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Yet the assumption that the party leader should have the last word on everything has almost imperceptibly gained currency in British politics during recent decades.
It is a notion especially at odds with the traditions of the Labour Party, in which, historically, the shadow cabinet (when the party was in opposition), the parliamentary party (PLP), and the party in the country (through its elected representatives on the National Executive Committee) shared the task of policy-making.
The annual party conference (until the New Labour era) also had a policy-making role, although what happened in between party conferences was always more important.
The influence of each of these components in relation to the others varied over time, but the shadow cabinet, and especially its most senior members, generally wielded the greatest day-to-day power.
While the party leader had more influence than any other individual in the top leadership team, he could not dictate policy.
The most respected of all Labour leaders, Clement Attlee, who led the party for 20 years, was a prime minister (1945-51) who let individual ministers make their own decisions, subject to getting cabinet agreement for the most important issues of principle.
That government contained people of very diverse views - from Ernest Bevin and Herbert Morrison on the right wing of the party to Aneurin Bevan on the left (although their support for very high levels of income tax to fund public spending and for extensive public ownership would put even the Labour "moderates" of 1945-51 to the left of the policies espoused today by Mr Corbyn.)
When commentators speak of Attlee "creating the National Health Service", they are projecting the contemporary cult of the leader on to a man who would not have dreamt of making any such claim.
The minister responsible for ushering in the NHS was Bevan, to whom Attlee gave full credit while stressing that the cabinet collectively "share the blame or the credit for every action of the government".
Accommodating himself also to policies pressed on him by backbench Labour MPs, Attlee acknowledged that "other people may perhaps be wiser than oneself".
Extensive use of the first-person singular was not a feature of Labour Party leaders' speeches prior to Tony Blair's election, but it was a practice continued by both of his immediate successors, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband.
Mr Corbyn has, however, broken with that.
He has broken also with the idea that party policy emanates from the leader.
That was most notably espoused by Mr Blair, who wrote that even if people disagreed with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, they "sympathised with the fact that the leader had to take the decision".
Mr Corbyn has made no pretence to be "an all-seeing, all-knowing leader".
He must recognise that he cannot dictate policy but can try to persuade the shadow cabinet and the parliamentary party that some of his policy preferences have merit.
In the short term, he can cite his intra-party electoral triumph as constituting a mandate for greater radicalism.
But there is a tension between his earlier rejection of top-down policy-making and his claim to Laura Kuenssberg on Wednesday that he will have the final say.
On the evidence so far, Mr Corbyn is closer in leadership style to Attlee than to Mr Blair.
Attlee, however, had several huge advantages over Mr Corbyn, especially by the time he became prime minister.
By then, he had already been for five years a linchpin of the wartime coalition government and, from 1942, the official deputy prime minister to Winston Churchill.
As Labour's landslide victory in 1945 indicated, the egalitarian and public-service oriented policies of the party were in tune with a large swath of the electorate.
Moreover, although the PLP included Labour rebels on the left and a smaller number on the right, as a whole it respected Attlee and was supportive of him.
Attlee saw himself, and was seen, as a party loyalist and as a centrist within the Labour Party.
He was able to head a government which, collectively, moved the centre of the political spectrum in Britain leftwards and, in many respects, set the political agenda for a generation.
Mr Corbyn has assumed the Labour leadership in a different climate of opinion.
In political experience and parliamentary support, his position is vastly inferior to Attlee's.
So far as the parliamentary party goes, he starts with less support than that enjoyed by any Labour leader subsequent to Attlee.
While Mr Corbyn's views on economic policy may be close to Attlee's, that now places him on the left of the party, not its centre.
A collegial and inclusive style of party leadership may come naturally to him, but he really has no other option.
He will also have to learn a great deal on the job to have any hope of leading the Labour Party into the next general election.
Archie Brown is the author of The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age (Vintage paperback, 2015). | The idea that just one person should be entitled to determine the policy of his or her political party is a strange one, for no leader of a democratic party was ever chosen because he or she was believed to have a monopoly of wisdom. | 34272573 |
The Russian Defence Ministry said rebels would be allowed to leave unharmed and with their weapons via two special corridors on Friday, while six other routes would be opened for civilians, the sick and wounded.
The rebels have rejected the offer.
Previous attempts at humanitarian exit pauses have largely failed as the government and the rebels accuse each other of stopping people leaving.
In a statement, the Syrian army said it called on "all gunmen to stop hostilities and take the opportunity of the humanitarian grace to leave the city with their light weapons through the Castello road to the north or the Souq al-Khair - Masharqa towards Idlib".
The corridors would be open between 09:00 and 19:00 local time (06:00 and 16:00 GMT) on Friday, the army said.
Russia said President Vladimir Putin had ordered the measures to "to avoid senseless victims".
Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said his country sought "honest co-operation" and "a political process involving both the government and opposition forces".
The rebels rejected the offer. "This is completely out of the question," Zakaria Malahifji of the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters news agency.
"We will not give up the city of Aleppo to the Russians and we won't surrender."
Syrian government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have besieged the eastern part of Aleppo, which is held by the rebels, in the hope of re-taking control.
Russia is supporting them with air strikes. Moscow says anti-government forces suffered heavy losses during a government offensive last month, and are now trapped in the rubble of Syria's second city.
But Russia and Syria both say they have not bombed Aleppo for more than two weeks.
Meanwhile rebel groups have attacked western Aleppo, which is held by the government.
"The terrorists have suffered heavy losses in lives, weapons and equipment," the Russian Defence Ministry said. "They have no chance to break out of the city." | Russia and Syria have told rebel forces in Aleppo to leave by Friday evening. | 37855869 |
Thousands of people developed Hepatitis C and HIV after being given infected blood in the late 70s and 80s.
In 2015, the Welsh Government announced extra financial support for patients who had received contaminated blood.
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said only the UK government had the power and the information to hold an inquiry.
In Wales, 280 people were infected, leading to 70 deaths.
David Thomas, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, was infected with Hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products as a teenager in the 1980s.
He said it has put a "black cloud over my life" for the last 20 years since he was diagnosed.
"Your access to things like life insurance is denied and the compensation that has been offered by the government to date has been adequate at best," he told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme.
Mr Thomas said he was given a one-off payment of £20,000 in 1990 and a recent revision of the scheme means he receives £3,500 annually, but maintains this is "not enough".
"There is a possibility... I could develop cirrhosis so you have to change your lifestyle," he said.
"Some people are forced out of work due to ill health and are scrabbling around for charity payments when really they should be having meaningful compensation."
He said he "fully endorsed" the calls for a public enquiry, adding: "I think it's the only way we will get to the truth."
Source: NHS
Labour AM for Cardiff North, Julie Morgan, who is chairwoman of the cross-party group on haemophilia and contaminated blood, raised the issue in the Senedd on Wednesday.
She said UK government support for patients was "not sufficient" and a £10,000 payment to families of someone who had received contaminated blood and since died was "totally inadequate".
"I think that the haemophilia community wants to know why this happened, why blood transfusions weren't stopped when it was well known at that time that there was a real risk of contaminated blood, why did documents go missing?
"There are a lot of questions to be answered and I don't think this issue will ever be laid to rest until there is a full blown public inquiry."
Mr Gething told AMs he backed the call for a UK inquiry, saying: "Only the UK government has access to the information, and the powers for the scope and the depth of an inquiry that is required to help people to get to the truth."
Last January, the UK government proposed increasing the amount of money on offer for those affected.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The department is more than doubling its annual spend on the scheme for people affected by this tragedy so that we can provide an annual payment to all infected individuals for the first time." | The "tainted blood" scandal which led to the deaths of 70 people in Wales should be the subject of a UK public inquiry, a group of AMs has said. | 38741493 |
Lord Bamford, who supported Brexit, said the business community "needed to look to the future".
"European markets are important to many UK businesses, including JCB, and this will not change," he said.
"We should look ahead to opportunities to trade more freely with the rest of the world, as well as building on existing trading relationships with customers and suppliers in Europe."
The boss of the heavy equipment firm said: "The UK is the world's fifth largest trading nation. We therefore have little to fear from leaving the EU."
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While some economists have warned that Britain could be heading towards a recession as the result of a leave vote, others predict stronger growth.
"We can look forward to faster rates of economic growth as we embrace the world economy," John Hearn, economist at the London Institute of Banking and Finance said.
"The fall in the exchange rate benefits UK exporters by lowering prices and helps the domestic producer by making their products more price competitive and does not affect the rate of inflation: win win win for the UK economy."
Peter Hargreaves, a founding partner of retail investment company Hargreaves Lansdown, said Britain could encourage the right type of immigration. Mr Hargreaves has been a prominent campaigner for the leave campaign and a major donor, although the firm he co-founded has remained neutral on the vote.
"We need immigrants, lots of them," he told the BBC.
"But we need to make sure it's the type of immigration we want so we can be selective and take the people that will make us prosper."
Other business figures that campaigned for a British departure from the EU included vacuum entrepreneur James Dyson and Tim Martin of the JD Wetherspoon pub chain.
Most leaders of the UK's largest firms came out in favour of a 'Remain' vote.
But some well-known voices have suggested that the British economy will not be adversely affected in the long term by leaving the EU. The investor Neil Woodford wrote in his blog that the vote to leave was not 'as negative a development' as the market's first reaction indicated.
The FTSE 100 initially fell by around 8% on Friday morning, but regained some of its value later in the day to close 3.15% down. The pound ended the day 7.5% down against the dollar. | The UK has "little to fear from leaving the EU", the chairman of JCB has said. | 36617298 |
Many roboticists and computer engineers seem to think so, because they're always trying to make their creations more human.
Take Solo, the "emotional radio", for example. A wall-mounted device that resembles a large clock, it features a liquid crystal display at its centre. When you approach it, the pictogram face shows a neutral expression.
But it then takes a photo of your face, a rod or antenna on the side cranks into life, and the LCD display indicates that it's thinking.
"When it's doing this, it's analysing different features of your face and deciding how happy, sad or angry you are," explains Mike Shorter, senior creative technologist at the Liverpool-based design and innovation company, Uniform, Solo's creator.
"It will then start to reflect your mood through music."
If Solo thinks you look happy, it will play you an upbeat number like Hey Ya! by Outkast. A more downbeat expression may turn up Everybody Hurts by REM.
Your reward for being angry could be a dose of Motorhead.
As well as playing music to suit your mood, Solo's makers envisage their smart radio being able to alter your mood.
Say you've been driving for a long time, it could recognise signs of tiredness on your face and play upbeat music to pep you up.
The study of how to make computers and machines more empathetic is known as affective computing, and examples of supposedly emotionally intelligent gadgets have been springing up around the world.
Japan's Softbank Robotics has been plugging its Nao and Pepper robots for a while now.
The 1.2m (4ft) tall cute humanoid, Pepper, developed jointly with French robotics firm Aldebaran, has been deployed in hospitals, shopping centres, banks and train stations.
While toddler-sized Nao (59cm) has been used in schools to help kids with autism and paediatric units of hospitals.
Softbank is also behind the "emotion engine" within the Honda NeuV (pronounced new-vee), an automated electric concept car unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
This AI-driven technology - combining biometric sensors as well as cameras - will try to detect drivers' emotions and learn from the type of actions that result from them.
So angry drivers who are driving rashly and erratically, for example, might be encouraged to calm down. The AI might even reduce the car's power temporarily, or switch to autonomous mode, until you've cooled off.
This "network assistant" will check on the driver's emotional well-being - making music recommendations based on mood, changing the lighting scheme, and even triggering mood-enhancing scents.
Boston-based Affectiva has developed "emotion recognition software" called Affdex that monitors the minute changes in our facial expressions when we're watching adverts, TV programmes or films.
The AI software has learned from studying nearly four million faces - and their changing expressions - from more than 75 countries.
Companies such as Sony are using the software to test how audiences respond to film trailers, and advertising agencies such as Millward Brown are using it to measure responses to their TV ads.
Affectiva, which emerged from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, is similar to Emotient, another company teaching computers how to recognise expression and emotion. It was bought by Apple last year.
But while emotion-reading tech might be all the rage at the moment, does it actually work?
David Lane, professor of autonomous systems engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, points out that mistakes made by affective computing applications could have serious consequences.
"There's lots of research in this field with robots sensitive to gesture, tone of voice, eye expressions and so on, but one of the issues is getting it right," he says.
"If Siri or some other voice-activated assistant on your phone fails to give you the football results, you have alternatives, but if a critical, affective computing function fails, that will cause serious frustration at the very least.
"Put simply, if it doesn't work, people will switch off."
Christian Madsbjerg, a founding partner of "human science" consultancy Red Associates, is concerned that affective applications are "built to Western, Japanese or Chinese models, and emotions are different in other cultures".
He also points out that our bodies, and their physical context, are crucial to our moods and reactions.
"An emotional response to a given commercial in the warm, dark room of the focus group may have no relation to the way that same commercial is perceived at home or on a subway platform," he argues.
A violinist soloing at Carnegie Hall at a high point in her career may be feeling exultant, but her face won't show it, he says, because she's concentrating so hard. A robot would struggle to interpret her "frozen" facial expression, he maintains.
Solo's creators admit that the radio doesn't always read emotions correctly.
And even Pepper the robot gets it wrong sometimes.
"After a few late nights and being in a somewhat grumpy mood, Pepper added 10 to 12 years on to my age when she evaluated it," says Carl Clement, a founder of Emotion Robotics, a UK-based partner with Softbank in Europe.
Solo, the emotional radio, might just manage a wry smile at that. And possibly play Frank Sinatra's Young at Heart?
Follow Matthew Wall, Technology of Business editor, on Twitter and Facebook
Click here for more Technology of Business features | Would we get on better with clever machines if they understood what mood we were in? | 38906541 |
Dame Helen Mirren, who appeared with Rickman in Anthony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre in 1998 (pictured), said: "Alan was a towering person, physically, mentally and as an artist.
"He was utterly distinctive, with a voice that could suggest honey or a hidden stiletto blade, and the profile of a Roman emperor. He was also a great friend, generous and social. He will be very missed by many."
Harry Potter author JK Rowlingtweeted: "There are no words to express how shocked and shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man.
"My thoughts are with Rima and the rest of Alan's family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts."
Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe wrote: "Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also, one of the loyalest and most supportive people I've ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter.
"I'm pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn't have to do that. I know other people who've been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say 'if you call Alan, it doesn't matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he's doing, he'll get back to you within a day'.
"People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner (or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny. And certain things obviously became even funnier when delivered in his unmistakable double-bass.
"As an actor he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man."
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, wrote on Facebook: "I'm very sad to hear about Alan today. I feel so lucky to have worked and spent time with such a special man and actor. I'll really miss our conversations. RIP Alan. We love you."
Long-time friend and frequent co-star Emma Thompson wrote: "Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye.
"What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humour, intelligence, wisdom and kindness. His capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word. The intransigence which made him the great artist he was - his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view. I learned a lot from him.
"He was the finest of actors and directors. I couldn't wait to see what he was going to do with his face next. I consider myself hugely privileged to have worked with him so many times and to have been directed by him.
"He was the ultimate ally. In life, art and politics. I trusted him absolutely.
"He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again."
Sir Ian McKellen, who appeared with Rickman in the 1996 TV movie Rasputin, wrote on Facebook:
"There is so much that is matchless to remember about Alan Rickman. His career was at the highest level, as actor on stage and screen and as director ditto. His last bequest of his film A Little Chaos and his indelible performance as Louis 14th, should now reach the wider audience they deserve.
"Beyond a career which the world is indebted to, he was a constant agent for helping others. Whether to institutions like Rada or to individuals and certainly to me, his advice was always spot-on. He put liberal philanthropy at the heart of his life.
"He and Rima Horton (50 years together) were always top of my dream-list dinner guests. Alan would by turns be hilarious and indignant and gossipy and generous. All this delivered sotto, in that convoluted voice, as distinctive as Edith Evans, John Gielgud, Paul Scofield, Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim or Bowie, company beyond compare.
"When he played Rasputin, I was the Tzar Nicholas. Filming had started before I arrived in St Petersburg. Precisely as I walked into the hotel-room, the phone rang. Alan, to say welcome, hope the flight was tolerable and would I like to join him and Greta Scacchi and others in the restaurant in 30 minutes? Alan, the concerned leading man. On that film, he discovered that the local Russian crew was getting an even worse lunch than the rest of us. So he successfully protested. On my first day before the camera, he didn't like the patronising, bullying tone of a note which the director gave me. Alan, seeing I was a little crestfallen, delivered a quiet, concise resume of my career and loudly demanded that the director up his game.
"Behind his starry insouciance and careless elegance, behind that mournful face, which was just as beautiful when wracked with mirth, there was a super-active spirit, questing and achieving, a super-hero, unassuming but deadly effective.
"I so wish he'd played King Lear and a few other classical challenges but that's to be greedy. He leaves a multitude of fans and friends, grateful and bereft."
Others paying tribute included actress Mia Farrow, who wrote: "Everyone who knew Alan Rickman - or worked with him or watched his brilliant performances, feels this awful loss.
"Such a lovely, kind, generous, funny and brilliant man. Thank you Alan Rickman for that and for so many flawless performances."
Hollywood star Susan Sarandonsaid: "Alan Rickman was an actor's actor; courageous, generous, witty & surprising. When he laughed he lit up a room. A prince. You will be missed."
Comedian and writer Stephen Frytweeted: "What desperately sad news about Alan Rickman. A man of such talent, wicked charm & stunning screen & stage presence. He'll be sorely missed."
Zoolander and Meet the Parents actor Ben Stillersaid: "What a wonderful actor Alan Rickman was. He literally created his own genre of character. #RIP"
Charlie Sheentweeted: "We lost a genius today, Alan Rickman. This gentleman redefined the big screen villain, forever. RIP"
And comedian Eddie Izzardtweeted: "I do not want my heroes to die! Alan Rickman is dead & he was another hero. Alan - thank you for being with us. We are sorry you had to go."
Friend and co-star Sir Michael Gambon, who play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, told BBC World at One: "Everybody loved Alan. He was great. I can't believe this has happened.
"He was always happy and fun, and creative, and very, very funny. I could never be with him doing Harry Potter and keep a straight face. I laughed most of the time. Alan was just brilliant, and it's a terrible shock.
"He was a great stage actor. I spent years with him as a friend. We spent most of our time laughing or wondering what play we were going to do next."
Harry Potter actor James Phelps, who played Fred Weasley, said on Twitter he was "shocked and sad" to hear the news. He wrote: "One of the nicest actors I've ever met. Thoughts and prayers with his family at this time."
His twin brother Oliver Phelps, who played George Weasley, added: "Terribly sad news about the passing of Alan Rickman. A funny and engaging person who put a shy young actor at ease when I was on Harry Potter."
Other Harry Potter co-stars who have paid tribute to the actor include Warwick Davis, who tweeted: "So terribly sad to hear of the passing of Alan Rickman. Honoured to have shared the screen with him. #Marvin #Snape He'll be sorely missed."
Chris Rankin, who played Percy Weasley, wrote: "Just had awful news of Alan Rickman's death. Utterly devastated. Nothing more to say at this time." | Tributes have flooded in to "magnificent" and "witty" British actor Alan Rickman, well-known for his roles on stage and in films including Harry Potter and Die Hard. | 35315589 |
The law was drafted after voters in Denton, a city outside Dallas, banned "hydraulic fracturing" locally in 2014.
Fracking opponents warn that potential carcinogens used in the extraction process may contaminate groundwater.
Similar bills are being considered in US states including Colorado, Ohio, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the anti-fracking measures heavy handed regulations.
"This law ensures that Texas avoids a patchwork quilt of regulations that differ from region to region, differ from county to county or city to city," Mr Abbott said.
Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.
Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.
In addition to concerns about groundwater, studies have found that fracking can cause small earthquakes.
Supporters of fracking say the extraction occurs thousands of feet beneath drinking water, where chemicals pose no risk.
Two of the most productive US shale oil fields are located in north Texas near Denton. The law was backed by oil and gas interests.
"The state of Texas has failed to stop Big Oil from polluting our air and water, causing earthquakes, and putting our families at risk from leaks, spills and explosions," Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger told the Dallas Morning News.
Calls for more regulations on fracking in the US are growing.
In 2013, the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court overturned a measure similar to the new Texas law, and the state's governor Tom Wolfe has promised more oversight over the industry.
New York state banned fracking in December. Maryland lawmakers passed a veto-proof 2 1/2 year moratorium in April. The governor has yet to make a decision on the bill. | A law signed this week in Texas now prohibits cities and towns from banning fracking and other activities that harvest oil and natural gas. | 32805973 |
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Jutanugarn, 20, didn't drop a shot and made six birdies to move within sight of the tournament record-winning score of 19-under par.
South Korea's Mirim Lee, who led after the first and second rounds, slipped to second after carding a 69.
Scot Catriona Matthew will start the final round six shots back in fourth.
Jutanugarn will become the first Thai to win a major tournament if she can protect her lead on Sunday.
She missed a chance at the ANA Inspiration earlier this season when bogeying her final three holes, but believes she has learned from that experience.
Jutanugarn, who displayed calmness and consistency during her third round, told BBC Sport: "I think I know how to play under pressure. I have to focus on what is under my control."
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Despite three birdies in her opening four holes, Matthew was unable to match the quality of her second-round 65 as she slipped off the pace.
However, she has not given up hope of closing the gap on the final day in her attempt to win a second British Open, seven years after her win at Lytham in 2009.
Matthew said: "It's possible. I will need to hole everything I look at.
"If Ariya plays as she can she will be tough to catch but I will just go out and try and make as many birdies as I can."
England's Charlie Hull suffered a triple-bogey on the opening hole and her challenge faded away with a three-over par 75.
But Ireland's Leona Maguire, who will be competing at the Rio Olympics next month, enjoyed an outstanding day. The 21-year-old went round in a four-under 68 to move to 10th place on seven-under par as the leading amateur.
We've launched a new BBC Sport newsletter, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here. | Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn holds a two-shot lead going into the final round of the British Open after a third-round score of 66 at Woburn. | 36933354 |
Speaking in Dudley, she said Labour's "natural instinct" was to raise tax.
But the prime minister would not say whether she would keep her party's 2015 manifesto pledge of no rises in VAT, national insurance or income tax.
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, accused the government of planning "a tax bombshell".
Liberal Democrat and former business secretary Sir Vince Cable said Mrs May was now "at war" with her Chancellor Philip Hammond over tax.
Mr Hammond said on Friday there should be "flexibility to manage the system" of taxation.
But Tory party sources have told the BBC that his comments were not a hint at plans to raise taxes in the upcoming Conservative manifesto.
After her speech at the Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley, Mrs May was questioned by reporters about her tax plans.
"At this election, people are going to have a very clear choice," she said.
"They will have a choice between a Conservative party, which always has been, is and will continue to be a party that believes in lower taxes... [or] a Labour party whose natural instinct is always to raise taxes."
The prime minister said the choice was also between "strong and stable leadership under a Conservative government" or a "weak and unstable coalition of chaos lead by Jeremy Corbyn".
Mrs May also declined to guarantee existing spending on state pensions, which currently ensures a minimum 2.5% annual increase.
Mr Hammond told the BBC's Kamal Ahmed: "All chancellors would prefer to have more flexibility in how they manage the economy and how they manage the overall tax burden down [rather] than having to have their hands constrained.
"But what we put in the manifesto will be decided in the next few days and we will publish that."
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the chancellor was facing a £2bn gap in his budget following the government's decision not to go through with an increase in the rate of National Insurance contributions for the self-employed.
"He's recognising he's got problems in the economy, he's got problems in the budgeting that he's done and as a result of that there will be tax rises under a Conservative government if they are re-elected.
"This is quite a tax bombshell."
Sir Vince added that Mrs May needed to clarify her taxation plans and how she planned to "fill the Brexit black hole" in the budget.
"Philip Hammond admitted yesterday that taxes would have to rise, no doubt due to Theresa May's hard Brexit that could leave anything up to a £100bn Brexit black hole in the public finances," he said.
"Theresa May should come clean on how she intends to fill the Brexit black hole if she won't increase taxes." | The Conservatives are "a lower tax party", Theresa May has insisted, amid speculation her party may raise taxes if they win the general election. | 39678863 |
He said growth would be lower in the UK as a result of the decision.
"You cannot have all the advantages of being a member of the club when you are out of the club. I think that our British friends who invented clubs can understand that," he told the BBC.
He was speaking at Davos, where Theresa May is due to speak later.
Mr Moscovici is a former French finance minister and is in favour of greater integration within the EU.
"I am convinced that it is not an example to follow, that it's not positive neither for us neither for the UK."
Mr Moscovici said the split would be damaging "because we are and we must remain strong partners. To us you must understand that it is also a wound".
On Wednesday, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said there was likely to be further "pain" ahead for the UK as Brexit approached and that any deal with the EU would "not be as good" as membership.
Mr Moscovici reiterated that view: "Brexit means Brexit, which is to say that it is not the same to be out than in, and it cannot be better to be out than in, because it cannot be so.
"We need to re-invent a new kind of relationship that I hope to be close, balanced and positive but that's the outcome of the negotiations not the starting point."
However the BBC's Kamal Ahmed said Mr Moscovici's words could indicate there was still some room for manoeuvre.
Asked whether Britain might be able to retain some privileged access to the single market, Mr Moscovici said: "It's not a denial from my side; but nobody can speculate about that - we have to move step by step."
Kamal Ahmed said Mrs May, speaking at the World Economic Forum for the first time as UK prime minister on Thursday, would receive a mixed reception at Davos since many of the business people present had opposed Britain leaving the EU.
UK business representatives have previously expressed concerned about what will happen if the UK leaves the EU before all the details of a new relationship have been fully negotiated.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who is also in Davos, told Bloomberg that there would be "no cliff edges, no sudden changes for business, plenty of time to adjust" following Brexit.
Mr Hammond also said the government did not have a target for the "correct" value of the pound and said he had "a high degree of confidence" in the market's ability to find the right level for currencies.
He added that the UK's financial services must be "protected" during any EU deal.
Barclay's chief executive, Jes Staley, told the BBC he did not think Brexit posed a threat to the role of the City of London.
He said there might need to be changes to how the bank worked, with business routed through the Republic of Ireland or Germany - but the bulk of what Barclays did would continue to be in the UK.
"I think the UK will continue to be the financial lungs for Europe," he said. But Mr Staley added that Barclay's would still have to make changes.
"We may have to move certain activities. We may have to change the legal structure that we use to operate in Europe. But I think it's going to be at the margin and will be manageable," he said.
On Wednesday, two of Europe's largest banks, HSBC and UBS, said they were planning to shift some staff out of the UK as a result of Brexit. | Brexit will not be positive for either Britain or the EU, according to Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs. | 38674197 |
Soward, 31, a former New South Wales State of Origin playmaker, had a spell in Super League with London in 2013.
He returns to the Broncos - where he scored 68 points, including five tries - following his release by National Rugby League side Penrith Panthers.
He had not featured for the Panthers since 4 June and was most recently dropped to the reserve grade side.
St Helens had been linked with Soward, with the Super League side short of cover in the halves with Luke Walsh and Theo Fages currently injured.
The Australian's return to the capital, until the end of the season, comes as a boosts for the Broncos as they look to return to Super League for the first time since their relegation in 2014.
The west London side sit second in the Championship, with four rounds of the regular season remaining.
"It's clear Jamie is a team player and a genuine competitor with a will to win," Broncos head coach Andrew Henderson said.
"His arrival comes at a good time for us as we prepare for the final push in our season. He will inject some enthusiasm and his experience will stand us in good stead for what's to come in the Super 8s."
Soward's move to the Broncos is subject to the approval of his UK visa. | London Broncos have re-signed Australian stand-off Jamie Soward ahead of their Super 8s campaign. | 36667177 |
The ambitious club also stated they would recruit another "big name" and "set the world on fire".
Cameroonian Eto'o is leaving Serie A side Sampdoria after just five months.
"I have signed a three-year contract," the former Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Everton striker, 34, said.
Eto'o enjoyed much of his success at Barca, where he was from 2004 to 2009.
His trophies there included three La Liga crowns, alongside former Brazil forward Ronaldinho, and two Champions League titles.
He also won the Champions League, under coach Jose Mourinho, at Inter Milan in 2010, and has an Olympic gold medal, which he won with Cameroon in 2000.
Regarding Ronaldinho, club president Gultekin Gencer is reported to have told Turkish channel TRT Spor: "We reached an agreement with Ronaldinho. I think within two days it'll be made official." | Three-time Champions League winner Samuel Eto'o has joined promoted Turkish top-flight side Antalyaspor, who are reported to be close to signing World Cup winner Ronaldinho. | 33342416 |
The point is that Greek banks are very close to the absolute limit of how much they can be funded by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Greece - in that around a third of their lending and assets is financed by the respective central and national banks in this way.
If deposit withdrawals continue at the current pace, Greek banks will soon exhaust eligible assets they can pledge to the Bank of Greece for cash under the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) scheme.
That could happen in days, according to banking sources.
But even before that, the European Central Bank could turn off the ELA drip feed - because it is forbidden by its rules to allow the Bank of Greece to lend to insolvent banks.
If Greece's bailout talks collapse, it would be hard for the ECB to maintain the fiction that the Greek banking system is solvent - given that the value of a big chunk of banks' assets, including sovereign debt and tax-relief claims, depends on the solvency of the Greek state.
So the ECB would at that ill-starred juncture have to take the banks off life support.
And the Greek authorities would have no realistic option but to impose capital controls, or restrictions on how much cash can be withdrawn by customers from the banks.
As I said on the News at Ten last night, this would be a big step towards Greek exit from the euro, since free movement of capital is such a vital component of a monetary union.
It would also cause jitters all over the eurozone, partly because Greek banks have branches and subsidiaries scattered across the world, and partly because investors in banks in more vulnerable eurozone economies would think twice about leaving their cash in the banks of those economies.
If you are a business or well-heeled investor, why would you keep your cash in a Portuguese, Spanish or Italian bank, over the long term, if Greece provides an example of how that cash can be frozen?
So capital may not take flight from these other eurozone economies tomorrow if Greece heads towards the euro exit. But it may over time seep out, in a costly and economically damaging way.
As for savers in the overseas branches and subsidiaries of Greek banks, this looks like a manageable potential headache for the authorities.
As I understand, there are perhaps a few thousands British-resident savers in London based branches of Greek banks - so there are a relatively small number of people in the UK whose savings could in theory be vulnerable to the questionable capacity of the Greek government to act as backstop to a deposit protection scheme.
Also cross border loans to Greek banks by other eurozone banks have been cut to almost trivial levels.
Or to put it another way, the weakness of the Greek banking system is highly unlikely to cause an immediate eurozone financial crisis.
But over the longer term it would undermine the cohesion and integrity of the euro - and, as I have said frequently and tediously, would increase doubts about whether the euro is forever. | All over Europe regulators and politicians are preparing in case of failure by eurozone government-head talks that would avert default by the Greek government, and for a probable acceleration of withdrawals from Greek banks, a run in all but name. | 33221030 |
He could now be liable to buy all the shares in the holding company Rangers International Football Club, held by other shareholders - at 20p a share.
The Takeover Appeal Board (Tab) made the ruling after deciding he worked in "concert" with three others when he bought shares.
Mr King said he did not agree with the ruling or the share price.
The Tab ruling said Mr King, along with George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park, had acted as a "concert party" to acquire shares in the company, rather than acting as an individual.
It said he was therefore required to make an offer to buy all the shares in the holding company.
There are approximately 87 million RIFC shares, and Mr King and the three others own 33% of these, with the rest held by individual supporters and other investors.
A concert party, in company law, isn't as entertaining as it might sound. It's when a group act in concert, together, and thus get round the intention of the law.
Company law recognises that takeovers, sometimes hostile, are not to be discouraged. But if they take place, they ought to be fair, and to some extent open.
A basic element of that is that, as a potential bidder buys up shares in a target company, often in small quantities, the bidder has to declare her/his hand.
In publicly traded shares, as a series of ownership thresholds are passed, the market has to be informed. And when you get to 30%, the bidder has to go for it, or back down.
At that level, it is possible to have effective control of a company, even if you don't have more than half the voting rights. And the law seeks to protect the interests of small-scale shareholders. Theoretically, a bidder with a controlling stake could act solely in her/his interests, and act against the interests of other shareholders.
A concert party is when more than one person or company is building up stakes in the company, having agreed a takeover strategy in advance.
The takeover law requires them to declare their co-operation and if they don't, retrospective action can be taken.
That's what has happened in Rangers case. At least one outcome of the legal process is that it has laid out the unhelpful attitude Dave King has towards such regulators, and the extraordinary complexity of the trust network - Virgin Islands, via Gibraltar via Guernsey - by which he acquired his stake in the Ibrox club.
Mr King, who led a successful boardroom takeover in 2015, said he would take time to reflect upon the ruling and consider the best course of action for himself, RIFC and its shareholders
In a statement on the Rangers Football Club website, he said: "I am only one of a vast number of Rangers supporters and shareholders who fought to rescue our club.
"The Rangers Football Club should never have become caught up in a takeover struggle.
"Those who placed it in that position bear a heavy responsibility."
He added: "I do not believe that there is any substantial group of RIFC shareholders that would be willing to sell its shares in RIFC at the price at which the Tab has determined I should make an offer.
"20p is not a price that I personally believe represents a fair price for RIFC's shares, nor is it the price at which shares in RIFC are currently trading."
He said that even if he proceeded with an offer, it would be rejected by an "overwhelming majority of RIFC's shareholders". | Rangers chairman Dave King could face a bill of up to £12m after a ruling on how he took charge of the Ibrox club. | 39258190 |
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16 July 2015 Last updated at 15:28 BST
She won a Golden Globe for her performance in the BBC series The Honourable Woman.
In an interview with Front Row, he said it would be an "honour" to work for the BBC and it is something he would "hope" to do "but only with a British accent".
"I think we both feel support from British culture in what we do and how we do it and we often talk about that," he said.
The actor, who is promoting his new boxing film Southpaw, spoke to presenter Kirsty Lang.
The film is released on 24 July | Jake Gyllenhaal has said he would love to follow his actress sister Maggie and appear on a British TV drama. | 33556718 |
Chievo's 26-year-old striker Alberto Paloschi is due in Swansea for a medical ahead of an £8m move to the Liberty Stadium.
But fellow Italian Guidolin played down speculation linking the relegation-threatened Swans to Crystal Palace's 25-year-old forward Dwight Gayle.
"I think one or two new players would be good but no more," Guidolin said.
Former Udinese manager Guidolin was appointed Swansea's head coach earlier this month, guiding them to a first ever league win at Everton in his first game in charge.
With the Swans 15th in the Premier League and just four points above the relegation zone, the Italian admitted it is a "possibility" transfer targets could be put off a move.
But as he settles into his new role, Guidolin is more concerned about familiarising himself with the current squad than he is with making new signings.
"It is not easy for me because I want to know all my players," he added.
Only bottom club Aston Villa have scored fewer Premier League goals this season than Swansea, for whom signing a striker is a priority.
The Swans have been linked with a move for Gayle, though Guidolin was not aware of an offer.
"I don't know at the moment. In this period, there are many rumours, many names of players," he said.
"If there is a possibility, I hope to have another midfielder."
That midfielder will not be Napoli's Jonathan de Guzman, who spent two seasons on loan at Swansea between 2012 and 2014.
Dutch international De Guzman, 28, has joined another Serie A side, Carpi, on loan until the end of the season. | Swansea City head coach Francesco Guidolin wants to limit his January signings to "one or two". | 35433132 |
Characters, including John the Baptist, will adopt the language for one of the biggest community theatre productions in the city this year.
The traditional Passion play will also be narrated by a woman - Mary, the mother of Jesus - for the first time.
The performance is due to take place in Princes Street Gardens from 14:00 on Saturday.
Director Suzanne Lofthus said the crew was always looking for new ways to tell the Easter story that enabled more people to connect with it.
She said: "Having a woman's take on the story brings a fresh perspective. Because of how things were in the society of the time, women aren't mentioned very much in traditional presentations of the story, but they were there and witnessed everything."
She added: "People might be a bit surprised at first when they hear John the Baptist speaking in the mother tongue, but we want to communicate the fact that the people in the Bible story were ordinary men and women, just like us."
The play, staged this year by a cast of nearly 40 people, is supported by a professional director, stage manager and professional actor Duncan Rennie, who stars as Jesus.
Cast members ranges in age from students to retired people, and come from all walks of life, say organisers.
The performance is free and un-ticketed. | Actors performing the annual Easter story in Edinburgh this weekend are set to deliver their lines in Scots. | 39600627 |
Detectives called the two attacks at Witton station "horrifying" and said they were launching a major manhunt.
The teenager was with a friend when she was approached by a man who led her to a secluded part of the station and raped her.
Shortly after she flagged down a passing car and was assaulted again.
British Transport Police and West Midlands Police are treating it as two separate reports of rape.
The first attacker is described by police as an Asian man in his early 20s with light skin, brown eyes, skinny build and about 6ft tall.
Police said the second man was also Asian and in his early 20s and about 5ft 6in to 5ft 7in tall. He was of a large build, with a beard and wore a blue jumper and black jeans.
The attacks happened between 19:00 BST on Tuesday and 02:00 on Wednesday.
CCTV has been seized and is being investigated.
Det Ch Insp Tony Fitzpatrick said: "This was a horrifying ordeal for this young girl and we have specially trained officers supporting her.
"It is now vitally important we investigate exactly what happened on Wednesday morning as well as identifying offenders for both of these awful incidents.
"I would be keen to speak with anyone who may have been in the area at the time. If you were passing by the station and saw two girls walking with an older man, then please get in touch immediately.
"Likewise, if you saw any suspicious vehicles close to Witton station close to 2am then please get in touch as soon as possible. Your information could prove vital in our enquiries to identify the perpetrators." | A girl of 15 was raped at a train station in Birmingham before being sexually assaulted by the driver of a car she flagged down to help her. | 40739662 |
Six people survived the crash in Medellin, which was taking the team to compete in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final on Wednesday.
They include defenders Alan Ruschel and Helio Zemper, and reserve goalkeeper Jakson Follman. The club's coaching staff and journalists were among the 77 passengers.
Chapecoense were in the Brazilian fourth tier in 2009, but had recently made themselves a "national force" before their run in South American football's secondary continental competition - the equivalent of the Europa League.
BBC Brasil's Fernando Duarte said: "Their story is a fantastic fairytale, but now it has reached a tragic end."
The football world has paid tribute, with players such as Brazil and Chelsea defender David Luiz counting former team-mates among those who lost their lives.
Teams in Brazil have said they will give players to Chapecoense so that they can continue as a club.
The club from southern Brazil were founded in 1973 and only won promotion to the country's top division in 2014, but victory over two legs in their first continental final would have seen them qualify for the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier competition.
The Brazilian Football Confederation has announced a seven-day mourning period, during which all matches have been postponed, while the Brazilian government has declared three days of mourning nationwide.
Chapecoense's "Leicester City-like run" in the Sudamericana was described as "a massive achievement for a very small club" by Duarte.
The president of Chapecoense's guiding committee, David de Nes Filho, summed up the sentiment at the club in an interview on Brazilian radio station Radio Globo.
"It was not just a group founded on mutual respect; it was a family," he said.
"We lived in harmony, with great happiness. Before boarding the flight, they said they were going to turn their dreams into reality. The dream ended this morning."
Clubs - including Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid - paid tribute to the victims during training, and a minute's silence was held at both EFL Cup quarter-final matches in England on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Al Jazira and Al Shabab held minute silences for Chapecoense boss Caio Junior, who managed both Arabian Gulf League clubs.
BBC Sport South American football expert Tim Vickery
This is a club that as recently as 2009 were still in Brazil's fourth division. It is only in the last three years that they have established themselves as a national force.
This was to have been the biggest game in the club's history. Now we wait anxiously to find out how many players have survived this terrible accident.
The Copa Sudamericana is the second biggest cup competition in South American football, to have reached the final, after coming from Brazil's fourth division, in just six or seven years is a truly remarkable achievement which seems to have been interrupted by this terrible tragedy.
Brazil's greatest footballer, Pele:
Chapecoense statement: "May God be with our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation."
Chapecoense's Argentine striker Alejandro Martinuccio did not make the trip because of injury. "Pray for my companions please," he tweeted.
World governing body Fifa: "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, fans of Chapecoense and media organisations in Brazil on this tragic day."
Fifa president Gianni Infantino: "This is a very, very sad day for football. At this difficult time our thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends. Fifa would like to extend its most heartfelt condolences to the fans of Chapecoense, the football community and media organisations concerned in Brazil."
Former Brazil international and two-time world player of the year Ronaldinho: "Power to the families and friends of all people who were on this plane! May God comfort you in this time of grief!"
Former Brazil forward Kaka: "My prayers for today's tragedy, I ask God to comfort the family, friends and involved. My deepest feeling."
Atletico Madrid: "Shocked by the accident of the plane in which the Chapecoense and our ex-player Cleber Santana travelled."
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona held a minute's silence before Tuesday's training. Real said: "Real Madrid expresses its sorrow at the tragic air crash involving the Brazilian club Chapecoense and extends its condolences to relatives and friends of the victims. At the same time, we are wishing an early recovery for the survivors."
Chelsea and Brazil defender David Luiz was a former team-mate of Chapecoense player Arthur Maia. He said on Instagram: "To wake up and know that you are no longer among us, with this news that breaks hearts around the world I can not believe it!"
Luiz's club and national team-mate Willian: "God have mercy on the people who are there and give strength to all family members."
Liverpool and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva: "God bless all these people that were in this terrible accident."
Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi posted on Facebook: "My deepest condolences go to all of the families, friends and supporters of the Chapecoense squad. #FuerzaChape." | The incredible rise of Brazilian football team Chapecoense has reached a "tragic ending", after a plane crash in Colombia killed the majority of their team. | 38142966 |
They showed 193 people - all but four of them men - were charged in the year to the end of March.
That number was down from 206 in 2013/14 and 267 the previous year.
The figures showed that the accused had an affiliation with Rangers in 30% of the charges, Aberdeen in 16%, Celtic in 10% and Hibernian in 8%.
Some 16% of all charges were connected to the Dundee United versus Aberdeen match in December last year.
A further 7% were connected to Hamilton v Motherwell in September and 7% to the Scotland v England match in November.
Court proceedings have begun in relation to 168 of the 193 charges.
The report on the figures said the average age of the accused had risen from 23 to 27.
Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 criminalises hateful, threatening and otherwise offensive behaviour that is likely to incite public disorder in relation to football.
Last year people were accused of offences that were "threatening" in 61% of the charges and "hateful" in 30% of charges.
Behaviour was described as "otherwise offensive" - for example including a reference to celebration of loss of life or support of terrorist organisations - in 13% of charges.
Of the 58 charges relating to "hateful" behaviour, 50 charges involved incidents of religious hatred, down on previous years, while 4% involved racial hatred, and no charges involved sexual orientation.
As in the previous two years, derogatory behaviour towards Roman Catholicism (84%) accounted for the largest proportion of religious abuse.
Six charges (12%) included behaviour that was derogatory towards Protestantism.
One charge included derogatory behaviour towards Judaism, and one charge included derogatory behaviour towards Islam.
Fewer charges occurred in football stadiums than in previous years, with the majority relating to incidents outside grounds or in town or city centres on match days.
An academic evaluation of the act, published by the Scottish government, said football fans said they had not noticed any significant decrease in the amount of problematic behaviour since the new laws had come into force.
The report also said police and stewards in football grounds appeared to be concentrating on groups of young fans - terming them risk groups - and losing focus on more serious offenders, perhaps away from stadiums.
There has also been some criticism of the act from within the legal profession, with some sheriffs "emphatically critical" of it. Successful prosecutions have fallen from 73% to 52%.
Minister for Community Safety Paul Wheelhouse said: "We have seen a raft of encouraging statistics and evidence published today showing that hate crimes in Scotland are on the decrease, both on the streets of Scotland and in our football grounds and this is to be welcomed.
"Religious crimes are down, race crimes are down, crimes in relation to sexuality are down and we've seen a decrease in crimes of offensive behaviour at regulated football matches in Scotland. Whilst the legislation we brought in two years ago has had its critics, the latest statistics show a steady decline in offences at stadiums and a YouGov poll shows 80% of Scots support the Offensive Behaviour Act."
"We will not be complacent and will continue to monitor how the act is working very closely going forward. However, I believe the legislation is working. The evaluations, backed by the latest statistics out today, demonstrate that the act has had a positive impact and our approach has delivered real improvements in behaviour at football and online." | The number of people charged under the controversial football hate crime legislation has fallen slightly, according to Crown Office figures. | 33106460 |
The Lib Dems are the largest group with 36 out of 123 seats, after having previously been in opposition.
They said they wanted to build a "partnership for Cornwall".
Of the larger groups now on the unitary authority, there are 35 independent councillors and 31 Conservatives.
The previous administration had been Conservative-Independent led.
The re-elected leader of the Tory group, Fiona Ferguson, said that, although they were still open to discussions, she felt any so-called "rainbow coalition" was unlikely to be practical.
Others on the council include six Labour members, six from UKIP, four from Mebyon Kernow, two Labour and Co-operative Party members, two councillors declared as "unspecified", and one Green. | Liberal Democrats on Cornwall Council say they are contacting all other groups on the authority in a bid to form a cross-group administration following last week's local elections. | 22454804 |
He told French media the accusations were "rhetoric" that did not take into account the realities in Syria.
French President Francois Hollande had suggested Russian air strikes on Aleppo could amount to war crimes.
The rebel-held east of the city is under renewed bombardment after a ceasefire deal broke down.
Despite recriminations over who was to blame for its failure, Russia and the US agreed on Wednesday to resume talks on Syria.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will now meet his US counterpart John Kerry and other key regional powers in Switzerland on Saturday.
Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he hoped some progress would be made at the talks but admitted it would be hard.
Speaking with the BBC's Lyse Doucet in New York, he said there was international disarray over how to end the fighting.
Mr Churkin too rejected allegations of Russian war crimes in eastern Aleppo but expressed what he called incredible regret over civilian casualties. He said if they were caused by his country's bombing it would be a heavy burden on Russia's psyche and soul.
Mr Putin told France's TF1 TV channel that Russia would pursue "terrorists" even if they hid among civilians.
"We can't allow terrorists to use people as human shields and blackmail the entire world," he said, adding that civilian deaths were the "sad reality of war".
Responding to claims that Russian air strikes on civilian areas amounted to war crimes he said: "It's political rhetoric that does not mean much and does not take into account the realities in Syria.
"I am deeply convinced that it is our Western partners, first and foremost of course the United States, who are responsible for the situation."
Russia has accused the US of secretly supporting al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Syria in its bid to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The US rejects the claim.
Earlier this week, Mr Putin postponed a planned visit to France after Mr Hollande insisted that talks would be confined to Syria.
The Kremlin was also angered by a Franco-Spanish UN Security Council resolution on Aleppo at the weekend that Russia vetoed.
"They put forward the resolution knowing that it would not pass... in order to incite a veto," Mr Putin said.
"Why? It was aimed at inflaming the situation and fanning hysteria around Russia."
Moscow has repeatedly denied attacking civilians, saying it targets terrorist groups in Syria.
But earlier this week, Mr Hollande said: "These are people who today are the victims of war crimes. Those that commit these acts will have to face up to their responsibility, including in the ICC [International Criminal Court]."
Neither Russia nor Syria is a member of the ICC.
Washington broke off all negotiations with Moscow nine days ago amid extreme tension over failure to secure a truce.
The US State Department said that in Saturday's talks Mr Kerry would discuss a "multilateral approach" to ending the crisis, "including a sustained cessation of violence and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries."
The key regional powers, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran are also expected to attend the talks in Lausanne.
Mr Kerry will follow his talks in Switzerland with a trip to London on Sunday.
The UN has appealed for a halt to the violence to allow aid into the besieged territory.
On Wednesday, at least 15 people, including children, were killed in an air strike on a marketplace in a rebel-held part of the Syrian city of Aleppo, activists say.
The strike was one of 25 in the rebel-held east on Wednesday that left a total of 25 people dead, they added.
Government forces, backed by Russian warplanes, launched an all-out assault to take control of Aleppo last month.
The Syria Civil Defence, whose rescuers are known as the White Helmets, said a number of women and children were at the market in the Fardous area when it was hit.
Video purportedly showing rescuers coming under attack from the air as they tried to rescue the injured was also shared on social media by pro-opposition activists.
Aleppo, once Syria's largest city and the country's commercial and industrial hub, has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with President Assad's forces controlling the west and rebel factions the east.
On 4 September, government forces re-imposed a siege on the east, where about 275,000 people live, and launched a major offensive to retake it after the collapse of a truce brokered by the United States and Russia.
Since then, the bombardment has killed more than 300 people, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. | President Vladimir Putin has dismissed suggestions that Russia could face war crimes charges over its bombardment of Syria's second city Aleppo. | 37633256 |
Items including Chinese jade and rhino horn were stolen in Cambridge, Durham, Norwich and Lewes, East Sussex.
The men, from Cambridgeshire, Essex, London and the West Midlands were convicted of conspiracy to burgle between November 2011 and April 2012.
They were jailed for between four years and six years, eight months.
Follow live updates on this story and other Cambridgeshire news
The sentences were as follows:
Those jailed were found guilty by jury after a series of trials at Birmingham Crown Court.
They were part of a 14-strong gang involved in organising two thefts and an attempted theft at Durham University Oriental Museum as well as further incidents at Gorringes Auction House in Lewes, Norwich Castle Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
Jurors heard exhibits stolen in Durham and Cambridge were valued at about £17m but detectives believed they could have fetched up to £57m ($79m) on the "booming" Chinese auction market.
Six other members of the gang are expected to be sentenced on Tuesday.
A 14th gang member, Robert Gilbert-Smith, 27, of no fixed address pleaded guilty on 10 March 2015 and was sentenced to 15 months in jail on 27 April 2015. | Seven members of an organised crime gang have been jailed for their roles in stealing artefacts worth up to £57m from museums and an auction house. | 35959089 |
The search in the Inver Road area is linked to the arrest of a serving Royal Marine last week.
Ciarán Maxwell, who is from the town, was arrested in Somerset as part of the investigation after searches in Larne and Devon.
The 30-year-old marine is still being questioned.
The Metropolitan Police have until 12:20 BST to charge or release Mr Maxwell after his detention was extended by a London court on Friday.
Some homes and at least one business were evacuated while searches were carried out on Tuesday, said DUP councillor Paul Reid.
Larne's Town Park was also closed off by police, but has since reopened.
Meanwhile, police investigating dissident republican activity are questioning a 27-year-old man.
He was arrested on Monday morning in Larne.
His arrest is understood to be connected to the discovery of two arms dumps near the County Antrim town earlier this year.
In March, the PSNI said they had uncovered a "significant terrorist hide" of bomb-making components and explosives at Carnfunnock Country Park.
Among the items recovered were wiring, circuit boards, partially constructed power timer units and a small quantity of explosives.
In May, a second significant arms cache, including an armour-piercing improvised rocket and two anti-personnel mines, was found at Capanagh Forest, near Larne.
Both finds were thought to be linked to dissident republican paramilitaries. | Parts of Larne in County Antrim remain sealed off for a second day while police continue to search for evidence of dissident republican terrorism. | 37228473 |
The 24-year-old has been a free agent since leaving third tier club Bronshoj Boldklub in his native country in July.
Jorgensen has signed a short-term deal to provide competition to fellow goalkeeper Aaron Chapman and will be part of the squad for Stanley's season-opener at home to Colchester United.
His move is subject to international clearance but Jorgensen has already trained with the Accrington squad.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Accrington Stanley have signed Danish goalkeeper Simon Bloch Jorgensen. | 40825404 |
But most people in this parliamentary constituency live north of the peninsula in a seat which includes former industrial areas up to Clydach in the Swansea Valley.
Changes to its economic profile have changed its politics too, and in 2015 it provided the shock result in Wales.
The Conservatives took the seat after a century with a Labour MP - their majority of 27 votes is the narrowest in the UK.
Theresa May's snap election means Conservative Byron Davies is back on the road in his campaign taxi much sooner than expected.
The former policeman's black London cab is adorned with slogans urging the people of Gower to back him on June the 8th.
He says he's "hopeful" of holding on to the seat rather than "confident", and does not take too much notice of the polls.
Sitting in his black cab he says: "I get my vibes off the street, and I have to say - my vibes are good".
Mr Davies admits the prime minister's difficulties over social care in England have been raised by some on the doorstep but he believes that people understand the issue has to be addressed.
The handling of Brexit - unsurprisingly - is prominent in his campaign.
Almost 5,000 people voted for UKIP in Gower in 2015 putting them third last time - votes Byron Davies thinks he can attract this time.
"Many, many, many of those that I've spoken to have said that they can only see Theresa May as the person that will now take it forward," he says.
"So I'm confident that we'll have quite a number coming over ... and maybe even actually some people who may have been Labour voters who voted Brexit."
Labour candidate Tonia Antoniazzi is a Llanelli schoolteacher who used to represent Wales at rugby.
Canvassing in Gorseinon, I ask her whether there's anything she can transfer from the rugby pitch to the campaign trail.
"Stamina is one of them", she says, and "teamwork - it's a massive team effort".
Ms Antoniazzi blames the UK government for the "real poverty" she sees when knocking doors - "it really, really upsets me".
"Seven years ago when we had the Conservatives in Westminster my life changed massively," she says.
"I'm a schoolteacher and I was on my own ... I do have a good wage but I was feeling the pinch.
"I never imagined that I would be putting myself forward to be an MP but that's how angry I was."
UKIP's candidate is Dr Ross Ford, a researcher for the party in Cardiff Bay.
The party did well in Gower two years ago but the polls suggest they are struggling to hold on to support since the referendum on membership of the European Union.
"I think it's important in Gower that we have a very, very strong UKIP vote", he says.
"I think UKIP has done extremely well by winning a referendum but it is only an advisory referendum.
"All we've had since is the triggering of Article 50 - that alone is simply a useless piece of paper unless it's acted upon.
"I believe only a strong UKIP vote will actually achieve that."
Plaid Cymru candidate Harri Roberts insists that though the Conservatives and Labour are battling to take this seat, voting for his party can send a strong message.
"What the Conservatives want with their hard Brexit is absolutely alien to what is good for Gower and for its people," he says.
"We want an open market, we want access to Europe so that our trade can succeed", he says.
"She may suit the bankers in London but it does not suit us at all and I think people are listening to that argument."
Leafleting in Clydach, Liberal Democrat Howard Evans also says there's more to the election locally than the Labour-Conservative battle.
He is "offering a choice to the electorate" he says, having decided to stand for the first time since 1999 because of his concerns about the future since the referendum on Europe.
The party's central pledge is a referendum on the Brexit deal, but Mr Evans says voters are also talking about health, education and fly-tipping.
Those are council and assembly responsibilities but he says "the monies come from the UK government".
"We're pledging to put a penny on income tax to allow for more monies to go to the NHS to be given to the Welsh Government to actually allocate in that way", he says.
The sixth candidate in Gower is Jason Winstanley, standing for the Pirate Party which campaigns for civil liberties.
After such a close result last time, there will be no let-up in campaigning before polling day.
And in this constituency, more than any other, every vote really does count.
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Enter a postcode or seat name | When you think Gower you might think sea, spectacular scenery, and sometimes even sun. | 40121113 |
The 21-year-old Colombia centre-back has agreed a six-year deal subject to receipt of his work permit.
Spurs' previous record was the £30m paid to Newcastle for France midfielder Moussa Sissoko in 2016.
Sanchez becomes the Premier League club's second summer signing after goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga joined from Southampton on Wednesday.
He joined Ajax from Atletico Nacional in June last year on a five-year deal and made 32 appearances for the club.
He also played in last season's Europa League final defeat by Manchester United and was named the Dutch side's player of the year in May.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Tottenham have completed the signing of defender Davinson Sanchez from Ajax in a reported club record £42m deal. | 41031823 |
The Federal Reserve indicated it was more positive about the US economy, but gave no clear indication on when rates would rise.
The Dow Jones closed up 114 points to 17,630.
The S&P 500 rose 15 points to 2,093, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 23 points to 5,112.
"We started off on the right foot and we didn't get anything negative from the Fed," said Michael James, managing director for equity trading at Wedbush Securities.
Northrop Grumman rose 6% after it reported better than expected earnings and raised its outlook for the year.
On the downside, Twitter shares closed down 14.5% following an honest assessment of its difficulty attracting new users in its earnings call after the market close on Tuesday.
Consumer review website Yelp shares were another overnight casualty, losing a whacking 25% after results came in way below hopes. Its chairman also said he was leaving to pursue other interests. | (Close): US shares closed higher on Wednesday after good earnings reports and the latest interest rate assessment from the US central bank. | 33706355 |
He needed £120 and says he didn't have a problem convincing them to lend him cash by saying he worked full-time.
But the 20-year-old admitted lying on his application and told Newsbeat it was "too easy" to be accepted.
He's now likely to be one of 330,000 people whose debts will be written off after a ruling that Wonga lent money to people who couldn't repay it.
"My bank couldn't give me an overdraft or anything, and so I went to them [Wonga]," he says.
He received his money and went on holiday, but a few weeks later he says the firm started calling him and he says they were "constant".
"They were ringing me every day," he says. "They were telling me how much I owe and that there was added interest."
Elliot says that a few months later he was being told his debt had risen to more then £800 and it began to affect his day-to-day life.
The longer it went on, the more he says he worried he would get about his situation getting out of control.
Elliott is likely to be one of those to have his loan cancelled and says it's come as a relief.
He says the amount of the debt was making him feel depressed and that he had "no idea" what he would have done if this ruling hadn't come.
In Elliott's opinion, the whole process is too simple and he wants payday lending to be banned.
"It's so easy to go online and get one that you don't really look at the small print and they don't really tell you that much," he says.
He also said it would have been easy for him to lie about his salary and increase the amount he could get.
He describes the payday loan system as a "vicious circle" and warns that you can end up owing more and more money each month.
Newsbeat have approached Wonga for a response but we've yet to hear back from them.
If you're struggling with debt, the Citizens Advice Bureau says not to use payday lenders.
They offer a service to help people re-organise and manage their repayments to make them more affordable.
There's a chance you may have also been treated unfairly and they'll deal with the lender on your behalf to get the debt cancelled.
To discuss your debts, call your local Citizens Advice Bureau or go online to www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | When Elliott Gomme needed money for a holiday, like many people he turned to payday lender Wonga. | 29458106 |
Watson broke the former world number one in the penultimate game of the first set in Mexico and sealed victory when the Dane hit a forehand wide.
The 23-year-old plays France's Caroline Garcia in Saturday's semi-final.
Earlier, fellow Britain Johanna Konta lost 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 to world number 73 Kirsten Flipkens.
Watson has slipped down the rankings to number 84 this year and Saturday's encounter with Garcia will be her first semi-final since winning in Hobart in January 2015.
"I thought I played very well," said Watson. "I needed to against Caroline because she's a great player - and I had to fight to the end because I knew she would."
Konta, ranked 27th in the world, was a set and a break down but broke back to level the second set at 5-5 before winning it in the tie-break.
However, she won only one more game as Belgium's Flipkens reached the last four.
Elsewhere, British number three Naomi Broady lost 6-4 6-3 to sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard in the Malaysian Open semi-finals. | British number two Heather Watson secured her best win of 2016 as she beat Caroline Wozniacki 7-5 6-4 in the Monterrey Open quarter-finals. | 35732767 |
The Intelligence and Security Committee said it found no evidence to support such claims after being given access to relevant files by M15 and M16.
Redactions made only related to general matters of national security, it said.
The Senate report found there had been "brutal" treatment of al-Qaeda suspects in the wake of 9/11.
December's report, which claimed that the CIA had misled the US public about its alleged use of torture, contained no reference to UK agencies.
Ministers have insisted they did not ask for any details about the UK security services to be removed from the report.
Speaking in December, Home Secretary Theresa May said she had not personally asked for any information to be blacked out and "any such request will only have been in relation to the need to ensure that nothing damages our national security".
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), made up of MPs and peers and reporting to the prime minister, said it believed this was correct, based on its examination of relevant documents held by the UK's security services and interviews with intelligence chiefs.
However, it made clear this did not have any bearing on the wider question of whether the UK's security and intelligence agencies had been in any way complicit in the mistreatment of detainees, which is the subject of an ongoing inquiry.
"It has been alleged that the UK may have requested redactions to the Senate report to conceal evidence of UK complicity in the mistreatment of detainees," the committee said in a statement.
"From the evidence we have seen and heard, we conclude that these allegations are unfounded."
It added: "The UK agencies did request redactions to the primary material which was used by the Senate Committee when drafting its full report.
"We have seen these requests and can confirm that all were directly related to national security interests. They do not concern UK involvement or complicity in, or awareness of, the mistreatment of detainees."
The CIA sought redactions relating to UK intelligence material from the executive summary of the Senate report, the committee stated.
While it believed these concerned general security matters, it said details were "limited" and the UK had only been shown "heavily-edited extracts" from the report prior to publication rather than the draft report in full.
The committee said it had not sought any information so far from the US authorities as part of its inquiry but may do so in the future.
Amnesty International said the committee's assurances "were far from satisfactory".
"Instead of the ISC doing ad hoc reviews and talking privately to intelligence chiefs, the question of possible collusion over redactions between the UK and the USA should form part of a fully independent, judge-led inquiry," said campaign manager Tom Davies.
"The ISC is a body without teeth, which shouldn't have been entrusted with the vital job of investigating allegations of the UK's complicity in kidnap, detention and torture overseas." | The UK did not attempt to conceal complicity in the mistreatment of detainees by requesting redactions from a US Senate report, a report says. | 31425016 |
Chairman Roger Lewis said he was expecting the private sector to buy a stake in the Welsh Government-owned site as part of the move.
The announcement came following a 16% rise in passenger numbers over the past 12 months, making it "one of the fastest growing airports" in the UK.
More than 1.3 million people used the airport, near Rhoose, in 2016.
Bosses say they target continued growth in 2017 with more routes "at better prices" and at "better times".
"This has given us a great sense of confidence on the journey we're taking. We're heading for some two million passengers a year coming out of Cardiff and our ambition is to get that to three million.
"To achieve that, we'll need to invest significantly in the infrastructure of the airport and without question, we need to improve our terminal facilities.
"Within the planning and discussions is a new terminal for the airport and is something we wish to progress."
He added: "To achieve such significant financial investment we need to look for equity partners within the airport and it's something I'm beginning to discuss with the Welsh Government on how we can attract external private investment in the airport to take the enterprise forward."
Cardiff Airport was bought by the Welsh Government in 2013 for £52m following a slump in passenger numbers.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: "We welcome this ambitious and long-term vision from the airport to deliver the best possible facilities for the people of Wales and would expect any such ideas, with private sector investment, to form part of the airport's long-term master plan for future growth and improvements."
The airport's 2016 annual report shows:
Analysis by Brian Meechan, BBC Wales business correspondent
Ultimately it's an increase in passenger numbers from a very low base. Significant investment has gone in from the Welsh Government, in terms of commercial loans which are now being paid back and it's seeing results.
The airport has ambitious targets of reaching 3m passengers a year and chairman Roger Lewis outlined plans to build a replacement terminal - the current one was built in 1971 - and has already been in talks about private sector investment.
When you look at regional airports around the UK over the last decade, there really has been a split - we've seen the bigger hubs growing like Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham but more struggles at smaller airports, with Plymouth and Blackpool having even stopped commercial flights.
The question is, is Cardiff - with the support of the Welsh Government - equipped to transform itself from being a small airport to joining one of those larger, more successful ones? And that includes Bristol Airport, just across the Severn estuary, which has just announced its own passenger figures - a rise to more than 7.5m in 2016.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said he isn't wedded to the Welsh Government owning all of the airport in future and is not against a private sector partner. But he is not in favour of anything like a 50-50 split.
Debra Barber, managing director and chief operating officer, added that 2016 had seen "significant growth" positioning Cardiff as "one of the fastest growing airports in the UK", according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Iberia Express will join Cardiff Airport as a new airline in 2017 and introduce flights to Madrid, while new airline Blue Islands will launch a new service to Guernsey over the summer months.
Flybe will begin operating a new service to Rome from March. | A new terminal could be built at Cardiff Airport over the next 10 years to replace the current building. | 38567395 |
Passporting rights allow firms to trade across the bloc without the need for separate licences.
Mr Tyrie said it showed the "significant" risk Britain leaving the single market would pose to business.
But Eurosceptics have previously said such an outcome would not harm the UK.
The data was provided in a letter to Mr Tyrie from Andrew Bailey, head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In it, Mr Bailey revealed that 8,008 European companies use 23,532 passports to trade in the UK.
By contrast, 5,476 UK firms currently hold some 336,421 passports to trade elsewhere in EU.
Mr Tyrie, who published the figures on the Treasury Committee's website, said: "These figures give us an initial idea of the effects of losing full access to the single market in financial services. The business put at risk could be significant.
"None of the current off-the-shelf arrangements can preserve existing passporting arrangements, while giving the UK the influence and control it needs over financial services regulation as it develops.
"Efforts to secure an appropriate arrangement for UK-based firms will be one of the most challenging aspects of the negotiations about the UK's future relationship with the EU."
It comes a day after the head of Germany's central bank, Jens Weidmann, said that passporting rights were "tied to the single market" and would automatically cease to apply if Great Britain left the EEA.
In a separate report, however, credit ratings agency Moody's said the loss of passporting rights would likely be "manageable" for most UK-based financial firms.
This is because the EU already recognises some non-EU regulatory regimes for the purpose of undertaking investment and banking business.
"This outcome would be credit negative, as it will have costs and is likely to reduce profitability at least in the short term," it said in a statement.
"But Moody's considers it unlikely that all permissions granted to financial firms will be lost." | More than 5,000 British financial services firms rely on "passporting rights" to trade across the EU, the chairman of the Treasury select committee, Andrew Tyrie, has said. | 37416280 |
Police say that the attack took place as the 17-year-old went in to the Chitwan National Park to cut grass with four friends. The others escaped.
Experts say there have been fewer tiger attacks in Nepal in recent years because of their declining numbers.
Meanwhile three people were hurt by a leopard in a village near the capital Kathmandu.
Newspaper reports say villagers were left terrorised by the attack.
Unlike most "man-eating" tigers, aggressive leopards are less afraid to enter human settlements, experts say.
The leopard responsible for the latest attack has not yet been captured and is still reported to be roaming the area. A policeman was among the injured.
Experts say that tiger attacks in Nepal are rare compared with 100 years ago when one of the country's most famous "man-eaters" roamed the forests.
The Champawat Tigress is reported to have killed about 200 men and women before being driven out of Nepal into what is now the state of Uttarakhand in northern India.
She continued to kill there, and her total number of human victims was estimated at 430.
The tigress was finally tracked down and killed by the legendary hunter Jim Corbett in 1907. | A teenager has been killed in what officials in Nepal have described as a "rare" attack by a tiger. | 17630703 |
They argue Chagford Primary on Dartmoor could be refurbished for much less than the cost of demolition and replacement.
The campaigners claim officials took the decision to rebuild before a feasibility report last June.
The Department for Education (DfE) rejected the claim and said the decision to rebuild the school was "taken after careful consideration".
A number of parents of children at the school, as well as people living nearby, want the current 1930s-built building to be refurbished rather than rebuilt.
One of the campaigners, Jane Rush, said: "Building new schools is great, but a survey last year showed the school was in good condition.
"This school isn't in poor condition so it's not needed.
"The best value for money option is refurbishing it, so I think they are wasting money."
The DfE said in a statement: "We are confident a rebuild represents the best outcome for pupils, staff, the local community and the taxpayer." | Campaigners have accused government officials of wasting money if a new school is built at a cost of £2.6m. | 36315086 |
Fletcher scored a hat-trick against Gibraltar in Euro 2016 qualifying but has not found the net in Scotland's last three games against the Republic of Ireland, Georgia and Germany.
"I'm doing what I can. I'm running around," he said after the 3-2 defeat by Germany at Hampden on Monday.
"If they're not happy with that, it's down to them."
Some pundits had called for the lone striker's role to go to Leigh Griffiths, with his confidence buoyed by his scoring exploits for Celtic.
But Fletcher added: "Obviously I'd love to score goals but If I'm not getting a chance, I'm not going to put it away.
"He (Gordon Strachan) is the boss, he picks the team. I'm happy he's picking me."
The 28-year-old striker, who has struggled to pin down a starting place under Dick Advocaat at Sunderland this season, is determined to help the national side gain maximum points next month from the two remaining matches, at home to Poland and away to Gibraltar.
"We know what we have to do. There are six points to play for so we'll try to get them," he said.
"We've got a good squad, a young squad as well. We want to achieve things, so if we can get to the play-offs, then happy days."
Scotland need at least four points to leapfrog the Republic of Ireland into third place in Group D and secure home-and-away play-off ties against another third-place team for a place in France next summer.
However, their destiny is not in their own hands. Even victory over Poland and Gibraltar will not be enough for Scotland if Ireland win against either Germany or Poland.
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For Fletcher's team-mate Shaun Maloney, there was satisfaction at coming close against the world champions.
"I am very proud of being part of that team that can come back twice and give a team of that standard as hard a game as we did," he said.
"It's obviously tinged with disappointment with the result but we can be very proud of how we performed tonight.
"When you play the world champions you have to be as brave as possible and have no regrets and I don't think any of our players can have any regrets or wish that we tried any harder. We left everything out there.
"It's impossible to guess what is going to happen. If we win both our games that is all we can do.
"I think the performance tonight must give us a huge amount of confidence."
Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall also thought the performance would provide a boost ahead of the Poles' visit on 8 October.
He said: "We know if we perform like that we will beat most teams, especially at home, with the crowd.
"We need to go and win the game. It is in Ireland's hands. On paper they have got the harder games.
"Tonight we showed the quality we've got. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep it tight enough at the back and they had that bit of class to beat us.
"It was a strange game. Being a 3-2, you'd expect chances galore. But I don't think either (Manuel) Neuer or myself had a save of note. They have been clinical and taken their chances."
Midfielder James Morrison said the Scots "gave it everything against a very good side".
"With a bit of luck we could have nicked a point but we can't argue," he concluded.
"We got chances against them and scored two goals. I'm disappointed they scored three goals from three shots on target.
"(The Poland game is) the big one. We all know that. I think it's been building for a couple of matches now.
"We'll take the grit and determination from tonight's game and go into it." | Frustrated Scotland striker Steven Fletcher says he is doing his utmost to score for the international team. | 34184451 |
The star had to change her salsa routine last week after tearing a scar from a double mastectomy in training.
The performance aggravated her injury, meaning she and partner Brendan Cole could not take part in the dance-off.
A statement said she has been given the green light for Saturday as long as her dance is "carefully choreographed".
The US singer had a double mastectomy in 2013 after being diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time.
A statement from "The A Team" said she visited the clinic of a breast reconstruction surgery specialist on Monday.
"The doctor again confirmed that there was a tear in the scar tissue, which although painful is not permanent," it said.
"She was given the all clear to dance this weekend with the caveat that the routine is carefully choreographed and she has been given the appropriate medication.
"Brendan was with her for her appointments and they have been filmed for this weekend's episode.
"The specialist will be monitoring her condition regularly and she will revisit them on Monday."
Anastacia is donating her fee from the show to cancer research, using the Cancer Research UK handle in a tweet: "im getting through this 4 one reason @CR_UK"
The statement continued: "So unless a doctor tells her she can't carry on, quitting would never be an option. Anastacia and Brendan are now in rehearsal."
Anastacia finished in the bottom two last week with DJ Melvin Odoom.
But her inability to perform for a second time meant the decision on who would leave the show was determined by the results of the viewers' vote, with the Kiss FM presenter and his partner Janette Manrara sent home.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Singer Anastacia has been given the all-clear by a doctor to perform on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend after missing last week's dance-off. | 37561028 |
It follows fresh investigations into the death of Matthew Leahy, who was found hanged at Linden Centre in 2012.
His mother, Melanie Leahy, said her talks with Essex Police suggested the cases had taken place in the last 17 years.
The Essex NHS Trust said patient safety was a "top priority".
Essex Police told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme it was "conducting initial enquiries into a number of deaths which have occurred at the Linden Centre since 2000".
A full investigation may take place later depending on the outcome.
Matthew Leahy was admitted to the Linden Centre in Chelmsford in 2012 aged 20, after his mental health problems had spiralled following cannabis use. He also suffered hallucinations.
His mother Melanie said staff told her not to go to see her son for the first seven days, to "let him settle on the ward".
A week later, she was called by a doctor who informed her that her son had hanged himself.
She said he had told her in a text earlier that week he was "in hell".
Two years later, an inquest concluded Mr Leahy had been subjected to a series of failings and missed opportunities over a long period of time.
"Each patient supposedly has a care plan and it came to light that Matthew had no care plan," Ms Leahy explained.
"He had no key worker, no-one knew anything for two days. There wasn't even any observation sheets."
Following the inquest, the coroner suggested the trust hold a public inquiry into his death - but the trust said it would take funding away from front-line services.
Ms Leahy said Essex Police had confirmed they were "still investigating my son's death but are also looking at... up to 20 patients, all who died by the same means".
One nurse, who left the trust in mid-2016 after a decade and wished to remain anonymous, said ligature points - features in a room that can be used to kill oneself - had been identified "many years before" Mr Leahy's death but had not been resolved.
"If you asked too many questions you were deemed as a troublemaker and things made difficult for you," he said.
The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust said the history of serious incidents at the Linden Centre was of "great concern".
It added it was "improving systems to ensure that investigations are carried out rigorously".
During an inspection of the Linden Centre in August 2015 by the regulator, the CQC, inspectors reported that "one patient attempted to strangle themselves with a ligature".
A year later they found safety was still a concern.
"The trust must ensure that action is taken to remove identified ligature risks," the report said.
Last week, an inquest jury found that another patient, Richard Wade, died in May 2015 at the Linden Centre after staff failed to remove a dressing gown cord that he used to take his own life.
Patient suicides have also taken place in other areas of the trust.
In 2016, Melanie Lowe was admitted to hospital under the care of the trust after her mental health made her increasingly unstable.
She took an overdose with pills from her own washbag, and - when admitted to hospital - remained on constant watch.
But her observation levels were later downgraded form constant watch to the minimum level required.
Ms Lowe took her own life, suffocating herself.
At the inquest last November, the coroner heard evidence of a catalogue of mistakes.
Lawyer Rachel Codd, representing Ms Lowe's family, said she had tried to abscond twice while on constant watch, but the locum psychiatrist who reassessed her upon admission did not have access to the observation notes.
She added: "It seems quite concerning that the trust doesn't seem to be learning from previous mistakes."
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel. | Up to 20 deaths at an NHS-run mental health unit are being investigated as part of a police inquiry, the BBC has learned. | 39975971 |
Lifelong Vale fan Pope, who signed for fellow League One club Bury on Tuesday after being made a substantially better contract offer, says chairman Norman Smurthwaite is in an awkward position.
"People are choosing not to go," Pope, 29, told BBC Radio Stoke.
"And Norman isn't going to carry on putting his money in forever if people aren't backing him or supporting him."
Smurthwaite has already warned that the reason for the club having to make offers of reduced wages to a number of players this summer was the club's dwindling finances.
Falling attendances have had an impact on Vale, their average home gate having fallen by 1,200 per game last season, causing a deficit of £600,000 in gate receipts.
"He will carry on running the club as well as he can to ensure they stay afloat," added Pope. "That's football for you. I've no qualms about that.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"To have got promoted to League One, I really thought we were going to see attendances booming again, especially when we were in and around the play-offs, but even then we were only getting 5,000 fans."
Meanwhile, Vale have signed up two more academy players on new deals.
Midfielder Ryan Lloyd, 21, has signed a one-year contract, while goalkeeper Ryan Boot follows the lead of teenage defender Nathan Smith, 19, who signed a two-year contract on Wednesday.
Fellow goalkeeper Sam Johnson, 22, signed a new one-year contract on Tuesday.
Boot, 20, spent the final three months of last season on loan at Conference North side Worcester City. | Departing Port Vale striker Tom Pope says the club need to start attracting bigger crowds to "stay afloat". | 33094948 |
17 May 2016 Last updated at 07:29 BST
She's well known for starring in movies like Maleficent, but the group weren't asking her about her films...
Angelina also works for the United Nations, campaigning about the growing refugee and migrant crisis caused by war in places like Syria.
What's happening in Syria?
She talks about how her kids give her stuff to take to the refugees and what life is like inside the camps. | Six Newsround viewers have been to interview one of the world's most famous actresses - Angelina Jolie Pitt. | 36309588 |
Some English councils approve only one in 10 appeals against on-street fines, while others accept nearly every one.
Runnymede Council in Surrey accepted just 9% of appeals while Basingstoke - just 30 miles away - approved 95%.
Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show about a third of driver challenges were accepted.
The figures cover initial challenges to on-street parking fines received from drivers between January and October 2016.
They were obtained from 98 English local authorities through Freedom of Information requests by the Press Association.
Runnymede received 1,011 challenges to parking fines, with only 93 being accepted.
Staffordshire County Council also accepted challenges at a rate of about one in 10 (10.4%).
By contrast, Basingstoke and Deane accepted 540 challenges out of 566 - a rate of more than 95%. Overall, almost 7,600 fines were issued in the borough overall during the 10-month period.
A spokeswoman for Runnymede Council said fines over yellow lines and dropped kerb offences "aren't often open to much ambiguity".
"We use our own staff to carry out enforcement, who are experienced and well trained in the role and therefore only issue notices where necessary," she added.
Basingstoke and Deane councillor Simon Bound said it took a "pragmatic" approach to issuing fines which leads to a low number of formal appeals.
"Is the objective to fight to make sure the fine is paid, or is it about engaging with the resident and having the conversation about educating them to park better? They won't get an appeal approved if they do the same thing at another point in time."
Regional variation was also noticeable in Berkshire - drivers in Slough (23%) were nearly three times less likely to get off their ticket than in nearby Bracknell Forest (64%).
Guy Anker, of MoneySavingExpert.com, said many drivers were often "completely bamboozled" about where they could park.
"Often the real problem is really poor, terrible signing."
Mr Anker said that after having a challenge rejected by the council, about 50% of drivers who make a further appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal are successful.
He said: "I would encourage everyone who feels they are being harshly treated by their council to make an appeal to the independent arbitrator."
Parking fine appeals
Councils which accepted the fewest challenges:
Councils which accepted the most challenges: | The likelihood of successfully challenging parking fines varies widely depending on where drivers get a ticket, research has shown. | 39501476 |
A survey carried out by a drug control group has found that about 2.8 million people are regularly consuming drugs in the country.
Opium, the main ingredient in heroin, is the country's most popular narcotic, making up 67% of consumption.
Production of the drug in neighbouring Afghanistan has risen in recent years.
A spokesman for the Drug Control Organisation, Parviz Afshar, said that marijuana and its derivatives accounted for 12% of drug consumption in Iran, with methamphetamine, a stimulant that affects the central nervous system, accounting for about 8%.
The head of a working group on drugs in the Expediency Council, Saeed Safatian, told the official IRNA news agency that the number of drug users might be even higher.
Mr Safatian said this was because respondents approached for the survey on which the figures were based did not mention relatives who were addicts, fearing social opprobrium.
Afghanistan produces some 90% of the world's opium, which is extracted from poppy resin and refined to make heroin.
Iran is a major transit point for Afghan-produced opiates heading to Europe.
Opium production surged in Afghanistan after the US and its allies sent military forces into the country in 2001 with the aim of overthrowing the Taliban and eliminating al-Qaeda. | The number of people suffering from drug addiction in Iran has more than doubled in the last six years, local media report. | 40397727 |
Members of the RMT and Unite unions employed by the Wood Group on Shell platforms walked out at 06:30.
About 400 workers are involved in the strike, as well as a ban on overtime, with further stoppages planned for the coming weeks.
It is the first industrial action of its kind in the offshore oil and gas industry in almost 30 years.
The seven Shell platforms involved are Shearwater, Gannet, Nelson, Curlew, Brent Alpha, Brent Bravo and Brent Charlie.
There was also a protest at Shell offices in London, as well as in Aberdeen, and at Wood Group in Aberdeen.
The Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) urged both sides to return to the negotiating table.
The strike action was overwhelmingly supported by members of both unions.
In February, Wood Group announced it was cutting rates paid to about a third of its UK contractor workforce.
It blamed the "continuing cost and efficiency challenges affecting the UK North Sea oil and gas sector".
The unions claim workers could suffer a cut to their pay and allowances of up to 30% - but that has been dismissed by Wood Group.
Workers are also disgruntled that a two-week working cycle has been changed to a three-week cycle. leaving many away from their families for a longer time.
An overtime ban came into effect on Monday ahead of the strike.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "After savage redundancies and attacks on workload and working conditions, this group of offshore workers are now told that they are going to be railroaded into accepting pay cuts of up to 30%.
"We are well aware that the company chief executive has had a pay increase of 28% to bring him up to £600,000. It is obscene that while the top bosses are lining their own pockets they are kicking the workforce from pillar to post.
"This brave group of workers are taking a stand against the greed and savagery that is a mark of corporate Britain in 2016."
John Boland, Unite regional officer said: "To say we are disappointed it has had to come to this is an understatement, but bosses at Wood Group are simply not listening.
"This dispute is the first in the North Sea in three decades and shows the strength of feeling of our members who feel backed into a corner and left with no other option but to use their industrial strength to make Wood Group listen.
"Our members have been faced with changes to shift patterns which have seen them working longer offshore for the same pay, as well as having three rounds of redundancies imposed on them.
"This attack on their pay and allowances has pushed our members too far this time."
Wood Group said it was "extremely disappointed" by the decision to take strike action.
Dave Stewart, chief executive officer for Wood Group's eastern region business unit, said: "Our employees' safety and wellbeing remains our top priority and our commitment is to ensuring it is not compromised during industrial action.
"Although we are extremely disappointed that industrial action will be taken, we respect the right of those employees who choose to do so."
A Shell spokesman said: "This action is highly regrettable. Shell's priority is to ensure the safety of our workforce and assets and we will not compromise on safety during this period of industrial action.
"While we recognise the right of Wood Group's employees to strike, it is clear that in order for the North Sea oil and gas industry to remain competitive in the lower oil price environment, structural change is needed."
Paul Atkinson, chief executive of the OCA, said: "We are really disappointed that the unions and Wood Group have not yet reached an agreement.
"Although the outcome of the Unite ballot was in favour of industrial action, we had hoped that strike action could be avoided.
"This is a very challenging business environment and our members have to make difficult decisions. The deal being offered by Wood Group remains within the rates and allowances in the Offshore Contractors Partnership Agreement which was agreed to by both GMB and Unite members last year.
"The industry as a whole must retain its focus on securing a long-term future for the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) that sustains jobs and attracts new investment. We stand ready to offer any assistance that can bring this dispute to an end."
Wood Group provides maintenance and construction services to the installations, having signed a new three-year contract extension with Shell earlier this year.
David Hunter, an industry analyst from Schneider Electric, said tight budgets were leading to tensions across the sector.
He said: "I think this is indicative of the wider industry. Because of the lower oil price there's been big pressure on cost, there's been thousands and thousands of job losses because of that lower oil price and cutbacks, and so companies are looking at terms and conditions and changing working practices." | Hundreds of North Sea workers have gone on strike for 24 hours over plans to cut their pay and allowances. | 36888514 |
The charity, which runs the London blue plaques scheme, will be erecting a plaque to Bobby Moore, captain of the team which beat Germany 4-2 at Wembley.
The Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the World War One Somme Offensive in 1916 are also being commemorated.
English Heritage will also mark William Shakespeare's death at 52 in 1616.
The charity said Bobby Moore's blue plaque would be erected at his former home in Barking, east London.
Moore, who captained West Ham United for more than 10 years, won a total of 108 caps for England.
"Birthdays or weddings are often opportunities to remember key events in our own personal lives," said English Heritage chief executive Kate Mavor.
"The same is true of historic anniversaries - they provide a meaningful moment to look back on pivotal points in English history.
"Next year is a particularly rich one for anniversaries - from the Battle of Hastings to William Shakespeare, these events and people from the past left a profound mark on our history and on our lives today."
English Heritage is custodian of more than 400 significant historic sites, including the battlefield believed to be where the Battle of Hastings was fought 950 years ago in East Sussex.
A new exhibition opening in the summer will tell the story of the battle and for the first time, visitors will be able to stand on the roof of Battle Abbey's Great Gatehouse - founded by William the Conqueror on the spot where King Harold died.
The 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, England's greatest playwright, will be marked at sites including his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and The Globe Theatre in London.
Remembering the Somme Offensive, which took place between 1 July November 1916, will be one of the key points in commemorations marking the centenary of World War One.
Plans have been announced for a number of events at home and in France, including a memorial service on the anniversary of the first day of the battle. | The 50th anniversary of England's victory in the 1966 Football World Cup is among dates being commemorated next year by English Heritage. | 35189077 |
Jeffrey Owen, 44, from Maerdy, was stopped by police after a member of the public reported seeing him getting into a coach with a drink in his hand.
He was taking sixth-form pupils from Porth Comprehensive to Treorchy.
Owen was given an eight-week suspended sentence by Pontypridd magistrates.
He was also banned from driving for 16 months and ordered to undertake an alcohol rehabilitation course.
Pontypridd Magistrates Court heard police were called mid-morning by a member of the public who was concerned after seeing Owen drinking from a can of Strongbow, and then going into a shop to buy more alcohol before getting back on the bus and driving onto a busy road towards Porth Comprehensive.
He was stopped in Ton Pentre, where police found him in charge of a group of sixth-form students from Porth en route to Treorchy Comprehensive for lessons.
After smelling alcohol on the driver's breath, a police officer attempted to give a breathalyser test, but Owen replied: "I'm not giving you anything," and swore.
A sample taken found Owen had 118mgs of alcohol per 100ml of urine in his sample. The legal limit is 107mgs per 100ml.
Defending, John Griffiths said: "There have been a number of stresses and losses in Mr Owen's personal life with some bereavements of family members and close friends.
"A combination of these factors have come to the fore and pushed him over the edge on the day." | A school bus driver who was over the drink-drive limit as he drove pupils in Rhondda Cynon Taff was caught after being spotted with a can of cider as he stopped to buy more alcohol. | 35457832 |
Villagers of Sandon, Hertfordshire, claimed the gander was shot at the pond on 21 February by gunmen and police exhumed his body to carry out tests.
A post-mortem examination found the bird likely died of natural causes.
The examination, which included a CT scan, concluded the goose had not been shot, police said.
The Royal Veterinary College is due to carry out further tests.
Police were called by devastated villagers after the body of the goose, which features on the village sign, was found floating in the pond near the phone box where he made his home.
One resident told how he scooped the goose from the pond and saw it had a cut to its head.
Within days the phone box was filled with flowers and tributes to the village "character" many referred to as Grumpy Gertie.
The tale was reported on BBC Radio 2 where listeners called in to donate money towards a reward to catch those responsible for the alleged shooting.
More than £275,000 was pledged for the arrest of the shooters and police vowed to investigate.
A police spokesman said: "A full forensic post-mortem examination including a CT scan was carried out on the goose by veterinary pathologists at the Royal Veterinary College.
"This concluded the goose had not been shot.
"Whilst a precise cause of death remains unknown and more tests are being carried out at the Royal Veterinary College, a likely cause of death would be natural causes." | A much-loved village goose had not been shot dead despite reports it had been killed at point-blank range, tests have found. | 35727216 |
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The home challenger dominated in a one-sided bout but one judge gave the fight to Haskins in a split decision.
Bristol fighter Haskins, who was making his third defence, was floored twice and bravely held on to the final bell.
"I always knew I would be a world champion although I had to dig deep," Burnett told Sky Sports.
Both fighters sustained a cut following a clash of heads in the second round at the SSE Arena.
Burnett, 25, edged the opening three rounds before seizing total control as his powerful right hand pushed Haskins back.
Haskins hit the canvas for the first time in the sixth round and the 33-year-old was floored again in the 11th.
He beat the count both times and was saved by the bell in the 11th as Burnett pinned him against the ropes.
Burnett was awarded the decision 119-107 on two cards, with the 118-108 in favour of Haskins producing a stunned response from the crowd and prompting promoter Eddie Hearn to later say he thought the judge had mixed up the boxers.
"I promised everyone that this belt would stay in Belfast and it has," added Burnett.
"Haskins made me work but I did it and it is my dream - I'm the champion of the world." | Ryan Burnett has won the IBF world bantamweight title with an impressive points victory over champion Lee Haskins in Belfast. | 40223408 |
The court decided the £84m deal could go ahead following a dispute over a shareholder vote.
Some staff and customers had opposed the move amid fears for jobs and bills.
But the court adjourned until 10 February, pending any application to appeal - so the scheme will not become effective until then.
Dee Valley is due to make a statement.
Rhys McKenzie, a former employee and shareholder, expressed "severe disappointment" at the judge's ruling.
He said he was worried about his former co-workers and their families, but also for "the small shareholder around the country".
Before shareholders of the Wrexham-based company met to vote on the proposed takeover, about 450 customers and staff had shares transferred to them.
The aim was to try and keep the company out of the hands of the Coventry-based provider.
The court was asked to decide whether those votes were valid, and ruled the takeover could still go ahead.
Plaid Cymru AM Llyr Gruffydd said the takeover was "not good news".
"Jobs will be lost and the local supply chain will suffer.
"Small shareholders have been disregarded by the judgement while big corporate shareholders will be laughing all the way to the bank due to today's ruling."
A spokesman for Dee Valley Water previously described the case as "unprecedented in the UK" and as "a David versus Goliath battle between local staff and customers versus a FTSE 100 company".
Dee Valley Water employs about 180 people and has 230,000 customers across the Wrexham and Chester areas.
Customers pay an average of £145 a year for their water compared with £172 for Severn Trent. | Severn Trent's bid to take over Dee Valley Water has been given the go-ahead after a "David versus Goliath" dispute in the High Court. | 38906186 |
Debutant Sharjeel Khan began the chase in buccaneering fashion but holed out for 40 to leave Pakistan 55-1 after day four of the final Test in Sydney.
Earlier, Josh Hazlewood took 4-55 to leave Younus Khan stranded on 175 as the tourists were bowled out for 315.
David Warner then followed up his first-innings hundred with 55 off 27 balls, as Australia declared on 241-2.
Warner, who had hit a century before lunch on the first day, opened with Usman Khawaja (79 not out), after fellow first-innings centurion Matt Renshaw was withdrawn from the remainder of the Test because of concussion.
The 20-year-old - whose 184 was his maiden Test century - had left the field after complaining of a headache, following a blow to the helmet while fielding at short leg on day three.
Captain Steve Smith pitched in with 59 from 43 balls as some rapid runs set up Australia's declaration.
Azhar Ali (11 not out) was joined by nightwatchman Yasir Shah after Sharjeel's belligerent knock, which featured six fours and a six from 38 balls, came to an end, but Pakistan, who trail 2-0 in the series, face having to bat through the final day to save the Test. | Australia moved closer to a Test series whitewash after setting Pakistan an unlikely victory target of 465. | 38528065 |
The home side rode their luck early on as, during a manic goalmouth scramble, Mitch Hancox hit the Ferriby bar.
After 17 minutes, however, defender George Pilkington came up from the back to head the Silkmen in front from a set-piece.
Within a few minutes Chris Holroyd flicked on for Danny Whitehead to fire past Rory Watson and put the visitors firmly in control.
In the second half, Holroyd also struck the post as John Askey's men continued to threaten, but contented themselves with the two-goal cushion.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, North Ferriby United 0, Macclesfield Town 2.
Second Half ends, North Ferriby United 0, Macclesfield Town 2.
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Darryn Stamp replaces Sam Cosgrove.
Substitution, Macclesfield Town. Ollie Norburn replaces Danny Whitehead.
Second Half begins North Ferriby United 0, Macclesfield Town 2.
First Half ends, North Ferriby United 0, Macclesfield Town 2.
Goal! North Ferriby United 0, Macclesfield Town 2. Danny Whitehead (Macclesfield Town).
Sam Topliss (North Ferriby United) is shown the yellow card.
Goal! North Ferriby United 0, Macclesfield Town 1. George Pilkington (Macclesfield Town).
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Ryan Kendall replaces Connor Oliver.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | North Ferriby were left frustrated as Macclesfield returned from Grange Lane with a comfortable 2-0 National League win. | 38701162 |
Food and water was due to be dropped to people in the north of the country who have fled from Islamist militants.
David Cameron is facing pressure to recall Parliament to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, but No 10 said a recall was "not on the cards".
Amid calls for UK military involvement, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he could not envisage a combat role.
Mr Hammond, who earlier chaired a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, also rejected calls for Parliament to be reconvened.
The prime minister is currently expected to continue his holiday in Portugal.
Islamic State (IS) fighters have seized territory across Iraq and Syria in the past few months, with continuing reports of the slaughter of Iraqi religious minority groups.
Among those reportedly being targeted by fighters are Christians and Yazidis in the north, where thousands of Yazidi civilians are trapped in the Sinjar mountains.
The US has carried out four rounds of air strikes targeting IS fighters near Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The first RAF air drop of emergency supplies, including water, food and solar lanterns, to Mount Sinjar took place overnight on Saturday - but the second attempt on Sunday was aborted.
The Ministry of Defence said the crew of the RAF C130 "made the responsible decision" not to carry out the air drop "to ensure that the lives of those in the area would not be put at risk".
The next drop of aid is likely to be carried out within the next 24 hours.
Mr Hammond dismissed the suggestion of a recall of Parliament, saying: "I don't think that's necessary at this time. We are talking about a humanitarian intervention. We have a very clear convention about consulting Parliament before British forces are committed into any kind of combat role.
"We are not talking about that here, we are simply talking about a humanitarian action, stepping up what we are doing in order to support this community trapped on the mountain."
He added: "We don't envisage a combat role at the present time."
Defence sources told the BBC that ministers and senior commanders were considering the use of RAF Tornado jets to assist the relief operation.
The jets would be used in a reconnaissance role to help transport planes deliver aid supplies and not for air strikes, a source told BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale.
Conservative MP Conor Burns has urged a recall of Parliament, saying he did not know whether the Commons would support military action in Iraq but it was "worth trying".
"These are brother and sister Christians and this is happening to them in no small part because of our record in Iraq," said the MP for Bournemouth West.
"I feel very strongly that the government's response is not hard enough or strong enough.
"These people are being beheaded by people from IS, and our only response is to drop some food or water on them.
"I think the US and UK should be involved in air strikes. I am not by any means advocating a ground war but I think we should put our special forces in there."
Ex-army chief Lord Dannatt also backed a recall of Parliament, saying "this is not the moment for decision-makers to be on holiday".
He said UK troops might be needed on the ground to help support US military air strikes.
He said the West could not watch a genocide take place: "If we do nothing and wring our hands later and say once again, 'We shouldn't have let that happen,' then I think we have all let ourselves down."
Downing Street insisted the government was focused on the humanitarian effort.
A spokeswoman said Mr Cameron remained "very much engaged" while on holiday in Portugal and "is managing to set out how he thinks the government should be responding and issues we should be looking at and considering".
"That system is working."
Iraqi Kurds have appealed for international military aid to help defeat the Islamist militants.
Mr Burns said the UK should be "answering positively" requests from the Kurds to arm them, and that asylum should be offered in the UK.
Former British army commander Col Tim Collins called for a "unified front" against "the evil of the Islamic State".
He said help should be sent in the form of training for resistance fighters to improve their tactics and provide security for communities under threat.
Former armed forces minister, Andrew Robathan MP, told BBC Radio 4's World at One that just offering aid was insufficient in the face of the threat from IS militants.
He said: "By all accounts, these are pretty brutal, barbaric people who are murdering, slaughtering, beheading, crucifying people in their path apparently.
"We have to realise it is no good just sending aid: the real solution is to stop these people and hopefully allow the Iraqis and Kurds to feed [civilians in northern Iraq]."
Iraq's minorities
Christians
Yazidis | An RAF aid drop in Iraq had to be abandoned overnight owing to fears people could be injured by the cargo. | 28736342 |
Department of Immigration and Border Protection secretary Michael Pezzullo criticised media coverage of the case as "advocacy parading as journalism".
The Australian Broadcasting Corp has apologised for a reporting error.
The case was widely reported last week as the High Court ruled Australia's offshore asylum policy was legal.
The ruling meant more than 260 asylum seekers in Australia - including dozens of children - were expected to be deported imminently to Nauru.
There was widespread anger among activists at the prospect of the boy being returned, but Mr Pezzullo said on Monday there was "no five-year-old child, it's a figment".
The ABC has issued an apology, saying it misreported comments made by a paediatrician on two separate cases.
The doctor had referred to one case involving a five-year-old who was allegedly sexually assaulted and another about a 10-year-old who was allegedly raped in Nauru.
The ABC said its story "incorrectly used quotes about the older child in referring to the younger child".
Paediatrician Karen Zwi said the information she had given the ABC was "factually accurate".
"A child is a child. I stand by the statements I have made with regard to children in detention," she said.
The Human Rights Law Centre has also confirmed the younger boy was not among the children linked to the High Court ruling.
All immigrants trying to reach Australia illegally by boat are detained. They are taken to Nauru and Papua New Guinea for processing, with those found to be genuine refugees resettled in Papua New Guinea, Cambodia or Nauru itself.
The government says the policy deters people smuggling and stops people dying at sea
But critics say Australia is ignoring its international obligations, and there are repeated allegations of abuses and poor conditions in the camps. | Australia's top immigration official has said allegations a five-year-old boy was raped in the migrant detention centre in Nauru are "a figment". | 35519435 |
Swindon failed to register a shot on target in the first half as keeper Lawrence Vigouroux kept them level.
Robins forward Jon Obika forced a save from Tykes keeper Adam Davies after the break before Fabien Robert's ambitious volley was easily saved.
But Winnall thrashed home Josh Scowen's cross for his ninth goal in six league games to hand new Town manager Luke Williams his first defeat. | Sam Winnall's strike secured a sixth successive League One win for Barnsley. | 35389511 |
The building, in Boxford, Suffolk, is thought to have been in use as a shop since the early 15th Century.
It closed as a village store at the start of the year due to a change in ownership, but the building's post office counter remained open.
The Boxford Stores name has been retained as the premises reopens as a delicatessen and green grocers.
Roger Loose, treasurer for the Boxford Society, said there was evidence in church wardens' accounts the shop had been in continuous use since 1528 when it was rented to a butcher called Thomas Rastall.
It had also been a drapery and household goods shop in the 19th Century.
"It probably was a shop in the early 1400s, but we have found no documentary evidence of that," he said.
"The chances are that it was left to the church in a will."
The grade II-listed building on Swan Street was bought earlier this year by Lawrence Mott, who teamed up with local egg farmer Robin Windmill.
Mr Windmill said: "There are some others in the UK that claim the oldest shop title, but this is certainly one of the oldest.
"It needed a bit of freshness and quality and customers have told us what they wanted and we'll flex and do what they want us to do."
Julian Fincham-Jacques, chairman of Boxford Parish Council, said: "After years of uncertainty, this is great news.
"We were worried we could lose the post office, but now the store is re-opening, it looks as if the future of the post office is secured as well.
"There is a shop opposite which also sells groceries, but competition should be healthy and we hope there's room for both of them." | A shop, believed to be one of the UK's oldest, is to re-open after being revived by a couple of businessmen. | 24173324 |
Andrew MacGregor Marshall said about 20 police officers confiscated "evidence" at his wife's family home in Bangkok.
His wife was asked to go to the police station but not charged with any crime.
The military, which took power in 2014, has increasingly enforced strict and wide-ranging lese majeste laws which forbid any criticism of the monarchy.
Mr Marshall, who is currently not in Thailand, is the author of A Kingdom in Crisis which is banned in Thailand.
He recently shared what purported to be unflattering photographs of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 63, which were originally published by German tabloid Bild.
He also wrote a lengthy post speculating on the royal succession, discussion of which is also prohibited under the lese majeste laws.
The widely loved and revered Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej is in frail health.
On Friday, Mr Marshall said on Facebook his wife Noppawan "Ploy" Bunluesilp, who is a Thai citizen, was visiting Bangkok with their three-year-old son.
He said she was formerly a journalist for Reuters and NBC but currently not working.
"My wife and her family are not involved in my journalism and they should not be harassed by the Thai authorities."
He posted pictures of the items he said were confiscated by police which included passports, an iPad, and iPhone and a flash drive. | Thai police have questioned the wife of a Scottish journalist, hours after he shared images of the crown prince on social media. | 36863523 |
Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born and brought up on the Hebridean island of Lewis but emigrated to New York to live a very different life.
Mary Anne was one of tens of thousands of Scots who travelled to the US and Canada in the early years of the last century looking to escape economic hardship at home.
She first left Lewis for New York in 1930, at the age of 18, to seek work as a domestic servant.
Six years later she was married to successful property developer Frederick Trump, the son of German migrants and one of the most eligible men in New York.
The fourth of their five children, Donald John, as he is referred to on the islands, is about to become US president.
His mother was born in 1912 in Tong, about three miles from Stornoway, the main town on the isle of Lewis.
Genealogist Bill Lawson, who has traced the family tree of Mary Anne MacLeod back to the early 19th Century, says her father Malcolm ran a post office and small shop in his later years.
Economically, the family would have been slightly better off than the average in the township, he says.
However, life during and after World War One, in which 1,000 islanders died, was very hard and many young people were leaving the Western Isles.
Lewis had also suffered the Iolaire disaster in 1919 when 200 servicemen from the island had drowned at the mouth of Stornoway harbour, coming home for the first new year of peace.
Mr Lawson says: "Mary Anne MacLeod was from a very large family, nine siblings, and the move at that time was away from the island.
"The move by Viscount Leverhulme to revive the island had gone bust and there was not much prospect for young people.
"What else could she do?"
Mr Lawson adds: "Nowadays, you might think of going to the mainland but in those days most people went to Canada. It was far easier to make a life in America and many people had relatives there."
The genealogist says Mr Trump's mother was slightly different in that her sister Catherine, one of eight members of the MacLeod family to have emigrated to America, had moved from Canada to New York.
When Catherine returned to Lewis for a visit in 1930, her 18-year-old sister Mary Anne went with her to look for work.
It appears that she found work as a nanny with a wealthy family in a big house in the suburbs of New York but lost the job as the US sank into depression after the Wall Street Crash.
Mary Anne returned briefly to Scotland in 1934 but by then she had met Fred Trump and soon returned to New York for good.
The couple lived in a wealthy area of Queens and Mary Anne was active with charity work.
Donald Trump still has three cousins on Lewis, including two who live in the ancestral home, which has been rebuilt since Mary Anne MacLeod's time.
All three cousins have consistently refused to speak to the media.
John A MacIver, a local councillor and friend of the cousins, says: "I know the family very well.
"They are very nice, gentle people and I'm sure they don't want all the publicity that's around.
"I quite understand that they don't want to talk about it."
Mr MacIver says Mary Anne MacLeod was well-known and much respected in the community and used to attend the church on her visits home.
Mr Trump's mother became a US citizen in 1942 and died in 2000, aged 88.
But she returned to Lewis throughout her life and always spoke Gaelic, Mr MacIver says.
According to genealogist Bill Lawson, surnames are a relatively recent phenomenon on the islands and official records only go back to the early decades of the 19th Century.
His research took him back as far as John Roy MacLeod, which in Gaelic is Iain Ruaidh, named for a tendency to red hair.
Mary Anne Trump's paternal MacLeods came from Vatisker, a few miles further north of Tong.
Her great-grandfather Alexander Roy MacLeod and his son Malcolm were thought to have drowned together while fishing in the 1850s.
On Mary Anne's mother's side, the Smiths were among the families cleared from South Lochs area of Lewis in 1826.
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The period of the Highland Clearances on the mainland had largely missed Lewis but after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 some of the better lands for sheep-grazing on the island were cleared of tenants.
In most cases the displaced tenants were relocated elsewhere on Lewis rather than sent overseas.
According to Mr Lawson, all four lines of Mary Anne MacLeod's maternal ancestry had been moved to Stornoway parish from elsewhere on the island as a result of the Clearances.
His research also found another fishing tragedy when Donald Smith was drowned in October 1868 after his boat was upset in a squall off Vatisker Point.
His widow was left with three children, of whom the youngest, Mary, Donald Trump's grandmother, was less than a year old.
Mary succeeded her mother at 13 Tong but it was the smallest of the crofts in Tong.
After her marriage to Malcolm MacLeod, they were able to acquire the Smiths' original croft of 5 Tong and move there.
Donald Trump's mother Mary Anne was the youngest of their 10 children.
Mary Anne Trump's billionaire son Donald visited the house in which his mother grew up, and his cousins in 2008.
On that trip, the now president-elect said he had been to Lewis once before as "a three or four-year-old" but could remember little about it.
It is estimated he spent 97 seconds in the ancestral home during his whistle-stop tour.
At the time, he said: "I have been very busy - I am building jobs all over the world - and it's very, very tough to find the time to come back.
"But this just seemed an appropriate time, because I have the plane... I'm very glad I did, and I will be back again."
The president-elect was accompanied by his eldest sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a US federal judge, who has regularly visited her cousins on Lewis.
Mr Lawson says: "If you want to celebrate anyone, you should perhaps celebrate Maryanne, who has done a lot of work for the island.
"Donald arrived off a plane and then disappeared again. One photoshoot, that was it.
"I can't say he left much of an impression behind him." | . | 38648877 |
Bottom of the table County fought back to win 2-1 at Crewe in Flynn's first game in charge since replacing Graham Westley.
County are nine points from safety but Flynn says escaping relegation is "not impossible."
"We want to fight and put the pressure on the other teams and drag them in," he said.
"We're not going down without a fight, not on my watch. It's not happening.
"This club deserves so much. It's been through so many bad things and the fans know what it means to me and I know what it means to the fans.
"Now the players are seeing exactly what it is."
Flynn said the door is also open to players who were out of favour under previous manager Westley, who was sacked on Thursday.
Midfielders Mark Randall and Ben Tozer have not figured in recent weeks for the Exiles.
"I'll never rule anybody out," Flynn added.
"If I think somebody can add value and go in the right direction to where we're going then I'll be silly to rule them out
"But I've got to make sure they've got their heart and soul in Newport County because anything less would see us fall short.
"I'll only include them if it's right. There were reasons why they were left out and I've got to make sure that it's right to include them again."
County travel to 15th placed Morecambe on Tuesday and Flynn expects "a battle" against a side they held to a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade in February.
"We've got a tough game on Tuesday away to Morecambe and we'll prepare right and make sure that we're focused and ready to go," Flynn said.
"Hopefully we'll come away with the right result and then it gets really interesting." | Caretaker boss Mike Flynn says Newport County will not go down without a fight as they bid to stay in League Two. | 39248123 |
Marshall believes that Jared Payne is a "makeshift centre" and that Ireland's attack has been "lacklustre" at times.
"They do not have a (centre) combo that really do challenge," said the 81-times capped Marshall on BBC Radio 5 Live.
"When you have that, spaces open up for the outside backs and inside backs that completely change the game."
Marshall, who won 81 All Blacks caps between 1995 and 2005, believes that the Ireland backline has struggled to fill the gap left by Brian O'Driscoll's retirement even though the Irish managed to retain the Six Nations title earlier this year.
Payne was among the try-scorers as Ireland notched seven touchdowns in Saturday's opening 50-7 win over Canada but the Irish will face much tougher World Cup tests including the concluding Pool D game against France on 11 October.
"When you go into a restructure like they have when you lose quality centres (like O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy), you are trying to forge a way forward," added Marshall.
"You've got to be slightly conservative with the way you go about implementing your game plan.
"For me, Jared Payne is a back-three player so he's a makeshift centre. And a lot of their lacklustre attack is because they have not got a (centre) combo that really do challenge."
Former England centre Mike Tindall also believes that Ireland may "struggle creatively" when they face the stronger nations later on in the tournament.
"I think they are a bit one-dimensional in attack," added 2003 World Cup winner Tindall.
"They have a very structured game. They are incredibly good at getting their aerial kicks back and (Johnny) Sexton is one of the best tactical kickers in the game at the moment and Schmidt is one of the best tactical coaches.
"But I don't know if they go up against someone like New Zealand whether they will have the ability to score tries.
"That is my only question with them. Everything else they have got.
"It will be interesting when they play the big game against France whether they can muscle up against the French pack and also be creative enough."
After their opening win over Canada, Ireland are back in action against Romania at Wembley on Sunday and they face Italy on 4 October before the concluding pool fixture with France.
For the latest rugby union news, follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter | Ex-New Zealand scrum-half Justin Marshall doubts whether Ireland have the creativity to go all the way at the World Cup. | 34338636 |
They say they believe the 1.45m (5ft) remains are those of Louise de Quengo - a noblewoman who died in 1656.
"We've got soft tissue - organs - to work with. This is unprecedented in archaeology," forensic doctor Fabrice Dedouit said.
The body of the woman - still wearing her cap and shoes - was found in 2014.
It was discovered at a construction site for a convention centre.
The forensic team says a post-mortem examination and scans showed "significant kidney stones" and "lung adhesions", according to the AFP news agency.
The woman's heart was also taken out "with real surgical mastery", say the scientists.
The woman is believed to have been in her 60s when she died.
The remains were discovered in a lead sarcophagus in March last year.
The heart of Toussaint de Perrein - believed to be the woman's husband - was found in a heart-shaped urn nearby.
There were about 800 other graves at the site, but they only contained skeletons.
The scientists say the clothes on the woman's body have been restored and are expected to be put on display. | French scientists have carried out tests on the remarkably well-preserved body of a 17th Century woman found in the north-western city of Rennes. | 32991324 |
The 25-year-old daughter of musician and campaigner Bob Geldof was found dead at her home in Kent on Monday.
Police said at the time that her death was being treated as "non-suspicious but unexplained and sudden".
The toxicology tests could take "several weeks" to come through, police said on Wednesday.
"Officers continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in order to compile a report for the coroner," they added in a statement.
Kent County Council has said it will make "a decision on whether there needs to be an inquest" based on the final results of the post-mortem.
Geldof, who was a writer, TV presenter and model, died on Monday.
Officers had been called to the home she shared with her husband, singer Thomas Cohen, and their two young children following "a report of concern for the welfare of a woman". Geldof was pronounced dead at the scene.
The news of her death was met by shock and grief from friends and family.
In a statement issued on Monday night, Bob Geldof said: "She was the wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest and the most bonkers of all of us.
"Writing 'was' destroys me afresh. What a beautiful child. How is this possible that we will not see her again? How is that bearable?"
Geldof's elder sister, Fifi Trixibelle, also paid tribute on Tuesday with a post on Instagram that read: "My beautiful baby sister.... Gone but never forgotten. I love you Peaches x."
Cohen, lead singer of the rock band SCUM, added: "My beloved wife Peaches was adored by myself and her two sons Astala and Phaedra.
"I shall bring them up with their mother in their hearts everyday. We shall love her forever."
Actress Susan Sarandon, singers Boy George and Lily Allen, and TV presenter Davina McCall all offered condolences.
Irish President Michael D Higgins extended "my deepest sympathies to Bob Geldof and his family on the sudden and untimely death of his daughter".
President Higgins, who was due to meet Bob Geldof this week during a state visit to the UK, said his thoughts were with the family.
"This is such a difficult cross to bear for any family and all of our thoughts are with Peaches' family and friends at this time. Sabina and I were due to meet Bob Geldof while on the state visit and we are thinking of him at this time of immense loss," he added.
Also among those to pay tribute was Michelle Mone, founder of underwear firm Ultimo, who employed Geldof as a brand ambassador.
She called her "an incredible young woman" and said their relationship remained good despite Geldof being dropped by the company in 2010 after allegations about her taking drugs appeared in newspapers.
"I really did respect her and every time I met her I just felt quite proud of her because she had managed to turn her life around and seemed very happy," Mone told BBC Radio 5 live.
Geldof was 11 when her own mother died.
TV presenter Paula Yates died of a drug overdose in September 2000. In September 2012 Geldof said she had not been able to come to terms with her mother's death for several years.
Geldof's final tweet on Sunday was a picture of her as a child in her mother's arms, with the message: "Me and my mum."
Her last column for Mother and Baby magazine was published posthumously on Tuesday.
"Right now, life is good," she wrote. "And being a mum is the best part of it." | Police say a post-mortem on Peaches Geldof has proved inconclusive, and toxicology tests will be conducted in an attempt to determine cause of death. | 26957892 |
The business will now be known as News Scotland.
The media group said News Scotland would have more autonomy to operate as its own entity, while "maintaining close ties" to the business's London headquarters.
The announcement comes as the company marks 30 years since it began printing newspapers north of the border.
News UK said its Scottish titles were performing strongly, with The Scottish Sun's readership standing at 544,000 and The Times Scotland at 56,000 daily readers.
The Sunday Times Scotland is said to reach 117,000 adults every Sunday.
News UK chief executive Rebekah Brooks said: "The launch of News Scotland comes at a time when our titles and digital offerings are excelling in the market.
"One in five adults in Scotland now read our papers - I'm extremely proud of this and have no doubt that we'll continue to be front and centre of the Scottish news agenda in this exciting new era."
News Scotland general manager Richard Bogie said: "This is the start of a new chapter for our Scottish business and products and underscores our great belief and confidence in our Scotland operations.
"Our digital audiences are growing at an unprecedented rate and our commercial business is thriving.
"We made huge inroads with our exceptional coverage during the Scottish referendum and general election and this rebrand signals a further commitment to delivering the best news, commentary and analysis for the issues unique to Scotland."
News UK started printing papers in Scotland at Kinning Park, Glasgow, 30 years ago. It has since relocated to Eurocentral business park next to the M8 in Lanarkshire. | News UK, which publishes The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, has rebranded its operations in Scotland. | 35754134 |
City move above Clyde, now only five points ahead of bottom-placed Cowdenbeath, who beat Berwick Rangers 3-1 - their first win in eight games.
Annan Athletic leapfrogged visitors Elgin City after a 1-0 win.
Stirling Albion jumped above Montrose into fifth with a 3-1 win.
James Lister put Forfar ahead five minutes before half time, but former Celtic, Hibernian and Scotland striker Derek Riordan levelled and Lewis Allan secured the three points for Edinburgh.
Mark Whatley's goal was enough to secure victory for Arbroath against Clyde.
Annan moved up to third, David McKenna's 20th-minute penalty was the only goal of the game at home to Elgin as the sides swapped places in the table.
Robbie Buchanan, Brian Ross and Kriss Renton put Cowdenbeath in control in their first game under new manager Gary Locke before Greg Rutherford grabbed a late consolation for Berwick.
Stirling leapfrogged Montrose in the table courtesy of goals from Darren Smith, Ross Kavanagh and Connor McLaren.
Kerr Hay pulled one back for Montrose late on. | Arbroath moved within three points of Forfar Athletic at the top League Two thanks to a 1-0 win over Clyde as Edinburgh City beat the league leaders 2-1 at Station Park. | 39245356 |
The Doncaster Central MP was one of three members to be chosen in a secret ballot, succeeding Natascha Engel who lost her seat at the election.
Labour's Lindsay Hoyle topped the ballot and was re-elected as chairman of ways and means. In that role, he will preside over Budget debates.
Tory Eleanor Laing was also re-elected as another deputy to John Bercow.
The Commons Speaker, who has held the role since 2009, was himself re-elected without a formal vote two weeks ago.
As he first stood for the Commons as a Conservative MP, Mr Bercow's deputies must be comprised of one Conservative and two opposition MPs to ensure balance.
Labour's Roberta Blackman-Woods was the only other candidate who stood in the election. Details of the number of votes each candidate got will be published later.
As no other Conservative candidate put their name forward, Mrs Laing was automatically chosen as first deputy chair of ways and means.
Deputy speakers, who stand in for Mr Bercow in the main Commons chamber and have a range of other duties, were elected for the first time in 2010. | Former Labour chief whip Dame Rosie Winterton has been elected as a deputy speaker of the House of Commons. | 40434901 |
Smyth struck in the 12th minute, but Artem Besedin scored the equaliser for the hosts three minutes later in Kiev.
Michael Duffy and Smyth were denied by Dmytro Bezruk in the second half, while Mark Sykes' 25-yard shot from 25 yards was just wide of the top corner.
Northern Ireland, who have two points from their nine games, finish their campaign at home to France on Tuesday.
Ukraine lie fourth in Group Three on 11 points, while Northern Ireland are certain to finish bottom.
Jim Magilton's side went into the match having lost seven of their last eight qualifiers, their only previous point coming in their second fixture in Iceland.
Smyth scored after a counter-attack against the run of play, while Besedin turned home after being set up by Oleksandr Zubkov.
Zubkov failed to find the net with a stoppage time free-kick. | Linfield's Paul Smyth was on target as Northern Ireland Under-21s secured a 1-1 draw away to Ukraine on Thursday. | 37538878 |
Suhaib Majeed, 21, of west London, was convicted of conspiracy to murder and preparation of acts of terrorism.
Ringleader Tarik Hassane, 22, of west London, had admitted the same charges.
Two men who provided a gun were cleared of conspiracy to murder and preparing terrorist acts by an Old Bailey jury, but admitted firearms offences.
Nyall Hamlett, 25, and Nathan Cuffy, 26, had admitted their role in handing over a gun to Majeed and Hassane but denied knowing what it was going to be used for.
The students who turned terror plotters
Question over terror plotters' network
The trial heard that Hassane, a medical student who split his time between London and university in Sudan, was immersed in extremist ideology and aspired to kill in London months before the IS group urged supporters in the West to carry out such attacks.
He turned to his childhood friend, Majeed - a physics undergraduate at Kings College London - to help him put the plan into action, with the pair communicating secretly through social media apps.
Majeed agreed to get a gun and moped for what would be a drive-by attack. Hamlett, a known criminal, supplied the weapon to Majeed after first acquiring it from Cuffy.
By Dominic Casciani, home affairs correspondent
Operation Exactness has been one of the most significant recent counter-terrorism investigations in the UK.
When the plan devised by Tarik Hassane was uncovered in 2014, it was among a string of very serious ongoing inquiries and intelligence operations that convinced counter-terrorism chiefs to raise the UK threat level to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.
It is also one of the half-dozen incidents of attack planning that ministers have publicly linked back to the self-styled Islamic State group.
Hassane was not directed by IS leaders in Syria or Iraq - but he is part of a broad network of suspects from west London who have either been inspired to go to fight, offer support or, most seriously for the UK, engage in attack planning at home.
At least 11 men from west London have died fighting in Syria and Iraq. Three of them were Hassane and Majeed's friends.
Hamlett and Cuffy admitted supplying the gun - but denied knowing about the terror plot and were cleared of conspiracy to murder and preparation of acts of terrorism.
When Majeed, Hamlett and Cuffy were arrested in September 2014, Hassane was out of the country - but he later came home to continue his planning.
When he was eventually arrested, police discovered he had been carrying out online surveillance of west London's Shepherd's Bush police station and a nearby Territorial Army base with the help of Google Maps.
Half-way through the Old Bailey trial, Hassane pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder and preparing terrorist acts. Majeed denied the charges and was convicted on the fifth day of the jury's deliberations.
Commander Dean Haydon, head of counter-terrorism at Scotland Yard, said Hassane was the leader of the group and he and Majeed had planned to carry out the drive-by attack together.
"Their intention was to commit a drive-by shooting using a moped and a firearm," he said.
"Targeting specifically the police, the military or members of public in the street and then leave the scene afterwards that clearly would create fear and panic amongst the communities of west London."
Commander Haydon said Majeed spent time and effort setting up encrypted communications systems for the group so that Hassane could direct efforts while he was studying at university in Sudan. | Two men are facing life imprisonment after being convicted of plotting to kill police or soldiers in a shooting inspired by so-called Islamic State. | 35884915 |
Quarterly net profit came to 5.1bn Thai baht ($141.7m) compared to a 6.4bn baht loss a year earlier, officials confirmed with the BBC.
Full year net loss was 13.05bn baht compared to 15.57bn a year ago.
The national carrier has been struggling amid an increasingly competitive regional marketplace.
The carrier, which is 51% government owned, has been committed to turnaround plans, which have been in place for about 12 months.
Its operating losses for the full year were substantially reduced, which the carrier said was due in part to a 20% decrease in fuel expenses.
On Monday, Thai Airways said that the world's aviation industry had continued to face several headwinds in 2015 including "from economic and political uncertainty [and] the global economic recession".
It noted China's slowdown, "a heavy expansion" of low-cost airlines, and exchange rate fluctuations as some of the reasons for the industry's struggles.
Thai Airways' so-called transformation plan was introduced in January last year and was designed to "stop the bleeding", the firm said on Monday.
Over the last year, the carrier has reduced the number of flights it operates and cut unprofitable routes, amid other cost saving measures. The firm said it would also focus on voluntary retirements this year.
It decommissioned several planes in 2015 and received eight new ones, bringing its fleet size to 95 aircraft, down from 102 a year earlier.
On Monday, Thai Airways also addressed concerns over its international flight safety reputation and said it had not been affected by recent downgrades for Thailand's aviation industry.
In December last year, the US downgraded its safety rating of Thailand's aviation authority following earlier findings by the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that Thailand did not comply with ICAO's safety standards.
At the time, aviation experts said the national flag-carrier's code share agreements in the US could be hurt, however, the airline said it had not been affected by the downgrade.
Thai Airways also said the European Commission had not recently added any Thai airlines to its air safety blacklist.
The national flag carrier added that it had recently passed the safety standards audit by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). | Thai Airways has posted a profit in the three months to December, reversing its fortunes from the same period a year ago and softening its full-year losses. | 35685719 |
The 18-year-old left-hander has made six first-class appearances for Northants, his most recent coming in April against Loughborough MCCU.
He also made his List A debut against New Zealand in 2014, aged 15.
The orthodox spinner was also included in the squad for Tuesday's One-Day Cup washout against Nottinghamshire.
"It's great news to have Saif Zaib sign his first professional contract," Northamptonshire's head coach David Ripley said.
"He has already shown his ability in the first team and he is continuing to develop as a person and as a cricketer." | Northamptonshire all-rounder Saif Zaib has signed his first professional contract, keeping him at Wantage Road until the end of 2018. | 39951434 |
Global Equipment Spares (GES) is spending £1.9m to upgrade its facility and purchase new machinery.
The firm, which is based at the city's Campsie Industrial Estate, hopes to more than double its workforce during the next three years.
GES makes high strength steels for the global mining, construction and agricultural industry.
The move would help GES grow their exports "particularly into North America", said Invest NI, which is offering £396,000 in grants.
John McClenaghan, Managing Director of GES, said: "This expansion is part of a strategy to grow sales and increase both our workforce and our product offering to meet identified opportunities within new and existing markets.
"We have set ourselves a challenging target for new export business and will be focused on leveraging our reputation in the industry to secure new customers," Mr McClenaghan said.
"Invest NI's support is allowing us to fully implement our growth plans and create valuable employment opportunities across a range of disciplines in the North West."
GES customers include major materials handling businesses Terex, Telestack, Sandvik and McCloskey International.
The new jobs will range from manufacturing roles to procurement and sales positions. | A Londonderry manufacturing company is to create 61 new jobs as part of a major new investment. | 39919543 |
Lawro's opponents for the latest round of Premier League fixtures are actors Don Warrington and Kris Marshall, stars of detective comedy-drama Death in Paradise, which returns to the BBC this week.
Their first target is to beat fellow Death in Paradise star Danny John-Jules, who got seven correct results out of 10 to beat Lawro when he took him on 12 months ago.
But Warrington, who plays police commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the Guadeloupe-based show, is also hoping for a Manchester United win against Southampton.
"My heroes growing up were Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best," Warrington told BBC Sport. "But Best was my favourite. He was just a fantastic player."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Meanwhile, Marshall, who plays Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman, is an Aston Villa fan who grew up idolising Gary Shaw and the rest of their 1982 European Cup-winning team, but has rather less faith in the current side.
"It is much the same as the last couple of seasons - we can't score," Marshall explained. "We don't tend to concede too many but we can't score either. That means we will always be struggling and will probably finish 15th or 16th again."
The fourth series of Death in Paradise starts at 21:00 on Thursday on BBC One.
"There will be lots of fun, lots of sun... and lots of murders, with some nice hair," added Marshall.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ONE point. Getting the exact score correct earns THREE points.
In his FA Cup third-round predictions, Lawro got 13 results right out of the 20 ties he looked at, with two perfect scores for a total score of 17.
He was beaten by both his guests, Dave Beasant and John Aldridge, who played on opposing sides for Wimbledon and Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final.
Former Wimbledon goalkeeper Beasant got 14 results correct, including two perfect scores, for a total of 18, but Aldridge, who famously had his penalty saved as the Reds were beaten at Wembley, came out on top this time with 15 correct results, including five exact scores, for a total score of 25.
We are keeping a record of the totals for Lawro and his guests (below), and showing a table of how the Premier League would look if all of Lawro's predictions were correct (at the bottom of the page).
All kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless otherwise stated.
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Kris & Don's prediction: 1-1
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Kris & Don's prediction: 2-1
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 3-0
Kris & Don's prediction: 3-0
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 1-2
Kris & Don's prediction: 0-3
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Kris & Don's prediction: 0-0
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Kris & Don's prediction: 2-1
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Kris & Don's prediction: 1-0
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Kris & Don's prediction: 0-2
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Kris & Don's prediction: 3-1
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Kris & Don's prediction: 1-1
Match report
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
Lawro's best score: 17 points (week seven v Ossie Ardiles)
Lawro's worst score: 2 points (week 20 v Steve Wilson) | BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season. | 30662510 |
His death was confirmed by the University of Essex where he taught government from 1966.
Prof King was a regular commentator on British elections and helped the BBC with its coverage for 20 years.
BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby said: "It's very sad news, completely unexpected to me. Tony King was passionate about the way government worked, he was extraordinary."
Dimbleby, the BBC's general election coverage anchor for nearly 40 years, added: "He also played a public role. He was on the committee for standards in public life, on a committee on reform of the House of Lords, so he was sort of embedded, in the way we do our politics.
"We used to have lunch every so often in between elections to talk about how things were going and he was always absolutely fascinating."
Born in Canada, Prof King moved to the UK in the 1950s and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he gained a doctorate in politics.
He went on to become one of Britain's leading experts in the political sciences and wrote extensively on the people and trends that have shaped Parliament over the past 50 years.
His works included the history of the Social Democratic Party, Margaret Thatcher's leadership style and the rise of the career politician.
Baroness Shirley Williams, a close friend of Prof King, said: "Tony was one of the finest political scientists of his generation and his loss will be keenly felt by those of us who knew and worked with him".
He was best known as a populariser of politics and electoral trends; he analysed opinion polls for the Daily Telegraph for many years and was the BBC's analyst on its election night coverage from 1983 to 2005.
The Guardian's associate editor, Martin Kettle, wrote: "Death this morning of Anthony King, Essex professor, BBC psephologist, prolific writer, husband of Jan, most generous of friends."
Peter Riddell, the commissioner for public appointments and a former political journalist, wrote: "#tonyking bridged the worlds of academia, the media and public policy, always stimulating company with fresh insights."
University of Essex vice-chancellor Prof Anthony Forster said: "Prof Anthony King was a giant of political science and one of the University of Essex's longest-serving members of staff, joining us in 1966 just two years after the university opened.
"An inspirational teacher, a great political thinker and a brilliant writer, Professor King analysed politics in books and on television with incredible intelligence, insight and wit."
Close friend and colleague Prof David Sanders, the university's regius professor of political science, said: "Tony was the intellectual heart of the Department of Government at Essex.
"His facility for making complex arguments accessible to audiences of all kinds was unparalleled. His personal kindness was immense. I will miss him more than I can say." | Renowned political commentator Prof Anthony King has died at the age of 82. | 38596584 |
"Calcutta," wrote the British colonial general Clive, "is one of the most wicked places in the Universe... Rapacious and Luxurious beyond conception."
In the late 18th Century, the British bridgehead in Bengal was the City of Palaces, littered with magnificent Palladian mansions, and already the jewel among England's overseas trading stations.
It was a city where great wealth could be accumulated in a matter of months, then lost in minutes in a wager or at the whist table.
Death, from disease or excess, was commonplace, and the constant presence of mortality made men callous: they would mourn briefly for some perished friend, then bid drunkenly for his effects.
Like many Scots trying to make ends meet in the past couple of centuries, generations of my family were born, lived and died in what was then Calcutta (now Kolkata), and their houses and graves still lie scattered all across the city.
The first out was Stair Dalrymple, who died in the Black Hole in 1756 and whose name can be found on the Memorial in St John's Church.
My great-grandfather Walter was born there as recently as a century ago, and was - so I've now discovered - part-Bengali.
No one in my family seemed to know about this, though it should not have been a surprise: we had all heard the stories of how our beautiful, dark-eyed, Calcutta-born great-great-grandmother, Sophia Pattle, with whom the painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones had fallen in love, used to speak Bengali with her sisters and was painted by Frederick Watts with a rakhi - a Hindu sacred thread - tied around her wrist.
But it was only when I poked around in the archives that I discovered that she and Walter were descended from a Hindu Bengali woman from Chandernagore (now spelled as Chandannagar), who had converted to Catholicism, taken the name Marie Monica and married a French officer.
I recently returned to Calcutta to see Durga Puja - the great annual festival of the city in honour of the great Goddess who is worshipped on this occasion as a symbol of familial love.
I watched statues of the Goddess be sculpted from mud and straw by specialist idol makers, then brought into worship for a week, before finally being immersed in the Ganges.
"It breaks my heart to take this wonderful statue to the river and drop it in," said Abhoy Bhattacharjee, who was organising one of the pujas. "It is a moment beyond tears. Durga is our mother. The very day after the immersion we begin counting again until the next Durga Puja."
But I also went to rediscover some of my lost Bengali roots.
Over the course of the Durga Puja week, I toured what remained of the graves, monuments and houses and palaces that my ancestors must have known, ranging from the great Marble Palace of the Mullick family in north Calcutta, through the National Library, once the centre of the administration of Warren Hastings, to South Park Street Cemetery, St John's Church where my great grandfather was baptised, and the crumbling mansions of Garden Reach where he was brought up.
Both worlds came together when I saw images of the Goddess immersed at Prinsep Ghat, which was named after my Orientalist great uncle, James Prinsep, who unlocked the secrets of Kharoshti and Ashoka Brahmi, the script of the Ashoka Pillars, so rediscovering a whole new chapter of forgotten ancient Indian history.
The effort cost him his life: he developed "an affectation of the brain, and by the time he was bundled aboard the Herefordshire to be sent home, "his mind was addled".
On the wall of St John's Church there I found a memorial to my favourite Calcutta ancestor, James Pattle, my great great grandfather.
Pattle became famous as "the biggest liar in India" after he allegedly claimed to have rowed across the Atlantic in a hen coop.
According to the memoir of another of his great-grandchildren, Virginia Woolf - who also shares my trickle of Bengali blood - Pattle eventually drank himself to death and was put in a casket of rum to preserve him during the voyage back to England.
His wife had the cask placed outside her bedroom door. In the middle of the night there was a violent explosion, and when the widow rushed out into the passage, she found the container had burst and her husband half in, half out of the barrel.
"The shock sent her off her head then and there, poor thing, and she died raving…" But the worst was yet to come. The cask was nailed down and put on board ship.
Sometime after the boat had set off, the sailors guessed it was full of liquor, bored a hole into the side of it and began to get drunk. The rum continued to run out, caught fire and set the ship ablaze.
While the drunken sailors were trying to extinguish the flames, the ship ran onto a rock and blew up. So it was that Pattle was cremated rather than buried in Britain, as he had wished.
William Dalrymple is a writer and historian. He is the author, most recently, of Return of a King: The Battle of Afghanistan | Author William Dalrymple has visited the Indian city of Kolkata, where he brought back some striking photos - and connected with his Bengali roots. | 37687562 |
Speaking at the gala opening at the Palace Theatre in London, the best-selling author said fans had been "amazing" at avoiding spoilers.
"It's the most extraordinary fandom so I'm kind of not surprised, because they didn't want to spoil it for each other."
She added: "I'm so happy we got here without ruining everything."
Rowling said that she'd like the new Harry Potter play to be seen widely around the world.
Asked if the show would head to Broadway, she told the BBC: "I'd love it to go wider than that. I'd like as many Potter fans to see it as possible."
The story, by Rowling, writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, is set 19 years after the seventh and final book in the series, the Deathly Hallows.
It portrays the stars of the Rowling's wizarding saga as adults with their own children heading off to school.
Audiences had been urged to "keep the secrets" since the play - presented in two parts over five hours - began previews in early June.
It won a number of five-star reviews earlier this week, with one critic describing it as "a game-changing production".
Tiffany said the play had "not massively changed" during the preview period.
"We've crystallized and evolved some of the illusions and costumes - all of the actors are still in it, I'm glad to say. It's been great to see it develop in front of an audience."
The script book of the play, billed as the eighth Harry Potter story, is published at midnight after play's gala opening.
Book shops around the world are planning late-night openings to allow fans to pick up their copies.
Waterstones said 140 of its shops would host Potter parties on Saturday night, with the largest events in Edinburgh, Manchester Deansgate and London Piccadilly.
A spokeswoman said: "Our pre-orders have exceeded six figures - numbers we haven't seen since the last Harry Potter book and we fully expect Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to be our best-selling book of the year."
It's a similar story in the US where booksellers Barnes and Noble say it's broken the pre-order record Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Speaking on the red carpet on Saturday, Friedman said Cursed Child was set to be the biggest-selling play of all time.
"What we think is beautiful about that is that we are imagining children and families creating the play themselves in their living rooms and bedrooms."
The Harry Potter books have sold more than 450 million copies since 1997 and been adapted into eight films.
Potter are also preparing themselves for spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by Rowling, which opens in November. | JK Rowling has praised fans for keeping the secrets of stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. | 36933860 |
James Wolffe QC is to intervene on behalf of the Scottish government in the appeal case over triggering Brexit.
His written submissions says Brexit will impact on devolved areas and thus engage legislative consent conventions.
Theresa May has pledged to begin the formal process of taking the UK out of the EU by the end of March 2017.
The High Court ruled that MPs must be given a vote on whether the UK can start this process, which Mrs May wants to do using existing ministerial powers - the royal prerogative.
The UK government has appealed against this decision, and the Scottish and Welsh governments along with several other groups have won leave to intervene in the Supreme Court hearing.
Mr Wolffe argues that Brexit will change the legislative competency of Holyrood and the executive competence of the Scottish government, with changes to laws cutting across many devolved areas.
He said that under the Scotland Act, these changes "may not be affected by an act of the executive alone", adding that "it is a matter of constitutional principle that laws cannot be amended or repealed by an exercise of the royal prerogative alone".
Mr Wolffe is to argue in court that not only should MPs be given a vote - describing triggering Article 50 with the royal prerogative alone as "unlawful" - Holyrood's legislative consent should also be sought.
He wrote: "The effects of withdrawal from the EU on devolved matters are such as to engage the legislative consent convention under which the UK parliament will not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.
"The constitutional requirements, according to which any decision to withdraw from the EU must be taken, accordingly include both the legal requirement for an Act of the UK Parliament, and the legislative consent convention."
The UK government maintains that an act of parliament should not be necessary, and said it "will be taking strong legal arguments to court" at the appeal in December.
The Attorney General has previously argued that Holyrood should not be able to wield a "veto" via consent legislation.
Scotland's Brexit minister Mike Russell said "the views of the people in Scotland cannot simply be brushed aside". | Scotland's Lord Advocate will argue at the Supreme Court that Holyrood's consent should be sought over legislation invoking Article 50. | 38110677 |
A man in his thirties was shot in the stomach at Forum Court near the railway station on Tuesday.
He is in a stable condition in hospital.
A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and a man, aged 39, was held on suspicion of attempted murder. A man and two women arrested have been released on bail.
A burnt-out car found in Rushbrooke Lane in Bury St Edmunds at 19:15 BST on Tuesday is being linked to the investigation, following the discovery of a shotgun inside it, police added.
A 58-year-old man and two women aged 59 and 28, all from the Needham Market area, were released on bail until 1 October.
All three were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
The other two arrested men are from Dorchester. | Two further arrests have been made by police investigating a shooting in Bury St Edmunds. | 33833944 |
The Fes Watch has a minimalist, monochrome design but falls short of the features offered by smartwatches.
However, the battery of the e-paper watch could last far longer with an estimated 60 days of use.
The device has been described as "retro and cool" by gadget expert Stuart Miles from Pocket-lint.
"One of my predictions for next year is that fashion is going to play a huge part in shaping the tech industry.
"Having a phone that's big and square is one thing, but if we're actually wearing things, it has to look good."
The watch face and straps have an e-paper display - comparable to the technology used in e-book readers such as Amazon's Kindle.
It means the watch can alternate between several different styles of watch face and strap design.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Sony had deliberately kept the development of the watch low-key, opting to use a spin-off division called Fashion Entertainments to work on the device.
Fashion Entertainments ran a crowdfunding campaign to fund the watch's creation, the WSJ reported, in an attempt to gauge the public's interest in the concept.
It raised 3.5 million yen ($30,000; £19,000).
"We hid Sony's name because we wanted to test the real value of the product, whether there will be demand for our concept," a person involved in the project told the newspaper. A spokeswoman for Sony confirmed to the BBC that Fashion Entertainments is a division of company's New Business Creation Department, and was working on a number of e-paper prototypes.
Other e-paper experiments being worked on by Fashion Entertainments include shoes, bow-ties and glasses.
One drawback of using e-paper rather than, for example, liquid-crystal displays (LCD) is a limitation on possible features due to the limitations of what e-paper can display.
However, Mr Miles said he did not envision that being too significant a drawback for e-paper wearable technology.
"Look at traditional watches now, they just tell the time and we're happy with that," he said, noting that one of the most popular smartwatches on the market, the Pebble, uses e-paper.
Sony has not provided a date for the Fes Watch's release.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC | Sony has developed a watch made from e-paper as part of an initiative to experiment with the use of the material for fashion products. | 30245296 |
The ELN earlier said Derk Bolt and Eugenio Follender had been "freed in perfect condition".
The Dutch embassy in Colombia told the BBC it had no information about the reported release.
It is feared the kidnappings could disrupt peace talks the left-wing ELN is holding with the government.
The ELN (National Liberation Army) said earlier on Friday that the journalists had been freed, but it later added that it "couldn't properly corroborate" this.
Mr Bolt and Mr Follender were near El Tarra in the Catatumbo region, near the border with Venezuela, searching for the mother of a Colombian child adopted in the Netherlands.
Last year the ELN kidnapped a Spanish journalist and several Colombians in the same area. All were later released.
The ELN is the second largest left-wing guerrilla group in Colombia, behind the Farc.
The Farc signed a peace deal with the government last November, are coming to the end of a disarmament process and are preparing to enter civilian life. The ELN only started peace talks in February this year.
Analysis: Natalio Cosoy, BBC, Bogota
The fact that the ELN has held these two journalists captive in Catatumbo and insists it would do it again if the same situation arose means the area is effectively out of bounds for reporters and non-locals.
It is not the only Colombian region where an armed group has a level of control that makes it unsafe to visit. The situation is the same in the province of Guaviare, where the dissident 1st Front of the Farc operates. In early March it kidnapped, and has still not released, an official working for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
These situations put into question the ability of the Colombian state to control territories around the country, even after the Farc guerrillas have retreated into 26 transition zones, where they are completing their disarmament, as agreed in the peace deal they have signed with the government in November 2016.
Without the Farc the huge Colombian security forces apparatus, with around half a million men and women, has more room to control other insurgencies and criminal organisations.
As the Colombian government's High Commissioner for Peace, Sergio Jaramillo, told me a few days ago, referring to all areas like Catatumbo: "They have to improve. There would be no excuse for them not to." | Two Dutch journalists seized in Colombia last weekend by ELN rebels have not been released yet, the left-wing group told the BBC. | 40385681 |
Clwyd West assembly member Darren Millar wants parks better regulated so that caravans are occupied no more than 11 months of the year.
He is seeking permission from the assembly to introduce a Holiday Caravan Park (Wales) Bill.
The British Holiday and Home Parks Association shares his concerns but says parks could become over-regulated.
Static caravans can only be lived in for a maximum 11 months annually and Mr Millar said there was a negative impact on the economy by people who flout the rule.
Mr Millar is concerned by the number of caravan park operators wanting to offer 12-month occupancy.
Previously, he has said such a move could lead to "trailer park ghettoes".
He said: "Unfortunately, there are some caravan park owners which are unscrupulous and do not manage their parks to the highest standards and, of course, because tourism is such an important part of the north Wales economy, what we have to do is protect it as best as we possibly can and make it sustainable for the future.
Mr Millar said the main problem was an increase in recent years in the number of people using their holiday caravans as their main home.
He said: "If people are living in caravans all year round they are, effectively, residents in the area but of course they do not pay council tax in the same way that other local residents would pay council tax but they will still be seeking entitlement to local public services.
"Obviously there is a cost to local authorities, there's a cost to the health service, there's a cost to the police service - and none of it is being reimbursed to their pockets."
Mr Millar suggested an "extensive consultation" over how the situation would be policed, which is currently the responsibility of the local authorities.
Mr Millar said: "What we have to do is to make sure they are better equipped with the tools that they need to do a really effective job and that's, hopefully, what my legislation will deliver."
Figures from local authorities show there are currently 55 licences across Wales for 12-month trading, with 43 in north Wales counties.
There were 25 applications for such licences in 2012 and 13, with 23 in north Wales, compared with six applications across Wales in 2011 and 12.
A spokesperson for the British Holiday and Home Parks Association (BHHPA) said it shared Mr Millar's concerns, adding: "We also recognise the importance of ensuring that Wales continues to benefit from the major contribution made by parks to the regional economy by protecting the industry's reputation.
"There exists within present legislation the means to prevent the misuse of caravan holiday homes by either consumers or businesses. This power lies within the hands of local authorities which are able to enforce the terms of planning consents and the site licences they issue, including requirements for holiday caravans not to be used for residential occupation.
"There is concern within the industry that inappropriately drafted legislation could place an onerous red-tape burden on businesses." | People living in static caravans all year round are damaging the Welsh economy, a Conservative has claimed. | 22953131 |
Lesley Griffiths confirmed they would be resettled in four local authority areas, with details not being revealed.
She said all 22 councils were keen to welcome refugees although 18 were still preparing services for their arrival.
Ms Griffiths added the UK government had vowed that all refugees would be "thoroughly vetted" before arrival to ensure they were no security risk.
"Wales has a proud history of welcoming refugees from all over the world, including Syrians, who have come to the UK and claimed asylum," she said.
"I want to send out a strong message that refugees and asylum seekers are welcome in Wales."
Welsh ministers have created the Syrian Refugee Taskforce to handle people arriving in Wales under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme.
First Minister Carwyn Jones has previously suggested between 500 and 600 refugees could be settled in Wales over the next five years, based on the UK taking 10,000.
With up to 20,000 refugees now expected, Wales' share is likely to be around 1,000.
The Welsh Refugee Council has told BBC Wales the taskforce should expand to deal with around 3,000 asylum seekers and refugees already in Wales.
The Welsh government has said it is consulting on ways to help all seeking sanctuary. | Around 50 Syrian refugees will be welcomed to Wales before Christmas, the communities minister has said. | 34909833 |
Commissioners passed a motion calling on Colin Kennedy to stand down after he walked out of a meeting in Brora, Sutherland, earlier on Wednesday.
They have also issued a public apology for how the commission handled its dispute with the crofters.
The meeting of the commission's board resumed after Mr Kennedy left.
He had earlier in the meeting refused to allow a commissioner to withdraw his declaration of interest in the dispute about the running of common grazings, including at Mangersta and Upper Coll on Lewis.
When officials told him he had to accept the request, Mr Kennedy closed the meeting and walked out.
As he left, Mr Kennedy refused to talk to a BBC Alba reporter covering the meeting.
Last week, crofting minister Fergus Ewing asked the commission, a body set up by the Scottish government, to rescind its decisions to dismiss grazings committees and apologise.
There are more than 1,000 common grazings covering tens of thousands of acres of land across Scotland, according to the Crofting Commission.
Grazing committees manage these areas of land and their members are elected by crofters.
The commission's apology was read at the board meeting. It will form part of a response to Mr Ewing's request that a public apology be made.
In the statement read at the meeting, the commission said: "The Crofting Commission wishes to apologise for the way it has handled recent grazings committee cases.
"Three unprecedented cases have been considered by the commission under Section 47(8) of the Crofting Act and resulted in committees being put out of office.
"The decisions taken by the commission have created a poor result for everyone involved.
"The actions taken in these cases did not enable communities to work together for the benefit of crofting and in fact have had an adverse impact on the crofting community.
"The commission acknowledges that the recent decisions have caused prolonged uncertainty and anxiety not only for the three communities involved but for all crofters, and for this we are sorry."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "We note that the Crofting Commission Board has today issued a public apology about recent events.
"The Scottish government will continue to work with the Crofting Commission and will monitor the situation closely." | The Crofting Commission's convener has been asked by his fellow commissioners to resign amid a row with groups of crofters on the Isle of Lewis. | 37493786 |
Cleveland Police and North Yorkshire Police will launch the Major Investigation Team in November.
Both forces have denied the merger is a cost-cutting measure.
North Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Ken McIntosh said it was "about putting in an investment into the teams."
As well as dealing with new crimes the unit will also investigate cold cases and take over ongoing inquiries, such as the hunt for missing York woman Claudia Lawrence.
Mike Stubbs from North Yorkshire's Police Federation, which represents junior police officers, said the merger could help in the initial stages of an investigation by allowing "resources to be put into place more quickly".
However, he added that the federation had concerns over the different crime rates in the two counties.
"We are one of the safest and we have a low crime rate," he said.
"Cleveland can't make that same claim.
"So our concern is that because of the higher demand in Cleveland the resources that North Yorkshire Police are committing to this collaboration may be drawn into investigating crimes in Cleveland not in North Yorkshire."
The forces are also planning to combined their dog units with Durham Constabulary, in an effort to save by £3m over five years. | Two police forces are to set-up a joint unit to investigate serious crimes such as murders, rapes and kidnappings. | 35869242 |
Gary Davies said the attraction, in Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire, needs to do more to attract visitors.
About 120,000 people visit each year but both the Welsh Government and Carmarthenshire council have cut its funding.
Mr Davies, who leaves next month, said it "needs to grow commercially".
Speaking on BBC Radio Cymru, his comments were at odds with his predecessor, Dr Rosie Plummer, who warned about the dangers of greater commercialisation when she left.
Mr Davies said he believed the garden has a "very successful future" and it was a "flagship destination, not just for south west Wales, but the whole of Wales".
Changes include building a children's playground and a butterfly house, which is due to open soon.
"It is something that we've noticed in the past few weeks - that children are crying going away from the garden, whereas I dare say in previous years they were crying when they were pulled into the garden," Mr Davies added.
The National Botanic Garden of Wales' annual grant from the Welsh Government has been cut by almost 11% to £581,000 this year and Carmarthenshire council has announced it is cutting its funding from £50,000 to £30,000 next year. | The National Botanic Garden of Wales faces "challenging times" after overspending by £300,000 last year, its interim director has said. | 36325766 |
Audit Scotland said it expected this figure to rise to 95% by December 2017 if BT continued to meet its targets.
However, extending coverage to rural areas will require "more complicated and costly engineering solutions".
The Scottish government also has "much to do" to achieve a world class digital infrastructure by 2020, auditors said.
That included defining clearly what "world class" meant and setting out plans for how it will be achieved, the report added.
The Scottish government wants everyone in Scotland to be able to access the internet at any time and on any device by 2020.
To help achieve this, BT was appointed to extend Scotland's existing fibre broadband network in 2013 at a cost of £412m. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is also a key partner in extending the fibre network across Scotland.
Audit Scotland is monitoring the progress of both the roll-out and the Scottish government's digital infrastructure vision.
Caroline Gardner, auditor general for Scotland said: "Fast, reliable internet access is increasingly essential for everyday life, so it's encouraging to see good progress being made in rolling out fibre broadband.
"However, there is a lot still to be done by the Scottish government if it is to achieve its vision of a world class digital infrastructure, particularly in improving download speeds in rural areas.
"It's important that it continues to monitor the cost and progress of broadband roll-out so that these communities aren't excluded".
In the report, Audit Scotland found that 2.2 million out of 2.6 million premises across Scotland - 86% - had access to fibre broadband in March 2016.
Twenty-six of Scotland's 32 council areas have also met contractual targets for fibre broadband coverage, though premises in rural areas currently receive lower average speeds.
Rural Economy and Connectivity Secretary Fergus Ewing said: "Broadband and mobile coverage are of vital importance to many aspects of rural life and the rural economy and we are working hard to continue to improve both.
"With this in mind, I welcome today's Audit Scotland report, which outlines the good progress we are making in widening the access to high-speed broadband and confirms that 86% of premises across Scotland now have access to fibre broadband - 1% more than our original target.
"However, we also recognise that there is much more we can do at a Scotland-level to extend coverage, particularly to rural areas."
BT said it had started to test a new method which it hopes will increase the speed of fibre broadband over long phone lines.
The technology, known as Long Reach VDSL, is designed to help more isolated rural communities and is currently being installed in North Tolsta in Lewis on a test basis.
About 20 households in the Outer Hebrides village have been identified as suitable.
Broadband speeds can reduce over significant distances and Openreach, which looks after the telecommunications infrastructure, said it was keen to find a solution to that challenge.
Its chief executive, Clive Selley, said: "Getting faster speeds to rural communities is one of my biggest priorities, so testing new solutions in the field like this is a crucial part of that process."
Mr Ewing said the Scottish government was committed to all properties in Scotland having access to superfast broadband by 2021, with the next steps in this plan to be outlined later in the year.
But opposition parties at Holyrood have questioned whether the government can meet its target, with the Scottish Greens saying that Scotland-wide broadband in just four years looked "unrealistic".
The party has called for more investment in community broadband following the report.
Scottish Labour said the report highlighted that broadband speeds in almost two-thirds of council areas fell well below the average speed of 24Mbps.
And the Scottish Conservatives said the remainder of the broadband roll-out would be more "challenging, complicated and costly". | More than 85% of households in Scotland now have access to fibre broadband, but reaching the remaining rural areas will be a challenge, according to a report. | 37108984 |
The deputy prime minister told the BBC the Conservative approach was "downright unfair".
The Tories aim to cut £12bn from the welfare budget by 2017-18.
Chancellor George Osborne has said details will be set out in a post-election spending review.
The Lib Dems have said they would cut less than the Tories and borrow less than Labour as part of their plan to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18.
This election issue includes access to benefits (apart from pensions), poverty and inequality.
Policy guide: Where the parties stand
In an interview with BBC Newsnight presenter Evan Davis, Mr Clegg said he "could not countenance" recommending to his party they join a coalition with "a Labour Party that's not serious about balancing the books".
In the same way, he said, he would not recommend a coalition with the Conservatives if they "insist on a plan which is... a remarkable departure from what we've done in this coalition where we've actually asked those with the broadest shoulders to pay more through the tax system to balance the books".
Mr Clegg said he was "no slouch" when it comes to welfare savings, having set out plans to cut £3bn from the budget.
But he criticised the Conservatives' planned time scale and said the Tories were "asking the poorest to make those additional sacrifices at the same time as saying to the richest that they do not need to pay an extra penny to balance the books - that's downright unfair".
The Lib Dem leader also said the coalition government had not been "right wing", pointing to measures including raising the income tax threshold and the pupil premium to support poorer schoolchildren.
The full interview will be shown on BBC One at 19:30 BST and on the BBC's live election page.
Subscribe to the BBC Election 2015 newsletter to get a round-up of the day's campaign news sent to your inbox every weekday afternoon. | Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said he would not enter into another coalition with the Conservatives if they insisted on their proposal of £12bn welfare cuts. | 32293670 |
Gardaà had issued an appeal to trace Joanna Rose, 30, and her sons Benjamin, five, and Vincent, three, who were last seen at their home at Newcourt Villas, Bray, last Tuesday morning.
Police were investigating whether they may have travelled to Northern Ireland.
A Garda spokeswoman said police were not in a position to confirm where they had been found. | Irish police have said a woman from County Wicklow and her two sons have turned up safe and well. | 35333175 |
In the northern province of Kunduz, eight family members of a local anti-Taliban commander died in an ambush.
Elsewhere, six members of two different campaign teams and a police officer were killed in bomb attacks.
Taliban militants, who have vowed to disrupt Saturday's polls, have been blamed for a recent surge in violence.
Two days ago, the Kabul headquarters of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was attacked.
Five militants took over a nearby building and targeted the commission with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns.
The assailants were eventually killed by Afghan security forces.
The anti-Taliban militia commander apparently targeted in Kunduz on Monday, Mohammad Omar, was not in the vehicle with his family when a roadside bomb exploded beside it.
Officials said his two sons and a brother were among the dead.
In the province of Sar-i-Pul, to the west, four Afghan police officers were killed during an offensive against the Taliban.
Gunmen also kidnapped a provincial council candidate and 10 of his entourage, Sar-i-Pul Governor Abdul Jabar Haqbeen said.
They did not have any security protection and were returning after campaigning when they were kidnapped by the Taliban, he added.
The governor said troops were ready to carry out a rescue operation, but that local elders had said they wanted to give negotiations a chance. | Eighteen people have been killed in a series of attacks in Afghanistan, officials say, as it prepares for presidential and provincial elections. | 26825794 |
The visitors seemed on course for an unlikely victory when John Baird's excellent finish stunned Easter Road.
Former Hibs midfielder Tom Taiwo had been dismissed for a crunching first-half challenge on John McGinn.
The Bairns held firm until Hanlon connected with a floated McGinn delivery in the closing stages.
Hibs had further chances through McGinn and Grant Holt but were left frustrated at failing to overcome their depleted opponents.
Earlier, Craig Sibbald volleyed off target after Myles Hippolyte's pass came over his shoulder with only Ross Laidlaw to beat.
However, the tone of the match changed when Taiwo and McGinn went in for a robust challenge.
Taiwo appeared to dive in recklessly in catching his opposing midfielder and referee John Beaton produced a red card.
It became a contest of the irresistible force versus the immovable object as Hibs dominated possession and territory.
McGinn, Holt and Andrew Shinnie all went close but Falkirk frustrated their hosts.
Martin Boyle did find the net but was deemed offside and Hibs team-mate Fraser Fyvie was inches away with a shot across goalkeeper Danny Rogers.
Liam Fontaine had a glorious chance after Aaron Muirhead had denied him a clear header. But with the ball falling kindly just four yards out, the Hibs defender lacked composure and thrashing wide.
Falkirk's desire and organisation was impressive, as was the sucker punch of their goal.
Baird showed tremendous industry and guile to win a corner, then hooked home superbly to hand his side the chance of a sensational win.
Hibs' pressure was eventually rewarded when Hanlon rose to nod home but they could not find a winner, despite the best efforts of McGinn, who was twice denied by Rogers, and Holt, who came very close.
Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon: "We had total domination as you'd expect with 10 men. We should've won the game and they've scored from one corner.
"That's my frustration really, not the amount of goals we haven't scored, but the fact we conceded from a corner where we just lose our discipline. Three players going for the one ball; you don't defend like that.
"We showed enough character to get back into the game and on another day we'd have won the game comfortably. It's frustrating, but we're a point clear at the top of the league.
"I think it was a sending off; it's a two-foot challenge, his studs were up and he was late. I maybe need to see it again, but I wasn't surprised to see a red card."
Falkirk manager Peter Houston: "We saw footage of the sending off at half-time and I've asked referee John Beaton to look at it again.
"My opinion - and I wouldn't tell lies - is that John McGinn sort of goes in with two feet, and Tom goes in, and it was just a coming together. Tom wasn't off the ground and I think it was a very, very harsh sending off.
"I thought we'd started the match quite well, it was quite open and I think it changed the whole focus of the game. We then had to try to defend and sneak something.
"We're disappointed in some ways that we never took three points but, if I'm honest, I'm happy to take a point."
Match ends, Hibernian 1, Falkirk 1.
Second Half ends, Hibernian 1, Falkirk 1.
Attempt missed. Paul Hanlon (Hibernian) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Aaron Muirhead.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Danny Rogers.
Attempt saved. Alex Harris (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Aaron Muirhead (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Lewis Stevenson (Hibernian).
Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by John Rankin (Falkirk).
Foul by Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian).
John Rankin (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Falkirk. Peter Grant replaces Myles Hippolyte.
Substitution, Falkirk. Robert McHugh replaces Lee Miller.
Attempt missed. Grant Holt (Hibernian) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Danny Rogers.
John McGinn (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk).
Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk) is shown the yellow card.
Fraser Fyvie (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk).
Goal! Hibernian 1, Falkirk 1. Paul Hanlon (Hibernian) header from the right side of the six yard box to the top left corner. Assisted by John McGinn.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Aaron Muirhead.
Foul by Jason Cummings (Hibernian).
Aaron Muirhead (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Paul Hanlon (Hibernian) header from the right side of the six yard box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Luca Gasparotto.
Substitution, Hibernian. Dylan McGeouch replaces Andrew Shinnie.
Goal! Hibernian 0, Falkirk 1. John Baird (Falkirk) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner.
Corner, Falkirk. Conceded by John McGinn.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by David McCracken.
Attempt blocked. Martin Boyle (Hibernian) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Alex Harris (Hibernian).
Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Myles Hippolyte.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Aaron Muirhead.
Substitution, Hibernian. Alex Harris replaces Liam Fontaine.
Substitution, Hibernian. Jason Cummings replaces David Gray.
Attempt missed. John McGinn (Hibernian) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Luke Leahy. | Paul Hanlon's header earned Hibernian a draw which moved them a point clear at the top of the Championship after finally breaking down 10-man Falkirk. | 37881922 |
The 70,000 sq ft development had been on the market with an asking price of £5.75m.
Wirefox plans to redevelop the site in the near future to provide Grade A office accommodation.
In 2015, the company bought another office building on Corporation Street in Belfast for almost £5m.
Steven Flannery, the firm's director of investments, said there was "a market requirement" for more grade A space and the firm would "play its part" in supplying it.
Grade A space is new or refurbished open-plan buildings in prime locations.
Very little grade A space has been developed in Belfast since the property crash.
Wirefox is based in Holywood and is controlled by the businessman BJ Eastwood.
Last year, the firm bought substantial housing development lands near Lisburn in County Antrim.
Another firm associated with Mr Eastwood, Dialectic Partners, also bought a property portfolio from the US investment fund Cerberus. | County Down-based property firm Wirefox has bought the Oxford and Gloucester House office complex in Belfast city centre. | 36021012 |
The law requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and clinics to maintain hospital-like conditions.
Republicans contended the law protects women while advocates argued the measure restricts access to abortions.
The key decision is the first major abortion ruling since 2007.
Justice Anthony Kennedy sided with the court's liberals in the 5-3 decision, which marked the first time the High Court has limited state abortion legislation in more than 15 years.
Nearly a thousand people gathered in front of the Supreme Court in the hot sun, holding signs and dancing to a Beyonce-heavy playlist.
At times, the pro-choice crowd's loud music and shouting drowned out chants of "We are the pro-life generation" from the other side.
But when the Court handed down its decision invalidating Texas's abortion laws, calling them unnecessarily restrictive, those who say they fight for life took to the microphones outside the court to say they would not give up.
"Women were hurt today," one said. "There are two victims to abortion, and my heart is breaking."
Sierra Lambert, 17, said: "I think abortions should stop altogether, but it's a great step." She was holding a sign that said "Abortion kills! At least make it safe for one of its victims."
Celeste Anderson, 19, said: "I think it's really sad there are fewer regulations on abortion than there are on veterinary clinics. Wouldn't you want a clinic that isn't being healthy to be shut down?"
A few feet away, women holding "Keep Abortion Legal" and "The Burden is Undue" signs danced, screamed and sang.
Renae Vanwijk, 23, who grew up in El Paso, said if the Texas laws were upheld, the only two abortion clinics there would close. "There would be nowhere to get an abortion. You would have to travel to a city many miles away, or cross the border into Mexico."
Marilyn Carlisle, 73, said she had had an illegal abortion in 1968 and never thought women fighting for abortion rights would get this far. "I can hardly believe we actually did it," she said. The ruling gives her hope for her granddaughters' futures, she said.
The last time the top court issued a ruling on a major abortion case was nine years ago in a 5-4 decision to uphold a federal law banning a late-term abortion procedure.
The Supreme Court legalised abortion nationwide in its landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling.
The typically nine-justice court was one member short after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia earlier this year.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito dissented.
In many parts of America, women have to travel for hours to get an abortion, because access to services is limited. Texas is one of those states.
This decision strikes down laws which activists say were punitive and had no medical value. The majority opinion on the US Supreme Court may have agreed with that position, but this ruling alone can't change the deep divisions in America over the issue.
More than four decades on from when the US Supreme court legalised abortion, many state legislatures continue to tighten access to it in other ways, such as reducing the time limits on when women can have one.
Politicians in the state of Oklahoma recently voted to ban abortion but were later overturned by the state's governor. The strength of feeling there is mirrored across a number of southern states.
In an election year, abortion is likely to be a key issue for debate - Hillary Clinton is a firm supporter of a woman's choice, while Donald Trump said he'd support measures which would criminalise doctors who carried out abortions.
"By striking down politically motivated restrictions that made it nearly impossible for Texans to exercise their full reproductive rights, the court upheld every woman's right to safe, legal abortion, no matter where she lives," Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton said in a statement after the ruling.
But Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the decision came "at the expense of children, women, and families".
"Keeping abortion providers accountable should not be a political wedge issue. This ruling is further proof how much more work the pro-life movement has to do in the cause of life and human dignity." he said. | The US Supreme Court has struck down a 2013 Texas abortion law that imposed restrictive regulations on the procedure. | 36641063 |
The V&A has released 12,000 new tickets one month before the show closes on 2 August.
The museum will open through the night for the final two weekends of the run.
Martin Roth, Director of the V&A said: "We knew that Savage Beauty would be very popular, but the response has been even greater than we imagined."
He added: "It is not going on tour to other venues so our aim is to provide as many people as possible with the opportunity to see it by opening through the night for the last two weekends.
"This will be the first time we have opened the V&A around the clock and we certainly think it is an event worth getting out of bed for."
More than 345,000 people have visited the Alexander McQueen show, making it the most visited paid-for exhibition at the V&A in the last decade.
The museum revealed it had received 10,000 new members during the exhibition - with members gaining free entry - and its Friends of the V&A membership was now 75,000.
An earlier version the Savage Beauty retrospective took New York by storm when it opened in 2011 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met).
London-born fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen killed himself in 2010, at the age of 40.
Top Five Most Popular V&A Exhibitions (paid-for tickets) | London's Victoria and Albert Museum will open around-the-clock to accommodate demand for its Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition. | 33379128 |
The bank cited lower-than-expected inflationary pressures for the cut, from the previous rate of 2%.
Data published last week showed inflation is at a record low - well below the target band of 2%-3%.
Investors in Australia cheered the bank's move. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 jumped 2% to close at 5,353.80.
"The board judged that prospects for sustainable growth in the economy, with inflation returning to target over time, would be improved by easing monetary policy at this meeting," said Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens in a statement.
The rate cut comes hours ahead of the federal budget for 2016-17.
Small tax cuts and increased spending on health, infrastructure and education have already been foreshadowed or announced to be part of the budget.
It is also seen as an unofficial election campaign launch. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will dissolve parliament and call an early election on or before 11 May.
Elsewhere in the region, other Asian stock markets were higher on Tuesday following positive trading sessions in the US and Europe on Monday.
In South Korea, the Kospi index closed up 0.4% at 1,996.41.
Trading in China restarted after a long weekend and the Shanghai Composite index closed up 54.32 points, or 1.85%, at 2,992.64.
Investors shrugged off a private survey which indicated a mild contraction in China's manufacturing activity. The Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.4 in April, compared with 49.7 in March.
A reading below 50 indicates a contraction. The PMI tracks activities in factories and workshops.
The data differs from China's state figures released at the weekend, which showed a reading of 50.1 for April, compared with 50.2 in March.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 390.11 points, or 1.85%, to 20,676.94.
Markets in Japan are shut for three days of national holidays and will re-open on Friday. | The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut its benchmark interest rate to a historic low of 1.75%, the first reduction since May 2015. | 36189247 |
Leo Stacey died from a rare bowel condition on 6 October 2015 after suffering sickness and dehydration.
He had been taken to A&E at Luton and Dunstable Hospital by ambulance but several attempts at inserting an intravenous line into a vein failed.
Recording a narrative verdict, Coroner Martin Oldham said: "Sadly they did not address his hydration or solve the dehydration fully until he died."
Leo's parents, Nathalie Aubry-Stacey, 38, and Marc Stacey, 37, from Harpenden, told Ampthill Coroner's Court they believed he could have been saved.
But a paediatrician said staff had done all they could.
Dr Jeremy Pryce, a paediatric pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination, said tests showed Leo was suffering from an intussusception of the bowel - a condition where part of the intestine folds into another section, causing an obstruction, and viral gastroenteritis.
He said it was impossible to say which came first and what the cause was.
In a statement, Luton and Dunstable Hospital said: "We have carried out a full investigation into how Leo died and have met with his family to discuss the outcome.
"It is clear there were failings in his care for which we have sincerely apologised.
"There were a number of recommendations that came out of the review, all of which have been implemented, with the learning shared across the trust." | A coroner has criticised a hospital after the death of a 10-month-old baby. | 39373998 |
The Easter Road side are waiting for a response to a new contract offer for the 20-year-old, who has scored 43 goals in 90 appearances.
Cummings, with 20 goals this term, is currently tied to the Championship club until summer 2017 after signing a deal at the start of last season.
"We rate Jason very highly," Stubbs told BBC Scotland.
"We've offered him a new deal. We're hopeful that we can get that concluded but we all have to work together because we know how influential agents are now.
"And unfortunately, I've got to say, sometimes decisions are made for the wrong reasons.
"Jason, since he's come to us and certainly since I've been here has improved at a rate of knots. I think that's there for everybody to see and his move will happen one day no matter what.
"I honestly believe he will go on to play at a high level but he has to make sure he makes the right football decision.
"I make decisions for players. I don't make them from a financial point of view.
"So, when I speak to a player, I speak to them about their careers. When I speak to a player, I speak to him about him personally and I have that personal opinion [of] what I think's best for him.
"I obviously have an opinion from the club's point of view and I'm not really interested in the agent's point of view because sometimes - not all the time - the agent's point of view is from a selfish, individual point of view."
Cummings has been at Hibs since the summer of 2013, having been released by Edinburgh rivals Hearts the year before. | Hibernian head coach Alan Stubbs is "hopeful" a new deal can be agreed with top scorer Jason Cummings. | 35642928 |
Paul O'Neill, 57, from Nottinghamshire, preyed on poverty-stricken families, paying £6,000 to people who procured children to be abused.
He admitted three counts of rape and a further 27 sexual offences at Nottingham Crown Court.
The CPS said the virtual rape case was thought to be the first of its kind.
He is due to be sentenced later. | A former teacher has admitted paying men to abuse children as young as three in the Philippines while he directed and watched from elsewhere online. | 40299140 |
Mr Obama said the situation on Mount Sinjar had greatly improved.
Many of those displaced had now left the mountain and further rescue operations were not envisaged, he said.
However, Mr Obama said the US would continue air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) rebel group.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces who were fighting IS would also continue to receive US military assistance, Mr Obama said.
The jihadist militants, formerly known as Isis, seized a large band of territory across northern Iraq and Syria this summer.
The United Nations estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have been internally displaced by the latest violence.
Speaking in the US, the president re-emphasised the need for Iraqis to find a political solution to the crisis, describing the prospect of a new and inclusive government, led by Haider al-Abadi, as an "enormous opportunity".
"He still has a challenging task in putting a government together, but we are modestly hopeful that the... situation is moving in the right direction," Mr Obama said.
Mr Abadi, a deputy speaker of parliament, has been asked by the Iraqi president to form a new government.
Current Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, whose coalition won the most seats in April's election, had vowed to contest the move in court, describing it as a violation of the constitution.
However, reports coming out of Baghdad on Thursday evening, and attributed to MPs, said Mr Maliki was to address the nation, announcing he would stand aside in favour of Mr Abadi.
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Mr Maliki had no choice but to "accept the wishes of the majority of Iraqis".
Mr Zebari, who served under the prime minister until last month, also dismissed fears that Iraq could fall apart, saying the Kurdish leadership had "decided to be part of the new government".
Iraq's military response to a rapid advance by IS has been hampered by political chaos in Baghdad.
On 29 June, the militant group said it had created a caliphate, or Islamic state, stretching from Aleppo in Syria to the province of Diyala in Iraq.
It has declared Iraq a "Level 3 Emergency", its highest ranking of a crisis. The move should enable more resources to be directed in support of humanitarian efforts.
The UN had earlier estimated that tens of thousands of people, mostly from the Christian and Yazidi religious minorities, were besieged on the mountain after being forced to flee their homes.
But US forces sent to Mt Sinjar found fewer people than expected - partly because thousands had left the mountain each night over the past days.
Kurdish officials told the BBC's Frank Gardner that some 150,000 refugees had ended up in the northern city of Dohuk, where the local population was struggling to feed them.
Hamad, a Yazidi who managed to escape with his family, told the BBC that his mother had died during the long journey to Dohuk.
"There was no food. We were exhausted after a lot of walking and climbing high, steep roads," he said, adding that his mother eventually said she could go no further.
"We refused to leave without her. After a few hours of thirst, hunger and exhaustion, she fell and passed away." | President Barack Obama has paid tribute to US forces for an operation in northern Iraq that helped "break a siege" and rescue tens of thousands of displaced people. | 28796275 |
Traditionally, Irish leaders attend to present the US president with a bowl of shamrock during the 17 March festival.
Mr Trump first mentioned the invitation in November, when Mr Kenny phoned to congratulate him on his election win.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer has now given an update on plans for the visit during a media briefing.
Mr Spicer, who has Irish American heritage, told reporters that the St Patrick's Day reception was "an issue that's near and dear to me".
"I was asked yesterday about the status of the invitation of Prime Minister Kenny, from Ireland, to visit the United States on St Patrick's Day and I'm pleased to announce that the president has extended that invitation.
"It happened, actually, during the transition period [from the Obama to Trump administrations] and we look forward to the prime minister attending."
Mr Kenny, who has been taoiseach since March 2011, has attended several previous St Patrick's Day receptions hosted by Barack Obama.
The shamrock presentation dates back to the presidency of Harry Truman in the 1950s. | A St Patrick's Day invitation from US President Donald Trump to Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Enda Kenny has been confirmed by the White House. | 38760576 |
The Black Cats had defended doggedly before a swift City counter attack ended with Aguero prodding in Raheem Sterling's low cross from close range.
The visitors then clicked into gear as David Silva fed the explosive Leroy Sane for the Germany winger to double their lead after the break.
Jermain Defoe did find the net in a rare Sunderland attack late on, but his header was ruled out for offside.
The result could have been more comfortable for City, but Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford saved well from Aguero.
For all City's possession, it was the hosts who threatened first, Defoe hitting the post with a bouncing effort from outside the box that had Willy Caballero beaten.
Fabio Borini headed wide from the rebound, and any hopes David Moyes' side had of taking three points seemed to evaporate with that miss.
With Chelsea not in action until Monday, Manchester City took the chance to move within eight points of the runaway leaders with a confident performance at the Stadium of Light.
Pep Guardiola will hope this victory, and an earlier win for second-placed Tottenham, may see Antonio Conte's side begin to feel the pressure.
It was a fourth league win on the trot for Guardiola's outfit, who are building momentum and can continue to crank up the heat up on their title rivals when they face Stoke in a game in hand on Wednesday.
But they are fighting on three fronts, with this routine victory marking the start of five games in 15 days that include a Champions League last-16 second-leg trip to Monaco and a FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough.
It is a problem Guardiola will welcome, but does the Spaniard's squad have the depth to cope?
He made five changes to the side which thrashed Huddersfield 5-1 in midweek and could afford to drop Kevin de Bruyne for Silva, whose incisive passing helped unlock a resilient Sunderland.
So what about Aguero? The Argentine's future was thrust into the spotlight after he lost his place to 19-year-old Gabriel Jesus last month, and he admitted this week his position at the club was unclear.
Guardiola can be ruthless when he feels a player does not fit into his system, just ask Joe Hart, but a metatarsal injury for Brazil forward Jesus appears to have offered Aguero a lifeline.
The 28-year-old has now scored five goals in his last three games in all competitions for City, having gone six games without finding the net before that.
Guardiola is building a team spearheaded by youth, and Aguero's poacher-like presence was complemented once again by the creativity of Sterling and Sane.
Sterling's trickery proved a constant threat down the right and Sane's sheer speed gave City an outlet on the opposite flank, gliding beyond his marker to finish left-footed past Pickford for the visitors' second.
Sunderland have become masters of beating the drop when appearing dead and buried in recent seasons, but they may have left the escape act too late this time around.
Sitting six points from safety at the bottom of the Premier League, the Black Cats' fate lies out of their hands.
And with relegation rivals Crystal Palace, Swansea and Leicester enjoying a recent upturn in form, David Moyes needs something of a miracle if his side are to spring a late recovery.
Moyes' side have taken points off Liverpool and Tottenham at home since the turn of the year, and did frustrate City for long spells in the first half, but once the visitors found a breakthrough they were able to keep Sunderland at arm's length.
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Sunderland manager David Moyes speaking to BBC Sport: "I don't think you can fault the players for any of that. We lacked quality at times though. They did all they could to try to get something out of the game."
On the team: "When you're in it every day you see the levels go up. We've got games coming up - we don't have to show it, we have to do it.
"We tried to make chances. The one that hits the post and comes out maybe that'll hit the inside of the post and go in next time.
"I hope our players understand the position that we're in, but we're not panicking."
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaking to BBC Sport: "We are so happy. We played good. We expected aggression and intensity. It was a very good first goal. It was important to go into half-time 1-0 up. If they were winning with the amazing atmosphere it would have been difficult.
"Leroy Sane is every day getting better. He has gaps to improve but he's only 21. He's an intelligent guy and a very nice guy. We are here to help him become what he can be.
"We were passing the ball between ourselves in the last 25 minutes. I don't like to defend a result and be near our box. It is OK if you're 3-0 or 4-0 up but not 2-0."
Read more from Guardiola
Manchester City host Stoke on Wednesday, kick-off 20:00 GMT, before visiting Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Saturday (12:15).
Sunderland are not back in action until Saturday, 18 March, when they welcome Burnley to the Stadium of Light.
Match ends, Sunderland 0, Manchester City 2.
Second Half ends, Sunderland 0, Manchester City 2.
Attempt blocked. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Bacary Sagna.
Fabian Delph (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Fabio Borini (Sunderland).
Substitution, Manchester City. Fabian Delph replaces Leroy Sané.
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bryan Oviedo (Sunderland).
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Jordan Pickford.
Attempt saved. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Leroy Sané.
Attempt saved. Nolito (Manchester City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne.
Attempt missed. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Leroy Sané.
Attempt saved. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne.
Offside, Sunderland. Lamine Koné tries a through ball, but Jermain Defoe is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Lamine Koné (Sunderland) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Wahbi Khazri with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Gaël Clichy.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by John Stones.
Substitution, Sunderland. Wahbi Khazri replaces Adnan Januzaj.
Substitution, Manchester City. Nolito replaces Raheem Sterling.
Bacary Sagna (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Fabio Borini (Sunderland).
Substitution, Manchester City. Kevin De Bruyne replaces Yaya Touré.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Lamine Koné.
Attempt missed. Yaya Touré (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by David Silva.
Attempt missed. Leroy Sané (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Raheem Sterling with a cross.
Substitution, Sunderland. Jack Rodwell replaces Darron Gibson because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Darron Gibson (Sunderland) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Adnan Januzaj (Sunderland) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Bryan Oviedo with a cross.
Attempt saved. Lamine Koné (Sunderland) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Adnan Januzaj with a cross.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Willy Caballero.
Attempt saved. Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal.
Goal! Sunderland 0, Manchester City 2. Leroy Sané (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by David Silva with a through ball.
Attempt blocked. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by David Silva.
Attempt saved. David Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Bryan Oviedo (Sunderland).
Offside, Sunderland. Adnan Januzaj tries a through ball, but Didier Ndong is caught offside.
Foul by Fernandinho (Manchester City).
Didier Ndong (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Sergio Aguero scored his fifth goal in his last three games to help Manchester City back into third place in the Premier League and keep Sunderland rooted to the bottom of the table. | 39093809 |
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The two countries were tied on eight penalty points after the team competition, sending the event into a shoot-out over a shortened course.
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And while two Dutch riders faltered, Nick Skelton, Ben Maher and Peter Charles all went clear to snatch gold.
Overnight leaders Saudi Arabia took the bronze with a score of 14 points.
It was Britain's first Olympic showjumping medal since 1984 and their first gold since the Helsinki 1952 Games.
"I've waited 54 years for this so you can certainly say it was a long time coming," said Skelton, 54, who was competing in his sixth Olympic Games.
"I've been to a lot of Games and made a lot of mistakes but I've finally got there. It can't get any better than this.
"I want to thank the crowd, they were behind us all the way and I think without them, this wouldn't have been possible."
"When it mattered Peter Charles showed his very best. The crowd are on their feet, because the gold medal comes against one of the best around. What a tremendous moment."
A day of high tension came down to a four-rider showdown over eight jumps when Great Britain and the Netherlands could not be separated following two days of competition.
Skelton got Britain off to a flyer with a clear round on Big Star, only to be matched by Dutch rider Jur Vrieling.
Maher went clear on Tripple X before Maikel van der Vleuten picked up eight penalty points to hand the advantage to Team GB.
Scott Brash and his Dutch counterpart Marc Houtzager both hit a single fence, meaning a clear round from Britain's Charles would seal the gold.
Charles delivered the goods on Vindicat to send the 23,000-strong crowd into raptures.
Great Britain had entered the final day of competition in a four-way tie for second place behind leaders Saudi Arabia after picking up four penalty points in Sunday's first round.
But they were catapulted into provisional first place when Skelton and Brash went clear to thrill the partisan crowd and put Britain in the hunt for gold.
"It shows how many wonderful horses there are out there, and let's not forget the horses. The riders are quite brilliant, but the horses, the athletes themselves, really were at their best."
With Canada, the Saudis and the United States dropping out of gold medal contention over a testing 13-obstacle course, it became a straight fight between Britain and the Netherlands.
Britain's last rider Charles could have clinched the gold in regulation competition with a clear round, but he clipped the penultimate fence.
That gave the Netherlands a chance for victory, but when their last rider Gerco Schroder failed to go clear on the appropriately named horse London, the Olympic final was heading for a jump-off.
The atmosphere reached fever pitch when the competition came down to the final rider Charles, whose horse Vindicat had incurred penalties on all three of its previous rounds in the individual and team events.
But under no time pressure, Charles and his mount produced a flawless display, the 52-year-old rider punching the air as he cleared the final hurdle to secure the country's historic gold.
"We are all professionals and I just had to focus on the arena, he said. "I was very keen to get the job done and not let the lads down."
Skelton, Maher and Brash all qualified for Wednesday's individual final but Charles missed the final cut of 35 riders.
Skelton believes another medal is possible with Big Star in such great shape.
"It's another day and another competition but he is in tremendous form and couldn't be jumping any better than what he is," he said.
"Anything can happen - there are a lot of good riders in there and any one of the 35 could win." | Great Britain captured their first Olympic showjumping gold medal in 60 years, winning a dramatic jump-off against the Netherlands. | 18908242 |
John Kerry said many Europeans felt "overwhelmed" by recent challenges but the US was confident Europe would "emerge stronger".
His comments in Munich come ahead of a crucial Brussels summit, where Prime Minister David Cameron is hoping to secure a deal on a reformed EU.
An EU-exit group said the US stance on Britain leaving was "for US interests".
Mr Cameron, who was also in Germany, said changes he was seeking to UK membership would make Europe "more outward-looking, competitive and dynamic".
He hopes to secure a package that he can recommend to the British public, ahead of a referendum on whether the UK should stay in or leave the EU.
Mr Kerry, who spoke about the EU while at security conference in Munich, said Europe was facing a number of challenges including the UK's potential exit.
"Here again however, I want to express the confidence of President Obama and all of us in America that, just as it has so many times before, Europe is going to emerge stronger than ever, provided it stays united and builds common responses to these challenges," he said.
"Now obviously, the United States has a profound interest in your success as we do in a very strong United Kingdom staying in a strong EU."
Guide: All you need to know about the referendum
Last year, US President Barack Obama said the UK must stay in the EU to continue to have influence on the world stage.
A spokesman for Vote Leave, one of two groups vying to be the official Out campaign in the EU referendum, told the BBC the British government was "pulling favours" from world leaders.
"The State Department has long thought the UK is better off in for US interests," he said.
"But this vote is about the future of the British people and Britain's best interests and we're confident the British people will vote to take that control."
However, Britain Stronger In Europe - a group campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU - said Mr Kerry's comments reinforce how Britain's "global influence is clearly enhanced by staying in Europe".
Executive director Will Straw said: "Being in an alliance with 27 other European democracies strengthens our hand when dealing with threats like terrorism and a resurgent Russia. And increases our clout and credibility in Washington."
In a speech to business, political and civic leaders in Hamburg, Mr Cameron said he would campaign "unequivocally" for the UK to stay in - if the EU agreed to the new terms of membership.
While defending Britain's right to protect its sovereignty, he told his audience - which included German Chancellor Angela Merkel - that Britain was an "open nation" and he "never wants us to pull up the drawbridge and retreat from the world".
"So when it comes to the question of Britain's future in Europe, my aim is clear," he said. "I want to keep Britain inside a reformed European Union."
Mr Cameron also appealed for Germany's help in finalising reforms, stressing the countries' shared interests and values.
Negotiations on the final wording of the deal - which includes an "emergency brake" on benefit payments to EU migrants and a UK opt-out from "ever closer union" - look set to carry on right up to the start of the Brussels summit on 18 February.
Campaigners for an EU exit have said the draft deal, published earlier this month after months of negotiations between UK and EU officials, did not come close to the changes voters had been promised.
No date has yet been announced for the referendum although Downing Street is reported to favour staging the poll in June.
EU renegotiation: Did Cameron get what he wanted?
Referendum timeline: What will happen when?
The view from Europe: What's in it for the others?
More: BBC News EU referendum special | The US has a profound interest in a "strong UK staying in a strong European Union", says the US Secretary of State. | 35569134 |
The two men fled the jungle camp in the southern province of Sulu on Wednesday night during the two-hour gun battle.
The army had attacked the camp to free them and other hostages.
Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group known for carrying out kidnappings for ransom, aims to establish an independent Islamic state in the south.
One of the hostages, Rod Pagaling, told the Associated Press: "When gunfire rang out as close as 15m from us, I thought it was my opportunity to survive so I ran away in the confusion."
Brig Gen Alan Arrojado told AP that Mr Pagaling and the other hostage, Gringo Villaluz, told him the militants "panicked and fled in different directions after seeing that the army had come so close and had begun the assault".
The two men sprinted through the forest and later found help at a nearby village. They only found out about each other's escape when they saw each other at a hospital on Thursday, reported AFP.
Up to 15 Abu Sayyaf militants died, while the military had no casualties.
The men were kidnapped in May in the southern city of Dapitan along with a village official, and later transported to the jungle camp.
The militants beheaded the village official last week and threatened to kill the coast guard men next, after the Philippines government rejected the group's ransom demand.
The Abu Sayyaf is holding a number of hostages in various camps in the south of the Philippines, including Malaysians and a Dutchman.
Militants freed a Swiss hostage in December. | The Philippines army has said two coast guard personnel kidnapped and held hostage by Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf managed to escape during a raid. | 33998661 |
Scott Hamilton, 44, is said to have collided with Peter Wills' motorised wheelchair on 3 December 2014 on Sheriffmuir Road, Dunblane.
It is alleged that as a result, Mr Wills was so severely injured that he died.
Mr Hamilton, from Bonnybridge, denies causing his death by dangerous driving.
The charge also accuses Mr Hamilton of reversing the bin lorry without taking "adequate steps" to ensure it was safe and clear, and without using a trained banksman provided for the purpose.
The trial, before Lord Ericht at the High Court in Stirling, is expected to last several days. | The trial has begun of a bin lorry driver accused of causing the death of an 80-year-old wheelchair user by dangerous driving. | 37471341 |
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