, much to the crowd's delight.
"Should I go on just a little bit longer?" he asked. The crowd roared.
During his speech he said a divided America must come together, but it seems unlikely any Democrats watching felt like sharing a group hug.
Trump settles scores in "thank-you" event
Mr Trump has previously described Gen Mattis, 66, as "a true general's general".
However, a legal hurdle must be overcome before he can be appointed.
Under US law, a retired officer must be out of uniform for at least seven years before he or she can serve as defence secretary.
The Republican-controlled Congress will need to approve legislation bypassing the requirement so he can take up the role.
But at least one Democratic senator, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, says she will not approve a waiver.
"Civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy," Ms Gillibrand said in a statement, "and I will not vote for an exception to this rule."
Gen Mattis led an assault battalion during the first Gulf war in 1991 and commanded a task force into southern Afghanistan in 2001.
The retired Marine Corps officer also took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and played a key role a year later in the battle of Fallujah against Iraqi insurgents.
Gen Mattis retired in 2013 after serving as the commander of the US Central Command.
Correspondents say his nomination will be popular among US forces.
He also received the backing of Senator John McCain, chairman of the armed services committee, who will conduct his confirmation hearing.
"He is without a doubt one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops," Senator McCain said in a statement.
"America will be fortunate to have General Mattis in its service once again." | US President-elect Donald Trump has named Gen James Mattis, a former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as his defence secretary. | 38178625 |
Albertas Daskevicius, 51, was sentenced on Friday to a total of 18 months and banned from driving for 10 years.
He was said to have made "a terrible misjudgement with tragic consequences".
The Lithuanian, with an address at Bawn Court in Ballykelly, pulled out to pass a lorry that was turning left on the A5 road between Omagh and Strabane.
Sean McElwee from Cookstown, County Tyrone, was killed in the April 2015 accident.
Mr McElwee was travelling in the opposite direction with his father when his van was hit in the head-on collision.
His father survived and was in Dungannon Crown Court to see Daskevicius sentenced.
The Lithuanian was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
The charge was reduced to causing death by careless driving, but sentencing Daskevicius to nine months in jail and nine on licence, the judge said his driving had come very close to dangerous.
Earlier, a prosecution barrister had stressed that Sean McElwee was blameless and had no chance of avoiding the collision.
The court heard how the former grounds man at Father Rocks GAA club in Cookstown had tried to swerve out of the path of the oncoming lorry, but had nowhere to go.
In the fleeting seconds before impact, his father shouted: "Where's that eejit going?".
A defence lawyer told the court there was no evidence that his client had been speeding or using a mobile phone and that the lorry was roadworthy.
He added that Daskevicius had not decided to take a calculated risk, but simply made an error of judgement which had tragic consequences and that he felt genuine remorse and guilt over what had happened.
Daskevicius did not have insurance at the time of the accident and he was given a separate nine-month prison sentence for that, to be served concurrently.
He was also banned from driving for 10 years.
Several members of Sean McElwee's family sobbed quietly in the public gallery as a prison officer handcuffed Daskevicius and led him away.
The judge told the McElwee family that he had been deeply moved by their victim impact statements, which spoke of their deep sense of loss.
He said they were clearly private and he did not intend to read them out in court, but assured them that he had carefully noted what was written.
The family declined to say anything as they left court. | A lorry driver who was on the wrong side of the road when he collided with a van, killing the driver, has been jailed for nine months. | 39083565 |
The first edition King James Bible from 1611 had been stored away at St Giles Parish Church for centuries.
But after being rediscovered by Rev Dr Jason Bray, it was sent to National Library of Wales which confirmed it is an authentic copy.
Dr Bray said: "It has seen better days but most of it is in remarkably good condition."
In 1604 King James VI of Scotland, who had been England's king for a year, ordered a new translation of the Bible to be made.
Some 54 Greek and Latin scholars worked on what was to become the official version of the bible for the Church of England.
Dr Bray added: "Most churches had them but the fact ours is a first edition and it's been kept here all that time, it's really exciting."
The Bible will be kept at the church and Dr Bray hopes one day it can be given a proper display. | A rare Bible dating back to the 17th Century has been uncovered at a church in Wrexham. | 34462030 |
Kalonzo Musyoka said they had evidence the results had been doctored and called for vote-counting to be stopped.
The election chief has rejected the claims, as has Mr Kenyatta's party.
The International Criminal Court has postponed the trial of Mr Kenyatta, due on charges for crimes against humanity.
His trial was due to begin next month. He is accused of organising attacks on members of ethnic groups seen as supporters of Mr Odinga during post-election violence in 2007-2008. He denies the charges.
More than 1,000 people were killed in the violence which broke out after Mr Odinga claimed he had been cheated of victory by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki. Mr Kibaki is stepping down after two terms in office.
(Based on votes counted from 141 constituencies at 1515 GMT (1815 Nairobi time) on Thursday
The judges agreed to postpone the trial of Mr Kenyatta and the former head of civil service, Francis Kirimi Muthaura, and set a new start date of 9 July 2013.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan has denied the allegations that the election results had been tampered.
"There is no room to doctor results whatsoever," he said.
He said that the ongoing counting of the presidential election results would not be stopped, as it was a legal process.
Earlier, the IEBC's Liliane Mahiri Zaja, told the BBC that no written complaint had so far been received about the way the votes were being counted.
The IEBC has been holding closed-door meetings with diplomats, reports BBC Swahili's Idris Situma.
Counting has been severely delayed after the electronic system crashed.
Uhuru Kenyatta
Raila Odinga
Profile: Uhuru Kenyatta
Profile: Raila Odinga
Mr Musyoka said the failure of the electronic results system earlier this week had allowed the vote to be rigged.
"We as a coalition take the position the national vote-tallying process lacks integrity and has to be stopped and re-started using primary documents from the polling stations," he said on Thursday.
But Mr Musyoka also called on Kenyans to remain calm, saying, "We are committed as a coalition to the principle of the rule of law."
Senior members of Mr Odinga's coalition have given the BBC further details about their allegations, saying that the number of ballots counted exceeded that of votes cast at some polling stations.
Mr Kenyatta's Jubilee coalition has rejected the accusations.
"It's unfortunate that Odinga feels the need to try and halt the count," a coalition spokesman said.
"We believe the people of Kenya have waited patiently for the results of this general election. We urge international observers - if they hold sway with Mr Odinga - to encourage him to allow the process of democracy to take its course".
The long delays and these new accusations are increasing the tension, the BBC's James Copnall reports from the capital, Nairobi.
However, until they see comprehensive evidence, many Kenyans will remain sceptical, our correspondent says.
On Wednesday, the head of the EU observer mission, Alojz Peterle, said Kenya had so far demonstrated "an impressive commitment to democratic elections".
But the African Union Election Observation Mission expressed concern over the high level of rejected ballots, which may have resulted from "inadequate voter education" in the run-up to the elections.
Following glitches with hi-tech voting and counting systems, the vote-tallying process was started again from scratch, and by hand, on Wednesday.
Results were only being announced after the ballots had been physically delivered to election headquarters in Nairobi, rather than being filed electronically.
Latest figures show Mr Kenyatta has maintained his lead over Mr Odinga.
With about six million votes tallied at 1515 GMT (1815 Nairobi time), Mr Kenyatta had some 3.1 million votes (53%) compared to Mr Odinga's 2.6 million (43%).
But, as turnout was estimated at more than 70% of the country's 14.3 million voters, there is still some way to go.
The number of rejected ballots, which have become a major bone of contention, currently stands at 58,644.
The Jubilee coalition has rejected calls for some of these ballots to be included, as requested by Mr Odinga's allies.
Counting the rejected votes would greatly add to the number needed for a candidate to break the 50% threshold for a first-round win and increase the prospect of a runoff due within a month.
The push for these ballots to be included was motivated by a "sinister and suspect logic", said Charity Ngilu, a senior member of Mr Kenyatta's coalition.
Jubilee accused the British High Commissioner in Kenya of "canvassing to have rejected votes tallied", an accusation the UK Foreign Office described as "entirely false and misleading''.
The winning candidate must get more than 50% of the total votes cast and at least 25% of votes in half of the 47 counties. The latter was a requirement introduced in the new constitution to make sure the new president wins with wide support, rather than only with the backing of voters in his regional and ethnic strongholds.
If there is no clear winner, a second round of voting will take place, probably on 11 April. | The ballot count in Kenya's presidential elections has been rigged, says the running mate of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is trailing behind his rival, Uhuru Kenyatta. | 21698069 |
Mustapha Yatabare hit Mali's winner in the 89th minute in Malabo to put his team top of Group C, two points above Benin on 10 points.
Equatorial Guinea, who reached the semi-finals on home soil in 2015, are now bottom of the group on one point with two games to play.
South Sudan are third, on three points, and still have a slim chance of qualifying as one of the best two runners-up.
Elsewhere on Monday, Zimbabwe swept aside Swaziland 4-0 in their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Group L qualifier.
The hosts, who earned a 1-1 draw in Swaziland on Friday, dominated the return match in Harare to move three points clear at the top of the table.
Knowledge Musona opened the scoring on 53 minutes from the penalty spot and Costa Nhamoinesu made it 2-0 six minutes later.
Evans Rusike extended the advantage and Khama Billiat sealed the win late on.
Musona told BBC Sport: "I am feeling very happy. The team collected maximum points at home, we are top of the group and we have a big chance to qualify.
"It is crucial we take maximum points from our next game at home (against Malawi on 3 June)."
Swaziland remain on five points, three points above Malawi and Guinea who play each other on Tuesday.
Each of the group winners and the two best runners-up qualify for next year's finals in Gabon.
In Group B Central African Republic came back from a goal down to beat Madagascar 2-1.
Faneva Andriatsima opened the scoring for the visitors on 35 minutes and they went into the half-time break 1-0 up.
But two goals in 12 minutes turned the game on its head as Salif Keita stuck the equaliser on 53 minutes for CAR and then Limane Moussa hit the winner.
The result puts CAR top of the table by a point from DR Congo, who play Angola on Tuesday.
Libya got their first points of Group F with a 4-0 win over Sao Tome e Principe.
In a match played in Egypt on security grounds, Libya's Mohamed Zubya hit a second half hat-trick. | Equatorial Guinea, who hosted last year's Africa Cup of Nations, became the first team to be eliminated from the qualifiers for the 2017 tournament in Gabon after a 1-0 home defeat to Mali. | 35911859 |
The Queens Trust needs the support of the local authority to meet share levels needed to take the issue to the Doonhamers' annual general meeting.
Their goal is to secure a director's role at the Dumfries club.
Failing that they have said they would hope to get a "non-voting representative" onto the board.
The Queens Trust has just over 900 shares in the Palmerston Park outfit with 7,500 needed to allow it to add an item to the AGM agenda.
It has written to Dumfries and Galloway Council to seek the backing of the Dumfries Common Good Fund which holds more than 6,600 shares.
Together they could ensure the issue of fan representation on the board was added to the agenda.
It would then be up to shareholders to decide whether the move should go ahead.
A statement from the club said: "Supporters having a say in the running of clubs is a fast-growing thing across Britain.
"Should the Queens Trust gain enough backing to have the subject added to the agenda for the AGM, then of course it is something that can be discussed.
"Successful or not, although it's not something we have at Palmerston, our door is always open and we encourage supporters, be it individuals or groups, like the Queens Trust to share their thoughts with us as we believe an open and honest dialogue is important between the club and its supporters." | Queen of the South fans have approached Dumfries and Galloway Council to back their bid for a place on the board of the Scottish Championship club. | 35473046 |
These traditionally more literature-oriented countries have long suffered from a lack of coherent cross-border book distribution but that problem is now compounded by Isis disrupting the major arteries.
But while the sale of books may be under threat in the Arab heartland, a significant increase in book purchasing and literacy, and in particular female literacy, in the countries of the Gulf is more than compensating for this.
The sale of children's books is on the rise and La Librairie des Colonnes, Morocco's oldest bookshop, on Tangier's main boulevard is contributing to this boom. The shop stocks more children's books in French and Spanish than it does in Arabic since well-to-do families educate their offspring at international schools where they are taught in non-Arabic languages.
Moroccan writers of children's literature find getting their work published in French easier than in Arabic. Throughout the Maghreb, Arab literature for children tends to have been translated from a foreign language. Although first and foremost a bookshop, La Librairie is also a publisher, printer and distributor - a multiskilled model that is widespread throughout the Arab world.
Bodour Al Qassimi founded the publishing house Kalimat eight years ago because she was dissatisfied with the quality of books available in Arabic for her own children. She now focuses Kalimat on creating top quality children's literature in Arabic, such the illustrated Ramadan in the UAE, pictured here.
The publishing house presents traditional Arabic culture flavoured with contemporary experiences of modern day Arabic children in an original way. Estimates put the overall value of the book market in the United Arab Emirates at around $272m (£180.5m), but no separate figures are yet available for sales of children's books.
The market will further expand on account of the popularity of e-books. People in the United Arab Emirates are among the heaviest users of the internet and smartphones in the world. But Bodour Al Qassimi says that electronic publishing will be balanced by the physical enjoyment of books.
Mah and Me, the creation of Omani writer and illustrator Ebtihaj Al Harti tackles one of the most taboo subjects - death. It won an award at the Sharjah International Book Fair in Dubai for its sensitive portrayal of the death of a beloved grandmother and the difficulties facing parents who want to explain to their young son what has happened.
The tale may strike a chord with many of the region's 300 million Arabic speakers, however it is likely that this book will be distributed more widely in Western countries and certainly more than in Oman because of the small number of bookshops in the country.
Distribution of books in the region is often beset with logistical problems because each country has different laws and regulations. Book fairs are used as places to buy books that are otherwise hard to come by. Online distribution is already increasing its share of the market with many publishers now adapting rights contracts to include digital rights automatically.
Joining Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and Stephen King, teenager Edil Hassan won the prestigious American Scholastic Arts and Writing award this year for her poems and short stories inspired by her family's Somali roots.
In the country where her parents were born, book sales are extremely low on account of high illiteracy, war and a paucity of shops selling books. In her short story My Mother's Stories in Me, Edil describes growing up in America distanced both by miles and culture from the homeland of her parents and grandparents.
"I hear the distance when my grandmother tells me stories of Moqdishu " she writes. " I know that I will never experience them myself, even more so because the places she speaks of have been bombed and reduced to rubble."
While traditionally storytelling used to be an esteemed profession throughout the Arab world, it is going out of style with the greater availability of books and social media.
Even in Morocco's Jma El Fna'a in Marrakesh, storytelling had all but died out until a nearby cafe started more formal storytelling sessions with young apprentices learning the skill from an old master. However, the stories are being handed down in English and French, not Arabic. The oral tradition, which continues in countries with low literacy rates, may be responsible to some extent for the prevalence of piracy in Arabic publishing. Sharing tales with others who cannot read remains part of Arab identity.
Beyond the oral tradition, a radically transformed fictional super-heroine has recently burst on to the comic scene. Ms. Marvel is now embodied in Kamala Khan the first teenage Muslim girl in a mainstream comic endowed with super powers.
Ms. Marvel is dark skinned with "shape-shifting" abilities but is not a feminist. Behind the superhero mask is a girl who resonates with Arab teenagers in the United States. The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she is non-headscarf wearing and she will get her own movie in 2017.
Creator G Willow Wilson is a Muslim convert who delights in representing the difficulties of being a superhero as much as those confronting Islamic immigrant youngsters who seek sympathetic portrayal of their endeavours to find an identity in a new country. | With Islamic State militants taking greater control of strategic towns in Syria and Iraq, the publishing heartland of the Middle East is being thrown into disarray. | 34972877 |
Warburton accepts that if Barton's decision is a financial one, Rangers will not be his choice.
But, having spoken to the midfielder last weekend, he believes the 33-year-old could join him for Rangers' first season back in the top flight.
"Joey is a player that will have many, many suitors I'm sure," said Warburton.
"If we can show what we are as a club - the support, history, stature - and our aspirations and targets then hopefully any player will find that appealing.
"If they do, hopefully we can conclude business. If not, we move on.
"Our job is to sell the opportunity that Rangers represents.
"We're never going to compete with wages down south, that's an obvious point to highlight.
"We were delighted to welcome Joey to Glasgow last weekend. He was great company. He's a very experienced, a very combative and highly intelligent footballer, so we were delighted to talk to him."
Barton helped Burnley secure promotion back to the Premier League by winning this season's Championship.
He has also featured for Manchester City, Newcastle, Queens Park Rangers and Marseille and won his solitary England cap in 2007.
And while Warburton does not believe Barton's decision hinges on the club winning Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Hibernian and thus qualifying for Europe, he admitted: "It will help.
"Rangers are a big club. We're back in the Premiership, we've got four Old Firm games as well as the various fixtures against Aberdeen and Hearts.
"There is no problem selling it. One look at Ibrox and the training ground shows the size and stature of the club." | Rangers manager Mark Warburton hopes a tour of the club and his vision for its future will persuade Joey Barton to join. | 36338239 |
Bath MP Don Foster made the call after he organised a "seagull summit" for local authorities affected by the problem.
A study carried out by Bristol University in 2010 found an estimated 1,100 pairs in Bath, 2,500 in Bristol and 2,900 in Gloucester.
The MP has called for a research fund to be created which would be supported by UK councils.
Mr Foster said: "What I am proposing with a group of MPs is that we go to each of the councils that are affected who are already spending millions on this.
"If they put a small amount in over a three-year period, then we can get this research done."
He added that he had already lobbied government for the past five years to fund the research but his efforts had failed.
The MP has also said government research into gull numbers showed there were about 30,000 breeding pairs in the country but Bristol University findings led by seagull expert Peter Rock had estimated a much higher figure of 100,000 pairs.
"We simply don't know very much - the vast majority of research that's been done has been done on wild gulls living on cliff tops and so on.
"We've got very little on urban gulls and they are growing in number," explained Mr Foster.
"Despite all of the methods - everything from putting spikes on top of buildings, loud noises, bird scarers, oiling of eggs - none of them have worked and that's predominantly because we don't know enough about urban seagulls."
A Defra spokeswoman said: "We recognise that urban gulls can cause problems in some areas, which is why government enables local authorities to take action where there are public health issues." | Further research is needed to curb gull populations in towns, an MP has said. | 20606589 |
The firm, known for its Old English sheepdog mascot, is putting the money into its R&D site in Felling, Gateshead.
As well as household paint, the firm produces specialist coatings for the mining and energy industries.
AkzoNobel said Felling was the "logical spot" for this investment.
The new facility will be able to simulate extreme environments, similar to the North Pole or a fire on an oil rig, to test new products.
"We are creating a kind of a campus of different research and development activities and strengths that we can then use for products that can be sold in the rest of the world," Ton Buchner, AkzoNobel's chief executive, told the BBC.
The company already employs 270 people at its site in Felling. The investment in a UK hub, rather than expanding research facilities elsewhere, would safeguard those jobs.
Research will focus on protection to make hydroelectric dams last longer, coatings to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants and innovations in fire protection.
A €110m Dulux paint factory in nearby Ashington, Northumbria, is also about to begin production, the firm said.
AkzoNobel's chief executive, Ton Buchner, told the BBC that the vote for Brexit was not an obstacle to further investment in the UK.
The fall in the value of the pound since the EU referendum had "actually made it easier for some of the exporting of the products that are there", he said.
AkzoNobel is based in Amsterdam, and reports its financial results in euros. The fall in the pound, therefore, reduces the amount AkzoNobel earns from the UK.
But if the pound remains weak, then money invested into the UK will go further than in its other major research sites in Singapore and the Netherlands.
However, Mr Buchner said prices could rise for some products in the UK as a result of the devaluation of the pound.
"There is a possibility prices are going up in some of the areas where we sell into the market," he said.
The company's most recent accounts show decorative paints revenue was down 4% in 2016, "mainly due to unfavourable currency effects, in particular the pound sterling and currencies in Latin America". | AkzoNobel, the company that makes Dulux and Hammerite paint, is investing €12.6m (£10.7m) in a new research facility in north-eastern England. | 39025837 |
The law has the backing of President's Paul Biya's party and so might be approved.
Women already face being jailed for between two to six months for having sexual relations outside marriage and men would face the same punishment.
Bar Association head Ngnie Kamga said the law would "take Cameroon backwards and would send more people to prisons".
Africa Live: BBC news updates
The BBC's Richard Onanena in Cameroon says that women have been jailed for adultery.
"Men having children out of wedlock should be punished because that is evidence of adultery," one member of parliament, Tomaino Ndam Njoya, is reported to have said during the debate. | Men who commit adultery could be sent to jail under a new law being debated by parliament in Cameroon. | 36606190 |
Barton claimed that an agent working on behalf of Lawwell approached him for signing talks.
The Celtic chief executive not only disputes that version of events, but says he was approached about the possibility of signing Barton.
"I think Joey's been had by a bit of a matchmaker here," Lawwell said.
"I remember it well, we had just announced Brendan (Rodgers) as our new manager and I was with our company secretary in London at the time.
"An agent called me saying that Joey was going to sign for Rangers but he would really prefer to come to Celtic and were we interested in signing him, but it wasn't something we wanted to pursue.
"These things happen to players sometimes in football, but needless to say we wish Joey well at his new club."
Lawwell's version of events differs from the extract from Barton's autobiography published in the Daily Mail.
It said that days before the player signed a two-year deal at Ibrox he "took a call from an agent, who had been contacted by Peter Lawwell, Celtic's chief executive", adding: "The message he conveyed was straight and to the point.
"'Is there anything we can do together? Can we have a conversation?'" | Peter Lawwell has dismissed claims from Joey Barton that Celtic made moves to sign the midfielder before he joined Rangers. | 37416127 |
Fedw-llwyd bridge on the B4355 between Knighton and Beguildy was shut on Friday.
Powys council said engineers found problems with the structural integrity.
John Brunt, cabinet member for highways, said: "I appreciate the inconvenience this will cause for users of that route but my main priority is the safety of everyone who uses that bridge."
The council said emergency repair work would be carried out and the bridge would reopen as soon as possible. | A bridge in Powys has been closed over safety fears. | 38147510 |
The Spireites remain in the League One relegation zone after collecting a point from a match which did not produce a shot on target until the 51st minute.
Chesterfield enjoyed the bulk of play in the first half but Wimbledon's stubborn defence restricted the hosts to a series of long-range shots from Dion Donohue, Dan Gardner, Ched Evans and Jay O'Shea which all flew wide.
They first tested James Shea from Jon Nolan's snap shot while the visitors' first on-target effort came in the 73rd minute when Dominic Poleon's shot was saved by Ryan Fulton.
The Dons, losers at home to non-league Sutton United in the FA Cup in midweek, were on the back foot for most of the game and have not scored away from home in the league since 22 October.
Chesterfield almost nicked it at the end when Gboly Ariyibi flashed the ball across the face of the goal but no-one was able to get on the end of it.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Chesterfield 0, AFC Wimbledon 0.
Second Half ends, Chesterfield 0, AFC Wimbledon 0.
George Francomb (AFC Wimbledon) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt saved. Dan Gardner (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Ian Evatt (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Dominic Poleon (AFC Wimbledon).
Attempt saved. Ched Evans (Chesterfield) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Dion Donohue (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by George Oakley (AFC Wimbledon).
Foul by Sam Hird (Chesterfield).
Dominic Poleon (AFC Wimbledon) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, AFC Wimbledon. Dannie Bulman replaces Tom Beere.
Substitution, Chesterfield. Kristian Dennis replaces Rai Simons.
Attempt saved. Reece Mitchell (Chesterfield) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner, Chesterfield. Conceded by Barry Fuller.
Sam Hird (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Sam Hird (Chesterfield).
George Oakley (AFC Wimbledon) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Tom Beere (AFC Wimbledon) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Corner, AFC Wimbledon. Conceded by Liam O'Neil.
Attempt saved. Dominic Poleon (AFC Wimbledon) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, AFC Wimbledon. George Francomb replaces Alfie Egan.
Substitution, AFC Wimbledon. George Oakley replaces Tyrone Barnett.
Substitution, Chesterfield. Reece Mitchell replaces Jay O'Shea.
Corner, AFC Wimbledon. Conceded by Liam O'Neil.
Darius Charles (AFC Wimbledon) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Darius Charles (AFC Wimbledon).
Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alfie Egan (AFC Wimbledon).
Hand ball by Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield).
Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Chris Whelpdale (AFC Wimbledon).
Attempt saved. Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Second Half begins Chesterfield 0, AFC Wimbledon 0.
First Half ends, Chesterfield 0, AFC Wimbledon 0.
Attempt missed. Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Ian Evatt (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tyrone Barnett (AFC Wimbledon).
Attempt missed. Jay O'Shea (Chesterfield) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. | Gary Caldwell's first game in charge of Chesterfield ended in a goalless draw at home to AFC Wimbledon. | 38619444 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
Thirteen out of the 20 sides are failing to provide the required number of wheelchair spaces, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
It says only seven clubs have larger, fully equipped toilets, while seven clubs are breaking Premier League rules on providing information to fans.
The Premier League said clubs were working hard to improve facilities.
A BBC report in 2014 found that 17 of 20 clubs did not provide enough wheelchair spaces.
Clubs later set a self-imposed deadline to meet standards by August 2017 and the Premier League has pledged to publish a report then to highlight the work carried out.
EHRC chair David Isaac said it would launch an investigation into clubs who had failed to meet the minimum requirements and did not publish a clear action plan or timetable for improvement.
"The end of the season is fast approaching and time is running out for clubs," he said.
"For too long Premier League clubs have neglected the needs of their disabled fans
"The information we received from some clubs was of an appalling standard, with data missing and with insufficient detail. What is clear is that very few clubs are doing the minimum to meet the needs of disabled supporters.
"The Premier League itself does not escape blame. They need to make the concerns of disabled fans a priority and start enforcing their own rule book. We will be meeting individual clubs and asking them to explain themselves and tell us what their plans are."
Clare Lucas, activism manager for learning disability charity Mencap, said clubs should have 'changing places' toilet facilities, with more space and equipment including a height-adjustable changing bench and a hoist.
"For too long Premier League clubs have neglected the needs of their disabled fans, many of whom are forced to be changed on toilet floors, because clubs are yet to install proper facilities. It is simply inexcusable," she said.
According to the EHRC, the following clubs have not met requirements in particular areas:
Wheelchair spaces: Failing to provide the minimum number - Arsenal, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Hull, Liverpool, Man Utd, Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham, Watford, West Brom
Toilets: Without larger, fully equipped toilets, known as 'changing places' toilets - Bournemouth, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Hull, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Sunderland, Swansea, Tottenham, Watford, West Brom
Information: Not publishing access statements to give disabled fans information about their ground - Burnley, Crystal Palace, Hull, Man Utd, Middlesbrough, Stoke, West Ham
"In September 2015 Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to improve their disabled access provisions by meeting the Accessible Stadia Guide (ASG) by August 2017.
"Clubs are working hard to improve their facilities and rapid progress has been made. The improvements undertaken are unprecedented in scope, scale and timing by any group of sports grounds or other entertainment venues in the UK.
"Given the differing ages and nature of facilities, some clubs have faced significant built environment challenges. For those clubs cost is not the determining factor.
"They have worked, and in some cases continue to work, through issues relating to planning, how to deal with new stadium development plans, how to best manage fan disruption or, where clubs don't own their own grounds, dealing with third parties.
"Clubs will continue to engage with their disabled fans and enhance their provisions in the coming months, years and beyond."
2014: A BBC investigation finds that 17 of the 20 clubs in the top flight at that time had failed to provide enough wheelchair spaces.
September 2015: The Premier League promises to improve stadium facilities for disabled fans, stating that clubs would comply with official guidance by August 2017.
September 2016: Campaigners say up to a third of clubs will miss the deadline to meet basic access standards.
October 2016: Leading disability campaigner Lord Holmes tells MPs that legal action against clubs and the Premier League remains an option if standards are not met.
January 2017: A report by MPs says some clubs could face sanctions because they are not doing enough. Manchester United,Liverpool and Everton announce plans to develop their grounds to accommodate more disabled supporters.
February 2017: A Premier League report outlines the detailed work the clubs are undertaking to make sure they meet guidelines but adds that at least three clubs will miss the August 2017 target.
April 2017: Premier League clubs have made limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission. | Premier League clubs have made limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, campaigners have said. | 39643089 |
Buildings on the experimental nuclear energy site, which dates to the 1950s, are being emptied of radioactive material and demolished.
Starting in 2018, the planned next stage would involve dismantling reactors.
New temporary buildings would also need to be built to aid the new phase.
The new buildings would include facilities for handling the clean up and demolition of areas of the site called the Silo and The Shaft.
Also included are plans to restoration and landscaping work to restore areas of land to close to how they looked before the construction of Dounreay.
The phase would take the site near Thurso to what is called its interim end state.
Dounreay Site Restoration Limited has notified Highland Council that it expects to submit the planning application later this year. | A planning application is being prepared for a new phase in the decommissioning of the Dounreay nuclear power complex in Caithness. | 40188815 |
Mr Stuart-Smith has been selected to design a 65,000 sq ft (6,000 sq m) riverside garden for the Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield.
He has previously designed eight gold medal-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show.
A £2.2m fundraising campaign has been launched to pay for the garden.
Read more about this and other stories from West Yorkshire
Mr Stuart-Smith said he was delighted to have been chosen by the gallery.
"Public commissions like these are scarce in the UK," he said. | Designer Tom Stuart-Smith has been chosen to create what organisers say will be one of the largest free public gardens in England. | 37229183 |
The electrical manufacturer told people to stop using the irons because there was a risk that the flex could fail, and offered a replacement or refund.
The company said consumer safety was its primary concern and apologised for any inconvenience caused.
Several customers posted on the firm's Facebook page that their iron caught fire while they were using it.
Rebecca Scurr wrote: "Just want to warn people of potential danger. My husband was ironing today when it caught fire and burnt him. Lucky he quickly threw it to the floor (damaging our kitchen floor). Could have been a lot worse."
Another customer, Clare Joanna, said: "Today when using the Russell Hobbs Steam Glide iron it suddenly sparked and has burnt my hand badly. The electrical burn is incredibly painful and I would not want anyone else to go through this."
Jonathan Wells told the BBC's Watchdog programme that his iron failed in June this year.
He said: "I realised from the pain in my hand that came straight after it that the iron had caught fire somehow and burned my hand.
"The pain was getting so bad I had to go into the kitchen and run it under the cold tap for probably about an hour."
A Russell Hobbs spokesman said: "The company's primary concern is, as ever, for the safety of their consumers.
"Russell Hobbs has always taken their responsibilities as a manufacturer extremely seriously. The decision to recall these products has been taken with the utmost consideration for the public."
The model numbers, found on a rectangular label on the underside of the heel of the iron, are: 18651, 18742, 19220, 19221, 18743, 19840, 18720, 15081, 19222, 19400, 20260, 18741, 20280, 20550-10, 20560-10.
The affected irons will also have batch codes starting with 045 through to 365 and ending with 12, or starting with 001 through to 195 and ending with 13.
The company said irons with any other number sequence were not affected.
Russell Hobbs said in a statement on its website: "As part of our ongoing quality monitoring program, we've identified an issue with a small number of our irons, that may carry a risk that the flex may fail.
"If you do have an affected iron, please stop using it immediately. Please telephone our customer service department who will advise you of how to return your iron for a replacement or full refund of the purchase price.
"We would like to thank you for your co-operation and apologise for any inconvenience. No other Russell Hobbs products or irons outside of the above codes are affected by this recall."
Russell Hobbs customer services can be contacted on Freephone 0800 307 7616 or from a mobile on 0333 103 9663. | Russell Hobbs has recalled 15 different models of irons after customers raised safety concerns about the products. | 30361937 |
It has concerns about the impact of the 10-turbine Longburn scheme on Cairnsmore of Carsphairn.
The organisation said the project would "close the circle" around the peak.
Developers have said they have already halved the number of turbines and increased their distance from the Southern Upland Way.
MCS chief executive officer David Gibson said: "In the northern view from Cairnsmore of Carsphairn there are no less than 181 turbines operational or consented and 75 in the planning process, none of which MCS has objected to.
"Looking east, we have not objected to a wind farm 10km away with 15 turbines, nor to an extension application for a further 11 turbines.
"Also to the east, but only two to six kilometres away, there are two applications for 31 turbines, to which we have raised objections."
He said the organisation also had concerns about the Longburn application, to the south-east of the hill.
"We think enough is enough and we are calling on Dumfries and Galloway Council to refuse the application," he said.
"We have not objected to many wind farms in this area because we recognise the need for low-carbon electricity generation but, with the risk of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn being entirely encircled by a ring of steel, we are now fighting to save the iconic southward view across the Glenkens to the Rhinns of Kells."
Fraser Campbell, operations director of Burcote Wind, said it was disappointed by the objection especially as the group had not objected to previous plans for 20 turbines on the same site.
"Burcote Wind is currently undertaking a comprehensive programme of consultation on our Longburn wind farm proposals, working closely with communities and stakeholders to ensure that our application is as well designed and well suited to the site as possible," he said.
"This builds on the success of our recently consented Sandy Knowe wind farm in Upper Nithsdale, where we received overwhelming support from the local communities and became one of the first wind farms in Dumfries and Galloway to offer community ownership to local communities.
"Our model has been routinely praised and we feel that the objection from MCS does not reflect the feedback that we have received locally, where Burcote's approach to development and economic and social benefits has been welcomed across Nithsdale."
He added that the company would be happy to meet with the mountaineering group. | The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has objected to wind farm plans which it claims would form a "ring of steel" around a hill in Galloway. | 36859656 |
South Shields fighter Nelson, 30, was knocked down by a telling body shot and failed to beat the count 40 seconds into the round.
Nelson had been put down in the first round but recovered to floor 29-year-old Conlan in the third.
Conlan looked in trouble in round seven but survived to land the decisive blow.
The fight took place at the Copperbox Arena in Olympic Park.
Conlan is the brother of Olympic bronze medallist and world amateur champion Michael Conlan. | Belfast's Jamie Conlan has been crowned Commonwealth super-flyweight champion after stopping title holder Anthony Nelson in the eighth round in London. | 36181127 |
Andrew Marshall, of Heiton near Kelso, died at the Bowmont Forest Sawmill in June 2015.
An inquiry into the accident is scheduled to take place at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 14 March.
A preliminary hearing will be held at the same court on Monday. | A date has been set for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of a 71-year-old man at a sawmill in the Borders. | 38811821 |
Brussels Airlines began the service from George Best Belfast City Airport last March but said it would cease the five-times-a-week service soon.
The service is said to have been struggling. When it was launched, Invest NI said the route was "strategically important" for exporters.
The route was previously offered from Belfast International but had ceased.
In a statement, Brussels Airlines said: "We stop flying the route at the end of March, as it did not perform as we had anticipated.
"Passengers who had already been booked have been offered alternative options."
The airline said it reviewed its route network on a regular basis.
"Route results, route potential and optimal fleet utilization are, amongst others, some main drivers of these reviews," the airline added.
"In this context we have decided to suspend our Belfast-Brussels route from the summer season onwards.
"Passengers with reservations for flights from April onwards will be contacted. They will be offered refunds or alternative flight solutions."
This is a second blow for Northern Ireland air connectivity within a few months.
In January, the year-round direct flight between Belfast International and New York was ended by United Airlines. | Northern Ireland is losing its direct air connection with Brussels. | 38812700 |
The deadly crush took place at the historic riverfront walk, the Bund, where huge crowds had gathered.
The announcement came on the same day investigators released a report into the incident.
Four district officials were fired for failing to prevent public risk.
Authorities said the 49 people injured in the crush would also be given payouts depending on their injuries, according to a statement on the Huangpu district authority's official microblog.
Families of the relatives have previously complained about being kept away from the media and from each other.
The four officials who lost their jobs were Zhou Wei, the Communist Party chief in Huangpu district, his deputy Peng Song, the district's public security chief and the deputy police chief.
Several other district officials were disciplined but no city-level officials have yet to face any disciplinary action.
The report released after the investigation described a series of events in which district police and officials were aware of growing crowds but failed to act or communicate the risk to higher authorities.
"The constant flow of people up and down the stairs caused a deadlock, then a surging wave," the report said, in reference to a stairway that connects an elevated promenade along the Bund.
"Pressure from the crowd going down increased, causing some at the bottom of the stairs to lose their balance and fall, leading to many people falling, overlapping, which caused the stampede," the report said. | The families of 36 people who died in a New Year's Eve stampede in Shanghai will receive 800,000 yuan ($129,000; £85,000) each in compensation, local authorities say. | 30928691 |
The 21-year-old winger, who has signed a one-year contract, has become Gary Locke's first capture as manager with the Scottish Championship club.
Winger Bobby Barr had agreed a move to Stark's Park from Greenock Morton under previous manager Ray McKinnon.
Johnston only played once last season because of a cruciate ligament injury.
He had made his debut for Kilmarnock in 2012 and went on to make 69 appearances for the Scottish Premiership club, where he worked for a year under Locke.
The 27-year-old Barr, who was previously with St Johnstone, Albion Rovers, Livingston and Brechin City, made 42 appearances for Rovers' Championship rivals last season.
As Barr arrived in Kirkcaldy, Rovers lost 25-year-old former Partick Thistle midfielder James Craigen, who joined Falkirk after scoring nine goals in 42 appearances for the Kirkcaldy club. | Former Scotland youth international Chris Johnston has signed for Raith Rovers after being released by Kilmarnock. | 36464311 |
Nasri, 29, has left City despite making his first appearance of the season in Sunday's 3-1 home win against West Ham.
City manager Pep Guardiola did not allow the France international to train with the main group during pre-season as he had returned overweight.
Keeper Joe Hart and striker Wilfried Bony have also left City on loan.
"It's been a pleasure," Nasri posted on social media. "Thanks to everyone in the club and the fans for the five amazing years."
England international Hart has joined Italian side Torino, while Ivory Coast international Bony has gone to Stoke, both until the end of the season.
Mangala was wanted by Porto, who sold the France defender to City for £32m two years ago, but the 25-year-old opted for a move to La Liga instead.
City have also allowed the followign to leave on season-long loan deals:
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Manchester City duo Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala have signed season-long loans with Spanish clubs Sevilla and Valencia respectively. | 37223016 |
He has handed a list of names to party officials, saying he wants a "fair and open" contest, with all those eligible to take part able to do so.
Allies of Mr Corbyn have claimed there is a "rigged purge" of his supporters after a union leader was excluded.
Labour said it had a "robust" validation process in place.
The Labour Party has, meanwhile, announced it has signed up a security firm to cover its annual conference in Liverpool next month, ending fears the event would have to be cancelled.
The row over voting rights comes after Bakers' union leader Ronnie Draper was barred from voting in the leadership election or attending future meetings, including next month's party conference.
Mr Draper - who represents 20,000 members of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union and who is backing Mr Corbyn in his fight for re-election against Owen Smith - claims his suspension was politically motivated.
He said all he had been told about the disciplinary action against him was it was related to an "unidentified tweet" he posted.
"I have not been given the opportunity to refute any allegations, or a date for any hearing," he said.
"I believe this flies in the face of natural justice. I intend to challenge my suspension robustly and am currently taking legal advice."
The most senior official in the Labour Party, general secretary Ian McNicol, has insisted the decision to suspend Mr Draper had been taken by elected members of the party's ruling body, the NEC, not by unelected party officials as claimed by Corbyn supporters.
But Mr Corbyn has urged the NEC, of which he is a member, to reconsider the move.
"I am very concerned that some people seem to have been unfairly removed from the ability to vote in this election," he said during a trip to Edinburgh.
"A number of people have contacted me as a result of that and we have sent in the names that we are concerned about to the general secretary and asked him to ensure the party checks into this carefully to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote is able to vote in this election.
"We want a fair and open election."
Labour says a "robust validation process" of the almost 650,000 people eligible to vote in the contest will continue until polls close on 21 September.
This includes "verifying all voters share the aims and values of the Labour Party".
In a statement the party said: "The Labour Party has a robust validation process for all votes to ensure every vote cast is eligible in keeping with the Labour Party rules.
"Decisions about individual members are taken by the NEC."
But shadow chancellor John McDonnell, a staunch ally of Mr Corbyn's, said Mr Draper's suspension appeared to be "part of a clear pattern of double standards" and must be properly justified.
He asked why action had not been taken against Labour peer Lord Sainsbury, who gave the Lib Dems more than £2m during the EU referendum campaign, or donor Michael Foster over an article referring to "Jeremy Corbyn and his Nazi storm troopers".
"Both will, as things stand, be able to vote in this election," Mr McDonnell said.
"Meanwhile, thousands of other members and registered supporters are reported to have been denied a vote without being given an explanation or opportunity to challenge the decision or process.
"Labour party members will not accept what appears to be a rigged purge of Jeremy Corbyn supporters. The conduct of this election must be fair and even-handed." | Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn fears some of his supporters may have been "unfairly" barred from voting in the party's leadership election. | 37184118 |
It said it will use huge computing power to root out 25 million unwanted calls a week.
Currently, BT customers can buy special phones that block nuisance calls, or pay to stop calls getting through.
But the new service will identify some of the 5 billion unwanted calls made each year before they arrive.
They will then be diverted automatically to a junk voicemail box.
Customers will be able to add numbers they don't want to hear from, for free.
The hope is that action from BT will turn the tables on nuisance callers. The company is following the lead from Talk Talk, which already bars calls for free and blocks millions centrally.
However, experts warn that this is a battle that is likely to rumble on, because firms hassling people will be able to switch numbers and use pretend numbers to hide who they are.
Many fraudsters and malicious callers targeting individuals will still be able to get through, they say. | BT has said it will launch a new service later this year to divert nuisance calls within its network before they ring on customers' phones. | 35545914 |
This is what the taskforce, chaired by former acting leader Dame Margaret Beckett, says about Wales:
The result in Wales was disappointing - we underperformed compared with other traditional Labour heartlands. There was a small swing in votes to the Conservatives from Labour (0.3 per cent) compared to the average swing in England and Wales of 3.4 per cent. We lost two seats - Vale of Clwyd and Gower - to the Conservatives, by very small majorities.
"We won one of our target seats - Cardiff Central, which has a large student population -from the Liberal Democrats, who also lost a seat to the Conservatives. The Conservatives fought a campaign on local issues and played down national politics, and indeed played down the word "Conservative".
We remain the largest party by some distance, with a 10 per cent lead on the Conservatives. UKIP made large gains in votes, and, while they didn't win any seats, are in second place in five Labour seats. They could, therefore, present a threat in the Welsh assembly elections, because of the list system."
Its recommendations include this: "We are the largest party in Wales, but the Welsh assembly elections present a key electoral test, and our approach to them must be entirely without complacency, especially given the list system. In some parts of Wales we have had success in countering the threat of nationalism and of UKIP, but these lessons need to be learnt and applied across Wales as a whole."
The overall conclusions have been widely trailed and contain few surprises. You can read the report for yourself here. | Labour has just published its "learning the lessons from defeat taskforce report" - how and why it lost the 2015 general election. | 35355107 |
A house in the Burnholme area of York was searched following the arrest of a 59-year-old man from York on 13 May.
The man, arrested on suspicion of the murder of Miss Lawrence, was released on conditional bail the following day.
A second property in North Shields, Tyneside, was also searched by officers.
North Yorkshire Police said investigations were continuing but searches at both properties had been concluded.
Miss Lawrence, 35, who lived in Heworth, had worked as a chef at the University of York.
She was due to start a 06:00 shift on 19 March 2009 but failed to turn up.
Extensive searches of the area were made but she was not found and police have since treated her disappearance as murder.
The arrest on 13 May followed a review of the case in 2013. | Forensic searches of properties by police investigating the disappearance of York chef Claudia Lawrence have been completed. | 27506918 |
Spontelectric materials carry a massive electric charge and could explain why life has been able to exist on Earth.
It's been cold recently, but not as cold as in this laboratory on the edge of Edinburgh. Helium gas has to be very cold before it turns to liquid, but using liquid helium is only the start of the process.
Prof Martin McCoustra shows me his ultra-high vacuum chamber. Because to create spontelectrics you need not only low temperatures but what he describes as "very, very, very low pressures".
How low?
"If you think about your household vacuum cleaner," he says, "the pressure is about one-hundredth of atmospheric.
"We go to at least a hundred-billionth of atmospheric pressure.
"We can also cool a little bit of the inside of that down to just a few degrees above absolute zero."
To these extremes, add a gas like nitrous oxide or carbon monoxide. Something made up of fairly simple molecules.
The unexpected happens: the gas becomes a solid. And no ordinary solid at that.
Until now it's been possible to divide solid matter into two types. If the molecules are arranged regularly it's a crystal. Less regularly arranged, it's an amorphous material like glass.
Spontelectric materials break that binary. They're a new type of solid matter, the first to be discovered for decades.
They were first created by the astrophysicist Prof David Field and his colleagues at Aarhus University in Denmark. Martin McCoustra's team at Heriot-Watt is further exploring their properties.
The most remarkable of these is that they are spontaneously electric - hence the name spontelectric.
The solid has a massive electric field of more than 100 million volts per metre. Although you don't measure spontelectrics in metres - they're a film just a few tens or hundreds of molecules thick.
Why might this matter? Because of stardust.
The lab environment in which spontelectrics are created - high vacuum, extreme cold, a silica substrate and simple gas molecules - mimic the conditions in the clouds of dust and gas that dot interstellar space. The nurseries in which stars are born.
Prof McCoustra says: "If these observations of these electric fields are translated into that interstellar environment, then there is potential for impacting on the charge balance in these dense clouds from which we make stars and planets."
He says the presence in the dust clouds of molecules like carbon monoxide could have had huge implications for life on Earth.
"It's strange that actually we need molecules to help us form small stars.
"If you take molecules out of the picture and you assume that all your gas is atomic hydrogen, the only things you can make are massive stars. If you want to make smaller stars like our Sun you need to have molecules."
And small - some might say insignificant - stars like our own matter, at least to us.
He adds: "If you don't get small stars you don't necessarily get stars that live very long.
"You won't get evolution on planets."
There is just one catch. So far, spontelectric solids are too small for us to see.
"The human hair is about one micron across," the professor says.
"We're working with films that are typically between ten and 50 nanometres, which is a hundred times smaller."
That means spontelectrics can only be looked at indirectly for now, with an infra-red spectrometer.
As well as laughing gas and carbon monoxide the Heriot-Watt team is now working with a more complex molecule, ethyl formate. The temperature required to transform that into a spontelectric solid is not quite so low.
In years to come there could be spinoffs for our everyday world. One possibility could be better and longer lasting video displays if the spontelectric effect can be used to make new kinds of organic light emitting diodes.
Until then it's giving us an tantalising glimpse of a possible answer to one of the biggest questions of the lot: why we're here at all. | Scientists at Heriot-Watt University are working with an entirely new type of solid matter. | 34926881 |
The England international, who has been linked with a move to Tottenham, has not trained for several days but Koeman did not put a timeframe on his return.
The 23-year-old has one year left on his contract at Goodison Park but has failed to sign a new deal.
"He stopped training last Monday, it looks like the hamstring," Koeman said.
"But we need to do more tests today and tomorrow to know exactly what the injury is."
Speaking ahead of their Europa League qualifier with Hajduk Split on Thursday, Koeman added there was "no update" on speculation regarding Barkley's future.
Asked if the midfielder was in his plans this season, Koeman added: "I will wait until the end of August."
Koeman said last week there had been no offers for the 23-year-old and has not ruled out him staying at the club.
Meanwhile the club are set to announce the signing of Swansea City midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson for a reported £45m.
The 27-year old passed a medical at the club earlier on Wednesday, Koeman said at the news conference.
"I have seen him in blue but I don't know if all the paperwork is done," he added. | Everton manager Ronald Koeman says midfielder Ross Barkley "needs more tests" to assess the extent of his suspected hamstring injury. | 40952115 |
The club have called a news conference for 10:30 GMT on Wednesday when they are expected to confirm Karanka as the successor to Tony Mowbray.
The 40-year-old was Jose Mourinho's assistant during his three years as Real Madrid boss.
and his deputy Mark Venus has been in temporary charge since then.
Former Real Madrid and Spain defender Karanka left the former European champions following Carlo Ancelotti's appointment as manager during the summer. This will be his first managerial job.
The club are currently 16th in the Championship table, eight points adrift of the play-off positions and five points above the bottom three.
Just seven years ago Middlesbrough reached the Uefa Cup final, losing to Sevilla in what was Steve McClaren's final game before becoming England manager.
Gareth Southgate took over at the Riverside and three years later Boro were relegated to the Championship.
He left the club in October 2009 and both Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray have since come and gone having failed to secure a play-off place. | Middlesbrough are set to name ex-Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka as their new manager, BBC Sport has learned. | 24915538 |
Instead, a report from the Global Council on Brain Health recommends that people engage in stimulating activities such as learning a musical instrument, designing a quilt or gardening.
It said the younger a person started these activities, the better their brain function would be as they aged.
Age UK said it was never too late to learn something new.
The council - which is a collaboration of international scientists, health professionals and policy experts - has produced a report on the best ways to stimulate the brain and reduce cognitive decline.
It said that although many people thought playing online games, such as puzzles and mind games, designed to improve brain health was important, the evidence regarding the benefits was "weak to non-existent".
"If people play a 'brain game', they may get better at that game, but improvements in game performance have not yet been shown to convincingly result in improvements in people's daily cognitive abilities," the report said.
For example, there was no evidence that playing sudoku would help you manage your finances any better, it added.
The report recommends seeking out new activities that challenge the way you think and are socially engaging, while leading a healthy lifestyle.
Examples include:
James Goodwin, chief scientist at Age UK, which helped set up the Global Council on Brain Health, said brain decline was not inevitable.
He said: "There are plenty of activities that we can start today that can provide benefits for brain health, if they are new to you and require your concentrated attention.
"They may even be activities that you do regularly in your life, such as playing with grandchildren, gardening or playing cards.
"Even though it's never too late to learn something new, the overwhelming message from this report is that you shouldn't wait until later life to try to maintain your brain health." | Brain training games may not provide the benefits to brain health they claim to, according to experts. | 40801867 |
It is the first time since 1997 that England have featured in the top-tier Championship division.
Eighteenth seeds England join Group B, which also features eighth seeds Sweden, France (9) and Denmark (16).
The hosts of the tournament - held in Kuala Lumpur from February 28 to March 6 - are ranked 24th.
Three of England's four-man squad - Liam Pitchford, 22, Paul Drinkhall, 26, and Sam Walker, 20 - were in the team that earned promotion from Division Two in the corresponding event in Tokyo two years ago. They are joined by Andrew Baggaley, 32.
All four won team silver medals for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Top seeds China dominate the men's game, having won the last seven World Team Championships. England's sole team success came in 1953.
The England women's squad of Kelly Sibley, 27, Tin-Tin Ho, 17, and Karina le Fevre, 23, will play in Group E in the Second Division, against Serbia, Canada, Belgium, Turkey and New Zealand. | England's men have been drawn against second seeds Germany and hosts Malaysia in the group stage of the World Team Championships. | 35346276 |
Its 10th awards in London honoured individuals and organisations that have made "outstanding contributions" to the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Owens, 44, tweeted that he was "truly humbled and honoured" by the award.
He refereed the Rugby World Cup final, won by New Zealand 34-17 over Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.
His next appointment is a more low-key affair when he officiates a match between two village teams in Swansea on Saturday.
Owens, from Mynyddcerrig in Carmarthenshire, recently talked about the private struggle with his sexuality in a BBC programme, True to Myself.
Did you like this story? Why not head over to our Facebook page and take part in today's debate... | Welsh referee Nigel Owens has been named sportsperson of the decade by sexual equality charity Stonewall. | 34736060 |
Winger Graham and versatile defender Hause, both 20, have signed new deals with the Championship club until 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Both players are currently recovering from long-term injuries.
"They are outstanding young players who have made good inroads into the first team over the last year or so," said Wolves head coach Kenny Jackett.
Wolves also have the option to trigger a two-year extension on Graham's contract which, if activated, could run until 2020.
Ex-Aston Villa youngster Graham suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury against Cardiff in January and is expected to be out for more than nine months.
Hause has made 15 appearances for Wolves this term but has not played since October because of a hamstring problem. | Wolves duo Jordan Graham and Kortney Hause have signed new long-term contracts at Molineux. | 35533293 |
14 December 2016 Last updated at 12:36 GMT
Her comment came at Prime Minister's Questions after being asked by Labour MP Peter Dowd if she regretted appointing Mr Johnson to the Foreign Office, suggesting that she may have misunderstood the meaning of the letters FO written next to his name when she was choosing her cabinet.
Watch the Daily Politics panel review PMQs | UK Prime Minister Theresa May has joked, using the text-speak abbreviation of expletive-laden exasperation, to describe Boris Johnson as an FFS - saying that in this case it stood for being a Fine Foreign Secretary. | 38313552 |
Motherwell, now on a run of three successive defeats, took a fifth-minute lead through Marvin Johnson's shot.
However, a cross from Niall McGinn flew straight in to draw Derek McInnes's side level before the break.
And defender Ash Taylor headed an emphatic winner from another McGinn delivery to give the Dons nine points from nine.
It is the first time since 1991 Aberdeen have won their opening three league matches of the season and last year's runners-up are playing with an air of confidence and authority, a consequence of the winning habit they have developed.
This was a big win for them, with Motherwell proving testing opponents in a fabulously entertaining match.
Both sides possess players with terrific pace, which added to the absorbing, end-to-end nature of the contest. Indeed, the opening goal owed much to Motherwell's counter-attacking ability.
Lionel Ainsworth broke with lightening speed to feed Scott McDonald and the Australian forward's powerful shot was pushed away by Danny Ward. The ball then fell for Johnson, who volleyed into the ground and past the keeper.
Aberdeen's equaliser came in bizarre fashion as McGinn curled in a cross from the left and as players from both sides tried and failed to get a touch, the ball crept past the flat-footed Connor Ripley and in off the far post.
Both sides contributed hugely to a frenetic game but Aberdeen will feel they deserved the win, having dominated possession and creating more danger for the opposing keeper.
David Goodwillie should perhaps have headed them in front just after the interval, but Taylor did exactly that in the 62nd minute.
McGinn swept in a free kick from the left and Taylor rose to plant a firm header into the net as Ripley came off his line and failed to get anywhere near the cross.
The busy McGinn almost put the game beyond Motherwell with a terrific run and shot, which on this occasion came back off an upright.
The high tempo continued in the closing stages but Motherwell could not fashion another opportunity to seriously test Ward as the large visiting support went home delighted.
Match ends, Motherwell 1, Aberdeen 2.
Second Half ends, Motherwell 1, Aberdeen 2.
Substitution, Motherwell. Chris Cadden replaces Jake Taylor.
Substitution, Motherwell. David Clarkson replaces Louis Moult.
Attempt missed. Adam Rooney (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Attempt missed. Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by Louis Laing.
Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) hits the right post with a left footed shot from the left side of the box.
Lionel Ainsworth (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Shaleum Logan (Aberdeen).
Foul by Steven Hammell (Motherwell).
Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt saved. Dom Thomas (Motherwell) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Adam Rooney (Aberdeen).
Louis Laing (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Louis Moult (Motherwell) header from the left side of the six yard box misses to the right.
Louis Moult (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ash Taylor (Aberdeen).
Substitution, Aberdeen. Paul Quinn replaces David Goodwillie.
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by Stephen McManus.
Substitution, Motherwell. Dom Thomas replaces Marvin Johnson.
Graeme Shinnie (Aberdeen) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Lionel Ainsworth (Motherwell).
Attempt saved. Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Adam Rooney (Aberdeen).
Louis Laing (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Lionel Ainsworth (Motherwell) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left.
Foul by Kenny McLean (Aberdeen).
Louis Moult (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Rooney (Aberdeen).
Steven Hammell (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal! Motherwell 1, Aberdeen 2. Ash Taylor (Aberdeen) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Niall McGinn with a cross following a set piece situation.
Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Josh Law (Motherwell).
Ash Taylor (Aberdeen) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ash Taylor (Aberdeen).
Scott McDonald (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Scott McDonald (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Scott McDonald (Motherwell) header from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by Jake Taylor. | Aberdeen's perfect start to the Premiership season continued with a hard-fought victory at Fir Park. | 33832091 |
4 July 2014 Last updated at 16:41 BST
Nearly 200 riders cover over 2,000 miles in just 23 days, mostly in France. But for the first three stages, it's passing through England.
It's well known as one of the toughest, most gruelling sporting challenges, so we wanted to see just how hard it is.
Martin's been to Yorkshire to check out just what the world's top cyclists are up against. | It's the world's most famous bike race and is the biggest annual sporting event: the Tour de France starts on Saturday. | 28148730 |
22 August 2015 Last updated at 12:06 BST
Dressed in a suit, the man handed out currencies in exchange for sterling to customers at Asda in Trafford Park before emptying the safe, police said.
The man, wearing earphones and using a tablet, then walked out of the store at 15:45 BST on 29 July.
Police said they were still searching for the man, described as being in his mid 20s or 30s, Asian and of slim build.
A 22-year-old woman has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. | CCTV of a man who posed as a manager at a Greater Manchester Bureau de Change to steal £40,000 has been released. | 34027079 |
The pictures also offer stunning views of the dwarf planet's rugged mountains and its sweeping plains.
New Horizons acquired a mass of observations as it whipped past Pluto on 14 July, at a distance of 12,500km.
Scientists say the haze provides further evidence for the equivalent on Pluto of Earth's water-cycle, but involving exotic types of ice.
The spacecraft began a year-long data dump earlier this month, allowing scientists to resume their analysis of the world's fascinating topography and tenuous atmosphere.
A new, oblique view of Pluto's crescent was downlinked to Earth on 13 September. Dramatic backlighting from the Sun helps highlight the dwarf planet's diverse terrain and more than a dozen layers of haze in its atmosphere - extending from near the ground to at least 100km (60 miles) above the surface.
Prof Alan Stern, the mission's chief scientist, said: "This image really makes you feel you are there, at Pluto, surveying the landscape for yourself."
He added: "But this image is also a scientific bonanza, revealing new details about Pluto's atmosphere, mountains, glaciers and plains."
The picture also shows a bank of fog-like, low-lying haze illuminated by the setting sun against Pluto's dark side, and interfused with shadows from nearby mountains.
"In addition to being visually stunning, these low-lying hazes hint at the weather changing from day to day on Pluto, just like it does here on Earth," said mission scientist Will Grundy, from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona.
Along with other observations, the image hints at an Earth-like hydrological cycle involving frozen nitrogen and other soft ices.
"Driven by dim sunlight, this would be directly comparable to the hydrological cycle that feeds ice caps on Earth, where water is evaporated from the oceans, falls as snow, and returns to the seas through glacial flow," explained Alan Howard, a team member from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Prof Stern commented: "Pluto is surprisingly Earth-like in this regard, and no one predicted it."
Pictures of the dwarf planet released last week by Nasa revealed a field of dark, aligned ridges, which look like wind-blown dunes.
New Horizons is next scheduled to visit a second icy object in the distant region of our Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt.
The US space agency will carry out a review of the plan to fly by the comet-like 2014 MU69 before officially approving the mission's extension.
Follow Paul on Twitter. | Fresh images from Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft have captured a low-lying haze clinging to the surface of Pluto. | 34285426 |
The Irishman helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 1989 when his two-iron approach at the last sealed a singles win over Fred Couples.
O'Connor won four European Tour titles including his Irish Open triumph at Woodbrook in 1975.
That victory helped secure a Ryder Cup spot that year and he played in the competition again 14 years later.
The Galway man won two Senior British Open titles and also earned victories on the Champions Tour in the US.
His legendary uncle Christy O'Connor Snr, who is now 91, played in 10 Ryder Cups and came close to winning the Open Championship on a couple of occasions.
O'Connor Jnr passed away while on holiday with his wife Ann in Tenerife.
Like his famous uncle, O'Connor Jnr starting playing golf in his native Galway and he turned professional while still in his teens in 1967.
O'Connor's breakthrough season on the European Tour came eight years later when his tied victory with Ian Stanley in the Martini International and Irish Open triumph secured his Ryder Cup place.
After a period of struggle in the late 1970s, O'Connor regained his form in the following decade and finished in a share of third place in the 1985 Open after leading the field following an opening 64 at Royal St George's.
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The Irishman was a controversial omission from the Ryder Cup team in 1985 after narrowly missing out on automatic selection.
However, European captain Tony Jacklin selected the then 41-year-old Irishman as one of his wild card picks in 1989 and the skipper's decision was vindicated by O'Connor's vital singles win over Couples.
His fourth and final European Tour triumph came at the British Masters at Woburn in 1992 and a successful Senior Tour career followed on both sides of the Atlantic.
O'Connor also forged a career as a golf course architect with over 30 projects throughout Europe.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said that O'Connor's death would be a "source of great sadness to all golfing fans in Ireland and across Europe".
"I knew Christy personally and he loved and lived life to the full," said the Irish Taoiseach.
Irish President Michael D Higgins described O'Connor as an "iconic figure in golf".
"Christy represented his country and its people on the international stage with distinction, dignity and great humour," added the Irish President, who is also a Galway native.
"He will be missed by not only his sporting colleagues, but also by his community, and in particular by his friends.
"We will miss his warm personality, his generosity and his great resilience of spirit."
Former European Tour chief executive Ken Schofield said the Irishman was "every amateur's dream as the perfect pro-am partner, on and off the golf course".
"For everyone involved with the Tour and the game of golf, Christy will be remembered as a gentleman spirit," said the ex-European Tour chief. | European Ryder Cup hero Christy O'Connor Jnr has died suddenly in Spain at the age of 67. | 35241893 |
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Former Linfield defender Chris Casement scored the opening goal five minutes into the second half.
Ross Redman, who seconds earlier had cleared off the line from Andrew Waterworth, set up the score with a great run down the left wing.
Marcio Soares made it 2-0 as the match was entering stoppage time.
It was a breakaway goal, with Gary Twigg unselfishly squaring the ball for substitute Soares to score into an empty net.
Just before that Linfield had mounted pressure but home keeper David Miskelly made a number of good saves.
Linfield stay in fourth because the team immediately below them, Glenavon, were beaten 2-0 at Glentoran.
It is the first time Linfield have lost four league games in a row since March 1997.
And this latest defeat will place additional pressure on Northern Ireland's record scorer Healy who was only appointed Blues manager in mid-October when the they were joint top with Crusaders.
Now Linfield find themselves 12 points behind the defending champions after 18 matches of the league campaign.
Next week Linfield are at home to Coleraine who are up to second in the table after an unbeaten run of 11 Premiership matches.
Portadown assistant manager Kieran Harding: "The real turning point was the clearance off the line by Ross Redman who then got up the other end to set up the goal.
"He got to the bye-line to pull the ball back for what was an outstanding goal from our perspective.
"We had to defend for our lives and overall it was a great team performance."
Linfield manager David Healy: "I thought today we probably didn't get the rub of the green, but I am not one for excuses and we have lost another game of football.
"I have told the players to get their heads up because we have a big game on Tuesday against Carrick in the semi-final of the Shield.
"I have been working 100% every day to try to turn this club around and make it as successful as it has been before." | Linfield slumped to a fourth successive league defeat under former Northern Ireland striker David Healy as Portadown sealed a 2-0 home victory. | 34953613 |
The one-time signing target of Rangers, the club he supported as a boy, says the comments have been more amusing than alarming.
Allan, 23, said: "There's been quite a lot of humour from friends. But I knew it was coming. It's not affected me at all, to be honest.
"There's not been any malice in it, so it's been fine for me."
The former Hibernian player added: "I've had the odd couple of things said but nothing too bad, nothing menacing.
"It's just good to be at a big club."
Allan has only played 35 minutes of first-team action since moving from Easter Road to the Scottish champions in August. He has made two substitute appearances against Dundee United and St Johnstone.
He believes he needs to bide his time to claim a regular place in the starting line-up and to keep up his match fitness.
Last season's PFA Scotland Championship player of the year featured in Celtic's Development League fixture with Dundee on Tuesday evening.
"I hadn't played 90 minutes since the first game of the season for Hibs at Dumbarton, so game time is vital for me," Allan admitted.
"When I signed I did say I'd need to be patient. I've still had minutes to come on and show, but I need to be patient and wait for my chance.
"There are a lot of games coming up so I think everybody will get a chance. It's up to me to take my chance when given it."
Those games for the Scottish Premiership leaders include a trip to Pittodrie this Saturday for a lunchtime fixture with second-place Aberdeen, before next Thursday's Europa League group stage opener in Amsterdam against Ajax.
He told BBC Scotland: "This match against Aberdeen is probably the biggest game domestically we've had this season. It'll obviously be good to put a marker down.
"They try and play the right way. They've got good players and a strong bench which they didn't have in previous seasons.
"Aberdeen and Hearts have both started well and I think the two of them will be up challenging this year."
With Celtic dropping into the Europa League after failing to qualify for the Champions League, Allan is looking forward to locking horns with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, the Norwegian champions Molde and Ajax in Group A.
"The Champions League was a bit of a disappointment, the fact we didn't go through, but there are big European clubs in this group so there are some good fixtures there," he said.
"We've just got to get through the group. Fenerbahce have a really strong team, Ajax have been doing well, so hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and pick up some points.
"If we can get some good results first and gain a bit of confidence in the European games then who knows what can happen." | Midfielder Scott Allan says the reaction from fans has not been as bad as he expected since joining Celtic. | 34199739 |
Keeper-batsman Matthew Wade takes over as skipper, with uncapped Queensland batsman Sam Heazlett joining the squad.
Smith, 27, was injured while fielding in Australia's ODI win over Pakistan in the last match of their 4-1 series win.
Cricket Australia says Smith will have "scans to confirm the diagnosis" and is likely to "take 7-10 days to recover".
Australia play the Black Caps on 30 January as well as on 3 and 5 February.
"It's a bit of a shock," said Smith. "I just landed really awkwardly on my foot and I felt something straight away.
"I was a little bit concerned, I've never really injured my ankle like that." | Australia captain Steve Smith will miss his side's three-match one-day series in New Zealand because of a suspected medial ligament ankle injury. | 38767719 |
R&B Distillers is turning Borodale House, a derelict Victorian hotel, into a distillery and visitor centre.
The production of the first whisky at the site could begin in April next year.
The distillery would be one of the largest employers on an island with a population of about 120 people. Raasay lies off the Isle of Skye.
R&B stands for Raasay and Borders. Co-founder Alasdair Day's great grandfather, Allan MacDonald, was from the Hebrides while his other great grandfather, Richard Day, was a master-blender in the Borders in the early 19th Century.
The company secured planning permission for the project from Highland Council in February this year.
Borodale House has been empty since 2006 and once the work converting it is completed it will be the first legal distilling operation on an island where illicit making of whisky was once rife.
The site will have a bat boxes and a "bat hotel", providing a nesting space for the mammals in the roof of the distillery.
These are required to accommodate the UK's most north-westerly population of brown long eared bats, which were found in the vacant hotel during an environmental impact study. | Construction of the first whisky distillery on the tiny Isle of Raasay has started. | 36525533 |
Susan Taylor, of Hawkcombe, died in her late 90s in December and left her money to the recreation ground in Porlock.
Residents of the Somerset village are now being asked to come up with ideas on how to spend the bequest.
Mike Lynch, from the recreation ground, said: "It is an amazing amount of money and we wanted to see what the main view was from the community."
The Porlock Recreation Ground currently offers a "well equipped" children's playground, two football pitches, a cricket pitch, a floodlit tennis court and multisport court as well as a large pavilion.
In her will Mrs Taylor said she wanted the funds "to be spent for the benefit of Porlock's residents and visitors who use the recreation grounds".
She had lived in the village for many years and her family is said to "fully support" her wishes.
Mr Lynch, chairman of the Porlock Recreation Ground management committee, said he found out about the legacy in January but had to "keep it under wraps" until probate was granted.
"The first thing we did was send out a letter to the people in the village and the surrounding villages asking for their ideas," he said.
"We've had around 80 responses - a swimming pool is probably the most mentioned."
He added it would be "several months" before a final decision is made.
"As you can appreciate it's not something we've done before so it's not easy to know how long it will take," he said. | People living in a village on Exmoor have been left an "amazingly generous" £700,000 by a former resident. | 39315770 |
The feline is now recovering at a vet clinic in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, after travelling from Stourport in Worcestershire.
The cat, a grey adult female, was taken to Severn Edge Surgery by the motorist after the 15 mile (24 km) journey.
Liz Abbiss from the vet said the animal is in good health and the surgery is "desperate" to find its owner. | A one-eyed cat has been discovered in a car engine after being driven across two counties. | 35246145 |
Staff will be working round-the-clock in the 330m-long tunnel to lower two lines of track to create space for overhead power lines for the new trains.
The work is part of the £750m Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP). It aims to launch "cleaner, greener and quieter trains" on the line from December 2016. This will be mainly done by replacing existing trains with electric-powered ones.
The Winchburgh tunnel, which is near Linlithgow, is the site of a major technical challenge.
The tunnel will be closed between Saturday 13 June and Sunday 26 July, which means trains will need to be diverted and replacement buses used.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said summer was the quietest time on the railway so it made sense to schedule the tunnel closure at this time.
It includes the school summer holiday period when fewer people travel, but is to be completed before the start of the Edinburgh festivals.
ScotRail said the main routes affected would be:
In addition, the following services will be busier than normal in both directions:
The tunnel closure will mean passengers wanting to travel end-to-end from Glasgow to Edinburgh will no longer be able to take a train from Queen Street high level platforms.
This service will now include replacement bus services around Falkirk.
To avoid that, passengers can switch to the slower Queen Street low level trains, which run on the Airdrie/Bathgate line or travel from Central Station which go via Motherwell/Carstairs or Shotts.
The high level trains will still run every 30 minutes in both directions between Glasgow Queen Street and Linlithgow only - calling at Croy, Falkirk High and Polmont.
ScotRail warned that train journeys would be busier and take longer than normal, they may not depart from where people are used to and in some cases they may involve a bus replacement service.
The train operator has a dedicated website to deal with the questions.
ScotRail said it would add extra carriages "where possible" and run more evening rush-hour trains.
It warned that rush-hour trains may be so crowded that some travellers may be unable to board.
It also advised passengers to set off up to 30 minutes earlier than usual.
Further pressure will come during the Open golf championship at St Andrews from 12-19 July.
Many fans from across Scotland would have travelled by train. ScotRail said it expected to lay on more buses during the latter part of the week.
The EGIP project will continue on sections of the Edinburgh Glasgow line until late next year but most of the work will be carried out at night.
Next year, work will begin in the Queen Street tunnel in Glasgow, clearing it for electrification in April 2016.
Phil Verster from train operator ScotRail Alliance said Glasgow Queen Street would be "transformed" by the changes, with the whole concourse being remodelled.
He said: "It will put Glasgow Queen Street on a par with what we have at St Pancras or King's Cross. It is going to be absolutely stunning."
According to Rodger Querns from EGIP the benefits for passengers will be a 20% reduction in journey times (down from about 52 minutes to 42 minutes on the main line via Falkirk), a 30% increase in capacity and greener, quieter trains with better on-board facilties.
Mr Verster of ScotRail Alliance said: "So on all counts it is good for customers and good for the country." | The Winchburgh railway tunnel in West Lothian has been closed for 44 days causing delays to Glasgow-Edinburgh train services. | 33068033 |
It will invest £450m in its engine manufacturing centre, doubling its size to 200,000 sq ft (18,581 sq m).
The plant, on the i54 business site in south Staffordshire, employs 700 people, a number it expects to double.
A rise in global demand had led to the centre's expansion, the company said.
Updates on this story and others on Birmingham and Black Country
Mike Wright, executive director of Jaguar Land Rover, said the plant was "absolutely pivotal" to the company's plans for global expansion.
"As we grow our volumes around the world we need more capacity," he said.
"We've started the initial phase just 12 months ago, that's gone really well, and we're now planning for the next phase for the next two or three years."
Business Secretary Sajid Javid said the company's further investment was "further evidence that the British automotive sector can compete with the best in the world".
"More than 10,000 jobs have been created and about £3.5bn has been invested in its Midlands' manufacturing sites since 2010."
Jaguar Land Rover first announced plans to build the engine manufacturing centre at the i54 business park in 2011, spending £500m on the site by the time it had opened.
It supports three other manufacturing sites in the UK, based at Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside.
The firm currently makes about 400,000 engines every year, with one coming off the production line every 40 seconds. | Jaguar Land Rover is set to hire hundreds of new workers as the car manufacturer announces plans to double the size of its site near Wolverhampton. | 34906608 |
Timothy Mardon, 51, was shot in the thigh by raiders - who wrongly believed he was a drug dealer - in Sible Hedingham, Essex, in February.
Gunman Charlie Sims, 23, was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated burglary following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Christoper Bergin, 27, was also found guilty of aggravated burglary.
Police described it as an "extremely violent crime which left a man fighting for his life".
Read more on this story and other Essex news
As well as the attempted murder and aggravated burglary charges, Sims - of North Road, Great Yeldham - was convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Bergin, of Hawkwood Road, Sible Hedingham, was also found guilty of wounding with intent, and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
A third defendant, Kalebh Shreeve, 24 of Gibson Road in Sible Hedingham, was cleared of all charges.
"Charlie Simms and Christopher Bergin are violent, dangerous men and Essex will be a safer place with them off the streets," Det Ch Insp Leighton Hammett said following the verdicts.
"This was not a premeditated attack but one conjured up on a whim following a night of heavy drinking and smoking drugs.
"It was an attack based on the fictional notion drugs were being grown at the victim's house.
"It is galling that they were prepared to use this level of extreme violence with such little thought and paid such little regard for the welfare of the victim."
The pair will be sentenced at a later date. | A man who shot a businessman during a burglary at his mansion home has been found guilty of attempted murder. | 38252168 |
With almost all the votes counted, Mr Erdogan had won about 52%, against 38% for main rival Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
The huge margin of victory means there is no need for a run-off.
Mr Erdogan, who has vowed to bolster the power of the president, promised supporters a "social reconciliation period", saying: "Let's leave the old discussions in the old Turkey."
He added in the speech in Ankara: "Today, not only those who love us, but also those who don't have won. Today Turkey has won."
The veteran leader, who has spent three terms as prime minister, is revered by supporters for boosting the economy and giving a voice to conservatives.
But his critics lament his authoritarian approach and Islamist leanings in a secular state, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Ankara.
After the provisional results were announced Mr Ihsanoglu, joint candidate for the two main opposition parties, said: "I congratulate the prime minister and wish him success."
Mr Erdogan has been prime minister since 2003 and was barred from standing for another term.
He needed more than 50% of the vote for an outright victory, avoiding a second round.
Our correspondent says turnout appears to be much lower than expected - some voters may have been dissuaded by the summer heat and holidays.
Turkey - wedged between the turmoil of Iraq, Syria and Ukraine - is an important ally for the West, our correspondent adds, and whoever becomes head of state will hold a key geopolitical position.
Mr Erdogan's other rival, Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, took about 9% of the vote. | Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won his country's first direct presidential election. | 28729234 |
You can forget those pretty pictures of happy women in saris on rolling green hillsides that you see on some tea packets. That is not the reality for most tea workers.
Last year, I was part of a BBC team that revealed the appalling conditions for workers and their families on estates that grow tea for some of the biggest brands in the world.
Our findings in the Indian state of Assam prompted the companies that own Tetley's, Twinings, Liptons, PG Tips and Yorkshire Tea to say they would work to improve conditions on the estates they buy from in India.
But this week, the World Bank confirmed standards in the industry remain dire.
It published a report on the second biggest tea producer in India, a company almost 50% controlled by Tata, the giant Indian multinational that owns the Tetley Tea brand.
The report says low wages and poor living and working conditions for the 155,000 people who live on the vast estates owned by Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL) are leading to high levels of malnutrition and ill health.
That is exactly what we found on the estates we visited last year.
Plantation owners in India are obliged by law to provide and maintain adequate houses and sanitary toilets for workers, yet we found tea workers living in homes with leaking roofs and terrible sanitation.
Many families had no toilets and said they had no choice but to defecate among the tea bushes.
We found living and working conditions so bad, and wages so low, that tea workers and their families were left malnourished and vulnerable to fatal illnesses.
The joint investigation by BBC News and BBC Radio 4's File on Four programme also found a shocking disregard for health and safety, with workers spraying chemicals without protection, and on some estates, children working alongside adults.
This week's World Bank report was a damning indictment of the efforts of its own subsidiary, International Finance Corporation (IFC), to improve living standards for tea workers.
Through the IFC, the World Bank invested $7.8m (£6.3m) to take a 20% stake in APPL back in 2009.
The idea was to support an attempt to make tea workers part-owners of the estates where they work, in an effort to preserve jobs and raise standards in the industry.
But according to the findings of a two-year investigation by the internal auditor that holds the World Bank Group accountable to its own policies, the IFC has failed on almost every count.
The investigation found that the bank had failed "to respond systematically to issues regarding housing and living conditions" or to correct serious lapses in the use of pesticides, "with the result that workers have been exposed to extremely hazardous chemicals".
It said that low wages contributed to workers' acute malnutrition and exposure to disease, quoting a 2014 report commissioned by Tata that found daily wages at the time so low that workers were unable to afford basic nutritional requirements.
It found that provision of healthcare and education was inadequate, and workers' rights to unionise and air their grievances were not met.
The investigation also concluded that the World Bank had not done enough to ensure child labour was not being used, nor had it responded adequately to workers' complaints that they were being pushed into the share ownership scheme.
"The report validates concerns workers have been raising for years about poor living and working conditions on APPL plantations, and shows how the World Bank Group and APPL repeatedly failed to fulfil their obligations," said Wilfred Topno, director of PAD, one of three organisations that complained to the World Bank on behalf of workers.
The IFC has accepted many of the report's findings. It says it has drawn up an action plan with Tata Global Beverages "to address shortcomings and legacy issues in key areas such as human health, worker health and safety, housing and sanitation infrastructure".
Tata, which prides itself on its commitment to corporate social responsibility, says it is "deeply concerned" about the issues at APPL, and supports the company's efforts to improve the living and working conditions of workers.
The companies say they commissioned an independent inquiry into living and working conditions on the APPL estates in 2014 and began to address the problems then.
Now they say they will engage an independent organisation to audit the progress of improvements and assess how effective efforts are.
But everyone involved in the tea industry recognises that tackling poverty and ill health will be very difficult.
Tea workers are trapped in a cycle of dependence that began way back when the first tea estates were planted in India in the 1830s.
Very little has changed since then, says Anirudha Nagar, of Accountability Counsel, an organisation supporting the APPL workers.
"With housing tied to their job, they are practically held hostage by their employer," he says.
"With abysmally low wages, they face a daily struggle to survive and have no means for advancement. And with poor access to education, their children are left with no option but to become workers themselves."
So what can be done? Here is what campaigners such as Anirudha Nagar want to see happen.
First, pick up that cup of tea again. The answer is not to stop drinking tea.
But campaigners argue that tea is just too cheap. They say the big brands need to pay fairer prices to plantations so they in turn can afford decent wages and conditions for workers.
They also want a bigger role for unions and NGOs. Tea plantations have traditionally restricted union membership, and sometimes ban NGOs from operating on their estates. They want that to change so workers can know their rights and be able to articulate their demands clearly and effectively.
And campaigners believe tea lovers can help too, by using their voice and influence to keep companies honest.
They want consumers to tell tea companies that conditions of the workers matter to them, and to challenge their favourite brand about what it is doing to ensure that its employees have decent homes and enough money to buy nutritious food.
And once you've sent that text, email or tweet, put the kettle back on. You will have earned yourself a nice cup of tea.
You can listen to the original File on 4 investigation into conditions in tea plantations on the Radio 4 website. | If you are drinking tea, I suggest you put down the cup right now because I've got bad news for you. | 37936349 |
Artist Spencer Tunick photographed 3,200 people at sites around the city on 9 July for the Sea of Hull project.
The images will go on show at the Ferens Art Gallery, in Hull, as part of a new exhibition called SKIN.
The Sea of Hull was commissioned by the gallery to mark Hull's 2017 UK City of Culture status.
Live updates on this story and others from the Humber region
Participants in the project will be invited to a special preview event attended by Tunick at 18:15 BST before the exhibition opens to the public on Saturday.
Speaking in 2016, Tunick said: "The Sea of Hull installation was one of the most fantastic projects I've ever done, and it was inspiring to be able to intertwine the city's maritime heritage against an urban backdrop throughout the whole piece."
The exhibition will include three of Tunick's photographs that have been bought by the gallery, while the Friends of Ferens Gallery are set to launch a crowd funding bid to buy a fourth.
Hull City Councillor Terry Geraghty said: "This bold and ambitious exhibition is one of the gallery's major highlights for 2017, in addition to the esteemed Turner Prize later this year."
Other artworks going on show at the gallery include works by Lucian Freud and sculptor Ron Mueck.
A preparatory study for Edouard Manet's controversial Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe will also feature in the exhibition, which runs from 22 April to 13 August. | Photographs featuring thousands of people posing naked and painted blue at locations across Hull have been unveiled. | 39656518 |
The African champions are back home after their 3-2 quarter-final defeat to Italy in Suwon on Monday.
Despite the Junior Chipolopolo's elimination, hopes are high that Sakala will kick on and justify all the hype around him.
"I know they [Zambians] expected us to win the trophy but I'm not going to get frustrated or discouraged by this," Sakala told the BBC.
"I just have to stay focused and make the future beautiful. I know I can do well if I believe in myself.
"I think there will be lots of games for me to prove what I can contribute in football."
While football fans generally tend to hyperbolise, the excitement around Sakala is not without foundation.
I know I can do well if I believe in myself
Technically gifted and comfortable in possession, he scored four goals in the five matches that Zambia played in South Korea.
He was on target against Portugal, Iran, Germany and Italy.
Zambians are now hoping that the 20-year-old can develop into the kind of potent forward their national team can rely upon for years to come.
Sakala is yet to make his senior Chipolopolo debut but the fact that he has already sampled life in the first team at Spartak Moscow points to a promising future.
He made the big move to Russia's top flight from Zambian Super Division side Zanaco after helping his country win the African U-20 title early this year.
Possessing a fine first touch, bags of skill and an accurate finish, Sakala can play anywhere along the frontline but prefers the No.10 role.
"There are a lot of games for me; there are games for the senior national team ahead," he said with an eye on Zambia's upcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
Having proved that he is a lethal finisher, it seems a matter of time before he breaks into the senior national first team.
With Zambia looking to put the disappointment of missing out on the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations behind them, the emergence of the exciting 19-year-old forward is most convenient.
With a name like Fashion, expectations that he will turn the art of scoring into a show are perhaps inevitable. | Fashion Sakala has set his sights on promotion to the senior national team following Zambia's elimination from the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in South Korea. | 40179434 |
The firm will build its new DBX model at a plant in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, from 2020 and will employ 750 highly-skilled workers.
Work to build reception areas, offices and a staff restaurant has already started at site.
Carwyn Jones said he was delighted the land sale was complete and the firm had chosen to do business in Wales.
The first minister added: "Aston Martin's move here is fantastic news for the Vale of Glamorgan and surrounding areas, and will provide a real boost to the local economy, resulting in thousands of high quality jobs both within Aston Martin and the wider supply chain."
Aston Martin's chief executive Andy Palmer said: "The exchanging of this contract, giving us first access to the St Athan facility, is a milestone in our 103-year history.
"Work now starts in earnest to turn our plans into reality."
The second phase of work will start next April when the company will gain access to the three Ministry of Defence "super hangars" that will house the new manufacturing plant.
Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns MP said: "Aston Martin choosing Wales sends a clear message to leading global companies around the world that Wales is open for business.
"We have created the ideal conditions for economic growth, which helped attract this unique and innovative car manufacturer to South Wales. Today's announcement reflects the excellent infrastructure, a world class talent pool and businesses that have the confidence to expand in Wales." | Car maker Aston Martin has bought the land for its new factory in south Wales. | 38310894 |
The 315p-a-share offer represents a 70% premium to Wireless Group's share price at the close of trade on Wednesday.
Talksport owns radio and digital audio broadcasting rights for the Premier League and FA Cup.
News Corp owns the Times and Sun newspapers, the Dow Jones wire service and publishing company HarperCollins.
"We look forward to welcoming Wireless into News Corp's global family of businesses," said News Corp's chief executive, Robert Thomson.
"With its strength in radio, as well as its digital and international growth potential, Wireless will help improve the engagement of our publishing brands, especially those within News UK."
Wireless Group owns a host of other radio stations in Great Britain and Ireland. Its executive chairman, Richard Huntingford, described the deal with News Corp, whose executive chairman is Rupert Murdoch, as "an excellent outcome for all Wireless stakeholders".
He added: "The introduction of a new player with the stature and global media experience of News Corp will be a major boost for the UK and Irish commercial radio industry." | News Corp has agreed to buy Wireless Group, the owner of Talksport radio, in a deal worth about £220m. | 36672747 |
The Exiles are due to host Notts County on the final day of the League Two season, with all matches in the division kicking off at 15:00 BST.
The Dragons are set to host Cardiff Blues on the same day at 17:15 BST in their final Pro12 regular season game.
The last Pro12 games start at the same time with play-off spots on the line.
In a statement County said they "have been in dialogue with the Dragons and the Football League in an attempt to "identify a solution".
Despite Newport RFC owning the ground and the Dragons attracting the biggest crowds, Newport County have primacy of tenancy when it comes to the fixture list, because of Football Association rules.
The Exiles have a 10-year lease to remain at Rodney Parade until 2023 but there has not been a fixture clash of this nature since County moved to Rodney Parade in 2012.
County have also announced the appointment of former Stevenage academy managing director Alex Tunbridge as club secretary and head of operations. Tunbridge worked for Stevenage FC for seven years.
Newport have confirmed that local businessman Mark Crook has accepted an invitation to be "co-opted on to the board of directors with immediate effect." | Newport County have confirmed there is still no resolution on a fixture clash on Saturday, 6 May with fellow Rodney Parade tenants Newport Gwent Dragons. | 38550949 |
There are reports that Plath wrote to her psychiatrist saying Hughes, her husband at the time, physically abused her days before she miscarried.
A statement issued on behalf of Carol Hughes said the allegations were as "absurd as they are shocking".
The letters have not been made public but a bookseller who has offered them for sale has confirmed their contents.
The letters were written by Plath to Dr Ruth Barnhouse between 1960 and 1963 and are among a collection that has come to light.
According to The Guardian, Plath wrote that Hughes, whom she had married in 1956, beat her and wanted her dead.
The correspondence was put up for sale for $875,000 (£700,000). Antiquarian bookseller Ken Lopez told the BBC the Guardian story "can be corroborated by the letters".
Who was Sylvia Plath?
Responding to the report, the Ted Hughes Estate issued a statement on behalf of Carol Hughes, who was married to the poet from 1970 until his death in 1998.
It said the claims would be seen as absurd by "anyone who knew Ted well".
The statement added: "Private correspondence between patient and psychiatrist is surely one of the most confidential imaginable and, in this case, these alleged claims were from someone who was in deep emotional pain due to the apparent disintegration of her marriage."
The sale of the letters has been blocked by Smith College, the Massachusetts arts college where Plath studied in the 1950s, which filed a lawsuit claiming the letters were bequeathed to it by Dr Barnhouse after her death.
Mr Lopez said: "They are off the market for the time being as the lawsuit is in litigation.
"Hopefully, the lawsuit will be over soon and the letters, and the archive they are a part of, which includes a good deal more material by and about Plath albeit none of it quite as shocking as the Barnhouse letters, can be sold to a research institution where it can all be read and studied by scholars, researchers, students, historians, journalists, other poets and writers, readers of Sylvia Plath, etc."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | The widow of poet Ted Hughes has described claims that he abused Sylvia Plath as "absurd". | 39576154 |
Officers found Andrena Douglas dead in her home in Crusader Crescent, Stewarton, at about 06:20 on Thursday.
They had gone there to tell her that her partner had been seriously injured following a fire at nearby Peacockbank Farm, Stewarton, at about 05:15.
Det Insp Martin Fergus said police could not rule out the incidents being linked and appealed for witnesses.
He said: "Officers had attended at Ms Douglas's home to inform her that her partner had been found seriously injured following a fire at nearby Peacockbank Farm, Stewarton, around 0515 hours on Thursday 9 June, but they found her dead in the house.
"We are currently following a number of lines of inquiry regarding both incidents and whilst at this time we cannot link Ms Douglas' death and the fire in which her partner was injured, we also cannot rule it out.
"However, it is imperative that people do not make assumptions as this may seriously hinder our inquiry."
He added: "What we need to do is establish what happened between 2000 hours on Wednesday 8 June when Ms Douglas was last seen and 0600 hours on Thursday morning (9 June) when she was found.
"To this end, I would appeal to anyone who was in the area, who may have seen any suspicious activity - whether that be a vehicle or someone on foot in the area - to contact police."
He said Ms Douglas' partner was still critically ill in hospital and officers had so far been unable to talk to him.
"How and why the fire started has still to be established and a joint investigation between police and Scottish Fire and Rescue is under way."
He urged anyone with information to contact police or Crimestoppers. | Police have launched a murder inquiry following the death of a 53-year-old woman at a house in East Ayrshire. | 36507113 |
The Owls had the better of the first half, with Fernando Forestieri thundering a shot against the woodwork from 30 yards out.
Sam Clucas hit the post for the hosts after the break before Tigers defender Curtis Davies headed just wide.
Forestieri was shown a late red card, his second in a week, after being given a second yellow card for diving.
The former Italy Under-21 international seemed to be harshly done by as replays showed Hull defender Michael Dawson did impede the Owls forward.
The dismissal means Forestieri has now been sent off in successive appearances, having been shown a red card at Preston on 20 February, and he will now serve a two-game ban.
It was a second draw between the two sides this season and there was little between the teams for most of the game.
Steve Bruce's side improved after half-time but Forestieri's red card came too late to have any real impact on the course of the match.
Hull manager Steve Bruce told BBC Radio Humberside:
Media playback is not supported on this device
"In the grand scheme of things, we'll take the point but we're disappointed we didn't get the three.
"In the second half in particular, we were the dominant side but we missed the opportunities we had.
"There comes the frustration because we've created chances, we've played well enough, and it just wasn't our night in front of goal."
Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"It was a good point. They started to move the ball well in the second half and we had more problems then.
(On the red card) "I think it was a bad decision. You can see from the reaction of the players and the Hull player apologised to the referee. It was a big mistake.
"There's nothing I can do about it because we can't appeal against it."
Match ends, Hull City 0, Sheffield Wednesday 0.
Second Half ends, Hull City 0, Sheffield Wednesday 0.
Moses Odubajo (Hull City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday).
Substitution, Hull City. Ahmed Elmohamady replaces Robert Snodgrass.
Second yellow card to Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday).
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) has gone down, but that's a dive.
Attempt saved. Abel Hernández (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jake Livermore.
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Andrew Robertson (Hull City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday).
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Atdhe Nuhiu replaces Gary Hooper.
Attempt saved. Abel Hernández (Hull City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Hull City. Chuba Akpom replaces Mohamed Diamé.
Attempt missed. Jake Livermore (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
Attempt saved. Robert Snodgrass (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nick Powell.
Attempt missed. Jake Livermore (Hull City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Curtis Davies with a headed pass following a corner.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Joe Bennett.
Andrew Robertson (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ross Wallace (Sheffield Wednesday).
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Álex López replaces Sam Hutchinson because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Curtis Davies (Hull City) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Robert Snodgrass with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Michael Turner.
Sam Clucas (Hull City) hits the left post with a left footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Jake Livermore.
Attempt saved. Abel Hernández (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jake Livermore.
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Ross Wallace replaces Aiden McGeady.
Substitution, Hull City. Nick Powell replaces David Meyler.
Attempt blocked. Moses Odubajo (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Jake Livermore (Hull City).
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Joe Bennett (Sheffield Wednesday) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Robert Snodgrass (Hull City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Joe Bennett (Sheffield Wednesday).
Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Michael Dawson.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday) because of an injury.
Attempt saved. Abel Hernández (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Mohamed Diamé.
Attempt missed. Sam Clucas (Hull City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Andrew Robertson with a through ball.
Robert Snodgrass (Hull City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday). | Championship leaders Hull City played out a goalless draw with play-off chasing Sheffield Wednesday. | 35610083 |
David Laurence Bishop, who goes by the name of Lord Biro, stood as a candidate for the Bus Pass Elvis Party.
He received 67 votes in the by-election in Clifton North, Nottingham, with Lib Dem candidate Tony Marshall coming last with 56. Labour won with 1,174 votes.
Taking the news in jest, a national Lib Dem spokesman said: "We are all shook up by the result."
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said he was not embarrassed by the result, but added: "It is a new one for us to be competing against the Bus Pass Elvis Party."
Mr Bishop, who has stood for election as a councillor in Nottingham at least six times, said he was "shocked" by the result.
"I thought there was a chance I could beat the Lib Dems because they are not very popular in this area," he said.
1997 general election He stood for Neil Hamilton's seat in Tatton as "Lord Biro Versus the Scallywag Tories".
2001 general election He stood under the Church of the Militant Elvis Party for the first time, against Eric Pickles in Brentwood.
2005 general election He stood in Erewash in the same seat as Robert Kilroy-Silk, promising to give him a job as "keeper of the Royal stool".
2008 He stood in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, triggered by the resignation of David Davis.
2010 general election He stood in Kettering under the Bus Pass Elvis Party. Policies included "All shook-up about dog-muck everywhere? Bring back the dog licence".
2011 He stood in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election as the candidate for the Bus Pass Elvis Party.
2011 He stood in the Feltham and Heston by-election for the Bus Pass Elvis Party campaigning against McDonald's sponsoring the Olympics.
2012 He stood in the Corby by-election, under the Elvis Loves Pets party.
"I was hoping I would beat UKIP because it was the first time they had stood, but I didn't."
As part of his manifesto Mr Bishop had pledged to tighten laws on hand gun ownership and legalise brothels with a 30% discount for OAPs.
He also said he wanted to scrap the high speed HS2 train because it would destroy Nottingham's greenbelt and pledged to stop any more tram routes being constructed in the city.
In the last 15 years Mr Bishop has stood for eight different parties, including the Elvis Loves Pets Party, Grumpy Old Elvis Party and the Elvis Turns Green Party.
He said being a pensioner himself, he always tries to fight for older members of the community, which inspired the name for his party.
"If Elvis was still alive he would be on his bus pass, and most of the original fans are pensioners now so I thought it was a good name," added Mr Bishop.
"I always think I'm going to do well when I stand but I never do. But there is always a chance."
Mr Bishop said he had not yet thought about standing for next year's general election but may consider running for Skegness and Boston in Lincolnshire.
"I have always fantasised about finishing my career on the seaside - it sounds sort of romantic."
Labour's Pat Ferguson won the seat with a majority of 154 over her Conservative rival. UKIP received 536 votes in third place. | A pensioner dressed as Elvis has beaten the Liberal Democrats in a local council by-election. | 26480506 |
A footbridge over the motorway near Maidstone in Kent was hit by a lorry carrying a digger last weekend.
Work started on the removal operation on Friday night and is expected to be complete by 06:00 BST on Monday.
Travellers have been warned about delays on Kent's roads while a large part of the M20 is closed for the work on Saturday and Sunday.
Catherine Brookes, chief highways engineer at Highways England, said she was confident it would be cleared before Monday's rush hour.
She told BBC Radio Kent: "We are ahead of schedule already, everything is going to plan. The diversions we have put in place seem to coping quite well.
"We have got about 100 people working around the clock this weekend to make sure we have safely removed the remaining section of the footbridge. So far we are doing well."
The M20 was set to be closed between junctions 1 and 4 coast-bound and junctions 4 and 2 London-bound from Friday evening until 06:00 BST on Monday.
The collapsed section of the pedestrian bridge, near the village of Addington, was removed from the scene last weekend, and the road was reopened a day later.
The M20 is the main route to the Channel Tunnel and Port of Dover. | Good progress has been made in removing the remains of a bridge that collapsed on the M20, the BBC has been told. | 37266850 |
There were 3,886 such crimes logged in July 2015, rising to 5,468 in July this year, according to the Home Office.
It said the sharp increase declined in August but has "remained at a higher level than prior to the EU referendum".
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the government was "determined to stamp it out".
The number of hate crimes overall in the year 2015-16 was up 19% on the previous year.
Latest figures show that 62,518 offences were recorded by police.
Of these, 79% were motivated by race hate, 12% by sexual orientation, 7% by religion, 6% by disability and 1% were transgender hate crimes.
Ewa Banaszak and her family have lived in Plymouth for nine years, "this is our home, where we live and work" she said.
The Polish natives had their shed deliberately set alight in July in a racially-motivated attack.
Since the EU referendum, she said racist comments towards her and relatives had "intensified" and the family had received a "hate-filled letter" containing threats.
Despite being told to "go back to your own country", Ms Banaszak said they will not go back to Poland.
Standing at a bus stop, Brazilian-born Danilo Venticinque, 30, was talking to his Mexican wife in Spanish and a woman asked "you speak English, don't you?"
"Can you understand what I'm saying? This is our country. We are leaving the EU. We will stop having so many people like you over here."
He said people like the woman who approached him are "a minority".
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said the rise in hate crimes was "down to the nasty, divisive European referendum campaign that pulled apart communities, families and neighbours".
He claimed that the government has treated the post referendum landscape in "the same divisive way".
The National Police Chiefs' Council's (NPCC) lead on hate crime, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: "Numbers of hate crime incidents have fallen from the spike seen after the EU referendum but we still believe that many hate crimes are still not reported to us.
"We are determined to play our part in addressing hate crimes in our society, supported by government and third sector partners".
These figures confirm what previous data from the National Police Chiefs Council suggested - that there was a spike in hate crime after the 23 June poll.
Part of the increase is undoubtedly due to a greater willingness by the public to report offences and better police methods for logging hate crimes.
But strong anecdotal evidence supports the view that there was also a genuine rise in crimes targeted at ethnic minorities and foreign nationals: the Brexit vote appeared to unleash something in people - they felt they had a licence to attack Polish migrants and insult Muslims.
Separately, one of the most striking features of the annual figures is a 44% rise in hate crimes directed at people with disabilities; the numbers have doubled in four years.
Following the EU referendum, then-Prime Minister David Cameron condemned "despicable" incidents of hate crime.
In July, the government published a hate crime action plan, which Ms Rudd said "sets out how we are further reducing hate crime, increasing reporting and improving support for victims".
She added: "Our hate crime laws are among the best in the world, but we cannot be complacent."
Assistant Chief Constable Hamilton said the NPCC was encouraged by the improved police reporting and support systems that had been put in place.
According to the Home Office, over the last year police forces have made efforts to improve their recording of crime statistics, especially for violence against person offences.
It said the improved records are "likely to be a factor" in the increase in hate crimes recorded by the police this year. | Racist or religious abuse incidents recorded by police in England and Wales jumped 41% in the month after the UK voted to quit the EU, figures show. | 37640982 |
The home side had taken the lead through Mark McGuigan in a feisty match which was peppered with eight bookings.
But Docherty's late shot from inside the box levelled the tie again.
The two sides meet again for the second leg at Somerset Park on Sunday afternoon, with the eventual winner gaining promotion to the second tier.
Ayr's Greg Fleming produced a quite stunning save from a thundering Ryan Thomson shot, which appeared netbound until the goalkeeper launched himself to his left and diverted with the strongest of hands.
Fleming's team-mate Ross McCrorie blundered at the other end. Unmarked six yards out, he had all the time in the world to finish but rushed his effort and totally missed the target.
A swift Stranraer counter-attack led to the opener as Andy Stirling, the outstanding player on show, fed McGuigan to finish low and with precision.
The hosts could have scored a second in a bizarre sequence of play which began with an Ayr player having his jersey pulled as he took a throw-in by a Stranraer fan leaning over the wall.
The home team broke and Ayr keeper Fleming totally misread a header outside his box. The ball deflected to Jamie Longworth, whose shot was eventually cleared.
And then Docherty levelled the tie again seconds before the final whistle.
It was indeed a weird and wonderful night and sets up a fascinating showdown on Sunday. | A stunning stoppage-time strike by Ayr United's Ross Docherty denied Stranraer a first-leg advantage in the Scottish Championship play-off final. | 36239343 |
Councillors voted in favour of the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) at a meeting on Thursday.
The plans mean £100 fines could be handed out.
Green Party councillor David Thomas said he was "disappointed" and described the powers to fine beggars as "unnecessary".
"When they say 'aggressive begging', they define that as sitting still near a cash point which I don't think's aggressive," he said.
"Maybe annoying, but certainly not aggressive."
Labour-controlled Oxford City Council said it did not intend to fine beggars as a first resort, and would look to put them in contact with support services before taking further action.
Council leader Bob Price previously said the order covered a wide range of anti-social behaviour and was designed to make the area "safe and welcoming" for the public.
Campaign group Liberty had previously threatened to challenge the scope of such an order in court.
It said the council would be unfairly targeting those in poverty if it fined persistent beggars.
The council's own eight-week public consultation revealed the majority of responders had not been adversely affected by persistent begging, sleeping in toilets or busking. | Plans to ban "aggressive begging" and busking in central Oxford have been approved by the city council. | 34548316 |
Birling Gap beach was evacuated on Sunday after people reported breathing difficulties, stinging eyes and vomiting when a "mist" appeared.
Investigations are under way into the cause of the "chemical haze", which is currently unknown, Sussex Police say.
Beaches in the area are expected to be open as normal on Monday, although the situation will be monitored.
Police say the believe it came in from the sea - previous incidents have involved something coming over from an industrial unit in France - but this has yet to be confirmed.
A police spokesman said the first report came in from Birling Gap just before 17:00 BST where "up to 50 people had been affected by irritation to eyes and throats".
The plume of gas moved eastwards along the coast as far as Bexhill, police said.
Coastguard rescue teams from Birling Gap, Eastbourne, Bexhill and Newhaven raced to help clear the busy beaches as visitors feared they had been struck by a chlorine leak.
As of Sunday night, 133 patients were being "decontaminated" at Eastbourne District General Hospital, according to East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
The police said the effects, while uncomfortable, were not serious, and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said it was "extremely unlikely" the substance involved was chlorine.
Kyle Crickmore, who was at the Birling Gap beach with his family, said it emptied in 10 minutes after people began to feel unwell.
He described how a "foggy haze rolled in out of nowhere" and there was a "strong smell of chlorine in the air".
"It was definitely out of the ordinary considering it was a nice clear sunny day 10 minutes beforehand," he said.
"It was stupidly busy and it was a boiling hot day.
"It emptied in about 10 minutes, which was quite staggering considering the amount of people who were there."
Members of the public alerted emergency services, which triggered call-outs to the UK Coastguard, Sussex Police, South Eastern Ambulance Service and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, who said they were treating it as a "chemical incident".
The RNLI said that "possibly some kind of gaseous fumes" had drifted over and a significant number of people on cliff tops had been struck down with symptoms including irritation, sore eyes and vomiting.
Dan Sankey wrote on Twitter: "Beautiful afternoon at Birling Gap cut short by some weird mist, burning everyone's eyes which led to the beach and cliff being evacuated."
The beachfront is a popular hot spot for tourists and locals on bank holidays.
People living along the coast have been advised to keep windows and doors shut since the incident.
Thousands of people are expected to head to the coast again on Bank Holiday Monday.
The beaches in East Sussex will be open as normal, police said - and there were no officers at the scene by Monday.
They said it was believed that this was an "isolated incident and is not expected to recur".
End of Twitter post by @chrisbaker999
Eastbourne councillor Kathy Ballard said: "We need to find out the cause, where did this come from, and to make sure that steps are taken so that it does not happen again.
"I have not heard of it happening before in this area." | More than 130 people have been treated in hospital after a suspected chemical leak along the East Sussex coast. | 41070002 |
Plans include reducing its 14 high schools to six or seven, without closing any facilities.
A concern is that head teachers do not have enough time to provide leadership because they have to teach lessons.
One teaching union official said changes were necessary due to recruitment problems and cash cuts.
A Gwynedd council report suggests the majority of the county's 95 primary schools are retained with cooperatives set up to share management.
Neil Foden, National Union of Teachers chairman in Wales, said: "It's a very radical proposal. Gwynedd have to do something.
"The current situation isn't viable, but I think there will be areas where they will have some difficulty in getting this through and there will be areas of opposition."
The report to Tuesday's cabinet committee tabled a range of ideas such as creating a new leadership structure in a reformed school system.
Councillors agreed to hold a consultation, including head teachers and governors, before any policies are drawn up by the authority.
Councillor Gareth Thomas, Gwynedd council's portfolio holder for education, said one idea was to have one head teacher responsible for three or four schools, rather than closing schools.
"Good leadership is the thing that improves schools the most," he said, adding that head teachers could not do that if they did not have enough time. | A major shake-up of education in Gwynedd has been discussed by councillors regarding the management of its schools. | 36766562 |
The new signatories include Tesla, Adobe, HP and Evernote.
They join 97 others who have filed a legal document stating the ban "inflicts significant harm" on their businesses and is unconstitutional.
The amicus brief allows parties not directly involved in a case but who feel affected by it, to give a view.
It was filed in Washington on Sunday and also includes Apple, Facebook and Microsoft as signatories.
Amazon is not part of the amicus brief but it is a witness in the original lawsuit brought by the Washington state Attorney General.
Mr Trump's executive order halted the entire US refugee programme for 120 days, indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and suspended permission to enter the US for all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.
There is currently a nationwide temporary restraining order in place, which was issued on Friday by a federal judge in Washington.
This means visa holders from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be allowed to enter the US until the full case has been heard.
However, the president has said he will fight the order as it puts national security at risk.
"Of course, the federal government can and should implement targeted, appropriate adjustments to the nation's immigration system to enhance the nation's security," reads the tech group's brief.
"But a broad, open-ended ban - together with an indication that the ban could be expanded to other countries without notice - does not fit the goal of making the country more secure. Instead, it will undermine American interests." | Thirty more US technology firms have signed a brief opposing President Trump's immigration ban, bringing the total number involved to 127. | 38881873 |
While he lacks the magnetism followers of Mr Chavez attributed to the late president, he is a commanding figure in Venezuela, and not just because of his stature of 1.90m (6ft 3in).
Derided as a poor copy of his mentor, Mr Maduro has not been ousted by the opposition or by rivals in his own party, as some had predicted when he was elected in April 2013.
However, he has failed to win over the opposition after sticking very closely to the fiery rhetoric of Mr Chavez.
His government's tough approach to mass anti-government protests in the first half of 2014 and the jailing of thousands of demonstrators prompted criticism from human rights groups and sanctions from the United States.
His opponents paint him as a ruthless despot who detains his political rivals on overly harsh charges pressed by a judiciary under his party's control, while his followers say he is protecting the country from another coup.
But with oil prices plummeting below $50 (£33) a barrel, Mr Maduro's approval rating has been falling, too.
Venezuela's economy is almost entirely reliant on its oil exports and the president is facing a severe economic crisis as well as a hostile opposition.
And with financing for the government's generous social programmes in jeopardy, some are questioning how committed those who voted for Mr Maduro really are to the socialist cause and their leader.
But predictions about how voters would turn away from the governing PSUV party after the death of Hugo Chavez have proven wrong before.
In presidential polls in April 2013, triggered by Mr Chavez's death the previous month, Mr Maduro won by a razor-thin margin.
But in local elections eight months later, the government coalition won 54% of the vote, a comfortable 10-point lead over the opposition.
And while mass anti-government protests rocked cities such as San Cristobal and Caracas in the first half of 2014, they were largely confined to areas where opposition supporters lived.
After the jailing of the most vocal of the opposition leaders, Leopoldo Lopez, and the arrests of thousands of protesters, the demonstrations became less frequent and eventually fizzled out.
And there is no shortage of those who will come out to back their leader.
Following his return from a whirlwind international tour to OPEC countries in January, many lined the streets to welcome Mr Maduro.
But even Mr Maduro himself has acknowledged the hurt caused by the economic crisis.
Couching it in terms of an "economic war" waged against Venezuela by the US and a "parasitic bourgeoisie", he has called on Venezuelans to be "ready to defeat the economic mafia" whom he blames for the country's economic woes.
Much of his rhetoric echoes that of Mr Chavez, peppered with criticism of the US and its "imperialist aggression".
This is not surprising as Mr Maduro's ties to Chavismo, the brand of socialism spread by Hugo Chavez, go back some 25 years, when Mr Chavez served time in prison for the attempted coup of 1992.
During this time, Mr Maduro also met his future wife, Cilia Flores, a prominent lawyer on Mr Chavez's defence team.
Mr Maduro is a political veteran, having been a member of Venezuela's parliament, the National Assembly, and at one point becoming the assembly's speaker.
He served as President Chavez's foreign minister from 2006 until 2013, and briefly as vice-president, taking over as acting president upon Mr Chavez's death in March of 2013 until new elections were held the following month.
He invokes the memory of his predecessor incessantly, quoting Mr Chavez and frequently speaking in front of a picture of the late leader.
Since Mr Chavez's death he has kept the Chavismo legacy alive, a move welcomed by those who have benefitted from the reduction in inequality and poverty but much to the chagrin of those who believe the country has been driven into ruin by 16 years of what they consider misguided policies. | Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro divides opinion almost as much as his predecessor in office, Hugo Chavez. | 20664349 |
The 15-year-old girl from Measham, Leicestershire, was last seen outside Ibstock Community College on Friday.
Stephen Beadman, 28, of George Avenue, Ibstock, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court earlier.
Luke Harlow, 27, also of George Avenue, appeared in court charged with grooming and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
They were both remanded into custody and no pleas were entered.
A body, believed to be that of Kayleigh Haywood, was found in a field near Ibstock, on Wednesday evening.
A post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death is yet to be held.
It is alleged the rape and murder were carried out on Sunday 15 November.
Luke Harlow faces two counts of sexual activity with a child and it is understood the grooming charge is internet related.
Both men are due to appear at Leicester Crown Court on 18 December.
Following the discovery of the body Kayleigh Haywood's family said they were "heartbroken" and thanked the community for their support.
On Thursday evening hundreds of people visited St Laurence Church, in Measham, to pay their respects to Kayleigh.
Reverend Linda Cox, from the church, said: "It was a very sombre atmosphere in there, but it was also a very supporting and loving atmosphere for each other and particularly for Kayleigh's family."
Eddie Green, head teacher of Ashby School where Kayleigh was a pupil, paid tribute to the teenager describing her as a "fun-loving" girl.
He said: "Our thoughts are with the family of Kayleigh Haywood at this difficult time.
"[Kayleigh] had started Year 11 with a real determination to be successful. It would appear that this opportunity has sadly been taken away from her." | A man has appeared in court charged with the rape and murder of Kayleigh Haywood. | 34878942 |
The law's backers say it will prevent mass school shootings like a December massacre in Connecticut that killed 26.
Amid a push by the White House to strengthen gun laws, the bill reflects a growing divide in the US over whether more or fewer guns keep people safe.
The measure does not force school districts to arm teachers and will not require teachers to carry guns.
But it allows each school district to choose if staff could be armed. It takes effect in July.
Under the Republican-sponsored bill, school staff given permission to carry firearms on campus will be known as "school sentinels". The state has given a law enforcement commission the task of establishing a training programme for the sentinels.
Several representatives of school boards, teachers and other staff spoke against the bill in legislative hearings, arguing guns would make schools more dangerous.
But sponsor Representative Scott Craig said this week had heard from a number of school officials who back it.
Mr Craig said rural districts do not have the money to hire full-time police officers. | The US state of South Dakota has enacted a law allowing school districts to arm teachers and other school staff. | 21722377 |
Katrice Lee was two when she vanished from a shop near a military base where her father Richard was based.
Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said Royal Military Police officers now doubted she had fallen into a nearby river.
The Ministry of Defence said it would be "inappropriate" to comment.
Katrice's family, including her mother Sharon, of Gosport, believe she was abducted as a surrogate child.
In an update from the Royal Military Police, Mr Lee said he was told investigators had been back to the river.
Mr Lee said: "The water theory has now been ruled as less likely which is what my family always believed from day one
"They've had water experts out there who took into account the day that Katrice went missing, the weather conditions, the speed of the river, the depth of the river and their opinion, as my family's opinion always has been, was that she never fell into the river and drowned."
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the family of Katrice Lee.
"However, while the investigation continues it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
Mr Lee said a DNA profile of Katrice was being circulated around European countries.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel and we're nudging in the right direction," he said. | The father of a toddler who went missing in Germany more than 31 years ago has been told a theory she may have drowned is now considered "less likely". | 23440336 |
Gabor's release from the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles has come more than a week earlier than expected and doctors are pleased with her progress, added John Blanchette.
The 93-year-old star of 1950s films Moulin Rouge and Lili had her leg amputated because gangrene developed after a hip replacement operation in July.
Mr Blanchette said Gabor's husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, had said his wife was now "feisty, yelling at nurses and at him. Everything is back to normal".
Gabor was admitted to hospital on 2 January after attempts to save her leg with antibiotics were unsuccessful.
The star had been admitted to hospital a number of times since breaking her hip in July.
After the hip replacement surgery, she went on to develop swelling in her legs and blood clots throughout her body.
She was in a critical condition and had asked for a priest during a trip to the hospital in August, but she recovered and was sent home.
She was readmitted to hospital in the new year because a wound in her right leg had grown and "wasn't healing any more", Mr Blanchette had said. Gabor had reportedly been bedridden for months.
The veteran actress was partially paralysed in a car accident in 2002 and suffered a stroke in 2005, after which she used a wheelchair.
Gabor starred in the films Moulin Rouge, Touch of Evil and Queen of Outer Space, among others. | Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has been allowed home from hospital, eight days after having her right leg amputated, her spokesman has said. | 12261798 |
The Pirates went down 25-24 in London, despite a spirited fightback after trailing 15-3 with 20 minutes to go.
Kyle Moyle and Brett Beukeboom's tries levelled the score at 18-18 before David Cherry's try put Scottish ahead.
Nicolas de Battista got a late third try for the Pirates, but it was in vain as they stay third in the league.
"The fairytale beginning was always going to come to an end. Did we deserve to win the game? No," Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.
"We got ourselves in position to win it, but it was very scrappy and we didn't play to the best of our ability, but the show goes on.
"We knew that at some point we would be beaten and we were beaten away from home by a very good side.
"We've got way more in the tank, probably it was our poorest performance overall over 80 minutes." | Cornish Pirates joint-coach Alan Paver says his side can improve after they suffered their first Championship loss of the season at London Scottish. | 37539081 |
Arsenal's fans vented their frustration as Chelsea took the point which ensured they will win the Premier League title if they beat Leicester City and Crystal Palace in their next two games.
The Gunners last won the title in the season of "The Invincibles" when they went 38 league games unbeaten in 2003-2004.
Chelsea manager Mourinho said: "I think boring is 10 years without a title - that's boring. If you support a club and you wait, wait, wait for so many years without a Premier League title, then that's boring.
"Maybe Arsenal's fans were not singing to us. When you want to win the game and you take your striker Olivier Giroud off maybe they want more, maybe they want Giroud and Theo Walcott up front."
Mourinho's team have scored 65 goals in 33 games and have a goal difference of +39.
And the Blues boss added: "This boring team has got the second highest number of goals, has the best goal difference. Only Manchester City have scored more goals than us."
Mourinho refused to be drawn into debate about three potential penalties in the first half when Oscar tangled with Hector Bellerin and was then taken out by Arsenal keeper David Ospina before Cesc Fabregas went down under a challenge from Santi Cazorla.
He said: "I want to forget the penalties because I think the referee Michael Oliver had a very good performance and also the assistants. They gave a very solid performance so I'm happy with the referee."
Mourinho also described John Terry's performance as the best the captain has given in two spells under his management at Chelsea.
"I think it was his finest performance in the five seasons we have worked together," said Mourinho.
"He had a fantastic performance in my first season, at Highbury, but here everything was clean, reading the game, covering around the game, making interceptions.
"The team was phenomenal but John was one step ahead of that."
Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas on BBC Radio 5 live:
"There's a difference between parking the bus and keeping the ball. It wasn't just clearing the ball and defending from Chelsea, they kept the ball really well.
"Chelsea will be delighted with their performance. Arsenal will feel they should have done more. Arsenal did not ask enough questions.
"There are a lot of Arsenal fans singing 'boring boring Chelsea'. But go and get the ball off them, show some initiative. I don't know which is more boring to watch."
"Jose Mourinho had every right to deliver a punchy response to Arsenal fans taunting him with chants of "boring boring Chelsea."
"Chelsea moved a point closer to the title with a performance of iron discipline and superb tactical organisation at Arsenal, where the Gunners have been imperious recently.
"There is more than one way to win a title and Chelsea have shown the ability to adapt, playing flowing football, fuelled by the goals of Diego Costa earlier in the season and then digging in without him to beat Manchester United and draw at Arsenal.
"The only people Mourinho has to please are Chelsea's fans and owner Roman Abramovich - and it is unlikely they will be bored when they are celebrating another title."
Arsenal have won just two of their last 13 league clashes with Chelsea (D3 L8).
Chelsea have kept five clean sheets in a row against Arsenal in all competitions.
Arsenal have gone eight hours and two minutes without scoring against Chelsea (all competitions).
Chelsea have received five bookings for simulation in the Premier League this season, more than any other side. Cesc Fabregas has collected the last two of these.
Arsenal recorded one shot on target in their two league fixtures combined against Chelsea this season. | Jose Mourinho took a thinly-veiled swipe at Arsenal and boss Arsene Wenger after hearing his side subjected to "boring boring Chelsea" chants during their goalless draw at Emirates Stadium. | 32475383 |
Tom Rainey, 23, from Devon and Lawrence Walters, 23, from Hampshire broke the 24-hour ocean rowing record by nearly 10 nautical miles.
Their feat was validated by Guinness World Records adjudicators for the sport, the Ocean Rowing Society.
Team Ocean Valour are raising funds for the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of Tom's father who died from the disease.
The pair set off from New York to Salcombe, Devon on 3 May.
The data came from the team's satellite tracker between 14:00 on 30 May and 14:00 on 31 May.
They are hoping to beat the record of 103.9 nautical miles set by an eight-man crew crossing the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Barbados in the winter of 2014/15.
Ocean Valour has been pushed along by favourable winds and currents after a frustrating period in which the team were pulled in circles by currents during bad weather.
They still have more than 2,000 nautical miles (3,700km) left to go before they can pick up a claim a second record as the youngest team to complete the treacherous route.
Team spokesman Chris Martin said: "They have had some significant challenges over the last 10 days or so, so this is a great boost for them.
"A large part of it is getting in the right place at the right time and they have put themselves in that place."
The pair, who have capsized once, are taking it in turns to row for an hour each..
Mr Martin said one of their next challenges would be avoiding the Labrador Current coming from the north which could affect their progress on the Gulf Stream Drift which is pulling the pair across the Atlantic. | Two men rowing the Atlantic have covered a record 112.5 nautical miles (208km) in 24 hours. | 32964003 |
They were a "grave threat to our national security", he added, and pledged to get to the bottom of them.
US media published photos of evidence from the scene of Monday night's blast.
Earlier, UK police said they had stopped sharing information with the US as a consequence but those ties have now been resumed.
The decision to end the suspension was taken after assurances were received by counter-terrorism officers in the UK.
A diplomatic tiff broke out after the New York Times published photos on Wednesday appearing to show debris from the crime scene, including bloodstained fragments from the bomb.
The move outraged British police and government officials, and prompted Mr Trump to address the matter during a visit to Brussels.
"These leaks have been going on for a long time," he said.
He pledged to ask the US Department of Justice to launch a review, and "if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted".
"There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the US and the UK," he added.
Meanwhile, police have been assessing "potentially suspicious items" found at a property in Wigan, some 16 miles from the scene of Monday night's attack.
A street was evacuated for several hours and a bomb disposal unit called in. The cordon has now been lifted and residents have been allowed to return to their homes.
No controlled explosion was carried out, but the search at the address continues.
The raid comes after Salman Abedi blew himself up at the end of an Ariana Grande concert three days ago, killing 22 people and injuring 116.
Mr Trump, who is at a Nato summit along with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, paid tribute to those who died in the attack.
"Innocent little girls and so many others were horribly murdered and badly injured whilst attending a concert," he said.
"Beautiful lives with so much great potential, torn from their families for ever and ever. It was a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilisation.
"All people who cherish life must unite in finding, exposing and removing these killers and extremists, and yes, losers, they are losers.
"Wherever they exist in our societies we must drive them out and never, ever let them back in."
Abedi detonated his "nuts-and-bolts" bomb at the end of the gig as people were making their way out of the arena. Others were waiting in the foyer to pick up family and friends.
Security officials say they have thwarted 18 plots since 2013, including five since the Westminster attack in March.
General election campaigning, which was suspended in the wake of the Manchester attack, will resume on Friday, with Labour set to draw links between wars abroad and terrorism "at home".
Leader Jeremy Corbyn will say that under a Labour government, UK foreign policy would change to one that "reduces rather than increases the threat" to the country.
Greater Manchester Police were said to be "furious" with the New York Times' report and said they would temporarily stop sharing information with the US.
Police chief constable Ian Hopkins said the leak undermined the investigation and had distressed families "already suffering terribly with their loss".
The New York Times newspaper defended its decision to publish the pictures, saying they were "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims".
Prime Minister Theresa May said she would make clear to Mr Trump that shared intelligence must remain secure, at the Nato summit.
UK officials believe that US law enforcement rather than the White House is the likely culprit for the leaks, BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera says.
The Queen has been to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to meet some of the injured, and members of the emergency services.
During her visit, she paid tribute to Manchester and the "extraordinary" way the city had responded to the attack.
Earlier, a minute's silence fell over offices, public squares, shops and in homes as people honoured the victims.
In St Ann's Square, a perfectly-observed silence was followed by applause, cheers and a spontaneous crowd rendition of the Oasis song Don't Look Back in Anger.
Lydia Rullow, who started the singing, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It just felt like the right moment.
"It wasn't something that I'd planned or thought about, but I had been thinking about that song in particular in the past few days.
"Everyone started joining in and it was really beautiful. You should drown out any of the fear and hate with beautiful voices. That's the best thing to do."
In other developments:
Police believe Manchester-born suicide bomber Salman Abedi, from a family of Libyan origin, acted as part of a network.
Whitehall sources say 22-year-old Abedi was among a "large pool of people whose risk was kept under review" by security services.
In total 10 people have been arrested in the UK since Monday night. A man and a woman have since been released without charge.
Eight men remain in custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
Raids involving controlled explosions have been carried out at flats in the city centre and at an address in Moss Side.
In the Libyan capital Tripoli, Abedi's younger brother Hashem, 20, and their father, Ramadan, were held by special forces linked to the interior ministry.
Analysis
By Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent
It could be over in hours - or it could take weeks.
That's how unknowable an acute counter-terrorism investigation can be for MI5 and the police.
While there is a sense that there has been significant headway in the last 24 hours, we should be careful about reading too much, too soon, into how long it will take Greater Manchester Police and their colleagues to be sure they have dealt with every single possible lead after Monday's events.
In recent years, we've got a greater understanding of how the more secretive end of these massive operations play out.
At any one time, MI5 is handling in the region of 500 active investigations involving 3,000 "SOIs" - "subjects of interest" in security world jargon.
Read more from Dominic here.
Of the 22 victims killed at Manchester Arena, 21 have been named.
The youngest known victim so far is eight-year-old Saffie Roussos from Lancashire, who was described as "simply a beautiful little girl" by her head teacher.
The oldest victim was Jane Tweddle-Taylor, 51 and from Blackpool, who had gone to the arena with a friend to pick up her friend's daughter.
An off-duty Cheshire police officer Elaine McIver was also among the dead.
In a statement, her family said: "Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics."
On Thursday evening, well-wishers in a convoy of bikes, scooters and cars adorned with pink ribbons and balloons wound their way from Bury to Manchester to pay tribute to 15-year-old Bury victim, Olivia Campbell.
Of the 116 injured, 75 remain in hospital. Of those, 23 are in critical care - five of them children.
More details have begun to emerge about 22-year-old suicide bomber Abedi.
His sister, Jomana, has said she believed her brother may have been reacting to US-led strikes in the Middle East.
"He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge.
"Whether he got that is between him and God," she reportedly told the Wall Street Journal.
It is also being reported that a Libyan government spokesman said 15 minutes before he blew himself up, Abedi called his mother and brother.
His movements in the run-up to the attack have also come into focus, with reports that he left the UK for a while, but returned in the days before the bombing.
During a trip back from Libya, where his parents now live, he briefly stopped at Düsseldorf Airport, having reportedly been in Prague, but remained in the airport's transit zone.
The BBC also understands Abedi was in Manchester earlier this year, when he told people of the value of dying for a cause and made hardline statements about suicide operations and the conflict in Libya.
At the age of 16 and during his school holidays, Abedi is believed to have fought with his father in Libya against the Gaddafi regime, according to BBC Newsnight.
Greater Manchester Police would not comment on these claims.
In recent days, former classmates of Abedi have variously described him as jokey, gullible and short-tempered.
Another, who did not want to be named, told the BBC's World At One Abedi did not "come across as an intelligent person".
Asked whether he thought Abedi might have been manipulated by more intelligent people, he replied: "A hundred percent.
"I can't imagine the idea that he would be able to go through with such a complicated procedure. He must have had help."
"I wasn't shocked," the classmate added. "He fits the profile for a suicide bomber."
Profile: Who was Salman Abedi?
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning | Leaks to American media about the investigation into the Manchester Arena attack are "deeply troubling", US President Donald Trump has said. | 40048565 |
Rossi, a Parsons Russell Terrier, became trapped while walking with his owner in woodland.
Firefighters were called to Nine Days Lane in Redditch on Sunday evening.
They used a special camera on a wire to find Rossi and lure him out of the hole using treats. He was uninjured when he was freed after two-and-a-half hours.
Firefighter Robert Sproat said: "It took a lot longer than expected because of the location and the lack of light but it was a good result.
"He obviously had a few daredevil stunts of his own to pull."
You can read more stories about lucky escapes for stuck animals on our Pinterest board. | A dog named after the motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi had his own thrilling experience when he got stuck in a badgers' sett. | 37749177 |
The top of the table looks tighter after second-placed Liverpool dropped points at Sunderland, to allow Manchester City and Manchester United to make up ground.
At the bottom, Swansea's win away to Crystal Palace moved them off the bottom and could prove vital in the final reckoning come May.
Here's my team of the week. Do you agree with it? Choose your own from a shortlist compiled by BBC Sport journalists.
Pick your XI from our list and share with your friends.
I do like this keeper. Since the long-term injury to Jack Butland, Lee Grant has deputised brilliantly.
Stoke needed their win over Watford particularly after the run-around they got at Stamford Bridge, and the clean sheet will come in handy as well.
Stoke City have a history of signing great keepers, notably former England internationals Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton. Although I wouldn't put Grant in that bracket, he's proved to be an exceptional acquisition.
When Rangel scored the winner for Swansea in their potentially vital meeting with Crystal Palace, what I wanted to know was: what was the full-back doing so far up the pitch in open play in the first place?
I'm not entirely sure how much new boss Paul Clement had to do with this victory but the evidence suggests that whenever caretaker coach Alan Curtis takes the reins at Swansea he has a positive impact on the team.
And while we are on the issue of the new Swansea manager, I must also take issue with my old Final Score sparring partner Steve Claridge's remark that Clement was "lucky to get the job".
I can think of couple of managers I might have considered first, but we all need a certain amount of good fortune whenever we apply for a post. Surely the point is what we do with the job once we get it, isn't it?
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. White Hart Lane was red hot against Chelsea but, let's not kid ourselves, Spurs have waited some time to pay back the vitriol they received at Stamford Bridge when their title ambitions evaporated in a 2-2 draw at the end of last season.
I was at that game and Spurs have clearly grown up a great deal since then. Alderweireld has been central to that development and was outstanding against an out-gunned Chelsea. Spurs have done Liverpool, Manchester City and, dare I say it, Arsenal a massive favour.
Chelsea will just have to lick their wounds and get over it.
He's only gone and done it again.
I can't think of another current central defender who scores goals from set plays with such monotonous regularity. McAuley's goal against Hull was his fourth in the Premier League this season and the way he attacks the ball in the opposition's box is a delight to watch.
The Baggies and McAuley have had an interesting Christmas period. It was West Brom's centre-back who manager Tony Pulis identified as being bullied by Olivier Giroud in the final minutes of the game against Arsenal, which resulted in their 1-0 defeat.
However McAuley is a real professional and both manager and player know that in the final analysis the central defender can be relied upon.
Manchester City may be remodelling their dressing-room area at the Etihad, but they badly needed to reconfigure the team after three defeats in December.
But to leave out Sergio Aguero against Burnley? What was boss Pep Guardiola thinking?
That the only striker in the Premier league who Alan Shearer believes deserves the tag 'world class' is left out when goals were guaranteed against Burnley just didn't make sense.
So it was left to a full-back to provide the much needed inspiration Guardiola was demanding from his fans at half-time.
Clichy doesn't command a regular place in the team these days but his performance against a very dangerous Burnley was inspired.
When the Frenchman attacks he does so with pace and conviction, but the way he cut inside and arrowed his shot past an in-form Tom Heaton in the Clarets' goal was most impressive.
As for Guardiola's half-time plea to his fans to pipe up and encourage his team - I thought it was supposed to be the other way round and the players were to inspire the fans.
Did you see Alexis Sanchez as he walked off the Vitality Stadium pitch? He had a face like thunder and was remonstrating with himself about Arsenal's inability to take their title opportunities seriously - or at least that was what it looked like.
He was furious and had every right to be. Arsenal fans can pacify themselves all they want about their brilliant comeback against Bournemouth, but if they do they will have badly missed the point.
Arsenal should have knocked the Cherries out of the park and Sanchez knew it. This is the real reason why I believe Sanchez and team-mate Mesut Ozil are considering whether to re-sign for the Gunners or not.
Players like these know what it takes to win titles because they've done it before elsewhere and at the moment Arsenal simply don't have what it takes.
Has Ross Barkley finally come of age, or is it just an interesting phase he's going through?
The midfield player's performance against Southampton was superb. He ran the show. The reason I posed the question was because as the transfer window approaches Everton manager Ronald Koeman has to decide whether Barkley is his main man or not.
If Koeman decides that Barkley is the future and makes purchases in areas other than central midfield during the transfer window it could prove to be a seminal moment for both of them.
Get it wrong and it could signal their demise.
What a performance by Dele Alli. It has been some time since I've seen a Tottenham midfield player show so much composure in front of goal.
I have always maintained that I've only seen Alli perform in games of lesser importance rather than the really big matches.
However they don't get much bigger than Spurs against Chelsea when the Blues are going for a record number of victories and to cement their lead at the top of the table.
This was not only a great performance by Spurs but, for me, the birth of a special player.
Regular readers of my Team of the Week will know that I don't normally select a substitute unless he has been a game changer.
Manchester United's Marcus Rashford was that player against a desperately unfortunate 10-man West Ham.
The player had only been on the pitch for a little over 30 minutes and he transformed the match.
It was just as well because referee Mike Dean practically destroyed it with another dismissal this time after only 15 minutes. I'm beginning to wonder whether the Premier League can afford Mike Dean. He's bad for business.
When he sent off Southampton's Nathan Redmond for an innocuous trip on Tottenham's Dele Alli on 28 December I said Dean should "consider his position". Now it's time for the Professional Game Match Official Board to carefully think through whether his judgement has become impaired.
He seems to be the only referee intent on ruining evenly balanced contests for the viewing public by sending players off totally unnecessarily. It's time for him to go.
When you have played 450 games in top-flight football you are entitled to some respect, especially when you crown your 451st with two spot-kicks that might save your team from relegation.
Defoe kept his nerve brilliantly in difficult circumstances against Liverpool but all credit to Jurgen Klopp's side, who put together another tremendous effort within 48 hours of the victory against Manchester City.
If anyone had any doubts that the Premier League is the best in the world they can disabuse themselves of that notion now.
The level of entertainment, the quality of the performance and the intensity of the contests over the most intensive 10-day period, while other continental leagues have been sleeping, is a testimony to the product.
No other league in the world offers global customers what the Premier League offers. To all the players, managers and staff, thank you for upholding a marvellous tradition and providing us with the most glorious entertainment.
This lad has had an amazing Christmas period.
He stole a result out of West Brom, scored arguably the goal of the season against Crystal Palace and pulled Arsenal out of the fire against Bournemouth.
Giroud has had to play second fiddle to Sanchez up front but appears to have done so without rancour. When he has been asked to perform he has done so brilliantly.
This was another magnificent display of commitment and desire from two very different sides.
Bournemouth gave everything and Eddie Howe, while disappointed with the final outcome, must have been very proud of his boys and the way they equipped themselves throughout this torturous period.
As for Arsenal? As good a comeback as it was I saw all the reasons why I think they cannot, I repeat cannot, win the title. They are too busy looking good and simply aren't ruthless enough. | Chelsea's winning streak came to a halt on 13 games as London rivals Tottenham moved up to third with a 2-0 win over the leaders at White Hart Lane. | 38511324 |
Hisham Geneina was fired in March by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi after estimating corruption had cost Egypt $67.6bn (£51.3bn) over four years.
He was sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,200 but told he could avoid prison if he paid an additional $1,100, judicial sources said.
His lawyer said he would appeal.
Lawyer Ali Taha said prosecutors had failed to prove their accusations and said the case for the defence had not been examined. Reporters were not allowed to attend the sentencing at a Cairo court.
Geneina, a former judge, denied the charges and said they were politically motivated.
After firing Geneina, President Sisi appointed a fact-finding commission that concluded the auditor had over-estimated the scale of corruption. and thus misled the public.
The case was based on comments Geneina made to two Egyptian newspapers last December when he was still head of the Accountability State Authority (ASA).
The daily al-Youm al-Sabea quoted him as saying in an interview that endemic corruption had cost Egypt some 600bn Egyptian pounds ($67.6bn) in 2015 alone, mostly in corrupt land deals.
Geneina later said that he had been misquoted and that the figure covered four years, a claim supported by a separate interview with another newspaper.
He also noted that it was based on a study commissioned by the Egyptian planning ministry and carried out with the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
President Sisi has made fighting corruption a top priority since coming to power after leading the military's overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. | Egypt's former top auditor, who was sacked after alleging government corruption, has been given a prison sentence for spreading "false news". | 36919173 |
17 March 2017 Last updated at 09:20 GMT
A BBC team and some tourists were on the mountain when the explosion happened.
BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle described the experience of "Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam."
Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, it's been erupting for the last three weeks.
Mount Etna erupts a few times a year. | The Mount Etna volcano in Italy has erupted. | 39301083 |
Many plants once found in meadows now only thrive beside roads, where they provide essential habitat for insects, says charity Plantlife International.
But it says one in 10 of the plants is at risk of extinction, in part because councils cut verges too early.
Local authorities say shorter verges are safer for drivers and pedestrians.
Dr Trevor Dines, botanical specialist for the charity, said more than 97% of meadows had been destroyed in England since the 1930s, with road verges becoming the last stretches of natural habitat for wildlife such as bees and other insects.
"Most of our farmland is now hostile to many of our wild plants and other wildlife due to the loss of wild flower meadows and the use of herbicides and fertilisers," he told BBC News.
"The roadside verges are often the last refuge for wild flowers and the wildlife there depends on them.
"It's almost as if plants have been squeezed out of farmland and now they're being squeezed out of road verges from bad management."
The Local Government Association has said keeping road verges well-maintained means motorists have a good line of sight and allows pedestrians to walk more safely alongside busy roads.
Plantlife International says road verges are of particular importance to rare plants such as Deptford pink, tower mustard and spiked rampion.
They also act as wildlife corridors and provide pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and moths.
The wild plant conservation charity says many of Britain's road verges are being cut down in full flower threatening the wildflowers and the wildlife that depends on them.
It is calling on members of the public to sign a petition urging councils to do more to enhance the wildlife value of road verges.
Its management principles for road verges include:
Dr Dines added: "If we just give them a chance, wildflowers can return."
Follow Helen on Twitter. | More than 700 species of wild plants - almost half of the native flora of the British Isles - are found on road verges, according to a study. | 33029385 |
Edwina Hart, who was attending a crisis summit in Rotherham, warned that high energy costs and cheap imports were threatening plants in Wales.
Tata Steel has said it planned to mothball some operations at Llanwern, Newport, and Shotton, Flintshire.
UK ministers called the summit a chance to show support for a "vital industry".
"The steel industry in Wales and across the UK continues to be seriously disadvantaged by high energy costs and cheap imports," she said ahead of the summit.
"These combined pressures mean that a number of Wales-based companies are reaching a critical point and jobs are in jeopardy.
"More support to address these matters at a UK level will be key in allowing Welsh businesses to operate on a level playing field, not only in the UK but also within global markets.
"I hope today that we can reach agreement to try to secure a collaborative and sustainable way forward."
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb described the summit on Friday as an "opportunity to demonstrate our support for this vital industry, which is so important to the Welsh economy".
"I hope the discussions will result in a positive plan of action that will help the steel industry weather what are without question challenging global conditions," he said. | Hundreds more steel jobs could be lost unless the UK government takes urgent action to help the industry, the Welsh economy minister has said. | 34548839 |
Gower AM Edwina Hart and Neath AM Gwenda Thomas are to stand down at the 2016 assembly election.
Mr Jones praised the economy and transport minister's "determination and energy" and said former deputy minister Mrs Thomas was "a passionate advocate for the rights of carers and children".
Labour Llanelli AM Keith Davies is also leaving Cardiff Bay next year.
Mrs Hart and Mrs Thomas were elected to the first assembly in 1999, while Mrs Hart has also been a member of the cabinet since the start of devolution.
Paying tribute to the women, Mr Jones said: "I know that for both Gwenda and Edwina, representing their 'home' areas was incredibly important to them - and both Neath and Gower are losing very talented and passionate advocates."
Mrs Hart said it had been an "honour and a privilege" to serve her constituency for 16 years.
"I am very grateful for the support they have given me during this time, and I will continue to represent their views vigorously until the end of the assembly term next year," she added.
Mrs Thomas said: "It has been a privilege to be part of Wales' political journey, but most of all, I am happy to have had the chance to work for communities I love and call home."
Edwina Hart has been a defining figure in Welsh devolution.
She oversaw a dramatic reduction in the number of boards running the Welsh NHS.
More recently, she helped define a new era of economic development following the abolition of the Welsh Development Agency.
There are no other Welsh government departments with a personal stamp on it like hers, and I understand she enjoys a degree of autonomy that is not afforded to any other minister.
Despite criticism, her approach has been unashamedly interventionist.
It is impossible to say whether the Welsh government would have bought Cardiff Airport for £52m two years ago without her - but the decision had the Edwina Hart stamp all over it.
If something is failing in the private sector, Mrs Hart believes in using the levers at her disposal to step in.
Without great fanfare, she built up the Welsh government's property portfolio to try to inject life into the economy after the recession and she has proposed what would, in effect, be the re-nationalisation of the biggest rail franchise in Wales.
The biggest question following her departure is whether plans for the £1bn M4 relief road around Newport will succeed without its biggest champion driving it through. | First Minister Carwyn Jones has paid tribute to two senior Labour assembly members who are set to stand down. | 33210147 |
Erik Konstandinos "Kosta" Scurfield, 25, from Nottingham, was killed in March 2015 in Syria.
The former Royal Marine had been fighting with Kurdish armed units, YPG.
On Saturday, Mr Scurfield's family, Kurdish activists and former YPG fighters gathered at his grave to mark the two-year anniversary of his death.
His father, Chris Scurfield, thanked the Kurdish community for their support: "It means such a lot to us.
"The Kurds are brave and deeply honourable people and I wish the British would support them more. They deserve our full recognition as they stand against Isis."
Houlia Mola, from the Nottingham Kurdish Solidarity Campaign, said: "Kosta gave his life defending humanity from fundamentalism and also trying to build a new reality in the Middle East with the Kurds.
"He is a hero in the eyes of the Kurds and all people believing in freedom and democracy."
Also at the memorial were the family of Aiden Aslin, a care worker from Newark, Nottinghamshire who spent 10 months fighting with the Kurds, and was arrested when he returned last year.
Since Mr Scurfield died, two other British men are also known to have died fighting in Syria with the Kurds - Dean Evans, 22, from Reading and Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester.
The Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel to Syria.
It is estimated dozens of western volunteers have travelled to Syria to join the Kurdish fight against so-called Islamic State.
Their stories leave many people back home questioning the attraction to this highly dangerous cause.
A search for adventure perhaps?
But many western volunteer fighters feel a deep connection to the Kurdish comradeship that runs through the YPG.
They are inspired to see that in the midst of this Middle Eastern conflict, the Kurds are fighting for values that Britain also believes in - freedom, democracy, equality.
This sense of solidarity with the Kurds is also felt by some families of British fighters in the UK.
Mr Scurfield's death shone a spotlight on the Kurdish struggle against IS and two years on, Kurdish people love him still. | Kurds living in the UK gathered at the grave of a man they have hailed a hero after he died fighting against so-called Islamic State. | 39172425 |
The Falcons led 24-0 at half-time and Ryan found Julio Jones to score a 73-yard touchdown after the break.
Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns for the Packers who lost their second NFC Championship game in three seasons.
The Falcons will play either Pittsburgh or New England in the Super Bowl on 5 February in Houston at 23:30 GMT.
The Patriots hosted the Steelers in the late game, which kicked off at 23:45 GMT on Sunday.
The Falcons reached their second Super Bowl - they were beaten by the Denver Broncos in 1998 - with a clinical display in their final game at the Georgia Dome.
Ryan completed 27 of 38 passes to throw for 392 of the 493 offensive yards they racked up.
He picked out Jones for nine of those completions as the pair combined for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
"We played great in all three phases," said Ryan, referring to their dominance on offence, defence and special teams.
"We showed up. We did exactly what we've been doing all year. It feels really good." | Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as the Atlanta Falcons thrashed the Green Bay Packers 44-21 to reach Super Bowl LI. | 38713925 |
On a summer night in January, Sofia's family took her to a restaurant in Iraja, a suburb of Rio, where she could use the play area outdoors. It had a big, colourful slide, where children could climb up some stairs and come out through a tunnel to the ground.
From inside the restaurant, Sofia's parents watched their two-year-old daughter. The play area was protected from the street by a gate so, in a city with shocking levels of crime, families felt the children were relatively safe there.
Being safe in Rio is always a top concern. Iraja, a busy middle and lower middle-class neighbourhood of around 100,000 people in northern Rio, is surrounded by some of the city's most violent areas, and criminals are quite active there.
Like on that Saturday night. Police were sent to the streets next to the restaurant to investigate a car robbery, something frequent in that area: an average of four cars a day were robbed there in 2016.
Police officers had set up a barricade after identifying a suspect, but the man did not obey calls to stop and, according to reports, tried to escape.
A chase began.
Sofia's father, Felipe Amaral Fernandes, said she was especially happy on that night. "She had told my wife: 'Mummy, I'm very happy today'. She didn't even want to eat."
Herica, the mother, was proud of her daughter, who could already count from one to 10 in English. Sofia also enjoyed dancing to music clips in front of the television, and was in love with the pink, purple and blue scooter "Papai Noel", or Santa Claus, had given her last Christmas.
"She was smart, intense. Sometimes she didn't even want to sleep because she only wanted to enjoy herself," Ms Fernandes said. One time, she said, Sofia was asked about what she loved the most in her life. Sofia replied: "Enjoy myself".
Sofia was playing on the slide when the police chase neared the restaurant. At around 22:00, a shooting started.
The sound of gunfire was loud and close, and the families who were in the restaurant went to the play area to pick up their children. Sofia's parents, now also outside, waited for her to come through the slide. "I screamed 'Sofia, Sofia!'," Ms Fernandes said. But her daughter did not answer.
Sofia's father looked inside the tunnel, but she was not there. He went to the other side of the slide, and climbed it. "That's when I saw my daughter up there, motionless, bloodied. I broke into the toy, took her from there and ran."
Sofia had been shot in the face.
"I got desperate seeing my little daughter there. I felt impotent," said Mr Fernandes, a police officer. "I'm used to violence around me but I never thought this was going to happen to my daughter. When it happened I thought: 'My goodness, not with me'."
He carried Sofia in his arms. People in the restaurant stopped a police car that was passing nearby, and it took father and daughter to the hospital. The crowd watched in disbelief.
Shootouts are part of life in Rio.
Despite Brazil's tight gun laws, rights groups say millions of weapons are in the hands of criminals. Tougher regulations were approved in 2004, banning the carrying of guns in public and controlling illegal ownership. But activists say they are incapable of curbing illegal gun trade and that bandits have been largely unaffected.
The reasons for shootouts vary. Some are the result of clashes between rival criminals; others, of armed robberies, like the one in Iraja. But rights advocates say they mainly occur during police operations against heavily armed drug gangs in impoverished neighbourhoods, where some groups are the de-facto rulers.
And civilians often find themselves in the crossfire. "These police operations are badly planned. In many times they happen at daylight, in densely populated areas, with war weaponry being used," said Antonio Carlos Costa, president of Rio de Paz, or Rio of peace, a local human rights group.
Last year, researcher Cecilia Oliveira, who works with rights group Amnesty International, was looking for reliable data about shootouts in Rio. But numbers were hard to come by as there were no official statistics.
So last July, she helped create Fogo Cruzado, Portuguese for "crossfire", an app for people to report gunfire in their neighbourhoods. Between its launch and January this year, according to Amnesty, 50,000 people downloaded it.
The numbers gave a sense of the fear that millions of people live in: there were 2,517 notifications, an average of almost 14 a day. The reports included 539 deaths and 570 injured.
I was shocked by the numbers
Most alerts came from poor neighbourhoods and shantytowns, or favelas, places notorious for their violence. "I was shocked by the numbers. This level of violence is alarming for a city that is not in a war zone. And civilians are the most affected, their freedom and human rights are systematically violated," Ms Oliveira said.
She too blamed poor police operations against criminals for most of the shootouts. Interestingly, the data showed that the hardest-hit areas shared a common profile, she said. "It's very clear that the people being affected by this violence are young and black. You don't see this type of police operation in neighbourhoods that are not favelas."
Rio's military police rejected the criticism towards its operations, saying they are all "meticulously planned" to avoid casualties among civilians.
"In order to prevent criminal actions, systematic operations are needed in places where the criminal wave is more recurrent. And shootings against policemen when they enter these areas, in many cases, result in victims on both sides," they said in a statement to the BBC.
Lives are often put on hold, as basic services such as electricity, water and transport are frequently interrupted by shootings.
Rio's train operator said last year it was planning to stop services on one line indefinitely because of gun violence next to the tracks.
Shops and hospitals are also forced to shut. In 2011, a suspected drug trafficker who was exchanging fire with police stormed a public health clinic in an attempt to hide himself, terrifying patients inside - he was later arrested and nobody was hurt. The clinic then temporarily suspended works due to insecurity.
Schools and universities in dangerous neighbourhoods have often cancelled classes, sometimes for days, affecting thousands of students. In some areas, teachers and children were being taught at school how to look for cover in the case of gun fights.
Two years ago, shootings around some schools in Mare, one of Rio's most violent areas, were so frequent that teachers decided to cut the classes short: they would start later, at 08:00, and finish one hour earlier, at 15:30. That, they said, was because shootouts often occurred at 07:00, when police officers changed shifts.
"Civilians in Rio's favelas end up in the crossfire, being victims in their own houses. They are forced to live under these circumstances, which is absurd," said Ivan Marques, executive director of human rights group Instituto Sou da Paz.
"The anti-drug policy in Brazil chose this wrong option, of militarising the issue. You have an enemy, not a criminal. And this is the collateral effect of this war between police and the organised crime."
And then there are the stray bullets.
In 2003, Luciana Novaes was in the canteen at her university in a neighbourhood in northern Rio next to a favela, when a shootout erupted between drug traffickers and police. Shops nearby had closed because of the violence, but the university had not.
It was around 09:00. Ms Novaes, who was 19 at the time, was in a break between exams when a stray bullet hit her in the jaw. She said she could not miss the exam because of the scholarship she had from the university.
The bullet went on to injure her vertebrae, leaving her quadriplegic. "It's a very difficult situation. There is no day, no time, no place. I was inside the university when it happened. People usually avoid getting out at night, but it's risky at anytime," Ms Novaes said.
She spent a year and a half in the intensive care unit of a hospital, where doctors had put her chance of recovery at 1%. If Ms Novaes managed to survive, they said, she would be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
That did not quite happen. She slowly recovered her speech and the ability to eat. She is still dependent on mechanical ventilation and on two nurses, day and night. She also undergoes two physiotherapy sessions every day and two speech therapies a week - the university was forced by the Brazilian justice system to pay for her treatment.
And last year, at 33, she was elected the first ever paraplegic councilwoman for Rio - it was such a novelty that the historic building had to be adapted to her needs.
"What we're living in is calamity," Ms Novaes said. "People are crying out for help."
Hers is a remarkable case of overcoming the odds, but it is an exception. Brazil was the country with the largest number of deaths by stray bullets in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2014 and 2015, according to a United Nations report.
The study, which looked into online media reports, said there were 197 incidents, 98 dead and 115 injured - someone is considered a victim when they had no involvement or influence in the shooting.
Nothing new to the people of Rio. In the 1990s, incidents with stray bullets were so frequent that then-Mayor Cezar Maia famously said in a newspaper interview that the city had become a "tropical Bosnia".
We live in an environment of fear
Rio's geography, as Ms Novaes' case shows, is an unexpected contributing factor. Numerous favelas have been built on the hills that overlook the city, meaning that the violence up there, where many of the shootings take place, is felt by those sometimes in neighbourhoods metres away.
The most recent official statistics about stray bullets publicly available are from 2011, when five people died and 41 others were injured. But Rio de Paz, the NGO, has documented incidents involving children: in the past ten years, 31 died in the city, 18 of them between 2015 and 2017 alone.
"The shootings have a devastating impact. This is a generation that lives under threat, under fear of seeing themselves in the crossfire," Mr Costa, from Rio de Paz, said.
"And this tragedy has colour and a social component: it often affects the poorest. The society ignores it because it happens, by and large, away from the richest regions."
Sofia arrived at the hospital already dead.
The senselessness of her death caused an outcry even in Rio, where residents have become so used to crime that they rarely react to violence.
"But this is not an isolated case," said Mr Costa. "We live in an environment of fear. Families live in constant mourning, looking at the picture of the victim hanging on the wall, with the face of a child that will never be seen again."
His group organised a demonstration remembering the victims of stray bullets, and signs with the names of the 31 children killed were put on Copacabana beach in January.
The car being chased by police that night in Iraja stopped only when it flipped on the street. The suspect was arrested and officials seized a gun.
Police said they were investigating how the shootout unfolded and, almost two months on, it was still unclear where the shot that killed Sofia came from.
31
between 2007 and 2017
18
between 2015 and 2017 alone
But activists say many cases end up unsolved, with those responsible for the deaths rarely identified or punished.
Sofia's parents are now trying to resume their lives. "We live surrounded by violence. We see it in newspapers, on television. It's a calamity," her father said.
"We don't want this to happen with anyone else, a child or an adult."
"But we're sure that our daughter is in a place better than ours. She was too good to be in this world." | All pictures copyrighted. | 38730121 |
The authorities had claimed the schools were being used as fronts for Boko Haram training camps.
Amnesty International says some were as young as five years old.
The release comes after pressure from the human rights group which argued the children were detained without being charged of a crime.
In December 2014, Cameroon said it had dismantled a Boko Haram training camp in Guirvidig near the border with north-eastern Nigeria, and had seized 84 children who were being trained there.
Soldiers captured over 40 trainers and 84 children between the ages of seven and 15, Ministry of Defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjecks told the Reuters news agency at the time.
He said "many more" had been killed in the raid.
Of the 84 children, 41 have already gone home, while the rest are waiting for the money to get home to their parents, says Amnesty.
Boko Haram launched its insurgency in Nigeria in 2009 to create an Islamic state in the region.
But in the past year it has carried out several cross-border raids in Cameroon.
Who are Boko Haram?
Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau
African news updates | Cameroon has started to release some of the 84 children detained for more than six months after a raid on Koranic schools. | 33346341 |
Child practice reviews investigate the role of statutory agencies in such cases and look at lessons which may be learnt to prevent future tragedies.
But Sally Holland said families can feel sidelined by the review process.
The Welsh Government said the views of families were of "great importance" and extra training will be put in place.
Child practice reviews are carried out by multi-agency boards, but Ms Holland said she was concerned these boards were unaccountable to any higher body and also that families of a deceased or injured child cannot contest the review findings or have any input in the wording of the final report and its recommendations.
Nick Smith, whose toddler son Izaak was killed by his former partner, contacted the Children's Commissioner's office in 2013 after trying unsuccessfully to challenge the findings of a multi-agency review into the case.
Melanie Stevens, a mother of five, suffocated two-year-old Izaak and his half-brother Phillip, five, at their home in Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd just before Christmas in December 2010 before hanging herself.
The 36-year-old had been embroiled in custody proceedings at the time.
An inquest in September 2011 recorded verdicts of suicide for Ms Stevens and unlawful killing for Phillip - known as Pip - and Izaak.
Ms Stevens, who was pregnant at the time, killed the children and herself on the day Mr Smith was due to collect Izaak for his first overnight stay with him.
A serious case review, carried out by Gwynedd and Anglesey local safeguarding children board and published in October 2011, concluded little could have been done to save the children's lives.
Various agencies including social services, health services, the local education authority and child guardian body Cafcass Cymru, had been involved with the family over a number of years.
The review found "arguably" the only way to have saved the children would have been to remove them from their mother, but there were no grounds to do so.
However Mr Smith, who has two adult children from a previous relationship, believes that more could and should have been done.
Mr Smith, of Llanllyfni, near Caernarfon, said: "I believe that the conclusion of the serious case review, that this couldn't have been predicted, is inaccurate considering I spent the previous 18 months telling these professionals that this could happen.
"I felt that Izaak and Pip were dead and that the record of their lives was incomplete and not of great value bearing in mind that the only formal record of their lives really was the executive summary of the serious case review.
"I was angry that I couldn't get anywhere, that people in positions wouldn't listen to me. I was angry, frustrated, deeply upset at the whole process."
Mr Smith had asked for a mental health assessment to be carried out on Ms Stevens - who had made previous threats to harm herself and her children.
He also urged social services to hold a 'children in need' conference for the family.
Neither request was acted upon.
The review report acknowledged that Mr Smith felt his concerns had not been taken seriously enough.
It highlighted several lessons to be learned from the case and put forward ten separate recommendations to improve the way agencies work together.
Alun Ffred Jones, former AM for Arfon, was contacted by Mr Smith during the review.
"I contacted the minister at the time and asked her to intervene, and she said she couldn't," Mr Jones said.
"I've every sympathy for officers involved in cases like this, these are difficult cases… but I thought that it seemed that natural justice wasn't seen to be done here.
"It seemed to me that he had a serious case that the process should be more open, he should be able to challenge aspects of it and comment on it to his own satisfaction.
"He's a man grieving… he has an acute sense of loss, and it seemed as if the processes were saying 'no, that's it, thank you very much, go away'."
Although serious case reviews were replaced by child practice reviews in 2013, the legislation governing them does not allow any recourse for families or others to challenge their findings.
Ms Holland has written to Wales' children's secretary Carl Sargeant, about her concerns in the hope that the Welsh Government will change some of its procedures.
The Welsh Government said: "The views of families are of great importance in the consideration of lessons to be learned from any case.
"Work is ongoing with regional safeguarding boards to develop additional training on child practice reviews."
According to Welsh Government guidance, all safeguarding boards should have a complaints procedure in place. | Families of children who die as a result of neglect or abuse should be able to challenge review findings, Wales' Children's Commissioner said. | 40431390 |
The 26-year-old joined the Rhinos from Brisbane Storm in June and helped the team complete the treble last season.
He is the third Rhinos player to extend their deal this week after Stevie Ward and Jimmy Keinhorst.
"I am really excited about how things are going for the future. This is the most I have enjoyed my footy," he said. | Leeds Rhinos prop Mitch Garbutt has extended his deal with the Super League champions until the end of the 2019 season. | 34873104 |
He was trying to overtake another vehicle when he lost control and hit a tree, at 21:40 BST on Thursday, police said.
Officers have yet to trace the owner of the BMW 318SE, and do not yet know if the car was stolen.
The boy was taken to hospital from the scene in Ridge Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, but died later as a result of multiple injuries, police said.
Lancashire Police Sgt Nigel Ralphson said it was "an extremely tragic incident".
He urged any witnesses, particularly the driver of a car travelling in the opposite direction towards Queen's Park who may have had to swerve to come forward. | A 16-year-old boy driving a BMW has died in a crash. | 35996286 |
The Austrians, in their first European Championship, won the shootout 5-3 after the game had finished goalless.
Spain, who did not score in three matches after their opening fixture, were favourites to progress but created little, despite dominating possession.
And when Sarah Puntigam scored after Silvia Meseguer's miss, their underwhelming tournament was over.
The Austrians have emerged as the surprise package of this Euros, having topped a group featuring the world's third-best side, France.
And their path to the final looks a little easier than it might have done after Germany, winners of the past six European Championships, were stunned by Denmark earlier on Sunday.
They will now meet the Danes in their semi-final on Thursday, while hosts Netherlands will face England in the other last-four match after the Lionesses beat France 1-0.
Spain, in contrast, head home having endured a miserable campaign.
After winning their opener against Portugal, defeats against England and Scotland meant they only qualified for the last eight on goal difference.
And although they had most of the ball in the quarter-final, the lack of creativity evident throughout the competition proved costly as Austria resisted with ease before forcing the shootout.
Match ends, Austria Women 0(5), Spain Women 0(3).
Penalty Shootout ends, Austria Women 0(5), Spain Women 0(3).
Goal! Austria Women 0(5), Spain Women 0(3). Sarah Puntigam (Austria Women) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top left corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(4), Spain Women 0(3). Marta Corredera (Spain Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(4), Spain Women 0(2). Viktoria Pinther (Austria Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Penalty saved! Silvia Meseguer (Spain Women) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom right corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(3), Spain Women 0(2). Verena Aschauer (Austria Women) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(2), Spain Women 0(2). Amanda Sampedro (Spain Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(2), Spain Women 0(1). Nina Burger (Austria Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(1), Spain Women 0(1). Olga García (Spain Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Austria Women 0(1), Spain Women 0. Laura Feiersinger (Austria Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
Penalty Shootout begins Austria Women 0, Spain Women 0.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Austria Women 0, Spain Women 0.
Attempt blocked. Jenni Hermoso (Spain Women) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Mapi León.
Verena Aschauer (Austria Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Amanda Sampedro (Spain Women) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Verena Aschauer (Austria Women).
Attempt missed. Mapi León (Spain Women) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Alexia Putellas with a cross.
Corner, Spain Women. Conceded by Carina Wenninger.
Attempt saved. Virginia Torrecilla (Spain Women) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Amanda Sampedro.
Substitution, Spain Women. Virginia Torrecilla replaces Mari Paz Vilas.
Substitution, Austria Women. Viktoria Pinther replaces Sarah Zadrazil.
Marta Corredera (Spain Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nadine Prohaska (Austria Women).
Foul by Alexia Putellas (Spain Women).
Sarah Zadrazil (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Silvia Meseguer (Spain Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Second Half Extra Time begins Austria Women 0, Spain Women 0.
First Half Extra Time ends, Austria Women 0, Spain Women 0.
Corner, Austria Women. Conceded by Irene Paredes.
Offside, Spain Women. Mapi León tries a through ball, but Jenni Hermoso is caught offside.
Attempt blocked. Nina Burger (Austria Women) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Mapi León (Spain Women) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Mari Paz Vilas.
Attempt blocked. Alexia Putellas (Spain Women) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Olga García.
Attempt blocked. Laura Feiersinger (Austria Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nina Burger with a cross.
Foul by Olga García (Spain Women).
Sarah Zadrazil (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Mari Paz Vilas (Spain Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Virginia Kirchberger (Austria Women).
First Half Extra Time begins Austria Women 0, Spain Women 0. | Austria will face Denmark in the Women's Euro 2017 semi-finals after they beat Spain in a penalty shootout. | 40766590 |
Wales have not beaten the All Blacks since 1953 and Williams admits a big improvement on their 27-13 warm-up defeat to England at Twickenham is required to give them a chance.
"Everyone's going to have to play one of their best games to beat New Zealand," the 25-year old said.
Wales play the first of three Tests against the world champions on 11 June.
Williams is aware any margin for error disappears against the All Blacks.
"We're trying to lift the standards, every pass has to be on the money because against New Zealand it has to be."
Williams was playing his first Test since being stretchered off with a knee injury in the 28-25 World Cup win over England in September 2015 and confirmed he felt good afterwards.
"It was a good blow out and I feel quite fit," he continued. "It takes one or two games at international level to get used to the intensity so next match it'll be better still hopefully."
Despite a second successive defeat against England, Williams feels will head to New Zealand in a positive frame of mind.
"We have to think positively because there's no point going to New Zealand with negative thoughts as it'll be a long couple of weeks so we're thinking about all the positives," said Williams.
"We needed this game and we'll take all the positives because we'll have to be at our best to beat them out there.
"If we start thinking negatively then it'll be really tough. There's a lot of positives, when we had the ball we looked dangerous and we just need to put the wrongs right." | Centre Scott Williams says Wales will need to perform at a higher level to have any chance of beating New Zealand. | 36411375 |
Mr O'Brien's dismembered torso was found in a suitcase in the Grand Canal at Ardclough in County Kildare on 16 January.
The 33-year-old had recently returned to Ireland from working in Australia. It is believed he was shot before being dismembered.
One of the men who was arrested is in his 30s, the other is in his 50s.
Police investigating the murder also found human remains in the Grand Canal at Sallins in County Kildare. These were subsequently identified as Mr O'Brien's. | Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of Dublin man Kenneth O'Brien. | 35511796 |
The decision to ban the films came amid a rise in military tensions over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
The boycott was imposed after some Indian film-makers had banned Pakistani actors from working in Bollywood films.
Bollywood is popular in Pakistan, and the self-imposed ban is reported to have led to a dramatic loss of revenue.
The move followed a surge in violence in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Film distributors and cinema owners in Pakistan said they would resume screening the films on Monday.
Pakistan first imposed a ban on Indian films following the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. The ban was eventually lifted in 2008.
Disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir has been a flashpoint for decades and has sparked two wars between India and Pakistan, which both control parts of the territory.
Today it remains one of the most militarised zones in the world.
In September, an attack on an army base in Uri in Indian-administered Kashmir claimed the lives of 18 soldiers. It was the deadliest of its kind for years. | Major cinemas in Pakistan have agreed to end a ban on Indian films imposed when relations between the two countries deteriorated in September. | 38352847 |
Dessie Ellis and Martin Ferris shouted their denials in the Dail shortly after their party leader Gerry Adams made a statement on his knowledge of the killing.
Mr Ellis said he was in prison at the time.
Both men were responding to comments made by Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell.
Mr Stack, chief prison officer at the high-security Portlaoise Prison, was shot in the back of the neck as he left a boxing match in 1983.
He was left paralysed and died 18 months later.
In his statement, Mr Adams said that during Ireland's general election campaign in February, he had emailed Irish police commissioner Noírín O'Sullivan a list of four republicans who may have been involved.
The Sinn Féin leader said he had been given the names by Austin Stack, himself a senior prison officer and son of Brian Stack.
Mr Adams said Austin Stack told him the names were given to him (Mr Stack) by journalists and Garda sources.
But Mr Stack, who with his brother, Oliver, and Mr Adams met a senior republican with knowledge of his father's murder in 2013 in Northern Ireland, denies handing over any names.
At the time of the meeting, the senior republican told the brothers the IRA had not sanctioned the shooting of their father and the person responsible had been disciplined.
In his Dail statement, Mr Adams repeated that he had been given the names by Austin Stack and he denied that he had described the four as suspects.
The Sinn Féin leader said that although he had no information about the killing he wrote to the Garda commissioner because Fianna Fail and Fine Gael had sought to exploit the issue during the general election campaign.
He told the Dail that the peace process had worked without senior IRA people being publicly identified and said the issue highlighted the lack of a process for dealing with the past | Two Sinn Féin TDs have angrily denied they had any involvement in the murder of a senior prison officer in the Republic of Ireland in 1983. | 38243092 |
Mainly because To Pimp A Butterfly was released a week earlier than was originally advertised.
But now Spotify says that buzz helped the 27-year-old rapper break their global records.
The album was streamed more than 9.6 million times on its first full day of release.
The previous record-holder was Michael Buble's Christmas, with 9.5 million streams on Christmas Eve 2014.
Kendrick has a huge fan following, with Kanye West calling him "an inspiration" on Twitter.
Kanye's praise was backed by producer Paul Epworth - who's worked with the likes of Adele. He called To Pimp A Butterfly "an incredible album".
Grime artist JME wrote: "mad ting @kendricklamar thank you."
Busta Rhymes tweeted "incredible" and called Lamar a "king", saying he was "flawless".
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Kendrick Lamar put his album out on Sunday and the internet got very excited. | 31942905 |
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