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28654125 | Xinhua news agency named the suspects as Kevin and Julia Garratt. The couple run a coffee shop in Dandong just across the border from North Korea.
Xinhua said Dandong's State Security Bureau was investigating the case.
But the couple's son Simeon told the BBC the charges were "absurd" and made "absolutely no sense".
The couple taught in southern China for several years and then moved to Dandong, where they opened Peter's Coffee House.
Dandong is the main China-North Korea border crossing and trade link.
The Xinhua report did not say whether the couple had been detained.
Simeon Garratt, 27, told the BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing that his parents had been uncontactable since Monday night.
"They were going to dinner with a couple of friends, and sometime between dinner and later that night, their phones were turned off and no one has really heard from them (since)," he said.
Mr Garratt called the charges "a joke", adding: "I thought it was absurd. It makes absolutely no sense."
He said his parents are "pretty regular people (who) don't have any ties to military or even governments or even anything like that".
Besides running the cafe, the couple regularly held community events for people to practise their English and helped people to get in touch with North Korea tour organisers, said Mr Garratt.
"Because they have been into North Korea a number of times, they just know the ropes and they're willing to help some friends who are going into North Korea," he said.
His parents speak both English and Mandarin and have developed a relationship with tour organisers.
"That's pretty much the extent of it. There's no business they operate that sends people into North Korea or anything like that," said Mr Garratt, who is a real estate agent living in Vancouver.
What qualifies as a "state secret" in China? The answer to that is a secret too.
The Chinese government's "state secrets" law is notoriously vague. Trials involving state secrets are conducted behind closed doors.
In most cases, Chinese citizens are accused of leaking state secrets to outsiders. It is extremely rare for foreigners to be accused of stealing and trafficking such sensitive information.
In 2009, an American geologist was also convicted of trading in state secrets after he attempted to purchase information about the Chinese oil industry.
One year later, an Australian was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing classified corporate information on behalf of the Australian mining firm, Rio Tinto.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the Canadians, Kevin and Julia Garratt, "are suspected of collecting and stealing intelligence… related to Chinese military targets and important Chinese national defence science research programs."
The Garratts ran a popular coffee shop near the North Korean border and had strong ties within the Christian missionary community. However, those activities are not illegal.
It will be difficult for those who knew the couple best to defend their relatives without understanding the sensitive information they're suspected of stealing.
Canada's embassy in Beijing told Reuters news agency it was aware of the reports and stood "ready to provide assistance as required".
Late last month, Canada announced that a top government research organisation had been struck by Chinese "state-sponsored" hackers.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa dismissed the report as a "groundless allegation". | Chinese authorities are investigating a Canadian couple suspected of stealing state secrets about national defence and the military, state media say. |
36306495 | The match between Manchester United and Bournemouth was called off after the item was discovered close to kick-off.
"We could not have assumed it was a training exercise error," said United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
"Presented with the same situation in the future, we'd take the same action."
Woodward explained the item had been signed for by the security firm "as having been recovered", adding that he is "proud of how our staff responded" to the incident.
The device was left in a toilet in the north-west quadrant of the ground.
However, it was not spotted when the ground was checked on Sunday, prior to supporters being allowed into the stadium.
Greater Manchester mayor Tony Lloyd, also the region's police and crime commissioner, has called for a full inquiry into the "fiasco".
The fixture has been rescheduled for Tuesday at 20:00 BST.
Manchester United's players were scheduled to have the day off as they prepare for Saturday's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Fourteen mock explosive devices were used in Wednesday's exercise, which was conducted by Security Search Management & Solutions Ltd (SSMS), a firm hired by Deacons Canines to test its sniffer dogs.
The one device left in the stadium was hidden behind a toilet door, which would have made it visible only from inside the cubicle.
SSMS managing director Chris Reid said he was "truly devastated" and takes "full responsibility for leaving a training item behind".
He said he had marked the item as recovered because he had a similar item, which had not been used, in his bag.
Reid, who says he has worked in security since 1985 having previously served in the armed forces, added: "I made a mistake, a devastating mistake."
A routine sweep of the ground by sniffer dogs on match day would not have detected the device as it did not include explosives.
It was actually found by a member of the public.
Following the discovery, on what should have been the final day of the Premier League season, Greater Manchester Police ordered the evacuation of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and the Stretford End, before it was subsequently announced the fixture had been abandoned.
"Once a live situation was identified, the club and police had no option but to treat the matter as a potential terror threat," said Woodward.
The Premier League has praised the way the incident was dealt with.
Greater Manchester Police, who worked closely with a bomb disposal team on Sunday, said the device was not "a viable explosive" but its appearance made it look "as real as could be".
Kate Green, Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston, says it is "particularly troubling" the device went undetected.
She added that there is "considerable concern" about the performance of the private security firm involved and wants United to reassure the public on safety issues at Old Trafford.
Green also wants United to outline how they will compensate fans for expenses, including travel and accommodation costs.
United will refund all tickets and allow ticket holders from both clubs to watch Tuesday's rearranged game for free.
United season ticket holders will also be given a credit.
It is estimated that such gestures will cost United about £3m.
Woodward stressed United and the police "would ensure that robust security measures continue to be of the highest priority" for the rearranged game.
Bournemouth are offering free coach travel for supporters with a valid match ticket.
Bournemouth chairman Jeff Mostyn told BBC South Today: "They make sacrifices every single week and go to great expense travelling away." | The suspect device which led to the abandonment of Sunday's Premier League game at Old Trafford had been wrongly signed for by a security firm carrying out an exercise at the stadium. |
34083834 | The singer called the response to the Leave a Trace video "ludicrous".
Mayberry told Channel 4 news she did not think "the 'just ignore it and it will blow away' argument" was working.
She condemned "cavemen" who threaten sexual violence when they do not like what a woman is doing or saying.
"I am a 27-year-old woman wearing a minidress with wet-look hair. If you don't like it, that's fine, but there is a difference between criticism and hatred," said Mayberry.
She said she was speaking out because, while she is targeted for being in the public eye, so many other women and girls are also subjected to similar behaviour.
"This happens to women all the time anyway, and I hate the idea that young girls who follow our band deal with stuff like that.
"I don't want them to feel isolated, I don't want them to feel like it is just happening to them, because it happens everywhere."
Earlier this month the singer tweeted a link to a stream of sexist abuse directed towards her appearance, writing: "Dear anyone who thinks misogyny isn't real. It is and this is what it looks like."
Mayberry, 27, said those sort of comments were "sadly predictable" and that there needed to be "a shift in the cultural approach to women".
"If you don't like what a woman is wearing, you don't like her opinion, you don't like what it is she represents, then you fall back on the basic caveman arguments of threatening with physical and sexual violence because it is your trump card.
"Because that's the way you get somebody to shut up. And I just think that is a very sad state of affairs."
Revealing the level of "hateful" abuse she receives she said someone recently contacted her on Twitter to suggest if she could not deal with the attention she should "stick a gun in your mouth before the record even comes out. I have one and I'll give to you."
She added: "Personally, that's horrifying, if somebody put that through your door, you could legitimately go to the police with that."
Mayberry conceded she could be "painting a target on my back" by speaking out, because people think they will get a response, but said "ignoring it doesn't make a difference".
"To me it is not necessarily you responding that trolls want, they want to scare, they want to intimidate and they want to silence people." | Chvrches frontwoman Lauren Mayberry has hit back at misogynistic abuse online, after being widely targeted by internet trolls for wearing a short dress in the band's recent video. |
38752742 | Forces loyal to the military leader, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, said they had driven local Islamist militias out of the Ganfouda district of Benghazi.
The area had been under siege for months and saw some of the worst fighting over control of the city.
Some fighters were affiliated to the Islamic State group or Al Qaeda.
The besieged district, nine miles west of the city centre, has been largely cut-off from the rest of Benghazi in blockades setup by Field Marshal Haftar's forces.
His forces are not being recognised by Libya's UN-backed government.
The spokesman for Field Marshal Haftar's forces - known as the Eastern Libyan Army - said they had freed the neighbourhood, but some militants had fled to a nearby area known as the "12 blocks".
The BBC's North Africa correspondent, Rana Jawad, said if it holds, the fall of Ganfouda district would be considered "a significant gain" for the forces, but locals had been hit hard.
"More than two years of fighting in Libya's second largest city has come at a high cost," she said.
"It has been deadly and it has internally displaced thousands of people."
Residents told the BBC that Islamist militias still control some parts of central Benghazi, though there have been no clashes there recently.
Libya's unrest since the 2011 ousting of Muammar Gaddafi saw extremist organisations, including the Islamic State group, gain a foothold in the country.
Field Marshal Haftar's forces and rival fighters loyal to the UN-backed Tripoli-based government inflicted a string of setbacks on the jihadists.
But the jihadists still control the central Benghazi districts of Al-Saberi and Souq al-Hout, according to Field Marshal Haftar's forces. | Jihadist fighters in Libya have lost one of their last remaining strongholds in the country's second city. |
37847998 | By the time the RSPCA arrived at their home in Boroughbridge near York, the 2ft (60cm) long snake had found sanctuary in a vacuum cleaner.
Lucy Green from the animal welfare charity said: "It was quite a surprise."
The snake was taken away by the RSPCA and is said to be in good health. It is believed to be somebody's pet due to its good condition.
The charity said it would be rehomed in seven days if no owner comes forward.
Ms Green said the wife saw the snake on Friday afternoon and initially thought her husband was playing a prank on her as it looked like a "realistic toy".
She said: "When I arrived the snake was no longer in the airing cupboard but had slithered inside the vacuum cleaner.
"It was quite a surprise to flip the head of the vacuum cleaner over and see the snake's little orange head poking out."
Ms Green said she visited several neighbours of the house on The Chase but no-one claimed to have mislaid their snake.
She said: "Perhaps he got out of his vivarium and decided to do some trick or treating for Halloween, or go and frighten some neighbours." | A couple got a surprise when they found a corn snake in their airing cupboard. |
19280803 | Khadija Shah, 25, was taken into custody in May after the drug was found in several suitcases she was carrying.
She denies the charges, saying she had been on holiday in Pakistan and had no idea what was in the cases.
Ms Shah's lawyers said they feared she was not getting proper medical help.
Her lawyer Sarah Belal, from charity Reprieve, said officials at the jail in Adiala, near Islamabad, had sent them a letter saying Ms Shah was well, had been given vitamins and milk and that her pregnancy was progressing well.
However, Ms Belal said they had not provided any evidence for it and she feared for her client's health and that of her unborn child.
Ms Shah, who is due to give birth in a month's time, was originally held in custody with her daughter, aged four, and her five-year-old son.
They have since been released and have been taken back to the UK by their grandmother.
Ms Belal said they would submit another bail application within "a week or two".
It is thought that if Ms Shah is convicted of trying to smuggle the 63kg of heroin, she could face the death penalty. | Lawyers for a pregnant woman from Birmingham arrested in Pakistan after heroin worth £3.2m was found said they withdrew their bail application after it appeared judges would refuse it. |
39441920 | Adele Baumgardt was sacked alongside chairman of the troubled quango Paul Thomas on Wednesday.
Ms Baumgardt, who had worked for Sport Wales for more than 10 years, said Mr Thomas was not fit for the job - an allegation he denies
The Welsh Government said there were "lessons to be learned".
In November, the Welsh Government suspended the entire Sport Wales board, over concerns the organisation was dysfunctional.
On Wednesday Public Health Minister Rebecca Evans sacked Mr Thomas and Ms Baumgardt saying there had been "an irretrievable breakdown in relationships" in the board's leadership.
Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Wales programme, Ms Baumgardt said the board had been "well governed, managed and led" and would go from "strength to strength" under new leadership.
She claimed Sport Wales had been one of the most successful public organisations in Wales until the appointment of Mr Thomas in April 2016.
"To have ended up in this situation, I think serious questions need to be asked about how the process works with public appointments," said Ms Baumgardt.
"This is a really strong organisation with a strong board."
Ms Baumgardt, who worked at the organisation for more than 10 years, repeated claims that Mr Thomas was not fit for the job, an accusation Mr Thomas has rejected.
She insisted there was no evidence she had done anything wrong and there was no reason why she should have been sacked.
Mr Thomas has accused the Welsh Government of being "appalling" in its dealings with him, saying he had not been given the support he needed to change the organisation,
Sport Wales, originally called the Sports Council for Wales, was created in 1972 to promote elite and grassroots sport. It has an annual budget of £22m.
Over the last six months it has become embroiled in a series of rows over the operation of the board and the way it awards contracts.
A review of Sport Wales, by the Welsh Government, has been completed, but has not been released to the public.
A Welsh Government spokesman said a review examining Mr Thomas' appointment confirmed the proper process had been followed.
"The appointment process complied fully with the principles of merit, fairness and openness," he said.
"There are lessons to be learned from the situation that arose and what is required of individuals being appointed to a public leadership role." | "Serious questions" should be asked of the Welsh Government over public appointments, the former vice-chairwoman of Sport Wales has said. |
35174446 | 24 December 2015 Last updated at 08:20 GMT
Google's Boston Dynamics unit made the BigDog robots to demonstrate how they can be used to transport goods around the country.
The four-legged machine can stay standing even when its creators try to kick it over.
They named the first one Spot, and they're designed to be used both inside buildings and on rough ground. | Three robots have been pulling a Christmas sleigh to show what they can do. |
36121198 | Javier Pastore's volley gave Laurent Blanc's side a half-time lead, as Lille appealed for offside.
Djibril Sidibe equalised with a free-kick, before PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot was sent off.
Di Maria rolled in the winner as keeper Vincent Enyeama inexplicably charged 30 yards from goal to meet the winger.
Victory means that PSG remain on course for a clean sweep of domestic trophies, having won the Trophees des Champions and Ligue 1, and with the Coupe de France final against Marseille to come on 21 May.
Manager Blanc's future, though, remains uncertain because of his failure to take the club beyond the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, where they were defeated by Manchester City.
Di Maria shot weakly at Enyeama in the opening seconds of an entertaining final at the Stade de France, with Lille looking the more dangerous side after surviving a difficult opening 10 minutes.
Frederic Antonetti's team had won six successive games going into the final, but went behind to a controversial goal five minutes before before half-time.
Pastore lashed a shot at goal as Lille struggled to clear a corner, with PSG full-back Layvin Kurzawa standing in an offside position inside the six-yard box as the ball flew into the net.
The officials ruled that Kurzawa was not active because he did not move towards the ball, but Enyeama believed that he was effectively prevented from diving to save the shot because the PSG man was in the way.
Lille responded positively, though, with Sidibe directing a free-kick into the corner of the net four minutes into the second half after Adrien Rabiot had been booked for fouling Sofiane Boufal.
Rabiot picked up a second booking, and was dismissed, for a late challenge on Boufal with 20 minutes left.
Lille, though, gave away a soft goal four minutes later, as Adama Soumaoro's weak back header allowed Di Maria to sprint on to goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu's clearance, and the Argentian international nicked the ball past the onrushing Enyeama.
Soumaoro headed wide with a good chance to bring Lille level again, but PSG held on. | Angel di Maria scored the decisive goal as 10-man Paris St-Germain beat Lille to win France's Coupe de la Ligue for the third year running. |
34760121 | Hagrid, a Leonberger, holds the Guinness World Record for "most items caught by a dog in 30 seconds", The Sunday Telegraph reported.
At the National Pet Show in Birmingham, Hagrid showcased his skill of catching and eating 13 sausages in 30 seconds.
His owners Sarah and David Woodthorpe-Evans, from Harlow, Essex, said they were considering getting him an agent.
"We like showing him off. We go to all the dog shows purely to let people know about the breed," Mrs Woodthorpe-Evans told the BBC.
Leonbergers were originally produced by crossing Newfoundlands with St Bernards and nearly died out after both World Wars.
She said her three-year-old pet eats two to three turkey carcasses per meal, which she buys from a nearby farm.
"He has those every other day. In between that he has a kilogram of tripe for his dinner," she said.
"He's 80cm from floor to shoulder, but if he puts his paws on my shoulders, his head is well above mine. He's 6ft (1.8m) fully outstretched."
Hagrid set his world record at the London Pet Show on 10 May.
"There's a bit more to it than it sounds. He has to sit in a marked area, he's not allowed to stand, and he can only eat the ones he catches," Mrs Woodthorpe-Evans said.
"We're intrigued about getting him to do some movie or TV work - we might get him an agent.
"Wherever we go, people stop us to ask the same questions - how much does he weigh, how much does he eat, does he have a saddle? He really is the most impressive creature." | A dog weighing 11st (70kg) drew "a huge crowd" while showing off his record sausage-eating skills at a dog show. |
39564836 | The AI system, called Lengpudashi, won a landslide victory and $290,000 (£230,000) in the five-day competition.
It is the second time this year that an AI program has beaten competitive poker players.
An earlier version of the program, known as Libratus, beat four of the world's best poker pros during a 20-day game in January.
The AI systems were the work of Tuomas Sandholm, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the US, and PhD student Noam Brown.
The prize money will go to Strategic Machine, a firm founded by the duo.
The human team up against Lengpudashi was led by Yue Du, an amateur poker player who won the World Series of Poker $5,000 buy-in, no-limit, Texas Hold'em category last year.
Mr Du's "Team Dragon" consisted of engineers, computer scientists and investors who attempted to use game theory and their knowledge of machine intelligence to anticipate and counter Lengpudashi's play.
Unlike chess and Go, in which all the playable pieces are visible on the board, poker is what computer scientists call an "imperfect information game".
This means relying on complicated betting strategies and a player's ability to bluff, or spot when opponents are bluffing.
"People think that bluffing is very human," Mr Brown told Bloomberg, "It turns out that's not true."
"A computer can learn from experience that if it has a weak hand and it bluffs, it can make more money."
Like the poker pro-beating Libratus AI program before it, Lengpudashi was run on a supercomputer at Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.
Researchers commonly use matches like these to hone an AI program's reasoning skills and strategic decision making. | An artificial intelligence program has beaten a team of six poker players at a series of exhibition matches in China. |
35291938 | The changes, which will affect versions 8, 9 and 10 of the browser, were announced in August 2014.
Some estimate that these older browsers account for more than 20% of web traffic while Computerworld claims that only 55% of IE users are using the latest version.
Browsers are often targeted by hackers and experts predict a crop of attacks.
"Beginning January 12, 2016, only the most current version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive technical support and security updates," the software giant announced on its website.
"Microsoft encourages customers to upgrade and stay up-to-date on the latest browser for a faster, more secure browsing experience."
It is continuing to support IE 11 and Edge, which is the default browser for Windows 10.
NetMarketShare estimates that Internet Explorer accounts for 57% of the browser market, compared with 25% for Chrome, 12% for Firefox and 5% for Apple's Safari.
According to Computerworld, some 340 million people still rely on older versions of the IE browser.
It has led security experts to warn of a security "hot potato".
"It is safe to assume that cybercriminals have been stockpiling IE vulnerability information ahead of the support cut-off," said Craig Young, a researcher at security firm Tripwire.
Mark James, researcher at security firm ESET added: "No updates, no patches, no fixes, no new versions and no support options if things go wrong. This basically means it's a hot potato and you need to drop it as fast as you can."
Microsoft has been warning users to upgrade for some time but some believe that it has had the reverse effect - drawing users to rival browsers such as Firefox and Chrome.
In April, Microsoft officially stopped security support for Windows XP and while many envisioned a malware explosion it did not materialise. | Microsoft has ended technical support and security updates for older versions of its Internet Explorer browser. |
35097179 | About 10,000 strikers and 5,000 police officers were involved in what became known as the "Battle of Orgreave" in June 1984.
Campaigners are urging Home Secretary Theresa May to consider their legal submission "fairly and objectively".
Seventy MPs have signed a Commons motion calling for such an inquiry.
The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) said it wanted Ms May to "consider either establishing an independent panel, similar to that established in 2009 to investigate the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, or a public inquiry".
More than 120 officers and pickets were injured and 93 people were arrested following the incident at the Orgreave coking plant, near Rotherham.
In June the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled South Yorkshire Police would not be investigated because the passage of time meant allegations of assault and misconduct at the plant "could not be pursued".
But the watchdog said its decision could be reviewed if further evidence emerged.
South Yorkshire Police referred itself to the IPCC after a BBC documentary in 2012 claimed officers may have colluded in writing court statements.
The force also faced claims that officers had used "excessive force" and given false evidence in court.
Speaking earlier, Barbara Jackson, secretary of the OTJC said: "We had a productive meeting with the home secretary in July and now that we have completed our legal submission we are looking forward to presenting it to her with the belief that she will look at it fairly and objectively.
"We remain committed to justice over Orgreave."
Those arrested at Orgreave were held for a variety of alleged offences, with several being put on trial for rioting.
The trial collapsed after 16 weeks when it became clear police evidence was unreliable.
The IPPC's decision followed a two-year "scoping exercise" during which thousands of documents, film and photographs were analysed. | Legal papers demanding a public inquiry into police conduct during violent clashes of the 1984-5 miners' strike have been handed to the government. |
41015615 | The Finn has signed a new deal at Ferrari that will see him stay at the team until the end of 2018.
There are many fans of the charismatic driver, but just how much do you know about him?
Take our quiz to find out.
This content will not work on your device, please check Javascript and cookies are enabled or update your browser | Great news for Formula 1 fans - actually the whole world - because Kimi Raikkonen is sticking around. |
25624599 | The watchdog received almost 680 complaints about the footage run by several news outlets on 22 May 2013.
Many found the images, including mobile phone footage from the scene, graphic and distressing and disrespectful to Fusilier Rigby's family.
Ofcom ruled the "detailed" coverage was "justified by the context".
However, it went on to issue new guidance about carrying appropriate warnings.
Last month, Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, were found guilty of murdering Fusilier Rigby as he returned to his barracks in south-east London in May 2013.
The pair drove their car at the soldier before attacking him with knives and attempting to decapitate him.
At least two members of the public had filmed the violent incident on their mobile phone, which featured both the suspects, including one speaking directly to the camera with a machete and knife in his hands, covered in blood.
The footage was widely available through social media and was used by various broadcasters in their coverage.
Ofcom received numerous complaints accusing news programmes of giving one of the alleged attackers "a platform to justify and explain his actions", and expressing concern at the effect the content could have on younger viewers.
The watchdog went on to assess material from a range of broadcasts, including BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4 News, ITV News, London Tonight, Channel 5 News, World News Today on BBC Four and, on radio, the Iain Dale Show on LBC 97.3 FM.
It concluded that: "While the coverage was detailed and at times distressing, we did not consider that the images were too offensive for broadcast given they were appropriately scheduled and justified by the context."
Taking into account the "unprecedented nature of the incident", Ofcom took the view "that the vast majority of the audience watched or listened to these news programmes with the expectation of viewing or hearing an up-to-date account and analysis of what had happened in London.
"These would be appropriately illustrated with the most relevant and dramatic pictures available at time (television of course being a visual medium), or eye witness testimony."
It noted that, in the majority of cases, "various warnings were given to viewers", although radio station LBC broadcast a particularly "detailed and graphic description" of the incident without prior warning.
However, the station, which is primarily targeted at adults, "subsequently broadcast an apology to mitigate any offence that may have been caused".
Ofcom has now set out new guidance to broadcasters, highlighting the need to give viewers appropriate warnings before broadcasting material which might cause them "offence or distress".
The body made its rulings last year, but postponed publication until the conclusion of the criminal trial. | News coverage of the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich did not breach broadcasting guidelines, says broadcasting watchdog Ofcom. |
37620471 | 11 October 2016 Last updated at 17:53 BST
BBC Africa looks at why the demonstrations have escalated.
Video journalist: Christian Parkinson | A new wave of protests by university students demanding free education has spread across South Africa leading to clashes with the police. |
23252763 | People born in 1915 scored higher in cognitive tests in their 90s compared with those born a decade earlier, according to a study in The Lancet.
Better living standards and intellectual stimulation may be key factors, experts say.
The number of people reaching very old age is on the rise globally.
In the US, for example, the number of people aged 90 or above has more than doubled in 30 years.
In Denmark, where the study took place, the chance of surviving into the 10th decade of life has gone up by about 30% each decade for people born in 1895, 1905 and 1915.
However, there has been little research on the quality of life that people reaching such an old age can look forward to.
The researchers, led by Prof Kaare Christensen, of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, surveyed all Danes born in 1905 who were still alive and living in the country in 1998 (3,600 people, aged 92-93).
They assessed their physical strength, mental functioning, ability to carry out daily living tasks such as walking inside and outside, and any symptoms of depression.
Twelve years later, they repeated the study with Danes born in 1915 (2,509 people, aged 94-95).
The researchers found that men and women born in 1915 performed better than those born in 1905 in terms of cognitive ability and activities of daily living, even after correcting for changes like better education.
Prof Christensen and colleagues said: "Our results show that the Danish cohort born in 1915 had better survival and scored significantly better on both the cognitive tests and the activities of daily living scale than the cohort born in 1905, despite being two years older at the time of assessment.
"This finding suggests that more people are living to older ages with better overall functioning."
The research addresses the key question of whether living into very old age is accompanied by more years of poor health, or whether overall health at an advanced age is improving.
Commenting on the study, Prof Tom Kirkwood, associate dean for ageing at Newcastle University, said the data from Denmark was "encouraging".
"It seems that among those born in 1915, cognitive function in advanced old age is measurably better than for those born in 1905, even when underlying changes like improved education are taken into account," he said.
In the UK, the most complete picture of health in advanced old age comes from the Newcastle 85+ study, which has been looking at people born in 1921.
The investigations will be repeated in those born a decade later, giving the chance to see if the Danish findings apply in other populations. | Today's 90-year-olds are surviving into very old age with better mental performance than ever before, Danish research suggests. |
39600029 | Andy Rudkin, 27, from Oakham, Rutland, said he and his father saw scuffles with police unfold on Tuesday.
He said as they walked away they were charged by officers and his father was "whacked" with a baton.
The pair, along with six other men, have been handed four-month suspended prison sentences.
Mr Rudkin, who believes he was one of the men filmed by BBC correspondent Phil Mackie being arrested, said he was innocent of the public disorder offence he was charged with.
At one point he and his 49-year-old father were facing prison, he claimed.
The Leicester fan said when they arrived in Madrid on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid, they had a meal but did not drink any alcohol.
He said: "We heard a noise in the square [Plaza Mayor] and went to have a look and saw police hitting fans, I'd never seen anything like it.
"We walked away and then 10 police officers charged us, I said to my dad 'we've got to run'.
"Dad got whacked with a baton. I went over to tell them he was my dad and I got arrested too."
He said he had never met any of the other arrested men before, one of which was a teacher and two were businessmen. He claims they were all held for about 47 hours without food and water.
Mr Rudkin said when he asked if he could make a phone call he was told to "shut up".
"My wife was going out of her mind," he said.
"I've been called scum online and we've been branded hooligans by other fans, but it's not true. I've never been in trouble in my life."
All eight men were given suspended prison sentences when they appeared in court on Thursday.
Leicester City are working with Uefa and the Spanish authorities to discover the "full facts" behind scuffles involving fans in Madrid. | A Leicester City fan has described how he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" when he was arrested by Spanish police following trouble in Madrid. |
34495369 | The plane, based at Robin Hood Airport, is due to be grounded this month after engineering backers, including Rolls-Royce, withdrew support.
The bomber made a flypast over northern areas of the UK on Saturday and will visit southern areas on Sunday.
South Yorkshire Police said the airport could not "accommodate a large influx of people hoping to see the Vulcan".
The force said: "We must warn you that the chances of seeing XH558 take-off and land are slim. There are no plans for any displays or repeated circuits over the airfield and the aircraft will come straight-in to land on her return.
"There is great risk of severe restrictions being imposed on flight operations if matters persist. We do need to minimise the risk of enforced flight cancellations on the grounds of public safety."
Local authorities and emergency services were starting to become "overwhelmed" by crowds who were flocking to the airport to see the famous Cold War nuclear warplane, police said.
Following the flypast tours, the XH558 bomber will make one final flight towards the end of October, details of which have yet to be confirmed. | Police have urged fans of the last flying Vulcan bomber aircraft to avoid watching it at an airport in Doncaster. |
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A Fifa taskforce has recommended the 2022 World Cup take place in winter to avoid Qatar's hot summer temperatures.
It did not mention exact dates, saying only that "end-November/end-December" was the "most viable" period, but an early rumour to emerge from the Qatari conclave is that the governing body is considering 26 November to 23 December, four days shorter than the 32-day tournament in Brazil last year on account of it being staged in a single-city state.
But that is just two days short of Christmas, which even the otherwise supportive Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce admitted might cause officials, players and spectators a few difficulties at airports around the globe.
A finish that close to the Queen's Christmas Speech would also make it unlikely that fans of Premier League football will be able to gorge themselves in the customary manner over the holiday period: there were 30 games from Boxing Day to New Year's Day this season.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said one of his priorities was to "keep the Christmas and new year programme intact", and this is clearly one of the areas now very much up for debate.
Could, for example, a World Cup final on 18 December, a Sunday and also Qatar's National Day, be a better option for all concerned than the last Friday before Christmas?
It would certainly placate the broadcasters who recently teamed up to hand the Premier League more than £5bn for three years' worth of domestic TV rights. BT and Sky televised 25 live games from 1 December to 1 January this season, and at a current going rate of £10m a game, that's a lot of unscripted drama to replace.
The Premier League TV rights for 2022 have not been sold yet, and anybody bidding for them will clearly be able to price 2022's break into their bid, but keeping that intermission as short as possible will be their main concern, particularly if they are without rights to the big show in Qatar.
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It should also be noted that the Football League might be quite excited about the prospect of the Premier League cancelling Christmas. Its 72 clubs could probably live without a similar number of players to the 14 they sent to Brazil, giving them a clear run at home throughout November and December.
The Scottish Premiership, with a similar number of absentees, might also be minded to take a leaf out of club rugby union's book and carry on regardless.
That is not to say those leagues will not be affected by Fifa's decision to do what Stoke City chairman Peter Coates described as "promising one thing", a normal World Cup, and "delivering another", a winter warmer.
England's preparations for the World Cup in Brazil started at a training camp in Portugal three weeks before their first game, and continued with a farewell friendly against Peru at Wembley on 30 May and then two more games in Miami over the following week.
Whoever is tasked with delivering the World Cup win for England in 2022 - something Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has listed as a key performance indicator for the national game - can forget having three weeks to prepare. They will be lucky to get a fortnight.
Scudamore and co will be keen to see if they can trim a few more days off that 28-day tournament estimate, too, although it was interesting to note the comments of the German Football League's managing director Andreas Rettig, who said Fifa must "consider the strain on top players".
"A shorter match schedule cannot mean that the same number of matches must be played in a briefer period of time," he added, which suggests he wants to re-open all manner of debates about the size of the tournament.
But if we take a two-week call-up period and four weeks for the competition itself as a starting point, we are talking about a cessation of hostilities across Europe's big leagues from the first week of November to Christmas.
"It's going to be hugely difficult," said Coates.
"But I think they'll try to get it done in one year, rather than spread it over three years. It's better to have one bad year, when everything is messed up, than three. It's about making the best of a bad lot.
"It will have to be a break. The biggest teams won't want to carry on - they'd be decimated."
The current Premier League season started on 16 August, 14 weeks after last season finished.
If Coates is right - and the early indications are he is - players can forget their schoolteacher-like holidays that year and make do with a fortnight between the end-of-season do and pre-season.
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Because it is not just a question of squeezing in six or seven weeks' worth of league fixtures.
The Football League is currently preparing for one of its two big weekends, the League Cup final, with the play-off finals being the other.
Continuing the league programme is one thing, but doing without Premier League clubs in its premier cup competition is unthinkable, which means shunting the whole thing at least a month forward. This season's first round started on 11 August.
The FA Cup will also be affected. Its preliminary round started on 15 August, with rounds one and two taking place in November and December.
OK, the Premier League is not involved at that point, but will the FA want to put its showcase club competition up against its international endeavours?
Whichever dates Fifa settles on, and the Premier League and other leading leagues respond to, one thing is certain: there is going to be an awful lot of summer football that year.
But there is also going to be a lot of winter football, as you simply cannot take six to seven weeks out of the calendar and hope to make it all up during the cricket season.
Take, for example, Uefa's two big club money-spinners, the Champions League and Europa League.
As Scudamore noted, Uefa was quick to welcome Fifa's November-December choice for Qatar, something he considered a bit cheeky given the winter breaks that are currently built into its two club competitions.
But with the qualifying rounds for those tournaments already starting on 1 July, can Uefa really expect clubs to be ready to play in early June? And if so, does this mean the transfer window is open earlier, too?
It is when you consider all of these permutations that you start to wonder whether the man who did the technical reports on the bidding nations for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Chile's Harold Mayne-Nicholls, was underestimating things when he said a winter World Cup would have an impact on 50 leagues around the world.
Mayne-Nicholls, of course, completely discounted the prospect of Qatar ever winning the bid.
They did, though, and despite everything we have been through over the past four years since that remarkable decision was announced, it seems Qatar really will get the World Cup it has spent so much money to secure.
Some of that money may now have to be shared, though, as the issue of "compensation" is likely to become an even more contested area in the club versus country debate. However Fifa says it will not pay clubs as they have seven years to prepare.
Scudamore did not answer questions on compensation, but Coates was less squeamish about it.
"Absolutely," was the 77-year-old businessman's succinct reply when asked if Fifa owed the clubs some money for their trouble.
"There could be all sorts of contractual implications and effects on clubs and their incomes that year, so we're more than entitled to expect compensation. We've been misled," he said.
Compensation, however, can take many forms, as was seen when Fifa quietly gave the television networks that broadcast football in North America the rights to the 2026 World Cup without so much as a contest - a magnanimous gesture to companies who might have been peeved that they now have rights to a 2022 tournament that will have to battle with the business end of American football's NFL and college seasons.
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Another way of looking at that deal, though, is to say that where there is a will there is a way, and that was certainly the view of former England, Everton and Manchester United utility man Phil Neville.
As well as suggesting that a winter World Cup could actually help a team that traditionally arrives at summer tournaments utterly exhausted, the BBC pundit and Salford City co-owner also sounded a note of cosmopolitan optimism.
"The problem is that we are very traditional in this country," he said.
"We like to have our 10 weeks off in the summer and we like to have our games over Christmas. But I think the game has changed now and we've got to change our views a little bit.
"I remember when we went to America in 1994 and there was a little bit of nervousness going to that country because they weren't really into football, but they put on an amazing World Cup.
"I think Qatar with their wealth will put on a fantastic World Cup."
Perhaps Dyke and Neville are not so crazy, and England can win a World Cup in 2022. As ideas go it is hardly more outlandish than staging the tournament in a small, scorched country that has never qualified for the competition. | Premier League clubs sent 105 players to the World Cup in Brazil last year, which is a lot of talent for a business in the entertainment sector to do without over the pantomime season. |
30615934 | The actor passed away on Christmas Day but no more information has been given.
Ryall had a five-decade career across film, TV and theatre, including in movie The Elephant Man and on TV, The Village and Outnumbered.
Daughter Charlie Ryall said: "Please take a moment to remember his huge five-decade-spanning career outside of the more well-known TV & film."
In a tweet, Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss called Ryall "a twinkling, brilliant, wonderful actor I was privileged to call a friend. RIP".
Gatiss directed Ryall in TV movie The Tractate Middoth in 2013.
Ryall replaced Peter Cartwright as Elphias Doge in 2010's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
His character was a close friend of Albus Dumbledore in addition to being a Ministry of Magic jurist and an Order of the Phoenix member.
His other film roles included parts in 2004's Around the World in 80 Days, 1990's Truly, Madly, Deeply and 1980's The Elephant Man.
On TV, character actor Ryall appeared in many well-known shows including The Singing Detective, Holby City, Casualty, Midsomer Murders, Goodnight Sweetheart and the Andrew Davies version of House Of Cards.
Most recently, he was perhaps best known as Frank, the grandfather who suffers from dementia, in BBC comedy Outnumbered.
He is also recognisable to TV viewers as Britain's oldest man Old Bert, the narrator of BBC One's The Village, who recalls his life through a series of flashbacks.
He also appeared in the Sky One comedy Trollied and in BBC drama Our Girl.
On Twitter, fans and colleagues of the actor paid tribute.
"So very sad to read of the death of actor David Ryall may he RIP," said Colette Mayer.
TV writer David Brown said: "RIP David Ryall - one of the best Inspector Morse baddies. Derek Whittaker - driving test psycho who tried to knife Morse."
Actor Clive Merrison added: "I'm so sorry to hear David Ryall has died. He was a wonderful actor and a dear colleague."
Ryall began his career on the stage before becoming a familiar face on British TV.
He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1962, during which time he won the Caryl Brahams Award for a musical.
Ryall went on to join Laurence Olivier's company with the National Theatre, during which time he was involved in several well-known plays, such as Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
His work at the National Theatre also included Guys and Dolls, The Beggar's Opera and Animal Farm, Coriolanus, The School of Wives, Democracy and The UN Inspector.
Ryall continued to be a regular face in the theatre, with appearances in Patrick Marber's Don Juan in Soho at the Donmar Warehouse in 2007.
Ryall is survived by his son, music manager Jonathan Ryall, and two daughters, singer Imogen Ryall and actress Charlie Ryall. | Actor David Ryall, known for playing Elphias Doge in the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows film, has died aged 79. |
37043765 | 11 August 2016 Last updated at 08:26 BST
The pair won Great Britain's first ever Olympic diving gold on Wednesday night, in the men's synchronised 3m springboard event.
Jack admits he was ready to settle for silver as they waited for their Chinese rivals to do their final dive.
"We went out there very cool, calm and collected and we came out on top today. It's amazing," Chris told Newsround.
What makes it even more unbelievable is that Chris was given a 5% chance of survival after he ruptured his spleen in 2009 and needed surgery.
Watch Jack and Chris speaking to Ricky after their historic win. | Team GB divers Jack Laugher and Chris Mears say it's "unbelievable" to be Olympic champions. |
35352157 | The 22-year-old, named in the England Saxons squad in 2014, has made almost 70 appearances for Gloucester.
"Elliott is a big, strong lad, and we're looking forward to seeing him continue his development with us," said Bath head coach Mike Ford.
"He has a great skill-set for a young player and a great attitude."
The length of Worcester-born Stooke's contract with Bath has not been disclosed. | Bath have completed the signing of second row Elliott Stooke from Premiership rivals Gloucester for the 2016-17 season. |
35884426 | Head and neck tumours are treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but then need an operation to visually check whether the growth has gone.
A study on 564 patients, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed 80% of them could be spared surgery by scanning instead.
And survival rates stayed the same.
The operation to check a cancer in the head or neck takes three hours, and patients spend at least a week in hospital recovering.
It also risks complications, including disfigurement or movement problems in the arms if key nerves are damaged.
Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) uses a radioactive dye that is picked up by rapidly dividing cancer cells.
This allows doctors to see if any of the head or neck cancer is still active.
Prof Hisham Mehanna, from the University of Birmingham, told the BBC News website: "Cancerous cells hide among the dead cells, with PET-CT you can call them out and find out whether they're alive or not.
"We can now use this new technology to save patients having a debilitating operation and identify those that need the operation rather than give it to everybody."
The study, conducted by the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick, showed survival rates were the same with both the surgical and the scanning approaches.
But only one in five of the patients had actually needed an operation to remove cancerous tissue.
Prof Mehanna said scanning could help hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year.
Using the PET-CT scan approach also saved the health service £1,492 per patient.
Life Sciences Minister George Freeman said: "This exciting trial has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of people with head and neck cancer, meaning that they may not have to undergo an extremely stressful medical procedure."
Prof Arnie Purushotham, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This is a really important study and if long-term follow-up confirms these results, this imaging technique could mean kinder treatments for patients with head and neck cancer.
"There could also be opportunities to expand this approach to other types of cancer and also potentially saving money for the NHS."
Follow James on Twitter. | Using a scanner rather than a scalpel could spare hundreds of thousands of cancer patients from risky surgery, a study suggests. |
37930482 | Jasmine Gregory, of Ulfgar Road, Oxford, had been drinking on the morning her daughter Robyn died in August 2014.
Gregory, 24, said she became distracted while giving the 14-month-old a bath at their home in Grove.
She was convicted by a jury in just over four hours at Oxford Crown Court.
Gregory found the child's lifeless body.
She was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Friday.
Robyn's father said in a victim impact statement that "every day is torture" since his daughter died.
He said: "She lit up the room, she was the brightest little button you could imagine.
"As a father I couldn't even give her a last cuddle.
"My heart went to the grave with Robyn." | A mother whose baby died after being left alone in the bath for 10 minutes has been found guilty of the girl's manslaughter. |
32406128 | Leader Nick Clegg said wages would rise in real terms for two years from 2016, and then above inflation once the deficit has been dealt with.
He said public servants had "made enough sacrifices".
But the PCS Union said that in real terms Lib Dems had cut the "pay, pensions and jobs of public servants" in government.
In other election news:
Public sector pay was increased by up to 1% in March, with schools entitled to give top-performing teachers a rise of up to 2%.
This followed a 1% rise in the previous two years, which was preceded by a two-year freeze, excluding the lowest-paid workers.
Last summer hundreds of thousands of people took part in rallies and marches across the UK as part of a day of strike action by public service unions.
The Lib Dem announcement expands on its manifesto pledge of "fair and affordable increases" in public sector pay.
Wages would be tied for two years to CPI inflation, which is predicted to rise by 0.2% in 2016-17, and 1.2% in 2017-18. After these two years, the Lib Dems would instruct the review bodies that set public sector pay to deliver above-inflation rises in line with the growth of the economy.
The party said the plans would mean a minimum pay rise of £350 over two years for a nurse paid £25,000 a year.
Main pledges
Policy guide: Where the parties stand
Mr Clegg said public sector workers had made a "huge contribution to balancing the books" over the past six years.
He added: "They now deserve to know there is an end to real-terms cuts in pay, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and their pay will return to normal levels in the years to come."
The Lib Dems said they had budgeted for the increase by not including pay restraint in the £12bn cuts the party is planning.
Labour backed the pay restraint in the previous Parliament, and its manifesto says any decisions on public sector pay in the next Parliament must "prioritise those on lower incomes", be evidence based and respect pay review body recommendations.
In his 2014 conference speech, Conservative Chancellor George Osborne said: "We will go on restraining public sector pay."
The Green Party says it would restore the one million public sector jobs it says were lost under the coalition government.
Responding to the Lib Dem announcement, Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: "This Damascene conversion on the eve of electoral humiliation, coming from the party that pledged not to increase tuition fees, will be seen for what it is."
* Subscribe to the BBC Election 2015 newsletter to get a round-up of the day's campaign news sent to your inbox every weekday afternoon. | Millions of public sector workers would be spared pay cuts under Liberal Democrat plans. |
38471037 | The actress, who lost a son in 2009 after 21 weeks, plays Michelle Connor, who will lose her baby at 23 weeks.
Marsh said she thought "long and hard" about taking on the storyline.
But she said she felt it was "an important story to tell to raise awareness of something which affects thousands of women every year".
She added: "It is obviously a cause very close to my heart, having lost my beautiful Archie at 21 weeks and five days."
The storyline will explore how the death affects both the parents and their extended families.
Marsh said she was "proud" of the scenes they have filmed but admitted she found them difficult.
"I have had to go to some very dark places in my mind whilst filming these heartbreaking scenes but my family, friends and colleagues have been incredible.
"Losing a child is something that never leaves you so to revisit those feelings as Michelle has been challenging."
She said Coronation Street ensured she had a counsellor on set "at all times to go to after filming".
She added: "For me the best tonic after a hugely emotional day was to go home to my kids and be reminded of how lucky I am to have them."
Coronation Street producer Kate Oates said she hoped the programme would "encourage discussion, understanding and compassion for those viewers affected by the loss of a baby".
The stillbirth charity Sands has worked with the ITV soap on the storyline.
Erica Stewart, the charity's bereavement specialist, said she hoped that "with a TV drama as popular as Coronation Street covering this heartbreaking experience, it will help to lift the taboo, and raise awareness of all the issues that surround the death of a baby."
The episode will air in the week beginning 9 January.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh has told how she went to "very dark places" in her mind while filming her latest storyline. |
36852604 | But, confident as ever, the New York billionaire had it covered. Waiting in the wings were a host of family members willing to get on stage.
Mr Trump's third wife Melania dominated the headlines after sections of her speech mimicked an address given by Michelle Obama - something Trump's campaign denied for more than a day before a Trump staffer took responsibility for "including some of the phrasing" used by Ms Obama.
Now with successful appearances from the likes of Donald Trump Jr, his eldest son, and anticipation ahead of Ivanka Trump's speech on Thursday, many commentators have been asking whether Mr Trump's children could also follow him into politics.
Who are Trump's children?
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, a well-known critic of the 2016 Republican candidate, praised Donald Jr's speech as the "best of the convention so far" and Politico said a "political star may have been born".
Speaking at a breakfast event on Wednesday, Donald Jr said he would consider running for office when his children were older, and he would love to do it "as a patriot".
Outside Cleveland Science Center, where the Trump family was appearing that afternoon, family friend Marcy Gentry Beach said she was delighted with the reaction.
"We hope he will become our president some day," she said.
Her son has been a close friend of Donald Jr for 15 years, and she says the rise of the father of five, who is executive vice-president of The Trump Organization, came as no surprise. "He has really positioned himself to be a leader."
Later in the day, as Republican Party delegates gathered to hear more Trump family speeches inside the main arena, people said the Trump children had impressed them.
Vicki Berglund, a delegate from Arizona, said the younger Trumps were "more polished" than their father. She said she hoped they would attract "more millennials to get involved" with the Republican party.
Her friend Gail Griffin said she thought Donald Jr's comments about learning to drive tractors as a youngster showed the children were "down-to-earth", despite having a billionaire father, and well-educated.
"They are the perfect example of the family Donald J Trump raised… and it shows he cares about America's kids too."
Meanwhile Chancellor Torbit, a 28-year-old delegate from Baltimore, said he particularly appreciated Donald Jr's comments about his father supporting blue collar workers, and promoting them in his company.
"He brought out that Trump is working for America," he said.
Not initially a Trump supporter himself, Mr Torbit said the family would "help more people come around to him".
Presentations by Donald Jr along with Tiffany, Eric and Ivanka Trump certainly help to "humanise" the candidate, political scientist Larry Sabato told the BBC.
But it should come as no surprise that the children are willing to speak out to support their father, he added.
The children of political candidates have long spoken at conventions, and many even go on to take an active role in politics.
But the Trumps are "remarkable" because the sheer number of family members giving evening speeches - more than any past political family, including the Kennedys, the Clintons, and the Romneys, Mr Sabato said.
The high-profile appearances also highlight a historical pattern in American politics. "We may be a democracy but we seem to like oligarchy," he added.
But it does not guarantee the Trump children will also be successful in the field.
More from the BBC:
"Jeb Bush didn't do too well," he said, referring to the brother of George W Bush and son of George HW Bush who was forced to drop out early in the 2016 primary contest.
Eric Trump, Donald Trump's third child, spoke on Wednesday as his father stood in the crowd. Initial reaction on social media was not so favourable, with commentators pointing to the lack of personal experiences and insights.
Next up is Ivanka Trump, perhaps the best known of Mr Trump's children before this convention, who takes the stage on Thursday amid high expectations.
Commentators will be watching to see whether the 34-year-old former model, who works for The Trump Organization and has her own lifestyle brand, shows political as well as business potential.
So far Melania and Tiffany Trump have given personal anecdotes and family principles, while their brothers have spoken more directly about politics - attacking Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's policies.
Outside Cleveland Science Center, Abraham Marlowe, 17, who is interning for a Republican senate hopeful, said Donald Jr's measured speech had reassured him that Mr Trump's bombastic persona was for show, and he could be trusted with the presidency.
Marlowe said he wanted to see Ivanka, who is also good friends with Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea, stick to showing her father's human side. She should also defend him from accusations of bigotry, he added.
Whether the woman previously deemed Mr Trump's "secret weapon" emerges as a political voice herself remains to be seen.
What is certain is that Mr Trump's offspring will play an increasingly visible role as November's election approaches. | The glaring absence of prominent Republicans from the party's convention in Cleveland raised questions about who would be filling the speaking slots in support of Donald Trump. |
35659397 | Disorder broke out before the match against Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa League fixture in August.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said riot police quelled the violence, which lasted about 10 minutes.
Six men, all from Southampton, were handed Football Banning Orders at the city's magistrates' court.
The CPS applied for four-year orders for Richard Bridle, 28, of Brookwood Road and Jack Jameson, 21, of English Road.
Outer Circle resident James Whitlock, 23, Samuel Coleman, 23, of Effingham Gardens, Thomas Kitcher, 22, of Penny House, and 20-year-old Burke Drive resident Luke Fairhurst, were banned for three years.
A CPS spokesman said: "Prior to the match there was a large gathering of followers of both teams in the Korenmarkt area of Arnhem. The atmosphere had initially between good-natured between the two sets of opposing supporters.
"However, a large group of Vitesse Arnhem supporters then entered the square and fighting broke out between them and Southampton's supporters.
"When the police moved in to prevent the disorder, the violence continued, with chairs from nearby bars thrown at police officers and opposing followers.
"The violence involved hundreds of individuals and lasted for a period of approximately 10 minutes and it was not until riot police and officers on horseback moved in that order were restored."
Southampton won the game 2-0 but were knocked out in the next round by Danish side FC Midtjylland, who were in turn eliminated by Manchester United this week. | Six Southampton supporters have been banned from attending football matches after violence when the team played in Arnhem in the Netherlands. |
36082912 | Dion Smith has been giving free food to the homeless from his shop doorstep in Leeds' Corn Exchange since January.
Street wardens told him to stop because "it was intimidating people", he said.
Leeds Business Improvement District (BID), which promotes the city, said its wardens had acted upon concerns raised by another retailer and charity.
Live updates on this story and others from Leeds and West Yorkshire
Mr Smith, whose dog Lulu sits in the window or on the steps of his shop next to signs for the charity, said it was "soul destroying when I had to remove" the bread and packets of soup from the shop last week.
"One the first day I had one or two lads knocking on the shop window asking where all the soup had gone and if there was any chance of a cuppa soup, so I says 'look I've had to stop it, sorry'.
"Turning someone away - that was the worst.
"After that day I thought I'm going to carry it on."
Leeds BID, which does not have any legislative powers to enforce such bans, said the charity and retailer had told its volunteers that they "felt intimidated by people using Dion Smith's service".
It said it wanted to talk to Mr Smith further and understand the full situation. | A jeweller who uses his pet bulldog to raise money to help feed rough sleepers has been told to stop his charitable work. |
32494852 | Food already has calorie information, but most alcohol is exempt.
Public health experts say mandatory labelling is needed to inform consumers and help halt rising rates of obesity.
However, the MEPs' vote is not binding and it will still take many months, or even years, before the proposals could become law.
Alcoholic drinks that contain more than 1.2% alcohol by volume are exempt from EU regulations on nutritional labelling that came in to force in 2011 covering all food and soft drink.
Glenis Willmott, MEP for the East Midlands, is a supporter of the call to implement mandatory alcohol labelling.
She said: "Europe is still the heaviest-drinking region in the world but many people don't realise that a large glass of wine contains the same number of calories as a slice of cake.
"In order to reduce the burden of alcohol-related harm, we must make sure people are given clear information to enable them to make informed choices."
And in the BMJ this week, Fiona Sim, chairwoman of the Royal Society for Public Health, says among adults who drink, an estimated 10% of their daily calorie intake comes from alcohol.
Yet a recent survey found that 80% of the 2,117 adults questioned did not know the calorie content of common drinks, and most were completely unaware that alcohol contributed to the total calories they consumed.
"Information provided to consumers must be honest and useful," she writes. "There is no reason why calories in alcohol should be treated any differently from those in food."
Some alcoholic-drink manufacturers have, voluntarily, begun to introduce nutritional labelling.
A spokesman for the Portman Group, which represents alcohol producers, said: "A number of drinks companies and retailers are already taking voluntary action when it comes to calorie labels.
"But we live in a digital age and should be thinking innovatively about how people access information, not just focusing on product labels which are limited in size and space.
How many calories
Source: Royal Society for Public Health, Drinkaware | MEPs have backed calls for calorie labels to be put on all alcoholic drinks in a vote at the European Parliament. |
39355713 | William Flannigan is alleged to have mislead buyers of homes at Lakeminster Park in Beverley, East Yorkshire.
Hull Crown Court heard claims the developer was the target of a "carefully worked out strategy".
Mr Flannigan, 51, of Stanneylands Road, Wilmslow, denies 10 counts of fraud by misrepresentation.
Christopher Harding, for the defence, told the jury of a plan "formulated by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and [Hull law firm] Gosschalks to attack Mr Flannigan ... with the intention to deflect scrutiny and public concern away from the council".
The park owner is alleged to have sold properties as permanent homes knowing they only had planning permission to be used for holiday purposes.
Under cross-examination, Peter Ashcroft, the council's former head of planning, dismissed the suggestion Humberside Police had been involved by the council to avoid it facing any legal action.
He said Lakeminster Park had been "a serious breach of planning policy, which could have set a very dangerous precedent for other holiday homes".
The court also heard the law firm had only become involved because residents were advised to take legal advice after being told their homes did not have valid planning permission.
The judge reminded the jury its "primary concern is what residents were told about the purchase of the homes. Eventually that's what you're going to decide".
The park on the outskirts of Beverley was home to about 200 people.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council took action to evict the residents of the 76 properties after the authority rejected retrospective planning permission in 2012.
The case continues. | A holiday park owner accused of mis-selling chalets was the victim of a plot to deflect scrutiny away from a council, a court has heard. |
34028967 | James Bradley, from Union Street, was last seen by his wife at their home at about 03:30 on Friday.
She contacted police about four hours later after discovering him missing, along with his car.
The locked car, a silver Vauxhall Astra, was found by police later that day, at the back of the Customhouse building at Customhouse Quay.
Mr Bradley is described as being 5ft 6ins tall, of medium build, clean shaven with a fair complexion.
He was last seen wearing a grey/white bomber-style jacket with a black lining, a blue striped shirt, black trousers and glasses.
Insp Jane Taylor, of Police Scotland, said there were "serious concerns" for his health.
She said: "Officers, including the force helicopter, have been searching the quay and around his home address, as well as checking CCTV and speaking to friends and family to try to find out where he is, however, so far there have been no further sightings of him.
"James has not been missing before and is always in contact with his family."
She said he had recently recovered from pneumonia but also had other medical issues.
"I would appeal to anyone who has seen his car, or has any information about where he is to contact police," she said. | A search is being carried out for an 86-year-old man who has gone missing from his home in Greenock. |
33925781 | The deal requires tax rises and more tough spending cuts in return for an EU bailout of about €85bn (£61bn, $95bn) - Greece's third in five years.
Eurozone finance ministers are meeting to vote on the plan in Brussels.
A deal is needed to keep Greece in the eurozone and avert bankruptcy. But it is risky for Greek PM Alexis Tsipras.
More than 40 MPs from his left-wing Syriza party voted against him on Friday.
Reports in Greece suggest he will seek a vote of confidence in parliament next week, bringing the prospect of snap elections closer.
The deal received:
Mr Tsipras has so far relied on the support of pro-European opposition parties to pass the controversial measures. Syriza was elected on an anti-austerity platform.
Makis Voridis, an MP with the opposition New Democracy, said his party would not support the PM in a confidence vote, Reuters news agency reported.
Thirty-one Syriza members voted "No", and 11 abstained - the biggest rebellion within Mr Tsipras's party so far. The rebels represented almost a third of Syriza's MPs.
Greece bailout vote: Latest updates
Third Greece bailout: What are eurozone conditions?
PM defends 'painful' decision - Paul Adams, BBC diplomatic correspondent, Athens
After more than seven hours of often passionate, bad-tempered debate, all through the night, the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, has got his way. The bailout bill has passed by a comfortable majority.
Towards the end of the debate, Mr Tsipras defended what he called a painful but responsible decision. He said the country had no choice. This was not a triumph, he said, but nor was Greece in mourning.
The bill may have passed, but Mr Tsipras has paid a heavy political price. Almost a third of his own Syriza party members voted against the bailout, even more than expected. They believe the prime minister has comprehensively betrayed election pledges to turn his back on austerity.
In theory, Mr Tsipras has lost his parliamentary majority and his government is hanging by a thread. It's being widely reported he'll seek a vote of confidence next week, bringing the prospect of snap elections in the autumn that much closer.
But for now, the scene is set for eurozone finance ministers, meeting in Brussels later in the day, to give the bailout their seal of approval.
Nick Malkoutzis: Greece's Tsipras risks red lines in eurozone deal
The marathon all-night session was marked by procedural delays and often angry exchanges in parliament.
Voting started just after 09:30 local time (06:30 GMT), more than six hours after the main debate began.
A "Yes" vote by MPs was required for eurozone ministers to endorse the deal to release the funds.
Greece must repay about €3.2bn to the European Central Bank (ECB) on 20 August.
If it defaults on this debt, the ECB is likely to stop emergency funding for Greece's crippled banks.
One of Mr Tsipras's most vocal critics within his own party was his former ally, parliamentary speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou.
She said she could not support the deal, and delayed the debate by raising several concerns - to the PM's visible frustration
Another Syriza MP, Panagiotis Lafazanis, told Mr Tsipras: "I feel ashamed for you. We no longer have a democracy, but a eurozone dictatorship."
Mr Tsipras told MPs they were facing a choice between "staying alive or suicide".
He said: "I have my conscience clear that it is the best we could achieve under the current balance of power in Europe, under conditions of economic and financial asphyxiation imposed upon us."
Rebels have insisted the government should make good on its electoral promise to reverse spending cuts and tax rises.
Mr Tsipras survived similar revolts during two key votes in parliament in July, when MPs passed tough economic measures required for the deal to progress.
Attempts to find a solution to the Greek debt crisis have been punctuated by marathon talks and late-night or early morning votes. Other recent occasions where Greek MPs have carried on debating into the small hours include:
How did Yanis Varoufakis do?
Greek debt talks in quotes | The Greek parliament has backed a new bailout deal after an all-night debate, despite a rebellion by many MPs in the governing Syriza party. |
39878456 | Of 266 doctors, 40% said they had had trouble discharging a child from their care because of not wanting to send them back to inadequate housing.
One doctor said it was "not unusual" for families of up to seven people to live in one-bedroom flats.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which compiled the report, called it "disturbing reading".
The study, carried out in conjunction with the Child Poverty Action Group, found examples of parents depriving themselves of food to care for their children and having to rely on food banks.
Others could not afford clothes, toothbrushes or toothpaste, the study found.
Doctors said some children were growing at a level lower than what would be expected due to poor diets.
A medic quoted in the report said: "I recently saw a child who was living in a mouse-infested house - the mum and baby plus four other kids were living upstairs as the mice had totally destroyed their living room."
Living in cold, damp and overcrowded housing makes respiratory conditions worse, with some children being unwell with back-to-back illnesses, the doctors said.
One added: "It is not unusual to hear about extended families of five to seven people, maybe more, living in one-bedroom apartments, or single mothers with two or three children living in bedsits with a shared kitchen and bathroom."
Almost a third of those asked said not being able to keep warm at home contributed "very much" to the ill-health of children and a third said it contributes "somewhat".
Doctors also said poverty had an impact on children's mental health, adding they felt "worry, stress and anxiety".
Some said children were having a "little part of their childhood taken away, a part of their day they will spend worrying instead of playing or learning".
Health promotion officer at the RCPCH, Professor Russell Viner, said: "Poverty has a devastating effect on child health and this report makes disturbing reading."
Alison Garnham, chief executive of CPAG, said: "Day in, day out, doctors see the damage rising poverty does to children's health.
"Low family incomes, inadequate housing and cuts to support services are jeopardising the health of our most vulnerable children.
"We can and must do better to protect the well-being of future generations.
"Re-instating the UK's poverty-reduction targets would be an obvious place to start." | Some UK children are living in cold, damp and overcrowded conditions and being fed diluted milk, a report says. |
38241312 | The midfielder, 34, was banned for six weeks by Rangers following a training ground altercation in September, and was later signed off with stress.
Barton's contract was then terminated by mutual consent in November having played just eight matches for the club.
"I'd still have signed for Rangers - it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass," Barton said.
"It's a great football club, it's somewhere if they get it right it is a phenomenal place - it's completely unique.
Barton, who signed for the Scottish club from Burnley in May, added: "I haven't played for a super club in England, I wanted to experience a club of that size, with no disrespect to Burnley.
"Nobody wants to play only eight games for a club, you want to have more of an impact than that.
"I'm incredibly disappointed. Who knows what happens in the future, I don't know where I'm going to be.
"I've got no issue with Rangers, [manager] Mark Warburton or anybody on the board. Life's too short to look back at things."
Barton was suspended by the club for a training ground altercation with Warburton and team-mate Andy Halliday in the wake of Rangers' 5-1 thrashing at the hands of rivals Celtic.
The former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder's performances before the Old Firm encounter - which was to be his final Rangers appearance - had drawn criticism as Warburton's side adjusted to life in the top flight following promotion last season.
"The media were quite critical of me when I was up there," Barton told BBC Radio 5 live.
"That's the nature of the industry when you're Joey Barton and you go and play for Rangers who are a massive club in Scotland.
"You're going to get criticism if you don't play fantastically well and I didn't play fantastically well there, albeit I only lasted eight games.
"The difficulty for me lay in the fact that before I went up there they kind of built me into this Neymar, Messi kind of player, which I wasn't.
"I'm a player that's never been blessed with an enormous amount of talent, speed, tricks. I'm somebody who has always served the higher purpose in terms of the team, always done well when that's been at the fore. I've never done particularly well when the onus has been on me to go on and create and do things.
"Everyone was saying 'you've been caught out by the standard of Scottish football, you've looked down your nose at Scottish football'. I didn't. I knew what I was getting into."
Following his departure from Ibrox, Barton has been training with Burnley, whom he left to join Rangers in the summer, and says he will have no shortage of offers to make a playing return in the January transfer window.
"I'm focussing on the future. I've still got that bit about me where I've got an enormous amount of credibility and clubs want me to come in.
"I've had big clubs picking up the phone and asking what I'm doing in January.
"It's a great time for me. It'll be nice to get a pair of football boots on in January and shut a few people up." | Joey Barton says he has no regrets about signing for Rangers despite an unsuccessful spell at Ibrox. |
34296734 | The businessman, who is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, has been strongly criticised by two of his Republican rivals.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said Mr Trump acted inappropriately and he should apologise.
Mr Trump has cancelled his appearance at a big Republican event on Friday.
His campaign team said he was pulling out of the Heritage Foundation because of a "significant business transaction" that needed his attention.
The criticism has been piling up since a man at Mr Trump's rally in New Hampshire on Thursday night prefaced a question by saying Mr Obama was a Muslim and "not even an American".
The supporter went on to say: "We have a problem in this country - it's called Muslims."
Mr Trump let it go unchallenged and within a few hours, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said his failure to denounce "hateful rhetoric" was "disturbing and wrong".
And on Friday his Republican competitors for the nomination waded into the row.
"He's playing into this hateful narrative and he has to set it right," said Mr Graham, who said he would never question the president's faith or patriotism.
Leaders have an "obligation" to correct such statements, said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
"If somebody at one of my town hall meetings said that, I would correct them and I would say, 'The president's a Christian and he was born in this country. Those two things are self-evident,'" said Mr Christie.
The White House also responded. Spokesman Josh Earnest said: "Mr Trump isn't the first Republican politician to countenance these views to gain votes." | Donald Trump is taking flak from fellow Republicans for not correcting a supporter who said US President Barack Obama was a Muslim and not American. |
35659049 | Four homeless people have died in Belfast this year.
Lord Mayor Arder Carson said the aim of the meeting was to see what more could be done to help the homeless.
The issue was also discussed by the executive at a meeting in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
Speaking to BBC reporter Mark Simpson, the Lord Mayor said: "The people with the skills and the experience, in terms of organisations that exist in the city, are the ones who are best placed to come up with a solution.
"That's why I'm asking to meet with them today to see if we can refocus and double our efforts to ensure that this doesn't happen in our city again."
During the executive meeting, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, described the death of a fourth homeless person in Belfast as a "terrible tragedy".
The Social Development Minister, Lord Morrow, was also asked to look at what more can be done to help combat the plight of homelessness.
According to statistics obtained from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, just under 20,000 people presented themselves as homeless in the period 2014/15.
Of this total, 11,016 were defined as homeless in accordance with current legislation.
A spokesperson for the Housing Executive said: "Homelessness does not just describe people sleeping on the streets.
"It has been our experience that the number of 'rough sleepers' on average on the street of Belfast on any given night is in single figures.
"Rough sleeping represents only a small amount of street activity which also includes street drinking and begging." | The Lord Mayor of Belfast has called an emergency meeting of agencies which deal with homelessness following the death of a man in the city centre on Wednesday evening. |
34612753 | The 'Solva Care' scheme involves volunteers from the village doing odd jobs for free for the older residents, or for those who need respite care.
Project leader Mollie Roach came up with the idea, convinced that care can be delivered more effectively.
The pilot is thought to be one of the first of its kind in the UK.
It started at the beginning of October and already has 27 volunteers.
"It seemed to me that we could do it better and keep things locally, and do it for ourselves," said Mrs Roach.
She said, while paid community carers in the area did a great job, they were often "dashing about" from one visit to another.
Betty Temple, 96, is one of those being helped by student Bryony Dixon.
"We talk and she takes the dog for a walk - and he loves her," she said
For the student, it is a chance to help with little things that make a difference to Mrs Temple's life.
"I visit two ladies every week," Ms Dixon said.
"With Betty, I help her with day-to-day things like walking her dog and putting the washing-up to dry."
The scheme has now been been granted almost £57,000 in funding - £33,500 from the Welsh government and a further £23,400 from the Sustainable Development Fund run by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.
Organisers hope the money will be enough to keep the pilot running for the next two years. | Villagers in Pembrokeshire are piloting a project to look after the elderly in their own community. |
33675934 | Speaking to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Wolfgang Bernhard said he was "positive" the firm would get certification within weeks.
Daimler has been road-testing its autonomous trucks in Nevada since May.
Although a computer controls the vehicles, a human driver is present at all times.
Daimler is currently seeking certification for a self-driving truck so it can be tested on public roads in Germany.
A spokesman confirmed the firm is seeking approval to operate the vehicles near the city of Stuttgart.
"We're testing in Germany on our own proving grounds. The next step is getting real-life experience on German highways as well," the spokesman told the BBC. "We're looking to do that in the second half of the year."
He added that the system could be thought of as comparable to autopilot technology already in use on aircraft.
"We believe it's safer and more efficient if, on these long highway [journeys], the truck drives by itself," he said.
Daimler's autonomous trucks use a combination of radar, lasers and camera systems to identify obstacles and the boundaries of the road.
A computer system, when driving, can control acceleration, braking and steering. It is also able to perform an emergency stop.
Daimler says that a human driver is always present and able to retake control of the truck immediately if required.
Alan Stevens, a transport expert at the Transport Research Laboratory, said developing the technology is the "right direction" to be going in as there is a strong business case for fully autonomous trucks.
However, he added that there was a long way to go before such vehicles would be roadworthy without an on-board supervisor.
"It's probably got to be 10 or 100 times better than a human driver before it's socially acceptable," he said. | Car manufacturer Daimler is hoping to test self-driving trucks on German motorways this year, according to a company executive. |
32610097 | The CellScope system films a drop of blood and an app then automatically analyses any movement in the sample to detect the parasites.
The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed the device was successful in small trials in Cameroon.
Experts said it marked a fundamental advance in tropical diseases.
Previous efforts to eradicate two parasitic diseases - river blindness and elephantiasis - have been suspended because the treatment can become fatal in some people.
One treatment, the drug ivermectin, is risky in people with high levels of Loa loa worm - the one that can crawl across the surface of the eye - so people need to be screened first.
However, testing is time-consuming and requires laboratory equipment.
The team in the most recent research, at the University of California, Berkeley, and the US National Institutes of Health, used a modified smartphone to automate the process.
A pindrop of blood was collected and loaded into a handheld box. The phone on top then kicked in.
"With one touch of the screen, the device moves the sample, captures video and automatically analyses the images," said one of the researchers, Prof Daniel Fletcher.
Rather than attempt to identify the shape of the worm, the software in the phone looks for the movement.
The software predicts the number of Loa loa parasites in the blood and tells the healthcare workers whether they are suitable for drug treatment.
It means very little training is required, while current screening procedures require someone to be skilled in analysing blood samples by eye.
Early trials in Cameroon of the new approach have been successful and there are now plans to test it on 40,000 people.
Prof Fletcher told the BBC News website: "I'm excited, it offers a new higher-tech approach to dealing with very low-tech problems."
"There are drugs to treat many neglected tropical diseases, these are problems that should be solved, but there is not the technology to identify people who who need the right drugs."
It is hoped the same idea could be adapted to test for other infections such as TB, malaria and soil-transmitted parasitic worms or helminths, which include roundworm.
Prof Simon Brooker from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, commented: "I think it's one of the most fundamental advances in neglected tropical diseases in a long time."
"In the 21st Century we are using 20th Century technology to diagnose these infections, this brings us into the modern world.
"It really is exciting; when you see it you just go 'wow'; hopefully it will transform efforts to eliminate diseases," he added. | A smartphone has been used to automatically detect wriggling parasites in blood samples. |
34580932 | At least 20 London boroughs have moved families to places such as Luton, Basildon, Thurrock and Milton Keynes.
Luton housing chiefs say it is putting a huge additional strain on the town's resources.
But Waltham Forest Borough Council, which has placed 57 families in Luton, says budget cuts and an affordable housing shortage forces its hand.
Tom Shaw, Labour-run Luton Borough Council's housing portfolio holder, said the council had made a complaint to Waltham Forest about its placements in Luton.
"Look, we're not happy with this," he said. "That negotiation is going on at the moment at top director level and if that doesn't work we will contemplate legal action."
He said Luton has had to spend "thousands of pounds" on providing transport for the children of families arriving from the capital who then find the nearest school is already oversubscribed.
Waltham Forest said the shortage of suitable accommodation and increasing numbers of people coming to them in crisis meant it had few options other than out of borough placements.
Its cabinet member for housing, Khevyn Limbajee, said: "Rocketing prices in the private rented sector, government cuts to benefit caps and other changes to welfare and a lack of housing availability has resulted in our residents being priced out of the market and the number of homeless households in our borough rising rapidly.
"The number of households in temporary accommodation currently stands at over 2,000.
"We spoke to Luton Borough Council ahead of families being offered temporary accommodation there and subsequently notified the council of each individual placement, once confirmed".
Luton already has more than 10,000 on its housing waiting list and has had to put more than a 100 families into bed and breakfast accommodation.
A significant number of homeless families from Waltham Forest have been housed in a refurbished former office block called Cardiff House, which is about to be sold to a hedge fund as an "income generating asset".
Among those living there is Nicola Chapman and her four children, who arrived in Luton in June.
She said: "I got evicted from my home in Leyton and the council decided it would be best for me to come here for some unknown reason.
"I'm not happy at the moment, it is giving me really bad anxiety. Also, I am having to take one of my children to school every morning and it is a 40 minute walk away.
"I have no friends or family around here. I hope I get moved very quickly. The flat is tiny, it is more like a studio flat. It is very distressing for all of us."
At Cardiff House, the BBC spoke to one nine year old boy and his parents. He is yet to be found a place at school.
"I really miss my friends. I used to be able to walk to school. They are saying the nearest one, if it can take me, is five miles away. Or I will have to go to school in London."
Meanwhile Thurrock Council has taken more homeless families than any other area outside London.
At least 266 families are currently in the area, up from just 29 three years ago.
London boroughs are buying properties locally or paying Thurrock landlords to house their residents as tenants.
John Kent, leader of the council, said: "There is nothing we can do about either of these. But the first has the effect of reducing the number of homes available for local people to buy or rent and the second forces the cost of all local private rents through the roof."
The homeless charity Shelter said out of borough placements were unacceptable.
Campbell Robb, its chief executive, said: "Uprooting homeless families and sending them away from their jobs, schools and support networks should only ever be a last resort, but shockingly it's now the norm in London." | A legal battle is brewing between London boroughs and neighbouring towns over the rehousing of homeless people. |
38969233 | Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has opted not to include the quartet in a three-day training camp in Monaghan this week.
Stuart Olding is out with an elbow issue, while the fitness of Charles Piutau and Darren Cave for the match at Kingspan Stadium is being monitored.
Ruan Pienaar and Rob Herring are both in contention to feature after injury.
Both players have been missing since suffering knee injuries in the New Year's Eve defeat by Leinster at the RDS.
Fly-half Brett Herron is also fit again, although Peter Nelson impressed in the fly-half role in the win over Edinburgh on his return to action after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Olding picked up his injury in last week's match, which marked his first start since October, but is only expected to be absent for around two weeks.
Gilroy scored a hat-trick of tries off the Ireland bench in last weekend's win over Italy at Stadio Olimpico, while Marshall was present in Rome as injury cover for the match-day squad.
McCloskey and Bowe were both on the Ulster bench for last weekend's match and are set to feature again on Saturday.
The encounter is a crucial one for both sides as they chase a top four place, which would secure a place in the semi-final play-offs.
Glasgow lie fifth in the table, three points ahead of Ulster, who have a game in hand over the Scottish side. | Ireland players Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey and Tommy Bowe will be available for Ulster's Pro12 game with Glasgow on Saturday. |
28755737 | The 56-year-old will work with fellow coaches Joe Jordan and Kevin Bond in assisting manager Harry Redknapp.
"I have always loved coaching, and I can't wait to meet the players and get to work," said Hoddle.
The ex-Swindon, Chelsea, Tottenham and Southampton boss, who coached England between 1996 and 1999, last managed at Wolves, who he left in July 2006.
Redknapp said: "Glenn will be great. He has a brilliant knowledge of the game and will be fantastic out on the training ground with the players."
Hoddle spent 13 years as a player at Tottenham before joining Monaco in 1987, returning to England in 1991 as player-manager of Swindon and then taking up the same role at Chelsea two years later.
He took charge of England in 1996, leading them to the last 16 of the World Cup two years later, but was sacked in February 1999 over comments he made in a newspaper interview.
The former midfielder subsequently managed Southampton, Tottenham and Wolves before setting up a football academy based in Spain focused on keeping released players in football.
Hoddle will be the second former England manager to serve under Redknapp on QPR's coaching staff, as Steve McClaren filled a similar role from July to September last year before leaving to take charge of Derby County.
Redknapp led Rangers to promotion from the Championship via the play-offs in May, a year after they were relegated under him. | Queens Park Rangers have appointed former England boss Glenn Hoddle as first-team coach on a part-time basis. |
23221069 | Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic to become the first Briton to win the title for 77 years, with brother Jamie mixed doubles champion in 2007.
Judy, coach of the British Fed Cup team, told BBC Scotland: "This is everything that he's been working for.
"We've got a Wimbledon singles champion and a Wimbledon mixed doubles champion from a little club in Dunblane."
Andy, 26, beat world number one Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-4 on Centre Court to claim his second Grand Slam title.
Judy added: "I've a picture in the house of him and Jamie, aged two and three, with their little racquets and Wimbledon T-shirts.
"They're absolutely immersed in their sport, they're tennis geeks, and now they've both got Wimbledon titles."
She also tried to sum up what her son's emotions would be after his stunning straight-sets victory.
"I think he'll be a mixture of disbelief, relief and just total joy that he's achieved the goal that he always set out to do," the 53-year-old said.
"It just goes to show there's nothing wrong with dreaming, there's nothing wrong with believing; and anything's possible."
Memories of last year's final defeat by Roger Federer meant there was no complacency in the Murray camp, even when he raced into a two-set lead.
"I sat there last year watching Andy when he was a break up and in a good position and not winning in the end," Judy said.
"So, even when he was two sets up and a break up, you can never take anything for granted.
"And, of course, from 2-0 up in the third set, Djokovic won four games in a row and suddenly it was starting to look like a whole different scenario."
But Andy's victory caused his mother an unusual problem.
"I've just been selecting my dress for the champions' ball and I've never worn a long dress in my life before," she said. "But I will be tonight, with great pride."
Judy also thinks her son's win could have more lasting effects on the sport's uptake in his homeland.
"I think it's great for sport in Scotland, I think it's potentially great for tennis in Scotland," she said.
"I really hope it can start to change the face of tennis in Scotland and get a lot more people playing and get a whole lot more investment in new facilities." | Judy Murray spoke of her pride at being the mother of two Wimbledon champions after son Andy's men's singles victory. |
38671627 | Mr Santos said the ELN had agreed to hand over an ex-congressman, Odin Sanchez, the rebel group had been holding since April 2016. The government was to pardon two rebels.
Mr Santos last year agreed a peace accord with the main rebels, the Farc.
More than 220,000 people have been killed in decades of civil conflict.
Peace talks with the ELN had been due to begin last March.
Exploratory talks have taken place for years but stalled when the ELN refused to hand over all their hostages.
A joint statement said the formal peace talks would start on 7 February in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital.
On 2 February, the ELN will release Mr Sanchez. On the same date the government will grant a pardon to two ELN members.
The ELN has freed several other hostages in the past few months. Mr Sanchez handed himself to the rebels in April last year in exchange for the release of his brother, Patrocinio.
The former governor of north-western Choco province, Patrocinio Sanchez, was held by the rebels for almost three years and had fallen ill when his brother suggested the swap.
The agreement with the larger Farc, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was sealed despite an earlier deal being rejected in a referendum in October.
While it might be easy to think that Colombia is practically at peace after the peace agreement signed with the Farc in late 2016, that is not the case in the areas where the ELN is strong.
A few weeks ago I visited the town of Saravena in Arauca, a province on the border with Venezuela.
Thee were people selling food and drinks in the main square, as well as locals hanging out, all crowding up one end of the square.
The other end was deserted. There was a police station there which had been targeted by ELN snipers and makeshift bombs.
Two days before I arrived, ELN men had ambushed a police patrol, killing two officers and injuring one.
The roads in rural areas were lined in places with soldiers and armoured vehicles.
Saravena's mayor has to take a security detail of some 50 men when venturing outside the urban area.
This is not the description of a peaceful region. But it could become one, if the negotiations between the government and the ELN prove successful.
How significant is Colombia's ELN rebel group? | Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says formal peace talks will begin next month in Ecuador with the country's second-largest rebel group, the ELN. |
39116477 | A bill has been tabled which would allow victims to claim compensation beyond the current three-year time bar.
Alistair Gaw of Social Work Scotland told Holyrood's justice committee the cost could be "highly significant".
He cited an inquiry in Jersey, where the average cost of a payout was £40,000, expanding this to a possible 5,000 Scottish victims.
The Scottish government said it was "fully committed" to consultations over the issue of financial redress.
An independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is currently under way, led by judge Lady Smith.
The justice committee is examining a government bill to allow victims of abuse to claim compensation beyond the current time bar, which could permit claims dating back to 1964.
Groups giving evidence to the justice committee broadly voiced support for the bill, with the Scottish Human Rights Commission saying the current time limit on claims represents a "real barrier" to justice.
However, a large portion of the debate before the committee focused on the potentially high legal costs of the change.
Mr Gaw told members: "The Isle of Jersey went down a route which didn't involve courts, and was actually an efficient and effective route of providing compensation.
"If you scale up even what happened there to the Scottish scene, you've got an average cost of around £40,000. And in Scotland that would involve around £200m, if we had the same kind of numbers, which would be around 5,000 in Scotland.
"So the scale of this, even at its potentially lowest level, is highly significant, and we have to take into account what potential impact that may have on voluntary organisations and on local authority funds, particularly in relation to issues of insurance.
"I think it's absolutely essential that we right some of these historic wrongs, and we support the measures very much. But really serious consideration needs to be given to the best way of implementing support, including the potential impact on essential services."
Police Scotland's Det Ch Sup Lesley Boal told the committee that it was "really, really difficult" to estimate what the potential cost could be.
Mr Gaw's figure of 5,000 victims matched Police Scotland's estimate that there could be 5,000 relevant files in the inquiry. However, Ms Boal stressed "that is not victims, that is files", adding: "There might be one person reporting in a file, or there might be a number."
She said the force had spent the last year going through 115,000 family protection files and other sexual crime files from the old Strathclyde policing area for the ongoing child abuse inquiry,
From this, officers identified 2,300 relevant files relating to 4,400 victims in the Strathclyde area alone - with one set of three files including 57 victims of abuse in a care setting.
Ms Boal said this was "a small proportion of children who have been abused or neglected in Scotland across the years".
She added: "Even the recent football abuse investigations that are ongoing just now, there have been 140 referrals to Police Scotland, 36 investigations raised, well over a hundred victims."
Lauren Bruce from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) added that Scottish government estimates of there potentially being 2,200 victims were "conservative".
She said it was "very difficult to predict how many cases there will be", but said it could be "massive for local authorities".
Cosla has voiced "strong support" for the intent of the legislation, but said there will be "a potentially significant impact on councils, both financial and practical".
Committee convener Margaret Mitchell noted that "not everybody is going to go to litigation", saying the committee was looking at "the worst-case scenario".
Members heard that the insurance position was "unclear" for such cases, with some insurance companies potentially no longer in existence, leaving local authorities having to cover costs. Vladimir Valiente from the Society of Local Authority Lawyers said this could end with some councils having to take litigation action against insurance firms.
A government spokesman said: "The Scottish government is committed to consulting with survivor groups and other relevant parties, including Cosla, to fully explore the issue of financial redress.
"The forthcoming consultation on redress must be focused on the needs of survivors and will also involve engagement with service providers. All bodies who have liability are required in law to meet that liability." | The cost of compensation for survivors of childhood abuse in Scotland could total at least £200m, MSPs have heard. |
30448351 | Figures from a Freedom of Information request revealed almost half of nurses at Basildon Hospital taken on since April 2012 were not British.
Nurse educator Sarah Lee said cuts to training here had left a skills "lag".
"Importing help in may well be a feature of our health service going forward," she said.
Ms Lee, programme lead for the Adult Nursing degree course at the University of Essex, said cuts made five or six years ago had impacted the number of British-trained nurses available.
"In the wake of what happened at Mid-Staffordshire, trusts nationally realised they needed to work on their nursing levels to ensure quality of care," she said.
"But there's still a three year lead-in time for producing fully-trained nurses here.
"In the medium term, they have no other option than to recruit from abroad."
Essex's foreign recruits:
Source: Freedom of Information request by BBC Essex
Karen Webb, a regional director at the Royal College of Nursing, said nurses from overseas had "always made an important contribution to the NHS".
"The current situation has been caused by poor workforce planning," she said.
"The government's decision to cut back on nurse training places has led to a real shortage of UK nurses.
"This has come at a time when there is a lot of demand for nurses and trusts are having to go overseas to recruit.
"We do expect the numbers of training places to increase but that doesn't help the current situation."
A Department of Health spokesman said: "Doctors and nurses recruited from abroad make a valuable contribution to patient care but they should only work in the NHS if they have the right skills." | More than a third of nurses in three Essex hospitals are from overseas due to a shortage of British-trained recruits, the BBC has learned. |
36784106 | Aneirin Hughes was allegedly attacked outside Rummers Wine Bar in Aberystwyth at about 00:45 BST on Sunday morning.
The 58-year-old, who plays Chf Supt Brian Prosser in the bilingual drama, suffered minor facial injuries.
A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and bailed by police, pending further inquiries. | An actor who plays a police officer in the BBC Wales drama Hinterland has been allegedly assaulted outside a bar in Ceredigion. |
39163420 | County were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead after 28 minutes as Lewis Hawkins handled the ball to gift the hosts a penalty.
But Ameobi's weak effort from the spot was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Joe Fryer.
The striker made up for his miss shortly after the restart when Grant played a fine ball through to the forward who fired a low strike into the bottom-left corner of the net.
The hosts doubled their lead in emphatic fashion thanks to a 20-yard screamer from Nottingham Forest loanee Grant, who has now scored four goals in his last six games.
The visitors pulled a goal back eight minutes later when Haydn Hollis put the ball into his own net, but it was not enough as the Magpies held on to take all three points.
Match report supplied by the Press Association. | A Jorge Grant screamer and Shola Ameobi's first Notts County goal ensured boss Kevin Nolan kept his unbeaten home record intact as they beat fellow strugglers Hartlepool at Meadow Lane. |
39784164 | The former deputy prime minister said that once talks are complete, voters should get two choices - accept the Brexit deal or stay in the EU.
Setting out his party's Brexit position, he claimed leaving the EU would damage the UK economy by £59bn.
Theresa May says she is determined to make a success of Brexit.
She says a separation deal can be reached that is good for both the UK and the EU.
But Mr Clegg, who is the Lib Dems' Brexit spokesman, said voters should be able to "judge for themselves whether it is the right future for the country" once talks are complete, which is expected to be in 2019.
"That referendum will offer two choices; accept the deal, or remain in the EU. Liberal Democrats will campaign for a Remain vote," he said.
Mr Clegg said the PM had chosen to "pursue the most extreme and damaging form of Brexit", adding that the fall in the value of sterling would be sharply felt by holidaymakers travelling abroad.
Despite many gloomy pre-referendum economic forecasts having not materialised, Mr Clegg said the "long-term impacts won't start to be felt until 2019 at the earliest".
He claimed a "triple whammy of higher inflation, lower business investment and lower net migration" means that GDP is likely to be 2.4% lower in 2021 than it would have been without the EU referendum.
As a result of extra borrowing, Brexit will have "dented the public finances by £59bn over a five-year period", he predicted.
Mr Clegg also launched an attack on his former partners in government, saying the economic damage from Brexit was "already being felt by the people who the Conservatives have always cared about least: the poor, the insecure and the vulnerable", and that Mrs May had "specious excuses" for calling next month's general election.
A Conservative spokesman said: "Every vote for Theresa May gives her a better hand in Brexit negotiations, helping to get a deal which strengthens our economy and helps UK consumers." | The Liberal Democrat manifesto will include a commitment to another EU referendum where the party would campaign for Remain, Nick Clegg says. |
36404577 | They have dropped from a high of more than 8.3% average in 2014 to just below 7% for 2015, but they are still above the overall Welsh NHS average.
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has come under fire in recent years over failures to meet response time targets for life-threatening 999 calls.
It led to claims staff were going off sick with stress.
Claire Vaughan, the trust's executive director of workforce said the wellbeing of staff is often pushed to the limit by the nature of their jobs.
"While our sickness absence figures still aren't where we want them to be, we're encouraged that they're moving in the right direction," she added.
"We've launched a range of initiatives to support staff through their sickness absence.
"We mustn't lose sight of the fact that our staff save lives every day and work extremely hard in difficult circumstances, which is why we will continue to support them in every way we can."
Welsh Government statistics collate quarterly figures on staff sickness absences.
In 2014, ambulance staff sickness was 8.1%, 7.8%, 8.6 and 8.8% across each quarter. The overall NHS average for the year was 5.55%
In 2015, the figures stood at 7.8%, 6.5%, 6.6% and 6.9% across each quarter while the overall NHS average was 5.3%.
However, the last time ambulance sickness levels for any quarter fell below 7% was in the first six months of 2012.
Darron Dupre, Unison Cymru Ambulance lead welcomed the figures and said the trust's chief executive Tracy Myhill has played a key role in the turnaround since starting in October 2014.
"Tracy, working closely with the trade unions, has profoundly challenged and helped remove many of the reasons for stress related ill health in particular which came to a head in the summer of 2014 where sickness rates rose to almost 9%," he said.
"Bullying behaviours, inconsistent decision making and a refusal in some quarters to deal with excess hours and missed rest breaks suffered by road staff throughout Wales almost brought the service to its knees and also contributed to poor overall response time performance.
"The leadership and trade unions have worked together on health and wellbeing for staff."
In October a one year trial began which saw response times for ambulances dropped for all but the most life-threatening calls where 65% need to be reached within 8 minutes.
Early results have shown an improvement. | Annual sickness levels among ambulance service staff are at the lowest level since 2012, figures have shown. |
27917529 | The UN's cultural body reminded Australia that it must submit an updated report on the reef's state of conservation by 1 February 2015.
The decision comes amid continued controversy over a plan to dump dredged sediment in the reef's marine park.
Both the Australian government and environmentalists have declared victory over the decision.
In a statement on Wednesday, Unesco said it was concerned about "planned coastal developments, including development of ports and liquefied natural gas facilities".
Kishore Rao, from Unesco's World Heritage Centre, said the organisation welcomed Australia's progress in managing the reef.
Queensland's environment minister Andrew Powell called the deferred ruling a "win for logic and science rather than rhetoric and scaremongering".
He told Australia's ABC: "I am extremely comfortable that we will tick all the boxes that Unesco is seeking us to tick."
Meanwhile the Australia arm of environmentalist group WWF said the UN body had "put Australia firmly on notice" to take stronger action to protect the reef.
"This is a victory for the millions around the world who say our reef is not a dump," said campaigner Richard Leck.
But local media report that the Australia government does not intend to halt its planned dumping of three-million cubic tonnes of dredge sediment.
Reef authorities granted permission for the dumping in January as part of a project to create one of the world's biggest coal ports.
Unesco later warned that the reef could be put on its World Heritage in Danger list, given the range of "significant threats" affecting the reef.
Australian officials have stressed that the project has been downsized to one-twelfth the size of what was previously proposed.
The government has also promised to meet a requirement that the water quality be improved.
Scientists have warned that the sediment could smother or poison coral.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral structure, rich in marine life.
It stretches for more than 2,600km (1,680 miles) along Australia's eastern coast, containing 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. | Unesco has delayed a decision on whether Australia's Great Barrier Reef should be declared as endangered. |
35730766 | Dylan Oates, from Littleborough, was four days old when he died at the Royal Oldham Hospital on 20 January 2014.
The trust issued a "sincere apology" and accepted the care which Dylan and his parents received was "sub-standard".
Six other babies and three mothers also died at the hospital during an eight-month period up to July 2014.
North Manchester coroner Lisa Hashmi said staff missed irregularities in Dylan's heartbeat as he and his mother were not efficiently monitored.
Gill Harris, Chief Nurse at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised for the "failings and sub-standard care afforded to Dylan and his parents".
She said it was a "desperately sad case" and she sincerely apologised and expressed sympathy to his parents and family for their loss.
The inquest heard his mother Jayne Oates was admitted to the hospital six days before Dylan's death as she was overdue.
After his birth, he was taken to intensive care as he was not breathing or crying and his condition deteriorated.
Ms Hashmi said Dylan had suffered neglect at the hospital and his death could have been prevented.
She identified poor midwifery leadership and staffing levels as well as ambiguities in the trust's guidelines.
Martin Oates, Dylan's father, said they were "devastated" by the loss of their baby.
He said: "This investigation has uncovered that many things should have been done differently during the days leading up to Dylan's birth.
"It gives us some comfort that as a result of this investigation improvements are being made." | A newborn baby died as a result of "failings" at a hospital, an inquest has heard. |
35872262 | George Osborne announced the proposals for Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in his budget.
Lord Tebbit said the region did not need an elected mayor, while Sir Henry said it could hit councils.
Earlier Tory MP for West Suffolk Matthew Hancock backed the scheme for providing a "strong local figurehead".
Former cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, speaking in the House of Lords, said: "Those of us who have the privilege of living in East Anglia and particularly those of us who live in Bury St Edmunds, where we have an excellent council, which has improved services and kept rates well under control, do not need an elected mayor for East Anglia.
"That will only raise costs, introduce another layer of government and lead to further escalation of these problems."
For the Government Viscount Younger of Leckie said: "That may be so but we very much think it is right that it's up to the local area to decide these matters."
MP for North West Norfolk Sir Henry Bellingham, in the House of Commons on Monday night, argued the plans could see mayors seeking to hire large numbers of staff and directors.
He insisted this could lead to an elected assembly as he likened the costs to the £52m required for the country's 41 police and crime commissioners.
Sir Henry added an "absolutely outstanding" budget from the Chancellor would be wrecked if he did not receive assurances that a far more cautious approach was adopted over elected mayors.
"I do regard the plan to bring in an elected mayor with extreme suspicion.
"I feel absolutely no affinity whatsoever to East Anglia. I feel an affinity to Norfolk."
The powers to be devolved are expected to include infrastructure and planning responsibilities.
Mr Hancock said: "The devolution deal brings more money, new powers, and will give us a strong local figurehead who can unite East Anglia and make our case heard locally, nationally and internationally." | The Chancellor's flagship plan for an elected mayor for East Anglia has been attacked by Tory grandees Lord Tebbit and Sir Henry Bellingham. |
32146800 | People were asked to rank policy statements from one to 10, where one meant it should not be implemented, and 10 that it should be implemented immediately.
The most popular policy was to increase the minimum wage to £7.85 per hour.
This was closely followed by a guarantee that pensions would rise.
The study was run by Ipsos Mori, who contacted more than 1,000 adults between 19 and 25 March.
Click here to see the full results.
Increasing the minimum wage for those aged 21 and over, from £6.50 to £7.85 per hour, scored 8.2 points out of 10 on the scale, while guaranteeing that pensions would rise over the next five years scored 7.9.
Policies like these, which involved targeted spending, were more popular than the general notion of increasing public spending.
The policy of increasing spending on public services "even if that means the deficit doesn't get eliminated by the end of the next parliament in 2020", scored 6.3 on the scale.
However, increasing public spending was still a more popular option than that of eliminating the deficit by the end of the next parliament in 2020 "even if that means reduced spending on public services." This was rated 4.6 out of 10 by those who took part.
Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland Political Editor
So what do we learn? In general, it seems that you favour the protection of public spending, perhaps ahead of tax cuts or eliminating the deficit.
But you appear to like targeted public spending. For example, the most popular policy in our survey was increasing the minimum wage for those aged 21 and over.
Just behind that, a guarantee that old age pensions will rise over the next five years.
Perhaps this explains why the issue of the minimum wage has been so salient in this election contest - and reinforces the impression that a politician seeking popularity will take care in dealing with the question of pensions.
Read more from Brian
The least popular of all the economic policy statements was to reduce taxes "even if that means cutting public services", which received a score of 4.0.
Mark Diffley, Director of Ipsos MORI Scotland, said: "What's interesting, however, is that voters don't appear to be just thinking about their own situations in deciding election priorities.
"Support for increasing the minimum wage is actually highest among those who are retired (average score 8.6) while raising pension levels is the top economic priority for those aged 25-34 (7.9 out of 10) and the second highest economic priority of those aged 35-54 (also 7.9)."
Policies that involved wealthier people and companies contributing more to the economy received some of the highest scores.
A freeze on energy prices, phrased as "stop energy companies from increasing prices for 20 months," attracted a score of 7.7.
The idea of introducing a tax on homes worth more than £2m, commonly known as the mansion tax, scored 7.4 on the scale.
Increasing the top rate of tax to 50p in the pound for those earning more than £150,000 a year earned a rating of 7.2.
However, the idea of charging better-off older people for benefits such as free travel was not rated highly, with a score of 5.2.
Putting a cap on the total amount of welfare benefits a household can receive had a score of 6.3.
More findings from the study will be released on Wednesday. | Voters in Scotland have been asked to rank their top priorities in the forthcoming general election in a poll commissioned by BBC Scotland. |
39600193 | The year 2016-17 also saw the highest ever number of cases where people's organs were donated after their death.
A total of 133 people who died in Scottish hospitals became organ donors, up from 99 the previous year, said NHS Blood and Transplant.
That meant that 348 people who were waiting for a transplant were able to have the surgery they needed.
A further 82 people received a new kidney from a living donor in 2016-17.
The number of people who were waiting for a transplant fell to the lowest ever recorded, with almost 2.4 million people in Scotland now on the NHS Organ Donor Register - approximately 45% of the population.
Scotland's Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said more needed to be done to ensure as many people as possible could benefit from transplant surgery.
The Scottish government has just carried out a consultation about moving to a "soft opt-out" system of donation - where a person's organs could be taken for transplantation after death unless they had specified this should not happen.
The same system was introduced in Wales.
Ms Campbell said: "An increase in deceased donor numbers of 34% is not only really positive news for people waiting for a transplant, it puts us ahead of our target in progressing to reach 26 deceased donors per million of population by 2020."
She added: "We must always be mindful that most organ and tissue donation can only occur as a result of tragic circumstances and I'd like to thank every donor and their family who made the selfless decision to donate their organs or tissue and enabled others to live and transform their lives."
The Scottish government is in favour of a "soft-opt-out" system. Ms Campbell said the results of the recent consultation were being independently assessed and that ministers would set out their next steps in the coming months.
Primary teacher Heather Marshall had a liver transplant that saved her life in November 2016.
She was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) in 2015, and while she was initially able to manage the condition using medication, her health deteriorated and she was placed on the transplant list in October 2016.
The 40-year-old from Gartcosh said: "I had no energy, didn't feel great and my skin had started to become jaundiced.
"Throughout the year I struggled with infections to my bile ducts which resulted in me being referred to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to be assessed for a transplant at the beginning of October.
"When I left the hospital after a week of assessment I was shocked at how ill I looked. I'd been working up until that point, but as soon as I stopped it was like my body had just given up."
She told how she was both "relieved and excited" when she got the call to say a liver was available just three weeks after being put on the transplant list.
"I wasn't well and I didn't have long without a transplant, but it was such a conflict of emotion," she stated.
"You're so aware that to get that chance of life, something awful had to happen to someone else.
"I'd always been on the NHS Organ Donor Register and I think it felt easier to accept that gift, knowing I would be happy to do the same for someone else."
She added: "You never expect that this kind of thing will happen to you or someone you know, so organ donation isn't something that's top of your mind. I understand it's not for everybody, but I would encourage people to think about it and make their wishes known.
"I know that without my transplant I wouldn't be here now. I got married just after my diagnosis, and because of my donor I have a future. I'll never stop being grateful for that." | A record number of Scots received a life-changing organ transplant last year, new figures have shown. |
36824063 | A Scottish government consultation on police powers to search children for alcohol closed on 15 July.
In its response to the consultation, the Law Society of Scotland said the searches could alienate young people.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said stop and search was a "valuable tool".
The consultation was carried out after an independent advisory group recommended that non-statutory, or consensual, shop and search should end when a new code of practice comes into force next year.
From that point on, the police will be able to search a person only where they have a specific legal power to do so.
But in their report, the advisory group highlighted a potential legislative gap once consensual search ends, as the police do not currently have a specific legal power to search children and young people for alcohol.
However, the group's members were unable to reach a view on whether a new search power was desirable or necessary, and recommended the Scottish government should carry out a public consultation.
The consultation document published by the Scottish government stated that only 9.7% of searches of people under 18 resulted in alcohol being found between 1 June and 31 December last year.
The paper argued that "not having a search power could put children and young people at risk of harm", but also stated that: "A new search power would not give the police any new powers to take alcohol away from a young person."
In their response, the Law Society of Scotland said "we do not consider legislation would be necessary, or indeed desirable. "
Ian Cruickshank, convener of the society's Criminal Law Committee, said: "Giving the police new powers to stop and search young people for alcohol could alienate them and may have long term negative effects, both for Police Scotland and young people in general.
"There is a risk that a new power to search a child or young person for alcohol would generate a disproportionate negative perception of children, as evidence shows only a small number of searches actually result in the finding of alcohol."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "Stop and search can be a valuable tool in combating crime and has led to the seizures of dangerous weapons, drugs and stolen goods. However, clearly it is important to get the balance right between protecting the public and the rights of the individual.
"The contents of the new Code of Practice have been put out to a full consultation to ensure they are informed by a wide range of views.
"No decision has been made on the power to search children for alcohol.
"As recommended by the independent advisory group a full and thorough consultation has been undertaken to inform the way forward and any future proposals will be subject to further scrutiny by parliament." | Handing police new powers to stop and search children for alcohol "may have long-term negative effects", the Law Society for Scotland has said. |
34961891 | The roof was blown off a row of shops in Moorfield Avenue, Denton, flights were diverted at Manchester Airport, and trees brought down on Sunday.
Electricity North West has restored power to more than 10,000 homes with about 1,000 outstanding.
A Met Office severe weather warning for heavy rain and winds remains in place.
Gusts of up to 60mph are expected and an Environment Agency flood alert is in place on the Upper River Irwell at Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Haslingden, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall.
An earlier alert on the Fleetwood to Blackpool coast is no longer in force.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service received 126 calls between 12:00 and 15:00 GMT and all 41 stations in the area were called out.
Firefighters responded to incidents including trees which had fallen onto properties and vehicles, damaged buildings and road blocks.
In Irlam Square, Salford, a 50ft (15m) tree fell on to a block of flats. A woman was treated for shock and the building was evacuated before being made safe.
Five planes were diverted from Manchester Airport as a result of the high winds.
A spokeswoman said three planes were diverted to East Midlands Airport and another two to Birmingham Airport.
An aircraft that was due to land in Leeds was diverted to Manchester. | Winds of up to 70mph led to more than 120 emergency fire call-outs within a three-hour period in Greater Manchester. |
38555035 | His lawyers argue that the trial by a special court jointly set up by Senegal and the African Union was marred by procedural errors.
They also say the defendant's rights were not respected.
Mr Habre was the first former leader to be convicted by an African Union-backed court - his case was seen as a landmark for the continent.
The former president ruled Chad from 1982 until he was overthrown in 1990 and fled into exile in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
He was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of rape, sexual slavery and ordering mass killings.
Two months after Habre's conviction, the court ordered him to pay up to $33,000 (£27,000) to each of his victims or their surviving relatives.
Prosecutors hope to find a way to locate and seize Habre's assets for the compensation of his victims.
An estimated 40,000 people in total were killed and many more kidnapped, raped or tortured under Habre's regime.
As his appeal trial opened on Monday, one of his lawyers, Mbaye Sene, told the AFP news agency:
"We were motivated to appeal by the violations of the law and [the rights] of the defence and procedural errors."
Habre says the special court has no jurisdiction over him, and is unlikely to appear in person for the appeal proceedings.
If the court upholds his sentence, he will serve his time in Senegal or in another member country of the African Union.
A cache of files from Habre's secret police recovered from an abandoned building in Ndjamena, Chad's capital, was used as evidence in the prosecution's case against the former president.
These documents alone are said to have revealed the names of 1,208 people who died in detention, and of almost 13,000 people who were victims of torture, extra-judicial execution, and arbitrary arrest.
Human Rights Watch researcher Reed Brody says the secret files provided a roadmap of how the repression of the Chadian people was carried out.
• Born in 1942 to ethnic Toubou herders in northern Chad
• Given scholarship to study political science in France
• First came to the world's attention in 1974 when his rebels captured three European hostages to ransom for money and arms
• Seized power in 1982 allegedly with the help of the CIA
• Ousted by current President Idriss Deby in 1990
• Accused of systematically persecuting groups he distrusted
Battle to bring Habre to court | Chad's ex-President Hissene Habre has gone to court to challenge his conviction for crimes against humanity. |
29850139 | It has been trying to scrap a "seats for sale" restriction since 2004, one that the airport claims limits its growth.
The rule limits the airport to selling two million departing seats a year.
The inquiry will be held in March 2015.
It was first ordered by then Environment Minister Alex Attwood in 2011 after a series of judicial reviews.
A final decision on the issue will rest with his successor Mark H Durkan, who will take the inquiry evidence into consideration.
The airport's proposal has the backing of Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, as well as Belfast and North Down councils.
But it faces objections from local people and residents groups.
They fear a busier airport will impact upon their quality of life.
A meeting will be held in November to finalise the arrangements of the inquiry, which will take place on 23 March. | A date has been fixed for a public inquiry into a controversial proposal by George Best Belfast City Airport to change one of the rules of its planning permission. |
40071849 | The Briton was asked questions by Chudinov, but produced a display of heart, showcasing variety and power to win the title in the sixth round at Bramall Lane.
After being backed onto the ropes for much of the contest, Groves leapt forward with a right hand to begin a sustained attack and moments later referee Steve Gray stopped the Russian.
Groves raised his arms before slumping on the ropes after finally taking a world strap at the fourth time of asking.
If - and when - Groves publishes a book after retirement, the chapters focused on 2014 through to 2017 will make compelling reading.
Defeats in world-title shots to Carl Froch twice and later Badou Jack in 2015 had prompted soul-searching for Groves, who has since admitted he was confused about his position in the sport having suffered such disappointments.
But a change of trainer - joining forces with Shane McGuigan - has delivered five straight wins, culminating in this admirable display at Bramall Lane, where he finally got what he wanted.
In many ways, the bout itself was a rollercoaster befitting his career. Though he started as an odds-on favourite, Groves faced sustained pressure from Chudinov, who simply walked the Briton down time and again, denying him space.
Even when the pair clinched, Chudinov was aggressive in throwing punches as they grappled and his attacks drew blood above Groves' left eye in the third round.
The underdog was showing the qualities that had previously won him the WBA title that he lost to Felix Sturm in 2016 - though Sturm later vacated the title and tested positive for steroids.
That loss was the only one of his career until now and, in truth, having been the aggressor for so long, he may wonder how the tide was turned so quickly.
But Groves' spring from the ropes to begin his assault was classy and the variety of hooks and straight rights which followed simply overwhelmed his opponent.
This win creates the potential for an all-British unification match between Groves and IBF champion James DeGale.
Groves beat DeGale in 2011 and has sought out a second meeting in the past.
The pair debated the prospect when ringside for David Haye's defeat to Tony Bellew in March and with this win and a subsequent title, Groves now has collateral.
The other champions in the division, WBA king Tyron Zeuge and WBO title-holder Gilberto Ramirez, will not frighten Groves, though meetings with either will hardly offer the pay-per-view potential a clash with DeGale would.
But the next step is a question for tomorrow. Groves is a world champion, at last. | George Groves ended his wait to become a world champion with a gutsy stoppage of Fedor Chudinov to land the WBA super-middleweight title in Sheffield. |
33476140 | The Pope was given the item, combining Catholic and communist symbols, by left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales.
One Catholic bishop suggested that Mr Morales had sought to "manipulate God".
But while some reports said the Pope was taken aback by the present, the Vatican has played down any row.
The crucifix was based on a design by Luis Espinal, a Jesuit Priest assassinated in 1980 by right-wing militia.
Bolivia's communications minister, Marianela Paco, told Bolivian radio: "The sickle evokes the peasant, the hammer the carpenter, representing humble workers, God's people," adding there was "no other" motive behind the gift.
There are differing interpretations of Pope Francis' thoughts on it.
Some reports say the Pope was embarrassed, telling Mr Morales: This isn't good".
But the Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said it was more likely Pope Francis had expressed surprise at the origins of the gift.
"I don't think I would put this symbol on an altar in a church however," he added.
The Pope himself has been accused of having Marxist leanings, after mounting strong criticisms of capitalism and inequality.
One of the strongest reactions came from Spanish bishop Jose Ignacio Munilla, who tweeted: "The height of arrogance is to manipulate God for the service of atheist ideologies."
"This is a provocation, a joke" said Bolivian Bishop Gonzalo del Castillo, quoted by the AFP news agency.
There was also anger on the Facebook pages of the Catholic News Agency. "One cannot simply combine Communism and Christianity!" wrote one user.
But one comment read: "This is no insult to Pope Francis, this is in memory of the Jesuit Martyr, who died defending the poor and oppressed of Bolivia."
Pope Francis is now in Paraguay, the third and final country on his tour of Latin America, which ends on Monday. | A crucifix sculpted in the shape of a hammer and sickle presented to Pope Francis in Bolivia has caused a stir among Catholic commentators. |
27809846 | Robert Hart, 26, was knocked unconscious in front of the main stage at the Parklife Weekender Festival on Saturday.
Police have issued an e-fit of a man they want to speak to.
The attacker is described as a man in his late 20s, 6ft (1.8m) tall, with short, curly, black hair.
Greater Manchester Police described him as mixed-race with a muscular build, wearing shorts and a blue, bomber-style jacket with the letter A in white on the front.
Det Insp Richard Eales said: "We believe a confrontation took place following an inflatable doll hitting Robert's girlfriend and I am specifically appealing for witnesses who recall seeing the inflatable doll and the attack on Robert immediately thereafter."
About 60,000 people attended the two-day festival in Heaton Park. | A man has died following a "brutal assault" at a festival in Manchester after his girlfriend was hit with an inflatable doll, police said. |
34120766 | The mathematical model offered "an initial idea" of what a particular level of surveillance could achieve.
The work comes at a time when the number of invasive pathogens, including those affecting crops, is on the rise as a result of global trade and travel.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
"Surveillance efforts have been getting increasing attention because early detection is crucial in order to control these epidemics," explained co-author Stephen Parnell from the University of Salford, UK.
"If you want to have a chance of controlling them or getting rid of them then you really have to catch them at a very early stage."
One example of an invasive pathogen threatening an important food crop is the arrival of a virulent bacterium in southern Italy.
A report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in January observed that the pathogen, Xylella fastidiosa, was responsible for a "rapid decline" in affected olive plantations.
"Major consequences", such as reduced yields and costly control measures, would be the outcome if it spread to other olive-producing regions in the EU, it added.
In July, France reported an outbreak on the Mediterranean island of Corisca. The European Commission described the pathogen as one of the biggest threats to plants around the globe.
Detection probability
Dr Parnell told BBC News: "Surveillance is a very expensive process so if you are doing surveillance following an invasive epidemic then you want to know what the probability is of detecting the epidemic at a low prevalence.
"This was an epidemic modelling approach where we could - given the amount of surveillance that was being done, and information about how quickly an epidemic spreads once it invades - we were able to tell you at what incidence you would be likely to detect it.
"If you have that information then the idea is that you could adjust your surveillance effort if you need to detect it at an earlier stage."
He added that there was currently very little information about how well detection efforts were likely to perform in terms of finding invasive pathogens.
"This model is giving just a little more evidence to support and help inform how much surveillance needs to be done for certain disease threats," Dr Parnell said.
"The benefit of this approach is that it is very simple. The only information you need about the epidemic is an estimate of what we call 'epidemic growth rate', that is once the epidemic invades, how quickly does it increase over time?"
Fire fighting
Although maintaining an ongoing monitoring network was costly, the consequences of killer diseases becoming established in an area could have a landscape-changing impact.
"An analogy I often use is of a fire," explained Dr Parnell.
"If there was a fire in a house, you would want to catch it as soon as it lit the tip of a curtain rather than when it has lit up an entire room.
"It is a similar situation with an epidemic, you have to catch it at a very early stage because a lot of the control methods we use, for example with tree health problems, are felling of large stands of forest.
"The area you would need to fell can quickly escalate so it is really, really important to catch it at an early stage." | Researchers have developed a way to help determine the level of surveillance required to detect the arrival of costly invasive diseases. |
36382379 | Russian athletes are currently banned from international competition after allegations of state-organised doping.
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko says the ban should be lifted but Sayers thinks it should remain.
"I'd almost go as far as to say I wouldn't want to compete in Rio if Russia were competing," she added.
"But if they are reinstated and I didn't compete I'd be cheating myself out of another opportunity at the Olympics."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Sayers finished fourth at the 2008 Games in Beijing but could be upgraded to bronze after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to re-test hundreds of samples.
Following those re-tests, Maria Abakumova, who won javelin silver eight years ago, was named as one of 14 Russian athletes to have tested positive.
Russian high jumper Anna Chicherova, who won bronze in Beijing, has also been named by Russian television but has vowed to clear her name.
Up to 31 athletes from six sports could be banned from competing at the Rio Games following the retesting of 454 selected doping samples from the 2008 Games.
The IOC said it would not be revealing the names of athletes who had returned positive results until B samples had been tested and individuals informed.
Sayers said she would be "happy" to received a retrospective bronze medal but also "immensely angry" at missing out on a place on the podium eight years ago.
"I think my career would have taken a totally different trajectory, no doubt," she told BBC Radio 5 live. "It's not the same if you receive a medal through the post." | British javelin record holder Goldie Sayers says she has considered not competing at August's Rio Olympics if Russia are allowed to take part. |
39455281 | Sgt Harmit Bahra was awarded more than £200,000 when he won a 2014 employment tribunal against Bedfordshire Police.
He claimed he was passed over for promotion and victimised while serving with the force between 2007 and 2010.
The police watchdog said the conduct of 11 officers and four staff involved in the case was being investigated.
Follow live updates on this story and other Bedfordshire news
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said its investigation had reached a "critical and significant stage" and "serious allegations" had been raised "against a large number of officers and staff throughout Bedfordshire Police".
Of the 15 people being investigated, 10 are retired or no longer serving with a police force, two are working for other police forces and three remain at Bedfordshire - one of these three is a serving police officer the other two are police staff.
The original investigation involved 10 officers and staff but has been widened to include more people.
Deputy Chief Constable Mike Colbourne said referring the matter to the IPCC was "only right".
"We will not tolerate any type of discrimination and work hard to ensure our workforce treats each other and members of the public with dignity and respect in line with the policing code of ethics at all times," he said. | Fifteen police officers and staff are being investigated for gross misconduct in a racial discrimination case against an Asian police officer. |
28079720 | Sarah Wollaston, Conservative chair of the Commons health select committee, said the NHS was facing "crunch time".
Her comments were echoed by Lib Dem former health minister Paul Burstow who warned the NHS could collapse within five years without extra money.
The Department of Health said it was confident of making £20bn in savings to reinvest in frontline care.
Mr Burstow put the level of extra funding needed for the NHS to function properly at £15bn over five years.
Dr Wollaston told the BBC the NHS was "coping remarkably well" but that future funding was "under immense pressure".
She said: "We have protected spending on health. It is rising in line - just above - background inflation, but inflation in the health sector is much higher because we have got an ageing population.
"So many more people are living with several long-term conditions and of course we have got amazing advances in technology and we need to be able to fund all those things."
Dr Wollaston said the service was not "doomed to failure" but added: "We know that over the next few years, we are going to run into a real crunch time with funding and what's necessary now is for NHS England to set out very clearly what can be achieved within various funding limits.
"In other words - are we going to be able to increase funding, or will something have to give?"
She added: "Personally, I'd like to see services continue to improve, so I think in order to achieve that we are going to need an increase in funding."
Dr Wollaston said it would be "key" to "get the best value out of the resources we have" over the coming years.
Stephen Dorrell, also a Conservative and her predecessor as chair of the health select committee, said he would be ashamed if the government failed to increase NHS funding when the economy was growing.
"I am in favour of the government not denying what 5,000 years of history tells us is true, which is that every time a society gets richer it spends a rising share of its income on looking after the sick and the vulnerable," he told The Observer.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We've taken tough decisions to protect the NHS budget, which is allowing us to strengthen family doctoring, reform out of hospital care, and improve GP access for 7.5 million people across the country.
"The NHS is also on track to make £20bn [in] savings this parliament to reinvest into frontline care and we are confident that it will continue to make the savings necessary to meet rising demand."
The MPs' comments on funding came as the health secretary spoke of plans to publicly name GPs with a poor record in spotting signs of cancer.
Jeremy Hunt said he wanted to expose doctors whose failure to spot cancer may delay patients receiving potentially life-saving scans.
Doctors found to be missing too many cases of cancer or with patients who are forced to make repeated visits before being referred for tests would be marked with a red flag. Those found with quick referral times for patients would be given a green rating.
The Royal College of GPs said it would be a "crude" system and one that could lead to GPs sending people to specialists indiscriminately. It warned this could result in flooding hospitals with healthy people. | The NHS needs more money to avoid a funding crisis, senior Conservative and Lib Dem MPs have warned. |
32680526 | An estimated 40,000 took part in the 10km event, raising money for various charities.
Legendary runner Haile Gebrselassie took part in the men's elite race, with Stephen Sambu taking the win. Betsy Saina won the elite women's race.
The race, which is Europe's biggest 10km event, started as a legacy event after the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Celebrity runners included actress Denise Welch, boxer Anthony Crolla and BBC Breakfast presenters Louise Minchin and Bill Turnbull.
Former Everton, Sunderland and Ireland footballer Kevin Kilbane, who ran for the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "I think my time was 42 minutes, so I'm happy with that.
"It's a wonderful atmosphere here, it's great to be a part of these sort of events."
Starting in the city centre, the course headed towards Manchester United's Old Trafford home before passing MediaCityUK in Salford Quays.
It then looped back along Chester Road and ended on Deansgate.
Colin Pilkington, 79, took part in the run for the Christie Hospital after losing both his wife Eileen and his son-in-law to cancer.
He said: "When I'm running I picture her face in the clouds and that's what spurs me on.
"I said I would run until I'm 80, so I've another one to do next year." | Thousands of people lined up with some of the world's best-known distance runners for the Great Manchester Run. |
40821004 | The pair have impressed for Ireland Wolves this season.
Boyd Rankin and Kevin O'Brien return to the 14-man squad, having missed the last Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan in March.
In the spin department Simi Singh and Jacob Mulder are preferred to George Dockrell and Andrew McBrine.
Ireland are currently second in the table and one point behind leaders Afghanistan going into the Malahide encounter on 15-18 August.
YMCA opening batsman Tector scored a century for the Wolves against Scotland A on his home ground last month, while Instonians paceman Smith took five wickets in the rain-affected draw against the MCC Young Cricketers.
"I'm obviously delighted to be included in the squad - it has been a dream of mine for a long time so it's massively exciting," said 20-year-old Tector.
Smith, 22, was equally happy to get his first call-up to the senior ranks.
"It's great to be a part of this exciting time in Irish cricket and I'm looking forward to the challenge," he said.
Ireland squad: William Porterfield (capt) John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Ed Joyce, Barry McCarthy, Jacob Mulder, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Nathan Smith, Jack Tector, Gary Wilson. | Jack Tector and Nathan Smith have received their first Ireland call-up for this month's ICC Intercontinental Cup game against the Netherlands. |
35608148 | Riders were beaten by Newcastle in January's BBL Cup final in Birmingham.
And following Leicester's two-legged semi-final win over Sheffield Sharks, the sides will meet in another showpiece final later this month.
"If we do our job and win it's not like the cup gets taken away from them," Sullivan told BBC Radio Leicester.
"They would still have the Cup and we would have the Trophy, so it's not a revenge game.
"It's for us to play our style of basketball and see where the dust settles at the end of the game.
"We have a team that can complete with them and can beat them, but we should only be focused on that game and nothing else."
The BBL Trophy final will take place at Glasgow's Emirates Arena on Saturday, 27 February. | Leicester Riders and Great Britain forward Drew Sullivan insists next month's BBL Trophy final against Newcastle will not be about revenge. |
17719747 | New owner SSI has spent millions making ready the huge furnace, which was shut down when the plant was mothballed by previous owner Tata Steel in 2010.
Many of the 1,600 workforce who lost their jobs two years ago have been re-employed by Thai-based SSI.
Wills Waterfield, the 11-year-old son of late union chief Geoff Waterfield, performed the ceremonial lighting.
They used a gas lance which was itself ignited by embers from an operational blast furnace, in keeping with steelmaking tradition.
Workers cheered at the sight of flames inside the furnace.
The first steel slabs are likely to be produced over the next three days.
Win Viriyaprapaikit, president of SSI, said: "This is a very proud day for us and for me personally.
"I believe the investment we have made at Teesside will result in a very successful business which will benefit all of the stakeholders involved, including the local community and employees for generations to come."
Phil Dryden, chief executive of SSI UK, said: "I would like to pay tribute to all those who have made this day possible, including the stakeholders for their investment and the people who have worked so hard on the restart project.
"We now look forward with confidence to resuming the long tradition of steelmaking on Teesside and establishing SSI UK as world class steelmaker.
"This is a historic event and a complex and demanding restart programme."
Initially all the steel produced in Redcar will be shipped to Thailand, but it is hoped some could be used in the UK to support the wind turbine manufacturing industry.
There has been months of preparation ahead of the official relighting. The furnace has been heating up since February ready for the moment when super-heated air can be ignited creating the blast furnace.
Tony Pointer, who was a union leader at the plant, said: "It's a historic occasion.
"The area has obviously suffered from the fact that it has not had money from people working at the plant.
"But with the re-opening of the works it'll bring money back into the local economy, which is what this area needs badly."
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "It is great news that, after a two-year absence, the Redcar blast furnace will be lit again.
"I look forward to SSI starting steel production once again in the North East.
"SSI and its workforce have worked very hard over the last year and should be congratulated on getting to this point."
Former steelworker of 30 years and leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, George Dunning, paid tribute to union boss Geoff Waterfield, who battled to retain the Redcar plant, but died in August last year.
Mr Dunning added: "I would like to say a big thank you to all those involved in the return of steelmaking to Redcar, including the SSI team and the trade unions.
"A special thank you and tribute should also go to Geoff Waterfield, who truly embodied the passion and determination for steel here in Teesside."
Mr Waterfield, 43, worked at the Corus, Tata and the SSI UK site for about five years before his death last August. He was the chairman of the multi-unions at the Redcar site.
The blast furnace was due to be relit last December, but it was delayed by technical problems and industrial action. | Steelmaking has returned to Teesside - after the blast furnace at the former Corus plant in Redcar was relit. |
40344918 | Former Arsenal trainee Rees, 23, spent last season at National League South play-off finalists Chelmsford City.
"I'm really excited about the challenge ahead having spoken to the manager a couple of weeks ago," Rees said.
"Josh is someone we've kept an eye on over the past year and to get him on board is brilliant," Bromley manager Neil Smith added.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Bromley have signed former Nottingham Forest and Torquay United midfielder Josh Rees. |
36622155 | HTM Products, which had its name on the West Stand of the Proact Stadium, had sponsored the club since December 2009.
Evans, 27, signed a one-year deal with the League One side, despite facing an October retrial over rape allegations.
He was jailed in 2012, but the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction in April. Evans was released in October 2014, and has always denied the charges.
The firm, which had its name on the West Stand of the Proact Stadium, had sponsored the club since December 2009.
"In light of recent events, HTM Products has ceased all sponsorship arrangements with Chesterfield football club," managing director Jon Knapp said on the company's Facebook page.
In a statement following the signing of Evans, club chairman Dave Allen said "a great deal of thought" had gone into the decision.
He continued: "Following the court's decision, we are in no doubt that Ched Evans should be welcomed back into his profession as a professional footballer." | A long-standing sponsor of Chesterfield has withdrawn its support of the club following the signing of Ched Evans. |
36764233 | The former Sweden under-17 international, 24, joins from Norwegian third-tier side Hamarkameratene.
Mbamba, who began his career at Swedish top-flight club IFK Gothenburg, has signed a two-year contract.
He made his debut for Vale in their 4-0 pre-season friendly win over Newcastle Town on Saturday.
Mbamba is the latest recruit at Burslem as new boss Bruno Ribeiro continues his overhaul of the playing squad.
Ribeiro, who replaced Rob Page on 20 June, has already brought in Curacaoan striker Rigino Cicilia, Dutch defenders Kjell Knops and Calvin Mac-Intisch, French midfielders Quentin Pereira and Anthony de Freitas and Portuguese trio Paulo Tavares, Kiko, and Carlos Saleiro.
"I'm very happy that we've got one more player to help us," Ribeiro told BBC Radio Stoke.
"Now I have a good squad and I'm waiting on two more players to maybe come in on loan. If not, I'm happy with how it is."
Meanwhile, Vale have announced that current Rochdale chief executive/secretary Colin Garlick is to join the club at the beginning of October.
Garlick will work alongside chairman Norman Smurthwaite at up-for-sale Vale.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | League One side Port Vale have made their ninth signing ahead of the new season after agreeing a deal for Swedish winger Christopher Mbamba. |
40392839 | Cameroon were banned from global football in July 2013 before the establishment of a Fifa-approved Normalisation Committee led by Joseph Owona.
Tombi A Roko Sidiki and his executive committee then assumed office after elections held in September 2015.
Despite Sidiki's election receiving the approval of both Fifa and the Cameroon government, there have been several challenges to his administration.
Most recently, Cameroonian club Etoile Filante de Garoua argued that Fecafoot had no authority to send a team to the Confederations Cup in Russia, an argument Fifa dismissed.
However, Fifa has acknowledged there is a problem within the Cameroon football family and is taking measures to resolve the problem for good.
In March, the Association of Amateur Football Clubs in Cameroon were notified that Veron Mosengo-Omba, Fifa's director of African and Caribbean Member Associations, would be discussing the issue with Fecafoot.
His visit was due to take place in August having been postponed from June, but in a letter to stakeholders dated 23 June 2017, Veron Mosongo-Omba confirmed the date has been brought forward to 10 July.
"It is important to stress that Fifa has the obligation to promote amicable relations within member associations" he wrote.
"Fifa considers its role to settle internal disputes capable of jeopardizing the interest of football in line with its statutory tasks and autonomy of member associations."
Cameroon is set to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and internal squabbles - if not resolved - may see the prestigious competition withdrawn. | Fifa has brought forward a reconciliation meeting for Cameroon football stakeholders to 10 July in Guinea, as football's world body aims to settle internal problems within the Cameroon Federation (Fecafoot.) |
36325674 | The Snowdon Partnership is piloting the idea due to the increased damage caused by the 500,000 people who walk to the summit annually.
Snowdon Race founder Ken Jones welcomed the idea, as long as it was voluntary.
After a consultation, the partnership is trialling a scheme which asks businesses in the area to encourage customers to contribute.
Mr Jones told Radio Cymru's Manylu programme: "Thousands of people visit here and don't spend as much as people claim they do.
"But they're good people and I've asked many of them if they'd be willing to contribute a pound to help maintain the paths and they all say they would."
Although Snowdonia National Park manages the mountain, many different companies, agencies and individuals look after it.
They formed the Snowdon Partnership to look at how to maintain the mountain.
Helen Pye, senior warden for Snowdonia National Park, said: "If we can get people to understand the impact they have on the mountain and not just come here to use Snowdon but also want to protect the area, then I think we can succeed."
The 18-month pilot, which begins in June, involves 18 companies and people can donate by adding money to their bills, leaving it in envelopes in B&Bs or the companies can donate profits.
A total of 100 companies were asked to take part but 82 decided not to.
Money raised through this scheme will be used to conserve the Llanberis path as well as other routes.
Llanberis Lake Railway manager Emlyn Pritchard said the business would donate a percentage of profits from sales of local produce in the cafe, such as traditional Welsh teas and bara brith, which is about £500 a year.
Aneurin Jones, owner of the Dolbadarn Hotel in Llanberis, said: "I don't know why they can't put someone at the start of each route to ask for a pound or two in donation from everyone walking up.
"I don't think it's right for us to ask people who come here to stay to pay for damage done by people who are going to the top of Snowdon."
If the pilot is successful, the plan is to develop it for the whole of Snowdonia so various conservation projects can benefit. | Visitors will be asked to contribute towards the cost of maintaining paths on Snowdon for the first time. |
37227587 | The typhoon swept across northern Japan on Tuesday night, bringing up to 300mm (11.8in) of rain. At least two other people are reported dead.
The care home, in Iwaizumi town in Iwate prefecture, was on the banks of a river but had not been evacuated.
Lionrock has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves over Russia.
One emergency official told the AFP agency that the nine died after mud swamped the care facility. The victims have not been identified.
The building is home to elderly people suffering from dementia, NHK reported.
Typhoon Lionrock brought strong winds and heavy rains. It was the first to strike Tohoku, which covers the north-eastern part of Honshu island, from the Pacific since records began in 1951.
Authorities in the area have advised more than 400,000 people to evacuate because of fears of landslides and coastal flooding, Kyodo reported.
Flights and rail services have been cancelled and local manufacturers forced to suspend operations.
On the island of Hokkaido, further north, rivers burst their banks.
Iwate, one of the worst hit areas, is still recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. | Nine people have died in Japan when a care home for the elderly was flooded by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lionrock. |
38530485 | The 44-year-old won League Two's manager of the month award for December after four wins from five games.
"The run that we've been on, it's only a small portion of the season. We can't get carried away," said McGreal.
"We've got loads and loads of work left. Our main job at the minute is to keep minds focused on the next game."
The former Ipswich defender took his first job in management in the summer following Colchester's relegation from League One.
The U's struggled at the start of the campaign, including a winless run of 10 matches from September until mid-November, but have taken 19 points from the last 21.
McGreal told BBC Essex: "The small window I've had as a manager, it has been a roller-coaster. There's been some ups and downs but every single moment I've enjoyed it.
"Even on the winless run I've enjoyed it. When we're winning it's great but you just want to keep improving.
"We've had the relegation, we don't want to keep banging on about that, it was tough losing a lot of players, it's a new team and new management team but we're just trying to win games of football."
Colchester will move into the play-off places if they win Saturday's home game against third-placed Carlisle United. | Colchester boss John McGreal says his side must not get carried away after rising from the relegation zone to just outside the play-off places. |
30011736 | A local charity has described these figures as conservative.
Despite the increase, the BBC can reveal there is just one full-time Autism Spectrum Disorder coordinator in place across all five health trusts.
Autism NI accused the executive of moving backwards rather than forwards in attempting to address the problem.
According to a 2014 health department report, the rate of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among school age children has increased by 67% since 2010.
In the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust alone, there are 500 cases waiting to be seen.
While on paper the average waiting time for an initial assessment is 13 weeks, in practice a growing number of families are having to wait up to 12 months before their child is assessed and diagnosed.
As some of these children require a "statement" from their health trust to receive extra help in school, families say their child's health and education are suffering.
Ann Marie Ferguson, from Antrim, said the Northern Health Trust had let down her nine-year-old son Cormac.
"This time last year Cormac walked out in front of a moving car," she said.
"He had had a bad day in school. There had been an outburst and sometimes the school doesn't know how to react. Leaving the school he walked out in front of a car. Understandably everyone was upset and concerned. It was dreadful."
After an initial assessment eight months ago, Cormac was referred to the ASD team at the Northern Health Trust. They are still waiting to hear when that appointment is taking place.
According to his mother, the incident involving the car proved he needs to be seen urgently.
"He said I had told him that when people die they go to heaven and are happy, so in his mind if he died he'd go to heaven where he would be happy," she said.
"That is a scary thought process for a nine-year-old. Basically, he just threw the head up and said this is it."
In a statement, the Northern Health Trust said in the last four years, referrals to its autism service had increased by 80%.
The trust said the majority of children referred had already been assessed by a health professional, such as a consultant paediatrician.
"The outcome of this initial review may result in a referral to the specialist autism team," the statement added.
"Once a referral is received by this team, the information is reviewed and data collected to support the assessment process.
"Assessment for an ASD is a process rather than a single event which can occur over a series of appointments, and take a number of months to complete."
The trust said "service pressures", an increase in referrals and staff vacancies, meant there was a waiting list for appointments, and it was trying to address these issues.
In a separate development, the family learned that their request for an assessment with an educational psychologist has been turned down.
By law a child must be assessed and diagnosed before receiving a statement of special educational needs.
Issued by education and library boards, this statement outlines how a child's special educational needs would be supported. As a legal document, children must receive the help that is detailed on the statement.
Legislation designed to ensure those affected are afforded the same entitlements as those with other disabilities was passed in 2011, but Autism NI said it was disappointed that it had made little impact.
According to the charity, compared to Scotland, health and education sectors in Northern Ireland are failing those struggling with the condition.
Autism NI's chief executive Arlene Cassidy said the executive was moving backwards instead of forwards.
"There has been a significant increase each year in calls to our family support team. So far this year the organisation has dealt with over 2,000 calls. In 2010 that figure was 816," she said.
"These families require help and advice often involving follow-up calls and meetings. They turn to us because either the trust or the board can't help them or help them quickly enough."
Julia Irvine's son Nathan is one of the 500 cases in the Belfast Health Trust, and she said she wrestled with the system for almost a year to get an appointment.
However, 24 hours after her local MP got involved, the Belfast Health Trust called to offer her an appointment within six weeks.
"I was disgusted that my voice was ignored, but they felt threatened after being called by a politician," she said.
"There is no system in place. You try and get a medical referral for your child, but that means nothing really in an educational context because then you have to start fighting for a statement. That's a separate process.
"There is no joined-up thinking. No-one talks to each other. Your educational psychologist may send in a report but that is about the length of it. Everything is a fight." | About 1,300 children in Northern Ireland are waiting to be assessed to find out if they have autism, the BBC has learned. |
38483191 | Sean Williams was hit in Lakefield Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, on Thursday afternoon.
The car driver was treated for shock in hospital and was helping police with their investigations. The boy was taken to hospital but died of his injuries.
Sean's parents Elaine and Andrew said he would be "truly missed".
In a statement released by West Midlands Police, they said: "To all family and friends…thank you for your support.
"This is the picture we would like you all to remember of our baby boy. Anyone who knew Sean would know he was an amazing, intelligent, polite, loving little boy."
Sgt Alan Wood, from the regional Collision Investigation Unit, said his team still needed to trace witnesses, in particular the driver of a car waiting at traffic lights at the time of the collision.
He said: "It was a small, light-coloured vehicle stationary at the traffic light junction, in the right filter lane heading from Lakefield Road turning right into March End Road." | A 13-year-old who was hit by a car and died days after Christmas has been described as an "amazing, loving little boy" by his parents. |
39670340 | Passenger Luke Fletcher, 19, died when the car left the B2177 near Southwick, Hampshire in January 2016.
Zax Ross-Harris, 22, and Danny Ross-Barringer, 25, were jailed for eight and six years for causing death by dangerous driving and aiding and abetting respectively.
The court heard they had been driving at up to 100mph in bad weather.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard both drivers only had provisional licences. Ross-Harris, from Paulsgrove, had been driving the Nissan Almera in an "idiotic" manner on Portsdown Hill on 23 January.
Performing arts student Mr Fletcher, who was in the back seat, suffered an "unsurvivable" head injury when it left the road and hit a tree.
Another passenger, Sonny Wedge, suffered severe injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Andrew Houston, prosecuting, said Mr Wedge and Mr Fletcher had begged Ross-Harris to stop driving and pull over before the crash.
He said Ross-Harris "cowardly" ran away and denied being in the vehicle when questioned by police.
He later admitted causing death by dangerous driving and while driving unlicensed and uninsured and causing serious injury.
Mr Houston said Ross-Harris had drunk seven pints of lager earlier in the day but because he was not arrested until the day after, his alcohol level at the time of the crash was not known.
In a letter to Mr Fletcher's family, read to the court, Ross-Harris wrote: "My stupidity cost Luke's life, I know sorry will never be good enough."
He was also banned from driving for 14 years.
Ross-Barringer, also from Paulsgrove, admitted he had been "showing off" and said his cousin had been attempting to copy him.
Robert Grey, defending Ross-Barringer, said: "He is truly remorseful for what has happened."
Mr Fletcher's mother, Sarah Hiscutt said in a victim impact statement: "I wish it had been me; it has changed our lives for ever."
After sentencing she, described her son as "one of a kind".
"He was growing into a fine young man, full of life, dreams, ambition and a zest for life. He had everything to live for and wanted so much from life," she said.
Mr Fletcher had recorded a single, Heart of Stone, which was released after his death. | Two cousins have been jailed for causing a fatal car crash through "idiotic" driving. |
38629174 | The aircraft left Turweston Aerodrome in north Buckinghamshire but then crashed at Aston Rowant Nature Reserve at 14:35 GMT.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "Sadly, the pilot of the aircraft, a man, has been pronounced dead at the scene."
Road diversions are in place around the area and an investigation into the crash is under way.
The man's next-of-kin are yet to be informed.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it had sent a team to investigate the crash site.
Police have locked down the Aston Rowant Nature Reserve after the aircraft accident, with a steady flow of police vehicles coming in and out of the site.
Conditions around the reserve were treacherous even for drivers on Sunday evening with very heavy fog on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border.
It is not known yet whether fog or poor visibility had a part to play in the fatal air crash at the nature reserve, which straddles the M40 near Stokenchurch.
What we do know is that recovery and investigations will continue throughout the night, although the fog may affect recovery overnight. | The pilot of a light aircraft has died in a plane crash in Oxfordshire. |
34570296 | Dumfries and Galloway Council wants to transfer the properties to local management committees in the final phase of a £283,000 savings plan.
Where local people are unable to assume responsibility, halls will be closed.
Buildings at Drummore, Portpatrick, New Luce, Sorbie, Glenlochar, New Galloway, Thornhill and Eastriggs will be affected by the move.
The council wants to transfer the facilities to local committees by 31 January 2016. Where that cannot be achieved, they will be shut at the end of February.
Council officers will work with community groups affected by any closures to find "reasonable alternative accommodation".
Members of the community and customer services committee will be asked to approve the process at a meeting on Tuesday. | Eight council-run village halls and community centres in the south-west of Scotland could face closure next year. |
38680133 | The Hillhead/Jordanhill number eight missed November's Rugby World Cup qualifying defeat by Spain.
Four players who debuted against the Spanish - Louise McMillan, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm and Lucy Park - are named again by head coach Shade Munro.
The Scots last won a Women's Six Nations match in 2010.
And they have finished bottom in the last six championships.
Munro's side will play English Premiership outfit Aylesford Bulls as part of their preparation for the tournament.
They open at home to Ireland on 3 February and visit France eight days later before hosting Wales on 24 February.
England away is next on 11 March and Scotland welcome Italy for their final match on 17 March.
"The Women's Six Nations is a great platform to develop the squad and benchmark progress as we work towards closing the gap with world-class nations," said Munro.
"We've added more training camps and competitive games this season to better prepare both the new and experienced players for the task ahead.
"We competed for the whole 80 minutes in both games [against Spain] and developed our defence and attack. The players took confidence from that because they can see the improvement.
"In this tournament, our focus is really on us. There's no doubt we have progressed in a number of areas, but there is a lot more we can do to improve."
Forwards: Tracy Balmer (Worcester), Sarah Bonar (Lichfield), Rachel Cook (Murrayfield Wanderers), Katie Dougan (Edinburgh University), Karen Dunbar (RHC Cougars), Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Jade Konkel (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Heather Lockhart (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Rachel Malcolm (Lichfield), Deborah McCormack (Aylesford Bulls), Louise McMillan (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Siobhan McMillan (Cartha Queens Park), Lyndsay O'Donnell (Worcester), Lucy Park (Murrayfield Wanderers), Lisa Robertson (Murrayfield Wanderers), Lana Skeldon (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Lindsey Smith (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Anna Stodter (Saracens), Emma Wassell (Murrayfield/Wanderers).
Backs: Caroline Collie (Bletchley Ladies), Abi Evans (Hillhead/Jordanhill), Megan Gaffney (Edinburgh University), Lauren Harris (Melrose), Gillian Inglis (RHC Cougars), Sarah Law (Murrayfield Wanderers/Edinburgh University), Rhona Lloyd (Edinburgh University), Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers), Jenny Maxwell (Lichfield), Helen Nelson (Murrayfield Wanderers), Chloe Rollie (Murrayfield Wanderers), Eilidh Sinclair (Murrayfield Wanderers), Lisa Thomson (Edinburgh University). | Scotland's first full-time female professional Jade Konkel has been named in Scotland Women's Six Nations squad after returning from injury. |
33286410 | During Thursday's four heats in Eugene, 2007 world champion Tyson Gay clocked 9.85 seconds - faster than any Briton in history - but was still beaten.
Remontay McClain, 22, led the way with 9.82 seconds, while 19-year-old Trayvon Bromell ran 9.84 as all 10 athletes to go under 10 seconds progressed to Friday's semi-finals.
The first three finishers in the final will qualify automatically for the World Championships in Beijing, which begin on 22 August.
The only Briton to break 10 seconds this year is Adam Gemili, who has run 9.97 twice - although on the first occasion with a following wind too strong for record purposes.
Though all of the sub-10 performances in the US trials were wind assisted - half of them beyond the permitted two metres per second - the obvious depth in American sprinting will fuel their hopes of threatening Jamaica's recent dominance.
Team USA finished second in the 4x100m relay at the 2012 Olympics but the form of Usain Bolt, who anchored Jamaica to gold in London, has come under scrutiny.
America's ease of finding sprinters capable of going under 10 seconds contrasts with the struggle Britain has faced since Linford Christie ran 9.87 in 1993 - a year after he won Olympic gold.
There have been six British sub-10 runs since - from James Dasaolu (9.91), Chijindu Ujah (9.96), Dwain Chambers (9.97), Gemili (9.97 twice) and Jason Gardener (9.98).
And while a repeat of the gold medal GB claimed in the 4x100m at the 2004 Olympics looks a long way off, even an American 'B' team could threaten the podium. | Only six British men have broken 10 seconds for 100m - but 10 Americans achieved the feat in one night at their national championships. |
36548475 | Kosovan Ardit Ferizi pleaded guilty to charges of providing material support to America's enemies, in a court hearing in Virginia.
The maximum sentence for that crime is 20 years in jail.
He could also be sentenced to a further five years in jail for hacking into a federal computer to steal the list.
"Ferizi endangered the lives of over 1,000 Americans," said US attorney Dana Boente in a statement from the Department of Justice.
The DoJ said: "The case against Ferizi is the first of its kind, representing the nexus of the terror and cyber-threats."
It said Ferizi, who is now 21, handed the list to IS, knowing it could incite the group to attack the individuals named in it.
Information about the names, email addresses, passwords, locations and phone numbers for about 1,351 military personnel and federal staff came from several servers that Ferizi hacked into.
He targeted both machines in US government offices and corporate computers.
During the court proceedings, Ferizi admitted he had passed the list to Junaid Hussain, a British cyber-expert involved with IS who was killed in August last year by an air strike.
"I don't know myself why I did this. I still ask myself why I committed this crime," the Washington Post reported that he had said in court.
Ferizi, who used the Twitter name @Th3Dir3ctorY, was arrested in Malaysia in October 2015 and extradited to the US in January this year.
He is due to be sentenced on 16 September.
After he has served his sentence, he will be deported to Kosovo and barred from re-entering the US. | A hacker who passed a list of American military personnel to the so-called Islamic State group could face up to 25 years in jail. |
37883774 | Deplagne, 25, was hurt late in Friday's Ligue 1 game and was substituted.
After the match, he was joined by some of Montpellier's backroom staff to search for the missing tooth but their efforts were in vain.
"Mathieu lost a tooth and we went to look for it, but we couldn't find it," Montpellier boss Frederic Hantz said.
Algeria international Ryad Boudebouz scored twice to give Montpellier a 2-0 lead at half-time.
An own goal by keeper Laurent Pionnier reduced the deficit before Steve Mounie sealed the points for the hosts.
Montpellier moved to 12th in the table, level on points with 10th-placed Marseille, who have won once in five Ligue 1 games.
Marseille's team included winger Florian Thauvin, who is on loan from Newcastle United, and on-loan Tottenham forward Clinton N'Jie.
Match ends, Montpellier 3, Marseille 1.
Second Half ends, Montpellier 3, Marseille 1.
Offside, Marseille. Lass Diarra tries a through ball, but Florian Thauvin is caught offside.
Substitution, Montpellier. Joris Marveaux replaces Ryad Boudebouz.
Foul by Florian Thauvin (Marseille).
Jérôme Roussillon (Montpellier) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Montpellier. Anthony Vanden Borre replaces Mathieu Deplagne because of an injury.
Lass Diarra (Marseille) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jérôme Roussillon (Montpellier).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Mathieu Deplagne (Montpellier) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Andre Zambo Anguissa (Marseille) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Florian Thauvin with a cross.
Offside, Marseille. Doria tries a through ball, but Florian Thauvin is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Romain Alessandrini (Marseille) left footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Hiroki Sakai with a cross.
Attempt missed. Hiroki Sakai (Marseille) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Lass Diarra.
Attempt missed. Morgan Sanson (Montpellier) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Stéphane Sessegnon.
Corner, Marseille. Conceded by Laurent Pionnier.
Attempt saved. Florian Thauvin (Marseille) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hiroki Sakai.
Attempt missed. Maxime Lopez (Marseille) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Florian Thauvin.
Substitution, Marseille. Antoine Rabillard replaces Clinton N'Jie.
Offside, Montpellier. Laurent Pionnier tries a through ball, but Steve Mounie is caught offside.
Offside, Marseille. Doria tries a through ball, but Hiroki Sakai is caught offside.
Mathieu Deplagne (Montpellier) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Florian Thauvin (Marseille) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Mathieu Deplagne (Montpellier).
Foul by Maxime Lopez (Marseille).
Ellyes Skhiri (Montpellier) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Montpellier. Paul Lasne replaces Souleymane Camara.
Henri Bedimo (Marseille) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Souleymane Camara (Montpellier).
Attempt missed. Florian Thauvin (Marseille) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Goal! Montpellier 3, Marseille 1. Steve Mounie (Montpellier) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Morgan Sanson.
Attempt missed. Steve Mounie (Montpellier) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Ryad Boudebouz with a cross.
Foul by Hiroki Sakai (Marseille).
Stéphane Sessegnon (Montpellier) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Goal! Montpellier 2, Marseille 1. Florian Thauvin (Marseille) header from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Romain Alessandrini with a cross.
Offside, Marseille. Florian Thauvin tries a through ball, but Clinton N'Jie is caught offside.
Foul by Andre Zambo Anguissa (Marseille).
Morgan Sanson (Montpellier) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Marseille. Conceded by Mathieu Deplagne. | Montpellier defender Mathieu Deplagne appealed for help after losing a tooth on the pitch during his side's victory over Marseille. |
35470131 | He spoke at a preview screening of the final episode of his adaptation of War and Peace, which was produced by BBC Cymru Wales.
The Cardiff-born writer, 79, said "almost everybody agrees" the BBC should do drama.
Online providers, such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, do not attract similar audiences, he added.
He said: "They (online streaming services) have huge budgets but until now they still have tiny audiences.
"People say 'everybody's watching Mad Men, everybody's watching the American version of House of Cards'. They're not, it's just people in the business are watching it. Most people are watching Call the Midwife and War and Peace."
Addressing the ongoing discussions over the renewal of the BBC's Royal Charter, Davies said drama was an intrinsic part of the corporation's output.
Davies, who was made a Bafta fellow in 2002, has written numerous adaptations for the screen, including Little Dorrit, Sense and Sensibility and Bleak House, as well as several novels.
Last year, he was honoured at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
"I think that serious drama, or drama that makes an impact, is something that almost everybody agrees is one of the things that the BBC should be doing," he added.
"A lot of the arguments (about the BBC's future) tend to come over expensive entertainment shows, and bought-in shows and that kind of thing.
"But I think something like War and Peace is a great thing to get everybody on the BBC's side. It couldn't have been done without the BBC; who else would have done it?"
Davies's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel has attracted favourable reviews and he said he had been "thrilled" by the reaction.
In a question-and-answer session after Monday's screening, Davies revealed that his next projects involved a planned adaptation of Les Miserables "with no music and no singing", and a drama based on Aneurin Bevan and the creation of the NHS.
He also praised the increased levels of drama production in Wales since Doctor Who began filming in Cardiff in 2005.
He said: "BBC Wales drama 20 or 30 years ago was pathetic. They couldn't do anything, and other people's productions would use BBC Wales' money because BBC Wales couldn't think of anything," he added.
"It's been an incredible last 10 years, starting off with Doctor Who. It's thrilling for me, coming from Wales, as I've been working for the BBC for ages but was rarely able to work with BBC Wales because over the years they were just so dozy.
"Now it's a powerhouse, it's extraordinary, and we should be terribly proud of it. But make sure to keep it going."
The final episode of War and Peace will be broadcast on BBC One Wales on Sunday 7 February at 21:00 GMT. | Welsh screenwriter Andrew Davies has said subscription streaming services cannot compete with the BBC for drama. |
37643429 | PC Dave Wardell was stabbed in the hand and his German shepherd Finn was stabbed in the head and chest in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on 5 October.
They had been called in to apprehend a man suspected of robbing a taxi driver at gunpoint.
"Finn was stabbed trying to protect me," PC Wardell said. "He got it first."
"He was taking down an offender as he has done hundreds of times, and in the blink of an eye everything changed."
He rushed Finn to a vet who performed surgery to save the dog's life.
"I stayed until they made me go to hospital then I came back," PC Wardell said.
"The bond between a handler and his dogs is second to none. Seeing my partner stabbed was one of the worst days of my life."
Four days later Finn returned to the home he shares with the Wardell family and sniffer dog Pearl, a spaniel.
A week later Finn is doing well and "being very cheeky", PC Wardell said.
"He found some treats, ripped open the packet and ate the lot."
Pearl, with whom Finn shares a kennel "has been missing him lots".
"Finn's allowed for short walks and goes to the kennel then shows off a bit because he's allowed back inside the house.
"He can't understand why he can't go out and work."
His stitches should be removed next week but it could be several weeks before vets know whether he will be fit enough to work.
A 16-year-old boy from Lewisham, south-east London, has been charged with assaulting an officer and with criminal damage.
Following the charge, a petition was set up on the UK government's petition site, proposing that police animals "be given protection that reflects their status if assaulted in the line of duty".
Since 9 October, 57,000 people have signed "Finn's Law". | The handler of a police dog stabbed while apprehending a suspect has spoken of the animal's brave recovery. |
36922797 | Kimberly Hinde, 40, began a relationship with the prisoner while working at HMP Wealstun, near Wetherby, and after she was suspended.
Guards found a copy of the erotic novel and letters to Hinde in the man's cell.
Hinde, who admitted misconduct, was given the year-long ban by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Live updates on this story and more from across West Yorkshire
Prison security officers became concerned the substance misuse nurse was involved with the inmate at the category C prison in October 2013.
During a search of his cell, a letter indicating he and Hinde were in a relationship was discovered and the inmate was found to have Hinde's first name tattooed on his arm in code.
Hinde was suspended from her job in early November 2013 but continued to write to and phone the man using a number of aliases, the NMC heard.
She was arrested on suspicion misconduct in a public office in December 2013 and pleaded guilty to the offence at Leeds Crown Court in November 2015.
She was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Banning Hinde from nursing for 12-months, the NMC panel said: "A conviction of this nature strikes at the heart of the nurse and patient relationship, undermines the trust and confidence the public place in nurses and brings the profession into disrepute."
Hinde told the hearing: "I accept that I should have removed contact between myself and this prisoner sooner when I realised that we were becoming close." | A nurse who sent money and a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey to an inmate she was having a relationship with has been banned from nursing for 12 months. |
32997471 | At least 15 drivers were initially caught filming or taking pictures after four HGVs smashed into each other on the A14 in Cambridgeshire on 28 May.
But the number identified has since risen to 24, police have said.
They are being sent letters informing them about court proceedings.
No-one was badly hurt in the crash, at about 05:45 BST on the westbound carriageway.
Lorry driver Ron Norris, from Northumberland, had to be cut out of his cab by the fire service, but escaped with minor injuries.
"I was totally stunned. I think it hit me a little bit when I was sat on a stretcher facing my truck and I just broke down in tears," he said.
"I couldn't help but think how on earth I'd got away with this."
Asked what he thought about drivers taking photographs of the accident, he said: "They deserve to get prosecuted.
"I could have died. The other driver could have died.
"If they were on their mobile phones when the crash happened, they could have died as well."
About 16 miles of road between junctions 31 and 36 was closed for several hours while the wreckage was cleared.
Two of the lorry drivers were taken to hospital with minor injuries. | More motorists alleged to have photographed the aftermath of a crash involving a lorry full of teddy bears face prosecution for using a mobile phone while driving. |
31918732 | The US State Department said the deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, Julieta Valls Noyes, would meet Mr Adams.
She has also met SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell and UUP leader Mike Nesbitt.
The State Department postponed Mr Adams' meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken because of Stormont's crisis over welfare reform.
The State Department said: "Given the ongoing efforts to reach a durable accord on welfare reform to get implementation of the Stormont House agreement back on track, we postponed all of Deputy Secretary Blinken's meetings with Northern Ireland officials until such agreement is reached.
"This included meetings with Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, as well as Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, who determined that the best course of action would be to postpone their travel to Washington and continue negotiations in Belfast."
In Washington, Mr Adams discussed the Stormont House Agreement and Pat Finucane during his meeting, which he described as "useful and positive".
At the weekend, First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness cancelled plans to go to the US to meet President Obama on St Patrick's Day.
Last week, Sinn Féin withdrew support for the welfare reform bill at Stormont.
In a statement issued at that time, former US senator Gary Hart urged all parties to reach an understanding on the scope of the Stormont House Agreement "so that a successful series of meetings planned for St Patrick's Day can go forward as planned in Washington". | Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has met US congressional leaders on St Patrick's Day in Washington DC. |
21780425 | Jeremy Hunt told the Daily Mail said he wanted to see a clampdown on such practices and would seek to introduce wording into agreements making it clear people could still whistle-blow.
But fellow Tory MP Stephen Barclay has claimed the move may not go far enough in dealing with a lack of transparency.
The use of the clauses in the NHS is thought to have been widespread.
In the last five years, more than 400 compromise agreements outlining special severance payments for departing NHS staff have been approved by the Department of Health.
But the department has said it does not know the extent to which payments were tied to clauses stopping recipients speaking out about any problems of patient safety or care.
Mr Hunt told the Mail a "culture of openness and transparency" was at the heart of trying to drive up NHS standards.
He said: "There has been a culture where people felt if you speak up about problems in the NHS you didn't love the NHS. Actually it's exactly the opposite.
'We are now saying we won't approve any [compromise agreements] with a confidentiality clause that prevents people speaking out about patient safety or patient care.
"We will make sure there is a specific clause in them saying that nothing in them can prevent people speaking out."
By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent
The health secretary's stance sounds good in theory, but the practice of implementing it could prove difficult.
Gagging is a complex subject. Severance agreements are just as common in the NHS as any other industry.
When someone leaves employment over a dispute, it is understandable that both sides may wish to keep the reasons confidential. Hence lawyers are brought in to draw up a contract.
But it is already against the law to stop whistle-blowing over a safety issue. This was made clear by the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act.
But something seems to have been going wrong within the health service - as the recent controversy has shown.
Gagging clauses may have been inserted in some contracts, or staff may have felt intimidated and unable to speak out because of the process they have been through.
Either way Jeremy Hunt wants to see this tackled. But the problem is that while the government does sign off some agreements, it doesn't vet them all.
Mr Barclay, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, has sought to uncover how much public money has been spent on compromise agreements.
While welcoming the announcement, he told the BBC that other severance payments to staff made through a different process, known as judicial mediation, may not be covered by the new rules.
This process does not involve the Treasury or the Department of Health, Mr Barclay said.
He added: "The gagging clauses had a chilling effect. In essence it put the legal risk on the whistleblower to prove they were complying with the public interest disclosure act. That's really what led a lot of people to keep quiet.
"It is unclear whether payments made through judicial mediation will be covered by the announcement today.
"Parliament still doesn't know how much has been paid through judicial mediation and whether any changes will be made in terms of gagging clauses in those arrangements."
The move by Mr Hunt follows the scandal surrounding Stafford Hospital, where hundreds of patients are believed to have died after receiving poor care.
"Mid Staffs happened because there was a culture of covering up problems," Mr Hunt said.
"We need to encourage front-line NHS employees who see problems to come forward, in the first instance to tell their own institution about them, but then having the ability to go beyond that if they don't think anything is being done about their concerns."
In the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal, the government has announced the creation of a new post of chief inspector of hospitals from autumn this year.
Mr Hunt said: "The chief inspector will examine lots of different areas, but one third of the entire score for a hospital will be based on patient experience - the extent to which patients would recommend your hospital to friends and family, the extent to which your complaints procedure actually listens to people.
"In too many places hospitals think that patient care is something you do when you have done everything else."
Fourteen trusts in England are currently being investigated for high death rates.
Controversy over gagging clauses has particularly focused on one of them, United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT), after its former chief executive, Gary Walker, broke a gag to speak about his 2010 dismissal and concerns over care.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr Walker - whose case was dealt with through judicial mediation - complained about "a culture of fear, a culture of oppression" within the NHS.
"These are big problems," he said. "And if you consider that the people that have been running the NHS have created that culture of fear, they need either to be held to account or new people need to be brought in to change that culture." | "Gagging clauses" in severance agreements for NHS staff in England must end, the health secretary says. |
33085012 | The charges stem from the beating death of Ronald Spear, 52, in 2012 who was at Rikers Island awaiting trial for burglary.
New York medical officials ruled the death a homicide, but Bronx prosecutors had refused to pursue charges.
Spear had been complaining of medical issues when he was kicked repeatedly.
A verbal argument broke out in the jail's infirmary between Spear and a guard when he requested a doctor's visit.
Brian Coll, a former guard, forced Spear to the ground, placed him in handcuffs, and then repeatedly kicked him in the chest and head, causing his death, according to medical officials.
He is charged with depriving Spear of his civil rights, obstruction of justice, and other counts.
Byron Taylor, a current guard, helped to restrain Spear and lied about his role to investigators, say court documents filed on Wednesday.
He is charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice through his efforts to cover up the assault.
Anthony Torres, a former office, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Spears' family said they hope today's charges "will bring justice for the officers who killed Ronald and covered up his death and also shine a window of accountability into the violence and corruption that pervades Rikers Island".
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said when announcing the charges that "Rikers inmates, although walled off from the rest of society, are not walled off from the protections of our constitution". | Two prison guards have been charged over the death of a black inmate in New York City, prosecutors in Manhattan have announced. |
34482434 | Manager Michael O'Neill and his unsung squad have battled against the odds to reach their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico - and their first European Championship finals.
It is a tremendous story of determination and team spirit - and France will surely be richer for their presence next summer.
This was arguably Windsor Park's most important one-off qualifier since November 1981 when Gerry Armstrong's winner against Israel sent manager Billy Bingham's side to Spain for the next summer's World Cup.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The nerveless victory against Greece encapsulated a wonderful campaign, an unlikely success story, and by reaching Euro 2016 O'Neill's men have equalled - some would even say surpassed - the achievement of reaching those World Cup finals in the 1980s.
O'Neill's players can take pride of place in Northern Ireland folklore and now start making headlines alongside fellow countryman Rory McIlroy, the golfing superstar who has carried the country's sporting flag so brilliantly in recent years.
McIlroy was in the crowd at Windsor Park lending his support, along with IBF super-bantamweight boxer Carl Frampton, watching new Northern Ireland sporting heroes emerge.
Belfast was alive with anticipation from early on Thursday morning, social media flooded by Northern Ireland fans expressing their hopes and dreams.
In a country of just 1.8 million people, with players pulled in from the game's outposts, O'Neill has led his men from the very depths of despair to the heights of ecstasy that greeted the final whistle after the 3-1 win over Greece had sealed their place in France.
As the players posed for selfies, supporters stayed in their seats long after the final whistle, and the country started a party that might last until next summer, the scale of what they have done bears close examination.
Just seven months into O'Neill's reign, they hit their lowest ebb as they were 129th in the Fifa rankings - they now stand proudly at 35th.
England expect qualification as they call on players from the Premier League's superpowers. Northern Ireland have pulled this off on the international equivalent of a shoestring budget.
And to put the achievement into a recent historical context, it was only two years ago that they lost successive games 3-2 to Luxembourg - only that country's fourth international win - and 2-0 in Azerbaijan.
From threatening to preside over one of Northern Ireland's most embarrassing footballing eras, O'Neill has transformed it into glory that will now be showcased in France.
And the way in which he has manoeuvred a low-key squad means he can rightly take his place alongside Bingham, manager at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and Peter Doherty, who was in charge for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
What may make this qualification one of Northern Ireland's greatest sporting feats is that while those squads of the 1980s contained some of the country's greats, so many players now have forged a career in the lower leagues.
In those World Cups, Bingham's sides were burnished by the likes of legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings and Manchester United pair Norman Whiteside and Sammy McIlroy.
He also had players experienced at the highest level, such as Nottingham Forest European Cup winner Martin O'Neill and striker Gerry Armstrong, scorer of that famous winner in the 1-0 victory over Spain on their own turf in the summer of 1982.
Those players were feted as sporting icons of the time alongside world featherweight boxing champion Barry McGuigan, "The Clones Cyclone".
Now O'Neill and his players have the opportunity to write their names alongside those greats in Northern Ireland's sporting history.
England can call on the cream of the Premier League, Wales can pull in a superstar from La Liga in Real Madrid's Gareth Bale - but Northern Ireland cast their net around the lower divisions for the majority of their squad.
And yet they have made the finals in France, getting their vital win without their most experienced defender, West Bromwich Albion's Jonny Evans, after he was injured at the weekend and top scorer Kyle Lafferty, who has scored seven goals in qualifiers but was suspended on Thursday.
Derby County defender Chris Baird was also missing through suspension - no problem for a squad built on passion, spirit and no little ability.
There was a Premier League presence in the starting line-up in the shape of Manchester United youngster Paddy McNair, 35-year-old West Bromwich Albion defender Gareth McAuley and his Baggies' team-mate Chris Brunt.
Watford's Craig Cathcart also played his part, with 30-year-old Southampton midfield man Steven Davis the hero of the night with two goals.
They are among the bigger names, but the likes of 31-year-old Hamiton Academical keeper Michael McGovern, Reading's Oliver Norwood, Blackburn Rovers' Corry Evans, Stuart Dallas of Leeds United, Nottingham Forest's Jamie Ward and Kilmarnock's Josh Magennis, the other goalscorer, all added their names to the list of heroes.
Magennis was not even born the last time Northern Ireland reached a major tournament.
Elsewhere, and equally valuable to O'Neill, are squad members such as Fleetwood Town right-back Conor McLaughlin, who was playing a 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United last weekend that left them 23rd in League One.
He was suspended for the Greece game - but has played his part in the Euro 2016 campaign and can now look forward to a drastic change of sporting scenery in France next summer.
It is the way in which O'Neill has moulded this nomadic group together that is a tribute to him and them - and proof that team spirit, shrewd man management and growing confidence can go a long way.
When O'Neill presided over those two humiliating defeats to Luxembourg and Azerbaijan in a dismal 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, even he would have thought the notion of him as a national hero far-fetched.
Not any more as he can now be bracketed with the great managers of this small, proud sporting country as it prepares for Euro 2016. How wonderfully he has rewarded the Irish FA for keeping faith despite those humbling losses.
The 46-year-old took charge at the end December 2011, shortly after leaving Shamrock Rovers, where he made history as they became the first League Of Ireland side to reach the group stages of a European competition, in the Europa League.
The celebratory scenes of Thursday in Belfast looked far distant after a World Cup Campaign that brought only one win 10 qualifiers, but O'Neill's calm, measured approach - allied to superb man management - has turned Northern Ireland's fortunes around.
A keen devotee of modern football techniques and sports science, he has forged a close bond with his players, perhaps best exemplified by the manner in which the unpredictable and temperamental Lafferty, prone to indiscipline, has become the symbol of his and Northern Ireland's success.
O'Neill had a journeyman's playing career as a forward, starting at Coleraine and moving between England and Scotland with clubs such as Newcastle United, Dundee United, Hibernian and Coventry City. He won 31 Northern Ireland caps, scoring four goals.
His managerial road started at Brechin City before reaching its peak on Thursday night. O'Neill may be understated and not a character to shout from the rooftops - but why should he when results speak so eloquently on his behalf?
And while much focus has been placed on how he has galvanised a group of players, many of whom are under the radar when it comes to profile, it must not be forgotten that Northern Ireland have played with style as well as spirit in this qualifying campaign.
Six wins from nine games, with only one defeat in Romania, leaves them with every chance of topping Group F, three points clear of the Romanians as they go into their last game away to Finland on Sunday.
O'Neill has been the catalyst. His achievement will inevitably catch the eye of clubs - but for now this most focused of individuals can concentrate on his greatest challenge with Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland's real victory is reaching the Euros when few gave them a chance. Now can they make fresh shockwaves at Euro 2016?
It must not be forgotten they finished fifth in their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, below Azerbaijan and just a point ahead of Luxembourg. This is an illustration of the country's rapid football rise.
Reality states that they will travel to France as one of the underdogs - but history also tells us Northern Ireland must never be underestimated.
Memories of 15 June 1982 and the night hosts Spain were beaten in Valencia at the World Cup will be revived.
Northern Ireland's results prove they cannot be taken lightly and O'Neill's men, plus thousands of fans, will travel with confidence. | Northern Ireland ended 30 years of waiting to rejoin football's elite after qualifying for Euro 2016 with victory over Greece at a Windsor Park stadium awash with emotion. |
38069228 | Thirty-one of the youngsters, said to be under the age of 18, were reunited with family members in Britain.
Six, who are eligible for asylum, are being helped into more permanent living arrangements.
The Home Office says no more young people are expected to be transferred to the centre near Great Torrington where they arrived on 24 October.
More on the refugees, plus more Devon and Cornwall news
Some local community groups welcomed the child migrants, but there were also protests.
The Home Office, which ran the operation to resettle the children, maintained the hostel was a temporary respite measure.
It was designed to provide a safe and welcoming base before the children were moved to other areas of Britain.
The Jungle camp has since been bulldozed by the French authorities. | All the children brought to a facility in Devon from the so-called Jungle migrant camp in Calais have now left. |
29437672 | Cecilio Lopez Sanchez was hoisted out of the cave near Chachapoyas in north-eastern Peru on Tuesday.
Mr Sanchez, a native of Madrid, suffered spinal injuries after an accident in the cave almost two weeks ago.
He was airlifted to hospital in the Peruvian capital Lima, where police say he is in a stable condition.
More than 100 rescue workers cheered as Mr Sanchez was lifted out of the cave after a painstaking operation.
Many of them had travelled from Spain to take part in the rescue.
The operation involved winching Mr Sanchez out of the cave on a stretcher.
Heavy winds, rain and cold temperatures complicated the rescue attempt.
He was airlifted by a Peruvian air force helicopter to a nearby airfield, then flown to Lima for treatment. | A Spanish caver has been freed after being trapped in a 400m deep cave in Peru for 12 days. |
36457825 | It has been described as one of the firm's "worst ever" financial periods.
The annual accounts of Short Brothers PLC - the company's Northern Ireland operation - warn "challenges will continue".
The Canadian parent company required a £1bn bail-out last year, as problems with its CSeries aircraft brought the business to its knees.
In February, it announced more than 1,000 jobs would be lost in Belfast.
The accounts for its local division show a major reversal in fortunes from 2014, when Belfast posted a £73m operating profit.
The 2015 loss "effectively negates any profit the company has made this decade".
The losses mostly reflect "write-downs" on the CSeries programme - the wings for the aircraft are manufactured in east Belfast.
Paperwork filed with the accounts states: "The company is striving to win new contracts but ... it has been difficult to identify suitable new business.
"The current focus is to drive for further cost reduction, both internally and in our worldwide supply base."
More recently, Bombardier's fortunes have been boosted by a major order for CSeries from US airline Delta. | Bombardier in Belfast has reported an operating loss of $280m (£194m) in 2015. |
22984548 | Mr Assange said he had been in touch with lawyers for Mr Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong before the scandal broke.
Iceland's PM said "informal discussions" had been held with an intermediary of the ex-CIA contractor.
But Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson said Mr Snowden, 29, would need to be in Iceland to apply for asylum.
Mr Snowden, who most recently worked as a contract computer technician for the National Security Agency (NSA), the US electronic spying agency, has vowed to fight any extradition attempts by the US.
The US has yet to file a formal request for his extradition from the Chinese territory.
The leaks, published in a series of articles this month in The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers, revealed that US agencies had systematically gathered vast amounts of phone and web data.
"We are in touch with Mr Snowden's legal team and have been, are involved, in the process of brokering his asylum in Iceland," said Mr Assange in a conference call from the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he himself is fighting extradition to Sweden.
On Monday, Mr Snowden said US officials had destroyed any possibility of a fair trial by labelling him a traitor.
"The US government, just as they did with other whistleblowers, immediately and predictably destroyed any possibility of a fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason," he wrote in a live online chat.
Former Vice-President Dick Cheney and two influential members of the US Congress have accused the leaker of betraying his country.
Mr Snowden's father has also urged his son not to commit "treason", using a US TV interview this week to urge him to come home and "face justice".
NSA Director Gen Keith Alexander told Congress on Wednesday that surveillance programmes leaked by Mr Snowden had helped thwart 50 attacks since 2001.
Plans to attack the New York Stock Exchange were among 10 plots targeting the US that had been stopped, Mr Alexander told the intelligence committee of the House of Representatives, adding that the snooping operations were critical.
Julian Assange walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in London on 19 June 2012 when his appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on accusations of sex crimes was turned down.
He has always denied the accusations, and said on Wednesday he would stay in the embassy even if they were dropped, as he still feared being sent to the US for releasing secret documents.
Wikileaks made headlines around the world in 2010 after it released more than 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables. | Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is trying to broker a deal that would see US surveillance programme leaker Edward Snowden granted asylum in Iceland. |
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