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34920731 | Pte Gavin Williams, 22, from Hengoed, Caerphilly county, suffered heart failure at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire, on 3 July 2006.
He had been punished for disobedience and drunken incidents.
A captain at the time said he raised issues about another physical punishment a month before.
Owain Luke, now a lieutenant colonel, told the inquest in Salisbury, Wiltshire, that while Sgt Russell Price was involved in both incidents, it was "more akin to bullying" than reflective of wider treatment.
Lt Col Luke said he raised concerns with Adjutant Capt Mark Davis, the officer in charge of discipline.
He said he told the captain "two of my soldiers had been mistreated by provost staff or PTIs (Physical Training Instructor) and that this is wrong and he should look into it".
It was the only such incident he had been aware of before, Col Luke said.
His soldiers, he added, had been ordered by Sgt Price to carry out a physical punishment which resulted in their civilian clothes being ruined.
The coroner's court previously heard that Sgt Price ordered Pte Williams to carry out intensive exercise in a gym on one of the hottest days of the year.
Pte Williams collapsed with heatstroke and later suffered heart failure after the punishment. Ecstasy was found in his blood when he died in hospital.
Lt Col Luke said he got the impression Capt Davis felt physical punishment was appropriate "under some circumstances".
He added: "It's easy to see now that it might be part of a wider treatment, but I didn't see it like that at the time."
Sgt Price's line manager, Maj Lee Davies, said he knew nothing about beastings being carried out.
The coroner's court heard Sgt Price had previously told police investigating Pte Williams's death that "everyone knew that it went on" and "physical discipline was never done in a discrete manner".
In a statement to officers, he added: "The adjutant and the RSM (regimental sergeant major) never asked me to stop."
Maj Davies said he felt Sgt Price was still in an "old mentality" before Army rules on discipline changed in 2005, but he had made it clear when he took up his role in 2006 there should be no physical punishments.
"He's right, I didn't tell him to stop, but I didn't know he was doing it." | Concerns were raised about "mistreatment" before the death of a soldier subjected to intense beasting exercise, an inquest has heard. |
22317023 | Rowecord Engineering Ltd said its staff were "likely to be informed that their roles will be redundant".
The firm has also worked on many landmark Welsh projects, such as the Cardiff City Stadium and the Parc y Scarlets rugby ground in Llanelli.
Rowecord is the biggest steel contractor in Wales.
Administrators are to be appointed on Monday.
Managing director Andrew Hoppe said: "It is with great regret that we have had to come to the decision to place the business in the hands of the administrators.
"Working with key business partners and the Welsh government, we have exhausted every option to sustain the business for the future.
"We will be looking to mitigate how this development may impact on the workforce.
"We are proud of all we have achieved over 40 years of trading and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, suppliers and other business partners."
"This is a very sad day. We are a family-run company and have a hugely committed, highly capable workforce.
"Above all I would like to thank them for their fantastic part in the Rowecord story and express our deep regret for the impact this will have on them and their families."
The firm was founded in 1970 and has been a steelwork contractor on major projects, bridges and industrial process plant.
In addition to the waveform roof of the Olympic Aquatics Centre, the firm has also worked on:
A Welsh government spokesperson said: "This is very disappointing news especially for the company, its employees and their families.
"The Welsh government has worked closely with Rowecord to support the business and offered assistance to the maximum level allowable within state aid rules.
"However, the offer was not taken up as Rowecord decided that it is in the best interests of its employees and partners to file for administration when a buyer for the business may be identified.
"In the meantime we will ensure that as much support as possible is made available to the employees including the Welsh government ReAct programme." | The Newport firm which built the roof of the Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics is to go into administration, with the likely loss of up to 400 jobs. |
40349382 | Harmer bowled almost unchanged for 39 overs as Warwickshire, 60-2 overnight, were bowled out for 283 at Chelmsford.
Jeetan Patel hit 71 and Sam Hain 58 for Division One's bottom club.
But, having already slumped to 27-2 second time around against leaders Essex, the Bears face a fight to avoid a fourth innings defeat of the season.
Apart from Patel's late-order runs, sharing a 76-run stand with the ever reliable Keith Barker (24), the only plus point on a sultry day in Essex for the Bears was Hain's return to form.
In his previous seven County Championship innings this season, the Hong Kong-born England hopeful had managed only 59 runs in seven innings.
But he almost matched that before becoming a victim for left-arm paceman Paul Walter, who added the wicket of opener Ian Westwood when Warwickshire were put back in again halfway though the day's final session.
Neil Wagner also took two wickets in the day for Essex, both catches for former Bears skipper Varun Chopra.
He was in the right place on the deep square leg boundary to remove Jonathan Trott earlier in the day when he took the bait and hooked a Wagner bouncer, then he later caught Tim Ambrose at point for 25 - to safely pouch the 200th first-class catch of his career.
The day then ended as it had begun, with the departure of Trott, lbw, to give Harmer another scalp, from the final ball of the day, and leave the Bears needing to bat the whole of the final day to avoid a fourth heavy defeat in just six matches.
Essex have confirmed that Mohammad Amir will be available to make his debut against Middlesex next week in the inaugural round of day/night games
The Pakistan fast bowler, one of the heroes of Sunday's Champions Trophy final victory against India at The Oval, was signed by Essex back last November.
He has signed to play for the second half of the season, which will include Essex's final seven County Championship matches, as well as the entire T20 Blast.
BBC WM's Mike Taylor
"The two dismissals of Jonathan Trott that bookended today's play have advanced Essex's claims to a Championship title on their top-flight return. He offered only the front pad to the last ball of the day from Simon Harmer, which appeared well wide of the off-stump but turned, and was adjudged lbw by umpire Neil Bainton.
"That was the 10th wicket of the day, leaving Essex eight more to get tomorrow on a pitch bound to offer a little more assistance to Harmer in particular. He claimed seven of the wickets in a diligent and skilful effort, showing great control and focus in the heat.
"With Neil Wagner finding a troubling, short-but-not-too-short length from his first over, when he had Trott hooking into a trap at backward square leg. Sam Hain showed much improved form for Warwickshire and played with authority - Jeetan Patel changed the tone and, although he could not avert the follow-on, his runs could be of real value if Warwickshire are close to parity by tea. Getting that far, however, may be a trial."
Essex off spinner Simon Harmer told BBC Radio Essex:
"I've been struggling a bit with my knees, so that is the only thing that hurts. Other than that I've got a big engine, so once it gets going I'm all right. It was nice to get a good bowl in.
"It was a long shift, but obviously a productive one so you're not going to complain after a day like that. We'll have a couple of beers tonight to help with the recovery.
"Trott's wicket was a good cherry on the cake on a good day for Essex. To get them back in tonight, and get two more wickets, we definitely would have taken that."
Warwickshire off spinner Jeetan Patel told BBC WM:
"Simon Harmer bowled really well. He bowled great areas all day and asked questions on the outside and inside edge. It was a good length.
"He bowled nearly 40 overs today and you've got to pat him on the back to keep coming in and asking the same questions over and over again. Their consistency and patience is what's going to stand them in good stead."
"We've got to believe that every over we get through is one less over we have to face. We've been under the pump for three days. Can we fight back? That's the question that needs to be answered." | Essex's South African Test spinner Simon Harmer took 6-92 as struggling Warwickshire were invited to follow on for the third time this season. |
35977092 | The Chiefs travel to Wasps, a team Waldrom scored a hat-trick against in their last meeting in December.
"He's very important," Baxter told BBC Sport, ahead of Saturday's tie at the Ricoh Arena.
"He has a unique set of skills that do make him very dangerous and a real try-scoring threat."
Waldrom, 32, joined Exeter in the summer of 2014 and made an instant impact, scoring a Premiership-best 16 tries in his first season.
This term he did not score a try until that hat-trick against Wasps on 5 December, but the former England number eight has since taken his total to 17 in just 16 games.
"I think Tom, like any decent player, will be aware that he's one cog in a machine that has to function very well," Baxter said.
"For a lot of the guys, it's about getting Tom Waldrom in range of the line and then helping him get over there, that's how a team works."
But Baxter insisted Waldrom's importance is not limited to just scoring tries from close-range.
"What Tom will ultimately end up giving to the side will be more important in other areas of the field because he is a go-forward carrier for us all over the pitch, not just close to the line," he added.
"The stuff close to the line is a little bit like the icing on the cake for him, ultimately what really works for us is the momentum he gives us in other areas, and that's what we have to work on, where we gain our momentum throughout the game to try and create those five-metre opportunities."
The quarter-final is Exeter's first-ever knockout game in European club rugby's top tournament. | Exeter boss Rob Baxter says leading try-scorer Thomas Waldrom will be key to their chances of victory in their Champions Cup quarter-final. |
36793830 | 14 July 2016 Last updated at 11:01 BST
Bombardier was showing off its new aircraft at the Farnborough Airshow, ahead of the plane's commercial debut this week when airline Swiss begins flights.
The BBC's Theo Leggett went to Farnborough to look inside a 'giant gamble' that almost brought Bombardier to its knees. | After years of speculation about the financial viability of Bombardier's C-Series aircraft programme, the Canadian company says things are back on track. |
37995651 | Barker, a member of the successful Olympic team pursuit quartet in Rio, won gold ahead of Japan's Minami Uwano in Appeldoorn, Netherlands.
"It was a little bit unexpected," said the 22-year-old from Cardiff.
"Training been difficult since Rio and after having some time off it's always hard to get back into it so I was quite pleasantly surprised at that weekend."
Britain topped the medal table with two golds, two silvers and one bronze, and Barker believes it is a good indicator of the young talent coming through the ranks.
"We've mainly had young squads go around to the World Cup and European Championships so you might expect that the results may not be as good but they've actually been doing incredibly well," she said.
"I think it shows that the future is pretty bright for British cycling at the moment."
On a personal level Barker is relieved there has been no hangover from the British success at the Olympics.
"I anticipated it to be worse than it was, to be honest," she told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"There's been a few training sessions which have been particularly horrible and maybe I'm not hitting the numbers that I was before Rio but that's to be expected, really.
"Motivational-wise it doesn't feel like a post-Rio training block at all."
After the success in Rio with Team GB, Barker says she is looking forward to representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast.
Changes to the schedule mean there will be more cycling events for women than in previous Games.
"It's the first Commonwealth Games where there's equal events across all men's and women's sports so that's quite exciting," she added.
"Hopefully we'll be competing in the team sprint for the first time as Wales.
"I'll be a bit older and a bit more experienced but so will everybody else." | Welsh cyclist Elinor Barker says she was pleasantly surprised to win the Track World Cup points race. |
40649208 | Coastguards arrived at Aberavon beach, Neath Port Talbot at about 05:00 BST on Tuesday and said the dolphin was "very much alive" despite being in low water.
It was stretchered back to the sea and the local lifeboat made sure it reached deep waters.
Port Talbot coastguard said it was "very grateful" for the help of dog walkers and local residents.
A coastguard spokesman said local residents brought towels and buckets of water to keep the dolphin alive, before a truck was used to ferry water back and forth.
"Thankfully the dolphin made it to deep waters and survived, a feat that is very uncommon," he said.
"The fantastic teamwork ensured a good end to the unlucky dolphin's situation." | A stranded dolphin has been successfully returned to sea following a "fantastic" joint rescue effort. |
39866928 | Australia's five biggest banks were the biggest losers in Mr Morrison's budget on Tuesday when they were handed a combined A$6.2bn ($4.6bn; £3.5bn) levy.
But industry experts have warned that the institutions may simply redirect the levy to customers.
Mr Morrison on Wednesday implored the banks not to burden customers as he confirmed the tax would be permanent.
"[Do] the banks want to send a message to their customers about how much they value them?" the treasurer of the centre-right government said.
"Don't do what they may be contemplating doing. Don't do it."
ANZ Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie have not made any announcements.
However, local media quoted the Westpac and Commonwealth Bank chief executives as signalling that customers could be charged.
"The cost of any new tax is ultimately borne by shareholders, borrowers, depositors, and employees," Westpac chief Brian Hartzer said.
Financial services firm Morgan Stanley estimated that the levy would reduce the annual earnings of the banks by 4.5%.
The head of the Australian Bankers' Association called the levy "a direct attack on jobs and growth".
Mr Morrison also announced education savings which will see students pay a greater share of the cost of degrees.
He also lowered the salary threshold for university debt repayments from A$55,000 to A$42,000.
The treasurer allocated money for infrastructure projects, including a second Sydney Airport, and increased a healthcare levy to fund a disability insurance scheme.
The budget involved a textbook manoeuvre by Mr Morrison - disarm your opponents by grabbing some of their ideas.
The surprise tax on big banks and a thaw on healthcare rebates could all have come from a Labor manifesto.
Throw in a promise to spend big on infrastructure, and, according to one Australian commentator, Mr Morrison didn't just steal the opposition's clothing - he took the whole wardrobe.
In reality, this was more about steering to centre ground rather than swerving to the left.
It moves the government away from austerity measures it introduced in 2014, but remains tough on key issues like welfare payments.
Mr Morrison and PM Malcolm Turnbull will hope that is enough to keep their party room content, and ensure the government's slim majority remains intact.
Other key announcements included:
Labor accused Mr Morrison of using a healthcare levy increase to fund tax cuts for big business.
But Labor supported the tax on the banks.
The budget was the first since the government was re-elected on a tiny majority last year. | Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison has urged the nation's banks not to pass on a large new tax to their customers. |
39321908 | Kenny Tete scored an own goal, before Kluivert, who made his Ajax debut in January, tapped in a 32nd-minute equaliser.
Kluivert Sr was 18 years and 58 days when he scored his first Ajax goal.
He was at Ajax between 1994 and 1997, winning two Dutch Eredivisie titles and the Champions League.
He scored 39 goals in 70 appearances for the Amsterdam club, before going on to play for AC Milan and Barcelona in a 14-year career.
The 40-year-old is now director of football at French champions Paris St-Germain.
Kluivert Jr, a winger, came through the Ajax academy and has represented the Netherlands at various age groups.
Match ends, Excelsior 1, Ajax 1.
Second Half ends, Excelsior 1, Ajax 1.
Attempt missed. Mateo Cassierra (Ajax) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Hakim Ziyech with a cross following a set piece situation.
Fredy Ribeiro (Excelsior) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Amin Younes (Ajax) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Fredy Ribeiro (Excelsior).
Attempt saved. Amin Younes (Ajax) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Mateo Cassierra (Ajax) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Hakim Ziyech with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Ajax. Conceded by Milan Massop.
Nick Viergever (Ajax) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Nick Viergever (Ajax).
Mike van Duinen (Excelsior) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Kenny Tete (Ajax) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kevin Vermeulen (Excelsior).
Attempt missed. Justin Kluivert (Ajax) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Nick Viergever following a fast break.
Corner, Ajax. Conceded by Nigel Hasselbaink.
Substitution, Ajax. Abdelhak Nouri replaces Daley Sinkgraven.
Substitution, Excelsior. Jeffry Fortes replaces Ryan Koolwijk.
Attempt missed. Mateo Cassierra (Ajax) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Hakim Ziyech with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Ajax. Conceded by Fredy Ribeiro.
Attempt saved. Lasse Schöne (Ajax) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Davy Klaassen (Ajax) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ryan Koolwijk (Excelsior).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Lasse Schöne (Ajax) because of an injury.
Ryan Koolwijk (Excelsior) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Attempt blocked. Amin Younes (Ajax) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Justin Kluivert.
Corner, Excelsior. Conceded by Daley Sinkgraven.
Foul by Kenny Tete (Ajax).
Khalid Karami (Excelsior) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Hicham Faik (Excelsior) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Koolwijk with a cross.
Corner, Excelsior. Conceded by Nick Viergever.
Attempt blocked. Hicham Faik (Excelsior) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordy de Wijs with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Ryan Koolwijk (Excelsior) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Corner, Excelsior. Conceded by Daley Sinkgraven.
Substitution, Excelsior. Nigel Hasselbaink replaces Stanley Elbers.
Nick Viergever (Ajax) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Mike van Duinen (Excelsior).
Attempt blocked. Davy Klaassen (Ajax) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Ajax. Conceded by Hicham Faik. | Justin Kluivert, the 17-year-old son of former Netherlands striker Patrick, has scored his first goal for Ajax as they drew with Excelsior in the Eredivisie. |
34458250 | Christopher Hanmer, who taught at Garth County Primary School at Trevor, near Llangollen, allowed Year 5 and 6 pupils to change math test answers in 2013.
He also submitted inflated reading results to the Welsh government, an Education Workforce Council hearing was told on Tuesday in Flintshire.
The panel said the unprofessional conduct was "cheating".
The actions came to light in 2014 when the school's acting head teacher compared results from 2014 and the higher marks for tests in 2013.
The EWC committee, sitting at Ewloe, heard Mr Hanmer allowed pupils to correct their own answers to the numeracy tests.
The panel also heard eight pupils sitting the national literacy tests had their marks increased - one pupil by ten points.
Mr Hanmer told the hearing he could not understand how the inflated literacy scores came to be presented to the Welsh government, which sets national reading and maths tests for all school pupils in Wales at key educational stages.
But the EWC panel's chairman, Martin Jones, said the teacher had inflated literacy scores to "reflect better on himself".
"This was cheating. It's a very bad example for a teacher to set. He gave the pupils an unfair advantage over others," he said.
"Integrity in the exam process is very important and once it is undermined it is very difficult to rebuild."
The teacher, who had already been suspended from his post, said he had been under great stress at the time because a family member had died and another was unwell, but he could not explain why he had falsified the results.
Mr Hanmer was told he would be able to appeal against being removed from the teaching register in five years' time. | A Wrexham teacher who let children change national test results has been banned from teaching for five years. |
37912848 | Public Services Ombudsman Nick Bennett said there was a "systemic failure" by consultants at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, to recognise and respond to the patient's condition.
It is the third Ombudsman report on the hospital in the past two months.
The health board has apologised.
The patient, who is still alive and referred to as Mr D, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in July 2014.
Despite Welsh Government guidelines stating patients newly diagnosed with cancer should start treatment within 31 days, Mr D had to wait 132 days.
The probe found not only were there delays in conducting diagnostic investigations, but also in scheduling of Mr D's surgery.
"In this particular case there was a disturbing lack of urgency in which referrals between consultants across the health board's various hospital sites were conducted," said Mr Bennett.
"There appears to have been a systemic failure to recognise and respond to the fact that Mr D was suffering with an aggressive, potentially life-threatening form of prostate cancer that required urgent and radical treatment.
"I have seen nothing in the health board's response to my investigation that could justify such a disquieting failure."
Some of the recommendations Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has agreed to include a full written apology and a review of its urology service's compliance with Welsh Government guidance.
Chief executive Gary Doherty said: "While our urological services are under severe pressure, the way that this patient's care was handled was not acceptable, neither was the decision to delay responding to the patient's formal complaints until after his treatment had been completed.
"I am very sorry for the additional anxiety and distress that we will have caused to the patient at what will already have been a very worrying time for him and his family."
Mr Doherty said he would apologise to the patient directly. | A patient with potentially life-threatening cancer waited more than four months for his first treatment after a hospital showed a "disturbing lack of urgency", an investigation has found. |
27283543 | The Foxes return to the top flight after a 10-year absence having set a club record for league victories (31) and points collected (102) in a season.
Leicester finished top of the Championship, nine points clear of Burnley, who have also earned automatic promotion in second place.
The open-top bus route started on High Street and continued past Clock Tower.
It finished in Town Hall Square where around 6,000 fans had gathered to greet the team.
Mike McCarthy, from BBC Leicester, said: "The bus stopped at Gallowtree Gate. Leicester stopped. Time stopped.
"The entire of Leicester seems to have turned out to see its team."
One fan, who had waited more than two hours with his son to witness the parade, said: "I have been waiting 10 years since the last time we were promoted but this parade beats that.
"The crowds have been fantastic. It has been brilliant."
The parade was followed by a party at the King Power Stadium. | Thousands of people have lined the streets to mark Leicester City's promotion to the Premier League. |
38041654 | The 35th meeting between the pair will also be the first time the season finale has ended with the number one spot on the line.
Murray replaced Djokovic as number one earlier this month, and the Briton is on a 23-match winning streak.
"I'm really privileged to be a part of history on Sunday," said the Serb.
Djokovic has won the last four titles in London and will overtake Murray with another win.
He added: "We've known each other for so many years. This is maybe one of the biggest matches we will ever play, so let's enjoy it."
Murray said: "Sunday is the last day for a while, we get a break after that. I'll just give my best of what I've got. Hopefully it's enough."
BBC Radio 5 live tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Murray has spent nearly three and a half hours more on court than Djokovic this week, and twice set a record for the longest match in tournament history. So his renowned resilience, fitness and mental strength will be sorely tested in the final against an old foe who is starting to play with real conviction again.
The two have not met since June's French Open final, where Djokovic beat Murray for the 13th time in 15 matches. Since then, Murray has been by some margin the better player. He has won four titles in four different cities in the past six weeks: a fifth might just be considered his most remarkable triumph of the season.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Saturday's semi-final win over Milos Raonic brought Murray his best ever winning run of 23 matches, but it also came at a cost.
At a gruelling three hours and 38 minutes it set a tournament record, and came just four days after Murray spent three hours and 20 minutes on court with Kei Nishikori.
The Scot, 29, has spent a total of nine hours and 54 minutes on court during his four matches this week, compared to six hours and 31 minutes for Djokovic.
"I don't know how I'll feel on Sunday," said Murray, who headed to a nearby hotel rather than his Surrey home after the win over Raonic.
"The physical side, obviously the body is a bit sore after such a long match, but mentally it was tiring too."
Murray will at least hope to enjoy the same rapturous reception each time he has stepped on court this week, with crowds of 17,000 eager to salute the new number one.
"When you're out there competing, the atmosphere helps for sure," he said.
"Playing in front of a pretty packed crowd at this stage of the year definitely gives you an extra boost, helps you to keep pushing right to the end."
If Murray has been the leading force on the tour in the last six months, Djokovic has been utterly dominant at the O2 Arena for the last four years.
The 66-minute semi-final victory over Nishikori took his record to 22 wins in 23 matches at the O2, and he is going for a fifth straight season-ending title and sixth overall, to tie Roger Federer's record.
After beating Murray to win his first French Open title in June, the Serb suffered a slump in form, but he feels his best is not far away now.
"It's been going in the right direction," said Djokovic. "I'm very glad that I get to experience this feeling on the court.
"The last couple of matches have been pretty much flawless, and now we're coming up to the last match of the year that everyone anticipated and wanted."
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 24-10 and has won 13 of their last 15 matches, including victories in the finals of the Australian Open, Madrid Open and French Open this year.
However, Murray beat the Serb to win his first Italian Open title in May and surged past him in the rankings by winning his last four tournaments.
Speaking earlier in the week, three-time Finals champion John McEnroe told BBC Sport: "Novak still has a decided edge in the bigger matches and a much better head-to-head.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
"That would lead me to believe that if they walk on the court on Sunday in the finals, he'd have a real chance to get things right in his mind and finish the year world number one.
"But Murray has done a lot of really great things to get to this place, and has been playing the best overall the last six months, so if there was a time when he's ready to finally make this step, it would be a hell of a place to do it." | Andy Murray will face Novak Djokovic with the ATP World Tour Finals title and year-end number one ranking at stake on Sunday. |
34075569 | The US would "hold to account" leaders who breached the deal, and would support sanctions against them, said state department spokesman John Kirby.
The US did not recognise President Salva Kiir's reservations about the deal, he added.
He signed the deal on Wednesday. Rebel leader Riek Machar signed it last week.
Fighting between forces loyal to the two men over the last 20 months has forced more than 2.2 million people from their homes in South Sudan, which broke away from Sudan in 2011.
The deal envisages Mr Machar returning to the government as vice-president.
His dismissal from the post in 2013 was one of the main triggers of the civil war.
Mr Kirby said the US did not "recognise any separate reservations made about the agreement".
"To end the fighting we call on all parties to adhere to the permanent ceasefire within the next 72 hours and begin the process of implementing this agreement," he added.
Mr Kiir listed 16 reservations when he signed the deal in front of regional leaders in South Sudan's capital, Juba.
They included concerns over a power-sharing government, and control of the army.
Full PDF of agreement
Peace deal worth the wait?
Five obstacles to lasting peace
The US had proposed a UN arms embargo and more sanctions from 6 September unless the pact was signed by the 15-day deadline given to Mr Kiir last week.
At least seven ceasefires have previously been agreed and then shattered - sometimes within hours.
Fighting broke out in December 2013 after President Kiir accused his sacked deputy Mr Machar of plotting a coup.
Mr Machar denied the charges, but then mobilised a rebel force to fight the government. | The US has warned South Sudan's leaders not to violate the peace deal aimed at ending a brutal civil war in the world's youngest state. |
38378742 | However, it expects retail sales growth to slow down next year, as a result of the fall in sterling prompted by the Brexit vote in June.
The weaker pound makes imports more expensive and pushes up inflation.
Clothing saw particularly strong growth in sales volumes, while grocers had their best results since January.
This latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey covers the last week of November and the first two weeks of December and included the pre-Christmas discounting day, Black Friday on 25 November.
Hardware and DIY and internet retailers also reported strong growth. Wholesalers saw their strongest growth in volumes for nearly 18 months.
"It's encouraging to see retailers reporting another month of healthy sales growth leading up to the festive season, which rounds off a fairly solid quarter," said Ben Jones, CBI principal economist.
However, he added: "While we still expect to see decent growth in the near term, the pressures on retail activity are likely to increase during 2017, as the impact of sterling's depreciation feeds through.
"With higher inflation beginning to weigh on households' purchasing power, consumption patterns are likely to shift, creating winners and losers across the retail landscape."
Wholesalers reported the strongest growth in volumes for nearly 18 months in the year to December.
Last week's official retail sales figures showed volumes jumped by 5.9% in November compared with the same month last year as shoppers took advantage of Black Friday discounts.
But higher fuel costs meant the rise was not as strong as in October, when annual retail sales growth hit a 14-year high of 7.2%. | UK retail sales volumes rose at their fastest pace since September 2015 in the year to December, according to the employers' organisation the CBI. |
33020523 | The battery-free camera was modified so it could scavenge power from ambient wi-fi signals, store it and then use it to take photos.
The experiment was one of several by US researchers looking at ways to use wi-fi as a power source.
The team behind the project believes its techniques will be useful for powering the many devices expected to form the "internet of things".
The system, known as power-over-wi-fi, has been developed by PhD student Vamsi Talla and colleagues at the Sensor Systems Lab at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The team realised that the energy contained in ambient wi-fi signals that are now ubiquitous often came close to the operating voltages required by a variety of low power devices.
Unfortunately, because wi-fi signals are broadcast in bursts across different frequencies the required amount of energy was only available too intermittently to be useful.
To fix this, the research team modified standard wi-fi hotspots and routers to broadcast noise when a channel was not being used to send data. This meant the power of the wi-fi signals stayed constant and, though low, was high enough to power some components.
Adding the noise did little to slow data rates across hotspots, said the team.
The team used the power beaming system to run a temperature sensor and a small surveillance camera that both sat several metres away from a wi-fi hotspot.
The low-power camera gathered energy from wi-fi and stored it in a capacitor that prompted the camera to take a picture when it was charged. By leaching off the ambient radio signals, the camera gathered enough energy every 35 minutes to take a snap.
In a paper detailing their work, Mr Talla and colleagues said it had the potential to help power the small, low-power sensors and actuators that are expected to become common in homes and workplaces as part of the internet of things.
"The ability to deliver power wirelessly to a wide range of autonomous devices and sensors is hugely significant," said a story about the research in MIT's Technology Review. " Powi-fi could be the enabling technology that finally brings the internet of things to life." | Wi-fi signals have been used to beam power to a surveillance camera. |
38237763 | He is the only celebrity participant to be following the show to its new home.
Fellow judge Mary Berry and hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins left the show after the BBC lost the rights.
"The Bake Off won't change in the sense that the format will stay exactly the same, the tent will stay the same, [as will] the challenges," Hollywood said.
Speaking on the Christmas special of ITV's The Jonathan Ross Show, he said he had been given little warning about the channel switch.
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"It was between the production company and the BBC and they then moved to Channel 4 and obviously it came down to... my job was still there and I didn't want to lose my job," he said.
"I love doing what I do. We knew they were talking, there were negotiations going on.
"We had no idea that we were going to move until it actually happened."
In the interview, to be broadcast on Saturday, Hollywood said he would "make sure" the show stays the same.
"Ultimately, it comes down to when the bakers get in the tent next year, then it will be a special thing," he said.
"I'm really excited about it and I think it will do a great job, I'm going to make sure that we keep it the same."
Speaking about the backlash he received for following the show to Channel 4, Hollywood said: "All the guns were pointed at me."
But, he said, he has maintained a good relationship with his co-stars.
"The press like to cover the story that [Berry and I] have somehow fallen out. We'll always be mates, I was with her last weekend, we had such a giggle.
"Why would it, how could it [affect our relationship?]. She will always be my TV mother as well as Mel and Sue will be my sisters, we are like a dysfunctional family... I'll miss them."
Hollywood added he hopes to continue being a judge on Bake Off for as long as he can, but did not think his career would last as long as Berry's.
"I've got a family and I'm just coming to the end of my career I suppose. I'm 50-odd, I haven't got long left," he said.
"I'm not going to last like Mary, until I'm 81, but while it's here, I will carry on doing my job as a judge on The Great British Bake Off."
Love Productions, which makes Bake Off, has already started its search for contestants for the next series of the baking contest.
Asked about the new judging line-up for the show when it moves to Channel 4, Holly wood said: "There are a few names in the hat, yes."
The original judges and presenters will be seen together later this month when two Christmas specials are aired on the BBC. | Paul Hollywood has vowed that the format of The Great British Bake Off will "stay exactly the same" when it moves to Channel 4. |
34412501 | One study indicates that some Samsung TVs nearly halve their power consumption when a standardised test is carried out.
Another accuses a different unnamed manufacturer of adjusting the brightness of its sets when they "recognise" the test film involved.
Samsung has denied any wrongdoing.
It acknowledged that it used software that altered its televisions' performance during tests, but said this was the effect of a general energy efficiency feature that came into effect during normal use and had nothing to do with the testing process.
However, one environmental campaign group has likened the accusations to the Volkswagen diesel scandal, in which the German car firm admitted to programming its cars to deliberately cheat emissions tests.
Televisions' energy efficiency ratings are based on the power they use while screening a 10-minute video, which contains a mix of fast and slow-moving content shown at different brightness levels.
Manufacturers run the test themselves and then file the results. Some of these are then double-checked by various countries' energy regulatory bodies.
The study involving Samsung was carried out by ComplianTV, a consortium that represents various non-governmental organisations including the UK's Energy Saving Trust (EST). News of the study was first reported by the Guardian newspaper.
ComplianTV's researchers found that the power demands of one of the South Korean firm's LCD TVs dropped from 70 watts to about 39 watts within a minute of the test video starting.
"That's not normal, it's an anomaly," explained Richard Kay, an EST spokesman.
But he added: "We don't have any evidence to back up the accusation that Samsung has a technology to recognise when it is tested."
Samsung said it "firmly rejected" suggestions that it had designed its TV settings to deliberately produce misleading power performance results.
But it acknowledged that "motion lighting" - a feature introduced in 2011 that controls TV screens' backlights - was causing the discrepancy.
"It is a standard out-of-the-box feature, which is switched on when the customer takes delivery of their TV, and remains on whenever the customer chooses to watch their TV in standard viewing mode," it said in a blog.
"It is a default setting which works both in the lab and at home; delivering energy savings and helping us to reduce our environmental impact."
The second study was carried out by the Swedish Energy Agency, which wrote to the European Commission to alert it of its findings in January.
The agency has not disclosed which company's televisions it tested.
But the BBC understands that sets belonging to a single manufacturer that was not Samsung were judged to "clearly recognise" the test film.
"These displays immediately lower their energy use by adjusting the brightness of the display when the standard film is being run," the report concluded.
"This is a way of avoiding the market surveillance authorities and should be addressed by the Commission."
The European Commission said it now planned to explore the two sets of findings.
"We will follow up both of them," Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, spokeswoman for climate action and energy, told the BBC.
"We will first of all verify if the problem has occurred. If it has we will estimate at what scale and whether the use of alleged defeat devices results in products being tested as compliant when they are in fact not.
"So, we therefore cannot yet judge the extent of the problem."
She stressed that at this stage the Commission had not launched a formal investigation.
One campaign group highlighted that UK regulators had raised concerns about some TVs adjusting their power-use during tests "to get a better energy label ranking" as far back as 2011.
"We've got government agencies appearing to find gadgets that detect test conditions, which smacks of the VW case," said Jack Hunter from the European Environmental Bureau.
"We're entering a brave new world of sophisticated, connected technology, which could be a great thing, but is also open to abuse.
"It's vital that government officials have the resources and a bullish attitude to ensure that everyone is playing by the rules." | The European Commission says it is "following up" two reports that raise concerns that software used in TVs may be skewing their energy rating scores. |
24674537 | A Met Office amber alert for high winds in southern Wales, southern England, much of the Midlands, the East, and London and the South East is in place.
There is concern about possible heavy rain, falling trees, building damage and gusts of up to 80 mph (130 kph), or possibly higher on exposed coasts.
The Met Office said the predicted storm was not one "you would see every year".
It says 20-40mm (0.80-1.6 ins) of rain might fall within a period of six to nine hours across all areas.
A yellow alert warning of heavy rain that could lead to surface water flooding and disruption is in place for all areas, apart from London and the east of England.
This is the lowest level of the three warnings issued by the Met Office and advises people to "be aware".
An amber alert, advising people to "be prepared" for potentially hazardous conditions, is one level up from this.
The Environment Agency has warned of the possibility of surface water flooding on Monday but currently assesses it as a "low risk".
A spokesman added: "EA teams are out working to minimise river flood risk, clearing debris from streams and unblocking culverts. We will continue to closely monitor the situation ready to issue flood warnings if needed. We are supporting local authorities who will respond to any reports of surface water flooding.
"Seafronts, quaysides and jetties should be avoided due to the risk of overtopping by waves and wind blown shingle."
BBC Weather presenter Stav Danaos says the storm is contained in an area of low pressure in the Atlantic which developed off the east coast of the US.
It is currently "hurtling along" on the back of a strong jet stream and is expected to deepen and strengthen through Sunday as it approaches the UK, he says.
The strongest winds are expected on the storm's southern and western flanks.
In other developments:
The Met Office says the public should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures, bringing disruption to transport and power supplies.
It says the storm is expected to run across the country in a north-easterly direction but there is still some doubt about the "timing, intensity and track of the low".
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Darron Burness, head of the AA's flood rescue team, said: "Strong wind and torrential rain is an unpredictable and hazardous combination, which can be quite overwhelming when you're driving.
"There's likely to be tree and other debris on the roads as well as potential flooding, so it's very important to keep your speed down and drive with great care."
The Met Office is predicting gusts in some areas could be similar in strength to storms in March 2008, January 2007, October 2000 and January 1990.
Wind speeds of 115 mph were recorded during the so-called Great Storm of October 1987.
Forecaster Michael Fish, who famously reassured viewers that there was not "a hurricane" on the way in 1987, predicted that the weather over the coming days would not rival the Great Storm.
He told the BBC News Channel: "Present thoughts are there are three storms it's comparable to - March 2008, January 2007 and October 2000.
"They certainly weren't as powerful as the 1987 storm."
He said computers had made it much easier for forecasters to accurately predict weather patterns and warn people to take precautions before storms hit.
Jill Attenborough, of the Woodland Trust, said 15 million UK trees fell in 1987 and warned more were now "exposed" because of a reduction to woodland areas for the building of roads, railways and housing.
She said part of the reason so many trees fell was that many were in "full leaf" at that time, catching "the wind like a sail", and the same risk applied to the forecast storm.
Ms Attenborough urged people to use "common sense" and stay away from woodland in high winds.
Steve Scott, from the Forestry Commission, said the organisation now designed its woodlands with more open space.
He added: "The truth is, if the wind blows sufficiently strongly, it will blow trees down and so our preparedness is about how we deal with the aftermath."
There is more information about the forecasts for Sunday and Monday on the BBC Weather, Met Office and Environment Agency websites. See BBC Travel News for up to date travel information and the Highways Agency and Traffic Wales websites for details about road conditions. BBC Local has information from your area. | Weather forecasters are warning of stormy conditions in England and Wales on Sunday night and Monday. |
30327777 | The analysis showed being obese at a young age was more damaging to health and life expectancy.
The team, at McGill University in Canada, said heart problems and type 2 diabetes were major sources of disability and death.
Experts said people were frequently "ignorant" of the consequences of obesity.
The health problems caused by obesity are well known.
The report, in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, used a computer model to take those risks and calculate the impact of weight on life expectancy throughout life.
In comparison with 20 to 39-year-olds with a healthy weight, severely obese men of the same age lost 8.4 years of life and women lost 6.1.
Men also spent 18.8 more years living in poor health while women spent 19.1 in that state.
Moving up an age group to those in the forties and fifties, men lost 3.7 years and women 5.3 years to obesity.
Men and women in their sixties and seventies lost just one year of life to obesity, but still faced seven years in ill health.
Prof Steven Grover said: "Our computer modelling study shows that obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, and diabetes that will, on average, dramatically reduce an individual's life expectancy.
"The pattern is clear. The more an individual weighs and the younger their age, the greater the effect on their health, as they have many years ahead of them during which the increased health risks associated with obesity can negatively impact their lives."
Responding to the findings, Barbara Dinsdale, lifestyle manager for the charity Heart Research UK, said: "How many more wake-up calls do we need?
"This research study yet again supports the clear message that by becoming obese you not only take years off your life, but also life off your years in terms of experiencing more years in poor health rather than enjoying a happy, active and productive life."
"Whatever size you are, small, manageable but sustainable changes are the way forward for a happier, healthier and longer life, and reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes."
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: "People persist in thinking that fat is just fat and appear ignorant of the many diseases that a high body mass index triggers.
"If they were told that they could lose a leg or go blind from diabetes or develop life-threatening complications from other similar diseases, I am sure they would think hard and twice before piling on the pounds." | Being severely obese can knock up to eight years off your life and cause decades of ill health, a report says. |
36874557 | Donald's unbeaten 44 helped Glamorgan beat Somerset on Friday to seal their place in the quarter-finals.
The 19-year-old, who scored the joint-fastest first-class double-century in his previous outing, hopes the Welsh county can reach the T20 finals day for the first time since 2004.
"We're just trying to carry all this momentum," Donald told BBC Radio Wales.
"We had a couple of bad games but we parked that behind us, learnt from them and we're just on a roll.
"It's difficult tailing off in the last couple of games like we did but we bounced back and that's what a quality team does. Hopefully we can carry it right through."
Glamorgan's win against Somerset followed T20 defeats against Hampshire and Gloucestershire, having lost only one of their previous nine matches in this year's competition.
Donald has been in the limelight after his brilliant innings of 234 during Glamorgan's County Championship victory over Derbyshire.
He took just 123 balls to reach 200 - equalling Ravi Shastri's record - and brought up his 100, 150 and 200 with sixes.
Donald's knock of 44 not out against Somerset came off just 29 balls.
"It's nice to be at the centre of attention - it's always good for the ego," he said of his double-ton against Derbyshire.
"But it's nice just to be contributing and winning games for Glamorgan.
"I was really pleased with how I played [against Somerset] to see us home. That was one of my better knocks in the scheme of things." | Aneurin Donald says Glamorgan are "on a roll" and targeting the T20 Blast final after reaching the last eight. |
33954271 | Sometimes political symbolism is impossible to miss.
For much of this US presidential campaign, the New York real estate mogul turned presidential aspirant has seemed to operate at a different altitude from traditional politicians.
Mrs Clinton has been beset by questions about the propriety of her use of a private email server while secretary of state, for instance, and the story has taken a toll on her standing in the polls.
Mr Trump's candidacy, on the other hand, defies gravity. Despite controversial comments and a history of inconsistency on hot-button political issues - flaws that would sink an ordinary candidate - he continues to thrive, fuelled by a mix of showman's pizzazz and an apparent immunity to outrage from the political and media establishment.
That flamboyant air was on full display on Saturday, as Mr Trump's blue helicopter, emblazoned with his name in big white letters, swooped down onto a baseball field parking lot about half a mile away from the fairgrounds.
Trump popped out, sporting his now trademark "Make America Great Again" hat, and addressed a gathering of several dozen reporters, volunteers and families with children who were drawn to the field with promises of free rides on the Trump-copter.
"I love children. I love Iowa," he said to cheers.
From there it didn't take long for the candidate to display the blunderbuss approach he takes to political rhetoric.
Mrs Clinton has "big problems" when it comes to the email story, he said. "The facts aren't looking good for her right now."
Jeb Bush, who visited the fairgrounds the previous day, was next to be criticised. His attempts earlier in the week to justify the Iraq War were "incredible", Trump said. "It can't be justified."
His calls for the US to have "skin in the game" in Iraq "was one of the dumbest statements I've ever heard".
"The Iraqi officials are a bunch of crooks, if there even is an Iraq, which I don't think there is," he continued.
However, perhaps Mr Trump's most notable line of criticism is also the unlikeliest. As he did during the Republican debate just over a week ago, the billionaire issues a pox-on-both-houses condemnation of big-money involvement in political campaigns.
Mr Trump has pledged to finance his entire campaign using his own money, so he can "do the right thing for America" when he's president.
"I know how the system works better than anybody," he said, adding that he was "one of the greats" at buying political influence.
He calls wealthy campaign donors "sophisticated killers". When they give money to Mr Bush, he says, "they have him just like a puppet, he'll do whatever they want".
Mr Trump is later asked whether he's worried that by constantly boasting of his wealth he'll be painted as an out-of-touch one-percenter, the way Republican nominee Mitt Romney was in 2012.
Mr Romney "wasn't that rich," was Trump's dismissive reply.
For Mr Trump's supporters, his vast wealth - estimated at several billion dollars - is a feature not a flaw. It gives him the freedom to say and act as he pleases.
"Trump adds a new dynamic to the campaign," says Sarah Bowman, who is waiting with her husband and their four children - one sporting a Trump T-shirt and another clutching a small toy helicopter - for Mr Trump's arrival at the ball field.
"He's saying things that people who are too afraid to be politically incorrect aren't saying."
About halfway between the field and the fairgrounds, Betty Tully was also eagerly anticipating Mr Trump's arrival. She had been outside all morning, holding a pink sign offering fairgoers the chance to park in her yard for $5.
When she heard that Mr Trump might pass by her lot on the way to the fair, she wrote: "Trump we love you" on the other side of the sign.
"I'll probably have a heart attack or something if he stops," she said.
"What he thinks and what he says, I love him," she continued. "He's outspoken. Other candidates wouldn't tell you how it is, but he does."
When Mr Trump eventually did make it to the fairgrounds, he was mobbed by the crowd. Hundreds packed into the building that houses the famed Iowa butter cow - a life-sized bovine sculpture made of 600lb (272kg) of butter - where Mr Trump was rumoured to be heading.
Instead, the crowd forces him to stay outside and he buys a box of the same stick-skewered pork chops that Mrs Clinton had sampled just over an hour before.
Inside the pavilion, Vern Engel - who had travelled with his wife from Kansas City, Missouri, to see Mr Trump - is disappointed. He stands by his candidate, however.
"He can do very well for the economy, and he's a very successful guy," he says. "The other politicians are controlled by their handlers. He's not."
Of course Mr Trump isn't the only candidate using fiery rhetoric to denounce what he sees as the scourge of money on political campaigns.
On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders - the Vermont senator who has generated enthusiasm on the populist left and set tongues wagging when he placed ahead of Mrs Clinton in a recent New Hampshire poll - regularly condemns what he views as the undue influence of the "billionaire class" on US politics.
As Mr Sanders was speaking to a crowd of around 1,000, Mr Trump's helicopter passed overhead, taking one of the more prominent members of that billionaire class back to his private jet at the Des Moines airport.
Upon hearing the helicopter rotors, the Vermont senator paused from his speech, looked up and quipped that he left his helicopter at home - although he promised to give children a ride in his rental car if they were interested.
The audience laughed, but for Republicans Mr Trump's presidential bid is no joke. He's pouring resources into Iowa - a sign that he's serious about winning the first-in-the-nation caucuses in February.
"You cannot swing a dead cat in Iowa and not hit a Trump person," a director for a competing campaign told The Washington Post.
Mr Trump may be condemning the outsized influence of cash donations on US campaigns, but he's busy showing just what kind of attention money can buy, helicopter rides and all. | While embattled Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton sampled grilled pork chop on a stick and pressed the flesh with potential voters at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump circled overhead in a $7m (£4.5m) helicopter - one of three he owns. |
32424631 | Surveyors reported a "worrying decline" in local schools, hospitals and roads contracts due to public spending cuts.
But they said Northern Ireland's building industry has seen an overall increase in workloads over the period.
The survey was carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Belfast law firm, Tughans.
They found that despite the overall increase in workload levels from 1 January to 31 March, Northern Ireland's construction industry was still lagging behind other UK regions.
Surveyors also continued to report a construction skills shortage within the Northern Ireland workforce.
RICS Northern Ireland director, Ben Collins, said that the "small uplift" in overall construction workloads had been driven by the private sector, including private house building and private commercial activity.
"When it comes to public sector work, though, surveyors are reporting a worrying decline," he said.
"We understand that public money is finite and becoming more scarce. But we would encourage the politicians to recognise the paramount importance of investing in infrastructure and to prioritise funding capital expenditure where possible."
Michael McCord from Tughans Solicitors, said: "It continues to be the case that a sizeable amount of the work that local construction businesses are doing is in the English and Scottish markets.
"What we really want to see is the local construction sector experiencing sustained growth within Northern Ireland itself as well, and infrastructure activity is a very important element of this." | Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK where public sector construction work declined in the first three months of this year, a survey has suggested. |
33306732 | G-Joey, which has a fan club, flew from Southampton to Alderney and then to Guernsey, arriving 10 minutes late at 19:40 BST after celebrations en route.
The Trislanders, operated by airline Aurigny, are due to be phased out next year, and replaced by Dornier 228s.
Pilot David Rice described the atmosphere on the final flight as "strange" and "interesting".
Capt Rice, flight operations director, said in Alderney "people were quite chatty on the aircraft and all waving as we taxied out".
"We landed in Guernsey, had the water salute, and as we taxied round and eventually parked on stand, I shut the engine down and the whole aircraft was just silence - it's really quite surreal," he said.
"I did notice several of [the passengers] just sort of patting Joey on the nose before they went off."
Susie Gallienne, author of the book Joey and the Penguins, has flown about 1,500 times on Trislanders commuting to Alderney once a week.
She said it was "the end of a bit of an era - it's a little bit sad".
Capt Rice said books about the plane with the registration G-Joey were first released in 1982.
He said: "The red nose was done back in 1988 when the BBC did their very first Comic Relief... later that year our engineers decided to paint the rest of the face.
"It's just grown since then with Joey flights, Joey certificates, Joey club and for the last few weeks we've had people coming from all over... to come and do a flight before he retires."
Capt Rice said: "I really wanted to do this last flight myself. I've been flying Joey and the other Trislanders for over 26 years and you do get emotionally attached."
It's not yet clear what the future holds for the little yellow plane - but more than 5,300 Facebook users hope for a "fitting place to rest". | An aircraft that has served the Channel Islands for nearly 40 years completed its final flight on Sunday. |
35731325 | "They kept us in detention for three days and took our fingerprints. Then they released us, so we tried again."
Iman and her family had just disembarked from a Greek coastguard vessel, en route (they hope) from Syria to Germany.
As winter turns into spring, the coastguard has begun picking up hundreds of refugees and migrants every day, as soon as their flimsy rubber boats enter Greek territorial waters.
It marks a change in policy. Previously the coastguard would intervene only if migrants were clearly in danger, or boats were about to sink.
It is one sign that the management of the migration crisis in the Greek islands is, gradually, becoming more organised.
Have EU promises been kept?
Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?
Desperate migrants plead to escape
But as EU leaders prepare to hold a summit meeting with Turkey, there is no evidence on Lesbos that the number of arrivals is about to fall.
"We haven't seen any significant changes in the attitude of the Turkish coastguard - we haven't seen more boats patrolling the area from their side," said Lt Comm Antonis Sofiadellis.
"It's a big concern for us," he added, "and if nothing changes, I think the flows will increase again."
That is one of the reasons why the political focus is beginning to shift, from a policy of prevention to a policy of swift return.
Asked on Friday if the plan was to send back all non-Syrians to Turkey in a systematic fashion, the EU's Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopolous said: "This is one of the main goals we have to achieve.
"The ones who come over to Europe and are in need of international protection will have it. The others will have to be returned," he said.
If that means Iraqis and Afghans are to be included, roughly half the arrivals so far this year would no longer be eligible to stay in Greece at all.
That would represent a much tougher European policy, as governments across the continent struggle to come to terms with the scale of the migration crisis.
But agreeing such an ambitious repatriation policy may be a lot easier than implementing it.
At every step, Turkey's full co-operation will be essential.
The Turkish authorities say they have already prevented some 24,000 migrants from leaving the country illegally in the first six weeks of this year.
But even if they are taken into custody, as Iman and her family were, most will simply try to cross the Aegean again as soon as they are released.
So in order to ease the mounting strains on the system, a large-scale readmissions policy needs to be part of a much broader package.
In particular, EU leaders are being urged to speed up the relocation to other parts of the Union of refugees who have already arrived in Greece.
Such a policy is already in place on paper. But it has barely got off the ground.
Countries like Hungary and Slovakia are in open revolt against a mandatory measure that was agreed last year under EU voting rules.
It is not the only issue that could make this summit a fractious affair.
The bottleneck in Greece, caused by border restrictions further north in the Balkans, has already provoked some sharp public exchanges. Thousands of refugees and migrants are stranded.
EU leaders will also have to wrestle with one chicken-and-egg conundrum in particular.
If the number of arrivals on the Greek islands were to fall significantly, Germany and others may be prepared over time to resettle hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees directly from camps in Turkey.
But the Turkish authorities appear to want to see evidence that the resettlement programme really will happen, before they commit extra resources to take on the smugglers in remote areas of the Aegean coast.
It is a time for hard bargains. But that time is running short. | "The first time we tried to cross the sea, our engine failed," Iman said, "and the Turkish authorities took us back to Turkey. |
34582299 | But, a water tower, the site of a World War Two anti-aircraft gun and the home of a shrunken head collector are three which have been added.
Historic England (HE), formerly English Heritage, compiles the annual UK-wide list and award funding for repairs.
Its figures show that 43% of Yorkshire sites have been removed from the register, up from a target of 25%.
Tammy Whitaker, of HE, said that was an "amazing achievement" for the county.
Across England, 604 sites were removed and 324 were added. Ms Whitaker said in Yorkshire 36 sites were removed and 19 added.
Sheffield's non-conformist chapel at the General Cemetery was classed as no longer at risk.
"The very things that make our region special are the things most at risk," she said. "If they're lost, then a sense of that region is lost too."
Bramham Biggin, an 18th-century manor house in Leeds, Wressle Castle in East Yorkshire which was once owned by Henry VIII, the 14th-century Ayton Castle near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, and Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire have all been removed from Historic England's list.
The body awards and organises tens of thousands of pounds in grants.
Walkington anti-aircraft gun site, added to the register this year, was built in 1941 in a chain of East Coast defences to protect Hull and Yorkshire from air raids.
Places in West Yorkshire also off the at-risk list, include Blacker Hall in Wakefield, Dalton Mills in Keighley and Illingworth Gaol.
In East Yorkshire, Flamborough Castle with its prominent chalk ruins has been offered an HE grant.
In North Yorkshire, a management scheme is planned for the Howardian Hills while a six-year scheme to repair sites on the North York Moors National Park has just ended. Proposals to restore Whorlton Castle's gatehouse have collapsed. | Rotherham's oldest secular building, a former pub, has been removed from a list of Yorkshire buildings "at risk". |
33569565 | It's a fair challenge. What is the point of spending taxpayers' money on a venture to Pluto or some other frigid corner of the cosmos?
Or having some of our greatest brains devoted to studying alien rock and ice when they could be working on problems much closer to home?
And nobody should duck the question. So here goes: should journalists like me, along with camera crews, even cover an event like the New Horizons mission?
This was first brought home to me during the European Space Agency's dramatic touchdown on a comet last November.
I thought the achievement was astounding and the excitement at the time was infectious. It even led to my first on-air hug.
But in the middle of it all, as my Twitter feed was in overdrive, I spotted a message from someone who was less than impressed. How would the knowledge gained from the venture, I was asked, benefit mankind?
And something similar happened a few days ago at the very moment that the first signals confirmed that the Pluto flypast had worked.
One person demanded to know why the money spent on the spacecraft had not been used to help hungry people here on Earth. Another suggested that the mission left him as cold as Pluto itself.
So what is the justification for making an effort to explore space?
Back in the Cold War, there was the obvious motive for the United States and the old Soviet Union of demonstrating technological prowess.
But since then the push to investigate the Solar System has been much more about basic research.
From conversations with several of the mission scientists in the past few days, it's clear there's a burning desire to explain things that have remained mysterious until now.
Some of these are fundamental - like how the planets formed or how the moons were created or why the solar system has such a bizarre outer zone inhabited by Pluto.
Others' questions are more technical such as what processes are under way on Pluto's surface to keep smoothing over the craters left by meteorites or whether there's enough internal warmth to produce liquid water.
And for many people outside the field of planetary science, these issues might well be beguiling too - after all, they are essentially about the workings of our own neighbourhood in space.
The driver of the shuttle bus running between the Pluto press centre and the car park was among those fascinated by the mission - and the fact that after nine and half years of travel the New Horizons spacecraft arrived at its rendezvous 72 seconds early. To him, the feat was amazing in its own right.
But others still shrug their shoulders and ask what the fuss is about.
So when the "why bother?" question was put to me on air a few days ago, I found myself talking about our innate desire to explore.
I argued that our species has an instinctive curiosity. The same drive that urges us to climb to the brow of a hill in order to look over it also inspires a child to turn the next page.
And in the case of the chief scientist on the Pluto Mission, Alan Stern, it led him to repeatedly seek funding for his spacecraft when year after year he was rejected.
So, I wondered, what would we have thought if Christopher Columbus or Captain Cook had spotted an unmapped coastline but turned away with a look of indifference and had not bothered to land?
To them, the lure of exotic new sights and undiscovered realms proved overwhelming. And nothing has changed.
The long trek to the edge of the Solar System paid off by producing staggering glimpses of alien worlds. When we all first saw the giant mountains of ice on Pluto and vast canyons on Charon, it took the breath away. And the images caught the imagination around the world.
The most powerful answer to the question "why bother?" may be the simplest: the thrill of witnessing discovery is its own reward.
Follow David on Twitter. | During a week of revelations about the strange worlds at the edge of the solar system, I repeatedly heard a question that often comes up about space: "why bother?" |
35866245 | The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' warning follows a review of more than 550,000 births.
It found "substantial variation" in practice between maternity units, and said this may suggest not all women get the best possible care.
Ministers said the NHS was a safe place to give birth but the report would help it improve.
The review - carried out with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - looked at official data on births in 2013-14, excluding non-standard deliveries such as twins, triplets and pre-term babies.
It highlighted different rates of emergency caesarian sections, instrumental deliveries and episiotomies, which is when the area between the vagina and anus is cut.
In some maternity units 8% of mothers needed emergency c-sections, but in others the figure was 15%.
Just under one in five first-time mothers needed help with instruments while giving birth naturally in some units - but in other units this figure rose to almost three in 10.
The number of women who needed an episiotomy ranged from 29% to 44%.
RCOG president Dr David Richmond said: "We are concerned about the amount of variation identified in this report.
"Although the exact causes are difficult to establish, it is paramount that maternity units have information about their services, as well as the ability to compare themselves to the national average and to their peers."
To help with that, the college has collated the results on an interactive website.
Elizabeth Duff of the National Childbirth Trust said: "Pregnant women should not have to endure a postcode lottery, and it is unacceptable these variations in maternity care are reported year after year.
"We urge NHS trusts to use this data to examine their practices and ensure the best possible outcomes for mothers and babies."
Health minister Ben Gummer said: "Mothers and their babies deserve the very highest standards of care regardless of where they live.
"The NHS is already a safe place to give birth and by being open and honest about variations in care, RCOG's report will help the NHS to improve." | The variation in care women get when giving birth in hospital in England is concerning, experts say. |
39133837 | Theresa Stratton, 39, stole £130 from the wallet of 74-year-old David Skerritt at his home in Rustington, West Sussex.
She had denied theft, claiming she had borrowed the money with his permission.
Stratton, of Dorset Close, Littlehampton, is due to be sentenced at Chichester Crown Court on 10 March.
Live: More on this story and other news from Sussex
Following a trial at the same court, Judge Christopher Parker QC warned her she would "almost certainly" face a prison sentence, saying there had been a "high degree of betrayal of trust".
Widower Mr Skerritt, who had Parkinson's Disease and has since died, lived alone in his bungalow with carers visiting daily.
Stratton, who was employed by Caremark, first visited him in August 2015.
The trial heard how she helped him to the bedroom on her second visit to use a commode, and then went to his lounge where she was recorded on CCTV taking the money from his wallet.
Giving evidence, Stratton said she had mentioned to Mr Skerritt she had lost her bank card and needed petrol.
She claimed he had offered to lend her £10, which she took from his wallet with the intention of paying back on her next visit.
Speaking after the verdict Mr Skerritt's daughter, Joanne Martinez, said she was very relieved.
"Dad had carers for seven years and the cameras were because of his Parkinson's and his falls and to work out where he could be struggling in the home," she said.
"It wasn't to catch thieves... so I could not believe what she was doing."
Ms Martinez added her father had not felt safe in his own home afterwards and his health "went downhill".
In a statement, Caremark said the care and wellbeing of its clients was paramount.
"All our staff are vetted, DBS checked and trained in order to safeguard the vulnerable people we care for and therefore this incident of theft by one of our care workers is highly regrettable.
"As soon as the theft was discovered we dismissed Ms Stratton." | A care worker has been found guilty of stealing money from a pensioner after the theft was captured on a CCTV camera installed by his family. |
37115217 | Under the plans, the former school will become home to Scotland's only independent music school, St Mary's Music School.
The building at the bottom of Calton Hill was designed by Scottish architect Thomas Hamilton in 1825.
Councillors unanimously approved the plans, submitted by the Royal High School Preservation Trust.
A report by council planners said the music school would bring the building, which is on the Buildings at Risk Register, back into long-term use.
Trust chairman William Gray Muir said: "The former Royal High School is pivotal to Edinburgh's World Heritage status and our plans are designed to celebrate, conserve and enhance the site for the people of Edinburgh.
"By making it home to St Mary's Music School we also hope to reinforce musical education at the heart of the city's cultural heritage.
"We are delighted that our proposals have received unanimous approval, with the City of Edinburgh Council granting us a special, extended seven-year time-scale for planning and listed building consent."
He added: "This is a wonderful opportunity to transform a building at risk into a dynamic asset for students, residents, visitors to the city, educational and cultural organisations and the creative sector as a whole."
Dr Kenneth Taylor, head teacher at St Mary's Music School, currently based in Edinburgh's Grosvenor Crescent, added: "A move to the Royal High School under the trust's plans would enable St Mary's Music School to have the performance space we have always aspired to.
"It will enable us to bring music lovers into the school and greatly expand our outreach activities."
Plans to turn the building into a luxury hotel were rejected in December.
The Old Royal High School was vacated in 1968 when the school moved to Barnton.
During the 1970s it was proposed as the site to house a devolved Scottish Assembly.
However, the 1979 devolution referendum did not result in an assembly and when the Scottish Parliament was finally set up in 1999 a new site was chosen. | Plans to turn the A-listed Old Royal High School building in Edinburgh into a music school have been approved. |
40351998 | Christopher Tester, 37, from Torquay, was shot during a robbery at his parents' restaurant in Antigua.
He was wounded on Christmas Day while trying to "shield his mother", and campaigners raised more than £103,000 to fly him to Devon for treatment.
Mr Tester needed an operation on his skull and is now blind.
For more on the shooting, and other stories across Devon and Cornwall.
After the shooting Mr Tester was in an induced coma at Mount St John Hospital on the Caribbean island before being brought to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
He returned home on his birthday at the end of February, and his parents Tony and Gill said additional money was raised to adapt his home to make it comfortable.
He is now said to be enjoying guitar lessons, playing the ukulele, walking, swimming and spinning, despite "struggling to come to terms with his blindness", according to his parents.
In an update on his appeal website, his parents said it had been a "very trying time" for him since his return to the UK in January and he was in "a lot of pain" after surgery.
After being transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Plymouth, a CT scan revealed Mr Tester had an "air leak" in his skull, requiring a seven-hour operation to avoid a brain infection, they said.
Mr and Mrs Tester said they were "truly grateful" to the 1,728 fundraisers who made their son's journey home possible. | The family of a man whose life was saved by a fundraising campaign say he is "struggling", six months after he was shot in the head. |
38249308 | Photographer Joanne Coates has for three years been recording the lives of those working in the fishing industry in Scotland, capturing the salt-drenched men who spend time at sea.
For Coates, raised in a rural area of northern England, these photographs are a continuation of childhood trips to the sea.
Every Sunday she was taken with her brother to Scarborough, Whitby and Bridlington, giving her a glimpse of her future subjects.
"Rubber boots here, nets there, catching snippets of seafarers' conversations," says Coates.
"The frayed jumpers, the big smiles. I can't explain the connection, but it was there."
These pictures show a world of hard labour and long days, grubby overalls and grey skies.
It is a treacherous business.
More lives were lost at sea in the first six months of 2016 than in the whole of the previous year.
The Fishermen's Mission charity claims that an average of 15 fishermen a year are killed or seriously injured each year.
In Orkney, where Coates took these images, fishing is a way of life for many of the men.
She captures the inshore fishermen of the Orkney Fishermen's Society, a cooperative established in 1953. with brown crab and lobster as its main catch.
This association works closely with researchers to maintain a sustainable fishing ground, with the area also being home to Europe's largest lobster hatchery, which releases over 100,000 lobsters annually.
Coates' atmospheric photographs trace the everyday lives of these men, as they navigate their way through an uncertain future. | All photographs by Joanne Coates |
37118850 | John O'Neill said restrictions over his use of communications devices - another condition of his Sexual Risk Order (SRO) - had restricted his ability to work and claim benefits.
A court will decide on Friday whether the interim order is to be extended. Mr O'Neill was cleared of rape last year.
North Yorkshire Police said it was satisfied the order was proportionate.
The Department for Work and Pensions has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Mr O'Neill, 45, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme that when he contacted Universal Credit to inform them of a change in his circumstances, he was told the SRO's restrictions meant he could no longer meet the criteria for claiming unemployment benefits.
This was because, he said, the SRO states he must be able to make any communications device he uses, such as computers or telephones, available to police.
This prevented him for applying for jobs in which he would be required to use an office computer or telephone.
He said, although he was prepared to do manual labour, he had been told he could not claim benefits because he was not making himself available for all work.
Mr O'Neill claims he has also been told that, as he is no longer eligible for Universal Credit, he cannot receive legal aid.
He said this had forced him to represent himself in court.
He said the conditions of the order were "incredibly broad and extreme" and went "far away from the Home Office guidelines".
The police applied for the order in part after the judge at Mr O'Neill's rape trial - at which he was cleared - called him "dangerous". The father-of-two has denied this and said the police had misinterpreted the judge's words.
He said he had an interest in sado-masochism and used to visit a fetish club.
The SRO requires Mr O'Neill to disclose any planned sexual activity to the police or face up to five years in prison.
He is currently living rough on the outskirts of York, sleeping in a tent.
He said he was homeless four years ago, but had "thought all of [those problems] were behind me".
"There's enough to live, enough to survive," he said, referring to his living arrangements, but added: "Obviously the circumstances are far less than ideal."
Mr O'Neill told the BBC in July that he had lost contact with his children since the order was imposed.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement it "will only make an application to the court for a Sexual Risk Order in circumstances where it is considered necessary to do so to protect the public from the risk of sexual harm".
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays from 09:00-11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel. | A man who must notify police 24 hours before he has sex has said he is sleeping rough in a wood near York. |
32372501 | Malusi Gigaba issued a warning to those responsible, saying that they would be subject to "the full might of the law".
At least six people have been killed in the past two weeks.
Armed groups have targeted shops run by African immigrants, accusing them of taking jobs from locals.
Thousands of foreigners have fled their homes to shelter in makeshift camps, and neighbouring Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique have announced plans to evacuate citizens.
Speaking during a news conference, Mr Gigaba said 307 people were arrested in connection with the violence.
"Everything is being done to restore peace and order," he said. "The government will enforce the laws of the country and will not hesitate to act speedily and decisively.
"We also want to issue a stern warning to those who lend themselves to acts of public violence: We will find you, and you will be dealt with to the full might of the law."
In Durban on Saturday, President Jacob Zuma told a group of people displaced by the violence that the unrest went against South African values and that he would bring it to an end, but he was jeered by some in the crowd who accused him of acting too slowly.
Migrants, mostly from other African states and Asia, have moved to South Africa in large numbers since white-minority rule ended in 1994. Many South Africans accuse them of taking jobs in a country where the unemployment rate is 24%.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has been accused of fuelling the attacks by saying that foreigners should "go back to their countries". However, he says his comments were distorted.
Official data suggests there are about two million foreign nationals in South Africa, about 4% of the total population. But some estimates put the number of immigrants at five million. | More than 300 people have been arrested in South Africa in connection with a wave of violence against immigrants from other parts of Africa, the minister of home affairs says. |
40861459 | The freehold and trading rights of Saundersfoot beach in Pembrokeshire have been put on the market for £250,000 by owner Adrian Alford, who wants to pursue other interests.
The two acre (0.8 hectare) plot comes with the right to sell ice creams and rent water sports equipment.
Mr Alford, who has run his family beach business for 10 years, said it was a "beautiful place to work".
Estate agent RK Lucas & Son said the beach, part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in west Wales and has a blue flag status for its high environmental quality.
Mr Alford said: "It is such a beautiful place to work, absolutely stunning. We are on Carmarthen Bay and face east so we get beautiful sunrises.
"You come down first thing in the morning when there is hardly a soul around and then the crowds slowly build up.
"We have done 10 years now and it will be nice to see another young couple take it on with the energy and vitality it needs."
The beach is open to written tenders until 14 September. | One of Wales' best-known tourist beaches has been put up for sale. |
40410128 | Arconic, formerly known as Alcoa, fell 6% to $24.01 after the firm said it would stop selling Reynobond PE cladding for use in high-rises.
A fire on 14 June killed dozens of residents of the west London tower.
Arconic said in a statement it was the "right decision because of the inconsistency of building codes across the world".
The US firm supplied Reynobond PE cladding for use in Grenfell despite publicly warning the panels were a fire risk for tall buildings.
While the extent of Arconic's responsibility remained unclear, investors were taking a "sell now and ask questions later" approach, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management in New York.
Wall Street had a lacklustre start to the week, with the Dow Jones closing just 0.1% higher at 21,409.5 points, while the wider S&P 500 index was almost flat at 2,439.07 points.
The technology-focused Nasdaq index suffered, shedding 0.4% to 6,247.1 points as Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook each shed 1%, and Google's owner, Alphabet, dropped 1.4%.
Avis Budget surged 14.2% following a deal to provide support and maintenance for Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, for the self-driving cars it is testing on Arizona roads.
Hertz Global Holdings, another car rental company, rose 13.6% following reports it is testing self-driving technology under an agreement with Apple.
Retailers, including companies that fell after Amazon's deal to acquire Whole Foods, had a better day, with Wal-Mart up 0.9% and Target adding 1.4%.
Media shares also gained, with Disney up 1.2%, Twenty-First Century Fox 3.1% higher and Viacom adding 2.9%. | Shares in the company that made the cladding used on Grenfell Tower have fallen sharply in New York. |
39777871 | Then along came Brexit and the recent Assembly elections, where unionists lost their majority.
So, is a united Ireland now being given serious consideration by people south of the border?
The 12th century Kilkenny Castle, overlooking the river Nore, plays host to a farmers' market every Thursday.
Talking to stall holders and customers, there is a awareness of the debate.
An awareness - but not a strong interest.
And a lot of that is down to the potential cost of subsidising Northern Ireland - officially nine billion pounds a year - although Sinn Féin dispute that figure.
Gerard Casey, an artist and a lecturer, wandering around the market says it is a case of aspiration and reality colliding.
"I think we in the Republic would possibly like the idea of a united Ireland, but in terms of finance and so on I don't think it's a runner really," he adds.
It is a view shared by Michael Hogan, a retired publican, who says: "In the short term people are very conscious of us coming out of a recession and coming out of the hard times we've been through. So, I'm not sure people would be prepared to put their hand in their pocket."
Josephine Lysaght, a spelt baker, says: "Personally I would handle a small bit of a tax increase, but we're in a high taxed country anyway.
"So, I'd imagine it's going to cause a problem."
Peter Gibson, who sells his pies at the market, is of a similar view.
He says: "I don't think a united Ireland is on in practical terms but certainly in theoretical terms most people would favour it."
But when asked whether he thinks people would pay higher taxes for it he says: "I'd say it's a bit like in Germany.
"They'd probably pay for it in the short term but suffer in the medium term."
As it happens there's a stall holder, originally from East Germany.
Klaus Hartmann describes himself as a potter who specialises in ceramics.
He says German unification was much more expensive than originally thought but worthwhile and now universally accepted.
"There's no question about it to me but that it was worth it. I think nobody regrets that at all though they didn't know the full implications of it," he says.
"What it cost is just a fraction of what they thought."
The cost debate is, of course, purely theoretical.
And many here believe that if there ever was a united Ireland the UK and the EU would be asked to contribute financially.
But Lucy Glendinning, a customer at the market, believes a united Ireland is something worth paying higher taxes for.
She says: "We probably could afford it. We bailed out the banks by billions and continue to do so. So, we can bail out people and help people as well."
The united Ireland debate that is only now beginning here.
How seriously it gets will definitely depend on where a majority in Northern Ireland sees its future.
And that in turn may well depend on how Brexit proceeds. | This time last year few people in the Republic of Ireland were giving any thought to the idea of re-unification. |
36452412 | Coyle has taken charge of Blackburn and Stewart has not ruled out working with his long-term colleague again.
But the former Airdrie boss, who was in charge of the Diamonds from 2002 to 2006, may also pursue being a manager in his own right again.
"I would never say never to anything," said the 50-year-old Scot.
"When I was manager of Airdrie I was there for four-and-a-half years and I loved it.
"It was a new experience for me because I was just moving from being a player into management but I genuinely loved it and I'd definitely look at doing it again.
"Myself and Owen think we work really well together, we've had a lot of success together and if that opportunity came up, it would be fantastic.
"I had three or four opportunities to go out on my own when I was working with Owen, but I just felt at that moment in time the two of us worked well as a partnership and I still believe we'll have success as a partnership in the future."
Stewart has also worked with Coyle at St Johnstone, Burnley, Bolton and Wigan over the last decade since leaving Airdrie.
He enjoyed his spell in Major League Soccer but, with Coyle, felt the time was right to return to the UK.
"It definitely was a fantastic experience," he explained. "But there was only one reason why we left and that was family. Initially we were looking for our families to go out to the States but it just didn't happen.
"The people at Houston were fantastic with us. They helped us settle in really well and they couldn't have done anymore for us. When it got to 17 months it just got far too much.
"I probably learned more in 17 months there than I did in the last five or six years here as far as coaching and looking at and analysing different teams.
"Nearly every player was new to us, you didn't know their strengths or weaknesses."
Travelling can take its toll for MLS sides and the weather can also be hazardous.
"We went up to New England last year and about 20 minutes into the game there was a lightning warning and when the sound goes off you need to go in," he added.
"So, we went in and had an hour and 20 minutes delay. We then came back out and played the rest of the first half.
"We then went in the dressing room at half-time only to be told there would be other lightning delays. I think we started the game at 19:30 at night and finished the game at 00:30. It's the longest game I've ever been involved in.
"The travelling sometimes can be horrendous depending where you go. We went to Vancouver, it was five hours - Seattle, Portland something similar. It's not just that, there's a two-hour time difference as well.
"When you go to Colorado and Real Salt Lake you've got to acclimatise to the high altitude and that definitely works as an advantage to them.
"Teams coming to Houston encountered the heat and the humidity and we took that to our advantage as well, there is no doubt about it.
"If you get a good result in the MLS away from home, it's a fantastic result because everybody has a better home record than what they've got away. We had a fantastic home record. I think we lost only two games at home in a year." | Sandy Stewart is taking time to consider his next move after ending a 17-month spell as Owen Coyle's assistant at Houston Dynamo. |
28929266 | A barometer of poverty, it takes into account a wide range of elements like access to services, levels of education, health and housing.
Those lacking three or more basic necessities like food or heating are said to live with multiple deprivation.
The figure rises sharply for those directly affected by the Troubles, said Queen's University Belfast researchers.
Universities across the UK, led by the University of Bristol, have been involved in compiling the Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK project, which they say is the largest ever study of its kind.
The Northern Ireland part of the study, which included a section on people's experience of violence during the Troubles, found:
Professor Mike Tomlinson of Queen's University, who led the study in Northern Ireland, said: "Experience of violent events in the past increased the chances of suffering from multiple deprivation in the present.
"Research in many parts of the world has shown that violent conflicts can result in long-term problems of poverty and deprivation.
"This is what has happened in Northern Ireland - the evidence is clear.
"Dealing with the past needs to include tackling the deprivation of those whose lives are most blighted by the years of conflict."
The Northern Ireland study was based on two surveys conducted in 2012, in which more than 3,300 people were interviewed. | More than a quarter of adults in Northern Ireland live with multiple deprivation, a study has suggested. |
37105736 | Pete Leonard, head of the council department which includes Aberdeen's Hazlehead Crematorium, was said to be on annual leave.
A summary of the report was shown to councillors. It was then taken back.
Council chief executive Angela Scott said the pain of bereaved families would stay with her "forever".
Mr Leonard was quoted by investigators as referring to "slow cooking" babies - comments for which he has since been heavily criticised.
The new report to the council will remain secret because it contains confidential details of the conduct of staff.
Councillors were given about 10 minutes to read a summary of external report. It was then taken back as they are not allowed to keep it.
Council leader Jenny Laing said of the report: "Every one of us would like nothing better than to make its contents known to the public."
It followed the council being heavily criticised a report by Dame Elish Angiolini in June into the handling of ashes of cremated babies.
BBC Scotland revealed in 2013 that no ashes had been offered to the families of infants cremated in Aberdeen over a five-year period.
Baby and adult ashes were mixed together and given back to relatives of the adult, while the parents of infants were told there were no ashes.
The crematorium at Hazlehead was among those investigated after it emerged staff at the Mortonhall crematorium in Edinburgh had been burying baby ashes in secret for decades.
Former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini's original report described as "abhorrent" the routine practice of cremating babies bodies with unrelated adults.
Families touched by the baby ashes scandal in Aberdeen have since met with the chief executive. | The director responsible for a crematorium at the centre of the baby ashes scandal did not attend a council meeting discussing a secret report. |
39615966 | He died close to his childhood home in Gladstone, Oregon, on Saturday due to complications from diabetes.
James was best known for appearing alongside Sir Roger Moore in the Bond films Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun during the 1970s.
His daughter Lynn said: "He was the most outgoing person, beloved by everybody."
She added: "I don't think the man had an enemy. We were incredibly blessed to have had him in our lives."
In 1973 James played Louisiana sheriff JW Pepper in Live and Let Die, in which he made a memorable appearance in a chaotic boat chase sequence.
His character proved so popular he was asked to reprise the role in 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, involving another car chase, in Thailand, and a scene where he gets pushed into water by a baby elephant.
Paying tribute on Twitter, Sir Roger wrote: "Terribly sad to hear Clifton James has left us. As JW Pepper he gave my first two Bond films a great, fun character."
While many James Bond characters either feature once or have recurring roles in the series, Sherriff Pepper is among a select few characters to have featured in just two different titles.
Here are four others:
Sylvia Trench: A love interest of Bond played by Eunice Gayson. She appeared alongside Sir Sean Connery in the 1962 film Dr No, as well as 1963's From Russia with Love.
Jaws: One of Bond's most famous villains, Jaws was played by the late Richard Kiel. The character appeared with Sir Roger Moore in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me and later in 1979's Moonraker.
Valentin Zukovsky: An ex-KGB agent turned Russian mafia head who was portrayed by Robbie Coltrane. He featured with Pierce Brosnan in the 1995 film GoldenEye and 1999's The World is Not Enough.
Rene Mathis: A French intelligence operative played by Giancarlo Giannini. He appeared alongside Daniel Craig in the 2006 film Casino Royale and 2008's Quantum of Solace.
James grew up just outside Portland during the heart of the Great Depression, in which his family lost all their money.
He served as a soldier with the US Army in the South Pacific during World War Two, for which he was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze star.
His acting career spanned five decades and included stints on stage, TV and film.
Other credits include appearing in the TV series Dallas and films Superman II and The Bonfire of the Vanities.
His last film credit was a 2006 comedy, Raising Flagg but he had also been cast to star in an upcoming independent film called Old Soldiers, according to IMDB. | Actor Clifton James, who appeared as Sheriff JW Pepper in two James Bond films, has died at the age of 96. |
35111004 | Carlton Alexander, 23, died after being found at a property on Brightmeadow Close in Breightmet, Bolton, early on Sunday morning.
Ross Ashcroft, 31, of Leonard Street, Bolton, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
He has been remanded into custody to appear before Bolton Magistrates' Court later.
Stephen Nambwe, 21, of High Street, Bolton, has been charged with affray and possession of an offensive weapon and will also appear before the court.
Three other men arrested in connection with Mr Alexander's death have been released without charge. | A man has been charged with murder following a stabbing in Greater Manchester. |
35528196 | Indian-American Waris Ahluwalia, who is also a designer, said he was prevented from boarding after he refused to remove his turban in public.
The incident happened during additional security checks before a flight from Mexico City to New York.
Aeromexico said it had complied with security protocols and it regretted any "inconvenience".
He posted a picture of the ticket on his Instagram account. It carried an "SSSS" stamp, an acronym for Secondary Security Screening Selection, an airport measure that selects passengers for additional screening. The selection is said to be random.
Mr Ahluwalia, who has appeared in The Grand Budapest Hotel and starred in a campaign for American clothing brand GAP, said he was on his way to New York Fashion Week.
In an interview with the New York Daily News, Mr Ahluwalia said he had complied with the additional checks but refused to remove his turban when he was asked by airline personnel to do so.
"That is not something that I would do in public," he was quoted as saying. "That's akin to asking someone to take off their clothes."
Mr Ahluwalia added that when he said he would not take his turban off without going to a private room, he was told that he would not be flying and would have to book another flight.
"I was shaking at first," he told the News. "That's not a nice thing to be told, that you are not allowed to fly on this plane because of something you are wearing, or because of your religious beliefs."
In a statement, Aeromexico said that he was asked to go through "screening and inspection before boarding, in strict compliance with TSA protocol" - a reference to the US Transportation Security Administration.
"We have offered the passenger alternatives to reach his destination as soon as possible", it said. | A Sikh actor has claimed he was barred from boarding an Aeromexico plane because of his turban. |
35322168 | It argues people underestimate the time it takes to exercise off calories in everyday products.
A mocha coffee containing 290 calories takes 53 minutes to walk off and a blueberry muffin takes 48 minutes.
The food and drink industry said the idea was worth exploring.
A policy paper from the RSPH says the most common cause of obesity is consuming more calories than are burned off - and those taking lots of exercise are more likely to lose weight.
It says activity symbols on packs would prompt consumers to choose healthier options or exercise more.
Research shows that some consumers find current nutritional labels on the front of products confusing because of information overload.
They also spend just six seconds looking at food before buying it.
This means the information on the front of packs should be easy to understand and calorie information should be presented in a clear way, the paper said.
The RSPH says pictorial icons on the front of packs, as well as existing information, would be a good idea.
These pictures would show how much exercise is required to walk or run off the calories contained in the product.
The labelling would also remind the public of the importance of being physically active, which is known to boost mood, energy levels and reduce stress and depression.
A survey of 2,000 adults by RSPH found that more than 60% of people would support the introduction of "activity equivalent calorie labelling".
More than half said it would encourage them to choose healthier products, eat smaller portions or do more physical exercise.
Men should consume around 2,500 calories and women 2,000 calories on average each day to maintain a healthy weight, the paper says.
Two-thirds of adults in the UK are currently overweight or obese.
Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: "Although nutritional information provided on food and drink packaging has improved, it is evident that it isn't working as well as it could to support the public in making healthy choices.
"Activity equivalent calorie labelling provides a simple means of making the calories contained within food and drink more relatable to people's everyday lives, while also gently reminding consumers of the need to maintain active lifestyles and a healthy weight."
A spokesperson for the Food and Drink Federation said activity equivalent information was "an interesting concept" which was worth exploring.
"As an industry, we are looking at what more we can do to help people use the existing nutrition information provided to understand how different foods and drinks fit within a healthy lifestyle.
"We support RSPH's call for further research into whether activity equivalent calorie labelling could be an effective way of encouraging consumers to use labels."
The FDF said EU rules which dictate what companies are allowed to put on their food labels would need to be considered in any proposals. | Labels should be added to food and drink to show how much activity would be needed to burn off the calories consumed, the Royal Society for Public Health says. |
33949469 | The Baggies followed their opening 3-0 defeat by Manchester City with a goalless draw at Watford on Saturday.
The £12m signing of Zenit St Petersburg striker Salomon Rondon broke the club's transfer record last week and Pulis is looking to add further.
"If we can do the business we're trying to do, we'll surprise people," he said.
"Last year the main priority was to stay up - this is a season of change."
Rondon made his first appearance at Vicarage Road and Pulis praised the Venezuelan after giving him his debut off the bench.
"He's going to be a good player for us," Pulis told Sky Sports. "He's got everything in the locker that you would want from a striker, and his work ethic is first-class.
"His goalscoring record says he'll score goals - what we've got to do is make sure we get the people in who will provide the service that he needs." | West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis says the club will "surprise people" with more signings after a poor start to the Premier League season. |
35703911 | Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia were among the states where both triumphed. Mr Trump was defeated by Ted Cruz in Texas and Oklahoma.
Democrat Bernie Sanders won four, including his home state of Vermont.
Super Tuesday sees 11 states voting on the biggest single day ahead of the 8 November presidential election.
Follow the latest live updates here
Winners and losers on Super Tuesday
Results as they come in
The former secretary of state and real estate mogul entered Super Tuesday as the favourites to win the vast majority of states for their respective parties.
In her victory speech on Tuesday, Mrs Clinton appeared to already be looking towards a potential presidential race against Donald Trump, saying: "The stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side has never been lower."
Donald Trump, for his part, insisted that he was a "unifier" who could put internal fighting in the Republican party behind him to focus on a general election race against Mrs Clinton.
"Once we get all this finished, I'm going after one person - Hillary Clinton," he told reporters in Florida, where he has been campaigning ahead of the state's vote later this month.
The billionaire also insisted he had "expanded the Republican party", referring to higher turnout from a broad demographic in states that have already voted.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz called on his rivals to drop out of the race, which he says would enable him to contend Mr Trump's lead more effectively.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was hoping to emerge as the main alternative to Mr Trump, won his first state on Tuesday in the Minnesota caucuses.
This was a man not looking to the next primary, the next bit of slog along that long and exhausting road. This was a man with an eye on the much bigger fight in November, and his presumptive opponent Hillary Clinton.
He graciously congratulated Ted Cruz over his wins in Texas and Oklahoma. No mention last night of him being the biggest liar he's ever met. And no demeaning of Marco Rubio either. Were it not for the unmistakable blond hair and the family members at his side, you might have been forgiven for thinking an impostor had entered the room.
But no it was Donald 2.0 that we had with us. The trouble, though, when you upload a new operating system is there are inevitable bugs and glitches. And the new OS takes a bit of getting used to.
And there will be many who say what brought me to the product was the original software. So can and will the new magnanimous Donald be able to keep up this new modus operandi, and will his army of fans like what they see?
This was a strikingly different Donald Trump who met reporters on Tuesday night. His tone was conciliatory. He was quietly spoken. He said he would be a unifier - of the Republican Party, of the nation. He didn't crow and he didn't claim to be the nominee, but he clearly thinks the primary race is effectively over.
Mr Trump has stunned the Republican establishment to become the party's front-runner. Despite his controversial policies on immigration, the former reality TV star has been consistently polling well above his rivals - Ted Cruz, Mr Rubio, Mr Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Both Senators Cruz and Rubio have ramped up their anti-Trump rhetoric over the past week, in a bid to halt his commanding lead in the race. The outcome of Super Tuesday will be critical for both candidates to remain the race.
Mr Trump has faced heavy criticism this week over his failure to disavow David Duke, a leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, who has endorsed the Republican candidate. The front-runner later said he had on several occasions in the past disavowed Mr Duke.
On the Democratic side, Mrs Clinton had already secured three wins in the first four early-voting states and has led significantly among blocs of black voters there.
Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, has put up an unexpectedly strong challenge against the former secretary of state after his sweeping victory in New Hampshire last month.
Alongside wins in Vermont and Oklahoma, he also was projected to win the Democratic Colorado caucuses - although this was merely a projection, as delegates do not vote until the state convention in April.
Addressing cheering supporters at his victory speech in Vermont on Tuesday, Mr Sanders aimed a jibe at the Republican front-runner saying: "We are not going to let the Donald Trumps of the world divide us."
The proportion of vote won equates to the number of delegates who will then go on to the Democratic and Republican parties' national conventions in July to officially choose the nominees for the presidency.
Super Tuesday is pivotal because it allocates nearly a quarter of the 2,472 Republican delegates and some 20% of all delegates for the Democrats.
What's so super about Super Tuesday?
Follow the primaries race with the delegate tracker, provided by the Associated Press (AP) | Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have both won the most states on the biggest day of the race for the US presidential nominations. |
29465755 | They have seen rises in the number of annual tests carried out of between 40% and 470% over four years.
Workers cannot be made to take a drugs test, but if they refuse when the employer has good grounds for testing, they may face disciplinary action.
Business leaders' increased awareness of workplace drug use is a large factor behind the growth, said LGC Group.
It added that the adoption of a drugs-testing policy is "mainly due to insurance purposes".
The four companies are Alere, Synergy Health, LGC Group and BioClinics. The last two saw rises of 100% and 470% respectively over the four years in the number of drugs tests they conduct annually, although they started from a smaller base.
Lianne Gray, LGC Group's strategic account manager for occupational drug testing, said employees in safety-critical roles - such as operating heavy machinery or driving - and government agencies were most likely to be screened.
But she said there was a growing trend for drug testing to be conducted in "more normalised industries", including retail and health companies, as businesses look to "safeguard not only the business, but also the reputation in the field they work in".
Ms Gray said there had been changes in the types of drugs for which businesses wished to screen.
"Traditionally we see requests for amphetamines, cocaine, cannabis, opiates," she said. "Now we're seeing more requests for things like ketamine, steroids, and also for novel psychoactive substances - or legal highs as they're otherwise known."
Under current law, businesses must have the consent of employees whom they wish to screen for drugs, and usually this will be in the contract or staff handbook.
Drugs testing is normally performed at random. It is also sometimes enforced prior to employment, on cause - following an accident or incident - or on suspicion.
Stobart Group, which includes the well-known Eddie Stobart haulage business, introduced a drugs-testing policy three years ago.
The services and infrastructure company, which operates London Southend Airport, screens not only its hundreds of truckers but all its employees, including shop workers.
Director of safety and compliance Neil Marston said: "We want to maintain a safe working environment for all our staff. But also for our customers, our visitors who pass through our premises. We're also very proud of our brand and want to protect it."
The increases in drug testing have angered civil liberties groups, who say that the practice is an invasion of people's privacy outside of safety critical roles.
Niamh Eastwood from the drugs advice charity, Release, said they frequently took calls from people who had falsely tested positive for drugs.
Eating poppy seed bread for instance can indicate the presence of opiates in some tests.
She said another problem is that although drug tests may indicate what substances are in the system, they do not indicate if a worker's performance is likely to be affected. | Workplace drug testing has increased significantly in the UK, four leading screening companies have said. |
37042932 | Police said the group, from Bedfordshire, were all in the same car.
They have been named locally as Tracy Houghton, 45, from Dunstable, and her two sons, Ethan, 13, and Joshua, 11, along with an 11-year-old girl.
Thames Valley Police declined to comment on reports Ms Houghton's partner was driving behind in a separate car at the time of the crash on the A34 in Berkshire.
A 30-year-old man from Andover, who was driving one of the lorries involved in the crash, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has been bailed until 5 October.
A man flown by air ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford is receiving treatment for serious injuries.
A further 11 people sustained minor injuries, according to Thames Valley Police.
Sam Difalco, a friend of the family, told the BBC: "She was outgoing, devoted to her kids. She was a lovely lady. It is devastating. It's terrible."
A spokeswoman for Central Bedfordshire Council, where Ms Houghton worked, said: "This terrible news has come as a great shock to everyone who knew Tracy, who worked within our financial services team based in Dunstable.
"Tracy worked directly with our customers and was a dedicated and highly professional member of staff."
Her team leader, Gary Muskett, said: "Tracy was a hugely likeable and bubbly person who was much admired by her colleagues, many of whom saw her also as a dear friend.
"Our thoughts and condolences are with her family."
The crash happened between Chieveley and East Ilsley at about 17:10 BST on Wednesday, causing a six-mile tailback on the northbound carriageway.
Thames Valley Police said the northbound carriageway reopened at about 06:30, while the southbound carriageway was closed for about five hours.
Speaking at the scene on Wednesday night, Insp Andy Storey said: "It's big scene, a massively tragic scene, and very difficult for officers to deal with.
"The four who died were in the same motorcar. The stretch of the road the accident occurred on is an uphill section and we are looking at the speed of the vehicles involved." | A mother and three children have been killed in an eight-vehicle crash. |
39430522 | A 3-0 win over Paraguay, along with defeats for Argentina and Uruguay, means the team cannot finish lower than fourth in South American qualifying.
Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho, Barcelona striker Neymar and Real Madrid's Marcelo scored Brazil's goals.
It is Brazil's eighth straight win under coach Tite.
Thirty more teams will join Brazil, and hosts Russia, at next summer's World Cup. | Brazil has become the first side to seal their place at the World Cup finals in Russia next year. |
40028672 | The law, which has been given Royal Assent, establishes a new land transaction tax, which will replace stamp duty from April 2018.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said the act was a "significant step" for devolution.
Rates of the new tax are due to be announced by October this year.
Assembly members approved the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Bill earlier in the year.
Stamp duty is paid when property or land is bought over a certain price.
Officials previously said that the document was the longest piece of legislation Welsh ministers have produced. | Legislation on the Welsh replacement for stamp duty land tax - the first new Welsh tax law for almost 800 years - has entered the statute books. |
37157116 | Ruabon-based GHA Coaches ceased trading on 15 July, with the loss of 320 jobs.
Wrexham council said some commercial services used by children not eligible for free school transport have not been replaced for the new term in September.
Those affected are St Joseph's School, The Maelor School, Ysgol Rhiwabon and Ysgol Dinas Bran.
Wrexham council's lead member for transport, David Bithell, said: "Due to the difficult situation since the collapse of the private transport company GHA coaches, we wished to alert students, parents and carers of the loss of previously operated commercial services that some pupils used for transport to and from school.
"Whilst the council has issued a number of tenders for new replacement bus services, these are not a complete duplicate of the previous services."
The council is not providing transport for any sixth form students starting year 12 in September.
GHA operated public and school services across Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire and parts of Cheshire and Shropshire.
Meanwhile, 200 buses and coaches belonging to GHA are to be sold off.
Administrator Grant Thornton has organised a three-day online auction, starting on Tuesday, with money raised from the sale expected to go towards paying creditors.
Further auctions will be held in October and November.
The collapse has led to local councils seeking new contractors to run the routes but some areas are still without buses, leaving passengers facing disruption. | Parents in Wrexham have been told to make new arrangements to get their children to school after the collapse of a coach firm. |
34022706 | The former Paralympic gold-medallist swimmer also claimed another place for GB Para-canoe at next year's Rio Games.
Likewise, Rob Oliver sealed a Rio spot for Britain in the KL3 class with a silver in his final in Milan.
GB disability athletes have now booked four places in Brazil next September.
The victory for Chippington was her ninth Para-canoe world title since she switched to the sport from swimming.
Starting in Seoul in 1988, the athlete, who suffers from a condition affecting the spinal cord, competed in five consecutive Paralympic Games as a swimmer, winning two golds in Atlanta in 1996.
"This has been the toughest of them all with a lot of pressure in the lead up to it," Chippington told BBC Sport.
"Getting the boat place for Rio is another weight off my mind and I'm pretty proud of myself to have qualified the boat." | Jeanette Chippington won Great Britain's second gold medal at the Canoe Sprint World Championships with victory in the Para-canoe KL1 200m final. |
39027455 | Sergey Vovnenko was jailed for 41 months for hijacking computers and selling stolen credit card numbers.
Eric Taylor, who stole and then published sensitive information about celebrities and public figures, received three years' probation.
Both were also involved in attacks on security researcher Brian Krebs, who exposed their online criminal activity.
Mr Krebs said Vovnenko was one of the administrators of a discussion forum that traded in stolen payment cards and personal data, in a blogpost reporting the sentencing.
Mr Krebs won access to the forum only to discover Mr Vovnenko's plan to send heroin to him and then, via an anonymous tip-off, get the police to raid his home. Prompt action by Mr Krebs foiled the attempt to frame him.
In 2014, Vovnenko was arrested in Italy then extradited to the US for trial for his part in running the card fraud forum and for compromising computers from which saleable data was stolen.
As well as serving a 41-month sentence, Vovnenko will also be supervised for three years following his release and must pay compensation of $83,368 (£67,000).
Taylor was arrested in 2012 as part of a massive series of raids on criminal hacker groups around the world, co-ordinated by the FBI.
Taylor was a member of a hacker group that published some of the stolen data exposing sensitive information about celebrities, prominent public figures and ordinary Americans.
He targeted Mr Krebs after the blogger exposed his part in hacking a Russian underground forum that harboured information stolen from a US consumer data firm.
In the hoax attack, Taylor used an instant message service to make it look like Mr Krebs was reporting that his home had been invaded by Russians who had shot his wife and were holding him hostage.
The report led to Mr Krebs being briefly handcuffed outside his home while officers swept his home seeking the Russian criminals.
Mr Krebs was released after police realised it was a hoax and because paperwork revealed that the blogger had reported the possibility that he would be subject to this type of attack some weeks earlier. | Two hackers who separately profited from stealing personal and financial data have been sentenced in the US. |
33608000 | First Out cafe in Tottenham Court Road, Candy Bar in Soho, the Joiners' Arms and the George and Dragon in Shoreditch, Camden's Black Cap and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT) are among those to be shut or sold to developers.
What is behind the trend? And what does it mean for the customers?
Some believe it's a simple supply and demand equation.
The theory goes that society is becoming better integrated, meaning gay people feel more open to visiting "straight bars", lessening the demand for gay-only or predominantly gay venues.
Paul McKeating, 33, from Stoke Newington, says: "Most places in east London or Peckham, where I would go out, feel like safe places to me, and I don't feel there's much point in drawing a line between 'gay' and 'straight' bars."
But Rob Holley, a promoter for nights at the RVT such as Push the Button, disagrees.
The 33-year-old, from Walworth, says: "While it's easier now than ever to be gay, you still have communities that want to celebrate the things that make them different, and why shouldn't we be allowed to do that?
"I first started going to the RVT when I was 18 or 19 and it's as a punter that it will always be most special to me.
"We have events nights ranging from pop exams, to Dannii Minogue musicals, to recreating the Spice Girls' bus tour. Where else could you do that?"
Dan Glass, 31, from Whitechapel, is an activist with Friends of the Joiners' Arms. He says when he heard it would close he thought: "It's a travesty on so many levels.
"I thought: this is dangerous. We start thinking 'oh we've got equality now' because of gay marriage but still need queer spaces, places where we can celebrate our peculiarities and unpack who we are."
Patrick Strudwick, LGBT editor of BuzzFeed, says: "Since the early 2000s the belief has been held that demand has lessened."
He believes that in London there is "greater integration, and gay people feel more comfortable going to straight bars" than was once the case.
However, he points out that would not necessarily lead to lower demand since "social liberalisation means more young people are coming out and looking for places to go - there's also a big gay scene fuelled by tourists in London".
He also says the Black Cap and Joiners' Arms before they closed were regularly "very, very busy", which he sees as undermining arguments about lack of demand.
Mr Strudwick also mentions that the finger is often pointed at the popularity of dating and hook-up apps such as Tinder, Grindr and Gaydar.
In 2013, London was the single most popular city in the world for Grindr, with over 947,000 users.
Web developer Anna Leach, who also runs London lesbian website The Most Cake, thinks the two are related: "It's true that previously you could rock up at a bar and hope to meet someone, but now you can do it at home, sitting on your sofa."
She says there is a sense of "gay identity being dissolved into hipster culture" and an erosion of its visibility and distinctiveness, which could lead to "the loss of a centre and, ultimately, less solidarity".
However, she does not necessarily see the proliferation of online communication as a bad thing for the gay scene.
"It's a chance to develop a community away from alcohol, and develop an interest in more varied types of social activity."
A spokeswoman for Grindr said the app gives users a "multi-faceted choice" and "many of our users, while they're out are also online".
Others have pointed out the loss of these venues need not be seen as a "gay" issue at all, but part of wider trends: pressures faced by all pubs and rising London property prices.
The British Beer and Pub Association estimates that pub numbers have fallen from 60,100 across the UK in 2002 to 48,006 in 2013.
Pub closures are slowing across the UK, according to the BBPA, but common issues affecting pubs in general include "beer taxes amongst the highest in the world" and "changing social lives, with more people drinking at home" .
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) reported earlier in August that there are currently 1,733 nightclubs in the UK, down from 3,144 in 2005.
Chris Wiseman, 37, who lives in Crystal Palace, says there is a "bleeding heart" mentality among some of the gay community.
"Dozens of bars and clubs are exposed to the same pressures. When I see people complaining about it on social media, I think 'when was the last time you went there?' People should actually be going down to support these places if they care about them."
But Mr Strudwick says it is not an either-or issue.
"Property prices and rents are indeed out of control - but LGBT people feel disproportionately affected. They don't have hundreds of bars, so when four or five close it's keenly felt."
Peter Cragg from Friends of the Joiners' Arms agrees: "I don't believe there is an evil cabal of property developers hell-bent on locking queers out of London, although that would possibly be easier to fight against."
But he argues: "The most vulnerable in society - whether they are economically or socially vulnerable - are the first victims of gentrification, and queer spaces seem to be disproportionately suffering at the minute.
"The good news is queer communities are no strangers to fighting back, and we aren't going down without a big, glittery, angry fight."
The Joiners' Arms: Campaign group Friends of the Joiners' Arms helped secure the designation of the pub as an "asset of community value" in January. But the current owners are under no obligation to sell it and its status does not place any restriction on how the property is used.
Regal Homes, which bought the pub, says its aim is to "provide an improved community space as part of our regeneration proposals" and adds it has held meetings with Friends of the Joiners' Arms to discuss options.
Royal Vauxhall Tavern: The RVT, which remains open, already has "asset of community value" status, and campaign group RVT Future is lobbying to have the 19th Century Vauxhall venue listed. This would mean that its owners must apply for consent before making changes that might affect its special interest. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will make a final decision on its status later this year.
Immovate, the company that bought the building, recently wrote an open letter claiming that listing the building would mean "insurance costs would rise overnight by 50%" and as a result it would be "forced to close". | A string of London's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) bars and clubs have closed their doors in the past year. |
34516202 | The Driver Youth Trust report says the changes have caused confusion and a greater variation in the quality of help offered.
The charity calls for a review of support for children with Send.
The Department for Education (DfE) said many families had reported finding the new system more straightforward.
The Driver Youth Trust outlines a number of changes since 2010 that have affected children with Send and their families.
It highlights the Academies Act 2010, which enabled more schools in England to become academies, free from local authority control, as well as changes in 2012 aimed at ending disparities in school funding.
Also, in September 2014, a new special educational needs (SEN) code of practice came into force in England, with the stated aim of putting pupils at the centre of their education planning.
Changes under the new Send code of practice include:
The Driver Youth Trust says these changes have contributed to a fragmentation that means "navigating the system has become incredibly challenging for students, parents, schools and sector organisations".
And with school increasingly expected to meet children's needs in the classroom rather than through specialist provision, teachers "more than ever need training and accurate information about their pupils".
"The dominant rhetoric behind reform has been that of 'autonomy'," the report, Joining the Dots, says.
"Yet an autonomous environment is also a risky one. In relation to Send, we find that while some schools have thrived, other are struggling to provide high-quality teaching and additional support for their learners."
The outcomes for Send pupils are increasingly dependent on a school's leadership, it says.
The charity is calling for school leaders to regard Send pupils' achievement as a whole-school priority, not just that of specialist staff.
It calls on the government to reform school admissions so that all schools are part of the same process and subject to independent appeals - whether or not they are an academy.
And it urges councils to engage parents and young children in the development of their local offers.
The DfE said it had received positive feedback about the changes from many families.
A spokeswoman said: "A year ago we introduced the biggest reforms to the Send system in a generation.
"These are ensuring that support is focused on needs and aspirations - and we know that when parents and young people are properly involved with the development of that support, their experiences improve.
"We are already seeing a real difference, with parents telling us the process is much more straightforward - but we want these experiences to continue improving.
"That's why we are providing more than £1.5m between 2013 and 2016 to the Driver Youth Trust and the Dyslexia Specific Learning Difficulties Trust to provide expert advice and training to schools, ensuring that good practice is shared and the best support possible is available in the classroom." | A series of changes has left pupils in England with special educational needs and disability (Send) in a "fragmented" system, a charity has said. |
36659584 | Bosses at Durham's high security Frankland prison have been urged to take "prompt action" to tackle a rise in assaults.
The report noted a recent increase in levels of violence involving prisoners.
But inspectors concluded the prison offered a "safe and decent" environment for inmates, many of whom are classed as vulnerable.
The jail holds more than 800 men, many of them Category A inmates.
The report said there had been an increase in assaults on prisoners - up from 11 in the five months to September 2015 to 40 in the five months to February 2016 - some of which were "serious".
It also said there had been one assault on a staff member in the previous six months.
Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: "The outcomes for prisoners at Frankland were reasonably good or better. Staff managed considerable ongoing risk every day, while maintaining a safe and respectful regime in which prisoners had good learning opportunities."
Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said: "The prison holds a long-term population including some of the country's most dangerous prisoners, but provides a humane, purposeful environment and manages risk proportionately and effectively.
"The challenges presented by prisoners held at Frankland are considerable but the rehabilitative approach helps provide purpose which helps reduce risk and ultimately protects the public.
"They will continue to build on their successes and build on the recommendations raised in the report." | Violence between inmates at the country's largest high security prison has increased, an inspection has found. |
33380799 | The 22-year-old former Liverpool trainee has signed a three-year deal.
Coady made 45 league appearances for the Terriers last season after joining from the Reds for a fee of about £375,000 in August 2014.
He is the second player to join Wolves this summer following the signing of Portsmouth midfielder Jed Wallace.
Wolves boss Kenny Jackett told the club website: "He had a very good season at Huddersfield last year - his first at this level - and he will complement the midfield players that we have.
"He is in the type of age group that will have the hunger to improve and try and build on what he did last year."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Wolves have signed Huddersfield Town midfielder Conor Coady for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £2m. |
35624820 | State news agency KCNA mentioned his new role in its reporting on activities of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Several high-ranking officials have been purged under Mr Kim, but Ri Yong-gil's removal is unconfirmed.
However, senior officials in North Korea have previously been absent from view for long periods only to reappear.
South Korean media reported on 10 February that Gen Ri had been executed earlier this month for corruption and "factional conspiracy".
Who was N Korea's 'executed' general?
Rumours that Gen Ri had fallen from favour first surfaced late last year. Gen Ri Myong-su had also appeared at a recent rally in Pyongyang and been mentioned in the slot normally reserved for the chief of staff.
On Sunday, the KCNA mentioned Gen Ri Myong-su twice - once describing him as "chief of the Korean People's Army (KPA) General Staff" whilst reporting on Kim Jong-un's observation of aerial manoeuvres, and again when accompanying Mr Kim during a flight drill inspection.
He appears to be the fourth chief of staff since Kim Jong-un took over in 2011, as opposed to three during his father Kim Jong-il's 17 years in power.
The reports of Gen Ri's execution came days after the North launched a long-range rocket, which critics say is a test of banned missile technology.
In January the North carried out its fourth nuclear test.
Some observers say the regime's recent behaviour may be linked to Kim Jong-un wanting to shore up his position ahead of a rare congress of the Workers' Party due in May.
In May 2015 South Korea's spy agency told parliament that the North's Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol had been executed for showing disloyalty to Mr Kim.
The agency said Mr Hyon was killed by anti-aircraft fire in front of an audience of hundreds - it later said it was yet to verify the information. That news came weeks after the reported execution of 15 senior officials.
North Korea rarely confirms these reports of purges and executions though it did announce the death of Kim Jong-un's uncle and mentor, Chang Song-thaek, in 2013.
Sometimes reports become completely fanciful as they spin around the internet - reports that Mr Chang was devoured by ravenous dogs were false.
Knowing what to make of the executions and disappearances is also hard. Do they indicate the strength of the man at the top, because he can arbitrarily and brutally dispense with the people around him, or does it indicate weakness?
It may be both. It may be that Kim Jong-un fears alternative sources of power and (like Stalin) pre-empts their rise. But it may also be that Kim Jong-un (like Stalin) sees threats where they do not exist. What is clear is that the leadership around Kim Jong-un is not stable. | Ri Myong-su has been named army chief in North Korea, days after unconfirmed reports that his predecessor, Ri Yong-gil, had been executed. |
36276570 | Here are some of the key points of Culture Secretary John Whittingdale's White Paper, as he outlined in the House of Commons: | The government has set out major changes to the way the BBC is to be run. |
38087381 | Lionel Messi's double in Glasgow ensured Rodgers' side will finish bottom of Champions League Group C.
Celtic had opened the group stage with a 7-0 defeat in Barcelona.
Rodgers said: "The team deserve a big credit. If you look at the first game compared to now, we weren't fearful."
Barcelona's victory, combined with Borussia Monchengladbach's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, ensured the final group placings are decided with one match to play.
City, who host Celtic on 6 December, will finish second behind group winners Barcelona, with Gladbach dropping into the Europa League in the New Year.
Rodgers' men fell behind on Wednesday when Neymar's chipped pass found Messi and the Argentine drilled low past Craig Gordon.
After Moussa Dembele had a header saved by visiting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Emilio Izaguirre fouled Luis Suarez and Messi converted the penalty.
"I thought how we pressed the game tactically was very good," said Rodgers.
"They have huge quality, of course, but they didn't have anywhere near as many chances as you would normally see. I was very pleased with the performance.
"First goal we're disappointed with. We just switch off on the edge of the box. It's the quality and the speed of the movement and the pass that catches us out."
Rodgers felt his side were "always in the game" and that Suarez, whom he managed at Liverpool, had been "clever" to win the penalty.
"We had a big chance with the header, another opportunity when we broke away in the second half and then obviously we get punished for the penalty," he said.
"I didn't think it was a penalty. What Luis is clever at is he grabs hold of the defender and spins around and looks like he's pulled to the ground.
"It was a key moment. The referee didn't give us so much during the night but that's the way it goes sometimes."
Celtic, who failed to reach the group stage in the previous two seasons, came through two qualifiers and a play-off this year.
"We had a huge effort in the summer to qualify," said Rodgers. "This experience was always going to be invaluable, lots of young players in the team that will improve.
"We've played three of the best teams in Europe over the course of this competition and we've gradually got better with each game.
"We've now got to go on and make sure we can get into it next year, and each year the club is in it, it improves on and off the field. That is our ambition."
Winger Scott Sinclair was withdrawn at half-time and Rodgers said he will be monitored in the build-up to Sunday's Scottish League Cup final against Aberdeen.
"We didn't want to take any risks," he said. | Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said his players had made a "significant improvement" despite a 2-0 home defeat by Barcelona ending their involvement in European competition for the season. |
36197199 | However for Collins that means on his tip toes, in an Irish dancing class filled with young women.
Christina Deacy, who teaches at the Drake School of Irish Dance in Florida, says that Collins' footwork has improved a lot since joining.
"He can now dance in time with the music and his agility and upper body strength is getting better and better."
Collins was originally dismissive of the idea of Irish dancing, tweeting, "real sports are televised."
It was the daughter of his high school football coach who had enough of listening to him and convinced him to try it for himself.
"He came in and it was surprising for him how hard it was," said Christina.
"We were doing our stretches for the warm up and he had already broken into a sweat while the girls were moving around comfortably.
"We started on a reel which is quite fast and his footwork was good.
"His athletic background definitely helps him out."
Collins' training schedule is pretty hectic, but that didn't stop him attending the class three times a week and helping out at an event on St Patrick's Day.
On the field he is renowned for being the first freshman to start his career with three 100-yard performances since 2004 and holding the school record of 20 rushing touchdowns.
He was drafted by the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
In the Drake School of Irish Dance however he is not only the beginner of the group, but the only male also and has adopted the nickname "Mitchell Findley" after the famous dancer Michael Flatley.
"The girls in the class love having him around because they want to impress him, so they are motivated to work harder.
"They love joking with him and we hope that once people see and read about this unorthodox footballer they will be inspired to join (Irish dancing) as well."
Improving his footwork was not Collins only motivation as he also wants to choreograph a new celebration routine for when he scores his next touchdown.
Collins told an American sports' website: "Something quick and fancy, so that when the fans see, they know it is Irish dancing… but at the same time, I want to add a little jazz to it."
Christina says that she and the girls are very curious to see this celebration and how he will add an element of Irish dancing to it.
Feeling inspired? Why not have a look at our guide about how to get into dance? | Like most athletes American footballer Alex Collins does his own workouts in order to stay sharp and fit. |
38261497 | Sasa Damjanovic, 36, got six years and his partner Vera Vasic, 29, three years - the heaviest prison sentences to be handed down in France in such a case.
They claimed to have been outside the Stade de France on 13 November 2015 when the suicide bombers struck. In fact they had been at home in Antibes.
The November attacks killed 130 people.
The fraud by the couple from Antibes was exposed when they put in a claim for compensation for the Nice terror attack of 14 July this year. The Bastille Day attack killed 86 people on the Nice beachfront - victims of a lorry driver who smashed his huge vehicle into the crowd.
The court judgment in Grasse, near Nice and Antibes on the Cote d'Azur, said the penalty was intended to act as "an example".
The couple, who have two children, aged six and seven, admitted their crime in court.
The prosecutor, quoted by Nice-Matin news, said "as a citizen, man, woman, judge, how can you not be sickened by such behaviour?"
The couple have already spent the €60,000 - some of it on vehicles which they planned to re-sell. They told the court that they had sought the money to pay off debts.
A lawyer for the compensation fund said that by 30 November this year it had paid out €46.5m to 2,444 victims of the Paris attacks.
The jihadists, from so-called Islamic State (IS), injured hundreds of people, besides the 130 they killed in simultaneous attacks across Paris. | A French court has jailed a couple who fraudulently obtained €60,000 (£50,500) from a fund set up to help survivors of last year's jihadist attacks in Paris. |
33122109 | They have used aerial equipment to tackle the blaze at Urban Forest Ltd in the Carnbane industrial estate.
The company recycles discarded wood into bedding material for animals.
Firefighters were alerted to the fire just after 06:30 BST on Saturday. Six fire appliances and two aerial appliances were deployed to the scene.
Group Commander Edward Carroll said fire crews were "confronted with a well-developed fire" when they arrived at the plant on Derryboy Road.
"In the early stages there was a considerable risk of the fire spreading but due to the prompt actions of the crews we were able to contain the fire to the building of origin," Mr Carroll said.
Newry and Armagh MP Mickey Brady described the incident as a "major fire".
In a tweet, the Sinn Féin MP thanked fire crews, saying their "prompt and professional action" had ensured the containment of the blaze. | More than 50 firefighters have been involved in tackling a large fire at a wood recycling plant in Newry, County Down. |
39985201 | Dywedodd undeb UNSAIN bod sylwadau rhywiaethol wedi dod yn llawer rhy gyffredin i bobl sy'n ceisio gwasanaethu eu cymunedau.
Mae ymgeisydd Llafur yn Aberconwy, Emily Owen yn dweud ei bod wedi derbyn negeseuon gan ddynion yn dweud iddi ddadwisgo am eu pleidlais.
Mae'r Senedd wedi sefydlu tîm i gefnogi'r rheiny sy'n cael eu targedu.
Dywedodd Ms Owen ei bod wedi cael sioc gweld y negeseuon y mae hi wedi eu derbyn ar Facebook a Twitter ers iddi gyhoeddi ei bod yn ymgeisydd.
Daw chwe mis wedi i arweinydd Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood ddweud ei bod wedi derbyn sylwadau "ffiaidd" ar-lein - gydag un dyn wedi'i garcharu am ddweud bod angen i rywun ei threisio, ac un arall wedi cael gorchymyn cymunedol am ddweud y dylai rhywun ei saethu.
Dywedodd UNSAIN bod Ms Owen a Ms Wood yn bell o fod yr unig rai i dderbyn negeseuon sarhaus, a'u bod wedi dechrau cynnig hyfforddiant am sut i ddelio â sefyllfaoedd o'r fath.
"Mae'n dod yn broblem enfawr - rhywiaethol, bwlio a phobl yn cael eu beirniadu am y ffordd y maen nhw'n edrych," meddai Jenny Griffin, sy'n rhedeg yr hyfforddiant newydd i UNSAIN.
"Mae'n bendant yn atal merched rhag ymgeisio - yn enwedig rhai gyda phlant, am nad ydyn nhw eisiau rhoi eu teuluoedd trwy hynny."
Ychwanegodd ymgeisydd Llafur yn Rhondda, Chris Bryant ei fod yn credu bod dynion hoyw a phobl o leiafrifoedd ethnig yn cael eu targedu hefyd.
"Rydw i'n ei dderbyn yn ddyddiol - rhegi, sylwadau homoffobig a chelwydd llwyr," meddai.
"Rwy'n 'nabod llawer o bobl sydd wedi ystyried gyrfa mewn gwleidyddiaeth ond sydd ddim eisiau rhoi eu hunain trwyddo - mae'r sylwadau'n ddiddiwedd."
Fe wnaeth ymgeisydd Plaid Cymru yn Nwyfor Meirionnydd, Liz Saville Roberts gyflwyno mesur i fynd i'r afael â negeseuon o'r fath yn ei gwaith fel Aelod Seneddol.
"Rwy'n meddwl y dylai gwefannau cymdeithasol fod yn gwneud mwy i fynd i'r afael â'r broblem," meddai.
"Mae ganddyn nhw gyfrifoldeb ac rwy'n teimlo nad oes digon o atebolrwydd."
Dywedodd y Ceidwadwyr eu bod yn cymryd negeseuon ar-lein o ddifrif, a'u bod yn "cefnogi ymgeiswyr ac ASau i ddelio â'r mater".
Ond ym marn yr Athro Matthew Williams o adran droseddeg Prifysgol Caerdydd, mae buddion cyfryngau cymdeithasol yn drech na'r agweddau negyddol.
"Dydw i ddim yn meddwl o reidrwydd bod problemau gyda gwefannau cymdeithasol yn atal pobl ifanc rhag dilyn gyrfa mewn gwleidyddiaeth, ac mewn nifer o ffyrdd mae'n fantais ar gyfer lledaenu eu neges," meddai.
"Ond mae'n rhaid defnyddio synnwyr cyffredin i osgoi'r perygl a'r targedu. Os oes 'na rywun yn derbyn negeseuon sarhaus, y peth cyntaf y dylen nhw ei wneud yw ffonio'r heddlu." | Mae negeseuon ar-lein sy'n targedu gwleidyddion yn atal rhai merched rhag ymgeisio mewn etholiadau, yn ôl undeb. |
39963052 | Pipe, 33, a former Wales international, returns for a third spell with the Exiles after a loan deal last season.
Willmott, who had taken a job away from football after a spell in non-league, signed a new two-year deal.
Goalkeeper Joe Day and defender Mark O'Brien, who scored the goal that kept County up, also signed two year deals.
Meanwhile, forward Marlon Jackson has also agreed a one-year extension, alongside Pipe.
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Willmott, 26, returns to the Exiles having been part of the side promoted to the Football League in 2013, however, he has failed to return to an EFL club since being released by the club the following summer.
He gave up on ever returning to the sport and had taken up a job as a maintenance man with a supermarket but then had spells with Ebbsfleet, Bishop's Stortford and Chelmsford.
"I went to Ebbsfleet, finished at Bishop's Stortford and then questioned myself, I didn't think it was for me to keep playing," he said.
"I spoke to my family, my dad said to give it another year, but halfway through last season I decided to get a job.
"I was learning to be a maintenance man on the job, then I got a text saying about coming back to Newport.
"I didn't even open the message, I just got straight on the phone to my agent and said 'get it sorted.'
"I knew where I wanted to go, I would have taken a pay cut to come back.
"I would have come back last year, I never wanted to leave here in the first place. I love the club."
Ask any football fan for a fact about Newport County and chances are you will receive a comment about the state of the pitch.
However, after the Welsh Rugby Union completed their takeover of Newport Gwent Dragons, including taking control of Rodney Parade, things look set to change.
County boss Mike Flynn told BBC Wales Sport that the communications he has received word the WRU will install a Desso pitch, the hybrid playing surface used at other dual-purpose grounds, such as the Liberty Stadium.
That is to ease the pressure on ground staff with County, the Dragons and Newport RFC all sharing a facility.
"I hope the pitch is the biggest news of all, I've just signed five players on the back of the pitch and they will be calling me a liar if it doesn't happen," he said.
"We've been told and it has been reported that the WRU are putting down a Desso pitch and that is fantastic news.
"It gives me a great platform to produce the football on the pitch to excite the crowd." | Newport County have re-signed two key players who helped them into the EFL after agreeing deals with David Pipe and Robbie Willmott. |
39171865 | The woman, in her 20s, was left unconscious after the attack near Rope Walk on 25 February.
The two men are currently in custody at Martlesham Police Investigation Centre. They are due to be questioned later.
Suffolk Police returned to the Rope Walk area between 02:45 and 04:00 GMT on Saturday and spoke to people about the attack.
On Friday, police released CCTV footage of two people they wanted to trace. | Two men have been arrested on suspicion of rape in Ipswich after a woman was dragged into a car park and attacked. |
34440842 | South Carolina schools were shut on Monday and several motorways were closed as rain continued to fall.
One weather station in Columbia - South Carolina's capital - recorded 17 inches (43cm) in as many hours on Sunday.
The torrential rains have been made worse by a weather system connected to Hurricane Joaquin in the Caribbean.
The storm is not expected to hit the eastern US, but the moisture associated with it is contributing to heavy rainfall.
"The flooding is unprecedented and historical," said Dr Marshall Shepherd, a meteorologist and director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia.
Many of the victims have drowned after flood waters swept over their vehicles.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley urged residents to stay indoors.
"The water is not safe and a lot of areas across the state where you see this deep water, it's got bacteria in it. So, stay inside and don't get in there," she said.
President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in South Carolina. The move means state and local authorities can receive federal help to deal with the flooding.
"We have every ambulance in the county out responding to calls. People are being moved from their homes in boats," Georgetown County spokeswoman Jackie Broach told Reuters.
About 100 people were rescued from their cars on flooded roads on Saturday night.
In the historic city centre of Charleston, many streets have been closed and sandbags have been piled up to keep floodwaters out. | Nine people have been killed after "unprecedented" floods swept through the US states of North and South Carolina. |
25481772 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Nottinghamshire player, 34, has taken only seven wickets in this Ashes series defeat and has ruled himself out of the rest of the tour.
"This decision has been very difficult seeing as the England team has been my family for seven years now, but I feel it is the right time," he said.
Swann is sixth on the list of England wicket-takers with 255 in 60 Tests.
"I don't regret a single day of my career," he added. "Every high has been celebrated with verve and vigour and every low painfully accepted as a chance to learn and improve."
Swann's shock decision comes at the end of a week in which Australia secured an unassailable 3-0 series lead with two Tests to play and the player apologise for making comments on Facebook comparing his team's loss with rape.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann said: "It was a bit of a surprise. It's mid-tour, but obviously he's decided he's had enough.
A number of England players took to Twitter to praise Swann.
"Congrats on an amazing career mate you can be a very proud man," said England wicketkeeper Matt Prior on Twitter.
Fellow England and Nottinghamshire bowler Stuart Broad added: "A great friend and team-mate retired today. Been a pleasure to play and tour for Nottinghamshire and England."
Following the departure of batsman Jonathan Trott with a stress-related illness earlier in the tour, Swann's retirement further unsettles England ahead of the fourth Test, which starts in Melbourne on Boxing Day.
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"I know I'm making the decision for the right reasons," added Swann.
"My body doesn't like playing five-day cricket any more and I don't feel I can justify my spot in the team in the latter stages of a game.
"As a spinner, that's when you need to come into your own.
"With two games to go in Australia and then a fiercely competitive summer against Sri Lanka and India, I feel that it is a great time for someone else to strap themselves in and hopefully enjoy the ride as much as I have."
Swann, first named in an England squad back in 1999-2000, made his Test debut in 2008 and took four wickets against India in Chennai.
He established a reputation for taking wickets in the first over of a spell and became the sixth-highest wicket-taker for his country.
"If anyone had been in any doubt after the Ashes were lost with those three thumping defeats, Graeme Swann's retirement confirms that this is the definitive end of the era for this England team.
"The question now, with this tour falling apart and a possible 5-0 'Pomwash' on the cards, is who might go next. Andy Flower? Kevin Pietersen?"
'Swann's farewell marks end of an era'
Despite struggling with elbow problems in recent years, Swann played in three Ashes series victories and helped England become the number one Test side in the world in 2011.
He also took 104 wickets in 79 one-day internationals after making his debut against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2000 at the age of 20 and spent a spell as the top-ranked ODI bowler in 2011.
In addition, he helped England clinch their first major global world title at the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.
"My personal highlights include the three Ashes victories, which I will cherish for the rest of my life, and the World T20 victory in the West Indies, which ranks as my limited overs highlight," he added.
"I have met, played with and against, and become friends with some magnificent people throughout my journey and feel truly privileged to have been given these opportunities."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said Swann had quit "too soon". adding: "Spinners of his quality are a rare breed. Of all the England players over the last 20 years, he is the one the team will miss the most."
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew described Swann as a "true character" who had made a "massive contribution" to England.
Agnew said: "The general feeling was that this might be Swann's last tour, but this is unexpected. England's greatest challenge is replacing the man who was the lynchpin to their four-man attack."
England team director Andy Flower paid tribute to Swann's "outstanding contribution" to the team.
"His commitment, competitive spirit and sense of humour have been recognised and admired by team-mates and supporters alike," he said. "He has played a big part in England's success over the last five years."
England bowler Tim Bresnan said Swann's retirement will be a relief to some batsmen around the world.
"I will miss your constant put downs and abuse of my mental capacity," Bresnan said on Twitter. "Also, many batsmen around the world have just exhaled a huge sigh of relief due to your constant challenge of the stumps and prodigious spin."
England batsman Johnny Bairstow added: "Congratulations on a fantastic career. Thank you for the laughs, memories and smiles. Good luck mate, you are going to be missed."
"Going to miss you a lot," said England bowler Steve Finn. "Hope the next chapter is as exciting."
Do you think Swann has made the right decision? Have your say on the BBC Sport Facebook page. | England off-spinner Graeme Swann has announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. |
33498051 | The Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Partnership received the money from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help take its work into the community.
The group, which includes the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Environment Agency, launched in 2003.
Project officer, Ruth Craig, said events would be held to "educate" people about looking after the stream.
The stream, which runs through the Lincolnshire Wolds, is home to several threatened plant and animal species.
Ms Craig said the money would also go towards improvements work as well as running community events over the next three years.
Chalk streams are rare habitats with many under threat because of the growing demand for clear water and silt entering from fields and roads.
Head of HLF East Midlands, Vanessa Harber, said: "This project is a perfect way of raising awareness about their importance and involving an army of volunteers to help protect them for the future." | A project to conserve and protect a Lincolnshire chalk stream has been given a £45,000 cash boost. |
34045493 | The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said the amount of damages would be decided at a later date.
Russia did not take part in the hearings and it is not clear whether it will comply with the ruling.
The Russian authorities confiscated the Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise in September 2013.
The ship and 30 people on board were detained after activists from the Greenpeace campaign group tried to scale a Russian oil rig.
The court found that Russia had breached its obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It said the Netherlands was "entitled to compensation (with interest) for material damage to the Arctic Sunrise".
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders welcomed the ruling, saying it "makes clear that the Netherlands - as the flag state - had the right to stand up for the ship's crew".
"The Netherlands sees freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate as public goods that are worth defending," Mr Koenders went on.
The detainees - known as the Arctic 30 - were initially charged with piracy, but the charges were later reduced to hooliganism.
They were released on bail in November 2013 and the charges were later dropped after an amnesty law was passed. | An international court has ordered to Russia to pay damages to the Netherlands over its seizure of a ship protesting against oil drilling. |
40483504 | The 31-year-old joined the Bantams from Blackpool in July 2015 after a successful loan spell.
The former Middlesbrough man made 28 league appearances last season as the Valley Parade side finished fifth before losing to Millwall in the League One play-off final.
German back-up goalkeeper Rouven Sattelmaier, 29, has also signed a one-year deal with Stuart McCall's side.
They start the season with a home game against Blackpool on Saturday, 5 August. | Bradford City full-back Tony McMahon has signed a new one-year deal. |
33669345 | IS militants have been using the sprawling site as a command base since taking control of the city in May.
Some reports suggested Iraqi forces had retaken control of the complex.
The Iraqi military launched an operation this month to push IS out of Anbar province, large swathes of which are controlled by the militants.
The operation to retake the university complex was supported by US air strikes against IS positions around Ramadi.
A number of buildings in and around the complex were badly damaged or destroyed, Athal al-Fahdawi, a provincial councilman, told Associated Press.
The university is 5km (3 miles) south of Ramadi, which is the capital of Anbar province.
Recapturing the complex from IS would be a significant boost to the Iraqi forces' efforts to reclaim the city.
Sabah al-Noamani, a spokesman for Iraq's counter-terrorism forces, said the university was a "significant stronghold and a key command base" used by IS to co-ordinate attacks around Ramadi.
He said government forces were attempting to separate the university from nearby districts to cut supply routes for retreating militants.
IS seized parts of Ramadi, which is only 100km (60 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, along with the nearby city of Falluja and much of Anbar in January 2014.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told the BBC in May that the city could be retaken from IS "in days" but the militants still control most of it.
Anbar province, which is predominantly Sunni, covers a vast stretch of the country west from Baghdad to the Syrian border, and contains key roads that link Iraq to both Syria and Jordan.
A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes in Iraq and neighbouring Syria since August 2014 in an attempt to push back IS. | Iraqi forces have launched an attack against the Islamic State-controlled University of Anbar complex in the city of Ramadi, US officials said. |
39697156 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Italian cited both Manchester clubs after Man Utd spent a world-record £89m on midfielder Paul Pogba and Man City spent £47.5m on defender John Stones.
Chelsea are top, four points clear of Tottenham and have an 11-point lead over City and 12 points over United with six games remaining.
"It's important to understand it's not always who spends more wins," he said.
"This season isn't the only season both Manchester clubs have spent a lot of money. Look at the past."
The Blues were third in Premier League spending summer after spending £123m on players including midfielder N'Golo Kante and defender David Luiz. Manchester City topped the list on £175m, while Manchester United parted with around £150m. Tottenham were fourth after spending around £70m.
Conte described the market as "crazy" after the Premier League transfer spending record was broken with six days of the summer transfer window remaining.
He says his approach is about evolution, rather than revolution, adding: "(We want) to build, also, slowly slowly to become a real power."
Chelsea are also chasing a league and FA Cup double in his first season in charge - the Blues will play Arsenal in the showpiece final at Wembley on 27 May.
Asked if clinching the Premier League would be his best achievement, Conte, who led Italian side Juventus to three successive Serie A titles, said: "Yes, for sure. For me, for the players, for the club.
"To win in England these days is not easy. Now, it's a good season. To become a great or fantastic season there is only one way: to try to win."
Conte also rejected Cesc Fabregas' call for Eden Hazard to be more selfish, after the midfielder said his team-mate could reach the level of Lionel Messi if he was "selfish" and showed greater "killer instinct".
"In my team, I don't want selfish players. I prefer to lose a game than to have a selfish player," the Italian said.
"The first target for every great champion is to play for the team and to put your talent into the team. The best players in the world don't exist without a team. I don't think Messi is a selfish player.
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"For me, it's sad to listen to this. I don't want my club to buy me a selfish player one day. Never. No."
Chelsea, who have suffered two defeats in four Premier League matches, will face Southampton at home on Tuesday night.
Defender Gary Cahill is Chelsea's only doubt after he missed the cup semi-final with gastroenteritis, but Conte said the England international has returned to training and could feature. | Spending the most money on players does not guarantee Premier League success, says Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. |
18848985 | The bodies of a Spanish man and a Polish woman were found on Saturday at the Dome du Gouter peak, at an altitude of 4,400m.
The pair were found on the slopes of the mountain between Italy and France, near the Gouter refuge.
Their deaths come just days after nine climbers were found killed during an avalanche on the nearby slopes of Mont Maudit.
According to Italian news sources, the pair were part of a larger group of eight climbers who set out to climb the mountain earlier on Saturday and got caught in a storm. Their six fellow climbers were rescued by Italian alpine rescue teams.
All are currently being treated for exposure in hospital in the Italian mountain town of Aosta.
The bodies of the pair who died on Saturday were found on the French side of the border.
In Thursday's incident, which local authorities said was the deadliest avalanche in recent memory, nine climbers died on Mont Maudit.
Mont Maudit is the massif's third-highest peak, rising to 4,465m (14,650ft) and is considered one of the more difficult, though popular, paths to the summit of Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest peak.
Three of those killed were from the UK, three from Germany, two from Spain and one from Switzerland. Twelve other climbers were injured.
Among those who died was 55-year-old Roger Payne, was one of Britain's most respected climbers and a former general-secretary of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).. | Two young climbers have been found frozen to death on Mont Blanc. |
37343996 | The Hammers moved to the venue at the start of the season, but there have been unsavoury incidents involving their fans at the past three matches.
The club confirmed that 10 fans were ejected from the stadium during the 4-2 defeat by Watford on Saturday.
West Ham have also requested more experienced stewards.
Stewarding at the stadium is provided by LS185.
At the first Premier League match at the venue - against Bournemouth last month - some fans arrived with tickets for seats that did not exist, while fighting broke out between rival supporters outside the stadium.
Some of the disturbances are believed to be over persistent standing during matches and West Ham confirmed they had received seven complaints about standing following Saturday's game against Watford.
"E20 confirmed that immediate action is being taken on the issues raised," said a West Ham club statement.
"The club will work tirelessly with them to ensure London Stadium continues to be the inclusive and family-friendly environment that all parties have worked so hard to achieve.
"This includes a more robust and secure line of segregation between the home and visiting fans as specified by the club. We have been assured this will be in place ahead of the next match."
The Hammers have also appealed to supporters to report any incidents to the club.
Analysis - BBC sports editor Dan Roan:
"A blame game is now developing over the violent scenes at West Ham's new home.
"The club says the stadium's owners and matchday operator need to bolster policing, stewarding & segregation.
"However, it has also been suggested that West Ham could have done more to plan segregated family and singing sections, rather than prioritising the sale of season tickets, with the mix of traditional supporters and thousands of new fans thought to have led to tension." | West Ham have asked E20, which owns the club's London Stadium home, to ensure there is a police presence in the ground after recent trouble. |
35473946 | The famously black-clad country singer wrote a song about the prison, and also played a historic series of concerts for inmates there in the 1960s.
Aphonopelma johnnycashi is among 14 new tarantula species from the southern US which have been described by biologists in the journal ZooKeys.
Their study completely rewrites the family tree of the Aphonopelma genus.
One of dozens of tarantula genera, this group was previously considered to include more than 50 separate species.
As part of his PhD research at Auburn University in Alabama, Chris Hamilton carefully whittled that down to 29. He eliminated a lot of double-counting, but also defined 14 species that were entirely new to science.
"We really tried to clean the taxonomy up," said Dr Hamilton, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
"The only way we could do that was by looking at over 3,000 specimens, both from the wild and from natural history collections.
"A lot of previous names got eliminated. But there were 14 that were genuinely unique and new."
It is a telling example of the biodiversity to be found - sometimes literally - in our own backyards, he added.
"A lot of people think of new species as coming from areas of the Earth that not many humans have been to before... but that's really frankly not the case."
In particular, existing collections are a precious resource for scientists who want to study life's family tree.
"The majority of species, described or undescribed, have probably already been collected," Dr Hamilton told BBC News. "They're sitting on shelves waiting to be discovered."
Aphonopelma johnnycashi, however, was found roaming the wilds of California.
"It's found along the foothills of the western Sierra Nevada mountains, and one of the places that's there is Folsom Prison," Dr Hamilton explained - and it wasn't a giant imaginative leap from there to the species' new moniker.
"It's a perfect name. It fits the spider - it's found around Folsom and the males are predominantly all black, so it fits his image.
"I have a Johnny Cash tattoo so I was very happy that it worked out that way."
Dr Hamilton thinks that one reason the species had not been previously recognised is its similarity to other species of tarantula, such as Aphonopelma iodius which is common in the Mojave desert further south.
"They look fairly similar, particularly the females. The males, because they're more black, they're a little bit different.
"But if you were just looking at specimens that had been collected, and they were in a jar on a shelf, they would look pretty similar."
So wild collecting of johnnycashii males, before their dark hairs could fade in jars of preservative, was key.
"Then once we looked at the genomics and looked at some of the ecological constraints, we could see this species was pretty unique and independent from the others that it's closely related to," Dr Hamilton said.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter | A new species of black tarantula that lives near Folsom Prison, California, has been named after Johnny Cash. |
40606218 | Controversial new welfare reforms mean women can only claim tax credits for their first two children.
Among a series of exemptions are children who are born as a result of "non-consensual conception".
The British Medical Association said it would support doctors who refused to take part in the assessment process.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has insisted that rape victims would not be denied child tax credits.
It has said rape victims would not have to describe the details to members of its staff.
Instead, a healthcare professional, social worker or an approved rape charity could give evidence on their behalf.
However, the BMA is concerned that the new regulations raise ethical and professional problems for doctors.
Its UK council considered the role of doctors in the process and ratified a motion which "highlighted the terrible ordeal" of affected women.
Dr Peter Bennie, the chairman of BMA Scotland, said: "This legislation has been pushed through without thorough consultation with relevant stakeholders such as the BMA, and yet the regulations present significant ethical and professional challenges for doctors.
"The 'rape clause' is fundamentally damaging for women - forcing them to disclose rape and abuse at a time and in a manner not of their choosing, at pain of financial penalty.
"In addition to the likely negative impact on the woman and the doctor-patient relationship, there is also the impact on individual children, who may have been conceived through coercion or rape, to consider.
"This is an ill-conceived piece of legislation and I encourage doctors to consider very carefully whether to participate in this process or not."
The move was welcomed by SNP MP Alison Thewliss, who has led a campaign calling for the "rape clause" to be scrapped.
She said: "It is a strong message to the UK government and a clear stand against the damaging and immoral rape clause which forces women to disclose rape and abuse to avoid a financial penalty.
"The SNP have led the campaign against the Tories' two child-policy and the abhorrent rape clause right from the moment it was announced in George Osborne's July Budget in 2015.
"It was the SNP who questioned it time and time again, led debates against it and gathered opposition across civil society. We will continue to call for the two-child policy and the rape clause to be scrapped in this new Parliament of minorities.
"The two-child restriction on tax credits has been opposed by many organisations as being damaging to family incomes, particularly those who are working in low-paid jobs.
"The UK government now needs to listen to the BMA as well as many other organisations who are calling out the rape clause for what it really is - absolutely shameful."
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: "Forcing rape victims to fill out a form acknowledging their child is the result of rape is one of the most vile policies ever introduced by a Tory government, and that is saying something.
"Labour's government-in-waiting in Westminster would do what any decent government would and bring this abhorrent policy to an end." | The UK's largest doctors' union has heaped criticism on the Westminster government, describing the so-called "rape clause" as "shameful". |
40510336 | Astana rider Aru attacked with 2.3km to go on the final 6km climb up La Planche des Belles Filles and could not be caught by defending champion Froome.
Irishman Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) was second, 16 seconds adrift as Froome finished third, four seconds back.
Froome, 32, leads Welshman Thomas by 12 seconds in the general classification.
He was unable to repeat his first Tour stage win in 2012 on La Planche des Belles Filles, a mountain climb that has featured on the Tour twice before.
On both occasions, the rider with the yellow jersey at the end of the stage (Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Vincenzo Nibali in 2014) went on to win the title.
Italian national champion Aru is up to third, 14 seconds behind Froome, and also takes the King of the Mountain's polka dot jersey.
The 27-year-old has Grand Tour form, having won the Vuelta a Espana in 2015 and being runner-up in the Giro d'Italia earlier that year.
Thomas, who had led the race since winning stage one's individual time trial, knew he was likely to lose the yellow jersey on stage five - a 160.5km race from Vittel - saying before it started that his priority lay with helping his team leader.
He duly paced Froome, along with Michal Kwiatkowski and Mikel Landa, on the final climb which featured sections at 13% and averaged 8.5% before eventually being left behind as the favourites for the overall win upped their tempo.
"It's an amazing feeling to be back in yellow but the race is far from over, it's just beginning for me," said Froome, who is chasing a third successive Tour title, and fourth in five years.
"As a team we're in a great position with first and second and that gives us great confidence and options going forward.
"Today went really well, although if anything, I made a bit of a mistake in letting Aru go clear. He showed in the Criterium du Dauphine (Tour warm-up race) he was in great form and today confirmed that."
Froome will be buoyed by the fact he put more time between himself and the majority of his rivals, with Richie Porte, two time winner Alberto Contador, and two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana all finishing behind him.
An elite group of eight riders, including Belgium's former world champion Philippe Gilbert, broke clear as the race left Vittel and they quickly built a lead of more than three minutes.
That prompted the BMC Racing team to set the pace in the peloton because their leader Porte had earmarked the stage as one he could win.
The Australian lost more than 30 seconds to Froome on the opening time trial and had hoped to claw some of that back with 10 bonus seconds on offer to the stage winner.
However, his team-mates quickly disappeared on the final ascent, leaving Porte to follow other riders.
He kept pace with Froome on the upper slopes of the mountain, which touched 20% on one section, and crossed the line just behind to be awarded the same finishing time.
However, he lost another four seconds - the bonus on offer for third place.
Bury-born Simon Yates showed his rising class with a solid ride for sixth on the stage to make it three British riders in the top six.
The Orica-Scott climber tried to set off in pursuit of Aru and although he later conceded he "did not have the legs", the 24-year-old finished just two seconds behind another of the race favourites Romain Bardet of France.
His efforts saw him take possession of the white jersey, which is awarded to the quickest rider aged 25 or under.
Simon's twin brother Adam won the classification last year, on his way to finishing fourth overall.
Thursday's stage is a 216km race from Vesoul with a sprint finish expected on the wide boulevards of Troyes.
Stage five result:
1. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) 3hrs 44mins 06secs
2. Daniel Martin (Ire/Quick-Step) +16secs
3. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) +20secs
4. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) Same time
5. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +24secs
6. Simon Yates (GB/Orica) +26secs
7. Rigoberto Uran (Col/Cannondale) Same time
8. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek)
9. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) +34secs
10. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky) +40secs
General classification after stage five:
1. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) 18hrs 38mins 59secs
2. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky) +12secs
3. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +14secs
4. Daniel Martin (Ire/Quick-Step) +25secs
5. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) +39secs
6. Simon Yates (GB/Orica) +43secs
7. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +47secs
8. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek) +52secs
9. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) +54secs
10. Rafal Majka (Pol/BORA) +1min 01secs | Britain's Chris Froome took the yellow jersey from Team Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas as Italy's Fabio Aru won the fifth stage of the Tour de France. |
34431831 | Craig Disley and Danny East both went close for the visitors in a largely uneventful first half.
Sam Habergham had to be alert to clear a threatening Grimsby attack after the break, while Sean Marks shot over the bar for the Iron.
Disley went closest in the final minutes, rising to meet Richard Tait's cross, but his header hit the bar.
Grimsby Town manager Paul Hurst told BBC Radio Humberside:
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"It wasn't the prettiest of games. It very rarely is in truth when you come here.
"With the injuries we've picked up as well I'm happy with a clean sheet.
"We're in October, I don't think we've particularly had a bad spell of weather and we were hoping the pitch would be a bit better than it was." | Grimsby Town extended their unbeaten league run to nine games as they drew away at Braintree Town. |
30449236 | Gary Marshall has now been charged with the kidnapping of Kevin Conway, rather than his murder, Craigavon Magistrates Court was told on Friday.
Mr Conway, 30, was found with gunshot wounds at Soldierstown Road, Aghalee, County Antrim. The killing was widely blamed on the IRA.
Mr Marshall, 45, from Ennis Green in Lurgan, was released on continuing bail
Having been kidnapped from his Lurgan home, the body of Mr Conway, a married father of four was found on farmland on 17 February, 1998, his head hooded, hands tied behind his back and shot through the head.
Detectives arrested Mr Marshall in Birmingham last December after carrying out a review of the original RUC murder investigation and the court has previously heard that he could allegedly be connected to the execution by soil and forensic fibre evidence.
A defence solicitor has previously said that Mr Marshall "vehemently denies" any involvement in the murder.
A judge said he would fix a special day for a preliminary investigation into the new charge when the case is next before the court in January next year. | A man accused of a 1998 republican murder has had the charge against him dropped. |
39274806 | Police and wildlife officials went door to door late at night to tell residents a deadly cobra had apparently escaped from a home in Ocala.
The snake's owner, who is licensed to keep venomous animals, called police after it leapt out from its cage.
Owner Brian Purdy thinks one of his pet lizards may have eaten the snake.
Mr Purdy told officers that one of his large venomous pet lizards had an unusually large stomach, and that he would have a vet take an X-ray to see if the tan and yellow suphan monocled cobra is inside, the Ocala Star Banner reports.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say the snake escaped from its cage around 21:00 local time on Monday night while Mr Purdy was away from home.
Another man, who was shadowing Mr Purdy in order to receive his Venomous Reptile Permit, had been attempting to remove the snake from its enclosure when it jumped out at him and escaped into the sealed room.
Officials have alerted neighbours, but officials think the cold-blooded snake would not have gone far from the home due to cold weather.
The two-foot long (61cm) cobra is one of the world's deadliest snake species, but will only attack humans if it is startled, experts say. | Florida officials are searching for a highly venomous snake that escaped from its enclosure on Monday night, and has not been seen since. |
34688558 | At Titanic Slipways in Belfast a 'monster mash' took place.
The theme was 'carnival rock' and it ended with the largest fireworks display in the city.
Meanwhile, in Londonderry, a large crowd attended the annual street carnival and fireworks display. | Thousands of people attended Halloween celebrations in Northern Ireland on Saturday evening. |
32103959 | Defoe, 32, met a Steven Fletcher header to thump a looping shot into the top corner from 22 yards as Sunderland won for the first time in nine games.
His third goal for the club gave recently appointed boss Dick Advocaat a first win as Sunderland moved to 15th.
Newcastle rarely threatened as they slumped to a fourth straight loss.
Newcastle's recent record in the derby is nothing short of disastrous and their latest defeat will have done nothing to enhance caretaker-manager John Carver's seemingly slim prospects of getting the job on a permanent basis.
Carver, a Geordie, had promised no lack of effort and enthusiasm from his side in their effort to avoid a winless run in the fixture now extending back seven matches to August 2011.
But that was about all they did produce, not having a shot on target until the 78th minute as Advocaat was allowed to make the perfect start at the Stadium of Light.
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Like his two predecessors - Gus Poyet and Paolo Di Canio - the Dutchman was able to celebrate a win over Newcastle in his second match in charge.
The contrast from Sunderland's last home game could hardly have been greater when a 4-0 defeat by Aston Villa cost Poyet his job.
Advocaat has been appointed until the end of the season with a brief to lead the Black Cats to safety and their supporters, who had walked out in droves in Poyet's final match as manager, will now believe they can do it after they moved three points clear of the relegation places.
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Defoe's goal - his second at the Stadium of Light since the former England striker signed for Sunderland from Toronto FC in January - gave the Black Cats only their second win in 14 Premier League wins since they won at St James' Park just before Christmas.
His sublime effort was Sunderland's second goal in seven league games and reduced the striker to tears as the emotion and importance of the moment hit home.
The goal lit up an otherwise uninspired first half in which Defoe had failed to make the most of an earlier opportunity set up by Fletcher and Connor Wickham sent a deflected header against the outside of a post.
But Sunderland deserved their win which could have been more emphatic had they pressed home their superiority after the break.
The tireless Fletcher fluffed a chance to volley home Jordi Gomez's cross and then shot over.
Patrick van Aanholt also sliced a shot wide and Seb Larsson curled a free-kick past the post before picking up a 10th yellow card of the season to earn a two-match ban.
Newcastle finally tested goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon through Remy Cabella's shot on the turn but saw their last chance of an equaliser disappear three minutes from time when Ayoze Perez volleyed over from a corner. | Jermain Defoe's stunning first-half volley gave Sunderland a fifth successive derby win over Newcastle to ease their relegation fears. |
38791572 | He said news stories raising fears about blackouts should stop.
His optimism is based on the government's latest auction of capacity for power generation, which starts later today.
Firms will bid for subsidies to provide back-up power when needed.
The stand-by plants will run for a few days a year during extreme conditions.
Much of the back-up will be provided by old gas and coal plants that would otherwise be scrapped. Funded by the bill-payer, they will offer a sort of power insurance policy.
Mr Holliday told BBC News: "It's time for the headline of Blackout Britain to end - it's simply wrong. We've been talking about blackouts for 15 years every time it gets cold, but it's a scare story.
"The lights haven't gone out yet and thanks to the measures the government is putting in place this week they definitely won't go out in future. The UK has one of the most stable supplies of electricity in Europe."
The head of the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG), which represents companies that use a lot of energy, Jeremy Nicholson, has previously voiced fears about energy security but agrees the capacity auctions will secure supplies.
He told BBC News: "The power industry makes a lot of noise about tight generating margins but somehow manages to provide plenty of capacity when it's needed.
"The capacity issue is sorted now - frankly it should have happened 5-10 years ago. Our bigger concern now is the possibility that when margins are tight, the price will shoot through the roof."
A spokesman for Energy UK, the body that represents power generators, was also confident about security of supply, saying: "We fully support the Capacity Market and we believe it will keep the lights on in Great Britain."
The capacity auctions were originally due to supply back-up from 2018, but the government brought the scheme forward to cover next winter.
Successful bidders in the auctions will receive a payment for keeping power stations available between November and February whether or not they are generating.
Coal, gas and nuclear stations can bid for the availability payment, along with demand reduction suppliers and interconnectors. National Grid juggles what's needed and when.
The capacity auction is expected to cost £2-3bn a year.
A government spokesman said securing capacity to back up intermittent forms of energy like solar and wind might cost about £7 per year per household at first, shrinking to £2 over the long term. He said power shortages resulting in price spikes would be much more expensive.
Generating margins were forecast to be tight for this winter, but there has been no problem, despite a long cold windless spell during which wind energy has produced around 1% of electricity demand. The highest daily percentage of wind power was over 20%.
Mr Holliday, who was chief executive of National Grid until July 2016, forecasts that all future talk of blackouts will be made redundant by a revolution in flexible electricity, with customers using power when it is cheapest.
One current weapon at National Grid's disposal is a contract for flexible supply with firms which don't manufacture continuously.
The firms get compensated if they are asked to stop consuming power for a while during, say, a windless spell.
Stories in the media have reported this as risky for UK Plc. But the EIUG disagrees.
Mr Nicholson told BBC News: "Clearly firms can benefit from being incentivised to turn down their energy use if it doesn't affect their production. Firms needing continuous production don't turn off their power."
Follow Roger on Twitter. | The UK has enough energy capacity to meet demand - even on the coldest days when demand is highest, says Steve Holliday, the man who ran National Grid for a decade. |
36773819 | Carberry was forced to take a break from the game when diagnosed with blood clots on his lung in November 2010.
The 35-year-old ex-England Test opener, who has scored 411 Division One runs so far this season, had been complaining of feeling unwell after matches.
"He has been feeling gradually worse," coach Dale Benkenstein told BBC Sport.
"We're all holding thumbs everything is alright. He seems fine, but it's just a peace of mind with the condition he has and has been coping with throughout his career.
"He's had some complications and he just wants to find out what's wrong."
Hampshire have struggled this season and are currently bottom of County Championship Division One and the T20 Blast South Group.
Benkenstein is hopeful Carberry will return for the side's T20 matches against Glamorgan on Thursday and at Sussex on Friday.
"If we get some answers and everything is okay, he'll be available to play those games and the rest of the season," the South African told BBC Radio Solent.
"There are just a couple of concerns, so we just want to be sure there's not anything more than just not feeling well."
Meanwhile, Lancashire bowler Gavin Griffiths has joined Hampshire on loan and is set to feature in their next two T20 Blast fixtures.
Griffiths, 22, took 2-23 in last season's final as Lancashire beat Northants at Edgbaston. He made his debut earlier the same day in a semi-final win against Hampshire.
"We're a bit short on the bowling front with recent injuries to players like Ryan McLaren," Benkenstein said.
"Gavin gives us another option during a busy month of the season where our priorities are now four-day and 50-over cricket.
"He's potentially got a lot to get out of his time with us." | Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry is to see a specialist after missing his side's County Championship match against Warwickshire through illness. |
39351694 | Almost a quarter of a century after he left the Daily Mirror to work for Tony Blair, Campbell will write regular columns and, like all editors-at-large, become an ambassador for the product, I have learned.
He will also commission pieces.
It was Campbell who persuaded Blair to write a high-profile front-page story for the paper.
Campbell already has a regular slot, whether a column or interview, in GQ magazine and also the International Business Times.
The most interesting thing about this story isn't what it says about Campbell, who chose the paper to serialise his recent memoirs, but about the growing confidence, impact and viability of the so-called pop-up paper for the 48% of Britons who voted Remain.
The paper's editor, Matt Kelly, is winning plaudits all over the place for turning a frankly quirky experiment after last year's referendum into a print product whose subscriber base is growing as it approaches its first birthday.
Kelly won special recognition at last week's Press Awards (full disclosure: I was one of the many judges involved in the awards).
Kelly, who looks like Al Capone after a stint with Slimming World, and talks in a thick Scouse accent (he grew up in Formby) that doesn't smack of metropolitan elite, is also chief content officer of Archant, the family-owned publisher founded in 1845.
Latest circulation figures for The New European suggest it sells more than 20,000 copies. Its 48 pages are put together by a staff of about five in Norwich.
I suspect Campbell's 370,000 followers on Twitter will be hearing plenty more about The New European.
He and Kelly both know that if even one in 100 of them took out a subscription, that would be transformative for this brave little title. | Alastair Campbell is returning to British newspapers as editor-at-large of The New European. |
30999728 | Rivers suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing a procedure to examine her throat at the Yorkville Endoscopy centre in August 2014.
The legal claim alleges doctors were not adequately trained and performed unauthorised procedures on the star.
Rivers' family is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
In November, state health investigators said the clinic failed to follow standard protocols while treating Rivers, who died a week later.
The Department of Health cited multiple errors, including failing to detect the comedian's deteriorating vital signs during the procedure, but negligence was not suspected.
The New York medical examiner's office ruled Rivers died of brain damage due to lack of oxygen during the procedure.
The death was classified as a "therapeutic complication", meaning it was a known risk.
'Outrageous behaviour'
However Melissa Rivers claims doctors mishandled the endoscopy and performed another procedure - carried out by specialist Gwen Korovin who was not cleared to work at the clinic - without consent.
During the second procedure, gastroenterologist Dr Lawrence Cohen and Ms Korovin took pictures on their mobile phones of themselves with the sedated comedian. Ms Korovin later said she thought Rivers would have wanted to see the images. Dr Cohen has since resigned.
The legal claim alleges staff were not properly trained to detect Rivers' deteriorating vital signs or deal with the type of emergency airway obstruction she suffered before going into cardiac arrest.
It also claims Ms Korovin left the room at this point because she knew she was not permitted to be there and "wanted to avoid getting caught".
Melissa Rivers said filing the lawsuit was one of the most difficult decisions she had to make.
"What ultimately guided me was my unwavering belief that no family should ever have to go through what my mother, Cooper and I have been through," she said, referring to her son.
"The level of medical mismanagement, incompetency, disrespect and outrageous behaviour is shocking and frankly, almost incomprehensible."
The Yorkville Endoscopy centre said it was not appropriate to comment on the legal action.
"The Rivers family has, as it has always had, our deepest sympathies and condolences," it said. | Joan Rivers' daughter has filed a malpractice claim against the New York medical clinic that treated her mother days before she died. |
36104258 | The DR Congo side were eliminated from Africa's premier club competition on Wednesday, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Wydad Casablanca.
Now they must try to salvage some pride by coming through a play-off to reach the group stage of the second tier competition.
Tunisians Stade Gabesien stand in their way over two legs, to be played on 6-8 May and 17-18 May.
Also dropping down to the Confederation Cup play-offs are the competition's reigning champions Etoile du Sahel. The Tunisians lost on penalties to Enyimba in their Champions League tie, also on Wednesday.
Etoile, the only to win all five Confederation of African Football club competitions, had fought back to win the second leg 3-0 only to fail in the shootout.
TP Mazemebe and Etoile and six other other Champions League round-of-16 losers make up half of the play-off field.
The other eight teams in the draw survived a three-round Confederation Cup elimination process.
Tunisian teams have dominated the 13-year-old competition with CS Sfaxien lifting the trophy three times and Etoile twice. Moroccan clubs have been the second most successful in the Confederation Cup.
Confederation Cup play-offs draw:
MO Bejaia (Algeria) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
Stade Malien (Mali) vs FUS Rabat (Morocco)
Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) vs CF Mounana (Gabon)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) vs Stade Gabesien (Tunisia)
Ahli Tripoli (Libya) vs Misr Makassa (Egypt)
El Merreikh (Sudan) vs Kawkab (Morocco)
Young Africans (Tanzania) vs Sagrada Esperanca (Angola)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) vs Medeama (Ghana) | Champions League holders TP Mazembe must quickly come to terms with their drop down to the Confederation Cup and prepare themselves to face Stade Gabesien. |
40071958 | Mae rhai busnesau yn dweud nad oes digon wedi cael ei wneud i'w paratoi ar gyfer y digwyddiad chwaraeon mwyaf yng Nghymru.
Mae'r llinell wedi'i sefydlu gan dîm o berchnogion busnes am eu bod yn poeni nad yw llawer o fusnesau wedi cysylltu â'r cyngor.
Ond yn ôl llefarydd ar ran Cyngor Caerdydd mae pob cwmni wedi cael ymweliad a gwybodaeth am y trefniadau.
Mae disgwyl i gannoedd o filoedd o gefnogwyr ymweld â Chaerdydd wrth i dimau Real Madrid ac Juventus wynebu ei gilydd yn Stadiwm Principality.
Bydd nifer fawr o ffyrdd ar gau am resymau diogelwch ac er mwyn rheoli maint y dorf.
Dyw pob busnes yn y brifddinas ddim yn credu y byddant yn elwa.
"Ry'n yn gweld hynny o hyd ar ddiwrnodau rygbi," meddai Tim Corrigan, perchennog caffi Milk and Sugar.
"Busnesau gwahanol sy'n elwa o ddigwyddiadau mawr - bariau, tai bwyta a gwestai fel arfer."
Gofid Kharl Pitman, sy'n rhedeg y Bierkeller, yw y bydd hi'n anodd i'w staff gyrraedd a mynd adref o'r gwaith er mae'n cydnabod bod disgwyl i'w fusnes elwa.
Mae e'n dweud y gallai y grwpiau sy'n arwain masnachwyr ac arweinyddion busnes fod wedi gwneud rhagor.
"Mae yna fforwm y trwyddedwyr, er enghraifft sy'n cwrdd bob deufis. Dylai'r fforwm fod wedi arwain at weithgaredd a fyddai'n annog busnesau i gyfarfod a rhannu newyddion y cyngor."
Mae busnesau eraill, fel cadwyn trin gwallt y Lazarou Brothers, wedi addasu a'r bwriad yw dechrau ymgyrch cyfryngau cymdeithasol a fydd yn targedu pobl a fydd yn ymweld â'r brifddinas.
Mae'r gwestai wedi cael eu llogi ers wythnosau ac mae diddordeb mawr wedi bod ar wefannau cynnig llety.
"Mae'r llety'n llawn," meddai Nigel Read o gwmni asiantaeth dai Sea Breeze ym Mhenarth.
"Mae'n amser da i'r cwmni ond dyw'r Cyngor ddim wedi rhoi cyngor na chefnogaeth i ni."
Rhif y linell gymorth sydd wedi'i sefydlu i helpu busnesau yw 02920 107700. Y nod medd un o'r sefydlwyr Cindy Williams yw "cyfathrebu, deall a gwneud pethau yn haws."
Ychwanegodd: "Dros yr wythnosau diwethaf rydym wedi bod yn bryderus am y nifer o fusnesau sydd eto i gysylltu â Chyngor Caerdydd.
"Ry'm yn credu nad yw nifer wedi cael gwybodaeth - ac fe allai hynny arwain at gamgymeriadau costus neu fethu elwa ar y sefyllfa.
"Bydd y llinell gymorth yn rhoi cymorth arbenigol a chyngor cyfoes."
Dywedodd llefarydd ar ran Cyngor Caerdydd bod swyddogion wedi bod yn ymweld â busnesau ar draws y ddinas ers mis Mawrth.
"Yn ystod ein cyfarfodydd," meddai, "rydym wedi gweithio'n galed er mwyn sicrhau bod busnesau yn elwa'n llawn o'r digwyddiad a phan yn bosib ry'n wedi ceisio cwrdd a gofynion diogelwch busnesau.
Os yw busnesau dal yn teimlo eu bod angen gwybodaeth angenrheidiol awgrymwn eu bod yn cysylltu â [email protected]
Hefyd mae'r wybodaeth ddiweddara i'w chael ar wefan Caerdydd 2017. | Mae llinell gymorth 24 awr newydd agor i fusnesau Caerdydd ar drothwy gêm fawr Cynghrair y Pencampwyr. |
31848168 | The 5.2cm (two inch) coin was taken to the auction house in Dorchester, Dorset, by its owner who was unaware of its significance.
The Declaration Pound, which dates from 1643, was described by auctioneers as "extremely rare".
It was struck in Oxford, a year after the English Civil War broke out, at a new mint created to launch an official currency under Royalist control.
Duke's Auctioneers had expected the coin to fetch £50,000.
It had been handed down through several generations to the current owner, who said she did not know where it had originally come from.
The coin marks Charles I's attempts to regain his failing power from the Parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell.
A legend inscribed on the back of the coin in Latin reads: "Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered".
It is seen as a declaration of the king's power and his belief in absolute monarchy.
According to the National Archives, £1 in 1640 would have been worth £85.80 in 2005. | A rare solid silver £1 coin has sold at auction for £46,000. |
37189213 | Public Health England (PHE) said the majority of cases of the cryptosporidium bug confirmed since the beginning of June were in Wiltshire.
Other cases have been identified in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.
The Oasis leisure centre swimming pool in Swindon remains closed after a number of cases were linked to it.
PHE said there had now been 34 cases confirmed in the Swindon Borough Council area, 27 in Wiltshire Council's area and 31 in Gloucestershire.
A total of 131 cases in the rest of the South West include 23 in Somerset, 20 in Devon and 19 in Bristol.
An investigation into the source of the predominantly waterborne disease is continuing, a spokesperson said.
Dr Toyin Ejidokun, from PHE South West, said "appropriate control measures" were being taken to help prevent further cases.
"Cryptosporidiosis is predominantly a waterborne disease and infection can be caused by drinking contaminated water or swallowing contaminated water in swimming pools or streams.
"It can also be acquired by animal and human contact."
She added that the anyone could get cryptosporidiosis, but it is "most common in young children aged between one and five years".
"We have had confirmed reports of Cryptosporidium infection amongst a number of people who visited the Oasis swimming pool in Swindon earlier this summer.
"The swimming pool is one of a number of possible exposures that we are exploring.
"At this point, there is no confirmed source of exposure." | An outbreak of a sickness and diarrhoea bug in the South West of England has widened to 223 cases. |
34101872 | Yvette Cooper said the upcoming vote should be a "huge opportunity" for the party to move forward.
Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham and Jeremy Corbyn are the other contenders.
Ms Cooper also said First Minister Carwyn Jones should be given a "stronger voice" in the party in Wales.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement programme, she said: "This should be a huge opportunity. The danger not just for the Labour party but the whole country is if we turn our back on winning the next election."
She added: "There are so many people in Wales who depend on a Labour government."
Ms Cooper called the leadership vote an opportunity to "come together" and have "radical ideas for the future but also to be credible".
She also said Labour should have more shadow cabinet meetings in Wales, champion more devolution and a UK constitutional convention.
The result of the leadership contest is due on 12 September. | There is a "danger" for Welsh people who depend on a Labour government if the party turns its back on winning the next election, a leadership candidate has said. |
21510767 | Ansaru was formed in January 2012, though it rose to prominence only about six months later through the release of a video in which it vowed to attack Westerners in defence of Muslims worldwide.
"For the first time, we are glad to announce to the public the formation of this group that has genuine basis," said a statement issued by the group in January 2012 and quoted in local media.
"We will have [a] dispassionate look into everything, to encourage what is good and see to its spread and to discourage evil and try to eliminate it."
Its full Arabic name, Jama'atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, means: "Vanguards for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa".
This suggests that it has a wider regional agenda, with the UK listing Ansaru as a "terrorist group" linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Just two months after it was formed, the UK said the militant group had killed a Briton and an Italian taken hostage in the north-western state of Sokoto after a failed attempt to rescue them.
Then in December 2012, it abducted French national Francis Colump, 63, following an attack on a well-guarded compound in the northern town of Rimi, about 25km (15 miles) from Katsina city.
About 30 Ansaru gunmen used dynamite to force their way into the compound, seizing Mr Colump who, officials, said, was working on a wind power project.
It carried out a similar attack in February 2013, capturing seven foreign nationals from a housing compound owned by the Lebanese construction company Setraco.
It said the attack was to avenge "transgressions" by European nations in Mali and Afghanistan, where Western forces are battling Islamist insurgents.
On Saturday, it released a video saying it had killed the "Christian" hostages because the UK and Nigerian forces were planning an operation to rescue them - an allegation the UK denied.
It has also carried out attacks on Nigerian targets.
In January 2013, Ansaru said it had carried out an attack which killed two Nigerian soldiers as they prepared to deploy to Mali.
The group said it targeted the troops because the Nigerian military was joining the French-led military campaign to "demolish the Islamic empire of Mali".
French journal Jeune Afrique-L'Intelligent says Ansaru is led by the little-known Abu Ussamata al-Ansary.
It quoted a statement by him as saying that the Nigerian government was "incapable of defending Muslims in inter-religious violence with Christians".
The group also said it was fighting to reclaim "the lost dignity of Muslims of black Africa" and the creation of an Islamic caliphate from Niger to Cameroon and northern Nigeria.
Analysts believe it is an off-shoot of Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, rather than across the region.
"To some, the sect headed by Ansary is seen as one that will compliment the 'struggle' by the Boko Haram sect under Imam Abubakar Shekau but to many it is an indication that all is not well with the leadership of the Boko Haram sect and that there has been conflict about its ideology and its understanding of Islam," wrote journalist Tukur Mamu in Nigeria's Desert Herald newspaper last year.
"Hence, the decision to form a new group."
According to Nigeria's Standard newspaper, Ansaru has denounced Boko Haram's style of operation as "inhuman to the Muslim ummah [nation]", an apparent reference to killing of innocent Nigerians - Christian and Muslim - through bombings and assassinations.
"Islam forbids killing of innocent people, including non-Muslims. This is our belief and we stand for it," Mr al-Ansary said in the video released last year.
But Mr al-Ansary added that non-Muslims can be killed "in self-defence or if they attack Muslims", which seems to explain the killing of Nigerian soldiers to be deployed to Mali.
However, analysts say it does not justify the killing of civilian hostages - unless Ansaru holds them accountable for the actions of Western governments in countries such as Mali, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Analysts believe that Nigeria's government will find it more difficult to end the Islamist insurgency now that two groups are operating.
The government is said to be working with counter-terrorism experts from several countries - including the US and UK - in an attempt to neutralise the threat posed by Boko Haram and Ansaru, amid fears that they could worsen instability across West and central Africa. | Nigeria's militant Islamist group Ansaru has proved to be a formidable threat during its short existence, using dynamite to penetrate heavily-fortified compounds and taking foreigners hostage - seven of whom it said it had killed on Saturday. |
35924188 | Tipuric suffered a heavy blow to the head as he fell from a line-out in Wales' 67-14 Six Nations win over Italy on 19 March.
Ospreys backs coach Gruff Rees said: "We're not even putting any thought process around when the next game for Justin can be.
"It may be we just sit tight and see the season out and get to the summer."
Rees described the incident on 19 March in which Tipuric was injured as a "hefty blow".
The 2013 British and Irish Lion started for Wales as captain Sam Warburton had been concussed in the defeat by England seven days earlier.
Tipuric went on to miss Ospreys' 25-16 Pro12 defeat by Scarlets last Saturday and he will be absent when the Swansea-based team visit Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday, 1 April.
Rees added: "He was in the office last Friday and he had a tough old week of it in terms of just being inactive at home and really not being comfortable getting out and about.
"And we're not putting any pressure on him having to do anything but sitting on the sofa."
Rees added: "You've got to be really wary and sit back and look at the long-term betterment of these players."
Wales lock colleague Alun Wyn Jones is also on the Ospreys sidelines as he recovers from a heel problem.
No matter what part Jones and Tipuric play in the rest of Ospreys' season, Wales hope they are fit to face New Zealand down under in three Tests in June. | Ospreys could be without Wales and Lions flanker Justin Tipuric for the rest of the 2015-16 season. |
32852570 | In his first interview since that moment two weeks ago, the man who thought he was about to be chancellor told me about his "sense of loss" after his party's failure and a personal defeat which he describes as "a symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy".
Ed Balls was in reflective mood when we spoke - looking back at what he'd achieved as much as forward to what might be next.
"I think one of the really important things in life is to think about what you've done rather than fixate on what you might not have done," he said.
"So in those 20 years, I helped keep us out of the euro, I helped Britain to have an independent Bank of England, to raise education leaving age to 18, Sure Start, the national minimum wage, changing the health service - these are all good things.
"We didn't get everything right. We did some good things and I'm proud of what I've done and the decisions I've made."
When he lost his seat he thought back to the day he was first elected and gave his rather startled Tory successor a word or two of advice on how she should handle her victory speech and the waiting media.
Balls told me that it was not until the early hours of Friday that he knew he'd lost.
I asked what his emotions were at that moment, if there were tears.
He replied: "I've been around for a long time so I've seen wrenching political change and I've seen people be surprised by outcomes... a year ago, two years ago it was a really hard thing for us to do to win this election.
"Five years ago coming out of government after the financial crisis, I think many people thought it was an impossibility.
"In the final weeks we fought a good campaign and we were neck and neck in the poll. I think we thought there was a chance. But I think over the course of that night, as the results came in, we knew that chance had alluded us and it wasn't anger or tears, more a dawning disappointment and sense of loss."
Balls is not yet ready to to step back into Westminster - we spoke overlooking the City of London - but is he ready to accept the blame for what went wrong for him and his party?
When I asked him whether "Ed Balls was one of the reasons Labour was unelectable?" he replied: "Of course. I mean Ed Miliband said straight after the election he took responsibility but all of us have to bear our share of responsibility.
"Ed was the leader I backed him as shadow chancellor 100%. In the end he didn't persuade people he could be the prime minister but I didn't persuade people I could be the chancellor either.
"I have to take that on the chin. People will analyse for weeks and months what happened and that's something that still feels too early for me.
"I'm not going to start giving you a verdict or a judgement. That's something I might do in future, might come back to. Not now. It's for others to go for the instant commentary and work out the next steps for Labour and the country.
"It is though pretty clear who he blames for one vital mistake made by his party - the failure to woo business.
"I think I wanted to be more pro-business but I also backed Ed Miliband 100 per cent. He was the leader, I was the shadow chancellor. We both worked very hard and in the end neither he or I persuaded people and we need to take our responsibility for that. It's not all on him it's on all of us."
It was Ed Balls though who was Gordon Brown's key economic adviser in the run up to the Great Crash and there's one question which has haunted him and his party - Did Labour spend too much in government? Why did Britain enter that crisis with a budget deficit and not a surplus ?
"Before 2007 it is a matter of record that we had a low level of national debt because of the decisions we had made but also we had a small deficit.
"People will now say that that small deficit should have had a small surplus. The reality is that would have made a small difference, not a big difference, that couldn't have made a difference to the global financial crisis, which was a huge failure in our banking system and a failure of regulation which I have taken on the chin for the last ten years. In the end though we didn't convince people of that argument, but i am afraid those are the facts."
Just as he leave frontline politics his wife - Yvette Cooper - is stepping forward to take over as the next Labour leader.
He told me she is "brilliant and people will get a chance to see what she stands for" but he insisted that "I am not playing a role in her campaign" except "whilst she is busy I can do more to help family."
Asked whether whether he worries that she is applying for the toughest job in British politics he said: "You have to take your calling when it comes."
What though of his future - ever since he was a student Balls has had politics in his blood - is he really going to walk away from it now?
"I'm not going to be dashing back" to front-line politics, Balls says, before swiftly adding but "never say never".
He was, he told me, embarking on "a new chapter, outside of politics. No by-elections, not back in parliament, that is how it feels at the moment. Outside of politics is where I am going next."
What, though ,of rumours that he fancies an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing - a prospect his wife has described as "truly terrifying"?
Despite running three marathons he told me "I'm not sure if I'm equipped for Strictly" - a non-denial denial if ever I heard one.
What he will talk about is his desire to spend more time "cooking, running, playing the piano" and using "real time to stand back and think", to write about economics.
I very much suspect we have not seen the last Ed Balls moment.
Here is the full transcript of the interview:
Ed Balls: Clearly I've got more time on my hands than I've had for the past 20 years, it's only been a couple of weeks, it's flown by. I've had hundred of letters and emails from Labour voters and Tory voters - I've been replying to them. I've been trying to get fit again, get back to piano practice, my oldest daughter is doing the GCSE now, with Yvette very busy at the moment there's a bit more time for me to spend with the family and also outside of the day to day there's a bit more space. I've been thinking about and writing about economics for 20 years and there's really big issues out there, what's happening to secular stagnation, is the financial system sound - the development challenge which is pushing migrants into Europe - these are things where for the first time there's real time to stand back and think and write a bit, that's what I'm doing.
Nick Robinson: That sounds like there's a book coming or a series of lectures, we've not heard the end of Ed Balls on economics?
EB: It's a new chapter for me, and it's a big change. I think .. you never know what's going to be happening in the future, I'm not going to be standing for a by-election …and while you never say never I think for me the reality is the next phase for me is going to be outside of politics, but there's ways in which you can make a difference in the world outside of Parliament and that's something I'd like to do - who knows if there'll be a chance to be in public service again in the future, but for me now .. out of politics is where it is.
NR: But politics has been in your blood since you left University, people will find it hard to imagine after those five years..maybe.. after a breather you won't be back.
EB: I came into politics to make a difference, and that's what I've tried to do in my life. And I think one of the really important things in life is to think about what you've done rather than fixate on what you might not have done. So in those 20 years I helped keep us out of the Euro, I helped Britain to have an independent Bank of England, to raise education leaving age to 18, Sure Start, the national minimum wage, changing the health service - these are all good things. We didn't get everything right, we did some good things and I'm proud of what I've done and the decisions I've made. But it is a different chapter for me now, and there's big issues out there in the world that I'd like to think about to write about to get involved in. I don't know where it's going to take me but it's new and a change and I'm still fairly young. I'm looking forward to it, it's exciting.
NR: So just to clarify no by-elections?
EB: No by-elections.
NR: No House of Lords?
EB: Out of politics is how I'm thinking of things at the moment.
NR: Not running a think tank?
EB: Look you never say never about anything 'cos who knows what's going to happen - it's only been a couple of weeks, but I think the reality for me now is that I want to make a difference to the world outside of politics - that's how I'm thinking about things - I'm not going to dashing back.
NR: The big question everybody says I have to ask you is Strictly. Are you going to take to the ballroom floor?
EB: Three marathons means I am fit but am I really fit enough for Strictly? When you look at it, the people who on Strictly, they tend to be half my age and to have played international sport or been to stage school or on the stage.
" am not sure if I am quite equipped for Strictly.
NR: Vince Cable, Ann Widdecombe did it, surely Ed Balls can do it?
EB: (sounding uncertain): Errrr.., OK, OK.
NR: Let me take you back two weeks ago - many people thought you were about to be chancellor of the exchequer, did you - even on Thursday night?
EB: We knew it was really close, and before that exit poll all the opinion polls said the election was on a knife edge....I'm not sure if it was more than 50% but I thought it was a real possibility. So to go from that through the exit poll, that swing to the conservatives through to losing my seat in seven hours. In 2010 I held on, I think in 2015 the Tories were as surprised as I was by what happened in my constituency and in seats across the country, so it was a big change...
NR: So within the space of a day, you went from thinking I might be standing outside No11 to being redundant?
EB: Politics is a brutal business and it is tough, as Robin Day famously said us politicians can be here today and gone today, and that's what happens. But in the end the reason is because we live a democracy and in a democracy the people decide. And however tough it is for us individual politicians - especially if you're fighting a marginal seat like mine - you can be here today and gone tomorrow and that is democracy. So in the end, although was hard for me, I am a symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy. And that's something I think people are proud of, and celebrate, and although hard for me ... it shows the kind of country we live in.
NR: You were also a symbol too of Labour's defeat, some people said it was like the Portillo moment for the Tories. Does that hurt that there were people saying 'Yes! Ed Balls has gone?'
EB: The thing which hurts is the fact the millions of people who voted for us, and many thousands of people who worked to campaign for a Labour govt were disappointed because we didn't succeed, and we didn't convince people that we were the right people to be in govt. And as I said on the night, such big issues for our country - whether we stay in the European Union, whether we can hold our union together, the depth of public spending cuts George Osborne is planning and the risk to the national heath service and I can't now change that course and that direction. In that sense there are very many people who wanted us to succeed and we didn't and my disappointment is much much more about the result about what happened to the government than anything to do with my, that is really secondary. That is how I felt in those moments, when I found out my result, I already knew what was happening in the country - and that was a much bigger deal.
Repeat of last question due to plane noise.
EB: There are very many millions of people who voted for Labour, many thousands who worked hard for a Labour govt because they wanted us to win. And the disappointment is that we didn't convince enough people that we could be the next govt, that they could trust in us. And it means that on those big issues facing our country whether we can save our national health service , whether we can keep our union together, whether or not we can keep Britain in the European Union and reform Europe. We now can't chart that course. And for me that disappointment is much much bigger than anything personally that happened to me - I knew for hours that night what was happening in the country. And by the time it came to my speech, what happened in the country was a much much bigger sense of sorrow than anything personal, that wasn't the issue for me.
NR: You knew for hours that you might lose but not days, when did you first realise that you might lose?
EB: I didn't know that I was actually going to lose my seat until the returning officer gave us the result at 7.30 in the morning, so I had hours of uncertainty …I think the point where I knew that things were not turning out the way in which we hoped, when we knew .. was not the exit poll, it was probably results from Wrexham and Nuneaton and Swindon North about 1 in the morning which showed a swing from Labour to the Conservatives. My seat was a very marginal seat, in 2010 we just held on. I always knew if Tories had a majority I was probably a goner but the reason I travelled seven and a half thousand of miles and went to 45 seats because I was fighting to win but only when it dawned in those hours after 1 in the morning that … actually things had not gone the way anybody had expected and the conservatives might get to a majority it was that point where I started to think well maybe my seat might go as well. By then though, it was clear that Labour wasn't going to be the govt and that was a much bigger deal for me.
NR: And your emotion when you realised that - shock, anger, tears?
EB: I've been around for a long time so I've seen wrenching political change and I've seen people be surprised by outcomes... a year ago, two years ago it was a really hard thing for us to do to win this election. Five years ago coming out of government after the financial crisis I think many people thought it was an impossibility. In the final weeks we fought a good campaign and we were neck and neck in the polls I think we thought there was a chance. But I think over the course of that night as the results came in we knew that chance had alluded us and it wasn't anger or tears more a dawning disappointment and sense of loss.
NR: A loss for what might have been?
EB: Yeah of course because look we worked so hard for so long to try and win people's trust to convince people and there were so many people relying on us to do so and even now, since the election many more people come up to me to say we're really sorry or this is how we felt and you can feel that sense of disappointment and that's hard because I wanted to win.
NR: You must ask yourself again and again why and - this is hard question - do you ever look at yourself and think maybe Ed Balls was one of the reasons Labour was unelectable?
EB: Of course. I mean Ed Miliband said straight after the election he took responsibility but all of us have to bear our share of responsibility. Ed was the leader I backed him as shadow chancellor 100% in the end he didn't persuade people he could be the Prime Minister but I didn't persuade people I could be the Chancellor either. I have to take that on the chin. People will analyse for weeks and months what happened and that's something that still feels too early for me. I'm not going to start giving you a verdict or a judgement. That's something I might do in future, might come back to. Not now. It's for others to go for the instant commentary and work out the next steps for Labour and the country.
NR: You know what they say - were you just too associated with the past? In the end is the election that was still about the great crash? Ed Balls, Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown - they're all the lot that got us into the mess.
EB: There was a global financial crisis. I think Labour made important decision during that period to stop Britain & the world going into depression. But in the end we didn't convince people of that argument and we didn't convince people we were the right people to take the country forward and in the end that's why we lost. And you know the why , the analysis of that is something that will now happen and we can all contribute to that in the future, but for me it feels too early to start making judgements about that. But I know in the end we didn't win because we didn't convince enough people that we were the better alternative for the future and that's our failure.
NR: There was one question you know that was asked again and again about the past. Labour spending. Not did spending cause the crash. But did spending too much mean that you weren't prepared for the after effects of the crash?
EB: Before 2007 it is a matter of record that we had a low level of national debt because of the decisions we had made but also we had a small deficit. People will now say that that small deficit should have had a small surplus. The reality is that would have made a small difference, not a big difference, that couldn't have made a difference to the global financial crisis, which was a huge failure in our banking system and a failure of regulation which I have taken on the chin for the last ten years. In the end though we didn't convince people of that argument, but I am afraid those are the facts.
NR: So you may have to go back and say 'more spending control might have been better.'?
EB: I think it would not have made a difference to the financial crisis at all.
NR: But to your credibility? To the sense that people thought you were capable of controlling the public finances?
EB: We were very, very disciplined in our approach to public spending after 2010. Unlike other parties we didn't make unfunded commitments.
NR: it was before though wasn't it?
EB: We had an absolutely disciplined approach in this parliament. before 2007, we had low national debt, we hadn't joined the euro, we'd made the bank independent, we had shed a number of jobs in the civil service through the Gershon Review, there was a small deficit, people will say there should have been a small surplus, i think that would have made a small difference, not a big difference.
NR: There might be some who look at you and say, 'even now, he's not willing to learn.'
EB: I think It is for me to think and reflect in the coming months and we can talk about these things, at the moment it is for the leadership candidates in the labour party to set out their positions and it is not really sensible for me to do a running commentary on the past. i always argued for what i thought was right, i have always been consistent, one of things that you learn in politics is that every day when you make a decision, a difficult decision in government or a decision in opposition about what you say, you have at the end of the day to go to bed thinking that was the right call, because you'll live with that for the rest of your life and i have always sought to do that in everything I've done.
NR: You say you backed Ed Miliband 100%. There were issues - there are in any government or shadow government where you had your disagreements - are there any you want to reflect now? You argued about Labour's attitude to business, You had your doubts about the energy price freeze. Are those lessons you want the party to learn?
EB: I think I wanted to be more pro business but I also backed Ed Miliband 100 per cent. He was the leader I was the shadow chancellor we both worked very hard and in the end neither he or I persuaded people and we need to take our responsibility for that. It's not all on him it's on all of us.
NR: But things like the energy price freeze spooked business didn't they?
EB: People are going to stand back and analyse all those things in the months and years to come. I'm not going to rush to judgements. What I'm going to say to you is I accept my responsibility with Ed and with the whole shadow cabinet for the decisions we took and in the end we didn't convince enough people,
NR: you were fighting a Northern seat against the Tories and against UKIP. you were always one of those who said take the issue of Europe and immigration seriously - some lessons for the future?
EB: I think those were big and important issues and I talked a great deal in my constituency about those matters. And as did Labour in the run up to the election, and they're going to be big defining issues of this Parliament as well. In my constituency what happened was a collapse in the Lib Dem vote and more of those voters went to the Conservatives than we were expecting. In the end Nick Clegg had spent five years in a coalition telling Lib Dems it was better to be with the Tories and in the end I think you reap what you sow.
NR: You'd mentioned the leadership contest - lots of candidates. Presumably you're struggling to think who to support?
EB: I'm going to be supporting and voting for Yvette of course. I think she's brilliant and people will have a chance to see more of what she is and what she stands for and what she can do in the coming weeks. I'm not going to play any part in her campaign, that's her campaign and her ideas and it's not for me. I've got the opportunity at a time what there's other stuff going on in our lives and for our children, to stand back while she's busy do more for rest of family and that's what I'm going to do but I'll be voting for her like many other Labour members in September.
NR: You'll be cooking?
EB: Bit of cooking of course. A bit of running. A bit of piano. And just making sure...politics is a tough world and families need support and I think one of the things I certainly learnt from my time in Government and when the children were younger you have to try harder to get the balance right. Since 2010 I always made sure I went to parents evening and we went to the school performances and were there to help kids with homework. I think it's important to get that balance in life.
In the end when people's careers... when something happens you don't expect. I think probably people look back, and too often regret they spent too much time away from things that were important to them and that's something I've been conscious not to let happen in our lives.
NR: Given that do you worry for Yvette- the woman you love? People say leader of opposition is the worst job in politics and it now lasts 5 years before you have a got at an election - does that worry you?
EB: In the end it's really important what happens in the next five years, I want Labour party to come out united and more determined. And I want that to happen. We've learnt some lessons but also we've shown a unity and a vision. We've got a number of great leadership candidates and a really talented shadow cabinet. Having people who can lead and set out a vision is so important, not just for Labour but for the country, and I think in politics you have to take your calling when it comes and that's what she's doing.
NR: This is the moment for her?
EB: Yep.
NR: She is not Mrs Ed Balls - she's always been Yvette Cooper and I'm sure that's important to you and her. Does that give her the freedom to say the last shadow chancellor didn't quite get that right?
EB: Of course and I think over many years she's never been shy of telling me when I got things wrong and me the same with her. She's her own person and has her own talents and her own backers and campaign and her own views and I'm sure she will set them out and she can do that in as forthright a way as she wants and that's fine as far as I'm concerned.
NR: When you reflect do you think people have had caricature view of Ed Balls and maybe you'll get the chance to show something a bit different?
EB: I think it's really hard in politics for people to see the real you because everything is mediated through the newspaper column and through the prism your opponents can often set up, and in the end you have to have confidence in yourself and who you are and what your values are and why you do what you do, and you need people to see that and over time I think they do. I've had lots of emails and letters from Conservatives following election night and after my speech to say they were sorry I had lost. In life I guess you always wish you could make those speeches earlier but that's not the way it is.
NR: Is there one lesson in this short fortnight you've already learnt that you think; that's something I now understand for the future?
EB: The lesson I've learned are you've always got to be proud of what you've done and enjoy what you're doing rather than fixate on what might be in the future. I've never had a grand plan for my career but nor have I ever felt disappointed that i haven't done something i wanted to do. I've learnt to enjoy what I'm doing and be proud of what I've done. I think you've also got to make sure in politics you are always thinking about those other sides to your life outside the day to day, and you've always got to know every day that when you make a decision you're doing so for the right reasons and you can that day feel comfortable that in the in months and years to come when people look back and say was that right, that you can be judged knowing with integrity you made the right call and I've always sought to do that.
NR: This interview isn't the mark of a return to politics but it isn't the mark of never again, no return to politics?
EB: I've been in politics in Whitehall and Westminster for 20 years because I wanted to try and make a difference to our country and the world. You never say never but for me it's a new chapter, outside of politics, but it doesn't mean you stop wanting to make a difference. I always wanted to be in public service that was always more important to me than wealth or the trappings of power so who knows? if there's the chance to do something good again that helps people I will take that. But no by-elections. Out of politics. Not back in parliament - that's how it feels at the moment.
NR: Not back in parliament ever or not till the next election?
EB: You never say never.
NR: Wait and see?
EB: Outside of politics is where I'm going next. | Were you up for that Ed Balls moment - the symbol of Labour's crushing electoral defeat, the trigger for wild Tory celebrations and Labour despair? |
27018112 | A cursory search on YouTube showed him the reason for their concern.
A doctored clip of Holocaust film Schindler's List called "What John Donahoe's doing to eBay" had superimposed his name on to a Nazi guard shooting a Jewish prisoner. The prisoner had been labelled as an eBay seller.
This incident happened in 2008, just a few months after he'd taken the helm and announced dramatic changes to both the charges the online auction site made for listing items and its feedback system for customers and sellers.
"I thought, 'Oh my god this is personal.' That was like one of those gut check moments - is this worth it? It wasn't perfectly obvious at that moment."
Six years on it's easy to say it was worth it. The changes Mr Donahoe made have shifted eBay from being an online auction marketplace to a full blown e-commerce operation.
Last year 73% of the items on its website were sold at a fixed price, rather than via auction.
And over the past five years, its shares have surged by 441%, compared with the Nasdaq's 213% rise over the same period.
Mr Donahoe says if he could go back to 2008, he would have tried to communicate his vision more clearly, but he would still make those changes because that was his job.
"There is always a new normal because the pace of technology innovation is changing and consumer behaviour is changing. So our leaders have to be comfortable that their job is to continuously drive change."
It is not only tech firm bosses that face this reality. The biggest part of any chief executive's role is to ensure that their firm is able to thrive or at least survive, regardless of external circumstances.
Any change, such as a downturn in the economy or a structural change in the industry in which it operates, means the firm will have to respond and perhaps shift, at least to some degree, how it operates.
In the case of US healthcare services firm Cardinal Health, the entire industry was changing due to a significant demographic shift with the older population expanding rapidly, and sharp growth in some health issues such as obesity.
Five years ago, the firm decided to sell off a significant and lucrative part of its medical products business, leaving it with what at the time was perceived as the less profitable parts of the business - largely medical services and some products.
Chief executive George Barrett was brought in to lead the firm just ahead of the sale, and had to drive the shift which he admits was "difficult".
"We had to reinvent our perspective and say look, this service business can be innovative, can drive high growth and can be extraordinarily valuable in a system going through a big change."
But it also had to tell investors that as a result of the change, profits would be down in the first year, before growing again.
Despite a tough initial period, Mr Barrett says being so upfront about the changes and communicating their impact clearly helped.
"Getting through that difficult time was easier because people felt that we were taking the actions we needed to take, we weren't going to wait... we were going to move aggressively."
Four years of consistent profits growth and shareholder returns have also helped appease investors.
At Cardinal Health, making such a dramatic change obviously paid off, but it can be hard to judge how quickly to implement change.
After listing on the stock market, Chinese entrepreneur Wang Chuanfu decided to make a dramatic change to BYD (short for Build Your Dreams) - the firm he founded originally to make batteries for mobile phones. He used the funds from going public to expand its remit to making electric cars.
Suddenly instead of selling to companies, it had to start selling to consumers - a completely different proposition.
Mr Wang said initially he moved too fast, opening too many distribution centres, many of which made a loss.
Getting its rate of expansion right took three years to fix, but the firm, which now counts Warren Buffett as an investor, has continued to grow and says it plans to bring four of its models to the US by the end of 2015.
"It was a good path, [I] just had to persevere through it," he says.
This feature is based on interviews by leadership expert Steve Tappin for the BBC's CEO Guru series, produced by Neil Koenig and Evy Barry. | EBay chief executive John Donahoe knew something was up when his firm's security team advised him not to attend a conference for sellers on safety grounds. |
29231315 | Police said Michael Carter from Salford was involved in a row about football with two men on King Street West and was hit once in the face.
The 49-year-old hit his head on the pavement during the attack on 31 August, and died in hospital on 10 September.
A 20-year-old man from Urmston is being questioned on suspicion of murder
A second man, aged 19 and from Stretford, was arrested on suspicion of affray.
A post-mortem examination concluded that Mr Carter died from a head injury. | A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the apparent one-punch killing of a man in Manchester. |
36031415 | His spokesman told the BBC Mr Machar was now at rebel military headquarters in the eastern town of Pagak.
He is expected in the capital Juba next week to resume the post of vice-president as part of last year's deal.
The deadly civil conflict erupted in 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused Mr Machar of plotting a coup.
Since then thousands of people have died and more than two million have been displaced.
Mr Machar's spokesman told the BBC on Tuesday that the rebel leader was in Pagak, near the border with Ethiopia.
He is expected in Juba on Monday, while his deputy leader Alfred Ladu Gore is already in the capital.
Last week, more than 1,300 rebel troops were flown to Juba as part of the terms of the peace deal signed in August 2015.
These forces are deployed to provide security for Mr Machar, who said he would not come to take up his new position until these security measures were put into place.
Peace agreements between both sides have broken down repeatedly over the years, so there is still expected to be mistrust within this new government, the BBC's Africa security correspondent Tomi Oladipo reports.
But the people of South Sudan have seen enough calamity and can only hope this transitional government gets things right this time, our correspondent adds.
The peace agreement was signed amid a threat of sanctions from the United Nations.
Fighting was supposed to stop immediately - but there have been frequent violations.
President Kiir and Mr Machar also agreed to share out ministerial positions. The agreement returns the government to where it was before the war broke out.
The UN and African Union have accused both sides of carrying out atrocities - an AU-backed report in January alleged that 50 civilians had suffocated after government troops locked them in a shipping container.
South Sudan is the world's youngest country and one of the least developed. It split from Sudan in 2011. | South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar has returned to the country for the first time in more than two years - as part of a peace deal. |
31124320 | In the two weeks ending on 23 January, 28,000 people died, the Office for National Statistics figures show.
Over the previous five years, the average number of deaths for the same period stood at about 21,000.
Experts say flu could be the driving force, although the precise causes will not be known for some time.
Prof John Newton, chief knowledge officer at Public Health England (PHE), which monitors death rates, said there had been a substantial increase in the numbers since Christmas.
Although it was less apparent from the raw data, PHE's own analysis has found that - even taking the season into account - deaths among elderly people have now been significantly elevated for six weeks.
The death rate has risen by 3,700 people a week since early December. Of that more than 3,000 are accounted for by over-75s.
The usual key causes of excess winter deaths are cold weather, influenza and gastrointestinal infection.
Estimating exactly which has done what, however, will take some time.
There is evidence, however, that flu may be a crucial driver of this year's elevated deaths.
According to PHE statistics, both GPs and hospitals are spending much more time dealing with flu than they did last year, despite a similar vaccination rate among the key target groups.
Furthermore, the H3N2 sub-type - a prevalent flu virus at the moment - takes a particular strain on elderly people.
An important role for this virus is therefore consistent with a higher death rate among the elderly, who have been encouraged to get vaccinated.
This year, the proportion of vulnerable people who were vaccinated was the same as last year.
Prof Newton said PHE tries to anticipate sub-types of the virus that will be circulating to ensure it can be vaccinated against.
"This year, it is the right type," he said.
"But there can be [mutation] so that the circulating type might not be as well matched at the end of the flu season as it was at the beginning."
One explanation that senior civil servants in the Department of Health have suggested is that the death rate may also be higher because of last year's mild winter.
An unusually large number of frail people may have survived last year, but are succumbing to the flu and cold this year.
The forces that are driving the higher death rates would certainly have contributed to the problems facing A&E units, which have struggled under their heavy case loads.
But Prof Newton said the problems both in A&Es and social care are unlikely to have contributed materially to the higher death rates, noting the chronology of the surge.
"People might think perhaps that some of these deaths are the result of a failure of health care or social care. There's very little evidence of that," he added. | The current death rate in England and Wales is running about one-third higher than its normal rate for this time of year, official statistics show. |
37666246 | The employees are thought to include local staff and three Australians.
Australian media report that a "co-ordinated police operation" targeted marketing activities of Crown, owned by billionaire James Packer.
The people held are reportedly from the sales and marketing division and include a senior executive.
The 15 non-Australian employees detained are understood to be local employees at Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai.
Casino gambling is illegal in China, except in the former Portuguese colony of Macau.
Crown Resorts has interests there. For years it has skirted the question of how to advertise these gambling resorts in the rest of China by merely advertising the areas they are in.
"Crown believes that a number of our employees in China are being questioned by local authorities," a company spokeswoman said. "At this time we can provide no further details."
It is not known whether any of the 18 arrested people have been charged with anything.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement saying: "The Australian Government is aware of reports of the possible detention of a number of Crown International Group employees across China, including three Australians.
"Consular officials are seeking to confirm these reports with the relevant Chinese authorities."
A corruption crackdown initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping has made many people, particularly government officials, wary of being seen with too much cash, and revenue in Macau's casinos fell by more than a third last year. | Australian officials say they are investigating reports that 18 employees of Australian-based gambling firm Crown Resorts have been detained in China. |
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