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17873163 | On 8 March 2011, while reporting on the Libya uprising for BBC Arabic TV, I was picked up at an army roadblock near Tripoli along with two BBC colleagues.
We were imprisoned, beaten and subject to mock executions at Khalat al-Farjan farm behind the Yarmouk headquarters just outside Tripoli. But we were some of the lucky ones. After 22 hours we were released.
A few months later, many of the inmates would be killed, when with rebel forces approaching the capital, the guards were ordered to kill all the prisoners.
The compound where I was held was the scene of one of the worst atrocities recorded in the conflict.
Hussein al-Lafi and his three brothers were among 50 prisoners crowded into a small warehouse when the prison guards attacked.
"We saw them throwing hand grenades inside," said Hussein, saying the first one landed right in the middle of the room amongst the men.
He names a man who he says took a leading role in the attack.
"Between the second and third grenade, Ibrahim Tajouri came in and started shooting," he said.
Hussein told me how he called out to his three brothers in the warehouse, but none of them survived the attack.
"After the shooting stopped, I pushed the dead bodies off me."
Hussein's first brother Jamal was lying on top of a pile of bodies. "His eyes were open, I called him, 'Jamal, Jamal' and he didn't answer."
His second brother Usama had been hit in the heart and in the shoulder and the bottom of his leg was missing.
His older brother Mohammad was next to the wall. "I touched him and I could feel that his leg was missing. He said to me: 'Run away, save yourself, and go tell the world that we've been slaughtered'."
In the confusion of the explosions and the shooting Hussein was one of the few prisoners who managed to escape.
Those left behind did not stand a chance. The soldiers finished off any wounded survivors one by one and set the place on fire.
A few days after the massacre, Ibrahim Tajouri gave himself up to the rebel authorities who had now taken over the city. He has been in custody ever since.
He faces charges over the massacre, but he waived his right to anonymity to tell his story. He alleges he was following orders from his superior.
"When the rebels entered Tripoli, Mohammad Mansour - the prison commander - gave orders to kill the prisoners.
"He came to the detention centre where the prisoners were being held, he threatened us with his gun and said that we must kill them now, so we got some hand grenades and threw them at the prisoners."
The whereabouts of Mohammad Mansour are not currently known.
I asked Tajouri how he feels about what he did now.
"I took drugs, I wasn't in control of my actions. My conscience is full of guilt because of what I have done. I ask them for forgiveness."
Another prisoner, Bashir al-Sadeq, was also held in the warehouse and witnessed Tajouri's role in the attack.
"Yes, he came inside and emptied more than three magazines," he said.
Hussein and Bashir agreed to come with me to face Ibrahim Tajouri for the first time since the massacre.
Bashir confronted Tajouri. "When you entered, you finished off a group which included Sheikh Mohammed Allafi. He was kneeling down and you shot him in the back. That was my brother.
"Then you turned and you shot the group which included the Egyptians and the old Palestinian man who was about 80 years old. You emptied nearly four magazines.
"You killed Sheikh Ramadhan when you turned towards him and shot him four times - Don't tell me you don't remember."
"I don't remember," said Tajouri. "I was under the influence of drugs."
I asked Tajouri what he has to say to the two men who have suffered so much. "I would ask them for forgiveness. Forgiveness in this life and the next," he responded.
But Hussein, who lost his three brothers was not convinced. "If I had a weapon I would finish him off," said Hussein. "But we hope he will be tried quickly."
"Is there any chance for reconciliation?" I asked Bashir. "As far as reconciliation is concerned," he responded, "after they have been punished by the law, then national reconciliation can take place.
"But without justice there can be no reconciliation."
Tajouri is still in jail with no prospect of a day in court.
Libya's Torture Farms will be screened on BBC Arabic TV on Monday 30 April, 2012 at 19:07 GMT | A BBC journalist arrested and held by Muammar Gaddafi's forces during the Libya uprising has returned to the prison where he was held to track down some of the wardens and prisoners housed there and to hear first hand accounts of a massacre. |
35681592 | Much of the interior of the castle, which dates from the 11th Century, was destroyed after the Middle Ages.
Archaeologists hope methods such as aerial photography and radar will reveal its secrets, including a chamber block where Henry may have been born.
A Castle Studies Trust grant will help pay for the research.
Aerial photographs taken in 2013 have given glimpses of what lies beneath the surface, with parch marks showing the outline of a number of possible buildings.
Dyfed Archaeology Trust will carry out the work. | Details of the exact location of Henry VII's birthplace at Pembroke Castle could be uncovered by researchers using geophysical techniques. |
31487860 | The 34-year-old is the second-highest points scorer in Premiership history, with 2,147 for Leicester, Saracens, Worcester and Wasps.
Goode, who won 17 England caps, turned down the chance to stay at Wasps in a coaching capacity.
"He has a wealth of experience to offer and is also a leader," said Exiles director of operations Bob Casey.
"Andy has proven himself as one of the best fly-halves in the Premiership and we are delighted he has signed for us."
Goode, who is out of contract at Wasps at the end of the season, said he wanted to extend his playing career before making the switch to coaching.
"I have huge respect for the coaches and the players at Wasps, and I am very grateful for them offering me the opportunity to start a coaching career here," he said.
"But I love playing the game and I'm excited to be joining London Irish, which is another club with fantastic opportunities ahead, following a similar re-building process to Wasps.
"The facilities are very impressive and having spoken to the management and coaching staff, it is a club I am really excited to be joining.
"I have had two brilliant years at Wasps and will leave with many fond memories."
The Coventry-born fly-half - and lifelong Sky Blues fan - set a Premiership record of 33 points against the Exiles earlier this season with a fairytale performance on Wasps' first appearance at the Ricoh Arena.
Goode won five Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups during nine seasons with Leicester, either side of a stint at Saracens, before moving to French side Brive, Worcester and then on to Wasps as well as a short spell in Super Rugby with the Sharks.
His England career came between 2005 and 2009, but Goode never truly established himself in the number 10 jersey for his country during a difficult time for the national side.
However, he proved himself a valuable asset at club level, with only Saracens fly-half Charlie Hodgson bettering his points tally in the top flight.
"We would have loved for Andy to stay at Wasps in a coaching capacity next season, but we fully understand his decision to play on at London Irish, during an exciting time for that club as well," said Wasps director of rugby Dai Young.
"Goodey has been a tremendous ambassador for Wasps since joining two seasons ago, both on and off the field. His performance against London Irish at our first game at the Ricoh Arena will live long in the memory."
Meanwhile, London Irish have also signed utility back Andy Short from Bristol on loan until the end of the season.
The 23-year-old former England Under-20 international is set to rejoin Worcester when his Bristol contract expires in the summer.
''The opportunity came up for us to bring Andy in for the rest of the season and it is a good fit for all involved," said Exiles head coach Glenn Delaney. "Andy will suit our style of play and be an asset to the group for the remainder of the season." | Experienced fly-half Andy Goode will leave Wasps at the end of the season to join Premiership rivals London Irish. |
38087352 | The result at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday - which leaves Arsenal second in Group A - was their third successive draw in all competitions, although they are unbeaten in 18 matches.
The Frenchman said that the Gunners need to "transform draws into wins".
He added: "Sometimes you go through spells when you win a bit less."
Arsenal were 2-1 up in the second half against the French champions and seeking the win that would have put them top of Group A, but Lucas' header gave the visitors an equaliser 13 minutes from time.
In the Gunners' previous two games, they were held to draws by Tottenham and Manchester United in the Premier League.
"We have a special strength in the squad, a consistency in results," Wenger added. "We are unbeaten in 18 games. But we have to continue without losing and transform draws into wins."
Arsenal have failed to get past the last 16 of the Champions League in the past six seasons, but Wenger refused to concede his team had blown their chances of finishing top of their section after the penultimate game of the group stages.
"At the moment we are second but it's not over," said the Frenchman, whose team will conclude their group games with a trip to Basel on 6 December.
"We have a 90% chance to finish second, and we wanted to finish first. But we've not lost a game in this group.
"Overall, we've done the job well. Will we be lucky enough to finish first? I don't know, and we'd have to wait for the draw.
"You can't guess whether it's good or bad. The advantage if you finish first is to play the second game at home."
BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty
The price Arsenal will pay for not holding on to their lead is likely to be a tougher draw in the last 16.
Wenger had a resigned air post-match but the Gunners can have no complaints at drawing with an excellent PSG side under the stewardship of a real European specialist in Unai Emery, who has won the Europa League in the past three seasons with Sevilla.
Wenger will hope for a final twist when Arsenal travel to Basel and PSG face Ludogorets at home in the final round of games, but he can take satisfaction from the fact his side are in the last 16 once more.
Much is made of Arsenal's exit at that stage in each of the last six seasons, but as Tottenham proved with their demise, that sort of consistency should not be underestimated. | Arsene Wenger says there is no reason to panic after his Arsenal side were held to a 2-2 draw by Paris St-Germain in the Champions League. |
34670774 | Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir made the remarks as talks among international foreign ministers on the crisis get under way in Vienna.
Iran is for the first time taking part in such talks, which will also include Russia and Turkey.
Russia and Iran both support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
They have both recently stepped up their military role in the conflict.
The US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab nations have long insisted Mr Assad cannot play any long-term role in Syria's future.
Mr Jubeir told the BBC that there was "no doubt" Mr Assad had to go. "He will go either through a political process or he will be removed by force," he said.
Earlier American Secretary of State John Kerry said the US was intensifying diplomatic efforts to end the "hell" of Syria's civil war even as it increases support for moderate rebels.
Foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany, Egypt, Lebanon and the EU have also confirmed they will attend the meeting, and other Middle Eastern powers are also expected.
Iran's Quds newspaper sees Iran's invitation to the talks as US "acknowledgement of Iran's influential position in resolving the Syrian crisis".
Saudi Arabia's Al-Jazirah warns of "more Iranian political and military expansion" should Mr Assad remain in power, leading to Tehran "[reshaping] everything for its own benefits".
Lebanese daily Al-Nahar speculates that the US's "sudden decision" to invite Iran to the talks "reflects changes that occurred because of the Russian military intervention".
Jordan's Al-Ra'i notes that Iran's inclusion "would be in support of Russian diplomacy", which was "standing alone" at previous talks.
In a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank in Washington, ahead of the talks, Mr Kerry said:
"At the end of the day, nothing would do more to bolster the fight against Daesh [the Islamic State militant group] than a political transition that sidelines Assad so that we can unite more of the country against extremism."
But in his speech, Mr Kerry stressed that the US and Russia also shared "common ground", arguing that both want "a united, secular Syria".
Four years into Syria's civil war, and with Russia now conducting its own bombing campaign there separate from that of the US-led coalition, the conflict looks more dangerous than ever.
But it has also created a new urgency to try to find a way out of the fighting.
Some of the impetus comes from Russia, keen to be seen as a major player and anxious, apparently, to keep its air strikes limited.
It is also due to a new readiness by the United States and Saudi Arabia to hear what Iran has to say - especially about the main point of disagreement: what role Syria's President Assad should be allowed to play in any transition.
The Saudis and most Western powers see him as an obstacle. The Russians and Iranians argue he is a vital partner.
The test of this Vienna meeting is whether there is any movement towards a compromise.
But even without tangible progress, the very fact such a high-profile gathering is happening could mark an important step in the search for a way out of Syria's nightmare.
Iran now seen as part of solution to Syria conflict
Washington struggles for clear line on Syria
Iran is believed to have spent billions of dollars over the past four years propping up Mr Assad's government, providing military advisers and subsidising weapons.
However, Syria's political opposition has warned that Iran's involvement will only complicate the meeting in Vienna.
Iran has long acknowledged sending military advisers to Syria, but has denied the presence of any ground forces. Despite that, unconfirmed reports earlier this month said that hundreds of Iranian troops had arrived in Syria.
They were reported to be joining government forces and fighters from the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah, in assaults on rebel positions in northern and central Syria.
Russia began its military intervention in Syria at the end of last month, launching air strikes in support of Mr Assad.
Washington has accused Moscow of concentrating its air campaign in Syria on moderate opposition groups rather than on the Islamic State militant group.
Why is there a war in Syria?
Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that, four years on, has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
Who is fighting whom?
Government forces concentrated in Damascus and the centre and west of Syria are fighting the jihadists of Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, as well as less numerous so-called "moderate" rebel groups, who are strongest in the north and east. These groups are also battling each other.
What's the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured. Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.
How has the world reacted?
Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are propping up the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran are believed to have troops and officers on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russia are carrying out air strikes.
Iran's growing role in Syria's war
Syria crisis: Where key countries stand | Saudi Arabia has said Iran must accept the removal of President Bashar al-Assad as part of any solution to the conflict in Syria. |
19589265 | Employers are obliged to pay in as well, with the government adding a little extra through tax relief.
The system - called automatic enrolment - started at the beginning of October 2012 with staff who work for the biggest businesses, with others being signed up over the following six years.
Those who already save in a workplace pension scheme or are self-employed will not be signed up.
Experts and ministers say it is vital people make a start at an early stage in their working lives, to eventually have savings that will top up the state pension.
So who will automatically be enrolled into a workplace pension scheme?
A workplace pension is a saving scheme for retirement organised through an employer. The employer may have their own scheme, offer one from a specialist pension provider, or use a government-backed scheme.
Infographic: Why it pays to start saving early
Under the new system, those who work in the UK, are aged over 22 and under the state pension age, are not already in a scheme, and earn more than £8,105 a year will automatically be enrolled.
Part-time workers who earn less than that can ask to take part if they want to and, if they earn more than £5,564, their employer will be obliged to make a contribution too.
Those aged under 22, or over state pension age and still working, can also opt-in in the same way.
Do I have to take part?
No. You may decide that you need all of your monthly pay to make ends meet or you have a private pension policy you think is sufficient.
Source: Towers Watson
Staff will be given a letter about the scheme when it starts at their workplace. This will explain who the pension provider is. Workers can ask this provider for an opt-out form.
If they fill it in within a month, then their involvement will be cancelled.
If they take longer, then they will start to build up a very small pension pot. This will still exist when the opt-out is processed, but it will just sit there untouched until retirement.
It is worth remembering that by opting out, workers will miss out on the contribution their employer puts into the pension. In the majority of cases, they simply will not get these payments in any other way, such as in their regular pay.
Those who opt out will also be enrolled again every three years by an employer, or after three months at a new job, at which point they will need to complete the opt-out process again.
When will this system start?
It will be introduced gradually over six years.
The first wave has begun, with the largest businesses - with more than 120,000 staff - starting first. As time goes on, smaller firms will start enrolling staff.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that 380,000 workers will be signed up in October, a total of 420,000 will be enrolled by the end of November, and 600,000 will be in place by the end of the year.
Firms with fewer than 50 workers will not start enrolling their staff until June 2015 at the earliest. But even the smallest employer - such as a plumber employing a full-time assistant - will eventually be obliged by law to enrol staff.
The Pensions Regulator is policing the system to ensure workers are enrolled at the correct time.
How much will I save?
At first, an employee will only see a minimum of 0.8% of their earnings going to their workplace pension. Their employer will be obliged to add a contribution that is the equivalent of 1% of the worker's earnings. Tax relief adds another 0.2%.
However, these amounts will increase to a minimum of a 4% contribution from the employee, 3% from the employer, and 1% in tax relief from October 2018.
This means the equivalent of 8% of a worker's earnings (including overtime, but excluding any earnings over £42,275) will go into their pension pot.
That means that from October 2018, somebody earning £20,000 a year would see £96.24 going into their pension pot every month. For this, some £48.12 will be taken from their take-home pay.
They will not be able to get at the funds until the age of 55 at the earliest so, in the meantime, the money is invested. The pension firm, insurance company, or government-backed organisation that is running the scheme will give each worker a choice on how risky they want these investments to be.
There will also be options for people to choose Sharia-compliant, or ethical funds.
There will be a default option. This generally starts very safely, tries to make a bigger return during a worker's middle age, then plays safe again as he or she approaches retirement.
There will be a charge levied by the pension provider, which is taken automatically each year from the pot.
It is very difficult to predict what sort of pension somebody would have at the end of the process, owing to the impact of the success of investments, changes to people's earnings and the age at which they decide to retire.
However, as a ballpark figure, a 30-year-old who earns £20,000 now, sees a 1% above inflation pay rise each year, makes the minimum contributions permitted, whose investments have a small but regular return and who retires at 70 may receive a pension each year of £2,100 at today's prices.
"For many people this will not be enough [in retirement]," says Malcolm McLean, a consultant for Barnett Waddingham.
However, he says it will be good for people to get into the savings habit, as they may also choose to have parallel savings for retirement.
Has this automatic enrolment system been used in other countries?
A number of countries have implemented schemes aimed at encouraging saving for a pension - many of which have mandatory participation.
The KiwiSaver in New Zealand is the closest relation to the new UK scheme.
A large number of people remain in the system, owing in part to government incentives, clear communication when it was launched and beneficial tax rules, according to a report for the DWP.
Many of the schemes around the world have been introduced in the past 20 years, and - with the exception of the KiwiSaver - there has been little done to review how successful the schemes have been so far. | Millions of workers in the UK will gradually see a slice of their pay packet being automatically diverted to a savings pot for their pension. |
18595884 | Since the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, there have been almost daily reports of deaths. Among these, eight major incidents stand out as particularly violent episodes. Explore the map below to find out more. | Thousands of Syrians have been killed and injured in the escalating violence that is now threatening to tear the country apart. |
31526088 | It is feared schoolboy Cameron Comey, who is from the town, fell into the River Towy on Tuesday after playing with his brother nearby.
The rescue operation has now lasted three days and is scheduled to resume on Friday morning.
A team of 50 are involved in the search including Dyfed-Powys Police, the fire service, coastguard and lifeboat teams.
On Thursday, the specialist dive team from South Wales Police joined the search while the police helicopter was on hand to assist in identifying possible search areas.
Philip Grice, deputy chairman of governors at Queen Elizabeth High School, where Cameron is a pupil, said it was a "terrible time" for everyone.
"Our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to the young man and his family," he said.
"They are quite a well-known family in the town and they have lived here for many years."
Prayers for Cameron and the lighting of candles will take place in St Peter's Church in Carmarthen at 10:00 GMT on Friday.
Ministers and local vicars of all denominations will be present at the church.
Wet weather has made search conditions more difficult and the river is fast flowing.
Kayaks and boats have been out on the water while dogs and search crews have walked along the river banks near the spot, known locally as "the steels", where Cameron is believed to have fallen in.
It is given that name because of steel plates forming new banks after the river was moved to make way for a new dual carriageway.
Dyfed-Powys police and crime commissioner Christopher Salmon tweeted his thanks to the search teams and the public for their efforts in the search. He added: "Thoughts with family."
Anyone in the area between 14:00 and 16:00 GMT on Tuesday is asked to call the police on 101. | The search for an 11-year-old boy in a Carmarthen river has ended for the day. |
39339418 | Monitoring birds for viruses that carry the change could provide early warning of risk to people, they say.
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong studied a strain of bird flu that has caused human cases in China for several years.
Birds carry many flu viruses, but only a few strains can cause human disease.
H7N9 is a strain of bird flu that has caused more than 1,000 infections in people in China, according to the World Health Organization.
Most cases are linked to contact with infected poultry or live poultry markets.
The change in a single nucleotide (a building block of RNA) allows the H7N9 virus to infect human cells as well as birds, say Prof Honglin Chen and colleagues.
They say there is "strong interest in understanding the mechanism underpinning the ability of this virus to cause human infections and identification of residues that support replication in mammalians cells is important for surveillance of circulating strains."
Dr Derek Gatherer, an expert on viruses at Lancaster University, UK, says more surveillance of bird flu viruses is needed.
"The recent flare-up of H7N9 bird flu in China has been the cause of some concern this winter, and the demonstration that the new replicative efficiency mutation is present in this strain is not good news," he told BBC News.
"Also, the observation that this mutation has been present in other bird flu subtypes like H9N2 and spreading slowly for over 15 years shows that H7N9 isn't the only kind of bird flu that is potentially a pandemic risk for humans.
"We need to maintain a broader surveillance of bird flu to identify which strains have this mutation."
The research, published in the journal, Nature Communications, will help scientists understand more about how bird flu viruses adapt to infect humans.
Follow Helen on Twitter. | A change in just a single genetic "letter" of the flu virus allows bird flu to pass to humans, according to scientists. |
37038864 | The company said the exam would put drivers out of work.
From 1 October, Transport for London (TfL) will require the qualification of licence applicants from countries where English is not the majority language.
The new rules will apply to anyone seeking a new licence or a licence renewal.
Initial proposals had called for only proficiency in spoken English, but the final draft requires, among other criteria, at least an intermediate language qualification.
Besides the spoken portion, the exam also tests reading, writing and listening skills.
It is referred to as the "B1" level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Someone who passes will have the "ability to express oneself in a limited way in familiar situations and to deal in a general way with non-routine information", the framework says.
Uber said it supported the need for drivers to pass a spoken exam but the requirement to pass a written English exam would "threaten the livelihood of thousands of drivers".
In an email to users calling on them to write to the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, Uber's general manager in London, Tom Elvidge, said: "Fewer drivers will mean longer waiting times or no cars when you need them most."
He also said the B1 qualification would demand more of applicants than the British citizenship test.
In addition, Mr Elvidge said TfL's new rules were more stringent than those the government applied to employees who interacted with the public as part of their duties.
Helen Chapman, TfL's general manager of taxi and private hire, said they were "working to modernise and improve standards in London's private hire industry" and it was appropriate for an English language requirement to apply to private hire drivers.
A TfL spokesman said it was presumed that to pass the black cab drivers' "Knowledge" exam, applicants would need a much higher proficiency in English than the intermediate level to be required of private hire drivers. | Transport bosses have defended new regulations requiring private hire drivers to pass a test in English, following criticism from Uber. |
33945950 | Two trains carrying ballast for engineering work collided on the track at Logan, near Cumnock, two weeks ago.
Network Rail said a 130-tonne locomotive engine and 16 wagons were moved from the site by Friday.
Engineers are now working "round-the-clock" to repair the damaged track in time to reopen the line.
Before lifting the engine and wagons, engineers had to first construct a 350m-long haul road, and operating pad, for the 1,000-tonne crane which was required to remove the wagons and the locomotive.
The derailment happened on Saturday 1 August, when two freight trains collided while delivering materials to an engineering work-site on the line, which was closed at the time. No-one was injured in the incident.
The rail line between Kilmarnock and Dumfries has been closed during the work. | Engineers say they are "confident" the rail line through Ayrshire will reopen on Monday after work to remove derailed wagons was completed. |
28271989 | In 2008 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said all pregnant women should be offered the ultrasound scan and blood test.
But currently only patients in north Wales are offered screening.
The Welsh government said introducing the test across Wales had been "challenging".
The guidelines recommended that all pregnant women are offered a combined ultrasound and blood test which identifies the risk of having a baby with a genetic condition caused by abnormal chromosomes, including Down's syndrome.
Dr Bryan Beattie, a consultant in foetal medicine at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, said he expected the combined test to be rolled out across Wales from September to November.
He said: "It has been incredibly slow. A lot of mothers who have given birth to a baby with Down's syndrome over the last six years would not have had an opportunity for a combined test.
"The other even sadder thing is that some mothers unnecessarily miscarried a healthy baby [after an amniocentesis].
"They would not have been wrongly flagged up as a high risk if they had had the combined test."
Jane Fisher, director of Antenatal Results and Choices (Arc) said: "We're alarmed that it's taking so long to roll out in Wales.
North Wales Conservative AM Antoinette Sandbach said: "While I am pleased for my constituents, that finally the ultrasound test has been introduced in north Wales, patients in the rest of Wales still face the same dilemma, either to go private or face an out-dated and far more invasive test on the NHS," she said.
In a written answer to Ms Sandbach, Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the screening was being introduced in a "phased manner".
"Implementing this screening test is complex and has proved challenging for health boards," he said.
Mr Drakeford said the additional work required more from midwives, obstetrics and radiology departments, together with upgraded radiology information management system software.
Down's syndrome is a congenital disorder resulting from an extra copy of one chromosome.
This generally causes some level of learning disability and a range of distinctive physical features.
In the UK, 750 babies are born with Down's syndrome each year and screening tests are available for pregnant women.
There are an estimated 60,000 people in the UK living with Down's syndrome.
Source: Down's Syndrome Association
There are two types of tests available on the NHS to test for conditions caused by a fault in a foetus's chromosomes.
The recommended test involves an ultrasound which measures the thickness of fluid at the back of the baby's neck and is known as a nuchal transparency scan. If the fluid is thicker than the norm, it can be an indicator that the foetus has a chromosomal defect, although not all higher readings will mean this.
At the same time, a blood test is done measuring proteins in the mother's blood which are associated with pregnancy. An abnormal level can also indicate problems.
This is carried out between 11 weeks and 14 weeks.
If the combined test is not done, a woman can have a different blood test known as the quadruple test at between 14 weeks and 20 weeks.
Both types of test are combined with the mother's age to produce the individual chance of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality (for example 1 in 500).
The only two ways to diagnose Down's Syndrome and other genetic conditions is to either have a procedure known as chorionic villus samplin from 11 weeks or an amniocentesis test from 15 weeks, both of which involve passing a needle into the womb and either removing a sample of the placenta or amniotic fluid.
Source: NHS Choices | A new screening test for Down's syndrome is still not available across the Welsh NHS, six years after guidelines said it should be. |
33902059 | Security forces surrounded the USDP offices on Wednesday, preventing officials from leaving.
Myanmar is holding elections in three months, its first since democratic reforms began in 2011.
Shwe Mann had been rumoured to be discussing an alliance with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) is expected to do well in the 8 November elections, while many believe the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will perform poorly.
However, Ms Suu Kyi is barred by the constitution from contesting the presidency, so negotiations between the NLD and USDP could help determine who ends up leading Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Read more: Myanmar's 2015 general elections explained
Analysis by Moe Myint, BBC Burmese service
Aung San Suu Kyi and Shwe Mann have often expressed that they have a mutual understanding for future co-operation.
One likely area is thought to be amendment of the constitution, which prevents Ms Suu Kyi from running for the presidency.
But for conservative forces in the ruling USDP party and the military, constitutional change is seen as a threat - because the constitution gives the military an automatic 25% of seats in parliament, and safeguards the traditional alliance between the USDP and the armed forces.
This latest move means an inner circle of the president's has come out on top. It could also worsen the relationships between the ruling elites and the opposition.
Until last night Shwe Mann, one of the most capable generals in the old military regime, had been seen as a likely successor to President Thein Sein, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
Thein Sein and Shwe Mann are said to have had a tense relationship, with both men suggesting they would accept the role of president.
The two also disagreed over potential election candidates, reports said.
Sources say Shwe Mann has now been replaced by a conservative known to be close to Thein Sein and formerly military ruler Than Shwe.
Security forces could be seen outside his home on Thursday.
"Shwe Mann isn't the chairman of the party anymore," a USDP member told Reuters. "He's in good health and at home now."
A nominally civilian government was introduced in Myanmar in 2011, ending nearly 50 years of military rule.
President Thein Sein introduced reforms including freeing hundreds of prisoners and relaxing media censorship.
However, the military still maintains massive influence in Myanmar's politics, with a quarter of seats in both parliamentary chambers reserved for the military. | Myanmar's parliamentary speaker Shwe Mann has been ousted from his role as chairman of the ruling USDP party, amid a power struggle. |
40779337 | Peter Fasoli, 58, was murdered by "fantasist" Jason Marshall at home in January 2013, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Marshall, 28, later set fire to the bungalow in Northolt, west London, to cover up the murder, the jury was told. For nearly two years Mr Fasoli's death was thought to have been an accident.
Mr Marshall, of East Ham, in east London, denies murder.
It was only when his family discovered footage on Mr Fasoli's computer hard drive that it was realised he had suffered a worse fate.
The harrowing footage was found by Mr Fasoli's nephew Christopher Murgatroyd, who examined his uncle's fire-damaged computer in November 2014, looking for his uncle's research into his family tree.
Instead he found himself watching his violent death, the jury heard.
Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, told the court the attack was "as shocking as it was determined".
He warned the video evidence showed the actual killing itself, adding: "The issues in this case are such that you will need to watch what on any account is very disturbing evidence."
The defendant first got in contact with Mr Fasoli, who worked as a computer repairman, through gay social networking site Badoo in December 2012 and offered to set up a threesome, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Marshall invented the persona of a "law enforcement operative" to "dominate" his victim for his own "murderous purposes", the court heard.
An initial investigation into Mr Fasoli's death concluded it was an accident and that a fire had been sparked by a faulty light which may have fallen on to a bed.
But Mr Brown said: "The fire was intended to hide a terrible crime.
"Peter Fasoli was killed intentionally. He had been subjected to a calculated and determined attack by this defendant whom he invited into his home.
"In the end he literally fought for his life but by the time Mr Fasoli fully understood the true motives of the person who had tricked his way into his home, it was too late."
The trial continues. | A man was filmed being terrorised and then killed by a fake policeman during a bondage sex session, a jury heard. |
17763547 | The 20-member supervisory board of Europe's largest carmaker agreed to add a 12th brand to its portfolio.
The purchase will be completed when approval from the necessary regulators is received.
Ducati has won 13 rider's Superbike World Championships since 1988, and the deal means Audi's rivalry with BMW will now include superbikes.
However, one expert has questioned the wisdom of the purchase.
"I can't think of a concrete reason for Audi to warrant a business case for buying Ducati," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive, at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach.
"Ducati does not enhance Audi's business model in any way, it is just a trophy in the wall cabinet."
Ducati makes about 40,000 bikes a year across its range of cruiser, supermoto, adventure, "naked" or basic, and superbikes. | Volkswagen's Audi arm has bought Italian motorcycle firm Ducati for an undisclosed sum. |
38634384 | Howley names his Six Nations squad on Tuesday, with Wales' opening match in Italy on Sunday, 5 February.
"It would be nice if Rob went away from the status quo and picked players who perform on a weekly basis," Jones said.
"If you're young and good enough, you've got to play. Whoever's playing well needs the opportunity."
Wing Keelan Giles, 18, has impressed for Pro12 leaders Ospreys this season and was called up for Wales' autumn internationals, but did not play.
He was an unused replacement in the narrow win over Japan, but limped out of Ospreys' European Challenge Cup win against Lyon on Saturday.
James says Wasps flanker Thomas Young, 24, could be in contention to be named in the squad.
"I'd like to see him brought in to the squad," James, who won the last of his 48 Wales caps in 2007, told BBC Wales Today.
"I'd like to see Rob be a bit bolder in his selection policy and give a couple of the young guys who have excelled throughout the season a chance to play on the big arena.
"I think you need the right blend, whether you put them on the bench and bring them on gradually as the game is evolving."
Cardiff Blues flanker Sam Warburton's six-year spell as Wales captain seems set to end, with Ospreys lock Alun Wyn Jones taking over the role.
Howley must decide how to handle the absences of vastly experienced prop Gethin Jenkins and highly regarded number eight Taulupe Faletau.
Jenkins, who plays for Cardiff Blues, is not expected to return until the latter stages of the tournament as he recovers from a calf injury.
Bath's Faletau is being treated for a knee ligament injury, having been largely absent during Wales' autumn campaign for the same reason.
The former Newport Gwent Dragons player is not expected to return until after Wales' tournament starts against Italy in Rome.
Like his fellow British and Irish Lion Jenkins, Ospreys flanker Dan Lydiate is a long-term injury absentee. | Interim Wales boss Rob Howley should be "bolder" in his selection policy for this year's Six Nations, says former international Dafydd James. |
37276980 | Jessica Hedley, 25, tried to save David Christie with first aid following the crash on the A92 near Freuchie.
She had denied causing his death by careless driving, but pled guilty on the second day of her trial last month.
Hedley had been overtaking a truck at about 04:30 on 21 February 2015.
She hit Mr Christie who was travelling home to Ladybank after going to an all-night garage in Freuchie.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard the 49-year-old was riding a bike equipped with a light and was wearing a high-visibility yellow tabard when the crash happened.
Martin Green, 31, a close family friend of Mr Christie, was the last person to see him before he went out on his bike to make the two mile trip to the garage.
Mr Green said: "I had been with him all day and night. We had been drinking on and off.
"He got changed and went to cycle to Freuchie to get cigarettes.
"I expected him to be back in about 40 minutes but I got concerned when he didn't come back and phoned the police."
Defence solicitor Ross Donnelly said Hedley has been extremely remorseful from the outset.
"This incident has had a considerable impact on her and she has required treatment for panic attacks, anxiety and depression," he said.
Hedley will now face an inquiry by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. | A nurse who killed a cyclist in a head-on smash as she overtook a lorry in Fife has been ordered to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for two years. |
27194913 | The big transnational party groups in the EU have nominated their candidates to run the Commission. But later this year the EU governments will have their say - and could well come up with a different shortlist.
The mandate of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expires in November.
The biggest TV debate was on 15 May, hosted by the European Broadcasting Union. It was shown on 49 TV channels and in 24 languages. The debates are part of the political campaigning ahead of the 22-25 May European elections.
So who are the candidates?
Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg) - centre-right European People's Party (EPP)
From 1995 to 2013 Mr Juncker was Prime Minister of Luxembourg - a record tenure for a prime minister in the EU.
He is a veteran of EU politics - and of the eurozone crisis. He chaired the Eurogroup, the eurozone finance ministers who had to make tough decisions about struggling debt-laden countries, notably Greece, Cyprus, Ireland and Portugal.
He is an ardent believer in EU integration - many call him a "federalist". He played a big role in the launch of the euro.
He has defended EU subsidies for farmers, one of the EU's biggest budget areas, saying agriculture employs 30 million Europeans.
He also wants the EU to reach a free trade deal with the US, saying it will bring huge benefits to Europe.
Born in 1954, he grew up in a Europe still struggling to rebuild after World War II. He supports the EU's social justice agenda, wary of allowing the free market to dictate policy.
Commentators say he would be a strong contender for European Council President, if a different EPP candidate emerges for the top Commission job.
Martin Schulz (Germany) - centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D)
Like Mr Juncker, the outgoing president of the European Parliament is committed to deeper EU integration.
Martin Schulz was born near Aachen in 1955 - a region at the heart of the European project. In his youth he worked as a bookseller and then rose through the ranks of the German Social Democrats (SPD).
Injury dashed his hopes of becoming a professional footballer, but he was elected to the European Parliament in 1994.
In 2003 he famously clashed in the parliament with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who compared him to a Nazi concentration camp guard. The row escalated into frosty relations between Germany and Italy.
Mr Schulz has championed human rights, reform of financial markets and greater efforts to promote growth in the EU, away from austerity.
In the 15 May TV debate he praised the euro for having delivered record low inflation in Europe. Many economists however consider very low inflation - as in the EU currently - to be a mixed blessing.
Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium) - liberals (ALDE)
Born in 1953, Guy Verhofstadt is a standard-bearer for federalists in the EU.
He served as Belgian prime minister in 1999-2008. Before that he held various posts in Flemish politics and used to hold more neo-liberal or "Thatcherite" views.
During the eurozone crisis he has urged the European Commission to take bolder action, exercise economic governance and steer the member states closer together. He advocates a European Monetary Fund and issuance of common "eurobonds" to bridge the gulf between the EU's debtors and lenders.
The EU needs more cohesion, he argues, because it faces fierce competition from the US, China, India and other powers in the global economy.
In the 15 May TV debate he deplored the fact that the EU had taken in far fewer Syrian refugees than Syria's Middle Eastern neighbours.
In 2004 his name was put forward as a possible Commission president, but the job was given to Mr Barroso. The UK was among the countries which blocked Mr Verhofstadt's bid.
Ska Keller (Germany) - Greens
A rising star in the Green movement, Ska Keller is by far the youngest candidate for the Commission presidency.
She took part in the two biggest TV debates - on 28 April and 15 May - but the Greens actually have two nominees for the presidency - the other is veteran French farmers' champion Jose Bove.
Aged 32, Ms Keller was born in former East Germany, near the Polish border.
She was elected an MEP in 2009 and has specialised in issues affecting migrants, youth unemployment and fair trade.
She got loud applause in the Brussels hall on 15 May when she criticised bankers' behaviour. In general she appeared to have strong support in the audience, and got cheers on several occasions.
She also condemned arms deals between some EU countries and Russia - despite the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea. France has not halted its sale of two new warships to Russia.
And she deplored the fact that the EU loses about 1tn euros (£811bn; $1.3tn) annually through tax evasion - about 8% of total EU GDP. Her statement was derived from official estimates.
Alexis Tsipras (Greece) - European Left
The leader of Greece's main opposition bloc - Syriza - heads a broad coalition of left-wing European parties in next month's elections.
A swing to the left in the elections could put him in a strong bargaining position vis-a-vis the S&D bloc - and that could boost the chances of Martin Schulz.
Syriza stormed to second place in the Greek elections in 2012, as many voters abandoned the traditional parties in anger at the economic meltdown and massive job losses.
Born in Athens in 1974, Mr Tsipras trained as a civil engineer and was a communist in the 1980s.
He opposed the bailout terms imposed on Greece by its international creditors. He wants public services nationalised and blames free market policies for the hardship suffered by millions of Greeks.
In the 15 May debate he denounced "catastrophic austerity policies". He said what had happened in Greece was "not a success story but a social tragedy that shouldn't be repeated anywhere in Europe". | For the first time rivals have gone head-to-head live on TV in the hope of getting the top job in Brussels: president of the European Commission. |
32973997 | The recommendation follows a report into the Met Police that highlighted an "overwhelming burden" on officers.
Report author Dame Elish Angiolini also called for legal amendments so if a person is severely intoxicated they lose the capacity to consent to sex.
The Met said the report "shines an honest light" on their failings.
The review found a 68% rise in rape and penetrative offences recorded by the Met from 2005-6 to 2013-14, but there was only a 17% increase in offences charged within that time, the figures show.
Dame Elish said: "Some of the recommendations will require a willingness to undertake radical change in the approach to these cases."
The review, entitled Report of the Independent Review into the Investigation and Prosecution of Rape in London, said decisions on whether to charge people were often being made by officers without any advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which the author described as "of concern".
The 46 recommendations, which address areas including resourcing, improved training, enhanced victim care and changing the law regarding alcohol and consent, were made after discussions with rape victims and officers over the course of a year.
Dame Elish also states the system risks being "overwhelmed" by increased reporting of rape.
The report states: "Whatever the reason, it is clear that the increase in reporting is putting an overwhelming burden on staff and concern is expressed about the Metropolitan Police Service's ability to effectively manage its increasing workload."
Members of the force's Sapphire rape investigation team had an average of 15 live cases at one time, the report said.
One officer said the number of cases was "dangerous," while another said the volume of criminal investigations it had to deal with as "virtually nonsensical".
Dame Elish also said the the government would be asked to consider changing sex offence laws so that the impact of severe intoxication - like alcohol intoxication - is embedded in legislation.
Current laws do not provide a definition of whether an alleged victim is "incapable" meaning a jury has to decided if the complainant is so intoxicated they are incapable of granting consent for sex.
In response to the report, Sir Bernard said the Met would give the same priority to sexual offending as it does to counter-terrorism and the force would recruit more officers to deal with the volume of sexual offence reports.
"It's clear we need to do something - we cannot ignore this," he said.
"We have to acknowledge already we have lost 15% of our budget and we believe later this year we will lose a further 15%.
"We will look to government to see if there is anything they can do to support us. But either way, we have got to get better in terms of sexual offence investigations and in terms of reporting."
Sir Bernard has previously said cases like that of London cab driver John Worboys, who was jailed indefinitely after being linked to attacks on more than 100 women, show the Met needs to improve the way it handles rape investigations.
Baljit Ubhey, chief prosecutor for the CPS in London, said: "Many aspects of the recommendations within the review have already begun, but we must never forget that the changes and improvements we make should all be working towards our goals of providing a better service to victims and holding perpetrators to account."
Charity Rape Crisis said the report was encouraging but added that it was "imperative now that encouraging words are translated into real action and cultural change". | Improvements need to be made to the way officers and prosecutors handle rape complaints, an independent review has found. |
36423822 | The offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is reported to be directed at Manbij, a town under IS control.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said US-led pre-dawn air strikes on Manbij killed 15 civilians.
The operation aims to cut IS off from an area it uses to move weapons and fighters across the border.
Thousands of forces have been deployed in the offensive, which could take weeks, unnamed US officials told Reuters news agency.
The SDF fighters are being supported by US special forces.
US officials say the SDF force is mostly Arab with a small number of Kurds.
However, the Syrian Observatory (SOHR) said most of the fighters were from the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia.
Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group and fiercely opposes any Kurdish advances near the border.
The SOHR added the troops were about 15km (nine miles) from Manbij.
The clashes were "fierce and intense", SDF military adviser Nasser Haj Mansour told AFP news agency.
The SDF has emerged as a key ally of the US-led anti-IS coalition over the past two years, leading the fight against the militants on the ground in northern Syria.
They began an offensive last week to expel IS from territory north of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the "caliphate" proclaimed by the group in 2014.
Control of the Turkish-Syrian border is of crucial importance - US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters are pushing towards the town of Manbij in an effort to deny IS a vital swathe of territory that offers a route for supplies and foreign fighters entering Syria.
Further to the west though towards Azaz, IS has itself gone onto the attack - a sign of the vital importance it attaches to this border zone.
It is here the complexities of the Syrian conflict are most apparent. US backing for Kurdish fighters - the most capable of the forces ranged against IS - outrages the Turkish government.
Turkish border towns have come under sporadic IS rocket or artillery fire while Turkey itself has been happy to mete out punishment to both Kurdish and IS fighters when the occasion demands.
Syria's multiple conflicts are complicated enough but here they clash with the strategic interests of one of the country's most powerful neighbours. | US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters have opened up a new front against so-called Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria, close to the Turkish border. |
27703747 | The allegations, denied by the department, have been sparked by a row over funding.
Three hundred full and part-time RUC officers were killed in the Troubles.
The association was funded by the Northern Ireland Office following a recommendation from the Patten Commission.
It was also funded until recently by the Department of Justice.
Following a change in how it is classified, the association now has to apply for funds from the Department of Justice rather than receiving them automatically.
But since the change, the association has failed to access £38,000.
The Widows Association said it did not wish to comment but the BBC has seen a written complaint to MLAs.
In the written complaint, the treasurer of the association, Danna Cochrane, said: "Members of the association feel the withdrawal of the funding is an insult to all those members of the RUC George Cross (GC) and the RUC GC Reserve who gave their lives, suffered horrendous injuries and who went on duty to prevent total anarchy in the province.
"The sum of money involved is a meagre £38,000, a drop in the ocean I am sure you will agree."
She said their status was changed from public to private sector and they had "no redress as there is no right of appeal".
The Ulster Unionist leader, Mike Nesbitt, who is a former victims' commissioner, has backed the association.
Mr Nesbitt said: "This should be marked in the file 'unbelievable'.
"These are the widows of people who put on uniforms, put themselves in harm's way, to protect the citizens of this country and, for the sake of £38,000, they are being left to feel like they are being ignored, undervalued and dismissed."
However, Justice Minister David Ford accused Mr Nesbitt of making a "cheap political attack".
Mr Ford said: "The reality is that, following the devolution of justice, it was the Department of Finance, not the Department of Justice, who did a formal assessment and said the RUC Widows' Association was a private sector body.
"On that basis, it could only be funded by an application for grant aid.
"My officials have been working with them for well over a year, and have had numerous meetings. They have given all the assistance they can but they are still awaiting a proper application. They have been given plenty of time, they have been given plenty of assistance, but they have to make an application."
A spokesperson for the department said: "While the Department of Justice is no longer able to provide annual funding to the RUC GC Widows' Association, they can avail of the opportunity to apply for grant funding.
"Departmental officials have met with the association on a number of occasions to help progress a grant application.
"An incomplete grant application was received in November 2013.
"A further three meetings took place with the association to offer support and advice on the grant application process, but to date a final completed grant application has not been received by the department."
According to the Department of Justice, it was the Department of Finance and Personnel that had "determined the association's classification as being in the private sector and was therefore, not a function of government".
"The classification essentially changed the nature of the department's relationship with the association.
"As a result, the only mechanism available to the department to provide funding... would be via the grant application process."
The Widows' Association was formed to support the families of bereaved RUC officers by the then Chief Constable, Sir John Hermon in 1980.
The Widows Association said it did not wish to comment. | The RUC Widows' Association has accused the Justice Department of insulting police officers who gave their lives during the Troubles. |
34957198 | Stephen Kinnock, the MP for Aberavon and son of the former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, told BBC Wales he opposed the air strikes.
He also accepted leader Jeremy Corbyn did not have the Parliamentary Labour Party behind him "at this time".
Prime Minister David Cameron set out his case for action on Thursday.
Conservative ministers have spent the weekend trying to secure the support of opposition MPs to back a vote on the issue, expected to take place in the coming week.
But speaking on BBC Radio Wales Sunday Supplement programme, Mr Kinnock said he remain unconvinced.
"I am opposed to the bombing of ISIL and Syria because I'm not persuaded by the prime minister's case," he said.
He argued that the issue was "complex" and that strengthened the argument for his leader to give Labour MPs a free vote on the issue.
"My personal views is that Jeremy should have offered a free vote as soon as possible after the prime minister's statement," added the MP, who was elected in this year's General Election.
He said the Labour leader could then have set out his stance against extending military intervention against so-called Islamic State. | The Labour Party leader should allow a free vote on UK air strikes in Syria, one of the party's newest Welsh MPs has said. |
36791982 | It happened in the Glenowen area at 23:00 GMT on Tuesday night.
A number of men forced their way into a house and assaulted the male occupant.
The man sustained injuries to his legs as a result of the attack. | A man in his 20s is recovering after being assaulted in what the police are describing as a paramilitary-style attack in Londonderry. |
32784979 | How important are trade unions to the Labour Party?
The Labour Party grew out of the trade union movement at the beginning of the 20th Century when, following a special trade union conference, the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) was formed out of unions and other left wing organisations.
The LRC sponsored the first two Labour MPs elected in 1900.
Today many Labour MPs come from trade union backgrounds or have close links to unions. In fact, you must be a member of a trade union to be eligible to seek selection as a Labour candidate, unless for some reason you have been prevented from doing so.
The old system of direct trade union sponsorship of MPs no longer exists, but many Labour MPs receive substantial donations to their constituency party.
What's changed?
In 2013, former leader Ed Miliband proposed historic reforms to the relationship between the party and the unions following a row over candidate selection in Falkirk.
A special Labour Party conference passed party reforms in March 2014, bringing in one member one vote for Labour leadership elections and opt-in for trade union affiliate Labour members.
The old electoral college, which gave unions, party members and MPs/MEPs a third of the vote each, was abolished.
For the next leader, voting will take place on a one-member-one-vote basis in a single section comprising Labour Party members, affiliated trade union supporters and registered supporters.
How much money does Labour get from the trade unions?
The trade unions provide the majority of recorded donations to Labour and in the past it has been income Labour could rely upon.
In 2014 unions donated around £11m to Labour, accounting for about 58% of total donations received that year. Its top donors were Unite, Unison and Usdaw.
The Electoral Commission's donation figures include the affiliation fees that trade unions pay to the Labour Party in return for the privileges of affiliated membership for themselves and their members.
For a union to affiliate nationally, it must pay £3 from its political fund for each member that it wishes to affiliate. But the way in which trade union members affiliate to Labour is undergoing changes at the moment.
Previously trade union members had been automatically affiliated to the Labour Party unless they pro-actively chose to opt out. Now they must choose to opt-in.
Trade unions will still collect a levy from their members but this will go into their own political funds rather than automatically to Labour, though they can still chose to donate this money to Labour if they wish to.
Some argue that this puts Labour's finances at risk, whilst other see it as an opportunity to change the party's funding base.
Labour highlights the income it receives in donations too small to be registered with the Electoral Commission. Figures released to the BBC show that small donations and membership accounted for 35% of Labour's income in 2014.
How many affiliated trade union supporters does Labour have now?
In the 2010 Labour leadership election, about 2.7 million ballot papers were distributed to trade unionists.
No-where near that many trade unionists will be entitled to a say this time around.
Currently the party has just 500 affiliate trade union supporters who have 'opted-in' under the new system, though Labour expects that figure to go up massively in the coming months as the trade unions begin a recruitment drive. | Labour's relationship with the trade unions is under the spotlight again as the party's leadership contest gets under way and following criticism by outgoing Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy of the influence of the Unite union. |
32106132 | The party revealed three key themes - to end poverty; to keep public services in public hands and to give more power to local communities.
They said they could send "principled" voices to Westminster to "speak up" for people in Scotland.
Voters throughout the UK will go to the polls on 7 May to choose their next MP.
The Scottish Greens are fielding candidates in 32 of the 59 Scottish constituencies.
Co-convenors Patrick Harvie MSP and Councillor Maggie Chapman both spoke at the Edinburgh launch of the party's manifesto.
Following last year's referendum, the pro-independence supporting party saw an increase in membership, which now stands at about 8,500.
It has made clear it wants an "end to austerity" and would like the minimum wage to be raised to £10 an hour by 2020.
The party backs an environmentally-friendly economy relying less on fossil fuels.
It is also a believer in free university tuition; wants a non-repayable student grant and is fully behind a free publicly available NHS.
Mr Harvie said: "Everyone is tired of the same old Westminster politics.
"Scotland is ready for change and people are eager to vote for ideas they can believe in.
"The Green membership surge means we're in a strong position to send principled voices to speak up for Scotland's communities.
"Our bold vision for Scotland and the UK is a compelling offer that others simply can't match."
Ms Chapman added: "With a £10 minimum wage we could ensure no-one works in a job that keeps them in poverty.
"By rolling back benefits cuts and lifting the punishing sanctions regime, we can restore a society with compassion.
"And with real powers devolved to Scotland and to local communities we can put people not big business in control."
What are the top issues for each political party at the 2015 general election?
Policy guide: Where the parties stand | The Scottish Greens said they had a "bold vision" for Scotland on the day they published their general election manifesto. |
37348817 | Osbourne told US TV show The Talk, which she co-hosts, that her family "put me into a facility".
"It's very weird when you suffer from a bad depression... I had a complete and utter breakdown," the star said.
"I woke up in Cedars-Sinai hospital and for probably three days I knew nothing. I couldn't think."
She added: "I couldn't talk. I could do nothing. My brain just shut down on me.
"It's hard enough surviving in this world anyway... I was doing too much of everything, thinking I'm a superwoman, 'I'm so strong. I can handle this, I can handle that'. My brain just totally fused.
"I found, for me, that group therapy was the best thing that I could do. People out there, I want you to realise there is so much help out there.
"It's nothing to be ashamed about."
Osbourne and Black Sabbath star Ozzy got back together earlier this year after splitting due to an alleged affair.
Ozzy Osbourne revealed last month he was undergoing "intense therapy" for a "sex addiction" that was putting his marriage at risk.
The Black Sabbath singer said he was "mortified" at the effect his behaviour had had on his family.
Osbourne made the statement following an interview given by his hair stylist Michelle Pugh.
Ms Pugh told People magazine she had had a "very real relationship" with the rock star which had lasted four years.
The singer and TV star Sharon have been married since 1982.
Their family life with two of their three children, Jack and Kelly, was the focus of a hit fly-on-the-wall MTV series from 2002 to 2005.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she went into hospital in Los Angeles after suffering from a secret "breakdown" last year. |
40320485 | MB Aerospace said it would recruit 160 new staff as part of the 10-year agreement with Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation (UTC).
The Motherwell-based company said the contract was a "milestone opportunity".
MB Aerospace also has manufacturing operations in the US and Poland and employs about 1,600 people.
A majority stake in the Scottish firm was taken by Blackstone private equity in 2013.
Chief executive Craig Gallagher said: "We are hugely respectful of the trust placed in us by United Technologies and Pratt & Whitney to support their programs.
"MB Aerospace and UTC already possess a strong working relationship across Pratt & Whitney's installed base programs, and this contract represents a milestone opportunity for our world class teams to support UTC.
"The MB Aerospace group has already invested more than $50m in machining technology, facilities expansion and in the last year has recruited an additional 100 new full-time employees in support of this growth and ahead of the agreement of this exciting contract.
"Included in our investment in people is a ground-breaking engineering services team of more than 40 technical and programming specialists to support each of our business units from a central hub located in Rzeszow, Poland.
"We plan to grow this team to at least 100 engineering specialists to support our customers through the intense period of growth facing the industry in the next three to five years."
Sam Abdelmalek, Pratt & Whitney vice president, said: "We value our long-standing relationship, and MB Aerospace is a critical supplier in our world-class supply chain.
"As Pratt & Whitney strives for supply chain excellence, suppliers like MB Aerospace that commit to our supplier gold program, cost reductions and contractual governance will have opportunities to grow with us." | A Scottish engineering firm has signed a $1bn (£780m) contract to provide flight engine parts to a US company. |
33896234 | Police said he was one of a number of suspects in the murder of Gerard Jock Davison, who was shot dead in May.
Mr McGuigan was shot at Comber Court in the Short Strand on Wednesday night.
Sinn Féin has denied speculation that Provisional IRA may have been involved in his murder. The DUP said there will be "repercussions" if that is the case.
Mr McGuigan, a father-of-nine, was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, but he died from his wounds.
Heavily armed officers set up a cordon in the Short Strand within minutes of the gun attack, which was reported shortly before 21:00 BST.
Police have begun a murder investigation and appealed for anyone with information to contact them.
The victim's elderly mother, Margaret McGuigan, told the BBC that her son's killers would have to live with what they had done.
She added there had been "too many murders" in the area and that she hoped her son's would be the last.
Mr McGuigan had been questioned by police after the murder of Jock Davison in the Markets area of Belfast three months ago.
Mr Davison, 47, was a former IRA commander and a former friend of Mr McGuigan.
The IRA pair were also founding members of the paramilitary group Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD), which killed more than a dozen alleged drug dealers.
They were later involved in a feud, and Mr McGuigan was shot several times in a so-called punishment attack.
It was claimed that Mr Davison gave the order for that attack on his former friend.
Politicians have condemned the murder and said Mr McGuigan's killer must be caught.
Northern Ireland's First Minster and DUP leader, Peter Robinson, was asked if he was concerned that IRA or former IRA members may have carried out the attack.
"I think everyone should be concerned that would be the case," Mr Robinson said.
"We will speak to the PSNI to see what their findings are in terms of the involvement of any organisation. But let's be very clear, there will be repercussions if that was found to be the case."
But leading Sinn Féin member Alex Maskey said he had "no concerns about IRA involvement" in Mr McGuigan's murder.
"I don't accept for one second that the IRA has been involved in this, it just doesn't register at all," Mr Maskey added.
"We're calling for calm, we're calling for respect for this particular family at this time in the midst of their grief and we're cautioning against unhelpful and unwelcome speculation."
Justice Minister David Ford said: "Those responsible for this appalling crime have left a family grieving and a community in shock.
"There is no place for the gun in our society and it is time to stop these attacks."
Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Union Voice (TUV), said there must be no cover-up in the murder investigation.
"Police, politicians and all who value truth and justice must face, not fudge, the truth, however uncomfortable it might be," he said.
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader, Alasdair McDonnell, said on Twitter: "Those behind this savagery on our streets must be brought to justice." | A man murdered in a gun attack in east Belfast overnight has been named as Kevin McGuigan Sr, who was a former member of the Provisional IRA. |
32364797 | Christopher Furniss-Roe was found dead by his father at their home in Pontypool on 9 July last year.
Earlier that day Christopher had enjoyed his school's sports day.
But Gwent Coroner's Court heard following a minor incident at home with his sister involving a bucket he was sent to his room.
The girl's bucket had somehow broken and she had suffered a cut lip.
Giving evidence, father Jason Furniss-Roe said he told his son to go and have a shower and then go to bed as punishment.
Fifteen minutes later, Mr Furniss-Roe went up to Christopher's bedroom, which he shared with his younger sister, and found his son.
Mr Furniss-Roe cut his son down and performed first aid involving cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but Christopher was taken to hospital and had his life support machine switched off the following day.
Dr Stephen Leadbeatter, a consultant pathologist at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff, concluded in his post-mortem examination that the youngster had died as a result of hanging.
Coroner David Bowen said: "[Christopher] had been naughty and as a result he had been sent to his room.
"It was far more probable that he was pretending to hang himself to get sympathy and forgiveness. But it all went tragically wrong.
"A heart-wrenching decision was made to turn that [life support] machine off the following day."
Mr Bowen recorded a verdict of accidental death. | An eight-year-old boy found hanged in his bedroom after a "childish" argument with his sister did not intend to kill himself, a coroner has ruled. |
38813606 | King has made 23 appearances for League Two side Stevenage this season after joining on loan in August.
The 31-year-old returned to the Iron at the end of his loan deal, but failed to break back into the first team.
Hinds, 19, has yet to feature for Arsenal's first team.
He has represented England up to under-18 level, and was part of the Three Lions' 2015 Under-17 World Cup squad.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Stevenage have signed Scunthorpe midfielder Jack King until June 2018 on a free transfer, and Arsenal striker Kaylen Hinds on a loan deal until the end of the season. |
36538027 | The atmosphere between the two sets of supporters has been "good-natured".
It follows clashes in nearby Lille on Wednesday, where many are staying.
After the game, Gareth Bale said his team's loss was "massively disappointing" but he added that "the tournament is not over yet".
First Minister Carwyn Jones echoed the sentiment, tweeting: "Well played but unlucky today... We've still got a great chance to qualify."
In the fanzone in Lille, Wales fans were still chanting and in an upbeat mood after the game, with some talking about "camaraderie" with England fans.
Wales face Russia in their final Group B game on Monday night and can still qualify for the last 16 stage of the tournament.
There has been a high level of security in Lens and Lille where trouble broke out on Wednesday, with some English and Russian supporters being detained after scuffles.
At least 37 people were arrested as riot police fired tear gas and charged at hundreds of England fans.
The Russian football team have already been given a suspended disqualification from the tournament following attacks by their supporters on England fans at their opening fixture in Marseille on Saturday.
An alcohol ban remains in place at both locations, but Supt Steve Furnham, the Welsh Police Forces' lead for Euro 2016, said it was "very difficult to police".
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, who attended the match, said he was in touch with the Home Office and French authorities and appealed to Welsh fans "to be vigilant, and to avoid any provocation".
In the fanzone in Lille, Wales fan Andrew Frost, 46, from Newport, said he was "gutted" about the result but he described the atmosphere with the England fans as "wonderful".
Alan Hall, 46, also from Newport, said the England and Wales fans had been "absolutely brilliant together".
Christopher Facey, of Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taff, said: "It's a bit devastating but I'm proud of the team and I'm proud to be Welsh."
Michelle Airey, who lives in England but grew up in Cardiff, said: "It'll be alright, we can both go through."
Another fan, Jack Taylor, from Swansea, told BBC Radio Wales he had quit his job to follow his team to France.
"I'm having the time of my life, I'm happy I'm here," he said. "I checked my bank balance yesterday and it didn't look great but I'll care about it when I get back."
In Wales, thousands of of people watched the match at fanzones in Cardiff's Bute Park as well as Castle Square in Swansea.
Schools across the country also allowed pupils to watch the game, including children from Gareth Bale's former school Whitchurch High, in Cardiff. | Thousands of Wales football fans cheered on their team in the hotly-anticipated Euro 2016 match with England in Lens which they lost 2-1 after an injury-time goal. |
36891611 | He was beaten 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3 in his first match since losing to eventual champion Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
"I'm not going to tell you what I did or didn't do to prepare. I just played pretty bad," said the Australian, 21.
Canadian Shapovalov, 17, is competing in only his second ATP event, and plays Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov next.
Ranked 370 in the world, Shapovalov struck 12 aces in the match against an off-key Kyrgios, who served 18 double faults.
The Australian added: "He played great and he earned it. Obviously he was excited playing in front of his home crowd.
"I know what it feels like to come off one of your biggest junior results and then play in one of your home tournaments." | World number 19 Nick Kyrgios suffered a shock defeat by Wimbledon junior champion Denis Shapovalov in the first round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. |
35097760 | Ms Palin, writing for the conservative news website Breitbart, described the Frenchwoman as "a clear voice of courage and common sense in a country and continent in need of both".
The young far-right candidate reminded her of Joan of Arc, she said.
The FN failed to win control of any of France's regions in Sunday's elections
Ms Marechal-Le Pen came second in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur.
The Socialist candidate withdrew as a tactical manoeuvre to ensure the FN did not top the poll.
Ms Palin, who was John McCain's running mate in the 2008 US presidential election, highlighted the achievements of both Ms Marechal-Le Pen, 26, and her aunt, FN leader Marine Le Pen.
Marion Marechal-Le Pen and France's far-right charm offensive - A fresh face with a familiar name
Le Pen condemns 'campaign of lies' - FN leader Marine Le Pen defiant after loses
Who comes out of French elections smiling? - No party has reason to cheer
Vive la difference - has France's National Front changed? - At the very least, its supporters have
She praised the younger French politician for being "unapologetically pro-life" and for speaking of "France's 16 centuries of Judeo-Christian history and heritage".
The Tea Party favourite writes of the threat to the West from the so-called Islamic State group and the suspicion by French authorities that some of the Paris attackers - European citizens - travelled to Europe from Syria by posing as refugees.
"Our insane politicians want to import more so-called 'refugees' ... This is why we need to seal the borders," Ms Palin writes.
"As Marion faces the political battles ahead, I wouldn't be surprised if she says a prayer to France's patron saint [sic], for Marion is a reminder of her - Joan of Arc."
Ms Palin, a former governor of Alaska and conservative activist, said in September she would like to serve as energy secretary under a potential President Donald Trump. | Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has said she has a "political crush" on Marion Marechal-Le Pen of France's National Front (FN). |
34101829 | Overnight viewing figures revealed an average of 7.6 million tuned in to watch the 12th series launch, with new judges Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw.
The show dominated Saturday night TV, with nearly 40% of viewers tuning in.
An average of 8.9 million people watched the opening episode on the same weekend last year.
Last year, the talent show faced competition from BBC One's Doctor Who, with the newly arrived Peter Capaldi.
This year, it was scheduled opposite the National Lottery: Five Star Family Reunion and Casualty, which achieved audience figures of 2.7 million and 4.1 million respectively.
Figures show that the number of X Factor viewers peaked at 7.9 million, with a 39.9% share of the available audience - not including +1 figures which have yet to be released.
The downturn in viewing numbers may come as a blow to judge Simon Cowell, who has been busy promoting his new line-up of judges, as well as presenters Olly Murs and Caroline Flack.
X Factor has been given a thorough shake-up after ratings for last year's final dipped to a 10-year low. An average audience of 9.1 million tuned in to see Croydon's Ben Haenow win the contest, the lowest since Steve Brookstein's victory in 2004.
Speaking ahead of this year's launch show, Cowell, 55, said the X Factor could easily beat BBC One rival Strictly Come Dancing in the ratings war, when that show begins.
"I'd hate to say yes, because I know what will happen if I say yes - it will come back and haunt me," he said.
"This show does feel better, the talent's great, they're interesting, so if it's us versus [Strictly contestant] Peter Andre, I'm going to put my money on us."
Next week will see the two Saturday night stalwarts go head to head with the return of Strictly Come Dancing - however, there will initially be only a 20-minute overlap.
Strictly - which sees the 15 celebrities introduced to their professional partners - will run from 19:15 to 20:35 BST, while the X Factor runs from 20:15 to 21:30 BST. | The number of viewers watching the opening episode of this year's X Factor series has fallen by well over one million, in comparison to last year. |
35466664 | In a statement (in Czech), the foreign ministry says they are in "satisfactory health", and a special aircraft will be sent shortly to bring them home.
The ministry did not not say whether a Lebanese driver - who was with the group - was also found.
The Czechs disappeared in the eastern Bekaa Valley last year.
Their empty car with documents and money was found in the Kefraya region.
A security operation was launched immediately amid fears the group was kidnapped.
Media reports at the time suggested that their disappearance may have been linked to the case of a Lebanese man held in the Czech Republic in connection with suspected arms smuggling.
In 2011, seven Estonian cyclists were abducted at gunpoint in the Bekaa Valley and released four months later.
Some areas of the Bekaa Valley, east of the capital Beirut, are notorious for lawlessness and drug trafficking. | Five Czech nationals who went missing in Lebanon in July have been found and are now in the care of Lebanon's security force, Czech officials say. |
34923884 | She was beaten and threatened by her Maoist cult father but fought back against his control after reading the books, jurors heard.
Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, let her read the novels because he identified with the characters, it was claimed.
He denies cruelty to a child under 16 and false imprisonment.
Southwark Crown Court heard there were no records the woman was taken to a doctor, except for her inoculations, or had attended school while living at the south London commune.
She suffers from chronic post traumatic stress disorder and low self esteem, and was also found to have gone through a high degree of emotional trauma.
Prosecutor Peter Clement said: "Post traumatic stress disorder is a recognised mental disorder, namely an anxiety disorder caused by a very stressful, frightening event.
"From birth (the woman) never spent a night away from the collective until 25 October 2013."
She was also found to have a Vitamin D deficiency and probable type one diabetes, he added.
The accused's name was not on his daughter's birth certificate but he was confirmed to be the father after DNA tests.
Mr Balakrishnan, from Enfield, also denies seven counts of indecent assault and four counts of rape against two women during the 1970s and 1980s, and also pleaded not guilty to three counts of actual bodily harm.
None of his alleged victims can be named for legal reasons.
The trial continues. | A woman allegedly held captive in a commune for 30 years was inspired to escape by the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books, a court was told. |
35587685 | The NDNA said underfunding of the scheme meant many nurseries in England would struggle to provide the extended free care for pre-schoolers.
Early years education for three- and four-year-olds is to be doubled from 15 to 30 hours for each week of term time.
The government says the extra free hours will help support families.
Pilots of the scheme are due to begin in the autumn and a full rollout will follow in 2017, under new legislation covered by the Childcare Bill.
But in its annual survey, the NDNA found only 45% of the 485 nurseries questioned said they were likely to extend the number of free hours on offer.
I own two nurseries. I get £3.88 per hour at one setting, and £4 per hour at the other.
My break-even point at both settings is £4.55 per hour, therefore I make a loss on every funded hour in both settings.
The government say they have done "extensive consultation" but that beggars belief.
They talked to 54 nurseries, of which, only two were in south-east England, the majority were in north-west England.
The costings for a nursery in the south east are significantly different to those in the north west.
This government will not listen.
It will find that the whole ethos of free childcare will fail unless they engage with the industry and increase funding.
As an alternative, they could move to allowing top-up funding (from parents) by the providers. This would ensure that parents get a discount and providers make a living wage.
The NDNA - which represents more than 5,000 nurseries out of a total of about 18,000 in England - said nurseries were currently managing to offer 15 hours of free childcare a week by plugging the shortfall in government funding.
In practice, it said, this meant parents paid a higher rate for the hours their child spent in nursery above 15 hours.
The average nursery had to absorb a loss of about £34,000 a year due to the funding gap, with 89% of nurseries making a loss on free places, it claimed.
The majority of respondents (92%) to the poll were private nurseries, with 7% from the voluntary sector and the rest maintained nurseries.
NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku said the nursery sector was "fully behind" the principle of more support for parents.
"But serious funding shortfalls stand in the way of nurseries getting on board, despite their desire to help families with free childcare," she said.
"Private, voluntary and independent nurseries deliver most of the government's free places, currently 15 hours per week for all three- and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds.
"But the nursery sector is reluctant to commit to offering more free hours when they already make a significant annual loss - an average of £34,000 per nursery - on the funded places they currently provide."
But education and childcare minister Sam Gyimah said: "We are backing families and funding the sector, with £1bn extra funding every year by 2020, including £300m annually to increase the national average funding rate, to incentivise and attract providers to deliver the full 30-hour free offer to parents.
"This extra funding was based on an extensive consultation with the sector and our review into the cost of delivering childcare, the most comprehensive analysis of this market ever.
"The NDNA's survey shows many providers are likely to offer free childcare and thousands of providers and councils also expressed an interest in taking part in our early implementers programme, well in advance of the national rollout."
In Wales, all three- and four-year-olds are entitled to a minimum of 10 hours of free foundation phase early education.
In Scotland, three- and four-year-olds are eligible for 600 hours of free childcare a year (the equivalent of around 16 hours a week during term time).
In Northern Ireland, under the pre-school education programme, there is an allocation of funded places for children in the year before they start school. | Fewer than half of nurseries will be able to offer extended free childcare planned by the government, the National Day Nurseries Association has warned. |
36323546 | The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because of his age, admitted six charges against him on Wednesday.
He was charged over an October 2014 crash on Belfast's Saintfield Road.
He admitted causing the death of Conal Daly, 18, from north Belfast, and causing grievous bodily injury to 75-year-old Sister Josephine McAteer.
The teenager also pleaded guilty to driving dangerously on the Ormeau Road and Saintfield Road, two counts of assaulting police and one count of causing criminal damage to a police vehicle.
The Jaguar car the teenager was driving crashed into the vehicle being driven by Sister Josephine, who is believed to have suffered two broken legs.
Mr Daly, a former pupil at Edmund Rice College and who was in the back seat of the Jaguar, was fatally injured.
Paramedics had treated him at the scene and rushed him to the Royal Victoria Hospital but he died a short time later.
It was reported at the time the police had been in pursuit of the "runaround" Jaguar from the roundabout at the top of the Ormeau Road when the chase came to an end a few miles along the road.
In court on Wednesday, a defence solicitor said he would be giving a report on the defendant's mental health to the probation service to assist them with their report.
Remanding the teenager back into custody, the judge provisionally listed the sentencing hearing on 24 June, depending on whether reports are ready.
He added that while it "may be academic" the killer driver was now automatically banned from driving. | A teenager has admitted killing his back-seat passenger and injuring an elderly nun by dangerous driving when he was being chased by police. |
32883194 | Mr Robinson remains in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) after suffering a suspected heart attack.
Mr Robinson, 66, was taken to the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, on Monday morning after he became ill.
The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party was then transferred to the RVH where he underwent a procedure.
On Tuesday morning, DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said Mr Robinson was feeling better and the family hoped for a speedy recovery.
Referring to the major debate on welfare reform at Stormont on Tuesday, he said: "Peter is very determined that today's proceedings should continue."
A statement released by the hospital on Monday said: "Mr Robinson underwent a procedure this morning and is currently recovering in the RVH.
"He and his family have requested the need for privacy from this point onwards."
Mr Robinson has served as first minister and DUP leader since 2008, succeeding lan Paisley in both jobs.
The DUP has asked that the Robinson family's privacy should be respected.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his best wishes to Mr Robinson, wishing him a speedy recovery.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also sent her best wishes.
Other politicians including Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt, SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell, TUV leader Jim Allister and Mr Robinson's Stormont colleague Peter Weir have wished Mr Robinson a speedy recovery.
Last week, Mr Robinson warned that the assembly could not survive the scenario that would unfold if the welfare reform bill was not approved.
The Northern Ireland parties had agreed a deal on Westminster's welfare reform in the Stormont House Agreement last December.
However, Sinn Féin withdrew its support for the bill in March.
Sinn Féin and the SDLP have signed a petition of concern which means the bill appears certain to be blocked on Tuesday as it will not get the necessary cross-community support. | Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson is "stable and improving", his party deputy has said. |
38865237 | The Hammers will assess Aaron Cresswell's tight hamstring and Cheikhou Kouyate's dead leg, but Diafra Sakho and Angelo Ogbonna remain out.
West Brom defender Jonny Evans returns after missing five games with a calf injury.
Midfielder Claudio Yacob is also fit after recovering from stomach cramps.
Simon Brotherton: "This is a match between two sides who are going well in the Premier League - but who may find it hard to improve much on their current positions.
"West Ham have won six of the last nine league matches but they were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in their last home game, while West Brom were stung by the same scoreline at Tottenham last month on their most recent visit to London.
"Albion have generally been solid though and have only lost once to a team currently outside the top seven all season, in September's 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
"West Ham were in the midst of their early-season struggles when they lost heavily at The Hawthorns in the reverse fixture. This game should be much tighter."
Twitter: @SimonBrotherton
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic on striker Andy Carroll: "He brings you everything, everything that you could ask from a centre-forward.
"He is great in the air, he is very physical, has a great touch and a great sense to combine with other players by playing the ball off.
"I don't know if [England boss] Gareth Southgate is a big fan, but when Andy is playing like that every manager would like to have him in his team or squad.
"Andy would help any team. Andy would help the German team, Andy would help the Croatian team, the Spanish team, because he is a top player."
West Brom head coach Tony Pulis: "They [West Ham] are a good team, they've got some good players.
"They've had a season of being very, very good and pretty bad at times and we just go there and hope we can compete.
"We'll have to - with [Andy] Carroll back now, they look a handful."
Both teams are ticking along nicely in the top half, and West Ham are showing what a good team they are now the Dimitri Payet saga is over.
The Baggies have got some talented players too but, away from home, their approach is to try to shut up shop.
Prediction: 1-1
Lawro's full predictions v hip-hop star Loyle Carner
Head-to-head
West Ham United
West Bromwich Albion
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches. | West Ham will monitor Andy Carroll, who is nursing a minor groin problem, while Sam Byram and Havard Nordtveit are back in contention after injuries. |
38895706 | The answer to this will shed a lot of light on the politically current and intense debate around executive pay.
A year ago, Mr Dudley became the unwilling poster boy for angry shareholders when, at the BP annual general meeting, 59% of shareholders voted against his £14m pay award.
He got the money anyway because the vote was not binding, so the board did not have to do what the owners of the company wanted.
Under rules introduced by the coalition government and championed by then Business Secretary Vince Cable, shareholders can only reject a pay packet or the formula by which it is calculated every three years. That measure gave them more control than they had previously enjoyed but it clearly did not work or go far enough.
Remember, the formula by which Mr Dudley's pay was calculated in 2016 was approved by 95% of shareholders in 2014. Two years later they did not like the answer that formula spat out.
In defence of Mr Dudley, it was not his fault that BP's Deepwater Horizon platform exploded in 2010 killing 11 people and pumping millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (that was on the watch of his predecessor Tony Hayward).
It was not his fault that the price of oil in 2015 came crashing down from more than $100 (£81) a barrel to around $30 (£24) during that year. Given the hand he was dealt, goes the argument, he did a pretty good job.
Some of the arguments will be the same this year. It is not his fault that he had to put another $7bn (£5.7bn) in the Deepwater kitty, but it is also not to his credit that the oil price rebounded to its current price of $56 (£45).
The chairman of BP's pay committee, Dame Ann Dowling, came in for a lot of stick for not using more discretion in adjusting the final pay award down last year and I understand that she has met with dozens of shareholder groups to avoid the same howls of protest this time around.
This April's vote on 2016 pay will also be non-binding but there will be a binding vote on the formula used to calculate pay packets for the next three years. It would take a particularly tin ear for BP to settle on a formula that finds it at such odds with its shareholders in the future.
Many executives are rewarded with a formula that takes a large account of relative performance. Doing badly - but less badly than the competition - means you did well. Even though the company lost money - you can often take home a hefty bonus.
The merits of this approach will be hotly debated this year as around half the companies in the FTSE 100 have binding votes on executive pay formulas. That will add real edge to a debate that has already been politically sharpened by Theresa May's warnings to corporate Britain over the rocketing disparity between bosses and workers' pay.
We are expecting new proposals on changing the manner, and in whose interests, UK companies are run when the government publishes its green paper on corporate governance in March.
I have presented the economic arguments as to why high performance-related pay is actually bad for companies and the economy here before. In short, it can prioritise cost cutting over investment which damages productivity and ultimately living standards. They are arguments that are gaining currency in Whitehall and it is not only shareholders who are disgruntled.
It may be only February, but this year's shareholder spring promises to be a belter.
*the headline loss of $6.5bn includes the compensation paid for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The number reported in our news story excludes one-off items to give a better sense of the underlying economics of the company. | If BP group chief executive Bob Dudley was paid £14m for delivering a $6.5bn (£5.3bn)* loss last year, what on earth will he get paid for delivering a profit in 2017? |
31604143 | The announcement was supposed to bring with it the magical solution for many of Lebanon's ills, among them chronic public debt, power shortages and poor public services.
Back then, the prospect of major oil discoveries off the Mediterranean coast triggered dreams of a prosperous future, but today it seems like the Lebanese were the victims of false advertising.
Governments in Lebanon have a long history of mismanagement that seems to have extended to the country's oil and gas resources.
At the beginning of the 21st Century, seismic scans conducted in the so-called "Levant Basin", in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, suggested the existence of significant oil and gas resources off the coasts of Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel.
The three countries embarked on separate journeys to locate the wealth underneath the seafloor. They hoped not only to achieve energy self-sufficiency at home but also to become exporters.
From the onset, Lebanon has been very careful not to give figures about the size of the prospective resources or the wealth they might generate.
But caution here is more a sign of confidence than uncertainty.
There seems to be a consensus among experts that Lebanon's resources ought to be considerable.
Officials point to the impressive line-up of international oil and gas companies that showed interest in investing in projects in the part of the Levant Basin within Lebanon's territorial waters.
But for almost two years now these companies have been unable to submit their bids and compete for the exploration of specific areas.
They are still waiting for the Lebanese cabinet to approve two pieces of legislation even though the technical details having long been finalised.
One concerns the division of Lebanon's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) into blocs.
The boundaries of two of the blocs are disputed by Israel, though Lebanon maintains they are well inside its waters.
The second piece of legislation concerns the legal relationship between the state and the companies which won the bids to exploit the resources found within each of the blocs.
The process has been so delayed that some companies have become lukewarm about the prospect of doing business with Lebanon.
"One reason for this is the governance of the sector," says oil expert Ali Berro.
"Another might have to do with the international crisis [in the price] of petroleum products. But given the long-term investment, some companies that have excess reserves might be still looking to invest."
Despite widespread condemnation of the impasse within the cabinet, there does not seem to be a clear explanation for the delay.
A source summed up the situation: "On the one hand, there is resistance from some political forces which are not used to having to make such big deals transparently and without any commission being siphoned into their pockets.
"On the other is the long-term concern of some regional powers, which see Lebanon becoming a serious competitor once it starts producing oil and eventually offers it to European markets. These regional powers have their allies in the government."
But as Lebanon remains bogged down by political squabbles, other countries it the region have not lost time in exploiting their resources.
Israel has made the biggest advances so far. It has already started producing gas offshore from the Tamar field, while it has also made a major gas discovery in another field named the Leviathan.
Cyprus has also concluded the second licensing round for companies.
But officials in Lebanon still insist the country has a competitive edge over its neighbours.
Lebanon is connected to the Arab Gas Pipeline, a 1,200km (745-mile) natural gas pipeline that runs from El-Arish in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba in Jordan, and ends next to the Syrian-Turkish border.
Lebanon is connected through a pipeline that connects Tripoli, in the north, to the Syrian city of Homs.
The Arab Gas Pipeline makes it potentially easy to deliver natural gas to Europe as it facilitates access via Turkey to Europe, where energy resources are scarce and countries are looking to reduce their dependence on Russia for gas.
The devastating conflict in Syria, the outcome of which is far from clear, has cast doubts on Lebanon's ability to use the pipeline. However, Mr Berro sees cause for optimism.
"Syria is the only land we have access through. It's the best option for Lebanon to develop its natural gas," he says.
"But Lebanon is not likely to start producing oil before five to eight years. By then things may have changed.
"This way we will be able to compete with other countries in the region because natural gas by pipelines costs much less than liquefying natural gas then re-gasifying it at import terminals."
Cesar Abou Khalil, an adviser to the minister of energy, seems to agree.
"The main competitive advantage that we would have is being able to export gas to Europe in a smooth and cheap way, while others have to build massive and costly structures that would force them to offer their products at a higher price," he says.
That reasoning hinges on the current uncertainty being resolved. It will take a long time for production to begin, and at the moment, politicians in Lebanon do not seem to be in a rush. | Two years ago, billboards across Lebanon declared: "Our country has oil." |
28865514 | It has been the most dangerous place in the world for journalists for more than two years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based press freedom lobby group.
At least 69 journalists have been killed as a direct result of covering the Syrian conflict since it began in 2011, the CPJ says; most were killed in crossfire or as a result of explosions, but at least six were confirmed to have been deliberately murdered.
The murders show that it is not just the widespread violence in Syria that is so dangerous for broadcasters and reporters; it is also the nature of the conflict itself, with its shifting alliances and ideologies.
Indeed, Syria is a very dramatic example of the way that war, and conflict journalism, have changed over the years in many parts of the world.
It is nowadays quite rare for wars to be between two armies, with a trench-like "frontline".
Journalists - and other civilians - increasingly find themselves in conflicts that involve ideologically driven insurgencies where there is no defined "war zone". In the case of radical Islamist insurgencies, the militants sometimes see journalists who are in any way associated with "the West" as part of the enemy.
"The barbaric murder of James Foley sickens all decent people", said Sandra Mims Rowe, Chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The number of 69 confirmed deaths of journalists in Syria is almost certainly an underestimate because more than 80 have been abducted since 2011 and some 20 are still missing, according to the CPJ.
Some of them are feared dead, but accurate information is extremely hard to come by.
Mr Foley's American nationality has clearly focused international attention on his case, not least because of the Islamic State (IS) statements about American military action.
But CPJ statistics show that the vast majority (88%) of writers and broadcasters who were killed in Syria in recent years were nationals of the immediate region.
An almost random look at the CPJ roll call of journalists killed in Syria reveals the case of Mohamed al-Khal, for example. He was a video journalist who documented clashes between government forces and the rebel Free Syrian Army in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour.
The New York-based Committee says he was killed by government shelling on 25 November 2012.
Mr al-Khal had contributed hundreds of hours of film, the CPJ said, to the Shaam News Network and some of the footage was used by broadcasters such as al-Jazeera and the BBC.
Another victim was Yasser Faisal al-Jumaili, a freelance cameraman who was murdered in the Syrian city of Idlib on 4 December 2013. In his last known contact, via Facebook, the CPJ says, Mr al-Jumaili told a colleague he had been kidnapped by IS.
Nearly half of the journalists killed in Syria were freelancers - that is, journalists who work for more than one organisation and who are paid fees per piece delivered, rather than salaries.
Some were volunteers or activist "citizen journalists".
Journalists who work for large international organisations have some advantages over freelance colleagues. They are often issued with body armour by their employers, for example, and some have "hostile environment" training, including for first aid.
Crucially, writers and broadcasters who earn salaries may be under less pressure to "deliver" from potentially dangerous situations and so might take fewer risks.
Indeed, in Syria, large established media organisations are increasingly relying on freelancers because they deem the country to be too dangerous for "their" people.
So far this year, 30 journalists have been killed worldwide, the CPJ says.
The most dangerous country is Syria with five deaths since the beginning of 2014. Four journalists have been killed so far this year in each of Ukraine, Iraq and Gaza. | The murder of James Foley by Islamist militants after his kidnap in Syria in 2012 has focused attention on the dangers of reporting from the country. |
37501259 | Owen Creaney, from Lurgan, was found dead in a wheelie bin on 5 July 2014.
The ex-partner of Stephen Thomas Hughes, 29, claimed he called her from Lurgan police station and said he had killed 'wee Owen'.
Mr Hughes and Shauneen Boyle, 25, are jointly charged with murder.
They deny the charges.
The ex-partner of Mr Hughes, who is also the mother of his son, broke down in tears several times while giving evidence.
She said that a few days before Mr Creaney's body was found in the green recycling bin, she met the co-accused and noticed blood on his trainers.
The witness told the court that Mr Hughes, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, was "OCD" about keeping his trainers clean and that when she asked about the bloodstains she was told to mind her own business.
She added that on the day Mr Creaney was found dead, Mr Hughes called her from the police station and asked her if his house had been boarded up.
She told the court that he said he had killed "wee Owen" and had used the term 'I' instead of 'we'.
She also said Mr Hughes spoke about emptying his green recycling bin.
She said: "I asked him if it was anything to do with the blood on his shoes, he said 'yes'."
A neighbour also gave evidence at Belfast Crown Court and said she saw a man in Mr Hughes' house in a room that "smelled like poo".
The mother-of-two refused to look at the two defendants as she gave evidence and told the court: "I don't want to see them ones."
She said that on 4 July 2014 her family were invited over to the house, where Ms Boyle and her infant son were also present.
The neighbour told the court they had a few drinks and planned a picnic for the next day "just like everything was normal".
She said she went upstairs to use the toilet, where she heard a noise "like snoring" coming from one of the rooms.
She added that after she came out of the bathroom, she noticed the bedroom door was open and saw Ms Boyle, from Edenderry Park, Banbridge, on her knees beside a man on a bed.
The witness said she noticed a syringe in Ms Boyle's hand and when she asked who the man was, Ms Boyle looked at her and did not answer.
"She said the bedroom "smelled like poo" and that "it was a different smell, just not normal".
She told the court that when she asked Mr Hughes who the man was he said it was "just wee Owen".
He said Mr Creaney had been drinking with them and had wet himself, which is why he had been washed and changed.
The court also heard that Mr Hughes said the syringe was being used to give him water.
The trial continues. | One of two people accused of murder called his ex-girlfriend and told her he was going to jail for a "very, very long time" because he killed a man, a court has heard. |
34902757 | The change came in the late summer.
Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland took over the US-led coalition against IS known as Operation Inherent Resolve in September.
Upon assuming his new post, the general began studying what worked and what had not worked in the fight against IS up to that point.
Recognising that IS was a different enemy from the one faced during the last decade, he ordered an adjustment to the training and equipment that was being provided to the Iraqis.
As a result, in the past few weeks, the ISF has closed in on the city of Ramadi - which fell in an embarrassing defeat in May.
Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US Department of Defense, said in a BBC interview that the success is due in large part to conventional warfare tactics recently employed by the ISF, not the counter-insurgency style tactics they were trained by the Americans to use for several years.
The ISF, up to that point, was largely a product of training that followed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Facing the threat of guerrilla fighters for most of the eight-year conflict, the US and its allies fought a counter-insurgency war and trained the Iraqis to do the same.
"Guerrilla tactics, insurgent tactics - it's all about hit and run, it's all about avoiding a major fight," Colonel Warren said. "The insurgents' mission is to convince the people that you're up against to go away and leave you alone."
But IS's strategy is different - working to seize and hold territory in an attempt to establish a state.
"You can't do that through insurgency, you have to do that through conventional warfare," Mr Warren said.
As an example, the colonel pointed to the strategic city of Ramadi, which has been in the hands of IS but Iraqi forces have this week advanced into the city centre.
There is one main road into Ramadi.
To protect the city, IS have littered the road and surrounding area with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in way that makes a sort of makeshift minefield. They then aimed machine guns and mortars at the field of explosives, to deter bomb disposal activities.
While IEDs have been used for years in Iraq, the way that IS is using them today is different.
During the mid-2000s, insurgents would use a single IED hidden inconspicuously to, in the words of Colonel Warren, "instil terror, crack morale, kill and wound a group in one vehicle".
But now they are being used en masse and in the open as a deterrent, not as a one-off ambush to inflict fear.
"The army that we trained was a counter-insurgency army," the colonel said, which included training for dealing with single, hidden IEDs, placed in advance by combatants that had long left the scene.
When the improvised bombs were spotted, bomb disposal robots and experts could be deployed to clear the route.
But the clusters of IEDs being used today, along with the machine guns and mortars protecting the explosive field, render these counter-insurgency tactics largely ineffective.
This, Colonel Warren says, is "exactly how you establish a defensive position".
To counter the minefield, the coalition began working with the ISF to introduce traditional, conventional tactics and equip them with systems that were previously not needed.
The colonel pointed to one manoeuvre called an in-stride breach, which involves using an "explosive rope attached to a rocket" to blast a lane through the explosive field, allowing forces to push through rapidly.
The pseudo-minefield is just one way that IS is "using conventional military tactics in a way that does not perfectly align with the way we had trained the Iraqi army", he said.
For more than a year, the US and coalition forces have been carrying out air strikes against IS, which controls a large part of northern Syria and parts of neighbouring Iraq.
And in recent months, the President Barack Obama has found himself regularly defending his anti-IS strategy - sometimes from criticism by those in his own party.
Critics allege that it has cost large amounts of money with little success.
The small change that has helped in the battle for Ramadi does not constitute a wholesale shift in the mission's strategy, and officials regularly say tactics are constantly reviewed and adjusted.
But while it is too early to tell if these tactics will prove effective in the long term, the ISF does seem to be enjoying success with them in recent weeks.
Colonel Steve Warren was speaking to the BBC at the end of November | A switch in tactics has provided the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) with some victories in their battle against the so-called Islamic State (IS), notably in Ramadi, says the US military. |
26072551 | The 29-year-old from Evesham is currently recovering from injuries sustained while competing in the World Endurance at Le Mans.
"I'm looking forward to meeting all the team and really seeing what we can do together," Andrews said.
I believe the team will give me a good competitive bike
Andrews will also compete for the team at the North West 200 earlier in May and November's Macau Grand Prix.
The Worcestershire man has almost completely recovered from the serious leg injuries he sustained during the 24-hour race last September.
His career has been blighted by a series of horrendous injuries following crashes at Thruxton, in the 2012 Superbike TT, and then at Le Mans.
Team principal Rico Penzkofer, a former Isle of Man TT and North West 200 competitor, said: "We've been in negotiations with Simon for a while.
"He was scheduled to ride for us at last year's Macau Grand Prix before his accident - so I'm really pleased that we've now signed him."
Andrews' TT record includes four top-15 finishes, including 11th place in last year's Superstock race. His fastest lap of the Mountain Course to date is 126.001 mph.
He added: "I've raced against Rico and know his bikes are well built.
"I've had some success with BMW already when I started on the roads earlier in my career. With the help and support of BMW I believe the team will give me a good competitive bike." | Simon Andrews will ride for the German Penz13.com BMW Racing team at the Isle of Man TT races, which start on 24 May. |
32289757 | Bishop Challoner Catholic College, in Kings Heath, said Logan Kehoe, who was in year eight, was "a much loved and valued young student".
Head teacher Kevin McEvoy said: "Our thoughts and prayers are for Logan and his family at this sad time."
He added that Logan was "highly regarded as an excellent young footballer".
Logan played at centre-half for Birmingham City Football Club's under-13s team.
The college said it was working with Birmingham Educational Psychology Service to provide support for children and staff.
Tributes have been posted on Logan's Facebook page.
Amy Porter posted: "Too Young To Be Taken Away From Us All, Gone But Never Forgotten , Gonna Miss U Logan, And That Cheeky Smile You Always Had, Words Can't Describe How I'm Feeling."
Olivia Mullen posted that Logan would "never be forgotten". | A teenager from Birmingham has died while on holiday in Lanzarote, his school has said. |
30211617 | From September 2013 over-24s on advanced and higher level courses (A-level equivalents and above) had to fund their education and training.
The number of over-19s in further education fell 10.7% between 2012-13 and 2013-14, suggest the figures.
The fall will hamper the UK's economic recovery, says an education charity.
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education says its warning about the impact of loans for this group had "so far gone unheeded".
"The situation is stark. Today's overwhelmingly disappointing figures reinforce our call for urgent and radical action to address skills gaps and skills shortages," said NIACE Chief Executive, David Hughes.
NIACE says the figures, published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, suggest an overall fall of 27.9% in the number of people aged 25 and over on these courses.
Level four courses, which are pitched at degree level, were particularly badly hit with 34.2% fewer over-25s taking them in 2013-14 than the previous year, says the charity.
NIACE warned a year ago of the possibility of a fall in the number of adults taking advanced and higher level apprenticeships after the introduction of the loans - but the figures show a fall in the uptake of all further education courses for this group.
The government hoped that 25,000 people would borrow about £4,000 to pay for their apprenticeships if their employers did not cover the cost.
In fact the uptake for the three months to the end of November 2013 was just 404.
Previously apprentices had not had to contribute to the costs of their training.
A spokeswoman for BIS said the government had decided to remove apprenticeships from the loans programme "as soon as it became clear that loans were not the preferred route for employers or prospective apprentices".
"As such we look forward to seeing this trend reverse in future and a boost to the number of adult apprentices.
"We are reforming the funding of all apprenticeships to put employers in the driving seat and ensure apprenticeships deliver the skills businesses and learners need to grow and compete."
But NIACE says the loans remain for other advanced and higher level courses and are having a wider effect on the uptake of higher education.
"I want to repeat again that opportunities are reducing for people to get on in work and in life," said Mr Hughes.
"And the impact for employers means that skills gaps and skills shortages will remain, because there are not nearly enough young people entering the labour market in the next 10 years to fill the anticipated vacancies.
"There needs to be urgent action from government to address this serious decline and we call on them to delay, indefinitely, any plans to extend loans to other provision and other age-groups." | The number of adults in further education in England slumped after some were required to borrow to pay for their courses, official data suggests. |
39538430 | The boy, thought to be aged in his mid-teens, was discovered by police in Roebourne Way, North Woolwich, on Friday at about 22:45 BST.
He was treated by paramedics but was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other victim was taken to hospital after being found in nearby Claremont Close. Police said his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
No arrests have been made.
Scotland Yard said they were in the process of informing the teenager's next of kin and a post-mortem examination would take place "in due course". | A teenager has died and a man, thought to be in his 20s, is injured after they were shot near London City Airport. |
40778553 | The two local coaches replace Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic, who terminated his contract on Saturday over unpaid wages.
Fufa has admitted it owes the Serbian US $54,000 and says it has plans to clear the debt.
"The amount owed will be cleared," Fufa published on social media.
Sredojevic, who has been in charge of the Cranes since 2013, lead Uganda to its first Africa Cup of Nations finals since 1978.
The Fufa president Moses Magogo has blamed the Uganda government for their lack of financial support for their failure to pay Sredojevic
"Other countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco - who we are rubbing shoulders with - are catered for by their governments," Magogo said.
Basena has been assistant coach to Sredojevic while Kajoba is a former national team goalkeeper and will look after Uganda's current crop of stoppers.
The duo will be in charge for Uganda's 2018 Africa Nations Championship qualifier against Rwanda and the double-header with Egypt in World Cup qualifying.
"We have not opened the application process yet. So coaches around the world should not start sending applications as some have already started doing," added Magogo.
The Fufa president also says they had offered Sredojevic an improved contract worth twice the amount he is currently on.
However Sredojevic is not interested.
"It does not make sense to accept a new contract when they cannot even honour the old one," he said.
Magogo added it was always going to prove difficult to retain Sredojevic after his success over the last four years. | The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) has appointed Moses Basena and Fred Kajoba as the interim coaches of the national team. |
34365183 | The Brown Caps finished 10 points clear of Lancashire after drawing their final match of the season against Northants.
"These guys can be around for a very long time and hopefully the trophy cabinet will be brimming in the coming years," Batty told BBC London 94.9.
"It will be tough [in Division One] but the group is moving forward quickly."
Six of the Surrey team that secured a first piece of silverware since winning the CB40 competition in 2011 - Curran brothers Sam and Tom, Matt Dunn, Jason Roy, Ben Foakes and Rory Burns - are 25 or under.
Batty paid tribute to the role the coaching staff has played in their development, led by director of cricket Alec Stewart and head coach Graham Ford.
He added: "The coaching structure is perfect. You can see the young players, and older ones, are thriving. It's a wonderful environment and a credit to all those people.
"We will enjoy the next 48 hours but we will quickly turn to getting ready for next year." | Surrey captain Gareth Batty is excited to see what his young squad can achieve in the County Championship's top flight after their Division Two title win. |
37071890 | Donnelly went down to a split decision against Morocco's current world champion Mohammed Rabii and in truth, the Irishman could have few complaints.
After a tight first round, Rabii took control and one judge's verdict in favour of Donnelly looked dubious.
Flyweight Irvine was outclassed by Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov.
Donnelly, 27, appeared to make a decent start as he forced the Moroccan to miss with several attempted big lefts but Rabii began to find his range and was given the round 10-9 on all three cards.
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Rabii set the tone for the second round as he landed with a big overhand right and the Irishman was caught with a number of other decent shots as the Moroccan was given the round by two of three judges.
Another big left from the world champion led to a standing count for Donnelly early in the final round and while the second standing count appeared to be after the Irishman had tripped, the Moroccan had clearly done enough to win.
Rabii was warned by the referee for a clash of heads late in the contest and this appeared to be the reason for one judge giving Donnelly the final round on a 10-8 margin.
"It was a great effort from me against the world champion, I believed in myself and I gave it my all," said Donnelly, who won two previous bouts to put himself on the brink of a medal.
"I'm proud of my efforts here because he's the world number one and I thought I could win, but I'm disappointed not to win a medal."
Irvine, 20, suffered a disappointing Olympic debut as the classy Uzbek fighter clinched a deserved 30-26, 30-27, 30-27 win in the last-16 flyweight bout.
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Zoirov was in total control as he took the first round 10-8 on one card and 10-9 from the other two judges.
The Uzbek fighter continued to catch Irvine at will throughout the contest.
London Olympics medallists Michael Conlan and Katie Taylor are the only members of the eight-strong Irish boxing team still involved in the Games.
Medal hopes Paddy Barnes and Joe Ward were among four Irish fighters who bowed out on the opening week of the Games while their team-mate Michael O'Reilly was sent home from Rio after failing a drugs test.
Conlan and Taylor have still to fight their opening contests in Rio. | Ballymena boxer Steven Donnelly's Rio medal hopes were dashed as he lost his welterweight quarter-final while Belfast man Brendan Irvine also exited. |
37040643 | Four-time world champion Scott began his campaign by coming 17th and third in the opening two races on Tuesday.
But the 29-year-old, who started the day in 10th place, came second in the first race on Wednesday, before winning the second one to move ahead overall.
There are six more races in the opening series, with the top 10 sailors taking part in the medal race on 16 August.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Great Britain's Giles Scott moved into the overall lead in the men's Finn sailing event at the Rio Olympics. |
36014870 | Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Southampton left the Magpies deep in relegation trouble, six points adrift of Norwich with an inferior goal difference.
After the match, boss Rafael Benitez said anxiety was affecting the players.
"On paper our team is ridiculous but we need to show more heart," Lascelles, 22, told BBC Newcastle.
"We need players who care and will look after each other, we've lacked it.
"We've got flair players, tricky players, players with loads of talent but we need more heart, desire and bigger characters on the pitch.
"No matter how good you are, if you don't have that fight and hunger it doesn't matter."
Listen: 'Newcastle would be the best team ever to be relegated'
Benitez's managerial record with Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid is littered with trophies, but not even the Spaniard has been able to arrest Newcastle's slide.
The Magpies have lost six of the last seven games, and have Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham among their opponents in their final six matches.
"We had Steve McClaren, a great manager, we've now got Rafa Benitez, a great manager; it's clearly not that, it's the players," Lascelles continued.
"There are no excuses, players hold their hand up, we have to stay positive. We can't dwell on it and if you start thinking about stuff, that's when you really do mess up." | Defender Jamaal Lascelles says Newcastle United need "character, desire and heart" to retain their Premier League status. |
38101627 | Loreto Douglas, 64, a child care worker from Derry, was airlifted to hospital but later died from her injuries.
The crash happened on the main Londonderry to Belfast road at about 09:15 GMT on Wednesday.
A man and another woman injured in the crash remain in hospital. Two further men have since been discharged.
On their Facebook page, the Lifestart Foundation in Derry, where Ms Douglas worked, described the loss of their "dearest friend and colleague".
"Loreto has been with Lifestart since the very beginning and she will be sorely missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her.
"Loreto, good night and rest peacefully, your loving Lifestart family xx."
Lifestart's executive director Dr Pauline McClenaghan said Ms Doulglas was the "most generous, personable and kindest of people".
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said the family support worker was a "lovely lady who dedicated her life to helping others".
Inspt Ian Armour appealed for anyone who was travelling on the Glenshane Road on Wednesday morning and who witnessed the collision to contact police. | Tributes have been paid to a woman who died after a three-vehicle crash on the Glenshane Pass in Dungiven, County Londonderry. |
34368883 | Sarah Teale was filming outside a conference on the subject in Nottingham when a man directed a sexual comment towards her.
The East Midlands Today reporter said she was "genuinely shocked" by what the man said.
She said: "It's not banter, it's not funny and no-one should have to put up with it."
In the clip, Teale can be heard explaining: "An online study showed that a shocking 95% of people said they had been harassed, jeered at, or had obscenities shouted at them in the street and a large proportion said they'd also been groped or grabbed inappropriately in public."
Then, as a comment is made, she can be seen pointing ahead and saying: "Yeah, like that."
People took to social media to comment on what happened, with many posting messages of support.
One post from Helen Briggs simply read: "Shameful."
Another from Neil Harrison said: "Name and shame the moronic... sad pathetic creep."
Some said the man's comments were just part of an internet craze, while others thought the video had been staged to make a point.
Sandy Oestreich said: "I think it was planned or staged."
Mickey Sjv Gregory added he thought it was "someone just cashing in on the trend and trying to be funny".
The TV presenter said it was good people were now talking about the issue but said claims the video was staged were "absolute nonsense".
She said: "It's fairly obvious from my reaction that it wasn't staged.
"If it is a craze it doesn't make it any less offensive."
National press, including the Independent and New Statesman, covered the story, which was also featured on Australian TV. | A BBC TV reporter was harassed in the street while filming a report about street harassment. |
38938629 | World number 12 Hawkins, who clinched the match with a break of 120, hit 107 in the fourth frame and made three further half-century breaks.
Marco Fu plays Ryan Day at 19:00 GMT on Saturday for a place in Sunday's final.
Hong Kong's Fu beat Mark King 4-2 earlier on Friday to reach the last four while Day - world ranked 24 - beat defending champion Shaun Murphy 4-2. | Barry Hawkins reached the World Grand Prix final with a 6-1 win over China's Liang Wenbo in Preston. |
33537634 | He challenged critics of Tuesday's deal to present a better alternative - seen as a veiled reference to his Republican opponents in Congress.
The UN Security Council will vote next week on a resolution endorsing the agreement, Iran says.
In return for an end to sanctions, Iran will limit its nuclear activities.
The president has said there will be a robust debate with Congress.
His Republican rivals, who hope to scupper the agreement in a subsequent vote, have accused him of appeasement.
But Mr Obama said: "If 99% of the world community and the majority of nuclear experts look at this thing and they say this will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, and you are arguing either that it does not or that even if it does, it's temporary then you should have some alternative."
He said he had not heard one and insisted there were two alternatives with the issue either resolved "diplomatically, through a negotiation, or it's resolved through force. Through war. Those are the options", he said.
He added the world would risk "even more war in the Middle East" without the nuclear agreement with Iran.
BBC North America editor Jon Sopel said the president came out swinging at a news conference on Wednesday, confident of his argument and keen to make the case that - on the central goal of stopping Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon - the agreement had to be supported.
The deal, reached with six world powers in Vienna, would begin to be implemented by November, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier on Wednesday.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the agreement proved that "constructive engagement works".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, denounced what he called a "stunning historic mistake".
Mr Obama has expressed hopes that the agreement would encourage Iran to "behave differently," citing "its support of terrorism and its use of proxies to destabilise parts of the Middle East."
He said that the US would seek greater co-operation from Tehran on ending the wars in Syria and Yemen. But he added: "We're not betting on it.''
He also urged members of the US Congress to judge the agreement "based on the facts, not on politics".
American lawmakers have 60 days to review the deal.
The UN Security Council passed six resolutions between 2006 and 2010 requiring Iran to stop producing enriched uranium, which can be used for civilian purposes, but also to build nuclear bombs.
After returning to Tehran, Mr Zarif said: "These talks have concluded in a situation when the Security Council - for the first time in its history - will give official recognition to a developing country's enrichment programme through a resolution next week."
Diplomats told the Reuters news agency that the US would circulate a draft text on Wednesday that would terminate the previous resolutions but enshrine a mechanism for the sanctions they included to automatically "snap back" if Iran breached its commitments.
The five permanent members of the Security Council who could veto any resolution - the US, UK, France, Russia and China - were part of the so-called P5+1 group of world powers that signed the deal with Iran, along with Germany.
"We hope that more or less within four months, measures taken by both sides show results and implementation of the deal begins," Mr Zarif said.
President Rouhani told a cabinet meeting that Iran had not "surrendered".
"The deal is a legal, technical and political victory for Iran," he said. "It's an achievement that Iran won't be called a world threat anymore."
Could US Congress torpedo the deal?
Iran deal may force new rhetoric
A good deal, for now?
Will deal make the Middle East less safe?
Iran: Now a business opportunity?
How Iran's media covered announcement
But the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, John Boehner, said it would only "embolden" Iran.
"Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," he warned.
Meanwhile Mr Netanyahu stressed that Israel would not be bounded by the deal, suggesting military strikes on Iran's nuclear programme remained an option. "We will always defend ourselves," he added.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, told the BBC he was confident that its inspectors would be able to "detect any diversion or misuse of nuclear material in a timely manner". | Critics of the nuclear agreement with Iran are at odds with "99% of the world and the majority of nuclear experts", US President Barack Obama has said. |
36801667 | Martin Hall renovated the shed in Monmouth after seeing its potential due to the views of the Black Mountains.
The £275,000 renovation is now up for the gold medal for architecture at the National Eisteddfod.
Architects Hall and Bednarczyk said the barn was "abandoned for several decades and in a rundown state".
The gold medal recognises architectural excellence and the winner will be announced during the festival in August. | A run-down chicken coop which was transformed into a four-bedroom holiday home has been nominated for an architecture prize. |
35712020 | The images by amateur photographer Phyllis Nicklin were found last year when University of Birmingham staff were clearing out a building.
Ms Nicklin, a lecturer from Aston, took the photos between 1953 and 1969.
A selection are on display at the city's Reuben Colley gallery and artists have been invited to interpret the photos.
David Oram, from the university, published Ms Nicklin's photos on his local history website, Brumpic.
He said: "She's captured a time of change in Birmingham where new buildings [were] going up, the [old ones] coming down. This is exactly what happened in the 1950s and 1960s in Birmingham."
The photos were discovered by staff last year. | Hundreds of pictures discovered in a cupboard which show Birmingham in the 1950s and 1960s have gone on display. |
32376973 | Five teenage suspects were arrested over an alleged plot to carry out an attack at a World War One centenary event.
The families of two of the men have also alleged that officers used excessive force in Saturday's raids.
Police said the men were planning to target officers during an Anzac memorial event in Melbourne.
An 18-year-old, Sevdet Besim, has been charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act.
Two men remain in custody. The other three have been released but police have said that one man is expected to be charged on weapons offences.
One of the suspects has been detained under a preventative detention order that allows him to be held for 14 days if necessary.
Local media report that it is the first time the order has been used in the state of Victoria.
Nearly 200 officers took part in the counter-terrorism operation.
A family member of one of the detained men told ABC News on Sunday that his family had been traumatised by the experience.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tim Cartwright said police would investigate the complaints, but he added that the risks were carried out "in high-risk situations".
"We believe at least some of these people will be armed and will have a strong motivation to hurt police," ABC News quoted him as saying.
"I'm not surprised there are some minor injuries as a result."
Police said that the men were "associates" of Abdul Numan Haider, a teenager shot dead in September after he stabbed two officers.
Anzac Day is an annual day of remembrance for servicemen and women from Australia and New Zealand. A series of events are planned for next week to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli, Turkey.
Australia raised its threat level to high last September and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids. | Australian police are investigating a mistreatment claim made by a teenager detained in an anti-terror operation. |
35122026 | They were convicted of making six insurance claims worth £144,000 between 2009 and 2011. Two were found not guilty.
It brings the total number of convictions in the scam - which involved the deliberate damaging of vehicles - to 81.
The case involved 28 separate claims and 57 cars, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
The fraud ring cost the insurance industry £763,068.
It operated out of a garage based in Pengam, Blackwood, which was known as both St David's Crash Repair and Easifix and owned by the Yandell family.
They were the masterminds of the scam, Gwent Police said, and they provided the insurance fraud service for scores of friends and relatives.
But they were eventually caught by their own CCTV, driving a Land Rover into a forklift truck to make it look like the car had been in an accident.
Byron Yandell, 32, his father Peter Yandell, 53 and wife Rachel Yandell, 31, along with Gavin Yandell, 31, and Michelle Yandell, 52, were all jailed for between six and two years.
Following the verdicts, Catrin Evans, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Wales complex casework unit, said the operation was "a highly-organised, calculated and extensive conspiracy to defraud".
"It involved defendants participating in the arrangement of fake road traffic accidents and insurance fraud," she said.
"The vast majority of cars supposedly involved in these fake accidents were recovered to a single garage that was at the centre of the criminal operation."
Ben Fletcher, director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, said "Crash for cash scams, such as Operation Dino, have a real impact on society, putting the lives of innocent people at risk and costing honest policy holders almost £350m each year.
"These investigations and convictions send a powerful message to the public that if you are committing insurance fraud then the risk of being caught and prosecuted is very real. The IFB works alongside insurers and police forces up and down the country to detect fraudsters and bring them to justice."
Bethan Palmer, 26, from Newport, guilty of conspiracy to defraud and perverting the course of justice
Stephen Pegram, 49, from Blackwood, guilty of conspiracy to defraud
Nicola Cook, 41, from Hengoed, guilty of conspiracy to defraud
Nicola Rees, 48, from Bargoed, Caerphilly County, guilty of conspiracy to defraud
Stephen Brooks, 45, from Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, guilty of conspiracy to defraud
Adam Fear, 27, from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, not guilty of conspiracy to defraud
Matthew Davies, 33, from Pontypridd, not guilty of conspiracy to defraud | Five people have been found guilty over the biggest car insurance fraud investigation in the UK. |
35082649 | It followed the discovery of a suspicious object in Manor Close in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Army bomb experts examined the object and said it was a "viable device".
Police did not give any more details on what was found but said it had been taken away for further examination.
Sinn Féin councillor Mary Doyle said it was her understanding that it was a pipe bomb.
"Apart from the danger of this device exploding and causing death or serious injury we have seen disruption to local residents on one of the coldest nights of the year," she said.
"People, including children and elderly were distressed at the disruption caused by this device.
"The people behind it have been rejected by the local community and need to desist from these activities immediately." | A number of residents who were forced to leave their homes because of a security alert in north Belfast have been allowed to return. |
34658755 | The work and pensions secretary said he would like to see a trial scheme in Manchester rolled out nationwide after it was given "very strong feedback".
The Trussell Trust, which operates food banks, says the facilities were used more than one million times in 2014-15.
It welcomed closer co-operation but said talks were needed over the feasibility of the job adviser idea.
Speaking at a meeting of the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, Mr Duncan Smith said: "I am trialling at the moment a job adviser situating themselves in the food bank for the time that the food bank is open and we are already getting very strong feedback about that."
If the trial was successful and other food banks are willing, he said he would like to roll it out across the UK.
Robert Devereux, the most senior civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions, told the MPs staff were in the food bank one day a week with phonelines available at other times.
Claimants are given advice on how to receive welfare payments as well as finding work, he said.
The advisers involved in the trial had found that food bank users tended to be more interested in where they might find work than in simply resolving issues with their benefits, he added. As a result, the advisers were teaming up with local job clubs to point people towards vacancies.
Frank Field, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, called it a "good reform" and said he believed the sooner it could be rolled out the better.
But Labour's welfare spokesman Owen Smith said it showed the "grim reality" that emergency food aid had become an established part of the welfare system.
"Under the Tories, food bank use has risen exponentially," he said. "This is in no small part due to the secretary of state's incompetent and callous running of the DWP.
"It is of course important that people are able to better access advice and support from DWP staff. However, the fact that Iain Duncan Smith is so relaxed about extreme food poverty that he has allowed it to become an accepted element of the national planning for the DWP is deeply worrying."
And the UK Independence Party accused the government of "lifting" the policy from its election manifesto, in which it pledged to send 800 advisers into food banks to help users with employment, legal, financial and health matters.
"Just funding DWP advisers in job centres won't tackle these kind of underlying problems that prevent people working," said Suzanne Evans, who co-ordinated the manifesto.
"Ideally, I'd prefer to see Iain Duncan Smith fully roll out UKIP's policy and appoint independent advisers who can tackle food bank users' problems at a number of levels. That will lead to better outcomes for them, their families, and for us all."
The Trussell Trust said it applauded efforts to get food banks and Job Centres to work together.
"We welcome the government's interest in exploring new ways that the DWP might help people at food banks who have hit crisis as a result of problems with welfare delivery," it said.
"But we would also suggest that there first needs to be a dialogue between the DWP and The Trussell Trust network about the possible challenges and opportunities that hosting DWP advisers in foodbanks could afford.
"The Trussell Trust has had positive discussions with some MPs about whether piloting DWP advisers in their local food banks could be beneficial, but we have not yet had the opportunity for dialogue with Iain Duncan Smith or DWP advisers about the feasibility of rolling out this idea." | Job advisers are set to be placed in food banks across the country, Iain Duncan Smith has told MPs. |
23975010 | Nick Clegg said the existing guidelines needed to change to reflect the "menacing" potential of the internet.
Mr Clegg said he had not yet convinced the Conservatives that all English schools - including academies and free schools - should follow the guidelines.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said teachers should be given the resources and trusted to get it right.
Mr Clegg was responding to a challenge on his LBC radio phone-in from a 17-year-old girl, who warned of pressure on children to behave like porn stars.
He said the guidance was last changed 13 years ago "and the world is a very different place now".
"In many respects it's a more liberating place, not least because of the internet but it's also a more menacing place - particularly, but not only, for young girls."
Mr Clegg said "there are lots of schools - academies, free schools and so on - who don't need to follow the guidelines, even the outdated ones".
The guidelines are contained in the national curriculum, which does not apply to academies and free schools.
"I haven't been able to persuade Michael Gove and the Conservatives to move all the way on this," he said.
"They've moved some of the way."
Mr Clegg said that guidance on pornography and cyberbullying in the national curriculum for IT "has some bearing on this".
"The national curriculum, even though that doesn't need to be taught by all schools, does sort of at least raise the expectations that schools should teach this."
He stressed that Mr Gove was a "perfectly intelligent bloke" and they had "compromised".
"He's got a well-expressed and articulate view that schools shouldn't be burdened with too many directives from central government," he said.
"But I just happen to think in this instance given how menacing this is, particularly for young girls, my own view is this is an area where actually we do need to both update the guidance... and raise the expectation that all schools do this properly in the classroom."
Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4's World at One that the government had recently reviewed the guidance for sex education.
He said that "practitioners" had suggested there was no point in attempting to update official guidance "when technology changes so rapidly".
"The most important thing is to make sure that we provide the resources that teachers need, that we trust teachers to deliver sex and relationship education in the right way, but we give them the chance to talk to experts," Mr Gove added.
A Department for Education statement added that the government review had "found that the existing guidance offers a sound framework for sex and relationship education in school.
"The best people to help schools deal with changing technology are the experts. Our sex and relationship education guidance directs schools to draw on the up-to-date advice produced by experts to use in sex and relationship education."
The statement said the government had also given almost £3m to charities providing state-of-the-art materials on cyberbullying and added: "We have told schools to access these to develop their own policies."
Lucy Emmerson of the Sex Education Forum welcomed Nick Clegg's comments: "We hope the views of the deputy prime minister will be reflected in the final version of the national curriculum.
"The latest version dropped all mention of sexual health from science and excluded naming genitalia. This has serious consequences for children's safety and health." | Sex education guidance needs updating and should apply to all schools, the deputy prime minister has said. |
38780822 | The billionaire tech mogul had filed a legal case seeking to acquire small pockets of land within his large estate on the island of Kauai.
But his use of the so-called "quiet title" legal system led to criticism from other residents.
He said he had not taken the time to fully understand the process. "It's clear we made a mistake," he said.
Mr Zuckerberg bought a 700-acre estate on the Hawaiian island, where he says his family wish to "put down roots".
However, the estate is littered with a number of small parcels of land called kuleana.
Kuleana rights are part of the history of the Hawaiian islands, as the small areas of land were handed out to native tenant farmers in the 1850s. The access, fishing, and water rights can be complex.
The Facebook CEO said he had asked the courts to find the owners of abandoned plots so he could settle ownership with them - many of whom, he said, would not even know they owned any land.
But he faced criticism from some locals, including state representative Kaniela Ing, who argued the effective compulsory purchase would limit access rights for native Hawaiians.
"Who needs 700 acres of paradise? It seems a bit excessive," he said in one video posted to his Facebook page.
But Mr Zuckerberg, announcing his decision in a letter to local newspaper The Garden Island on Friday, said the controversy had taught him more about the historical significance of the land rights.
"We understand that for native Hawaiians, kuleana are sacred and the quiet title process can be difficult," he wrote.
"Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead. Now that I understand the issues better, it's clear we made a mistake."
After Mr Zuckerberg dropped the case, Mr Ing responded saying: "I am humbled. Thousands of everyday people stood up and spoke out against one of the most influential billionaires, the best PR professionals, and the best attorneys in the world, and we won." | Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has dropped attempts to acquire land for his Hawaii estate through the courts. |
34912827 | The Commerce Department said gross domestic product rose at an annual pace of 2.1%, not the 1.5% rate it reported last month.
Consumer spending was revised down slightly, although this was offset by growth in other economic areas.
Even with the GDP revision, growth still slowed from an annual pace of 3.9% in the second quarter.
However, in the second quarter of the year the economy was rebounding from the impact of the harsh winter weather experienced at the start of the year, which slowed the US economy to a crawl.
The better third quarter growth is still likely to fuel speculation that the US Federal Reserve is ready to raise interest rates next month.
The upward revision by the Commerce Department puts the US economy on course to grow at least 2% in the second half. It comes in the wake of strong jobs growth in October.
"Domestic demand in the US economy remains very solid, something that will surely give comfort to the Fed as it ponders its next move," said Robert Kavcic, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.
The main factor behind the upward revision to the growth figure was the discovery that businesses had restocked their inventories at a faster pace than first estimated.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, grew at a 3% rate, down from the 3.2% rate estimated last month.
Growth in business investment slowed to a rate of 3.4% from 5.2% in the previous quarter. That was mainly due to a sharp drop in spending on oil and gas exploration by energy firms because of the weak oil price. | US economic growth for the third quarter has been revised up, helped by stronger investment and house building. |
36048059 | Labour's Rupa Huq criticised Citizen Khan's depiction of a "quite backward" family of Muslims.
The show was accused of stereotyping Muslims when it started in 2012 and its creator, Adil Ray, has told the Radio Times he had received death threats.
The BBC said the award-winning show had received much positive feedback.
But Ms Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, whose sister Konnie is a former Blue Peter presenter, said: "I feel as if I didn't know what the year is ... you would think it's an everyday tale of a Birmingham family of Muslims but they're really quite backward.
"Again, the Islamophobic point [Labour MP Chuka Umunna] made, it's a beardy weirdy chap and they're not quite cutting off people's hands but I can imagine that being in a future episode."
Citizen Khan prompted complaints when it launched in 2012 and Mr Ray has previously said he had received abuse from people who believed it was making fun of Islam or stereotyping Muslims.
But the show has won various awards at the Royal Television Society and Asian Media Awards.
A BBC spokesman said: "The fact that Citizen Khan returns for its fifth series this year is a sign of its popularity with all audiences - indeed the show has won several awards, including Best TV character at the Asian Media Awards.
"We've also had positive comments from members of the Muslim community for the show and for creator Adil Ray who, like the family portrayed, is a British Pakistani Muslim. As with all sitcoms the characters are comic creations and not meant to be representative of the community as a whole."
Ms Huq made her comments during a backbench debate called by former culture minister David Lammy.
Mr Lammy accused the BBC of hiring "the same old faces from the same old schools to the same old jobs" and said he had been contacted by black and Asian BBC staff who said "that they cannot speak up because they do not want to be labelled a troublemaker".
He also said the Chinese community was "totally invisible" on the broadcaster and said the BBC's new charter must address the lack of progress in boosting ethnic minority representation.
He said although the BBC ran 29 schemes aimed at ethnic minorities between 1999 and 2014, the situation was not improving and the proportion of ethnic minority staff had dropped from 13.1% in 2015 to 12.2% now.
The Labour MP for Tottenham praised the diversity of children's television, BBC Three and documentaries but questioned whether there was sufficient diversity in management.
He said: "We all go into Broadcasting House and see the security, see black staff at the junior ends, but walk into that newsroom, think about the editorial decisions that are being made, and ask yourself, is that really representative of our country as a whole?"
Conservative MP Helen Grant suggested the BBC could voluntarily disclose data on the recruitment, retention, promotion and pay of staff from ethnic minorities.
Labour Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott said the BBC should reflect every region in the UK, adding that Salford - where MediaCity UK is a major BBC base - was "not where the North ends".
Earlier, Mr Umunna attacked the "representation of our Muslim communities" on TV.
He said "rising Islamophobia" could partly be blamed on broadcasters' use of "community leaders who purport to speak for that community but have no mandate whatsoever to do so".
The BBC said it was "making good progress" on becoming more diverse but said it would continue to develop "new and innovative ideas to do even better" and would soon be setting out its new diversity strategy.
"Almost half of our workforce is made up of women and the proportion of our workforce who are black, Asian and other ethnic minority is at an all-time high," the spokesman added. | A BBC sitcom has been criticised as "Islamophobic" during a Commons debate about whether the BBC's programmes and staff reflect UK diversity. |
36620036 | He chose the words of a famous Doonhamer, John Laurie of Dad's Army fame, to sum up his feelings on the result.
"I just think that we're doomed," he told me.
"I think it is going to be pretty bad for the UK as a whole.
"I do hope that Scotland votes to be independent eventually.
"The EU brought a lot of good things into the UK. It protected maternity leave, workers' rights, fair pay - I think that will all change, not immediately obviously, but down through the years."
Not everyone, of course, shared that view - in a region where the result was one of the closest in Scotland.
Dumfries and Galloway voted by 53.1% to 46.9% in favour of remaining in the European Union.
In the neighbouring Scottish Borders the result was a more resounding 58.5% to 41.5% for staying in.
The mixed reaction on the streets of Dumfries appeared to reflect the split in the vote across the region.
One person who voted to leave was Margaret Radley from Lochmaben, who was naturally pleased with the overall outcome.
She said the UK had managed on its own before and she could see no reason why it could not do so again.
For many people, however, the result raised numerous questions.
"I had hoped that we were going to stay in the EU because I didn't think the other side gave me any clear picture of what would happen," said Lynsey Pennycook.
"So I think the future is quite uncertain."
That was echoed by Karen Williams, who said she was "really confused" by the outcome, while Yvonne Livingstone saw further political consequences.
"I voted for Remain, but it is what it is, isn't it?" she said.
"It was no big shock what came next that the prime minister has resigned. He had to, he had no other option.
"Everything is all uncertain now, everything is totally in turmoil, nobody can give us any definitive answers as to what is going to happen - it is just shocking.
"It just leaves us wide open to another Scottish referendum."
BBC Scotland took to the streets of towns and cities across the country to find out what people feel about the decision to leave the EU.
Sharon Johnstone agreed that could be the case.
"I just think we had the independence vote obviously and now we've had another vote and it has completely changed things around," she said.
"Personally, for the SNP, I think it is probably a good result because now it will maybe push for another independence vote.
"But with regards to as it is at the moment there is uncertainty everywhere - more so in Scotland than anywhere else."
Bill Hunt, originally from Dundee, but living in southern Scotland for more than 40 years, said that while Scotland did not depend on Europe it did receive a lot of support.
"It is a total disgrace that we have got 62% in favour and we are going to be dragged out," he said.
"But I am a nationalist, I voted for independence the last time and I can only hope that we take our time and we get it the next time."
Some, however, were not looking that far ahead.
"We can do what we like now our own selves and not be told by Mrs Merkel in Germany how to do it," said Doonhamer Colin Campbell. | Sitting on the steps outside the historic Midsteeple in Dumfries, Stephen Comiskey was taking in the outcome of the EU referendum. |
38636508 | Ministers intervened over whether the Article 50 process to leave the EU can be triggered without MPs' approval.
The Welsh Conservatives have found just over £79,000 was spent on legal fees, plus travel and accommodation costs.
Monmouth Tory MP David Davies called it a waste of money, but the Welsh Government said it would not apologise for protecting Wales' interests.
A High Court ruling that MPs had to vote to trigger Article 50 led to a UK government appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Welsh Government took part in that hearing in December, with a ruling by the Supreme Court expected later in January.
The figures have been disclosed as a result of a Freedom of Information request made by the Welsh Conservatives.
They cover both the costs of attending the original High Court case and participating in the Supreme Court appeal.
At the Supreme Court, the Welsh Government argued that triggering Article 50 would "significantly change" the devolution settlement as it applies to Wales.
But the UK government dismissed that argument as "tortuous".
The disclosure shows:
Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies said: "What an absolute waste of taxpayers' cash, and all to pay for Mick Antoniw's tortuous bid to block Brexit.
"Ultimately, the weakness of the Welsh Government's case exposed this venture for what it was - a peacocking exercise, motivated by a combination of ego and an unwillingness to abide by the democratic process.
"It might not seem like a grand sum in the context of the Welsh Government's overall budget, but that kind of money could have paid for four full time Welsh NHS nurses which would have been a much better use of taxpayers' money."
The Welsh Government has denied that the case was a bid to block Brexit.
A spokesman said: "We do not apologise for intervening in what is one of the most significant constitutional legal cases in the UK's history.
"We did so to protect the interests of Wales and its devolved institutions.
"The people of the UK voted to leave the European Union, and we respect that decision.
"While Brexit will happen, the UK government cannot trigger it by overriding the British constitution.
"They need to act within the law.
"In the Supreme Court, we argued the process of leaving the EU must be carried out within the law, which includes respecting and adhering to the constitutional arrangements of the United Kingdom and the legal framework for devolution." | The Welsh Government has defended spending more than £84,000 on the Brexit case at the Supreme Court. |
38556019 | The 25-year-old netted after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 friendly win against Saudi Arabian side Al-Batin in Doha, Qatar.
Oscar later won the free-kick from which Lu Wenjun struck the winner.
"I only trained for two days," he said. "This is the start of a new season - we have only one goal, which is to win."
Oscar added: "My team-mates played very well today. The Chinese guys tried to help us [to integrate]. It's difficult to have a good game in such a short time - they made it happen."
The Chinese Super League gets under way in March. | Brazilian midfielder Oscar scored on his debut for Shanghai SIPG following his move from Chelsea for a Chinese transfer record fee of £60m. |
32241936 | Election manifestos are written with single party government in mind. What is their place in elections where no single party wins a majority?
At the 2010 general election all the contending parties fought campaigns based on published manifestos that set out for electors the policies they intended to pursue in government.
But every party lost that election. The hung Parliament that resulted produced the first peacetime coalition government in the United Kingdom for 80 years, and one committed to a programme based on a coalition agreement.
The Lib Dem cabinet minister, Vince Cable, summarised the difference in 2010 when challenged about breaking the party's manifesto commitment to abolish tuition fees.
"We didn't break a promise. We made a commitment in our manifesto, and we didn't win the election. We then entered into a coalition agreement, and it's the coalition agreement that is binding upon us and which I'm trying to honour."
But it was the Lib Dem manifesto that helped attract 6.8 million votes to the party in May 2010, not a coalition agreement that none of them had heard of, let alone seen.
How could they? It was the result of a post-election deal. Such arrangements are quite common in many countries, especially those where proportional voting systems make single party government infrequent. But they lie outside the experience of voters in first-past-the-post Westminster elections.
But why is there all this fuss about manifesto commitments? The late Labour politician Peter Shore once described manifestos as "a party's contract with the electorate".
He did not mean a legal contract but rather a moral contract between MPs and voters based upon the programme the MPs committed themselves to implement if elected to government.
And the potency of the mandate given to a government's election manifesto was recognised by the Salisbury convention.
During the post-war Labour government, the Conservative leader in the House of Lords, the Marquess of Salisbury, formulated the doctrine that Conservative peers could use their inbuilt majority to amend legislation that the electorate had clearly voted for, but not defeat it.
And manifestos, certainly in the post-war period, have held a special status among civil servants. Not only are these documents closely studied within every government department, but the commitments contained within them carry a distinct authority as far as the civil service is concerned. But where did all this come from?
In 1834, whilst on holiday in Rome, Sir Robert Peel was invited by King William IV to form a minority government to replace the Whig administration of Lord Melbourne.
The law at that time required him to resign his seat of Tamworth and seek re-election as a Minister of the Crown.
He published a manifesto in the resulting by-election, stating: "I feel it incumbent on me to enter into a declaration of my views of public policy, as full and unreserved as I can make it".
One reason for publishing it was his opinion that voters required "that frank exposition of general principles and views... which it ought not to be the inclination, and cannot be the interest of a minister of this country to withhold".
Peel was robust about the terms on which he would accept re-election and government office: "I will not accept power on the condition of declaring myself an apostate from the principles on which I have heretofore acted."
His manifesto reflected the political issues of the day and the restricted electorate whose votes he was seeking - currency, criminal law, the Reform Bill, municipal corporations, Church reform.
At the end of this 2,300 word Tamworth Manifesto, Peel felt able to declare that he had said enough "with respect to general principles and their practical application to public measures, to indicate the spirit in which the King's government is prepared to act".
Peel set out the essence of a party manifesto that we can easily recognise nearly 200 years later: a full and public declaration of policy that a party aspiring to government offers for the verdict of the electorate.
Party manifestos have certainly developed since 1834 and not least in respect of the changing priorities addressed in them.
In 1900, the Conservative election manifesto amounted to 887 words and contained (at a stretch) four pledges. The party's 2010 manifesto comprised 27,835 words and contained 620 pledges.
But the Peel Principle remained unchallenged throughout this period: namely, voters are entitled to know what politicians intend to do in government before they cast their ballots. | As Westminster's largest parties launch their general election manifestos, here is a guide to the significance and history of these much-scrutinised documents. |
36245390 | Shalane Blackwood complained of stomach pains and told his mother Linda Blackwood he was dying when she last spoke to him on 21 July.
He was found dead in his cell on 5 August, having suffered internal bleeding due to an ulcer.
An inquest jury decided "systematic failings amounting to neglect" significantly contributed to his death.
The 29-year-old, from Derby, had been jailed for possession of a firearm and was on a licence recall when he died in the segregation unit at Nottingham Prison.
His mother Linda Blackwood said: "I knew something was wrong when he was in HMP Nottingham - I just wish my concerns had been listened to at the time when I raised them.
"I feel Shalane's death could have been prevented."
The narrative conclusion given by the jury said: "Shalane Blackwood died from internal bleeding caused by a duodenal ulcer - a condition which should have been diagnosed and treated.
"Systemic failings amounting to neglect by prison and healthcare staff at HMP Nottingham significantly contributed to Shalane's death."
The Prison Service said in a statement: "We make every effort to learn from each death in custody and our thoughts are with the family of Mr Blackwood.
"We will consider and respond to the findings of the coroner's inquest and see what lessons can be learned."
Blood was found in Mr Blackwood's cell the day before he died but he was not taken to hospital.
Rebecca Treece, a solicitor representing his family, said: "It is deeply concerning that Shalane was found with blood in his cell and, even though the source was not identified, further investigations were not sought.
"Shalane's family were particularly shocked by this."
She added that "urgent action" is needed to address the issues uncovered by the inquest.
The death was investigated independently by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) and a report is due to be published.
The most recent inspection report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, published in February 2015, said Nottingham Prison was not safe enough and conditions were poor.
Andrew Neilson, campaign director for the Howard League for Penal Reform, said at the time: "Staff are being overwhelmed by the amount of work… and the pressure on them because of cutbacks." | A mother whose ill son died in prison after being neglected by staff says he should not have been left to die. |
38402015 | 22 December 2016 Last updated at 09:44 GMT
Keepers at Toronto Zoo in Canada built this giant snowman for panda Da Mao to enjoy.
It's looks like they're have a bear-y good time!
Pictures from Toronto Zoo | This Giant panda got a snowy treat to play with. |
38094036 | Englishman Lines, 46, won a marathon first frame against the Australian and a break of 58 put him 2-0 ahead.
Robertson scored three half centuries as he fought back to trail 4-3, but Lines held his nerve to progress.
He was not going to be scared. He played a brilliant match
Lines said the win over the world number seven was the "most pleasing of his career."
Leeds star Lines, a UK quarter-finalist in 2009, said: "It was a daunting task, but I just thought I wanted to relax and at least give a good account of myself.
"In my heart I wasn't expecting to win but I played well and am really pleased with how I held myself together because Neil is a fantastic player."
Lines, who joins his 21-year-old son Oliver in the last 64, only dropped off the tour at the end of last season and Robertson said his opponent's experience shone through in his "incredible safety play".
"He didn't make a whole load of big breaks but he didn't have to because his safety was that good," said Robertson, the 2013 and 2015 UK champion.
"It was a tough match. He is still a great player and he showed that. He was not going to be scared. He played a brilliant match."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Elsewhere on the final day of the first round, reigning world champion Mark Selby, who took the UK title in 2012, easily beat fellow Englishman Andy Hicks 6-1.
Another ex-world champion, Stuart Bingham, thrashed Adam Stefanow 6-0.
Bingham won a scrappy opening frame but was in fine form thereafter, scoring three half centuries and two tons against his Polish opponent.
"I scored heavily and didn't miss much," said Bingham, 40. "I took my chances and if I keep playing like that I have every chance here."
World number 16 Mark Williams said he "struggled from start to finish" despite beating Jason Weston 6-1 to reach round two at the York Barbican.
Williams, the champion in 1999 and 2002, lost frame two but was always in control against his English opponent.
The Welshman, who said he was struggling with a neck problem, added: "I had a couple of good breaks but overall it was poor."
Stephen Maguire, the champion in 2004, is also through after beating China's Cao Yupeng 6-1, while fellow Scot Alan McManus recovered from 5-0 down to beat Michael Wild 6-5.
Ali Carter made four half-century and two century breaks in a 6-1 win over fellow Englishman Christopher Keogan.
But there was no fairytale win for Jamie Curtis-Barrett, who fought back from 4-0 down to 4-3 against Joe Perry, before losing 6-3.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Reigning champion Neil Robertson suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the UK Championship, losing 6-3 to amateur veteran Peter Lines. |
39856054 | It is understood the puppies were part of a litter of 16 and were buried beside the grave of a relative of the owner.
The charity said there were currently "no animal welfare concerns" after being contacted by the owner.
The puppies were found by a council worker in Eastern Cemetery on Thursday.
The charity is awaiting the result of post-mortem examinations to discover what caused the puppies' deaths. | The owner of 11 dead puppies found in a box in a Dundee graveyard has been traced by the Scottish SPCA, the charity has confirmed. |
35803485 | The striker beat keeper Timo Horn with an angled shot after Dominique Heintz half-cleared a Thiago Alcantara cross.
Anthony Modeste and Leonardo Bittencourt came close to an equaliser late in the second half.
But Pep Guardiola's side held on and sit eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who visit Augsburg on Sunday.
Guardiola rested Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Frank Ribery and Arturo Vidal following Wednesday's 4-2 Champions League round of 16 second-leg extra-time victory over Juventus.
With Mario Gotze also on the bench, it meant that Bayern had three World Cup winners, a Copa America winner and a Ballon d'Or runner-up to turn to if things turned sour.
There seemed little danger of that as the German champions opened the scoring after nine minutes with their first shot on target.
Poland international Lewandowski's finish was his 42nd in all competitions for club and country this season - while his Bundesliga total of 25 is his highest league tally in one campaign.
With Bayern happy to hold on to their lead, Cologne started to create chances in the second half, and could even have snatched a draw had striker Modeste shown more poise in front of goal.
The Frenchman's best chance came on 73 minutes, but David Alaba was able to block his follow-up effort after Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had only half saved his initial shot from Marcel Risse's inch-perfect pass.
Bittencourt then almost netted with the final kick off the match, but Neuer made a sprawling stop to secure a 17th clean sheet from 27 league matches. | Robert Lewandowski's 25th Bundesliga goal of the season kept Bayern Munich on course for a fourth successive domestic title as they won at Cologne. |
31988540 | However, it's not possible at this stage to determine whether the compound has a biological or non-biological origin.
And contamination could still be responsible for the finding.
The results come from Curiosity's SAM instrument, and were presented at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in Texas.
Nasa scientist Daniel Glavin described the results from the first "wet chemistry" experiment carried out by Curiosity.
A long-chain carboxylic acid, or fatty acid, was a good fit for one of the data peaks detected in a mudstone called Cumberland, he told an audience at the meeting. A long-chain alcohol molecule may also be among the compounds analysed.
The preliminary result will excite scientists because fatty acids are key components of the cell membranes found in all life forms, including microbial organisms.
Dr Glavin told an audience that the result was "provocative", and said the link to biology was the "million-dollar question". But he explained that a non-biological origin was equally plausible at this stage of the research.
One scientist commenting on the presentation suggested that contamination could not be ruled out as a cause of the signal.
The SAM team have been working to address the leak of a pre-existing chemical called MTBSTFA within the instrument.
The fact this is also an organic molecule has complicated the search for indigenous carbon-containing compounds in Martian rocks.
However, team members say they have turned the leak into an advantage, using their understanding of how MTBSTFA reacts with other compounds to identify Martian organics.
Curiosity landed on the Red Planet in August 2012, on a mission to explore Gale Crater, which billions of years ago would have held a lake.
The instrument team has previously reported evidence of chlorobenzene in the same rock, from the Martian area known as Yellowknife Bay.
Follow Paul on Twitter. | A fatty acid might be among organic molecules discovered on Mars by Nasa's Curiosity rover. |
20681551 | The figures in the eventual Born Abroad report showed an unprecedented transformation that confirmed everything that we saw around us as we travelled around the country gathering stories of migration and change.
A decade on, that pace of change has increased.
What the census shows beyond any doubt is that the UK is in the midst of an astonishing era of demographic shift - and like the experience of many of its international peers, it is being driven by globalisation.
Ten years ago, there were some 4.3 million people in the UK who told the census that they had been born abroad. Almost all areas had been touched by changes from immigration - although in some areas the numbers were so small that it clearly amounted to little more than a family moving in or out - the phenomenon of a single Indian restaurant in a village, for instance.
In 2011, there were 7.5 million people born abroad living in England and Wales - up almost three million and taking their proportion of the population to 13%.
The UK is experiencing such rapid flows and movements of people from so many parts of the world, that parts of it can lay claim to being "super-diverse" - the idea that an area is home to so many people it's almost impossible to describe it in simple terms, such as home to one community or another.
The 2011 census used three measures to understand migration - it asked people where they were born, when they came to the UK and what passport they held. The Census also tried to capture who was a long-term migrant and who was only in the UK temporarily.
None of this is an exact science. For instance, the answer to who was born abroad includes large numbers of people whose parents served with the British Army in Germany. Asking people what passport they hold gives you a sense of identity - but nationality and identity can change.
But even with these kinds of understandable limitations, we have a very good idea of what is going on.
In 2001, the top three places where people were born abroad (excluding the Republic of Ireland) were India, Pakistan and Germany.
Poland lay 18th on the list - but over a decade numbers increased nine-fold as its workers came to the UK once the country joined the European Union.
The change has been so rapid that almost half of those born abroad arrived in the decade leading up to the 2011 census.
All regions witnessed an increase - although the changes varied greatly from area to area. London, already a global city in 2001, became more so, with its boroughs holding all the places in the diversity top 10.
One of the key drivers of the change was the expansion of the EU and the arrival of Polish workers. If you want just a snapshot of that change - look at Boston in Lincolnshire.
In 2001, it was home to fewer than 1,500 people born abroad - and because of the statistical quirk I've already mentioned, some of those were Brits born in Germany.
Today, almost 10,000 people born abroad call Boston home - 3,000 of them from Poland, more than any other local authority outside of the South East.
The greatest numerical change has however been in London. In 2001, almost two million people in the capital were born abroad. Today it is almost three million. If anyone doubted that London was now a world city, rather than just the capital of the UK, the figures say different. Only 44% of people in London now describe themselves as white British. In the east London borough of Newham, fewer than a fifth of the population described themselves so.
Four out of every 10 people in London in 2011 were foreign-born - up from three in 10 in 2001.
Overall, four London boroughs - Newham, Brent, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea are now home to a majority who were born outside of the UK. Three other parts of the capital are not far off.
The history of migration was once the story of cities: We had very distinct communities in specific places - an African-Caribbean community in London or Birmingham, for instance, and Indian or East African Asian people in Leicester.
Large historic communities remain - but there is also greater geographic spread among newcomers. For instance, some 90% of the Poles in the UK are spread across England and Wales in community after community.
So overall, increasing change, rapid change and increasing diversity.
Is this something happening to the UK alone? It lies 12th in the list of EU nations when you look at the proportion of people in each nation who were born abroad.
But England and Wales comes top in this category when you rank it alongside France, Germany and Italy - the other states with populations of over 50 million.
The 2001 census confirmed the change in the face of Britain - the 2011 census confirms that the change continues. | Back in 2005, the BBC ran a project to map the modern face of the UK, so we could explain to our audiences the role immigration was playing in modern Britain. |
33171508 | The decision by the California Labor Commission means the driver must be awarded more than $4,000 (£2,544) of expenses for the period she worked.
If applied more widely it could mean extra costs such as social security and unemployment insurance.
But Uber emphasised the ruling only applied to this one driver.
In a statement, it said a previous ruling in California and other rulings in five other US states came to the opposite view, that drivers are contractors.
"It's important to remember that the number one reason drivers choose to use Uber is because they have complete flexibility and control.
"The majority of them can and do choose to earn their living from multiple sources, including other ride sharing companies."
The company is now appealing against the award of more than $4,000 (£2,544) in expenses to the San Francisco former Uber driver, Barbara Ann Berwick.
That money is Ms Berwick's "reimbursable business expenses", according to the ruling, including tolls, parking citations, legal fees, interest and mileage.
Uber considers its drivers independent contractors and the drivers pay for their own cars, insurance, gas, tolls and general costs of operating. Drivers are paid 80% of each fare.
The California Labor Commission ruled that Uber is not just enabling the service between drivers and passengers but is "involved in every aspect of the operation".
The commission said Uber would not exist without drivers like Ms Berwick, and that the company depends on the drivers' work.
Uber had been arguing that is a "software platform" that simply "matches customer demand with supply".
The app-based taxi firm has become one of the world's most valuable start-up companies, operating in more than 50 countries and worth an estimated $50bn. | An Uber driver in California has been deemed an employee, not a contractor, in a ruling that could mean higher costs for the app-based taxi service. |
13231761 | Its port is the lifeblood of its economy, providing the biggest source of income and employment in this otherwise barren country.
Djibouti's proximity to restive areas in Africa and the Middle East and its relative stability have made it a prized location for foreign military bases and ensured a steady flow of foreign assistance.
Former colonial power France maintains a significant military presence and the country also hosts America's largest military base in Africa.
Population 923,000
Area 23,200 sq km (8,950 sq miles)
Languages French, Arabic, Somali, Afar
Religion Islam
Life expectancy 57 years (men), 60 years (women)
Currency Djiboutian franc
President: Ismail Omar Guelleh
Ismail Omar Guelleh came to power in elections in 1999, succeeding Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who led the country for two decades since independence.
His re-election as president in 2005 was seen as somewhat of a formality given the opposition's boycott of the election.
He further consolidated his power when a change to the constitution in 2010 allowed him to stand for a third term. The 2011 presidential election was again boycotted by the opposition.
With no strong challenger, Mr Guelleh won a fourth term of office in the April 2016 presidential election.
Born in Ethiopia in 1947, Mr Guelleh, like his predecessor, belongs to the Mamassans, a sub-clan of the Issa. His family moved to Djibouti in 1960 and eight years later he joined the intelligence services, rising through the ranks to become head of state security in 1977.
Djibouti's media environment is dominated by the state. There are no private TV or radio stations and the government owns the main newspaper and the national broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Television de Djibouti (RTD).
The few opposition media outlets are based outside the country and opposition websites are closely monitored by the authorities.
Internet access costs are beyond the reach of most people and most users go online at cyber cafes.
Some key dates in Djibouti's history:
825 - Somali and Afar ethnic groups become first Africans to embrace Islam in the region.
1862 - France gains a foothold in the region, acquiring the trading port of Obock.
1888 - French colony of Somaliland established.
1894 - Djibouti becomes the capital of French Somaliland.
1946 - Djibouti becomes a French overseas territory.
1967 - Referendum - French Somaliland votes to remain a French Overseas Territory, renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas.
1977 - Independence from France, renamed Republic of Djibouti.
1991-2000 - Civil war: Ends with a power-sharing agreement between Afar rebels and the Somali Issa-dominated government.
2003 - First free multi-party presidential election.
2010 - Constitution amended enabling President Omar Guelleh to run for a third term. | Lying on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the tiny African nation of Djibouti serves as a gateway to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes. |
30588351 | The 57-year-old man was dragged into inadequately guarded machinery in the paint shop at the Lode Lane, Solihull, site in June 2013, it said.
He punctured both lungs, broke 10 ribs and was in an induced coma in intensive care for 12 days, HSE said.
It added JLR was fined for safety breaches after pleading guilty.
The maintenance electrician, from Northfield, Birmingham, also broke his breastbone, two bones in his spine and two in his right hand and had blood clots on his heart and kidneys, HSE said.
Speaking after the hearing, it said the incident was "entirely preventable".
Jaguar Land Rover Ltd, of Abbey Road, Whitley, Coventry, was fined £40,000 with £13,474 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, HSE said.
In a statement, a JLR spokesman said: "The safety and wellbeing of our workforce is an integral strategic imperative across our entire business.
"We continue to work tirelessly to ensure the protection of our employees remains our highest priority." | Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has been fined £40,000 after a worker suffered life-threatening crush injuries, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said. |
39671713 | West Granton Community Store was robbed on 2 December 2016.
Craig Vallance, 24, from Edinburgh, was found guilty and sentenced to 54 months in prison. Daryl Loftus, 24, from Edinburgh, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 47 months.
Darren Harvey, 23, from Edinburgh, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 months.
They were sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Det Sgt Robert Wallace, of Police Scotland, said: "Vallance, Loftus and Harvey showed absolutely no regard for the welfare of the staff members during this robbery.
"I would like to thank all the witnesses that were involved in bringing these men to justice.
"We treat all crimes of this nature with the utmost seriousness and are committed to using all resources at our disposal to investigate and bring perpetrators before the courts." | Three men have been sentenced for assault and robbery of a shop in Edinburgh. |
38494564 | It happened at about 03:00 GMT at Trowell services near junction 25 to Nottingham and Derby.
The service station and at least one lane remained shut for most of the morning but fully reopened later.
Traffic was diverted through Nottingham, causing problems on the bus network during rush-hour.
Updates on this story and more from Nottinghamshire | The M1 was closed northbound in Nottinghamshire after a fire on a lorry carrying 1,000 crates of pre-packed food. |
35890970 | The BBC's Ruth Nesoba in the capital, Nairobi, says that exam papers were shared on WhatsApp before exams.
She adds that many Kenyans are now questioning the credibility of the results.
The chief executive and eight other KNEC officials have been ordered to make police statements.
Africa Live: BBC news updates
Is Kenya serious about tackling corruption?
Questions were being sold for 1,000 Kenyan shillings ($10; £7), The Kenyan newspaper The Nation reported in October.
KNEC (Kenya National Examinations Council) head said in reaction that the questions were fake.
He urged students not to trust the questions being shared on WhatsApp and went ahead with the exams which he insisted were credible.
However, when the results were released at the beginning of March Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i announced that more than 5,000 exams had been cancelled, local media reported.
He said that was a 70% rise in the number of cheating cases witnessed compared to 2014, reported Kenya's Capital FM. | Kenya's schools exam board has been dissolved over "irregularities" in last year's secondary school exams, which saw 5,000 results cancelled. |
33690041 | Simon Reynolds, of Farnham in Surrey, did not return to Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday and a manhunt was launched.
Reynolds, who was found guilty of four counts of theft, handed himself in at a police station in Sheffield on Monday.
He was vicar at All Saints Church in Darton when the thefts took place and has been sentenced to 32 months. | A vicar who went on the run after being convicted of pocketing £24,000 of church fees has been jailed for almost three years. |
37159311 | Anthony Bagshaw, of S Bagshaw and Sons butchers, pleaded guilty to 24 offences relating to animal cruelty, food safety and movement of animals.
CCTV footage taken inside the abattoir showed him kicking a pig in the face and throwing a sheep against a gate.
Bagshaw, of Back Lane Butterton, was banned from keeping farm animals for 15 years, Stafford Crown Court heard.
Secret cameras were placed inside the abattoir in Leek, Staffordshire, by Hillside Animal Sanctuary, which had received reports of animal cruelty.
Among the nine animal welfare charges, Bagshaw admitted knocking a sheep unconscious by hitting it on the head with a stun gun and a metal shackle.
The 36-year-old committed the offences between August 2014 and March 2015, the court heard.
At sentencing Judge Jonathan Gosling said Bagshaw's treatment of animals was deplorable.
John Watson, from the animal sanctuary, said: "Had we not been able to obtain the harrowing evidence of barbaric cruelty happening behind the closed doors of this 'high class' family slaughterhouse, it would still be going on right now."
The investigation was jointly carried out by Staffordshire County Council, the Food Standards Agency and Defra.
The council's trading standards leader Gill Heath said: "His treatment of animals was shocking and it is absolutely right that he has been banned from keeping animals for so long." | A slaughterhouse worker who kicked and beat sheep and pigs before killing them has been jailed for 10 months. |
38665798 | The man was arrested after police surrounded the home in Birkenhead, Merseyside, for more than six hours.
He had locked himself in a room with the eight-month-old baby, who was safely rescued just before 14:30 GMT, police said.
The 25-year-old has been arrested on on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, affray and drug offences.
Specialist negotiators were sent to the house in Raffles Road to persuade him to come out.
Other weapons were also recovered from the scene, Merseyside Police said.
The force confirmed officers were initially sent to the house at 08:10 GMT as part of an investigation into cannabis cultivation.
The man then allegedly became "abusive" and barricaded himself in the room before the incident was brought to an end. | A baby has been rescued by armed police after a man barricaded himself into a house with a crossbow and machete. |
39209029 | The goalkeeper, 34, has extended his stay at the club until the summer of 2020 and does not want that to be the end of his playing career.
"I'm very hopeful this won't be my last contract, whether that's here or somewhere else," Gordon said.
"I want to play at the highest level as long as possible and I'm hopeful that's beyond the end of this contract."
And he added: "I don't see any reason for that not to be the case. I'm enjoying my football, it's a great place to be and a great team to be involved in."
Gordon, who moved to Glasgow in 2014, was the subject of interest from Chelsea during the January transfer window but insists he remained focused on his performances for Celtic and did not contemplate leaving.
And he hopes to earn at least the five more international caps needed to be inducted into Scotland's Hall of Fame.
"It took a wee while, but delighted to get [the contract] sorted out," said Gordon, whose side lead the Premiership by 27 points.
"There were a few things to talk about, but not a great deal and after a transfer window closes, the people who talk about these things - agents and the people at Celtic - go on holiday. So there were time lapses, but it was always going to happen.
"The club never accepted any bids, so there was no chance of anything happening. It was just up to me to keep playing to the best of my ability and see what happened.
"If the club had accepted a bid, things would have changed, but I was just happy to keep doing my job."
Gordon did not play in Celtic's 5-1 victory over Rangers at Celtic Park earlier in the season, but was in goal for the two further wins at Hampden and Ibrox. Those scorelines were close, and he expects a difficult encounter when the sides meet again at Celtic Park on Sunday.
"Another tough match," the keeper added. "The two that I've played in this season, at Hampden and Ibrox, were only decided by a single goal.
"They're a good team. There's too much being made of us being overwhelming favourites and Rangers coming to take a beating. That's certainly not the case.
"We have to do the things that we're good at, and we have to defend as well because they create a threat on the break and have good players. We have to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we're doing the things we do well, and if we do that we give ourselves a chance to win the game." | Craig Gordon believes he can continue to perform at a high level beyond the end of his new Celtic contract. |
36693020 | Shaun Klitzke was reported to police by his estranged wife, who found the pictures on a memory card.
Scores of still and moving images were recovered from the card and a mobile phone that was also seized.
Klitzke, formerly of Aspatria, Cumbria, but now of Jesmond, Newcastle, admitted six counts of making indecent photographs of children.
He was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court on Friday 1 July.
Sixty-eight of the images were classed in category A - the most serious. Some of the victims were aged as young as two-years-old.
Klitzke was also made subject to the terms of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years. | A man who possessed "appalling and loathsome" indecent images of children has been jailed for 16 months. |
40378283 | It was reported that a fellow diner became aggressive towards the former England captain, who then pushed the man away and asked to be left alone. The Lions have not made any complaint.
Howley added that the incident on Thursday night was "isolated".
The Lions' three-Test series with New Zealand begins on Saturday.
Howley said that the one-off incident with Spencer will not affect the Lions' off-field plans.
"I've spoken to John, it's an isolated, disappointing incident," said Howley of Spencer's experience. "We've had a fantastic welcome, the New Zealand public have been fantastic."
"The New Zealand public have embraced us," added Howley. "It was only last night we went out to the Viaduct [a waterfront entertainment complex] as a squad and management and we had a lot of Kiwis coming up to us.
"Yes there's been banter but that's all part of it. But coming back to John, it's an isolated incident, and it's the minority, not the majority." | British and Irish Lions assistant coach Rob Howley says it is "disappointing" after tour manager John Spencer said he was accosted in an Auckland restaurant. |
28879401 | The number of people missing has risen to 51 after police cross-checked information with fire crews, officials quoted by Kyodo news agency say.
About 3,000 rescue personnel are in the area but heavy rain has suspended search operations.
Torrential rains have led to the evacuation of up to 100,000 people.
On Friday afternoon all searches in the area were called off when the shape of nearby hillsides appeared to change, raising fears that more landslips could be on the way.
"Operations in (two districts) were halted as hills there were becoming misshapen," a Hiroshima police spokesman is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
The landslides happened after the equivalent of a month's rain fell in the 24 hours up to Wednesday morning, Japan's weather agency said.
Dozens of homes in a residential area close to a mountain on the outskirts of Hiroshima were buried.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says with the leap in the death toll, the eventual number of victims could be close to 100.
Among those killed was one 53-year old rescue worker who died when a second landslide struck after he had already pulled several people to safety.
Reports said he was killed while holding a toddler he was trying to rescue. A father was handing his small son to the rescue worker only to see both engulfed as a fresh mudslide swept down the mountain.
"There was a really strange smell, a very raw, earthy smell. When we opened a window to see what was going on, the entire hillside just came down, with a crackling noise, a thundering noise," Reuters news agency quotes one woman who survived as telling local television.
She and her husband fled moments before mud gushed through their house, leaving boulders where they had been sleeping, Reuters says.
Correspondents add that a number of children are thought to have perished in the disaster.
Much of central and southern Japan is mountainous, with many homes nestled into steep slopes.
Last year, a typhoon triggered landslides on Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo, that left 35 people dead. | Heavy rain has hampered rescue operations in Japan's Hiroshima prefecture where a landslide killed at least 39 people. |
35059584 | British and Irish Lion Roberts, the first active international to appear in the fixture since 2009, went off at half-time after suffering a dead leg.
Don Stevens and George Cullen traded penalties for a 3-3 score at the break.
Stevens' kick then put Cambridge 6-3 up but three more Cullen penalties sealed Oxford's sixth Varsity win in a row.
The Dark Blues, whose latest victory set a new record for consecutive successes in the 143-year-old fixture, have now also dragged the overall head-to-head score back to 61-59 in Cambridge's favour.
Prior to his half-time withdrawal, Roberts had looked a potent ball carrier in a contest otherwise short on quality and action in either 22.
The 29-year-old, capped 74 times by Wales, is now poised to join up with his new club Harlequins - and played down the seriousness of his injury.
"It's only a dead leg," he told BBC Sport. "It got worse and worse as the first half went on, and I couldn't run after half-time so had to come off.
"The guys chucked everything into it and we can't ask for anything more from them.
"It's an amazing day, the pinnacle of student sport and for these boys it's their cup final. A few of the guys are in tears and it's very difficult."
With their star player sidelined, Cambridge struggled to maintain their physical intensity after the interval and Oxford looked the more threatening of the two teams.
Having contributed 18 points in last year's 43-6 success, Cullen kicked all 12 in 2015 to secure victory in front of 25,013 fans inside Twickenham.
Oxford University: Geiger; Hughes, Janney, Lamont, Stileman; Cullen, De Berker; Anderson, Halpin, Williams, Taylor, Grant, Roberts-Huntley, Will Wilson, Heathcote.
Replacements: Thornton, Lu, Ball, MacGilchrist, Thomas, Faktor, Abraham, David.
Cambridge University: Davies; Cherezov, Clough, Roberts, Rees; Gillies, Stevens; Briggs, Montgomery, Spelman, Hall, Nagle, Kilroe, Dass, Farmer.
Replacements: Calvert, Poulton, Moros, Erogbogbo, Leonard, Tullie, Phillips, Williams.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | Wales centre Jamie Roberts was forced off injured as his Cambridge side were edged out by Oxford in the 134th Varsity match at Twickenham. |
36058204 | The 32-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, telephoned 999 on the morning of 9 April 2014 to say she had killed her five-month-old baby.
Police and paramedics took the child to Royal Victoria Hospital. He died four weeks later.
The woman will appear again for sentencing at a later date.
The court also heard that the woman felt that she had no other option but to kill her five-month old and possibly herself as well as her other son.
The woman, who was said to be suffering from psychotic episodes, was originally charged with murder.
However, a prosecuting solicitor said that medical and legal experts agreed that the appropriate charge was the lesser charge of infanticide.
The prosecutor added that it was also accepted in such cases that the appropriate sentence was probation, a community-based sentenced coupled with continued mental health treatment.
Her defence lawyer described the situation as "a very sad case in which a caring young mother was driven to do something unthinkable due to a depressive episode".
The judge said he wished to review the case before passing sentence. | A court has heard details about a case of infanticide in which a mother-of-two killed her youngest son because she feared she had given him "bad genes". |
35262229 | A new app, English Dialects, developed at universities in Cambridge, Zurich and Bern, asks users how they pronounce words including "scone".
Choices are given for another 25 words, or word meanings, after which the app guesses where the user might be from.
When the team launched a similar app for German speakers there were more than one million hits in four days.
The aim of the free app is to track how dialects have evolved over a number of decades.
It compares today's pronunciation with dialects studied more than 50 years ago in a decade-long field study of accents in 313 locations, called the Survey of English Dialects.
The app was developed by Dr Adrian Leemann, a linguistics researcher at Cambridge University, together with five colleagues from Bern University and Zurich University.
"We want to document how English dialects have changed, spread or levelled out," he said.
"English accents and dialects are likely to have changed over the past decades. This may be due to geographical and social mobility, the spread of the mass media and other factors.
"If the app guesses where you are from correctly, then the accent or dialect of your region has not changed much in the last century.
"If the app does not guess correctly, it is probably because the dialect spoken in your region has changed quite a lot over time."
Its 26 questions, many with voice recordings, ask users how they pronounce a certain word or which word they use for a certain thing.
There are, for example, numerous different words to describe a tiny piece of wood that gets stuck under your finger nail. You might call it a splinter. You might call it a spelk or a spill.
Prof David Britain, a dialectologist from the University of Bern in Switzerland, said the app might also shed light on the two pronunciations of the word "scone".
"Everyone has strong views about the pronunciation of this word, but, perhaps surprisingly, we know rather little about who uses which pronunciation and where."
The app also allows users to make their own recordings which the developers will use for further research.
The app is available to download via the iOS App Store and Google Play. | The way people pronounce the names of baked goods could help academics find out how regional accents have changed. |
39755510 | Tom Harrison - who calls himself Mr Gorilla - took six-and-a-half days to do the 26.2 mile route on his hands and knees, "gorilla-style", in aid of The Gorilla Organization.
Mr Harrison crossed the finish line on The Mall with his sons and had a medal presented by conservationist Bill Oddie.
He said he felt "tired but happy".
"Prior to this, the most I had crawled in one go was a mile, so I found the first day of the marathon really exhausting," he said.
"Each day became its own little marathon.
"I'll be glad to get the costume washed as it's getting a little bit fruity.
"I think I've started to smell a bit like a gorilla."
The father-of-two, a Met Police officer who lives in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, started his attempt on 22 April, crawling the streets of the capital for between 10 and 12 hours a day.
He originally aimed to raise £1,500 but said the reaction to his challenge had been "incredible".
"The fact it went global has been completely unexpected, but brilliant," he said.
Mr Harrison was joined outside Buckingham Palace by his two sons, Nicholas, six, and Alex, four - also dressed as gorillas.
They were watched by a crowd of around 100 people.
Mr Harrison, 41, originally from Worcester, was inspired to take on the challenge by his passion for the work of the charity, which runs conservation projects in several African countries.
The charity's executive director Jillian Miller, described his efforts as "incredible".
"He's now officially our highest fundraiser ever," she said.
"He feels very strongly, as the father of two little boys, that he wants to help preserve biodiversity for future generations." | A man who crawled the London Marathon dressed as a gorilla has completed the course and raised £26,000 for charity. |
24227615 | Alex Harris, 27, is one of 30 crew who have been detained by the Russians onboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise since Thursday.
The campaigners were detained after two activists tried to climb on to a Russian oil rig in a protest against Arctic drilling.
Russian authorities are considering charges of piracy against the crew.
Russia's Investigative Committee said it would question the activists about the demonstration at the Prirazlomnaya oil platform.
It said "all persons involved in the assault on the platform will be brought to justice".
Six Britons are among the crew, including communications worker Miss Harris, who was brought up in Winkleigh, Devon, and now lives in Australia, and engineer Iain Rogers, 37, from Exeter.
Their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was seized in the Pechora Sea near the rig and is being towed to the port of Murmansk.
It was raided by armed Russian security forces in balaclavas who abseiled down from helicopters.
Miss Harris's parents Linda and Cliff received a text from their daughter saying: "Hi it's Alex. Guess you have seen the news. Just want to let you know I am safe.
"Will call when I can. Individuals have not been charged. Just the ship.
"Please don't worry X."
Agricultural scientist Mr Harris, 63, said he and his wife were "relieved" after getting the text and another later saying: "All is good - now just a waiting game."
He said: "We are a lot happier now and we're fairly positive about the outcome, although we don't know for sure what is going to happen."
Greenpeace, which said the crew had only been allowed to contact relatives, has rejected accusations of piracy.
Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said: "Peaceful activism is crucial when governments around the world have failed to respond to dire scientific warnings about the consequences of climate change in the Arctic and elsewhere.
"Any charge of piracy against peaceful activists has no merit in international law. We will not be intimidated or silenced by these absurd accusations and demand the immediate release of our activists."
In a statement on Tuesday, Greenpeace said its ship had arrived in a fjord near Murmansk accompanied by a tug boat and the Russian Coast Guard vessel Ladoga.
The campaigners on the ship are from 18 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Russia, the UK and the US, Greenpeace said.
Article 227 of Russia's penal code defines piracy as "an attack on a ship at sea or on a river, with the aim of seizing someone else's property, using violence or the threat of violence".
It can be punished with a jail term of up to 15 years, depending on the gravity of the offence, and a fine of up to 500,000 roubles (£10,000; $15,000). | A British Greenpeace worker held by Russian authorities has texted her parents to say she is "safe". |
34902537 | The birds laid two eggs this year which disappeared, leaving the birds out of sorts. Leicestershire Police are investigating the eggs' disappearance.
It is hoped new nest boxes on the city's tallest buildings will provide a place for the pair to breed next year.
Tall buildings are said to "mimic the peregrines' natural environment".
Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS), which has been monitoring the birds closely for the last two years, said the pair successfully reared two chicks in 2014.
Dave Gray, from LROS, said: "This year was disappointing.
"The birds laid two eggs in their nest, but the eggs disappeared and the birds were obviously spooked by something.
"We want to help the peregrines by encouraging them to nest at sites where we can watch them more easily and help prevent this happening again.
"The birds are active all year round so we hope they will have spotted the boxes and will start to use one of them next season."
Source: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Richard Kelly, assistant nature conservation officer for Leicester City Council, said: "Peregrines are attracted to towns and cities because there are the right places for them to nest and a good food supply to raise their young.
"The tall buildings resemble the craggy cliff faces they would normally breed on."
The birds of prey are thought to have been returning to the city, where there is a plentiful supply of pigeons, for decades. | A pair of "spooked" peregrine falcons living in the centre of Leicester are to get a new nest after a "disappointing" breeding season. |
34222014 | Mr Corbyn is tipped to win the Labour leadership on Saturday over Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall.
Mick Antoniw said Mr Corbyn would find it "difficult at the moment" to win a general election, but could gain support by "resonating" with people.
Delyn MP David Hanson, who backs Yvette Cooper, warned that Labour needed to win over people who voted Tory.
Mr Corbyn is the favourite to be named Labour's new leader when the result of a vote of party members and affiliated supporters is announced on Saturday.
Senior Labour figures including Tony Blair have warned that the party will never win a general election with Mr Corbyn as leader.
Mr Antoniw told the Jason Mohammad programme on BBC Radio Wales on Friday: "I think it would be difficult at the moment, but I think it's very, very possible [for Mr Corbyn to win a general election].
"I think he has his finger on the pulse of public disengagement and dissatisfaction with politics, and if that develops I can see him being a very, very positive figure," he said.
"People will say here is someone speaking his mind, speaking sense and resonating with people."
Pontypridd AM Mr Antoniw added: "There will be a big attack on him by the media, in an attempt to do what they did to [former Labour leader] Michael Foot all those years ago.
"But I actually think he may well come across as someone who people say despite all that, here is a guy who is honest, has integrity and speaks our kind of language.
"I think he could well be Prime Minister."
However, Delyn MP David Hanson warned: "If we can't convince people who voted Tory last time, in places like Vale of Clwyd and Gower, we're not going to win the general election."
The result of the Labour leadership ballot will be made public at a special party conference in London, which gets underway on Saturday at 11:00 BST. | Labour left-winger Jeremy Corbyn can overcome media attacks and "could well" become Prime Minister, an AM has said. |
31423124 | Media playback is not supported on this device
A season of high-profile cup upsets looked like it could claim yet another victim when Scott Laird fired the League One side ahead soon after the break.
But United's disjointed attack finally found some fluidity when expensive loan signing Radamel Falcao was replaced after an hour, and recalled midfielder Ander Herrera led the revival.
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Herrera, making only his third start in three months, squeezed home the equaliser with Wayne Rooney avoiding contact with the ball in an offside position, before Marouane Fellaini's close-range finish gave United the lead in a thrilling tie.
Rooney, back playing in a more advanced role, made certain of victory with a late penalty that he won and converted himself to give the scoreline a gloss that Preston did not deserve.
If United boss Louis van Gaal did not quite restore Rooney to his front line for this tie, he did at least push his captain higher up the pitch from the deeper midfield position he has occupied recently.
His movement was impressive early on but being closer to the sharp end did not allow Rooney more scoring opportunities, with a blocked shot from Luke Shaw's pull-back his only effort on goal in the first half.
His United team-mates were also frustrated as they struggled to break down a well-drilled and hard-working North End side, roared on by a noisy home support.
Angel Di Maria bent a free-kick a few inches wide but that was the closest the 11-times winners came to making the breakthrough before the interval.
However you described Van Gaal's latest formation - 4-1-2-2-1 being a close approximation - it was not helping United turn their vastly superior possession into chances.
When they did find time and space in dangerous positions their delivery was frequently disappointing, with Di Maria a repeat offender with wasted balls.
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It all meant Preston goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann did not have a shot to save before the break
North End's own threat had been restricted to a couple of tame shots from distance and a Joe Garner header that looped over the bar.
But that all changed two minutes into the second half when Garner sent Laird galloping into the box to power in a shot that was heading wide before deflecting off Antonio Valencia and squeezing under De Gea.
United's response was hardly venomous, with the Preston defence easily dealing with the crosses hoisted into their box.
In fact the home side went closer to making it 2-0 when Tom Clarke got on the end of a whipped free-kick but could not connect with his shot in front of goal.
After an hour, Van Gaal had seen enough. He hauled off the ineffective Falcao for Ashley Young in a change that helped turn the game in his side's favour.
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Young supplied the pass for Herrera's equaliser and Fellaini, pushed further forward as part of the switch, followed up his own saved header to power home United's winner from close range.
Preston were not quite finished yet, with Kyel Reid fizzing one shot wide and Callum Robinson firing another straight at De Gea from the edge of the area.
But United made sure of their progress with two minutes to go when Stuckmann sent Rooney tumbling, although there were some suggestions he might have dived, and he stepped up to send his penalty high into his net.
Preston boss Simon Grayson:
"We did create some good chances at times and the players can wake up in the morning and be very proud of what they've done.
"Hopefully we can use this as motivation for the rest of the year. Our sole aim at the start of the season really was to get promoted to the Championship.
"We'll take a lot of positives and we'll take the money - we need more money to get some more players in." | Manchester United survived a second-half scare at Deepdale to see off Preston and set up an FA Cup quarter-final tie with holders Arsenal. |
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