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40783639 | The 36-year-old returns to Rugby Park for a second spell, having left the club in July 2007 to move to England.
Greer spent last season at Blackburn Rovers, making 25 appearances as the club was relegated to League One.
Killie captain Stevie Smith said: "Gordon is a really nice guy, but he obviously has really high standards."
He becomes Kilmarnock's 10th signing of the summer and Smith is pleased with the changes.
"The signings we made have brought a bit experience into the team, which was needed," said the 31-year-old full-back.
"I don't think the balance of the squad has been right for a few years.
"The manager has tried to address that by signing the likes of Kirk Broadfoot, Gordon Greer, Chris Burke and even Lee Erwin has played in the division as well."
Greer's first period at Rugby Park came in 2004 and he left for Doncaster Rovers three years later.
A loan spell, and then a permanent move, to Swindon Town followed before Greer joined Brighton & Hove Albion, where he was appointed club captain.
His season was ended by injury in February and he was released at the end of the season, but Smith has been impressed by the veteran's professionalism.
"You can tell by the way he has looked after himself," he said. "He does everything properly off the pitch.
"The new players have all played at a really good level, some of them at international level, so you don't have to worry about their standards.
"There still is a lot of young players at Kilmarnock, which is great. Everyone wants to see that.
"But having guys who have played at a really high level about the club and the standards they set personally helps everyone."
Smith thinks the arrival of Greer, fellow defender Broadfoot and winger Burke would help reduce the burden of being captain.
"It is good to have them because we had me, Kris Boyd and Jamie McDonald recently who were the experienced guys," he added.
"But this might take a bit of pressure off us because there isn't just one or two people saying, 'This is what you need to do off the field, you need to prepare right' - there are seven or eight saying it, so it is good for us to have them."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Kilmarnock manager Lee McCulloch has strengthened his defensive options by signing Scotland international Gordon Greer. |
37862713 | City, who won the expanded nine-team competition in October, saw attendances increase by 50% to 2,253 in 2016.
BBC Sport figures show overall average crowds grew by 1.5%, less than the 5% reported by the Football Association.
Liverpool, Sunderland and Notts County all saw home support fall.
Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA's head of women's football, said Manchester City's attendance figures were "terrific" but it was a "mixed picture" overall.
After meeting each of the 19 Women's Super League One and Two clubs, Baroness Campbell said more could be done to improve numbers across the two competitions by focusing on the needs of individual clubs, from marketing to local player development.
"Rather than have a one-size-fits-all approach, we will look to tailor support, looking at the challenges and situations at each club," the former boss of UK Sport told BBC Sport.
She also said the FA is "committed" to doubling attendances by 2020.
While Notts County are one of just four top-flight clubs with an average attendance of more than 1,000, their numbers have dropped by almost 17%.
Sunderland, in their second top-flight season, experienced the biggest decline - almost 24% to 710 - while Liverpool averaged gates of 724, a fall of almost 10%.
Liverpool's average was boosted by a crowd of 1,159 - their highest attendance of the season - for a 5-3 defeat to Arsenal on the final day of their campaign.
While on-field results have an impact on attendances, Baroness Campbell said Liverpool also suffer from playing away from their fanbase, an artificial pitch in Widnes that has been criticised by some WSL players.
"For Liverpool, location is a real issue," she said. "We need to work better on making sure WSL clubs are at facilities that are appropriate and located near their local communities.
"A lot of training facilities are good, but some competition facilities need rethinking. We are working locally and nationally to ensure these clubs are playing on good surfaces and at good facilities as close to their local support as possible."
Reading and Doncaster, both promoted from Women's Super League Two last season, increased attendances, as did Birmingham City, Arsenal and runners-up Chelsea, who were the second-best supported club with an average attendance of 1,593.
Manchester City, in just their third season in WSL 1, won their first league title and averaged the league's biggest crowds for a second straight campaign.
Gavin Makel, head of women's football at City, says the club is now setting ambitious new targets.
"I'm absolutely delighted," Makel told BBC Sport. "Hopefully next year we can continue and get even more.
"We now want to look ahead and try to get 3,000 on average because that's where the game needs to get to."
City, led by England captain Steph Houghton, have the highest concentration of senior national team players in their side, with eight included in the 23-player squad for October's international matches against France and Spain.
"On-pitch success will always help, playing good football," said Makel. "It is all well and good being able to put a Manchester City crest on something and expect people to support it, but you have got to feel some kind of affinity towards it."
City's popularity is an example for other clubs to follow, according to a Notts County Ladies spokesperson.
"It demonstrates the potential attendances that are out there and that can only act as encouragement for all the clubs who aren't reaching those heights."
Baroness Campbell has said the FA will bring clubs together to encourage them to share ideas, learning from Manchester City - one of British football's richest clubs - and Yeovil.
The WSL 2 champions have less than a 10th of City's turnover but have managed to win promotion and increase attendances by almost 60% to an average of 742.
Notts County, the only WSL 1 club who experienced a decline this season that was willing and available to talk to BBC Sport, put their "slight drop" down to a number of factors, including sporadic scheduling of matches and absence of a cup run, having reached two cup finals in 2015.
On four occasions, there were breaks of a month or more between home fixtures at Meadow Lane.
"The scheduling of matches has been a frustration for both clubs and the league since the inception of the FA WSL," said a club spokesperson.
"We understand that there are many factors, some out of the club's control, which can attribute to a slight drop in our average attendance.
"Last season's achievements of reaching the final in both cup competitions certainly helped to create a momentum and build attendances for Notts County.
"Without having a run in either competition this season, it has undoubtedly had an effect on our attendance."
Hopes are high that the switch from a summer league to a winter competition from the 2017-18 season will help scheduling of matches.
But with change comes new challenges, as there will be a shortened Summer Series before the campaign starts in September 2017.
"With the winter season still 10 months away, it's hard to tell yet what the effect on attendances will be," said a Notts spokesperson.
"We understand that any adverse weather could have an effect. However, we are also aware that a consistent run of fixtures will have a positive impact on the attendances."
The FA reports a 30% increase in WSL 2 attendances, up to 443 from 341 in 2015.
Four of the eight clubs - Watford, London Bees, Durham and Sheffield Ladies - average crowds of less than 400, with the attendance of 207 at Watford v Bristol City the single lowest attendance in England's top two divisions.
Oxford United's crowds increased by 85%, the biggest in the WSL, while seven clubs are in double-digit growth.
The highest single crowd for a WSL match in 2016 was the 4,096 that watched Manchester City clinch their first title with victory over Chelsea.
That was significantly up from the 3,180 that watched City host Notts County in 2015, but still shy of the WSL's all-time record of 5,052 that saw Arsenal face Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in 2012.
The lowest single attendance in the top flight this season was 395, who turned out to watch Birmingham City host Reading.
That represented an increase on 2015's lowest top-flight crowd of 331.
* Average figures of WSL 1 attendances for those sides in the league in 2015 and 2016. | Manchester City have become the first women's club in British football to average crowds of more than 2,000 over a season - but three Women's Super League One rivals saw numbers drop. |
37086296 | Thousands of patients were tested for blood-borne viruses after secret filming of Desmond D'Mello exposed poor levels of cleanliness.
All but one of the 56 allegations were found proven at a General Dental Council (GDC) misconduct hearing.
The council will now decide whether Mr D'Mello will be struck off.
Secret filming at his Daybrook Dental Practice, in Nottingham, in 2014 prompted the recall of 22,000 patients.
More on this story and other news in Nottinghamshire
More than 4,000 of those patients were tested for viruses including hepatitis and HIV.
A conduct hearing at the GDC found 55 allegations against him were proven, including failing to change gloves between patients and not putting on a new surgical mask for each patient.
The panel said: "Mr D'Mello was under a duty to maintain adequate infection control for patients and staff.
"Mr D'Mello's actions...were a departure from this duty and, there, constituted a failure to maintain adequate infection controls."
Dental nurse Caroline Surgey admitted more than 20 allegations which happened when she was working alongside Mr D'Mello.
The 43-year-old told the panel she had failed to adequately re-educate herself following a career break and was scared to challenge Mr D'Mello in case she lost her job.
An emotional Ms Surgey, who has since received the relevant training, said of her reaction when she re-watched the video of herself: "It was appalling.
"If I saw that person doing that I would be horrified, I was ashamed and I could see failures in all of it and if I saw that person I would think they were a really bad person."
She added: "I have let myself down, I have let my family down, I have let the profession down, I have let the patients down and I have the public down and it will never, never happen again."
The panel heard witnesses who said Mr D'Mello insisted on seeing "massive amounts of patients", sometimes up to four in 15 minutes, making "cross-infection control impossible".
It also heard that the surgery was "filthy" and staff were told off for too much cleaning or changing their gloves.
Ms Surgey said on Monday: "It was obviously to ease costs so he did not like me changing gloves all the time.
"He would comment if somebody changed their gloves all the time."
Mr D'Mello is not giving evidence at the hearing but in a statement to the panel said he was in "total shock" at the allegations, which he accused the NHS of handling in a "humiliating" manner.
NHS England said 4,526 patients of Mr D'Mello were tested following the recall, with five of these found to have hepatitis C. None were diagnosed with hepatitis B or HIV.
Mr D'Mello was a dentist for nearly 38 years and began his own practice in 1980. | A dentist who sparked "the biggest NHS patient recall in history" committed a string of malpractice offences, a panel has found. |
34575210 | England became the first World Cup hosts to be eliminated at the group stage after losing to Wales and Australia.
The RFU says the World Cup review will include "extensive input from players, coaches and management staff".
A five-man review panel will be led by RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie.
It also includes former Football Association chief executive and current England Rugby 2015 board member Ian Watmore and Professional Game Board chairman Ian Metcalfe.
No date has been set for the completion of the review. The next RFU board meeting will take place on 17 November.
The RFU said "feedback will remain confidential, with recommendations then made to the RFU board".
The performance of Lancaster and assistants Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt will be covered by the review.
McGeechan was part of the group which unanimously approved Lancaster's full-time appointment in 2012 and was also part of another review which granted Lancaster greater powers over the English game a year later.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph after England were knocked out, McGeechan said he "cannot see anything better" than the current coaching set-up "which is readily available".
He urged Ritchie not to make "any rash decisions", claiming England have "come a long way" under Lancaster and they would have qualified from any other pool, adding "defeat to two strong teams was no disgrace".
Former forward Kay, who won 62 caps and lifted the World Cup in 2003, now works as a TV commentator.
RFU professional rugby director and former England fly-half Rob Andrew is not part of the panel and nor is the 2003 World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward.
Will Greenwood, who was part of Woodward's England squad in 2003, believes his former coach should have been involved in the review.
"He's a giant spectre that gets thrown into the pot the whole time," said Greenwood, who won 57 caps.
"I for one would have Clive throwing stones from inside, rather than boulders from outside."
Ritchie has said there would be no "hasty reaction" to England's exit, while Lancaster, who has a contract until 2020, said he would find it "hard to walk away" from the job.
A review was conducted into England's 2011 World Cup quarter-final exit, but players were said to feel "betrayed" after their confidential verdicts were leaked to a national newspaper.
BBC Sport pundit and former England international Jeremy Guscott has said neither players nor coaches should be involved this time because their feedback would not be impartial.
England's 2003 World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward said player input could be "very divisive". | Former World Cup winner Ben Kay and ex-Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan will help decide the future of England head coach Stuart Lancaster. |
38073139 | RSPCA inspectors found 13 dead cats and an emaciated survivor when they raided the property in Adelaide, South Australia, in September 2015.
The 43-year-old woman was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and banned from owning animals.
The surviving cat, since named Trooper, has recovered and found a new home.
RSPCA South Australia chief inspector Andrea Lewis said it was a "heartbreaking" case for staff.
"They see some pretty awful things," she told the BBC. "But this is something that will stay with them for a long time."
Video footage recorded by the RSPCA shows the house littered with mess, including animal faeces.
"Is that a dead cat that's been eaten by the other cats?" an inspector asks.
"Yeah, there's a couple," another replies.
The owner was convicted of animal cruelty in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court.
Ms Lewis urged people to contact family, neighbours or an animal shelter if they were no longer able to care for their pets.
"People should just never walk away and leave their animals," Ms Lewis said. "Everyone has a legal obligation to look after animals in their care."
Trooper has been adopted by a family in Adelaide.
"He has made a great recovery," Ms Lewis said. "He's a much loved member of their family." | An Australian woman whose cats ate each other after she abandoned them in her home has been convicted of animal cruelty. |
10800786 | Ernest Cox masterminded the recovery of 34 ships of the German fleet sunk by their crews in the waters of Scapa Flow at the end of WWI.
Lauded by the media of the day, his work is now all but forgotten.
Relatives unveiled a special plaque at Lyness, where the salvage operations were based, as a reminder.
By 1924, the German fleet had lain submerged throughout the Royal Navy anchorage of Scapa Flow for five years and the accepted wisdom was that this was where they would remain.
However Mr Cox was determined to raise as much of the valuable metal from the seabed as he could and bought the rights to salvage the fleet.
He developed methods to help refloat the ships, many of which are still used in marine salvage to this day.
Mr Cox bought a massive floating dry dock which he modified and fitted out with rows of winches.
He also used compressed air to bring up vessels.
The remaining wrecks today attract divers from around the world. | A ceremony has taken place in Orkney to commemorate what is regarded as one of the most remarkable feats of marine salvage ever achieved. |
34074118 | The 26-year-old has been out since February following knee surgery after suffering medial ligament damage.
"It's only a matter of fitness now to get him back," said Hammers boss Slaven Bilic.
"If everything goes well he should participate in the game against Newcastle."
Carroll is starting his fourth season at Upton Park, including a loan spell preceding his £15m switch, and has made 46 Premier League starts in that time.
Meanwhile, striker Enner Valencia, 25, has apologised after being quoted as criticising the club's medical staff of refusing to keep him updated on the ankle injury he suffered in the 2-2 Europa League draw against Astra Giurgiu last month.
Bilic said: "Enner has apologised for his comments and he's back in a normal routine. The medical department is trying very hard to get him back." | West Ham striker Andy Carroll could return from injury against former club Newcastle on 14 September after recommencing first-team training. |
37922257 | Hampshire confirmed a one-year deal for the 34-year-old, after he initially announced it on his Instagram page.
Edwards was forced to return home early last season after breaking an ankle during a football match in training.
"It's been a tough year for me after my horrendous injury," Edwards wrote. "Hampshire kept faith in me even tho (sic) I'm not 100%."
Edwards, who has played as a Kolpak signing for the last two seasons, made just two County Championship appearances in 2016 before injury.
In 2015, he took 45 Championship wickets to help Hampshire avoid relegation from Division One.
"Fidel was desperately unlucky with his injury at the start of the year," Hampshire director of cricket Giles White said.
"He's worked tirelessly to get back towards full fitness since suffering the injury and we're pleased with the progress he's made so far." | Former West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards will return to play county cricket for Hampshire in 2017. |
35647650 | United striker Marcus Rashford was quiet in the first half as Watford's Odion Ighalo wasted two good chances.
But the hosts improved when Rashford switched places with Anthony Martial and the Frenchman won the free-kick which Mata curled in from 20 yards.
City have a game in hand on United, who earned a fourth successive win.
Had Ighalo not shot wide from Troy Deeney's flick-on or chose to pass to his strike partner when David de Gea thwarted the Nigerian, the story of the match may have been very different.
But buoyed by the recent form of Rashford and Mata scoring his eighth goal of the season, the prospect of United reaching next season's Champions League looks a distinct possibility after their city rivals lost 3-0 at Liverpool.
Relive Manchester United's win over Watford
It was less than a fortnight ago that the future of United boss Louis van Gaal looked in doubt following an embarrassing defeat at FC Midtjylland in the Europa League.
Since then the gloom has lifted around Old Trafford with Rashford playing a telling part in previous wins over Arsenal on Sunday and FC Midtjylland the previous Thursday by scoring twice in each game.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Stationed up front for this encounter, he struggled to find time and space to drive at the well-drilled Watford defence, who were superb at blocking the hosts' efforts from distance.
Yet once Martial moved in from the wing, with Rashford replacing him there, the young Mancunian found the byline on several occasions and twice nearly created an opener.
It was because of the switch that Martial found himself positioned more centrally, drawing a foul from Miguel Britos as he bore down on goal, with Mata doing the rest.
Elsewhere, Tim Fosu-Mensah looked steady on his first United start in defence. He made several decent challenges and had a running battle with Deeney which he coped with well.
The hosts chalked up 11 successive goalless first halves at Old Trafford before the run ended on 2 February.
And although this game started the potential for another run to begin, Watford began faster in both halves and capitalised on some sloppy passing at the back from the hosts, which contributed to an absorbing match.
Only Watford's profligacy kept the scoreline goalless until Mata's late intervention and Deeney must have been fuming at Ighalo's attempts to end a run of only one league goal in 2016.
The defeat means that Watford are yet to register a win over top-five opposition this season, but they will rarely come as close as this as Ben Watson caused danger from several corners and Etienne Capoue, who had a decent penalty appeal, was excellent in midfield.
Perhaps their best chance came when Sebastian Prodl headed wide from two yards, under pressure from United defender Matteo Darmian.
The Hornets have now lost 10 successive games against United but with only three points needed to reach the magic 40-point mark, there is no danger of relegation and if Ighalo finds his range, they can push onto a lofty position in the league after promotion last season.
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal: "I have to give big compliments to our players because when it is physical and you can win at an important moment, when all our competitors are losing, it's very important.
"We lost against Sunderland and there was a lot of criticism but that is the strength of the league and now you see we are closer to the fourth position so now we are fighting for it."
On switching Rashford and Martial, he added: "That was a better change because Martial was not in the match and Rashford was not in the match and I changed them and they were both in the match. At that time we got the momentum."
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Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores: "We are a little bit disappointed, we try to be happy because the performance was amazing. We played with high personality and we tried to control the match. [United] played well in the last matches, so we prepared well but it was a special moment which decided the match.
"We are supporting Ighalo a lot because he is a little bit confused [with the fact he hasn't scored a lot recently], but he has had an amazing season."
Manchester United are away at West Brom on Sunday before they travel to Anfield for the first leg of their Europa League tie the following Thursday. Watford can have their say in the title race as they host table-topping Leicester on Saturday.
Match ends, Manchester United 1, Watford 0.
Second Half ends, Manchester United 1, Watford 0.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Nyom.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Miguel Britos.
Nordin Amrabat (Watford) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
Hand ball by Nordin Amrabat (Watford).
Memphis Depay (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nyom (Watford).
Substitution, Manchester United. Patrick McNair replaces Juan Mata.
Offside, Manchester United. Marcus Rashford tries a through ball, but Memphis Depay is caught offside.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Nyom.
Memphis Depay (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Nyom (Watford).
Substitution, Watford. Ikechi Anya replaces Valon Behrami.
Goal! Manchester United 1, Watford 0. Juan Mata (Manchester United) from a free kick with a left footed shot to the top left corner.
Miguel Britos (Watford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Anthony Martial (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Miguel Britos (Watford).
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Matteo Darmian.
Attempt missed. Sebastian Prödl (Watford) header from very close range is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ben Watson with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Daley Blind.
Attempt blocked. Nordin Amrabat (Watford) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked.
Substitution, Manchester United. Jesse Lingard replaces Ander Herrera.
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Valon Behrami (Watford).
Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mario Suárez (Watford).
Substitution, Watford. Nordin Amrabat replaces Odion Ighalo.
Foul by Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
Etienne Capoue (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ben Watson (Watford).
Substitution, Manchester United. Matteo Darmian replaces Marcos Rojo.
Substitution, Watford. Mario Suárez replaces Almen Abdi.
Offside, Manchester United. Ander Herrera tries a through ball, but Marcus Rashford is caught offside.
Foul by Daley Blind (Manchester United).
Almen Abdi (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Memphis Depay (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Daley Blind.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by José Holebas.
Attempt missed. Juan Mata (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ander Herrera. | Juan Mata's late free-kick earned Manchester United a win over Watford to move them level on points with fourth-placed Manchester City. |
26768244 | Media playback is not supported on this device
BBC Radio 5 live brings you live commentary throughout the three days of action at Hazeltine National in Minnesota, while highlights will be shown on BBC Two.
The BBC Sport website will stream the live radio and TV highlights while a daily live text commentary will provide latest scores, analysis and the best of social media, plus three in-play video clips every day.
Sunday, 2 October
12:00-17:00 - build-up to the final day singles on Radio 5 live
17:00-00:00 - day three live commentary on Radio 5 live
23:00-01:00 - day three highlights on BBC Two
Monday, 3 October
19:00-20:00 - highlights on BBC Two
NB. All times are BST and are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Also coverage on BBC Red Button can experience late schedule changes, so details may differ from this page.
The BBC Sport website is available via desktop, mobile, tablet and app, giving fast and easy access to the live stream, text commentaries, news, reports, schedules, videos, as well as highlights of the day's action. The BBC Sport app is available free on Apple and Android devices.
You can view all of our TV and Red Button broadcasts as well as listen to our radio sports programming on the BBC iPlayer.
National and regional variations have been included in this list where possible, but please check your local listings for more detailed information. | BBC Sport has live radio commentary and daily TV highlights as Europe seek to defend the Ryder Cup against the United States from 30 September. |
35739906 | KERRY 1-13 1-8 DONEGAL
MONAGHAN 1-12 2-11 MAYO
ROSCOMMON 1-12 0-6 DOWN
FERMANAGH 1-17 0-10 LAOIS
LONDON 0-11 1-11 ANTRIM
Allianz Hurling League
WESTMEATH 2-11 0-10 ANTRIM | Allianz Football League |
36071961 | The 53-year-old woman, who has not been formally identified, was pronounced dead at the address in Bewdley Street on Friday.
She was found to have suffered a cardiac arrest after police were called at 05:48 BST.
Mark Pearce, 51, also of Bewdley Street, will appear at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday.
More on the Evesham murder inquiry and news from Hereford & Worcester | A man has been charged with the murder of a woman found dead at a house in Evesham, Worcestershire. |
23744948 | He said almost 2,000 Labour councillors had won back seats and the party had "tens of thousands" of new members.
The party had made "huge progress" but had a "lot more work to do", he said.
Earlier, Labour deputy leader Lord Prescott said the party had failed to get its case across. The Tories said this was more evidence of "discontent".
Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Lord Prescott said Labour had wasted an opportunity to set the news agenda, and urged Mr Miliband to "kick out" under-performing shadow cabinet members.
He called for a "radical change" to shape up the policy of organisation and delivery alongside a clear set of policies and principles.
"There are millions of people looking to us as the only alternative to this heartless coalition," he added.
Mr Umunna dismissed recent criticism of the party as "hysteria" and insisted Labour were capable of winning the next general election.
"We have got a big job to do. We are looking to make history - to achieve the remarkable feat of being re-elected to office after one term in opposition and so we are seeking to do something very big," he told BBC News.
"We all know we can do it, but of course we have got a lot more work to do over the 90-odd weeks before the next general election to put our case forward to the British people - but that is precisely what we have been doing all over the summer."
He said it was difficult to foresee every policy detail that would be in a manifesto for the 2015 election.
"I have been on the road with my leader since he became the leader of the Labour party and seen the fantastic response that he gets from people all over the country," he added.
During a campaign visit to a south London market earlier this week, Mr Miliband was pelted with eggs.
He did his best to laugh it off, saying: "I'm always looking for new ways to connect with the voters."
Further criticism this weekend came from Labour peer Lord Glasman - who was given his peerage at Ed Miliband's request.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said the party "gives the impression of not knowing which way to turn" and that it was time for the party leader "to show he is a grown-up politician big enough to lead this country".
Earlier this month, the shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said Labour must "put its cards on the table" and produce attention-grabbing policies by next spring or risk losing the next election.
He called for his party to "shout louder and speak in a way that captures how people are feeling and thinking".
But Mr Umunna said Mr Burnham's comments had been "overplayed".
"The point that Andy was making is of course by the time of the next general election we need to ensure that people know what Labour's agenda is."
Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps said Labour grandees were lining up to "take a shot" at a "weak" Mr Miliband.
He said: "The Labour leader's deepening summer of discontent is further evidence that he's not even capable of leading his own party, let alone standing up for the hard-working people of Britain." | Labour has been winning back support all over the country since Ed Miliband became its party leader, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna says. |
34957283 | The tree was felled early on Sunday morning at Rochford prompting council chairman Heather Glynn to issue an appeal for help on social media.
Local people came to her aid and by 10:00 GMT the tree was back in place and the Christmas lights restored.
Ms Glynn said she was in despair when the discovery was made but is now looking forward to the switch-on.
"Thanks to an amazing community spirit, and acts kindness from some truly wonderful people, the tree is back up," she said.
"Fortunately the lighting event was not until the afternoon and people were determined not to let the vandals beat them," she said.
Festival organiser Pete Tobit said: "It was an act of mindless vandalism. Nothing stolen, just cut down.
"I have arranged all the entertainment for the Rochford Lights for a number of years and could not believe what I saw this morning.
"Thankfully, there are quite a few community spirited people in Rochford who just turned up and offered their services to reinstate the tree and lights.
"It certainly has restored my faith in community spirit." | Vandals cut down an Essex town's Christmas tree on the eve of its festive lights switch-on. |
38083081 | Machinery and equipment makers climbed after strong results from Deere, but technology companies fell after HP gave a weak profit forecast.
Stocks opened mostly lower, but soon began moving upwards on hopes that the US economy is continuing to strengthen.
The Dow ended 0.3% up at 19,083 points, and the S&P 500 rose 0.08% to 2,204.7. The Nasdaq lost 0.11% to 5,380.6.
Machinery maker Caterpillar rose 2.7% and hit the highest in about two years, while Deere jumped 11% to a record high close after the farm equipment producer reported a much smaller-than-expected decline in profit.
Industrial stocks also were given a boost by a report that showed a strong jump in orders for durable goods in October due to demand for machinery and other equipment.
Pharmaceutical stocks were hit after drugs giant Eli Lilly said it would stop developing its Alzheimer drug following a trial failure.
Eli Lilly fell 10%, and rival Alzheimer drug developer Biogen closed down 3.8%.
Healthcare stocks, like other sectors, had been hitting record highs in the wake of the US presidential election.
Wall Street had little reaction to minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that policymakers appeared confident that the economy was strengthening enough to warrant interest rate increases soon.
Expectations among investors remained high that the Fed will raise rates in December.
"It's fully factored in," said John Traynor, executive vice president and chief information officer of People's United Wealth Management, in Connecticut. | (Close): There were more records broken on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes edging to new highs. |
34213768 | They are accused of killing hundreds of Bosnian men and boys in a single day at a warehouse near Srebrenica.
It is the first time a Serbian court has charged anyone over the massacre of 8,000 people by Bosnian Serb forces.
The authorities in Bosnia and an international court in the Hague have carried out all previous prosecutions.
The men charged on Thursday belonged to a special Bosnian-Serb police unit that was operating in the eastern village of Kravica when the killings took place just over 20 years ago.
They herded the mainly Muslim victims into a warehouse where they were killed with machine guns and grenades in an assault that lasted all night, the prosecutor's statement said.
Those charged included the unit's commander, Nedeljko Milidragovic, also known as Nedjo the Butcher, who was accused of giving the order for the killings and saying that "nobody should get out alive".
Mr Milidragovic is already facing genocide charges in Bosnia but has been able to live freely in Serbia because of the lack of an extradition treaty, says the BBC's Guy De Launey in Belgrade.
But this changed in March when he and the seven other suspects were arrested as a result of co-operation between the war crimes court in Belgrade and its counterpart in Sarajevo, our correspondent adds.
Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said the charges were a "message that there will be no impunity for war crimes and that the victims will not be forgotten".
The eight men could face a maximum sentence of 20 years if found guilty.
Fourteen people have been convicted at the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague in relation to the Srebrenica killings.
Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic are both on trial at The Hague, accused of crimes relating to the massacre.
The ICTY and the International Court of Justice have called the events genocide.
The Srebrenica massacre came amid the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia into independent states in the 1990s.
Serbia backed Bosnian Serb forces fighting the Muslim-led Bosnian government during the conflict.
In July 1995, in what was supposed to have been a UN safe haven, Bosnian Serb forces took control of Srebrenica. They rounded up and killed about 8,000 men and boys and buried them in mass graves. | War crimes prosecutors in Serbia have charged eight people over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two. |
39421519 | They were detained during raids in Brighton and Hove last June, when cash, cocaine and vehicles worth several hundred thousand pounds were seized.
Leader Mevlan Dema was arrested after police stopped him his BMW in West Street, Brighton, in which they found cocaine, Hove Crown Court heard.
Eight out of the nine men - all Albanian - were in the UK illegally, the BBC understands.
Illegal alcohol in licensed premises associated with the group was also seized.
Police officers working with Immigration, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), council licensing teams, trading standards and environmental health found the alcohol in a range of premises including a pub, two kebab shops, three café bars and an off-licence.
All nine men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and were sentenced over two hearings, the first on 22 March and the second earlier.
Dema also pleaded guilty to two charges of money laundering.
Det Ch Insp Steve Boniface, of Sussex Police, said: "This was a long running operation to disrupt this Albanian organised crime group who were supplying significant quantities of cocaine within the city.
"We will now be applying to the court to seize their assets and any profits they have made from their criminality.
"The majority of Albanians working and living in the city are contributing to the community and economy in a positive way." | A gang of men who conspired to supply cocaine across a city have been jailed. |
21430737 | But Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi reiterated that he was not stepping down because of any specific illness.
His last public appearance will be his final mass in Saint Peter's Square on 27 February, Fr Lombardi said.
The pontiff would have no role in the running of the church after his resignation, he added.
The unexpected development - the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years - surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even the Pope's closest aides.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 after John Paul II's death.
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says that in theory there has never been anything stopping Pope Benedict or any of his predecessors from stepping aside.
Profile: Pope Benedict XVI
Could retirement seal his legacy?
Analysis: The reluctant Pope?
How does a Pope resign?
Under the Catholic Church's governing code, Canon Law, the only conditions for the validity of such a resignation are that it be made freely and be properly published.
But resignation is extremely rare: the last pontiff to step aside was Pope Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415 amid a schism within the Church.
According to a report in Italy's Il Sole 24 newspaper, the Pope had surgery to replace a pacemaker just under three months ago.
At a news conference at the Vatican, Father Lombardi confirmed that the batteries in the pacemaker, which had been fitted several years ago, had been replaced in the routine operation.
"That hasn't affected his decision [to resign] in any way and simply he felt that his strength was diminishing with the advancement of age," Father Lombardi said.
Earlier the pontiff's brother, Georg Ratzinger, said the Pope had been advised by his doctor not to take any more transatlantic trips and had been considering stepping down for months.
"When he got to the second half of his 80s, he felt that his age was showing and that he was gradually losing the abilities he may have had and that it takes to fulfil this office properly," he told the BBC from his home in Regensburg, Germany.
He said the resignation therefore was part of a "natural process".
The Vatican now says it expects a new pontiff to be elected before Easter.
How cardinals elect a Pope
World press surprised by Pope move
Father Lombardi said the Pope would not intervene in the election of a successor, who will be chosen by members of a 117-strong conclave held in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.
"`He will not interfere in any way,'' AP news agency quotes the Vatican spokesman as saying.
Analysts say Europeans are still among the favourites, including the current Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola, and Christoph Schoenborn, a former Austrian student of the current Pope.
But strong candidates could emerge from Africa and Latin America, which both have very large Catholic populations. Among the names being mentioned are Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria.
Father Lombardi said the Pope would continue with his diary as usual until the day he officially retires on 28 February.
He is due to officiate at an Ash Wednesday service at the Vatican.
"The last general audience [on 27 February] will be held in the square since a lot of people will come," AFP news agency quotes Father Lombardi as saying.
Pilgrims 'in shock' over Pope's exitViewpoint: A disappointing leader
After that the Vatican has said he will retire to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo before moving into a renovated monastery used by cloistered nuns for "a period of prayer and reflection".
"He'll stay in Rome and will certainly have some duties and of course will continue to educate himself intellectually and theologically," Georg Ratzinger told the BBC.
"Where he's needed he will make himself available, but he will not want to want to intervene in the affairs of his successor," he said.
At 78, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was one of the oldest popes in history at his election.
He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades - the scandal of child sex abuse by priests - was breaking.
The pontiff said in his Monday's statement: "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry."
A theological conservative before and during his time as pontiff, he has taken traditional positions on homosexuality and women priests, while urging abstinence and continuing opposition to the use of contraceptives.
His attempts at inter-faith relations were mixed, with Muslims, Jews and Protestants all taking offence at various times, despite his efforts to reach out and make visits to key holy sites, including those in Jerusalem. | A day after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, the Vatican has acknowledged that the pontiff has had a pacemaker for years. |
35221704 | His son Ned told the Hollywood Reporter he died at his home in Los Angeles on Christmas Day.
The actor also played Harry the barkeeper in the US sitcoms All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place between 1976 and 1983.
Wingreen provided the voice of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back.
He only had four lines of dialogue but the character has become a favourite with his own fan club.
But in 2004 when director George Lucas re-released the original trilogy, Wingreen's voice was was replaced by actor Temuera Morrison, who played Boba's father, Jango Fett, in the prequel films.
The role of Boba Fett was physically played by English actor Jeremy Bulloch.
Wingreen also appeared in many US TV series. He was a regular on The Untouchables and appeared in the original Twilight Zone and Star Trek series.
He also had a recurring role in Matlock and appeared in Mission: Impossible, Ironside, Kojak, Dr Kildare, The Fugitive, The Man from UNCLE and Seinfeld. | Jason Wingreen, a character actor who voiced the Star Wars character Boba Fett, has died aged 95. |
36844080 | Officers said the woman was pushed to the ground before being repeatedly kicked to the head and body on Saturday.
The attack happened at 17:00 as the woman walked between Greenfield Street and Sutherland Avenue.
She believes there were four people present but only one assaulted her.
The woman said that the attacker wore blue trainers and a black Adidas tracksuit, but could not provide any more details.
A Forth Valley spokesman said: "However, the assault has been witnessed and indeed halted by a passer-by who has intervened.
"As such the identity of the person responsible is sought as is the witness who perhaps prevented this woman receiving a serious injury." | A passer-by who stepped in to stop a woman being assaulted in an Alloa street may have saved her from serious injury, police said. |
34276688 | Officers have appealed for a man known as Alan to come forward as they believe he could have spoken to the attacker before the "prolonged" assault.
The attack, on a woman in her 20s, happened in Turriff Place, Kirkcaldy, at about 22:30 on Sunday.
The woman was first spoken to by the man in Aboyne Gardens.
Police said he mentioned being at a friend named Alan's house in the area of Harris Drive earlier in the evening.
Det Sgt Calum Lawrie said: "We believe 'Alan' is a significant witness in this inquiry, and are keen to speak to him as soon as possible.
"I want to reassure 'Alan' that any information he can give will be treated in the utmost confidence, but could be crucial in identifying the man responsible for this sexual assault.
"We are continuing to support the victim as she recovers from her ordeal, and high visibility patrols continue in the area."
The attacker was described as being 5ft 7ins tall and aged about 30. He was wearing a dark jacket with light jeans and trainers. | Police investigating an attempted rape on a woman in a Fife car park are seeking a "significant" witness who could hold crucial information. |
32624857 | Many countries already have a national bird symbol and although many think the Robin is Britain's, the UK doesn't actually have one.
The US has the Bald Eagle, New Zealand has the Kiwi and India has the Peacock.
The idea to search for Britain's national bird came from bird blogger and birdwatcher David Lindo.
The winning bird will be announced next month. | Tens of thousands of people have been voting for what they think is the best bird in Britain. |
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The 79-year-old told Russian news agency Tass of a "discussion" in 2010 about future World Cups.
He said a late swing in voting that gave Qatar the 2022 World Cup undid a similar agreement to hand it to the US.
Swiss Blatter is serving a 90-day ban alongside Uefa chief Michel Platini, 60, and both deny any wrongdoing.
Asked whether it was a mistake to hold voting for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments simultaneously, Blatter replied that before the ballot: "It was agreed inside the group that we go to Russia because it has never been to eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America.
"And so we would have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers."
But he added that four votes from Europe later switched from the USA to Qatar.
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is the subject of an ongoing Swiss criminal investigation. It was begun alongside a US inquiry following the arrest and indictment of several top executives by the US Department of Justice on corruption charges.
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Simon Johnson, then chief operating officer of England's failed 2018 World Cup bid, was livid about Blatter's comments, saying England's Football Association had "every right to bring legal action against Fifa".
The FA spent £21m, including £2.5m of public money from local authorities, on England's attempt to host the 2018 tournament.
"All the way through the process we were being told by high-ranking Fifa officials that as long as we put together a strong bid and a good presentation we would have a lot to offer," Johnson told BBC Radio 5 live.
He added that the bid team "played by the rules" and, "right until the night before" the vote, thought they had "every chance".
FA chairman Greg Dyke said English football's governing body will investigate Blatter's revelation about the 2018 World Cup.
Giving evidence to the UK Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dyke said it would be "very nice to get taxpayers' money back", adding that the FA would "talk to our own lawyers, but this is uncharted territory".
In a wide-ranging interview, Blatter, who will be replaced as head of world football's governing body at an election on 26 February 2016, also said:
Blatter said it was "his dream" for his ban to end in time to conduct the February congress when the election to replace him with one of seven candidates will take place.
He also said he should have stood down after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but stayed because of concerns that Uefa, European football's governing body, would become too dominant within Fifa.
"The other confederations were afraid that Uefa would take over everything because they have the money and the players," said Blatter.
"Uefa has an anti-Fifa virus."
Uefa president Platini, who is Fifa's suspended vice-president, was the target for most of Blatter's criticism, with the Frenchman accused of being motivated by "envy and jealousy".
Both are currently suspended while Fifa investigates a £1.35m payment made to Platini in 2011, which the pair say was for work as Blatter's adviser.
The payment was made months before Platini decided not to challenge Blatter in the 2011 Fifa presidential election.
"At the beginning it was only a personal attack - it was Platini against me," said Blatter.
"He started it, but then it became politics and when it is in politics, it is not any longer Platini against me.
"It is then those who have lost the World Cup - England against Russia. They lost the World Cup and the USA lost the World Cup against Qatar.
"Platini wanted to be Fifa president but he did not have the courage to go as the president and now we are in such a situation in football."
In an interview with the Telegraph published later on Wednesday, Platini said he would press on with his bid to replace Blatter as Fifa president in February's election.
Platini said the £1.35m payment "represents the equivalent of four years' salary arrears that Fifa owed me when I was the president's special adviser. The president himself offered me a contract and a salary that I accepted".
He added: "So to be clear: was there work provided? Yes. Is an oral contract legal in Switzerland? Yes. Did I have the right to reclaim my money even nine years later? Yes. Did I produce a proper invoice as Fifa required? Yes. Was the money declared to the taxman? Yes."
Platini said his disagreement with Blatter stemmed from rivalries between the two organisations they ran, adding: "Fifa and Uefa are antagonistic in an organic sense.
"With Sepp Blatter our relationship became still more strained when in 2015, going against the promise he made in 2011, he wanted to put himself forward for re-election."
Platini accused Fifa's ethics inspectors of failing to investigate the case before banning him. He said he would take the matter to the highest court to clear his name.
Earlier, a spokesman for Fifa's ethics committee investigatory chamber told BBC Sport it was "reading with interest" Blatter's comments but declined to comment further. It did not comment on Platini's later remarks.
Meanwhile, the former head of Brazilian football, Jose Maria Marin, 83, has agreed to be extradited from Switzerland to the US to face corruption charges, Swiss authorities say.
He was among seven Fifa officials arrested at a Zurich hotel in May after they were indicted by the US on corruption charges. | Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter has suggested there was an agreement in place for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup - before the vote took place. |
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Tottenham, the only team who can pip them to the title, lost ground when they drew 1-1 with West Brom on Monday.
Even if they fail to beat United, the Foxes only need three points from three games to be certain of finishing top.
Spurs are now seven points adrift with three games left, but boss Mauricio Pochettino said: "We still need to believe. We are not going to give up."
Tottenham striker Harry Kane added: "Hopefully Manchester United can do us a favour. It has not gone. We need to keep fighting. All we can do is keep fighting."
Claudio Ranieri's Leicester side started the campaign as 5,000-1 outsiders for the title, having narrowly escaped relegation last season.
They are now 1-16 to claim their first top-flight success after leaving Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and defending champions Chelsea in their wake.
"There's still work to do but, in most people's eyes, it is done and dusted," former Foxes defender Matt Elliott told BBC Radio 5 live.
"Leicester can win the title at Old Trafford... it sounds incredible.
"I'm covering it on the radio and there are three of us going up in the car. If they win, it won't be me driving home."
Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas said Leicester's title win would be one of the "biggest ever" sports stories.
"Everyone's pinching themselves because it's an unbelievable achievement," the Match of the Day pundit added.
"These players will be legends at Leicester. They will have done it with class and quality and it's good for football. It's a beautiful story."
West Brom manager Tony Pulis told BBC Radio 5 live he wanted the East Midlands club to win the title.
"Leicester is such a wonderful story and I don't think it can happen anywhere else but in this country," he said.
"I just think it's a wonderful, wonderful story, but they still have a lot of work to do."
Leicester, owned by Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, have already qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
They started the season as one of the favourites for relegation, with only the three promoted sides - Watford, Norwich and Bournemouth - longer odds for the title.
Ranieri, who took charge when Nigel Pearson was sacked in the summer, was seen as an uninspired choice by some fans and pundits.
"Claudio Ranieri, really?" tweeted former Leicester striker Gary Lineker after the Italian's appointment.
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Match of the Day presenter Lineker has previously suggested his hometown club were on the "edge of sporting immortality" and said it would be the "most unlikely triumph in the history of team sport".
MOTD pundit and former England striker Alan Shearer, who won the title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, has also described a potential Leicester title victory as "the best story of all time".
If Leicester are to win at Old Trafford, they will have to do so without leading goalscorer Jamie Vardy.
He misses the game after the Football Association gave him an additional one-match ban for improper conduct following his dismissal against West Ham. | Leicester City will win the Premier League if they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. |
36061446 | McAllister struck his early spot-kick against the post after Nicky Devlin had fouled Jordon Brown and then saw red for elbowing Peter Murphy.
Craig Moore and Ross McCrorie struck to put Ayr two up at the break.
Jordan Preston curled in the visitors' third and Moore fired his second as Ian McCall's side moved above Peterhead into second place in League One. | Rory McAllister missed a penalty and was sent off in the first half as Peterhead lost heavily to Ayr United. |
20188452 | Parliament agreed to the pay rise earlier this week in a session that was not televised.
Last month President John Dramani Mahama authorised an increase in MPs' pay.
The BBC's Sammy Darko in Ghana says both rises will be backdated to 2009 - which has caused a public outcry.
Our reporter says news of the pay increase, agreed by MPs for the executive, was slow to emerge because it took place in a closed-door session on Tuesday night.
This has angered Ghana Integrity Initiative which says such decisions should be debated in public.
"We have the right to know because we are tax payers," Vitus Azeem, the head of the anti-corruption group, told Ghana's Citifm radio station.
"If we know what has gone in to arrive at those figures, then we will also be able to make constructive comments on them. But if they hide it from us then that's a problem."
The president's monthly salary has gone up from about $4,240 (£2,640) to $6,357, which is tax free.
The new salary for ministers, who also have benefits such as the use of two cars, a house with staff and an entertainment allowance, will be $4,770.
MPs' salaries have been increased by $2,225 to $3,800 a month.
Our reporter says that while Ghana's executive and MPs earn considerably less than some other African parliamentarians - like those in Kenya who earn nearly $10,000 a month - in comparison to other public officials in Ghana their salary is very high.
He says the monthly minimum wage in Ghana is about $75 and civil servants, such as teachers, earn below $500.
Mr Mahama is the interim head of state following the death of President John Atta Mills in July 2012.
Presidential elections will take place in the West African country in December. | A significant increase in salaries for Ghana's president, ministers and other top officials has been criticised by anti-corruption campaigners. |
40015418 | Bu farw Mark Mason o'r dref ar ôl cael ei drywanu mewn maes parcio y tu allan i siop Home Bargains ar 27 Hydref.
Penderfynodd y rheithgor yn Llys y Goron Yr Wyddgrug fod James Davies, 20, yn euog o lofruddio, a bod Anthony Baines, 30, a Mark Ennis, 30, yn euog o ddynladdiad, ond yn ddieuog o lofruddio.
Roedd y tri yn dod o Lannau Mersi.
Byddan nhw'n cael eu dedfrydu ar ddyddiad sydd heb ei benderfynu.
Roedd Jake Melia, 21 a hefyd o Lerpwl, eisoes wedi cyfaddef yr holl gyhuddiadau mewn gwrandawiad blaenorol.
Clywodd y llys fod yr ymosodiad yn ganlyniad i frwydr rhwng dau gang dros bwy oedd yn rheoli'r farchnad gyffuriau yn Y Rhyl.
Roedd Davies, Baines ac Ennis wedi gwadu llofruddio Mr Mason, a hefyd wedi gwadu achosi niwed bwriadol i Justin Trickett a Sam Illidge - oedd yn yr un cerbyd â Mr Mason adeg yr ymosodiad.
Cafodd Mr Trickett a Mr Illidge eu trywanu yn y digwyddiad, ond doedd eu hanafiadau nhw ddim mor ddifrifol.
Cafwyd Baines yn euog o un cyhuddiad o niweidio, ond cafodd Davies ac Ennis eu canfod yn ddieuog o'r cyhuddiadau hynny.
Wedi'r achos, dywedodd Iwan Jenkins o Wasanaeth Erlyn y Goron bod yr ymosodiad wedi digwydd mewn ardal gyhoeddus "heb ystyriaeth am bwy fyddai wedi gweld".
"Gwerthu cyffuriau oedd y catalydd ar gyfer y drosedd ac mae'n dangos pa mor niweidiol i'r gymuned mae'r gweithgaredd anghyfreithlon yn parhau i fod."
Clywodd y llys fod Mr Mason, tad i ddau o blant, wedi ei drywanu 22 gwaith mewn llai na munud gan y tri diffynnydd a Melia, wrth iddo eistedd mewn fan yn y maes parcio.
Roedd y pedwar dyn a ymosododd arno yn aelodau o 'Griw Pensarn' neu 'Griw Ste', meddai'r erlynydd Paul Lewis QC.
Roedd Mr Mason, Mr Trickett a Mr Illidge yn rhan o 'Griw Mark' neu 'Griw Marco', er nad oedd awgrym mai Mr Mason oedd yn eu harwain.
Fe welodd y llys ddelweddau camerâu cylch cyfyng yn dangos y fan yn cael ei stopio gan gar BMW du, ac roedd modd clywed pobl yn gweiddi "trywana fo" a "lladda fo".
Dywedodd yr erlyniad fod y llofruddiaeth yn weithred o ddial yn dilyn digwyddiad cynharach pan gafodd Melia a Davies eu herlid gan ddynion mewn masgiau wrth ddelio cyffuriau yn yr ardal. | Mae dyn wedi ei gael yn euog o lofruddio a dau ddyn arall wedi eu cael yn euog o ddynladdiad yn dilyn ymosodiad angheuol dros gyffuriau yn Y Rhyl, Sir Ddinbych y llynedd. |
28892317 | Ms Chanu has been fasting since 2000 to protest against a controversial law in the state of Manipur, which gave the Indian armed forces sweeping powers.
On Friday, a group of policewomen forcibly removed her from the fast site in the state capital, Imphal.
Television footage showed them putting her in a jeep and driving away.
Ms Chanu was arrested in 2000 and held in judicial custody in a hospital where she was force-fed through a pipe in her nose.
She was freed on Wednesday after the court rejected the charge that she was "attempting to commit suicide".
On her release, she had vowed to continue her fast until the government agreed to her demand to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which gives soldiers sweeping powers to arrest people without warrants and even shoot to kill in certain situations.
Ms Chanu began a hunger strike after 10 civilians were killed by Indian soldiers.
Her protest has won her worldwide recognition, with Amnesty International describing her as a prisoner of conscience. | Indian activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who has been on a hunger strike for 14 years, has been re-arrested two days after she was freed on a court order. |
39408607 | Woodley, star of the Divergent series, was one of 27 people arrested at the site last October.
She has now signed a document agreeing to plead guilty to misdemeanour disorderly conduct, which would mean she would avoid jail.
The pipeline project has been highly controversial and drawn huge protests.
Native Americans say it will desecrate sacred land and damage the environment.
What's behind the controversy?
Woodley, who livestreamed her arrest on Facebook, initially pleaded not guilty to criminal trespass and engaging in a riot.
Her plea deal, which is awaiting the approval of a judge, would see her serve a year's unsupervised probation and forfeit a $500 (£400) bond.
The actress, who is also known for roles in The Fault in Our Stars and Big Little Lies, was scheduled to stand trial on Friday.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | US actress Shailene Woodley has reached a plea deal over her involvement in the protest against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. |
37225241 | The diver, a man aged 45 believed to be on holiday with his family, died in the English Channel at East Portholland, St Austell, at about 17:00 BST on Tuesday.
Police said a 12-year-old girl was taken to Derriford Hospital by ambulance. Her condition is not thought to be serious.
Officers are informing the victim's next of kin.
More on the scuba diving incident, and other stories from Cornwall
Supt Ian Drummond Smith said: "The family involved were from outside the area and are believed to have been holidaying in Cornwall.
"This appears to be a tragic scuba diving accident and our thoughts are with the man's relatives and friends at this time." | A scuba diver has drowned and a 12-year-old girl has been injured in the sea off Cornwall. |
38402698 | 23 December 2016 Last updated at 09:05 GMT | Senegal is the highest ranked football team in Africa and one reason is the role played by local academies such as Generation Foot, which developed players such as Africa’s most expensive player, Liverpool’s Sadio Mane. |
33010439 | The National Audit Office said 90,000 jobs were cut from 2010 to 2014, saving £2.29bn from the annual wage bill.
But it said the recruitment freeze had created a "generational gap" which could cause a serious skills shortage.
The government said it was working to ensure the civil service was "more skilled and diverse".
The NAO report published on Friday examined government departments' progress in reducing staff numbers and costs.
Its analysis - centred on HM Revenue and Customs and the transport, international development and defence departments - found that there was a mixed picture of success.
And it warned that proper strategies were not in place to implement future cuts to civil service staffing levels, driven by government plans to cut the financial deficit.
NAO head Amyas Morse said: "Not enough planning has gone into making sure that, over the longer term, the reductions already made and any required in future are sustainable and do not damage the delivery of public service."
He added: "The centre of government must do more to help departments meet these challenges, including managing the heightened risk of a shortage of vital skills."
The report said that the significant reduction in civil service jobs since 2010 - from 492,000 to 405,000 - had substantially reduced the annual wage bill by £2.29bn, to £11.13bn.
But it said this was achieved mainly by restricting recruitment, which had created a "generational gap".
Over a period of four years, the proportion of staff members in their 20s reduced from 14% to 9%, while those aged 50-59 rose from 26% to 31%, it said.
"We consider it fair to assume that low levels of recruitment and the creation of a generational gap potentially heighten the risk that the civil service will not have the talent and skills needed for future challenges," the report warned.
The NAO also concluded that Whitehall had not done enough to prepare for the consequences of having an even smaller civil service, with further staffing cuts planned between now and 2020.
Government departments are being asked to find a combined £132bn of further spending cuts to help eliminate the deficit by 2017-18.
The NAO said departments would need to manage staff cuts "strategically" in order to "reduce the risk of damaging public service delivery".
However, its analysis found "weaknesses in their approaches to developing strategic workforce plans" which it said could "hinder staff cost reductions".
"Departments' progress in developing and implementing long-term operating models is not advanced enough to sustain existing reductions and to be well placed to make the expected reductions during the 2015-2020 Parliament," it concluded.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said the government had noted the report and would review its recommendations.
The spokesman said the civil service was at its smallest since the Second World War "while continuing to deliver leading public services".
"We are working to ensure that the civil service is more skilled and diverse, and have made good progress in building strong commercial, digital and project delivery skills. We will continue to focus on these areas," the spokesman added. | Whitehall has failed to plan properly for the implications of past and future cuts to civil service staffing, the public spending watchdog has warned. |
18924648 | Studies on 26,000 untreated HIV-positive people in developing countries
were reviewed by the team.
They said resistance could build up if people fail to stick to drug regimes, and because monitoring could be poor.
A UK HIV organisation said resistance was a serious problem in Africa where alternative treatments were lacking.
The researchers, from the World Health Organization (WHO) and University College London (UCL) found the most rapid increase in drug resistance occurred in East Africa, at 29% per year. In Southern Africa, it was 14% per year.
There was no change in resistance over time in Latin America and in West and Central Africa.
Writing in the Lancet, authors Dr Silvia Bertagnolio from the WHO and Dr Ravindra Gupta at UCL said: "Without continued and increased national and international efforts, rising HIV drug resistance could jeopardise a decade-long trend of decreasing HIV/Aids-related illness and death in low- and middle-income countries."
Dr Gupta told the BBC: "Drug resistance is a consequence of people not taking their medication properly.
"We do expect to see drug resistance, and it's at around 10% in the UK and US. But here, we monitor people regularly and switch people to different drugs if they develop resistance."
He said that quite basic measures could help people to better adhere to drug regimes in developing countries, such as access to food and clean water so they can take their drugs, and monitoring patients as effectively as possible.
The researchers said no changes were needed to the drug regimes, but Dr Gupta said: "This work gives us an early-warning that things could get worse."
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the UK's National Aids Trust (NAT), said: "In the UK we are fortunate that drug resistance is not a serious problem, and if a person has drug resistance there are other combinations of anti-retroviral therapy that we can use to address this.
"Sadly in sub-Saharan Africa fewer treatment options are available. If drug resistance occurs there doesn't tend to be an alternative therapy.
"We need further research into the causes of this drug resistance in Africa, and urgent action to support people daily access to their medication." | Drug-resistant HIV has been increasing in parts of sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade, according to experts writing in the Lancet. |
32812606 | It will also only run a very limited service on the East Coast line if the action goes ahead.
Thousands of signallers, maintenance staff and station workers are due to walk out for 24 hours from 17:00 BST on Monday in a row over pay and jobs.
Passengers are being advised not to travel unless "absolutely necessary".
There are also widespread cancellations expected across many other operators including CrossCountry Trains, Chiltern Railways, Arriva Trains Wales, First Great Western and ScotRail.
Virgin, which runs services on the major routes between London and Scotland, said if the strike goes ahead some tickets may be used on other days.
A Virgin spokesman said customers would need to make alternative arrangements, and those travelling on Sunday 24 May or Wednesday 27 May were advised to check for disruption before travelling.
Network Rail is making a legal challenge against the TSSA, one of the unions involved in the industrial action, which is due to be heard at the High Court on Thursday.
Chief executive Mark Carne also urged train passengers to be prepared for the strike, saying it could not bank on unions calling off the planned stoppage.
The two sides are continuing to hold talks at the conciliation service Acas. Network Rail said its negotiators would be available into the weekend if necessary.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and train operators, said a strike timetable would be made available once it was clear whether the strike would go ahead.
Full details of amended timetables are expected to be available from train operators by Saturday, with more "overviews and summaries" available from Thursday.
If the strike goes ahead, fans of Middlesbrough and Norwich City football clubs may have trouble travelling to Wembley for the Championship play-off final at 3pm on Monday. | West Coast mainline operator Virgin Trains has cancelled all services on Monday and Tuesday because of a planned strike by Network Rail workers. |
11615589 | Some 3,000 tents will be flown in from Denmark to provide shelter for some of the estimated 680,000 people affected.
Two-thirds of Benin has suffered from months of heavy rain, and about 800 cases of cholera have been reported.
It is the worst flooding to hit the country - one of the poorest in the world - since 1963.
Areas previously thought not to be vulnerable to flooding have been devastated and villages wiped out.
"There are huge areas that are covered in water so people are living on the tops of their houses, because people try to stay near their homes," Helen Kawkins of the Care aid agency told the BBC.
The flooding has sparked major health concerns, with drinking and bathing water contaminated by human waste which has overflowed from latrines.
Are you affected by Benin's floods?
The number of cases of cholera are rising daily, with more than 50 reported in the largest city, Cotonou, alone, Care says. Dozens of people have died as a result of the flooding in the past few weeks, officials say.
People who have lost their homes have sought shelter in medical facilities, putting pressure on the country's health system.
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says an appeal for funds and aid is being planned.
The rain is continuing to deluge Benin and forecasters say there is no sign yet of it abating. | The UN refugee agency is to start an emergency airlift of tents to the West African nation of Benin this week, amid the worst flooding there in decades. |
35947251 | Madala Washington died at the Bisley prison after being assaulted at about 13:00 BST on Friday.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed the death of the 25-year-old at the category C jail, which houses about 500 inmates.
Surrey Police said his death was being "treated as unexplained" and detectives were trying to determine the circumstances of his death.
A spokesman added: "Officers attended the address shortly after 1pm today today following reports of a serious assault on an inmate at the prison."
In a statement, the MoJ said as with all custody deaths there would be an investigation by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
In 2015, a report by Coldingley's Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said staffing cuts had led to an increase in illegal drugs and weapons at the prison.
The annual publication also said prisoners were locked in their cells for up to 15 hours a day.
HMP Prison Service said in a statement Coldingley had safe and decent staff levels and extra prison officers had been recruited. | An inmate was killed at HMP Coldingley prison in Surrey, police have said. |
36450615 | Hopes of sealing automatic qualification for Euro 2017 suffered a blow as Iceland leapfrogged them in Group 1 in a one-sided match.
Kim Little also missed a penalty for the hosts at the Falkirk Stadium.
"This time there is an expectation to qualify so it is a different pressure for us," said defender Corsie.
"We need to be better, we will be better. We've been in this position before and we've not quite made it over the finish line and there is pressure for us this time to qualify, and we want to qualify automatically so we need to get the job done."
Scotland are already assured of a top-two spot in their group but are desperate to avoid more play-off heartbreak.
They lost play-offs to Russia and Spain to miss out on the last two European Championships, and then to the Netherlands while falling short of reaching the 2015 World Cup.
This time the eight group winners and six best runners-up qualify automatically, with the two remaining second-place finishers facing a play-off.
Scotland now have two qualifying games remaining as they bid to qualify for their first-ever major championship, starting on Tuesday away to Belarus before meeting Iceland again in September.
"There's nothing better than having a game so quickly to bounce back and I think that's the feeling amongst everyone in the team," said Seattle Reign's Corsie.
"Everyone's really disappointed with how they played individually and collectively how we performed, so we can bounce back and we can do that Tuesday.
"If we get a positive result, we go into the final game in a really promising position.
"There's always pressure in those games because we're expected to win, but equally it's a difficult place to go.
"I've never played in Belarus before, but I know from playing them at home they're tough to beat, they get bodies behind the ball and they play on the counter attack, which is something that we need to be wary of."
Scotland beat Belarus 7-0 at Fir Park in October.
Corsie also says the squad have not given up on winning the group, with both sides tied on 15 points apiece, although Iceland have played one game less.
And she says the whole team are determined to win back some pride after watching the Icelandic team's celebrations at the final whistle.
"That shows the respect some of the top nations have for us now," said the 26-year-old.
"It was a sore one, so there'll definitely be an added edge when we go over there.
"Getting beat 4-0 at home is not nice, especially with so much at stake. It would be nice to go there and prove that we are better than we showed." | Rachel Corsie admits the pressure is now on Scotland Women to make amends for their thumping 4-0 home defeat to Iceland on Friday. |
39551718 | The Ibrox club confirmed on Sunday that Finn Johansson has been given the role of Caixinha's 'local' assistant.
Johansson, a Rangers player from 1997-2000, played alongside Paatelainen with Finland and for him at Hibernian.
"Jonatan will be a great addition to the Rangers coaching team," Paatelainen told BBC Scotland.
Johansson was most recently an assistant with the Finland national side, having also worked as under-20s coach at Motherwell from 2012-2015.
Media playback is not supported on this device
He fought off competition from fellow former Rangers players Barry Ferguson, John Brown, Alex Rae and Kevin Thomson, with Caixinha looking to add some local knowledge to his backroom set-up.
Paatelainen, who signed Johansson for Hibs in 2009, is convinced the 41-year-old has the character and qualities to succeed.
"JJ is a smashing guy," Paatelainen added. "He was a very hard worker when he was a player.
"I haven't worked with him as a coach but I have spoken to him about coaching, and as a player he was always a good listener.
"I'd regard Jonatan as an honest, very loyal person who has experience of playing at the top level.
"JJ is a guy who will be very easy to work with and whatever Pedro Caixinha asks him to do, he will do it. He will be a pleasure to work with.
"It's a great move for JJ to improve and get experience of coaching at such a great club."
Johansson joined Rangers as a 21-year-old and flourished under Dick Advocaat, scoring 21 times in his 71 appearances.
And Paatelainen insists his countryman will relish a return to Ibrox.
"Jonatan is a Rangers man through and through so he will really enjoy working for a club that is so close to his heart," he added. | Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has made a great appointment by adding Jonatan Johansson to his backroom team, says former Hibernian boss Mixu Paatelainen. |
39724041 | Drivers dropping passengers off at the airport will now have to pay £2 for a stay of up to 10 minutes.
A new pick-up and drop-off point opposite the main terminal building has been opened with the old area at Caledonian Way West closing.
The airport said the new facility was the final stage of a wider scheme of works to reduce congestion around the airport's road network.
A Glasgow Airport spokesman said there had been a minor problem a few hours after it opened at 03:00.
"The facility has been working well, although we did experience a minor problem with a set of traffic lights just before 6am which caused a build-up of traffic on approach to the airport.
"This lasted around 20 minutes and the issue with the traffic lights has now been resolved.
"We have additional staff on hand providing support and guidance, and would encourage customers to check our website for details on the new arrangements."
A pick-up fee has been in place at the airport since 2010.
Blue badge holders will be exempt from the new drop-off charges.
Drivers who use the drop-off area for longer than 10 minutes will have to pay more, with a £30 charge for a 60-minute wait.
The airport said the high charges were to discourage drivers from using the area for extended periods.
A free pick-up and drop-off area located in the long stay car park, with a shuttle bus to and from the main terminal, will still be available.
A petition against the new charges has been signed by more than 7,500 people. | A new drop-off charge at Glasgow Airport has come into force. |
35684320 | Police called to Pincey Mead, near Pitsea Road, Basildon, shortly before 17:00 GMT on Saturday found the body in a grey Audi A4.
He has been named locally as 30-year-old Vilson Meshi. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was smoke inhalation.
Det Insp Steve Ellis of Essex Police said he wanted to hear from witnesses.
"This happened in a residential neighbourhood so I am hopeful someone will have seen or heard something.
"I'm keen to speak to anyone who might have seen the vehicle or spotted anyone acting suspiciously in the area."
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
More on this and other stories from Essex | A murder inquiry has been launched after a man's body was found in a burned-out car on a housing estate. |
32346459 | The drugs had an estimated street value of NZ$123m ($94m; £63m).
Organised crime police said the gangs had used previously unseen techniques to import and produce the drug.
Nine people were arrested under Operation Wand and Operation Sorrento, including seven people from Hong Kong and mainland China.
The raids were a joint operation between the customs authorities and police from the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (Ofcanz).
The drugs were discovered during raids on a number of Auckland addresses in late March.
In one bust of a lab in the Pakuranga district, police found 20kg of meth which was "ready or being prepared for market".
Detective Inspector Bruce Good said this showed "the scale of the organised criminal operation we have infiltrated during Operation Wand. Unfortunately it also suggests that the market for methamphetamine remains strong in New Zealand".
He said the fact that the two groups appeared not to be connected showed that there were "a number of players involved in the importation, production and supply of methamphetamine in the Auckland region".
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said methamphetamine was "a significant driver of crime that does enormous damage to our communities". | Police in Auckland, New Zealand, have seized 123kg of methamphetamine in two drug busts, breaking up two apparently unrelated gangs. |
14541465 | John Miller, 70, from Brambles Farm, had his tawny owl and two barn owls stolen from his aviary in February.
Two of his feathered friends, Jessie and Jenny, were returned to him after an appeal, and Mr Miller added a new bird to his collection, Jason, after the third owl was not recovered.
To ensure they are never taken again, he has now trained his beloved pets to perch on the handlebars of his scooter.
Mr Miller has always had a passion for birds, keeping everything from cockatiels and budgies to canaries and quails in his aviary.
However, he had to give up many of his birds when he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease six years ago, as they were damaging his health.
He said: "I used to have a lot of birds out the back... you name it, I had it.
"I went to the doctor's... he examined me and he said, 'I'll give you a year to live unless you get rid of them'.
"It was a disaster for me, he gutted me - mind it wasn't as gutting as when I had them pinched. I could cry now."
Mr Miller was able to keep his owls as they do not fly from the aviary so they do not carry the pollen that can make his condition worse.
After his aviary was broken into in February, he took the decision to train the birds to perch on his mobility scooter and he now takes them everywhere.
He said: "When I go to Morrisons I just leave them outside where the gardening centre is.
"They [the public] know them and look after them - even the security man comes out now if he knows I'm there and he looks after them.
"I just love birds and that's it, I love these more than I do her [his wife]."
Mr Miller now has a fourth owl, which he has not named yet, but his new bird is not allowed out on the scooter as he is not as tame as his three companions. | A Middlesbrough man determined to not lose his pet owls again after they were stolen has taken to travelling everywhere with them on his mobility scooter. |
36763504 | You read that right. Pokemon. The little monsters.
Police said the victims were playing Pokemon Go - a new smartphone app that encourages gamers to search local areas to find Pokemon in the "real world".
Certain locations offer bonuses and higher chances of catching rare species and that's where officers said criminals had been lying in wait.
"It is believed these suspects targeted their victims through the Pokemon Go smartphone application," the post on the force's Facebook page read.
"Apparently they were using the app to locate people standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in."
The incident was just one of several odd goings-on in the first weekend of Pokemon Go's release - a title that achieved such rapid popularity it had to be briefly shut down while servers were upgraded to handle demand.
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The app's innovation is its use of augmented reality (AR). The Pokemon are placed within real-life views captured by the phones' cameras.
When I fired up my app for the first time, a little Charmander was lurking near my TV cabinet.
Within moments, I had my shoes on and was out of the door to find more - I needed to get to a nearby Pokestop, a location where you gather supplies.
It turns out the fairly inconspicuous corner near my flat is something of a Pokemon hotspot thanks to a little landmark - a mural above eye level - that I hadn't even noticed before.
Great, I thought - that'll be handy, having a Pokestop so near my house. And then it hit me - I'm 30 next year.
The Pokemon franchise has always been huge business, but the game's prior success may pale in comparison to what's ahead for the app.
So far, its launched in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Europe is up next. Oh, and Japan. I think it'll go down well there, somehow.
Some gamers are using workarounds to avoid the wait - such as signing in with a US iTunes account on a UK phone.
Its success isn't just anecdotal. Pokemon Go has already been installed on a phenomenal 5.16% of all Android smartphones in the US, according to SimilarWeb, an app analytics firm.
For context, that's more installs than dating app Tinder. Almost double, in fact.
SimilarWeb estimates that by the end of the week on Android, Pokemon Go will have more active users than Twitter. Twitter!
Right now, the average time players are spending on the app is about 43 minutes a day. More than WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger. That will presumably dwindle away a little, but wow - what a start.
It's terrific news for Nintendo. The beleaguered Japanese gaming giant has a 33% stake in the Pokemon company and has also created a small wearable accessory that buzzes if the monsters are nearby.
Since Pokemon Go's release, Nintendo's share price has soared - up by almost 25% in Monday's trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Until now, the firm had all but snubbed smartphone-gaming. But this title could come to define the activity in the way its Game Boy did for handheld consoles all those years ago.
But like every new craze, particularly one that is likely to obsess children, we're now entering a period where any story with a Pokemon Go angle instantly grabs attention.
First up - there are privacy concerns.
The app needs lots of permissions - location data, camera and more. Almost overnight, its developer Niantic has found itself in possession of an enormous amount of data about specific people. People are putting pressure on it to clarify what it intends to do with that information.
Parents might also feel worried about their kids wandering, zombie-like, into areas of towns they wouldn't normally go.
Furthermore, the in-app purchases are enough to make your eyes pop out: $99.99 (£77.73) gets 14,500 Pokecoins to buy things in-game - you can, of course, purchase smaller amounts.
Alongside Missouri's police warning, we've also seen darker scenes in Wyoming, where a Pokemon Go trainer reportedly stumbled across a very real dead body.
And authorities in Washington State are urging players not to combine the activity with driving.
Though that did give Keith Green, from South Carolina, an idea.
"For the low price of $10 per hour," he offered, "you can have me drive you around on a Pokemon Safari.
"This way you can focus 100% of your attention on catching those little [monsters] while not posing a danger to other people on the road! Just say the word 'Charizard' and I'll slam on the brakes."
He told me no-one had taken him up on the offer. Yet.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook. | Police in Missouri put out a warning that was both terrifying and bizarre: Armed robbers were believed to be targeting people hunting for Pokemon. |
37328824 | Officials had previously believed the crash, in which an entire Chinese tour group died, was caused by mechanical failure.
But an investigation has found that the driver, Su Ming-cheng, was drunk and had been planning to kill himself.
He was already being investigated for scuffling with a tour guide and sexually assaulting an unnamed victim.
In both cases, officials alleged he was intoxicated, and prosecutors said the lawsuits had left Mr Su "depressed".
Minutes before the crash, investigators said, the driver poured fuel inside the bus and started a fire with a lighter.
He then swerved into a roadside barrier on a national highway in the city of Taoyuan, killing himself, a local guide and 24 tourists who were headed to the airport.
An emergency exit was also locked, trapping people as they tried to escape.
Text messages from Mr Su's relatives showed they pleaded with him not to take his own life.
"Don't you love the three children in your family? Don't let them be ashamed. If you do this, it will bring shame to us all," a message from his sister read, according to a transcript published by Agence France-Presse.
He had been briefly suspended in May by his employer for fighting with another tour guide, officials added.
The incident led Beijing to demand Taiwan do more to ensure the safety of mainland Chinese tourists. | A suicidal driver was the cause of a bus crash in Taiwan that killed 26 people in July, investigators say. |
37200727 | Murray, 29, beat Rosol 4-6 6-3 6-2 in a heated match at the 2015 Munich Open.
British number eight Laura Robson set up a first-round match with fellow Briton Naomi Broady after a straight-sets win over Germany's Tatjana Maria in the final qualifying round.
British number two Dan Evans faces American Rajeev Ram while Kyle Edmund will play France's Richard Gasquet.
Johanna Konta, seeded a career-high 13th in the women's singles, meets American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, while Heather Watson plays Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp.
Top seed and world number one Novak Djokovic begins the defence of his men's title against world number 120 Jerzy Janowicz, while Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the 2010 and 2013 champion, meets Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
Rosol, 31, shocked Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon in 2012.
Olympic silver medallist Juan Martin del Potro has been drawn against fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
Women's world number one Serena Williams, a beaten semi-finalist last year, begins her campaign against Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
Williams is aiming for a seventh US Open crown and a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title in the Open era.
Murray, the second seed, said there is no ill feeling between him and Rosol after a dispute in Munich last year.
"I have actually got along fine with him apart from that day and he's a tough, tough opponent," said Murray.
"He's a big, strong guy, he goes for his shots and he takes a lot of risks. It's a tough opening round, for sure."
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
Djokovic said he hopes to be close to full fitness for the start of the tournament, but admitted his left wrist has not healed fully.
He first felt pain in his wrist in the week before the Rio Olympics, where he lost in the opening round to Del Potro.
"I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that I'm as close to 100% as possible during the course of this tournament," said the 29-year-old.
"I'm just hoping that when the tournament starts I'll be able to get as close to the maximum of executing my backhand shot as possible."
Djokovic also said he was dealing with "private issues" when he lost to Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon this year, but that those issues have now been resolved.
He added: "I am in a position, like everybody else, like all of you.
"We all have private issues and things that are more challenges than issues, more things that we have to encounter and overcome in order to evolve as a human being."
BBC Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:
"Rosol is the man who beat Rafael Nadal on Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2012, and was told by Murray that "nobody likes you" after the Czech bumped into him while changing ends at an event in Munich last year.
"Murray could face Kei Nishikori in the last eight and Stan Wawrinka - or even Juan Martin del Potro - in the semi-finals, while chief rival Djokovic, still troubled by a left wrist injury, could play Marin Cilic and Rafael Nadal at the same stages.
"It would be wrong to describe Djokovic as an unknown quantity at this US Open. He is the defending champion and has a sensational record on hard courts, but he has had an emotional few months after completing the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros." | Olympic champion Andy Murray will meet Czech Lukas Rosol in the first round of the US Open, which starts on Monday. |
39676227 | James Justin's first senior goal, an own goal from Omar Beckles and further strikes from Isaac Vassell and Jack Marriott secured victory for the promotion-chasing Hatters.
Stanley, who briefly levelled through Matty Pearson, saw their own top-seven hopes ended by the defeat.
Luton's Alan Sheehan forced goalkeeper Marek Rodak into a superb one-handed save on 26 minutes, but the Fulham loanee could not stop 19-year-old Justin two minutes later as he raced onto Ollie Palmer's ball and fired into the bottom corner.
Stanley equalised when Pearson headed home his ninth goal of the season from Sean McConville's corner.
A comedy of errors gifted Luton a second when Stanley defender Beckles headed back to Rodak and it looped over the keeper and into the net four minutes into the second half.
Striker Vassell made it 3-1 when he stretched at the far post to fire home Palmer's cross.
And substitute Marriott completed the scoring in stoppage time, racing free and firing home to end Stanley's unbeaten home run in 2017.
Match report supplied by the Press Association
Match ends, Accrington Stanley 1, Luton Town 4.
Second Half ends, Accrington Stanley 1, Luton Town 4.
Jonathan Edwards (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Dan Potts (Luton Town).
Goal! Accrington Stanley 1, Luton Town 4. Jack Marriott (Luton Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Glen Rea.
Omar Beckles (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ollie Palmer (Luton Town).
Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Reagan Ogle replaces Shay McCartan.
Attempt missed. Matty Pearson (Accrington Stanley) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Jonathan Smith (Luton Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Matty Pearson (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Ollie Palmer (Luton Town).
Seamus Conneely (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Jonathan Edwards (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Substitution, Luton Town. Luke Gambin replaces Jake Gray.
Corner, Luton Town. Conceded by Seamus Conneely.
Attempt blocked. Ollie Palmer (Luton Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Foul by Jack Marriott (Luton Town).
Mark Hughes (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Luton Town. Jonathan Smith replaces Pelly Ruddock.
Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Jonathan Edwards replaces Jordan Clark.
Substitution, Luton Town. Jack Marriott replaces Isaac Vassell.
Corner, Luton Town. Conceded by Matty Pearson.
Attempt blocked. Ollie Palmer (Luton Town) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Ollie Palmer (Luton Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dan Potts (Luton Town).
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Stuart Moore.
Attempt saved. Janoi Donacien (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by James Justin.
Attempt missed. Ollie Palmer (Luton Town) header from very close range is just a bit too high.
Attempt saved. Isaac Vassell (Luton Town) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Foul by Alan Sheehan (Luton Town).
Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Seamus Conneely (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alan Sheehan (Luton Town).
Foul by Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley).
Scott Cuthbert (Luton Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Isaac Vassell (Luton Town) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Matty Pearson (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. | Luton secured their place in the League Two play-off spots with an emphatic win at Accrington. |
32705455 | She described the festival in Bentonville, Arkansas, as "making Hollywood history" - showing only films promoting women and diversity. But in 2015, is such an event really necessary?
Oscar and Golden Globe winner Davis, who turns 60 next year, believes so. Famous for playing strong women characters such as wayward runaway housewife Thelma in Ridley Scott's 1991 road movie Thelma and Louise; pioneering baseball player Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own; or President Mackenzie Allen in TV show Commander in Chief; in 2004 she started the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media "after watching TV with my daughter and wondering, 'where are all the girls?'" she says.
Davis's organisation has done the first research in to on-screen gender diversity in two decades. She claims that her results, which looked at female characters in popular films across 11 countries, including the UK, are sobering.
"The ratio of men to women on screen is at exactly the same levels as in 1946. It hasn't moved. We've calculated that at the current rate, it's going to take 700 years to achieve on-screen equality in films and television. Clearly, we need to lose a couple of zeros from that analysis."
According to the Institute's research, the disparity is at its worst in children's programming - with one girl on screen for every three boys. Even in mainstream films and TV shows, the research claims that there are three men with speaking parts for each woman.
"Women have just not been there on screen," the actress continues. "And if they are there, they're not doing inspiring things. Female characters working in science, technology, engineering and maths are outnumbered seven to one by males. Only 7% of judges are played by women, and only 4% of sports characters.
"I believe we're teaching kids to have an unconscious bias against girls, that they're just serving the function of beauty.
"So that's why there's a need for this event," she says. "There is gender inequality, and the fastest way to fix it is to fix it through media and then life will imitate art."
To qualify for the festival, a film had to either star a woman, have a diverse cast, or have either a female director, writer or producer.
Davis calls the ratio of women filmmakers to men in the US "appalling" - the latest figures from the Directors Guild of America, released in 2013, put the number of women directors who were members at around 5%.
A further incentive to come to Bentonville rested with the guarantee that winning films will get distribution with the US media sponsors the festival attracted - US supermarket Walmart, the AMC movie chain, or video streaming site Vudu.
"This is intentionally a highly visible and highly commercial festival," she says. "While the there are equal numbers of male and female film students in most countries, it drops off sharply afterwards.
"We need financial momentum to get things going, and I want to show how vital and commercial these kinds of films can be. We want people to want to come here, knowing they can get a film deal, but in order to qualify they need to hire more women and more minorities.
New figures released show that Hunger Games actress Jennifer Lawrence was being paid $20m (£12.5m) for her new film Passengers - double the fee of her leading man, Chris Pratt.
However, voicing concerns about deeper inequalities between men and women working in Hollywood has become a recurring theme, with Patricia Arquette speaking out against a "gender pay gap" during her Oscar acceptance speech in February.
Meryl Streep also recently announced she was starting a screenwriting fund for women over the age of 40, because she claims the industry lacks female voices and parts. Streep also suggested that it was harder for a male audience to identify with female characters - something Geena Davis disagrees with.
"My twin boys, who are 11 - their favourite film is Frozen," she says. "But I do think is that a lot of male screenwriters are afraid of writing a female part, of getting her wrong, giving her flaws, or deliberately making her unlikeable. My response to that is just create more of them.
When there's a lot of women on screen, it doesn't matter if they're not brave, or strong, or likeable, or clever. It just matters that they're there."
Denying "there's a plot in Hollywood against women - any bias is totally unconscious," Davis relates that when she meets executives with her research, she "gets two reactions".
Either they say "oh we've fixed it", and they name something like The Hunger Games as an example, or their jaws hit the floor. I just want what we see on screen to reflect the make up of the world's population.
"Obviously, if you're making Saving Private Ryan, that's a different matter. But in crowd scenes, why can't half the President's council be women? This industry is literally the only one that can see overnight change and I do think it will happen."
Robert De Niro was a lone male celebrity guest at the Bentonville Film Festival, after coming to present a HBO documentary about his artist father.
Friends actress Courtney Cox was also present, along with Davis's co-star Rosie O'Donnell from A League of Their Own, for a special screening at Bentonville's baseball park. The winning feature was a female-directed feature, Jack of the Red Hearts, about a young runaway girl, starring Famke Janssen. Davis promised the festival would return next year.
"I never meant to go so far with this, but I'm glad I did," she says. "My kids are so used to it now. When I watch TV with them, if I even start to lean over, they roll their eyes and say, 'yeah Mom, we know - there's not enough girls.'" | Actress Geena Davis was so disappointed with the disparity of screen time between men and women that she founded a film festival to both highlight the problem and showcase the work of female talent in the industry. |
40677650 | The outer decontamination bag from the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 was bought at Sotheby's by an anonymous bidder.
The white bag still carries traces of Moon dust and small rocks.
The auction comes after a legal battle over the ownership of the only artefact from the Apollo 11 mission which was in private hands.
After the spacecraft returned to Earth, nearly all the equipment was sent to the Smithsonian museums.
However, the bag was left in a box at the Johnson Space Center because of an inventory error.
It was then misidentified during a government auction, selling for just $995 to a lawyer from Illinois in 2015.
Nasa later tried to get the bag back, but earlier this year a federal judge ruled that it legally belonged to the buyer, who then offered it for sale at Sotheby's. | A bag used by US astronaut Neil Armstrong to collect the first ever samples of the Moon has sold at auction in New York for $1.8m (£1.4m). |
36382492 | One of the Higher English papers was replaced weeks before the exam amid concerns it may have been leaked.
A teacher involved in setting the paper may have given their students too much information, BBC Scotland understands.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said it was carrying out a full investigation.
It compiled a replacement paper as a precaution.
The replacement was sent to schools and exam centres a week before the exam earlier this month. It was compiled much more quickly than usual to meet the urgent deadline.
The SQA gave little information about the specific circumstances which led to the emergency.
The exams body said "unusual" and external" circumstances were to blame.
But BBC Scotland understands the focus is on a teacher who played a part in setting the original paper.
It is alleged the teacher suggested to students what topics might come up in the exam and the kind of answers they could give.
The concern was these students could have been unfairly advantaged or may have spread the information - either personally or on social media.
A spokesperson for SQA said: "We are continuing to conduct a detailed review of the circumstances around this year's Higher English examination and it would be inappropriate to comment further until that process has been completed."
There is no suggestion that any member of SQA staff, nor any external contractor such as the printers, acted irresponsibly.
Nor is there any suggestion that anybody at either the school concerned, or any other school, who had responsibility for looking after the exam papers, was in the wrong.
The issue was a concern that the content of the exam - as opposed to the paper itself - could have become known to candidates.
BBC Scotland revealed two days before the exam a replacement for one of the two papers had been sent out the week before.
The problem had come to the SQA's attention a few weeks earlier. Although the new paper had to be compiled quickly, the organisation said it always produces more material than is actually needed.
Generally, one person at each school or exam centre takes responsibility for all the exam papers and makes sure they are safely and securely stored until they are needed.
Teachers do not get to see exams beforehand. | A teacher who allegedly told students what to expect in the Higher English exam sparked a near-emergency at the exams agency, BBC Scotland can reveal. |
36582008 | After Monday's washout at Chelmsford, the home side only added two runs to their 266-9 before Clint McKay took the final wicket for figures of 4-47.
Leicestershire reached 128-1, but after Angus Robson went for 74, they were bowled out for 243 in 78 overs.
David Masters and Ravi Bopara each took three wickets for Essex, who were 22-1 at stumps, extending their lead to 47.
However, a draw appears the most likely result on the final day, barring a dramatic collapse by one of the two sides.
Robson hit 10 fours in his 135-ball innings, and shared a stand of 88 with Neil Dexter (33), but Mark Pettini (36) was the only other batsman to pass 20 in the Leicestershire innings.
Former Kent seamer Masters needs only five more victims to reach 650 wickets in first-class cricket following his 3-33, which included the wicket of Robson, who was caught behind. | Essex fought back strongly with the ball to earn a narrow 25-run first-innings lead against Leicestershire. |
31514937 | The county council, which is reviewing all of its car parks and ticket prices, made the announcement but declined to divulge the location.
John Thomson, who is responsible for the review, said: "There's one car park that has never had anybody park in it."
The council has identified 20 car parks as being "of non-strategic importance... or of low viability".
Five of these car parks are in Bradford-on-Avon, four are in Warminster, there are two in Devizes, two in Trowbridge, two in Westbury, and one each in Amesbury, Chippenham, Malmesbury, Marlborough and Melksham.
Cabinet member Mr Thomson said suggestions for the car parks, gained via a three-month public consultation, included having them grassed over, leased to town or parish councils or sold for other uses.
The council is expected to publish its report next month and has declined to comment further.
BBC Wiltshire breakfast show presenter Ben Prater has been searching for the one unused car park and has so far eliminated 11 - in Amesbury, Bradford-on-Avon, Warminster and Malmesbury - with the help of listeners.
Wiltshire Council receives £7.5m a year from parking fees, and invests a £2.75m surplus into transport and highways schemes.
In 2011 the authority increased parking costs as part of wider changes, but in October admitted mistakes had been made and said a county-wide review would be carried out. | A council-run pay and display car park in Wiltshire has never been used, it has been revealed. |
18518464 | Editorials appeared in major newspapers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, saying that President Rafael Correa was leading a relentless campaign against free speech.
So the decision by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to seek asylum at Ecuador's embassy in London might seem odd.
However, it does not come entirely out of the blue.
In November 2010, Ecuador's former deputy foreign minister Kintto Lucas spoke of granting Mr Assange residency in the country so he could "freely present the information he possesses".
A few weeks later, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino and President Rafael Correa backtracked, saying Mr Lucas was speaking "on his own behalf."
At the time Mr Correa said Wikileaks had "committed an error by breaking the laws of the United States and leaking this type of information."
But over the past year and a half, Mr Assange has remained in close contact with Ecuador's embassy in London, and Mr Correa seems to have changed his mind.
Mr Assange conducted an interview with President Correa in April for his TV show on Russia Today, an English language channel funded by the Russian government.
During the interview, the Ecuadorean president repeatedly praised Wikileaks and its work.
Mr Assange and Mr Correa also bonded over issues such as freedom of speech and the negative role of mainstream media.
"Cheer up! Cheer up! Welcome to the club of the persecuted!" said Mr Correa at the end of the amicable exchange, which lasted 75 minutes.
Mr Correa was initially critical of Wikileaks and argued that the leaked cables were trying to destabilise the country.
But his attitude to Wikileaks changed.
In April 2011, the government expelled US Ambassador Heather Hodges following the release of a leaked cable in which she suggested Mr Correa was aware of corruption allegations against a senior policeman when he made him commander of the national police force
Washington responded by expelling the Ecuadorean ambassador.
Diplomatic relations have since been re-established.
President Correa says he is a victim of the private media in Ecuador, which has historically served the interests of the country's economic elites.
But his actions have brought international scrutiny.
Earlier this year, Mr Correa won two separate multi-million dollar lawsuits against journalists for libel.
El Universo newspaper was fined $40m (£25m) and its owners given a three-year jail term.
In a separate lawsuit, two investigative journalists were fined $10m (£6.3m) for discrediting Mr Correa's good name in a book detailing government contracts that benefited the president's older brother.
Following international pressure, Mr Correa pardoned the journalists and the newspaper.
Mr Correa, in office since 2007 and set to seek re-election in 2013, enjoys high levels of popularity in the country.
Granting Julian Assange asylum could be a smart political move by Mr Correa ahead of the election.
It may give him a chance to clear his bad track record when it comes to the media by protecting Mr Assange, who is seen by some as a champion of freedom of speech.
But more practical considerations may also weigh on Mr Correa's mind.
"The president has to make a very hard choice and take into the account relations with the US," Grace Jaramillo, international relations professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Studies in Quito, told the BBC.
Ecuador has a preferential trade agreement with the US on some 1,300 goods and that deal is up for renewal in January. | This year Ecuador made headlines internationally for what critics said was a government crackdown on private media. |
18785407 | Media playback is unsupported on your device
10 July 2012 Last updated at 18:21 BST
Five teams of quidditch players from across the world met for the first major international tournament and held a match as the Olympic torch passed through Oxford.
The sport was adapted in 2005 by US students from the game in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels.
It now has 700 teams spread across 25 countries.
Alex Benepe is one of the sport's founders and set up the International Quidditch Association in 2007. He said he wanted to 'show people [it] is an exciting sport'.
Despite the campaign, it'd take more than Harry Potter's magic wand to make it an Olympic event anytime soon. | A group of quidditch fans are on a mission to get the sport into the Olympics. |
34294064 | The body of Nicola Cross, 37, was found at her home in Dunlin Road, Hemel Hempstead, on Monday night.
Marcin Porczynski, 23, of Claymore Avenue in the town, appeared via video link at Luton Crown Court. He was remanded in custody.
A plea hearing is set for 4 December, with a trial date set for March.
The court heard the mother-of-two was killed in front of her six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter while her husband Dan was out.
Prosecutors allege the defendant then kidnapped the children but was arrested by police who heard a disturbance while responding to a separate call at a neighbouring home.
Mr Porczynski is charged with murder, two counts of kidnap and one of trespass with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The next court appearance is due to take place at St Albans Crown Court.
Ms Cross's family issued a tribute to her via Hertfordshire Police earlier this week.
A 19-year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle after Mrs Cross's body was found has been released without charge, police said.
Det Ch Insp Jerome Kent said he played "no part in the tragic events... and no further action will be taken". | The trial of a man accused of murdering a woman at her Hertfordshire home and kidnapping her children is due to take place next year. |
34744903 | Researchers asked 345 women about their sexual preferences and compared these with their arousal levels when shown videos of attractive men and women.
They found 28% of straight women were mostly aroused by their preferred sex, compared with 68% of gay women.
The University of Essex study concluded that no woman is "totally straight".
The new study, led by Dr Gerulf Rieger from the University of Essex and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, measured the arousal of women using eye tracking devices and direct measures of physiological sexual response.
Previous studies had already suggested that straight women were aroused by both sexes when tested, but researchers had never looked at whether the same was true for gay women.
Dr Rieger said the study's conclusion that women who identified as being completely gay were much more aroused by their preferred sex was "amazing".
He said their sexual arousal patterns were much more similar to men, whose responses tend to very accurately mirror their stated sexual preferences.
Dr Rieger said: "In the past we thought it was true of all women that they were aroused by both sexes. The fact that it appears this is not the case is amazing."
Dr Rieger said it was not known why gay women were more often only aroused by their preferred sex, but he believes it may be to do with the amount of testosterone female babies receive in the womb.
It was possible, he said, that women who experienced testosterone early in pregnancy had sexual behaviours that were more similar to men, but this has not yet been proven.
He said tests showed similar behaviours occurring in monkeys.
Dr Rieger said the wider conclusions of the study was that, while the majority of women identified as straight: "Our research shows that, when it comes to what turns them on they are usually bisexual or gay, but never totally straight".
However, he added the research did not necessarily mean women were repressing their true sexual preferences, but that their sexualities were simply more complex than men's.
"When it comes to straight women and sexual arousal there is such a disconnect between what a woman tells me and what her body does.
"It suggests that it's a different world for women when it comes to their sexualities." | Gay women tend to be exclusively sexually attracted to women, while straight women are more likely to be aroused by both sexes, a study says. |
40030028 | One alleged victim told the BBC he felt "dirty and embarrassed" after being regularly assaulted at a surgery in Whitchurch in the 1970s.
"Tom", not his real name, said the abuse was carried out between the ages of nine and 13 when his mother was in the room and later when he was alone.
He said he had spoken out because he wanted others to come forward.
More updates on this story
A second alleged victim, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said he was abused by the same GP during the same era, from the age of 13 until about 18.
He said he had buried what happened for many years believing he was responsible and only talked about it five years ago during counselling.
"Tom" said it had taken 40 years to talk about what happened. He said he remembered coming home from the GP's surgery feeling "dirty, embarrassed and used".
"The first time I was examined I was nine-years-old and my mother was in the room and I was taken behind a big old heavy hospital-type screen."
He said things moved on "systematically" and things got "more intense" once he was examined on his own while his mother waited outside the room.
"I didn't know any different. I thought that's how doctors are, that's what doctors do, and it was only when it stopped happening that I thought, I started to wonder," he said.
"Tom's" story first appeared in the Whitchurch Herald but he has since spoken to other people who also claim they were sexually abused by the GP.
They include boys, girls and young women, said Victoria Neale from Hudgell Solicitors.
She appealed for anyone else to come forward.
West Mercia Police said it had received five reports of non-recent sexual offences in Whitchurch and investigations were ongoing. | Five allegations of historical sex abuse have been made against a Shropshire GP who died 17 years ago. |
35405806 | He's the brainchild of the PSNI and he's a stick man with attitude and a woollen balaclava.
He is based on a similar stick figure who has taken the internet by storm. The original Bill is the creation of Eugeniu Croitoru.
Bill is a polite stick man who is clogging up Facebook timelines with tongue-in-cheek advice about the correct way to behave online .
Bill is far too polite to tell you straight out not to do something. Instead he leads by example. But the message is clear and often very funny.
The images first started appearing online late last year, but have surged in popularity in January, spurred on by a dedicated Facebook page simply called "Be like Bill" - which now boasts more than 1.25m likes.
Dissident Dan, on the other hand, is his nemesis.
He's an example of how police in Northern Ireland are tapping into trends to get a serious message across.
Dissident Dan, the brainchild of police in Craigavon, was posted after security alerts at a railway line in Lurgan and serious disorder when more than 100 petrol bombs were thrown at police at Lake Street. A shot was also fired at police.
In their post, police said: "This is dissident Dan. Dissident Dan has an irrational hatred of trains. Dissident Dan also hates the people of Lurgan going about their day to day lives in peace.
"Dissident Dan lives in the past, and puts things on the train tracks in order to stop the trains, and his own community. Don't be like Dan."
The message ended with a "HUGE" thank you to people in north Lurgan for their patience during the alert.
"Thank you for your kind words as we went door to door, and for the 99.9% of you who didn't come out throwing stuff at us or shooting at us as we tried to keep you safe.
"The alert is now over and the roads are open. Trains will get back to normal over the coming hours," they said. | There's a new meme on the block and his name is Dissident Dan. |
25542957 | Transport Scotland's bus investment fund is to be split among 13 projects over three years.
Successful bids include a better park and ride at Kingswells in Aberdeen, bus stop timetables in Fife, and extensions to a southern Highland rural service.
Improvements are planned for the A81 in East Dunbartonshire, as well as rural services in Dumfries and Galloway.
Mr Brown said: "This fund provides local authorities, regional transport partnerships and bus operators with the opportunity to apply for grants which will help to increase the standard of bus services and patronage." | Bus services are to be improved with £4.2m in funding, Transport Minister Keith Brown has announced. |
14943373 | Northern Ireland's deputy first minister has been approved by the party's officer board. It will now go before the party executive for formal approval this weekend.
If he was elected, he would have to give up his deputy first minister job.
During the campaign he is expected to stand aside temporarily. Another Sinn Fein minister will stand in.
Mr McGuinness is currently in New York along with First Minister Peter Robinson on a five day investment mission.
Speaking from New York he said he was "honoured" to have been given the opportunity "to build on my work within the peace process".
"I hope that my campaign will give citizens the opportunity to make a stand for the new Ireland," he said.
He added that he believed that those who had voted for his election in Northern Ireland would be pleased with his decision.
"They will be very happy that I, as an Irish republican from the north, will be prepared to stand for the Irish presidency," he said.
"The whole all-Ireland nature of the agreements that we have made, make it incumbent upon all of us to continue to bring about - I hope - the reunification of Ireland by purely peaceful and democratic means."
Mr McGuinness emphasised that although he would be stepping aside as deputy first minister during the campaign process, he would not be out of the decision making process in Northern Ireland.
Education Minister John O'Dowd is thought to be a more likely stand-in than either Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill or Culture Minister Caral NiChuilin.
Besides Sinn Fein's 14 TDs, Mr McGuinness will have to get the backing of three others to secure a place on the ballot paper for the election in late October.
He is certain to face questions about his IRA past - but his party colleagues believe his high profile as a result of the peace process should help build Sinn Fein's vote.
In a statement, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said: "This is a time of great challenge for all the people of Ireland. We need positive but authentic leadership.
"It will be a great honour for me to propose Martin McGuinness to contest this election on a broad, republican, citizen-centred platform.
"I believe that this election will give Martin the platform to continue the work which he has led in the north and in the peace process and to put it on a national footing."
Speaking to the BBC at Sinn Fein's party conference last week, Mr McGuinness said he "hadn't even considered the prospect" of running for the presidency but added "we'll see what happens over the next short while".
Sinn Fein has opened up a space on the left of Labour and is in a good position to grow in the south.
It is rather odd that the party has chosen to go back into its past to someone who was in the IRA and back to a senior older Northern leadership.
It is strange putting an older northern stamp on its southern profile. I am not sure it is the way for the party to expand its base in the south.
Mr McGuinness is not going to win the presidential election. He will bring out the Sinn Fein vote.
But it is hard to see what is in it for Martin McGuinness. He is presumably ending his career as deputy first minister to go to what? A respectful showing in a presidential election in the south?
Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell, Special Olympics boss Mary Davis, buisnessman Sean Gallagher and poll topper Michael D Higgins of Labour, have already put their names forward for the October election.
Senator David Norris appeared on RTE's Late Late Show on Friday night to discuss his renewed attempts to secure a nomination.
Mr Norris reactivated his hopes to run by meeting Independent TDs (members of parliament) on Thursday.
He pulled out of the race in August after it emerged he wrote to an Israeli court pleading for clemency for his former partner Ezra Yizhak.
Yizhak had been accused of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in 1992.
He admitted the charge, pleading guilty and was convicted in 1997.
Speaking on the show he said he hoped to re-enter the campaign but it would be dependent upon receiving the necessary support.
"I think people love a comeback and this would be the biggest comeback in Irish political history," he said. | Sinn Fein has announced that Martin McGuinness will be the party's candidate for the Irish presidency. |
35598775 | Vern Cotter's team have yet to win a match in this season's Six Nations and have lost their last nine games in the competition.
But Ford, 31, is confident the Scots can cope with the physicality of the Italians in Rome on 27 February.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"They're physical but we back ourselves if we perform well and we did do that in parts down in Wales," he said.
"If we perform with that intensity, we give ourselves a great opportunity to put some breathing space between us."
Scotland lost 27-23 in Cardiff on Saturday, a week after going down 15-9 to England at Murrayfield. They face France at home then Ireland, away, in the final two rounds of this year's championship.
"We were in it for large parts of the game [in Wales]," said Ford. "It's frustrating for us not to get the result we wanted.
"It was there for us for the taking but the performance was better than against England and now we just have to make sure that we keep developing that and get a result across in Italy and start a roll of victories out of that one."
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Italy opened with a narrow 23-21 defeat in France and then lost 40-9 at home to England on Sunday.
"Italy - they're a very competitive team and they showed that against England, stuck with them for the majority of the game and it was only at the very end that England managed to score some points," added Edinburgh forward Ford.
"But we know that if we can perform well and get areas of our game right, we'll put ourselves in a really good position when it comes to the business end at the end of the game.
"If they stay in the game, the longer the game goes on, the more they become harder to put away." | Hooker Ross Ford believes a win over Italy could set Scotland off on a roll of wins. |
27600981 | The US-based firm said it needed more time to work on the system's controllers, which feature two haptic-feedback trackpads.
The announcement is also likely to impact the 14 third-party manufacturers planning to sell their own Steam Machine hardware.
However, one industry watcher suggested Valve had taken the right decision.
"It is targeting a very demanding demographic with the Steam Machine platform, and the controller is one of the key features designed to address the impression that PC gaming can be slightly inaccessible," said Ed Barton, a gaming analyst at consultants Ovum.
"It's a very ambitious concept to try to replicate the accuracy of a mouse input with the controller's two circular touchpads - and if it doesn't work, the platform would likely struggle to get off the ground."
Valve is best known for developing games including Half Life, Dota 2 and Left 4 Dead, as well as having created Steam, a service that includes the bestselling marketplace for PC games and contains vibrant community forums.
The company, based in Bellevue, Washington state, announced last September that it also intended to create its own games-focused Linux-based operating system, called SteamOS, in addition to a few hundred prototype machines to test it on.
It said the machine was intended to be plugged into a TV and used with its new controller that would provide vibration feedback to deliver "in-game information about speed, boundaries, thresholds, textures, action confirmations, or any other events about which game designers want players to be aware".
The idea, it said, was to take PC gaming into the living room in 2014 - a place previously dominated by consoles from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Others would ultimately make the machines sold to the public.
However, a blog by developer Eric Hope has now asked consumers to be patient while the firm continued to work on the project.
"We're now using wireless prototype controllers to conduct live playtests, with everyone from industry professionals to die-hard gamers to casual gamers," he wrote.
"It's generating a ton of useful feedback, and it means we'll be able to make the controller a lot better.
"Of course, it's also keeping us pretty busy making all those improvements. Realistically, we're now looking at a release window of 2015, not 2014."
The blog refers to delays to "our in-development Steam Machines", but it appears that third-party Steam Machines will also be postponed until the controller is available.
Several of the companies involved had already announced provisional specifications, including the amounts of memory, types of processor and prices they intended to charge.
"We support the mindset to launch Steam Machine with the best possible experience," Kevin Wasielewski, chief executive of Origin PC, one of the manufacturers involved, told the BBC.
"Unfortunately that means no Steam Machine in 2014."
Anton Nilsson, purchasing manager at Swedish PC-maker Webhallen added: "Our plans for Steam Machines will of course also be pushed to a later date... We also think that the controller could use some more work so we're happy to hear that Valve is spending even more time perfecting it."
There are currently 474 Linux-compatible games available on the Steam platform, and there had been an expectation that Valve would announce further high-profile titles to coincide with the launch.
Mr Barton said the delay could make that tally seem less impressive.
"If the Steam Machines were coming out at the end of 2014 you could argue they would have a significant advantage over the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U in terms of the sheer number of games that would be available," he said.
"Coming out a year later not only means more of those consoles will have been sold, but also presumably that they will have more exclusives and cheaper games available to them.
"But Valve would argue that it needs to get its hardware right or it wouldn't be competitive anyway."
However, the news does appear to have frustrated some potential buyers.
"I agree that if they need more time to get a finished product, they should indeed take it, but going from early 2014 to mid 2014 to Q4 2014 and then to 2015?" wrote one gamer on Valve's Steam Universe forum.
"I've been a PC gamer for about nine years and I'm a fan of gaming in the living room, replaceable parts, high-end specs, so the notion of a PC console is exciting, but I literally would've bought a console for my entertainment area instead if I knew the timeline would just be constantly delayed." | Valve has delayed the launch of its Steam Machine video games PCs until next year at the earliest. |
40738239 | Thought to have been bequeathed to the museum by an anonymous donor, the Cartier ring was reported missing to the police in 2011.
The loss was revealed with the publication of museum's annual accounts where its cost has been written off.
A spokesperson said it was museum procedure to report losses five years after discovering a missing piece.
The ring was not on public display when it went missing, the museum said.
A spokesperson said: "The ring was found missing from its proper location by British Museum staff in August 2011.
"British Museum procedure, as agreed by trustees, requires the ring formally to be reported as lost five years after the initial discovery of its absence.
"The museum has since reviewed its security and collections management procedures and dedicated significant investment to improved security across the estate." | A £750,000 diamond ring, missing from the British Museum for six years, has only now been registered as lost. |
37814864 | The Indians won 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and can clinch the title at Chicago's Wrigley Field on Sunday.
They trailed 1-0 after the first inning but the home runs and some poor Cubs play helped them take control.
Cleveland pitcher Corey Kluber held the Cubs to one run in six innings.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon remains confident his side can claim victory on Sunday and send the series into a sixth game on Tuesday in Cleveland.
"We have to have a one-game winning streak tomorrow, and if we do that I really would be feeling pretty good about going back to Cleveland," he said.
"We just need that offensive epiphany somehow to get us pushing in the right direction.
"If we do that I really think, based on what they have left pitching-wise and what we have, going back over there, I kind of like our chances." | Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana hit home runs as the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs to move one win from their first World Series since 1948. |
40242226 | She was speaking after what she called "constructive" talks with Sinn Féin about restoring power-sharing.
Devolved government in Northern Ireland broke down in January and there has been political deadlock following a snap assembly election in March.
The deadline for an agreement to be reached has been extended to 29 June.
If no executive is formed, Secretary of State James Brokenshire has warned Northern Ireland may face direct rule.
Brushing aside calls from Sinn Fein and the SDLP for him to be replaced by an "independent broker", Mr Brokenshire said the British government was "very clear" on its responsibilities to "act fairly to the benefit to all communities".
Mrs Foster is due to meet the prime minster on Tuesday to discuss the formation of a DUP-supported Conservative government at Westminster.
A senior minister has said he is "optimistic" a deal would be reached to allow a proposed Tory minority government to get its legislative programme through the Commons.
Mr Brokenshire said those negotiations were "entirely separate from our intent and desire to see devolution restored here".
But Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said no deal between the Conservatives and the DUP would be good for Northern Ireland.
And Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy said earlier it "would be kind to describe Mr Brokenshire as delusional".
"His government won't exist unless the DUP allow it to exist and the fact that they will be dependent on them conflicts him even more," he said.
But Mrs Foster rejected Sinn Fein's accusations the Good Friday Agreement would be compromised if her party entered into a deal to support a minority Conservative government.
She said her MPs had a right to participate in the government process at Westminster.
"I think this is a tremendous opportunity not just for this party but for Northern Ireland in terms of the nation, and we're looking forward to playing our part in that," she said.
But SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Northern Ireland politics was "in a very, very bad place".
"Arlene Foster has got the British government over a barrel - we will not accept that, and the taoiseach should not accept that either."
The Alliance Party echoed the SDLP and Sinn Féin's concerns that such a partnership could make power-sharing at Stormont more difficult.
Mr Brokenshire and Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan both attended Monday's talks with Northern Ireland's five main parties.
Mr Flanagan said the Irish government had two key priorities in the talks:
Leo Varadkar, the new leader of Ireland's Fine Gael party, has said he will raise with Theresa May the importance of impartiality in the Stormont talks.
He said it was important that the two governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, should not be too close to either unionism, or nationalists and republicans.
Mr Varadkar is expected to become Irish prime minister later this week in a parliamentary vote on Enda Kenny's successor.
The Prime Minister will meet with Arlene Foster on Tuesday, well aware that a deal with the DUP is the only chance the Conservatives have of staying in power.
If an agreement is reached it is likely to be what is known as a confidence and supply arrangement where the DUP would support the Tories on key votes like the Queen's speech, the budget or a vote of no confidence.
Critics say the move endangers the peace process and the government will not be an honest broker in Northern Ireland.
If a deal is done it will propel Arlene Foster's party onto the national stage and give her MPs an influence they could not have anticipated during the election campaign.
Under Northern Ireland's power-sharing agreement, the executive must be jointly run by unionists and nationalists, with the largest party putting forward a candidate for first minister.
Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness quit as deputy first minister in January in protest against the DUP's handling of a botched green energy scheme.
The party said it would not share power with DUP leader Arlene Foster as first minister until the conclusion of a public inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.
Mr McGuinness, who had been suffering from a rare heart condition, died earlier this year. | Arlene Foster has said a deal between her Democratic Unionist Party and the Conservatives could be a "tremendous opportunity" for Northern Ireland. |
35859532 | Norwood grabbed his 16th of the season when he controlled Matt Hill's long ball before firing past Max O'Leary.
Kelvin Langmead, Lewis Kinsella and Elton Ngwatala all had chances to level for the hosts but were unable to beat visiting keeper Scott Davies.
Norwood secured the win in second-half injury-time with a good finish. | James Norwood scored twice to give fourth-placed Tranmere Rovers victory at bottom-of-the-table side Kidderminster Harriers. |
33556924 | The market was crowded with people doing last-minute shopping on the eve of the Eid festival marking the end of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.
One witness told the BBC many of the bodies he had seen were of children.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks since President Muhammudu Buhari took office in May.
It has not yet commented on the latest attack.
A trader in the market, Ali Nasiru, told the AFP news agency that he saw "people lying lifeless on the ground" and traders and shoppers helped in rescue efforts.
The cause of the blasts was not yet known a shopper in the market told the BBC Hausa service, but reports say it was caused by a bomb planted inside a plastic bag.
The attack comes two days after new military chiefs were appointed by President Buhari, who has promised to stem the violence that has plagued the north-east of the country for the last six years.
Boko Haram has targeted markets and bus stations in Gombe city in the past.
Last year, the group took control of a large area of north-eastern Nigeria and declared a caliphate (a state governed in accordance with Islamic law).
Nigeria's military, backed by troops from neighbouring countries, has recaptured most of the territory, but in recent weeks there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks.
According to Amnesty International, at least 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since Boko Haram launched its uprising in 2009.
The group is still holding many women, girls and children captive, including 219 schoolgirls it kidnapped from a school in Chibok in April last year.
Will new military HQ defeat Boko Haram?
Why Boko Haram remains a threat | Two explosions at a market in Nigeria's north-eastern city of Gombe have killed at least 49 people and injured dozens of others, officials have said. |
40108257 | Wooching played rugby union in high school, but was a linebacker for the University of Washington's American football team in college.
The 23-year-old opted against entering the NFL Draft this year, despite being touted as a possible late-round pick.
He has played for the Seattle Saracens rugby team since leaving college, and also had a trial with Top 14 side Pau.
"This will be a great opportunity and experience for Psalm to continue his pathway into rugby from American football," Harlequins academy and global development director Tony Diprose said.
"It also provides Harlequins with the opportunity to have a good look at him in a high-quality international tournament such as this one.
"This will also give him the chance to see how an elite professional rugby team operates."
The World Club 10s tournament takes place in Mauritius from 17-18 June, with eight teams competing. | Harlequins have signed former NFL Draft prospect Psalm Wooching to play in the World Club 10s tournament in June. |
38767941 | It is now illegal to sell unlimited soft drinks at a fixed price or offer them unlimited for free.
The number of overweight or obese people in France is below the EU average but is on the rise.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends taxing sugary drinks, linking them to obesity and diabetes.
Self-service "soda fountains" have long been a feature of family restaurants and cafes in some countries like the UK, where a soft drinks tax will be introduced next year.
The new law [in French] targets soft drinks, including sports drinks containing added sugar or sweeteners.
15.9%
are obese
Highest obesity in Malta 26%
Second lowest is Italy 10.7%
France 15.3%
Among children across EU 5.7%
All public eateries, from fast-food joints to school canteens, are affected.
The aim of the law is to "limit, especially among the young, the risks of obesity, overweight and diabetes" in line with WHO recommendations.
A recent Eurostat survey of adult obesity put the French at 15.3%, which is just below the EU average of 15.9%. France was slimmer than the UK (20.1%) but fatter than Italy (10.7%).
Past the age of 30, nearly 57% of French men are overweight or obese, according to a report published in October by the French medical journal Bulletin Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire.
Some 41% of women in the same age category are also overweight or obese, the study found. | Restaurants and other spaces catering to the public in France have been banned from offering unlimited sugary drinks in an effort to reduce obesity. |
35681520 | Media playback is not supported on this device
US Soccer Federation head Sunil Gulati switched his vote to Infantino in the second round of Friday's voting.
"I spoke with many delegates... trying to tell them that they should vote for football and for me," Infantino said.
Asked if he made promises to Gulati about the 2026 tournament, he added: "No, certainly not."
In the second round of voting, Uefa general secretary Infantino picked up 27 extra votes.
The other frontrunner, Asian confederation chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, managed just three more.
Gulati initially backed Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Following the election at Fifa's extraordinary congress in Zurich on Friday, Gulati said: "We told Gianni that we would support Prince Ali but also gave him the assurance that when it mattered we would be with him."
Bidding processes for the 2026 World Cup were postponed in the summer amid a corruption crisis that has engulfed Fifa since last May.
That decision was taken after the way the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were awarded, to Russia and Qatar, became part of an ongoing Swiss criminal investigation.
Outgoing president Sepp Blatter has suggested there was an agreement in place for Russia to host the 2018 event before the vote took place.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Blatter's resignation last year, amid corruption allegations that led to a six-year ban from football, prompted Friday's extraordinary congress and election.
Speaking to the BBC, Infantino also insisted that overhauling the structure and running of Fifa following the crisis must be "implemented from day one, immediately".
The Swiss begins his role on Monday and says key reforms passed in Zurich to make Fifa more transparent and accountable are his priority.
"Seriously, first is the reforms," Infantino said. "So I will go up to the office and start looking at how to implement these reforms so that we can hopefully very soon concentrate on football.
"We have to look forward. You have to start as of now to live the reforms. Already, as of now, and for the future, so there'll be no issues anymore.
"As for the past we have to make sure we co-operate fully with the authorities to ensure everything comes out if something has happened."
The reforms include limiting the president to three terms in office, the disclosure of salaries, and replacing Fifa's current executive committee with a new council featuring a female representative from each confederation. | New Fifa president Gianni Infantino has denied that promises to the United States over who will host the 2026 World Cup secured his election win. |
23695036 | The striker, 27, admitted repeatedly breaching the regulations.
But the charge is not related to match fixing or betting on games he was involved in and he has the right to appeal against the sanction.
"Cameron Jerome has been fined £50,000, subject to any appeal, following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing," the FA said in a statement.
"Jerome, who was also severely warned as to his future conduct, admitted a number of breaches of the FA's Betting Rules and requested a personal hearing which took place on Tuesday 13 August 2013."
Accrington Stanley managing director Robert Heys also admitted breaking betting rules earlier this month and is to have a hearing at the FA.
In June, Tottenham midfielder Andros Townsend missed playing for England Under-21s in the European Championship after he was was fined £18,000 and banned for four months, three of those months suspended, for a breach of betting regulations. | Stoke's Cameron Jerome has been fined £50,000 for breaking Football Association betting rules. |
33356263 | Coates played 13 times for the Black Cats on loan last season, helping them stay in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old Uruguay international, who has been playing at the Copa America, is Dick Advocaat's first signing as Sunderland head coach.
Coates made just 17 starts in his four years at Liverpool, who have already completed six summer signings.
Advocaat's predecessor Gus Poyet brought Coates to Wearside in September and he returned from injury to play a key role in the club's successful fight against relegation.
He is set to return for pre-season training next week after being given extra time off following his international exertions.
Sunderland owner Ellis Short has made funds available for Advocaat to strengthen his squad.
Sporting director Lee Congerton said: "Sebastian was an important part of the team under Dick last season, and we're delighted that he has joined us on a permanent basis.
"He has Premier League experience and after spending last season on loan with us, he will be able to settle into the team very quickly."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Sunderland have signed defender Sebastian Coates from Liverpool on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. |
21937825 | In 2011, she was acquitted on the basis of DNA evidence but prosecutors successfully appealed and her acquittal was struck down.
In 2014 she was again found guilty in absentia after a retrial and sentenced to 28 years and six months in jail. The saga came to and end when Italy's highest court overturned the convictions of Ms Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito in March 2015.
Amanda Knox, who had vowed never to willingly return to Italy, said she was "tremendously relieved and grateful" when the final ruling was announced.
Meredith Kercher's body was found in her bedroom in the house she shared with Ms Knox and others in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two young women were exchange students.
Her throat had been slashed and she had been sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors argue that Ms Kercher was the victim of a drug-fuelled sex game gone wrong.
Both Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito denied any guilt, saying they were not even in the apartment that night, although they admitted having smoked marijuana and that their memories may have been clouded.
Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for his part in the murder.
At her original trial, Ms Knox said she feared "having the mask of a murderer forced on to my skin".
The explanation offered by prosecutors and feverish media was that she was that most-loved of villains - the middle-class monster whose appearance hides a diabolical soul.
Her moniker in tabloids became "Foxy Knoxy", which was Knox's own name on her MySpace page.
One Italian commentator described her as having "the face of an angel but the eyes of a killer".
A lawyer reportedly accused her of being "dirty inside and out", a "she-devil, a diabolical person focused on sex, drugs and alcohol, living life to the extreme and borderline".
Elements of her reaction to the murder and her lifestyle in Italy appear to have driven this determination to demonise Ms Knox.
As she waited to be questioned in a police station, she reportedly "did the splits and a cartwheel in one of the rooms", according to a senior police official, quoted by the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"I told them it was not appropriate," the official, Domenico Giacinto Profazio, later said in court.
Reporters who dug up her past life in Seattle found the University of Washington student had been fined in 2007 for her role in a drunken party that police were called to.
A picture was painted of a "party girl" who abused drink and drugs and had an active sex life.
It emerged that she had written a short story on a social networking site about a man who drugs and rapes a young girl. In it, one character remarks: "A thing you have to know about chicks is that they don't know what they want."
In letters to his father from prison, Raffaele Sollecito wrote: "The Amanda I know... lives a carefree life... Her only thought is the pursuit of pleasure."
But he added: "Even the thought that she could be a killer is impossible for me."
After his release, Mr Sollecito said they were no longer in a relationship and Knox had found a new boyfriend.
Ms Knox, 27, has been living back in her home city Seattle and working as a freelance reporter for small weekly newspaper the West Seattle Herald, her editor told The Guardian. She is also engaged to a musician.
A book she wrote, Waiting to Be Heard, was published in April 2013. The memoir is a vivid personal account of the difficulties of prison life in Italy, complete with claims about inappropriate behaviour by staff.
But in other documents written at the time of her incarceration, she was more sanguine about her experience, journalist Andrea Vogt wrote for BBC News last year.
Around the same time as the book launch, she gave her first interview since leaving prison, to US broadcaster ABC, saying claims that she is a "she-devil" and "heartless manipulator" are all wrong.
"I was in the courtroom [in Italy] when they were calling me 'devil'," Ms Knox said in the interview.
"It's one thing to be called certain things in the media and then it's another thing to be sitting in a courtroom, fighting for your life, while people are calling you a devil.
"For all intents and purposes, I was a murderer - whether I was or not. And I had to live with the idea that that would be my life."
Her family have stood by her, reportedly spending huge sums of money on lawyers and publicists, as well as travel and living costs, during the fight to free their daughter.
They had helped fund their daughter's year in Italy in order to further her Italian, German and creative writing studies.
Another image of Amanda Knox at the time of the murder is that of a non-drinker and non-smoker, who declared her favourite pursuits to be yoga and backpacking.
This was a young woman who listed among her favourite films Shrek and The Full Monty, and who liked listening to The Beatles and reading Harry Potter books.
On a tribute website, family and friends wrote about the girl who excelled at sports and school plays; a "smart, fun, affectionate and loyal" person who bought sandwiches for homeless people and nursed sick friends.
Days ahead of the retrial in September 2014, Amanda Knox announced she would not return to Italy for the process.
She later wrote a five-page email, which was read out in court, insisting she "didn't kill Meredith" but was afraid to appear in person for fear of wrongful conviction.
After the final ruling on 27 March 2015, which ended her saga once and for all, Amanda Knox said that knowing she was innocent had given her "strength in the darkest times of this ordeal". | Amanda Knox served four years in an Italian prison for the murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007, always insisting on her innocence. |
36684434 | Rosberg set his time in the seven minutes of running at the beginning of the session before a heavy downpour.
Hamilton recorded his lap in the final 10 minutes after the rain had abated and the sun returned.
There was just 0.019 seconds between them, with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg third from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Sunday's race is live on the BBC Sport website and radio 5 live, with Saturday's qualifying text and audio commentary online.
Four-time world champion Vettel ended his session in the gravel trap at Turn Two with three minutes to go.
Vettel, who also has a five-place grid penalty this weekend for an unauthorised gearbox change, told his team over the radio: "I don't know what happened there. I just lost the car completely when I touched the brakes."
The car snapped suddenly sideways as soon as Vettel braked for the tricky uphill entry for a slow hairpin for which drivers are braking from more than 180mph.
After the session, Vettel said: "We had an issue with the brake distribution. It caught me by surprise. It didn't matter too much. Fortunately nothing happened."
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was fifth fastest, ahead of Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, Williams' Valtteri Bottas and the McLarens of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.
Englishman Jolyon Palmer was 16th for Renault, one place and half a second behind team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
It was a fractured session, with no running at all for a little more than half an hour after the rain - a torrential downpour - soaked the track in the Styrian mountains.
"It was a tricky day getting up to speed and getting laps out on track," said Hamilton. "It started coming together this morning but then the rain in the second session meant we had to adapt our programme.
"We didn't have any problems today, which is definitely a positive, and there's definitely more to come."
Although there were a few spins, including for Force India's Sergio Perez and Button, all drivers managed to tip-toe back to the pits on untreated slick tyres on the treacherous track.
But once the rain stopped, drivers did begin to venture out on the treaded intermediate tyres to learn about the new asphalt that has been laid on this track since last year.
Intermittent rain showers are predicted across the weekend.
Austrian Grand Prix practice results
Austrian Grand Prix coverage details | Nico Rosberg edged Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in second practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. |
32239250 | Springer spaniel Jess retrieves a testing kit if she smells that six-year-old Jac, from Gwynedd, has blood sugar spikes or dips.
The four-year-old dog was self-trained by the family and is now an accredited medical detection dog.
Jac's mother, Emma Williams, said Jess was her son's "best friend".
Jess has been with the Williams family at their home near Porthmadog since she was a pup.
But when Jac was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, his parents decided to have her trained to detect the glucose levels in his breath.
Jac's mother said: "She's just like a pet but she is always working. Her nose is always going, she alerts whenever she senses something going [on] with Jac.
"He'll tell you she is his best friend and she does save his life". | A dog trained to detect changes in her young diabetic master's blood sugar levels is a lifesaver, the boy's mother has said. |
34442252 | The author discovered he had cancer last year, and wrote about the experience in his last book, Quicksand: What It Means To Be A Human Being.
His best-selling novels, which follow policeman Kurt Wallander through Sweden and Mozambique, were turned into a TV drama starring Sir Kenneth Branagh.
Sir Kenneth paid tribute, calling the author "a fine writer and a fine man".
He was the third actor to play the irascible detective. In Mankell's home country, both Rolf Lassgard and Krister Henriksson played the role. BBC Four screened the latter version in the UK.
In a statement, Sir Kenneth said: "In life and in art Henning Mankell was a man of passionate commitment. I will miss his provocative intelligence and his great personal generosity. Aside from his stringent political activism, and his decades of work in Africa, he also leaves an immense contribution to Scandinavian literature.
"His loving family, and those privileged to know him, together with readers from all over the world, will mourn a fine writer and a fine man."
Born in February 1948, Mankell wrote dozens of plays, novels, children's books and screenplays. But it was for his Wallander series that he was most renowned.
The rumpled and gloomy detective got his name when Mankell ran his finger through a telephone directory, but went on to sell more than 40 million books.
Mankell's life and career were shaped by the divorce of his parents when he was just two years old. He lived with his father, a judge, and barely saw his mother until he was 15.
When the family moved to a remote town in the north of Sweden, the young Mankell immersed himself in books, reading extensively about Africa, and learned that imagination could be an instrument of survival, not just of creativity.
"In my mind I created another mother for myself to replace the one who had left," he once said. "And I think this was me at my best, when the forces of imagination had the same value as the real world."
Unimpressed by school, he left at the age of 16 to join the merchant navy, becoming a stevedore labourer on a Swedish ship carrying coal and iron ore. Two years later, he set up home in Paris, barely scraping a living ("I don't know how I survived," he said) but thriving on the student activism and political debate
After a year and a half, he returned to Stockholm to work as a stagehand. There, aged 20, he wrote his first play, The Amusement Park, about Swedish colonial interests in 19th Century South America. His debut novel, The Stone-Blaster, soon followed.
Kurt Wallander first appeared in 1989's Faceless Killers, investigating a murder in which the only clue is that the perpetrators appear to have been foreigners. When that information was leaked to the public, it triggered a series of racially-motivated attacks, explored in the book through the themes of racism and national identity in Sweden.
At first, the author was unaware he had created a recurring character, "but then I realised after two or three novels that I had this… instrument who could be useful".
Speaking to the Telegraph in 2011, he said: "I wanted to show how difficult it is to be a good police officer. But after, I think, the third novel, I spoke to this friend of mine and asked what sort of disease I could give him. Without hesitating, she said: 'Diabetes!' So I gave him diabetes and that made him more popular.
"I mean, you could never imagine James Bond giving himself a shot of insulin, but with Wallander it seemed perfectly natural."
Although he became known as a leading proponent of "Scandi Crime", Mankell was not a fan of genre fiction.
"I could never write a crime story just for the sake of it, because I always want to talk about certain things," he said, citing Macbeth as the best crime story he had ever read, and John Le Carre as a key influence.
"He investigates the contradictions inside man, between men, and between man and society; and I hope to do the same," he told The Guardian.
Sir Kenneth tried to bring the same gravitas to his TV portrayal of the detective.
"We're not taking lightly the idea of people being murdered," he told the BBC in 2010. "Wallander demands that he and his colleagues care and the drama invites the audience to do the same."
Throughout his adult life, Mankell divided his time between Sweden and Mozambique, where he ran a theatre company and devoted time to the fight against Aids.
He was active in the "memory books" project, which encourages parents with HIV to record their stories, not just for their children but for future generations.
Shortly after New Year 2014, the author went to see an orthopaedic surgeon in Stockholm with what he assumed was a slipped disc. But tests revealed a tumour in his lung, another in his neck, and evidence the cancer had spread throughout his body.
"It was a catastrophe for me," he told US radio station NPR last year. "Everything that was normal to me up to that point was gone all of a sudden. No one had died of cancer in my family. I had always assumed I'd die of something else."
His survivors include his wife of 17 years, Eva Bergman - the daughter of Ingmar Bergman's second wife, the dancer Ellen Lundstrom - and his son, Jon Mankell, a film producer who helped bring Stieg Larsson's Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series to the big screen. | Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell, best known for his Wallander series, has died aged 67. |
30446727 | MP Elfyn Llwyd said his party, working with the SNP, could win concessions from a minority Labour government.
The party's parliamentary leader said key demands would include more funding and further powers for the assembly.
Polls indicate a strong possibility of a hung parliament after May's general election, given UKIP and SNP support.
The rise of UKIP and the SNP means it appears it may be more difficult for the Conservatives or Labour to win a majority, and the Liberal Democrats could lack sufficient seats to hold the balance of power on their own.
Mr Llwyd, who is stepping down as MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd at the election, told Sunday Politics Wales that a hung parliament was "inevitable".
"It's an interesting situation and I believe that we will be players in it," he said.
"Greater powers to the Welsh assembly, clearly; moving on taxation without a referendum, ensuring that we address the Barnett [funding formula] problem now without any further ado.
"There are many things that we could be talking about, but I think, potentially, it's an important situation and potentially we could do a lot of good for Wales by entering into an issue-by-issue understanding with a Labour government and I for one would fully endorse that."
Plaid leader Leanne Wood, new SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Green Party leader Natalie Bennett will hold talks on Monday in London to discuss their strategy for the coming months.
Sunday Politics Wales can be seen on BBC One Wales at 11:00 GMT on Sunday 14 December | "A lot of good" could be done for Wales in a deal between Plaid Cymru and Labour if there is a hung parliament, says a senior Plaid politician. |
35716224 | A statement on a website close to the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) said it carried out the attack.
The two women died in a shootout with police after hiding in the building in Bayrampasa district, officials said.
Two policemen were hurt in the attack.
The women had earlier opened fire at a riot police station in Bayrampasa, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Profile: Turkey's Marxist DHKP-C
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The statement on the website hailed the "brave female liberation fighters".
The extreme-left DHKP-C has waged a violent campaign for more than three decades.
Turkey says the group has killed dozens of police officers and soldiers along with scores of civilians since it was formed in 1978 with the aim of replacing the Turkish government with a Marxist one.
It also opposes what it calls US imperialism and has several times targeted US military personnel and diplomatic missions.
Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said an investigation into Thursday's attack was under way.
Both Kurdish rebels and far-left militants have attacked police in Istanbul in the past.
Thursday's attack comes amid a rise in violence in Turkey since mid-2015.
In November Kurdish PKK rebels said they would resume fighting against the army, ending a unilateral ceasefire that over the past three decades has killed tens of thousands of people. | Two women who attacked police with gunfire and a grenade before hiding in a building in the Turkish city of Istanbul have been killed, the city's governor has said. |
39788226 | The 30-year-old was taken to hospital "for assessment" after police were called to Salford on Sunday.
Lennon is now "receiving care and treatment for a stress-related illness", his club has said.
The England international, who joined Everton from Tottenham in 2015, has not played for the first team since February.
Greater Manchester Police said: "Police were called at around 4.35pm to reports of a concern for the welfare of a man on Eccles Old Road.
"Officers attended and a 30-year-old man was detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act and was taken to hospital for assessment."
News of Lennon's admission has led to an outpouring of support on social media from those involved in the game, as well as fans of his current and former clubs.
Lennon's representative, Base Soccer Agency, tweeted: "Everyone at Base Soccer sends their support to @AaronLennon12 - get well soon and stay strong."
Ex-Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore, who has been affected by depression
Thoughts and love with Aaron Lennon and his family right now. I know that place, and I know he'll be fine with good support from us all.
Former Manchester City midfielder Trevor Sinclair
Thoughts with Aaron Lennon right now.
Former Aston Villa forward Darren Byfield
Hope Aaron Lennon will be OK and gets the help he needs.
England cricketer Kate Cross
Fingers crossed Aaron Lennon is OK. Another reminder that mental health affects us all. Be kind.
Former Watford and Sheffield United striker Danny Webber
Get well soon Aaron Lennon.
BBC's Juliette Ferrington
Hope Aaron Lennon gets all the help, love and support he needs in every way possible. | Everton winger Aaron Lennon was detained under the Mental Health Act by police over concerns for his welfare. |
37179837 | Luke Morton, from the West Midlands, was washed off rocks at Mwnt on Sunday, 7 August.
Coastguards said Mr Morton and another man had been out walking when they were cut off by the tide and he was caught by the waves.
Extensive searches were called off after three days.
Dyfed-Powys Police said the force and other emergency services had since carried out periodic checks of the coast in the area. | A 23-year-old man who remains missing more than two weeks after being swept out to sea off the Ceredigion coast has been named. |
13498461 | Hillingdon Council detained Steven Neary, of Uxbridge, for almost a year after he was taken into a "positive behaviour unit" in December 2009.
Mr Neary's father Mark, 52, said he felt relieved after the ruling, which he described as "fantastic".
The council said it had apologised to the family for letting them down.
The judge, Mr Justice Peter Jackson, concluded that the council's use of a "deprivation of liberty" order unlawfully deprived Mr Neary of his freedom.
Mark Neary told the Court of Protection that he viewed the care by the council as a temporary move and expected his son to return home by January 2010.
But the council told the court that staff had concerns about his son's "challenging" behaviour and weight, and argued that the care was intended to be for a longer period.
Mr Neary, a counsellor, said: "Hopefully people will read this judgment and be prepared to fight for the rights of their kids.
"I knew Steven should be at home because I know Steven.
"I was always outnumbered. I would go to case conferences but they were just about me agreeing to whatever they (council staff) had decided. I would come out of these meetings in despair.
"I don't think Steven really understands what it has all been about. For him he just likes seeing pictures of himself on television and the internet."
Earlier Mr Neary said there had always been problems with his son's behaviour around Christmas time because "his routine gets broken".
Mr Neary said he had been unwell and intended Steven to go to his "normal respite place" for three days but the council moved him to the behaviour unit.
He said the council's decision to move him and the deprivation of liberty orders had left him feeling "helpless".
He said: "I felt I had let him down, lost my own son.
"Steven still needs a care package from the council so I have to consider how we can rebuild the relationship."
Mr Justice Peter Jackson said: "Hillingdon had no lawful basis for keeping Steven away from his family between 5 January and 23 December 2010.
"It acted as if it had the right to make decisions about Steven.
"It tried to wear down (Mark) Neary's resistance, stretching its relationship with him to almost breaking point.
But the judge added: "Anyone who believes that the work is simple and the right decision's always obvious is mistaken.
"In the vast majority of cases, it is carried out without fuss, fanfare or public congratulation, but that can be forgotten when attention understandably turns to cases where things have gone wrong.
Following the ruling Linda Sanders, director of social care at Hillingdon Council, said: "I would like to apologise to Steven and his father.
"It is clear that there have been times when we have let both of them down.
"Cases such as Steven's are hugely complex and we always have to carefully balance what we think is right for an individual with the wider issues such as the safety of the public.
"As the judge has said in his findings, at all times my staff were genuinely committed to ensuring that we did the right thing for Steven and had his best interests at heart.
"We recognise that we need to improve our processes and that we should have kept Steven's father more involved during the time that we cared for Steven."
She said the "failings were collective errors of judgment" and the local authority was reviewing its training for staff regarding the Mental Capacity Act and deprivation of liberty safeguards.
"Steven has now been at home for over six months and we will do all we can to support him and his father so they can live a safe and happy life, which has always been our intention," she said.
Steven Neary has been staying with his father since he left a local authority unit under an interim court order that allowed him to return home in December 2010. | A west London council acted unlawfully by refusing to allow a 21-year-old autistic man to be placed in the care of his father, the High Court ruled. |
35332605 | The 25-year-old from Birmingham beat Bjorn Fratangelo 7-5 4-6 6-0 in the third round of qualifying in Melbourne.
Evans capitalised on six of his nine break-point opportunities to knock out the American, who is ranked 54 places higher at 131.
It means six British singles players will line up at the event, which starts on Monday.
"It's nice [qualifying for the main draw]," Evans said. "I worked hard in pre-season in La Manga, even in the summer when I was playing in England in the Futures I was trying to work pretty hard. It was playing tennis and staying professional.
"I think that's the difference, just staying focused on court and staying more interested and focused on just playing tennis rather than all the other stuff, and that's pretty much what I did."
After losing the second set, Evans, who was as low as 772 in the world rankings back in May, came out more aggressively in the third.
"I tried to hold in the first game. It didn't feel like he was on top or any different from when I won the first set," he added.
"So I tried to jump on him early and then carried on rolling from there. That was my plan, just to get a lead in the third. I'd beaten him twice and your belief can start to go when you're losing again to someone who has beaten you twice. It's tough." | Britain's Dan Evans has reached the Australian Open main draw for the first time in his career. |
25220213 | This is recommended by a group set up by the Welsh government to look at stemming the language's decline in its heartlands.
Ministers should also look at planning decisions' impact on Welsh, they say.
Children in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire should also be educated bilingually.
The special group was set up after the results of the 2011 census identified a drop in the number of Welsh speakers in Wales. In two heartland counties - Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion - the language had become a minority.
The task and finish group's recommendations will now be considered by ministers.
The seven recommendations are:
The proposals will now be considered by ministers. | Bangor, Aberystwyth and Carmarthen should become "city regions" where economic regeneration goes hand-in-hand with growth in the use of Welsh. |
36205082 | The former England footballer joked back in December that he would present the show "in just my undies" if Leicester City won the Premier League.
Leicester East MP Keith Vaz asked Mr Cameron if the pundit should keep his promise after the club's triumph.
The prime minister replied that he "absolutely" agreed he should.
Lineker later tweeted: "It seems @David_Cameron is keen to see me in my pants. If that's what does it for you prime minister."
The celebrated former Leicester and Spurs forward previously told the Radio Times he thought there was "zero chance" of Leicester winning the Premier League when he made his promise in a tweet.
The Foxes were priced at odds of 5000/1 to win the title last summer - the same odds on offer for Elvis Presley being found alive.
Bookmakers are now taking bets on what colour pants Lineker will wear, and the 55-year-old has asked if he can place a thousand pounds on polka dots at 33/1.
Mr Vaz was wearing a Leicester scarf in the Commons for the second day running when he asked about Gary Lineker's underwear during Prime Minster's Questions.
He said: "During this amazing season the local Leicester hero, Gary Lineker, thought the idea of Leicester winning was so farfetched that he said if they did win he would present Match of the Day in his underwear.
"As an Aston Villa supporter, and my commiserations to the prime minister on their season, does he agree that in politics as well as in football, when you make a promise you should keep it?"
Mr Cameron replied: "I absolutely agree. I've been watching everything Gary Lineker has said since.
"He's not quite answering the question, something that of course no one ever gets away with in this house.
"And so I welcome what he said. Obviously I hope it's just the start of him joining the blue team." | Gary Lineker should keep his promise and present Match of the Day in his underwear, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. |
15616265 | PM George Papandreou is to stand down once the government is formed but his replacement has not yet been named.
The new leadership will be tasked with ratifying a vital EU bailout package.
Greece is under huge international pressure to resolve its political crisis, in order to calm the global markets and protect the eurozone.
An agreement on an interim leader had been expected on Monday but by Tuesday morning, there was still no announcement from the negotiations between Mr Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras, of the New Democracy party.
An emergency cabinet session chaired by Mr Papandreou on Tuesday ended still without an announcement.
"Today is the last chance for the two main parties," daily newspaper Nea wrote in an editorial on Tuesday.
"They have to come up with a government strong enough to take the country out of the moving sand of political impasse that leaves us defenceless, at the mercy of the crisis. Time is up."
"A national unity government, right now," the daily newspaper Ethnos wrote on its front page, adding: "The country and the society cannot endure any more."
Greece must approve the EU bailout if it is to avoid going bankrupt by the end of the year. But the deal demands stringent austerity measures and spending cuts which have proved hugely unpopular with many Greeks.
By Mark LowenBBC News, Athens
The waiting game continues in Greece as the name of the next prime minister remains unknown.
Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, is the front runner. He helped Greece move from drachma to euro, a process he would hope will not have to be reversed as the debt crisis worsens.
And though the political turmoil is not over, MPs have broadly welcomed the coalition deal. The new government will be faced with a deeply disillusioned population and a crisis which threatens the whole eurozone.
The concern is that Greece's long-term financial prospects remain bleak. But this country is taking things day-by-day for now. It is too hard, perhaps too dangerous, to peer too far into the future.
Mr Papandreou agreed to stand down on Sunday, after days of upheaval caused by his call - now revoked - for a referendum on accepting the bailout.
Since then, he had been trying to build a national unity government to replace his Pasok party administration. However, Mr Samaras was refusing to negotiate unless his rival resigned.
The first steps in forming the new government were finally announced after late-night talks on Sunday between the two men, hosted by President Karolos Papoulias.
A Greek government spokesman said a new administration would be sworn in and a confidence vote held within a week, if all went well.
Greece's new political roadmap envisages elections being held - possibly on 19 February - once the new government has approved an EU bailout package.
Government figures spent Monday locked in discussions on the framework of the interim authority and their roles within it.
Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is widely seen as the frontrunner to become interim prime minister, while Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos - for a time considered to be a candidate - is expected to remain at the finance ministry.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says it is believed Mr Papademos expressed doubts that an interim administration could be effective until proposed elections in February.
It appears he wants to stay in power longer if chosen, he adds.
Our correspondent says there will be immense pressure on whoever takes over, while European leaders will be hoping that person will work with them in trying to contain the country's debt crisis and prevent it from spreading further across the eurozone.
Eurozone finance ministers held talks in Brussels on Monday, adding to the pressure on Greece to find an early solution to the political deadlock.
Mr Venizelos also attended the talks, telling reporters that the move towards a unity government was "proof of our commitment and of our national capacity to implement the programme and to reconstruct our country".
But eurozone finance ministers have asked for written assurances from Mr Papandreou and Mr Samaras that they are committed to passing the rescue package.
Eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "quite confident that now the situation in Greece is developing in the right direction" but that it "should have been done months ago".
The EU says no more of the funds which have been promised to Greece will be released until the new bailout deal has been approved.
The hard-fought bailout deal for Greece agreed by the EU last month gives the government 130bn euros (£111bn; $178bn) and imposes a 50% write-off on private holders of Greek debts, in return for deeply unpopular austerity measures.
But Mr Papandreou faced the wrath of fellow EU leaders when he announced that he would put the deal to the people of Greece in a referendum
Should we feel sorry for Greece?
The idea was dropped days later, but not without sparking a deeper financial crisis and triggering the political crisis which led to the confidence vote last Friday.
Mr Papandreou narrowly won that vote, but had been under continuing pressure to resign amid chaos over the debt crisis.
The possibility of Greece leaving the euro has also been raised by EU leaders, if Athens fails to resolve its political and financial problems.
There are fears that the crisis could spread to bigger eurozone countries like Italy. | Greece's political leaders are still locked in debate over the formation of a unity government they hope can save the country from imminent bankruptcy. |
35676143 | The visitors took a sixth-minute lead when Nathan Austin latched on to Gary Naysmith's through ball to slot low past Elgin goalkeeper Mark Hurst.
Dylan Easton followed-up Craig Gunn's header to level for the hosts.
Austin rounded Hurst two minutes later to tap into an empty net and Kevin Smith deflected Scott Mercer's driven shot home in the 76th minute.
Match ends, Elgin City 1, East Fife 3.
Second Half ends, Elgin City 1, East Fife 3.
Substitution, East Fife. Jamie Insall replaces Kyle Wilkie because of an injury.
Foul by Brian Cameron (Elgin City).
Kyle Wilkie (East Fife) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Thomas Reilly (Elgin City) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, East Fife. Craig Murray replaces Kevin Smith.
Hand ball by Kyle Macleod (Elgin City).
Corner, Elgin City. Conceded by Jonathan Page.
Ross Brown (East Fife) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Steven Ross (Elgin City).
Kyle Wilkie (East Fife) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, East Fife. Jordan Austin replaces Nathan Austin.
Scott Mercer (East Fife) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Craig Gunn (Elgin City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Scott Mercer (East Fife).
Substitution, Elgin City. Kyle Macleod replaces Dylan Easton.
Attempt missed. Craig Gunn (Elgin City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Archie MacPhee (Elgin City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Elgin City. Steven Ross replaces Daniel Moore.
Goal! Elgin City 1, East Fife 3. Kevin Smith (East Fife) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal.
Corner, East Fife. Conceded by Brian Cameron.
Attempt missed. Craig Gunn (Elgin City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high following a fast break.
Attempt saved. Kevin Smith (East Fife) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner, East Fife. Conceded by Mark Nicolson.
Attempt blocked. Kevin Smith (East Fife) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Kevin Smith (East Fife) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Matthew Cooper (Elgin City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Kevin Smith (East Fife).
Attempt missed. Marc McKenzie (Elgin City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Archie MacPhee (Elgin City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Kyle Wilkie (East Fife).
Substitution, Elgin City. Marc McKenzie replaces Connor McLaren.
Foul by Mark Nicolson (Elgin City).
Kyle Wilkie (East Fife) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Connor McLaren (Elgin City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Gary Naysmith (East Fife).
Attempt missed. Nathan Austin (East Fife) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Corner, Elgin City. Conceded by Jason Kerr.
Hand ball by Kevin Smith (East Fife). | East Fife replaced Elgin City at the Scottish League Two summit following victory at Borough Briggs. |
18731516 | Smyth was beaten by Paul Hession at the Irish Championships and the Derryman was again some way outside the Olympic standard of 10.18.
Hession took the title in 10.37 - .01 of a second ahead of Smyth.
Smyth will have to content himself with a place at the Paralympics where he will defend his 100m and 200m titles.
Helped by a one metre per second following wind, the Derryman got a great start in the final but was overhauled by Olympics-bound Hession in the final stride.
City of Lisburn's Amy Foster won the women's 100m title while there were silver medals for Paul McKee and Jason Harvey in the 400m and 400m hurdles.
Foster took a comfortable victory in 11.60 while McKee [47.67] rolled back the years to take a superb second behind Brian Murphy [46.97] in the 400m final.
McKee's protege Harvey ran a season's best in the hurdles of 51.43 to finish behind Thomas Barr [50.86] while Barr's sister Jessie won the women's 400m hurdles in 57.33 as she missed out on the Olympic standard of 55.50.
Earlier, Smyth had clocked 10.40 to win his heat at Santry.
The Derryman clocked times of 10.63 and 10.47 in Loughborough on Saturday.
After running 10.24 in his opening race of the season in the US in May, the visually-impaired Smyth's performances have deteriorated in recent weeks and he clocked 10.47 and 10.52 at the recent European Championships.
Meanwhile, Derval O'Rourke missed the women's 100m hurdles final because of a muscle spasm after clocking times of 13.20 and 13.23 in Loughborough on Saturday.
The injury could be a worry for the Cork athlete ahead of the Olympic Games where her challenge is scheduled to begin on 6 August.
Letterkenny athlete Darren McBrearty had to be content with third in the men's 1500m after being overhauled by winner Colin Costello and Eoin Everard in the closing 50 metres.
With Ciara Mageean running in Finland on Sunday night, Orla Drumm took the women's 1500m title.
Joanne Cuddihy was named athlete of the meeting after winning the women's 400m in a superb 51.89 which added to her 200m victory on Saturday.
Steven Colvert was chasing the 200m Olympic standard of 20.55 in Saturday's opening day at the Irish Championships but suffered heartbreak as he was denied by an illegal wind reading.
The Dubliner clocked 20.40 in Saturday's first round but the wind reading of three metres per second means it didn't count as an Olympic qualifying time.
He later clocked 20.78 in the final, which had another illegal wind reading of 2.8, and his chance of joining Hession in the 200m entry in London has now gone.
Colvert's personal best is an agonising .02secs outside the London standard.
Olympian Tori Pena won the pole vault with a 4.35m clearance where she finished ahead of Northern Ireland athletes Zoe Brown [3.95m] and Claire Wilkinson [3.55m].
Other Saturday winners included Maria McCambridge [5000m 16:02.50], Kelly Proper [long jump 6.33m] and Brian Maher [10,000m 30:17.06].
On Saturday evening, Mark English clocked 1:46.20 for 800m in Madrid in his final outing before his challenge at this week's World Junior Championships in Barcelona while Brian Gregan ran 46.09 for 400m at the same meeting. | Jason Smyth's hopes of competing in the Olympics appear over after he missed out on the 100m standard in his last chance before the London deadline. |
38479439 | The new law, which has been dubbed the "right to disconnect", comes into force on 1 January.
Companies with more than 50 workers will be obliged to draw up a charter of good conduct, setting out the hours when staff are not supposed to send or answer emails.
France has a working week of 35 hours, in place since 2000.
Supporters of the new law say that employees who are expected to check and reply to their work emails out of hours are not being paid fairly for their overtime, and that the practice carries a risk of stress, burnout, sleep problems and relationship difficulties.
The measure is part of a set of labour laws introduced in May.
It was the only one of the laws - which also made it easier for firms to hire and fire employees - that did not generate widespread protest and strikes.
Some private companies have previously tried to put limits on their employees' use of work email outside working hours.
For instance, in 2014, the German vehicle-maker Daimler set up an optional service for workers going on holiday; instead of sending an out-of-office reply, they could opt to have all new emails automatically deleted while they were away. | France employees are getting the legal right to avoid work emails outside working hours. |
34890546 | Current Race to Dubai leader McIlroy's seven-under 65 moved him to 15 under as England's Andy Sullivan fired a 68 to stay one ahead after three rounds.
Danny Willett, second in the rankings, is sharing sixth spot on 11 under.
McIlroy must finish ahead of Willet in the Dubai event to retain his order of merit lead over the Englishman.
Justin Rose's hopes of lifting the Race to Dubai title appear to be over after a dismal 78 dropped him 15 behind Sullivan.
World number three McIlroy has a lead of only 1,613 points over Willett, with Rose more than 600,000 points further back and needing to finish second or better to have any chance of taking the end-of-season crown.
Overnight leader Sullivan, the only player to win three times on the European Tour this season, holed a 10-foot par putt on the last to retain his advantage after over-clubbing with his wedge approach shot.
McIlroy began the third round four shots behind Sullivan but surged to the top of the leaderboard with eight birdies and one bogey in 15 holes at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
His three successive birdies from the 13th saw him take the outright lead for the first time but he failed to take a number of other chances including a missed four-footer at the last as Sullivan picked up shots at the 15th and 17th to regain the advantage.
McIlroy was left frustrated by his missed putt at the 18th after a day of outstanding ball-striking.
"You can't walk off this golf course having shot seven under and not feel too good about yourself but I felt like the round could have been a lot better," said the world number three.
"But I'm playing lovely and I'm in the position where I want to be going into tomorrow."
Despite all his successes in recent years, including four major triumphs, McIlroy insisted that a third Race to Dubai title would be important to him.
"It's my last round of the season and I want to make the most of it," added the 26-year-old.
"I would love to finish the year on a high by winning the Race to Dubai and more importantly, win this tournament."
Sullivan, cheered on by 30 supporters from his club in Nuneaton, insisted that he was looking forward to battling with McIlroy on Sunday.
"There's no pressure on me. I'm not expected to win," said Sullivan, 28.
"I'm going to go out and play golf and enjoy watching the (former) world number one play golf."
Willet's order of merit title hopes appeared to be fading after a slow start to his round but a 30-foot eagle putt on the 15th helped him play his final five holes in four under.
"I don't think we are going to see Rory coming backwards so we need to shoot a good round tomorrow and see what happens," said Willett. | Rory McIlroy is on course to be crowned European number one for 2015 after moving to within a shot of the lead at the World Tour Championship in Dubai. |
24772806 | The ruling came days after the Court of Cassation quashed a death sentence relating to another case.
Morsi was overthrown by the military in July 2013 following mass protests a year after he took office as the country's first democratically elected leader.
Morsi was elected president a year after an uprising brought an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. During his 12 months in power, Morsi was seen by many Egyptians as preoccupied with establishing political control rather than tackling economic and social problems.
On the first anniversary of his taking office, opponents of Morsi organised demonstrations that saw millions take to the streets to demand his resignation. Three days later, then military chief - and now president - Abdul Fattah al-Sisi overthrew Morsi.
The authorities subsequently launched a crackdown on supporters of Morsi and the Islamist movement to which he belongs, the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood. So far, more than 1,400 people have been killed and tens of thousands detained.
Morsi and his top advisers were held incommunicado by the military for several months before prosecutors began filing charges against them. He has since been detained at a high-security prison near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
DETENTION AND TORTURE OF PROTESTERS
Morsi was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour in April 2015 after being found guilty of ordering the unlawful detention and torture of opposition protesters during clashes with Muslim Brotherhood supporters outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012.
Morsi was, however, cleared of inciting Brotherhood supporters to murder two protesters and a journalist - a charge that could have carried the death penalty.
LEAKING STATE SECRETS
In June 2015, Morsi was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of "leading a group established against the law" - the Brotherhood - and a further 15 years for "facilitating the leaking of classified documents to Qatar".
Prosecutors alleged that Morsi's aides had been paid $1m (£800,000) to leak documents to Qatari intelligence and the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera TV network that included details on the location of, and weapons held by, the Egyptian armed forces and on Egypt's foreign and domestic policies.
PRISON BREAKS
In May 2015, Morsi was sentenced to death after being convicted of colluding with foreign militants - from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Lebanon's Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement - to organise a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising.
He was found guilty of the murder and kidnapping of guards, damaging and setting fire to prison buildings and looting the prison's weapons depot.
In November 2016, the Court of Cassation ordered a retrial.
CONSPIRING WITH FOREIGN ARMED GROUPS
Morsi was also given a life sentence - equivalent to 25 years - in May 2015 after being convicted of conspiring to commit terrorist acts with foreign organisations to undermine national security.
Prosecutors alleged that the Brotherhood had hatched a plan in 2005 to send "elements" to military camps run by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Revolutionary Guards force in Iran.
In November 2016, the Court of Cassation ordered a retrial.
Morsi faces separate trials on the following charges:
Morsi has rejected the authority of the courts.
At the start of his first trial, he shouted from the dock that he was the victim of a "military coup".
"I am the president of the republic, according to the constitution of the state, and I am forcibly detained," he asserted.
Since then, Morsi has been forced to sit in soundproof glass cages in courtrooms, which officials say are designed to prevent him disrupting proceedings.
The prosecution of Morsi is taking place amid a wider crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which President Sisi has vowed to wipe out.
Morsi's supporters have said the trials are politically motivated and attempts to give legal cover to a coup. They claim they are based on unreliable witnesses and scant evidence.
Human rights activists have said Morsi's right to prepare an adequate defence has also been undermined.
In 2014, the UN warned that Egypt had "a judicial system where international fair trial guarantees appear to be increasingly trampled upon" after more than 1,200 people were sentenced to death in two mass trials "rife with procedural irregularities".
The Court of Cassation's ruling on the prison breaks case means he currently does not face execution. He could be sentenced to death if he is convicted at retrial, but experts believe it would be unlikely to be ever carried out.
Since Morsi's overthrow, courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences in cases connected to political violence, most involving Brotherhood members.
In March 2015, the state executed a Morsi supporter convicted of a murder committed during a riot in Alexandria in mid-2013, despite what human rights activists called an unfair trial.
All death sentences have to be sent to the grand mufti, Egypt's highest religious authority, for his opinion on whether they should stand. But even when the grand mufti gives his approval, convictions are still open to appeal.
Mubarak was charged with conspiring in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in 2012, but the Court of Cassation overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial in 2013. The charge was dropped in November 2014, but in June 2015 a judge accepted an appeal from prosecutors and ordered a retrial.
Mubarak was also sentenced to three years in prison in May 2015 after being convicted at retrial of embezzling millions of dollars earmarked for the renovation of presidential palaces.
The 88 year old is residing in a military hospital in Cairo. | Egypt's highest appeal court has overturned a life sentence handed down to ousted President Mohammed Morsi last year and ordered a retrial on the charge of conspiring to commit terrorist acts with foreign groups. |
39051213 | Jungle Creations said the video, posted on its Facebook channel on Tuesday, failed to meet its usual standards and "may be factually incorrect".
The video, apparently shot from a motorbike, shows a young female cyclist being verbally abused by men in a van on a busy central London street.
She hits the wing mirror, at which one of the men asks: "You on your period?"
He then reaches out to touch the cyclist and asks for her number before driving away.
The young woman races to catch up to the van, which stops in a parking spot.
The cyclist reaches across to the wing mirror and yanks it off.
Several men are seen shouting and getting out of the van while the motorcylist shouts: "That's exactly what you deserve, you scum," as the cyclist disappears down the road.
The video received over one million views on the Viral Threads Facebook group and was picked up by multiple media companies, including the Sun, the Metro, the Independent and the Evening Standard.
Some people responded enthusiastically - applauding the woman for standing up for herself and the motorcyclist for berating the van drivers.
However, social media users on Facebook and on the comment boards Reddit were quick to protest, furiously debating why they believed the video was staged,
One Reddit user questioned why the motorcyclist had stayed behind the comparatively slower cyclist.
Another suggested that this had been to ensure that the recording of audio was not disturbed by fast moving air.
There are other unanswered questions about the video posed by the internet, including about the apparently superhuman physical strength of the cyclist.
Melissa Chapman, who leads social media at Jungle Creations, responded to allegations on YouTube that the video was staged by asserting that the motorcyclist who had filmed it had sent the video to the company.
The BBC asked Jungle Creations for information about the biker or evidence of a contract signed with the video creator but received no response.
Other media organisations were also asking questions, and one witness came forward claiming that he had seen actors making the video.
Scott Deane told the Sun newspaper that he had seen actors receiving instructions before the scene had been filmed.
"I saw this very attractive girl with a bike talking to a blonde guy who was giving her instructions," he said.
"Then three guys dressed in orange site clothes turned up in a van and the blonde bloke was giving them instructions too.
"He was telling the girl, 'You need to ride behind the van aggressively.'"
Another man claimed on Twitter that his colleagues had told him they had seen actors being given instructions and that the video had required two takes.
The founder of Jungle Creations, Jamie Bolding, denied creating the video and told the Evening Standard: 'We couldn't verify its authenticity, but we don't think it's fake."
The Guardian reported that Jungle Creations were selling the video at £400 for publication on the Guardian websites and £150 for social media channels.
Claims that the video had been staged also escalated into claims it was an example of "fake news"
After several hours of wild speculation and feverish commenting, Jungle Creations admitted on Wednesday afternoon that the video could indeed be fake.
By Georgina Rannard, UGC and Social news | A London-based media company has said a video it published of a cyclist taking revenge after verbal abuse may have been staged. |
35564523 | Media playback is not supported on this device
With the Crues being held to a 1-1 draw by Glenavon, David Healy's Blues could have closed the gap to four points.
Two former Linfield players scored the Portadown goals with Mark McAllister netting a disputed penalty and Philip Lowry heading the second.
Portadown defender Ken Oman was sent-off and Matthew Clarke scored in the 84th minute for Linfield.
That ensured a frantic finish with Linfield, who had won six in a row in the league, desperate to get something from the game.
It was a surprise win for struggling Portadown who had lost their previous six Premiership fixtures.
The major talking point at Shamrock Park was the penalty decision midway through the first half.
Defender Mark Stafford, having allowed a long ball to bounce, was deemed to have tripped Marcio Soares in the area.
Linfield players, believing the Portadown player had dived, protested to referee Arnold Hunter and the assistant official, but the spot-kick was given and former Linfield forward McAllister beat Ross Glendinning.
Midfielder Lowry made it 2-0 in the 69th minute by meeting a ball from Chris Casement, another former Linfield man.
Oman was sent-off when a deliberate hand ball resulted in his second yellow card of the night and soon afterwards full-back Clarke halved the deficit.
The Blues will rue their failure to cut the six-point gap on leaders Crusaders.
The champions don't drop many points at Seaview, so it was a rare chance to gain ground which Linfield desperately needed to take.
Instead, the Belfast Blues find themselves now seven behind the Premiership pacesetters and still just two ahead of third-placed Cliftonville.
It was a first loss in nine league matches for David Healy's Linfield, their last defeat having also been at Portadown in November. | Second-placed Linfield missed a chance to cut the gap on Premiership leaders Crusaders by losing to Portadown. |
39366969 | Advantages:
Would include:
Disadvantages:
The pitch:
Prof Hamish Laing, medical director, said: "Both Morriston and the Heath are excellent hospitals, this isn't really so much about the hospitals. We have nearly all the services you need for a major trauma centre.
"We have some services that are not in Cardiff and Cardiff has some that are not here. The NHS can sort that out; you can move services or individuals around."
"The key thing that Morriston offers is the greatest opportunity for the most people - the greatest coverage of south Wales - to be [here] within an hour," said Prof Laing.
"Because it's sitting by the motorway, it means it's much easier to access from the other side of Haverfordwest, the other side of Brecon or Newport." | Swansea's Morriston Hospital has 700 general beds, 22 operating theatres and 70 critical care beds and the focus of the bid is on its location. |
39006591 | The Bacon to Doig exhibition contains works by artists including Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and David Hockney.
All of the paintings and sculptures are from the private collection of Ian and Mercedes Stoutzker.
It is believed to be the finest private art collection to be shown in Cardiff since the Davies sisters first exhibited in the city a century ago.
Businessman Ian Stoutzker's Welsh heritage prompted him to loan the works to the museum.
His mother Dora was a music teacher from Tredegar, and he was evacuated to the town from his London home as a boy.
"I'm not a Johnny-come-lately to Wales," he said.
"My mother was born in 1894 in Tredegar, and she lived there for the first 25 years of her life.
"When I hear my mother's accent I say 'I'm back in Wales', because that was my background and she never lost her love of Wales, which she passed on to me. I looked like my mother as a boy, and I am my mother and she lives through me. And I know the contentment she would have that I share her love of the country."
The art collection includes sculptures by Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor, neither of whom have previously been displayed at the museum.
It also includes a pair of vases commissioned by the Stoutzkers from Grayson Perry, and a work by Peter Doig painted especially for Mercedes Stoutzker.
Of the two Stoutzkers, it is Mercedes who has spent considerable time researching and buying contemporary artworks.
Many of the collection's most significant works were bought from artists near the beginning of their careers, before their prices increased.
"I've looked at a lot of art, because I used to go around the museums and around the auction houses to learn, rather than to buy," she said.
"Little by little I knew what I liked and what I didn't like. And when I went around the galleries I picked out the artists who really spoke to me, and one of them was Francis Bacon.
"But before that we bought a Ben Nicholson, we bought a Lowry. These were the artists we could afford. And then I went on looking, selecting and buying. It wasn't just the artists, it was the work that mattered, it was the painting or the sculpture."
The couple, who met and married in the late 1950s, put together works which gave them "immense joy and pleasure".
Mrs Stoutzker added: "I wanted to share that with people who didn't have the privilege of living with these works.
"So I was very happy when Ian suggested the works came to Wales, and I am very happy with how they have been displayed. It's very exciting for me to come and walk around the room to look at them afresh."
Mrs Stoutzker said she has never treated the art as a commodity or a financial investment.
"I'm happy for the artist that their prices went up, but as far as I am concerned I wish they never did, because then I could go on buying, which we can't at the moment, as the prices have overtaken our purse."
Ian Stoutzker's main passion is music.
As a trained violinist he established Live Music Now with Yehudi Menuhin, while the concert hall at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama was named after his mother Dora following a significant donation in 2011.
"What Mercedes will tell you is she believes these works should be shown, and not hoarded for a few," said Mr Stoutzker.
"So I felt that, if this was her feeling - that it should be shown, then it should be shown in Wales."
The exhibition is the result of detailed discussions with the Stoutzkers over recent years.
Andrew Renton, keeper of art at National Museum Wales, said it would be a significant addition to its collection.
"We are here in the museum to inspire our visitors with the greatness of art, and to show how important art can be in terms of giving life joy, meaning and value. And to be able to show such wonderful examples is really core to what we are aiming to do. Having works of this quality is a massive bonus for us over the coming year."
The Bacon to Doig exhibition, which is free entry, is at National Museum Cardiff until 31 January 2018. | Works by some of the 20th Century's greatest artists have gone on display at National Museum Cardiff. |
36129223 | Bradley Angus, 30, inappropriately touched a 28-year-old while giving her a massage at St Andrew's Church in Dumbarton in December 2013.
He also attacked a 45-year-old woman in her home while part of a fundraising group going door-to-door in Irvine, North Ayrshire, in June 2015.
At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, sentence on Angus was deferred.
Angus, formerly of Balloch, now of Glasgow, was also placed on the sex offenders' register.
The court heard that the first attack took place at the church hall in Dumbarton where hairdressers, stylists, beauticians and nail technicians had offered their services in exchange for donations to good causes.
The 28-year-old victim was lying in a darkened room in the hall under a towel when Angus touched her genital area.
The woman's sister told the court: "I thought it was strange she was in for such a long time and when she came out she was walking back with her head down.
"I asked her if she'd had a good time and she said she didn't want to talk about it. She looked upset, shocked and embarrassed.
"I knew straight away there was something wrong with her and she told me what had happened."
In the second attack, Angus was allowed into a house in Irvine and taken to the kitchen by a 45-year-old woman while her husband looked after their young son.
She made him a cup of tea but moments later Angus fled the house as the "quite hysterical" victim called to her husband: "He's just touched me up."
The man followed and confronted Angus but he claimed the victim had touched him and made advances.
Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane found Angus guilty of the sexual assaults which she said appeared to give him a "thrill" by being committed in public places.
Angus will be sentenced next month. | A masseur has been convicted of sexually assaulting women while taking part in charity fundraising events. |
40702482 | The final took place at Lord's cricket ground in London on Sunday.
It was a very exciting game, and at one point it looked like India were going to win easily, as they already had 191 runs and had only lost three out of their 10 wickets.
But England fought back, taking seven more wickets to get India all out for 219 and win the World Cup Final.
After tossing a coin, England chose to bat first. They scored 228 runs. This meant India then had to score 229 to win.
Anya Shrubsole got 6 out of the 10 wickets that England needed to win the game - the best figures in a World Cup final.
India were bowled out for 219 with eight balls unused.
This is the first time that England have won a global trophy since 2009, with their total score the second highest in Women's World Cup final history.
England's Tammy Beaumont was named player of the tournament, after finishing as the leading run-scorer with 410.
Captain Heather Knight said she was really proud of the whole team. She said: "I can't stop smiling. We made it hard for ourselves but I couldn't care less.
"India were batting brilliantly and put good partnerships together. We knew if we hung in and kept the rate at five or six then we would always be in the game."
Congratulations ladies! | England have won the Women's Cricket World Cup, beating India by nine runs. |
37955300 | World football's governing body turned down a request by both teams to wear the symbol to mark Armistice Day.
Fifa said it had not "banned" the move but "reiterated" rules on displaying "political" statements on shirts.
England and Scotland could now face a points deduction, a fine, or both.
England won the Group F match 3-0 thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill.
Northern Ireland's players wore plain black armbands during their 4-0 World Cup qualifying Group C victory against Azerbaijan in Belfast on Friday.
Wales will wear plain black armbands when they face Serbia on Saturday.
The Football Association of Wales says it does not want to risk a financial penalty or points deduction by going against Fifa's rules.
The poppy is a symbol of remembrance for those who have died in conflict and is traditionally worn on and in the days before and after 11 November, which is also known as Armistice Day.
According to the rule-making International Football Association Board, which includes members of the four British FAs, players cannot wear "political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images".
Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura said last week: "We have to apply uniformly and across the 211 member associations the laws of the game.
"Britain is not the only country that has been suffering from the result of war."
Fifa's match commissioner at Wembley will decide whether to mention the armbands in their official report.
If they do, the case would then go to Fifa's disciplinary committee.
The English Football Association has already said it will contest any fine and believes its "legal position is right and our moral position is right".
But former England right-back Danny Mills believes the FA "has picked the wrong fight" and is "likely to get a fine".
The former Leeds player told BBC Breakfast: "Surely all of the money that has been spent on arguments, lawyers and the fine it may get from Fifa would have been much better being donated to the Royal British Legion.
"It would have done far more good than this needless argument."
The Scottish Football Association believes Fifa is "misinterpreting the rules" and claims the poppy "is not a political statement". | England and Scotland players wore black armbands bearing a red poppy during Friday's World Cup qualifying match at Wembley despite failing to get clearance from Fifa. |
40455556 | Media playback is not supported on this device
In a five-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), more than 100 hours of cricket will be broadcast each summer.
The contract includes live TV coverage of England men and women's Twenty20 internationals and the ECB's new men's domestic T20 tournament.
TV highlights of England men's home Tests, one-day internationals and T20s will also be shown.
The BBC, which this year celebrates Test Match Special's 60th birthday, also retained radio rights and digital clips for English cricket.
Digital clips mean in-play video action clips and short-form highlights on the BBC Sport website and app for all England internationals and domestic games.
The BBC last broadcast live televised cricket in 1999 and the sport has not been available on free-to-air TV since the 2005 Ashes series, shown on Channel 4.
"It's long been our ambition to bring live cricket back to BBC television," said BBC director general Tony Hall. "I'm thrilled to see that ambition realised.
"Cricket is an integral part of the British summer and the BBC will be putting its full weight behind the nation's favourite summer sport.
"Our aim will be to make the new T20 competition a huge success."
Each summer from 2020 to 2024, the BBC will broadcast live TV coverage of:
The BBC will also show:
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: "This will lead to a step change in the BBC's coverage of cricket across TV, radio and digital platforms.
"We are extremely excited about what we have to offer by taking cricket to the widest possible audience and inspiring the next generation to pick up bat and ball.
"With 97% of the UK population using the BBC every week, the potential for growing the game further is huge."
The ECB's deal with the BBC and Sky is worth £1.1bn.
Sky will broadcast live TV coverage of Tests, England men's and women's internationals, plus the One-Day Cup and the County Championship.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said: "Together, these new deals will deliver the partnership, distribution and investment that will fuel the future of our game, driving recreational, professional and international cricket for years to come.
"BBC are valuable long-term partners, bringing cricket to listeners, viewers and a new digital audience.
"We are delighted they will go to another level with live coverage of international and domestic T20 - men's and women's - alongside prime-time highlights shows and a commitment to taking the game to even wider audiences."
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew on Radio 5 live
The ECB has recognised the need to show free-to-air cricket - the game urgently needs it.
When Channel 4 lost the rights in 2005, there is no doubt participation levels and awareness of the game slumped dramatically.
That, and the fact it has a new tournament starting in 2020, is what prompted the ECB to bring this deal forward.
The new tournament needs this coverage and exposure - this is why the ECB was keen to get it on terrestrial television.
This deal has raised over a billion pounds, which is a huge amount for English cricket.
Importantly, the BBC will show highlights of all England home internationals at prime time, which is a significant change from the usual late-night schedule.
Former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom called the deal "fantastic" news.
Speaking on the 5 live Friday Sports Panel, Sidebottom said: "I think it's much-needed. After the 2005 Ashes, the intake of children taking up cricket has slowly gone downhill so I think it's amazing for cricket.
"It's great for the players, it's great for international cricket, the fans. It's great for county cricket that players will get to showcase their talents on free-to-air TV, which is fantastic.
"It is difficult in modern society with mortgages and the cost of living.
"I grew up watching Test matches and one-day games on television - hopefully it'll grow more and more popular with the younger generation watching it on television." | English international and domestic cricket will be shown live on BBC TV for the first time in 21 years from 2020. |
26350303 | The company's revenues fell by 4% in 2013 to £2.4bn while pre-tax profits were down 5% to £418m.
Glasgow-based Weir had warned profits would be lower, blaming project delays in mining and a slower than forecast recovery in its oil and gas division.
However the company said, despite mixed conditions in 2014, it expected to return to underlying growth.
The firm sells pumps and valves for the mining and oil and gas industries and employs about 14,000 people in 70 countries.
Weir said it intended to capitalise on an increase in its oil and gas customers' upstream spending as it predicted a further decline in its core mining business.
Chief Executive of Weir, Keith Cochrane, said: "2013 was a challenging year in many of our end markets but our relative outperformance demonstrated the strength of the group's strategy, the diversity of our portfolio and the resilience of our aftermarket focussed business model."
He added: " We will continue to capture profitable aftermarket opportunities, cross-selling our full product portfolio across all our end markets and delivering further efficiencies."
Weir said its order book was already seeing a pick-up towards the end of last year.
Asked about the referendum on Scottish independence, Mr Cochrane said: "At the Weir Group we've commissioned our own research following the Scottish government's White Paper.
"It will look at issues like currency, pensions, trade and taxation.
"All I will say now is that there are serious questions in these areas which need serious answers.
"We'll happily publish the details of our research when it is complete." | Engineering firm Weir Group said it expected to return to growth after posting a drop in revenues and profits. |
38662210 | Canadian crooner Michael Buble was due to present - but that's been in doubt since his three-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with cancer last year.
At the time, the distraught singer cancelled all future engagements, saying he was determined to focus on caring for his eldest child.
It was hoped he'd be able to return for the Brit Awards, but media reports are suggesting he's pulled out for good - and understandably so.
So, who could take the helm at the O2 Arena on 22 February? Here are a few suggestions...
Ant (stands on the left, a bit wacky), and Dec (stands on the right, giggles) were hardly at their best when they hosted the Brits last year.
The nadir was the moment when Ant "mistakenly" appeared on stage in a dress. Because a man in a dress is hilarious, right?
Coming so soon after a video tribute to androgyny-embracing pop lizard David Bowie, it felt particularly dated.
But with a better scriptwriter they're a safe pair of hands - and, crucially, able to draw a big audience.
Back in 2008 when Katy Perry was a relatively new and untested pop star, she took the helm of the MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool and totally stole the show.
Cheeky and energetic, she kept the event moving at a frenetic pace, racing through 10 costume changes and more than a few memorable moments. "Girls. Just a reminder," she said, while riding on top of a giant banana. "It's not how big the banana is - it's how you sit on it."
With new music to promote in 2017, could the star be coaxed into a repeat performance?
If only so they can go: "On your marks, get set, DRAKE!"
By hiring Michael Buble, the Brits were making a statement of intent: we want some showbiz, and we want a host a global audience will recognise. Adele is one of the only other stars that fits the bill.
In many ways, Adele is the Brits. From the stop-you-in-your-tracks performance of Someone Like You to the moment last year when she tearfully accepted an award from Tim Peake in outer space.
She's funny, she's charismatic, and there's 0% chance she'll do it. Which will be a relief for the person who works the bleep button.
He's already winning the Brits Icon Award, so they won't need to book an extra cab.
His propensity to go off-script might cause organisers a few headaches - but a double-header with his bff Olly Murs would be worth tuning in for.
Before he swanned off to become a US chat show host, Corden presented the Brits five times (including a stint with Kylie in 2009). He stood down three years ago, telling the Radio Times he didn't want to outstay his welcome.
"There are award shows where it actually becomes a plus that it's hosted by the same person," he said. "But the Brits should always have an energy about them that is fresh and new and exciting."
But imagine if the whole Brits ceremony was an extended episode of Carpool Karaoke? No pizzazz, no fireworks, no music industry "suits" - just a rotating cast of megastars in the passenger seat, with Corden fishing the occasional trophy out of his glove compartment.
TV Gold. But, seeing as he's already presenting the Grammys a week before, extremely unlikely.
The Brits have often looked to comedians to provide a bit of frisson - notably Russell Brand, who outraged (some) viewers in 2007 with his references to the Queen's "naughty bits" and Amy Winehouse's drinking problem ("her surname's beginning to sound like a description of her liver".)
Of the current crop of stand-ups, Jack Whitehall has both the profile and the requisite irreverence. His UK tour might get in the way of rehearsals but, by coincidence, he has a day off on 22 February.
In the year that grime took over the Brits, Julie Adenuga would be a brave but bold choice.
The Beats 1 DJ is one of the genre's biggest champions (as well as being sister to three-time nominee Skepta) but eminently knowledgeable about music from all walks of life. Apple Music is also sponsoring two of the awards - best British male and best British female - so there's also a commercial reason to use one of their presenters on the night.
However, she's untested as a live TV presenter, so unlikely to make the cut.
On second thoughts, no.
X Factor host and hot buttered crumpet Dermot O'Leary makes live television look like a walk in the park - when in reality it's a race through a field full of knives, on one leg, in the dark, tethered to an excited donkey.
Amazingly, he's never presented the Brits, but given his role as a new music champion on Radio 2, he's a perfect fit.
Big Brother host Emma Willis did a great job fronting the Brits nominations show on Saturday night, attracting a respectable 1.6 million viewers to ITV.
She told the BBC she was planning to watch the main ceremony from the audience - but if the call comes, she can recreate her favourite ever Brit moment, when "Cat Deeley flew in on a champagne bottle" in 2004.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | With only five weeks to go, it looks like the Brit Awards have no host. |
38058433 | The 52-year-old, who won the World Cup as a player with Germany in 1990, took over as US boss in 2011.
"We remain confident we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018," said US Soccer president Sunil Gulati.
"But the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction."
Klinsmann steered the United States to the last 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after finishing above Portugal in their group.
However, they lost 2-1 at home to Mexico and 4-0 away to Costa Rica in their opening two qualifying matches for the 2018 tournament.
The US are pointless and bottom of the six-country qualifying group, below the likes of Panama and Honduras, albeit only a fifth of the way through the qualifying process.
"With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus," added Gulati.
"We need to determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth consecutive World Cup."
Former Tottenham striker Klinsmann was linked with the England job after Sam Allardyce left his post in September.
USA Today sports correspondent Martin Rodgers on BBC Radio 5 live:
Klinsmann has had some decent results as US head coach but ultimately too many setbacks and this was the time to pull the plug.
It now looks like Bruce Arena, the former US coach, most recently of LA Galaxy, will take over. Arena was head coach between 1998 and 2006 and maybe it is time to go back and do things the American way.
I think it's an admission that the experiment with Klinsmann didn't work. Everyone remembers what he did with Germany in 2006 and the free flowing and attacking football they played.
People expected him to come in and do the same with the US. The problem is the US is not blessed with the same kind of players as that Germany squad - or any Germany squad.
That's really where the downfall came. The way Klinsmann wanted to play, the players he had couldn't play that way.
It created tension within the camp and it created a little bit of a rift between some of the German-American players he had brought in and some of the more traditional American players. | Former Germany player and boss Jurgen Klinsmann has been sacked as coach of the United States. |
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