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37978099 | Nabil Abu Rudeina said Israeli plans to legitimise wildcat Jewish settlements, and to quieten calls to prayer, will "bring disasters to the region".
On Sunday ministers backed two bills - one intended to stop the demolition of an unauthorised West Bank settlement.
The other bill would mainly impact on Muslims' call to prayer from mosques.
While the volume limitations it seeks to introduce would apply to all religions, mosques would have to curtail the five-times-daily calls to prayer.
Arabs account for almost 20% of the Israeli population, and the majority are Muslim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the measure would address countless complaints about excessively loud calls to prayer from public address systems, but critics say the move would be unnecessarily divisive.
The Palestinian Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs, Youssef Ideiss, said the plan threatened a "religious war", the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.
Separately, ministers approved draft legislation which would retroactively legalise unauthorised Jewish settlements, or outposts, in the occupied West Bank.
The move was intended to prevent the removal of an outpost known as Amona, which the Supreme Court says was built on private Palestinian land.
Mr Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians would seek international help to stop Israel's plans.
On Monday, the court rejected a government petition to delay the demolition, upholding a ruling that it must be evacuated by 25 December.
The issue has caused tension within Israel's right-wing coalition government, with some members opposed to Amona's removal.
According to the anti-settlement movement Peace Now, there are 97 outposts in the occupied West Bank, and over 130 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Unlike officially recognised settlements, the government regards outposts as illegal.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. Palestinians want all settlements and outposts to be removed from the West Bank and East Jerusalem which they seek for a future Palestinian state. | A senior Palestinian official has said his government will go to the UN to stop what he called a series of "escalatory measures" by Israel. |
36340943 | Police Scotland said it was consulting on a move there from the current base on Merchant Street.
It said it was part of a wider review into the police estate, which was launched last year.
A spokesperson confirmed: "Police Scotland is in discussion with various partner agencies in relation to the relocation of the police office."
The statement added: "These discussions form part of a wider estates strategy and are in the early stages of consultation.
"We continue to assess the best options for our accommodation needs within the Peterhead community, to meet the needs of the community.
"It's important we capture the views of the local community and those affected by any potential relocation of the police office and when we reach the point of agreement this will be shared publicly." | Peterhead police station could be relocated to Aberdeenshire Council's Buchan House headquarters in the town. |
32996726 | They have led the biggest study of its kind, comparing patients' genetic data with 16,416 people without the illness.
They said the findings showed how the disruption of a chemical balance in the brain is implicated in the disorder.
The results have been published in the journal Neuron.
Dr Andrew Pocklington from the university's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics said: "We're finally starting to understand what goes wrong in schizophrenia.
"A reliable model of the disease is urgently needed to direct future efforts in developing new treatments which haven't really improved a great deal since the 1970s."
A healthy brain functions properly due to a precise balance between chemical signals that excite and inhibit nerve cell activity, the experts explained.
The latest findings build on evidence the team found in 2011 that schizophrenia mutations interfere with that signalling process.
Dr Pocklington said: "Our study marks a significant step towards understanding the biology underpinning schizophrenia which is an incredibly complex condition and has up until very recently kept scientists largely mystified as to its origins." | A study of over 11,000 patients with schizophrenia has helped to provide the "strongest evidence yet" of what causes the condition, said Cardiff University scientists. |
40931281 | The 27-year-old Swede previously played for MK boss Robbie Nielson at Hearts, scoring 20 goals in 45 league appearances.
Nielson told the club website: "He's been the number one target all along for us."
Sow could make his debut for the League One side in Saturday's home game against Gillingham.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | MK Dons have signed striker Osman Sow from Chinese side Henan Jianye on a two-year deal. |
12057055 | But it was Sunil Gavaskar who put that in perspective upon becoming the first player to score 10,000 Test runs.
He said that history always remembers the first to a landmark. Edmund Hillary, Roger Bannister, Neil Armstrong.
Even if someone betters his record, no one can take credit away from Tendulkar for being the first to make 50 Test centuries.
If Don Bradman himself hadn't said so, it is unlikely that Tendulkar would be clubbed with him.
When the Don pointed out the similarity between the two to his wife, Tendulkar was only 23; it might have destroyed a lesser man.
But is he the greatest batsman of all time?
The glib answer first. Yes.
Because it is in the nature of sport to produce bigger and better champions.
In sports where progress can be measured, this is seen in the faster timings, longer jumps and greater heights recorded by modern athletes.
In 1988, Ben Johnson needed to pump himself with stanozolol to run the 100 metres in 9.79 seconds. Last year Usain Bolt ran it in a comfortable 9.58.
What about team sports?
The paleontologist and baseball nut Stephen Jay Gould once wondered why there were no near-perfect averages in baseball any more.
He put it down to declining variation, and far from endorsing the myth that the champions of the past were greater and that standards have fallen, he showed how it proves the opposite - that the standard of the sport has improved.
Declining variation is simply the difference between the average and the stellar performance.
As more players get better overall, the difference between the figures of the top player and the rest falls. Or as Gould puts it, systems equilibrate as they improve, a point demonstrated by analysing decades of baseball scores.
Statisticians adopted Gould's baseball methods to analyse Test batsmen and concluded that "for a current player to be relatively as good as Bradman - factoring in the bunching together of today's great players - he would need to average around 77."
The batsman with the best average today is England's Jonathan Trott, who in 16 Tests averages 57.28. No one is even suggesting that Trott is a "great" batsman, so clearly we must look elsewhere for a definition of greatness. Figures alone aren't enough.
Longevity is one (Bradman played from 1928 to 1948 with a break for the war years), impact on team results is another, impact on the opposition, quality of bowling attack faced - these are quantifiable.
What about the weight of expectations, the pressure from a billion and more fans, the influence on the game itself, the power to change the way people think?
A nation rode on Bradman's shoulders every time he went out to bat, but it was a small nation, hardly comparable to the nation on Tendulkar's back.
Bradman's stature has grown every year that he hasn't played, and doubtless Tendulkar's will too after he is finished with the game. That is the romance of the sport.
More than a decade ago, I wrote that Tendulkar was like the Taj Mahal - there was nothing new to be said about either.
But his "second coming" in recent years as a less destructive but in some ways more fearsome batsman calls for a whole new assessment based on his creative strokeplay and the sheer joy of displaying them around the world.
In cricket, as in art or literature, there cannot be a single "greatest".
Still, this is the bedrock of all sporting discussions. Woods or Nicklaus? Pele or Maradona? Spitz or Phelps?
Such debates have fuelled more arguments, sold more newspapers and emptied more kegs of beer in bars around the world than arguments about politics or religion.
Not even Bradman enjoyed unanimous acceptance as the greatest. In Australia, many thought Victor Trumper was the greater player, despite an average of 39.04.
Bradman and Tendulkar have much in common.
Tendulkar is, like Bradman was, a one-stop shop where state-of-the-art batsmanship is on display.
You could go to Virender Sehwag for the cover drive, or VVS Laxman for the on-drive or Rahul Dravid for the square cut or Kevin Pietersen for the lofted drive and so on - or you could get them all under one roof, as it were, with Tendulkar.
Where the careers of Bradman and Tendulkar begin to diverge is in the range and variety of international cricket the Indian has played.
There were no one-day internationals in Bradman's time. Bradman toured only England; he only played Tests at 10 venues - five in Australia and five in England.
In contrast, Tendulkar has played Tests in 10 countries, one-dayers in 17. He has played at 94 venues.
Bradman batted on uncovered wickets, Tendulkar had to counter reverse swing.
A whole new strategy - bodyline - had to be worked out just to counter Bradman's genius.
It consisted of bowling fast, virtually unplayable deliveries at the batsman's body with a phalanx of fielders on the leg side.
If you played the ball, you were caught, if you didn't, you risked serious injury. Bradman had his worst ever series, averaging just 56.57, and bodyline was outlawed.
After 50, what? A hundred international centuries (Tendulkar has 96), perhaps a World Cup win, maybe 200 Test matches?
Tendulkar has become used to those setting goals on his behalf moving the goalpost as he achieves these with almost monotonous inevitability.
Indian fans are happy to divorce individual performance from team effort, celebrating one loudly enough to drown the disappointment of the other.
Only 20 of Tendulkar's 50 centuries have led to team victories. But that, too, is only a number - as Tendulkar said of his 50. | It is tempting to assume that, statistically at least, batting after Sachin Tendulkar will be like mountaineering after Everest. |
39103940 | The Super Eagles will face the Teranga Lions on 23 March and the Stallions four days later as part of their build-up for the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa in June.
Nigeria have won eight, drawn five and lost three times in 16 previous matches against Senegal.
They have never lost to Burkina Faso in 13 previous games.
Both friendlies will take place at the Hive stadium in Canons Park - home of English fourth-tier side Barnet FC.
Three-time African champions Nigeria have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
But under new manager Gernot Rohr, who took charge in August, the Super Eagles got off to a flying start in their 2018 World Cup qualifiers, recording a 2-1 win in Zambia and a 3-1 victory at home against Algeria.
"We are not thinking too far ahead of the World Cup games against Cameroon later in the year," Rohr told BBC Sport.
"These two friendly matches in England will help us prepare for South Africa in June.
"We have to take it one step at a time, first we focus on South Africa then we start to look at Cameroon."
Nigeria's six points, coupled with some surprising results in the other games, leaves them with an early four-point lead in their 2018 World Cup qualifying group ahead of Cameroon and Zambia. | Nigeria have lined up international friendlies against Senegal and Burkina Faso in London in March. |
37971998 | The animal is either a Kemps ridley or an Olive ridley turtle - the former is a critically endangered species.
It was discovered at Tan-y-Foel on Saturday close to Anglesey Sea Zoo and staff took it to a vet.
The turtle, believed to be female, has been nicknamed Menai and is undergoing rehabilitation at the zoo.
Menai is being rehydrated and gradually warmed, but zoo staff warned that while the turtle was responding well to treatment, she remained in a serious condition and may not survive.
Experts are still trying to determine which species of turtle Menai is - as the Kemps and Olive ridley turtles are difficult to distinguish apart.
While the Kemps ridley is critically endangered, the Olive ridley is classified as vulnerable and Anglesey Sea Zoo said one had never previously been recorded as stranding in the UK.
Both species are found in warm and tropical waters as far north as Mexico and the southern part of the US, but neither would be expected to survive in the cooler seas around Wales.
"This individual is much larger than any other Kemps ridley turtle documented as stranding in the UK, previously we have always recorded juveniles here," said marine expert Rod Penrose, from the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.
"The fact that it is a larger animal has probably contributed to the fact that it is still alive despite the cold temperatures it has experienced."
Frankie Horbo, the director and owner of the zoo, said: "We were stunned that this magnificent creature was washed up on the beach right outside the sea zoo - it was as if she was asking for our help.
"If she had stranded elsewhere and not been found quickly, she would certainly have died.
"Our staff are working hard to rehabilitate our turtle and we hope that she will survive and be able to be flown back and released in warmer waters once she is strong enough." | A rare tropical turtle remains in a serious condition and is "lucky to be alive" after being washed on to an Anglesey beach. |
39882287 | Tyko, a cross-breed Corgi, was so fat he could only take a couple of steps before becoming breathless and slumping to the ground.
The dog was taken into care by the Scottish SPCA after the owner was prosecuted.
Tyko is now a healthy 12kg (2st). He was 49kg (8st) at his fattest - so has achieved a weight loss of 37kg (81lbs).
The animal welfare charity is now looking for a new home for him.
Tyko's weight had ballooned to double his normal size due to over-feeding and a lack of exercise. His owner's neighbour tipped off the Scottish SPCA.
Vets said they had never seen a dog so obese, adding that it resembled a seal.
Owner Denise Leitch was admonished at Selkirk Sheriff Court after being of good behaviour during a year-long period of deferred sentence.
The 60-year-old had bought the dog as a Christmas present for her husband but was the person charged as she was responsible for it.
She pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide treatment for a morbidly obese dog.
She admitted causing Tyko unnecessary suffering at her home in Earlston between 1 April and 13 October 2015.
Leitch failed to provide an appropriate diet for the dog which became morbidly obese and failed to provide treatment for its mobility and respiratory conditions.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment, a fine of £20,000 or a disqualification from owning animals.
But Sheriff Derrick McIntyre accepted it was not a normal case of maltreating an animal.
The court heard that a Scottish SPCA officer told Leitch she had been "killing the dog with kindness."
Defence lawyer Natalie Paterson said that Tyko had been "freaked out" by a nearby firework display and rarely ventured out to exercise.
Ms Paterson said: "She has already been punished by losing custody of the dog. It was not intentional for the dog to reach that size but it is accepted she did not seek the proper treatment."
Scottish SPCA centre manager for Edinburgh Diane Aitchison said: "Tyko has lost 37kg after coming into our care weighing a massive 49.5kg.
"He'll need medication for the rest of his life as he has a thyroid problem but he doesn't let it affect him
"He's now looking for an active forever home to keep his fitness up. He loves chasing a ball, but he's not so keen to give it back.
"We feel he would be best suited to an adult-only home without any other dogs or cats." | An overweight dog has shed nearly six stone after its owner was told she was "killing it with kindness". |
35335782 | The 20-1 shot, ridden by Charlie Poste, triumphed from Midnight Prayer seven days after Lee claimed the Welsh National with Mountainous.
"His jump at the last won him the race, similar to Mountainous last week. He thoroughly enjoyed himself," said Lee.
Russe Blanc is a rarity in racing, with his colour officially described as white.
Lee, who has taken over from her father Richard, added: "We tried not to come here expectant, just hopeful, and this horse has really enjoyed jumping."
Meanwhile, L'Ami Serge won the novices' chase at Wetherby for trainer Nicky Henderson.
The victor is about 7-1 second favourite behind odds-on market leader Douvan for the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, although the JLT Chase is an alternative target
Betfred Classic Chase, Warwick
1 Russe Blanc 20-1
2 Midnight Prayer 15/2 joint-2nd-fav
3 Dromnea 16/1)
14 ran. Distances: 3¾ lengths, 24 lengths | Kerry Lee scored another big success in her first season as a trainer as Russe Blanc won the Classic Chase at Warwick. |
33690390 | US national Sammy Almahri, 44, denies murdering Nadine Aburas, 31, who was found at the city's Future Inn on December 31, 2014.
On Wednesday, Judge Eleri Rees set a date of 12 January for the start of his trial.
The hearing took place in Mr Almahri's absence at Cardiff Crown Court.
He was arrested by police agencies in Tanzania, east Africa, at the end of January after an international search. | A man charged with the murder of a Cardiff woman, whose body was found in a hotel room, will stand trial in January. |
34518706 | The PM's official spokeswoman said it reflected the government's decision to focus on domestic priorities.
The deal was to provide a "training needs analysis" for Saudi prison service staff.
No 10 stressed pulling out of the deal was unconnected to the case of expat Karl Andree, jailed in Saudi Arabia after being caught with homemade wine.
It was thought 74-year-old Mr Andree, who has been in jail for more than a year, was facing 360 lashes but the BBC now understands a flogging was never on the cards.
Despite withdrawing from the prison deal, Justice Secretary Michael Gove insisted Britain would maintain its relationship with the country.
Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Mr Gove said: "And while we would never compromise on our commitment to human rights, we must also recognise that it's in the interests of the most important human right of all, the right to live in safety and security, that we should continue with necessary security co-operation with the Saudi government and with other governments."
The withdrawal follows reports of a cabinet rift on the issue, with Mr Gove said to have angered Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond by seeking to pull the plug.
The Times says the justice secretary wanted to pull out of the deal, saying the government should not be assisting a regime that uses beheadings, stoning, crucifixions and lashings to punish its citizens.
But Mr Hammond warned that cancelling it would not be in the national interest as it would make Britain appear an untrustworthy ally - and No 10 had sided with him, the paper reports.
Downing Street said there would be no financial penalties for pulling out of the bid process.
Analysis
by Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
Saudi officials say they are baffled by the headlines suggesting that an elderly Briton, Karl Andree, may face flogging for possessing alcohol.
They say that was never even a possibility because of his age and ill health.
The Saudis are unlikely to be troubled by the cancellation of a very small contract for Britain's Ministry of Justice to give training advice to Saudi prisons - £6m is nothing compared to the multi-billion dollar arms and oil deals regularly concluded with international partners.
France today announced a £7bn deal with Saudi Arabia.
But what the Saudis dislike intensely is public scrutiny of their much-criticised human rights record.
When this escalates into personal intervention by Western leaders, such as David Cameron, it encourages some senior Saudis to look elsewhere for trading partners.
The Saudis are fiercely defensive of their justice system, saying its harsh punishments are based on Sharia, Islamic law. But the way justice is meted out is often considered arbitrary, opaque and disproportionate to the offence.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who used his recent conference speech to call for the prisons deal to be scrapped, said the government had been "shamed" into the "U-turn on this terrible contract".
"We should be sending a strong message to repressive regimes that the UK is a beacon for human rights and that this contract bid is unacceptable in the 21st Century, and would damage Britain's standing in the world," he said.
Kate Higham, from human rights organisation Reprieve, said cancelling the bid had "sent a clear message that the UK does not support Saudi Arabia's gross violations of human rights".
The prisons bid was submitted by the now defunct commercial arm of the Ministry of Justice, Just Solutions international (JSi), which was established under Mr Gove's predecessor Chris Grayling in 2013.
Mr Gove closed it down amid criticism that it was selling prison expertise to countries with poor human rights records.
The MoJ had previously insisted that JSi's work was focused on trying to improve human rights standards in the countries' jails through training and prison design.
In the case of Mr Andree, Downing Street said Mr Cameron was personally intervening by writing to the Saudi government.
Mr Andree, who has lived in the Middle East for 25 years, was arrested in 2014 after being caught with homemade wine by Saudi religious police.
However, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said both Saudi and UK government officials have told him there was never any question of Mr Andree being flogged.
"The Saudis privately gave the Foreign Office assurances he was not going to be flogged, but delays in Saudi bureaucracy meant that his release papers have been held up before they reached the prison and the family grew increasingly worried," he said.
"The media spotlight now means that his release will either be speeded up or possibly, out of pique, get put back further." | The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said. |
33321990 | The Serco security guard, thought to be in her 50s, was attacked at about 13:35 BST at Blackfriars Crown Court.
The Metropolitan Police said she was escorting a prisoner between the court and a van parked nearby at the time.
A man, 22, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in police custody.
London's Air Ambulance attended the victim and treated her at the scene before she was taken to hospital. | A guard has been "critically injured" by a prisoner she was escorting between a courthouse and prison van in central London. |
36502765 | They are joined by Heather Watson, 24, and Murray's older brother Jamie, 30, in the four-strong team.
Andy Murray, 29, claimed gold in the men's singles and silver in the mixed doubles at London 2012.
Konta, 25, will be playing in her first Games, but it will be a second appearance for Watson and a third for Jamie Murray.
World number 18 Konta said: "It's such an honour to have the rare opportunity to represent my country in an Olympic Games. I'm looking forward to doing my part for Team GB and supporting my team-mates across all the sports."
Former Wimbledon champion Murray added: "Playing for Team GB during London 2012 gave me some of the best memories I have in sport.
"Being a home Olympic Games, it was such a special occasion and the atmosphere at Wimbledon was like nothing I have ever experienced.
"Winning medals for your country is as good as it gets and I can't wait to get to Rio to try and win more medals."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | British number ones Andy Murray and Johanna Konta have been named in Team GB's tennis squad for the Rio Olympics. |
36585881 | Grace Wilson, or Fullerton, 59, made no plea when she appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody.
A 63-year-old man was injured in the incident which happened at an address in the Brimmond Crescent area of Westhill last Tuesday. | A woman has appeared in court charged with attempted murder following an incident in Aberdeenshire. |
35694864 | Some 34.3 million Americans watched the ceremony - a near record low - amid the Hollywood diversity controversy.
The lower figures could reflect civil rights leader Al Sharpton's call for a "tuneout" in protest at the absence of people of colour among the nominees.
"One would have to assume we were effective and part of the decline," Sharpton said in a statement.
"And to those that mocked the idea of a tuneout, it seems the joke was on them."
It was the second straight year of all-white acting nominees, and the host, black comedian Chris Rock, was quick to address the furore in his opening monologue which was generally well received.
The show also addressed issues of sexual assault, gay rights and environmentalism as ratings fell steadily throughout the broadcast's last hour.
The statistics continue a trend seen with other live award shows, with this year's Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, Emmy Awards and Tony Awards all showing ratings declines.
The Oscars were, however, a hit on social media, generating 24.2 millions tweets globally throughout the night, Twitter said.
Leonardo DiCaprio's best actor win drew more than 440,000 tweets per minute, making it the most-tweeted minute of an Oscars telecast ever, according to Twitter.
On Facebook, 24 million people engaged in 67 million interactions related to the Oscars.
DiCaprio's win was, once again, the most talked-about moment, Facebook said. | The 2016 Academy Awards pulled in its smallest audience in eight years, according to US ratings data. |
35365470 | It is hoped the Pub is the Hub pilot project could be extended across the country.
But what, exactly, can villagers in rural parts expect to see their local hostelry provide in future?
The service in England and Wales has already provided a number of interesting possibilities.
Pints and prose have often been partners but they have proved one of the most popular combinations in business diversification in England and Wales.
A variety of bars or function rooms have been converted to their new purpose with shelving installed.
In some instances the micro-library has stepped in after the loss of local mobile or fixed library services.
It is a common complaint in more remote areas that the distance you have to travel to see the latest films can be quite considerable.
However, with a little bit of work, many local pubs have the potential to be turned into small-scale movie theatres.
Some even offer popcorn to make the experience that little bit more authentic.
Many villages have seen their post offices close in recent years leaving them without a valued service.
But now eight sites across England have been helped by Pub is the Hub to incorporate such a facility into their premises.
It would probably be advisable, just the same, to write any letters before sampling the local ale.
Many of us get more than a little peckish after a pint or two.
At a couple of pubs south of the border, you can now indulge your cravings with a sirloin steak or a rack of lamb.
It has meant villagers can once again enjoy fresh meat without having to travel some distance for the pleasure.
Another foodie option which has been taken up in England is to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
They can then be used in the pub's restaurant as well as being sold in a small shop.
Pubs can also run courses offering help to locals who might be tempted to grow food in their own gardens.
Pub is the Hub lists nearly 30 different types of project it has helped to bring to pubs across England and Wales.
So the only limit on the services which might be installed seems to be the publican's imagination.
Which could mean some interesting times the next time you go for a quiet drink in the Scottish Borders. | A new scheme aimed at allowing rural pubs to provide a wider range of services for their communities has been launched in the Borders. |
35818832 | The statue, featuring Mr Modi in a traditional Indian greeting with folded hands, will go on display in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
The prime minister was involved in the creation of his wax likeness and gave artists a sitting at his home in Delhi.
Mr Modi has a "massive social media presence" and there is "intense public interest" in him, the company said.
His Twitter following is second only to that of US President Barack Obama and he is well known for taking "selfies" with other world leaders, celebrities and supporters.
Madame Tussauds said that the statue would allow guests to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with Mr Modi and even grab a selfie with him.
"Madame Tussauds has crafted figures of very distinguished dignitaries from around the world - how could I regard myself worthy of being alongside them? But when I was informed that your decision had emanated from public opinion and public sentiment, I was comforted," Mr Modi said in a statement.
"I have visited Madame Tussauds three or four times and had the pleasure of getting myself photographed standing next to the figures of various dignitaries," he added.
The museum has featured other political figures from India, including wax-works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Bollywood celebrities were introduced in 2000, after hundreds of comments from visitors requesting that stars from the world's most prolific film industry be portrayed. | Madame Tussauds has said it will unveil a waxwork of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April. |
34863678 | Powys opposition group leader Aled Davies was fined more than £2,500 in October after admitting six offences.
Animal health officers found nine sheep carcasses on his farm said to have been dead for two weeks. He also admitted failing to register the death of a cow.
A Tory spokesman said the case was not about animal health or animal welfare.
Labour insisted he should be suspended as a candidate, but he was backed by Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies as one of "an excellent field of candidates in Mid and West Wales".
A Conservative spokeswoman said: "Aled has the backing of the membership of Mid and West Wales as shown by today's results.
"The offences were not related to animal health or animal welfare.
"We have every confidence that, should he be elected, Aled will do an excellent job as an assembly member for Mid and West Wales."
After the count, Aled Davies said: "The Welsh Conservatives are the only alternative, and I will be campaigning hard on the issues that really affect the people of this region - including health, education and the strengthening of the rural economy."
A Welsh Labour spokesman responded: "It beggars belief that the Tories have selected a man that just last month was fined after admitting a string of animal health offences in court." | A farmer recently fined for animal offences has been chosen as the lead Conservative assembly candidate in the Mid and West Wales region in 2016. |
35770909 | Tony Gallagher told the BBC he was "completely confident" that the report and its headline reflected her views.
Buckingham Palace complained to the press watchdog on Wednesday about the article, which was headlined "Queen backs Brexit".
The palace has insisted the Queen is "politically neutral".
The Sun quoted anonymous sources, one of whom claimed to have witnessed a "bust-up" between the Queen and pro-EU former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in 2011.
Mr Clegg has said he could not remember any such incident and called the story "nonsense".
The UK is due to hold an in/out referendum on its membership of the EU on 23 June.
All you need to know about the EU referendum
UK and the EU - better off out or in?
Mr Gallagher told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was "not my fault" if the Sun had published an "inconvenient" story.
He said the paper's duty was to its readers, "not the elite who might be upset at what we've written".
Asked if the headline "Queen backs Brexit" had been overwritten, he replied: "Absolutely not."
"We knew much more than we published."
When it was put to him that the Queen's alleged remarks had been made before it was known there would be a referendum, Mr Gallagher said this was "semantics".
By Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent
Tony Gallagher's was a robust defence, which offered the possibility the Sun has more information to bolster the claim that it's a Eurosceptic Queen that reigns over us.
Any future revelations won't alter the complaint sitting in the press watchdog's in-tray.
"Queen backs Brexit" was a headline that stuck in the monarchical craw.
It wasn't supported, as far as the palace is concerned, by any of the quotes in the Sun article.
Before the Queen was in its sights, the tabloid had criticised Prince William for being work shy - an accusation echoed in other newspapers.
It's led some to question whether this signals the start of a shift in how the papers portray the royals.
The reality is more likely to be that recent coverage serves as a reminder of the media's complex relationship with the Windsors - a family which over time has been both praised and pilloried in print.
Read more from Peter
Leader of the House of Commons Chris Grayling, who wants Britain to leave the EU, told Today that conversations with the Queen were "always to be kept private".
The Sun's report said the Queen's exchange with Mr Clegg left "no room for doubt about her passionate feelings over Europe" and "stunned other guests".
The paper said the Queen also revealed her feelings about Europe during a separate conversation with MPs at Buckingham Palace "a few years ago", allegedly speaking the words "I don't understand Europe" with "venom and emotion".
Prime Minister David Cameron, who is leading the campaign for Britain to stay in the EU, said Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who backs so-called Brexit, had "made clear" that he was not the source of the apparent leak.
"He has no idea where this story came from," the prime minister told the BBC, following a report in the Daily Telegraph that Mr Gove was facing claims he was the source.
The Buckingham Palace complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) was made under clause one of the editors' code of practice, which relates to accuracy and specifies that headlines should be supported by the main text of reports.
Ipso declined to comment on the inquiry or timing of publication, referring the BBC to its website, which says decisions are published "as soon as is reasonably possible following the conclusion of the complaint". | The Sun's editor-in-chief has said he is "in no doubt" that the newspaper's article claiming the Queen backs a UK exit from the EU is accurate. |
39291187 | The matchmaking show will include LGBT contestants for the first time, in its new incarnation on Channel 5.
O'Grady was a close friend of the late Cilla Black, who hosted the show on ITV during its run from 1985 and 2003.
He said: "Blind Date is an incredibly special family show which brought laughter, tears and joy to TV viewers throughout the land."
The presenter and comedian added: "I am honoured to present the brand new series and, after speaking to Channel 5, I know the series is in safe hands. I can't wait to see if we can find love."
Channel 5's official announcement said the show had been "updated for the 21st Century".
"With no chance to swipe left, send a selfie or message back, the class of 2017 must break with modern-day dating convention and rely on their basic instincts to find the chemistry," it said.
The original version of the show involved three individuals of the same sex being introduced to the audience.
They were then asked questions by a contestant of the opposite sex who could not see them - and one would be chosen to go on a date,
The new format will retain the sliding panel that conceals the contestants, the three question format and live studio audience, but will also include "thematic twists" to "breathe new life" into the series.
Ben Frow, director of programmes for Channel 5, said: "Paul is the perfect choice to bridge the old and the new, capturing the essence and charm of a series that became staple Saturday night family viewing in living rooms up and down the country, whilst attracting and appealing to a whole new generation of TV viewers."
During its run, three pairs of Blind Date contestants married, with Black attending all of their weddings.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Paul O'Grady has said he is honoured to host the new version of Blind Date when it returns this year. |
37018100 | John Marquis made amends for an early penalty miss by heading the only goal of the game for Rovers.
Victory is just Doncaster's fourth of the calendar year, while Cambridge remain winless this term.
Rovers were given a golden chance to open the scoring after 10 minutes when Marquis was felled in the box by Sean Long. Marquis stepped up to take the spot-kick but saw his blasted effort kept out by the legs of Will Norris.
Doncaster rallied from that setback with Andy Williams, Marquis and Tommy Rowe all kept at bay by the busy Norris.
Cambridge looked toothless in attack but were keeping the shop shut at the back.
Play was halted for around 10 minutes midway through the second half whilst a replacement assistant from the crowd was found.
Rovers responded well despite that needless distraction and after 74 minutes Marquis corrected his earlier mistake when he headed home Matty Blair's precise cross.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Doncaster Rovers 1, Cambridge United 0.
Second Half ends, Doncaster Rovers 1, Cambridge United 0.
Foul by Andy Williams (Doncaster Rovers).
Medy Elito (Cambridge United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Corner, Doncaster Rovers. Conceded by Sean Long.
Corner, Cambridge United. Conceded by Mitchell Lund.
Attempt blocked. Ben Williamson (Cambridge United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. James Coppinger (Doncaster Rovers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Doncaster Rovers. Conceded by Will Norris.
Attempt saved. John Marquis (Doncaster Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Joe Wright (Doncaster Rovers) is shown the yellow card.
Joe Pigott (Cambridge United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Joe Wright (Doncaster Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Joe Pigott (Cambridge United).
Corner, Doncaster Rovers. Conceded by Piero Mingoia.
Attempt missed. Joe Wright (Doncaster Rovers) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Doncaster Rovers. Conceded by Max Clark.
Attempt saved. Andy Williams (Doncaster Rovers) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Cambridge United. Joe Pigott replaces James Dunne.
Attempt missed. Ben Williamson (Cambridge United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Andy Butler (Doncaster Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ben Williamson (Cambridge United).
Substitution, Cambridge United. Conor Newton replaces Keith Keane.
Goal! Doncaster Rovers 1, Cambridge United 0. John Marquis (Doncaster Rovers) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Matty Blair.
Corner, Doncaster Rovers. Conceded by Josh Coulson.
Matty Blair (Doncaster Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Max Clark (Cambridge United).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Mitchell Lund (Doncaster Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Keith Keane (Cambridge United).
James Coppinger (Doncaster Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by James Coppinger (Doncaster Rovers).
James Dunne (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Cambridge United. Conceded by Mitchell Lund.
Andy Butler (Doncaster Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Piero Mingoia (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Andy Butler (Doncaster Rovers).
Tommy Rowe (Doncaster Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by James Dunne (Cambridge United).
Attempt saved. James Coppinger (Doncaster Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. | Doncaster sealed their first win of the campaign thanks to a 1-0 success over Cambridge. |
34238263 | Medway Maritime Hospital,in Gillingham, has been in special measures since July 2013 after it was rated inadequate.
The CQC said it would be considering whether to use "urgent powers".
Its inspectors visited the hospital in August to follow up concerns identified in July 2014.
Following the August inspection, the CQC said it was concerned by the "lack of active clinical leadership in the accident and emergency department and the subsequent risk to patient safety".
It said at the busiest times, the unit was unable to cope with the numbers of patients attending.
Patients were waiting too long to see a doctor or were being left unattended while they waited, it said.
The CQC has raised these concerns with the trust and local commissioners.
It added: "If we had any further concerns about the safety of the service, we would consider using our urgent powers to protect the continued safety and wellbeing of people who rely on this service."
The CQC said it would continue to monitor the trust closely and would publish its findings in due course.
Medway Maritime Hospital has been contacted for comment. | A Kent hospital's A&E unit is unable to cope with the number of patients arriving during busy periods and is putting them at risk, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revealed. |
34895465 | The Welsh region trailed 34-17 with two minutes to play before Sam Parry and Tom Habberfield scored brilliant tries.
Fly-half Biggar said Ospreys had "pulled a rabbit out of a hat" with try-scoring and losing bonus points.
"If you'd have given us two points beforehand we'd have certainly taken it," said the Wales international.
"Looking back on the game we're probably a bit disappointed that we didn't get a win, but all in all we're ecstatic with two points."
The result saw Ospreys regain top spot in Pool 2, ahead of last season's runners-up Clermont, who have played only one game, and Exeter Chiefs.
Ospreys beat Exeter on the opening weekend when Clermont's match against Bordeaux-Begles was postponed following the Paris terrorist attacks.
Clermont have not lost at home in European competition since 2008, and looked to be coasting as they led 20-3 at half time.
Ospreys recovered to 20-17 before Clermont re-established their dominance with tries by David Strettle and Wesley Fofana before the Welsh side's grandstand finish.
Reduced to 14-men with Sam Davies in the sin-bin, Justin Tipuric set-up Parry's last-minute try, with Biggar missing an attempted drop-goal conversion to allow his side enough time to mount one more attack.
And it was Biggar himself who gave the scoring pass to Habberfield, who sprinted clear to score after Ospreys attacked from deep in their own 22 from the restart.
"We glanced at the clock and thought there was 30 seconds left," Biggar added.
"The conversion didn't matter, so just regardless of what happened just got it dead and give ourselves a chance and happily we took it.
"Maybe they switched off at the last kick off, but we've sort of stuck at it and managed to pull a a rabbit out of a hat really and score at the end."
Biggar praised the match - which saw both teams score four tries - as a "great occasion of European rugby".
He claimed the Ospreys' policy was always to aim to score four tries, which was why they spurned three kicks at goal in favour of lineouts in the first-half.
"It was one of those in which we thought we're not going to come here and cling on and get a bonus point by kicking penalties," he explained.
"Not many teams have come here and lost 12-9 or something like that.
"We've made a bold decision and luckily it paid off in the end and we've managed to pick up two points." | Dan Biggar says Ospreys are "ecstatic" after claiming an unlikely two bonus points in their 34-29 Champions Cup defeat at Clermont Auvergne. |
19193861 | But what do those actually covering the Games for papers and media organisations around the world think of the event? BBC asks a selection for their views.
Defining image
The opening ceremony and the way it told Britain's far-reaching story was very striking and moving; the storytelling was unique and nuanced, and showed many sides of the British story.
Jessica Ennis probably tops the list of athletes who have impressed me and will stick in my memory; she seems to so deeply enjoy her athletic ability and her success in a way that is both confident and disarming without seeming at all egotistical.
Usain Bolt's strides have been just astonishing to watch, and of course what unfolded in the pool for the United States, men and women alike, has been riveting.
London's organisation and approach
My personal experience has been one of complete efficiency and friendliness. I keep reading about how Londoners grumble a lot, but I have to say that I haven't heard any of that.
Compared to other Games
This is my third Olympics in person, and each has its own character. I don't know that any of them are comparable. I have been delighted at much of the Olympic architecture, and I think that the Stratford and Hackney Wick neighbourhoods, which have probably been through a great deal these past few years as the Olympics approach, have lent a very distinctive flavour to my experience of these games.
Biggest surprise
I'm not sure it's a surprise so much, but I have been struck like never before by the multiculturalism here. I'm sure that has been just as present at previous Olympics I've been to, but for some reason I felt it more here.
One would think the ability to get along with others that pervades an Olympic Games might eventually extend itself into the larger world. That's always the hope, at least.
My father, a linguist, felt strongly that if people could communicate better with each other it might help prevent wars. I believe that to be the case, and I think that the Olympics are a pivotal proving ground for his notion.
Defining image
The cheering 80,000 fans who filled up the Olympic Stadium for the athletics events daily. The arena enjoyed a full house during the morning and afternoon sessions. And of course the union jack was one other prominent image.
London's organisation and approach
I'd give them 7/10. They did well for the athletes - security was watertight around them. But they made things difficult for the media at times with their exaggerated demarcation around some other events.
Biggest surprise
Team Great Britain hauled the medals as if their events were fixed! That was a remarkable feat for a nation that seemed buried at the start.
Defining image
For me, there has been nothing better than seeing the British Olympians excel at their home Olympics. Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray and Bradley Wiggins all delivered gold medals under tremendous pressure and the subsequent roars from the crowd were deafening. Sure, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps cemented their legacies here, but for me, there is nothing better than seeing a host city celebrate the success of one of their own athletes.
London's organisation and approach
This has been a tremendous success, when you consider the fear and hesitation a lot of people felt prior to the games.
The last-minute security shortfall had the government scrambling to call in military support and left people feeling uneasy. But there hasn't been a single incident or legitimate scare and the authorities have done a marvellous job of getting people in and out of venues.
I was certain that I was going to be sitting in traffic or on crowded trains for two weeks, but that hasn't been the case at all. To pull that off in one of the busiest cities in the world is truly remarkable. I'm not sure if New York, Paris or Tokyo could do this any better.
Compared to other Games
I so like the fact that some of the venues here are only temporary - that way the city isn't stuck with any white elephants or venues that they don't know what to do with down the line. And I think in some previous host cities, that has been a big issue.
Biggest surprise
The weather has been the biggest surprise for me. Coming into London last month, everybody told me to bring my umbrella and winter clothes because the rain had been unbearable for two months in this city. And yet we've only had a few passing showers here and the weather hasn't wreaked havoc on any of the events.
Defining image
Usain Bolt in the 100 metres final - after all the speculation and doubts about his fitness and form he defeated the fastest field in history, set the second fastest time ever and confirmed beyond doubt that he is the greatest sprinter of all time.
London's organisation and approach
Exceeded all expectations. There were genuine and well-founded doubts about transport and security: the first has been fine, at least as far as accredited Olympic personnel are concerned; the second we won't know until after the closing ceremony but the security seems to have been efficient without being overbearing.
Compared to other Games
It's my seventh summer Olympics, and I would rank it in the top three along with Barcelona and Sydney. I was discussing the very same topic with the Sports Illustrated Olympic guy yesterday who's done 15 summer and winter Games and he's of the same opinion - although he would also put the Lillehammer winter Games up there.
Biggest surprise
How well it's all gone really - lucky with the weather after such a dreadful summer but the rest is down to organisation and the amazing public support. That in itself is not such a surprise - the British love grumbling before big events but they then embrace them and they do know their sport. As well they should because they invented most of them.
Defining image
The opening ceremony, of course. It was great, and this is the best ceremony I've ever seen. In addition to this, a lot of friendly smiles. And, of course, volunteers who coped brilliantly with their work.
London's organisation and approach
Organisation was at a high level, but it's not been without problems. The main thing has been the transport.
The buses for press have been late - some had to wait for an hour and a half or two hours, which is not acceptable. It should be noted, though, that there has been excellent security and volunteers.
Compared to other Games
At the moment, Beijing is still in first place for the organisation and the Olympic Games, but in general London has organised a Games to be proud of.
One of the downsides is that there are long distances between some of the the Olympic venues. | The sports sections of the world's media have, for the past two weeks, been preoccupied with one story - London's Olympic Games. |
39118272 | Miklos Verebes, 29, was found covered in blood in the Carlisle home of Melinda Korosi on 15 September 2016, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
Ms Korosi, 33, died from a "combination of major injuries", prosecutors said.
Mr Verebes denies murder and three charges of raping Ms Korosi between 2012 and 2016.
Miss Korosi was pronounced dead at the scene having suffered severe injuries to her head and neck.
Two pieces of bloodstained rock were found by police at the scene, the court heard.
These were said to have been "capable" of causing the neck injury.
No defensive injuries were found on Miss Korosi's body.
Prosecutors said Mr Verebes told police they were were too late and that Ms Korosi was dead.
The trial continues. | A man accused of murdering his ex-partner told police "it's too late, she's dead" when they found him next to her body, a court has heard. |
39110500 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Six Nations defeats by England and Scotland have meant Wales dropped to seventh in the global rankings.
Wales would fall to ninth if they lose to Ireland and France in their remaining games, one place out of the top eight who will take the best slots in Japan in 2019.
"It's a huge danger," said the former Wales and British and Irish Lions wing.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"Because the lower you are in the rankings, the tougher the World Cup is going to be."
A 2012 defeat by Australia meant Wales had to face the Wallabies and 2015 hosts England at the last World Cup.
Wales beat England 28-25 in a memorable World Cup victory, helping to end their neighbours' bid for the world crown on home soil.
They have not beaten England since that game however and, after finishing the 2015 tournament fifth in the world, they could be four places below that when the Japan event draw is made on 10 May.
There will be four groups of five teams with the world's top eight teams at that time seeded so that the top four teams do not meet each other in pool games.
Williams says going from fifth to ninth in the world would be "massive".
He added: "If you've really got a tough group in the World Cup, by the time you get to the quarter-finals it can take a lot out of you.
"So the better and the easier the run-in to get to the quarter-finals, it's going to be easier and better for the team.
"So to be ninth, you'll be in a really tough group as I think Wales found out in the last World Cup."
Wales host Ireland on Friday, 10 March in Cardiff with Williams saying Rob Howley's side "took a step backwards" at Murrayfield last weekend.
"People are questioning the style of rugby and what Wales are trying to achieve at the moment," Williams said.
"Ireland are still eyeing up the Championship because they've got England on the last day of the tournament.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"Ireland at home after two successive losses it doesn't look very promising for Wales, especially with the way Ireland are playing and winning at the moment.
"They're a very confident and clever side.
"Wales really didn't seem to know what they were doing or what direction they wanted to play - it wasn't quite all there [against Scotland].
"So it's tough. If you don't win that game, you've got to go away to France, a powerful, physical strong French team that I think have played some good rugby." | Shane Williams fears Wales are in danger of ending up in another group of death at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. |
35882117 | 23 March 2016 Last updated at 11:46 GMT
The silence ended with applause.
Three days of national mourning have also been announced. | People in Belgium have observed a minute's silence following attacks that left 34 people dead and many more injured. |
39221828 | Dr Lauren Phillips, who works for North Bristol NHS Trust and lives in Bristol, was last seen on 23 February.
The 26-year-old's car was found in Woolacombe, Devon five days later. Coastguards, the RNLI and a police helicopter had been searching for her.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman confirmed: "The search has been stood down in our area now."
All lines of inquiry in the area had been exhausted, Avon and Somerset Constabulary added.
More on this story, plus more Devon and Cornwall news
Dr Phillips worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust during her foundation year.
She is described as white, 5ft 5ins tall, of slim build with brown eyes and long, dark brown hair.
It is thought she may be wearing a dark brown waxed cotton mid-length coat with cream wool-lined hood and a long cream woollen cardigan which has orange and blue detail.
She could also be wearing Converse trainers and a beige woollen hat which has a purple flower on the side. | An air, land and sea search for a missing junior doctor has been called off, say police. |
34881075 | A 24-year-old pedestrian died after he was struck by a lorry at Drumquill, on the Castleblayney to Annyalla Road in County Monaghan.
Later on Friday morning, a 36-year-old man died following a two-car collision at Tully Esker on the Drogheda to Monasterboice Road in County Louth.
A man and a woman in their 30s were taken to hospital.
They were travelling in the other vehicle.
Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. | Two men have died in separate road crashes in the Republic of Ireland. |
37286600 | His controversial comments have led to diplomatic consequences with the US president cancelling a scheduled meeting with Mr Duterte.
But the Philippine leader, who has insulted prominent figures before, is not the only one guilty of offending world leaders.
From a "sadistic nurse" to "the devil" himself, here are some of the more memorable comments made by or about those in positions of power.
The then Syrian defence minister General Mustafa Tlass, known for his colourful language, triggered a diplomatic row with the Palestinian Authority when he described its leader Yasser Arafat as the "son of 60,000 whores".
Gen Tlass, who launched the outspoken attack on Mr Arafat in a speech in 1999, said: "You should have told the White House that Jerusalem is the capital of the future Palestinian state but instead you stayed as quiet as a mouse and did not dare say a single word in favour of Palestine or Jerusalem."
His comments led to demonstrations in Gaza with thousands of Palestinians protesting at the personal attack on their leader.
In a dramatic speech to the UN in September 2006, the then president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, famously described his US counterpart George W Bush as the "devil".
"The Devil is right at home. The devil, the devil himself, is right in the house.
"And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the devil came here. Right here. And it smells of sulphur still today.
"Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world."
On the same podium in 2009, Mr Chavez cautiously welcomed Mr Obama's new administration. Looking around, he said: "It doesn't smell of sulphur any more. No, it smells of something else. It smells of hope, and you have to have hope in your heart."
When a sentence begins with the words "I don't want to be rude", you should probably prepare to be offended.
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) at the time of his speech to MEPs in the European parliament, launched into a personal attack on Herman Van Rompuy that lasted several minutes.
He said the president of the European Council had "the charisma of a damp rag".
He compared the former Belgian prime minister to a "low-grade bank clerk" and said he came from a "non-country".
The attack, which stunned the chamber, came as Mr Van Rompuy made his maiden appearance in parliament in Brussels.
The EU was plunged into a grave diplomatic crisis following former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's "Nazi guard" remarks to a German MEP, Martin Schulz.
MEPs threatened to break off relations with the EU's top decision-making body, the European Council (headed by Mr Berlusconi at the time), unless a formal apology was given.
"I know that in Italy there is a man producing a film on Nazi concentration camps," Mr Berlusconi said, adding: "I shall put you forward for the role of Kapo [guard chosen from among the prisoners] - you would be perfect."
As the controversy over his remark intensified, he responded: "I'll try to soften it and become boring, maybe even very boring, but I am not sure I will be able to do it."
Tony Abbott, then Australian prime minister, controversially threatened to "shirtfront" Russian leader Vladimir Putin ahead of the November G20 summit in Brisbane.
Mr Abbott's comment was made after the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, in which 38 Australians were among the 298 killed.
Russia was criticised for backing the rebel separatist fighters blamed for shooting down the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane.
The term "shirtfront", commonly associated with the rough and tumble of Australian football, means to target an opponent with a head-on charge aimed at bumping them to the ground.
The two appeared cordial when the meeting took place.
Hillary Clinton could be the next US president. And as leader of "the free world", she would be a useful person to have in your corner.
Not known for her sense of humour, it was unlikely that she would have been amused by this description from UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Back in 2007 Mr Johnson said: "She's got dyed blonde hair and pouty lips, and a steely blue stare, like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital."
In 2016 he said his outspoken comments had been "taken out of context".
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pulled out a string of epithets for the head of the Organization of American States (OAS,) Luis Almagro.
He called him "rubbish", a "traitor" and told him: "Mr Almagro, you can take your Democratic Charter, put it into a thin tube, and shove it wherever it fits."
In a series of Twitter posts addressed directly to Mr Maduro, Mr Almagro also called him a "petty dictator".
After the remarks, the former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica said President Maduro was "mad as a goat".
The comments were made after Mr Almagro called an emergency meeting over Venezuela's "institutional crisis", a move that could have led to Venezuela's expulsion from the OAS.
He has blamed US President Barack Obama for everything from Brexit to the rise of so-called Islamic State (IS), but Donald Trump's request to see Mr Obama's full birth certificate triggered a long-running debate - and a string of conspiracy theories.
The colourful billionaire was convinced that Mr Obama was actually born in Kenya and offered the president $5m to reveal his college and passport records.
Later, at the annual White House correspondents' dinner, Mr Obama said: "As some of you heard, the state of Hawaii released my official long-form birth certificate.
"Hopefully this puts all doubts to rest, but just in case… tonight for the first time I am prepared to go one step further, I am releasing my official birth video."
The screen in the conference hall then cut to a clip from the Disney film The Lion King. "Oh well," Mr Obama added, "back to square one".
The Uruguayan president was caught on microphone at the start of a news conference apparently referring to his Argentinean counterpart as an "old hag".
President Jose Mujica, allegedly referring to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her late husband, was overheard in a recording in 2013 saying: "This old hag is even worse than the cross-eyed man."
A Uruguayan newspaper posted audio of his comments on its website, which led to official protests in Argentina.
President Mujica later denied that he had been talking about the Kirchners. To this day he has failed to explain whom he was referring to.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe hit out at South Africa's former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, calling him an "angry, evil and embittered little bishop".
The two are not known to be the closest of friends with Archbishop Tutu earlier saying that Mr Mugabe resembled a caricature of an African dictator.
Mr Mugabe's comments were made in an interview with Sky News.
Archbishop Tutu, who won the Nobel peace prize for his efforts as one of the leading figures in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, did not comment on Mr Mugabe's verbal attack. | Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he regrets calling his US counterpart Barack Obama the "son of a whore". |
35115476 | "One of these drinks has 20 teaspoons of sugar hiding in the can," says Ms Kellett, who goes on to tell the group why sugar-laden soft drinks are particularly bad for the teeth.
Apparently, it is to do with the way we sip them, which means they stay "high in the palate" and have a greater chance of causing tooth decay.
They have already heard about the dangers of diabetes and obesity, all part of a pitch to harden their resolve to complete the 21-day Gulp (Give Up Loving Pop)Challenge.
But for some of the 12- and 13-year-olds, the days ahead threaten to be quite tough, because these are young people who really enjoy their fizzy drinks.
"I love fizzy pop," says one pupil. "I drink near enough one can per day."
"I have a bottle of pop with my tea," says her friend.
"I usually have one at lunch as well, so I usually have more than I'm supposed to."
That is certainly true, as for most people over the age of 11, the recommended daily amount of sugar is 30g (1oz).
Some of the most popular soft drinks contain at least that amount per can, if not more.
In Blackpool, there is a particular issue, because more than a third of 10- and 11-year-olds in the town are overweight or obese - some of the highest rates in England.
And young people are also the biggest consumers of fizzy drinks.
It's a worry for Blackpool's director of public health, Dr Arif Rajpura.
"There is simply too much sugar in our diet, and this is contributing significantly to our obesity epidemic," Dr Rajpura says.
"So what we are trying to do is reduce the amount of sugar in our diet.
"Sugar in fizzy drinks is empty calories, it just adds calories, unnecessary calories, to our diet and what we're trying to do is cut that out."
Research suggests it takes 21 days to kick a habit or wean yourself off an addiction, which is how many of the group see sugar and fizzy drinks.
"It's like I've drunk it since I was young," says Shae, who drinks two cans a day.
"I don't know if it's going to leave me alone when I'm doing this challenge.
"It's going to be hard, but it's going to make me healthier as well."
Assuming there are 36g of sugar in a drink - the same amount found in one of the UK's most popular colas - each pupil would "save" 756g of extra sugar over the 21 days.
For the whole group, that amounts to 11.3kg of sugar.
Or to put it another way, they will have avoided putting an extra 45,360 calories into their bodies.
Three weeks later, when they are asked who managed to give up for the full 21 days, all but three hands go up - an 80% success rate.
Some say it was tough, some found it easier, but none says they are now going to give up fizzy drinks for good.
The school's senior assistant head teacher, Chris Ibbotson, says the timeframe has been too short to say if it has made a long-term difference, but she knows that more work will be needed.
"We've got influences from advertising and marketing that overwhelm adults as well as children," she says.
"It's a hard nut to crack.
"We also have to talk to parents about what they think, because they've been brought up in a similar way to the children, in using sugar as a reward, using sugar as a quick fix. And we do have to change." | At Blackpool's St George's School, 15 pupils from Year 8 are sitting in a semi-circle as dental nurse Helen Kellett shows them some popular brands of fizzy drink. |
37726922 | Fuchs, 30, made 32 appearances last season as the Foxes won the Premier League for the first time.
The former Austria international joined the club on a free transfer from German side Schalke in 2015 and has played 45 times in all competitions.
"Nobody expected what we achieved so far and I think there's still a lot to come," Fuchs told LCFC TV.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Leicester City defender Christian Fuchs has signed a new contract to keep him at the club until June 2019. |
36398454 | 27 May 2016 Last updated at 15:35 BST
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or Beam for short, hasn't blown up properly.
It's part of a two year experiment to give a more comfortable place for those on board the ISS to live and work.
Ayshah's been finding out what this means for Tim Peake and his fellow astronauts.
Pictures from Nasa | Astronauts on the International Space Station, trying to inflate a new space home, have hit a bit of a snag. |
37296679 | Ambulances were called to the attraction, which is Europe's longest zip wire, at around 8.30 BST on Wednesday.
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said the injuries were "not life-threatening".
All other Zip World facilities remain open.
Customers due to ride Velocity over the next 48 hours will be contacted by the ride's booking team to rearrange their visit.
A Zip World spokesman said: "Our technical team has advised that the Velocity adventure should be closed for two days so that further testing can take place.
"Safety at Zip World is ensured through a combination of technology, training and supervision.
"We invest in the best equipment and best training on a continual basis to ensure that our participants are kept safe."
The incident follows a "medical emergency" on Saturday, September 3 involving an elderly male at Zip World Titan in Blaenau Ffestiniog. | Bethesda's Zip World Velocity has closed for two days after two male staff members were injured on an early morning testing run. |
31539767 | The "Spy Booth" artwork, showing three figures "snooping" on a telephone box, appeared in Hewlett Road last April.
The "unauthorised" mural was added to the Grade II listed property without listed building consent, so could not be included in its listed status.
Cheltenham Borough Council voted by 12 votes to one to grant the application.
Retrospective planning consent has been granted for changes to the character of the listed building, meaning further permission would be needed if somebody wanted to remove it.
The mural, located about three miles from government listening post GCHQ, has been a source of controversy ever since it appeared.
It has been daubed with white paint, sprayed with silver and red graffiti, had people trying to steal it and businesses and communities fighting over ownership.
But with listed building consent now granted both the mural and the building's satellite dish will be protected from unauthorised alteration or removal.
Martin Chandler, borough council case officer, said: "It will be afforded a greater level of protection than it has currently but it doesn't mean we won't be faced with future applications to consider other changes to it."
"It [planning consent] doesn't automatically mean it's going to be retained in situ."
Robin Barton, from the Bankrobber gallery in London, who has been trying to broker a deal to sell the Banksy, said the listing was "an ill-judged gesture" and "short sighted".
"It will very likely result in the terminal decay of the wall. There is nothing to protect the wall now.
"Now that it's listed no-one can apply any protection to it. It's it absolutely vulnerable to the elements."
Mr Barton said he said he had spent more than £25,000 on protecting the work.
"The owner now wants to paint it over and move on with his life," he added. | A Banksy mural painted on a Cheltenham house has been protected after council planners agreed to grant it retrospective planning permission. |
38055014 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Djibril Sidibe's header early in the second half sparked a stunning sequence of three goals in just five minutes that saw Spurs' Champions League hopes swiftly fade, grow and fade again.
Harry Kane's penalty, awarded when Dele Alli was pulled back, put Spurs on level terms but, 39 seconds later, Monaco had the ball in the net again through Thomas Lemar.
Victory took Monaco through to the last 16 as deserved winners of Group E ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who earlier drew 1-1 at CSKA Moscow.
Tottenham, who have won one of their five group matches, are three points behind Leverkusen with one game to play, against CSKA on 7 December, but cannot overhaul the German side because of an inferior head-to-head record.
Spurs knew a draw would be enough to keep their hopes alive, but Monaco were by far the better side and only a superb performance by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris - who saved a penalty from Radamel Falcao - spared the Premier League side further punishment.
The Ligue 1 title hopefuls cut through Spurs with ease from the outset, with full-backs Sidibe and Benjamin Mendy a constant menace.
Spurs defender Kevin Wimmer had a night to forget, but it was centre-back partner Eric Dier at fault for Monaco's first-half penalty, lunging in clumsily on Fabinho. Falcao took the spot-kick, but his effort was tame and Lloris saved.
The French goalkeeper also made a double save from Mendy and Valere Germain but had no chance with Monaco's opener, the hosts again working the ball with ease to the left flank, from where Mendy crossed for the unmarked Sidibe to head in.
Kane's penalty four minutes later was the England striker's first Champions League goal, but Spurs' defensive frailties were again exposed straight from kick-off.
Monaco required just four passes as they worked the ball seamlessly into the area, where Lemar drilled low past Lloris.
Only a quite incredible save from Lloris to keep out Kamil Glik's thunderous strike kept Monaco within touching distance, but a third goal - or indeed a fourth - would not have flattered Leonardo Jardim's side.
Spurs' early exit from the Champions League owes much to their struggles at their temporary Wembley home.
Back-to-back defeats by Monaco and Leverkusen left them with no margin for error heading into this game, which made for a difficult team selection with a vital Premier League match at Chelsea to come this weekend.
Mauricio Pochettino decided to rest key defenders Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker in favour of Wimmer and Kieran Trippier, but the decision backfired, with Tottenham's backline appearing disjointed throughout and Wimmer in particular off the pace and at fault for the first goal.
Spurs have one more match to come at the national stadium, but it will be far from the occasion they envisioned at the start of the campaign.
Instead of looking to book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League, they will host CSKA with only third place in the group and Europa League football up for grabs.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino on BT Sport: "We are out and we have time to assess and analyse. It is true we feel disappointed but today we missed opportunities.
"I think we made too many mistakes at home at Wembley. We don't deserve to go through to the next round because we didn't show enough quality.
"We will take many things from this defeat, you learn and improve every day. Now we are trying to reduce the gap on the teams above us in the Premier League."
Tottenham striker Harry Kane on BT Sport: "It is disappointing. We got ourselves back in the game at 1-1 and it was schoolboy to concede straight after that.
"We had to try to grind out a win because we were not great - the second goal took the stuffing out of us. I just don't think on the day we were good enough.
"I'm gutted - we wanted to go far but it is something we will have to deal with. Losing two of our home games in this competition - yes, we played at Wembley this year but it has to be a fortress at home.
"We will look back and say it was the home games were we should've been better."
Spurs return to Premier League action with a huge game at leaders Chelsea on Saturday (17:30 GMT), while they complete their Champions League group campaign against CSKA Moscow on 7 December (19:45). Monaco are in Ligue 1 action on Saturday, welcoming Marseille to Stade Louis II.
Match ends, Monaco 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1.
Second Half ends, Monaco 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Benjamin Mendy.
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Benjamin Mendy (Monaco).
Attempt missed. Vincent Janssen (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Harry Kane with a headed pass.
Substitution, Monaco. Andrea Raggi replaces Falcao.
Attempt missed. Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right. Assisted by Christian Eriksen with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Jemerson.
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Dele Alli.
Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Fabinho (Monaco).
Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur).
Tiemoué Bakayoko (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Monaco. Conceded by Eric Dier.
Substitution, Monaco. João Moutinho replaces Thomas Lemar because of an injury.
Substitution, Monaco. Guido Carrillo replaces Valère Germain.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Jemerson.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Moussa Sissoko replaces Harry Winks.
Attempt missed. Tiemoué Bakayoko (Monaco) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Thomas Lemar.
Attempt saved. Falcao (Monaco) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Bernardo Silva with a through ball.
Foul by Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur).
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Christian Eriksen with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Kamil Glik.
Attempt blocked. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Vincent Janssen.
Corner, Monaco. Conceded by Hugo Lloris.
Attempt saved. Kamil Glik (Monaco) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Thomas Lemar with a cross.
Foul by Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur).
Valère Germain (Monaco) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Christian Eriksen replaces Mousa Dembélé.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Vincent Janssen replaces Son Heung-Min.
Foul by Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur).
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Bernardo Silva (Monaco) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Djibril Sidibe.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Benjamin Mendy.
Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Victor Wanyama tries a through ball, but Son Heung-Min is caught offside.
Falcao (Monaco) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half. | Tottenham were knocked out of the Champions League as they were comprehensively outclassed by Monaco at Stade Louis II. |
34574668 | About 260 Syrians have already arrived in the UK as part of the government's scheme to relocate 20,000 people from camps neighbouring Syria by 2020.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government's negotiating power on European Union reform could be boosted if the UK accepted more refugees.
But the PM insisted the UK's stance had gained "a lot of respect" in the EU.
The government has also provided £1bn in aid to Syria, with an extra £100m given to charities to help thousands displaced by the conflict.
The UK has been under pressure to take in more people as Europe struggles to deal with a huge influx of refugees - most fleeing conflict in Syria but large numbers also fleeing violence and poverty in Afghanistan, Eritrea and Kosovo.
On Sunday, it emerged 84 Church of England bishops had written to Mr Cameron urging him to accept at least 50,000 refugees.
But speaking in the Commons as he made a statement following a European Council meeting in Brussels, Mr Cameron said the bishops' position was "wrong".
He suggested they should press other countries to fulfil their aid commitments.
"I think the right thing to do is to take 20,000 refugees from the camps and if you become part of the mechanism of distributing people around the European Union then you're encouraging people to make that dangerous journey," he said.
20,000
more refugees will be resettled in the UK by 2020
4,980
Syrian asylum seekers have been allowed to stay since 2011
25,771 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to end June 2015
2,204 were from Syria
87% of Syrian requests for asylum were granted
145 Syrian asylum seekers have been removed from the UK since 2011
During the exchange in the Commons, Mr Cameron appeared to suggest countries like Hungary, which has been widely criticised for building fences to keep refugees and migrants out, have the right to protect their borders.
Answering a question from Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, the prime minister said: "As for Europe's external borders, they are not my responsibility, and I'll leave Viktor Orban to defend himself.
"But just so he knows the point that the Hungarian prime minister makes, and others make, is that Europe has an external border and needs to prove it has an external border in order to make sure people don't believe that it is a risk-free easy journey to make to go to the European Union."
Mr Cameron also said it was right for European countries to offer Turkey financial support to help deal with the migration crisis as it has taken in two million refugees, with nine out of 10 who travel there remaining in the country.
He said the details of an EU aid package to Turkey which could total up to £2.2bn were still being finalised.
Outside the Commons, the PM's official spokeswoman said the figure of 1,000 Syrian refugees arriving in the UK by Christmas was "an ambition we are working to".
Mr Cameron wanted to "step up the pace" of the resettlement programme, she added.
The government will issue a progress update after Christmas. | The UK aims to take in 1,000 Syrian refugees by Christmas, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. |
40438015 | Protesters greeted the president with cries of "Shame!"as he arrived at the $35,000 (£27,000) per person bash.
Many were unhappy with the Republican healthcare plan, holding placards that said "Healthcare, not tax cuts".
Holding the fundraising event at Trump International Hotel has increased concerns about conflicts of interest.
Richard Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer in the White House for former President George W Bush, said it was unacceptable for the president to be potentially benefiting financially from this kind of event. He should have picked another hotel, he said.
But Kathleen Clark, a law professor who specialises in government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, told USA Today it did not break any laws.
It is not clear if the hotel is being paid to host the event.
Republican National Committee officials were expecting to raise about $10m, with about 300 places available.
Not all the money raised will go towards the Trump 2020 campaign - some will go to other Republican Party causes.
It is unusual for a president to raise cash for re-election so early in his first term, only five months since the former property developer took office.
"Of course he is running for re-election," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Wednesday.
Reporters were barred from attending the event.
The president has previously been criticised for entertaining foreign leaders at another of his properties in Florida.
A lawsuit filed in June argued President Trump was "flagrantly violating the constitution" by accepting payments from foreign governments, a charge the White House has strongly denied. | US President Donald Trump has hosted an event at his hotel in Washington, to raise cash for his 2020 re-election campaign. |
38509352 | The 24-year-old, who can also play on the wing, has had spells with West Bromwich Albion, Crawley and Torquay.
Hurst spent part of last season on loan at Guiseley and was on the books at National League North side AFC Telford earlier in the 2016-17 campaign.
Dover have not disclosed the length of Hurst's deal at Crabble but he can make his debut against York on Saturday. | National League promotion challengers Dover Athletic have signed versatile full-back James Hurst. |
32912867 | Harrowing stories have emerged of death, starvation and abuse at the hands of people smugglers. And from the world's new and continuing conflict zones, there have been new mass movements, across borders and within states.
Half a million Yemenis have been internally displaced since March. One hundred thousand Burundians have fled into neighbouring countries since April.
The statistics can be numbing - 7.6 million Syrians, homeless inside their own country, now make up a fifth of all internally displaced people (IDPs) in the world.
Are more people on the move than ever before?
Today's map of the world is a complex spider's web of movement. Our map only represents the larger recent trends.
But it helps to explain why, in 2013, there were 232 million "international migrants" in the world (defined by the UN as people who have lived a year or longer outside their country of birth).
This figure includes refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants - anyone who has crossed a border, legally or illegally, to escape disaster or persecution or simply to pursue a better life.
And it's almost certainly an under-estimate.
Half of all international migrants live in just 10 countries. The largest number (46 million) reside in the United States. By 2013, the US was host to 13 million people born in Mexico, but the fastest growth was among recent arrivals from China (2.2m) and India (2.1m).
Russia's second place is a result of Moscow's strong ties to former states of the Soviet Union, particularly Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
In Europe, Germany and France host some of the largest migrant populations (from Turkey and Algeria respectively), while vast numbers of migrant workers from southern Asia still live and work in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
In the UAE, international migrants make up a staggering 84% of the population.
Dramatic scenes from the Mediterranean have captured headlines for the past two years.
Before the fall of the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, numbers of migrants making the perilous crossing were actually declining.
Oil-rich Libya offered employment opportunities and Gaddafi was persuaded by the EU to limit onward movement.
But the year of his violent ouster, 2011, saw a sudden spike, and Libya's descent into chaos since 2012 has had a dramatic effect.
In 2014, more than 170,000 migrants arrived in Italy, the largest influx into one country in EU history.
The spider's web is at its most complex here. Some of these journeys are epic, with sub-Saharan and West African migrants crossing two perilous seas, one of sand and one of water, before arriving in Europe.
These journeys can take weeks or years to complete, with young men from Gambia, Senegal and Nigeria passing through several countries and relying heavily on people smugglers.
Among the largest groups crossing from Libya this year: thousands of Eritreans fleeing long-term conscription, as well as large numbers of Somalis and Nigerians.
In the eastern Mediterranean, huge numbers of Syrians cross from Turkey to Greece, accompanied by Afghans and Iraqis.
Syria's civil war has now uprooted half the country's pre-war population. More than four million Syrians are refugees in neighbouring countries, with a much larger number internally displaced.
Syria is the main country of origin of asylum seekers in the industrialised world. This huge, growing exodus is one big reason why the number of forcibly displaced people in the world is now higher than it's been at any time since World War Two.
It also helps to explain why, when it comes to housing refugees, the burden falls more and more heavily on developing countries (86%, up from 70% a decade ago).
Graphic scenes of the suffering experienced by refugees afloat in the Andaman Sea have drawn international attention to another desperate story of people smuggling and human deprivation.
The numbers are smaller than the Mediterranean, but the issues are similar.
Friday's meeting in Bangkok will attempt to grapple with this latest migrant crisis, but hopes are not high for any kind of action plan.
The Mexico-Texas border remains the world's largest migration corridor. Mexicans are still the largest single group apprehended by US border officials but last year, for the first time, they were outnumbered by the combined total of other Central Americans.
Mexican migration has dropped, thanks to Mexico's improved economic circumstances, but worsening security situations have prompted large numbers of Hondurans, Salvadoreans and Guatemalans to journey north along a series of well-travelled routes.
The recent arrivals have included tens of thousands of unaccompanied children.
The share of international migrants in the world population has remained constant in recent years, hovering around 3%.
But as the world's population expands rapidly, so too does the raw number of people living outside their place of birth.
There are even more internal migrants: the figure of 740m is almost certainly a conservative estimate. It's hard to keep track of the millions of Chinese peasants who continue to converge on urban centres every year.
And the numbers of internal migrants fluctuate wildly: it's thought half a million Iraqis were displaced in a matter of weeks in June 2014.
Then there are natural disasters, which displace an average of more than 27m people every year.
Global migration fuels political debate, tests alliances and resources and keeps legions of statisticians very busy. | From the Mediterranean to the Andaman, it's been a season of despair, the faces of migrants haunting television screens and dominating headlines. |
34183728 | It happened on the Lissan Road shortly before midnight on Monday.
Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them. | A man has died after he was hit by a car in Cookstown, County Tyrone. |
33223803 | More than 700 plants were discovered during a police search of Wych Elm House in Harlow on Sunday morning.
Essex Police said the plants, which were in "various stages of growth", had been removed from the building, which is in the town centre.
"We are carrying out extensive enquiries into who set up and was running the unit," said PC Tim Knights.
No arrests had been made and inquiries were ongoing, an Essex Police spokeswoman added.
The crop is thought to have a potential street value of more than £1m, while hydroponics equipment used to grow the plants is worth tens of thousands of pounds, the force said.
"We would like to hear from anyone who saw people regularly going to the site and perhaps carrying large boxes of equipment or seedlings," said PC Knights. | A cannabis factory thought to be worth more than £1m has been uncovered at a former NHS clinic in Essex. |
28111903 | West Ham was declared as the anchor tenant for the stadium in March 2013 and will pay £2m a year in rent.
Leyton Orient had feared West Ham's tenancy would affect the number of fans attending its own matches nearby.
It says it has now reached a "confidential agreement" in its dispute.
In September, Leyton Orient's written application for judicial review into tenancy of the stadium was rejected.
West Ham is expected to move into it from August 2016. | Leyton Orient Football Club has settled a dispute with the Premier League over its decision to allow West Ham to occupy the Olympic Stadium. |
35188836 | Police found the stabbed man, aged in his 20s, close to the junction of Sidmouth Street and Queens Road, Reading, at about 16:50 GMT on 26 December.
He was taken to hospital where he is being treated for injuries, which are not thought to be life-threatening.
Detectives said they did not believe it was a random attack.
The first suspect is described as a black man, in his 20s, about 5ft 6ins and wearing a black puffa-style jacket and an army-style tracksuit.
The second man is black and wearing a dark blue Adidas tracksuit and Nike trainers. | Two attackers are being hunted after a man was stabbed in the street with two kitchen knives in Berkshire. |
31361153 | From the drama of big waves and sporting agony to the poised calm of the prima ballerina, his winning photographs were taken for the international agency Getty Images and during his time at Pacemaker Press.
Here are the photographs that impressed the judges and the stories behind them.
"This photo of Cristiano Ronaldo was taken just after Northern Ireland scored against Portugal - I just stayed focused on him, as he's always a story. Northern Ireland went ahead 2-1 and at that stage it was looking good, as Portugal were down to 10 men. You've got the fans jumping up and down behind him as he's slumped in the rain.
"In the end they came back to win 4-2 and Ronaldo scored a hat-trick."
"This picture is of Alastair Mennie, who's a big wave surfer that I'm friends with. We've been working on a project for the last 18 months, putting together a documentary.
"It was taken at Dunluce Castle on the north coast of County Antrim - I'd been waiting a long time for that big wave. It's quite a dangerous area because the rocks are close to the shore. The historic Dunluce Castle overlooking the sea really makes the picture."
"This is a photo of Melissa Hamilton, who's a first soloist with the Royal Ballet. She was there shooting a promo at the Giant's Causeway and I just happened to be there, shooting photos with Alastair. I just kind of sneaked it, and it worked out well."
"I took this picture just to do something different. Everybody knows the traditional bonfire pictures from Northern Ireland with the silhouettes.
"It's funny, but the year before we were flying home from Tenerife on the 11th night, just as they were lighting the bonfires in Belfast. I thought, 'there's a great picture, but how would you capture it?'
"I had the idea to take a photo up at Cave Hill, which is one of the highest points overlooking the city. It was a bit of a gamble but it paid off.
"It took the kids there with their smartphones to make the picture - if they hadn't been there, it wouldn't have been the same. I don't really do landscape pictures - I always need to have people in my photos, or otherwise I can't really get attached to it."
"This was taken at the Mud Madness race in Portadown, County Armagh. You can't really go far wrong with that one."
"I don't have any formal training in photography.
"I started off in the Ballymena Times, and I learned by developing and printing film, and seeing other people's photographs.
"The photographer there gave me a few pointers and that really set me on my way.
"It has been a good career so far - every day is different.
"You get into situations that normally you wouldn't otherwise get access to - it's a privilege in many ways.
"I wouldn't have said I was an outgoing person when I was younger, but you overcome that because in many ways the camera is an extension of yourself.
"It helps you communicate and interact with the world.
"It gives you a reason to put yourself in situations that you would otherwise shy away from.
"I've been lucky enough to win the Northern Ireland Press Photographer of the Year award three times.
"For this award, I submitted a portfolio of five photos, so it's probably best to have a balance between news, sport and features.
"It's always nice to be recognised - it's good to get over to London, and you feel as if you've achieved something when you go out of your own patch." | Northern Ireland photographer Charles McQuillan has won the regional photographer of the year award at the UK Picture Editors' Guild Awards. |
37805718 | She was Amy Reid, 21, from Coolnafranky Park, Cookstown. A neighbour said she died during a house party in Coagh early on Friday.
Two men, aged 26 and 39, and a 32-year-old woman were arrested for questioning about drugs. They had been taken to hospital as a precaution.
They have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Ms Reid's neighbour, Peter Cassidy, said that the family were "absolutely shocked" at what had happened.
"She was a young girl with everything to live for, tragically taken away so young.
"I have seen her from since she was a child up to now, a bubbly girl who enjoyed life.
"She had three brothers and a sister, they're totally gobsmacked. They can't take it in. The parents are totally devastated."
Ulster Unionist councillor Trevor Wilson said it was a "terrible tragedy".
"She had her whole life ahead of her. When the news reached Cookstown and the people that lived round about where she lived, it was very sad and they are really stunned."
Sinn Féin councillor John McNamee said he knows the young woman's family.
"At such a young age of 21, it is terrible for the family and for the whole community. We should reflect on what really happened, a young woman, 21 years of age, in the prime of her life has lost her life," he said.
"Her family, friends and neighbours are totally devastated."
He warned against speculation about what happened at this stage. | Police have questioned three people about the sudden death of a woman in Coagh, County Tyrone. |
36267802 | The 22-year-old, named on Monday in Vern Cotter's squad for the two-Test trip next month, has finished his domestic season with the capital side.
Hoyland won his sole senior cap as a replacement in a pre-World Cup warm-up test in Italy last August.
He has has scored 18 tries in eight previous World Sevens Series events.
It will be his first appearance since the final round of last year's series at Twickenham, when his five tries were the springboard for a senior XVs call-up.
"Damien will add potency to our attack," said Scotland sevens coach Calum MacRae, whose 12-man squad also includes departing Edinburgh wing Dougie Fife and Glasgow's Edinburgh-bound full-back Glenn Bryce.
"He is excited about playing on the World Series again and is high on confidence having just been selected for the national team's tour to Japan."
The final round of this year's series takes place in London on 21-22 May. | Edinburgh wing Damien Hoyland will warm up for Scotland's summer tour of Japan by playing for Scotland's Sevens side in Paris this weekend. |
39542720 | In a match delayed by 24 hours after a bomb attack on the hosts' bus, Mbappe diverted in Thomas Lemar's cross before Sven Bender's own goal made it 2-0.
Ousmane Dembele slotted in from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's flick to pull one back for Dortmund, but Mbappe curled home to restore the two-goal cushion before Shinji Kagawa added a late second for the hosts.
Kagawa showed great skill to dribble past Jemerson and slot in, and there was almost even more late drama when Aubameyang headed over from yards out.
But Monaco survived and will take a slender advantage into a highly anticipated second leg at Stade Louis II on 19 April.
Monaco's free-wheeling attack has scored 88 goals in 31 Ligue 1 games this season, and Dortmund were the latest to be disorientated by their movement and slick passing.
Mbappe gave early notice of his muscularity and pace as Sokratis Papastathopoulos gave away an early penalty attempting to get back on the right side. The Greek was relieved to see Fabinho drag the spot-kick wide, but the let-off was brief.
Less than three minutes later, Bernardo Silva broke free and picked out the overlapping Lemar with a sublime outside-of-the-foot pass. The full-back's cross from a prime shooting position seemed to catch his team-mates by surprise, but the ball ricocheted off Mbappe's thigh and rolled in.
Bender - playing in defence after Marc Bartra fractured his wrist in Tuesday's bomb attack - contrived to head Andrea Raggi's cross past his own goalkeeper for the second, but it was the third that fuelled the growing hype around Mbappe.
The 18-year-old's emergence has been sudden - he played only 25 minutes in the group stage - but he showed the anticipation and composure of a veteran as he pounced on Lukasz Piszczek's under-hit backpass, raced in on goal and barely broke stride in burying a curling shot into the top corner from 20 yards.
While it is impossible to say whether Tuesday's attack contributed to Dortmund's slow start, manager Thomas Tuchel's double change at half-time was undoubtedly the spur to their recovery.
The introduction of Christian Pulisic - like Mbappe only 18 years old - was particularly effective. The United States international shredded left-back Raggi with pace and skill as Monaco were forced deeper and deeper.
The pressure soon told as Dembele side-footed home to give Dortmund hope.
But Mbappe's breakaway second meant that, despite Tuchel's exhortations on the sidelines and Kagawa's neat strike, the hosts will continue playing catch-up in next week's return leg.
The Dortmund fans invited visiting Monaco supporters into their homes after Tuesday night's postponement, and a sell-out crowd of 65,849 was characteristically loud and proud when the tie belatedly got under way amid heightened security.
A huge 'tifo' greeted the teams as they strode out and for the rest of the evening the home fans in the Kop end of the Westfalenstadion displayed club badge by wearing coordinated coloured ponchos.
There were also messages of support for the injured Bartra in the stands and on the shirts of his team-mates.
Match ends, Borussia Dortmund 2, Monaco 3.
Second Half ends, Borussia Dortmund 2, Monaco 3.
Foul by Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund).
Nabil Dirar (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) header from very close range is too high. Assisted by Ousmane Dembélé with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Borussia Dortmund. Conceded by Jemerson.
Danijel Subasic (Monaco) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt missed. Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
Attempt blocked. Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Borussia Dortmund. Conceded by Kamil Glik.
Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nabil Dirar (Monaco).
Substitution, Monaco. Valère Germain replaces Falcao.
Goal! Borussia Dortmund 2, Monaco 3. Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nuri Sahin with a cross.
Foul by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund).
Jemerson (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Fabinho (Monaco) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Fabinho (Monaco).
Goal! Borussia Dortmund 1, Monaco 3. Kylian Mbappe (Monaco) right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner.
Attempt saved. Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.
Corner, Borussia Dortmund. Conceded by Thomas Lemar.
Attempt missed. Falcao (Monaco) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Thomas Lemar.
Foul by Sokratis (Borussia Dortmund).
Kylian Mbappe (Monaco) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Corner, Borussia Dortmund. Conceded by Jemerson.
Attempt blocked. Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Shinji Kagawa.
Nabil Dirar (Monaco) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Nabil Dirar (Monaco).
Hand ball by Almamy Touré (Monaco).
Substitution, Monaco. Nabil Dirar replaces Bernardo Silva.
Attempt missed. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Shinji Kagawa.
Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Fabinho (Monaco).
Offside, Monaco. João Moutinho tries a through ball, but Kylian Mbappe is caught offside.
Thomas Lemar (Monaco) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sokratis (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Thomas Lemar (Monaco).
Goal! Borussia Dortmund 1, Monaco 2. Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Shinji Kagawa. | Teenager Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Monaco edged the first leg of the rescheduled Champions League quarter-final tie at Borussia Dortmund. |
34984605 | The famous items, worn by Harrison Ford in the films, will be displayed next year at the National Museum Cardiff.
Fans will be able to see the items as part of the Treasures: Adventure in Archaeology display from 26 January.
The original trilogy, directed by Steven Spielberg, made more than £560m at the box office in the 1980s.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fourth and most recent film in the franchise, was released in 2008. | The jacket, hat and whip of big-screen adventurer Indiana Jones will be displayed for the first time in the UK as part of a new exhibition in Cardiff. |
23322016 | He said the renamed Sustainable Development Bill would create jobs, enable growth and tackle poverty.
Mr Jones told AMs reducing domestic violence and abuse of women was also a priority for the next 12 months.
Conservatives welcomed some of the plans but said they were not enough to "inspire confidence" in the government.
Announcing eight new bills altogether, Mr Jones said the Future Generations Bill was to ensure public services made key decisions with the long term well being of Wales in mind - "future proofing" communities from pressures that threaten their viability and survival.
"This bill is about how we tackle the generational challenges Wales faces in a more joined up and integrated way, we cannot afford to leave this burden behind for our grandchildren," he said.
The Ending Violence against Women and Domestic Abuse Bill would "tackle all forms of violence against women and domestic abuse", he said.
Legislation on the abandonment of horses and ponies and so-called "fly grazing" would give local councils the powers to "seize, impound and dispose of horses either through selling, re-homing or destruction in as humane a way as appropriate, and when circumstances dictate".
Local health boards will also be given the scope to break even over a three year financial period rather than the current one financial year.
Mr Jones said a housing bill aimed to strengthen homelessness legislation and would introduce a licensing system for landlords and letting agents.
It would also allow councils to charge higher council tax rates on long-term empty properties.
There are also bills to give the Higher Education Funding Council greater powers to maintain standards in colleges and legislation on planning matters to set out new roles and responsibilities for Welsh ministers, councils, developers, local authorities and communities.
There are limited details on the Public Service Workforce Bill, but it is expected to seek to bring about more consistency in the terms and conditions of public sector workers in Wales.
Mr Jones said: "At the heart of our legislative programme is a firm commitment to improve public services and create opportunities for everyone.
"I am confident the plans I have set out today will help transform our society and make Wales a better place in which to live."
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies welcomed some of the proposed bills, but said the plans would "hardly inspire confidence" when education, the NHS and the economy were "getting worse by the day".
"While we support the proposals to give local health boards greater flexibility in finance planning to help them cope with Labour's record-breaking NHS cuts, fast-tracking the bill limits the ability for AMs to properly scrutinise the plans," he said.
"Announcing the decision to fast-track the NHS Finance Bill on the day the Welsh government is using an emergency procedure to rush through legislation on agricultural wages shows a reckless contempt for scrutiny and a slapdash and lazy approach to law-making."
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood urged Mr Jones not to "water down" his commitment to sustainable development and questioned how the bill on ending domestic violence would work when the police and criminal justice system were not devolved to Wales.
She also urged Welsh ministers to meet opposition parties before bills were published to avoid what she called "thorny issues" with legislation over the previous 12 months.
Ms Wood said she wanted to ensure that "this Senedd uses its resources in the best way possible, to produce good, if not excellent, legislation that will improve the lives of people here in Wales".
Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts questioned whether some of the proposed bills were affordable and warned it was difficult to support legislation if it had not been given a "full financial assessment".
He also urged Welsh ministers to ensure that local health boards provided "greater assurance with regard to the robustness of their own financial controls" if they were to be given greater financial flexibility. | Plans to "future proof" communities across Wales against economic and social decline are among new laws put forward by First Minister Carwyn Jones. |
33036373 | Sussex slumped to 87-4 before Chris Nash and Luke Wright (59) put on 115.
However, the pair's exit with the score on 202, saw Sussex's last five wickets fall for 49 as they posted 251 all out.
The winless visitors lost openers James Adams, run out for 11, and Sean Terry for 30 but Vince finished the day on 52 not out as they made steady progress in their reply to finish on 116-4.
Sussex had looked set to post a bigger first-innings score before Nash fell to Vince's medium pace for 48 and Wright followed him to the pavilion at the start of the next over.
Thereafter the hosts fell apart with Gareth Berg (4-67) and Jackson Bird (3-69) doing the majority of the damage.
In Hampshire's innings Adams was out backing up after a smart piece of fielding from Steve Magoffin before Terry edged to Nash off Ollie Robinson.
Michael Carberry (14) was caught by Ben Brown off the bowling of Magoffin and Will Smith was out lbw to Robinson for seven but Vince and nightwatchman Danny Briggs saw out the day without any further alarms.
Hampshire paceman Jackson Bird:
"I think we're in a pretty good position now after a tough middle session.
"Luke Wright and Chris Nash took it to us there and we fought our way back into the game pretty nicely.
"The pitch is actually playing okay. A couple of balls from the top end, bowling down the hill, are taking off a little bit. But generally it has played quite well.
"I think it might deteriorate as the game goes on, so hopefully we can put a big score in this innings and get ahead of the game.
Sussex head coach Mark Robinson:
"All our top five batsmen managed to get themselves out, having got a start, but both Wright and Nash batted brilliantly to get us into a good position.
"We're disappointed not to have got a bigger first-innings total but there are a few wickets in this surface and so we can chip away at them tomorrow.
"I think it is also a surface on which the batsmen can play their shots, but the danger with that is when the batters get a bit over-excited." | James Vince hit his first Championship fifty of 2015 as Hampshire and Sussex shared an even opening day at Hove. |
40076041 | The Plaid Cymru leader called for police to be "adequately resourced" to keep people safe including at the Champions League final on 3 June.
The threat level has now been reduced in the wake of the attack which killed 22 people and left scores injured.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the security services and police "have the tools they need".
Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr show, Ms Wood said that people should not feel put off from coming to the final in Cardiff at the weekend due to security concerns.
But she said bomber Salman Abedi - who detonated the device at the Manchester Arena - had been brought to the attention of the authorities.
"There are serious questions that need to be answered as to why action wasn't taken earlier to prevent this," she said.
Armed police have been guarding events and high footfall areas across Wales this bank holiday weekend in the aftermath of the attack.
Soldiers deployed across the UK to support the police will be stood down on Monday night, at the close of the bank holiday weekend.
Ms Wood said police needed greater resources to deal with attacks, adding: "We wouldn't need troops on the streets perhaps if there were enough police officers on the streets."
Co-leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas said there were questions that needed to be answered about reports Abedi was known to the authorities.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said he was "confident" that all was being done to keep the up to 170,000 people expected in Cardiff for the showdown between Juventus and Real Madrid safe.
Speaking to BBC Wales' Sunday Supplement programme, the Welsh Labour leader said more had to be done to prevent attacks.
He said: "We need to just work harder to make sure these attacks can be avoided in the future.
"What's the key to that: good intelligence, making sure that people understand where the attacks might come from, these things are never perfect," he said.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd told the Andrew Marr show that the Conservative UK government were in constant discussions with the police and security services to make sure they had the "right tools" to do the job.
She said that the operation was ongoing, but the security services had foiled 18 different plots since 2013 and were doing a "good job".
"We are not frightened though of learning lessons and improving," she said. | Serious questions need to be answered in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing, Leanne Wood has said. |
35513709 | The Dons moved level with Celtic at the top of the league with a 4-3 win at McDiarmid Park, three days after beating the champions at Pittodrie.
"We had a lot of tired bodies out there after putting so much into that on Wednesday night," McInnes said.
"Sheer desire to get the job done got us there."
Aberdeen looked to be heading for a comfortable victory after two goals from Adam Rooney and strikes from Peter Pawlett and Niall McGinn put them 4-1 up with less than 20 minutes remaining.
However, goals from Steven Anderson and Tam Scobbie gave the Saints hope late on, but the Dons held on for the win.
"My biggest fear or concern for this game was the closing stages because of the lack of energy," McInnes told BBC Scotland.
"We put so much into the (Celtic) game. We picked a team with that in mind, that we thought would get us to a certain stage of the game and then making the changes to make us more solid.
"Obviously there are a lot of boys who played both 90 minutes in a short period of time. Games against Celtic do take it out of you. St Johnstone to their credit never know they are beaten."
Aberdeen have not tasted defeat in the league since October, and McInnes is thrilled with his side's performances in recent times.
"We're on a strong run. We haven't lost a game in over three months in the league. We've overcome some real challenges within that and today was another one.
"We're delighted with what the players are giving us at the minute. They are absolutely knocking their pan in.
"They give us spells of real quality but throughout it all there is 100% sheer commitment. At the minute it's going well, we just want that to continue."
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright says sloppy defending was his side's undoing.
"Overall we probably did enough to get something out the game but you can't give the four goals away that we did," Wright said.
"Every one of them we've totally contributed to. We've only ourselves to blame because we've cost ourselves points today.
"Credit to the players for keeping going, but we really shouldn't be putting ourselves in that position." | Derek McInnes hailed his 'tired' Aberdeen side after they survived a late St Johnstone onslaught to earn three crucial Premiership points. |
33751629 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Guy, 19, finished 1.17 seconds behind China's Sun Yang who defended his title by clocking 3 minutes 42.58 seconds, with Ryan Cochrane taking bronze.
"I am over the moon with that. I gave it my best shot to try and get my hand on the wall first," Guy told BBC Sport.
Britain's Adam Peaty set a championship record of 58.18 to qualify for the 100m breaststroke final in Kazan.
"I was a bit more nervous than usual. That's like a final crowd out there," the 20-year-old said. "I did a lot of work on that front end to keep it as relaxed as possible. I'm kind of excited."
Peaty has set world records in the 50m and 100m breaststroke during a fine 12 months, with South African Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh qualifying from the other heat, alongside Brit Russ Murdoch who finished fourth. The trio meet in the final on Monday.
Defending champion, Australian Christian Sprenger, failed to progress.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Jazz Carlin narrowly missed out on a medal after she came fourth in the women's 400m freestyle race.
"I gave it my best shot," said Carlin. "When you get to a World Championship, you're really racing the best in the world. That was my best today and to come fourth is really disappointing.
"I would have loved to be on the podium but that's the way it goes sometimes. I've got a few days off now so it will be nice to get a few days rest and move on ready for the 800m."
In the women's 200m individual medley, Siobhan Marie-O'Connor, 19, went through to the final after finishing fastest in her heat with a time of 2:08.45. Fellow Brit Hannah Miley, 25, also made it through after finishing fourth in the other heat.
Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom set a world record in the 100m butterfly, clocking a time of 55.74 seconds to beat the previous best by 0.24 seconds.
France won the the men's 4x100m freestyle relay ahead of hosts Russia and Australia won the same event in the women's competition. | Britain's James Guy won a silver medal in the men's 400m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Russia. |
39936975 | Designed to work on big data, it could analyse the equivalent of 160 million books at the same time, HPE said.
The device, called The Machine, had a Linux-based operating system and prioritised memory rather than processing power, the company said.
HPE said its Memory Driven Computing research project could eventually lead to a "near-limitless" memory pool.
"The secrets to the next great scientific breakthrough, industry-changing innovation or life-altering technology hide in plain sight behind the mountains of data we create every day," said HPE boss Meg Whitman.
"To realise this promise, we can't rely on the technologies of the past, we need a computer built for the big data era."
Prof Les Carr, of the University of Southampton, told the BBC The Machine would be fast but big data faced other challenges.
"The ultimate way to speed things up is to make sure you have all the data present in your computer as close to the processing as possible so this is a different way of trying to speed things up," he said.
"However, we need to make our processing... not just faster but more insightful and business relevant."
"There are many areas in life where quicker is not necessarily better." | A prototype computer with 160TB of memory has been unveiled by Hewlett Packard Enterprises. |
40412080 | Elizabeth Wettlaufer, 49, pleaded guilty earlier this month to killing five women and three men in two nursing homes between 2007 and 2014.
Wettlaufer was described by the judge on Monday as a "shadow of death" that passed over her victims, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) reported.
She was told she may never be released.
"I caused tremendous pain and suffering and death," Wettlaufer said after receiving her sentence, adding: "Sorry is much too small a word. I am extremely sorry."
Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said Wettlaufer was a "predator" who took the lives of those she was supposed to protect and care for during her time as a nurse, CBC reports.
Many of the victims' relatives were present in the courthouse for Wettlaufer's sentencing and were told by the judge to take their time when reading their victim impact statements.
Friends of some of the victims also gathered outside the courthouse in Woodstock, Ontario, on Monday to express their hurt and anger.
"I think she should spend the rest of her life in a small box contemplating what she's done," said Laura Jackson, a friend of Maurice Granat, one of the victims.
Arpad Horvath, whose father was also killed by Wettlauffer while in her care, said the former nurse's statement in court only made him angry.
"An apology like that is just a waste of time, paper and air," he said.
Police launched an investigation into the nursing home deaths in September.
Wettlaufer resigned from the College of Nurses of Ontario a day after that, and was arrested in October.
In January, police brought six additional charges - four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault - against Wettlaufer for other incidents that took place in care homes between 2007-16. ​
The victims | A Canadian nurse who used insulin to kill eight elderly patients in Ontario care homes has been sentenced to life in prison, local media report. |
36871332 | Gonzalo Castro scored twice for the German club, with Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also scoring.
New signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted United's goal, making the score 3-1 just before the hour mark.
"It was like Formula 1 against Formula 3," said Mourinho. "They are much sharper, so it was difficult to judge."
The Portuguese, who succeeded Louis van Gaal as manager in May, said Dortmund had shown their pre-season preparations were at a more advanced stage.
"One team started training a month ago and played four games," he said.
United continue their pre-season tour on Monday with a match against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City at the Beijing National Stadium.
They will then return to Europe to face Galatasaray in Gothenburg on 30 July.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Manager Jose Mourinho said he was not worried after his Manchester United side lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund in a pre-season friendly in Shanghai. |
38507695 | The 30-year-old South Africa-born Canada international joined the west Wales region ahead of 2015-16.
Scarlets boss Wayne Pivac confirmed the player will depart when his contract expires in the summer.
Fly-half Rhys Patchell will miss the Pro12 match against Ulster on Friday with an ankle problem, while Scott Williams and Samson Lee are doubtful.
Pivac says Wales centre Williams is "beaten up" after their bruising festive derbies against Ospreys and Cardiff Blues and could be rested.
Wing Johnny McNicholl is also a doubt.
Van der Merwe has been linked with a move to Aviva Premiership club Newcastle.
"He is joining the fire service going forward and has three years left in rugby before he has to make that call because you have to be a certain age (to do so)," said Pivac.
"He is looking at a three-year contract and the money in England is a lot more than here so he is doing what is right for his family and we support that.
"We have got some good young players coming through the system that we are going to put a lot of time and effort into over the next 12 months.
"It is one of those where you have to weigh-up the financial side of things and where the player is at.
"DTH and I have had a long chat and we are on the same page and that's the right thing to do.
"Don't get me wrong, we put an offer to keep DTH, but the money in England is a lot more so when you look over that over three years, it's a no-brainer.
"We have made the decision to back the youngsters."
Patchell could face a long lay off if the injury suffered against Cardiff Blues on New Year's Day is serious.
"Rhys is seeing a surgeon tomorrow to see if he needs surgery," said Pivac.
"It is a high ankle sprain so there will be some weeks involved, it's just the number. We will know tomorrow.
"If surgery is required, it will be 12 weeks. Fingers crossed it's the lower end and not the higher end." | Wing DTH van der Merwe will leave Scarlets for an as-yet-unnamed team at the end of the 2016-17 season. |
37714151 | Haider al-Abadi said the move showed "rapprochement" and unity of purpose between Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
His comments came as Kurdish fighters launched a large-scale operation east and north of Mosul.
The Iraqi army has been moving from the south, and special forces have now joined the offensive.
Mosul has been in the hands of IS since 2014 and is the militants' last major Iraqi stronghold.
The offensive to retake it began on Monday. Up to 1.5 million civilians are thought to still be inside the city. Those inside report that they are running out of basic supplies.
There are reports that some IS leaders have fled, but there are thought to be up to 5,000 IS fighters still in the city.
The Iraqi prime minister made his comments via video-link to an international meeting in Paris on the future of Mosul.
"The forces are pushing towards the town more quickly than we thought and more quickly than we had programmed in our campaign plan," he said.
He hailed co-operation between the army and Kurdish troops, saying they were "fighting harmoniously together" to free Iraqi territory from IS.
French President Francois Hollande, hosting the meeting, warned that IS fighters were fleeing to Raqqa, the militant group's stronghold in Syria, and said efforts must be made to stop them.
The whereabouts of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are unknown. Some reports say he is in Mosul, but others say he has fled the northern Iraqi city.
Under cover of darkness we joined a long convoy of vehicles setting out from a Kurdish base on Bashiq Mountain, about 15km (nine miles) from Mosul.
We snaked towards areas under IS control, along a route that had been checked for roadside bombs. There were hundreds of pick-up trucks with troops and some with vehicle-mounted machine guns. Along the way we saw some American special forces.
The aim is to clear the town of Bashiqa and 20 surrounding villages, most of which are deserted apart from IS fighters. The offensive includes some veteran Kurdish fighters who once fought against Saddam Hussein.
Before leaving the base, senior commander Shex Jaffar Shex Mustafa told us they were ill equipped for the battle and did not even have enough body armour. "All of our victories are made by our blood," he said.
The general in charge urged his men to go slowly, to avoid casualties. "We hope to survive this battle," one fighter told me, "but we are facing an enemy that hopes to die."
On Thursday, Kurdish fighters began moving on three fronts east and north of Mosul.
"The objectives are to clear a number of nearby villages and secure control of strategic areas to further restrict Isil's [IS] movements," a statement said.
Iraqi special forces, supported by air strikes carried out by a US-led coalition, also began a pre-dawn advance on the town of Bartella, which is less than 15km (10 miles) from Mosul.
"We started breaching Bartella early today. There is only 750m to cover to reach the centre," Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, who is commanding operations in the area, told AFP news agency by telephone.
IS militants responded to the advance with several suicide car bombs, AP reported, but there was no information about casualties.
Officials have warned that the push to take Mosul could take weeks or months, with IS fighters appearing to be putting up stiff resistance in some areas.
There are also warnings that the group could use human shields or chemical weapons.
Addressing the Paris meeting, Mr Abadi promised support for civilians affected by the fighting.
The UN on Tuesday warned that up to 200,000 people could be displaced in the first two weeks of the military operation in Mosul.
Camps are being built in the south, east and north of Mosul in preparation for a flood of people fleeing the city.
The head of delegation in Iraq for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Katharina Ritz, said she was concerned fleeing civilians could be caught up in the fighting.
"We call on all the parties to respect, to protect them, to help them to access safe areas," she said. | The operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from so-called Islamic State militants is progressing faster than planned, the Iraqi prime minister says. |
37869797 | Texas-based namesake Gina Miller was initially bemused to be branded a traitor who had "ruined our democracy".
She said she received several hundreds of messages, including death threats, adding: "It was absolutely vitriolic".
It came after the High Court ruled that Theresa May must seek Parliamentary approval before invoking Article 50 to start formal EU exit negotiations.
London's Gina Miller, an investment manager and philanthropist, was the lead claimant in the case and was widely photographed and quoted in media coverage of the decision.
Brexit court case: Who is Gina Miller?
The US-based Ms Miller said she first became aware of the London investment manager's legal moves in October, after a few people mixed up the two women's Twitter addresses.
But she said Thursday's "crazy" Brexit backlash took her completely by surprise.
"On Twitter, on Facebook - there were some f-bombs, lots of people saying I was a traitor. 'You're ruining our democracy', 'F-off and move to France' - and much more'.
She added: "I even had an email. In the subject box it said: 'I hope you die, I sincerely hope you get cancer and die'."
Having visited the UK on previous occasions, Ms Miller said: "It was in overwhelming contrast to the very proper, polite British behaviour I'd seen before."
The London-based Ms Miller, 51, who was born in Guyana but grew up in Britain, has not answered those critics who have targeted her on social media.
But speaking outside the High Court on Thursday, she said she was aware of being called a "black widow spider" and had suffered abuse from those in favour of leaving the EU.
She said: "That nickname is wrong on so many levels. But I do not and will not let other people bring me down. I believe that level of abuse means I am doing something right for investors."
She did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.
The American Gina Miller, who is also a multi-media consultant with Smith Geiger, a market research and strategy group, said: "If I were counselling her, I'd suggest she be a little bit more overt [on social media].
"You have to expect some sort of reaction - and it's better to take ownership of it."
One of the legal groups that brought the case to the High Court, Mishcon de Reya, previously said that a number of other clients who wanted to join the action withdrew their names after receiving letters of abuse.
Yet for US-based Ms Miller, the abuse has introduced her to a whole new fanbase - boosting her number of followers on Twitter to 28,000 - who can now keep up with her daily insights on American football and baseball.
To make it clear, she did tweet: "Again, to my new UK-friends: Wrong Gina Miller. It's @thatginamiller you want. Appreciate all the engaging dialog though."
She later said: "The tide began to shift when they realised I was the wrong Gina Miller - with lots of people saying they were sorry.
"I started talking to some of them about soccer - one even asked me what I thought of Queen's Park Rangers' manager."
She added: "I'll take them, I hope they'll stay - if they want to chat about sports, I'm their girl." | A US sports presenter has been flooded with online abuse after being mistaken for Brexit campaigner Gina Miller. |
34935514 | About 50 people are due to arrive from refugee camps before Christmas - the first of about 1,000 coming to Wales over the next five years.
The UK government will meet the cost of housing and supporting the refugees.
The refugees will be housed in private rented accommodation and not in council properties in many areas.
The majority of asylum seekers and refugees who come to Wales settle in urban areas with existing minority populations - Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham.
But all Welsh local authorities have agreed to help with the current national resettlement scheme after David Cameron said the UK will house up to 20,000 refugees over the next five years.
Torfaen council, which is among the first Welsh councils ready to take in refugees, said it was welcoming two families with a number of young children before Christmas, with another four families due in the new year.
A spokesman said all were identified as having been victims of torture and have been granted five years of full humanitarian protection.
The families are not economic migrants or asylum seekers and they will be able to live and work freely in the UK.
Councillor David Daniels added: "They are families having fled the chaos and trauma of war.
"Torfaen has a strong tradition of welcoming families and I am sure the Torfaen community understands their urgent plight."
Two families will also be given private rented homes in Caerphilly county, with two more likely in the new year and possibly more after that.
In Neath Port Talbot, five families will be given accommodation after arriving in December, half of the total number of families the council will take.
Between 10 and 12 people will also be settled in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion before Christmas.
Ellen ap Gwynn, who is chairman of the council's task and finish group, added: "These people are ordinary people from ordinary backgrounds, who have witnessed events that no-one should have to experience."
Around Wales, some councils have given details about how many refugees it will take, while others are still waiting for more information from the UK government.
Speaking last month, Communities Minister Lesley Griffiths confirmed about 50 Syrian refugees would be welcomed to Wales before Christmas in four local authority areas.
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. | The first Syrian refugees to arrive in Wales this month will settle in Torfaen, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly, councils say. |
28493831 | Arthur Mellar, 47, was seriously injured at Burghley House near Stamford on 12 July, and later died in hospital.
His partner, Gerwin Castillo, told journalists that the "kind and generous" butler was crushed by a lift.
The circumstances are being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive and Cambridgeshire Police.
A spokesman for the force said: "We were called to reports that a man in his 40s had suffered serious injuries at Burghley House on Saturday 12 July.
"He was taken to hospital but later died. A joint investigation is being carried out by police and the Health and Safety Executive."
David Pennell, Burghley estate director, said the house would cooperate fully with the investigation.
"It is with the deepest sadness that we confirm the tragic death of Arthur Mellar, a highly-valued member of the household team at Burghley, following an accident on Saturday 12 July," he said.
The mansion has been used for locations in the films Pride and Prejudice and The Da Vinci Code.
A BBC television adaptation of Middlemarch was also filmed there. | Police are investigating the death of a butler who was injured while working at a Tudor mansion on the Lincolnshire-Cambridgeshire border. |
38650696 | David Doig, of skills, standards and workforce body Opito, was from St Andrews and was based in Dubai.
He suffered a heart attack in December and died in hospital on Saturday.
Opito chairman John Taylor said: "David was a respected industry leader, firm advocate of social responsibility, and trusted colleague and friend to many."
He added: "His straight-talking approach, determination and passionate belief that all oil and gas workers regardless of their job role, their employer or their nationality should be able to travel to work and return home safely at the end of the day, helped drive positive change in countless countries around the world and inspired great loyalty among those who knew him.
"His loss is sorely felt by us all. Our thoughts are with David's wife, Gillian, and his family at this difficult time."
Mr Doig had an early background in engineering and worked on major offshore projects in the North Sea for more than 25 years before moving onshore in 1994.
He joined Opito in 1999 and was appointed chief executive in 2005. | Tribute has been paid to the chief executive of an oil and gas industry development organisation after his death at the age of 57. |
37175848 | The overall proportion of entries achieving A* to C has declined from 69% to 66.9%. Top A* grades have slipped from 6.6% to 6.5%.
This has been blamed in part on more pupils in England being required to resit English and maths.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said 17-year-olds who had successfully retaken these GCSEs now had "better prospects".
The results of more than five million GCSE entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been published.
This year's combined figures show a sharp decline in the proportion of grades A* to C and smaller falls in top A* and A grades.
Prof Alan Smithers, director of the University of Buckingham's Centre for Education and Employment Research, said the 2.1 percentage points decline was the biggest drop in A*-C grades since GCSEs were introduced in the late 1980s.
This has been driven by a fall in grades in England - as Northern Ireland's results improved and results in Wales remained stable.
The fall in England has been attributed to a policy in England requiring resits in maths and English for 17-year-olds who did not make a C grade last year.
Even without these older pupils resitting exams, there has been a fall in the results of 16 year olds, with the proportion getting A* to C declining by 1.3% points.
This year's results were down for maths, English, history and geography.
And there were further falls in the numbers of pupils taking modern languages, with the British Council warning that entries for French had more than halved in the past two decades.
The National Union of Teachers said the decline in modern languages was exacerbated by the "difficulty many schools have in recruiting qualified language teachers".
The gender gap has widened further - with 71.3% of entries by girls getting a C grade or above compared with 62.4% of boys.
There has been a continuing reduction in the number of pupils taking GCSEs a year early, down by about a quarter compared with last year.
League tables now only count the first time a pupil sits an exam, discouraging entries by younger pupils.
This will be the last year before the start of a major change in how GCSEs are graded in England and how school performance is measured.
A revised set of GCSE exams are going to be graded by numbers - from 9 down to 1 - rather than the current letter-based system in a process that will be phased in from next year.
There will also be a new way of assessing schools in England, to be introduced later this year, called Progress 8, which will measure how much progress pupils make in secondary schools, rather than their raw results.
Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "GCSE results day is a nervous time for all, as much depends on these grades.
"2016 is worse than ever in this regard as the results are so unpredictable following wave after wave of over hasty changes. Such overwhelming change introduces mistakes and makes it hard to sustain a calm focus on teaching," said Mr Hobby.
Labour's shadow education secretary Angela Rayner blamed "this sharp and unprecedented fall" on the government's "constant chopping and changing to assessment and the curriculum".
England's School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said he was "pleased to see that there are more GCSEs being taken in the core academic subjects, those that give students a wider range of opportunities.
"And for those 17-year-olds who have struggled to achieve good grades in maths, we are seeing 4,000 more successful re-takes of those exams; delivering better prospects for every one of those young people.‎"
Kirsty Williams, Education Secretary in Wales, said: "This year's GCSEs show another strong performance with two thirds of our learners achieving at least A*-C and an increase in the top grades." | This year's GCSE results have shown the biggest ever year-on-year decline - down to the lowest level since 2008. |
33971810 | Both were hacked to death earlier this year. Police say British-Bangladeshi Touhidur Rahman planned the killings.
Mr Rahman, an IT expert, is said to have links with a banned militant outfit, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
Police say his arrest will provide evidence about a total of four killings of secular bloggers this year.
The Bangladesh Daily Star reported that Touhidur Rahman was also the alleged financier of ABT.
He and two others were detained last night in the Dhanmondi and Nilkhet areas of Dhaka.
Bangladesh is officially secular but critics say the government has not done enough to stop the attacks.
Last week police arrested two other suspected members of ABT over the killing of atheist blogger Niloy Neel.
Mr Neel was hacked to death by a gang armed with machetes at his home in the capital Dhaka.
In March, another blogger, Washiqur Rahman, was hacked to death in Dhaka.
Avijit Roy | Police in Bangladesh have arrested three people, including a UK citizen, over the murders of secularist bloggers Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Das. |
40469745 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Team Sky rider clocked 16 minutes four seconds to take the yellow jersey, with team-mate and defending champion Chris Froome 12 seconds back in sixth.
Swiss Stefan Kung (BMC Racing) was second with Belarusian Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) third in wet conditions.
Movistar's Alejandro Valverde is out of the race after crashing into a barrier.
Thomas, the first Welshman to win a stage on the Tour, told BBC Sport: "I just wanted to give it everything, get out there, try and pace it well and go as fast as I could and it couldn't have gone any better.
"I knew I could do a decent time trial on the day if I paced it well and I think I nailed that," added the 31-year-old.
"I didn't expect this when I woke up - I grew up watching the Tour and to be on the other side of that camera, putting on the yellow jersey, is amazing."
Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) was faster than Thomas at the checkpoint but the German, who was the favourite to win the stage, faded to finish eight seconds behind in fourth.
Thomas is the eighth British rider to wear the yellow jersey and the first Welshman.
Sunday's 203.5km second stage goes from Dusseldorf to Liege, Belgium.
Despite a solid reputation in time trials, Thomas was not considered among the pre-stage favourites, with his form also in doubt after a crash forced him to abandon the Giro d'Italia in May.
His ride was not picked up by the television feed, which focused instead on French general classification hopeful Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), who went out a minute before Thomas but had barely crossed the line as the Welshman took first.
Thomas had been three seconds off the pace of then leader and team-mate Kiryienka at the 8.1km checkpoint but finished seven seconds in front.
He faced a nervous wait, with reigning world time trial champion Martin and Swiss time trial champion Kung among those still out on the course.
But Kung could not maintain his slender advantage at the checkpoint and Martin misjudged his pace in the second half of the stage to concede a total of 12 seconds to Thomas in just under 6km and miss out on a yellow jersey at the first Grand Depart held in Germany since 1987.
Thomas also claims the green points jersey, while Kung takes the white best young rider jersey.
After Martin and Kung failed to better Thomas' mark, the only rider left who could conceivably have taken yellow was Froome, who was the last man out.
However, the 32-year-old instead looked to balance his ride between gaining time on his rivals for the overall title and not taking unnecessary risks.
His decision paid off. A sixth-placed finish gives him an advantage of more than 30 seconds over all of his main rivals - Bardet, Australia's Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Colombia's Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Spain's Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) and Italy's Fabio Aru (Astana).
Of perhaps equal concern for Froome's challengers, Team Sky were in impressive form, with Poland's Michal Kwiatkowski finishing eighth to give the British team four riders in the top 10.
Elsewhere, 24-year-old Briton Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) produced an impressive ride to finish 37 seconds behind Thomas and in front of many of his fellow climbers.
A fast course soaked by rain all day resulted in several crashes, with Valverde the most notable casualty as the Spaniard was forced to abandon the race.
The 37-year-old misjudged a slick corner and was thrown forward as his bike fell from under him, colliding with the crash barriers and failing to get to his feet. His team later confirmed he broke a kneecap in the crash.
Valverde, who finished third in the 2015 Tour, was an outside contender for the overall title and was expected to be a key team-mate for Quintana, as the two-time Tour runner-up seeks to finally beat Froome.
Britain's Scott Thwaites (Dimension Data) was able to continue after a heavy crash but Jon Izaguirre (Bahrain-Merida) abandoned after crashing on the same corner as compatriot Valverde.
Stage one result and general classification
1. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky) 16mins 4secs
2. Stefan Kung (Swi/BMC) +5secs
3. Vasil Kiryienka (Blr/Team Sky) +7secs
4. Tony Martin (Ger/Katusha) +8secs
5. Matteo Trentin (Ita/Quick-Step) +10secs
6. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) +12secs
7. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol/Team Sky) +15secs
8. Jos van Emden (Ned/LottoNL-Jumbo) +15secs
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Dimension Data) +16secs
10. Marcel Kittel (Ger/Quick-Step) +16secs
Selected others
29. Simon Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) +37secs
49. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC) +47secs
53. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) +48secs
63. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +51secs
66. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +52secs
68. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) +54secs | Britain's Geraint Thomas won his first Grand Tour stage with victory in the opening 14km time trial of the 2017 Tour de France in Dusseldorf, Germany. |
38539505 | Ross Forbes opened the scoring when his cross-cum-shot from the right bounced untouched into the Rovers net.
Aberdeen loanee Lawrence Shankland doubled the lead after half-time, heading home Mark Russell's cross.
The win moves Jim Duffy's men within five points of Dundee United - who sit second - with a game in hand.
Raith Rovers were the last side to beat Morton in Greenock in March last year, but there was never any danger of that result being repeated on this occasion.
It was a game of few real chances in the first half and while the visitors did most of the pressing, it was the home side who took the lead on 27 minutes with a somewhat fortunate seventh goal of the season for Forbes.
Always dangerous cutting in from the right with his left foot, the winger's cross-cum-shot missed its intended target of Shankland, deceived Raith goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert and nestled in the corner of the net.
Bobby Barr had the visitors best chance of the half, but his angled shot was well saved by Morton keeper Derek Gaston right on the interval.
Raith started the second half on the front foot and Morton's Russell had to clear off the line before keeper Gaston produced two decent saves to stop good efforts from Ross Callachan and Ryan Hardie.
But it was the home side who stretched their lead on 67 minutes when Russell's deep cross from the left was met by Shankland to head a debut goal for Duffy's side following his move from St Mirren earlier in the week.
Morton manager Jim Duffy: "We played well today; it was a tough match as they all are in this division. But it's only January and at this point the players are enjoying their football and we are winning matches, but we are looking up the way rather than down.
"Shankland is a terrific move for us and his goal today has added to our game. Overall I thought all the players did well. This is a club which works hard and even last season we had a terrific season and we are just carrying that on.
"The target is to get as many points as you can and if we are still in the mix later in the season let's see what happens and where we can go."
Raith Rovers manager Gary Locke: "I am obviously disappointed with the result, but though we had dominated for large spells of the game, but just did not take our chances.
"We have obviously been on a poor run, but again it just shows you how tight the league is."
Match ends, Morton 2, Raith Rovers 0.
Second Half ends, Morton 2, Raith Rovers 0.
Substitution, Morton. Ricki Lamie replaces Lawrence Shankland.
Attempt missed. Ross Forbes (Morton) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Jamie Lindsay (Morton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, Morton. Michael Tidser replaces Aidan Nesbitt.
Scott Roberts (Raith Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Mark Russell (Morton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Scott Roberts (Raith Rovers).
Attempt missed. Jordan Thompson (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Ross Forbes (Morton) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Ross Callachan (Raith Rovers).
Corner, Raith Rovers. Conceded by Jamie Lindsay.
Attempt blocked. Ross Callachan (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Jean-Yves Mvoto (Raith Rovers) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner.
Corner, Raith Rovers. Conceded by Derek Gaston.
Attempt saved. Mark Stewart (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner.
Foul by Lee Kilday (Morton).
Kyle Benedictus (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers) is shown the yellow card.
Corner, Morton. Conceded by Jean-Yves Mvoto.
Foul by Lawrence Shankland (Morton).
Kevin McHattie (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Scott Roberts (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Bobby Barr (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Raith Rovers. Scott Roberts replaces Ryan Stevenson.
Substitution, Raith Rovers. Declan McManus replaces Ryan Hardie.
Michael Doyle (Morton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Kevin McHattie (Raith Rovers).
Foul by Aidan Nesbitt (Morton).
Ryan Stevenson (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Gary Oliver (Morton).
Kevin McHattie (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Gary Oliver (Morton) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Foul by Jamie Lindsay (Morton).
Ryan Stevenson (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Gary Oliver (Morton).
Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Goal! Morton 2, Raith Rovers 0. Lawrence Shankland (Morton) header from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Mark Russell.
Substitution, Raith Rovers. Mark Stewart replaces Chris Johnston. | Greenock Morton climbed within five points of second place in the Scottish Championship with victory over Raith Rovers. |
35793654 | Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner, Kevin Hurley, posted on his Facebook page he was angry the "criminal has destroyed the confidence of a family".
He said the knifeman was about to be released from prison just months after stabbing his neighbour in Tandridge.
"I felt the pain of that family and I wanted to protect them. Of course I can't do that, it's against the law."
Mr Hurley, who is standing for re-election as an independent in this year's elections for Police and Crime Commissioners, said he was expressing his "sense of frustration and powerlessness" at the way in which "the criminal justice system is failing people".
"I'm here to speak out for the Surrey public and I will do so," he told BBC Surrey.
His Conservative rival David Munro condemned the comments as vile, and accused Mr Hurley of encouraging people to break the law.
"As a senior law and order officer in the county, why say it? I think it's grossly irresponsible.
"We've got a justice system, it's a good justice system, with all its flaws, in this country and we should obey it," Mr Munro said.
He added that Mr Hurley's Facebook post was "deliberate, childish, and irresponsible".
Mr Hurley said he had no regrets, and the post had attracted "thousands of likes, [and] hundreds of people are commenting online about how at last someone is speaking out for victims". | A police chief who wanted to "batter and break the legs" of a man convicted of a stabbing has defended his remarks. |
27350994 | Here is a full list of candidates running, in seven District Electoral Areas (DEAs), for 41 seats on Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon. | Elections for Northern Ireland's 11 new councils will be held on 22 May 2014. |
38614551 | "They know where my office is," he told BBC Shropshire. "But, even if they've been really good, nobody has done enough yet to warrant another deal.
"If I give answers they want, great. If I can't, they must keep working hard.
"We can at least have a chat. But it's about the group, not individuals."
Since coming in on 24 October, Hurst has already offloaded Antoni Sarcevic, and opted not to extend the loans of George Waring, Ivan Toney and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.
Having led his team out of the bottom four for the first time in three months, the former Grimsby Town boss knows the importance of staying together as a squad if they are to avoid the drop.
He has already made three signings, in defender Aristote Nsiala, winger Alex Rodman and striker Freddie Ladapo. But, while he continues to chase new faces, he has told his players, especially the ones whose contracts expire in June, that they have to prove to him why they should be kept on.
Goalkeeper Mark Halstead, defender Mat Sadler and midfielders Abu Ogogo, Shaun Whalley and Ian Black are all out of contract at the end of the season.
And, although Ogogo and Sadler are still regulars, Halstead is currently second-choice, while Whalley was relegated to the bench for the 1-1 draw at Swindon last weekend and Black did not figure. | Shrewsbury Town manager Paul Hurst has warned his players there could be as many departures as additions as he rebuilds his relegation-battling League One squad during the January window. |
21764696 | The brilliant seven-year-old, trained by Nicky Henderson, cruised around the two-mile contest and left talented runner-up Sizing Europe trailing.
"Sprinter Sacre's win was unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. The British people love a champion - and he's a champion."
Former Grand National-winning jockey Bob Champion
"It does make you speechless. Sprinter Sacre is scary. He has that aura about him and is totally and utterly unique."
Winning trainer Nicky Henderson on BBC Radio 5 live
"It was like Barry Geraghty pressed the accelerator on a sports car. It was one of the most wonderful things I have seen in sport."
BBC Radio 5 live pundit Kevin Day
"Kauto Star, Desert Orchid, Red Rum and Arkle all gained household-name status but specialised in longer distances, your 'sexier' Gold Cups, King Georges and Grand Nationals. Everyone, not just close-up fans and purists, needs to know news of such flamboyant brilliance: let's shout it from the proverbial rooftops."
BBC horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght
Sent off the 1-4 favourite, the handsome gelding - nicknamed The Black Aeroplane - was the shortest-priced Festival winner since Arkle won his third Gold Cup at odds of 1-10 in 1966.
A crowd of more than 50,000 was left smiling and shaking their heads by the dominant manner of his victory.
The magnitude of this triumph can be judged by the distance to Sizing Europe, twice a Festival winner - in the 2010 Arkle Chase and the Champion Chase a year later.
Winning jockey Barry Geraghty told BBC Radio 5 live: "He is an unbelievable horse. To beat Sizing Europe the way he did was a remarkable performance.
"He was keen early on but settled down. He's a class act. I think the 'Frankel of jump racing' is a fair way to describe him."
Henderson added: "That was probably the worst five minutes of my life. Hopefully Barry had fun, but I'm glad it's over.
"It does make you speechless. Sprinter Sacre is scary. He has that aura about him and is totally and utterly unique.
"He finds it ridiculously easy - he just loves doing it."
Sprinter Sacre skipped over the first fence as though it was a hurdle and happily negotiated the remaining obstacles with little fuss.
Sizing Europe, second to Finian's Rainbow in the race 12 months ago, went into the lead four fences from home but Geraghty was stalking him with quiet confidence.
At one stage it looked as though 2012 Arkle winner Sprinter Sacre might have a duel up the straight with his opponent, but he soon cruised into front and stretched his lead.
At last year's Festival, the crowd warmly applauded another chasing great when dual winner and five-time King George VI Chase victor Kauto Star was pulled up in what proved to be his final race.
The candle of illuminating jump racing has passed to Sprinter Sacre and he was given an appreciative ovation from punters at the Gloucestershire track.
Bookmakers rate him only an even-money chance to win the Champion Chase again in 2014 and 2015.
Sizing Europe's trainer Henry de Bromhead accepted his horse had been beaten by a "special one".
He said: "We have been beaten by a phenomenon. We had a go, but came off second best."
Meanwhile, Lord Windermere was quoted as a 25-1 chance for the 2014 Gold Cup as he scored a fine success in the RSA Chase, which is known as the Gold Cup for novice chasers.
Irish trainer Jim Culloty, who famously rode Best Mate to three successive Gold Cup wins from 2002 to 2004, choked back tears as another Cheltenham Festival victory sank in.
The day began much as it had panned out on Tuesday's opening day with champion Irish trainer Willie Mullins masterminding yet another victory, in the John Oaksey National Hunt Steeplechase for amateur riders.
Media playback is not supported on this device
This time his son Patrick was in the saddle, as he brought favourite Back In Focus past leader Nina Carberry on Tofino Bay. It was a fourth victory at the 2013 Festival for the trainer.
Mullins also won the day's final race when Ruby Walsh rode Briar Hill (25-1) to victory in the Champion Bumper.
It was Mullins' fifth winner of the meeting and the fourth for Walsh at the halfway stage of the Festival.
And a jockey who looks set to have a future at the top teamed up with a potential 2014 Champion Hurdle contender in The New One to claim the Neptune Hurdle.
Sam Twiston-Davies was given a rousing reception in the winners' enclosure by fans who were cheered by a win for his father Nigel, who trains just 12 miles from the course at Naunton.
However, the trainer nearly missed his son's big moment. "My guts rebelled and I was in the loo for most of the race. Luckily I extricated myself for the final hurdle. I am a very proud dad - he would not have been happy had I missed the whole race!" said Nigel.
Flaxen Flare, ridden by Davy Condon, was a big-priced winner at 25-1 for Irish trainer Gordon Elliott in the Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, while trainer Alan King had a one-two with Medinas (33-1) and Meister Eckhart in the Coral Cup.
1. Sprinter Sacre; B J Geraghty 1-4 Fav
2. Sizing Europe; A E Lynch 6-1
3. Wishfull Thinking; R Johnson 25-1
4. Sanctuaire; R Walsh 20-1 | Steeplechasing star Sprinter Sacre thrilled the Cheltenham Festival with a sensational 19-length win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. |
36208918 | Fehily, 40, was unseated from the Nick Mitchell-trained Hinxworth in the handicap hurdle at 16:10 BST.
Racing was delayed by more than 30 minutes as medics attended to Fehily, who was taken to Derriford Hospital for precautionary X-rays on his back.
"He was talking, moving his arms and legs but they just want to be on the safe side," said Mitchell.
Irishman Fehily rode 122 winners last season.
His big-race victories include the 2012 Champion Hurdle with Rock on Ruby, and two King George VI Chase wins on Silviniaco Conti. | Jockey Noel Fehily was airlifted to hospital in Plymouth after a fall at Newton Abbot on Wednesday. |
37747148 | Since the Mosul offensive started, hundreds of families from areas around the city have managed to flee. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says the camp has been receiving around 50 people daily, on average, with that number likely to rise.
The entrance of one of the main gates of Dibaga looks like an open market; people selling vegetables and fruit and a small bakery for fresh Iraqi bread.
A little further into the camp, is the aid distribution centre. Long, spiralling queues of men and women - some carrying their infants - have formed as people wait for hours to get aid.
"Newcomers," I'm told by one of the men lining up to collect mattresses, pillows and blankets for the tents that are now these people's homes.
The blankets will be crucial for the coming winter months.
Everyone is on edge. The aid is there but distribution is unorganised and it is not getting to people fast enough. The camp feels crammed.
One of the residents, Assad Hassan, tells me he fled his village near the city of Nimrud, south of Mosul, a day before the Iraqi government-led offensive against IS started.
He says he was too frightened to stay to see what the so-called Islamic State fighters might do when the Iraqi forces came in. Instead he decided to make the dangerous journey out of the city.
"It was a risk I had to take," he says.
"The road out of my village was mined. There were two cars ahead of ours and they were both blown up. I was extremely scared. I felt that I could be killed at any moment.
"I left with the women and children," he adds. "My sons left the next day. They had to swim across a river under heavy gunfire."
Asked where he sleeps now, he points to the carpet we're sitting on in the courtyard of the mosque in the camp.
The UN says about 5,000 people have been displaced so far by the fighting around Mosul and are in need of humanitarian assistance.
That is a fraction of the estimated one million people the UN is expecting to flee Mosul itself once the battle starts there.
It is a humanitarian crisis Iraq is not ready for, aid agencies have warned.
"Dibaga is already very crowded and we need to expand," Bruno Geddo, UNHCR chief for Iraq, says.
"We have the tents. We now need the land to put them on and provide people with the basics - a roof over their heads."
Dibaga is surrounded by plains, but Mr Geddo says the process of acquiring land to expand the camp had been extremely slow.
In a separate area of the camp, there's an unusual sound of celebration. People from Sabaweya village have just heard that it's been cleared of IS fighters and have broken into traditional song and dance, with one woman throwing sweets at the crowd.
Despite the good news, it'll be a while before any of these displaced people are able to go back to their hometowns.
IS fighters have been putting up fierce resistance, using different tactics to slow down, and on occasions, stop the Iraqi forces' advance towards Mosul.
"They killed men from the army in our village," 10-year-old Zaman says.
She comes from a village near Mosul, and has been in the camp for three months with her mother and sister.
"I saw them kill a man. I was very scared," she says.
"My dad is with the army and they threatened to kill him too. They said: 'You either join us or we'll kill you or take you to prison'.
"They took him. It's been three months now and I haven't seen him - my baby sister was born and he hasn't seen her."
In another camp in Irbil's mainly Christian Ankawa area, a makeshift bell tower with a cross on the top has been placed at the entrance.
Most of the residents there are from the town of Qaraqosh, which was recently stormed by the Iraqi forces.
It is the country's biggest Christian town and when IS attacked in 2014, all of its 50,000 residents fled.
Fadya Yousef says she and her family have been glued to the TV since the Mosul offensive started.
"We were very happy when we heard that the [Iraqi] fighters went into our town," she says.
"I just want to go back to my hometown... Even if I live in a tent there, I'll be happy."
Qaraqosh has been contested for days, but the latest reports suggest that the Iraqi forces are in control at the moment.
Fadiya's son, Youssef, is fighting on the front line with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
"Of course, I think about him," she says.
"But there are so many mothers like me with one or even two sons on the front line. I pray for their safety." | The Dibaga camp, an hour's drive south of Irbil, is home to nearly 30,000 people who have been displaced by so-called Islamic State fighting in northern Iraq. |
34967216 | The burglary took place some time overnight on 28 November at Grange Avenue in Stockton.
Stolen presents included a Samsung Galaxy S4 tablet, children's tracksuits, three Jasper Conran dresses, electronic toys and a Makita still saw.
Cleveland Police believe some of the goods may already have been sold.
Homeowner Claire Hunter said she was devastated after discovering the theft.
She told BBC Tees: "I went downstairs and saw the paper opened, the mess.
"It was hurtful, stealing is one thing but from children at Christmas is another." | Burglars have broken into an outhouse, unwrapped Christmas presents and then stolen the most expensive gifts. |
37286475 | The document, photographed in Downing Street, proposes expanding current grammars before opening new schools.
It then raises doubts whether plans for more selective school places would pass through the House of Lords.
A government spokeswoman said it would be "inappropriate to comment on internal government documents".
"The cat is out of the bag," said Labour's shadow education secretary Angela Rayner.
Liberal Democrat education spokesman John Pugh said: "It looks like a desperate plan to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and their inevitable defeat."
The document, being carried into 10, Downing Street, seems to have been written by Jonathan Slater, permanent secretary at the Department for Education.
It refers to Conservative plans to "open new grammars", although with the provision that they would have to "follow various conditions".
Analysis: Education correspondent Sean Coughlan
What does this document tell us? And does it suggest that as well as more grammars, there could be a new style of grammar, admitting pupils on more than test results.
There have been concerns that grammars have a disproportionately affluent intake - and these "conditions" might suggest that new grammars might have obligations to admit more poorer pupils.
There are also hints at a difference in emphasis within Conservative ranks - with the education secretary wanting to expand the current grammars before opening any new schools.
A long-running dispute in Kent was resolved this year when an existing grammar school was allowed to open another branch in another town, on the basis that this was the expansion of an existing school, rather than opening an entirely new school.
Education Secretary Justine Greening is described as wanting new grammars to be presented in the consultation document "as an option" and "only to be pursued once we have worked with existing grammars to show how they can be expanded and reformed".
But the note says: "I simply don't know what the PM [prime minister] thinks of this."
And it says: "I simply can't see any way of persuading the Lords to vote for selection on any other basis."
Before opening any more grammars, the government would have to change the law, which at present outlaws the creation of new grammar schools in England.
If the government thought that this would face too difficult a path through Parliament, existing grammar schools could open such "satellite" campuses on other sites.
There have been suggestions that new grammars could be opened as part of the free school programme, which could be adapted to allow selection by ability.
The prospect of a return to grammar schools has had some strong support among Conservative backbenchers.
They have argued that admission by ability is more likely to promote social mobility, providing an opportunity for bright, poor pupils who do not live in the catchment areas of good schools.
But Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said this week that the idea that poor children would benefit from a return of grammar schools was "tosh" and "nonsense"
Sir Michael said a return to selection at 11 years old would be a "profoundly retrograde step".
Labour's Angela Rayner said: "Behind closed doors the Tories are planning a return to the bad old days of grammars, ignoring all the evidence which has told us time and again that they do not aid social mobility."
John Pugh, of the Liberal Democrats, said: "This lays bare the desperate lengths the Conservative party are willing to go to deliver grammar schools through the cloak of expansion.
"The government should be ashamed of themselves. If they think this is the right thing to do, they should bring it to Parliament and win the argument."
But Graham Brady, a leading Conservative backbencher and prominent supporter of grammar schools said: "Grammar schools are popular wherever they remain and opinion polls suggest that 75% of people in Britain want more of them.
"It must be good news that the government is looking at repealing a statutory ban new grammar schools.
"Why ban something that is proven to work and popular?"
Mr Brady said grammar schools should be available as "part of the mix where parents and communities want them".
Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Theresa May said on the steps of Downing Street that she wanted 'a country that works for everyone'.
"Yet now we hear of proposals to take education back to the 1950s, when children were segregated at age 11 and their life chances determined by the type of school they attended.
"Opening new grammar schools would not only be a backward step but is also a complete distraction from the real problems facing schools and education. For every grammar school there are three or four 'secondary modern' schools."
A government spokeswoman said: "The prime minister has been clear that we need to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.
"We are looking at a range of options to allow more children to access a school that lets them rise as far as their talents will take them.
"Policies on education will be set out in due course, and it would be inappropriate to comment further on internal government documents." | Plans to open new grammar schools in England appear to have been accidentally caught by a photographer. |
31616523 | The move follows tens of thousands of complaints about cold calling.
Currently, firms can only be punished if the Information Commissioner can prove a call caused "substantial damage or substantial distress".
But from 6 April, that legal requirement is to be removed.
More than 175,000 complaints were made to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) last year about nuisance calls and text messages.
The government says the number of complaints has risen in the past decade and the issue is particularly acute for the elderly and housebound as such calls can cause distress and anxiety.
In a speech earlier this month, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham described the current law as "a licence for spammers and scammers" and appealed for more powers.
Source: BBC Skillswise
The ICO can take action against companies who flout rules on direct marketing, and says it has issued penalties totalling £815,000 to nine firms since January 2012.
But it has been powerless to target other firms behind a large number of unsolicited calls or texts.
It had tried to argue that companies which make a large number of calls could breach the regulations because of the "cumulative effect" of their actions.
But a tribunal upheld an appeal against a £300,000 fine imposed on Manchester-based Tetrus Telecoms after ruling its high volume of text messages about PPI and accident claims did not meet the legal threshold of causing "substantial damage or substantial distress".
Following a six-week public consultation, that threshold is to be removed, according to digital economy minister Ed Vaizey.
He told BBC Breakfast: "At the moment if the Information Commissioner goes after a company, he's got to show the company has caused you - the consumer at home - serious distress, serious harm.
"It's a very high test to pass which is why there have only been nine prosecutions, which is why we want to lower that test."
He said it was "important to recognise" the UK has a "legitimate direct marketing industry... where businesses calling consumers can sometimes bring some benefit" and the ICO "wants after the cowboys".
It will now be up to the ICO to assess when a serious contravention has taken place.
Martin Shelley, a retired civil servant, said he started receiving cold calls when he moved to his home in the Scottish town of Tillicoultry in 2006.
But it was after he registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) – a list of people who have indicated they do not wish to receive sales and marketing calls – that the number of unwanted calls increased.
Mr Shelley, 63, said: "I'm of a generation that when the phone rang it was an important matter. That's something I have baked into my DNA and it's very hard not to have that kind of reaction.
"These calls are a complete intrusion."
But he said he felt compelled to answer because he had numerous friends and family he often receives calls from.
He gets between three and four cold calls each day, including on weekends.
"I'm in contact with people all the time. The phone is basically a friend but now, most of the time, it's not a friend but someone intruding in my life for no reason.
"I've already stated my preference. I would never in a million years buy something over the phone.
"If these companies make an excessive number of unsolicited calls they should be fined."
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it was "committed" to dealing with the problem of nuisance calls, and it was looking to introduce mandatory caller line identification so that all marketing callers would have to display their telephone numbers.
It also confirmed that it will look at introducing measures to hold board level executives responsible for nuisance calls and texts.
This follows a report last December from a task force looking at the problem, which called for a review of the rules in order to act as a stronger deterrent to rogue companies.
Shadow minister Chris Bryant said Labour had been calling on the government to act for "years" and welcomed its "belated acceptance of our calls for stronger powers to tackle cold-calling".
The executive director of the consumer organisation Which?, Richard Lloyd, who chaired the task force, welcomed the announcement, saying the calls were "an everyday menace blighting the lives of millions".
But he told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that telecoms companies also need to "do more to cut off these calls at source".
Organisations make automated calls to generate "leads", which they then sell on to firms who offer the service provided in the message.
In the case of personal injury claims, the leads would essentially be a list of people interested in claiming compensation for a personal injury.
This list is then sold on to a firm which manages personal injury claims. It will contact the people on the list and offer them its services in dealing with possible claims.
Companies or organisations making automated marketing calls are legally meant to have the permission of the person they are calling before they call.
Source: Ofcom
Mr Lloyd said: "Eight out of 10 people have told us they have had an unwanted call or text over the last month, a third of people have said they have been caused distress and they have been feeling intimidated by these calls, so this is a massive problem and we have to get a grip on it.
"If we get the regulators, the government and the telecoms companies working together on this we think we could start seeing a rapid decline in calls but that's going to take a while."
But the Fair Telecoms Campaign, which contributed to the consultation, said the announcement was only a "tiny step in the right direction".
David Hickson, from the campaign, said "using the limited capacities of the ICO and Ofcom can never succeed now that the problem has been allowed to grow to its present scale". | Imposing fines of up to £500,000 on the companies behind cold calls and nuisance text messages is to become easier under changes to the law being made by the government. |
33035006 | The four pictures show the princess being cradled by her elder sibling as they sit on a cream couch at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, their family home with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The pictures were taken by Catherine just weeks after Princess Charlotte was born on 2 May.
In an earlier tweet, Kensington Palace said the images were "very special".
In each of the pictures, Charlotte is lying on her brother's lap, wearing white. The prince is wearing a white shirt, blue shorts and blue socks.
In one, he appears to be kissing his sister on the forehead.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children have been at Anmer Hall since leaving London shortly after the birth of the princess.
Prince William and Catherine are expected to be based there for the next few years as they raise Princess Charlotte and Prince George, who is almost two, with the help of a full-time nanny.
Photography is listed as one of the duchess's hobbies in her biography on the royal website. The pictures were taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera.
The first official images of Prince George, released in 2013, were taken by the duchess's father, Michael Middleton, in the garden of their home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
Commentary: BBC Royal Correspondent Peter Hunt
The photographs provide a rare glimpse of, as things stand, the future of the British monarchy.
Such glimpses will remain reasonably rare as these royal children grow up.
They'll next be captured together when Princess Charlotte is christened in July.
In all of these four images the baby princess - just a few weeks old at the time the photos were taken by her mother - is in the arms of her brother, Prince George.
As the toddler destined to be king continues to adjust to having a new addition to his family, his parents will hope the 22-month-old and the one-month-old will forge a bond as strong as the one enjoyed by Princes William and Harry.
Harry has spoken of how they understand each other and give each other support.
His older brother told someone recently that George was very lively and Charlotte had given her parents a "few sleepless nights".
Read more from Peter on his correspondent page
On Friday, it was announced Princess Charlotte will be christened on 5 July.
The christening will take place at St Mary Magdalene Church at the Queen's Sandringham estate.
Princess Charlotte was born on 2 May at London's St Mary's Hospital, weighing 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg).
The fourth in line to the throne, her full name has been registered as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge. | A series of photos of Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte have been released by Kensington Palace. |
36194852 | Eight seasons later, Leicester are Premier League champions, Bolton have been relegated to League One and Portsmouth are are in the League Two play-offs after three relegations in five years.
As for Burton, they have been promoted to the second tier for the first time in their history.
Moving up to the Championship completes "a fantastic journey for a little club", according to chairman Ben Robinson, who first appointed manager Nigel Clough as Brewers boss 17 years ago.
BBC Sport looks at just how dramatically the football landscape has changed since Burton were fighting to gain Football League status in 2008.
BBC Radio Derby's Owen Bradley: "Burton Albion announced themselves to the football world with their FA Cup third-round exploits against Manchester United in January 2006.
"The following season, the Brewers were still revving their engine ahead of the remarkable run up the Football League ladder. Trips to glamorous venues including Droylsden, Farsley Celtic and Ebbsfleet's Stonebridge Road remained the norm until promotion in 2009.
"Stuttering over the line to the Conference title betrayed little about what was to come. Paul Peschisolido consolidated - and shocked Middlesbrough in the FA Cup - before Gary Rowett took the reins and Burton's star started to shine.
"His first season in charge led to defeat in the play-off semi-finals; his second, a heartbreaking loss to Fleetwood at Wembley.
"The Brewers haven't looked back since that day. Rowett laid further foundations for promotion before Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink finished the job. In turn, the former Chelsea striker set things up for Nigel Clough - the man who started it all - to return and guide Burton to the Championship for the first time.
"From Histon to Hillsborough, from Northwich Victoria to Villa Park. It has been quite a journey."
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Clough said the supporters who spilled onto the pitch in Doncaster on Sunday to celebrate promotion exemplified Burton's journey from non-league minnows to a club preparing to join a league that includes two former European champions - Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
"Too see the sea of yellow and black is incredible - we used to get 400 or 500 in the Southern League, now there are thousands out there celebrating - it's absolutely remarkable," Clough continued.
"To come from where we have come from in that time is incredible in football terms."
Their rise up the football ladder has been as remarkable as Leicester City's astonishing transformation from a side relegated to the third tier eight years ago, to champions of England for the first time in their 132-year history.
The glamorous European ties the Foxes now get to look forward to are just a thing of the past for Bolton, a club that eight seasons ago beat Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Cup.
As the Trotters prepare for life in League One, Atletico are preparing for the second all-Madrid Champions League final against Real.
While Bolton's drop down the leagues has been overshadowed somewhat by their financial troubles off the field, culminating with the sale of the club two months ago, their struggles pale in comparison to Portsmouth - FA Cup winners in 2008 who have twice been in administration since then. | Leicester City were relegated to League One, Bolton Wanderers shone in Europe and Portsmouth won the FA Cup - the season was 2007-08 and Burton Albion were just a footnote in English football as losing Conference play-off semi-finalists. |
40660413 | Damour put the Bluebirds ahead with a powerful 20-yard drive, before Ben Watson's penalty brought the hosts level at the break.
Cardiff reclaimed the lead with Damour's second and Kenneth Zohore headed in the Bluebirds' third.
Neil Warnock's side face Plymouth at Home Park on Friday. | New signing Loic Damour scored two goals for Cardiff City in their 3-1 pre-season friendly win at non-league Bodmin Town in Cornwall. |
30016970 | As the Dons released their annual accounts, it was revealed their net debt of £14.49m will be cleared if the restructuring plans are approved.
Willie Donald and his wife Elaine, who own the Stonehaven-based engineering company WM Donald, will become shareholders in the club.
The Pittodrie outfit hope to see the plans given the go-ahead at next month's AGM.
Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne told BBC Scotland earlier this year that he remained optimistic that the club could soon be in a "debt-free position," as they target new training facilities and a new stadium.
In the annual club accounts, Aberdeen revealed turnover rose from £7.85m to £11.158m last season with wages increasing from £5.256m to £6.084m. The club say the wages increase is a result of higher bonus payments.
Milne told the club website: "The period covered in this report has seen a significant change in the fortunes at Aberdeen given the team's success in lifting the League Cup."
It was also confirmed that if restructuring plans are approved, Aberdeen FC Community Trust will also receive a "sizeable shareholding".
On the restructuring plans, Milne said: "The negotiations have been ongoing for a number of months now and these arrangements will, I believe, be transformational for the club.
"The club are indebted to Willie and Elaine for the role they have played in this. If the final steps are approved at the AGM we will have a strong balance sheet and the debt servicing burden will be removed, allowing us to drive forward on training facilities and the plans for the new stadium with much greater confidence in our ability to raise the additional investment needed."
Willie Donald said: "Our family recognises that we have been fortunate to have grown our business in a city and region that has benefitted from the impact of the energy sector over the last 37 years.
"We decided some time ago that we wished to give something back to the community, we see the football club as a vital and central part of the community, and indeed the whole North East of Scotland and see this investment as an excellent opportunity to deliver our objective."
As part of the restructuring plan, the net debt of the club will reduce by £14.49m and its share capital and reserves will rise by the same amount. Debt of £4.42m owed to the Stewart Milne Group will be converted to equity. SMG shareholding in the club will rise to around 43% but only up to 29.9% of this would be voting rights.
Aberdeen Asset Management will convert their remaining debt to equity and Willie and Elaine Donald will end up with a shareholding of around 20%. | Aberdeen have agreed an investment deal that will wipe out the club's debts. |
35352218 | Selma star Oyelowo said: "This institution doesn't reflect its president," referring to African-American Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
"I am an Academy member and it doesn't reflect me. It doesn't reflect this nation."
Cheadle joked about being allowed to park cars at the Oscars on Twitter.
Rock, who is hosting this year's Oscars, took to Twitter last week to joking call the event "the White BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards".
No black or minority actors have been nominated in the four acting categories for this year's Academy Awards.
Academy president Boone Isaacs has announced she is taking action to "alter the make-up" of their membership, after director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith's refusal to attend because of the mostly white nominees.
Boone Isaacs praised the "wonderful work" of the nominees but said she was "heartbroken" at the lack of diversity.
Lee said on Instagram he "cannot support" the "lily white" awards show.
Jada Pinkett Smith said in a video message on Facebook that she would not be attending the awards ceremony.
Oyelowo also made the point that two of the top films at the North American box office this week are led by black actors.
"We have a situation whereby currently the biggest movie in the world and of all time (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) is led by a black man. That film was knocked off the top spot this weekend by a film led by two black men, Ride Along 2. The biggest TV show on the planet is led by black people, Empire."
Others who have commented include Will Packer, producer of Straight Outta Compton, who posted a long message on Facebook.
He wrote: "To my Academy colleagues, WE HAVE TO DO BETTER. Period. The reason the rest of the world looks at us like we have no clue is because in 2016 it's a complete embarrassment to say that the heights of cinematic achievement have only been reached by white people. I repeat - it's embarrassing. It's unfair to the performers of colour who sacrificed so much, laid it all on the line AND DELIVERED with their projects this year."
At the weekend, Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr told Variety: "You want it (the Oscars) to be diverse. You want the work to show. I wanted Straight Outta Compton to get something. But, you know, it's this conversation that makes people think harder when the nominations come around for next year."
But John Singleton, who became the first African-American nominated for the best director Academy Award for Boyz n the Hood in 1992, said he wasn't disappointed.
Singleton told Variety: "It's like every year people complain. People even complain even when we have a lot of nominations. It is what it is. I've been in the game for 25 years. You never know - it's the luck of the draw for you. To me, I'm not surprised. I'm not disappointed either, as much as other people are disappointed."
Boone Isaacs added that "dramatic steps" were being taken, saying: "In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond."
The 6,300 members, made up of people from the film industry, vote on who is nominated for the Oscars each year.
"This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes," she said.
"As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. but the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly."
She said such a move was not "unprecedented" for the Academy, and that in the 60s and 70s younger members were recruited and that today's mandate was about inclusion: "gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation".
However, this is the second year in a row there have been boycott calls, sparked by a list of nominees that is mostly white.
The profile of Oscar voters
In 2012, the LA Times conducted a study to find out how diverse the Academy membership is.
Reporters spoke to thousands of Academy members and their representatives to confirm the identities of more than 5,100 voters - more than 89% of the voting members.
They found that:
Read more.
Among those overlooked for this year's Oscar nominations were British actor Idris Elba for Beast of No Nation, the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton for best picture and Pinkett Smith's husband Will Smith, for best actor in NFL film Concussion.
Pinkett Smith said: "Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people and we are powerful."
She and Lee made their announcement on Martin Luther King Jr Day, a national holiday in the US to remember the civil rights leader.
"Forty white actors in two years and no flava at all," said Lee. "We can't act?!"
Hollywood trade paper The Wrap spoke anonymously to some Academy members, many of whom applauded Isaacs' comments.
"They're not embarrassed today," one Academy member and former governor said.
"They're disgusted."
Another member said: "The problem is not the nominations. It's the make-up of the Academy, and more than that, the make-up of Hollywood."
Another said: "The irony is, if Hollywood is not open to diversity, then we're in real trouble as a country, because Hollywood is supposed to be liberal and open."
But others were sceptical: "Any way you slice it, it's a knee-jerk reaction," one member told The Wrap.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday, Doctor Who actor Colin McFarlane, said of Lee's decision to not attend the Oscars: "You've got to be at the party to change the conversation but I completely understand the frustration - black actors are being written out of history.
"The game is changing and I think it needs to change on both sides of the Atlantic - the Baftas and the Oscars - and there should be more women.
"(Black) kids need to see themselves on TV and in the movies." | David Oyelowo and Don Cheadle have joined the growing number of stars who have spoken out against the Oscars for its lack of diversity. |
39986705 | The 29-year-old Serb beat Austrian Thiem 6-1 6-0 in 59 minutes.
Djokovic will meet Alexander Zverev, 20, in Sunday's final after the German beat John Isner 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1.
Meanwhile, French Open champion Garbine Muguruza retired from her semi-final against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina with a neck injury.
Svitolina will face Simona Halep in the women's final on Sunday after the Romanian beat Kiki Bertens.
It was a second appearance of the day for Djokovic, having earlier beaten Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 6-1 6-4 in a rain-affected match carried over from Friday.
There was little sign of fatigue as the men's French Open champion looked back to his best, serving well and hitting ruthless ground strokes as he raced away with the first set against 23-year-old Thiem.
Thiem, who knocked out Rafael Nadal on Friday, struggled to find any rhythm in the second set as Djokovic broke his opponent's serve three more times to see out a convincing win.
Zverev, currently ranked 17 in the world, dominated the first set against Isner, 32, winning it in just under half an hour.
Isner levelled the match after a second-set tie-break, but Zverev resumed control, comfortably winning the deciding set.
He guarantees himself a world ranking of 14 but, should he upset Djokovic in the final, he will move into the world's top 10.
At 20 years and one month, Zverev becomes the youngest Masters finalist since Djokovic himself won the 2007 Miami Open.
Halep, 25, booked her place in the final with a 7-5 6-1 win over 25-year-old Dutchwoman Bertens.
After a hard-fought first set, Halep won the second more convincingly to complete the victory in one hour and 17 minutes.
Svitolina, 22, advanced after Muguruza called the trainer 22 minutes into the match.
Muguruza, who upset Serena Williams to win the French Open last year, will be hoping to recover in time to defend her title at Roland Garros with the second Grand Slam of the year beginning on 28 May. | World number two Novak Djokovic is through to the Italian Open final after losing just one game against Dominic Thiem in Rome. |
36533946 | When a care home resident needs to go into a hospital, a red bag is packed for them.
It contains their details, vital information about their health conditions, supplies of medicine, and a change of clothes for when they are ready to be discharged.
"You would not believe how many people face delays simply because clothes can't be found for them," says Mary Hopper, a senior NHS manager in Sutton. "You have staff going to lost property trying to find them something to fit."
The initiative also sees a member of the care home staff visiting the patient in hospital within 48 hours of admission.
And this all helps doctors and nurses treat them more effectively.
The result is older people are spending less time in hospital - eight days, which is four fewer than before the scheme was set up.
That is good for the individual and good for the health service.
But the red bag scheme is just one of the ways the NHS and care homes are working together.
GPs have also been employed to carry out regular visits of care homes, with each resident now receiving six-monthly check-ups.
A pharmacist is on hand to visit homes to carry out medicine reviews.
And district nurses have been used to train care home staff in dementia, falls and diabetes.
It certainly seems to be working.
Since the project started a year ago, there has been a 10% drop in visits to A&E.
Those running care homes are, unsurprisingly, full of praise.
Patricia Fyfe, the manager of St Jude's care home, says it has been really "eye-opening" to see what can be achieved through collaboration.
Sutton is not the only area where the NHS is forging closer links with care homes.
It is one of six "vanguard" areas in England given funding to explore new ways of working.
This has been done in recognition of the fact that the NHS has - in the words of Ms Hopper - turned its back on the care sector.
She says the closure of many long-stay hospitals 20 years ago means the responsibility for caring for sick older people has increasingly fallen on the care sector - with little input from the NHS.
The sentiment is one the care sector wholeheartedly shares.
Prof Martin Green, of Care England, which represents providers, says there is no reason why residents in care homes should get an "inferior" service to the one someone in their own home would get.
But all the evidence suggests they do.
The Care Quality Commission looked at the issue a few years ago and found most of the 81 care homes it asked did not receive regular visits from GPs.
The result has been that care home managers have had to pay GPs retainers to ensure they visit - with reports that some are as high as £20,000 a year.
So what is the solution?
If the experience of Sutton - and the other places doing good work in this area - is anything to go by, it is forging a shared approach.
Ever since the separate systems of social care and health care were created after World War Two, they have been treated as distinct services - one run by councils at a local level, the other organised centrally by government.
But, increasingly, as the population ages, that is looking out of date.
The government has set up a shared pot - called the Better Care Fund - to encourage local government and the NHS to work together.
The fund is worth just over £5bn this year - but that is less than 5% of the combined health and care budgets, which is why some people want the government to go even further and merge the two sectors completely.
Such a radical move is probably some way off yet, if it is to happen at all, but what is certain is that the futures of the two sectors are inextricably linked.
Read more from Nick
Follow Nick on Twitter | Like many good ideas, the way the NHS and care sectors in the London borough of Sutton are working together more closely is a relatively simple concept. |
36128604 | Pool ladders may not be an option for everybody - perhaps because of a disability, medical condition or injury.
Make Your Move has spoken to a number of people who use other methods for accessing the pool.
Margaret Findlay, 78, said she prefers to use steps or a gradual slope into the water.
"I'd be afraid of using pool ladders because I can't swim," she said.
She takes part in an aqua-aerobics class at the Port Glasgow Swimming Pool with her friend Betty McKelvie.
"I like the atmosphere and it keeps me active," Margaret added.
"At one point I wouldn't leave the side of the pool."
Betty, who grew up near the River Clyde, added: "She's getting more adventurous now - it makes you push forward.
"My mother used to say don't go near the water so I never learnt to swim, but I made sure my three boys could swim.
"I just come into the water to have some fun and to meet people," added the 84 year old.
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Kellyanne Deveaney, 35, uses a hoist to access the pool during her swim sessions with a carer from the social care charity, Quarriers.
"It's not as easy as you think," she said, "but I've got used to it.
"My swimming is really important.
"It feels dead weird getting out of your chair - you're in a different position."
Goz Ugochuckwu said the thought of having to use a hoist sometimes put her off going swimming.
"It's just really embarrassing and I just don't like it," she said.
"I can't get from the floor to the wheelchair, so I have to use a hoist to get out the pool.
"It can take a long time to find someone to operate it, and everyone is looking at you."
However, despite the "rigmarole" of getting into the pool she said it was worth it.
"I do really enjoy swimming - it's the freedom that you get.
"Being in a wheelchair, it just gives you that utter feeling that you can move every part of your body.
"It's one of the easiest forms of exercise and doesn't involve anyone else - apart from getting into the pool!"
"It's been a wonderful thing," according to Evelyn Eunson, "The first time you use it you feel a bit embarrassed but now I don't even think about it."
The 'Poolpod' was the result of a design competition led by the Olympic Delivery Authority ahead of the London 2012 Games to improve disabled pool access.
About 55 pools across the UK now have this type of submersible lift, with about another 30 due for installation this year.
Evelyn, 61, said: "It has made ever such a difference because I wouldn't have been able to go up and down the steps with my sciatica.
"Both legs were troubling me - I probably wouldn't be able to go to the 'wellness sessions'.
"This means I can continue going."
Evelyn chooses to stand on the lift to enter the water, but it can also be used with the accompanying submersible wheelchair.
"My daughter used it with the wheelchair after she damaged her Achilles," she said.
"She came in on her crutches, then went on the wheelchair to get to the poolside and get lowered into the water.
"The Poolpod is very accessible. It's there all the time, and it doesn't have to be taken out for you.
"When the pool attendants see me coming they get it ready - I don't even have to ask now, it's lovely."
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Make Your Move is hosting a live Facebook Q&A with Rebecca Adlington, Mark Foster and Dr Victoria King to discuss anything and everything to do with getting started at the pool.
You can join the conversation now and send in your questions using #MakeYourMove on Twitter. You can also email [email protected].
Watch and take part in the Q&A at 11:30 GMT on Thursday, 19 May on the BBC Get Inspired Facebook page. | Would you like to go swimming but have concerns about getting in and out of the pool? |
34344595 | A three-month operation led to the arrests in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province. Police said triad gangs were increasingly expanding into mainland China.
The crimes involved include drug dealing, gambling and prostitution.
Triads are transnational crime groups, often based in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but operating globally.
"The message we want to send out to the public is that police have zero tolerance for organised crimes and any other illegal activities," Au Chin-chau, chief superintendent of Hong Kong police's Organised Crime and Triad Bureau told journalists.
Illegal loans were also found to be a new source of income for the gangs, he said.
Reports said 4,343 people, 1,177 of them from mainland China, were arrested by police in Hong Kong, where more than 7,500 properties were searched.
In Hong Kong, police seized $102m Hong Kong dollars ($13m; £8.5m) in cash, along with drugs, pirated DVDs, weapons and contraband cigarettes worth HK$67m.
In neighbouring Guangdong province, more than 11,000 suspects were arrested. And in Macau, almost 4,000 people were picked up by police.
The crime-sweep, part of a regular operation codenamed Thunderbolt 15, was reportedly the longest joint operation of its kind, and a model for increasing cross-border police cooperation in the future, state media said. | Nineteen thousand suspects have been arrested in a drive against organised-crime in China, state media said. |
31415137 | Tim Sexton, from the Attenborough Nature Reserve, has recorded 203 species since January, 33 of which have never been found at the site before.
The park, established in 1966 from gravel extraction pits, has attracted rare birds including the bittern.
Mr Sexton said the challenge means looking for the least "sexy" organisms.
About 2,650 species have been recorded at the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust reserve over the past 50 years, including many waterfowl, invertebrates, mammals like badgers, bats, and foxes.
However, these surveys were performed by hundreds of experts which makes the challenge for one person, in just one year, all the more difficult.
"It felt like a good idea at the time," Mr Sexton said.
"[But] ultimately, I'm hoping to record far beyond that total [of 1,000].
"One thing that has always fascinated me is that on a site as well studied as Attenborough, you can still make new discoveries."
The wildlife expert said he has spent a lot of time surveying invertebrates under log piles and has found 11 new species of millipede and centipede for the reserve.
"They are not as sexy as butterflies and dragonflies but they have historically been overlooked," he said.
However, with creatures so small it has been a challenge to identify them.
"You need to look a little closer and you can only be 100% of the identification by looking at the genitalia, not much bigger than a speck of dust."
Mr Sexton said only one person has attempted the challenge solely before, recording 755 organisms, in 2011.
He is hoping to go much further than that number by the end of 2015. | A wildlife expert is attempting to identify more than 1,000 organisms at a nature reserve in Nottinghamshire over the course of a year. |
36014973 | Ex-Det Con Michael McMillan, 32, contacted women "who looked to him for support" at Merseyside Police's Family Crime Investigation Unit.
Appearing at Liverpool Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to seven counts of misconduct in public office.
McMillan, from Crosby, was dismissed from the force in February.
He sent hundreds of texts to domestic abuse victims and convinced two of them to have sex with him, the Liverpool Echo reported.
The newspaper said he was caught when his phone was examined and a vast amount of sexual texts and images were found from between June 2011 and June 2014.
Ch Supt Karen Cummings said: "He manipulated women who looked to him for professional support, for his own sexual gratification and his behaviour is despicable and unforgivable.
"Sadly, the actions of Michael McMillan have the propensity to seriously undermine the good work of the majority."
An investigation was carried out by Merseyside Police and managed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. | A former detective who "manipulated" domestic abuse victims for "his own sexual gratification" has been jailed for four years. |
40742098 | Aneurin Donald and Andrew Salter are the Welsh players left, after injuries to David Lloyd and Kiran Carlson.
"Our long-term ambition is that we want to get as many local players in the team as we possibly can," said Morris.
"But they have got to be good enough to warrant a place in the side."
Owen Morgan and Connor Brown have been included in match-day squads in the T20 Blast, without making the final 11.
Six South African-born players, including new signing David Miller, two born in Australia and one Englishman featured in the win over Gloucestershire in Bristol, which took Glamorgan to the top of the Southern Group ahead of Surrey on run-rate.
Chris Cooke and Craig Meschede, born in Johannesburg, are now qualified for England.
"It's got to be a balance. We're in a professional sport and we have to be competitive," said Morris ahead of Glamorgan's home game against Surrey on Friday, 28 July.
"You look at some of the opponents, and the make-up of their side is not too different to ours.
"We're excited by some of the talent we have, in red-ball (Championship) cricket particularly, Kiran Carlson, David Lloyd, Aneurin Donald, Owen Morgan, Andrew Salter and Lukas Carey this season have played for us as young men.. and in two or three years time, given their experience, we're going to have a strong nucleus of Welshmen."
Glamorgan have suffered from having three home games rained off in succession at their Cardiff headquarters.
"Top of the table, we can't do much better than that and that's despite having three games rained off and that's been incredibly frustrating for all of us," Morris told BBC Wales Sport.
But despite another poor weather forecast for the Surrey match, the former ECB chief executive hopes that 2017 will still turn a profit thanks to five international matches at the SSE Swalec Stadium.
"We were really pleased with our international programme," Morris added.
"We set some ambitious budget targets and we're very close to those targets which is a great credit to the staff."
All-rounder Graham Wagg, 34, is in talks with Glamorgan over a new contract after getting to the milestone of 100 wickets in the T20 Blast, a figure reached by former team-mate Dean Cosker in 2016.
"It's a nice achievement, I didn't actually know but my father texted me, so unfortunately I'm going to have to buy a round," joked Wagg.
"[Cosker] messaged me to say congratulations on the way home from Gloucestershire. He got 100 just for Glamorgan but hopefully there's plenty more in the tank for me.
"Watching [Durham's] Paul Collingwood and [Kent's] Darren Stevens playing at 41, I've only just turned 34 so I think there's a lot left for me and I feel I'm still in my prime." | Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris says the county is still aiming to increase the number of Welsh players in the side - despite being down to two in the current successful T20 Blast side. |
39571945 | Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful found 6% of sites surveyed had a problem last year, compared to 12% the previous year.
The worst-affected area was the council area of Mid and East Antrim, while Fermanagh had the lowest incidence.
Across Northern Ireland, 15% of streets failed to meet the accepted standard for litter - up 3% from previous year.
Belfast City Council has the worst litter record, while Mid Ulster, Newry and Mourne and Antrim & Newtownabbey also had relatively high levels.
And while Mid and East Antrim has a problem with dog fouling, it has one of the best records for litter.
In its survey, which first began in 2008, the charity found that 2016-17 had seen a record £43m spent on cleaning the streets.
The past year also brought the highest percentage of spaces - 5% - with no litter, not even a single cigarette butt.
Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful chief executive, Dr Ian Humphreys, said: "With over a third of the public admitting to littering we still have some way to go and so if we want a better place to live we all have to do our bit and get involved."
He said the statistics showed that having a bin in sight in an area made no difference to how much litter ended up on the ground.
"This suggests that for many people bins are either deemed irrelevant or invisible," he added.
"We need to change people's mind-set so that they look for and use a bin, or take their rubbish home." | Dog fouling is at its lowest rate since records began almost a decade ago, an environmental charity report has found. |
32067602 | A woman was beaten up - this is the price Angolans pay for dissent.
Mr Marques might pay a far higher price for criticising seven army generals, whom he has accused of complicity in killings, torture and corruption in Angola's diamond fields.
They, in turn, have accused him of criminal defamation and are suing him for $1.2m (£800,000).
If found guilty, Mr Marques could go to prison for nine years.
For the generals, $1.2m is peanuts. They are part of Angola's tiny elite, which revolves around the 72-year-old president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and which has become rich on the country's oil and diamond wealth.
Since four decades of conflict ended in 2002, Angola's economy has skyrocketed, albeit from a low base.
According to the auditors Ernst and Young, it was the world's fastest growing economy from 2000-10.
But wealth and power have stayed largely in the hands of a very few families, who come closer that anything else I have seen on the continent to an African nobility.
The book that has landed Mr Marques in so much trouble, Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola, alleges the army and private security companies have been involved in burying miners alive, executing them en masse, and forcing them to leap to their deaths from speeding vehicles.
Mr Marques says the miners were made to jump off at intervals "so as to scatter the evidence of their deaths".
The generals deny these allegations.
Blood Diamonds shows how blurred the lines are between business, politics and violence.
It alleges members of the president's inner circle occupy several positions at once, serving simultaneously as top officials in the military, shareholders in diamond mining companies, and co-owners of the private security firms hired by the mining companies to secure the diamond fields.
The Angolan elite lives in a world almost entirely disconnected from the rest of the country's population of 20 million.
Its playground is the Ilha, a stretch of sand that curves out from Luanda, dotted with luxury villas, beachside restaurants and glitzy nightclubs.
The rich and the beautiful sip $60 cocktails, as gleaming Porsches purr past, the wrists of their drivers heavy with Rolex watches.
Prices are astronomical. It is as if they have been set deliberately high to enable people to show off just how wealthy they are.
Why else would supermarkets charge up to $100 for a watermelon, $200 for a chicken?
Looking out at Luanda from the Ilha, it is hard to believe this is the capital of a country that a little more than 10 years ago was fighting a vicious civil war.
Shiny white super-yachts luxuriate in the blue of the sea.
A swarm of new skyscrapers lines the horizon. One of the multi-million-dollar penthouse apartments has a helicopter landing pad.
It is here one starts to hear whispers of the name "Isabel": "This nightclub belongs to Isabel," "This is Isabel's restaurant," "That business is Isabel's, so is that one, that one, and that one."
Isabel is the eldest daughter of President Dos Santos.
Worth an estimated $3.4bn, she has been described by Forbes magazine as Africa's richest woman.
Meanwhile, an estimated 70% of Angola's population survives on less than $2 a day - 90% of Luanda's population lives in slums.
A great deal of energy is spent trying to remove the poor from the sight of Angola's hyper-rich. Their shacks are bulldozed regularly.
The Chinese have built for them a new satellite city called Zango, dozens of kilometres from Luanda.
Its multicoloured tower blocks rise up from the scrubland, as if it had been dropped from outer space.
It is the urban poor that most worries the Angolan elite.
The security forces have moved swiftly to crush a growing number of small anti-government protests.
I met slum-dweller Mbanza Hamza, who has chosen to stand up to the authorities.
He has a large dent in his skull to show for it.
"Men came in the night and beat me with clubs," he says. "They wore plain clothes but I know who sent them."
Money is the most effective tool for dealing with resistance. The government makes sure local beer stays cheap - it costs less than $1 a bottle.
It sponsors football clubs and pop concerts, and encourages churches; anything to distract the poor.
Free drinks and T-shirts were enough to make sure that, on the eve of an opposition protest, a huge "pro-government" march was held.
Third largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $121bn in 2013.
China's principal trading partner in Africa, and the USA's second.
Classed as a "Low Human Development" country, coming 149/187 in the UN's Human Development Index for 2014.
Child and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world - about one child in five doesn't surviving to the age of five, maternal mortality is 610 per 100,000 live births (UNICEF).
Luanda: Most Expensive City in the World for Expatriates (Mercer Cost of Living Survey, 2014).
$32 billion went missing from Angola's oil accounts between 2007 and 2010 (IMF).
98% of bridges (more than 300), 80% of factories and schools, 60% of hospitals and most of roads destroyed in civil war (Economist Intelligence Unit).
63.7% of Angola's population is under 25 years old (Unicef).
Is Angola a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode?
The government can no longer use the war as an excuse not to do more about health, education and the redistribution of wealth.
It has brought in the Chinese to build roads and railways, but the population is starting to expect more than infrastructure and peace.
It is unlikely cases such as that of Mr Marques will lead to significant international pressure on Angola to do more about human rights and corruption.
During his 35 years in power, President Dos Santos has developed remarkable cunning in playing off one foreign power against the other, just like he does in domestic politics.
But the president is not immortal.
The question is whether his, as yet unappointed, successor will have the skills to keep money and power "in the family", while using fear and temptation to defuse the frustrations of the poor. | When a small group of supporters gathered outside the court where this week the Angolan journalist and human rights activist Rafael Marques went on trial, they were arrested. |
32612332 | Polling stations opened at 07:00 and will remain open until 22:00 on Thursday. Counting will begin when polls close.
More than four million people are registered to vote in Scotland, almost 94% of the adult population.
The first results from the 59 Scottish constituencies will be declared during the early hours of Friday morning.
Strict rules mean the BBC - in common with other broadcasters - is not allowed to report details of campaigning until after the polls close.
There are more than 5,000 polling places in Scotland with schools, village halls and community centres transformed for the day to allow people to cast their votes.
Figures from the National Records of Scotland showed that by 2 March a total of 4.04 million people in Scotland had registered to vote.
Fine weather is forecast across the country, although voting experts say there is no evidence to suggest this will boost turnout.
The Electoral Commission in Scotland has urged people not to panic if they cannot find their polling cards, as they will still be able to vote if they are registered.
A spokeswoman said anyone who does not know the location of their polling station should contact their local electoral registration office.
BBC Scotland will be delivering extensive coverage of the election results across online, TV and radio.
It will report live from Scotland's 32 counting centres after polls close.
There will then be analysis, background, reaction and debate as we find out the results from each of Scotland's constituencies.
Headlines from a UK-wide exit poll will be projected onto the exterior of BBC Scotland's studios at Pacific Quay.
And the results of the ballot will also appear on the side of the building, which sits on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow. | Voting has begun in the UK general election, with 59 Scottish seats up for grabs. |
34609354 | The coastguard in Benbecula said it was discovered at Baleshare on North Uist earlier on Thursday.
The coastguard said it was a Mirach 100/5. This type of drone is used by armed forces worldwide to train on weapons systems.
It was cordoned off before later being removed. The find comes just days after the finish of Nato's Exercise Joint Warrior.
Staged in April and October in and around Scotland, the UK-led training involves North American and European armies, navies and air forces.
The latest exercise also involves 30 warships, 60 aircraft and about 6,300 personnel from 12 nations.
This April's exercise was the largest in the event's history.
Military hardware does occasionally wash up on shorelines up and down the Western Isles. Some of the items are linked to activity at a rocket range in South Uist. | A military target drone has been found washed up on an island beach. |
21965769 | The 27-year-old heptathlete was honoured at a ceremony on Wednesday hosted by Lord Mayor John Campbell.
She was watched by family, friends and civic dignitaries as she signed the scroll granting her the honour.
Ennis said: "To become a freeman of Sheffield is the biggest civic honour anyone can get and I'm so proud to receive it."
She joins other sporting heroes including fellow athlete Lord Coe and cricketer Michael Vaughan as Sheffield freemen.
Ennis said: "Winning the Olympics in Britain has exceeded everything I could have ever wished for and the reception I have received from my home city has been unbelievable.
"I have to say a big thank you to the people of Sheffield who have believed in me and backed me over the years."
Mr Campbell said: "Becoming a freeman of Sheffield is the highest civic honour we can display and Jessica truly deserves it.
"Jessica is an amazing sportswoman, with incredible success and worldwide appeal.
"For this alone she is worthy of receiving the freedom of the city, but let's not forget the other things she does in Sheffield.
"A patron of two charities that mean so much to the people of Sheffield - the Children's Hospital and Weston Park charities. Her support helps them raise so much for their causes."
Ennis, who was born in Sheffield, went to school and university in the city and continues to live and train there.
Earlier this month, the city council decided the Don Valley Stadium, where Ennis trained, was to be demolished as part of cost-saving measures. | Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis has been officially granted the freedom of her home city of Sheffield. |
35393889 | Scarlets face Connacht in Galway on 30 January, with Wales' trip to follow on Sunday, 7 February
Williams sustained a foot injury during the Rugby World Cup in October and has not played since.
"He trained during the week with us and trained very well," said Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac.
"He's passed all the tests so far, so it's all looking good for him to get some game time next week."
Williams is expected to spend two days in the Wales training camp early this week before returning to Scarlets ahead of the Pro12 trip to Galway.
Pivac does not expect to have any other Wales squad players available to him as his team bids to stay top of the table.
The west Wales region finished without a win in the European Champions Cup for the third time after their 22-10 home defeat by Northampton.
Wales and former Scarlets wing George North scored the Saints' bonus point try.
But Pivac says they switched focus after the first couple of rounds.
"You could see early on in that competition that our focus was the Pro12, it was just unfortunate with what happened in the Rugby World Cup [injuries to Liam and Scott Williams] and then injuries we picked up ourselves.
"When you get to Europe, the depths of the squads vary and we don't quite have the depth that some of these sides have.
"The results speak for themselves really."
The Scarlets had 14 senior players on the injury list for the Northampton defeat, with every position apart from half-back affected.
They will now lose scrum-halves Gareth and Aled Davies, as well as front-rowers Ken Owens and Samson Lee, to Wales training duties.
Flanker John Barclay will also be absent on Scotland duty when the Six Nations kicks off. | Liam Williams is on track for a Scarlets comeback against Connacht eight days before Wales' Six Nations campaign starts against Ireland. |
39287266 | The four men plotted their route on an app before using it track their journey around Perth. When uploaded, it displayed as a picture.
Cyclist Ben Jones said the group settled on a goat because it was "an easy animal to draw".
He said the ride lasted more than six hours, with the men stopping only for food, "nature breaks" and flat tyres.
"Apart from riding 200km, it's relatively simple," Mr Jones told the BBC. "You basically drop little dots on the road and it plans directions out."
GPS art has also been attempted by runners and other cyclists.
Mr Jones said his group wanted to shake up their regular weekend ride.
"We all ride 10,000km to 15,000km a year," he said.
"Mostly we just ride together as mates and have a good time - that's what this was about."
The group received much attention after posting their map to social media this week.
One person was amused the goat's beard was in a "hipster" suburb, Leederville. Others enjoyed a description of Mr Jones as "goat guy" in an interview on Australian television.
For their next piece of GPS art, the group plans to draw a local animal such as the quokka.
"There'll definitely be something coming, I'm sure of that," Mr Jones said. | Australian cyclists have used "GPS art" to turn a 202km (125-mile) ride into the outline of a goat. |
38237246 | Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) said the picea omorika trees had no commercial value, but were a "priceless component" of a conservation project.
Genetic material from the trees was being used in an international programme to conserve conifers.
The thieves took the trees from Kinnoull Woodland Park last week. Police Scotland are investigating.
FES said the trees were part of Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust's work with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to help conserve conifer species at risk of extinction in their native habitat.
The trust's Tom Christian said: "The climate and landscape of Perthshire are ideal for growing conifers and the area provides a very important safe haven for rare and endangered species from around the world.
"Each Conifer Conservation Programme tree is grown from seed that has been specially collected from its native habitat.
"Each tree represents years of work organising expeditions, processing the collected seeds, growing them on and then planting them in Perthshire."
Mr Christian said the trees were "irreplaceable" as there was no way to recover the missing genetic material.
Robin Lofthouse, the FES forester who looks after Kinnoull Hill, said: "At a time when biodiversity around the world is increasingly under pressure, projects such as this play an invaluable part in conserving genetic material.
"This pointless theft is extremely frustrating not just because of the loss but because the trees are likely to have been killed. The thief had tried to dig them up but left most of the roots in the ground."
Mr Lofthouse said the FES were now considering the installation of wildlife cameras to protect other trees in the woods.
Anyone with information about the theft is urged to contact Police Scotland or a local FES office. | Thieves have stolen five "extremely rare" Serbian trees from woodland near Perth. |
32811054 | The operator said the "vast majority" of train services across Scotland would be hit.
Signallers, maintenance staff and station workers are set to walk out at 17:00 on Bank Holiday Monday in the first UK-wide rail strike for 21 years.
The RMT union is in dispute with track operator Network Rail over pay.
The union said its latest proposals were an "attack" on workers' living standards and that workers also had concerns about safety issues.
The potential action also involves members of the TSSA union and Unite.
Talks at the arbitration service Acas are ongoing in a bid to avoid the strike, which could involve 25,000 staff across the UK.
Virgin Trains said there would be no services running on the West Coast Mainline on either Monday or Tuesday as a result of a strike.
On the east coast, Virgin said it would only be able to run a "very limited" service.
It said services should operate to and from Edinburgh as normal until the early afternoon on Monday but there would be no services to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness.
ScotRail, which operates all Scotland's domestic train services, said final details of amended timetables would not be confirmed until later this week but it anticipated running very few services on 25 and 26 May.
The services listed below are likely to run on a reduced basis and will operate largely between 07:15 and 17:45 on the days listed.
MONDAY 25 MAY ONLY
MONDAY 25 & TUESDAY 26 MAY
All other services will be cancelled all day Monday and Tuesday.
ScotRail has launched a dedicated web page where it will be posting timetables for the routes that will be running during the strike.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: "I am disappointed that our customers have to experience this level of disruption. We are doing everything we can to safely run as many services as is possible under the circumstances." | A strike by rail workers will mean that most trains in Scotland will be cancelled on Monday and Tuesday next week, ScotRail has confirmed. |
36745362 | The actress, who played Hermione in the film series, went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child earlier this week.
Writing on Facebook on Thursday, Watson said: "I came in with no idea what to expect and it was amazing.
"Having seen it, I felt more connected to Hermione and the stories than I have since Deathly Hallows came out, which was such a gift."
She added: "Some things about the play were, I think, possibly even more beautiful than the films."
Watson met with the cast and crew after the performances of the two-part play - including Noma Dumezweni, the actress who plays Hermione in the show.
The 26-year-old said she felt like she was "meeting her older self" as she embraced Dumezweni.
"The cast and crew welcomed me like I was family and Noma was everything I could ever hope she would be. She's wonderful," Watson wrote.
Watson signed off her post with the hashtag #KeepTheSecrets - a reference to author JK Rowling's plea to fans not to post spoilers from the play's plot on social media.
The play is currently in the previews stage and officially opens on 30 July.
Watson is taking a year off from acting, but will soon be seen in Disney's live action version of Beauty And The Beast, which is due for release next year.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or email [email protected]. | Emma Watson has praised the new Harry Potter play, which has just opened in London's West End. |
11741875 | The Italian-born business analyst, who was 30, lived in Norwich with her fiance Fiaz Bhatti.
She commuted to London every day to her job at Pearson Publishing in The Strand, taking a train to Liverpool Street and then a Circle Line Tube.
She suffered devastating injuries when the bomb detonated and the inquest was told that nothing could have been done to save her.
Ms Ciaccia was originally from Rome and the eldest of three sisters. She moved to the UK in 1995, and initially worked as an au pair for a family in Gravesend, Kent.
Jonathan Clay, whose children, Bridie and Megan, she cared for, described her as "a funny, lovely, elegant and very intelligent young woman".
"Our children could count in Italian before they could count in English. Megan has been an accomplished pasta cook since the age of three," he said.
Ms Ciaccia later worked in bars and restaurants, before moving into publishing at the Financial Times and eventually at Pearson Publishing and DK Publishing.
She had been studying for a foundation degree in computer studies at Birkbeck College, and was awaiting the result of her final exam when she was killed.
Her father Roberto told the inquest that she was "a beautiful, sweet, Italian girl who greatly loved life".
"All she wished for was to have a family of her own with many children, which she dearly loved," he said.
"This dream was about to come true. On 11 September 2005, she would have got married."
When Ms Ciaccia went missing on 7 July, it was the beginning of an agonising week for her fiance, who walked the streets of London with a home-made missing person poster.
Hopes his wife-to-be was still alive evaporated and her death was finally confirmed on 16 July.
Mr Bhatti said at the time "She was strong and independent and she loved to travel and socialise. We hadn't had a chance to travel together and the honeymoon was to be our first trip.
"We planned to go to Sardinia and Corsica. It was going to be the start of a wonderful married life together."
Ms Ciaccia's body was flown to Italy for her funeral and she was buried in Rome in her wedding dress.
For the occasion the council put posters around the city, saying: "Benedetta, Rome hugs you".
To commemorate her life, Birkbeck College and Pearson Publishing established a fund to provide financial support to students in need.
Her father also exhibited three poems at the inquest that had been written in her memory, one of which was entitled, "Benedetta, an angel in heaven". | Benedetta Ciaccia was two months away from her wedding when she was killed in the Aldgate bombing on 7 July 2005. |
40648952 | The HMRC has ruled carers sleeping overnight to provide safety and reassurance should be be paid the national minimum wage for all hours.
Mencap says the total bill for back pay - due by September, and in some cases dating back six years - could be £400m.
The government says carers should be paid fairly.
The national minimum wage for those aged 25 and over is £7.50 an hour, which will increase to £9 by 2020.
While on night shifts, most employees providing care in people's own homes are allowed to sleep, providing they can be woken to deal with any incidents.
According to minimum wage legislation, employers must take into account shifts where staff are allowed to sleep as long as they are "at work and under certain work-related responsibilities".
Until recently, many overnight carers were paid a flat rate allowance for the 'sleep-in', with additional wages paid for work carried out.
Smaller care charities were on the brink of disaster as a result of the changes, said Derek Lewis, Chairman of Mencap.
The charity lost an appeal in April this year, against a ruling that it was wrong to have paid a support worker £29.05 for a nine-hour sleep-in shift.
Mr Lewis said: "The carer is only there 'just in case' to provide safety and reassurance and is rarely disturbed.
"There will be a major impact on the 5,500 people we support and some may even end up losing that support all together.
"For many smaller care providers across the country the financial impact will be devastating."
Mencap employ around 5,500 carers on an overnight basis, and says it plans to appeal further next year.
A government spokesperson said: "We recognise the vital role social care providers play in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society and workers in that sector should be paid fairly for the important job they do.
"As the Prime Minister has said, the government is considering this issue extremely carefully and we will continue to work with the industry to ensure any action taken to protect workers is fair and proportionate."
Unison, which represents a number of overnight carers, said: "It's the government's failure to fund social care properly that risks devastating the care sector, not the workers asking for a legal wage .
"Charities and care companies have known for a long time they must pay sleep-in staff at least the minimum wage. But it's only now HM Revenue & Customs is in pursuit that many are pleading poverty and asking for an exemption from the law." | Vulnerable people with learning difficulties could lose overnight supervision, disability charity Mencap warns. |
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