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38327496 | The rapper visited Trump Tower earlier this week. Mr Trump said they had discussed "life".
Legend, a close friend of West, told French media outlet Clique the pair's meeting was "disappointing".
"I don't think it's impossible to talk to [Trump] about issues, but I won't be used as a publicity stunt. I think Kanye was a publicity stunt," he said.
Legend was mentored by West at the beginning of his career, and has collaborated with the rapper and producer several times.
"I think Trump has been corrosive, his message has been corrosive to the country," Legend continued.
"I think the things he has promised to do have been very concerning for a lot of people, and for Kanye to support that message is very disappointing."
Mr Trump beat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election last month.
Legend campaigned for Mrs Clinton and has previously spoken of his support for President Barack Obama.
Last month, West said he did not vote in the US elections, but if he had done so, he would have backed Mr Trump.
Legend said: "I'm pretty disappointed with Kanye that he says he would have voted for Trump."
West is one of the few figures in the music industry to have publicly supported the President-elect, who is reportedly struggling to find A-list stars to perform at his inauguration next month.
It has been announced that America's Got Talent runner-up Jackie Evancho will sing the national anthem at the event.
On Wednesday, Kanye tweeted he and Mr Trump spoke about "issues including bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums, and violence in Chicago" during their meeting.
West had previously announced his own plan to run for president in 2020, but tweeted "#2024" after the meeting with the president-elect, suggesting he would not seek to challenge Mr Trump at the next election.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | John Legend has described Kanye West's meeting with with US President-elect Donald Trump as "a publicity stunt". |
35363782 | Mr Litvinenko died aged 43 in London in 2006, days after being poisoned with radioactive polonium-210, which he is believed to have drunk in a cup of tea.
Two Russian men, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, have denied killing him.
The judge will decide whether to name any culprits and whether any elements in the Russian state were responsible.
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera says the real issue for the report is whether the trail leads to the heart of the Russian state and even to President Vladimir Putin himself.
Long road to the truth for Litvinenko family
Who was Alexander Litvinenko?
A deadly trail of polonium
The report may also focus on whether it was specific investigations into links between organised crime and the Kremlin which led to Mr Litvinenko's killing.
Our correspondent says that if it does point to state responsibility, pressure is likely to grow for the British government to take action against Moscow.
Speaking ahead of the inquiry's findings, Mr Litvinenko's son, Anatoly, told the BBC: "You want to find out who was behind the murder, who planned it, who commissioned it.
"That is why state responsibility is important to us."
The judge, Sir Robert Owen, heard from 62 witnesses in six months of hearings and was shown secret intelligence evidence about Mr Litvinenko and his links with British intelligence agencies.
The former officer in Russia's FSB spy agency had fled to the UK in 2000, claiming persecution, and was granted asylum. He gained British citizenship several years later.
In the years before his death, he had worked as a writer and journalist, becoming a strong critic of the Kremlin.
It is believed he also worked as a consultant for MI6, specialising in Russian organised crime.
A friend said there was personal animosity between Mr Litvinenko and Mr Putin.
"They disliked each other immensely, because Litvinenko complained about corruption… and Putin shelved his report," Alex Goldfarb said.
"And Putin considered Litvinenko, after the fact, a traitor for going public with his allegations."
Marina Litvinenko, Alexander's widow, and son Anatoly say the report may be a milestone but might not not end their struggle.
"It is important, but it is not necessarily the end", said Mrs Litvinenko, while her son said he felt "a sense of duty".
"My father did a hell of a lot to get me to this country to make sure I was safe," he added.
"I need to respect that and do whatever I can to honour his memory.
"Finding the truth is the closest we can get to justice for my father." | The long-awaited findings of a public inquiry into the killing of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko are due to be released by a judge. |
38093909 | Jennie Gray, 36, is serving a 42-month prison term for child cruelty. She had also admitted perverting the course of justice.
Her partner Ben Butler was convicted of murdering Ellie in June and jailed for life, with a minimum term of 23 years.
The Court of Appeal confirmed Gray had made a "late application" to appeal both charges.
Appeals are usually limited to 28 days after conviction but Gray was found guilty in June.
Anyone lodging an application after deadline has to make representations as to why it should be accepted "out of time" by the court.
Ellie died in October 2013 from catastrophic head injuries while in the care of her father at their home in Sutton in south-west London.
She had been placed in the care of her grandparents in 2009 after Butler was accused of shaking her when she was a baby, although this was later quashed on appeal.
But the youngster went back to live with her parents in 2012 - 11 months before her death - after the couple won a High Court judgement.
Mrs Justice Hogg sided with Butler despite objections from police, social services and Ellie's maternal grandfather, Neal Gray.
In June, the Old Bailey heard that Butler battered his daughter to death during a "volcanic loss of temper".
The couple angrily protested their innocence when jurors returned guilty verdicts.
Gray told them they had made a "big mistake", while Butler shouted that he would "fight forever" in the appeal courts.
It is understood that Butler has not made any late application to the Court of Appeal. | The mother of murdered six-year-old Ellie Butler has launched an appeal against her conviction. |
24452867 | Dr Catherine Calderwood told BBC Scotland: "Other countries are doing very much better than us."
She said: "At the moment one in 200 babies are stillborn in Scotland. Our rate ranks Scotland 31st out of 33 high income countries in the world."
Three hundred babies are stillborn every year in Scotland.
That is 10 times as many as those who die through cot death.
A stillborn child is defined as a baby born dead after 24 weeks gestation.
Dr Calderwood said Scotland is about to begin a programme to try to reduce the rate.
She said: "We need to make sure women are as healthy as possible before starting a pregnancy.
"We also know that we can improve things when we're looking after them.
"We know that small babies are more at risk and so there is various monitoring we can put in place so that we can pick those babies up and hopefully deliver them in time"
Gavin Moir and his wife Kirsty lost their first child when Kirsty was 38-and-a-half weeks pregnant.
Kirsty mentioned at a routine appointment that she had not felt the baby move much in the last day.
An ultrasound test revealed there was no longer a heartbeat.
"The baby's room was all ready," said Mr Moir.
"The bags were all packed. To be told that there's nothing there anymore was absolutely devastating for us all. To this day I don't know how we managed to cope."
The Take That star and X-Factor judge Gary Barlow and his wife lost a baby daughter as a result of a stillbirth in August last year.
Dr Calderwood said that there had been a general assumption that nothing much could be done to reduce the number of stillborn children, but that has now changed.
She said: "We have always perhaps believed that some bad things will happen when women are pregnant and we don't want to worry women because most babies will be fine.
"But in fact evidence from other countries shows us that, far from not being able to do something about it, we know that we actually can."
Ann McMurray, Scottish network co-ordinator for the stillbirth charity SANDS, has been working with the Scottish government to increase awareness amongst pregnant women.
In particular, it is interested in following the example of Norway which reduced its stillbirth rate by a third by encouraging women to get a check-up if they noticed their baby was not moving.
Ms McMurray said: "We've been telling people they should get reduced foetal movements checked out.
"Also it's just about making people aware that stillbirth does happen because it's not really spoken about at antenatal clinics.
"It's not that we're scaremongering, because people are told that other things can go wrong."
Gavin and Kirsty Moir have had another son but say they do not think they'll ever get over the trauma of their stillborn first child, whom they named Fraser.
"We still look back and think there could have been more done," said Mr Moir.
"Kirsty had to go to hospital to have tests on the levels of her waters, which had dropped quite considerably.
"It's only with hindsight that we're wondering if there was a problem which should have been monitored more closely." | More must be done to tackle Scotland's poor record on stillbirths, according to the Scottish government's adviser on maternity and women's health. |
40312597 | Her body was found in Orrell Water Park in Wigan at 02:30 BST, Greater Manchester Police said.
She had been reported missing by her family on Friday night after she failed to return home from Winstanley College, where she studied.
Police said her disappearance was "extremely out of character" and have launched a murder investigation.
Formal identification is yet to take place.
Det Supt Howard Millington said: "This was a brutal attack on a young woman, the type rarely seen in Greater Manchester."
He said officers were trying to find out "what exactly happened", adding that she was found "on the edge of a field".
Police said there was a report that two young women were followed by two men in the area on Thursday.
"We are keeping an open mind about this. However, we would like to hear from anyone who may have any information about any recent incidents of this nature," he said.
"I understand that there will be many people in the community extremely worried, things like this don't happen in Orrell... There will be a large police presence in the area for some time." | An 18-year-old woman has been found dead at a beauty spot following a "brutal attack". |
34259880 | Core sales - which strip out spending on cars, petrol, building materials and restaurants - rose 0.4%.
But separately, factory production slipped in August, falling a sharper than expected 0.5%.
The Federal Reserve has a mixed picture of the US economy ahead of a rate-setting meeting later this week.
Manufacturing output fell last month as car production jammed on the brakes, after a rise of 0.9% in July. Excluding cars, factory output was unchanged.
The US manufacturing sector has been struggling, faced with a strong dollar and slack oversees economies.
A drop in mining production combined with the drop in factory output left overall industrial production down 0.4% during the month.
But retail sales figures, boosted by rising employment, suggest that a recent stock market sell-off had little impact on consumer spending.
"Today's data are positive news for final demand in the third quarter and should give the Fed more confidence in the spending outlook," said Laura Rosner, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.
Car dealers and restaurants have especially reaped the benefits of around 2.9 million jobs being added to the economy over the past year.
Sales at car dealers and parts shops have risen 5.7% during the past 12 months, as many people in the US are replacing their older vehicles.
Nearly a fifth of all retail sales tracked by the government come from the car industry.
Purchases at restaurants and bars increased 0.7% in August and have soared 8.2% this year.
Around 372,000 workers have been taken on in the sector over the past year to satisfy demand.
Sales also improved last month at grocers, clothes shops, sports stores and online retailers.
On Wednesday and Thursday the Federal Reserve will meet to decide whether to raise interest rates from near zero.
There is never a risk-free time to raise interest rates, BBC economics editor Robert Peston said.
"In the opaque globalised financial world, they [the Fed] know that all sorts of bubbles and market distortions have been created and pumped up by the steroids of super-cheap dollar debt - but they can't be certain of the scale or even the precise location of these unhealthy imbalances," he said. | US retail sales rose 0.2% in August, helped by spending on cars, restaurant meals, groceries and clothing, the US Commerce Department has said. |
37930776 | Mourinho is reportedly unhappy with United's medical department.
But, having succeeded Louis van Gaal in the summer, it is understood Mourinho has found the general culture at United falling short of his expectations.
Mourinho has won 23 trophies in spells at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
The Portuguese publicly questioned defender Luke Shaw, 21, and Chris Smalling, 26, for missing Sunday's 3-1 win at Swansea with injuries, telling the media: "For the team, you have to do anything."
Media playback is not supported on this device
BBC Sport understands Mourinho, 53, is looking at every area in his remit, including travel, pre-season tour planning, fitness, sports science and the general make-up of his squad.
At the start of the season, the former Chelsea manager predicted United would compete for the Premier League title this season.
However, Sunday's victory over second-bottom Swansea was only their second win in their past eight Premier League games. They are in sixth place - eight points off leaders Liverpool.
In addition, Thursday's 2-1 defeat at Fenerbahce left them outside the qualification places in their Europa League group.
United have reached the last eight of the EFL Cup but Mourinho remains unhappy at various aspects of club life.
He also recently described living alone in a Manchester hotel and being pursued by photographers as a "bit of a disaster".
Mourinho railed in public during a shambolic pre-season tour of China, when the planned match in Beijing against Manchester City was scrapped on the day of the game due to the dire nature of the pitch.
He brought his own fitness specialist, Carlos Lalin, into United's medical department as part of his backroom team, when he succeeded Van Gaal in the summer.
In addition, star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has been involved in every game since his arrival from Paris St-Germain, has been allowed to continue using his own physio, Dario Fort.
Now Mourinho is looking at the fitness regime as a whole.
So far this season, Mourinho has lost 10 players for a combined total of 30 matches, whereas in his first 11 Premier League matches with Chelsea last season, Mourinho was without six players for a total of 17 weeks.
The lack of appearances from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, for whom United paid Borussia Dortmund £26.3m, has dismayed some supporters, as has the United manager's decision to make Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger train on his own until the beginning of last week.
On Wednesday, Professional Footballers' Association chief Gordon Taylor said he was "disappointed" with Mourinho's public criticism of Shaw and Smalling.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is investigating all aspects of first-team affairs after being dismayed at the culture he has inherited at the club. |
36701772 | The sport was initially dropped from the programme of events when Gibraltar were given the right to host the event after Menorca pulled out.
Football and volleyball, which had featured in every games since they began in 1985, were also dropped.
However, beach volleyball will now be included, although there are no facilities for indoor volleyball.
"There will not be any mountain biking, but there will be a road race, time trial and criterium included in the Gibraltar games, which is good news," Guernsey Island Games Association chairman Brian Allen told BBC Radio Guernsey.
"There were concerns about that very small island, but they were very reassuring, they gave an excellent presentation," he added.
Guernsey Velo Club's development officer Paul Brehaut says the competition for places in 2019 will be even greater, with some of the island's top mountain bikers vying for places in the road race team:
"There'll be no definite five spots for the boys, that's for sure," he told BBC Radio Guernsey,
"There's a couple of guys like James Rowe and Mike Serafin who are very competitive on the road every weekend that they race. Mike's a very good sprinter, James is a fantastic climber, so that's two that will be in the mix for the road team for sure."
The news came during the annual meeting of the International Island Games Association, where Guernsey were confirmed as hosts for the 2021 event. | Cycling will be included in the sports for the 2019 Island Games in Gibraltar, organisers have announced. |
36545846 | Cheika believes there was "a lot of niggle" from Eddie Jones' side in their opening 39-28 win in Brisbane, the opening match of the three-Test series.
"Niggle is the stuff you do off the ball so you're protected," Cheika, 49, said.
"We probably have to deal with the niggle a bit better."
The Australia coach added: "If someone pulls you down you can't whack a bloke because you know you're going to get caught. We don't want to do niggle, that's not our game."
Cheika said he was "loving" the prospect of the do-or-die clash, with England knowing victory at AAMI Park will give them a first series win down under.
"I love being in this situation. I know that sounds crazy," he said.
"We are in a battle, let's go. After the game in Brisbane, I was miserable, I wanted to cry, [but] I am looking forward to Saturday immensely, I'm certainly not desperate."
Much attention in the build-up has been on the battle at the scrum, following England's dominance last weekend.
Former Australia coach Bob Dwyer has accused England's Dan Cole of cheating at the set-piece, which prompted an obscene tweet towards Dwyer from England player Joe Marler, who is not on the tour.
Dwyer was also critical of England's technique before the decisive World Cup encounter between the teams last October, which Australia won 33-13 to knock the hosts out of the tournament at the group stage.
Marler's team-mate Mako Vunipola says he can "see where Marler is coming from" but is confident referee Craig Joubert will not be influenced by external noise come the weekend.
"We are all human beings. I can't comment on what Marler tweets. You can see where he is coming from, but it's tough. It's one of those things - a reaction," Vunipola said.
"We just have to go out there and do what we can.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have every confidence in Coley. We are very lucky to have one of the best referees in the world, Craig Joubert.
"We trust he will make the calls that are needed. That World Cup [game] is history."
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Australia must cope better with England's off-the-ball tactics in Saturday's second Test in Melbourne, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says. |
16945378 | It's the day when people show their affection for another person or people by sending cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.
And traditionally on Valentine's Day in a leap year - every four years - women can propose marriage to their partner!
The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was.
The popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.
Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine felt this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.
When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown in jail and sentenced to death.
There, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "from your Valentine".
Valentine's Day is a very old tradition, thought to have originated from a Roman festival.
The Romans had a festival called Lupercalia in the middle of February, officially the start of their springtime.
It's thought that as part of the celebrations, boys drew names of girls from a box. They'd be boyfriend and girlfriend during the festival and sometimes they'd get married.
Later on, the church wanted to turn this festival into a Christian celebration and decided to use it to remember St Valentine too.
Gradually, St Valentine's name started to be used by people to express their feelings to those they loved. | Valentine's Day, or St Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on 14 February. |
37183301 | Among those trading without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out were Hammerson and London Stock Exchange, down 2.7% and 1.8% respectively.
Overall, the FTSE 100 index was 24.94 points or 0.36% lower at 6,810.84.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.13% against the dollar to $1.3216 and was 0.17% lower against the euro at €1.1727. | (Open): London's leading shares opened lower on Thursday after several big companies went ex-dividend. |
40661051 | City manager Pep Guardiola sees Danilo as someone who can play both full-back positions and in midfield, while Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte wants to strengthen an area of perceived weakness in his squad.
But Conte will not be signing City's Sergio Aguero, according to Guardiola.
City's Spanish boss said: "He's our player. He will remain here."
Conte reportedly wanted to sign the striker as a replacement for out-of-favour Spain forward Diego Costa.
Walker left Tottenham for Man City 'to lift trophies'
Danilo, 26, joined Real Madrid from Porto in 2015 but was the Spanish club's second-choice right-back for much of last season.
He started 17 La Liga matches for champions Real, with Dani Carvajal preferred for most of the big games, including the Champions League final.
City, who finished third in the Premier League last season, have already signed four players this summer - goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, right-back Walker and winger Bernardo Silva, plus teenage midfielder Douglas Luiz.
Speaking in the build-up to Thursday's pre-season game against Manchester United in Houston, Guardiola said they were talking to "three or four" more.
"They are young players, with the next three, four, five years in mind," he added.
"We have options for players coming, but until the deal is done, out of respect for the other clubs I cannot say anything."
As well as Danilo, City have also been linked with Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy.
Guardiola said: "Mendy is the same case as Danilo, we have targets and we see what happens. He's a Monaco player so I'm quiet in my comments."
Aguero, 29, scored 20 Premier League goals last season but lost his starting place to Gabriel Jesus in February, leading to speculation he may leave.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said at the end of the season that the Argentine's future was "never in doubt".
And Guardiola confirmed on Wednesday that Aguero is staying.
While Aguero is staying at Etihad Stadium, fellow striker Kelechi Iheanacho is close to completing a £25m move to Leicester City.
The 20-year-old has scored 21 goals in 64 games in all competitions since making his debut in 2015.
Guardiola said: "Kelechi's a young player. It's not easy for him.
"He needs to play at that age and that's why he and the club decided it was best for him to leave."
Another striker, Wilfried Bony, who spent last season on loan at Stoke having moved to Manchester City from Swansea for £28m in 2015, is absent from the club's pre-season tour of the United States.
Guardiola said Bony had "a little problem" and the 26-year-old would have travelled "if he wasn't injured". | Manchester City and Chelsea are vying for the £26m signing of Real Madrid's Brazilian right-back Danilo. |
39619596 | Police were called to Newmarket Street at about 03:15 and found the 34-year-old victim.
The man was initially treated at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital before being transferred to the Western General in Edinburgh for treatment to a head injury.
Police are looking for a man who made off in a silver taxi shortly after the incident.
The suspect is described as white, 5ft 6ins tall, of stocky build, with a shaven head. He was wearing a bright red short-sleeved t-shirt.
Det Insp Jim Thomson of Falkirk CID said: "We're continuing to conduct inquiries in the area and want to thank the local community and businesses for their patience at this time.
"We'd urge anyone who may have witnessed this incident, or who recognises the man's description, to get in touch as soon as possible." | A man has been seriously injured in an attack at a taxi rank in Falkirk. |
35390548 | Muguruza, last year's Wimbledon runner-up, dropped serve four times as she lost 6-3 6-2 to the world number 48.
Germany's Angelique Kerber is the only top-10 seed, at number seven, left in the bottom half of the women's draw.
Swiss Stan Wawrinka was an early winner among the men's seeds, with Andy Murray in action later on Saturday.
Muguruza, 21, had looked well set to reach a second Grand Slam final as her side of the draw lost seeded players at a remarkable rate.
Second seed Simona Halep and eighth seed Venus Williams both lost in the first round and the shocks kept coming, with ninth seed Karolina Pliskova joining the exodus after defeat by Ekaterina Makarova on Saturday.
Muguruza finished with 32 unforced errors as she produced a disappointing display on her way to defeat by Strycova.
"Clearly not my best, for sure," said the Venezuelan-born Spaniard. "I think today is a very bad day, you know, at the office.
"I just couldn't find the court, my shots. Didn't really find my game."
Strycova goes through to face two-time champion and 14th seed Victoria Azarenka, who again avoided any hint of an upset by despatching Japanese 18-year-old Naomi Osaka 6-1 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.
Kerber beat American Madison Brengle 6-1 6-3 and will next play fellow German Annika Beck.
Britain's Johanna Konta kept up her impressive form with a 6-2 6-2 win over Czech Denisa Allertova.
Fourth seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka will meet 13th seed Milos Raonic in round four after both men stretched their unbeaten runs to seven matches in 2016.
Switzerland's Wawrinka, champion in Chennai earlier this month, saw off Czech Lukas Rosol 6-2 6-3 7-6 (7-3), while Canadian Raonic, the winner in Brisbane, beat Serbia's Viktor Troicki 6-2 6-3 6-4.
American John Isner hit 44 aces, taking his total to a tournament-leading 101, as he beat Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-4.
Davis Cup team-mates Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot will face each other across the net in the third round of the men's doubles after both enjoyed victories on Saturday.
Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares, seeded seventh, beat Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Jerzy Janowicz 7-5 6-3, before Inglot and Sweden's Robert Lindstedt saw off Americans Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
In the women's doubles, Fed Cup captain Judy Murray will be keeping a close eye on Court Six as Konta and Heather Watson take on Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith.
All four players are in Murray's squad which will travel from Melbourne to Israel for the Fed Cup qualifier early next month. | Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza became the latest leading name to make an early exit at the Australian Open as she lost to Czech Barbora Strycova. |
36883145 | The Welsh Affairs Committee said it was satisfied with safety, but wanted clarity on costs.
It said Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey should only be built if its electricity costs no more than that from Hinkley Point C in Somerset, or from renewable sources.
The UK government said any proposed new sites would "need to offer value for money for the taxpayer".
MPs carried out an inquiry into the potential of fresh power generation at the two nuclear sites in north Wales.
A new £8bn station employing 1,000 people is planned for Wylfa to replace the plant which closed in December after operating for 44 years.
A replacement has also been mooted for the Trawsfynydd plant, in Gwynedd, which stopped generating power in 1991 and is being decommissioned.
The committee said it recognised a "notable lack of public confidence" in nuclear power following incidents such as the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.
However, committee chairman David Davies said MPs were "impressed by the level of scrutiny" of the UK nuclear industry and "reassured that the highest safety standards are followed".
"The key questions that need to be answered for future development of nuclear power at Wylfa and Trawsfynydd to be viable centre on value for money and local impact," he added.
"The [UK] government must prove that the cost of any nuclear development is well understood and competitive with renewable sources. These costs must be made public in a format that can be easily understood.
"There has to be a demonstrable benefit for the local community as well. Local businesses must form a key part of the supply chain and be given sufficient information to allow this to happen.
"We must also make use of the many skilled nuclear workers currently based in Wales and provide sufficient training to develop the next generation."
Doubts about the viability of Wylfa Newydd have surfaced amid negotiations about the "strike price" which ministers will pay for power generated by Hinkley Point C.
Major renewable projects such as the £1bn Swansea Bay tidal lagoon also depend on a strike price, which subsidises the investment by guaranteeing revenue above the market rate for electricity.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "New nuclear power stations will provide secure, clean and affordable electricity for consumers across the country.
"We are constantly working to get the best deal for consumers and any proposals for new sites, including Wylfa, will need to offer value for money for the taxpayer.
"It's estimated that the local north Wales economy around the proposed Wylfa site will benefit from around £50m and hundreds of jobs." | Future nuclear power projects in Wales must be value for money and create jobs where they are built, MPs have said. |
29163450 | Giles Watling, who played Oswald in the 1980s show and is now a Tory councillor, was selected at an open primary in the constituency.
He was chosen ahead of fellow local councillor Sue Lissimore following a hustings at Clacton town hall.
The by-election was triggered by the defection of sitting Tory MP Douglas Carswell, who will now stand for UKIP.
The vote will be held on 9 October.
The open primary allowed anyone from Clacton, no matter which party they supported, to take part in the selection.
After his selection, Mr Watling was asked by BBC political correspondent Robin Brant whether an actor could be trusted to serve as an MP.
"'Of course', he responded, adding that actors have "been around for thousands of years."
Conservative Chief Whip Michael Gove was among 30 MPs from the party campaigning in Clacton on Thursday.
Mr Watling became a well-known face because of his role in Bread - a BBC One TV series during the late 1980s and early 1990s about the working class Roman Catholic Boswell family in Liverpool.
He played the character Oswald, a vicar who romanced and eventually married the only Boswell daughter, Aveline. He appeared in a total of 49 episodes and the 1988 edition which saw the couple get married was watched by 21 million viewers.
Other TV credits include roles in How's Your Father?, Grange Hill and 'Allo 'Allo. | An actor best-known for sitcom Bread has been chosen as the Conservative candidate in the Clacton by-election. |
34426129 | It has advised all international postal services "not to send mail to Ireland".
Thirty-six staff who maintain sorting equipment at four An Post centres are taking strike action over pay cuts.
The staff are employed by contractor IO Systems, but are retained by An Post to work at its four sorting centres.
The company said it had no indication of how long the dispute would last or how long its services would be affected.
Royal Mail has said its customers should be aware that there may be delays in sending items to and receiving them from the Republic of Ireland.
An Post handles about 2.5 million items of mail each day.
It is understood that all automated sorting machinery at the Dublin centre broke down overnight, which had an impact on mail processing.
In Athlone, County Westmeath, machinery for sorting large objects also broke down.
The machines in the two remaining mail centres in Portlaoise in County Laois, and in Cork were functioning normally.
Communications Workers Union official Sean McDonagh said An Post managers refused to repair the machines as that was the work of the IO Systems employees.
He also said the object of the new rosters sought by IO Systems is a cost saving of 100,000 euro (£73,500) but the disruption to An Post services resulting from the dispute would cost much more.
An Post earlier urged both sides to avail of the State's dispute resolution institutions to resolve their differences. | The Republic of Ireland's postal service An Post has said people in Northern Ireland should not mail any items to the country due to industrial action by some of its staff. |
36538250 | Lord Wigley dismissed claims housing pressures were because of immigration in a heated BBC Radio Wales debate on the EU referendum on Wednesday.
But UKIP MEP and AM Nathan Gill said immigration was the "number one issue" brought up on doors and in the street.
"We're an island, we're not making any more land," he said.
Lord Wigley said: "We have pressure in the housing market in all parts of Wales, and it's not because of immigrants in all parts of Wales.
"We have pressure on schools, and in certain areas of England particularly, there are really serious problems. But that means building more schools and greater capacity.
"In pointing a finger towards the outsider as the basis of the faults that exist within our economy and within our society, its a very dangerous road to go down
"I don't want to see the United Kingdom going down that road."
In response, Mr Gill said: "The reality is that immigration is a real concern for a lot of people.
"Its the number one issue that gets brought up whenever we go knocking on doors and speak to people in the streets.
"One of the founding principles of the EU is free movement of people. It's the reality, it will never change. We've been told categorically that will not change.
"If we vote to remain, the EU is going to take that to mean full speed ahead chaps, there's no way these people are ever going to get a referendum again." | A former leader of Plaid Cymru has warned Britain will go down a "dangerous road" if it blames outsiders for the country's economic faults. |
38043818 | Southgate, 46, will meet the FA hierarchy on Monday for what is effectively his interview for the role.
"There is a board meeting on 30 November of the main FA board and I think Gareth will be the manager by then," Bevington told BBC Radio 5 live.
"I don't think they will be speaking to anybody else."
Southgate has just concluded a four-game stint as interim manager following Sam Allardyce's departure in September, beating Malta and Scotland and drawing with Slovenia and Spain.
He will be interviewed at St George's Park by a panel including FA chairman Greg Clarke, chief executive Martin Glenn and technical director Dan Ashworth, as well as League Managers' Association chairman Howard Wilkinson and former England defender Graeme le Saux.
"I think Gareth is the only candidate because he has earned it, he should get it and he is the right man for the job," Bevington, who was managing director of Club England from 2010-2014 and spent 17 years at the FA, told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek.
He said the FA "need to be promoting English coaches" after previous experiments with foreign bosses Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
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"I found Capello and Eriksson very relaxed about dealing with the media. They didn't seem to be affected by that in any way but I genuinely believe the England team should be managed by an Englishman," Bevington said.
"There are number of phrases used to describe Gareth - he's a bit too soft, a safe pair of hands, a company man.
"But he is very intelligent and highly experienced football player and coach at international level. He's the most suitable person out there and the last two months, particularly the performance against Spain, have enhanced that.
"I've spent a lot of time with Gareth and his interaction with the players is fantastic. If you talk to him privately you understand what his beliefs about football are, that's why Arsene Wenger is a great admirer of Gareth, that's why his beliefs in football are first class."
The FA insists there is no time frame for making the appointment, with England's next game a friendly in Germany in March, and the final decision will be taken by Clarke, Glenn and Ashworth.
The organisation is determined not to be rushed into an appointment and wants to conduct a thorough process, although no other interviews are currently scheduled and Southgate is firm favourite to take over on a full-time basis.
FA chief executive Glenn said after Southgate's final game in interim charge: "Clearly his candidacy has become much stronger. We just need to weigh up the facts and take time to make the right decision." | Gareth Southgate is "the only candidate" to become England's next full-time manager, claims former FA executive Adrian Bevington. |
39908301 | 14 May 2017 Last updated at 10:32 BST
Goals by Lucy Bronze, Izzy Christiansen, Jill Scott and World Player of the Year, Carli Lloyd, sealed their victory in front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium.
The win means Manchester City now hold all three domestic titles - the Women's FA Cup, the Women's Super League and the Continental Cup.
They're the first team to do so since Arsenal Ladies in 2011.
Watch the message City's captain Steph Houghton sent Newsround after the match... | Manchester City thrashed Birmingham City Ladies 4-1 to win the Women's FA Cup for the first time. |
35719795 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Trott won the scratch race for GB's first gold of the event, beating Netherlands rider Kirsten Wild.
Australia dramatically beat Britain's men's pursuit team in the final.
But Becky James put three years of injury problems behind her with a bronze for GB in the keirin race.
The 2013 double world champion finished behind Germany's Kristina Vogel, while Australia's Anna Meares took silver.
Despite missing out on gold, Wiggins said he would "put my house" on GB claiming the Olympic title in Rio this August.
With five laps remaining, the double Olympic champion seemed out of contention in the scratch race but held her nerve to win a sixth career World Championship gold.
"When I was in the race I wasn't feeling that good," said Trott. "But it worked out perfectly for me. I'm so happy. I let everybody get on with it and raced my own race."
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The 23-year-old's victory softened the blow she and her team-mates suffered in the women's team pursuit earlier in the afternoon. A ragged ride in qualifying means the quartet can finish no better than third on Friday.
Trott, Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne and Joanna Rowsell Shand clocked four minutes 21.034 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in qualifying.
It is usually an event Britain can bank on for success, winning six of the previous eight world titles, but they can now only ride off for bronze. The USA qualified fastest, followed by Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
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In the men's team pursuit, Wiggins, Ed Clancy, Owain Doull and Jon Dibben dragged themselves back into contention after a blistering start from Australia, but lost by 1.129 seconds to their perennial rivals.
In the final track competition before the Olympics, the victory is a psychological boost for the Australians.
But the return of Clancy - the team's strongest rider and a man Wiggins sees as "irreplaceable" - is a positive for GB.
Twelve weeks ago, Clancy was unable to walk after back surgery and his astonishing recovery led team-mate Doull to describe him as a "freak of nature".
Wiggins still believes GB can win in Rio, saying: "I'll put my house on it, I'll say we'll win in Rio now. I'm confident and I just think we will.
"Look at our efforts individually from Christmas to where we are now. We've come on leaps and bounds and I think we'll move on again for Rio."
Olympic champion Chris Boardman, summarising for BBC Sport, said: "It was a fast time by both teams, but the Australians were just consistent all the way through and had that extra depth.
"I was pleased with the way Britain managed their problems, but it wasn't enough."
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Welsh rider James, 23, had wondered whether she would ride again after a series of injuries and a cancer scare.
So progressing to the final in London was deemed a success for the 2013 double world champion.
She rode astutely to finish behind favourite Vogel, who won her seventh world title, and reigning Olympic champion Meares.
"It just doesn't feel real, I'm just over the moon to be back," said James. "I've seen improvements week in week out and managed to pull it out today."
Sir Chris Hoy said her performance "was the best she could have hoped for".
The winner of six Olympic golds and BBC Sport cycling expert added: "She didn't have the form, she hung in there, defended well and didn't panic." | Laura Trott claimed gold for Great Britain at the Track Cycling World Championships in London as Sir Bradley Wiggins and the British men's pursuit team had to settle for silver. |
36476440 | The cyclists were struck by a pickup truck that was seen being driven erratically only minutes earlier, police in Kalamazoo said.
The driver of the truck, a 50-year-old man from Michigan, fled the scene and was arrested nearby soon afterwards.
A hospital spokesman said one of the injured cyclists was in a serious condition.
Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting told a news conference there had been a number of alerts about the blue Chevrolet's erratic driving, but that a police chase was not under way when it crashed.
One witness, Markus Eberhard, told Kalamazoo broadcaster WOOD the truck almost drove over his foot before heading towards the cyclists.
"I saw a bunch of bikes hit the front of his truck and a couple of them flew," he said. | Five cyclists were killed and another four hurt in a hit-and-run incident in the US state of Michigan, police say. |
35461329 | MLAs flocked to pass an amendment that will allow pigeon racing groups to avail of rates relief being proposed for community and amateur sports clubs.
The Rates (Amendment) Bill is before the house for its further consideration stage.
It aims to provide 100% rates relief for recreational sports clubs.
Some MLAs had their feathers ruffled that pigeon racing is not currently deemed a sport.
Ulster Unionist MLA Robin Swann put forward an amendment to allow it to be included so it can avail of the current 80% level of rates relief.
Mr Swann, however, was not in the chamber for the debate as he had "flown off to the US" so party colleague Leslie Cree took his perch and spoke on the amendment's behalf.
"The minister (Mervyn Storey) has an opportunity to be a trailblazer and an opportunity to be a champion for pigeon men and women," he said.
"Pigeon racing was breaking down political, religious and class barriers long before anything or anyone else was."
UKIP MLA, and former UUP member, David McNarry quipped that he had never raced a pigeon and "wondered whether communications in my old party are still by way of pigeon carrier".
Claire Hanna, from the SDLP, supported the amendment and cooed: "We'll let this one fly, we think the policy does have wings and the clubs should get their rates cheap cheap."
MLAs backed the amendment by 55 votes to 29. | A proposal to allow pigeon racing be designated as a sport for rates purposes has flown through the assembly. |
40987893 | Germany attacking midfielder Gotze had not played since being ruled out earlier this year for an indefinite time period because of "metabolic disturbances", but impressed as he played for just over an hour.
The 25-year-old made an early impact, teeing up American teenager Christian Pulisic who fired in from the edge of the box.
"I'm feeling well again, but I am a long way off being 100 percent again," said Gotze. "I have to train hard. There is still a lot of work to do."
Dortmund, without France winger Ousmane Dembele amid interest from Barcelona, doubled their lead when centre-back Marc Bartra popped up on the left edge of Wolfsburg's penalty area, beautifully bending into the far top corner.
Eighteen-year-old Pulisic, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool, turned provider after the break when he drilled across the home goal for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to convert at the far post.
It was the perfect start for new manager Peter Bosz, who left Ajax to replace Thomas Tuchel earlier this summer.
"It was obvious that Mario Gotze is an extraordinary player and will be very important for us," said Bosz.
"However, we must also be patient and I was glad he had collected a few minutes and did not hurt himself."
Elsewhere, Hamburg striker Nicolai Muller scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Augsburg - but was then substituted after injuring himself when he tripped over the corner flag while celebrating.
Australia winger Mathew Leckie scored both goals on his Hertha Berlin debut as they won 2-0 against newly-promoted Stuttgart, while former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric netted the decisive goal in Hoffenheim's 1-0 home win over Werder Bremen.
Hannover, who were promoted alongside Stuttgart last season, marked their top-flight return with a 1-0 win at Mainz.
Match ends, VfL Wolfsburg 0, Borussia Dortmund 3.
Second Half ends, VfL Wolfsburg 0, Borussia Dortmund 3.
Offside, VfL Wolfsburg. Robin Knoche tries a through ball, but Maximilian Arnold is caught offside.
Hand ball by Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund).
Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Maximilian Arnold (VfL Wolfsburg).
Sokratis (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Maximilian Arnold (VfL Wolfsburg).
Substitution, Borussia Dortmund. Shinji Kagawa replaces Christian Pulisic.
Corner, Borussia Dortmund. Conceded by Paul Verhaegh.
Corner, VfL Wolfsburg. Conceded by Lukasz Piszczek.
Attempt missed. Josuha Guilavogui (VfL Wolfsburg) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right following a corner.
Corner, VfL Wolfsburg. Conceded by Marc Bartra.
Attempt blocked. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Gonzalo Castro.
Offside, VfL Wolfsburg. Yannick Gerhardt tries a through ball, but Maximilian Arnold is caught offside.
Gonzalo Castro (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ignacio Camacho (VfL Wolfsburg).
Substitution, Borussia Dortmund. Felix Passlack replaces Dan-Axel Zagadou because of an injury.
Foul by Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund).
Landry Dimata (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund).
Felix Uduokhai (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Borussia Dortmund. Conceded by Felix Uduokhai.
Substitution, VfL Wolfsburg. Maximilian Arnold replaces Daniel Didavi.
Offside, VfL Wolfsburg. Daniel Didavi tries a through ball, but Josuha Guilavogui is caught offside.
Foul by Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund).
Daniel Didavi (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Offside, VfL Wolfsburg. Daniel Didavi tries a through ball, but Mario Gomez is caught offside.
Foul by Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund).
Felix Uduokhai (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Marc Bartra (Borussia Dortmund) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mario Gomez (VfL Wolfsburg).
Attempt blocked. Maximilian Philipp (Borussia Dortmund) right footed shot from long range on the left is blocked. Assisted by Dan-Axel Zagadou.
Substitution, Borussia Dortmund. Mahmoud Dahoud replaces Mario Götze.
Goal! VfL Wolfsburg 0, Borussia Dortmund 3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Christian Pulisic.
Substitution, VfL Wolfsburg. Josuha Guilavogui replaces Riechedly Bazoer.
Offside, VfL Wolfsburg. Yannick Gerhardt tries a through ball, but Robin Knoche is caught offside.
Attempt blocked. Riechedly Bazoer (VfL Wolfsburg) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund).
Landry Dimata (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick on the left wing. | Mario Gotze set up the opening goal in his first start in nine months as Borussia Dortmund began the Bundesliga season with a stylish win at Wolfsburg. |
37186540 | The number of prisoners aged over 70 in British jails is set to go up by 35% in the next four years.
Many of them will be on long sentences with little prospect of early release, the report says.
The Prison Reform Trust says prisons are struggling to cope with the numbers of elderly, sick and disabled inmates.
The latest official projections for Britain's prison population, released earlier on Thursday, say it will go down slightly from just over 85,000 to just over 84,000 by 2021, thanks to lower crime rates and fewer criminals being given custodial sentences.
But the "recent trend" in older offenders being given long sentences for serious sexual offences is placing an "upward pressure" on numbers, the report says.
There has been a big increase in reports of historical sexual abuse after a string of high-profile celebrity convictions, often of men in their 70s and 80s.
More than 2,200 suspects were being investigated by UK police probing historical child sex abuse allegations, according to figures released in December by Operation Hydrant, the unit set up to investigate, including 302 people of "public prominence".
According to the Ministry of Justice report on prison population, the number of inmates aged over 50 is projected to grow from 12,700 to 13,900 by the end of June 2020, a rise of 9.5%, while the number of over-60s behind bars will grow by 20% from 4,500 to 5,400 over the same period.
The biggest percentage increase is expected to be in the over-70s group, which is projected to grow from 1,400 to 1,900, a 35% increase.
Mark Day, head of policy and communications at the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Responding to a rapidly ageing prison population will pose significant challenges for a prison system designed and built for young men.
"Too many frail and elderly people are held far from their local communities in prisons totally unsuited to meeting even their basic needs.
"Caring for people with mobility problems, dementia, and chronic illness is a role for trained healthcare professionals, not prison staff.
"Solutions lie in effective estate modernisation and close cooperation between local authorities, health, social care and criminal justice agencies."
The Ministry of Justice has said it is looking at adapting prison regimes to suit older prisoners and some prisons now have dedicated wings and units for them.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring that older prisoners are treated fairly.
"We work closely with the NHS and local government to make sure they have access to the right health and social care support.
"There are also a number of dedicated prison areas and units which specifically cater for the needs of older prisoners by adapting regime according to need." | UK prisons face an increase in elderly inmates - partly due to more convictions for historic sexual offences, official projections show. |
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The Wales flanker has not played since sustaining the injury against Ulster in the Pro12 on 7 April.
"Today [Monday] I trained fully," Warburton said, adding: "That's all the boxes ticked, and now I can crack on."
Meanwhile, head coach Warren Gatland said he expects to lose between six and 10 players to injury on the tour.
The tourists have already lost England number eight Billy Vunipola because of a shoulder injury, while fellow countryman and scrum-half Ben Youngs withdrew from the Lions squad at the start of May after his brother's wife learned that she is terminally ill.
Wales hooker Ken Owens will miss Scarlets' Pro12 final against Munster on Saturday because of an ankle injury.
Ireland prop Jack McGrath is also a concern because of an arm injury, as are Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb (groin) and Ireland back-row Sean O'Brien (calf).
Despite the casualty list, Gatland seemed confident the injured players will be fit for the tour.
"I think we are pretty good," Gatland said. "The guys are making good progress."
However, with Lions players involved in end-of-season knock-out games and finals over the coming weekend, Gatland has planned for more injury blows before and during the tour.
"There could be a couple more next weekend as well and given the history of the Lions, we've planned to lose anywhere between six and 10 players," he said.
"I mean, that's just the attrition of past tours."
England back-rower James Haskell has replaced Vunipola and Cardiff Blues Warburton said: "Billy was one of the guys I was really looking forward to playing with who I hadn't played alongside before.
"He has been a massive player for Saracens. It is a big loss for us, but James [Haskell] coming in - I think only Rory Best and Alun Wyn Jones have got more caps [for their countries] than him in the squad - means we are very lucky." | British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton has declared himself fully fit for the tour to New Zealand after recovering from a knee injury. |
14867146 | "As a resilient nation, we will carry on," he told Americans on the eve of the anniversary of the attacks.
Events are being held to commemorate the victims, amid warnings that al-Qaeda is behind a new "credible but unconfirmed" threat to Americans.
Nearly 3,000 people died on 9/11 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, Mr Obama will travel to all three sites.
"Thanks to the tireless efforts of our military personnel and our intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security professionals, there should be no doubt: today, America is stronger and al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat," President Obama said in his weekly address.
"Yes we face a determined foe, and make no mistake - they will keep trying to hit us again. But as we are showing again this weekend, we remain vigilant," he said.
"Across the Middle East and North Africa a new generation of citizens is showing that the future belongs to those that want to build, not destroy."
'Worst day of my life'
Security has been tightened in New York and Washington after the reported threat in the run-up to Sunday's anniversary. US officials believe al-Qaeda may have sent attackers, some of them possibly US citizens, to bomb one of the cities.
Counter-terrorism officials reportedly received a tip-off from a CIA informant last week. They are still trying to corroborate the reported threat.
Events commemorating the anniversary of the attacks are scheduled throughout the weekend.
On Saturday thousands of people in New York joined hands to remember those killed.
NEW YORK
PENTAGON
SHANKSVILLE
TOTAL KILLED: 2,976
"Every year, I kind of, don't handle it, but it's the 10th year and so I felt like it was important to make a statement," one woman, Juliet Di Frenza, told Reuters.
"It was the worst day of my life."
On Sunday, President Obama will visit the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon and a memorial ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania - where the fourth hijacked plane, United 93, came down.
He will be joined in New York by former President George W Bush.
Police in New York are carrying out spot checks in the city's subway and have tightened security on roads, bridges and tunnels.
Checkpoints have been set up across Manhattan where police are scanning for radiation and stolen licence plates, causing serious traffic congestion around the city.
Members of the public are being asked to report abandoned or suspicious vehicles.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the threat was being taken very seriously by state and federal authorities.
Counter-terrorism officials were particularly concerned by the threat because documents seized during the raid on Osama Bin Laden's Pakistan compound in May showed al-Qaeda was considering strikes to coincide with the anniversary, Mrs Clinton said.
Reports suggest that intelligence gathered in Pakistan points to a possible car or truck bomb attack against New York or Washington.
US TV network ABC News has reported that three individuals - one a US citizen - entered the US in August aiming to carry out an attack.
Reuters news agency has reported US officials as saying the threat could be linked to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri - Osama Bin Laden's deputy, who took over leadership of the group after Bin Laden was killed by US soldiers in Pakistan in May. | The United States is stronger 10 years on from the 9/11 attacks and al-Qaeda is "on the path to defeat", President Barack Obama has said. |
31437973 | Now construction of the first heathen temple or "hof" to be built in a Nordic country in almost 1,000 years is set to get under way.
Work will start in March on a wooded hill near to the the capital Reykjavik's domestic airport.
The temple will provide followers of Iceland's old Norse religion with a place to hold their communal "blot" - or feasts - as well as marriages, name-giving ceremonies, funerals and rite of passage ceremonies for teenagers. Until now, ceremonies have mostly been conducted outdoors during the summer.
"At last, our long journey across the desert is at an end," says Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, a composer and high priest of Iceland's neo-pagan Asatru movement.
Designed by Danish-educated architect and Asatru member Magnus Jensen, the oval-shaped temple will be built into the side of the hill and use the natural rock as one of the walls.
The nearby airport was built by occupying British forces in 1940, and the surrounding landscape is dotted with deserted gun positions and a cemetery with the remains of British servicemen.
Water will flow down the stone wall and collect in pools on the floor. Local wood will be used, and a skylight in the temple's dome will allow for an ever-changing interplay of light and shadow on a daily and seasonal basis.
It will incorporate the ancient concept of the "golden ratio", a geometric proportion regarded as the most aesthetically pleasing to the human eye.
With the design, Mr Jensen says he is seeking to combine natural with manmade, and indoors with outdoors.
For him, the building should appear timeless. He does not want it to resemble a traditional Viking temple or remain specifically modern in style.
Norse paganism was the common belief in Iceland until 1000 AD, when its lawmakers conceded to Christian demands that Christianity should become the country's official religion.
This compromise saved the nation from a bloody civil war. All that pagans asked was to be allowed to practise their religion privately. But once Christianity had established itself, paganism was suppressed and forced underground.
However, thanks to the literary endeavours of 13th Century Icelandic scholar and chieftain Snorri Sturlason, the old Norse myths were preserved and widely read by Icelanders through the ages.
Sturlason's epic text Prose Edda and the family sagas ensured Iceland´s pagan heritage was kept very much alive in the national consciousness.
And in spring 1972 a few individuals came together in a cafe in Reykjavik to bring it back to life by establishing the Asatru association.
Later that year, the group's elected high priest, Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson, met Iceland's minister of justice and ecclesiastical affairs to present a request for the Norse religion to be recognised as an official religion in Iceland.
The move was met with opposition, with Iceland's Lutheran bishop saying a constitutional ruling on religious freedoms should not apply to polytheistic religions.
But the story goes that shortly after Mr Beinteinsson left the justice ministry, a powerful thunderstorm started up, causing a power cut in the capital.
Some Icelanders like to think it was Thor, the god of thunder, having his say on the matter, as a few months later the minister agreed formally to recognise the Asatru.
Today the Asatru has close to 3,000 members and is one of the fastest growing religions in Iceland.
Its principles are non-authoritarian and decentralised, with no sacred text or official founder. Its philosophy promotes tolerance and individual liberty. It costs nothing to join and is open to all irrespective of race, cultural background, gender or sexuality.
Followers do not pray in the traditional sense and do not necessary believe in gods but instead, as Hilmar Hilmarsson explains, see the Norse myths as "wonderfully layered stories rich in symbolism and metaphors".
Because of the focus on living in harmony with nature, the temple's builders will carefully dig up the trees on the construction site and replant them elsewhere.
The "hof" should be completed late next year and Mr Hilmarsson is confident it will attract considerable attention among visitors.
"Foreigners are more than welcome to join our feasts, get married here or have a name-giving ceremony and we can arrange all the formalities," he says.
"People have come away from our ceremonies with a changed outlook, moved in a way they had never expected." | It has been the dream of Iceland´s neo-pagan worshippers for four decades. |
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Daniels had to come from behind to beat Bernie O'Neill 21-19 in the final at Llandrindod Wells, having trailed the Irish player 18-9 at one point.
Wales' Alis Butten and Anwen Butten had to settle for silver in the pairs.
The duo lost 25-13 to England's Sophie Tolchard and Natalie Chestney. | Welsh bowls player Laura Daniels continued her preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia by winning the British Isles singles title on Saturday. |
38689671 | Most of those killed are said to have belonged to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which is excluded from the current ceasefire.
It is not clear whether US-led coalition, Syrian or Russian planes carried out the attack.
Meanwhile the UN Security Council is to discuss preparations for peace talks between the Syrian government and rebels due in Kazakhstan on Monday.
The UN said on Thursday that its Syrian envoy Staffan de Mistura would attend the meeting in Astana, which has been convened by Russia, Turkey and Iran.
It will mark the first time the two warring sides have met since UN-brokered talks broke up amid acrimony in Geneva in April 2016.
An intense wave of air strikes is reported to have hit the Sheikh Sulaiman camp, previously headquarters of the now-defunct US-backed Hazm Movement.
Unconfirmed reports say three members of members of Nour al-Din al-Zinki group were also killed.
The group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) have become increasingly allied in recent months. Nour al-Din al-Zinki said early on that they would not be attending the talks in Astana.
JFS, known as al-Nusra Front until it broke off formal ties with al-Qaeda in July, along with the so-called Islamic State (IS) group are not covered by the nationwide ceasefire, which was declared at the end of last year.
The ceasefire is largely holding, although air strikes and clashes have been reported on several battlefronts, particularly in the Wadi Barada region north-west of Damascus.
More than 300,000 people have been killed and 11 million others displaced in almost six years of conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war. | At least 40 jihadists have been killed in air strikes on a training camp in western Aleppo, reports say. |
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The 20-year-old forward is the first player to win the new award from the BBC World Service, voted for by football fans around the world.
She beat Spain's Veronica Boquete, German Nadine Kessler, Scot Kim Little and Brazilian Marta to the honour.
"I would like to say thank you to the BBC, to my fans around the world and to everyone who voted," she said.
The award is the first of its kind hosted by a global broadcaster.
Oshoala, who was the youngest player to be shortlisted, was the leading scorer at the Under-20s World Cup in Canada last summer and was voted the tournament's best player.
Her performances led Nigeria to the final, where they were narrowly beaten by Germany, and she was also a major influence in the senior Nigeria team who won the African Women's Championship in October.
That ensured their qualification for this summer's World Cup in Canada, which begins on 6 June with full coverage on the BBC.
Oshoala said the honour was a big lift for Nigeria before the World Cup and would help inspire young players in her homeland.
"It's a really good thing for us as a team because we now know that we have something great and now we want to go at the trophy," she said. "We can do it, we did it in 2014 we can also do it this year as well.
"There is going to be a lot of motivation for women's football in Nigeria now because of this award because there are a lot of fans out there.
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"Support for women's football in Nigeria is now growing very high.
"I know my Liverpool Ladies coach is going to be happy right now. Before I left the UK he called me and said to me 'don't worry I hope you win the award and we're going to celebrate it when you come back'."
Oshoala signed for Liverpool Ladies in January 2015, becoming the first African to feature in the Women's Super League, with manager Matt Beard calling her "one of the world's top young footballers".
Mary Hockaday, controller of BBC World Service English, paid tribute to Oshoala.
"At still only 20, she's proved herself a formidable talent on the pitch," she said. "I'm proud BBC World Service is supporting the women's game and thrilled with the interest in the award." | Nigeria and Liverpool forward Asisat Oshoala has been named as the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year. |
38936010 | Lyn Dexter was taken to St James's University Hospital in Leeds after falling seriously ill on Sunday.
The 68-year-old was asked on Wednesday by a ward sister if her bed could be wheeled into a shower room to free up space on the ward.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it was "very sorry this happened".
After refusing the offer, Ms Dexter said another patient stayed in there overnight instead.
"[The sister] said, 'We would leave the door open for you, would you sleep in here overnight?'
"I looked at her and I started crying, I said, 'I'm sorry, I know you're under stress and duress, but the answer's no.'"
"Someone had had a shower in it that evening, it was still damp."
Ms Dexter, from Seacroft, was moved to a ward but said she hoped she "never had to go back" to the hospital again.
"The staff work hard, but there's no beds and too many people," she added.
Dawn Marshall, nurse director at the trust, said: "The trust does not regard a large shower room as the right place to temporarily look after a patient, and we are very sorry this happened and have apologised to the patient and their family.
"The decision by the staff on duty to use this room was done with the best of intentions in an attempt to provide more privacy overnight, but we accept this was not an appropriate course of action." | An asthma patient was reduced to tears after being asked to sleep in a hospital shower room due to pressures on bed space. |
37657072 | The youth was left with minor injuries following the attack, which happened when he went outside for a cigarette in Varberg, south of Gothenburg.
It came the day after two people in clown costumes threatened to kill a woman in the centre of Sweden.
The reports are the latest in a wave of "creepy clown" sightings in Europe and the US.
The craze involves adults in frightening outfits scaring passers-by.
Police are still searching for the Varberg clown, but are not yet willing to definitely link it to the craze, which began in the US over the summer.
The teenager suffered minor injuries to his shoulder.
"We do not know what prompted this. It was not a robbery, and I do not know if they had fought before," spokesman Ulla Brehm told Gotesburgposten (in Swedish).
"It's hard to say if this is something that has to do with the trend that has come from the US, but there was a clown mask on the site."
However, Swedish Interior Minister Anders Ygeman has called for calm as more and more sightings of scary clowns are made across Sweden.
"We don't want to see a situation where a person gets into real trouble because someone, perhaps half joking, puts on a clown mask," Mr Ygeman told the TT news agency. | A man in a clown mask has stabbed a teenager in western Sweden, police have said. |
36575211 | Stubbs won men's individual compound gold in 2008 but missed out on a medal in 2012.
The 50-year-old is one of only two members of the 10-strong team with previous Games experience, along with John Cavanagh, 59.
Among the debutants are 16-year-old Hemel Hempstead student Jess Stretton.
Also named are London 2012 Gamesmaker Jo Frith, who took up archery in 2011 after being involved as a swimming coach and administrator and has gone on to win world and European medals.
Army veteran Mikey Hall - who won individual bronze and team gold at the Invictus Games in 2014 - is also included.
Former professional rugby player Nathan Macqueen, who played for Glasgow Warriors and was part of Scotland's archery team before a motorbike accident when he was 17, is also in the pool.
"Going to the Paralympics is the biggest honour an athlete can achieve," said Stubbs. "I feel just as proud today as I did when I was selected for the first time for Beijing."
Welshman David Phillips will go to Rio having returned to the sport following a 30-year break before winning European gold in 2014.
"I was hugely inspired by London 2012 and my the public's appreciation and support of disabled athletes," said Cwmbran's Phillips.
The archery competition will run from 10-17 September at the Sambodromo in Rio.
GB squad: John Cavanagh, Jo Frith, Jodie Grinham, Mikey Hall, Nathan Macqueen, Tania Nadarajah, David Phillips, Jess Stretton, John Stubbs, John Walker. | Beijing gold medallist John Stubbs will be aiming for another Paralympic title in Rio after being selected on the Great Britain archery team. |
38630507 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Chinese world number 11 fought from 4-2 down to lead 5-4 - before missing the final black in the 10th frame that would have given him victory.
I don't see much grassroots coming through. I can play until I'm 50
England's O'Sullivan, 41, seeking a record seventh Masters title, made 121 in the deciding frame to seal the win.
He will play either Neil Robertson or Ali Carter in the last eight.
In the day's other first-round match, 2011 winner Ding Junhui defeated English world number 16 Kyren Wilson 6-3 to advance.
The Chinese world number six, who had not won a Masters match in five years, was close to a maximum in the second frame before breaking down at 120.
Ding produced a break of 50 in the ninth frame, which - coupled with a mistake from 25-year-old Wilson when he sank the white - was enough to see him over the line.
He will now face either former world champion Stuart Bingham or Joe Perry.
Earlier, O'Sullivan told the BBC he felt ill during his tussle with Liang.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"I didn't deserve to win - I was there for the taking," said the former world number one. "I feel for him because I know what that feels like.
"When Liang was on that final black I thought I'd have a nice week off. I wasn't feeling well today and I was tired. I've had it for about a month."
O'Sullivan looked set for defeat in the 10th frame when he failed to pot the pink into the right centre. That allowed Liang to clean up to the final black, which he subsequently missed into the left corner.
The five-time world champion then notched up a brilliant ton in the 11th and final frame to the delight of his supporters inside Alexandra Palace in London.
Asked about his 121 break, O'Sullivan said: "I didn't feel any adrenaline in the final frame. I didn't feel like I was in the match. I just hung in there and tried to stay professional."
O'Sullivan is ranked 13 in the world and won only one ranking title last season. He did, however, reach the final of the UK Championship in December, where he was defeated by world number one Mark Selby.
He is level with Stephen Hendry in terms of the number of titles at the Masters - but did not seem concerned about breaking the record this year.
"I'll have another chance," he said. "I don't see much grassroots coming through. I can play until I'm 50."
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app. | Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the Masters quarter-finals with a 6-5 win over Liang Wenbo after coming perilously close to a shock defeat. |
40175448 | The festival website is also advising people to arrive on Thursday or Friday when queues are expected to be shorter.
"As a general rule, we would ask you to only bring as much as you can carry yourself," it said ahead of the festival, where gates open on 21 June.
Car park entertainment and facilities for early arrivals are also shelved.
Normally, the organisers put on entertainment for people who arrive early, from 21:00 BST on Tuesday prior to the festival gates being opened on the Wednesday at 08:00 BST.
Organisers have now warned that those who arrive before the gates open will "be expected to remain in their cars".
The website statement added: "For security reasons, all ticket holders will be subject to extra searches of their vehicles, their bags and their person at this year's Festival.
"This will make entrance slower than in previous years."
Organisers have also asked people to put luggage tags on all their bags, with their names and mobile numbers and to avoid wrapping their belongings in thick plastic wrap as they need to be removed for checks.
Separate lanes are also being introduced for people with large luggage and trolleys.
Some 175,000 will be attending the music event at Worthy Farm in Pilton, which runs until Sunday June 25. | Music fans going to Glastonbury Festival have been warned by organisers that security checks will be stepped up in light of the terror attacks. |
32243999 | Eighty three jobs were put at risk when Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) failed to find a bidder for the power station in Uskmouth, near Newport, in May, 2014.
But SSE confirmed the station's sale in December, 2014.
New owner, Simec Group Ltd, says it will be converted to biomass fuel.
The station, which was built more than 50 years ago, was described before its sale as the UK's least efficient coal-fired power station.
Hong Kong-based Simec said it had restarted production at the station and hopes to employ more staff as production increases. | The company which bought the UK's oldest coal-fire power station after it closed says it has since re-employed more than 40 staff. |
36841535 | The Manxman said continuing would have had a "detrimental effect" on his hopes for the Games, which begin on 5 August.
Cavendish, 31, won four stages at this year's Tour to increase his tally to 30 overall - second on the all-time list behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx.
The Team Dimension Data rider will compete in the omnium in Rio.
It is a multi-discipline track event consisting of six races held across two days.
Cavendish will be riding in his third Olympics, having failed to win a medal in his first two Games.
He said he took the decision to leave the Tour "with great sadness".
"To leave a race and organisation I hold so much respect for and a team I have such a special bond with, has not been an easy decision at all," he said.
"I want to say thank you to them, along with all the fans for their support and encouragement, today and over the past 16 stages."
Cavendish claimed victories at Utah Beach, Angers, Montauban and Villars-les-Dombes on this year's Tour but would not have won the green jersey.
Slovakia's Peter Sagan is more than 100 points ahead and will claim the green jersey for the fifth successive Tour if he makes it to Paris on Sunday. | Great Britain's Mark Cavendish has pulled out of the Tour de France with five stages left to concentrate on his preparations for the Rio Olympics. |
32284629 | The warning comes after a survivor was found to have traces of Ebola in his semen almost six months after recovery.
This is some 90 days later than previously documented.
It is unclear whether Ebola can still be spread at this point. But officials have launched further investigations to evaluate the risks.
There have been no proven cases of Ebola being transmitted through sexual contact with survivors during this or previous outbreaks.
But according to Dr Nathalie Broutet, a medical officer at the World Health Organization, the recent case prompted experts to strengthen their advice.
Dr Broutet told the BBC: "The patient is the first we have seen where there is a trace of virus present in semen beyond three months.
"This made us change our recommendations to go beyond three months."
The new advice says: "For greater security and prevention of other sexually transmitted infections, Ebola survivors should consider correct and consistent use of condoms for all sexual acts beyond three months until more information is available."
It builds on previous guidance suggesting abstinence or safe sex up to 90 days after symptoms first develop.
But Dr Broutet cautioned further analysis must be done.
"Even though the sample was positive for fragments of the virus this does not prove it was passed on sexually.
"We need to be very careful and need more clarity about this," she said.
Scientists are planning to send the sample to the Centres for Disease Control in the United States to see if the traces of Ebola they found are active and capable of being spread.
And Dr Broutet is helping to set up studies in Sierra Leone and Guinea to offer male survivors further checks.
According to the WHO, there is no current evidence to suggest that active Ebola virus is present in vaginal fluids once someone has recovered.
Ebola is known to spread through close contact with the bodily fluids of a person who has the active virus and shows symptoms of the disease - such as a high fever.
Experts emphasise that people who have recovered from Ebola do not pose any risks to the general public and should not be isolated. | The WHO has urged Ebola survivors to be even more cautious during sexual contact to ensure the virus is not passed on to their partners. |
32701896 | In return, there would be guaranteed payments to companies which produced vitally needed new antibiotics.
There are currently very few new antibiotics in development amid a global spread of resistant bacteria.
The proposals are in a report by a UK government-appointed review team headed by economist Jim O'Neill.
Mr O'Neill said: "We need to kick-start drug development to make sure the world has the drugs it needs, to treat infections and to enable modern medicine and surgery to continue as we know it."
He has previously warned that drug-resistant microbes could kill 10 million people a year worldwide by 2050 and cost $100 trillion in lost economic output.
Resistant strains of bacteria are spreading globally, threatening to make existing drugs ineffective.
A global innovation fund of $2bn over five years would be used to boost funding for "blue-sky" research into drugs and diagnostics - with much of the money going to universities and small biotech companies.
One promising area of research concerns so-called "resistance breakers". These are compounds that work to boost the effectiveness of existing antibiotics - a far less costly approach than attempting to discover entirely new drugs.
Helperby Therapeutics, a spin-out company founded by Prof Anthony Coates, St George's, University of London, has created a resistance breaker that acts against the superbug MRSA.
The compound, known as HT61, will shortly go into clinical trials in India, where it is being developed under licence by Cadila Pharmaceuticals India.
The review team said this kind of research could benefit from the innovation fund and could be the key to making existing drugs last longer.
Mr O'Neill said the big pharmaceutical companies should pay for the fund and look beyond short-term assessments of profit and loss.
Formerly chief economist with the investment bank Goldman Sachs, Mr O'Neill drew parallels between the banking crisis and the looming catastrophe of a world where antibiotics no longer worked.
He said big pharma needed to act with "enlightened self-interest" because "if it gets really bad, somebody is going to come gunning for these guys just how people came gunning for finance".
Mr O'Neill was speaking to the BBC's Panorama programme, which has spent six months following the work of the review team, filming in India, the US and UK.
Mr O'Neill was appointed last year by Prime Minister David Cameron to head the review into antimicrobial resistance - which already claims an estimated 30,000 lives a year across Europe.
Many large companies have pulled out of antibiotic research.
The report says this is partly due to the uncertain commercial returns for new antibiotics.
New drugs are often kept in reserve for years, to preserve their potency, by which time they may be nearing the end of their patent.
After this expires, cheaper generic versions are available.
In order to incentivise drug development, the review team says, there should be lump-sum payments to companies that create proven new antibiotics.
This would break the link between the profitability of a drug and its volume of sales.
The review team predicts its proposals could lead to 15 new antibiotics a decade, of which at least four should be "breakthrough products" targeting the bacterial species of greatest concern.
It estimates the cost of guaranteed payments for these drugs would be $16-37bn over a decade but says this is a small price to pay given that antibiotics are essential to so many aspects of healthcare, from common infections, to surgery and cancer treatment.
It is nearly 30 years since a new class of antibiotics - meaning a group of drugs with an entirely novel action - was introduced.
But this decades-long drought could be over as a result of a breakthrough recently announced by US scientists.
A team at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, has discovered 25 potential new antibiotics, all of them derived from soil microbes.
One of them, teixobactin, is effective against both tuberculosis and MRSA.
The drug is being developed by NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals and should go into patient trials within two years.
Prof Kim Lewis, of Northeastern University, who co-founded the company, told Panorama: "We think there could be thousands more antibiotics in the soil, yet to be discovered."
There are still many uncertainties.
Teixobactin has yet to undergo patient trials, and it is at this stage that many promising drugs fail.
Nor is it effective against bacteria such as E.coli and Klebsiella, which are responsible for a huge proportion of resistant infections.
But the Boston team's discoveries are the type of innovative research many scientists believe essential to ensure we do not run out of effective antibiotics.
Patrick Vallance, GlaxoSmithKline's president of pharmaceutical R&D said that, as one of the few companies still conducting antibiotic research they welcomed the report: "We are very encouraged by the ideas it sets out to modernise the economic model to encourage investment in research and ensure reasonable returns."
Prof Dame Sally Davies, chief medical adviser to the UK government, said: "We have to respond to the challenge of antimicrobial resistance by making sure we secure the necessary antibiotics for generations to come, in order to save millions of lives and billions of pounds."
Panorama: Antibiotic Apocalypse is on Monday 18 May on BBC ONE at 20:30 BST or you can catch up oniPlayer. | The global pharmaceutical industry is being called on to pay for a $2bn (£1.3bn) innovation fund to revitalise research into antibiotics. |
24897809 | The 32-year-old Brazilian will replace Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, Williams announced on Monday.
Massa said: "When I was a kid, I always dreamed of racing for Williams, Ferrari or McLaren and I'm glad to be signing with another icon of the sport."
Felipe Massa believes Williams can benefit from a major change in Formula 1 rules to jump up the grid next season.
New engine and chassis regulations are being introduced in 2014 and the Brazilian told BBC Sport he sees his move from Ferrari as a "restart" for both him and his new team.
"This year, Williams are having a very difficult championship," he said of 2013, which has been the worst season in Williams's history. "But in 2014 everything is different and it is not impossible to be fighting for top four or five in the constructors' championship. We need to believe and fight for that."
Massa visited the Williams factory for the first time on Monday and said he was impressed with what he had seen.
"I'm so convinced [in Williams's potential] because it is a big change next year. Everything changes - the car will be completely different - and I think Williams has all the capacity to do a good job.
"With all this change, the direction I can see [in the team] for next year is more important than anything."
Maldonado is likely to move to Lotus to replace Kimi Raikkonen but also has options at Force India or Sauber.
Raikkonen was confirmed as Fernando Alonso's new team-mate at Ferrari in September.
Williams have signed Massa, who leaves Ferrari after eight years in which he won 11 grands prix, on a three-year contract to add experience as they attempt to rebuild the team.
They are having what is set to be the least successful season in their history.
The Oxfordshire-based team, who dominated F1 for large portions of the 1980s and 90s, have so far scored only one point and lie ninth of 11 teams in the constructors' championship with two races to go.
Massa hopes a restructure and recruitment programme under new technical director Pat Symonds - who has won championships with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso at Benetton/Renault - will lead to improved fortunes next season, when new engine and chassis rules ensure all teams start again almost from scratch.
Massa, who lost out to Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 world title fight by just one point but helped Ferrari win the constructors' title in 2007 and '08, said he hoped his "experience will be useful in helping the team in its effort to move on from a difficult period".
He said Williams were his "best option", adding: "The team wants to grow. It is already a big team but they are really pushing hard to go back to what they were in the past.
"It is a team to fight for the championships and good results and I really want to be a part of it. I understand what they are doing to get stronger. I think we can be very successful and I believe it is the best choice compared to the other choices I had."
Team founder and principal Sir Frank Williams described Massa as "an exceptional talent and a real fighter on the track".
His daughter Claire, the deputy team principal, added: "Felipe has demonstrated his talent and speed over the years, as well as his ability to motivate and drive a team to championship success."
She added that Bottas, the 24-year-old who is in his first season in F1, was "an exciting young talent".
Claire Williams said the team's driver announcement was "a key step towards our goal of returning Williams to the front of the grid and part of our ongoing plans to ensure we are stronger in 2014 and beyond".
Maldonado leaves Williams following the breakdown of the relationship between driver and team.
The Venezuelan scored one victory in his three seasons with Williams - in Spain last year, the team's first since 2004 - but had grown frustrated this season at the team's poor form and wanted to leave.
Williams did not want to keep him, feeling his driving was too erratic and that his technical feedback was below par.
Maldonado was linked with the team's sponsorship deal with Venezuelan state oil PDVSA, but Williams are said to have negotiated a settlement that will end that contract by mutual consent.
Bottas said: "I am happy to be staying with the team as I embark on my second season in Formula 1.
"I have faith in Williams and know we can do so much better in the future than our current performance shows.
"I am looking forward to having Felipe as my team-mate. He is a quick and experienced driver and together we will be pushing to the maximum to improve the car and get as many points as we can next season." | Ferrari driver Felipe Massa will move to Williams next season as team-mate to Finn Valtteri Bottas. |
35221854 | The second rower, 29, was placed on the transfer list by the Giants last month after an internal investigation.
He helped England to a Test series win over New Zealand in November.
"The Rhinos are a fantastic organisation and I am looking forward to being part of the squad next season," said Ferres.
"The last year has seen plenty of ups and downs for me, however this move gives me an opportunity to finally look forward to the future with confidence and be part of something special at the Rhinos." | Leeds Rhinos will sign Huddersfield's Brett Ferres for an undisclosed fee, subject to the forward passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. |
38249899 | And children's author Jacqueline Wilson agrees diary writing "increases your fluency and helps you become more comfortable at expressing yourself".
The Tracy Beaker author says she herself wrote a diary from the age of seven or eight and continued through her childhood and into her teens.
She is backing a campaign for children to be given diaries this Christmas.
Ms Wilson told BBC Breakfast she thinks writing a diary has a massive advantage over social media when it comes to expressing innermost thoughts and feelings.
The point is diaries are "not for sharing", she argued.
"You don't care how many people like it. It's just for you. You can write anything you want down."
A diary entry could be an account of your day, what you really feel about people you absolutely love, or people you hate, your hopes and ambitions, she said.
And if you are really into sport you can use the diary for detailed accounts of matches you have watched, she suggested.
Tracy Beaker is partly written in diary form and Ms Wilson says she still uses her teenage diaries as a source of inspiration in some of her writing... even though "they are terribly embarrassing to look back on... you care so passionately about things."
Other famous diaries in children's literature are:
For older readers there are the works of Samuel Pepys, James Boswell, Virginia Woolf and Anne Frank - and on a rather more frivolous note: Bridget Jones.
Data on more than 3,000 eight-to 11-year-olds, collected by the charity, suggests that pupils who keep a diary are almost twice as likely to write above the expected level for their age (27.1%), compared with children who do not (15.5%).
The main attraction of writing a diary is being able to choose the subject matter and 82% of girls and 76% of boys told the researchers that writing is more fun if they are allowed to decide what to write about.
The research also found:
National Literacy Trust director, Jonathan Douglas, said the charity was "encouraging parents, families and anyone buying a gift for a child or young person this Christmas to give the gift of a diary.
"You'll be giving them a platform to express themselves through words and the tools to become a better writer and do well at school. And you never know - your child could produce the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid!" | Keeping a diary helps boost children's writing skills, according to research from the National Literacy Trust. |
26188787 | A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Service said the 91-year-olds were taken to Noble's Hospital but their condition is "not yet known".
Fire crews were called to the blaze at the house on Station Road, which has now been extinguished, at around 12:00.
Local resident Mark Dawson said: "It was clearly a major fire. There were huge plumes of smoke."
Another Port Erin resident Sarah Brown said: "There was a loud bang followed by loads of sirens."
Police Forensic and Fire Investigation teams are currently conducting investigations at the scene.
The spokesman said: "At this time there does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding."
Station Road from its junction with Ballafesson Road to Bridson Street will remain closed until 18:00 GMT and the public are asked to "avoid the area." | An elderly couple have been rescued from a "major fire" at their Port Erin home. |
18912958 | Media playback is not supported on this device
I went in to it with a do-or-die mentality
Roared on by a sell-out crowd of 17,500, the 18-year-old delivered six dives of consistent excellence.
China's Qiu Bo, the world champion and firm favourite coming into the final, had to settle for silver.
"The main aim here was to get a medal," said Daley. "Olympic bronze medal - I can't believe it!"
Bo settling for silver seemed unlikely on Friday evening when he dominated the qualifying session, with Daley down in 15th.
But Daley gave a glimpse of his fine form this season in Saturday morning's semi-final, only to save the very best until it really mattered.
"Boudia was a class act. A masterclass. But well done Tom Daley. Under all that pressure and expectation, he delivered six out of six dives. I do not have the words to express how proud I am. What an achievement."
The British star took a tiny lead into the last round of dives, but needed to be perfect as his closest rivals were both trying more technically difficult dives.
The Plymouth-born teenager nearly managed it, but his score of 90.75 left him vulnerable to Boudia and Bo diving after him.
Boudia rose to the challenge, nailing his effort to score 102.60, 1.80 points better than Qiu's effort, which proved to be the winning margin for the American.
Daley's total was 9.90 points lower than Qiu's, but there was no sense of disappointment from the Brit or his entourage.
Whilst Boudia celebrated with his coach and team-mate Nicholas McCrory, Daley's friends and family threw him into the pool and jumped in afterwards to celebrate a famous medal.
"To be honest, I was very nervous. I went in to it with a do-or-die mentality," said Daley.
"I put everything into it. I was in first place going into the last round, but didn't have the degree of difficulty I needed [to hold on for gold]."
Media playback is not supported on this device
It could have all been so very different for Daley who, amid considerable confusion in the packed Aquatics Centre, told his coach Andy Banks that he had been put off by flashes from cameras in the crowd during his first dive.
After a brief discussion, the judges granted Daley a re-dive and he grabbed his second chance to score 91.80 points, 16.20 more than his first effort.
Daley finished over 29 points ahead of fourth-placed diver Victor Minibaev, meaning he would have won bronze regardless of the re-dive.
"The retaken dive is one downside to having a home crowd," he said.
A bronze medal - only the seventh medal Britain has ever won in Olympic diving - more than makes up for the disappointment of finishing fourth in the 10m synchronised event with Peter Waterfield last week.
It is also an indication of what Daley can still achieve in the sport and a fitting tribute to his beloved father, who died of cancer last year. | Tom Daley won diving bronze for Great Britain with a nerveless display in the men's 10m platform, as USA's David Boudia took gold. |
40182304 | The first minister made the accusation against Kezia Dugdale as the leaders of Scotland's four larger parties clashed during a live TV debate.
Ms Dugdale said the idea that she would not fight for the UK was "nonsense".
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was asked repeatedly about the so-called rape clause during the STV debate.
Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie called on Ms Sturgeon to "cancel" another referendum, saying Scots were "sick" and "fed up" of the issue.
There were heated exchanges as the four leaders went head to head for the final time before Thursday's general election.
They clashed on issues such as independence, Brexit, health and education, as well as benefit cuts and policing.
The party leaders also answered questions from a studio audience on issues such as terrorism and security.
At times the exchanges became angry in a special segment when the four were allowed to cross-examine each other.
But it was the claim by Ms Sturgeon that the Scottish Labour leader had told her in a private conversation that Labour could no longer oppose Scottish independence after the Brexit vote almost a year ago that provoked the biggest political reaction.
Ruth Davidson asked the SNP leader: "Did you just tell people you had a private conversation with Kezia last June in which she had said she was going to drop Labour's opposition to independence?"
Ms Surgeon replied: "She said she thought Brexit changed everything and the Labour party could no longer go on opposing a second independence referendum."
But later in the debate Ms Dugdale said: "The idea that I would do anything other than protect the United Kingdom and fight to remain in the UK is an absolute nonsense."
However, Ms Sturgeon said: "Look, I know what was said, I'm not having a go at you Kezia - you are entitled to change your mind. What you are not entitled to do though is to be always having a go at me just for wanting to give the people of Scotland a choice."
Ms Dugdale later tweeted: "Any suggestion that I ever said to Sturgeon that I'd change Labour's position on #indyref2 is a categoric lie + shows how desperate she is".
Willie Rennie attacked Ms Sturgeon over her Scottish government record in office for the last decade, particularly over health and education.
He told the first minister she should be "ashamed" of mental health service waiting times for young people.
Mr Rennie said: "For the last year, almost week in, week out, Nicola Sturgeon has taken the opportunity to put independence first - every single time.
"This time it happened to be Brexit was the excuse.
"And it's quite noticeable when, in this election campaign, she doesn't talk about it any more because she knows that people are sick, fed up of it, people want to turn their back on another divisive independence referendum."
But Ms Sturgeon claimed his position on opposing a second referendum on independence, yet supporting another one on the EU, was "ridiculous".
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson came under fire for her party's policies on cutting child tax credits, the so-called rape clause and over the "dementia tax" being imposed in England which will force elderly people to sell their homes to pay for care costs if they have assets above £100,000.
As part of UK welfare changes, women will no longer be able to claim tax credits for more than two children, with an exception to the rule being applied for women who conceived as a result of rape.
Ms Sturgeon said many people had been "appalled" by the policy, which she said would save £300m from the benefits bill at the same time as the Conservatives spend £380m on a tax cut for the richest 15%.
"You could use that money that is going to the richest to get rid of that two-child tax cap and the rape clause," Ms Sturgeon said.
"Why don't you ask your bosses in Westminster to make that choice and remove the rape clause once and for all?"
Ms Dugdale brandished the form that has to be filled in as she pressed the Scottish Tory leader on the policy.
She told Ms Davidson: "Your Tory party is just as callous and heartless as it has always been, is it not?"
But Ms Davidson said: "This is about ensuring that people who have had children in the very worst of circumstances get extra help.
"This is about limiting child tax credits to the first two children, but it means that for example people who have been raped aren't affected by that, it means they get to have that extra help." | Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Labour's leader in Scotland told her she would not oppose a second independence referendum after the Brexit vote. |
30395615 | Police said John McHale, 57, was strangled with a ligature and stamped on by David Platt before being doused with white spirit and set alight.
Mr McHale's body was found in March at Syl's Guest House on Manchester Road, Audenshaw.
At Manchester Crown Court, Platt, 39, was told to serve at least 30 years.
The fire service was called to the guest house, where Platt and Mr McHale lived, after the sprinkler system was activated.
Mr McHale, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was found buried under a pile of duvets, curled up in the foetal position, police said.
One of Platt's fingerprints was found by crime scene investigators on a bottle of white spirit left in Mr McHale's bedroom.
And a pillow matching a duvet found covering McHale's body was found in Platt's bedroom next door.
Lucy Marlow, senior crown prosecutor for the CPS in the North West, said Platt was a "dangerous man" who had carried out a "premeditated and brutal murder".
She said: "The offence was motivated by both the defendant's desire for financial gain and his belief that the deceased, who was a convicted sex offender, was a lesser person than him.
"David Platt has shown no remorse throughout the case and continued to deny all responsibility for the murder and arson, but following trial a jury found him culpable of the offences he faced.
"The CPS and police will continue to work together to bring to justice those who take the law into their own hands and attempt to deliver their own retribution." | A man found guilty of murdering a fellow Tameside guest house resident before setting fire to his body has been jailed for life. |
36489700 | Belgian survivors of Nazi persecution appealed to the government to stop the payments, and Pensions Minister Daniel Bacquelaine "shares their indignation", his spokeswoman told the BBC.
But Germany manages the payments and "we have no official figures" for the recipients, Geraldine Lamoureux added.
After the 1945 liberation, 57,000 Belgian collaborators were convicted.
Belgians were recruited into the German SS and Wehrmacht, and collaborators also helped the Nazis to send Jews and resistance fighters to concentration camps.
The petition to stop the German pension payments was the initiative of the Memorial Group - Belgians who survived the Nazi camps and who want modern Belgium to remember the wartime occupation.
The group's president, Pieter Paul Baeten, quoted by Belgian broadcaster RTBF, said: "It's sad. Belgium can't get hold of the information [on pension recipients], or doesn't want to.
"But I don't understand how, in today's Europe, Belgium and Germany can't manage to exchange this information."
It is not clear if those receiving the pensions are all living in Belgium.
Ms Lamoureux said the pensions minister "will discuss the matter with other ministers, to find a solution".
After the war Leon Degrelle, who led the Belgian collaborators under the Nazis, fled to fascist Spain, where he was sheltered by the Franco dictatorship and died in 1994.
Belgium sentenced him to death as a traitor, but he prospered in Spain, even after Franco's death and the rebirth of democracy in 1975.
A detailed investigation by Belgian historians concluded in 2007 that Belgian collaborators worked closely with Nazi officials to persecute Jews after the German invasion in 1940. Anti-Semitism was widespread in the Belgian establishment at the time, they said.
In a parliamentary answer in 2012 the German government said it could not confirm the 2,500 figure for Belgian ex-collaborators alleged to be getting German pensions.
The government said only scrutiny of each individual's file could determine how many had served with Nazi military units, and those files were held by the German regional authorities.
When asked about the collaborators, it said (in German) 57 Belgians were getting German BVG ("Bundesversorgungsgesetz") maintenance payments, but did not explain who those Belgians were.
In 2012 the German government paid BVG allowances to 209,654 victims of the Nazis and their relatives, in Germany and abroad, but the amount was not specified.
Other German reparations for World War Two included payments to 58,932 Jews via two funds managed by the Jewish Claims Conference. The government said recipients were getting up to €300 (£236; $341) monthly from one fund, and up to €260 from the other. | A Belgian minister has voiced concern that as many as 2,500 Belgian ex-Nazis are receiving German pensions. |
28630564 | Their car was involved in a collision with a tractor on the Ballyconnelly Road in Cullybackey on Friday night.
Lance Corporal David Gwilt and Rifleman Dale Harris, both 24, served with the 2nd Battalion The Rifles based in Lisburn, County Antrim.
In a statement, their regiment said their "tragic deaths" had come as a "terrible shock".
It was issued on behalf of the commanding officer, officers and soldiers of the 2nd Battalion The Rifles.
"David and Dale were much liked, professional and hugely competent soldiers who had fantastic futures ahead of them," the statement said.
"The whole battalion is deeply saddened by their loss and our heartfelt condolences go to their families and friends at this most difficult time."
Rifleman Harris came from Barnsley in South Yorkshire.
Lance Corporal Gwilt came from Bedford in Bedfordshire.
A 21-year-old man who was also in the car suffered head injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.
The driver of the tractor was treated at the scene. | Tributes have been paid to two soldiers from England who died in a crash in County Antrim. |
34284397 | He criticised the EU over free trade, agriculture and Greece but backed its financial transactions tax that the Conservative government has opposed.
Mr Corbyn was under growing pressure from MPs to clarify his position.
It comes after he told the BBC his EU policy was "developing".
In other developments:
Since being elected on Saturday, Mr Corbyn's position on the EU has come under increased scrutiny.
During the campaign he said he had "mixed feelings" on the union and suggested there were circumstances in which he would advocate a vote to leave.
He has also insisted Mr Cameron should not be given a "blank cheque" in negotiations about the UK's EU membership ahead of a future in-out referendum.
Shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer said he would quit if Mr Corbyn called for a UK exit.
On Thursday, Mr Corbyn, who told the BBC that Labour would not campaign to leave, wrote to the party's MPs confirming that it would be campaigning to stay in.
This led shadow Europe minister Pat McFadden to agree to stay in his role.
Mr Corbyn set out his policy in a Financial Times article, warning Mr Cameron against trying to "weaken workers' rights" as part of his renegotiations.
"Our shadow cabinet is also clear that the answer to any damaging changes that Mr Cameron brings back from his renegotiation is not to leave the EU but to pledge to reverse those changes with a Labour government elected in 2020," he said.
He criticised the planned trade deal with the United States, called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and said many people were "appalled" at the EU's treatment of Greece.
And he said he would work with other EU nations to bring in a financial transactions tax, which is the subject of a legal challenge from the UK government over fears it would damage the City of London.
"Labour is clear that we should remain in the EU. But we too want to see reform," he wrote in the Financial Times.
He added: "If Mr Cameron fails to deliver a good package or one that reduces the social gains we have previously won in Europe, he needs to understand that Labour will renegotiate to restore our rights and promote a socially progressive Europe." | Jeremy Corbyn has set out Labour's position on the EU, saying he wants the UK to remain a member but would try to reverse any "damaging changes" negotiated by David Cameron. |
29024219 | The 25-year-old has penned a three-year deal, with a option of extending it by a further 12 months.
Smith joined Leeds on a free transfer from Oldham last June after starting his career in Cheltenham's youth team.
He scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for Leeds and is reunited with his former team-mate Ross McCormack, who joined Fulham for £11m. | Fulham have signed striker Matt Smith from fellow Championship side Leeds United for a reported £500,000. |
40827047 | Police were sent to a house in Shaw, Oldham, in the early hours of 25 July amid concerns for a woman's welfare.
They later returned at 03:15 BST to reports of a man allegedly armed with a gun, holding a woman and two children hostage.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now investigating.
The woman, 27, and a child received injuries requiring hospital treatment, the IPCC said.
Marc Schofield, 30, was charged with false imprisonment and two counts of possession of an imitation firearm.
He is due to appear at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on 25 August.
Catherine Bates, of the IPCC, said: "Our independent investigation is in its very early stages.
"We will look at the police response to the initial report of a domestic incident and the actions of officers involved in dealing with this report." | How officers responded to a disturbance that led to a 26-hour siege in Greater Manchester is being investigated by the police watchdog. |
38845238 | They show the superstar swimming under water, reclining on a bed of roses and sitting naked on a floral throne.
They have been posted on her website alongside poetic text about motherhood and ancient figures of female strength.
Venus, the Roman goddess of love, Egyptian queen Nefertiti and West African deity Osun are all mentioned and seem to have inspired some images.
One verse about motherhood refers to "black Venus", and in some of the pictures, Beyonce herself is reclining in the style of a classical goddess.
In another picture, she stands naked, cradling her belly with one hand and a breast with the other, next to the sculpted head of an Egyptian ruler.
She cradles belly and breast again in another portrait, this time wearing a Statue of Liberty-style crown.
Her five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy also appears, while one image sees her atop a flower-filled red car.
Mother is a cocoon where
Cells spark, limbs form, mother
Swells and stretches to protect her
Child, mother has one foot in this world
And one foot in the next
Mother, black Venus
The verses and photos follow an announcement on Instagram on Wednesday, in which she and husband Jay Z said: "We would like to share our love and happiness.
"We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes."
The post has been liked 8.3 million times at the time of writing.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Beyonce has shared further images from an elaborate photoshoot to celebrate becoming pregnant with twins. |
36687040 | The team of Lucas Tramer, Simon Schuerch, Simon Niepmann and Mario Gyr, who were fifth in London four years ago, won by 1.46 seconds.
The medal was Switzerland's third of the Games, after cyclist Fabian Cancellara's gold and shooter Heidi Diethelm Gerder's bronze.
Denmark, bronze medallists in 2012, took silver, and France bronze.
Find out how to get into rowing with our special guide.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Switzerland's men's lightweight four added Olympic gold to their world and European titles with victory in Rio. |
28051722 | Media playback is not supported on this device
A 1-1 draw against Russia on Thursday earned Halilhodzic's side a place in the knockout stages for the first time.
West Germany's controversial victory over Austria 32 years ago allowed both teams to progress at Algeria's expense.
"We have not forgotten," Halilhodzic said. "Everybody has been talking about Algeria and Germany from 1982."
Algeria competed at the World Cup finals for the first time in Spain in 1982, and caused an upset in their opening group game with a 2-1 win over West Germany - then the European champions.
They finished with two wins and a defeat from their three matches, which they completed before West Germany and Austria met in the final group game.
A 1-0 win for the Germans would take both sides through at the expense of Algeria, and that was how the match turned out.
Algerian officials launched a protest, claiming the match was fixed, but the allegations were never proved and the result stood. However, as a result of the controversy, the final round of World Cup group fixtures now kick-off at the same time.
Halilhodzic said. "Thirty-two years ago is a long time. I am very proud of what we have achieved tonight and we deserve to be here.
"I think Algeria played a heroic match and our qualification for the second round is perfectly deserved." | Coach Vahid Halilhodzic insists Algeria have not forgotten the furore around their 1982 World Cup exit as they prepare to meet Germany in the last 16. |
31804120 | What they're arguing about is what they think free schools will become.
Are they stalking horses for selling-off state education in England to the private sector? Or are they a test-bed for a more innovative way of running schools?
Will they be a template for creating more school choice? Or are they outriders for a fragmented, deregulated school system that side-steps local democracy?
But when you peel off the ideological wrapping paper, a free school is not really any different from many other schools.
They are academies that have been set up from scratch. They are state-funded, they don't charge fees, and they're not selective. In that respect, they are indistinguishable from a majority of secondary schools in England, which are now academies.
In announcing that the Conservatives want another 500 free schools, Mr Cameron admitted that these schools were "often not understood".
Part of the confusion might have been the initial emphasis on schools being set up by parents, driven by local demand.
The use of "parents" is always a good selling point in education, because we assume they mean parents like us, rather than those other parents we don't agree with as much.
But either way, parents are busy people, and in practice it's no great surprise that many free schools are now really being set up by academy trusts, which are in the full-time business of running schools.
The idea that traditional education providers shouldn't have a monopoly on setting up schools is a key ingredient in the free school philosophy, but it's harder to put into practice.
And if an academy trust sets up and runs a school, alongside a portfolio of other academies, within an academy chain, is it a "free school" or just another academy.
In political terms, academies were initially created by Labour and continue to be supported by Labour - and the narrowness of the distinction between an academy and a free school says something about the narrowness of the distinction in education policies.
In the end, parents want to have good schools for their children, they're not overly troubled by the rotating nameplate, which in recent years might have included grant maintained, specialist, city technology, academy or free school.
So how do free schools compare in terms of quality?
Because they sit across a political faultline, there are polarised views on standards in free schools. Polarised, but not particularly revealing.
The common characteristic of free schools is that they are new and haven't replaced existing schools. So what should they be measured against?
Schools are deemed as successful when they have sustained high results or else if they have shown big improvements. Neither really apply for new schools.
The education select committee says the evidence of inspections is still too small scale to draw any meaningful conclusions.
And when these schools are being set up by different groups in different parts of the country, success or failure in one school isn't necessarily relevant to another free-standing school hundreds of miles away.
If a new school opens in a deprived area and the results are mixed, what does it show? And if does well and begins to attract more ambitious, affluent families, is it fair then to accuse a school of "creaming off" or skewing the intake?
Such consumer behaviour in education is always double-edged. If we do it ourselves, it's doing the best for our children; but if other people behave that way, it's the pushy, sharp elbows of the middle class.
Where it does become more thorny is the question of where free schools should be located.
Here there is a much clearer tension between the idea of innovation and parental demand and the more practical pressures of needing a strategically-planned provision of places.
The other consequence of being a flagship policy is that free schools get a disproportionate amount of attention.
Even if the Conservatives achieve another 500 such schools in five years, it will mean about 900 free schools, out of a total of more than 24,000 other schools.
They might make the on-camera cameo Cameron speeches, but will they be there for the unglamorous heavy-lifting on school improvement?
408
free schools approved or open
500
more planned within 5 years under Conservatives
255 free schools currently open
163 approved or open free schools are secondaries
154 approved or open free schools are primaries
190 approved or open free schools are in London and the south east
The other big numbers ticking away in the background are the rising numbers of families looking for places for children.
The population surge that has seen primary schools adding thousands of new classrooms has now moved upstream to secondary schools.
There will be a huge demand for more school places. Whatever they're called. | When people argue about free schools, they're often not really arguing about free schools. |
32037163 | Ozeivo Akerele, 24, was last seen at Iglu nightclub on Spon Street, Coventry, at 03:30 GMT on 31 January.
He had started a masters degree at Coventry University only weeks after arriving in the UK.
The device loaned from the Home Office will be used to search a 500m (1,640ft) stretch of canal between the A444 bridge and the Foleshill Road bridge.
Sonar signals will be sent into the canal from wires lowered over the side of a boat, police said, and a display shows any unusual objects detected.
Data from the search will be analysed by scientists, with expert police search officers deployed to inspect any particular areas of interest if required, West Midlands Police said.
Insp Alastair Orencas said: "[The] searches of the canal are not in response to any specific information, but form a part of routine inquiries based on where Ozi was last seen on CCTV near Old Church Road."
His mother Irene Akerele has travelled from Abuja to help in the search and has handed out flyers in the city centre.
They have also been distributed among Coventry City fans at the Ricoh Arena.
The force believes Mr Akerele may have been on the Foleshill Road, between Park Street and the A444, at about 07:00 on 31 January.
He called friends for a lift from Coventry University but when the car arrived he had disappeared and has not been seen since.
Mr Akerele is described as black, 6ft 2ins tall and slim. He was last seen wearing jeans, blue and white Converse trainers and a grey or black jacket. | Specialist sonar equipment is being used by police searching for a missing student from Nigeria. |
17124452 | 1953 - US President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" speech to the United Nations. The president foresees the creation of an organisation to control and develop the use of atomic energy.
1957 - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set up as autonomous body under the UN.
1970 - Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), signed by 188 states, comes into force. The IAEA is given the specific role of defining and inspecting safeguards.
1986 - World's worst nuclear power station accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine. The IAEA investigates and reports on the immediate consequences. In the longer term IAEA teams study the effects of the disaster on the environment and health.
1991 - In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the IAEA's Iraq Action Team begins inspecting suspect sites in Iraq under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution. It aims to "uncover and dismantle Iraq's clandestine nuclear programme".
1994 - North Korea, which joined the agency in 1974, withdraws its membership after a lengthy dispute over IAEA inspections of its facilities. But it signs a pact with the US, agreeing to halt work on nuclear weapons and allowing IAEA inspections in exchange for oil aid and two light-water reactors.
1998 - Iraq Action Team withdraws from the country after the IAEA says it is unable to exercise its "right to full and free access" to Iraqi sites.
1999 - IAEA sets up its Emergency Response Centre, following a serious incident at Japan's Tokaimura facility.
2001 - IAEA assists as decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant begins.
2002 November - IAEA's Iraq Action Team resumes work under its new name, the Iraq Nuclear Verification Office, after Iraq agrees to the unconditional return of weapons inspectors.
2002 December - North Korea expels IAEA inspectors and removes surveillance equipment from its nuclear facilities.
2003 January - North Korea pulls out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
2003 June - IAEA team arrives in Iran after reporting that Tehran has failed to meet its obligations under the NPT.
2003 November - IAEA passes resolution censuring Iran for its nuclear programme, but stopping short of recommending sanctions. An earlier IAEA report said Iran had been secretly enriching uranium and producing plutonium.
2003 December - Iran signs an agreement to allow tougher inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Libya's foreign minister says the country will cooperate with the IAEA.
2004 March - IAEA adopts resolution condemning Iran for keeping some of its nuclear activities secret; the resolution stops short of threatening UN sanctions.
2004 June - IAEA report credits Iran with opening up its nuclear programme to inspections but says key issues remain unresolved.
2004 September - IAEA passes resolution calling on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. Iran rejects proposal claiming its programme is for peaceful purposes only.
2004 November - Iran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment programme in a deal with three European countries.
2005 June - IAEA board unanimously approves a third term for incumbent head Mohamed ElBaradei.
2005 August - IAEA adopts resolution urging Iran to halt work on processing uranium for enrichment. The move came after Tehran restarted uranium conversion.
2005 September - IAEA finds Iran in non-compliance with nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
2005 October - Nobel peace prize is awarded jointly to the IAEA and its director, Mohamed ElBaradei.
2006 February - IAEA votes to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities. Iran removed IAEA seals from nuclear equipment in January and said it would resume fuel research.
2006 October - IAEA says a North Korean nuclear test threatens the international treaty to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
2007 February - IAEA says Iran is continuing and expanding uranium enrichment in defiance of UN Security Council demands that it suspend these activities.
2007 March - Mohamed ElBaradei visits North Korea, saying the country is positive about rejoining the IAEA.
2007 April - IAEA says Iran has begun making nuclear fuel in its underground uranium enrichment plant and has started up more than 1,300 centrifuge machines.
2007 May - Mohamed ElBaradei says Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in three to eight years if it so chooses.
2007 June - IAEA inspectors visit North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex for first time since being expelled from the country in 2002.
2007 July - IAEA inspectors verify shutdown of North Korea's Yongbyon reactor.
2007 July - Iran allows IAEA inspectors to visit the Arak nuclear plant.
2007 September - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attacks Mohamed ElBaradei for urging caution in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme after he says that force should only be used as a last resort and that lessons should be learned from the war in Iraq.
2007 October - Iran refuses to allow IAEA inspectors unlimited access to its nuclear sites.
2007 November - IAEA says Iran has supplied transparent data on its past nuclear activities but little information on its current work. US responds to IAEA report by vowing to push for further sanctions against Iran.
2008 January - Mohamed ElBaradei visits Tehran. Iran agrees to clarify all outstanding questions over its nuclear activities within a month.
Mr ElBaradei warns that Pakistan's nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists. Pakistan rejects his remarks, insisting that its nuclear weapons security is "foolproof".
2008 February - Multiple source documents submitted to IAEA suggest Iran may have continued secret work on nuclear weapons after 2003, the date US intelligence posited work may have ceased.
2008 May - IAEA says Iran withholding information on nuclear programme which remains "matter of serious concern". It says Iran is operating 3,500 centrifuges that enrich uranium at its plant at Natanz.
2008 June - IAEA inspectors visit Syria to examine building attacked by Israel and subsequently demolished. The CIA says it was nuclear reactor under construction.
2008 August - IAEA backs nuclear deal between India and the US that would allow the Nuclear Suppliers Group to trade sensitive nuclear materials to India despite its not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
2008 September - North Korea accuses US of failing to fulfil its part of a disarmament-for-food deal and says it plans to reactivate Yongbyon complex.
2008 October - North Korea bans IAEA inspectors from entering Yongbyon plant.
2009 September - Iran reveals that it has started work on building a second uranium enrichment plant, near Qom to the south of Tehran. It says the plant is open for IAEA inspection.
2009 October - IAEA brokers draft deal under which Iran is given option of sending its enriched uranium abroad to be turned into fuel.
2009 November - Iran refuses to accept international uranium enrichment offer. IAEA passes resolution condemning Iran for developing secret enrichment site and calls on it to freeze the project immediately. Iran responds defiantly, vowing to build 10 more enrichment plants.
2009 December - Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano succeeds Mohamed ElBaradei as IAEA secretary-general.
2010 February - IAEA publishes new report raising serious concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.
2010 March - IAEA head Yukiya Amano accuses Iran of refusing to cooperate.
2010 June - UN Security Council rejects Tehran's proposed fuel swap deal and votes in favour of fourth round of sanctions against Iran.
2010 July - Long-serving IAEA Deputy Director Olli Heinonen announces resignation. He led investigations into Iran and Syria as head of the safeguards department since 2005.
2010 September - IAEA report shows Iran is balancing co-operation with limits on UN inspectors' access to key plants and information, raising fears that it could be building weapons capability.
2010 December - Iran accuses the IAEA of sending foreign agents to spy on its nuclear programme.
2011 February - The IAEA says it has received new information on "possible military dimensions" to Iran's nuclear programme that raise "further concerns" about Iran's activities. It urges Iran to co-operate fully with its investigations, saying it has not done since 2008.
2011 March - Tsunami knocks out power and cooling systems at Japan's Fukushima power plant, triggering world's worst radiation crisis in 25 years.
2011 June - An IAEA ministerial declaration puts the onus on nuclear power operators to ensure that safety standards are met in the wake of the core meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.
The IAEA votes by a majority to report Syria to the UN Security Council over claims of an undeclared nuclear reactor. The structure, which Syria says was a non-nuclear military site, was destroyed by Israel in 2007.
2011 July - Yukiya Amano says the world's reliance on atomic power will continue to grow, despite the Fukushima plant meltdown, because many countries believe nuclear power is needed to combat global warming.
2011 November - An IAEA report highlights information suggesting that Iran has carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".
2012 February - IAEA inspectors report "positive" talks with Iranian officials during an inspection of three Iranian nuclear facilities, but fail to gain access to a key military site. | A chronology of key events: |
40613733 | The Spaniard will have a new Honda engine fitted for Saturday practice, taking him even further over the limit in terms of total engine parts used this season.
In total, it adds up to 25 penalty places, in addition to the five-place penalty he already has for a new battery.
Honda has yet to announce the change but insiders have confirmed it to BBC Sport.
Drivers are allowed to use only a maximum of four of the six constituent parts of an engine all season.
Alonso's new engine will comprise his eighth turbocharger and MGU-H, the motor that recovers energy from the turbo, and his sixth internal combustion engine and MGU-K.
This is an addition to a new energy store - his fifth - that was fitted for Friday practice.
The new engine is one of Honda's 'Phase Three' fastest development ICEs, which give a power boost of a reputed 8kw (10bhp) over the Phase Two. That puts them just over 62kw (83bhp) down on a customer Mercedes engine.
The new parts are Honda's attempt to put an extra engine into their pool on a weekend when they were already going to get a penalty, thus limiting the damage to their competitive hopes.
McLaren and Honda want to be in the best possible position for the next race in Hungary, which is one of three this season when they expect to be most competitive along with Monaco and Singapore because of the lower impact the engine has on lap time.
The ongoing reliability and performance problems are continuing to put strain on McLaren's relationship with Honda.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Insiders say the team would like to split with the Japanese company and use Mercedes customer engines next year and are taking steps behind the scenes to make that happen but the situation remains in flux.
McLaren chief operating officer Jonathan Neale said: "We have a contract with Honda and we are working through some of the challenges we face.
"I can't duck the issue that we are not where we need to be and this season is challenging and frustrating.
"There is still a long way to go from where Honda are to the benchmark.
"F1 is where the best come to compete and competition is tough and unforgiving.
"I don't think it's something we can sit on lightly, so we are having those conversations.
"It's best they happen behind closed doors. We are working through our issues with Honda. We need to get it fixed and it is not sustainable in its current form." | McLaren's Fernando Alonso will start the British Grand Prix from the back of the grid because of a total penalty of 30 grid places. |
37870095 | Sarah Thomson from Newquay, Cornwall, covered the 870-mile route in 23 days - smashing the record of 40 days.
She set off from Chester in October and was due to finish on Friday, but after passing Cardiff kept running towards her final destination of Chepstow and arrived there on Thursday.
Ms Thomson said she had "surprisingly few low points".
"A few families have taken me in and cooked for me along the way, and passers-by have offered high fives, jelly beans and cheers - a couple of youth hostels have let me stay for free too," the ultra marathon runner said.
"Physically it has been really tough. My feet are literally numb stumps at the end of my legs now." | A woman who works with survival expert Bear Grylls has broken the record for running the Wales Coastal Path. |
39003434 | The company, which installs windows, doors and conservatories, said revenues rose by 2.3% to £21.9m for the 12 months to the end of February.
Pre-tax-profits climbed by 27.7% to £159,000.
The Dunfermline-based firm, which employs nearly 400 people between its domestic and commercial arms, has now posted growth for six successive years.
The firm said its manufacturing business showed "steady improvements" last year as a result of increased demand from new-build developers.
Sales for the division, which employs 90 staff in Cowdenbeath, rose by £200,000 to £7.5m.
CR Smith executive chairman Gerard Eadie said: "We have progressively invested in both the manufacturing and sales operations to keep pace with customer demand, on both the domestic and commercial side of the business.
"Our commercial business is steadily growing. We have a strong proposition for new-build developers including a high-quality bespoke product, delivered reliably and efficiently because of the investment made and capabilities of our factory.
"As we continue to market ourselves to this sector, we can see the commercial arm of CR Smith expanding and have been planning accordingly." | Fife-based home improvement specialist CR Smith has posted an increase in profits and turnover. |
37752220 | Cookstown-based LCC Group and Norway's Statoil ASA built the facility at Maydown in 2005.
LCC has now bought out its joint venture partner, saying the acquisition will allow it "to control costs and pass savings on to customers."
It recently won a contract to supply aviation fuel to EasyJet.
Beginning as a coal merchant in 1986, LCC employs more than 180 staff, having diversified into oil, electricity and gas distribution.
The Maydown terminal is used to import and store oil for markets in Ireland, north and south.
LCC- which also owns the Go chain of filling stations - reported a turnover of £544m in 2015. | A Northern Ireland energy company has taken full control of an oil terminal in County Londonderry in a "multi-million pound deal." |
27767017 | Geologist Dr Alan Cobb said it was "possible" and "probable" that the water collected after manager Malcolm Fyfield inspected it.
He told Swansea Crown Court water could have rushed in from an older Victorian mine underneath Gleision drift mine.
Mr Fyfield and owners MNS Mining Ltd deny manslaughter charges.
David Powell, 50, Charles Breslin, 62, Philip Hill, 44, and Garry Jenkins, 39, drowned when water gushed into the area they were working in after they blasted into a flooded old section of the mine.
The miners had been using explosives to create a tunnel into the old workings to improve air circulation.
Dr Cobb, a chartered engineer and expert on the behaviour of underground water giving evidence on behalf of MNS Mining Ltd, said water could have flowed in from a mine underneath Gleision if the workers had made a connection with the workings.
He told the court it was impossible to say where the water had come from, but said it could have been stored in the sandstone the mine was carved from.
Mr Fyfield had told the jury he noticed only a "ponding" of water when he inspected the area the day before the incident.
Dr Cobb agreed it was possible, if not probable, that the water had not been there at the time of the inspection.
The trial continues. | Water which flooded a mine killing four workers may not have been there the day before when the area was inspected, a jury has heard. |
40288386 | 15 June 2017 Last updated at 17:24 BST
Nick-named 'Insight', it's job will be to search for black-holes, and help scientists to understand them better.
Black holes are pretty mysterious things, and so far scientists don't really know much about them.
Using special x-ray technology, Insight will aim to study black holes and send its findings back to researchers here on Earth. | China has just launched its first ever x-ray telescope into space. |
36406924 | The visitors added 28 to their overnight total as they were bowled out for 264 in their first innings.
Somerset got to 46-0 in reply before veteran spinner Batty ripped through their batting order as the hosts collapsed to 102 all out.
However, Jack Leach (3-37) helped reduce Surrey to 94-6 at the close.
Having decided against enforcing the follow-on, Surrey crumbled to 51-6 before Zafar Ansari (26 not out) guided them through to a lead of 256 runs at the close.
Marcus Trescothick and Tom Abell gave Somerset a solid foundation to their first innings, but the home side's batting line-up fell apart once the pair had departed in successive overs.
Batty, ably supported by pace bowler Stuart Meaker (3-39), took all 10 wickets between them for just 56 runs.
But slow-left-armer Leach, who took 4-34 in Surrey's first innings, kept Somerset in with a chance of forcing a victory with three more wickets when Surrey batted for a second time. | Surrey captain Gareth Batty took 7-32 before Somerset responded strongly as 18 wickets fell on day two of their Division One fixture at Taunton. |
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Kvitova, 26, said she was "fortunate to be alive" following a "burglary" incident on Tuesday when she struggled with an intruder.
Surgeons spent almost four hours repairing tendons and nerves on her left hand - her playing hand.
Her spokesman said that considering the damage, "the surgery went well".
"The injury is serious, but the surgeon says Petra is young and healthy and there is no reason why she can't resume tennis," publicist Karel Tejkal told the AFP news agency.
According to her manager Katie Spellman, Kvitova will wear a cast for six to eight weeks and cannot bear weight on the injured hand for at least three months.
That rules her out of the Australian Open next month, which is the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2017 tennis season.
It is understood she allowed someone posing as a utilities man access to her apartment in Prostejov, Czech Republic, and while defending herself in a struggle, suffered the injuries to her hand. The intruder is believed to have then run away and is being sought by police.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kvitova said she was "shaken", adding the injury was "severe" but that she would "fight this".
Tejkal added: "It was a random crime, nobody was going to attack or rob her as Petra Kvitova."
Kvitova is ranked 11 in the world and has won a career total of 19 titles, including Grand Slam victories at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014.
"Thank you for all your heart-warming messages.
"As you may have already heard, today I was attacked in my apartment by an individual with a knife. In my attempt to defend myself, I was badly injured on my left hand.
"I am shaken, but fortunate to be alive. The injury is severe and I will need to see specialists, but if you know anything about me I am strong and I will fight this. Thank you all again for your love and support and now I would appreciate some privacy while I focus on my recovery."
Kvitova had announced earlier on Tuesday that a foot injury forced her to withdraw from January's Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia.
She had only returned from pre-season training in Lanzarote last week, despite her right foot requiring a protective boot for much of the time.
It meant her hopes of playing in the first Grand Slam of the season were already doubtful, with the Australian Open getting under way on 16 January.
Kvitova had finished the 2016 season strongly, picking up titles in Wuhan and Zuhai, as well as winning the Women's Tennis Association's annual sportsmanship award, for the fourth year in succession. | Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will not play tennis for at least three months after surgery following a knife attack at her home. |
35239814 | The device was demoed at the CES tech show where it autonomously detected and avoided a fallen object.
Intel part-owns Yuneec, the company behind the drone, and provided the device's 3D camera sensor.
The RealSense technology involved uses infrared lasers to detect the distance of nearby things.
Should evasive action be necessary, the aircraft takes it on its own.
At CES, the Typhoon H drone followed a cyclist through a small course on stage, complete with a handful of mock "trees".
When one of these obstacles was made to fall in the drone's path, it dodged it, and thereby avoided a collision.
"The drone was able to stop, wait and go round that obstacle as well - following the rider all the time," said Intel's chief executive Brian Krzanich.
"Any other commercial drone out there would have crashed into the tree."
The Typhoon H also has a 4K camera which has can pan 360-degrees and take photographs with a 12 megapixel sensor.
Intel said it would be on sale within six months. It is set to cost $1,799 (£1,200).
Features such as collision avoidance are not likely to prevent the kind of tumbles which nearly caught skier Marcel Hirsher last month, commented IHS analyst Tom Morrod, when a drone malfunctioned.
"There's a safety aspect which is probably not going to go away - things that fly occasionally crash," he said.
However, he added, the benefits of more intelligent drones are not to be underestimated.
"Things like collision avoidance, self navigation, spatial awareness - all of these technologies that take away the manual control of the drones are enabling drones for commercial purposes," he said.
"Those could be security or delivery or maintenance, all of those types of applications - that's going to be what really drives the market."
Another safety conscious drone at CES comes in the form of Belgian firm Fleye's device. It encloses its spinning blades within both a shell and a cage to help reduce the risk of injury.
However, as a demo for the BBC proved, it is still possible for the device to swerve off-course and crash.
Parrot announced another new drone - one capable of flying much further and faster than helicopter-inspired devices, thanks to a fixed wing design.
The Disco drone can fly for up to 45 minutes and follow a pre-planned flight path via GPS waypoints.
Its on-board camera is embedded into the drone's nose and captures video in 1080p high definition.
Parrot hopes to make the device available later in 2016.
"This 'drone on steroid' speaks to the innovation in this wave of consumer drones," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Research.
"We believe this is a $3bn market opportunity over the next few years and high-octane drones like Parrot's are a sign of things to come."
Read more of our CES articles and follow the BBC team covering the show on Twitter. | Chip-maker Intel has revealed a collision-avoiding drone that automatically dodges obstacles in its path. |
37109169 | He does not appear to have given any press interviews in his past career, and his official biography reveals little, beyond a steady rise over many years of service to the Kremlin.
Before his Kremlin promotion the Estonian-born high flyer served as a diplomat, including a stint at the Tokyo embassy.
But an investigation by BBC Russian into Mr Vaino's academic work reveals intriguing details about him and may offer clues about his worldview.
Like many officials of his generation, reports say he has a master's degree in economics and has contributed to various scientific publications.
In 2012 an article appeared in a specialist journal called Economics and Law written by an "AK Vaino" - widely believed to be one and the same person as Mr Putin's new chief of staff.
It was titled "The capitalisation of the future".
Written in a dense academic prose - which many Russian commentators this week said they found almost impossible to understand - and accompanied by even more complex charts and diagrams, the article outlines new ways of organising and understanding society.
Mr Vaino argues that the economy and society in general have become too complex to manage by traditional means. Governments need to seek new ways of regulating and controlling them.
The article describes a new device called a "nooscope" which, it says, can tap into global consciousness and "detect and register changes in the biosphere and in human activity".
The "nooscope" bewildered many in Russia this week. Does the device really exist, they asked. What does it actually do? Is Mr Vaino really serious?
BBC Russian tracked down Viktor Sarayev, an award-winning economist and businessman who has co-authored a number of articles with Mr Vaino.
He described the nooscope as "a device that scans transactions between people, things and money", and claimed it was an invention of parallel significance to the telescope and the microscope.
But he was less forthcoming about whether it actually existed, or was still under development.
Leading Russian academics meanwhile expressed deep scepticism about the theories and solutions propounded by Mr Vaino and his collaborators.
"There isn't any science in this," says Simon Kordonsky, a philosophy professor at Moscow's Higher School of Economics.
He dismissed the article as indulging in "mythological" hypotheses about the future which, he said, contrasted with the genuinely progressive ideas explored by the first generation of Russian reforming economists in the early post-Soviet years.
"If we evaluate this article by its meaning, then without doubt it's a cause for concern," says another philosopher from the same institute, Prof Vitaly Kourennoy.
"It represents a utopian idea which has no connection to science. It's propounding some kind of all-embracing system of government that has to be enforced by top officials."
Viewed from this perspective however, Mr Vaino's theories perhaps begin to make more sense.
They could actually be seen as part of a pattern that has emerged in Russian politics over the past decade, as President Putin has sought to reassert control after the chaos of the early 1990s.
Some observers also draw parallels with the approach of one of Mr Vaino's predecessors - former presidential adviser and deputy prime minister Vladislav Surkov.
Dubbed by one Russian politician as "a puppet master who privatised the political system", Mr Surkov is credited with inventing the theory of "managed democracy", through which President Putin now runs Russia unchallenged.
Widely seen as a master of political spin, Mr Surkov specialised in manipulating information in a way which often left his interlocutors unsure as to where the facts ended and the fiction began.
This also appears to be an approach used by Dmitry Kiselyov, the powerful head of the state-run Russia Today media network, and a man often referred to as "the Kremlin's chief propagandist".
Tasked with broadcasting the Kremlin's point of view, both to Russians and the rest of the world, Mr Kiselyov told the BBC earlier this year that "the age of neutral journalism" had passed.
In expounding his theories about the "nooscope" Anton Vaino seems to be echoing these more high-profile Kremlin colleagues.
There is no way to prove that the world "exists in reality and not in our imagination", he writes in the Economics and Law article, explaining why the nooscope is needed to interpret and manage world events.
Prof Kordonsky feels he has heard it all before.
"It's a state of mind," he told BBC Russian. "It's a rejection of the current realities. They want to change things but they don't want to understand what things are really like. They have a perception of potential greatness […] and they're suggesting a way of changing the country and building a better tomorrow."
If AK Vaino the political scientist and Anton Vaino the new chief of staff really are the same person, as most Russians presume, then the coming months may show if the nooscope can really deliver a "better tomorrow". | Russian President Vladimir Putin's new chief of staff Anton Vaino has reached the top shrouded in mystery. |
37229898 | Concerns had been raised about the "inappropriate" use of Redcar cemetery, on Teesside, as a PokeStop.
Local Labour MP Anna Turley wrote to Nintendo about the issue and said she was "pleased" it had now been removed.
The move will allow people to "pay respects to their loved ones in peace", she added.
Ms Turley said: "It is clearly a very popular game that has encouraged people to explore their surroundings, which is great, but there need to be boundaries so that users can enjoy the game without upsetting others.
"The developer has been quick to solve the problem to make sure that is the case."
She asked Nintendo to consider avoiding places of worship and cemeteries after a constituent contacted her about the "impact on the people paying their respects to loved ones", she said.
Game guidelines set out by Nintendo and its co-developer Niantic remind players to be respectful and conduct themselves "in an appropriate manner".
Pokemon Go players have been involved in hundreds of police incidents since the gaming app phenomenon launched.
Developer Niantic has been approached for comment. It has previously stated it takes the issue of "player safety" seriously.
In County Down a man jumped out into a busy dual carriageway while trying to catch a Pokemon, while children got lost in caves in Wiltshire and, in America, a man crashed into a police car while playing behind the wheel. | A cemetery which saw children "charging about" playing Pokemon Go has been removed from the augmented reality game. |
15873652 | At the Old Bailey, Junior Henry, of Weltje Road, Hammersmith, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years youth detention.
The incident took place on Ladbroke Grove, at its junction with Oxford Gardens, on 29 August.
The victim, aged 20, was stabbed in the abdomen and hand during the attack on Ladbroke Grove.
The Old Bailey heard how Henry had been given a chance to turn his life around when he was given a community order following a gang fight when he was 12 in which a man was murdered.
The Recorder of London Judge Peter Beaumont said: "You left this court with my warning ringing in your ears that your behaviour was challenging the boundaries of the order, as well as testing the patience and understanding of the court.
"You did not heed the warning. You took up a knife in circumstances where you, of all people, did not have to use it and you knew the consequences of doing so."
The judge lifted an order banning publication of Henry's identity. | A youth of 17 has been detained for stabbing a man on the evening of the Notting Hill Carnival. |
30579567 | George Mpanga is inspired by the injustice he saw growing up on the Stonebridge Park estate in north west London.
After studying politics, psychology and sociology at Cambridge University and running poetry workshops for children in London, he is now preparing to release his debut album on Island Records and publish his first poetry collection.
The 23-year-old says he wants to inspire others to achieve better things. "I want people to be aware of their power," he says.
He is the first artist to be announced from the BBC Sound Of 2015 top five. One act from the top five is being unveiled every day this week, leading up to the announcement of the winner on Friday.
The list was compiled by asking 139 DJs, critics and broadcasters to name their favourite new acts.
Are you a poet or a rapper first?
Chronologically I was a rapper first, but at this point in time I'm primarily a poet.
When did you discover the power of words?
I was always into music and my mum used to talk me through a lot of lyrics. I remember her sitting me down and talking to me about the Bob Marley song Buffalo Soldier. "Dreadlock Rasta/Taken from Africa/Brought to America/Fighting on arrival/Fighting for survival." It made a big impression.
At the same time, I grew up in church and again my mum used to read the Bible with me. And then I saw the pastor commanding an audience, and thought, I want to do that. I remember watching the film of Malcolm X and seeing what he did with words and thinking, I really want to do that.
When did you move from rap to poetry?
I believe rap to be a specialist form of poetry - specialist only in that it is very strict on time metre, which you can find in traditional forms of poetry. In William Blake's poem London, you find a lot of very regimented thought.
I would argue that I did start off writing in a traditional poetry form but the extension of that was I was performing them. But if you took the music away, the essence was exactly the same as what William Blake was offering.
You say you draw on your early life in the inner city. How does that inform what you do?
It made a profound impact on me. I was exposed to quite a range of life. I saw people lose loved ones, I saw people make a lot of money, make a lot of change.
When I was in year six - I must have been 10, 11 - I took a shine to these kids who were in my primary school. They were lovely kids. Sunshine every time they opened their mouths. I remember them flippantly mentioning that the night before, their dad was beating up their mum and their big sister had to fight him off with a baseball bat. They didn't understand the gravity of what they were saying. But this disturbed me.
I remember trying to fight everything, trying to save everyone from every calamity. At some point I realised that I'm not going to be able to save everyone, but that when I do have the platform I will do everything to enact structural change...
A lot of my frustrations stem from the fact that I can't share my blessings with my family and friends, my community. There are structural things that keep them in place, whether that's the disintegration of their family or their inability to organise themselves financially and sustain their communities financially, or the lack of political influence on the things that affect them.
All of these things make it harder for me to move forward professionally with everyone I grew up with. That needs to change.
How can you make a difference?
I need to be an example of what I think needs to happen. So for example I'm self-employed. I have an enterprising mind. I demonstrate these things and I think it will be beneficial if everyone has a degree of enterprise.
I need to be an example, but at the same time there's the content. My EP, The Chicken and the Egg, is about premature parenthood. Discussing that helps. For one thing, you're giving visibility to the issue. Secondly, you're providing some sort of catharsis for anyone who can relate.
Do you write about yourself or do you create fictional characters?
I draw partially from personal experience and I also draw from observation.
Did the premature parenthood thing happen to you?
No. It didn't happen to me. It happened all around me.
Why try to bring about structural change through entertainment and not politics?
Because the political space is too regulated. And it's already exclusive. Entertainment isn't as exclusive. If I'm known for making sounds that people want to hear, it's much harder to justify stymieing that process.
Is it possible to enact structural change through music and poetry?
Yeah. Apart from the fact that anything's possible, it's very obvious. I speak. You listen. You come to my gig. All we need to do is make decisions. That's it. Job done.
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I see the manifestation of everything I'm talking about now.
I see myself providing the structures for people to enact and demonstrate of all the things I'm talking about - autonomy, taking control, owning the entertainment space.
If what I'm saying sounds too lofty for you, demonstration's the highest form of argument. First I'm going to show you how to do it, then I'm going to invite you to do it. | George the Poet, a spoken word performer and rapper who wants to use his voice as a force for change in society, has come fifth on the BBC Sound Of 2015 list, which showcases emerging artists for the coming 12 months. |
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Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz scored as Canada became the first team to retain the Olympic title since the Soviet Union in 1988.
The Canadians are also the first team in 30 years to go through a Games unbeaten, inspired by the energetic Toews and Crosby's breakaway goal.
Sweden were without Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom who failed a drug test prior to the game.
The 26-year-old was dropped from the team after testing positive for what Swedish Olympic Committee spokesman Bjorn Folin said was a substance found in an allergy medication that the player had taken for the past seven years.
"It was a shocking message to get," said goaltender Jhonas Enroth after the final. "We found out two hours before the match."
Canada finished with 10 gold medals and 25 in total for third place on the medal table behind Russia and Norway.
At their home Games in Vancouver four years ago, the Canadians won 14 gold medals and topped the table, an achievement capped off by Crosby's famous overtime winner against the United States but this year's final proved nowhere near as close a contest.
In Backstrom's absence, a depleted Sweden lacked the creativity to match Canada.
Sweden's Gustav Nyquist hit the post early in the first period but his side subsequently faded.
Once Toews had opened the scoring from close range in the first period, converting Jeff Carter's assist, Canada only ever looked destined to increase their lead.
Crosby's sublime second-period finish beat goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who had impressed during Sweden's run to the final.
Kunitz's shot into the roof of the net, having stolen the puck from a sleeping Swedish defence with 10 minutes remaining, made certain of victory. | Canada beat Sweden 3-0 to win men's Olympic ice hockey gold at Sochi 2014. |
39527503 | Located in the constellation of Orion, the explosive event happened some 500 years ago sending giant streamers of dust and gas across interstellar space.
Researchers say the clash produced as much energy as our Sun would over 10 million years.
Details of the event have been published in the Astrophysical Journal.
Huge explosions in space are mostly associated with supernovas, which can take place in the dying moments of giant, ancient stars.
This new image though shows an explosion taking place at the other end of the stellar lifecycle.
Stars are born when a massive cloud of gas starts to collapse under its own gravity. At a distance of 1,500 light years from Earth, a number of very young stars began to form in a region called the Orion Molecular Cloud 1, (OMC-1).
Gravity pulled these proto-stars closer at increasing speed until about 500 years ago, two of them either grazed or collided head-on, triggering a powerful explosion that hurled gas and dust debris out into space at more than 150km per second.
Back in 2009, researchers first saw hints of the scale of the explosion. Now using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimetre Array (Alma), based in northern Chile, astronomers have been able to see the violent event in high resolution.
"What we see in this once calm stellar nursery is a cosmic version of a 4 July fireworks display, with giant streamers rocketing off in all directions," said lead author Prof John Bally from the University of Colorado.
The team has discovered new details about the structure of the streamers that extend past the explosion for almost a light year. The team members are learning about the distribution and high-velocity motion of the carbon monoxide gas inside the huge gas trails. It may also help their understanding of the star birth process.
"Though fleeting, proto-stellar explosions may be relatively common, by destroying their parent cloud, as we see in OMC-1, such explosions may also help to regulate the pace of star formation in these giant molecular clouds," said Prof Bally.
Scientists expect that explosions such as this one are most likely short-lived, with the remnants of the debris seen by Alma lasting only for centuries.
"People most often associate stellar explosions with ancient stars, like a nova eruption on the surface of a decaying star or the even more spectacular supernova death of an extremely massive star," Prof Bally said.
"Alma has given us new insights into explosions on the other end of the stellar life-cycle, star birth."
Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook. | Scientists have captured a dramatic and violent image of the collision between two young stars that tore apart their stellar nursery. |
40915356 | The election of Donald Trump to the White House has been cited as a factor in the re-energisation of activists and groups in America that reject both left-wing ideology and mainstream conservatism.
Social media is also said to be playing a large part in promoting these ideologies.
A prominent US civil rights group, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) says that it is currently tracking more than 1,600 extremist groups in the country.
But who are these groups, how popular have they become, and what do they hope to achieve?
Here is a look at the most visible of the white supremacist movements in the US today.
The alternative right (or alt-right) is a disparate group of provocateurs who hate political correctness and love Mr Trump, although critics say they are bigoted white nationalists.
This movement's recent rise is said to have been encouraged in part by the rhetoric employed during the 2016 US presidential election campaign, in which Mr Trump was accused of "textbook racism", anti-Semitism, and anti-Muslim bigotry.
Mr Trump, for his part, denounced the movement in November 2016, saying he disavowed their views.
The phrase "alt-right" started to gain traction in the mainstream media when Mr Trump, as then Republican nominee in July 2016, tweeted an image of Hillary Clinton alongside a six-pointed star resembling the Star of Israel containing the words: "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!".
Alt-right factions, according to a guide written by Breitbart's Allum Bokhari and Milo Yiannopoulos, include "intellectuals", "natural conservatives" and "the meme team" - mostly young activists with a penchant for internet trolling.
The movement's ideals focus on "white identity" and the preservation of "traditional western civilisation", according to Richard Bertrand Spencer, who coined the term "alternative right" in 2008.
Liberty, free speech and the right to offend are its touchstones. Opponents call it racist, misogynist and anti-Semitic.
Number of members As a predominantly online movement, the alt-right does not officially have membership, therefore exact numbers are hard to come by.
Where are they? The presence of this "amorphous" movement is online and its popularity is said to be increasing nationwide.
Are they growing? A relatively new political movement, the group has gained increased prominence over the past year due to its enthusiastic support for Mr Trump. However estimating its strength is difficult.
America's most infamous supremacist group, the initial KKK was formed by ex-Confederate officers in the southern states of the US in the aftermath of the American Civil War in 1865.
The Klan soon flourished in the south before spreading nationwide in the 1900s.
Divisions of the group discriminate against black Americans, Jews and immigrants, and more recently gays and lesbians.
It became a vigilante movement with the aim of preventing these groups from enjoying the same civil liberties and rights as their fellow Americans.
Members historically wore hooded costumes and carried out lynchings and other violent attacks on those challenging white supremacy in the southern states.
Factions of the group describe it as a "White Patriotic Christian organization that bases its roots back to the Ku Klux Klan of the early 20th century".
Number of members Klan groups are active in most US states and are estimated to have between 5,000 and 8,000 members, according to the SPLC.
Where are they? There are dozens of KKK groups in the US stretching from New Jersey to Los Angeles. Groups include the Confederate White Knights and the Traditionalist American Knights.
Are they growing? In 2016 the Klan said that it was in the midst of a revival with a "surge in membership across the Deep South".
The term neo-Nazi relates to a group of separatist activists who share anti-Semitic ideals and a love for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The views of neo-Nazi groups in the US are protected by the courts and the nation's First Amendment.
In one well-known case, the Supreme Court invoked the First Amendment to uphold the right of a neo-Nazi group to march through the predominantly Jewish town of Skokie, Illinois, and display swastikas.
Number of members There are several high-profile neo-Nazi organisations in the US, including the American Nazi Party and the National Socialist Movement (NSM). The most visible of these groups is the National Alliance (NA). A spin-off of the NA, Vanguard America, participated in the "Unite the Right" march on 12 August 2017 that left one woman dead and dozens of protesters and counter-protesters injured following clashes. The most recent membership figures for the NA, for 2012, are estimated to be at least 2,500, while an article published in the New York Times in 2011 said that the NSM consisted of about 400 members.
Where are they? A number of these groups were formed or originally based in Virginia. They have become more widespread in recent years with members of groups such as the NSM active in 32 states.
Are they growing? The manipulation of the mainstream media is attributed to a rise the far-right neo-Nazi movement, according to the Data and Society Research Institute. Links between US and European neo-Nazis are also said to be growing stronger, according to the SPLC.
National Socialist Movement: Founded in 1994, it is one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the US, with chapters in more than 30 states.
Council of Conservative Citizens: Founded 1985, sprung from the pro-segregation movement in the southern states.
American Freedom Party: Founded 2009, with origins in California. Has a racist agenda and is against immigration. | The deadly violence on the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, comes at a time of a dramatic rise in prominence of far-right movements in the US. |
37475223 | He has been charged with qualification for the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and will work closely with Scotland's only professional team, Glasgow Rocks.
Olson has also been given the task of finding players capable of playing for Scotland and Team GB in the future.
He has previously coached sides in Australia, Iceland and United States and played for Falkirk Fury.
Olson said: "To me, this is not an overnight success story but a story in which we will continue to see high-level players come out of the national team and now Rocks programme for years to come.
"We now have an elite model within Scotland and, with the Rocks partnership, we will be able to directly implement a proper training method to allow not only our young players but also key national team players the environment they need to develop and eventually turn into elite players themselves."
A former shooting guard, Olson helped take Fury to their Scottish Cup title in 2009 before moving to play for Wagga Heat of the Australian Waratah League.
He was awarded Eurobasket Icelandic Coach of the Year in 2015 as his side, FSu Academy Iceland, were crowned play-off champions and won promotion to the Premier League.
Olson has also been involved in the USA Under-18 select squad and the Icelandic national team. | Scotland have appointed American Erik Olson as their new national basketball coach on a two-year contract. |
36691484 | The Scottish golf club said a recent consultation found that admitting women members was supported by over three-quarters of those who participated.
Muirfield voted in May not to admit women members and lost its right to stage the Open Championship.
Royal Troon, situated in South Ayrshire, is the host for this year's Open, which runs from 14-17 July.
Troon said in January it would review of its male-only membership policy.
Club captain Martin Cheyne said: "We have said a number of times recently that it is important for golf clubs to reflect the society in which we exist and the modern world that looks to us.
"Therefore, I am delighted with the decision taken by Members of Royal Troon this evening and look forward to welcoming women to our great Club.
"It is the right decision for the Club today, and for the generations of golfers that will follow."
The vote came just two weeks before the Ayrshire course was due to be the venue for the Open.
Mr Cheyne added: "Tonight, we turn our attention to jointly hosting the 145th Open Championship with our great friends at The Ladies Golf Club, Troon.
"We can now all be focused on golf and showcasing this wonderful club and golf course to the huge global audience that this most prestigious Championship commands."
The decision has been welcomed by the sport's governing body, the Royal and Ancient.
A statement from it said: "We welcome this decision by the membership at Royal Troon and recognise its significance for the club.
"Our focus today is very much on The 145th Open in just under two weeks' time but we can now look forward to many more great Championships at Royal Troon in years to come."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "A victory for equality and common sense. Well done, Royal Troon. Hopefully Muirfield will follow suit."
Muirfield's decision in May not to admit women members was greeted with anger in and out of the game and the course was stripped of the right to host the Open.
The East Lothian club held a ballot at the end of a two-year consultation on membership but failed to get the two-thirds majority of its 648 eligible voters required to change policy.
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which runs Muirfield, said it is now seeking a fresh ballot. | Royal Troon members have voted "overwhelmingly" at a special meeting to allow women to join. |
22964655 | Up to 90 firefighters worked for several hours to control the fire at Walkabout on Queen Street, which started at about 05:30 BST.
Walkabout spokesman Matt de Leon said staff had "safely evacuated" after the fire alarm sounded, but had "lost many of their possessions".
Roads around the fire, which were closed while the blaze was brought under control, have reopened.
Richard Edney, Lancashire Fire Service spokesman, said there had been a "lot of smoke" coming from the fire.
He said there were "over 30 firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, which is quite rare, and it's due to the size of the three-storey building".
Mr de Leon said the bar chain had arranged for the staff to stay in a hotel and was hoping to "find new homes and jobs for them at other Walkabout venues in the UK within the next 24 hours".
"We are also helping them with their personal insurance claims and paperwork, including passports, and have arranged for a counsellor to be on hand for them should they wish to speak to one."
He said that the company was "also trying to find roles for non-live-in staff at our other venues."
He added that the extent of the damage to the building and the cause of the fire were still unknown. | A large fire at a bar in Blackpool has left 12 live-in staff homeless. |
40293975 | A large increase of incidents involving e-cigarettes and vitamin D supplements were recorded in recent years.
Contraceptive pills, artificial sweetener and raisins also harm thousands each year, data shows.
Vets reported almost 11,000 UK pet poisonings in 2016, mostly involving dogs, cats and rabbits.
More on pet poisonings and other Devon & Cornwall news here
Gudrun Ravetz, president of the British Veterinary Association said: "E-cigarettes may be harmful if they are ingested by your pet, as e-cigarettes and refills can easily contain sufficient quantities of nicotine to kill a small animal."
Some 113 pets were poisoned by e-cigarettes while 148 cases involved vitamin D tablets, figures from the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) show - however they remain a small percentage of the overall total.
Pete Stewart's dog was poisoned after he found and ate "up to four bars of dark chocolate".
Mr Stewart, from London, said: "He seemed completely normal until the next afternoon when he started getting quite hyperactive and shaking, so I took him to the vets immediately.
"It was pretty horrible, they were really worried - they managed to flush his system but the quantity he had was enough to kill a much bigger dog".
1,253
Human painkillers
579 Chocolate
759 Rat poison
253 Artificial sweetener
113 Electronic cigarettes
Elizabeth Mackie's cat, Mr Mistoffelees, died after licking pollen from lilies in what she described as a "traumatic and horrific experience".
The Shropshire pub manager said she had an "overwhelming response" to her story from cat-lovers "right round the globe".
Nicola Brown, from Newquay, also said she had a "massive nightmare" and a "large bill" when her "pride and joy" Shaka the cat was poisoned by lily pollen.
There are no official figures for how many animals die from poisoning, although research into about 1,500 cases by the VPIS shows of those brought to a vet around 8% end in fatality.
Fatal poisoning cases are known to have involved insulin, baby wipes, bleach, morphine pesticides and antifreeze.
Animals' bodies break down certain substances in a different way to humans, which can lead to kidney failure. In chocolate, the problem is a naturally occurring chemical in cocoa beans called theobromine. Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea, hyperactivity, tremors, rapid breathing and fits. | Painkiller tablets, lilies and chocolate were among the biggest causes of accidental pet poisoning in the home last year, leading vets are warning. |
34656981 | They have warned thousands more jobs could be lost due to a combination of high energy costs and cheap imports.
Workers from Tata Steel plants in Port Talbot and Llanwern, Newport, joined the demonstration on Wednesday ahead of a Labour-led Commons debate on steel.
Business Secretary Sajid Javid has called for an emergency EU meeting to discuss the crisis in the industry.
Dozens of workers, many wearing "Save Our Steel" T-shirts, gathered at Westminster in a demonstration organised by the Unite and Community trade unions.
Jason Wyatt, an electrician at Tata Steel in Port Talbot, urged ministers to cut business rates and energy costs for his employer.
"We are worried about what the business will do in terms of any short-term measures such as lay-offs," he said.
"The steel works is the biggest employer by a mile in Port Talbot and any job losses would have a massive impact on the area." | Steel workers from south Wales have joined a lobby of Parliament urging UK government action to save the industry. |
38528642 | The FTSE 100 edged up by 0.2%, or 14.74 points, to 7,210.05, a seventh consecutive record close.
The index has been benefiting from the fall in the pound against the dollar, as many of the firms are international and make their profits in dollars.
On the currency markets, the pound was down 0.8% against the dollar at $1.2313.
And against the euro it fell 0.43% to €1.1659.
On the stock market, the leading shares were defence group BAE Systems and Lloyds Banking Group.
Neil Wilson from ETX Capital pointed out that Friday's close means the index has risen for five consecutive weeks - the best performance since the Brexit vote in June. | London's leading shares recovered from early falls on Friday to reach yet another closing high. |
36339521 | The author is porn star turned Bollywood actress Karanjit Kaur, also known as Sunny Leone - the name that made her famous in the adult entertainment business in the US.
Last month, Juggernaut, a Delhi-based publication house, released Sweet Dreams, a collection of 12 erotic stories by Leone.
It is the first time an original short-fiction collection has been released on mobile phones in India.
Leone's stories are varied: one set in New York sees an Indian IT expert romping with an Indian stripper; in another a dutiful Indian woman has sex with her late husband's ghost.
"I would write on my laptop at all times, in Mumbai or in the quiet of my home in Los Angeles, or during time off on a Bollywood set and it took me four months to come up with the first draft," Leone tells the BBC.
Erotic romance was what Leone says was on her mind while writing the book.
"I've never written before; but I took up the offer from the publishers as a challenge and had a go," she says.
Leone can't recall reading as a child. Growing up in Canada to Punjabi Sikh parents, she recalls being into sports and photography.
The first erotic fiction she ever read was EL James's Fifty Shades of Grey on Kindle. "I remember reading and thinking, 'this is intense', and giggling."
Indian authors and experts in the publishing business say Leone's erotic fiction has come at the right time in the market.
Ananth Padmanabhan, an erotic fiction author, says that India has also succumbed to the "bold erotic effect of 50 Shades of Grey" in the same way Harry Potter influenced fantasy across books and films.
"India has an appetite for erotic fiction despite moral policing and Leone's stories are part of that wave to titillate the market that wants more."
Chiki Sarkar, Juggernaut's publisher, says: "Erotica is one of the high-selling genres for e-books globally and we felt it would work for the smartphone as well."
Moreover, Leone has a massive fan following across India and on social media platforms.
"Leone has about 22 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, including many women who have all been enthusiastic about her foray into writing," says Ms Sarkar.
Leone's own story is of an adult entertainment star who has become the most-searched person on Google by Indians.
In 2011, Indian television viewers were first introduced to Leone in the fifth season of the reality TV show, Bigg Boss.
The show, an Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother, had Leone, as a wild card entrant, bringing her closer to Indian television audiences who had until then known her as an American porn star of Indian origin.
Leone dropped out from her studies in Canada when she was 18 to enter the adult entertainment business in the US.
She initially worked as an erotic model and later moved to the adult film business.
Leone recalls she was criticised by many Indians who condemned her job as an adult film star in the US.
"I was called every name in the book," she recalls, adding that she took her time to research about the popularity of Bigg Boss in India before deciding to participate in the show.
Since her Bigg Boss stint, her popularity has been soaring in India.
She has acted in 15 Hindi films, including erotic thrillers, adult comedies, racy entertainers, and a couple of glamorous cameos in south Indian films.
"I am a risk taker and since I was young I always would try as many things as possible to see what was comfortable to me."
She says entering the porn industry, or her acting career in Bollywood and her newly minted author role are all offers that she took on as challenges.
But her rising popularity has also brought criticism from India's moral police.
"I would say there are more important things than me or my job to fight over. Fight to better the plight of poor, naked children on our streets, make your cities cleaner else, plant trees," she says.
When a male TV anchor asked her some uncomfortable questions about her past in an interview in January, she remained calm and dignified.
Her responses won praise from social media users, while the anchor received criticism.
"It (her job as a porn star) just happened; I have no horror story to narrate and I am not ashamed of it. Everything that's happened since then has been only good," she tells the BBC.
As for the future, she has made a song with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for his upcoming film Raees. And she is also planning to release a range of perfumes called Lust by Sunny Leone.
"She is the epitome of a strong woman who is unapologetic about the decisions she has taken and choices that she has made in life," says Ms Sarkar.
Rosalyn D'Mello, author of an erotic memoir, says that "by not surrendering to predictable sermons about shame and women's sexuality, Leone challenges existing notions about how a woman can be in charge of how she is perceived".
Sudha G Tilak is an independent Delhi-based journalist. | "Sizzling stories by India's most desirable woman," twinkles the blurb on the smartphone screen, flashing an image of a smiling woman in a red dress. |
18569696 | Kenny MacAskill is pushing ahead with plans for single police and fire services instead of regional bodies.
The UK government argued the single services would not be eligible for VAT refunds, worth more than £30m a year.
Mr MacAskill said the policy was in contrast to Westminster's treatment of Academy schools in England.
He said the rules for the government-funded schools were changed to allow VAT to be reclaimed.
Under Section 33 of the VAT Act 1994, local authorities can recover the VAT they pay for supplies, which relate to their non-business activities.
A letter from Mr MacAskill said he had not received any formal reasons for the UK Treasury decision not to allow the new Scottish Police Authority to reclaim VAT but he understood it was because it would be "funded by central government".
Mr MacAskill said the decision would mean the police and fire services in Scotland would be the only ones in the UK unable to recover VAT.
He said: "This decision by the Treasury is unacceptable, unjustifiable and manifestly unfair. This charge on Scottish public sector reform is not levied on similar reforms in the rest of the UK."
Mr MacAskill said the UK government had changed the rules on VAT for Academy schools - which are entirely funded by central government.
He added: "It also ignores the fact that the new Police Authority will continue to be able to receive funding from Scottish local authorities to pay the costs of agreed local priorities.
"This provides a direct link with local taxation, which we consider meets the Treasury's policy on VAT recovery."
The Police and Fire Reform Bill reaches Stage 3 in the Scottish Parliament this week and the new single services are scheduled to begin in April 2013.
The Treasury insists that the Scottish government knew all along that their model for service reform would lead to the loss of VAT exemption.
Public sector union Unison claimed the ending of the exemption would cost the police £26m a year and the new national fire service between £4m and £10m.
A union spokesman said: "It appears that Scotland's public services are going to have to pay a high price for allowing greater ministerial control of our police and fire services." | The justice secretary has said a UK Treasury decision not to allow reformed Scottish police and fire services to recover VAT was "manifestly unfair". |
40118772 | His comments follow an internal Tory row over who should have represented the party at a TV debate.
A spokesman for Mr Davies had claimed Mr Cairns had been unwilling to do it.
But on a BBC Radio Wales election phone-in Mr Cairns repeated his claim that Mr Davies was "always down to do" the event, although it was AM Darren Millar who eventually took part.
The BBC Wales Leaders' Debate programme featured leaders from each of the five main parties in Wales, with the exception of the Welsh Conservatives who submitted Mr Millar, their policy director and health spokesman.
Mr Cairns told BBC Radio Wales that Mr Davies was "always down to do" the BBC debate, but that Mr Davies "couldn't do it for personal reasons".
On why he did not step in to take part instead, the Welsh secretary pointed out that most of the other parties were being represented in the debate by assembly members.
"When there are AMs debating we think the best people responsible for that in order to respond to the debate will be an assembly member," he said.
Mr Cairns said he thought Mr Millar did an "exceptional job".
Asked if he backed Mr Davies as leader, he said: "Without a question."
However, a Welsh Conservative source suggested there could be a move against Andrew Davies after the 8 June election.
"A number of members are troubled by the leaders debate shambles and Andrew's boredom with the job," the source told BBC Wales.
"This will be sorted after the election."
In response, a spokesman for Andrew RT Davies said it was "very easy to hide behind a keyboard".
The row over the selection of a panellist for the BBC Wales leaders' debate follows an earlier argument within the Conservative party over the inclusion of UKIP defector Mark Reckless into its assembly group.
Meanwhile a new poll by YouGov, commissioned by Cardiff University and ITV Cymru Wales, has suggested that Labour remain ahead of the Conservatives in Wales.
The poll puts Labour on 46%, up 2% from earlier in May, and the Conservatives on 35%, up 1%.
Support for Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats fell by 1% each - to 8% and 5% respectively. UKIP's support stood at 5%.
It is the second Welsh Governance Centre poll since the election was declared to put Labour ahead - earlier polls to that suggested the Tories could make substantial gains.
Professor Roger Scully said prospects for the election are "starting to look very ominous for Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats".
"Were the two parties to do no better on polling day than in our latest poll, then this would be Plaid's lowest general election vote share since 1987, and the worst ever experienced in Wales by the Liberal Democrats and their predecessor parties," he said.
The poll had a sample of 1014 Welsh adults and was carried out from 29-31 May. | Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has backed Andrew RT Davies as leader of the Welsh Conservatives "without a question". |
35416812 | The PM told the Commons the tax "should have been collected under [the last] Labour government".
Google agreed to pay £130m of tax dating back to 2005 to HMRC, which said it was the "full tax due in law".
But European MPs have described it as a "very bad deal" and Labour said it amounted to a 3% tax rate.
Mr Cameron was challenged during Prime Minister's Questions about the amount of tax paid by the US tech giant, which has made billions of pounds of sales in Britain.
He said: "We're talking about tax that should have been collected under a Labour government, raised by a Conservative government."
He said it was "quite right" that the deal was done independently by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), but he was "absolutely clear that no government has done more than this one to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance".
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the Commons the deal equated to a tax rate of 3% and questioned why there was "one rule for big multinational companies, and another for ordinary small businesses and self-employed workers".
Labour has written to the National Audit Office asking it to investigate HMRC's handling of the settlement, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell has written to Mr Osborne demanding details of how it was reached.
PMQs reaction
PMQs: Labour attacks PM's 'bunch of migrants' comment
Former Business Secretary Vince Cable said Google had "got off very, very lightly" and the chancellor had "made a fool of himself" by hailing the deal as a victory.
Meanwhile, French MEP Eva Joly, vice-chairwoman of the Special European Parliamentary Committee on Tax Rulings, said the deal showed the UK was preparing "to become a kind of tax haven to attract multinationals".
She said MEPs would call George Osborne to appear before them and criticised the attempt to "make publicity out of it" by talking about large-sounding figures which she said were a fraction of what should be paid.
By political correspondent Ross Hawkins
First, George Osborne risked sounding far too content when he hailed the deal as a "victory" and a "major success". Government spokesmen were reluctant to repeat his verdict.
Second, Labour reacted quickly and managed to get a hearing. Their message sounded louder than their internal disputes, for a change.
Third, voters care. The perception that international firms get a better deal than ordinary people is toxic.
It is HMRC that collects tax, not ministers, and the government says it has acted and got results where Labour did not.
But few politicians ever caught the mood of a nation declaring themselves happy with a big business's tax return.
Conservative MP Mark Garnier, a member of the Treasury select committee, said the agreement represented a "relatively small" amount of money compared with Google's UK profits.
News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch tweeted to say he believed the company was only paying "token amounts for PR [public relations] purposes".
Reports in Wednesday's Times newspaper suggest Italy is poised to strike a deal for Google to pay £113m in back taxes to the Italian government, equating to a 15% tax rate. It is not known how many years such a deal might cover.
Google agreed to pay the back taxes after an "open audit" of its accounts by the UK tax authorities and a six-year inquiry by HMRC.
Despite the UK being one of Google's biggest markets, it paid £20.4m in taxes in 2013. The value of its sales in Britain that year was £3.8bn. Google makes most of its UK profits through online advertising in the UK.
The company has been criticised for its legal but complex international tax structures. Its European headquarters are in Ireland, which has a lower corporation tax rate than the UK, and it has also used company structures in Bermuda.
The BBC's economics editor Kamal Ahmed said it was now likely that focus would shift to other large multinational companies' tax arrangements - including Facebook, which paid only £4,000 in tax in the UK last year.
A new "diverted profits tax" introduced by the government, which aims to make international firms pay tax for operating in the UK, would see Google and others pay more tax in the future, he added.
Head of Google Europe Matt Brittin said last week: "We were applying the rules as they were and that was then and now we are going to be applying the new rules, which means we will be paying more tax." | David Cameron has defended the deal UK authorities have struck with Google over tax, saying the Conservatives have done more than any other government. |
28292378 | On Friday a researcher told Chinese Central Television the iOS 7 frequent locations function collected data on where individual iPhone users went.
Apple said it would never track users.
It added it did not have access to the data, which was locally stored, was committed to protecting privacy, and that users could turn off the function.
"Unlike many companies, our business does not depend on collecting large amounts of personal data about our customers," Apple said in a statement.
A "crowd-sourced" database of known locations collected from millions of devices was used to speed up its location-finding service, it said.
But no data sent from individual phones could be used to identify the users.
It said: "Calculating a phone's location using just GPS satellite data can take several minutes.
"iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using pre-stored WLAN hotspot and cell tower location data in combination with information about which hotspots and cell towers are currently being received by the iPhone.
"We do this at the device level.
"Apple does not track users' locations - Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so."
Apple made about 6% of the smartphones in China, the researcher said.
In June 2013, China's First Lady, Peng Liyuan, was criticised for using an iPhone during a diplomatic trip to Mexico amid a row between Beijing and the company.
Chinese state media had attacked Apple's differing warranty policies in China and the rest of the world as discriminatory, prompting an apology from the company's chief executive, Tim Cook.
The reputations of US technology companies have also taken a blow in China following former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden's claims that some were involved in passing data to the National Security Agency.
However, Apple said it had "never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services".
"We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will. It's something we feel very strongly about," it added.
China has also banned government agencies from buying new computers using Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system and placed a greater emphasis on developing its own technology.
The system was branded a threat to security in June this year after being banned in May. | Apple has denied its iPhone threatens Chinese national security after the state broadcaster carried reports it could transmit "state secrets". |
28832806 | The 58-year old fell close to Fanad Head lighthouse at 15:00 BST on Sunday.
Mr McCourt was recovered from the sea and received first aid at the scene.
He was then airlifted to Letterkenny Hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
Ian Scott, station officer at Malin Head Coast Guard in County Donegal, said Irish Coast Guard staff made an emergency broadcast when they received the 999 call. A local boat that was in the area responded and went to the man's aid.
"We also tasked our coast guard helicopter from Sligo, both Lough Swilly lifeboats and also our fast response coast guard team from Mulroy," he said.
The station officer added: "All the search and rescue units arrived on the scene and our coast guard team from Mulroy managed to recover the man from the water, they administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
"He was then transferred to the coast guard helicopter and flown to Letterkenny Hospital." | The man who died after falling from a cliff into the sea in County Donegal has been named locally as John McCourt from Antrim. |
39975128 | Mr Nuttall was due to join party activists in Clacton, where UKIP had its only MP elected, on Friday.
But the party's purple battle bus had a wing mirror knocked off overnight and needed to be repaired.
UKIP general election candidate, Paul Oakley, said the bus was "mysteriously damaged" but a party spokesman said it had been accidentally hit by a lorry.
The spokesman said: "A lorry drove a bit too close on its way out early this morning or late last night and just knocked the wing mirror off.
"It's one of those rogue accidents you can't do anything about."
"There is nothing to suggest the wing mirror was knocked off on purpose."
But, writing on Twitter, Paul Oakley, the UKIP general election candidate for Clacton, seemed to suggest that the bus damage might not have been accidental.
He said: "Now hear this! The UKIP battle bus has been mysteriously damaged overnight so will now be in Clacton at the weekend and not today."
Douglas Carswell had been UKIP's only MP until he quit the party and later announced he would not stand for re-election.
Clayton-based councillor Jeff Bray was picked as the town's UKIP candidate over national executive committee member Paul Oakley by three votes.
However, the party's ruling committee later changed its mind, announcing that London-based Mr Oakley will be its candidate. | UKIP leader, Paul Nuttall has postponed a day of campaigning after the party battle bus was damaged. |
29280451 | Scientists say chemical changes caused by dry roasting processes may prime the body's immune system - sparking future allergic reactions.
But much more work is needed before humans should consider swapping roasted nuts for raw ones, they say.
The research appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Mice were exposed to peanut proteins through the skin or the stomach.
Animals given the dry roasted samples had a much stronger immune response - the body's way of fighting things that appear foreign to it - than mice given the raw versions.
In humans, immune responses vary. Some can be mild, causing rashes for example, but others can be extremely dangerous, leading to swelling of the mouth and breathing difficulties.
Scientists say it is likely to be the high temperatures used to roast nuts that are responsible for the chemical changes that, in turn, prompt the allergic reactions.
Prof Quentin Sattentau, who led the research, said: "This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a potential trigger for peanut allergy has been directly shown."
And researchers believe the findings may explain the lower allergy rates in East Asian populations where boiled, raw or fried nuts are a more common part of the diet than roasted ones.
But they warn that much more work is needed before doctors make any specific dietary recommendations.
Prof Sattentau said: "We know that children in families with other allergies are more likely to develop peanut allergy.
"However our research is at an early stage and we think that it would be premature to avoid roasted peanuts and their products until further work has been carried out to confirm this result."
Scientists are now exploring methods to get rid of the particular chemical changes that may be responsible for kick-starting the immune system.
According to NHS Choices, nut allergies, including peanuts, are relatively common in both school-aged children and adults.
And peanuts are one of the most common causes of fatal allergic reactions to food.
People with peanut allergies are advised to avoid them and many carry auto-injector pens to reduce the severity of any reactions that do occur. | Roasted peanuts are more likely to trigger an allergic reaction than raw peanuts, according to an Oxford University study, involving mice. |
37277809 | The car, which appears to be connected to one of the turbines, was designed by Carlo Roberts and Stefan Fulcher in a field in Eye, Suffolk.
Mr Roberts admitted to being "obsessed with aerial views" and said "the idea of a turbine powering a car seemed very interesting".
It was created with the landowner's permission, using a tractor.
More news from Suffolk as it airs
The geography teacher, who has an art degree and a background in community art, said: "After a trip to London, I was amazed at the amount of electric cars there.
"It got me thinking about electric cars and how few there seem to be in the countryside."
The 200m (656ft) etching took him and farm worker Mr Fulcher five hours to mark out and a further 90 minutes to plough.
A member of a local radio-controlled model aircraft club monitored the design from the air using a drone to ensure its accuracy.
The electric car is the latest in a line of collaborative "land art" projects completed by the pair, which included a B-17 bomber, Olympic rings to celebrate London 2012 and a giant poppy to commemorate US servicemen who lost their lives while based at the nearby eye airfield.
"The thing we are always up against is fitting it in with the agricultural calendar and when the tractors are free," Mr Roberts said. | Artists have created an image of a giant electric car in a field of wind turbines. |
40277258 | The Charlton striker, 23, made his international debut off the bench in the friendly win over Czech Republic in March 2016.
But in his next outing, the former Celtic forward injured his groin while on loan at Blackburn Rovers, curtailing his international involvement.
"I know I can get there, I know I was pushing at the doors," Watt said.
Watt was on loan at Hearts at the start of season 2016-17 but scored just once for the Scottish Premiership side before returning to the Valley in January. He netted twice for the Addicks in March to take his season's tally to three.
"Last season was just a bump in the road, in my eyes," explained Watt. "I might not have had the best of seasons, but after an injury you are bound to take a dip.
"I have rectified that this summer by not taking as long a break and getting myself as fit as possible, because last summer I never had that. I missed the first three weeks training, so I was behind by maybe six or seven weeks.
"I know I can get there - it is just about me showing people. I love proving people wrong and so hopefully I can do it. I need to set myself a target. If I can be involved in one of those [Scotland] qualifying squads then I can kick on.
"I am 23, I am still a young guy and I have a lot ahead of me."
Watt enjoyed watching the national team draw 2-2 with England at Hampden Park on Saturday - a result which maintained hopes of reaching the finals in Russia - with fellow striker Leigh Griffiths netting two fine free-kicks.
But the experience reminded Watt, who shot to prominence as an 18-year-old when he scored in Celtic's 2012 Champions League win over Barcelona, of his desire to re-engage with the national side.
Strachan's men have four crucial Group F qualifiers before the end of the year, beginning with a trip to Lithuania, and the visit to Hampden of Malta in September.
"On Saturday I was thinking I need to get back there," he said. "After my international debut I played four minutes in my next game before I ripped my groin, so how is that for luck?
"I am not a jealous person, or bitter person. I was buzzing for Griff when he scored the goals. I was buzzing at 2-1 and was sad when it was 2-2.
"The gaffer showed faith in me as well so I was buzzing for him at 2-1 and even at 2-2 because that is an amazing result.
"The gaffer has called me up a few times so I know I need to show him what I can do and hopefully he is there for a long time so I can do that." | Tony Watt insists he can force his way back into the Scotland set-up ahead of the final 2018 World Cup qualifiers. |
39039395 | The actress was seen frying a scorpion and eating the leg of a spider which she said had a "really good flavour".
Eating creepy crawlies has been long associated with the TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.
But should we all be more like Angelina and swap our bacon for bugs?
It's estimated that by 2050 the world will be home to nine billion people, meaning current food production will need to almost double.
As the population grows, there's been a real push to look at sources of food - particularly protein - other than your traditional meat and fish.
Eating insects is said to be one way of meeting this challenge because they are environmentally sustainable, nutritious and can be harvested relatively cheaply and easily in the right conditions.
It's estimated that two million people worldwide eat insects as part of their traditional diet, but Western countries have yet to catch up.
There is a "yuck factor", says the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). It says Western attitudes towards entomophagy - humans eating insects - are negative because bugs are seen as unclean and disease-carrying.
The rise of agriculture and a change in lifestyle in Western societies has also led to insects being seen as "pests", says the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Mosquitoes and flies invade homes and bite, termites destroy wood, and some insects end up as unwanted extras in restaurant meals - all of which trigger a "disgust" reaction, it added.
However, there has been a slow shift in attitudes with the art of eating bugs being considered a novelty, which has seen a rise in their purchase as an unusual gift.
"They are the original superfood," says Shami Radia, co-founder of Grub which sells a range of edible bugs. "They are high in protein, minerals and amino acids so it makes sense to eat them."
Insects are also better for the environment than conventional livestock farming. They can feed on bio-waste, produce less greenhouse gases, use less water and take up less land than animals.
Bugs also have what's called a high feed conversion efficiency because they are cold-blooded. On average, insects can convert 2kg of feed into 1kg of insect mass, whereas cattle require 8kg of feed to produce 1kg of body weight gain.
There are around 1,900 different species of insects that have been used as food, according to the FAO.
The most commonly eaten insect groups include beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, termites, dragonflies and flies.
Despite such a variety of insects being available though, UK suppliers have focused on a more limited choice with the most popular being crickets, mealworms, locusts and grasshoppers.
Grub sellers believe the UK is a long way from embracing spiders and scorpions on our dinner plate.
"We have to take baby steps," says Mr Radia. "It's not something we would sell. You've got to think about what insects to push and what will get people into eating grubs.
"You have to think of the consumer journey. You can start off with cricket powder because you can't actually see the insect and hopefully it will make people more comfortable with eating insects as a whole."
So far, the UK market has seen pop-up shops and restaurants incorporate insects into more traditional dishes such as buffalo worm macaroni cheese, meal worm bolognaise, chocolate cherry cricket brownies or sprinkled on a pizza.
They are also marketed as an on-the-go snack that would sit alongside your roasted peanuts or chia seeds.
Bug sellers say there has been a real shift in the popularity of edible bugs.
Nick Cooper, owner of Crunchy Critters which was set up in 2012, has seen a sales growth rate of 25% year on year with products being sold to schools as well as gyms. He notes there is a particular boom around Halloween and the festive period.
"People are much more aware of eating insects," he said. "There's not that shock horror factor now. The market is definitely heading in the right direction. It won't be an overnight change and will probably be led in the future by youngsters."
Mr Radia believes that eating insects will one day become as popular as eating sushi.
"Behaviour can be changed," he said. "Prawns are ugly and taste delicious and there's no reason why eating insects can't be normalised." | Angelina Jolie cooked up a storm while promoting her latest film in Cambodia by eating bugs with her kids. |
39119114 | Rovers had no fit keepers for Tuesday's Championship trip to Ayr United, but their request for a postponement was rejected by the SPFL board.
After Ayr won the match 1-0, Hughes told BBC Scotland: "It's just making a mockery of it, isn't it?
"They need to have a right good look at themselves."
The Kirkcaldy club had gone without a goalkeeper on the bench for their previous three matches.
Conor Brennan injured a foot in Saturday's loss to Queen of the South, while Kevin Cuthbert and Aaron Lennox are recovering from injuries sustained earlier this year.
"I hope they're embarrassed," said Hughes of the decision to play Tuesday's fixture.
"The guys that sit and vote and put their hand up for it to go ahead, half of them couldn't kick the blankets off the bed, never played football. That's the problem - they don't know what it's all about.
"Maybe for the best of Scottish football, we'll take the hit, but this can't happen again in Scottish football.
"We've got four loans in, so we'd have to try to get someone to go back to their club before we could [sign a goalkeeper on loan].
"We'd be looking at someone who is under 21 for the loan and, if we'd brought in a young keeper, I don't think he'd have done any better than Ryan Stevenson.
"He had a great save in the first minute. He acquitted himself very, very well."
Farid el Alagui's header moved Ayr, who are second-bottom of the Championship, to within one point of eighth-placed Rovers.
And, while Ayr manager Ian McCall believed his side were on a "hiding to nothing" because of the "whole circus" surrounding the game, he felt it did not affect the outcome.
"It didn't really influence the game," he said. "He had no chance with the goal and he made a couple of good saves."
Stevenson, 32, played in goal for the final five minutes of Partick Thistle's 4-0 defeat by Hearts in October 2015 after Ryan Scully was sent off with the Jags having used all of their substitutes.
But he wants his stint in goal on Tuesday to be his last.
"It was a strange experience," said Stevenson, who revealed he was wearing gloves belonging to Dundee United goalkeeper Cammy Bell.
"I didn't want to let the boys down and I suppose it's something I can tick off the bucket list.
"I think that's the gloves hung up now. I've got them in the bag and I'll get the shirt framed.
"It's not something you'd have thought you'd have to do in a professional game.
"Hopefully, it's something I'll not be repeating again." | The SPFL should be "embarrassed" by the decision that forced Raith Rovrs to select midfielder Ryan Stevenson in goal, says manager John Hughes. |
38993715 | Like a snowball getting bigger as it rolls downhill, momentum is gathering around the warnings of school leaders about impending cash problems.
Head teachers have said a lack of cash might force them to cut school hours.
Ministers were forced by a Parliamentary question to reveal that more than half of academies lacked enough income to cover their expenditure.
And school governors - the embodiment of local civic worthies - have threatened to go on strike for the first time, rather than sign off such underfunded budgets.
Petitions and protest letters have been sent to MPs about cuts to jobs and school services - and warning letters from head teachers will have been sent home to alert parents.
Grammar school head teachers have gone a step further and warned that parents might to have to pay to make up the shortfall.
School leaders see themselves rather like look-outs on the Titanic shouting out that there's a great big iceberg ahead - backed by the National Audit Office's finding that schools face 8% real-term spending cuts, worth £3bn, by 2020.
The spending watchdog says costs for schools are outstripping the budgets allocated by the government.
The missing piece in this debate has been any real sign of movement from the government - other than to keep repeating that school funding is at record levels.
But plenty will be going on behind the scenes, and there is no shortage of "insiders" with views on what's happening.
It's claimed that ministers can't sign a birthday card without getting clearance from 10 Downing Street.
So education ministers are unable to give any indication of funding changes, in part because a consultation is still taking place and more particularly because it isn't in their gift to decide.
But there are options thought to be under discussion.
The government has announced a new formula for allocating funding to schools, responding to years of complaints about regional inequalities.
But a number of Conservative MPs in rural and suburban areas have been energetically lobbying that this slicing up of the cake is still too much in favour of the inner cities.
If the formula was shifted around a little, such as putting less emphasis on deprivation, it could shift funding from London and the big cities towards the shires.
This would not have much electoral cost for the Conservatives as their support is not in these inner-city areas.
But it would be a big call in terms of political purpose to cut funding from areas of deprivation.
Another approach would be to start including pupil premium money - targeted at deprived children - into the general funding equation.
This really would mark the formal detonation of the last pillars of the Cameron and coalition era, for which the pupil premium was a moral touchstone.
There are other more creative possibilities.
It was revealed that of the money earmarked for the ill-fated plan turn all schools into academies, £384m had been taken back by the Treasury.
This £384m has been claimed as being enough to make sure that there are no losers in the funding formula shake-up.
If this cash could be "rediscovered" in a virtual shoebox in the Treasury, it could come back into play, getting the government off a funding hook - without actually having to find new money.
The apprenticeship levy, about to be introduced, has also been seen as a potential pot of money. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says by 2019-20 it will be raising £2.8bn from employers - but only £640m is set to be spent on apprenticeships.
The Department for Education has so far not been able to explain where the rest of this money might be heading.
Of course, another option is that the government refuses to move and schools have to operate within their budgets.
What would this mean in practice?
To take a real-life example shown to the BBC, what happens when a secondary school faces a shortfall of £350,000.
The only way to make such savings is to cut staff - heads and governing bodies will be making such tough decisions.
Which subject should they stop teaching? Which teachers should they make redundant? Should they get rid of counsellors for mental health problems? Should they merge classes? And who gets to lose out on the quality of their education?
This has left head teachers furious.
There has always been a well-developed moaning culture in education, but there is no escaping the outrage among school leaders about the lack of political response to funding worries.
They were even more livid when they found that the government had found money to expand grammar schools - and have written angry letters asking which services they should cut in their own schools.
They see ministers and MPs rather like untrustworthy children who won't take responsibility for their decisions.
There is also brinkmanship on both sides. Will schools really send home children because of a lack of cash?
And the government will worry that if they crack over schools, it would start a feeding frenzy of other demands on public spending.
A Department for Education spokesman said that school funding is already at its highest level - more than £40bn for 2016-17.
And the department says that it has grasped the nettle of introducing a long overdue national funding formula.
"Significant protections have also been built into the formula so that no school will face a reduction of more than more than 1.5% per pupil per year or 3% per pupil overall.
"But we recognise that schools are facing cost pressures, which is why we will continue to provide support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways, including improving the way they buy goods and services, so they get the best possible value." | After the NHS and social care, is the next funding crisis going to be in England's schools? |
33832128 | Russell Martin opened the scoring fortuitously, inadvertently turning the ball home after Costel Pantilimon parried a Robbie Brady shot.
Steven Whittaker slammed home a second after a one-two with Wes Hoolahan, who also assisted in the Canaries' third from Nathan Redmond after the break.
Duncan Watmore then scored a late consolation on his Sunderland debut.
The 21-year-old struck with the Black Cats' second shot on target in the 88th minute, by which time many home fans had already left the ground.
The result leaves Dick Advocaat's side, who were beaten 4-2 at Leicester on the opening day, bottom of the Premier League table after two games.
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It was difficult to tell because of Norwich's urgency, fluidity and snappiness in attack.
The away side's opening goal might have had a heavy hint of fortune - goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon was particularly unlucky to concede seconds after brilliantly turning the ball behind for a corner - but it was certainly well deserved.
Manager Alex Neil is now unbeaten in 13 away games since taking over in January and his team were well on top throughout. Hoolahan was composed and inventive and Redmond a constant menace with his pace.
Goalkeeper John Ruddy, relatively untroubled behind a solid Norwich defence throughout, pounded the ground in frustration after seeing Watmore's slightly miscued volley bounce in late on.
It would be interesting to hear the Sunderland manager's thoughts on the work that is still required to transform his side.
There was less of the defensive calamity that marked their opening-day defeat, but instead the Black Cats looked toothless in attack.
Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher threatened sporadically but were isolated for long periods with seemingly little connection to midfield, where new signing Yann M'Vila made his debut.
The 25-year-old was outdone by youngster Watmore, whose every enthusiastic contribution was cheered by the home fans.
In truth, though, none of the four attackers on show - including substitute Danny Graham - looked likely to provide the presence Sunderland will need this season.
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Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat: "Two games two defeats, we did not expect. We have to discuss with the players how we go on.
"It was the same in pre-season and you hoped it would change but it is not changing. Myself as well, I am responsible for that, no doubt.
"They can talk and I can talk. Together we have to find out if we can find the solution, otherwise we have no chance."
Norwich City manager Alex Neil: "I thought it was very good, similar to last week in that we dominated the game.
"We had the cutting edge this time though. The first goal is crucial - we didn't look back. I have a great group, they work hard and work as a team."
BBC football analyst Garth Crooks on Final Score: "From what I've seen both last week and this week, I don't think Sunderland are going to stay in the Premier League. Whoever does Match of the Day tonight is going to have a field day." | Norwich City stunned Sunderland at the Stadium of Light to earn a deserved first win of the season. |
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We often compare Usain Bolt to Muhammad Ali - not for his political convictions but his charisma, for the effect he has had on his sport, for the impact he has made on the world outside it.
Coming into this World Championships 100m final on a dark, sweaty night in this giant ball of cold steel, it seemed that we might get the old showmanship but not the old magic.
The best we could hope for, with the twice-banned Justin Gatlin on a 28-race unbeaten run, with Bolt injured for much of the summer and stumbling in his semi-final, was a defeat to set up a future redemption.
Ali's defeat by Joe Frazier at the Garden in 1971, without which the Thrilla in Manila could never have happened; Bolt knocked out in the Bird's Nest to set up the Revival in Rio in 12 months' time.
Yet it seemed too great a burden for a man who has looked not only mortal this summer but for the first time truly fallible.
Bolt had raced the 100m on just two days this season before arriving at the scene of his unforgettable coronation in 2008. So bad was his pelvic injury that not until late July did he record a time that hinted he could even be competitive in Beijing.
Ali could compensate for his declining speed and the power and fury of his rivals with ringcraft and tactics, by scheming and slipping and refusing to surrender until the other man had fallen.
The 100m does not afford those nuances. Nine-point-something seconds. Which man gets there first. There is no hiding place and no time for comebacks.
And yet Bolt, once again, proved us all fools.
His was an ugly heat and a horrible semi-final. He almost fell from his blocks and had to fight with eyes-wide desperation to even make the final.
What could he possibly do up against the relentless consistency of Gatlin? These have been the American's times this year: 9.74secs, 9.75, 9.75, 9.78. In his heat he ran 9.83, in his semi 9.77.
When Ali went to Zaire to take on the dead-eyed might of George Foreman, witnesses to the build-up spoke of the fearsome percussive force of the ascendant's right hook on the heavy bag.
So it was with Gatlin's times. Bang. Bang. Bang.
I spoke to Gatlin's camp in the afternoon before this showdown, heavy grey skies and dark thunder clouds over the city, a portent for the superstitious of what might lie ahead for the sport if a man who has twice been banned for drug offences were to win its premier event.
There was not just confidence but near certainty. There was talk of a 9.6-something. There was talk of how much the 33-year-old American wanted the lane next to the ailing Jamaican, so he could shock Bolt mentally in the first few metres before destroying him physically in the next 95. There was talk of a new era.
Even on the blocks Bolt seemed beset by self-doubt. There were the usual games - pretending to smooth his hair back, playing peekaboo into the camera's lens when the world looked closer - but also sweat on his brow and a flicker to his eyes.
Lots of people have never seen Bolt beaten. He has been - by Yohan Blake at the Jamaican trials in 2012, by Gatlin himself in Rome two years ago - but never when it really matters, never on the world stage.
This seemed the moment for the old narrative to fall apart. Instead it was Gatlin - relentless Gatlin, predictably brilliant Gatlin - who cracked and fell.
From the blocks Bolt was ahead. At 20 metres he was relaxed. By 40 he was driving, and by 60 Gatlin was tying up - technique coming apart, rhythm going, those 28 victories falling away in his slipstream as the yellow blur to his left refused to come back to him.
Ali beat Foreman through rope-a-dope and bravery and immense mental fortitude. Bolt found his own way: belief when others wondered, speed when we feared it gone, a strength in body and mind that Gatlin could not match.
Bolt's reaction time to the gun was six thousandths of a second faster than Gatlin's. By the end the margin had stretched only a little, to a single one-hundredth of a second. A fraction between them, a chasm in charisma and class.
This was never good vs evil, as some tried to bill it in advance. Gatlin is a dope cheat, not a serial killer or child abuser.
Neither is it a new plot line. There have always been dopers and deceit among the fastest men and women in the world, whether it is Ben Johnson in Seoul or Carl Lewis failing three tests before he even got to those 1988 Olympics, Marion Jones winning in Sydney 12 years later on a blend of EPO and human growth hormone or her one-time husband Tim Montgomery using the same to break the world record before ending his career in jail for dealing heroin on the streets.
Bolt said before Sunday that he couldn't save the sport on his own. He hasn't. There were three other one-time dopers in this final. Tyson Gay, Mike Rodgers and Asafa Powell send out a message of their own: cheat and you can still prosper, cut a deal and you can come back in the time it takes a torn hamstring to heal.
But on a night that could have ended with the sport no longer teetering on the abyss but plummeting over it, the victories of Bolt and, a few hours earlier, Jessica Ennis-Hill in the heptathlon, gave the believers something to cling to and the doubters reason to perhaps think again.
One day Bolt will be gone, and with him the greatest wonder of our sporting age. Athletics must learn to both flourish without him and win some of the battles he has fought almost singlehandedly over the past few years.
For now we should give thanks for him and Ennis-Hill: smiling assassins of cynicism, unstoppable reminders that sport can sometimes be about hard work and heroics as well as the darker, dispiriting side of human nature. | From a man who has delighted in pulling off the impossible, this was perhaps the greatest miracle of all. |
36384063 | A substantial rise in television revenue aligned with changes in the salary cap has seen players paid in excess of £500,000 per year.
But Rowe has urged that wages must not spiral out of control.
"There is a concern amongst the Premiership chairmen that we do need to try to control player salaries," Rowe told BBC 5 live.
"Every time we lift the salary cap, the wages go up and up and up," he added.
"Everybody appreciates that most of these guys have a short time as a professional sportsman and need to earn a lot of money - and their career could finish tomorrow - but we need to try to strike a balance."
Rowe's club is preparing for its maiden Premiership final on Saturday, just six years after winning promotion from the Championship.
And he feels the extra money coming into the game is currently being misused, with individual players being paid extortionately rather than revenues going towards growing and improving squads as a whole.
"It [should be] about us getting bigger squads, employing more people, and improving facilities," Rowe continued.
"I think the agents are a major problem. Every time we lift the salary cap, they come along and want to bump all the salaries up another 10-15%.
"It's very difficult if every time you get extra money it's disappearing on players' salaries."
Rowe believes the clubs should act now before the situation gets out of hand, adding: "I do not want to see us go the way of football.
"I don't think we will, but I think we should see a bit of sense, and put things in place now before it does get away from us.
"Maybe once we have got our (long-term) agreement with the RFU sorted, maybe that's the next area we should concentrate on."
Rowe has been involved with Exeter since 1993, and has been the driving force behind turning the Chiefs from an amateur operation into one of the leading clubs in Europe:
"My ambition was to get us into the Premiership. We achieved that six years ago. And then the ambition was to win the Premiership and win to Europe.
"We can do the first bit this coming Saturday, and move on to Europe another day."
Hear from Tony Rowe on the 5 live Rugby podcast. | Exeter Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe has warned against the escalating player salaries in the Premiership. |
35739244 | The former Manchester United boss had been sitting next to David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, at a dinner shortly before Christmas when he apparently made the disclosure.
It's a big claim but with the season entering its final stretch Tottenham remain firmly in the hunt for the Premier League title.
They have not won the league since 1961 - but they are second in the table, five points behind Leicester.
And if the men from the Lane do go on to clinch the title, their 44-year-old Argentine manager will undoubtedly be given a huge amount of credit for what would be an achievement as stunning as it was unexpected.
But who exactly is the man who might be about to bring the Glory, Glory Days back to the Lane?
Marcelo Bielsa is not known as El Loco - The Madman - for nothing. He rambles on for hours at news conferences but never gives interviews. He reckons that if players were machines he would never lose.
He once turned up at the house of a 14-year-old Pochettino in the small town of Murphy at 2am. He was accompanied by Jorge Griffa, at the time also a coach at Newell's Old Boys and credited with unearthing the likes of Gabriel Batistuta and Carlos Tevez. After inspecting the teenager's legs, the story goes, they promptly signed him.
But mad or not, Bielsa is probably the key figure in Pochettino's footballing life.
"He is like my father," said the Spurs boss when his compatriot was linked with the Swansea job earlier in the season. "I know him since I was 14 at Newell's Old Boys."
Pochettino was born in Murphy, Santa Fe, the son of a farm labourer, and remained with Newell's, based two hours up the road in Rosario in the north of Argentina, until he moved to Spanish side Espanyol in 1994.
At the age of 18, the central defender won the Argentine title at Bielsa's Newell's in 1991 and reached the final of the Copa Libertadores the following season, losing to Tele Santana's Sao Paulo on penalties. It was a stunning achievement for a modest club.
"When we won the titles and reached the final of the Copa Libertadores, we were very similar to the squad that we have now at Tottenham in terms of the average age of the squad and in the balance between younger and experienced players," Pochettino said recently.
"There were very good youngsters - like me - and very good experienced players. A similar balance, a similar project."
Bielsa espoused an intense, fast-tempo and high-pressing game, suffocating the opposition. He needed - and had - complete buy-in from his youthful side for this to work.
"That Newell's side was a team shaped with lots of youngsters," said Argentine football journalist Martin Mazur. "It was nothing like the present day, when the system needs to promote youngsters to fill the gaps of the mid-20s generation that is almost entirely playing in Europe. In the late 80s and early 90s, Argentine exports were limited and it wasn't natural or easy to bet on a new generation.
"Bielsa was promoted after working with the academy, but had no illustrious history as a player or as a manager.
"He was frowned upon by veteran players such as Tata Martino or Juan Manuel Llop, and was admired by a core of young players, namely Pochettino and Fernando Gamboa, who became soldiers of his cause: attacking football, high pressing, mechanised movements, new training methods close to exhaustion, physical dominance, a dynamic 4-3-3 that could reshape into a 3-4-3 depending on the circumstances.
"Actually, more than soldiers, they were all generals with their responsibilities, but also active in the decision-making process. Pochettino was the left centre-back or stopper, and he grew up with that style and embracing the audacious and ambitious plan of defying odds and history."
It is difficult to underestimate the impact that Bielsa had on the careers of Pochettino and fellow defenders such as Gamboa, Eduardo Berizzo and Julio Saldana.
Bielsa tasked them with scouting the opposition and asked them to present their reports in front of the squad. In an age before the internet, he told them to read three newspaper reports of their previous game, as well as sports weekly El Grafico.
Bielsa went on to manage Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, with Pochettino fouling England striker Michael Owen for the penalty David Beckham converted - the only goal of the match. Argentina travelled to Japan and South Korea as one of the favourites but failed to qualify from their group.
"Owen had the ball. I stuck out my foot and he dived. In that moment, Michael was more Argentine than me," said Pochettino.
Pochettino retired from international football that same year. By that time he had not only played under Bielsa at Newell's and in the national team but also, briefly in 1998, at Espanyol.
"Pochettino's years in Spain and France, while playing internationally for Argentina, naturally made him more mature, but the mindset didn't change," added Mazur. "Some players realise they want to be managers when they're close to hanging up their boots. Pochettino was a manager almost from the first day he wore them."
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Pochettino moved to Europe in 1994, when he joined Barcelona-based La Liga side Espanyol. He was popular at the Catalan club, making nearly 300 appearances over the course of the next 12 years.
The highlight of his playing days with Espanyol was a Copa del Rey triumph in 2000, and although he then left to join Paris St-Germain and later Bordeaux, he was popularly received when he returned to the club, winning another Spanish Cup in 2006.
Pochettino's ascent into management was far from immediate, with nearly three years elapsing between the end of his playing career and his appointment at Espanyol.
During that time he gained the necessary qualifications and served as assistant coach for the club's ladies' team.
When the call came, it was sudden and urgent. German Bona, who reports on Espanyol for newspaper Sport, recalls: "He took over in January 2009 with the team in the relegation zone.
"He was the team's third coach of the season and it was a huge challenge in a very important season because the club were moving to a new stadium in the summer and didn't want to start there in the second division."
Pochettino, using methods forged playing under Bielsa, had an immediate impact, leading his team to a famous 2-1 win against bitter rivals Barcelona at the Nou Camp to spark a much-improved run of form which ultimately led to a comfortable mid-table finish.
He kept the team in that position for another three years, but eventually dire financial problems and internal boardroom strife took their toll and, after a poor start to the 2012-13 campaign, Pochettino was sacked.
"If there's one thing that stands out from his time at Espanyol, it was the way he controlled everything at he club," added Bona.
"He changed lots of small details at Espanyol that other coaches wouldn't have noticed, such as what and when the players ate, and he was a leader in everything that he did. You could see that people listened to him and were convinced by him."
Pochettino had an insatiable work ethic and expectations of similarly high standards from everyone around him.
"He spent many hours every day at the training ground," recalls Bona. "He arrived early in the morning and left late at night, which isn't particularly common in Spanish football.
"He wants a team which works like a clock, where everything functions perfectly. Not just the players, but also everything which surrounds the team: the medical staff, his assistants, club officials and so on."
A final characteristic of Pochettino's time at Espanyol, which is now being witnessed at White Hart Lane, was his willingness to embrace young players into his plans, introducing more than 20 youth-teamers into the senior ranks during his three years in charge.
Many Southampton supporters were far from pleased when their club decided to discard Nigel Adkins in January 2013 after he had won back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League. Former Saints midfielder Jamie Redknapp said the chairman was "deluded".
Their anger was not soothed by the decision to appoint someone who could not speak English and had never worked in the country before.
They were complaining again when Pochettino left, but this time because the club had failed to keep him. He had arrived with Saints third from bottom in the Premier League and left in May 2014 after Southampton had finished eighth.
"I don't have a life outside football," said Pochettino when interviewed during his first few months at St Mary's.
"I spend about 12 hours per day at the training ground. Basically my life is to go from the hotel to the training ground. I am living fully dedicated to this club. In football there is not really a timetable, we just work all day long. I don't consider this work - this club is a passion."
Jack Cork was at Southampton for the whole of Pochettino's time there and was sold to Swansea in January 2015.
"Things settled down quickly after Mauricio arrived," Cork told BBC Sport. "It was always his way or no way, but we were a young team and he gave us confidence - and his message was always to enjoy our football.
"I don't think he did an interview in English the whole time he was there but he always managed to get his message across to the players. He was quite calm most of the time.
"I remember one game at Wigan when we had come from behind to take the lead with five minutes to go. We conceded in the last minute and I thought he was going to be really angry. Instead he had a few minutes to himself in the shower and came out and shook every player's hand.
"He was full of ideas. We went on a pre-season tour to Spain and he had organised a team-building exercise which involved an arrow. Each player had to place the point of the arrow into the soft tissue area of their throat while a team-mate held the other end. You then had to push against the arrow until it bent or snapped.
"It was plastic or something and there was no chance of injuring yourself. It was all to do with building up trust in your team-mates. We also had to walk across hot coals. The players all embraced it.
"There was always lots of running and a lot of training with Mauricio. At times it was very tough. You needed two hearts to play the Pochettino way. Goalkeeper Kelvin Davis once brought the clock out of the dressing room to remind him how long the session had been.
"But his methods worked. We started the 2013-14 season with just one defeat in the first 11 league games.
"There was a lot of talk towards the end of the season that he was going. I remember bumping into him and asking him outright if he was leaving. He laughed and played it down. Because of the timing of his departure, just after the end of the season, there were no big goodbyes because everyone was away. I've seen him since and he's always taken the trouble to ask me how I'm doing and how my family are."
Tottenham gave Pochettino a five-year contract in May 2015. In his first season he took the club to the Capital One Cup final. This season they are in contention for the Premier League title.
Pochettino has not explicitly said he prefers working with younger players but the teamsheet at Spurs tells its own story. A study last year showed Tottenham had the youngest squad in the Premier League.
Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Ryan Mason - these and more have flourished under Pochettino. Rather like Bielsa at Newell's all those years ago, the Argentine has empowered his young players.
Writing in his Daily Telegraph column in November, Gary Neville observed: "In my role as an England coach I have noticed the difference in psychology and application when Tottenham players come into the camp.
"They now arrive prepared for the battle, ready to play, ready to work. They look like they want to partake in the meetings. All the things you would want from responsible players are there.
"It seems to me that Pochettino has given the younger players the confidence to express themselves, off the pitch as well."
The Argentine continues to place an emphasis on the collective. One of his ideas is to use "big spaces", for example playing five-a-side on a bigger pitch than normal, so players have to run further to close down opponents.
There's an emphasis on video analysis, too, and he will get players in to show them clips of good and bad moments.
Unlike his mentor Bielsa, Pochettino is not quite so single-minded and inflexible in his tactical system. He gives his players more freedom, more inspiration - within a clear structure. But he does love attacking football and that can be seen in the Spurs team.
Danny Rose called him "a friend" at the start of last season. Adam Lallana, who played for him at Southampton, searched him out at the end of Liverpool's game at White Hart Lane in October and obviously holds him in very high esteem.
But beware - cross him and you could be frozen out. Certain players on the outside say weeks have gone by without him speaking to them. After Andros Townsend joined Newcastle for £12m in January, he said he would have liked "a better exit". He had been cast adrift after he clashed with one of the club's fitness trainers.
Pochettino remains measured in public - sometimes bordering on soporific. He belongs to an ever-expanding group of managers who never seem to say anything interesting - but that plays well with his employers at White Hart Lane. No unnecessary problems, no needless headlines.
He does not moan about referees, discuss transfers, criticise other managers. In this regard Pochettino is the opposite of predecessor Harry Redknapp.
He might seem boring in interviews, but those who know him say he is socially adept, the sort of guy you would enjoy chatting to in the pub.
Perhaps he would be chatting to you about how hard he works his players, because until last month the team were still doing double training sessions each day - unheard of at that stage of the season.
He is also big on mutual respect and insists all players shake hands with each other every morning before training.
"It is just small things but it means a lot to create a real team," said the Argentine. "You feel your team-mates, you feel your people."
The story goes that one day the Spurs boss was having breakfast with chairman Daniel Levy when six players came up to them and shook their hands. Levy was taken aback.
If Tottenham do manage to overhaul Leicester and win their first Premier League title, there will be plenty more handshakes coming Pochettino's way this summer.
Additional reporting by Neil Johnston and Andy West. | Early in February, several newspapers ran a story claiming Sir Alex Ferguson rated Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as the best manager in the Premier League. |
11766777 | Restaurateurs and hoteliers can now look forwards to a two year bulge in tourism numbers, with the 2011 wedding to be followed by the 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile media companies can expect exceptional viewing figures.
And some economists think that a feel-good event could help lift broader consumer spending out of the doldrums.
"Extraneous events can increase feelings of economic and other wellbeing," says Professor Stephen Lea of Exeter University, who specialises in economic psychology.
While many consumers have been directly affected by the recession, or fear they will be, he says there is also a large group of people who are merely affected by the atmosphere of doom and gloom.
These people - who may have experienced better circumstances this year and anticipate better circumstances next year - still tend to rein in their spending with others during the recession.
But if the wedding sparks a feel-good factor, he thinks many in this group may choose to increase their discretionary spending on electronics goods, home improvements and other things that might otherwise be postponed.
"The great advantage is that generally these people are not borrowing, but spending out of savings or increased income," he adds.
A more tangible benefit to the UK economy could come from tourism.
According to recent research by tourism board Visit Britain, the attraction of royalty already accounts for £500m in tourist spending each year in normal times.
"Our culture and heritage reputation is very strong around the world," says Visit Britain spokesman Paul Eastham. "At the heart of that lies the monarchy."
He notes that in 1981, Charles and Diana's wedding was cited as the reason tourists were most likely to visit the UK.
International viewing figures for the television broadcast of Charles and Diana's wedding were estimated at over 750 million.
"People like to be on the spot when historic events happen," he adds, saying the coming wedding is "likely to produce a very positive additional premium on what we normally see".
He also brushes off any concern that the 2011 wedding may sap tourist numbers for the 2012 Olympics.
"From our point of view it's almost ideal," he says, claiming there would be a "halo effect" for the UK of showcasing its two tourism strengths: pomp and circumstance followed by a hi-tech sporting event.
The timing of the announcement is good news for retailers specialising in Royal commemorative items, who expect to have a range of products available in time for Christmas.
The UK Gift Company, which specialises in Royal items anticipates an upturn in business of about 30% to 40%.
Plates and mugs still lead demand, according to managing director Stephen Church, although he also expects stiff trade in hand painted boxes for trinkets.
He said the leading china houses would produce items ranging in price from more than £1,000 for limited editions to less than £5.
Mr Church added that he was amazed that so many people of different age groups bought such items.
The older generation tended to be most keen, but young men would still be attracted to items such as cufflinks to mark the occasion, he said.
Some William and Kate items have already been produced.
Four years ago, Woolworths was so confident that the couple were to be engaged that it produced a commemorative mug and plate.
The relationship has survived since then, but Woolworths on the High Street has not - with the final stores closing in January 2009.
The longevity of memorabilia is also obvious from the items still on sale on internet auction sites from previous Royal weddings.
A quick glance at what is on offer from Prince William's parents' marriage sees glass bowls on sale for £19.50.
Other items include glasses, a bell, newspaper cuttings from the day, coins, spoons and even a bottle of "wedding ale". | Next year's royal wedding is set to give the UK economy a boost, with tourism, merchandising and broadcasting among the best placed sectors. |
30496166 | The sparrowhawk is sent down a length of clothes line, picking up speed as it approaches a busy woodland bird table.
Thermal cameras record changes in bird body temperatures as the perceived risk of predator attack rises.
This allows researchers to measure how animals respond to environmental changes without taking blood samples.
Dr Ross MacLeod, from the university's Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, said: "We're studying the birds because we want to understand how animals are responding to environmental change, particularly climate change.
"We look at the birds because they are a very good way of understanding how individual animals are being stressed by different environmental risks."
The research is taking place at the Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond.
It is complex and painstaking work but relies on a low-tech piece of equipment - a sparrowhawk, obtained from a taxidermist, and fitted with a pulley.
Dr MacLeod said: "The thermal imaging is brilliant because you can just take a picture, and you can see how the temperature changes in their faces in the same way as it does in humans.
"If you are embarrassed, your face gets hotter. You can actually measure the stress of a human or a bird just by using these thermal imaging cameras."
The scientists believe their work could have a range of valuable practical applications.
Researcher Paul Jerem said: "It is very likely that we'll be able to use this technique across a wide range of species and so essentially anywhere that you can film an animal, you can collect data using this technique.
"It's a vast advance when you compare that to having to trap the animal, take a blood sample and then to analyse the blood." | Scientists from Glasgow University are using thermal images of birds and a stuffed sparrowhawk on a pulley system to measure stress in the natural world. |
38100785 | The Australian government in May said Neil Prakash, a senior recruiter for the so-called Islamic State group, had been killed in a US air strike.
He died in the Iraqi city of Mosul, Attorney-General George Brandis said at the time.
But the New York Times, citing senior US sources, now reports that Prakash is still alive.
Prakash handed himself to Turkish authorities several weeks ago, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.
Profile:The confused Buddhist who became a top IS jihadis
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism, Michael Keenan, said the government could not comment on intelligence matters.
"The government reported Prakash's death in May on the basis of advice from the US government that he had been killed in an air strike," he said in a statement on Friday.
"But as we have said previously, the government's capacity to confirm reports of deaths in either Syria or Iraq is limited. These places are war zones, with many ungoverned spaces."
Prakash, also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, has been linked to attack plots in Australia and appeared in propaganda videos and magazines.
Using the acronym of the previous name of IS, Mr Brandis said in May that Prakash was a "prominent Isil member and a senior terrorist recruiter and attack facilitator".
"Prakash has been linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the United States," he said.
"He has actively recruited Australian men, women and children, and encouraged acts of terrorism."
The Melbourne man, of Cambodian and Fijian heritage, converted to Islam from Buddhism in 2012. He left Australia for Syria in 2013. | An Australian militant thought dead is still alive and under arrest in the Middle East, according to reports. |
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