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22927059 | A 48-year-old male serving police officer was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office on Saturday.
A 49-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
They have both been bailed to return to a police station in August, pending further enquiries.
Mr Mitchell apologised for not treating officers with respect after he was told not to take his bike through the main Downing Street entrance in September.
The Conservative admitted swearing at them but has always disputed newspaper claims he described police as "plebs".
The arrests are part of Operation Alice, the investigation into alleged misconduct as well as the unauthorised leaking of information to newspapers about the incident, which led the MP to quit the cabinet.
The male officer is described as a serving police constable in the Diplomatic Protection Group. He and the woman - who is not a police officer - were arrested at two residential addresses.
The man is one of four officers previously told there was going to be an investigation into their conduct and he has been on restricted duties.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been informed.
A total of six people have now been arrested as part of the investigation. | Two people who were arrested over the "plebgate" row involving the former government chief whip Andrew Mitchell have been released on police bail. |
38677549 | Daphne the deer was found at Waters' Edge Country Park in Barton on Wednesday, and later put to sleep.
She was so badly injured she could not be saved, staff at the 110-acre park said.
A £200 reward has been issued for information leading to a successful prosecution.
More on this and other stories from across East Yorkshire and Humberside
The park is home to numerous deer, but Daphne, who was about three-years-old, chose to stay close to the visitor centre after people started feeding her.
A spokesman for North Lincolnshire Council, which owns the site, said she would be "greatly missed".
"Daphne the deer was a friendly face for many visitors to Waters' Edge", he added.
Staff believe she was attacked by a dog and are warning visitors that although dogs are welcome, they must be on either a lead or in close control at all times.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to contact staff at the visitor centre. | Owners have been warned to keep their pets under control after a "friendly" deer was fatally attacked by a dog. |
34889789 | Stewart Greene, 65, of Grimoldby, Lincolnshire admitted drowning nine-year-old Alex Robinson in a bath at his home but denies murder.
The boy had been left alone with Mr Greene for less than an hour while his mother went shopping in December 2014.
GP John Sharrock told Lincoln Crown Court the confession happened at a police station.
Mr Sharrock told the jury that Mr Greene had told him his depression had worsened in the previous six months.
"He had not been sleeping and not been able to think straight.
"He further told me that on the day of 23 December he was left at home in Lincoln with his grandson. He told me he got angry with his grandson and he snapped. He put him in the bath and drowned him.
"I asked him why he snapped. He said he couldn't remember."
Mr Sharrock told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that Mr Greene said to him:" I'm guilty. I did it."
He added: "He said since his discharge from hospital he had not taken any medication because he thought it was making him worse."
The court also heard that Mr Greene, who complained of hearing voices and of experiencing pains in his head, was discharged from hospital on 11 December without a care package.
Psychiatrist Nicola Thomas told the jury she reviewed Mr Greene's case 36 hours before he was released from a Lincoln-based psychiatric unit, but said that he was not suitable for early discharge.
Dr Thomas said she was unaware until later that no care package was put in place for Greene before he returned to living in the community.
The trial continues. | A man charged with murdering his grandson confessed to the killing to a doctor, a court has heard. |
35414328 | The plan was to sign Toumani Diagouraga from Brentford and Michael O'Halloran from St Johnstone, but both deals stalled.
The former has since moved to Leeds United, while Saints manager Tommy Wright intends to select the latter in his Scottish League Cup semi-final team against Hibernian on Saturday.
In the meantime, focus has fallen on comments made previously by Rangers chairman Dave King, about over-investment and the level of finance required to re-establish the club.
The club ought to review their entire recruitment strategy at the end of this window, since at least one of the manager's preferred targets moved elsewhere, but that includes more than the level of finance available.
King and fellow investors will have provided between £15m and £19m by the end of the season.
That includes share purchases as well as loans for working capital and funds to pay back Sports Direct's £5m loan.
Given the ongoing investment that will be required to restore Rangers to a solid, stable, self-sustaining business, King's estimate of £30m from himself and others may well turn out to be fairly accurate.
Rangers currently run the second-highest wage bill in Scotland but are arguably not extracting full value from it as a legacy of contracts offered to players by previous regimes, making the club wary of paying out too much in wages.
Eleven players joined in the summer, with four of those deals involving transfer fees and three of them being loan arrangements with English Premier League clubs.
Frank McParland joined the club as head of recruitment in October and, in the current window, Harry Forrester and Maciej Gostomski have joined on short-term deals, while Josh Windass and Matt Crooks signed pre-contract agreements to join in the summer.
But the failure to sign Diagouraga and O'Halloran will frustrate manager Mark Warburton.
The valuations of the sellers and the prospective buyer were not significantly different but, like many deals, there are further details, including add-ons, that potentially raise the price and payment terms to be factored in.
It weakened Rangers' hand that both signing targets entered the public domain almost as soon as talks began and were clearly the manager's priorities, so handing the selling clubs the edge.
The football industry may be a hive of gossip but it is possible to keep transfer moves private long enough to prevent negotiations being influenced.
It is also common practice for a shortlist of options and alternative targets to be drawn up, since no club has a 100% success rate in its transfer dealings.
King spoke about securing players for the Premiership and investing in the squad, so missing out on transfer targets cause those remarks to be revisited.
Since Diarougaga went elsewhere and O'Halloran remains at St Johnstone, the whole recruitment process has not worked as smoothly and effectively as Rangers would have liked.
Those players signed on permanent deals last year have all contributed to the team establishing itself at the top of the Scottish Championship, in which they finished third last season. Progress is evident.
That work won't necessarily be undone in this window, but lessons need to be learned from it if Rangers are to deliver "at least another five players at an equal or higher standard before we go into the Premier League" as King pledged in September. | So far, it is doubts that Rangers have acquired during the January transfer window. |
36059681 | 15 April 2016 Last updated at 23:24 BST
Cairnshill Methodist Church, off the Saintfield Road in Castlereagh, was broken into on Thursday night.
Mervyn Jess reports. | A church has been damaged in an arson attack in south Belfast. |
35255694 | The 24-year-old, who joined Standard from Leicester City last summer, has agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Seagulls.
"He was somebody I was interested in for a number of reasons," Albion manager Chris Hughton said.
"He is a good technical player and has experience of the Championship."
Knockaert spent three years with Leicester, scoring 16 goals in 106 appearances for the Foxes, before moving to Belgium.
"He is a different type of player to the wide players we have here," Hughton added.
"He can play in three positions; on the left, off the front man, but predominantly in his previous time here in England he played on the right side.
"He is used to having a responsibility in the wide areas but mostly it is [about] what he can bring us offensively in terms of goals and assists."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion have signed winger Anthony Knockaert from Belgian club Standard Liege for an undisclosed fee. |
26642332 | Ninety firefighters fought for several hours on Tuesday to control the blaze at Prezzo Italian restaurant in Albert Street. Thirteen flats were evacuated.
The street will be closed for at least two days as the building is shored up.
Local MP Andrew Jones said: "Many of the businesses will be out of action for some time."
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said the local authority was considering what support it could give to businesses affected by the fire.
However, he said the immediate priority was to ensure public safety and scaffolding would be erected over the next two to three days to stabilise the front and rear of the affected properties.
Residents from the 14 housing association flats which were evacuated have all been found temporary alternative accommodation.
But local businesses have already expressed concern about the effect on their trade.
Businesswoman Sam Addy said: "I thought for a little independent shop like myself, and the other one at the other end of the street, that is no good for us.
"Although I feel bad for Prezzo and Pizza Express they can afford to make a loss but we can't really afford to be out of business for a few weeks.
"I just hope that we stand strong and people will support us."
Mr Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said: "The fire on Albert Street is a hammer blow for the business and residents affected.
"Many of the businesses will be out of action for some time and the employees without jobs during that period.
"Around 13 families had to be re-housed overnight from flats in the area and I understand that the housing association that owns the properties will be assessing whether or not people can return to their homes.
"It seems likely though that some have lost their homes and belongings - a personal tragedy for them.
"This terrible fire has drawn the community together and I would like to thank all those who have donated cash, blankets, food and toiletries to help those who may have lost their belongings. "
North Yorkshire Fire Service said the fire was the biggest in the town since the Majestic Hotel was severely damaged in May 2010.
Station manager Lee Smith said the age of the buildings in Albert Street had contributed to the fire's spread.
"There was a fire in the ducting area and it travelled through the different nooks and crannies, spaces and voids in that building," he said.
"It's quite an old building, it's had lots of work done over the years and this has meant there's been lots of spaces that enabled the fire to progress."
Although none of the residents was injured in the fire, it is feared a number of pets may have perished.
One resident called Steve told BBC Radio York: "At the moment I'm gutted and feel bereaved because I feel my cat's dead. I'm almost in tears."
Another resident, Jessica Scott, told Stray FM that she had watched the fire knowing her pet rabbit and two hamsters were inside. | A major fire which wrecked a restaurant and damaged flats in Harrogate town centre is a "hammer blow" to businesses and residents affected, an MP has said. |
34674710 | Charges vary but the average cost in England is £39 per week.
Carers, visitors and staff have been sharing their experience with the BBC. Here is a selection:
John West in Melton, Suffolk:
During the last five weeks my mother-in-law has spent 12 days in Ipswich hospital. She is 92, blind and needs a wheelchair for any movement of more than a few metres.
My wife and I spent over 36 hours in the hospital as we made a point of being there during meal times.
We could afford to pay the parking fees but there are lots of people who can't.
I think it's unfair and I believe that hospital parking charges should be abolished. This would assist people who cannot afford to visit their loved ones because of the charges and possibly help the nursing staff as we did."
Sheila Davies in Plymouth:
Hospital parking is a nightmare.
My husband had a very rare form of lymphoma, he was very ill for nine months and getting him to hospital was difficult.
I had to take him to the entrance, park on double yellow lines, drop him off and leave him waiting there while I went and found a parking space.
There were pay on return parking areas but it was so stressful if you couldn't find a space there as you always had to have the right change for pay and display.
Some days we were in hospital all day and it could cost £12.00.
Eventually he was admitted until he died. It was the most stressful and unhappy time of my life.
I understand the money shortage in the NHS and under normal circumstances I would not object to paying parking charges. But it was already a very difficult time for us, and this was an added stress I just didn't need.
Andy Bowater tweets:
Dr Richard Rathbone in Hay on Wye:
My wife has an incurable cancer. For years we have attended regular monthly sessions with her consultant at Hereford Hospital. In addition she has to attend a clinic for infusions, blood tests, x-rays and emergencies.
The car park charges £3.50 per hour, the most expensive parking in any UK hospital.
Our journey to and from is about 90 miles and on top of this we have to shell out whatever parking charges have accrued.
It's double punishment. Endure an incurable chronic disease AND pay outrageous amounts of money.
Teresa Breed in Marlow, Buckinghamshire:
I am a pensioner and cancer patient myself and have to go to hospital for regular check ups.
I am always very aware of the time I leave my car in the car park, and if I have a long wait I get very stressed about how much this is going to cost me.
I have also taken very sick people on visits to the hospital. Waiting around with them for hours has cost me a lot in parking charges.
I find it disgusting that people are making money out of the sick and those caring for them.
I think that all hospital parking should be free.
A student nurse wrote and sent us a picture of her parking changes:
Our university used to pay for us to park in the car park but they have stopped because it is too expensive.
They advise us to get the bus, which would take me over an hour and a half using three buses or park 15 minutes away and walk.
Alan John in Scarborough:
My 85-year-old mum just spent five weeks in hospital.
I never spent a penny on parking out of principal.
I parked up on street and walked to hospital.
This is just another tax and shows what a society we have become.
Zoe Pitts' son attends the local children's ward in Kettering:
The daily parking charge is £7.40 but can be charged more than once in a day if you have to leave the site.
In my case I need to go home occasionally to see my other children and have a wash.
If I go home once a day then weekly parking costs in excess of £100.
The situation causes a great deal of stress for families at a time when they have more important things to worry about.
I shouldn't have to choose between going home to see my other children and eating for example!
Lorraine Phillips tweets she is not happy that staff pay for parking too:
Compiled by Sherie Ryder | A bill to exempt carers from paying hospital car parking charges is being debated in the House of Commons. |
33720333 | The Health and Social Care Information Centre report shows £869m was spent on drugs for the disease last year.
It marks a sharp rise from the £514m being spent on the drugs a decade ago, when they accounted for just 6.6% of the prescriptions budget.
The figures include drugs for both type-1 and type-2 diabetes, which affect 2.8 million people in England.
It includes insulin, metformin and other anti-diabetic drugs.
Ian Bullard, who wrote the report, said: "It shows that 10p in the pound of the primary care prescribing bill in England is being spent on managing diabetes.
"Diabetes continues to be one of the most prevalent long-term conditions, and the number of patients being diagnosed with the condition is increasing each year." | Diabetes now accounts for 10% of the NHS drugs bill in England, according to official figures. |
40235924 | Worcestershire, trailing by 80 runs overnight, were bowled out for only 129 just after lunch, losing wickets at regular intervals.
Lukas Carey (3-34) and Timm van der Gugten (2-39) provided accurate support for Hogan (5-38).
Glamorgan knocked off the 16 needed for the loss of one wicket.
It is the first time Glamorgan have won back-to-back Championship games since 2015, while Worcestershire's below-par batting in their second innings means they have lost two successive games after beginning with four straight wins.
It was an incredible transformation for Glamorgan after slumping to 58-6 on the first evening, before dominating the rest of the match.
Worcestershire's Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has now left the club with compatriot John Hastings returning from international duties.
Glamorgan captain Michael Hogan told BBC Wales Sport:
"We expected a day of graft and we approached it that way, but we bowled really well, everyone did their job and I couldn't ask for anything more.
"We caught everything and we built pressure after we didn't do that in the first innings, it was perfect.
"We were (under the cosh) on the first day, but some good tekkers from Andy (Salter), Jacques (Rudolph) played really well, Chris (Cooke) and Lukas (Carey) got us into a great position."
Worcestershire captain Joe Leach told BBC Hereford & Worcester:
"We've had a very poor day and a session there having had a very good day one, thanks to Ben Cox's 93 which was a brilliant effort, he fought very hard as did Ed Barnard and then Josh Tongue's spell on Friday evening was international calibre.
"But from then it's been a catalogue of errors and we're not happy with it. To not even give them a score to get in the fourth innings is unacceptable. We draw a line under it and we go again first of all in the (One-Day Cup) semi-final then against Kent (in the Championship)." | Glamorgan beat Worcestershire by nine wickets inside three days, as Michael Hogan picked up his third five-wicket haul in three games as captain. |
34441210 | The allegations, which surfaced after he ended his term in 2012, relate to a bargain rental deal for a luxury flat and disclosure of personal interests.
He has since been under investigation by Hong Kong's anti-corruption body.
Mr Tsang was released on bail with a 100,000 Hong Kong dollar bond ($13,000; £8,500), after a short court appearance on Monday.
The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says he looked tense during the proceedings. He is due to reappear in court on 13 November.
Mr Tsang is the highest-ranking official to face a corruption trial in Hong Kong, but in a statement released to the media he said: "I have every confidence that the court will exonerate me after its proceedings."
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has charged Mr Tsang with two counts of misconduct in public office. If convicted, Mr Tsang could be jailed.
One of the charges is for failing to disclose his plans to lease a luxury flat in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen which was owned by an investor in a broadcaster seeking a license from the Hong Kong government, ICAC said.
During his time as leader, Mr Tsang, 70, admitting to accepting gifts from tycoons in the form of trips on luxury yachts and private jets.
A financial secretary when the city-state was ruled by the UK, Mr Tsang became Hong Kong's second post-colonial leader in 2005.
His is the latest in a string of corruption revelations that have raised concerns about the relationship between government officials and business leaders. | Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang has appeared in court, charged with misconduct in public office. |
38089519 | Fishlock, 29, has previously spoken about the challenges she has faced as a high-profile gay athlete.
No current Premier League players are openly gay but a recent BBC survey found 82% of fans would have no issue with a gay player.
"The environment and the timing is so important," Fishlock said.
"That's what we have to get - the environment to say 'it's ok and it's not a problem'. That's what we're fighting for and what we've got to work on."
She told BBC Radio Wales Sport: "You don't want a footballer to come out for all the wrong reasons and then have a negative impact for that person.
"What you do want is for them to feel comfortable that they can come out, they can be themselves and they're happy with that."
Former England women's captain Casey Stoney publicly revealed her sexuality for the first time in February 2014 and became the most high-profile active gay footballer in England.
Stoney said homosexuality was more accepted in the women's game than the men's game.
Justin Fashanu was the first player in England to come out as gay in 1990, but took his own life aged 37 in 1998. No male professional player has come out while playing in England since.
The Seattle Reign player, currently on loan at Melbourne City, said she had received abuse during her career for being gay but was also proud she had inspired others come to terms with their own sexuality.
"I've had people write letters telling how me being so open and so happy and so comfortable with who I am at the highest level at a huge sport has actually made them realise it's ok and they don't have to commit suicide or they don't have these dark thoughts anymore," she added.
"When you hear that and when you get that I guess nothing else really matters because that is such a big thing to have."
Ex-Germany and Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger became the first player with Premier League experience to publicly reveal his homosexuality in January 2014 after he had finished playing in England.
Football Association chairman Greg Clarke told a Commons Select Committee in October that Premier League players would still suffer "significant abuse" if they chose to reveal they were gay.
This weekend, football and rugby union will support a campaign helping to raise awareness of issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) fans and players.
The Rainbow Laces campaign, launched by LGBT equality charity Stonewall in 2013, aims to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic attitudes in sport.
Rainbow flags will feature at Premier League fixtures, while referees will wear rainbow-coloured laces and Fishlock says she supports the campaign's aims. | Wales women's footballer Jess Fishlock says more must be done to provide an environment in which gay players feel comfortable to come out. |
38910968 | It may be a stereotypical image, but in the 18th Century, a cuppa was in such high demand that many Britons were willing to risk jail for the privilege.
In fact, this kind of smuggling was a vital part of Britain's economy for some 200 years.
It was a trade triggered by increasingly high tariffs or duties, taxes a merchant would have to pay to legally import tea.
The duties on importing tea reached a staggering 119% in the 1750s - which meant that if you could avoid paying the tax, the cost of your brew dropped by more than half.
Not surprisingly many customers turned to the smugglers, who were willing to risk imprisonment or have their ships destroyed and goods seized if they were caught.
Free trade and smuggling are closely linked.
When import taxes or tariffs are low, there's not much profit to be made from smuggling.
Conversely, when a government makes it expensive to legally import items it encourages smugglers who can undercut the official price.
Tea was one of the most important items illegally brought into Britain in the 18th Century - everybody wanted to drink it, but most could not afford it at the official price.
In an age before income tax, tea duties accounted for 10% of government revenues, which was enough to pay for the Royal Navy, but as tariffs on it reached 119% it gave smugglers their chance.
"If you had high tariffs and goods people wanted, it gave smugglers a business opportunity," says Exeter University historian Helen Doe.
More than 3,000 tonnes of tea was smuggled into Britain a year by the late 1700s, with just 2,000 tonnes imported legally.
In some areas whole communities were dependent on smuggling, from landowners who might finance the operation down to the fishermen who might be crewing the boats.
There were three main types of smuggling, says Robert Blyth, senior curator at the National Maritime Museum in London.
"There's small-scale smuggling, where you might row your boat out to meet a ship and take off some of its cargo to sell illegally, the ship's captain declaring the missing cargo as 'spoiled at sea' when it gets to port to officially unload the rest," he says.
"Then there are commercially organised groups bringing contraband into harbours across the UK in a sophisticated operation.
"Finally, you have simple theft and pilfering in major ports like London from ships that have already moored, but have not yet been checked by the revenue."
It wasn't just the British who were developing a taste for tea. The popularity of the drink in Sweden meant the country also played an important role in 18th Century smuggling into Britain.
Swedish East India Company merchants were able to buy the best quality Chinese tea because unlike other European countries they were prepared to pay in silver - rather than seeking to barter or trade.
Quite a few were actually Scottish, political refugees who had fled to Sweden after the failure of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, and who thus saw little wrong in avoiding paying tax to Britain's Hanoverian government.
So popular was this trade that newspapers in Scotland and northern England openly carried adverts for this smuggled tea, called "Gottenburgh Teas".
For many tea traders in Britain, buying smuggled tea made sense, says Derek Janes, a history researcher at Exeter University.
"Britain's own East India Company had a monopoly on tea imports, so if an Edinburgh merchant wanted to buy it you had to go to London, you had to pay to bring it back to Scotland - and you had to pay upfront.
"But if you bought it from the smugglers it would be half the price - with no tax to pay - they would deliver to your door and you would get up to four months credit. A much better service!"
One of those involved in this trade was John Nisbet, who became rich enough to commission architect John Adams to design his harbourside mansion in Eyemouth in the Scottish borders, complete with hidden partitions for the smuggled tea.
Often when the customs officials got a tip-off about his ship it was too late - the cargo had already been smuggled ashore. And if a smuggler did have his goods seized, he could sometimes negotiate a price to buy it back from the government.
"John Nisbet had a ship and cargo seized, but you can see the lawyer for the board of customs in Edinburgh say that the witnesses had disappeared, so the customs did a deal. He paid £250 to get it all back, which still left him in profit," says Mr Janes.
By 1784, the government realised high tariffs were creating more problems than they were worth and cut tea duties to just 12.5%, making tea affordable for most people. The change meant smugglers switched to bringing in spirits and wine instead.
The Napoleonic wars saw an upsurge in smuggling, but after 1815 with the Royal Navy in undisputed command of the sea, its days were numbered.
Ultimately, many smugglers failed. In the long run, the business did not generate enough cash to compensate for the risks of losing stock or ships to the customs. John Nisbet may have been able to afford a fine house but even he went bust eventually, the result of one too many cargo seizures.
In the end, it was economics that finally put an end to the smuggling era. Britain's adoption of a free trade policy in the 1840s reduced import duties significantly, making smuggling no longer viable.
And thanks to that shift in policy, you can now sit back, relax and enjoy a nice cup of tea without any fears of going to prison.
Follow Tim Bowler on Twitter @timbowlerbbc | A boat beaches in a lonely cove at night, the crew hurriedly unloading its cargo of tea to waiting men and pack horses while armed lookouts stand guard against a surprise swoop by the revenue men. |
16171889 | The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation includes a ban on hands-free devices, making it stricter than any current state laws.
Thirty-five states have banned texting when driving, and nine states have outlawed hand-held mobile phone use.
But enforcement is generally not a priority.
And no states ban the use of hands-free devices for all drivers.
The NTSB does not have the power to impose such a nationwide ban, but its recommendations carry significant weight with federal regulators and lawmakers.
In a unanimous vote, the board also recommended increased enforcement of existing laws.
The NTSB recommendations would make an exception for devices seen as aiding driver safety, such as GPS systems.
The debate was prompted by a pile-up in the state of Missouri last year, caused by a 19-year-old driver who sent or received 11 texts in the few minutes before the crash.
Missouri has a law banning drivers under 21 years old from texting while driving, but was not enforcing it regularly at the time of the accident.
"We're not here to win a popularity contest," NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman told reporters on Tuesday.
"No email, no text, no update, no call is worth a human life."
Other high-profile cases investigated by the NTSB include the death of 25 people in a train collision, which involved an engineer texting.
Another accident involved a lorry driver who was using his phone when he collided with a van, killing 11 people.
About two out of 10 drivers have texted or emailed from a mobile phone while driving, according to a survey of US drivers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Half of drivers between 21-24 years of age had done so.
The survey found that many drivers do not think it is dangerous when they use phones on the road - only when others do. | States should ban all driver use of mobile phones and portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, a US safety board has said. |
34063010 | Wales midfielder David Edwards had a goal disallowed and Neil Taylor wasted a fine chance as a full-blooded first half ended goalless.
Scoring opportunities were sparse in a flat second period until Bale headed Jazz Richards' cross into the roof of the net to spark wild celebrations from the travelling fans.
Wales remain unbeaten and three points clear at the top of Group B, knowing victory against Israel on Sunday will seal qualification and end a 58-year wait for an appearance at a major tournament.
Having missed out on previous tournaments in heartbreaking fashion, there was a keen sense of anticipation as Wales travelled to Nicosia as group leaders following June's win against Belgium.
There was some trepidation too, with Wales losing on both their previous visits to Cyprus.
Those defeats came under John Toshack, who described a 1-0 loss in 2005 as the "worst ever international performance" he had witnessed, while a 3-1 defeat two years later prompted him to accuse his players of "not caring" about playing for their country.
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It looked like it might be another frustrating evening in Cyprus when Edwards's goal was controversially ruled out.
The Wolves midfielder headed into the bottom corner but his celebrations were quickly curtailed as referee Szymon Marciniak judged Hal Robson-Kanu had pushed a Cypriot defender.
For much of the game Wales found themselves on the back foot as they struggled to contend with the searing heat and difficult pitch.
But epitomising the 'Together, Stronger' slogan Wales have used throughout their qualifying campaign, Chris Coleman's side stuck to their task.
As the world's most expensive footballer and scorer of five of Wales' eight goals in this campaign prior to this match, Bale was the inevitable centre of attention.
The Real Madrid forward was the target of brutal Cypriot tackling when Wales won the reverse fixture 2-1 in Cardiff and, although neither side shied away from contact in a confrontational rematch, Bale was quiet in Nicosia.
In a rare glimpse of his threat, Bale's dipping free-kick was spilled by Antonis Georgallides, but the Cyprus goalkeeper redeemed himself by saving Taylor's close-range rebound.
At one point, as frustration seemed to mount, Bale over-hit a seemingly simple pass out of play and raised his hands apologetically.
Wales' talisman seemed destined for an uncharacteristically disappointing evening but, with eight minutes left, he rose majestically to head in his third match-winning goal of the campaign.
Behind Wales in the group are Belgium, who came from behind to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 at home.
Edin Dzeko, on loan at Roma from Manchester City, headed the visitors ahead but Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini equalised from a Kevin de Bruyne corner.
De Bruyne, who joined Manchester City for a club-record £55m from Wolfsburg on 30 August, then gave his side the lead with a long-range strike before Chelsea's Eden Hazard made the win safe with a penalty.
Israel - third, two points behind Belgium - beat bottom side Andorra 4-0.
The dramatic nature of the victory added to the Welsh momentum already accelerated by impressive wins against Belgium and Israel.
Bale was pivotal in both those triumphs, scoring the winner against Belgium and netting twice in a 3-0 win in Israel.
Wales welcome Israel to Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday, knowing a fourth successive victory of the campaign will secure their passage to Euro 2016 and a first appearance at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup.
BBC Radio 5 live pundit Robbie Savage: "There is camaraderie and unity in this Wales team. As they were walking off the pitch there were 20 staff members lined up - and as every one of the players went past each one, they were hugging each other and patting each other on the back.
"It is a unit, and Chris Coleman deserves a massive amount of credit. There is leadership from the back with Ashley Williams."
Wales boss Chris Coleman: "We weren't at our best but to come to Cyprus is always notoriously difficult.
"We didn't play our best in possession but we created the better chances and I think it would have been harsh on us if we'd lost.
"I think our players showed their team spirit, work ethic and how much it means to them to play for their country."
Match ends, Cyprus 0, Wales 1.
Second Half ends, Cyprus 0, Wales 1.
Substitution, Wales. Shaun MacDonald replaces Aaron Ramsey.
Attempt missed. Giorgos Economides (Cyprus) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Constantinos Makridis.
Substitution, Wales. Simon Church replaces Gareth Bale.
Foul by Pieros Sotiriou (Cyprus).
Chris Gunter (Wales) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Pieros Sotiriou (Cyprus) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Constantinos Makridis (Cyprus) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Andy King (Wales).
Substitution, Cyprus. Pieros Sotiriou replaces Andreas Makris.
Goal! Cyprus 0, Wales 1. Gareth Bale (Wales) header from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Jazz Richards with a cross.
Corner, Wales. Conceded by Giorgos Economides.
Hand ball by Jason Demetriou (Cyprus).
Corner, Wales. Conceded by Konstantinos Laifis.
Attempt saved. Aaron Ramsey (Wales) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Neil Taylor.
Foul by Giorgos Economides (Cyprus).
Jazz Richards (Wales) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Andreas Makris (Cyprus).
Neil Taylor (Wales) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Nikos Englezou (Cyprus) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Georgios Kolokoudias.
Foul by Constantinos Makridis (Cyprus).
Gareth Bale (Wales) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Cyprus. Nikos Englezou replaces Konstantinos Charalambidis.
Attempt saved. Sam Vokes (Wales) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Gareth Bale.
Foul by Jason Demetriou (Cyprus).
Neil Taylor (Wales) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Wales. Chris Gunter tries a through ball, but Sam Vokes is caught offside.
Substitution, Wales. Sam Vokes replaces Hal Robson-Kanu.
Offside, Wales. Hal Robson-Kanu tries a through ball, but Aaron Ramsey is caught offside.
Substitution, Cyprus. Georgios Kolokoudias replaces Nestoras Mitidis.
Jason Demetriou (Cyprus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Hal Robson-Kanu (Wales).
Attempt missed. Giorgos Economides (Cyprus) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Constantinos Makridis.
Attempt missed. Andreas Makris (Cyprus) left footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Constantinos Makridis with a headed pass.
Attempt blocked. Andreas Makris (Cyprus) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Constantinos Makridis.
Attempt blocked. Giorgos Economides (Cyprus) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Offside, Wales. Chris Gunter tries a through ball, but Gareth Bale is caught offside.
Corner, Cyprus. Conceded by Ashley Williams.
Attempt saved. Marios Nikolaou (Cyprus) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marios Antoniades. | Gareth Bale proved Wales' saviour once again as his thunderous late header gave them a 1-0 win in Cyprus to put them on the brink of qualifying for Euro 2016. |
39867974 | Relatives of those Police Service of Northern Ireland officers killed or injured on duty attended the ceremony at the PSNI's Belfast headquarters.
The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall laid a wreath in honour of the dead and held brief talks with NI Chief Constable George Hamilton.
The royal couple have now left NI for a visit to the Republic of Ireland.
They are meeting President Michael D Higgins, and are expected to meet Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny, as well as visiting Kilkenny Castle.
The couple are also expected to attend ceremonies at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin to commemorate those who lost their lives in the World War One and during the Easter Rising.
Their visit to the Republic is at the request of the British government.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall last visited Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland last May.
The PSNI memorial garden pays tribute to the 13 officers who have died in service since the force was founded in 2001; their names are recorded in a book of remembrance.
The new garden adjoins a memorial garden to the 300 officers from the PSNI's predecessor, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, who were killed during the Troubles.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, Mr Hamilton said it was a very special, but also sad, day for the families and the police service as they remembered those who had died.
"This is a fitting tribute to our colleagues who have died in the course of their service and will ensure that their dedication to duty and sacrifice is never forgotten," he said.
"The visit was also an opportunity for HRH Prince of Wales and HRH Duchess of Cornwall to meet personally with the family members of those who had died and lay a wreath and flowers in their memory."
The Duchess of Cornwall was presented with a posy of flowers by seven-year-old Victoria Grieves whose father Constable Gary Grieves died in a road traffic collision as he was travelling home from duty in August 2010.
The Royal couple's trip began on Tuesday with a visit to the Seamus Heaney Homeplace Centre in Bellaghy, where they met members of the poet's family.
They then met staff and patients at the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry, before attending a musical gathering at Hillsborough Castle in County Down. | Prince Charles has opened a garden of remembrance for police officers killed on duty in Northern Ireland. |
29997513 | It seems like an old reunion when so many connected with both squads have worked together, or spent parts of their careers at Celtic. The context provides an easy narrative, but it is also a diversion: Scotland have not faced a more critical fixture under Gordon Strachan.
The Group D table has already become cluttered. Only four points separates five sides, with Gibraltar cast adrift.
The expectation was that Germany would climb free of the scramble between Scotland, the Republic, Poland and Georgia, but the World Cup winners have stumbled into a careless streak.
That will not unduly trouble Strachan, since he will assume that the Germans will eventually recover their poise, leaving the others to fight it out.
Even so, the opening games in Euro 2016 qualifying have exposed how fragile the sense of progress under Strachan can be.
There is no doubt that the team has improved, and with that a mood of optimism has grown, but in such a tight contest there is little room for error.
Scotland will feel that the performance for spells against Germany, at a time when Joachim's Loew's team was not a clinically accomplished as they were in Brazil last summer, might have merited more than a gritty 2-1 defeat.
That was emphasised when the Germans subsequently lost to Poland. Then on the same night that Scotland earned a 2-2 draw in Warsaw - and again may have felt that the performance ought to have brought more - the Republic were earning a 1-1 draw in Gelsenkirchen.
Assumptions about the group have been undone.
Scotland will always have considered it essential to defeat the Republic at home, along with Poland and Georgia, so the scope of the task on Friday night at Celtic Park hasn't changed. Defeat, though, would leave Martin O'Neill's side six points clear of Scotland, albeit with six games remaining.
How it might affect the mood around the national team would be even more considerable.
Strachan has overseen a rise in the standard of the team's play, but also the belief amongst the players and the supporters that qualification is achievable. A victory over the Republic would underline that the faith is not misplaced. More importantly, it would continue the momentum that Strachan has built.
The impression of improvement is not wistful, though. Strachan has built on the foundations of the squad, working intensely on the training ground on shape and tactics, but also inside the minds of his players.
Individuals have thrived, among them players fresh to the squad like Andrew Robertson, the Hull City full-back, and Ikechi Anya, the Watford midfielder.
Scotland now have a recognisable pattern of play and a better balance between resistance at the back and creativity in attack.
There is still room for hard-headed decisions - Robertson was replaced in the starting line-up for the game against Poland by Steven Whittaker, a more experienced defender - but the evidence remains that Strachan has been delivering more coherent and more effective performances from his squad.
The team is capable of moments of attacking intent, with individuals like Steven Naismith, Anya, Shaun Maloney and James Morrison granted the freedom to play imaginatively in the final third, as long as that is accompanied by work-rate and intensity when the opposition are in possession.
The squad is imbalanced, since strong options in midfield are not replicated in central defence, yet Strachan has made partnerships work between Grant Hanley and Russell Martin, or with Gordon Greer stepping in as a replacement.
There is a shrewdness to the Scotland manager, but also a pragmatism. Public opinion once clamoured for Jordan Rhodes to be a regular in the starting line-up, but he has quietly and firmly been moved to the periphery. There has been little outcry, because the team has performed impressively in his absence.
A victory over the Republic at Celtic Park is crucial, but it is also valid to believe that it is well within the team's capabilities.
Assistant manager Mark McGhee remarked that the two squads are very similar, since many players are drawn from the same leagues. There are plenty of dependable figures in O'Neill's squad, as well as top-level experience in the likes of John O'Shea, Darron Gibson and Robbie Keane.
Yet Scotland have players operating at the top of the game in England, too, among them Naismith, Steven Fletcher, Morrison, Graham Dorrans and, slowly regaining his match sharpness, Darren Fletcher. Scotland have no cause to be anxious ahead of the game, although it is not uncommon for the national team to struggle in games that they are required, and expected, to win.
Strachan has little time for mental weaknesses. Robertson has thrived because of his attitude, his willingness to learn and to be self-assured, as much as his burgeoning ability.
The Scotland manager has predicted that the game will be full of heart, spirit, athleticism and aggression, but it is nerve and guile that will prove decisive.
Scotland have proved themselves to be resilient - in their last 12 games they have only lost three times, to Belgium, England and Germany - and as the stature and confidence of the players has grown, so too has the onus on them to produce effective displays in key games.
This is the most important fixture of Strachan's time as Scotland manager, since it will influence and shape the rest of the campaign. For all the progress seen so far, the mood of confidence and conviction will soar or collapse on the basis of 90 minutes. | The focus ahead of Scotland's meeting with the Republic of Ireland has been on nostalgia. |
20406751 | The awards showcase published works from the last year.
Winners for first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book will each win ??5,000 and will be announced on 2 January 2013.
The overall winner, who will receive ??30,000 for book of the year, will be revealed on 29 January.
Nominees have to be based in the UK or Ireland.
Since the overall prize was introduced in 1985, it has been won predominantly by novelists and poets.
Andrew Miller won last year for his fictional story Pure, about an engineer named Jean-Baptiste Baratte working in a Parisian cemetery in the run-up to the French Revolution.
The winner of the inaugural Costa short story award, which is voted for by the public, will also be announced at the ceremony.
The six shortlisted stories will be unveiled on the Costa Book Awards official site two days before the event.
Graphic works have been included in the shortlists for the first time this year.
Joff Winterhart's Days of the Bagnold Summer is mentioned in the novel category, while graphic memoir Dotter of her Father's Eyes by Mary and Bryan Talbot is in the biography list.
Winterhart is up against Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies, winner of the 2012 Man Booker Prize, as well as Stephen May's Life! Death! Prizes! and James Meek's The Heart Broke In.
In the poetry category, newcomer Sean Borodale has been nominated for his debut full-length collection Bee Journal. He is pitted against award-winning poets Julia Copus, Selima Hill and Kathleen Jamie.
JW Ironmonger, author of The Good Zoo Guide, has been voted in the first novel category for The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder, alongside Jess Richards for Snakes Ropes, Francesca Segal for The Innocents and former singer-songwriter Benjamin Wood, for The Bellwether Revivals.
The children's book nominees are debut writer and illustrator Dave Shelton; Diana Hendry, who won the Whitbread children's novel award in 1991; former set and costume designer Sally Gardner; and teen fiction writer Hayley Long.
Costa took over sponsorship of the book awards in 2006, 33 years after it was established by Whitbread.
To be eligible, books need to have been first published in the UK or Ireland between 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2012.
Three judges per category are in place to choose the winners out of a total of 550 entries.
They include author and comedian Mark Watson, writers Wendy Holden, Marcus Sedgwick and Matt Whyman, broadcaster Janet Ellis and the novelist and biographer DJ Taylor. | Hilary Mantel, James Meek, Stephen May and Joff Winterhart have been shortlisted for best novel in the Costa Book Awards. |
40145771 | Catherine Whoriskey took the women's race title after finishing in a time of two hours and 50 minutes.
Her victory is the latest in an impressive year of competitions, including a win at the Lifford-Strabane Half Marathon in May.
The men's contest was won by last year's runner-up, Dan Tanui, in a time of two hours and 25 minutes.
Intermittent bursts of rain provided welcome respite from the humid conditions as 1,500 runners took to the streets of Derry.
At the finish line, Mr Tanui said: "I feel good and I am grateful to have won this race today.
"I felt nervous before the race, but once I completed the first half I knew I would win.
"I have come here three or four times now and I am happy I came here today."
The gruelling 26.2 mile event began at 08:30 BST on Sunday and thousands of spectators lined the race route on both sides of the River Foyle to watch the sporting spectacle.
The race started from the Everglades Hotel on Prehen Road and finished at Guildhall Square.
One great source of encouragement for the competitors was provided by local man Alan Warke who annually positions himself at the top of a steep hill on Fahan Street near the conclusion of the race and plays drums to spur runners on.
He told BBC News NI: "I have been doing this for a few years now.
"I've been here since 07:45 this morning and the drums help the runners put the beat on the street."
All runners received a bespoke Walled City Marathon Medal, a t-shirt and a goodie bag at the finish line.
Medical support was provided by St John's Ambulance, doctors and around 50 first-aiders. | A woman from Londonderry has triumphed at the SSE Walled City Marathon. |
32264637 | It follows two similar incidents in recent days on the same street, Mountcollyer Avenue in Tiger's Bay.
A man who lives in the house said: "I noticed my window was broken so I went outside and saw two guys walking towards North Queen Street.
"They were quite relaxed and without any embarrassment - they were wearing hoodies so I couldn't see their faces."
Police have said "initial investigations indicate that the crime is hate motivated".
"Hate crime is unacceptable and I appeal to anyone with any information relating to this particular hate crime, please contact York Road police on the non-emergency number 101," a police spokesman added.
On Monday night, a group of men attacked two houses and threatened residents at the street in what police described as a racially motivated hate crime.
Windows in two of the houses were smashed with bricks and one man was reported to have been carrying a pick axe. | A window of a Polish man's house in north Belfast has been smashed in what police say is a suspected hate crime. |
30558211 | Londoner Waters, 30, who beat world champion Laura Massaro in the quarter-finals, lost 11-6 11-9 9-11 11-5 to third seed Raneem el Weleily in Cairo.
Meanwhile, world number one Nicol David reached her eighth world final after coming back from two games to one down to defeat Egypt's Omneya Kawy.
The Malaysian, 31, will face Weleily, who is in her first final, on Saturday.
After rallying to win 11-9 9-11 8-11 11-5 11-5, David said: "I played with more purpose with my shots and she attempted a few things which were out of reach, and made a few unforced errors."
Weleily, who will play the final in front of her home crowd, said: "Somehow I have to handle it as if it were just another match." | English fifth seed Alison Waters was beaten in the semi-finals of the Women's World Squash Championship. |
40189857 | "Watergate pales" with what the US is confronting now, said James Clapper.
US intelligence agencies believe Russia interfered in the US election and they are investigating alleged links between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
But there is no known evidence of collusion and President Donald Trump has dismissed the story as "fake news".
US intelligence chiefs are to be questioned on the matter by the Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers testified on Wednesday that they never felt pressure from Mr Trump to influence the inquiry into Russia's political meddling.
Thursday will see the much-anticipated testimony of Mr Comey, who was leading one of the Russia investigations before Mr Trump fired him.
He will be quizzed on his interactions with the president before he was sacked.
Mr Comey reportedly told Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he did not want to be left alone with the president.
Mr Clapper's comparison with Watergate will raise eyebrows - President Richard Nixon resigned amid an unprecedented American political scandal involving spying, burglary and a cover-up.
The former intelligence chief, speaking in Australia, said it was "absolutely crucial" for the US - and the world - to get to the bottom of the allegations. | The Watergate scandal of the 1970s is not as big as the Trump-Russia investigation, the former director of US national intelligence has said. |
35970609 | Eliecer Garcia Torrealba, 42, is accused of using his post to allow a plane laden with the drug to take off from Barquisimeto in western Venezuela.
Dominican police searching the Cessna plane found three suitcases and two bags filled with cocaine.
Sixteen people are being held in connection with the case.
Prosecutors say Chief Detective Garcia Torrealba "co-ordinated the necessary actions inside the airport in Barquisimeto to allow the plane laden with cocaine to take off".
There was no immediate comment from Mr Garcia Torrealba himself.
Among the other people arrested are five members of the Venezuelan military and three airport security officials.
A Venezuelan businessman, Pablo Cardenas, has also been detained on suspicion of being the mastermind behind the cocaine shipment.
The US has long accused Venezuelan officials of not doing enough to stop drugs produced in neighbouring Colombia and other South American countries to transit through Venezuela.
They also allege that high-ranking members of the Venezuelan military and people close to government officials have been involved in smuggling drugs.
Two nephews of First Lady Cilia Flores are currently awaiting trial in New York on charges they conspired to import cocaine to the US.
Their hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. | Interpol's chief detective in Venezuela has been arrested over allegations he was involved in shipping 349kg (770lb) of cocaine to the Dominican Republic. |
34743843 | The band have previously hinted it could be their last, with Chris Martin describing it as "the completion of something".
The upbeat, summery first single, Adventure Of A Lifetime. premiered on BBC Radio 1 and 2 on Friday.
Speaking to breakfast show host Nick Grimshaw, the band dropped hints about a headline appearance at Glastonbury.
"We'd love to do it. That's our spiritual home, as a band," said Martin.
"Maybe we should have called ahead and asked them," he joked.
All of Coldplay's previous albums have reached number one in the UK. Last year's intimate and melancholy Ghost Stories was the fourth best-selling record of 2014 worldwide, shifting 3.7 million copies in total.
The band went straight back into the studio after its release to record the follow-up, which Martin described as "a more colourful, more joyful sort of thing".
"It's the sound of us being free and happy and very grateful to be in our group."
Recorded in Los Angeles, Malibu and London, A Head Full of Dreams will feature guest appearances from Beyonce, Noel Gallagher and Tove Lo.
Martin said the record had been "handed in" three weeks ago, after the band set themselves a deadline of finishing it before the end of the year.
"It gradually moved later and later - but we came in relatively on time," he said.
"We'd still be working on it if somebody said we could be," joked drummer Will Champion.
The band are also planning to tour "early next year", after only playing a handful of low-key shows to promote Ghost Stories.
Speaking to the BBC last year, Martin suggested the new record could be Coldplay's swansong.
"It's our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it's like the last Harry Potter book or something like that," he told Zane Lowe.
"Not to say that there might not be another thing one day, but this is the completion of something.
"I have to think of it as the final thing we're doing. Otherwise we wouldn't put everything into it." | Coldplay have revealed their seventh album, A Head Full of Dreams, will be released on 4 December. |
36541171 | It's been six months since Britain's first official astronaut blasted off to the International Space Station.
He's been a busy man. Here are some of the firsts and records he's achieved while he's been up there...
Tim set the world record for the fastest marathon in space - 3 hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds.
He ran the London Marathon in April, at the same time as runners on Earth, but on a treadmill aboard the ISS.
Take a look at the training and special equipment he needed to make it possible...
Tim says his spacewalk outside the ISS is his finest moment from his time in space.
As well as a chance to take a great selfie, Tim had to complete the spacewalk to carry out repairs to the space station - 250 miles above the Earth!
Tim sent a one-minute message to the Queen in a video link live from the International Space Station.
He thanked the Queen (after she sent him her own good wishes) and said he hoped his journey would help make the world a better place.
Perhaps his message of thanks to the Queen got him into her good books, because she is making him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to space research and scientific education.
Whilst others who were honoured by the Queen found out on Earth, Tim heard the news while he was up in space!
Tim Peake completed a tricky mission while in space - he had to operate a rover that was back here on Earth!
His task was to get the robot across a sandpit, made to be like the surface of Mars, and into a cave to look for targets.
It was all part of a European Space Agency project that aims to learn how astronauts can control equipment remotely.
The plan is for astronauts to do this when rovers are sent to Mars in the future. | Major Tim Peake is preparing for his return to planet Earth this weekend. |
37508537 | Mohammed and Nazimabee Golamaully, from Mitcham, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to transferring £219, knowing it may be used for terrorist purposes.
Nephew Zafirr Golamaully travelled from his home on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius to join IS.
His uncle and aunt will be sentenced on 10 November.
They did not tell Zafirr's parents and their money transfer was only discovered during a police investigation into a worldwide network of terrorism funding.
Prosecutors said that, before leaving his home in Mauritius, Zafirr had spoken to his uncle on the messaging app Whatsapp, asking for help to deceive his parents.
In March 2014 Zafirr said: "Told them I'm going to get 'nursing' training and that I won't be available for next two weeks."
Mohammed Golamaully, 48, replied: "The story of two weeks training sounds plausible prior to undertaking humanitarian aid."
Soon afterwards Zafirr was in Syria, fighting with IS, and attracting attention under the online alias Abu Hud, using social media to offer detailed instructions to others who wanted to travel to Syria.
He told his uncle: "They taught us military stances, formations and weapons."
The pair then discussed how to send money by Western Union transfer.
In another exchange Zafirr said that he might be going into battle soon in eastern Syria. His uncle reassured him that he would not say a word to his parents.
At the same time Mohammed Golamaully was having secret chats with Zafirr's sister Lubnaa, telling his niece "to revolutionise the Islamic concept amongst our close relatives".
In March 2015 Lubnaa is believed to have also travelled to Syria, texting her uncle to say Zafirr had bought her a gun.
Mohammed Golamaully warned her: "You'll need to learn how to use it now."
Later that day Nazimabee Golamaully, 45, spoke with the children's mother, Zulekha, on Whatsapp asking if she was OK.
She received the reply: "No, we are not okay… been in shock… I do not know if we have missed anything in our education of our children."
Nazimabee replied: "Not at all, instead maybe u have been blessed but u just can't see it now."
The role the married couple played was exposed by chance by detectives who were looking into a network that was funnelling payments totalling more than £100,000 in three months from around the world to IS via a middle man in Turkey.
One of the payments they discovered was from Nazimabee Golamaully's bank account. She told police it was to fund her nephew's studies in Turkey but in court she admitted it was to fund terrorism. | A married couple from London have admitted providing funding for their nephew who was fighting in Syria with militants from the Islamic State group. |
38370767 | The sport's governing body began its own investigation into Rafael Callejas and Alfredo Hawit after they were among 16 football officials arrested by US authorities in Zurich in December 2015.
Hawit and Callejas pleaded guilty to racketeering and wire fraud conspiracy charges in the US earlier this year.
They are due to be sentenced in 2017.
Fifa's ethics committee says the men, both Honduran nationals, took bribes from marketing companies over the awarding of commercial rights for World Cup qualifying matches.
It said the bans would come into force immediately.
Hawit, a former Fifa vice-president, was interim president of Concacaf when he was held in Switzerland last year. Concacaf governs football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Callejas, Honduras' president between 1990 and 1994, was a member of Fifa's marketing and TV committee when the arrests were made in a dawn raid at the same hotel where seven other top Fifa officials were held in May 2015.
The pair were arrested on suspicion of accepting millions of dollars of bribes, at the request of the US authorities.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Speaking at the time, US attorney general Loretta Lynch said: "The betrayal of trust set forth here is outrageous. The scale of corruption alleged herein is unconscionable."
Callejas will be sentenced in the US on 27 January, while Hawit, who has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, will be sentenced on 24 March. | Two former senior officials who have pleaded guilty to criminal corruption charges have been banned from football-related activity for life by Fifa. |
34527046 | The EU had hoped to have an agreement in place ahead of a summit on Thursday.
But matters were delayed by three days of national mourning in Turkey after Saturday's bomb attacks in Ankara.
Nearly 600,000 migrants have reached the EU by sea so far this year, most via Turkey, says the International Organisation for Migration.
Turkey is thought to be hosting some two million migrants, most of them fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.
In return for greater co-operation with the EU, Turkey is expected to press for more rapid progress towards visa-free travel for its citizens to European countries that have abolished border controls within the so-called Schengen area.
But the EU Council President Donald Tusk has warned that concessions will only be granted if they help reduce the influx of migrants, which stands at a record level.
Mr Tusk warned that next spring could bring an even bigger wave.
European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans is leading the delegation seeking to persuade the Turkish government to sign up to a joint action plan on the migration crisis.
Ahead of the visit, Mr Timmermans criticised EU nations for failing to provide funds and experts promised to help deal with the migrant crisis.
He said just three of the 28 EU members had pledged a total of about 12m euros (£8.9m; £13.7m) to a fund aimed at helping African countries manage their borders. The pot of money was supposed to accrue 1.8bn euros over two years.
Only 130 police officers have been volunteered to help fingerprint people, he continued, falling far short of the 1,000 officers the EU's border agency and asylum office had been hoping for.
"Words need to be matched with action," he told reporters before flying to Turkey.
The joint action plan includes:
Many of the issues are sensitive ones, say correspondents - Greece, for instance, fears Turkey could increase its presence in the Aegean Sea separating the two nations where the two have rival territorial claims.
And some EU member states have concerns about embracing Turkey, citing concerns over its human rights record, policies towards the Kurdish minority and media freedom.
The atmosphere in Turkey, meanwhile, remains febrile with three top Ankara officials - police, intelligence and security chiefs - suspended in the wake of Saturday's bombings in which 97 people died.
In a letter to the 29 EU leaders ahead of Thursday's summit in Brussels, Mr Tusk warned that the goal of talks with Turkey was "to stem the wave of refugees to Europe. An agreement with Turkey makes sense if it effectively reduces the inflow of refugees.
"Concessions will only be justified when this goal is achieved."
So far in 2015, 710,000 irregular migrants have entered the EU compared with 282,000 for the whole of 2014, the bloc's border agency Frontex said on Tuesday.
In his letter, Mr Tusk warned that the regional situation was "difficult and politically very complex.
"Just to give one example, Turkey is calling on us to support the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria, whereas Russia - increasingly engaged in Syria - is openly rejecting this idea."
He went on: "We must ask ourselves if the decisions we have taken so far, and the ones we are going to take on Thursday, are sufficient to contain a new migratory wave" - a wave, he warned, that could mean millions of new arrivals in the spring. | A delegation of European commissioners has travelled to Turkey in a last-ditch bid to secure a draft agreement on tackling Europe's migration crisis. |
33243969 | Ken Skates AM has written to new Culture Secretary John Whittingdale to press for the tournament to remain on terrestrial TV.
The current deal with the BBC lasts until the end of the 2017 competition.
The UK government says it currently has no plans to review the list of protected sporting events.
But Mr Skates said rugby's future could be damaged if fewer young people had access to matches on pay-TV.
"Suddenly you're reducing the number of people watching the event, particularly young people who get inspired by watching the sport," said Mr Skates.
"Short term financial gain could cause longer term pain for those rugby clubs right across Wales who could see a drop-off in membership."
He warned it could be "very dangerous and damaging" if Six Nations rugby coverage was lost to satellite channels.
For the Wales v England opening match earlier this year, the in-home audience peaked at 1.12m, with an additional 150,000 people watching the match in a pub or club.
The same match two years before was the third highest TV audience in Wales this century.
Back in January, the Six Nations' chief executive John Feehan told the Daily Telegraph he was prepared to consider all options for the tournament's broadcasting deal, with BT Sport joining Sky Sports as a rival player in the pay-TV market.
There have been reports that the next TV deal could be worth £50m a season - a 25% rise on the existing four-year contract.
In recent years, the BBC has relinquished its exclusive rights to a number of sporting events, after failing to match the large sums offered by subscription TV services.
From 2017 live coverage of the Open Golf championship will be shown exclusively by Sky, while the BBC has shared coverage of Formula 1 with Sky since the 2012 season.
Both Sky and BT Sport currently broadcast some or all of the games in other major rugby competitions including the Pro 12, the Lions tours and the European Champions Cup.
Meanwhile the BBC has undertaken a period of cost-cutting, leaving it unlikely to be able to match the large sums that rival broadcasters may offer for the Six Nations, and diminishing the prospects of the BBC's current agreement surviving from 2018 onwards.
Mr Skates said he would continue to make representations to the UK government, although it was not a devolved matter.
"There's careful consideration to be given to the balance between raising revenue for the sport and making sure the vast majority of people in Wales are able to watch the events live. I do believe it should remain free-to-air on terrestrial television.
"It's important for the UK Government to recognise that rugby in Wales along with football are the two national games.
"The ball is firmly in the court of the UK Government and we will be pressing them to do the right thing."
An official for the UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the list of 'crown jewel' events given free-to-air protection is not about to be reviewed.
"Negotiations on television rights for the 6 Nations are a matter for the rugby authorities and broadcasters," said a spokesperson.
But William Field, founder of Prospero, a sports and media consultancy, said: "There's a big difference between the Six Nations entertaining bids from pay-TV and accepting bids from pay-TV.
"It would be failing in its duty to maximise the value of the event if it did not start reminding people, particularly the BBC, that if they don't pay enough for the rights next time then there is a pay-TV broadcaster who would be very, very glad to have this tournament on its channels."
A BBC spokesperson said: "We have no comment to make at this stage and in any case, the BBC does not provide a running commentary on commercially sensitive rights related negotiations and discussions."
Six Nations tournament officials would not comment. | The Welsh culture and sports minister has written to the UK Government to call for rugby's Six Nations to be protected as a free-to-air TV event. |
36686721 | A consortium led by Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan bought a controlling stake of 60% in the Swans but the Supporters Trust retaining a 21.1% shareholding.
"We are delighted that the Premier League has ratified our deal to buy a controlling interest in the club," Kaplan and Levein said.
The deal is expected to be completed in July, the investors explained.
"We had a very positive meeting yesterday and we appreciate the fact the Premier League has moved so swiftly to give us the green light to move forward," they said in a statement on the club's website.
"There are still a few minor loose ends to tie up on the deal which we envisage will be completed before the end of the month.
"In the meantime, we are both extremely excited to be part of a new era for Swansea City and working with Huw Jenkins and the Supporters' Trust in taking the club forward."
BBC Wales Sport revealed in April which of Swansea's directors would be selling all or part of their shares.
Swansea City chairman, Huw Jenkins, added, "We are all extremely pleased with the outcome of the Premier League meeting.
"It will now enable us to move forward fully focussed and put everything in place for the start of another very important Premier League season.
"Everyone at the club is looking forward to working together with Steve and Jason for what will be a new and exciting chapter in the club's proud history.''
Swansea director Martin Morgan says the sale of a majority stake to an American consortium is "not a takeover".
They have now passed the Premier League test for prospective owners and Morgan expects the sale to be completed soon.
"I think it's a case of days, if not weeks," Morgan told BBC Radio Wales.
He continued, "It's not a takeover because the Trust will stay involved. I will still keep five percent, Huw [Jenkins] will keep five percent, as will Brian [Katzen].
"Every club that overtook us were billionaires and it's very hard to compete with that and we wanted some more muscle.
"Maybe, and hopefully, they can make Swansea a better team or secure our place in the Premier League".
Levien is the managing general partner of Major League Soccer side DC United, while Kaplan is principal of Oaktree Capital investment fund and vice-chairman of NBA franchise Memphis Grizzlies.
They are understood to be keen to buy Swansea's home ground, Liberty Stadium, which is owned by the local council, with a view to increasing its capacity.
Levien and Kaplan had initially been negotiating a deal which would have seen them acquire more than 75% of Swansea's shares, effectively giving the American consortium complete control, including the power to issue more shares.
However, the modified acquisition of 60% will see the trust retain its 21.1% stake and ensure continuity at board level with the retention of Jenkins and Dineen.
Swansea will be based in Washington DC, home of Levien's DC United, for their pre-season tour to the USA in July. | Swansea's proposed sale to US investors has moved a step closer after receiving ratification from the Premier League. |
25318129 | Prof James Mitchell said house prices were overvalued when compared with incomes, raising the risk of a fall at some stage in the future.
Of 13 regions in the UK, he said 10 were currently overvalued.
However, most other economists believe property prices are still affordable, given very low mortgage rates.
"The results raise the risk, although not the certainty, that house prices will fall," said Prof Mitchell, although he said it was difficult to say when that would be.
"But a bubble it appears to be and we should all - householders, business people and policymakers alike - be alert to this risk."
Prof Mitchell, the head of economic modelling and forecasting at Warwick Business School, used house price and incomes data from the UK's largest mortgage lender, the Halifax.
He was previously a senior research fellow with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) for 12 years.
He defines a bubble "as a time when prices exceed fundamentals, or when price exceeds value".
According to his research, London is the most overvalued region.
Scoring those regions on the likelihood of a bubble, he said there was a 93% probability that London is "in the grip of a house-price bubble".
Wales is the next most overvalued region, with an 83% chance of a bubble, followed by north-west England with 80%. The UK as a whole scores 77%.
Prof Mitchell said Scotland and Northern Ireland were unlikely to enter a bubble phase, and the chances for eastern England were "evens".
He was particularly gloomy about the point at which interest rates rise.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) currently expects that to happen in 2015.
Prof Mitchell said at that point there would be a risk that household and bank finances would be "stretched to breaking point".
"This raises the spectre of falling house prices, negative equity, bad assets on banks' balance sheets and a return to the so-called great recession we have been so slowly emerging from," he said.
BBC housing calculator
Earlier this week the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, warned about the potential for a housing bubble in the UK, during a speech in New York.
"There is a history in the housing market of moving from stall speed to warp speed," Mr Carney said. "We want to avoid that."
However most economists believe the UK is still some way from being in a housing bubble.
The amount of money being lent, and the number of housing transactions, are still way below the levels seen in 2007-08.
According to the Halifax, the Nationwide, and the Land Registry, prices too are well below the record.
Low mortgage rates also continue to make property relatively affordable.
Many believe that households will be able to handle a gradual rise in interest rates.
"We think there are good grounds to be optimistic that the vast majority of households will cope with a slow but certain transition to more normal interest rates," said Bob Pannell, the chief economist for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), this week. | Most regions of the UK are already in a house-price bubble, according to an economics professor from Warwick University. |
38721152 | A Champions Cup quarter-final with Saracens follows the Six Nations and Hogg, 24, is brimming with confidence.
Asked whether Scotland can emulate the progress made by Glasgow, he said: "I don't see why not.
"Finn Russell has been playing awesome at 10 for Glasgow, so if we can get outside him for Scotland, I think we'll be grand."
Warriors reached the last eight of Europe's premier competition for the first time thanks to a resounding 43-0 win at Leicester on Saturday.
The Pro12 side also beat Racing 92 home and away in the group, while rivals Edinburgh topped their section in the Challenge Cup, with 34 of Scotland head coach Vern Cotter's 36-man squad involved in knock-out rugby in Europe after the Six Nations.
Hogg thinks Scotland will benefit from the club feats, with increased competition for places and a greater sense of belief.
"I'm not going to lie, there were times in years gone by when we were scared about what was going to happen," he admitted.
"But now we're confident about getting the job done. We believe we have the playing staff, the structures and the coaching staff to get us victories."
With Ireland visiting Murrayfield on 4 February, Scotland are looking for their first opening win in the Six Nations since 2006.
Wales and Italy also come to Edinburgh, while there are difficult trips to Paris and London in what will be Cotter's final campaign before he is succeeded by Glasgow's Gregor Townsend.
Last year, Scotland finished fourth in the championship after beating Italy and France.
"We will concentrate on Ireland first and then after that we will look at the next opposition," said Hogg.
"We play a different way with Scotland than we do with Glasgow but here's hoping we can build up a good bit of form.
"The structure we try to play is very much dominate up front and release the backs out wide. The more space we get, the better.
"It's a work in progress but Ireland kick the ball a fair amount so if we can defuse their kicking game there will be good counter-attacking opportunities.
"There is no better feeling than winning in a Scotland jersey. We'll be doing everything we possibly can to get that feeling back.
"Vern Cotter has worked wonders for Scotland. He's put a huge amount of effort into this country and it would be good to send him off with some victories to thank him for all the work he's done for us." | Full-back Stuart Hogg believes Scotland can profit from Glasgow Warriors' success in Europe this season. |
28310080 | Carwyn Jones and Health Minister Mark Drakeford have said a consultation on the landmark ruling will be launched.
They say it aims to protect youngsters from the effects of second-hand smoke in a confined space.
Wales became the first country in the UK to consider tackling the issue of smoking in cars when children are present.
Those who flout a ban could face fines and points on their licences.
Any new regulations would apply solely to Wales, but the Welsh government says it is in touch with the Department of Health in England to "co-ordinate approaches" on the issue.
Welsh government-backed research by Cardiff University has suggested one in 10 children in Wales continue to be exposed to smoke in family cars.
Dr Graham Moore, who led the study, welcomed the ban.
"There is evidence to show high levels of public support for a ban on smoking in cars carrying children," he said.
"Our evidence points to a need for continued action to make smoking in front of children less socially acceptable, whether in the car or at home."
The first minister said: "While I welcome the fact the number of children being exposed to smoking in cars has declined, a sizeable minority of young people are still being exposed and adults continue to smoke in their cars when children are present."
Mr Drakeford added: "Although the research findings show that progress has been made in reducing children's exposure to second-hand smoke in cars, we now believe the introduction of regulations to prohibit smoking in private vehicles carrying under-18s is needed as the final piece in the jigsaw to eliminate the harm and end persistent inequalities in exposure.
"We will now consult on these proposals and I urge people to have their say."
It follows a vote earlier this year in Westminster on the issue which was passed by 376 votes to 107. It gave ministers in England and Wales the power to bring in a ban - but does not compel them to do so.
In England, the Department of Health has launched a six-week consultation after the UK government said it wanted a ban before the next general election, which is due in 2015. | Smoking in cars when children are present will be banned in Wales, the first minister has announced. |
32913724 | The young birds were saved after their mother was killed by a dog in Station Park, Moffat.
They were pulled to safety by a family on pedalos in the park's pond.
The ducks are now being cared for at the South of Scotland Wildlife Hospital in Dumfries and they will be released back into the wild once they are old enough to fend for themselves.
Animal rescue officer Tricia Smith, of the Scottish SPCA, said, "Sadly the mum was killed by a dog, leaving her four ducklings on their own.
"This is an important example of why dogs should be kept on a lead and under control whenever there are wild animals nearby.
"As the ducklings were on the water it was extremely difficult to catch them but with the help of a few willing volunteers on pedalos we managed to rescue them all.
"We'd like to say a special thank you and well done to Chloe MacFarlane, who caught the last duckling with her fast hands." | A group of animal-lovers mounted a rescue for four orphaned ducklings - on pedalos. |
24068781 | The exiled writer was stabbed in the thigh in 1978 by the poisonous tip of an umbrella while he waited for a bus on Waterloo Bridge.
The poison was identified as ricin.
The British inquiry into the killing remains open.
A spokeswoman for the Bulgarian prosecutors' office told Reuters that "we need to have a suspect for the crime arrested, charged or put on a search list" to overcome the statute of limitations.
"As of the moment, we have not established the perpetrator and [none] of the above actions are undertaken," Rumiana Arnaudova added.
Britain has no statute of limitations. The Metropolitan Police continues to investigate the death.
Georgi Markov was an opponent of Bulgaria's then-Communist government and worked for the BBC World Service, among other organisations.
He died in hospital on 11 September 1978, days after the umbrella stabbing. He was 49.
The nature of the assassination and his outspoken criticism of the Communist regime in Bulgarian meant that the Soviet KGB or Bulgarian secret services were long suspected of involvement.
Secret police files from the time later identified his killer as an agent code-named "Piccadilly".
However, no-one has been brought to justice for the murder. | Bulgaria has closed its investigation into the infamous Cold War murder of dissident Georgi Markov in London after the statute of limitations in the case expired on Thursday, 35 years and 1 day after his death. |
34958885 | Media playback is not supported on this device
That 5-1 loss leaves the Magpies second bottom and two points from safety in the Premier League after 14 games.
McClaren says experience shows him the club as a whole needs to stay calm.
"That's the key thing, that there's no panic. We know we're doing the right things every day," said the former England boss.
"Everybody knows and everybody can see that. In time that will turn around and work.
"We're having huge disappointments that I hope will toughen us up and make us stronger in the long run."
McClaren believes the players must adopt an element of "peer pressure" in getting the best out of one another, after conceding eight goals in their last two outings and scoring once in five games.
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"The players have to learn quickly," said the 54-year-old. "The players aren't doing it for each other at the moment.
"Sometimes it's not about me, it's about each other. And that's a team. When you're playing, you've been a coach or a manager, the dressing room is about peer pressure.
"It's about pride, working for each other and not letting down the man next to you - at the present moment we've not got that."
But Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer does not believe Newcastle's current crop are good enough.
That, he says, along with a lack of "a plan" from the manager is why they are struggling.
"You cannot coach players who do not want to be coached, who are not good enough," said the club's record goalscorer.
"You've got too many Monday to Friday players; good in training, but don't want to perform on a Saturday.
"Recruitment; the guys in charge at Newcastle have got a way with it for such a long time because the players they've signed are just not good enough."
Next up for the St James' Park outfit is a home game against Liverpool on Sunday, before visiting Tottenham and welcoming relegation rivals Aston Villa.
And McClaren says his players need to start reacting better to setbacks if they are to turn their season around.
"The players lose heart easily: it's not rocket science, everyone can see it and that's what's happening," he added.
"We need to get to work and start winning games. We're in a relegation battle, and we've got to make sure we're right into that." | Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren says his side are "doing the right things" and will not panic, despite defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday. |
34768744 | The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee will look at whether it is at "a competitive disadvantage" because of the 9% rate in the Republic of Ireland.
The UK rate is 20% and recently, Stormont's Tourism Minister Jonathan Bell said he would continue to lobby government for it to be cut.
EU law is thought to prevent any regional variation in the UK's rate.
Committee chair Laurence Robertson said: "The tourism and hospitality industry has a vital role to play in growing the Northern Irish economy.
"We are keen to find out how, through the tax system, the government can better support hotels, restaurants and other businesses to attract visitors."
The Northern Ireland hospitality sector is part of a national campaign, Cut Tourism VAT.
However, the Treasury has resisted the move, saying it would be costly and other taxes would have to be increased to plug the revenue gap.
According to the committee, tourism in Northern Ireland is worth more than £750m to the economy and supports 43,000 jobs. | The impact of VAT on the Northern Ireland tourism industry is to be examined by group of MPs. |
36567326 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Flares were thrown on to the pitch and fighting broke out in the stands.
The CFF said a "small group of hooligans" had "stolen joy from Croatian fans and the Croatian team".
Uefa, European football's governing body, has charged both Croatia and Turkey, the latter for incidents during their match against Spain on Friday.
Its control, ethics and disciplinary body will rule on the cases on Monday.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has called for a government session to discuss the fan disturbances and the CFF apologised to those in the stadium for Friday's match, the television audience and the Czech Republic team.
It said Croatia, and everyone connected with football in the country, had been "disgraced by a group of hooligans that hold nothing Croatian sacred".
They had, the statement said, "ruined a beautiful football festival".
It added: "The incident is the product of the passivity of the Croatian state, and we have all become hostages of a group of hooligans.
"We appeal to the Croatian government, and Uefa as well, to join us in the fight against the hooligans, to finally eradicate this evil that wants to cast a shadow over everything the Vatreni present on the field of play.
"Let us start punishing those guilty of a crime, not the victims."
Croatia were sanctioned by world governing body Fifa last month because "discriminatory chants" were sung during friendly matches against Israel and Hungary. They must play their next two 2018 World Cup qualifying games behind closed doors.
Uefa has brought charges for the setting off of fireworks, the throwing of objects, crowd disturbance and racist behaviour by Croatia fans in Saint-Etienne.
Referee Mark Clattenburg halted the match in the 86th minute when flares were thrown on to the pitch from the Croatia end.
When the game resumed, Croatia conceded a late penalty to draw 2-2.
Team manager Ante Cacic called the supporters who threw flares on to the pitch "sports terrorists".
He added: "They are not really Croatia supporters. These people are scary and I call them hooligans."
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The Turkish Football Federation, meanwhile, has been charged with the setting off of fireworks, throwing of objects and field invasion after some of their fans caused trouble during Friday's 3-0 defeat by Spain.
Both the Croatian and Turkish federations already face charges in the aftermath of the match between the two sides on 12 June.
Russia were given a suspended disqualification and fined 150,000 euros (£119,000) after violent scenes at the game against England on 11 June. | Croatia's football federation has apologised for the behaviour of fans who caused trouble at Friday's Euro 2016 match against the Czech Republic. |
32969986 | The update comes in prepared remarks for US Congress.
The company said it was working to deliver airbags that do not contain ammonium nitrate propellant.
The fault has led to 34 million cars being recalled in the US, the biggest auto-safety recall in US history.
Globally, the number of vehicles affected is thought to be 53 million.
The faulty front and side airbags were found to inflate with excessive force, causing the bags to rupture and dangerous shrapnel to be thrown at the drivers, sometimes with fatal consequences.
The cause is not expected to be fully identified for some time, but some scientists suspect the ammonium nitrate may have been part of the problem, by becoming unstable over time, particularly in extreme heat and humidity.
Kevin Kennedy, Takata's executive vice president, is set to be questioned by Congress on Tuesday about the faulty airbags.
In his prepared testimony he said the company was carrying out an "extensive testing program" and had "ramped up production of replacement kits to address the needs of these recalls".
Takata's airbags are used in vehicles made by 11 global manufacturers, including Honda, Toyota and Nissan.
Faults with the airbags were first detected in 2004 and the first US death linked to an airbag rupture occurred in 2009. | The Japanese car parts maker, Takata, is intending to replace a chemical used in its airbags, as it tries to fix a fault that led to six deaths and multiple injuries. |
31349250 | Redwan El-Ghaidouni, 38, from west London, was approached by a man who fired a number of shots into his car before running off, police said.
The murder happened on Vine Lane, Uxbridge, on the evening of 3 February.
Officers have also confirmed the victim had served a prison sentence for importing drugs.
Investigating officer, Det Ch Insp Noel McHugh, said: "We do believe this was a targeted attack and part of our inquiries are focussed on Mr El-Ghaidouni's past.
"He was linked to criminality and had recently served a sentence for drug importation. Did someone have a grievance against him related to drugs or other criminality?
"This was a brutal murder which was clearly well-planned and I'm sure there are several people out there who know why Mr El-Ghaidouni was killed."
After the shooting, the suspect ran through an alleyway leading to Saunders Road, before heading towards Dowding Road.
He was wearing a hooded top, bottoms, dark gloves and dark shoes or trainers.
"It seems unlikely the suspect was acting entirely alone - perhaps you saw more than one person hanging around the area," said Det Ch Insp McHugh.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Mr El-Ghaidouni's partner, Samantha Taitt, said: "I was expecting my beloved Redwan to return home from work to look after our three children.
"As he arrived home he was executed and he never stood a chance.
"Our three young children will now grow up without their loving father. His mother, father and siblings are left without a son and brother." | CCTV images of a potential suspect, wanted in connection with the murder of a man shot dead on the driveway of his home, have been issued by police. |
11453431 | But instead of feeling sorry for herself, she started to write a wish list of 100 things she wanted her husband and two sons to experience after she was dead.
Mrs Greene, from Clevedon, near Bristol, died in January at the age of 37, two years after she was diagnosed.
She and husband Singe had already been through a tough time before she was diagnosed with the illness.
In 2005, a tumour was found in their first son Reef's abdomen and the two-year-old was given two weeks to live.
"It was a very aggressive type of tumour and our world just fell apart," Mrs Greene's widower Singe said.
At the same time Mrs Greene gave birth to their second son, Finn, seven weeks early so both of their boys were in separate hospitals at the same time.
Reef managed to recover from the tumour, but in 2008 Mrs Greene found a lump in her breast.
Her husband said: "She started chemo within a week of it being found.
"It's just one of those things where everything about you is falling apart... you can either fall apart with it, but I don't think Kate would have let me do that.
"Once she realised her time was going to be limited, then she started planning for 'her three boys' to do, the activities she wanted us to do."
The 44-year-old said the idea for a wish list was dreamt up by his wife one day at 4am, and from then on they worked on it together.
"It was horrendous. Kate was at home, she was on oxygen, she was in bed and she was pretty frightened to go to sleep because she didn't think she would get through the night.
"Everything she thought about she would write down in a little diary and if she couldn't write she would text it to me on the phone."
Mr Greene said his wife had been a part-time scuba diving instructor and wanted both of their sons to learn to snorkel and scuba dive.
"She really wanted them to snorkel and scuba dive with the fishes in Egypt, so we've booked that one up for Christmas."
Another of her wishes was for them to attend an international rugby match.
"When she was going through all the chemo we used to sit and watch the rugby together in the hospital bed.
"There were four of us on one of the gurneys with the TV in front of us, squished in cuddling up. That used to be brilliant."
He said Reef and Finn had started playing rugby.
"We've also got an extension to build so we get a dining room table in the house, and she wants us to make sure the boys have a play room. All those sorts of things that every mum would probably want for their children."
Other requests were more simple, such as kissing the boys goodnight and teaching them not to be late.
The list also includes "do nots" such as not letting the boys ride a motorcycle, smoke or join the Armed Forces.
"The list is not a chore, it's a pleasure really," Mr Greene said.
But one wish on his wife's list he has so far put off is finding a girlfriend.
Mr Greene said his "soul mate", whom he met at a roller-skating rink 23 years ago, was "a hard act to follow".
"I guess it will come in time. The boys need me so it's quite difficult at the moment. It's something for the future." | Lying awake in the early hours after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Kate Greene was afraid she would not make it through the night. |
35548575 | Alan was the Syrian three-year-old whose photograph - lying dead on a beach - focused world attention on the refugee crisis in September 2015.
Mufawaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad, both Syrian nationals, are being tried in Bodrum, the same Turkish seaside city where his body was washed up.
Mr Alabash and Mr Alfrhad face up to 35 years in prison each if found guilty.
They are charged with human smuggling and with causing the deaths of five people "through deliberate negligence".
Both said they were innocent of the charges at the hearing on Thursday, which, the BBC understands, has already finished.
Their next hearing will be in early March and the men will remain in custody until then.
Alan's five-year-old brother Galib and his mother Rihan also drowned when the boat they were on sank during an attempted crossing to the Greek island of Kos.
The father of the family, Abdullah, survived. He is currently thought to be living outside Turkey.
The story of Alan Kurdi's family
Why Alan Kurdi's picture cut through | Two suspected people-smugglers are on trial in connection with the death of Alan Kurdi and four other people. |
39291159 | The police watchdog confirmed that PC Joshua Savage had been charged in relation to the stop and search of a Ford Fiesta in Camden on 16 September.
Footage of the stop in Vicars Road was circulated on social media at the time.
PC Savage is also charged with criminal damage, common assault and threatening behaviour.
He and a colleague had been conducting a stop-and-search of a car that was filmed by the driver.
The driver, who was stopped in a case of mistaken identity, was not arrested.
A member of the public complained about the officer's conduct and the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), began an investigation, while the two officers involved were placed on restricted duties.
The IPCC investigation concluded in February and it referred its findings to the Crown Prosecution Service which authorised PC Savage to be charged. | A Met officer has been charged with four offences including possession of a bladed article, over an alleged attack on a car during a stop-and-search. |
36895643 | A total of 53 women are on the Grierson shortlist, dominating in the best documentary series and best constructed documentary series categories.
There were 36 women in the running for the awards at this stage last year.
The trust's chair Lorraine Heggessey said she was "delighted" at the increase in women, "following under-representation in previous years".
Female nominees include Pamela Gordon, series director of Dementiaville, who is shortlisted in the best documentary category.
Nicola Brown is another one of the women directors nominated, for her work on Channel 4's Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 year olds. The series director is up for best entertaining documentary category, while the series is up for best constructed documentary series.
Other nominees in this category include Gogglebox, First Dates and The Real Marigold Hotel.
Sir David Attenborough has been shortlisted for the best presenter award, for Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur.
The documentary, directed by Charlotte Scott, is nominated in the natural history category, along with Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough, directed by Mike Davis and produced by Anthony Geffen.
Long Lost Family is up for best presenter for Davina McCall and best constructed documentary series, while Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners: Profit and Loss is up for best presenter for David Olesoga and best historical documentary.
Asif Kapadia's Academy Award-winning documentary Amy is on the shortlists for both best arts and best cinema documentary.
The BBC has 41 entries on the shortlist, with 26 for Channel 4 and seven for ITV.
The awards organisers said this year had the "widest spread of broadcasters and channels ever represented", with theguardian.com nominated for the first time.
Ms Heggessey said: "It's very heartening to see that digital platforms like Netflix, Vice and theguardian.com are funding high quality documentaries that bring fresh perspectives to our screens."
The migrant crisis, war in Syria and international terrorism are some of the key themes represented in the contemporary theme and current affairs categories for the awards.
The Grierson Awards commemorate the pioneering Scottish documentary film-maker John Grierson, famous for Drifters and Night Mail, and the man widely regarded as the father of the documentary.
The final nominations will be announced on 20 September before the awards ceremony on 7 November. The winner of the BBC Grierson Trustees' Award will be named in autumn. | A record number of female directors have been shortlisted for this year's British Documentary Awards. |
35980267 | Clive Arrowsmith, who was born in Mancot and grew up in Mold, Flintshire, unearthed the original photos from his loft in London.
They were taken at the end of a shoot for The Wings' Speed of Sound album in 1976 and during the 1993 session for McCartney's solo album Off The Ground.
They have been scanned and published.
The Royal Photographic Society's magazine The Journal has featured the pictures after Mr Arrowsmith showed them to a friend.
Mr Arrowsmith said finding the pictures has triggered a lot of happy memories for him.
"They really capture the seminal moments of the shoot when it all came together," he said.
"The fun we were all having, plus Paul and Linda's closeness, it's the naturalness of the pictures that is the key to their success."
He told BBC Wales: "I kept copies for myself and sent some to Paul but I've never seen him release them."
Mr Arrowsmith, who came to know The Beatles through Stuart Sutcliffe while studying in Queensferry, has also snapped the likes of Mick Jagger, Dame Judi Dench, Art Garfunkel, Def Leppard, Prince Charles, Michael Caine and the Dalai Lama. | A celebrity photographer from north Wales has released previously unseen pictures of Sir Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda. |
36211045 | The Academy had appealed for both sides to end the dispute after strikes and thousands of cancelled operations.
Junior doctors have been striking over plans to impose new working conditions.
Talks over the controversial new contract broke down in February.
The government has said it is willing to pause the introduction of the junior doctors' contract in England for five days from Monday to allow for talks.
But it said the doctors' union must focus discussions on outstanding contractual issues such as unsocial hours and Saturday pay.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt indicated the government was willing to compromise.
"We've already made three significant compromises on Saturday pay but what we can't do is have a system where hospitals can't afford to roster enough doctors on a Saturday.
"That's the situation we have at the moment - about three times less medical cover at weekends."
He added: "I hope very much that the BMA will take up the offer to talk constructively."
The Prime Minister also welcomed the possibility of talks between ministers and the British Medical Association, saying it was important that the talks focussed on the "10%" of issues in the contract that had not been agreed, "particularly Saturday working".
The British Medical Association has agreed to stall any new threats of strikes - also for five days.
Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA junior doctor chairman, said: "Junior doctors have said since the outset that we want to reach a negotiated agreement, and have repeatedly urged the government to re-enter talks.
"We are keen to restart talks with an open mind.
"It is critical to find a way forward on all the outstanding issues - which are more than just pay - and hope that a new offer is made that can break the impasse."
Bob Webster, from the NHS Confederation that represents NHS trusts in England, welcomed the move.
He told the BBC: "It's critical that we've now got an agreement it seems that people get back into the room and talk.
"It gives me some hope that we can get a way out of this dispute which will be good for the NHS and good for patients."
Professor Dame Sue Bailey, chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, called on both sides to end the stand-off after months of wrangling which have led to strike action.
She told the BBC said she was optimistic about the outcome of more talks.
"I think if they're in a safe space with a good senior person there from outside health, they can look at the remaining areas, the 5 to 10% cent that needs to be agreed.
"And really this has to be the way forward because, if we don't, I think in the future we will look back with regret."
Hugh Pym, health editor, BBC News
If a week is a long time in politics, 24 hours is a long time in the junior doctors dispute.
That's the time it took for a new proposal to get the government and the BMA back to the negotiating table to emerge and then be fully analysed and accepted in principle by both sides.
At one stage in that timetable it looked as if the proposal for a five day "pause" would hit the buffers as the Government indicated it was not possible to change the process of imposing a new contract.
Then came a change of tack by ministers as they decided they could after all put imposition on hold for five days and start talking again about doctors' pay.
There is no certainty the talks will get off the ground. The BMA wants a wider agenda and details of the process have not been thrashed out.
But after three months with no talks and several strikes there is now some prospect of a way out of this dispute.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had accused the BMA of refusing to negotiate over Saturday pay and said he would press on with introducing the contract.
While the BMA said there were wider unresolved issues over working hours and it was unfair to impose a contract rather than continuing discussions.
Between January and early April there were four strikes by junior doctors in England affecting routine but not urgent care.
Last week there were two one-day strikes affecting all forms of care, including emergencies - the first such action in the history of the NHS.
Only this morning a Department of Health spokesperson was said "it is now too late to change the process of bringing in contracts".
But speaking in the House of Lords, the health minister Lord Prior of Brampton said Mr Hunt was willing to "pause" the introduction of the new contract.
However he insisted that weekend pay must be on the agenda.
Shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the offer of a pause and said the two sides had to resume discussions.
"It is imperative that Jeremy Hunt puts his pride to one side and resumes negotiations with the BMA." | The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has welcomed the agreement from the government and the British Medical Association to return to talks over the new junior doctors' contract in England. |
35658931 | This year, the show is being dominated by the launch of a clutch of supercars, sports cars and luxury motors from the likes of Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.
While car shows in Detroit and Frankfurt vie for importance, they tend to be dominated by the host countries' companies.
It's Geneva's level playing field that the good and the great who run the industry find attractive - well, that and possibly the chance to squeeze in some skiing.
So the 86th Geneva Motor Show starts this week with the industry's mood much improved.
After years of painful restructuring and the near-death of several companies, motor manufacturing has climbed out of recession.
European car sales last year were 14.2 million, 9.2% higher than in 2014, though still below levels before the economic crisis.
And 2016 has got off to a good start, with sales up 6.3% in January year-on-year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
There has been much debate, especially during the bad times, about whether spending millions of euros and dollars on motor show car launches is worth it.
In the era of social media, YouTube and the iPad, some people argue that motor shows are less important for getting the message across.
And with today's cars as much about technical wizardry as performance and design, marketing departments are increasingly diverting some of their budgets to tech events like Las Vegas's Consumer Electronics Show.
Yet, there are few signs at this Geneva show that carmakers are rowing back. The list of product launches is long, as is the showcasing of new technologies, concepts and curiosities.
Analyst Tim Urquhart, from IHS, thinks the show will be less about themes, and more about "the European industry taking care of business, coming up with compelling product that will bring buyers into showrooms and maintain the current positive sales trend."
Geneva has a reputation for debuting the exotic, and this year does not disappoint. Take a bow, the Bugatti Chiron.
For petrol heads, the launch of Bugatti's successor to its Veyron supercar will provide the show's wow factor.
Jeremy Clarkson described the Veyron thus: "It has rendered everything I've ever said about any other car obsolete. It's rewritten the rule book, moved the goalposts and in the process, given Mother Nature a bloody nose." The Chiron is Bugatti's attempt to improve on it.
Details were being kept under wraps until the official unveiling today. But to beat the Veyron, the Chiron needs to do 100km/h in under 2.7 seconds and have a top speed of more than 424kmh (264mph). It's all road legal - and yours for about $2.5m (£1.8m; €2.3m).
Back in the real world (if that's the right phrase), Ferrari is debuting two cars, the California T Handling Speciale and the GTC4 Lusso four-seater. The latter is pitched at the younger family man (and woman). The kids should enjoy doing the 100km/h in 3.4 seconds.
Meanwhile, Ferrari's near-neighbour Lamborghini celebrates the birth of its founder 100 years ago with the unveiling of the Centenario. Lamborghini has been promising an all-new car, not a tweak to an existing model, so aficionados have been getting excited.
However, if you've got a spare €2m (£1.5m), look elsewhere. Only 40 are being made - and they were all sold two months ago.
Another hotly-anticipated debut is Aston Martin's DB11, a replacement for the DB9 (the DB10 moniker was skipped because it was used in James Bond's last film, Spectre).
Last year, Aston's boss Andy Palmer hinted that the company might address complaints that each new generation of cars was starting to look alike.
That's sparked a lot of speculation about the DB11's design. A few spy shots of a camouflaged DB11s have aired on social media, but nothing official has so far been released.
Look out, too, for Maserati's entry into the crowded market for sports utility vehicles. If Geneva underlines any trend, it's the seemingly unstoppable growth in SUVs.
Audi, Seat, Skoda are among a string of manufacturers displaying new SUV products. Maserati's Levante is pitched at the top of the market, with the Porsche Cayenne in its sights.
It's a big diversion for the Italian sportscar firm, but it follows other luxury carmakers, including Jaguar and Bentley, into the SUV market.
"Maserati's Levante is an important model for the brand," says Mr Urquhart. "It is needed as a volume and profit generator, and to bolster the brand's credentials as a serious competitor to Porsche."
There are reports that Maserati is working on a plug-in hybrid engine, another example of how alternative technologies are moving up the industry's value chain.
In fact, "green tech" will be everywhere at Geneva.
Five years after a small Croatian company, Rimac, revealed its all-electric Concept One supercar, the firm is unveiling a production version. The car gets 1,073bhp from four electric motors, and a top speed of 221mph - making it the fastest electric car on the planet, Rimac claims.
At the other end of the design scale, the UK's boutique manufacturer Morgan is showing its EV3 electric three-wheeler. The technology was developed with the help of a £6m UK government grant. The car has a range of about 120 miles per charge, and with a price tag of £30,000.
Geneva will also see a big push of hydrogen technology. Honda is showing its Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle, Toyota its Mirai.
The fuel cell uses oxygen and hydrogen, producing electricity, heat and water vapour as by-products - and it clearly has big backers, but many people are sceptical that this will win out over rival technologies.
Just last week, Dieter Zetsche, boss of Daimler, which is working on battery electric and fuel cell cars, said that the former technology was likely to win out because charging technology and infrastructure was fast improving.
Of course, there will be plenty of more mainstream stuff at the show, including the launch of the fourth-generation Renault Scenic.
MPVs were the great sales success story of the 1990s, but the popularity waned with the rise of SUV and so-called crossover models.
Can the Scenic make us fall in love again with MPVs?
Amid all the supercar glamour and technological hype, it could well be that it is this latest variant of Renault's segment-leading family car that becomes the lasting sales success to come out of the show. | Maybe it is Switzerland's neutrality that persuades the motor industry's big guns to turn out in such force for the Geneva Motor Show. |
35309674 | The firm confirmed the raids took place last week and said investigators wanted to check equipment at its factories.
Investors feared Renault was embroiled in cheating emissions tests, something Volkswagen admitted last year.
However, Renault stressed that tests have shown "no evidence" of devices designed to cheat emissions tests.
Renault's comments were backed up by French Energy minister Segolene Royal who said government tests had not uncovered software designed to cheat emissions tests.
According to Renault the fraud investigators were looking at the way Renault uses exhaust emissions technology, and it was co-operating fully with the probe.
The statement said that investigators "decided to carry out additional on-site and material investigations, in order to definitively confirm the first findings resulting from the analysis of the independent technical commission".
Investigators "went to the headquarters, the Renault Technical Centre in Lardy and the Technocentre in Guyancourt," Renault said.
News of the searches first came from the CGT Renault union. It said the raids targeted the engine control units and that they were likely to be "linked to the consequences of the Volkswagen rigged-engines affair".
The union also said police officers took the personal computers of several directors.
Last month, Renault said it would invest €50m (£38m) into bringing the real emissions of its cars into line with those measured in official test conditions.
Authorities and car manufacturers have been on alert in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, which emerged in late September.
Volkswagen (VW) admitted its diesel-engine cars had been fitted with computer software designed to flatter emissions data during tests.
In the days following the scandal several car manufacturers issued statements affirming their cars adhered to all emissions standards and were not fitted with cheat software.
VW said around 500,000 cars in the US had been fitted with the so-called defeat devices, which were designed to make VW cars appear more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly than they really were.
It also announced plans to recall and inspect 8.5 million cars in Europe, including 2.4 million in Germany, 1.2 million in the UK and 500,000 in the US.
Meanwhile, Renault's French rival Peugeot said its factories were not involved in the raids. The company also pointed out that its car emissions equipment had passed recent tests to ensure they complied with regulations.
"The test results carried out by the technical committee of Energy Minister Madame Royal were passed on to us and the showed an absence of anomalies," a Peugeot statement said.
And Germany's Daimler said diesel engines that Renault supplies for its Mercedes-Benz brand do not contain defeat devices.
"We have no reason to budge from our previous statements. We do not use defeat devices... Renault has assured us that it also doesn't," a spokesman for Daimler told Reuters on Thursday. | Shares in French carmaker Renault plunged 20%, before recovering to close 10.3% lower, after police raids on the company's facilities. |
39441097 | The valuation of its titles has been slashed in two tranches over the past year.
With its half-year results, it announced a write-down of £224m. To that, it has added a reduction of £120m with its full-year figures.
Company assets are now worth less than half of called-up share capital.
By law, that means it has to summon a special shareholder meeting in the next four weeks to discuss how it should respond.
An activist investor fund, Crystal Amber, has been pushing for changes to company strategy, while building up a stake of more than 20% of Johnston Press shares.
The share price dropped 9% after the annual results were published.
An additional challenge in the results was a large increase in pension liability, up from £27m to £68m in the past year.
In a "viability statement", company directors have set out the risk of insolvency if trading patterns from last year are continued until 2019. That is when £220m of bonds are due to be re-financed.
They concluded that they have a "reasonable expectation" of being able to continue in operation and meet liabilities, but that is subject to many uncertainties.
Johnston Press is based in Edinburgh, where it publishes The Scotsman. In addition to 'i', it is also owner of the Yorkshire Post, the Northern Ireland News Letter and nearly 200 local titles.
It has sold some papers in Ireland, the Isle of Man and East Anglia, to raise funds with which to lower debt, having borrowed heavily to expand before the financial crash. It has stopped actively looking to sell titles.
Last year saw a continued decline in advertising revenue for the company, down by 18%.
Hopes that digital revenue would replace print advertising were undermined by a small decline also in those digital sales, mainly due to a "very difficult summer".
This was most notable in job advertising, mainly by small and medium-sized enterprises, and down 27%. Johnston Press believes the sharp fall in the third quarter of last year was due to uncertainty following the Brexit referendum.
However, it said there were improving trends in more recent months.
Print advertising was down from £149m to £123m in 2016. Digital advertising remained below £19m.
Costs continued to be cut, to £179m, down £26m on last year, and by £100m since 2012. Following major cuts in journalist numbers, last year saw 200 jobs going in sales and distribution.
Other costs include the £20m annual cost of servicing the debt, and £10m extra for pensions.
There was an operating profit of £42m, but the major revaluations took the pre-tax statutory loss to £300m.
Readership was up, including online and mobile users of its 173 websites, rising from 19.5m monthly unique users in 2015 to 22.5m last year. Links through Facebook also drove viewers to its news stories in fast-increasing numbers.
The company bought the 'i' newspaper in April last year, for £24m. It helped boost circulation revenue by 11% to £80m. However, not including 'i', circulation revenue was down 9%.
Ashley Highfield, Johnston's chief executive, said: "Despite an industry-wide backdrop of significant downward pressure on revenues, the actions we have taken to pilot the business through this rapidly-changing market and create the conditions from which to create growth are starting to bear fruit.
"Circulation figures of key titles are improving, the 'i' has bucked the trend of declining national newspaper sales".
He said digital advertising had returned to growth in the first quarter of this year, and argued that advertisers would be attracted to more conventional news publishers, following controversies around advert placing next to unacceptable material and fake news. | Johnston Press, publisher of The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and 'i', has announced a pre-tax loss for last year of £300m. |
41068282 | His father, Meho, was reportedly shot in the hand and leg and had to go to hospital following a dispute in his native Bosnia-Herzegovina.
It is unclear how serious the injuries are.
Toffees boss Ronald Koeman said: "When I spoke to him, he said before the game he was ready and committed."
The Dutchman added: "I spoke to him yesterday evening. He spoke to his father. I don't like to talk in more detail. This is a family matter.
"We will see what happens after the game. I don't know exactly what happened, but what came out in the papers is true."
Bosnia international Besic, 24, came on at half-time in the Toffees' loss on Sunday. | Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic played in Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea, a day after discovering his father had been shot. |
37666919 | Steve Tandy's side thrashed the Falcons 45-0 in their first European fixture of the season on Friday.
"There's a few stages to go through and there's a chance for us to further stretch the squad," said Jones.
"[We can] get the guys more exposure in a European setting but obviously not the one we want to be in."
The Welsh region were playing in Europe's second-tier tournament for the first time, having spent their previous 13 seasons playing European Cup and Champions Cup rugby.
Prior to the victory on Friday, Ospreys had won only one of their last 11 encounters against English teams in European competition, which came against Exeter Chiefs in November 2015.
"We've got to make the most of the opportunity. With the squad, we've had depth before but not strength in depth," Jones told BBC Wales Sport.
"We have got a little more of that now so hopefully we get some more opportunities in this competition.
"In the past we've frontloaded the season with a lot of guys who seem to drop off, particularly at international times. It's been a balancing act for Steve [Tandy]." | Ospreys captain Alun Wyn Jones says the region must "make the most" of the European Challenge Cup after their demolition of Newcastle Falcons. |
36841471 | The company said the shops were "not viable" even if they could have negotiated cheaper rents.
Store Twenty One has secured a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) - a form of insolvency - with landlords.
That deal will allow the company, founded in 1932, to pay less rent on more than 100 of its remaining stores.
The arrangement, struck last week, will save about 1,200 full-time jobs, the company said.
Pravin Soni, director of Store Twenty One, said it had been a "very difficult time" for staff, but that the firm looked forward to making the business "a success for many years to come".
James Keates, restructuring partner at Shoosmiths law firm, said the "complex arrangement" would make the business healthier and save hundreds of jobs.
The group's Bewise and QS businesses have already called in administrators.
The retailer was originally known as Quality Seconds, and then QS, but was rebranded as Store Twenty One after being acquired by Indian textiles group Grabal Alok in 2007.
The CVA for Store Twenty One is the latest hurdle for the High Street and comes in the wake of the BHS collapse, with the loss of up to 11,000 jobs. | More than 500 jobs are under threat after fashion retailer Store Twenty One agreed to close 77 shops as part of a rescue deal with landlords. |
40003544 | The sense among several figures in government I spoke to that was that they would tough out the row; the "initial flak" was expected to subside once ministers had been out there to make the case more clearly and more forcefully.
One senior Tory told me there had been a "paucity of message" - in other words the plan wasn't, in their view, necessarily the wrong one, but ministers had made a right old mess of failing to explain it.
After some kickback from voters, they expected the PM would defend her plan more robustly and try to persuade voters of its merits in the hope the row would blow over.
But by noon it was clear the PM was going to do more than a bit of extra explaining.
At her party's manifesto launch in Wales (where ironically social care is devolved, so it's a totally different system), she was - only in response to "fake claims", she suggested - up for making her plan crystal clear, and "clarifying" her intentions.
But when politicians use the word "clarify", it means they are at least partly changing their mind.
Suddenly, only four days after the Tory manifesto was published, Theresa May has added one rather crucial proposal to her social care plan - a limit or a cap to the amount of money one individual could be asked to pay.
She is adamant that she is not budging on her principles, and was clearly irritated by questions after her speech that said she was backtracking.
But the manifesto did not include the notion of a cap, and just yesterday ministers publicly rejected such an idea.
One senior minister told me "we always knew we were going to need to give protection to those with very high care costs".
They said the prime minister sees trying to fix the social care system "as a big, big deal and she is prepared to use political capital to do it".
But having to clarify the manifesto within days creates a whiff of panic.
Rather than the "strong and stable" mantra that the PM has repeated again and again during this campaign, this change of heart suggests that she is more susceptible to pressure than her team would care to admit. | "It needs explaining" - how one government minister described Theresa May's plans for social care in England early this morning. |
40682462 | Caf president Ahmad said Zanzibar, which is part of Tanzania, should never have been admitted as the body's 55th member in March.
"They were admitted without properly looking into the statutes which are crystal clear," said Ahmad.
"Caf cannot admit two different associations from one country."
"The definition of a country comes from the African Union and the United Nations," added the Malagasy at Caf's Extraordinary Congress in Morocco.
Fifa refused to admit Zanzibar after Caf, under Ahmad's predecessor Issa Hayatou, allowed the East African island into its ranks.
Zanzibar is part of Tanzania but has operated independently as a footballing entity in regional completion. | Zanzibar has had its membership of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) rescinded just four months after the island was accepted as a member. |
30336348 | The retired Canadian astronaut touched down in Manchester where he spoke to local students during a special BBC Radio 5 live programme, revealing how he grew by 4cm (1.5 inches) and would "float past experiments on my way to the bathroom" aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
One of 500 or so people who have been in space, Colonel Hadfield also reminded his audience at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) about the groundwork that goes into exploring the universe.
Life in space is just a small part of the job, he said.
"I was an astronaut for 21 years," Mr Hadfield later told BBC News. "I only flew in space for less than six months. The job of an astronaut is not flying in space - the job of an astronaut is to support space flight and it's immensely different.
"We invent spaceships, we invent space procedures, we push back the edges of the envelope of how we understand space flight.
"I trained for four-and-a-half years for my second space flight and for my third space flight. In between, I supported other astronauts that were flying in space and their families, and I worked to help recover the space programme after the Columbia accident [when all seven astronauts on the shuttle were killed in 2003]."
He also helped change procedures for flying the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that ferries astronauts to the ISS.
"It's not like you sit around and wait, and then you fly in space and then everything else is some limbo or something. It's the job on Earth that matters […] that's where the meat of it is."
The former ISS commander retired last year at the age of 53. His last space trip was in 2012-13 when his photos and videos, including a zero-gravity version of Space Oddity, captivated many on planet Earth, reminding its inhabitants of the wonders of both home and the universe.
His Manchester stopover was part of a tour to promote his new photography book You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes - the profits of which will go to charity.
Mr Hadfield sees it as an "extremely important" part of an astronaut's role to "let people know what you're up to - it's not just purely the technical side but it's also the vanguard, the inspirational side of what we are doing".
MOSI organisers, recently granted a £3m investment by the government, hoped the former astronaut's visit would excite students' interest in science, technology, engineering and maths - often collectively known as STEM.
There has long been concern that many young people are shunning these subjects, with one recent survey reporting that some consider them intimidating or boring.
In its 2014 Education and Skills Survey, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) highlighted "an urgent need to improve the supply of STEM-skilled people if economic growth is not to be held back".
"I think that was a big concern of the ancient Egyptians 3,000 years ago," said Mr Hadfield. "It's always been a concern. The young don't take education serious enough. We're not giving them the grounding in the 3Rs or STEM or whatever our current acronym is - that's normal, we always feel that way.
"Yet somehow we continue to advance civilisation - incredible new discoveries and advances that are going on right now. We live in perpetually improving standards of living so I tend to downplay a little bit the transient concern as if this is the first time this has ever happened. It's a perpetual battle to make sure our young are educated as well as possible.
"It's more that we need to fire the central flame of curiosity," he added.
There has also been concern about a lack of girls taking up STEM careers, with fewer female university applicants holding science A-Levels compared to their male counterparts, especially in physics, according to figures from university admission body UCAS.
Among the students attending the MOSI event was Chloe from Ellesmere Park High School who had visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a holiday in the United States.
"I don't like chemistry because it's confusing with all the elements and reactants. I don't understand how people get it. But I do find space interesting - that there might be other people out there that we don't know."
Mr Hadfield highlighted that some of the highest leadership roles in space exploration were held by women, including former ISS commander Suni Williams and Janet Kavandi, director of flight crew operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"Obviously the opportunities and education both exist and we need to continue to promote them for everyone," he added.
The Canadian was himself enlightened during the BBC Radio 5 live broadcast at MOSI, when he struggled for the correct demonym for the people of Manchester.
"Mancunian? That sounds like an alien to me." | Better known as the singing spaceman, Chris Hadfield became an internet sensation when he performed David Bowie's Space Oddity while "sitting in a tin can far above the world". |
37320148 | Robert Owens, 47, pleaded guilty to killing Iris Owens, in Ystrad Mynach, near Caerphilly.
He appeared via videolink from Cardiff prison for the hearing at the city's crown court. He is due to be sentenced next month.
Judge Eleri Rees ordered him to be seen by a psychiatrist "because of the peculiar nature of the case". | A son has admitted the murder of his 75-year-old mother at her home in Caerphilly county last May. |
34964825 | The nine-year-old, who has been treated for a heart condition, won for the first time since April 2013 in this month's Shloer Chase at Cheltenham.
He is now likely to race the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton on 27 December.
"He just doesn't need another race at the moment and it's as simple as that," said Henderson.
"With Sprinter, the Desert Orchid at Kempton is the likely place for him and if he needs another run before Cheltenham, fine.
"We don't need to run him again. We're not going to learn anything. But he looks fantastic - he looked great coming into the race and he looks fantastic coming out of it." | Jump racing's former champion chaser Sprinter Sacre is to miss Saturday's Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, says his trainer Nicky Henderson. |
38299071 | Anheuser-Busch InBev had agreed to sell the brands, which include Pilsner Urquell, Tyskie and Kozel, to help get clearance from competition regulators for its $100bn takeover of SABMiller.
It would be Asahi's biggest acquisition to date and its latest in Europe, which is its second largest market.
Earlier this year, Asahi bought Peroni and Grolsch from SABMiller.
Many Japanese firms are on the lookout for opportunities to buy firms overseas, because domestic conditions - including deflation, weak consumer spending and a falling population - make Japan an increasingly hard place to make profits.
Asahi said it was trying to establish itself as a global player, mainly focusing on a "leading premium brand portfolio".
The deal will see Asahi buy businesses formerly owned by SABMiller in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.
It will own the Polish brand Lech and Hungary's Dreher as well as the rights to sell certain other brands around the world.
Asahi said the deal had synergies with its existing European brands and would enhance its "cash generating power" .
But shares in the brewer fell on the news, closing 4.6% lower in Tokyo.
The deal is subject to European Commission approval but is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017. | Japanese brewer Asahi has agreed to buy five Eastern European beer brands in a deal worth €7.3bn (£6.1bn). |
28105117 | Rebel bases and strongholds are under attack from aircraft and artillery.
The 10-day ceasefire ended on Monday evening, with President Petro Poroshenko saying "criminal elements" had thwarted the chance for peace.
Russia condemned Ukraine's operation, with President Vladimir Putin vowing to continue to protect ethnic Russians.
Ukraine's parliamentary Speaker Oleksander Turchynov told MPs on Tuesday: "I can inform you that in the morning the active phase of the anti-terrorist operation was renewed.
"Our armed forces are carrying out strikes on terrorist bases and checkpoints."
President Poroshenko went on television on Monday night saying: "We will attack, we will free our land."
The president had come under pressure from protesters in Kiev, who urged a renewal of the operation against the separatists.
Russia's foreign ministry condemned the Ukrainian operation, calling for a "real, not fake, ceasefire".
Mr Putin on Tuesday vowed he would continue to defend ethnic Russians abroad, using all means available from humanitarian aid to "self-defence".
"Under threat in Ukraine are our compatriots, Russian people, people who feel themselves part of the wider Russian world," he said.
Mr Putin accused Mr Poroshenko of issuing only ultimatums and said the West was using the Ukraine crisis to destabilise the whole region as part of a policy to "contain" Russia.
Both sides in Ukraine had accused each other of violating the truce, during which frequent clashes were reported.
One separatist leader in the east vowed to continue fighting until all Ukrainian troops had left.
The "prime minister" of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, Vasiliy Nikitin, told the Interfax news agency: "All calls for our fighters to lay down arms can only be discussed after Ukrainian troops withdraw."
A four-way teleconference on Monday between Mr Poroshenko, Mr Putin, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had raised hopes the truce would be renewed.
But Mr Poroshenko said in his address: "The decision not to continue the ceasefire is our answer to terrorists, militants and marauders."
Ukraine and some Western powers accuse Russia of arming the separatists - a claim Russia denies.
The trigger for the current crisis was whether Ukraine should lean more towards Russia or the EU.
The refusal of Mr Poroshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, to sign an EU deal late last year - under pressure from Russia - led to protests in Kiev and his eventual overthrow.
Russia has since annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, and separatists in the east declared independence from Ukraine.
President Poroshenko signed a landmark EU trade pact last Friday. | Ukrainian forces have launched a full-scale military operation against pro-Russia separatists in the east, hours after a ceasefire ended. |
28640121 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Kennaugh, 25, led the event until the last 50km when he was finally reeled in by the chasing pack, and eventually finished eighth.
The Douglas-born rider was looking to add to the silver he won in the points race on 27 July.
"The support we had was incredible," Kennaugh told BBC Sport.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"It was nice to soak up the atmosphere really, spectators were cheering all around the circuit - that will stick in the memory for a long time."
At one stage the Manxman led by almost two minutes, powering ahead on the 12 laps of the 14km circuit before slipping out of contention for medals.
"It was a good feeling, I knew there was a long way to go so I was just trying to ride within myself," he explained.
"I didn't want to exert myself too much, even though I was off the front on my own. I was trying to think of the bigger picture and knowing all the time someone was going to come across.
"I wanted to have a bit left but once I got further into the race I had to commit more and more." | Isle of Man cyclist Peter Kennaugh says the Commonwealth Games road race crowd will leave him a positive memory despite missing out on a podium place. |
34883890 | Harris Tweed Hebrides has teamed up with the Scottish FA and Edinburgh fashion house Walker Slater to produce the range.
The tweed was woven at Harris Tweed Hebrides' mill in Shawbost in the Isle of Lewis.
The range uses the blues of the Scotland football team and the Saltire.
National coach Gordon Strachan said: "The Scotland fans arrive at games dressed for the occasion and now we will be able to do the same, through Harris Tweed.
"It is really smart and it will help bring us all together, players and fans alike." | A range of clothing and accessories for Scotland football players and the national team's fans have been created using Harris Tweed. |
23699697 | Now the 42-year-old is confined to a wheelchair, struggles with his speech and barely has the strength to hold a sandwich or lift a drink.
For the last two years his body has been ravaged by the debilitating effects of motor neurone disease, which has taken control of everything except his mind. That remains as sharp as ever, but his body has become increasingly disobedient, making every day a challenge.
Van der Westhuizen admits he is on his "deathbed", having been given between two and five years to live when he was diagnosed in 2011.
Joost was part of a golden era of world-class scrum-halves I loved playing against. His blistering pace, raw strength and incredible will to win made him THE man to watch for South Africa. Every time he had the ball in his grasp you felt he could score a try, no matter how small the gap or how big the defender. He is not only one of the greatest scrum-halves of all time but probably one of the top 10 players in the history of the game.
Speaking on the telephone from his home in South Africa, it is difficult to understand what the 1995 World Cup winner and holder of 89 Test caps is trying to say.
His speech is slurred and muffled but you can just about decipher his sentences, so that we know the Springbok great is at peace with himself and his situation.
"I realise every day could be my last," he tells BBC Sport. "It's been a rollercoaster from day one and I know I'm on a deathbed from now on.
"I've had my highs and I have had my lows, but no more. I'm a firm believer that there's a bigger purpose in my life and I am very positive, very happy."
Van der Westhuizen, widely regarded as one of the greatest scrum-halves of all time, now lives in Johannesburg with his friend David Thorpe. Together they run his J9 Foundation, a charity that raises awareness about motor neurone disease.
The former Blue Bulls player first noticed something was wrong at the end of 2008, when he felt some weakness in his right arm.
He presumed it was an old rugby injury flaring up and paid little more attention to it. Then a few months later he was play-fighting in a swimming pool with an old friend, Henry Kelbrick, who is also his personal doctor, and the weakness in his arm became even more apparent.
It was clear this was something much more serious than he had previously thought.
"Kelbrick identified something, so he rang me up later and asked me to come in that afternoon," he said. "He apologised to me, and then he told me what it was."
The diagnosis was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, one of the most common forms of motor neurone disease.
"First of all I asked him to give me medication, but then he told me about the severity of the condition and that it was terminal."
Van der Westhuizen concedes "it's sometimes difficult to stay positive and motivated" after being diagnosed with a fatal illness. But as a devout Christian, his faith and family have played a big role in helping him come to terms with his condition.
And he says the disease has actually helped him to become a better person.
In 2008 he suffered a suspected heart attack and not long afterwards was at the centre of a sex-tape and cocaine scandal which led to the break-up of his marriage to the singer Amor Vittone. He also lost his job as a television pundit with the South African broadcaster Supersport.
"What I did went against all my principles - my life was controlled by my mind and I had to make my mistakes to realise what life is all about," he said.
"I led my life at a hundred miles an hour. I've learned that there are too many things that we take for granted in life and it's only when you lose them that you realise what it is all about.
"But I know that God is alive in my life and with experience you do learn. I can now talk openly about the mistakes I made because I know my faith won't give up and it won't diminish.
"It's only when you go through what I am going through that you understand that life is generous."
For Van der Westhuizen, life is now chiefly about spending time with his family. He has two children, Jordan, seven, and a five-year-old daughter, Kylie.
He is also committed to helping people with motor neurone through the J9 Foundation and plans a visit to the UK in the autumn to watch his beloved Springboks in action against Wales and Scotland.
The sport he loves has also looked out for one of its own.
"When I talk about the rugby community I am talking about everyone in the sport and I have to say they have been brilliant," he says.
"All the number nines I played against in internationals have been phenomenal. Rugby is a big family."
Source: BBC Health
Memories of his distinguished playing career are a source of comfort and satisfaction for Van der Westhuizen. The highlight was obviously 1995, when he was an integral part of the Springbok side that won the World Cup on home soil in front of new president Nelson Mandela.
His brilliant performance was characterised by a famous tackle on Jonah Lomu, when New Zealand's talisman was going at full tilt after scything past South Africa's captain Francois Pienaar.
He went on to win the Tri Nations in 1998 and captained the Boks at the 1999 World Cup, when they were beaten in extra time in the semi-finals by eventual winners Australia.
The only thing missing on his illustrious CV is victory over the British and Irish Lions. The Boks were favourites to beat the Lions in 1997 but lost the series 2-1. One of the iconic moments actually involved Van der Weshuizen, but not in a way he would have intended.
It occurred in the first Test, when he was one of the players who fell for an outrageous dummy by Matt Dawson, who then went over in the corner for a crucial try,
When he retired in 2003, Van der Westhuizen was the most capped South African player of all time, with 89 appearances, and had scored 38 Test tries, which was a Springbok record until it was recently broken by winger Bryan Habana.
Despite his brilliant record, the former scrum-half is not afraid to laugh at himself, or show humility.
"Everyone still talks to me about that tackle on Jonah Lomu in the 1995 World Cup final," he says, "but every time people mention it, I have to remind them about how I fell for Matt Dawson's dummy in 1997."
That was a rare misjudgement from one of the best players of all time. The archetypal Springbok admits he made mistakes in his life after rugby, but is now finally at peace. | Joost van der Westhuizen was the archetypal Springbok, an Afrikaner whose name became a byword for brilliance, total commitment and supreme physicality. |
38658579 | Mr Halawa, who is now 21, was 17 when he was arrested during a siege at the Al-Fath mosque in Cairo in 2013.
On Tuesday the Deputy Leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil (Irish parliament) she understood his trial date has been put back yet again.
Earlier in January the Egyptian president told a delegation of Irish politicians that he will offer a pardon Mr Halawa once his trial is over.
The Egyptian parliament has previously objected to calls from the Irish parliament to release the Dublin man, saying the request would interfere in the affairs of the Egyptian judiciary.
In a statement the charity Amnesty International said it remains "gravely concerned for his physical and mental wellbeing. "
"Today, following the 18th postponement, there is no sign that this unfair mass trial will conclude soon".
He has been accused, along with more than 400 others, of inciting violence, riot and sabotage.
However, Mr Halawa's family said they were on holiday at the time he was arrested and that he sought refuge in the mosque to escape the violence outside.
His trial has been rescheduled for February 14.
O | The trial of Irish man Ibrahim Halawa has been adjourned for the 18th time. |
39042926 | An area behind Wallace Primary School in the village of Elderslie has been cordoned off.
Police said the woman was walking between Byres Road and Glenmalloch Place at about 20:00 on Monday when a man struck her, causing her to fall over. He then sexually assaulted her.
Detectives have urged anyone with information to come forward.
The suspect was described as white, aged between 35 and 50, with dark hair, receding on top, and of medium to stocky build He appeared clean shaven and was wearing dark trousers with a light t-shirt.
Officers have been carrying out door-to-door inquiries and gathering CCTV footage from around the area.
Det Insp Harvie said: "This area is well used by local people as a shortcut to nearby shops on Main Street, it is also a popular spot for dog walkers. I am appealing to anyone who may have been in or near to the area yesterday evening, perhaps you saw someone acting a little suspiciously, maybe you saw someone running off, any piece of information could assist our enquiries and I would urge you to contact us.
"This incident will no doubt be of concern to local residents, however I would like to reassure them that additional officers are patrolling the area and anyone with any concerns should have no hesitation in speaking to them." | Police are investigating after a 27-year-old woman was raped on a footpath near a primary school in Renfrewshire. |
36881326 | That was after its independently commissioned report found evidence of a four-year, state-run "doping programme" across the "vast majority" of the 28 Olympic sports.
Russia's full Olympic team would have consisted of 389 competitors. Of those, 271 were cleared to take part by a three-person International Olympic Committee panel.
However, that number is still rising despite the Games now being under way, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) handling a number of appeals.
Here's the list of the sports in which Russian athletes have so far been cleared to compete.
Russians hoping to compete: 67
Decision: Some Russians have been banned and further rulings are still expected following appeals to Cas.
London 2012 bronze medallist Yulia Efimova partially won an appeal against her ban on Thursday, 4 August as Cas said it was wrong to stop athletes going to Rio on the basis they had previously been sanctioned. It sent her case back to swimming's governing body for reconsideration as a matter of urgency and she was cleared to compete later the next day, ahead of her first heats.
Russians competing: Three
Decision: World Archery said the three Russians have been "tested extensively" and had no previous doping convictions. It expressed "shock and concern" over recent allegations but praised the IOC's "courageous decision" not to give Russia a "blanket ban".
Russians competing: None
Decision: All 68 Russian athletes have been banned, though US-based long jumper Darya Klishina has been cleared to compete under a neutral flag.
Yuliya Stepanova, the 800m runner whose evidence helped expose the Russian doping scandal, will not be allowed to do the same, however. The IAAF had previously cleared her to compete, but the IOC's latest ruling disallows any athlete with a previous doping ban.
Stepanova has since questioned that ruling, describing it as "unfair".
Russians competing: Four
Decision: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has included four Russian players, "pending the validation of the International Olympic Committee".
Russians competing: 11
Decision: Governing body the AIBA reviewed each case and cleared each boxer on Thursday, 4 August - and that decision was ratified by the IOC.
Russians competing: 18
Decision: Eighteen Russians remain eligible after the International Canoe Federation "immediately suspended" five of the 23 qualified, as they were named in the McLaren report, pending further investigation.
However, the ROC says one case is still outstanding.
Russians competing: 11
Decision: Governing body the UCI says 11 of Russia's 17 athletes have been cleared to compete, with three withdrawn by the ROC and another three implicated in the McLaren report into state-sponsored doping - their cases are still outstanding.
Russians competing: Five
Decision: Governing body the FEI says there is "no indication of any organised doping malpractices within the Russian equestrian delegation". It adds there is "absolutely no reason why the Russian equestrian athletes should not compete at Rio".
Russians competing: 16
Decision: Fencing's governing body the FIE cleared all 16 Russians to compete, saying it had "re-examined the results from 197 tests taken by Russian athletes in 35 countries, including Russia, between 2014 and 2016", which were all negative.
Russians competing: One
Decision: On Thursday, 4 August, the IOC panel confirmed the eligibility of Maria Verchenova to compete.
Russians competing: 20
Decision: The International Gymnastics Federation announced on 4 August that the IOC had approved 20 gymnasts.
Russians competing: 14
Decision: The International Handball Federation took "immediate action" to re-test Russian athletes following the IOC's ruling and found "all results are negative".
Russians competing: 11
Decision: The International Judo Federation, whose honorary president is Russian President Vladimir Putin, cleared all Russians to compete, with president Marius Vizer saying they had been tested from last September to May "on many occasions, at many international judo events, abroad from Russia".
Russians competing: Three
Decision: One of the four qualifying Russians, plus a reserve, have been banned by governing body the UIPM, after being implicated in the McLaren report's 'Disappearing Positive Methology' scheme. The remaining three have been cleared to compete.
Russians competing: Six
Decision: Russia's initial squad of 28 was reduced following 22 suspensions. Fisa said the latest banned athletes were "not considered to have participated in doping" but did not meet the IOC's criteria of having been tested in labs outside of Russia. An appeal by 17 rowers failed.
Russians competing: Seven
Decision: World Sailing initially suspended Pavel Sozykin but cleared him to compete alongside his other six team-mates.
Russians competing: 18
Decision: An ISSF statement said all 18 Russian shooters are eligible having not been mentioned in the McLaren report, nor tested positive through further doping controls. The governing body added "all Russian athletes are being carefully monitored" by its intelligence-based testing programme.
Russians competing: Three
Decision: "An investigation which included an individual test analysis of each player, conducted outside the Russian anti-doping system met the necessary requirements," said the International Table Tennis Federation.
Russians competing: Three
Decision: Taekwondo's federation has confirmed all three nominated Russians will compete in Rio.
Russians competing: Eight
Decision: The International Tennis Federation said the nominated Russians have been tested 205 times between them since 2014, adding that is "sufficient" for them to go to Rio.
Russians competing: Six
Decision: Russians can compete.
Russians competing: 30
Decision: Governing body the FIVB said it had "conducted a full examination of the Olympic eligibility" of all Russian volleyball and beach volleyball players and had now submitted them all to the IOC for approval.
It had earlier said Russian athletes had been tested at the same level as all other countries and the majority of the testing analysis of Russian athletes had been conducted outside their homeland.
Russians competing: None
Decision: All eight Russian weightlifters have been banned from the Games.
The International Weightlifting Federation confirmed two had been banned for doping violations, while another four were named in the McLaren report into doping.
Russians competing: 16
Decision: One Russian banned.
United World Wrestling appointed a "special commission with the mandate to review the doping cases related to the Russian wrestlers currently qualified to compete for the Rio Games".
On returning its findings, the governing body said Viktor Lebedev, who returned a positive doping test at the 2006 Junior World Championships, will be banned from competing.
However the ROC said one case is outstanding. | The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) had recommended a blanket ban for all Russian athletes from the Olympic Games in Rio. |
34856520 | The money "could be allocated if the BBC so wishes", he told an assembly inquiry into the BBC Charter Review.
Ministers have previously said there was a "lamentable" lack of BBC Wales comedy and drama in English.
The BBC has said it was working with devolved governments to meet audience aspirations around the UK.
Earlier in November, First Minister Carwyn Jones repeated his call for an additional £30m to be spent on English language programmes that reflect Welsh life.
Mr Skates told the communities, equality and local government committee: "The BBC's budget is significant and I reject the idea they aren't able to allocate more resources to English language - particularly non-news - programming in Wales.
"I think the money could be allocated if the BBC so wishes."
The BBC has warned it faced a "tough financial challenge" following the licence fee settlement in July.
In his evidence to the assembly's inquiry, Mr Skates also reiterated the Welsh government's call for a review of the BBC's public purposes in Wales to determine the broadcaster's responsibilities to Welsh audiences.
Mr Skates said he would establish a media panel to carry out the review of the BBC's role in Wales if the work did not form part of the UK government's wider review of the BBC's charter.
At a media summit in Cardiff last week, the BBC's director of strategy James Purnell said the corporation was "committed" to Welsh audiences.
The BBC's new charter, setting out its 10-year remit, is due to come into force in January 2017. | Deputy Culture Minister Ken Skates has said he "rejects the idea" the BBC cannot afford to spend more on television programming in Wales. |
39458627 | The reigning champions are currently 15th, six points clear of the bottom three, with 10 games remaining.
Since Shakespeare took over following Claudio Ranieri's sacking last month, the Foxes have won three consecutive Premier League games.
"There are a lot of twists and turns to come and we're proof of that," said Shakespeare.
"Three games ago in the Premier League we were down there and people were writing us off."
Leicester play two consecutive home games at the King Power stadium, hosting Stoke City at 15:00 BST on Saturday before facing Sunderland at 19:45 BST on Tuesday.
"The sooner we can secure our safety the better - it's our main focus," added Shakespeare.
"We've got two home games and it could go a long way in making sure we're safe, but also it could go the other way if we don't get the results we want."
Away from their relegation worries, Leicester will play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter final first leg on 12 April at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. | Leicester City are not yet safe from Premier League relegation, says manager Craig Shakespeare. |
29999555 | Scotland were hoping to inflict defeat on the Auld Enemy and build on confidence gained from the pivotal Euro 2016 qualifying win against the Republic of Ireland on Friday.
Rooney, however, had other ideas with two second-half goals to add to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's opener as England secured a fully deserved win on their first visit to Glasgow since 1999.
The England captain now has 46 international goals, his second coming late on to snuff out brief hopes of an unlikely Scotland revival after Andrew Robertson had pulled one back.
Media playback is not supported on this device
It was a highly satisfactory night for England manager Roy Hodgson, who has now seen his side win six successive games as they rebuild after the disappointment of their early World Cup exit in Brazil.
For Scotland, who looked jaded following their exertions against the Republic, consolation can come with the knowledge that their main business in this international period was winning that qualifier, which they achieved successfully.
England's own qualifiers have proved routine, but this was billed as a more serious test of their resolve and credentials in the stirring surroundings of Parkhead - and Hodgson will feel this was a test they passed emphatically.
Scotland had only two Premier League players in their starting line-up, Hull City's Robertson and Everton's Steven Naismith and at times that gulf in experience, competitive edge and class was all too obvious.
Hodgson played the straightest of bats in the build-up, declining to portray this as any different to a routine friendly as England came north of the border for the first time since the Euro 2000 qualifying play-off in 1999 - although the naked hostility displayed by both sets of supporters to the respective national anthems may have just altered his opinion.
It was Hodgson's side who made the more assured start and Danny Welbeck, so reliable in front of goal for England recently, should have done better than shoot straight at Scotland keeper David Marshall when played in by Rooney.
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Scotland were getting some encouragement from the pace of Watford's Ikechi Anya, but looked somewhat leg-weary and lacking in inspiration and when England went ahead after 32 minutes, it was an advantage they deserved.
Jack Wilshere created the opportunity with a long, driven pass which found Oxlade-Chamberlain, who applied a thin but decisive touch with his head to beat Marshall.
Strachan introduced Darren Fletcher and James Morrison for Chris Martin and Scott Brown, as well as Craig Gordon for Marshall in goal, in an attempt to give his team fresh impetus at the start of the second half, but it was England who struck again two minutes after the restart.
Scotland failed to clear a free-kick and when Robertson could only divert Wilshere's shot into the path of Rooney, he reacted swiftly to divert a smart header past Gordon.
As the clock ran down and substitutes arrived on a regular basis, Robertson gave Scotland hope with a close-range finish with seven minutes left.
Rooney responded almost instantly by crowning another good passing move with a powerful finish and a somersault of celebration in front of England's elated supporters.
Match ends, Scotland 1, England 3.
Second Half ends, Scotland 1, England 3.
Foul by Stevie May (Scotland).
Phil Jagielka (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Johnny Russell (Scotland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Nathaniel Clyne (England).
Foul by Darren Fletcher (Scotland).
Ross Barkley (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, England. Ross Barkley replaces Jack Wilshere.
Attempt missed. Johnny Russell (Scotland) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left.
Goal! Scotland 1, England 3. Wayne Rooney (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Adam Lallana.
Goal! Scotland 1, England 2. Andrew Robertson (Scotland) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Johnny Russell.
Darren Fletcher (Scotland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Raheem Sterling (England).
Substitution, Scotland. Johnny Russell replaces Shaun Maloney.
Substitution, England. Rickie Lambert replaces Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Corner, England. Conceded by Charlie Mulgrew.
Attempt missed. Jack Wilshere (England) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Foul by James Morrison (Scotland).
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (England) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Steven Naismith (Scotland) header from very close range is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Shaun Maloney with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Scotland. Conceded by James Milner.
Shaun Maloney (Scotland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jack Wilshere (England).
Substitution, Scotland. Stevie May replaces Grant Hanley.
Substitution, England. Raheem Sterling replaces Danny Welbeck.
Substitution, England. Kieran Gibbs replaces Luke Shaw.
James Morrison (Scotland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by James Milner (England).
Attempt saved. Wayne Rooney (England) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Adam Lallana.
Darren Fletcher (Scotland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Wayne Rooney (England).
Substitution, Scotland. Barry Bannan replaces Ikechi Anya.
Foul by Shaun Maloney (Scotland).
Luke Shaw (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Shaun Maloney (Scotland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Chris Smalling (England).
Attempt missed. Chris Smalling (England) header from very close range misses to the right. Assisted by Adam Lallana with a cross following a corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Russell Martin.
Charlie Mulgrew (Scotland) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Wayne Rooney closed in on Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time England record of 49 goals as his side gained a comfortable victory against Scotland at a passionate Celtic Park. |
26732824 | In January 2013, a year after the closure of MegaUpload, he set up Mega, which also allows users to host and share large files on the internet.
He is currently fighting extradition to the US over charges of copyright infringement on a "massive scale".
An extradition hearing is set for July.
Mega will reach the market by using what is known as a "backdoor listing".
Rather than floating in its own right, Mega will take over TRS Investments - which is already listed - and change the company's name and operations.
TRS will issue Mega with 700 million shares at 30 cents each, totalling NZ$210m ($180m; £109m). Mega's shareholders will own 99% of the firm.
Mega's chief executive Stephen Hall said he intended Mega to be a listed company by the end of May.
"The rapid global growth of Mega has generated significant interest from potential investors," he said.
"Listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange will allow investors to participate in the ongoing growth of Mega," he said.
Mr Dotcom was arrested at his mansion near Auckland, New Zealand, in January 2012. As well as MegaUpload being shut down, Mr Dotcom's assets were frozen.
But later scrutiny of the raid led to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key apologising to Mr Dotcom for what were described as "basic errors" by intelligence services in collecting information on behalf of the US.
Opposition parties called for further independent investigations.
Following the Mega stock market announcement, Mr Dotcom wrote on Twitter: "Indicted. Raided. On Bail.
"All assets frozen without trial. But we don't cry ourselves to sleep. We built #Mega from 0 into a $210m company."
US authorities accuse him of earning more than $175m by facilitating the distribution of pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content. | Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom, whose site MegaUpload was shut down by US authorities in 2012, has announced plans to list his new file-sharing firm on the New Zealand stock market. |
36576344 | Scottish Cup winners Hibernian will meet Valur Reykjavik or Danish side Brondby in the second qualifying round.
If Aberdeen progress they will take on Lithuanian side FK Ventspils or Vikingur from the Faroe Islands.
Waiting for Hearts would be Birkirkara of Malta or NK Siroki Brijeg, the Bosnian team they beat in 2006.
The Dons, who finished runners-up to Scottish champions Celtic, are due to be at home in the first round first leg on 30 June.
Hearts, who finished third, were drawn to be away but that has since been switched round after fixture clashes in Estonia, with the second legs on 7 July.
"It's a good draw," said head coach Robbie Neilson. "It's good to get an away leg first and hopefully we'll be in a good position when we return to Tynecastle for the second leg."
"Our video analyst is already working on getting some footage in so we'll be able to study them."
The second-round games are due to be played over 14 and 21 July.
The draw has Aberdeen and Hibs at home first in those games if they qualify, with Hearts away.
All three Scottish sides would then have a third qualifying round and a play-off round to negotiate to reach the group stages which begin in September.
The Dons missed out on the group stages last season, losing their third-round qualifier for a second year in a row.
They were drawn out first in Monday's draw but Irish side St Patrick's are also due to be in Esch-sur-Alzette for their away leg on 7 July, after drawing another Luxembourg side Jeunesse Esch, which might lead to rescheduling of one or other of the fixtures.
Hearts lost at the Europa League play-off phase in 2012, with Hibs exiting in the second qualifying round the following year. | Aberdeen will face CS Fola Esch of Luxembourg in the Europa League first qualifying round, while Hearts will play Estonian outfit FC Infonet. |
35762998 | Police said they were assisted in the house search by "specialist resources" following reports of a firearm in the Grangepans property.
Officers said 14 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £3,000 were recovered.
The man was arrested for drug offences and a breach of the peace and will appear in court at a later date.
Officers attended the address on 3 March as part of Operation Core, which targets drug-related activity.
Despite initial reports of a firearm, Police Scotland said "there was found to be no risk to the public."
Sgt Craig Heron said: "Thanks to vital information passed to us by the community, we are confident that this recovery has disrupted the chain of supply in the local area.
"This was a highly successful operation that involved a number of officers and I thank local residents for their patience and cooperation.
"Drugs continue to blight our communities and pursuing those who are involved in this harmful trade remains one of our top priorities." | A 33-year-old man has been arrested following the discovery of a cannabis cultivation at a house in Bo'ness. |
31474966 | They were seen entering Stadion im Borussia-Park and then lit flares in the section they were congregated in.
But after Granit Xhaka headed in an injury-time winner, a handful of them invaded the pitch.
Peace was soon restored with the result moving Gladbach up to third spot in the Bundesliga at the expense of Schalke.
A Borussia statement read: "Negative emotions erupted in the away section after the final whistle and a handful of anarchists got out over the fence and into the interior of the stadium.
"There were arrests and the acquisition of personal data."
The German Football Association said they have opened an investigation into the incident, but did not specify what sanctions could potentially be applied.
Cologne meanwhile, said they were "disappointed and annoyed" by the incident, adding that those involved had committed "massive damage" to the club and its fans. | Fans wearing boiler suits had to be led off Borussia Moenchengladbach's pitch by police following the side's 1-0 win over Cologne. |
32908894 | HMP Belmarsh officer Robert Norman, 54, was questioned about a £200 payment for a story about the chaplain.
He said he told reporter Stephen Moyes because he feared the chaplain would not be dealt with in the "correct" way.
Mr Norman denies one charge of misconduct in a public office.
He was allegedly paid more than £10,000 for tips between 30 April 2006 and 1 May 2011.
Giving evidence in his defence, Mr Norman, of Swanscombe in Kent, denied being Mr Moyes's "man at Belmarsh" and insisted he wanted to highlight what was going on at the south London prison.
He agreed he gave Mr Moyes information about "inappropriate behaviour" by the Roman Catholic chaplain at the prison and the fact that he had been suspended.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC asked if that meant the prison had taken action and there was therefore no need to highlight the case in the press.
Mr Norman responded: "Not really, no. Swept under the carpet, it was going to be."
He told jurors that when he first spoke to Mr Moyes about it he believed the chaplain would not be dealt with "in the correct manner" and the authorities planned only to move him.
He said: "There's more to this than what you are reading here and I don't know how far I can go without the court saying it's hearsay."
The chaplain was sacked for "affairs with inmates", the court heard.
When the barrister suggested he was making it up as he went along, Mr Norman replied: "I've got no reason to make things up.
"I've given a full and frank interview and I have been as honest as I can about this."
Mr Norman is alleged to have channelled cheques from newspapers through his son's bank account.
But he denied his son Daniel knew anything about his dealings with Mr Moyes, saying they never discussed where the money was coming from.
Mr Christopher asked: "You would not have said 'I'm making some handy money on the side from the Mirror'?"
Mr Norman replied: "No sir, I would not."
The trial continues. | A former prison officer tipped off a journalist about a chaplain having relationships with inmates because he believed it was being "swept under the carpet", a court has heard. |
16011926 | The report was prepared for Saudi Arabia's legislative assembly, the Shura Council, by a well-known conservative academic.
Though there is no formal ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, if they get behind the wheel, they can be arrested.
Saudi women have mounted several campaigns to try to overturn the ban.
Aside from the practical difficulties it creates, they say it is also illogical as in trying to keep them under family control and away from men, it actually puts them in daily contact with a male driver.
The issue has received huge international attention.
Some Saudi women feel it has attracted too much interest, obscuring other equally important issues.
As part of his careful reform process, King Abdullah has allowed suggestions to surface that the ban might be reviewed.
This has angered the conservative religious elite - a key power base for any Saudi ruler.
Now, one of their number - well-known academic Kamal Subhi - has presented a new report to the country's legislative assembly, the Shura.
The aim was to get it to drop plans to reconsider the ban.
The report contains graphic warnings that letting women drive would increase prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce.
A Saudi woman who has campaigned for women drivers told the BBC that the report was completely mad.
She said the head of the Shura had assured women campaigners that he was still open to hearing the case for lifting the ban. | A report in Saudi Arabia has warned that if Saudi women were given the right to drive, it would spell the end of virginity in the country. |
30999175 | He was on a US talk show, explaining that there are more opportunities for black actors in Hollywood than the UK.
In a statement he said: "I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive."
He said the most "shaming aspect" was he was talking about "racial inequality" at the time of his error.
So why is the term considered so offensive?
In the UK the term is, at best, seen as old fashioned and "something your gran might say".
But it's also regarded as a highly offensive racial slur which recalls a time when casual racism was a part of everyday life.
In the US, because of the country's recent era of racial segregation, it is among the most offensive words for describing a black person.
"[It] was used to describe anybody who was not white, which may imply that to be white is 'normal' or default," says the charity Show Racism the Red Card.
"If we consider it, every human has a skin colour, so technically we are all coloured."
Historically, the word is associated with segregation, especially in the US, where black people where kept separate from white people - on public transport, or at drinking fountains which were described as "coloured-only" for example.
These rules - known as "Jim Crow laws" - happened mainly in the states in the south of the US, from the 1870s until the 1960s.
The phrase Jim Crow originated from a song-and-dance character of the 1800s. In the stage show a white actor "blacked up" to play the role of an African slave. No-one is quite sure how this name became associated with the racial hierarchy the US adopted.
In part because of this association, using the phrase is seen as contributing racist behaviour, according to Show Racism the Red Card.
It was also seen as an acceptable word to use in much of the UK until the 1960s and 1970s.
There are places in the world where "coloured" is used without offence - for example in South Africa, where it refers to people who have multiple heritages.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) is a huge organisation in the US; it seeks to end discrimination on the basis of race.
It is "much better" to use the word black, says Show Racism the Red Card.
"There are lots of rumours that cause people to feel uncomfortable about saying black, but as a descriptive term it is absolutely fine, and is a term that has been chosen by and is used by black people."
According to the British Sociological Association, there are other words and phrases used to describe race, skin colour and heritage which could be found offensive however.
"Halfe-caste" is a "dated, racist term which should be avoided", they explain.
"Mixed race is a misleading term since it implies that a 'pure race' exists."
They advise alternatives including "mixed parentage" and "dual heritage".
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Benedict Cumberbatch has apologised after using the term "coloured" to describe black actors. |
37306803 | An opponent for the Belfast fighter has yet to be confirmed.
Conlan, 29, won the title in April after stopping holder Anthony Nelson in the eighth round in London
"The Commonwealth belt seems to propel fighters onto bigger things - it's another step on the road to a world title," said Conlan.
He added: "Everything is moving steadily in the right direction. Each fight is another step up the ladder and a box ticked on my journey towards a world title.
"I'm thrilled to be boxing back in Belfast. I grew up watching a local guy from my area called Eamonn Magee become Commonwealth champion and it's always been a title that has stood out for me.
"To be defending the Commonwealth title front of my home crowd will be a great experience and I know I'll have big numbers there watching me successfully defend it."
Conlan's younger brother Michael was controversially beaten in the Olympic Games bantamweight quarter-finals last month. | Jamie Conlan's first defence of his Commonwealth super-flyweight title will take place at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast on 5 November. |
32935580 | Gavin Phillips, 27, from Narberth, died in the single-vehicle crash on the the A4139 at Penally on Thursday.
A family tribute said: "Gavin was a much-loved son, brother and father who will be sorely missed by all who knew him."
Mr Phillips was travelling east when his motorcycle left the road. | Family of a motorcyclist who died in a crash in Pembrokeshire have described him as "a much-loved son, brother and father". |
36862507 | The League One club blamed declining revenues caused by playing at York City FC's Bootham Crescent ground following their eviction from Huntington Stadium.
York moved ground in 2014 to allow York City Council to construct a new stadium to be used by both teams.
"The financial situation shows no promise of improving with a move to the new stadium," a club statement said.
"We know the vast majority of our supporters and the people of York and beyond will be saddened by this news.
"We hope that rugby league can stay alive in York and someone will come along and succeed where we could not."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Rugby league club York City Knights have closed down with immediate effect as a result of financial difficulties. |
39855916 | Mr Bain, who was on a committee of directors set up to assess takeover bids on behalf of shareholders in the club, was paid £360,000.
The details emerged during an 11th day of evidence at the High Court in Glasgow where Craig Whyte is accused of a fraudulent acquisition of Rangers.
He denies a charge of fraud and another under the Companies Act.
Chartered accountant and former Rangers director Michael McGill said Mr Bain's role in the deal was "limited", but that he had a contractual arrangement in place.
During cross-examination by Craig Whyte's defence QC, Donald Findlay, Mr McGill was asked: "£360,000 for what?"
Mr McGill replied: "He had a long-standing arrangement with the Murray Group, entered into some years before."
Mr Findlay asked: "Did he do anything to help the sale of Rangers to the Whyte group?"
The witness said: "I won't comment if he helped or not. His role, as a whole, was limited, but there was an agreement from years before."
It was also previously heard during the case that Mr Bain had been given a new contract with a 39-month notice period.
The court was also told that David Horne, a lawyer from Sir David Murray's Murray Group, also received a £160,000 payout following the sale to Mr Whyte.
The jury heard that Rangers former owner, Sir David Murray, had wanted £5m per year for four years to be invested in the playing squad as part of the sale to Craig Whyte.
However, Mr Whyte's QC claimed to the court that £5m "would not get you Messi's left foot".
Mr Findlay added: "The economic reality is that it is not going to make any difference."
Mr McGill said: "I don't know if I am qualified to say that £5m will make a difference to the football team."
Mr Findlay said it was "a figure plucked out of the ether" and "a bit of PR window dressing".
The jury later heard of a number of emails relating to Mr Whyte's takeover before he took the helm at Ibrox.
In one dated April 2011, Mr McGill stated: "Given the useless twits don't have the funds, it appears somewhat academic."
Mr Findlay asked the witness: "Murray was determined to sell Rangers for the right reasons or not?"
Mr McGill: "No, I would not agree with that."
Mr Findlay: "According to you, you sold Rangers to useless twits who did not have the funds."
The witness told the court that reflected "frustrations" at that time.
Prosecutors allege Mr Whyte pretended to Sir David Murray, and others, that funds were available to make all required payments to acquire a "controlling and majority stake" in the club.
The Crown alleges Mr Whyte had only £4m available from two sources at the time but took out a £24m loan from Ticketus against three years of future season ticket sales.
The court has heard the sale was eventually made to Mr Whyte for £1 but came with obligations to pay an £18m bank debt, a £2.8m "small tax case" bill, £1.7m for stadium repairs, £5m for players and £5m in working capital.
The second charge under the Companies Act centres on the £18m payment between Mr Whyte's Wavetower company and Rangers to clear a bank debt.
The trial before eight men and seven women continues. | Former Rangers chief executive Martin Bain received a bonus for his role in the club's sale, a court has heard. |
38690980 | James McKinnon, 20, from Edinburgh, was arrested on Wednesday at a flat in Moredun on seven outstanding warrants.
He faced 13 charges when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.
They included two of housebreaking with intent to steal and 11 charges connected with the theft of vehicles. Mr McKinnon made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody.
A 36-year-old woman was charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act after a cannabis cultivation of 13 plants, estimated to be worth more than £1,500, was found at the address. | A man has been charged in connection with 43 crimes committed across Edinburgh. |
37632620 | The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says the government is not on track to meet its pledge of cutting emissions 80% by 2050.
And they controversially warn ministers to park their recent ambition to tighten carbon reduction targets to protect vulnerable nations.
Ministers say they are determined to tackle climate change.
They say they will publish new policies soon.
They support the Paris Agreement on climate which commits to holding temperature rise to 2C - preferably 1.5C.
But the committee is warning the government not to run before it has proved that it can walk.
They controversially advise ministers not to adopt stricter targets for the moment, even though poor nations say they are essential.
The report states: "Do not set new UK emissions targets now. The UK already has stretching targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The priority for now should be robust near-term action to close the gap to existing targets and open up options to reach net zero emissions.
"The most important contribution the government can make now to the Paris Agreement is publishing a robust plan to meet the UK carbon budgets and delivering policies in line with the plan."
It says the government can re-visit the 1.5C ambition in the future.
The advice has infuriated campaigners. Craig Bennett from Friends of the Earth told BBC News: "The job of the committee is to offer advice on carbon budgets based on the scientific evidence, not what feels politically expedient.
"What message will it send to the world for Britain, once a climate leader, to give up on one central tenets of the Paris Agreement less than 12 months after it was signed?
"It's no surprise that the government's approach to climate policy is failing. A five-year-old could tell you building runways, allowing new open-cast coal mines, and forcing fracking on local communities while doing precious little to support renewables or energy saving isn't going to help us limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.
"But it's government policy that needs to change and fast, not the targets."
The committee is important because it provides step-by-step technical guidance for government to meet targets stipulated under the Climate Change Act.
The first phase of the planned low-carbon transformation - making electricity almost entirely low-carbon by the early 2030s - is more or less on track, members say.
But the government is lagging badly in preparations for the next phase, electric vehicles. And most disturbingly, plans for heating the UK's homes - the last phase - are in disarray as the heat pump technology thought likely to keep us warm in coming decades has failed to meet expectations.
The committee now wants the government to prepare for natural gas in homes to be supplanted by hydrogen, which would entail a revamp of the gas grid and replacement of existing boilers and cookers over time in a process similar to the switch from town gas to natural gas in the 1960s.
But, it says, this will only work if carbon capture technology is used when the hydrogen is produced, and the carbon emissions buried into rocks. This technology has been touted as the get-out-of-jail option for years - but plans to develop it have stalled, mostly because of the cost.
The report warns: "Current decarbonisation policies, at best, will deliver about half the required reduction in emissions. Acting with urgency to close this policy gap would reduce long-term costs and keep open options for the future."
The government admits its low carbon strategy is lagging but the climate minister Nick Hurd previously told me the issue was complex, and it was better to deliberate a while than to adopt the wrong policies.
The strategy is supposed to be out before Christmas but he said it could be delayed until next year.
If the government adopts a new target of 1.5C the committee says that would entail reducing emissions to what's known as net zero - in which any emissions are offset by activities that soak up CO2.
The committee warn that even with full deployment of known low-carbon measures some UK emissions will remain, especially from aviation, agriculture and parts of industry.
That will mean taking CO2 out of the atmosphere to compensate by various measures, including: planting forests to absorb carbon dioxide; investing in materials that store carbon; burning wood for energy and capturing the emissions; using timber for buildings; encouraging the weathering of rocks, which buffers CO2 - and ultimately directly sucking in CO2 from the atmosphere.
The report says the government should prepare for these technologies to be ready by 2050 to be deployed at scale. It says: "We agree with the government's intention to set a new target in future that reflects the global need to reach net zero emissions.
"However, to be credible it needs to be evidence-based, accompanied by strong policies to deliver existing targets and a strategy to develop greenhouse gas removals."
This reflects sentiment at a recent Oxford conference on removing CO2 emissions. Academics who had previously viewed CO2 removal as a sign of government policy failure were increasingly willing to support the technologies as an unfortunate necessity for keeping the earth habitable.
Even with the CO2 capture technology, difficult choices will have to be made, the report says: "Reducing residual sources of emissions to close to 100 MtCO2e (million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent) per year would require stretching options in hard-to-treat sectors, such as substantial biofuel use in aircraft and reduced red meat consumption in diets."
A committee spokeswoman rejected the criticism from Friends of the Earth. She said: "The CCC is very clear that the priority now is for Government action.
"The CCC welcomes the Paris Agreement. More work needs to be done on how to translate the net zero goal into a feasible, credible long-term target for the UK."
The government has committed to cutting emissions but the prime minister says her priorities are energy cost and energy security.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it would "carefully consider the valuable advice" from the CCC.
He added: "We are already making good progress towards meeting our goal of reducing emissions by at least 80% by 2050 on 1990 levels, and we are now looking ahead to set out how we will continue to decarbonise through the 2020s."
Follow Roger on Twitter. | The UK's official advisers have issued a sombre assessment of government plans to hold climate change at a safe level. |
34665986 | Delegates will be gathering with next year's Holyrood elections just six months away, and polls suggesting the party is trailing far behind the SNP.
Scottish Labour has said it wants to use the conference to encourage voters to "take a fresh look" at the party.
UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is also due to address the conference.
Labour remains committed to renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system, which is based at Faslane on the Clyde, despite it being strongly opposed by Mr Corbyn.
Delegates at the party's UK conference in Brighton voted to debate other issues rather than Trident last month.
Scottish members are to decide on Friday morning whether a motion opposing Trident renewal should be discussed on Sunday.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale told the BBC she understood the strength of feeling on the issue.
And she said that if a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines was not ordered, the money saved should go to the communities that lose out.
She seemed relaxed about Scottish Labour potentially having a different position from the UK party, and said there would be a process for reaching agreed manifesto positions on contentious issues, and where this is not possible, there could be a system of "agreed abstention".
Labour's only surviving Scottish MP has also insisted the party could have different policies on the renewal of Trident north and south of the border.
Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said moves to make the party north of the border more autonomous meant it could "have a different position on anything it wants".
Ahead of the conference, Lothians MSP and former Scottish Labour leadership contender Neil Findlay, who is an ally of Mr Corbyn in his opposition to nuclear weapons, said the party cannot take a "a head-in-the-sand approach" when delegates are asked to decide on Friday whether or not to hold a Trident debate.
Writing in the conference bulletin of the Labour Campaign for Socialism, Mr Findlay warned his party: "If we shy away from discussing this issue, we can be sure that others won't be slow in pointing out our reluctance to do so."
The GMB union has also written party members warning that cancelling the Trident replacement would threaten thousands of defence jobs in Scotland.
Scottish Labour suffered a devastating defeat in May's general election, with the party losing 40 of its 41 seats to the SNP, which has pledged to remove nuclear weapons from Scottish waters.
But it has reported a jump in membership since Mr Corbyn became UK party leader last month.
In his speech, Mr Corbyn is expected to present Labour as a socialist alternative to the SNP. He will also challenge Conservative tax credit cuts and Scottish government cuts in education.
He will add: "If you're satisfied with rising inequality, rising child poverty and widening health inequalities, then Labour is not for you. If you're satisfied that nearly a million people in Scotland are in fuel poverty or that half of all housing in Scotland falls short of official quality standards, then Labour isn't for you."
Mr Corbyn last week backed Ms Dugdale's proposals for Scottish Labour to be given greater autonomy over areas such as policy making, candidate selection and membership.
Debate over the position of the party in Scotland has raged since last year's independence referendum, after which former leader Johann Lamont resigned after claiming the London leadership treated it like a "branch office".
Ms Dugdale, who will also use the conference to announce new plans to help more youngsters leaving care to go on to university, will say that Labour is "well aware of the challenges we face" after receiving a "resounding message from the voters in May".
She will add that while that message was "painful", there is "now a new generation of leadership has taken up the challenge of renewing our party".
And she will insist that the party saying the party is "confident about the future" and "upbeat about the opportunities that come in a changing world".
Ms Dugdale will say: "I'm of a generation that has grown up with the Scottish Parliament as the centre of Scottish politics.
"We start this conference more ambitious for our parliament, more upbeat about the future, more determined than ever to stand up to the Scottish establishment.
"We can be the party that people put their trust in once again. It won't happen overnight. But the changes we are making under my leadership will make us fit for the future."
Plans for young people leaving care to receive full grant support, worth £6,000 a year, if they make it to university will also be unveiled by Ms Dugdale.
She will tell a fringe event at the conference that youngsters who are in care "are some of the most vulnerable in our communities", adding that the "reality is that they are more likely to go to jail than university".
The Scottish Labour conference can be watched live online from 09:50 to 11:50 and from 14:05 to 16:05 on Friday, and from 13:40 to 15:40 on Saturday. Conference 2015: Scottish Labour Party will also be shown on BBC Two Scotland on Saturday. | Scottish Labour is to decide whether or not to discuss the thorny issue of Trident renewal as its conference gets under way in Perth. |
37264010 | Liam Enver-Marum made it two goals in as many games for The Stones in the 11th minute, despite the hosts making a strong start.
The visitors' hopes of hanging on were dealt a blow just before the break when Jack Evans saw red after bundling Reece Thompson over just outside the box.
But Alex Flisher eased fears of a collapse with a smart finish four minutes after the interval and Jay Saunders' side held firm to see out the win.
North Ferriby have now lost four on the bounce.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, North Ferriby United 0, Maidstone United 2.
Second Half ends, North Ferriby United 0, Maidstone United 2.
Ryan Fallowfield (North Ferriby United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Nathan Mavila (Maidstone United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ben Middleton (North Ferriby United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, Maidstone United. Nathan Mavila replaces Jack Paxman.
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Ryan Fallowfield replaces Connor Oliver.
Substitution, Maidstone United. James Rogers replaces Liam Enver-Marum.
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Ryan Kendall replaces Vinny Mukendi.
Goal! North Ferriby United 0, Maidstone United 2. Alex Flisher (Maidstone United).
Substitution, Maidstone United. Reece Hall-Johnson replaces Tom Murphy.
Second Half begins North Ferriby United 0, Maidstone United 1.
First Half ends, North Ferriby United 0, Maidstone United 1.
Jack Evans (Maidstone United) is shown the red card.
Alex Flisher (Maidstone United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! North Ferriby United 0, Maidstone United 1. Liam Enver-Marum (Maidstone United).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | Ten-man Maidstone held on to beat North Ferriby at the Eon Visual Media Stadium. |
40466301 | Tempting, but wrong.
Yes, this story risks making the media the story - rarely a good thing - and risks making the media look even more out of touch with average US voters who have more pressing economic concerns.
That doesn't mean it isn't serious. It tells us things about the man and about his presidency, things that are worth knowing.
Full disclosure: Mika Brzezinski is a friend of mine and we work together regularly on her show. But this story is really not about her at all. It is what it tells us about the president that matters.
1. The way President Trump talks about Brzezinski in those tweets is sexist. What's more it is just the latest in a string of sexist comments that focus on women's looks, not their abilities. Rosie O'Donnell, Megyn Kelly, Carly Fiorina, Miss Universe, Brzezinski are just a few. Sexism like this from the top can breed sexism down the line, it can make it seem somehow acceptable. It isn't.
2. Using personal information of this nature against someone is singularly vicious. As Melania Trump says, when Donald is attacked he hits back ten times harder. In this instance Mr Trump used the platform of the Oval Office and his Twitter feed to magnify the force of the blow.
The White House says this makes him tough and a fighter and that's why he was elected. I wonder about that. Do Americans who elected him to fight for their jobs actually want him to use that same quality in this way?
3. The tweets show he is easily provoked. America's allies and adversaries are taking note.
4. The incident suggests his anger can take precedence over political expedience. Right now Mr Trump needs Republican Senators to support his healthcare reform. Several of them immediately expressed extreme dismay at these tweets, saying they were beneath the dignity of the office. It may not impact their final vote, but it can't help.
5. Criticism, however strongly worded or teasingly expressed, comes with the job of being president. In 1962 after the Bay of Pigs fiasco JFK talked about how he'd been pummelled by an "abrasive" US press corps - he also said that was a good thing because it made his presidency stronger.
Read more from Katty
6. Members of Congress and members of the administration have now spent the past two days being forced to answer questions about facelifts and blood. The President may rightly think conflict with the media rallies his base but it distracts people around him from focusing on the job of health care and tax reform and infrastructure bills. That's not useful, for anyone.
7. The National Enquirer/Trump/Morning Joe story needs further investigation. Until we have all the facts it's hard to make an assessment. | It is tempting to dismiss the row between Donald Trump, President of the United States, and Mika Brzezinski, host of a US TV show, as a vaguely self-referential media story that most Americans care little about. |
36560438 | Alun Wyn Jones' 38th-minute try tied the scores 10-10 at the interval.
But inspired by replacement fly-half Beauden Barrett, the All Blacks scored four tries after the break through Ben Smith, Barrett, Waiseke Naholo and Ardie Savea.
Liam Williams and Jonathan Davies scored in a late flurry, but Wales have now not beaten the Kiwis in 28 games.
Barrett was on the field following a serious-looking neck injury to Aaron Cruden who was taken off on a buggy in the first half
After their 39-21 loss in the first Test, Wales' management had warned their players they needed an 80-minute performance against the world champions.
But again the tourists could not live with the All Blacks in a crucial 14-minute period after the break in when they scored four tries.
It might have been different if Taulupe Faletau had held on to a pass from Sam Warburton who had intercepted in the 51st minute with the scores still tied.
The pass went to ground and within a minute Smith had crossed for New Zealand's second try as the hosts put their foot on the accelerator.
Again Wales gave as good as they got in the first half, dominating possession in the early phases, but having only Biggar's 15th minute penalty to show for it.
The All Blacks made no mistake on their first visit to the Welsh 22, Aaron Smith brilliantly exploiting a narrow defence with Israel Dagg dummying his way over to mark his 50th cap with a try.
The long break for Cruden's injury disrupted the momentum, before Wales struck on the stroke of half time.
Jonathan Davies brushed past Barrett to set up the attack and then sent a long pass to Jones loitering on the left-hand touchline who scored his ninth Test try in his 101st Wales game. Biggar converted to level the scores.
Wales held their own and had a sniff of taking the lead with Warburton's interception before Barrett turned on the style.
He created a try for Smith and then scored between the posts. Naholo's third try in two Tests meant New Zealand had scored 19 points in eight minutes to take the game away from Wales.
Savea's try made it 36-10 with 14 minutes to play and Wales were looking down the barrel of a potential cricket score.
Williams capped a fine display by running in from half-way before Davies rounded-off a move from Jamie Roberts' interception with a thunderous hand-off and an assist by Rhys Priestland.
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen: "There was a lot more clarity about what we were trying to do.
"There were big improvements across the board, our line out was much better and the scrum as well.
"You'd still expect a lot of improvement [for the third Test]."
Wales coach Warren Gatland: "I'm pretty proud about that performance. There were a couple of key moments which were the difference.
"We had 58% territory and possession tonight and that's a massive number against the All Blacks, we've never done that before."
New Zealand team: Israel Dagg; Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty, Waisake Naholo; Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith; Joe Moody, Dane Coles, Owen Franks, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Sam Cane, Kieran Read (capt).
Replacements: Nathan Harris (for Coles); Wyatt Crockett (for Moody), Charlie Faumuina (for Franks), Patrick Tuipulotu (for Retallick), Ardie Savea (for Cane), TJ Perenara (for A Smith), Beauden Barrett (for Cruden), Seta Tamanivalu (for Fekitoa).
Wales: Rhys Patchell; Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Hallam Amos; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Gethin Jenkins; Ken Owens, Samson Lee, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Ross Moriarty, Sam Warburton (capt), Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Scott Baldwin (for Owens), Rob Evans (for Jenkins), Tomas Francis (for Lee), Bradley Davies (for Charteris), Ellis Jenkins (for Warburton), Gareth Davies (for Webb), Rhys Priestland (for Biggar), Scott Williams (for Roberts).
Referee: Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Wayne Barnes (England)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia) | New Zealand produced another dominant second-half performance to crush battling Wales in Wellington. |
20453491 | Estibaliz Carranza, who has joint Spanish-Mexican citizenship, will now be put in a secure mental institution.
The 34-year-old shot dead her ex-husband in 2008, and killed her lover while he slept two years later.
She cut up the bodies with a chainsaw and buried them in concrete in the shop's basement in Austria's capital.
Delivering the verdict on Thursday, chief prosecutor Petra Freh described the murders as "horrific".
She said Carranza was a "highly dangerous woman ready to do anything".
In her final statement, Carranza said: "I can't say anything other than that I am sorry."
The remains of her ex-husband Holger Holz and lover Manfred Hinterberger were found during routine maintenance works in the shop last year.
Carranza then fled the country to neighbouring Italy in a taxi, but was captured and extradited several days later.
During the trial, Carranza pleaded guilty to all the charges.
The defence argued that she had been tyrannised by the two men and this should be taken into account.
A court psychiatrist determined that Carranza suffered from a personality disorder as well as serious mental abnormalities.
The trial attracted a huge media interest in Austria, with the accused being dubbed in the press "the Ice Killer". | A court in Vienna has sentenced to life in prison a woman for murdering her ex-husband and her lover and hiding the bodies in her ice cream shop. |
35453734 | Pte Cheryl James, 18, from Denbighshire, was found with a bullet wound to her head at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey in 1995.
Her father told the Telegraph witnesses "in double figures" claim they were exploited or recruits were ordered to have sex with other soldiers.
A fresh inquest begins on Monday.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Pte Cheryl James.
"The inquest will now be a matter for the coroner, but we will of course continue to cooperate with and provide support to the coroner where needed."
Lawyers from human rights campaign group Liberty have asked the coroner, Brian Barker QC, to allow the new witnesses to give evidence and he is expected to make a decision on Monday.
Des James's solicitor Emma Norton said: "We have made an application to the coroner to investigate evidence that has come to light that appears to suggest there might have been a system of ordering recruits to have sex with other staff.
"We have had a witness come forward to say Cheryl herself disclosed to him that she had been ordered to have sex with another soldier.
"With that evidence in mind, we wanted to say to the coroner 'look, anyone else who is suggesting a similar pattern of behaviour, you ought to hear from.'"
Pte James, from Llangollen, was one of four soldiers who died at the barracks between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse.
The new inquest was granted by the High Court in 2014 after the open verdict recorded at the original inquest in December 1995 was quashed.
Mr James, from Llanymynechm, Powys, has said he hopes the fresh hearing will uncover the truth about what happened to her.
"I don't have a result in mind. I just want the truth," he told BBC Radio Wales' Eye on Wales Programme.
"As long as the process is impeccable, as long as I can look back and say everything we could do, we've done, that's the important thing."
More than 100 people are due to give evidence when the inquest begins in Woking, Surrey. | At least 10 witnesses have alleged sexual exploitation at an army barracks where a teenage recruit was found dead 20 years ago, it has been claimed. |
31584221 | On New Year's Day, listeners were invited to binge on it all day long, with only brief interruptions.
Now filming has begun on a new television version, in an adaptation by award-winning screen writer Andrew Davies.
So the current chill in relations with Russia, it seems, has not affected the British love affair with Tolstoy.
In fact, perhaps War and Peace can help us understand why Russians tend to view their nation as always under attack from outsiders.
For although Tolstoy's epic novel is about love, it is also the dramatic story of Napoleon's advance on Moscow and what it felt like to be part of a Russian family, packing up and fleeing the burning capital.
In 1812, it was the French bearing down on Moscow, a century and a half later it was Hitler's Nazi army.
These pivotal moments in the nation's history are etched into the memory of every Russian and help underscore President Putin's claim that Russia is once again under threat from Western hostile forces.
This time, he argues, the enemy is the US, spearheading an onslaught by Nato allies who have used the conflict over Ukraine to impose sanctions, as part of a decades-old desire to keep Russia weak and fragmented, so the West can stay dominant and strong.
This is why, Mr Putin argues, Russians must remain united behind his presidency, and why Russian writers, artists and film-makers should use culture to help reinforce patriotism and loyalty.
But not all contemporary Russian culture fits this Kremlin narrative.
Leviathan, the latest film from the distinguished director Andrei Zvyagintsev, has been making waves since it was premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Set in Russia's arctic north, it is a bleak but brilliant story of a small man crushed by corrupt bureaucrats and church leaders.
It won a further string of international honours, including best foreign film at the Golden Globe awards, and was shortlisted (though did not win) in the best foreign film category at the 2015 Academy Awards, the Oscars.
But in Russia, far from being hailed as a masterpiece, it ran into trouble.
Although it was partly financed by his ministry, the Russian Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky accused the director of deliberately pandering to anti-Russian sentiment in the West in a bid to win international film prizes.
The Russian Orthodox Church also denounced it. One prominent Kremlin supporter, Sergei Markov, called it "anti-Putin".
Leviathan has not been banned in Russia, although its colourful profanities have been removed.
In fact, the row probably helped it win a wider audience.
Certainly when it went on general release in one south-western Moscow suburb in February, it was an immediate sell-out.
Russians rushed to the local cinema to see what all the fuss was about.
Mr Medinsky's criticism is not surprising.
A former MP with close links to the Kremlin, he made his name as the author of a series of popular but controversial history books called Myths About Russia, aimed at debunking negative stereotypes which, he claims, were deliberately invented by foreigners to undermine Russia's reputation.
But some Russian cultural figures have gone further, protesting not so much at Zvyagintsev's film, but at what they claim is Hollywood's unfair dominance of the global film industry.
Andrei Konchalovsky is a hugely successful Russian film director who comes from a well-known cultural family.
His father, Sergei Mikhalkov, wrote the lyrics for Stalin's National Anthem. His brother Nikita Mikhalkov, an Oscar-winning film director in his own right, served as minister of culture.
And Andrei Konchalovsky himself forged a film career both in Hollywood and Russia where he collaborated closely with the distinguished film-maker Andrei Tarkovsky.
Now, however, he is no longer well disposed to the American movie industry.
He refused to let his latest film, The Postman's White Nights, be considered for this year's Academy Awards as a protest against what he claims is American cultural imperialism.
When I caught up with him in London at a recent Azerbaijani arts festival, he gave two reasons.
Firstly, he said, he was opposed to the "popcorn" style entertainment of US blockbusters, which were now so prevalent in Russian cinemas.
And secondly, he was objecting to the idea that all non-English language films were "segregated" into one single "foreign film" category at the Oscars.
"What the hell does that mean?" he said. "I felt myself humiliated: foreign for who? I am strongly opposed."
But Mr Konchalovsky's criticism of Hollywood is part of what he sees as a wider cultural realignment, which echoes the geo-political shift President Putin likes to refer to in the political sphere: the decline of the West and the rise of the emerging economies of "the rest", including, of course, Russia.
"I agree with certain politicians that the civilisational pressures of America are too strong," he told me.
"America has a big illusion about universal values of American dream. But it is a big illusion.
"We see how it crumbles when Americans try to impose democracy. They cannot dominate any more with their ideology.
"America has a Europe-centric view of the world, and those values of democracy, freedom, equal rights etc, have proved not to be universal.
"The old idea of absolute, unshakeable values of Western civilisation, that period is coming to an end."
So is Russia not European? I asked.
In Mr Konchalovsky's scheme of things, it turns out that it is not. It is part of a separate Eastern tradition.
"We have developed on the periphery of European civilisation.
"Our religion, geography, climate and history created our culture. We are not Latins, the West is Latin," he said.
"And the iron curtain is between Russia and Poland, not to do with socialism, but between Eastern philosophy - emotional; and Western philosophy - infatuation with order."
It is both an intriguingly radical new idea: Russia as Eastern and Asian-facing; and a notion which goes back two centuries: the old paradigm of a cultural conflict in Russia between so-called Slavophiles and Westernisers.
In the past, cultural commentators have tended to argue that it left the country with a foot in both camps, a unique "Eurasian" nation.
But in today's Russia, where state-run media now paints both the US and its European allies as hostile and as danger to Russia, there seems increasingly little room for a fudge.
A startling survey at the beginning of the year by the respected Levada polling organisation suggested that negative perceptions of the US, and the European Union had doubled in the past year - at least, according to the answers of those who were surveyed.
And judging by Mr Konchalovsky, this anti-Western, anti-European sentiment is now tipping over into the cultural sphere.
I asked him how he reconciled his theory that Russia was not European with the fact that many of Russia's greatest writers (like Pushkin, Tolstoy and Chekhov) were loved by Western audiences and seen as part of the European mainstream - evidence of a shared culture, and a shared system of universal values.
His answer left me dumbfounded.
"Tolstoy is not a Russian writer," said Mr Konchalovsky.
He then sketched out for me his view of Russia's cultural history, dividing it into the Muscovite period up to the end of the 17th Century, and then a period launched by Peter the Great who tried to Europeanise, but with limited success.
"There is a little fraction of Russian society that called itself maybe European: Russians that created basically everything that Russia can be proud of - starting from Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky, Chekhov, Dostoevsky - and which had incredible influence on Western culture because Russia is a very talented and powerful country.
"But Peter the Great didn't succeed to Westernise the whole nation. It was beyond his ability,
"So we have a tiny fraction (which is) European - and an enormous ocean of Russian Muscovites who basically don't care about the world."
It is a radical thought: three centuries of an experiment to Europeanise Russia which is now coming to an end.
The Bolsheviks, after all, also drew on European ideas based on the works of that German thinker, Karl Marx.
This new vision embraces President Putin's pivot towards China, his rejection of Western values and civic links, and his insistence on Russia being a new centre of global conservatism.
Will it take hold, though?
Do most Russians really want to turn their backs on Europe and look East instead?
That is the deeper question behind the current crisis which is not only about what happens to Ukraine, but what will happen to Russia too. | At the start of this year, BBC Radio Four devoted a whole day to a radio adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace. |
15055458 | The body of Maria Elizabeth Macias, the editor of Primera Hora newspaper, was found next to a threatening message.
The police said the message had been left by a criminal gang.
Two weeks ago, the bodies of a man and a woman were hung from a bridge with a message warning people not to report drug violence on social networks.
Deadly profession
Ms Macias' body was found early on Saturday in a busy area of Nuevo Laredo, in northern Tamaulipas state.
A message left next to her remains accused her of denouncing drug violence on social networks and websites, such as Nuevo Laredo en Vivo, or Nuevo Laredo Live, where citizens can leave messages pointing the security forces to the locations where gangs congregate and sell drugs.
A message left on a pedestrian bridge in Nuevo Laredo from which two people were strung up on 13 September also warned people not to report crimes on such sites.
That message had been signed with the letter "Z", usually associated with the Zetas cartel.
Tamaulipas has been at the centre of a bloody turf war between the Zetas and their former allies turned bitter rivals, the Gulf cartel.
Beheadings have become a common feature of many murders carried out by the Zetas, aimed at terrorising rivals and those who they consider snitches.
The US-based journalists' welfare group Committee to Protect Journalists says 59 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992.
It says 25 of those were murdered in direct reprisal for their work. | Prosecutors in Mexico say the decapitated body of a woman found in the northern city of Nuevo Laredo on Saturday is that of a newspaper editor. |
26156533 | The 41-year-old, from Crawley in West Sussex, is believed to have carried out a suicide truck bombing in the city of Aleppo last Thursday.
Officials have not confirmed his identity, citing lack of DNA evidence.
Anti-terror police are searching a house in Martyrs Avenue, Langley Green, as part of the investigation.
The suspect is believed to have been responsible for a bomb attack at a prison in Aleppo that resulted in inmates escaping.
The bombing, in the north of Syria, is thought to have been the first to be carried out in the country by a Briton.
An al-Qaeda-linked rebel group, the al-Nusra Front, had named Majid by an alias - Abu Suleiman al-Britani.
People in Martyrs Avenue told the BBC he left some weeks ago for Syria.
By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent
The number of Britons believed to have gone to Syria is about 400. It may well be more than that.
The concern of counter-terrorism police is that people, if they survive Syria, will come back radicalised with a much lower threshold for extreme violent acts and want to carry them out back here.
The reason why they are so concerned about this is that this is a new phenomenon.
It is the first time a British Jihadist has gone overseas to carry out a suicide bombing in 10 years.
The whole Iraq conflict, the whole Afghanistan conflict, it didn't happen, but it has happened now in Syria.
One, Nita Bateman, said Roy Whiting, who murdered eight-year-old schoolgirl Sarah Payne in 2000 in West Sussex, lived in the house before Majid.
She described him as a "pleasant chap" and said she was shocked by the revelations.
Majid's uncle, Mohammad Jami, said the family was shocked and devastated.
"They are quite confused because they are getting all this news - unconfirmed news - from different sources," he said.
"I don't ever think he could do something like that."
The BBC understands the suspected bomber was part of a study circle in Crawley, which also included Omar Khyam, a man jailed for life in 2007 for a bomb plot.
Arif Syed, from the Crawley Islamic Culture Centre, said: "I am very disappointed that an individual from Crawley has been linked with this attack.
"It is something we are extremely upset about and something that we feel has stained the name of Crawley when Crawley is in fact a very peaceful town."
It has been reported that as many as 400 British nationals have travelled to Syria to fight against government forces.
Many others have travelled from Europe, with the majority thought to come from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Libya.
Activists claimed 300 prisoners escaped as a result of the bomb attack on Aleppo prison, although the Syrian authorities have denied that.
The bombing was reportedly part of an attempted jailbreak by fighters from the hard line Islamist groups, Ahrar-al-Sham and the Al-Nusra Front.
After 24 hours of fighting at the prison, where it is thought about 3,000 people are being held, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad regained control.
Several attacks have been made on Aleppo jail and the city has been a focus of fighting.
More than 100,000 lives have been lost in Syria in the conflict since 2011 with 9.5 million people forced to leave their homes. | A British man thought to have carried out a suicide bombing in Syria last week was Abdul Waheed Majid, the BBC has learned. |
40302539 | Paramedics were called to Mytton Oak Road, Shrewsbury at 16:18 BST on Thursday. The St George's Junior School pupil was taken to hospital with serious head injuries but later died.
A 77-year-old man from Shrewsbury was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving whilst under the influence of alcohol.
Police said he has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.
Chief Inspector Alison Davies has urged people to come forward with information.
Latest on this and other stories in Shropshire
"We are in the very early stages of the investigation and I would urge anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the vehicle beforehand, to contact us on 101 quoting reference 528s of 15 June as soon as possible," she said.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the driver declined treatment at the scene.
Sharon Munro, headteacher at St George's Junior School, said: "It is with great sadness that I must confirm that a pupil from our school has tragically died after being hit by a car whilst making her way home yesterday.
"This is an incredibly difficult time for us all, but especially for her family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and we ask that people respect their privacy at this difficult time." | An 11-year-old girl has died after being hit by a 4x4 in Shropshire. |
39099364 | The stars of the silver screen walk the red carpet as they make their way into the Dolby Theatre for the 89th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. | All photographs subject to copyright. |
39760170 | The pontiff suggested that Norway, for example, was "always ready to help".
He warned the crisis risked sparking a devastating war in which "a good part of humanity" would be destroyed.
His comments came hours after North Korea test-fired another ballistic missile, which the US and South Korea say exploded shortly after take-off.
The missile was fired from a site in South Pyeongan province, north of Pyongyang, South Korea said.
US President Donald Trump accused Pyongyang of showing "disrespect" towards China and its president.
Mr Trump recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised him for "trying very hard" on North Korea.
The test came just hours after the UN Security Council had discussed North Korea's missile programme.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane after a visit to Egypt, Pope Francis said: "There are so many facilitators in the world, there are mediators who offer themselves, such as Norway for example."
He warned that the situation had become "too hot" and said the "path is the path of negotiations, of a diplomatic solution".
The United Nations, he said, had become "too watered down".
In 2003 six-party talks - involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia - were launched to address concerns over the North's nuclear programme. But Pyongyang withdrew from the negotiations in 2009.
Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises.
North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturise nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.
It is not known what kind of missile was unsuccessfully launched on Saturday. However, US officials told Reuters news agency that it was probably a medium-range missile known as a KN-17.
The land-based, anti-ship ballistic missile has already had two failures.
Meanwhile, the American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and supporting warships have arrived on the Korean peninsula.
The US has threatened to use military force in North Korea if necessary.
In an interview with CBS on Saturday, Mr Trump said he would "not be happy" if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un went ahead with a further nuclear test.
Asked whether that would mean US military action, he said "I don't know. I mean, we'll see."
North Korea has had two failed missile launches this month - but that does not mean they will always fail, an expert has said.
Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told the BBC this was to be expected when testing a new missile as there was such a variety of things which could go wrong.
"Every time you have a new missile there are going to be growing pains," he said. "There is nothing unusual if it is new missiles.
"It will fail until it doesn't.
"In fact, the [American] rocket which put Alan Shepard [the first US man] in space was known as 'Old Reliable', but it failed nine out of 10 of its first tests."
Data collected by his institute also suggested North Korea's old missiles "work just fine", he added.
Among other developments in recent weeks: | Pope Francis has called for international mediation to ease rising tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear activity. |
32652662 | To state the obvious, investors love the Tories' general election victory.
There are a few reasons.
One (no surprise here) is that Labour's threat of breaking up banks and imposing energy price caps has been lifted.
Second is that investors have been discounting days and weeks of wrangling after polling day over who would form the government - and so they are semi-euphoric that we already know who's in charge.
Third, many investors tend to be economically conservative and instinctively Conservative.
But although the City may be a bit drunk on the result, its pleasure in Ed Miliband's and Ed Balls' humiliation may be making it a bit blind - perhaps dangerously so - to some bumps in the economic road ahead.
The first thing to note is that England and Scotland have voted for diametrically opposed economic policies.
If there was one policy associated with the Tories it was further deep spending and welfare cuts to generate a budget surplus.
If there was one policy associated with the Scottish National Party it was an end to deep spending and welfare cuts.
Which means that if the integrity of the United Kingdom is to be sustained, somehow a way has to be found - and presumably fairly fast - to reconcile the English vote for more austerity and the Scottish vote for an end to austerity.
And this would have to be done in a way that doesn't reinforce the view of millions of English citizens that they are subsidising feather-bedded Scottish public services.
The transfer of more economic decision-making powers to Edinburgh also has to be done in a way that doesn't split the ruling Tory party.
Which takes us to the second important uncertainty of this apparently certain result - which is whether Tory MPs will be more or less united than in the current parliament.
Strikingly, the eurosceptic, nationalist and more socially conservative right of the Tory party has been remarkably loyal to David Cameron over the past few years - partly because they could see that in a coalition party discipline was vital to governing and staying in office.
But the trouncing of the Liberal Democrats means that Tory MPs no longer have to be on their best behaviour - they no longer have to be careful not to alienate coalition partners with their words and deeds.
So David Cameron could live to regret his electoral dream come true, what looks set to be a slim overall majority in the Commons.
Or to put it another way, the new Tory government may not turn out to be a unified, strong government, of the sort that investors prefer. And that is partly because the Fixed Term Parliament Act means there can be endless backbench rebellions that do not come anywhere near to tipping the government out of office.
Apart from anything else, David Cameron will now be under enormous pressure from many of his MPs, alarmed by UKIP's success in taking votes - if not seats - to claw back much more sovereignty from Brussels than is realistic, as a precursor to the the promised referendum on EU membership.
Or to put it another way, the UK's continued membership of the EU is today more uncertain than it has ever been - and many investors and those who run big multinationals will hate that. | Sterling is up (the most for seven years against the euro), share prices are up (especially bank shares like Lloyds and RBS, and energy shares such as Centrica), government bond prices are up. |
39462606 | "What they did to my brother was cowardice. He was already wounded in the leg," said the sister of one of the men.
The two suspects were killed during a police operation on Thursday that also left a 13-year old girl dead.
She was killed by a stray bullet near her school in a shanty town in Rio.
The video, which has been shared widely on social media, shows the officers shooting two men who are lying on the ground at point blank range.
The two men appear to be unarmed and wounded. One is seen moving slightly as the police approach.
The alleged brutality of the killings have shocked Brazilians - although some have also expressed support for the police.
A police spokesman Ivan Blaz told local media that the officers were dealing with hardened criminals.
"They are not dealing with small time thieves. They are up against opponents with rifles," he said. | Two Brazilian police officers captured on video shooting two apparently defenceless men have been arrested in Rio de Janeiro and charged with murder. |
37149969 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Farah, 33, became Britain's most successful Olympic track and field athlete by winning Saturday's 5,000m.
It was his second in Rio following his 10,000m triumph six days previously.
"In 2017, I'd like to end it on the track, and then we'll see what we can do in the marathon," he said.
Find out about how to get into running with our special guide.
Farah, who finished eighth on his marathon debut in London two years ago, will be 37 at the time of the Tokyo Games.
"In the long-distance events you can't plan too far ahead," said the Londoner, whose training partner Galen Rupp won bronze in the Rio marathon on Sunday. "But you can't rule it out."
Farah's 5,000m triumph secured the 'double double' after his successes at London 2012, but his defence of the 10,000m title almost faltered when he was tripped.
"All my training for four years, I thought in one moment it's gone," he said. "It took a lot out of me. I had to stay strong and think, 'I've got a long way to go, this is what I've trained for'."
Media playback is not supported on this device
BBC commentator and former Olympic bronze medallist Brendan Foster said Farah is "more than a national treasure" and "the greatest we have ever had".
And the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, was among many calling for the athlete to be knighted.
Farah, who has now won more world and Olympic titles than Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele, said: "I'll leave it to the public. I just want to do what I'm good at. I just run, and I let the rest take care of itself.
"I know my career is short and I try and make the most of it. I enjoy what I do, and I try to make nation and country proud. I owe it to the people."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah plans to end his track career after next year's World Championships in London - but has not ruled out running the marathon at Tokyo 2020. |
33668976 | It comes after Alex Salmond said he believed a second vote was "inevitable"
Scottish Secretary David Mundell then urged the Scottish government to clarify its position on another vote.
Ms Sturgeon said it would be her "ultimate decision", with party backing, but it would be made based on the country's "best interests".
Speaking on a visit to China, Ms Sturgeon said: "There can't be a referendum, and there certainly can't be independence for Scotland, unless a majority of people in Scotland clearly want that.
"It will be my ultimate decision, in line with the democratic decision making processes of the SNP, to determine whether or not there is a commitment to a second referendum in the SNP manifesto for the Scottish election.
"And in due course we will take that decision and take that decision based on what we consider to be in the best interests of the country."
The first minister said she believed "one day" there would be another independence referendum, but that it required a change in circumstances from last year's vote.
She added: "But whether it's the next Scottish election or a subsequent Scottish election - it's the decision of the SNP whether or not to include it in a manifesto, but it is the decision of the Scottish people whether to vote for that manifesto."
Mr Mundell, the Scottish secretary in the Uk government, earlier said that there were no contingency plans for a further referendum after next year's Holyrood elections - after being asked about any departmental plans in parliamentary questions by an SNP MP.
On Sunday, Alex Salmond said a second referendum was inevitable with the issue "a question of timing", a spokeswoman for Ms Sturgeon said there was "no difference of opinion" between the first minister and Mr Salmond.
Scottish voters rejected independence by 55% to 45% in last September's referendum.
After the SNP won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland in May's general election, Ms Sturgeon stressed there was "no second Scottish independence referendum on the immediate horizon".
However, with some opinion polls pointing to the possibility of an SNP landslide in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections there has been speculation a second vote could be on the cards.
Margaret Ferrier, the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, submitted two written questions on the issue to the Scottish secretary.
She asked "what contingency plans his department has prepared for the possibility of a further referendum on Scottish independence being the policy of the Scottish government after the Scottish Parliament election in 2016".
Mr Mundell said he was "disappointed" by the questions in light of previous statements made by both Ms Sturgeon and her predecessor Mr Salmond that the referendum was a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity.
In response, Mr Mundell said: "My department has not prepared contingency plans for the possibility of a further referendum being the policy of the Scottish government after the Scottish Parliament election in 2016."
Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland radio programme, the Tory MP said he did not accept that circumstances had changed since the referendum.
He accused the SNP of trying to find "an excuse" to have another vote.
He said: "I think Nicola Sturgeon needs to be much clearer. Is it the SNP policy to have a second referendum or not?
"It is clear from what Alex Salmond is saying that this isn't about the Smith Commission. For Alex Salmond the Smith Commission isn't good enough, it is independence or nothing and that's what is underlying the push for the second referendum."
The Smith Commission was set up after the independence referendum last year to consider further powers for the Scottish Parliament.
The Scotland Bill, currently making its way through parliament at Westminster, is taking forward its recommendations.
Labour's only Scottish MP and shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray told BBC Radio Scotland: "Given that everyone agreed, and Nicola Sturgeon agreed, that we shouldn't have another referendum in a generation I think she should keep her promise on that.
"If she is going to keep that promise, it would be strange for them to have that in a manifest, to say they would deliver it over the next Scottish parliamentary period.
"The first minister has to clear this up." | First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the SNP is still to decide if a second referendum on independence will be in its 2016 Holyrood election manifesto. |
25778334 | Mrs Tindall's husband, rugby player Mike Tindall, was present at the birth of their first child at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the families of both parents were all delighted at the news, Buckingham Palace said.
The baby, as yet unnamed, becomes 16th in line for the throne.
Mrs Tindall later left the hospital and returned home.
Her husband expressed his joy on Twitter: "Thanks so much for all your kind messages. Definitely the best day of my life today, so happy! The girls are both doing great!"
In another tweet, he praised hospital staff, writing: "Big thanks to all involved at Gloucester Royal, they were fantastic!"
Mr and Mrs Tindall were married at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh in July 2011.
The new arrival is the third grandchild of the Princess Royal and her first husband, Mark Phillips - and the Queen and Prince Philip's fourth great-grandchild.
The birth follows that of Prince George in July last year to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
In a statement, the Queen's press secretary said: "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and Mike's parents, Mr Phillip and Mrs Linda Tindall, have been informed and are delighted with the news.
"The baby's name will be confirmed in due course."
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It's wonderful news and I'm absolutely delighted for the couple. I know them a little and I know they'll be absolutely devoted and delighted parents, so happy news all round."
BBC Royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the couple had chosen an NHS hospital, the Gloucestershire Royal, for the birth.
Mrs Tindall, 32, does not hold a royal title and is not referred to as Her Royal Highness. Her daughter will be known as Miss Tindall.
The new parents met during England's Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003.
Mr Tindall, 34, a former England rugby star, is now a player-coach at Gloucester.
His wife has achieved sporting success in her own right - where she still competes under the name Zara Phillips - winning individual gold in three-day eventing at the World Equestrian Games in Germany in 2006.
The title helped her become BBC Sports Personality of the Year later that year, following in the footsteps of her mother, Princess Anne, who won the award in 1971.
As a member of the Great Britain eventing team she won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics.
She is planning to take part in the next Olympic Games, which will be held in Rio in 2016. | The Queen's granddaughter Zara Tindall has given birth to a baby girl weighing 7lbs 12oz (3.5kg). |
39656580 | Billy Monger, 17, was airlifted to hospital after he hit another car on the track during a race on Sunday.
His injuries were confirmed by his racing team on Wednesday.
A Just Giving page was set up and saw Formula 1 driver Jenson Button contribute £15,000 towards it.
Steven Hunter, head of Billy's team, Derbyshire-based JHR Developments, started fundraising to help the 17-year-old "return to a full and active life".
He said it had been a "heart-wrenching" time following the crash that left everyone fearing the worst.
The donations came in swiftly over the past day and the £630,950 mark was achieved earlier, sailing well past the initial target of £260,000.
F1 driver Max Verstappen donated £15,000 and Billy's F4 former rival Devlin DeFrancesco made the biggest donation, of £26,000.
Hundreds of people have sent messages of support to the teenager, from Charlwood in Surrey, and a hashtag, #billywhizz, has been widely shared on social media.
Scott Mitchell from Autosport Magazine, who has known the teenager since he was nine years old, told BBC Radio 5 live that Billy was "aware of his injuries" but was in "optimistic mood".
"His family, friends and teammates are overwhelmed by donations," he said.
"No-one has a bad word to say about Billy. Everyone likes him. He's a fantastic young man.
"He's the kind of character that will be able to pull through."
F1 ace Jenson Button appealed on his Instagram account to people to help the boy following news of his injuries.
And Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who has 4.32 million followers on Twitter, tweeted: "Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, @BillyMonger".
Billy was competing in the Formula 4 British Championship, a motor racing series which features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers. | An online campaign set up to raise money for a teenage racing driver who had part of both legs amputated after a crash at Donington Park has raised more than £600,000. |
35940727 | Scotland IS, the trade body that represents digital industries, reports today on a survey showing companies have recently been enjoying impressive growth in sales, exports and in jobs.
Some 84,000 people work in the digital business, says the organisation. And it's reckoned another 70,000 could be created within the next five years.
But these are often jobs that could be created elsewhere. And it's been forecast (in the US) that nearly two-thirds of jobs that will be filled by today's school pupils don't exist yet.
So preparing for the future requires imagination. And according to Scotland IS, it needs connectivity, skills, research and access to growth capital to ensure Scots can take advantage of global and domestic opportunities.
There are gaps in all of these. Broadband and mobile connectivity is one of the areas being emphasised in the Holyrood election campaign pitches to help economic growth (not that they have yet featured prominently).
Scottish education ought to provide an advantage in skills, though it faces very tough international competition to raise the quality of workforces, with vast quantities of technology graduates from emerging economies.
It is research that is a particularly big problem for Scotland - not in the quality of what's going on in universities, but in the lack of investment by businesses in Scotland. The position has become slightly less bad, according to the statistics issued this week by the Scottish government.
But that's from a very poor position, and it still leaves Scotland trailing its international competitors.
These figures cover 2014, and show that research and development by businesses reached £905m in Scotland. With nine more people employed in R&D in 2014 than in 2013, that's nearly 10,000.
Sounds impressive? Well, consider this. The spend per head on R&D in Scotland two years ago was £159. The UK figure was £309. In the east of England, where Cambridge is one of the technology hot spots, there are defence contractors, and a lot of Big Pharma at work, it is £703. More than two-fifths of the UK's business investment in R&D is in the east and south-east of England.
Only five companies account for nearly a third of Scottish R&D spending. More than half of it takes place in Edinburgh, Aberdeen (nearly five times higher than the Scottish average spend per head) and West Lothian.
Some 45% of business R&D carried out in Scotland is by businesses owned in the USA, far ahead of the 29% by Scottish-owned companies.
The retreat of manufacturing explains much of this story, yet it still accounts for more than half the R&D spend. Investment by other sectors has been volatile, and mostly disappointing. You may think that it doesn't matter so much to spend on research for product development in the service sector, but that would be to ignore the growing importance of fintech, or financial technology.
There has been significantly faster growth in Scotland than the UK as a whole since the start of this century. But in 2014, business R&D represented only 0.6% of national output. The UK figure was 1.09%.
And this is where its gets a lot more alarming, because the UK as a whole lags its economic competitors.
The share of British output in R&D is lower than the European Union average. It's half of the scale of commitment to be found in Sweden and Finland, where Nokia may have shrunk, but the innovating habit seems to have stuck.
Only Italy and Canada come close to Scotland's position, at the bottom of this international league table.
There have been numerous attempts over several decades to address this well-known problem. Obviously, they haven't had all that much success.
One of the current ones is an industry-academic group called the Growing Value Scotland Task Force.
It is compiling a report, due for publication next month. So far it has identified the problem in a similar way to its predecessors.
It cites figures that show Scotland contributed only 3.1% of business R&D to the UK total of £24.1bn in 2012, which is just over a third of its population share.
The interim report notes that the level of co-operation on innovation between businesses and universities in Scotland is much lower than for the rest of the UK, as is the capacity of business to absorb knowledge gained from research.
It raises questions of whether the strategy should be attracting big research firms, particularly those from the USA, or encouraging home-grown companies to think more in terms of innovation through research.
And if it's a question of public policy, which sectors? The unsnappily titled Growing Value task force looked at digital, financial, oil and gas and life science. It found businesses need to be clearer about their R&D needs and communicate them better to universities.
Universities were found to be constrained by competition between them. Or as it was grandly phrased: "The collaboration landscape is disaggregated".
There's a mis-match of the pace at which academic researchers move compared with the business need to get results soon.
The findings so far suggest more could be done on curriculum development and student placements to fit with business needs. There is the suggestion that oil and gas firms could be forced to invest in R&D, as in Brazil and Norway (though that may be the last thing they want to hear at the moment).
Business leaders admitted they could do more to welcome ideas from outside their firms. But they also observed that they innovate in ways which add ideas and continuous improvement and which don't count as fundamental R&D for the accountants and statisticians.
Academic researchers could be encouraged to work with colleagues in business schools to package industry-ready projects, the task force suggested. And why not have better incentives for academics to get rich in the process, or at least trouser some modest moola?
But there's another possibility. Maybe universities are the wrong place to look, if Scotland is to grow its economy and prosperity with its brainpower and innovation. That's the provocative view of a St Andrews University academic, which was published this week.
Ross Brown, at the management school in Fife, says that the pressure on universities to take up the slack in business commitment to R&D, and to generate high-technology start-up companies, has "largely failed". Indeed, it may be "mission impossible".
"The strongly engrained view of universities as some kind of innovation panacea is deeply flawed," he says. "As occurred in the past when inward investment was seen as a 'silver bullet' for promoting economic development, university research commercialisation has been granted an equally exaggerated role in political and policy making circles. Universities are not quasi economic development agencies."
Why? Based on his research, Dr Brown has developed the view: "Most academics make poor entrepreneurs and often view public sector funding as a form of research grant income. Additionally, despite the high level of focus on stimulating university-industry linkages, most SMEs (small and medium-scale enterprises) do not view universities as suitable or appropriate partners when it comes to developing their innovative capabilities.
"Given the nature of the local economy with its very low levels of innovation capacity in SMEs, the remit conferred upon them is a mission impossible for Scottish universities. Part of this owes to the mismatch between the advanced nature of higher education research and the more routine technical needs of most SMEs."
Yes, he says, writing in Industry and Innovation journal, universities are important to the economy for providing skills to a graduate level, and to attracting research income, while creating the economic environment for successful cities.
But in future, "policy makers might wish to get other actors, especially within the small business community, more centrally involved in shaping how best to tackle the deep-seated problem of low levels of corporate R&D in Scotland.
"Arguably, support organisations such as Scottish Enterprise should work to connect SMEs to all sources of innovation, not just universities. Given their strong vocational focus, FE colleges may also potentially have a key role to play."
Putting colleges to the forefront of economic development, instead of universities? It's not too late to get that into a Holyrood party manifesto. | The future can be bright, if you log on, prepare for it, and keep innovating. |
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