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32703365 | Alex Rowley, the MSP for Cowdenbeath, has quit his role as Labour's local government spokesman at Holyrood and urged Mr Murphy to stand down.
Another Labour MSP, Elaine Smith, has backed Mr Rowley's call saying the party needs "new direction."
Scotland's only Labour MP Ian Murray accused those criticising Mr Murphy of "digging knives into the party".
Pressure has been growing on the Scottish Labour leader to step down following last week's general election results.
Labour lost all but one of its 40 Scottish seats to the SNP in last Thursday's election. Mr Murphy's once-safe majority in East Renfrewshire - a seat he had held for nearly 20 years - was eliminated by the SNP's Kirsten Oswald.
Unison Scotland has also called for a "radical change in approach" from the Labour party in Scotland.
The union said it was not its place "to initiate a change in leadership" but said if there was a wider movement proposing change it would "not oppose it".
It comes after both the Unite union and the train drivers' union, Aslef, called on Mr Murphy to resign.
Alex Rowley is a Holyrood new boy, entering parliament via a by-election in January last year. But he is very far from a beginner in Labour politics. He has been at various times a council leader, the party's general secretary in Scotland and a senior aide to Gordon Brown.
So, when he says that Jim Murphy should quit as Scottish Labour leader, he commands a degree of attention.
Only a degree, mind. Among Labour at Holyrood, there are as many views about the future of the party as there are group members. By contrast, the Scottish Labour group at Westminster is entirely united.
Mr Rowley is adamant that he is not revisiting the leadership contest which followed the departure of Johann Lamont. (He backed Neil Findlay.) And he praises Mr Murphy's energy and application.
Read more from Brian....
Mr Rowley is a former general secretary of the Labour Party in Scotland and ran Neil Findlay's campaign for the leadership against Mr Murphy last year.
At the weekend, Mr Findlay also resigned from the Scottish shadow cabinet saying the election had been "a disaster".
Before being elected as an MSP, Mr Rowley was a councillor in Fife and worked as an assistant, election agent and constituency manager to Gordon Brown. He is considered by some as Mr Brown's "right-hand man and protégé".
Mr Rowley said Labour needs "a fundamental change in direction and strategy" but he told the BBC Mr Murphy and his aides had focused instead on loyalty to the leadership.
He warned that if Mr Murphy remained leader, Labour was heading for another big defeat at the Holyrood elections in 2016.
The MSP's resignation letter said he thought Mr Murphy's post-election result speech, in which he vowed to stay on as leader, was "a mistake".
Mr Rowley wrote: "I sincerely hold the view that you continuing as leader whilst not in the Scottish Parliament, and not in an elected position holding a democratic mandate, means you will become an unhelpful distraction from the real issues that Scottish Labour must focus on."
Mr Murphy met Labour MSPs on Monday to discuss the party's disastrous election performance.
Mr Rowley added: "It is clear from the discussion yesterday that dissent in public from the leadership view is perceived as disloyalty, but I am convinced we need a fundamental change in direction and strategy and therefore cannot sign up to your leadership as one of your shadow team."
A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party said: "It's disappointing that Alex chose to resign. The task for the Scottish Labour Party going forward is to work together to rebuild our movement and regain the trust of the people of Scotland."
Elaine Smith, Labour MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, praised her colleagues, Mr Rowley and Mr Findlay, for resigning as party spokesmen.
She said: "They are putting loyalty to the Labour Party ahead of personal career or position and I think Jim Murphy should do likewise and step down as leader.
"In the face of the worst result for Labour since 1918 we do need a new direction."
She is a member of the Campaign for Socialism which has already called on Mr Murphy to "stand aside".
Scotland's only Labour MP, Mr Murray, hit out at those calling for Mr Murphy to stand down immediately.
The shadow Scottish secretary said the last thing any party should do after a heavy election defeat is make "knee jerk reactions and turn in on themselves".
He said: "Everyone who is looking for a camera and a TV studio to dig knives into the Scottish Labour party should go home, sit in a darkened room, reflect how the election was lost and work together."
A statement from Unison Scotland's Labour Link said: "It is unprecedented for a party leader not to stand down after such a defeat, particularly when he loses his own seat.
"The campaign may have been energetic, but it lacked focus and clearly voters do not regard Jim Murphy as a credible messenger of Scottish Labour values.
"Scottish Labour has a limited period of time to reorganise itself to provide a credible challenge in the Scottish Parliament elections next year."
At the weekend, the Unite union said the Labour leader should go "without delay" and warned that, otherwise, "extinction looms" for the party.
After Monday's three-hour meeting of Labour MSPs, finance spokeswoman Jackie Baillie told the BBC that the "overwhelming majority of MSPs were very clear, they want Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale to lead us forward into the future". | A senior Labour MSP says the party is heading for "disappearance" in Scotland unless Jim Murphy resigns as leader. |
37706394 | Sir Dave Brailsford, the last person to fill the role, left in April 2014 to focus on Team Sky, with head coach Shane Sutton moving into a new role as technical director.
Sutton left 100 days prior to the Rio Olympics amid allegations of sexism, though he denied the "specific claims".
Programmes manager Andy Harrison, who took on Sutton's responsibilities, could be a candidate for the role.
The national governing body has had a testing year, and its headquarters were visited by UK Anti-Doping officials this month as part of an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing in the sport.
Despite the upheaval off the track, British cyclists won 33 medals across this summer's Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, 18 of which were gold.
In a statement, British Cycling said appointing a performance director would enable the team to build on those successes "and provide greater support to performance staff and athletes".
Stephen Park, who manages Britain's Olympic sailing team, has already said he would consider a move to British Cycling, but added he would give consideration to a role at "any of the top sports".
Australian Sutton, 59, has always denied any wrongdoing and should the independent review commissioned to look into the allegations find in his favour, there may be calls for his reinstatement. | British Cycling has begun searching for a new performance director. |
35988751 | A five-figure sum of money was taken by two men who threatened G4S security staff with weapons inside Santander on West Princes Street, Helensburgh.
The cash transfer robbery happened at about 00:30 on Wednesday.
Police want to trace people who were in the public car park in Sinclair Street between 00:00 and 01:00.
Det Insp Douglas Wilson, who is leading the investigation, said: "We understand now that there were a number of people in the public car park in Sinclair Street around the time of the incident, which is just off West Princes Street where the attack took place.
"I would like to appeal to those people who were in the area between 12 midnight and 1am as they may have information which could assist with our inquiries.
"No matter how insignificant it may seem, please contact us with any information you have. Did you see anyone acting suspiciously in the areas of West Princes Street or Sinclair Street, and similarly did you see any vehicles nearby acting suspiciously?"
The suspects are described as being of medium height, of medium build and were wearing blue overalls at the time of the robbery. | Police investigating an armed robbery at a bank in Argyll believe people who were in a nearby car park at the time may be able to help their inquiry. |
24995232 | Research suggests synaesthesia is nearly three times as common in adults with autism spectrum disorder than in the general population.
The two conditions may share common features such as unusual wiring of the brain, say UK scientists.
The study helps understanding of how people with autism experience life, says the National Autistic Society.
Synaesthesia is a condition where one sense automatically triggers another. Some people experience tastes when they read or hear words, some perceive numbers as shapes, others see colours when they hear music.
People with synaesthesia might say: "The letter q is dark brown," or: "The word 'hello' tastes like coffee," for example.
Following anecdotal evidence of links between synaesthesia and Asperger's syndrome, researchers at the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University set out to test the idea.
More than 200 study participants - 164 adults diagnosed with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome, and 97 adults without autism - were asked to fill in questionnaires to measure synaesthesia and autism traits.
The study found one in five adults with autism spectrum conditions - a range of related developmental disorders, including autism and Asperger's syndrome - had synaesthesia compared with about 7% of people with no signs of the disorders.
Prof Simon Baron-Cohen, who led the research, told BBC News: "Synaesthesia involves a mixing of the senses and it's a very subjective private experience, so the only way we know it's happening is if you ask people to report on their experiences.
"And what this new study has done is ask people whether they experience synaesthesia, for example where a sound triggers the experience of colour or a taste triggers the experience of colour, and finding that these unusual experiences are actually much more common in autism than we previously knew."
The research, to be published in the journal Molecular Autism, suggests that while the two conditions might appear distinct, there could actually be some underlying similarities in brain connectivity.
Synaesthesia seems to involve unusual connections between brain areas not usually wired together, accounting for the jumbling up of the senses.
One theory about autism is that it involves over-connectivity of neurons, so that a person focuses on small details but finds it difficult to see the big picture.
Future research is needed to explore biological mechanisms behind both conditions, including carrying out detailed brain scans, says the Cambridge University team.
Carol Povey, director of the National Autistic Society's Centre for Autism, said the study could help improve our understanding of autism.
"People with the condition can find everyday life confusing or even frightening, so research like this, which helps us to understand more about how they experience the world, is valuable," she said.
"It can help us to develop more appropriate support and to make adjustments according to their needs, which is vital if people with autism are to reach their full potential.
"With the right support at the right time people with autism can live the life they choose." | A condition where people experience a mixing of the senses, such as tasting words, has been linked with autism. |
35230245 | The event is designed to offer a preview of some of the 3,500 exhibitors who are flocking to Las Vegas this week to show off their creations at the world's largest gadget show.
From robots to wristbands, cameras to cocktails, there was plenty to try your hand at, if you felt brave enough - some of the prototypes were more robust than others, and some were not particularly flattering.
A firm called Ziro has developed a modular robotics kit that lets anybody create their own robot in just 30 minutes, program it via an app and then gesture control it using a smart glove.
Its demo model bore a striking resemblance to a certain Star Wars character and, perhaps true to form, it wasn't as responsive as I'd hoped. Shortly after my attempt "R2" mysteriously disappeared from the show floor altogether so perhaps it met its match with my fat fingers.
Gesture tech continued to disappoint, sadly.
In the next aisle was Sphero, the firm behind the wildly successful Star Wars BB-8 toy robot, showing off a miniature version that could be controlled via a smart wristband.
It is due to launch this autumn - but a spokeswoman told me the battery life needed "refining" - which probably means it doesn't last very long.
I watched a few hapless journalists struggling to get the erratic BB-8 to respond to their commands before deciding a drink was in order.
Conveniently, an app-controlled robot cocktail maker, Somabar, was dishing out cocktails just around the corner.
In the interests of research I tried a Margarita - a little nervously, as my colleague Jane Wakefield was decidedly unimpressed by the mixing skills of the robotic bar on board Royal Caribbean's luxury cruise ship Anthem of the Seas when she visited recently.
Happily my choice of tipple was OK, if a little bland.
Perhaps I should have tried a second just to be sure, but Pico Brew was also calling. The "smart beer brewer" is able to make beer in just two hours using pre-packed ingredients and recipes downloaded online.
To distract me from the drinking there was fortunately also plenty of health-related tech on display. I tried out the Reliefband anti-sickness bracelet, designed to cure any potential nausea by making me feel a little bit like I was being electrocuted instead.
After applying a gel you wear the watch-like device with the face down, so that it targets the area between the tendons in your wrist. You then turn up the power until you feel a tingling sensation in your middle finger. It's a very strange feeling - not painful, but somehow uncontrolled.
"It targets a well known acupuncture pressure point on the wrist," said the company's Marco Stone.
"It was initially developed in hospitals for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea."
We've all heard of laser hair removal but curiously there were two laser hair regrowth devices on display at CES Unveiled, one by HairMax and the other by Apira Science.
HairMax has a range of products including a Laserband, which looks like Jordy La Forge's glasses for those who like their Star Trek. Apira Science's iGrow resembles a bicycle helmet. One honest soul on Twitter told me I looked like an "evil cyborg" in it.
Both are said to use low-level light therapy to "re-energise" hair follicles, and the iGrow has been cleared by the American FDA to be sold over-the-counter.
Safety tech was another clear theme.
First Alert offered a suite of wi-fi-connected alarms that sent a phone notification when they registered high levels of smoke or carbon monoxide in your home. They could also measure indoor temperature and humidity and had a 10 year battery life.
However, the products have been developed on the Apple Homekit platform and are not currently compatible with Android or Windows devices.
Meanwhile a firm called WiseWear addressed the issue of personal safety, revealing a range of chunky bangles/health trackers that could also be programmed to send a distress text to pre-arranged contacts in the event of an emergency.
The wearer sets a pattern - say three taps - to activate the distress signal.
WiseWear has worked with a number of designers in an attempt to make the wearables attractive and has even drawn inspiration from 93-year-old style icon Iris Apfel.
"We know that tech and fashion don't always speak the same language," said chief marketing officer Jordan Ramirez.
"We are creating wearables that women actually want to wear."
As a woman who habitually fiddles with all her jewellery I asked if there was any way to deactivate the alert if it was raised by accident.
He said that setting the pattern yourself means you can choose an unusual sequence of actions - but ultimately, once activated, the only way to reassure your panicking loved ones is to send them a manual all-clear text yourself.
"Ultimately we think safety is more important than false alarms," he said.
You can't really argue with that - although I'm not certain my nearest and dearest would rush to volunteer to be my emergency bracelet contacts for that very reason.
Strategically positioned right by the exit was a very inviting looking bed belonging to Sleep Number.
The bed tracks your sleep and can recommend the ultimate recipe - from temperature to diet - for your own personal perfect slumber. If you can get over the fact that you are being closely monitored for long enough to get any sleep in the first place, that is.
Read more of our CES articles and follow the BBC team covering the show on Twitter. | I've just returned from CES Unveiled - a surreal smorgasbord of tech inventions great and small. |
37674359 | The BCB XI were all out for 294 while England were 2-0 at stumps in Chittagong.
Abdul Mazid hit an impressive century for the hosts before he was bowled by Stuart Broad.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid and seamer Jake Ball were rested for the tourists.
Captain Alastair Cook missed the game after flying back to England to attend the birth of his second child.
He is expected to return before the opening day of the first Test, which starts on 20 October in Chittagong.
"The amount of cricket that Cooky's played in the subcontinent, I think he'll fit back in seamlessly," said England fast bowler Steven Finn.
"I think you'd be a bit worried if it was someone who was less experienced, I suppose, and hadn't experienced these conditions before and spent time in the middle because that's important."
Meanwhile, Bangladesh have named their 14-man squad for the first Test with four uncapped players included.
Middle-order batsman Sabbir Rahman and wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan have been included, along with off-spinning all-rounder Mehedi Hasan and pace bowler Kamrul Islam.
Bangladesh squad for first Test versus England: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal (vice-captain), Soumya Sarker, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Shuvagata Hom, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nurul Hasan. | England left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari staked his claim for a Test place by taking four wickets on the first day of their two-day warm-up match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI on Sunday. |
31249209 | After being linked to several teen suicides, the social network found itself at the centre of a media firestorm.
Grieving families pleaded with people to avoid it, campaigners called for its closure and the Prime Minister said users should stage a boycott.
Add Islamic State recruitment tips to that on the platform and you had a company with a reputation in tatters.
Ask.fm was toxic. Damaged goods. The lack of moderation led to a free-for-all where bullies could hide and do their worst.
It therefore came as a surprise to those of us who'd watched the company lurch from one crisis to the next that it was bought in August 2014 by the well-established and similarly named internet company Ask.com.
Surely the only sensible thing to do would be close the whole operation?
"The answer is yes," said Doug Leeds, CEO of the controversial social network's new owner Ask.com.
"We did look at shutting it down and we thought about it significantly as an option."
Speaking to Newsbeat from the US, he said the company decided that it was worth trying to turn Ask.fm around.
"We came to the conclusion that there's a good business here as long as you make the service safer."
And that is what Ask.fm's new parent company IAC, which owns online brands including Tinder and Vimeo, is banking on.
The launch of a new safety centre providing advice to teenagers, parents and the police is proof, the company claims, of its commitment to keeping its users safe.
A slick video attempts to present a caring and considerate company in which staff admit safety "had to be improved".
There are tips on "being smart and safe" and "dealing with cyberbullying" along with an explanation that in "certain circumstances" the company may hand over user data to law enforcement agencies.
It's far more extensive than the token effort made by Ask.fm's previous owners, who have now left the company, but surely allowing users to stay anonymous is inviting abuse?
"Our motto since we bought the company has been anonymity with responsibility," said Leeds.
"We think there are a lot of benefits - and obviously users agree - to anonymity.
June 2010
December 2011
September 2012
August 2013
August 2013
August 2013
September 2013
February 2014
Ask.fm is set up by brothers Ilja and Mark Terebin as a rival to question and answer based social network Formspring.
Privacy settings introduced to Ask.fm, including the option to disable anonymous questions.
Ciara Pugsley, 15, is found dead in woodland near her home in County Leitrim, Ireland. This was the first of several teen suicides linked to abuse via ask fm.
Hannah Smith, 14, is found hanged at her home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. It is believed she killed herself after she was bullied on the site.
Prime Minister David Cameron urges people to boycott sites which do not 'step up to the plate' and tackle online abuse. He said that after the 'absolutely tragic' death of Hannah Smith, those running the websites had to 'clean up their act'.
Changes made to make Ask.fm safer in the wake of online bullying cases. It said it would view all reports within 24 hours, make the report button more visible, and include bullying and harassment as a category for a report.
In the 2013 Annual Cyberbullying Survey by charity Ditch the Label, Ask.fm is named as one of the three most likely places teenagers experience cyberbullying, alongside Facebook and Twitter.
Ask.fm launches a 'Safety Center' containing advice and guidance for users of the site and their parents.
"You can ask questions that you wouldn't feel comfortable asking."
Allowing users to hide their identity is clearly a big attraction to Ask.fm's 150 million users, who are mainly teenagers.
But providing anonymity, while ensuring it is not used as a veil of secrecy for bullies, is Ask.fm's greatest challenge.
"That's where we draw the line; when anonymity is being used as a method to cause harm then we can take action and it isn't appropriate for our service," said Leeds.
Moderation and enforcement of rules is difficult, with 50 million questions being asked on the network every day.
But Ask.fm is trying, with the help of technology.
They have extended the use of software to scan questions and answers posted by users for key words and phrases.
"We've expanded the number of filters we're using, we've increased the vocabulary that we use, we've added new employees to look at this content," said Leeds.
"We're now seeing about 40% more content in total than we saw before either before it gets to a user or just afterward and usually we can respond in under 15 minutes to anything that we're seeing that isn't appropriate," said Leeds.
There will also be more oversight of what the company is doing, with a Safety Advisory Board made up of leading figures in online safety.
John Carr, secretary of the British Childrens' Charities Coalition on Internet Safety, is among its members.
He claims the approach taken by Ask.fm's previous owners of offering free speech with light-touch moderation did not work.
"There was a naivety there, but that's all history now," he said.
"It's a big investment in clever technology and people, that's what's going to make the difference."
He acknowledged that the rapid rise in popularity of Ask.fm without adequate safety measures led to its poor reputation.
"These things can become very fashionable, they get gigantic numbers of users rapidly, but if you haven't got the safety mechanisms in place that's when things can go badly wrong."
The question has to be asked though, whether the damage has been done.
In the world of social networking, new companies come and go almost daily. Ask.fm set itself apart by allowing, perhaps encouraging, users to stay anonymous.
Now it is just one of many in a crowded market with apps including Whisper, Secret and YikYak jostling for position.
Ask.fm admits it has lost users since its run of bad publicity, partly as a result of changes put in place.
When Newsbeat visited Ask.fm's head office in Latvia in May 2014, 17-year-old student Sophie Downes from Flintshire was one of many who told us about the abuse she faced on the site.
A few months later she and her friends have moved on.
"I'm glad they're finally doing something to improve their safety policy, but I actually don't use the site any more.
"It seems to have lost popularity within my friendship group," she said.
Ask.fm is staking its future on allowing "anonymity with responsibility".
To survive, it will need to prove that phrase is more than a slogan.
If you or your friends are experiencing any negativity online, search for BBC Advice where you can get information and support.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | In the summer of 2013, things could not have been much worse for Ask.fm. |
22001186 | Over the past 10 days, trains to London Paddington were cancelled and other services severely reduced while part of a £895m upgrade was carried out.
However the work was extended by an hour due to signalling issues on Tuesday while a broken down train in Oxfordshire added to rush-hour delays.
The station has four new platforms, two entrances and a new link bridge.
Passenger Jim Barrow, from Oxford, who missed his connection to Windsor because of the delay said: "It's useless, but what you expect after the weekend."
Sarah East from Tilehurst who was at Reading to meet her sister on a delayed train from Tiverton, described the new-look station as "rather beautiful".
"We were confused when we arrived at the back, but it's amazing what they've done, fantastic and should be good for Reading."
Train timetables over the next week remain revised while work continues on several platforms.
Works started in spring 2011 and are on course to be completed a year ahead of schedule in 2015. | Rail travellers at Reading have been hit by further delays after station redevelopment work overran. |
39509149 | Iffley Open House began squatting in an unused Italian restaurant in Summertown in April, but a court order means the group must leave by 7 April.
Members previously occupied a vacant car showroom in Iffley - owned by Wadham College - for two months.
Anyone still in the property on South Parade could be arrested for ignoring the interim possession order.
Homelessness campaigner and Iffley Open House member "Neo" said: "It seems a shame to leave a building empty when there is an epidemic of homelessness in Oxford."
The group claims that two people have been re-housed and seven had found jobs as a result of the project.
"Neo" added: "A lot of these people - when they end up on the street - they've lost everything.
"And what you need to do is you need to build them up, get them back into work, [and] give them purpose."
The owner of the property has been approached for comment.
Iffley Open House began on New Year's Eve, when a group of 20 homeless people moved into the Wadham College-owned car showroom.
The group was given a stay of execution by the college, but were evicted on 27 February when demolition work began on the building, which will make way for student housing.
Immediately after the squatters were evicted the group occupied Osney Mill, another Oxford University-owned building.
The university were granted a court order to repossess the property on 13 March, which the institution claimed was unsafe for human habitation.
A spokesman added the site was due to be redeveloped by Saïd Business School. | A homeless group which occupied two Oxford University buildings will be evicted from a third property. |
27003931 | Jeremy Salvesen, 51, from Elie in Fife, was with his family in the resort of La Clusaz when it is understood he fell and hit his head on a rock on Thursday.
Mr Salvesen was reported to have been taken to hospital in nearby Annecy, where he died.
His family have now released a statement saying they will treasure all their memories of him.
The statement continues: "We are devastated by Jeremy's death as a result of catastrophic injuries in a tragic accident in the French Alps while he was skiing on a beautiful day with a large family group.
"We all take comfort from knowing that he was doing something he loved with a big smile on his face.
"As always, Jeremy was pushing himself to the limit. His life has been a wonderful adventure and we treasure all our memories of him.
"We want to thank everyone at La Clusaz and at Annecy who did everything they could for Jeremy and in particular, we want to thank the expert medical professionals who cared for him."
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national on 10 April in France.
"We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time." | A Scottish businessman has died from "catastrophic" injuries after a skiing accident in the French Alps. |
32433383 | The probe was launched in March 2011 after a complaint over the care given to Joshua Titcombe at Furness General Hospital, in Barrow.
It later looked at the deaths of 18 other babies and two mothers, but concluded in 2012 no action would be taken in relation to those cases.
An independent report concluded there had been a "lethal mix" of failures.
Joshua died of sepsis, nine days after being born at the hospital in November 2008.
His father James, refused to accept the explanations he was given for his death and in 2011 successfully argued for an inquest, which heard midwives repeatedly missed chances to spot and treat a serious infection.
Mr Titcombe said the outcome of the police investigation was "inevitable" and one he had been expecting for "some time".
Other families then contacted Cumbria Police, which began a more detailed investigation looking at 18 further deaths and 14 births that had resulted in complications.
Joshua's case was examined by the Health and Safety Executive, who have now notified police they will not be carrying out further investigations.
Det Insp Doug Marshall said: "Although we have not been able to progress to a criminal prosecution, I am confident that it was right for us to undertake a police investigation.
"Our investigation meant that other agencies also began looking at what was happening at Furness General Hospital, and it assisted families in getting the independent investigation that they deserved.
"It was always going to be difficult for the police to reach the bar for prosecution. However, it was in the public interest for us to investigate these serious complaints as thoroughly as possible."
An inquiry into the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup and separate from the criminal investigation, last month found 20 major failures from 2004 to 2013.
Police said it did not raise "any further issues of significance that were not already known to the investigation team".
Mr Titcombe said: "I genuinely believe that the Kirkup Report has been a turning point and we're not looking for anymore investigations, I'm satisfied that that report got to the truth.
"As long as the trust follows through with the recommendations and implements them, then I think these terrible events will never be forgotten and the legacy will be safer services locally and improvements in patient safety nationally." | A police investigation into the death of a baby born at a Cumbrian hospital will not result in any prosecutions. |
37134846 | Kayode, 23, who had most recently been on loan to Bercini in the Romanian Liga II from Dinamo Bucuresti, has signed a one-year contract at Rugby Park.
Adams has signed on loan from Birmingham City until January.
Another 21-year-old and a third Englishman, Hendrie, is also on a six-month deal from Burnley.
International clearance is still being awaited for Kayode, who was born in London but also qualifies for Nigeria and was with Fulham as a youth.
But Adams and Hendrie could make their debuts against Ross County in Dingwall on Saturday.
Londoner Adams, who has had previous loan spells with Lincoln City, played twice for Birmingham under Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark's successor there, Gary Rowett, in the Championship last season and his availability alerted rival suitors.
Clark said: "I know Charlee very well. I gave him his debut with Birmingham City and he went on to play more games under Gary.
"I know they think very highly of him there and we fought off some late competition from League One down south last night to get him.
"We are very happy with that. He is a very dynamic, aggressive midfield player or centre-half and, when I got the nod yesterday that he was available, which I was quite surprised about, we moved very quickly on it and thankfully we did because we nearly got intercepted late last night by a couple of clubs."
Leeds-born Hendrie has played for England at youth level but has previously been called up to the Scotland Under-20 squad, qualifying thanks to his father - former Bradford City and Middlesbrough forward John.
Although Hendrie has played in midfield, Clark views the 21-year-old, who ended last season on loan to Jackie McNamara's York City and had a previous spell with Hartlepool United, as a specialist at right-back, where midfielder Greg Taylor has been operating so far this season.
"We felt that, with Greg Taylor being a young player, it would be hard enough coming into the first team without having to play a different position that he does normally," said Clark.
"He's done a sterling job, but we felt we needed a specialist in there.
"Luke comes from good stock. I know his father very well."
Hendrie, who made 18 appearances as York were relegated from League Two, is the second player to arrive from Burnley in a week following last week's loan signing of midfielder George Green.
Adams' addition would bring the total of summer arrivals to 14 at Rugby Park, eight of them loans, but Clark still has plans to bring in at least one more new face.
The latest signings were made possible by the sale of Josh Magennis to Charlton Athletic, but the Kilmarnock manager intends to send some of his own fringe players out on loan.
"We need to trim the size of the squad back, but sending them out on loan means these players will be playing competitive football and ready to come back in January," he added. | Dapo Kayode has joined fellow right-back Luke Hendrie and midfielder Charlee Adams in signing for Kilmarnock on a busy day for the Premiership club. |
36957962 | Korryn Gaines, 23, was armed with a shotgun and due to be arrested for an outstanding traffic violation at the time.
Police said she refused to co-operate and opened fire when they tried to enter her apartment.
The boy, who may have been her son, was also shot during the exchange, but is in a stable condition in hospital.
Police said Gaines threatened to kill them. It was unclear whether the child was wounded by the police or Gaines.
The incident lasted hours, with Gaines and Baltimore County police officers locked in a standoff. News of her death has gone viral on social media.
The shooting began after police went to serve arrest warrants on her and a man in the suburb of Randallstown. Gaines was wanted for failing to appear in court for traffic stop charges dating to March. The man was wanted for assault, but was not found at the scene.
"We discharged one round at her," Police Chief James Johnson told reporters at news conference. "In return, she fired several rounds back at us. We fired again at her, striking and killing her."
Gaines was hit by more than one bullet and pronounced dead at the scene. The boy in the apartment was shot in a limb.
He was cradled in her arms when officers finally entered the room.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave. Baltimore's police started using body cameras a few weeks ago, but the department has not confirmed if those involved were wearing them.
Extracts from Twitter debate
"We should all be cautious to believe the first version of events offered by police when they use lethal force," said Shaun King, a civil rights activist in an article for New York Daily News. "If law enforcement officers make a huge mistake, they will rarely come out and admit such a thing on the day of the event."
There has been a surge of outrage and questioning on social media in the wake of the incident.
"My niece is a good person; I never knew her to be a rowdy person," said Jerome Barnett, Gaines' uncle in an interview with the Baltimore Sun immediately after the incident. "She was smart and very respectful." | Police outside the US city of Baltimore shot and killed a woman holed up with a five-year-old boy. |
36026391 | Latex gloves were also stuffed inside the pockets of the garment after the boy, 17, was arrested in May last year, Guildford Crown Court heard.
He has admitted the manslaughter of James Attfield, 33, and Nahid Almanea, 31, in Colchester in 2014.
But he has denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Jurors heard how the items were found after the teenager's arrest in May 2015, as well as material relating to high-profile serial killers, including Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.
The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, told police he killed Mr Attfield, who suffered 102 knife wounds, and that voices had told him to "sacrifice people".
Earlier, PC Ben Savory, who was called after Mr Attfield's body was found in Castle Park, said he was "so covered in blood" he could not make out his skin or hair colour.
The victim's right eye was "protruding out of its socket", he said, and a wound to his scalp had left his skull exposed.
Officers at the scene attempted to revive Mr Attfield, PC Savory said, but he was declared dead at the scene.
A blooded trainer imprint was found about 3ft (1m) from Mr Attfield's body, the officer said.
PC Savory said they noticed further footprints stretching about 10m (30ft) away which were consistent with somebody running away.
Previously, the court heard how a book called The World's Worst Crimes was recovered among the boy's possessions along with a DVD about Sutcliffe, as well as a picture of the notorious killer on his phone.
On Monday, the defendant changed his plea to a third charge, of possessing an offensive weapon, to guilty.
The trial continues. | A knife was found inside the lining of a school blazer belonging to a teenager accused of two murders, a court has heard. |
33667573 | Briton Farah, who won the 3,000m at the Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium on Friday, was interviewed for five hours by Usada lawyer Bill Bock.
There is no suggestion the double Olympic champion is under investigation, he has always denied any wrongdoing - as has Salazar - and he still works with the American.
Running in England for the first time since the allegations against Salazar were made, Farah clocked the fastest time in the world this year, winning in seven minutes 34.66 seconds.
After receiving a raucous reception from the crowd in London, he told BBC Sport: "The crowd have been amazing, as has the support I have got for the last few months."
Both UK Anti-Doping and Usada are investigating claims made in the BBC Panorama programme Catch Me If You Can.
The programme alleged Salazar violated various anti-doping rules and used testosterone medication on Galen Rupp in 2002, when the US athlete was 16. Rupp also denies all the claims.
Farah, who won the 5,000m and 10,000m at London 2012, will spend the next month training for the World Championships in Beijing in August.
He has said he is ready for the "heavy" training needed to convert his good recent form into a successful defence of his 5,000m and 10,000m world titles in China. | Mo Farah was questioned by the US Anti-Doping Agency on Saturday as part of an investigation into claims the Olympic champion's coach Alberto Salazar breached anti-doping rules. |
35452773 | Jonathan Tieu, 20, and Hossein Nayeri, 37, had fled from the Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana on 22 January.
The men cut through several layers of metal to break free from their dormitory and used a rope made of bed sheets to climb down from the roof.
Another escapee, Bac Duong, 43, surrendered to police in Santa Ana on Friday.
Reports said he told officers the two other men had travelled north. They were eventually found some some 410 miles (660km) further north from Santa Ana.
Police said a passer-by recognised the van which had been stolen after they escaped.
Nayeri was held after a brief chase, and when police returned to the van, they found Tieu inside. Ammunition was found, but no weapons.
Before his escape, Duong was being held on charges including attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
Tieu had been charged with murder and attempted murder while Nayeri is accused of kidnapping, torture, aggravated mayhem and burglary.
On Thursday, authorities arrested a female English teacher who they say helped the inmates escape. | Police in San Francisco have caught two inmates who had been on the run from jail for more than a week. |
35593629 | The FTSE 100 was 2.87% higher - a gain of 168.15 points - at 6,030.32.
There was official news of another fall of 60,000 in UK unemployment to 1.69 million.
Anglo American was the best gainer, rising 17.6% after Deutsche Bank raised its target price on the stock.
The bank said Anglo American's plan to sell certain assets would help take its debts to a more manageable level.
Glencore was boosted 14.8% by news of early debt refinancing. Antofagasta shares also rose 8.6%.
Brent crude jumped 7.7% after earlier falls to $34.66 a barrrel after moves by top oil producing countries to come to an agreement to curb production. US light crude was also up by 6.6%.
On the currency markets, the pound was up 0.26% against the euro at €1.2864 and was up 0.17% against the dollar at $1.433. | (Close): London's leading share index extended earlier gains to stand higher at the close of the market, boosted by miners. |
39112851 | PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountant Brian Cullinan was supposed to hand the best picture envelope to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway on Sunday.
In a statement, PwC said he "mistakenly handed [them] the back-up envelope for actress in a leading role instead."
It's also emerged that Cullinan tweeted a picture of Emma Stone backstage just minutes before the mix-up took place.
The tweet has since been deleted, though it survives on various websites and on a cached Google page.
Cullinan had a complete set of envelopes on one side of the stage, while Martha Ruiz, another PwC accountant, had a duplicate set on the other.
This explains why both best actress winner Emma Stone and Beatty ended up in possession of an envelope related to the best actress award.
Beatty was evidently confused by the contents of the envelope, passing the card onto his former Bonnie and Clyde co-star.
Seeing the words "La La Land" beneath Emma Stone's name, Dunaway declared her musical romance the winner of the best picture award.
Only after that film's producers had begun their acceptance speeches was it revealed that Moonlight had in fact won the award.
"Once the error occurred, protocols for correcting it were not followed through quickly enough by Mr Cullinan or his partner," said the accountancy firm.
One of Cullinan's colleagues told Variety that the accountant "feels very, very terrible" and "is very upset about this mistake".
The mix-up brought a chaotic end to Sunday's Oscars ceremony, hosted in Los Angeles by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
Here are six more things we've learned about one of the most extraordinary awards show debacles in recent times.
The organisers of the Academy Awards "deeply regret the mistakes" that led to La La Land being wrongly named best picture.
Moonlight had actually won the award, but the envelope mix-up led to Dunaway announcing the wrong film.
"We apologise to the entire cast and crew of La La Land and Moonlight whose experience was profoundly altered by this error," the Academy said.
"We salute the tremendous grace they displayed under the circumstances."
In its statement, the Academy said PwC had "taken full responsibility for the breaches of established protocols that took place during the ceremony.
"We have spent last night and today investigating the circumstances, and will determine what actions are appropriate going forward."
President Trump and his policies were at the forefront of many attendees' minds on Sunday, with Gael Garcia Bernal among those to take issue with them on stage.
"As a Mexican, as a Latin-American, as a migrant worker, as a human being, I'm against any form of wall that separates us," the actor said - a reference to Trump's plans to build a border wall between Mexico and the US.
In his first comments on the Oscars, the president has suggested the awards "were focused so hard on politics that they didn't get the act together at the end".
"It was a little sad," he told the right-wing Breitbart website. "It took away from the glamour of the Oscars. It didn't feel like a very glamorous evening.
"I've been to the Oscars," continued the president. "There was something very special missing, and then to end that way was sad."
The extraordinary end to Sunday's ceremony came too late to help boost the show's ratings, which were its smallest for almost 10 years.
ABC's broadcast drew 32.9 million viewers in the US - a 4 per cent drop on the 2016 Oscars, which were seen by 34.4 million people.
It was the smallest audience since the 2008 ceremony, which drew an average audience of 32 million.
Despite the decline, the Oscars are still expected to be the most-watched non-sporting event on US TV this year.
Back in his usual slot on late night television, Jimmy Kimmel revealed that he had originally intended to end the show in the audience, sat next to actor Matt Damon.
"We're sitting there and we notice some commotion going on," the Oscars host explained on Monday's edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live. "And Matt says, 'I think I heard the stage manager say they got the winner wrong.'
"So you just kind of, well, the host will go onstage and clear this up. And then I remember, oh, I'm the host."
"Have any of you here ever hosted the Oscars before?" Kimmel asked his audience. "Well, except for the end - it was a lot of fun.''
The result, he joked, "was the weirdest TV finale since Lost" - a reference to the long-running US drama series about strangers stranded on a tropical island.
According to Tuesday's Daily Mail, Beatty and Dunaway were meant to have descended a staircase before presenting the final award of the evening.
But the paper claims the 76-year-old had difficulty climbing up the stairs in her high heels, so the pair started their presentation walk at the foot of the stairs instead.
"It's unclear whether this confusion contributes to the ensuing chaos," the paper's report continues.
The US State Department's official Persian-language Twitter account tweeted congratulations to the Iranian people and Asghar Farhadi after the director's film The Salesman won the best foreign language film award.
That was despite Farhadi, who did not attend the ceremony, having a speech read out in which he described President Trump's travel ban as "inhumane".
A State department spokeswoman said the tweet was deleted "to avoid any misperception that the USG [US government] endorsed the comments made in the acceptance speech."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | The man in charge of the Oscars awards envelopes has been blamed for the gaffe that saw La La Land named best picture. |
39119236 | The shadow Brexit secretary said the loss in Copeland - the first by-election gain by a governing party in 35 years - was "really serious".
He said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was a key factor in the loss.
Mr Corbyn has said he took his "share of responsibility" but said he would still be in place at the next election.
He suggested demographic change rather than his leadership style was to blame for the party's poor performance.
Shadow attorney general Lady Chakrabarti, a close ally of the leader, said criticism of Labour from Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson, disillusionment with past Labour representatives, disunity in the party and divisions over Brexit were among the reasons for Labour's defeat.
Copeland, in Cumbria, had been held by the party since its creation in 1983.
Although the party lost there, it managed to hold off a challenge from UKIP in another by-election in Stoke-on-Trent Central.
At a lunch in Westminster, Sir Keir said there was "no appetite" for a leadership challenge but repeatedly refused to rule out a future bid to be the next leader.
The former top prosecutor told the Parliamentary Press Gallery that Labour needed to be "much clearer about what it needs to do" because 18 points behind in the polls and losing seats like Copeland "are not the position that any party in opposition that seriously wants to get into power can be in".
"There's a huge amount of work to be done," he said.
Sir Keir, who quit as part of the mass frontbench resignations in protest over Mr Corbyn's leadership in 2016, told journalists that Labour "from top to bottom" needed to reflect "honestly" on the by-election results.
He said the party must focus on winning "at all times".
Sir Keir said: "The loss in Copeland was really serious. I don't think some of the reasons put forward are compelling.
"I'm very straightforward that if things don't improve there is no prospect of us winning a general election.
"It is a very bad result for the Labour party and we need to be honest about that.
"A number of things came up, including the direction of travel of the Labour Party, Labour's ability to communicate and understand what people are saying to them and, of course, the leadership of the Labour Party and we all know that." | Labour has "no prospect" of winning a general election if things do not improve after the party's by-election loss, Sir Keir Starmer has warned. |
31637674 | Two molars belonging to King John, who granted the charter in 1215, will be displayed at the British Library alongside two copies of the document.
The library said the teeth were taken by an apprentice in 1797 when the monarch's tomb was opened.
Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy which celebrates the roots of parliamentary democracy, opens on 13 March.
Curator of the exhibition Julian Harrison said: "John's tomb at Worcester Cathedral was opened for a brief period in 1797, and certain body parts removed as souvenirs... by William Wood, a stationer's apprentice."
A thumb bone, reputedly that of King John, which was returned to the cathedral in 1957, will also be displayed.
King John authorised the Magna Carta on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede to appease rebel barons in the heart of battle.
It is now considered one of the first steps towards parliamentary democracy and includes the principle that no one was above the law, including the king,
Magna Carta outlined basic rights with the principle that no-one was above the law, including the king
Earlier this month, the four surviving original copies of the 1215 Magna Carta were united for three days at the British Library.
More than 40,000 people entered a public ballot for 1,215 tickets to see them.
The exhibition will also include King John's will and Thomas Jefferson's handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence, as well as one of the original copies of the US Bill of Rights. | Teeth extracted from a medieval English King will be displayed as part of the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. |
17787913 | A former Derby, Burnley and Wales winger, James won 54 caps and scored 10 goals for his country between 1971 and 1983.
The highlight of his international career is also the oh-so-nearly moment of Welsh football.
For many football fans, from Cardiff to Colwyn Bay and Porthmadog to Prestatyn, the crop of the mid-70s is the Wales team that time forgot: the quarter-finalists of Euro '76.
The Dragons - captained by Leeds legend Terry Yorath and led from the front by Liverpool's John Toshack - came within a whisker of reaching the last four of a major international competition.
The finals of the 1976 European Championship took place in mid-June, in an affair conducted behind the Iron Curtain. The competition format saw just the remaining four countries gather for the final stages.
West met east with communist Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia facing the free market might of West Germany and the Netherlands.
Wales, under the stewardship of Mike Smith, reached the last eight by topping a group containing the fancied Hungary as well as Austria and Luxembourg.
Other Home Nations, by contrast, fell at the first hurdle of the group stages, and it was up to Wales to fly the British flag in the quarter-finals.
Two matches against hosts Yugoslavia - who in 1976 were required to qualify for the tournament they were hosting - would decide Wales's fate.
"We were quietly confident," James told BBC Sport. "Provided that we didn't blow up out in Yugoslavia, we would have a chance in Cardiff."
Yet it all went wrong on a tough night in Zagreb.
"We lost 2-0, going a goal down after less than a minute," recalls James. "That was a disastrous start for us. We lost but we were still confident of clawing it back.
"In the second leg we had an East German referee and he refused to start the game unless the East German flag was flown over the stadium. He gave them an awful penalty and they scored, putting us 3-0 down. We then proceeded to hammer them, got a goal back, and really should have beaten them. We played very well on the day, but it wasn't to be."
Yet, despite the team's failure to qualify for the finals, a Welshman still had a part to play.
One of the darkest moments in Dutch footballing history took place on 16 June 1976 when the masters of total football took on unfancied Czechoslovakia, the eventual tournament winners.
After 120 gruelling minutes played in a quagmire under pouring rain, and with two Netherlands players and one Czech sent off, the underdogs emerged 3-1 winners.
The referee in that controversial, unforgettable European semi-final? Welsh official Clive Thomas.
None of the Home Nations were able to join Welsh referee Clive Thomas at the finals in Yugoslavia. Wales fell at the knock-out quarter-final stage, while England dropped out at the group stage, finishing second in Group One behind eventual winners Czechoslovakia. Scotland finished second bottom in Group Four, while Northern Ireland managed second in Group Three, behind the tournament hosts.
"It was the most difficult [second] half of a match that I ever refereed in my career," Thomas confessed to BBC Sport 36 years later.
"It rained the whole day before, it rained the day of the game. Holland had no chance of playing their ideal game of total football.
"I had the impression as the second half wore on that the Dutch thought they were bigger than the game, and that they were bigger than you. They could do what they liked. That wasn't my game of football.
"Johan Cruyff was one of the worst, but then he always had been. You had to nail him right at the very beginning, because if he knew that he had control of you then you had had it. I saw too many matches where Cruyff had control of referees.
"You don't expect players of that calibre to act like they did."
Thomas even admits that, as he received abuse from certain Dutch players having dismissed Willem van Hanegem for repeated dissent, he considered abandoning the game.
Is Thomas disappointed that the Welsh footballers of his generation never got to experience the 1976 finals in Yugoslavia, as he did?
"It was a shame Wales didn't get there. But I got to the semi-finals because they didn't," he explained.
"Talk about Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush, Mark Hughes, all of them. Not one of them have had what I had. I've been to the World Cup and to the European Cup. None of them have gone to a finals."
How does ex-Wales international James recall 1976, that year of the oh-so-nearly?
"I feel pride, plus a little bit of sadness that we didn't get to Yugoslavia," he reflected.
"When we all meet up we still mention it and we get a little peeved or annoyed that people tell us we've qualified for nothing since 1958.
"We went out in the quarter-finals, and that's still something the footballing public of Wales doesn't pay much attention to." | "It is the forgotten campaign," says Leighton James. |
35630345 | Williams played under Pardew when he managed Reading between 1999 and 2003.
"Alan Pardew was the manager who helped take Reading as a club to the next level," Williams told BBC Sport.
Championship team Reading beat West Bromwich Albion 3-1 on Saturday to set up next month's quarter-final tie.
Pardew guided Reading to promotion to the second tier in 2002, but resigned the following year, a month before eventually joining West Ham.
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"I think he'll get a good reception," said former Reading club captain Williams, now a presenter for BBC Radio Berkshire.
"A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then and I think the Reading fans appreciate what he did to transform the club.
"Of all the managers I worked with, what he did behind the scenes was incredible. He was up with all the latest gadgets in analysis and sports science.
"He put the backroom staff in place that his successors Steve Coppell and Brian McDermott used so well to get the club promoted to the Premier League."
Reading are in the quarter-finals for the second year in succession, having lost in the semi-finals to Arsenal last season. | Former Reading manager Alan Pardew will have "nothing to prove" when he takes his Crystal Palace side to the Madejski Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-finals, says ex-Royals defender Ady Williams. |
34371864 | Wales face the Pacific Islanders on Thursday after their bruising 28-25 win over the hosts at Twickenham.
England then face Australia two days later.
"If we beat Fiji we'll put quite a bit of pressure on England I suppose because they'll have to beat Australia," said Gatland, who has three fresh injury worries.
Centre Scott Williams hurt a knee and wing Hallam Amos suffered a shoulder and seem set to miss the rest of the tournament.
Full-back Liam Williams was concussed after a blow to the head in the same passage of play and is unlikely to face Fiji.
Wales trailed 25-18 to England at the time but, with three backs playing out of position, they rallied to claim a crucial victory.
On Sunday Australia beat Uruguay 65-3 to join Wales on nine points at the top of the table.
Fiji have lost their opening two games - 35-11 to England and 28-13 against Australia - but New Zealander Gatland believes they have been unlucky.
"It's massive for us," he said.
"We've spoken that if we could win today and win against Fiji then that game England v Australia becomes huge and the pool could be over by that stage.
"I think they've been pretty unlucky and we have to make sure we respect them.
"But I think we can take a lot of confidence out of this performance."
Gatland says a lot of effort has been put in to preparing for the short turnaround between these two matches.
"This isn't anything new to us. We've gone through meticulously various scenarios... to make sure we prepare the players the best we can," he added.
Watch all the analysis on Scrum V Rugby World Cup Special, 19:00 Sunday, 27 September, BBC Two Wales. | Beating Fiji in Cardiff will pile pressure on England in World Cup Pool A, says Wales coach Warren Gatland. |
37563748 | Keepers said the animal's hormone levels and behaviours show she has reached the end of her breeding cycle.
Two giant pandas arrived at the zoo five years ago but have so far failed to produce a cub.
Tian Tian, which means Sweetie, and male Yang Guang (Sunshine) were the first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years.
The last pandas in the UK, Ming Ming and Bao Bao, left a zoo in London in 1994 after failing to mate.
Iain Valentine, director of giant pandas at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said: "It now appears clear that Tian Tian, our resident female giant panda, will not give birth to cubs this year.
"Tian Tian's hormone levels are returning to normal and her behaviours signal the end of her breeding cycle for this year.
"Over the next few weeks we will conduct a thorough review of the scientific data and our processes to ensure we learn from this year's breeding season. | Edinburgh Zoo has confirmed its female giant panda Tian Tian will not give birth to a cub this year. |
34885306 | I caught their eye as we settled nervously into our seats, and then looked away sheepishly.
How can you know which parcel, which passenger is suspicious?
Until it is too late.
Those who seek to sow fear and suspicion, to disrupt the security and stability of Europe we all too often take for granted, have succeeded in the short term.
Since the attacks on everyday Paris - local restaurants, a small concert hall and a football stadium - there is a sense of vulnerability across Europe: amongst parents with small children on packed buses, amongst young lovers off to the cinema.
Rome is installing metal detectors at the Coliseum after the FBI highlighted Italian monuments as terror targets.
Brussels cancelled an annual student festival in the city centre citing security concerns.
Copenhagen airport shut one of its terminals after a suspicious package alert.
Sweden raised the alarm nationwide after receiving intelligence of a planned attack, the same reason behind the last minute cancellation of this week's Germany-Netherlands football match in Hannover.
There are armed guards in the metro and soldiers in railway stations.
As well as the military operations underway in residential Paris and Brussels, the manhunt for missing gunmen and accomplices linked to the Paris attacks continues.
Those who follow the news on this continent are used to images of Middle Eastern turmoil. Now they fear the chaos and bloodshed has come home here.
France's normally quietly spoken President Francois Hollande has proclaimed over and again this week that his country is at war.
Agree with him or not, these are tough words with huge implications - for France's foreign policy in the Middle East, for civil liberties at home and for Europe as a whole.
Public outrage following the Paris attacks has united European countries (superficially at least) following recent bitter rifts over migration and the euro crisis.
They might also be a catalyst for bringing Russia back in from the cold.
France has declared it wants to destroy the so-called Islamic State (IS), which says it organised the Paris attacks.
But France can't go at it alone.
Russia is keen to be on board - and have its sanctions lifted. The recent G20 saw President Vladimir Putin chatting with President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron.
It is premature to speak of a grand anti-IS Coalition, but there are whispers of one in the making.
This is also a critical moment for European security.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has scolded fellow ministers for having "wasted too much time" on anti-terrorism, calling for action.
Fingers are again pointing at Schengen, that agreement between 26 European nations allowing passport-free travel from Helsinki to Malaga.
It is celebrated by the EU as one of its greatest achievements, allowing the free movement of goods and people across the continent.
Paris attacks: Full coverage
Latest updates
The investigation so far
Who are the victims
But post-Paris, it is accused of allowing the free movement of terrorists too, as it emerged, for example, that Belgian national Abaaoud travelled undetected from Syria to France.
France is demanding the more effective use of the Schengen Information System: a shared database allowing security forces to raise pan-Schengen alerts on individuals, objects and vehicles.
It is also calling for the easier sharing of airline passenger data and for a true Europe-wide agency to police Schengen's external borders. Though ministers still reject the idea of the latter.
Political promises flow easily following heart-stopping atrocities but as a high-level UK security advisor pointed out to me, secret services like to keep information, well, secret.
Sadly, Europe has experienced a number of terror attacks in recent years.
After Madrid in 2004, London in 2005 and this year's Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, pledges were made on cross-border co-operation.
They have all too easily dissolved into cross-border squabbling.
Maybe this time will be different.
There is a sense of urgency with the prospect of terror looming large.
The Le Pens of France, the Wilders of the Netherlands and the Salvinis of Italy want Europe to pull up the drawbridge on migrants but the attacks in Paris have highlighted the issue of home-grown jihad.
That horrific assault one innocent Friday night in Paris is having a huge impact on Europe as a whole.
Debates are now heated and passionate, about migrants, borders, Schengen, civil liberties, Assad, IS and more.
But once the dust has settled a bit, whose words will turn into actions? | Boarding the train last night from Paris to Brussels, I had a bit of an unholy feeling, as did many of my fellow passengers. |
21572072 | Mohammed al-Ajami's sentence was reduced to 15 years, his lawyer said.
The Supreme Court is due to make a final ruling on his sentence within the next 30 days.
Human rights groups have condemned Mr Ajami's conviction, saying his trial was marred by irregularities, with court sessions held in secret.
The case against Mr Ajami is said to be based on a poem he wrote in 2010 which criticised the Emir, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani.
But activists believe the authorities were angered by a 2011 poem he wrote about authoritarian rule in the region.
In the poem Tunisian Jasmine, which he recited and then uploaded to the internet in January 2011, Mr Ajami expressed his support for the uprising in the North African state, saying: "We are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive elite."
He also denounced "all Arab governments" as "indiscriminate thieves".
Mr Ajami, also known as Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb, had previously recited a poem that criticised Qatar's emir and was posted online in August 2010.
He said the recital had taken place in front of a small, private audience at his home and not in public, challenging the grounds for being charged with incitement.
Mohammed Ajami, a father-of-four, has never disputed that he is the author of the poem, but has said it was not meant to be offensive or seditious.
As he was led away after the hearing, Mr Ajami shouted "There is no law for this", Reuters news agency reported.
Freedom of expression is strictly controlled in Qatar, which has escaped the kind of unrest sweeping other parts of the Middle East,
Its human rights record has long been been criticised by campaigners and is a thorny issue in relations with its ally the United States, for whom it hosts a major military base. | A Qatari poet sentenced to life in prison for inciting the overthrow of the government and insulting Qatar's rulers has had his jail term cut. |
38986809 | The accusation relates to a report on the channel on alleged passport fraud at the Venezuelan embassy in Iraq.
Venezuela's National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) ordered "the immediate suspension of broadcasts".
Conatel accused the channel of attempting to "undermine the peace and the democratic stability" of Venezuela.
It did not specifically mention the passport story, but government officials had earlier in the day disputed it at a press conference.
The story was the product of a year-long investigation into allegations that Venezuelan passports and visas were being sold to people in Iraq, including some with terrorism links.
The report alleged that Venezuelan Vice-President Tareck El Aissami was directly linked to the granting of 173 passports, including to members of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and other Western powers.
According to Venezuelan media, Conatel urged publishers and journalists to "provide timely and truthful information to our people, adjusted to the values of Venezuelan society".
Mr El Aissami has this week had sanctions imposed on him by the US for allegedly trafficking drugs. He was described by the US treasury as a drug "kingpin" who worked with traffickers in Mexico and Colombia to ship drugs to America.
He accused the US of "imperialist aggression" in response and President Nicolas Maduro demanded a public apology. | Venezuelan authorities have ordered that US broadcaster CNN's Spanish-language channel be taken off air, accusing it of spreading propaganda. |
35072747 | The technique causes the tumour cells in the body to self-destruct, giving it the name 'suicide gene therapy'.
Their research found a 20% improvement in survival in patients with prostate cancer five years after treatment.
A cancer expert said more research was needed to judge its effectiveness.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK with more than 41,000 diagnosed each year.
The study, led by researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, appears to show that this 'suicide gene therapy', when combined with radiotherapy, could be a promising treatment for prostate cancer in the future.
The technique involves the cancer cells being genetically modified so that they signal a patient's immune system to attack them.
Usually, the body does not recognise cancer cells as the enemy because they have evolved from normal healthy cells.
Unlike an infection, which the body reacts against, the immune system does not react to kill off the offending cancer cells.
Using a virus to carry the gene therapy into the tumour cells, the result is that the cells self-destruct, alerting the patient's immune system that it is time to launch a massive attack.
In two groups of 62 patients, one group received the gene therapy twice and the other group - who all had more aggressive prostate cancer - received the treatment three times.
Both groups also received radiotherapy.
Survival rates after five years were 97% and 94%. Although there was no control group in this study, the researchers said the results showed a five to 20% improvement on previous studies of prostate cancer treatment.
And cancer biopsy tests performed two years after the trial were found to be negative in 83% and 79% of the patients in the two groups.
Dr Brian Butler, from Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, said it could change the way that cancer is treated.
"We may be able to inject the agent straight into the tumour and let the body kill the cancer cells.
"Once the immune system has knowledge of the bad tumour cells, if they pop up again, the body will know to kill them."
Kevin Harrington, professor of biological cancer therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said the results were "very interesting" but more research was needed.
"We would need a randomised trial to tell if this treatment is better than radiotherapy alone.
"The viruses used in this study cannot reproduce. Next generation viral therapies for cancer can selectively replicate in cancer cells, something that can kill the cancer cell directly, and also help spread the virus to neighbouring cancer cells.
"It would be interesting to see this approach used with viruses that could reproduce to see if it makes for a more effective treatment." | A new gene therapy technique is able to modify prostate cancer cells so that a patient's body attacks and kills them, US scientists have discovered. |
36925189 | The six-week A3290/A329M Loddon Viaduct project will see new bridge joints and safety barriers put up, as well as a resurfaced carriageway.
Lanes on the Reading-bound stretch of the A3290 at Winnersh have been closed.
Commuter Andrea Gaynor said her usual 35-minute journey to work now took up to two hours or more.
"It took me almost two-and-a-half hours one night. I was at Winnersh for one-hour-and-fifty minutes just trying to get off [the carriageway], along with thousands of other drivers", she said.
"Road rage is an issue and people have been swapping lanes and causing chaos. How people didn't hit each other I do not know."
Wokingham Borough Council said recent queues were due to crashes and problems elsewhere, but said it had since taken action to stop people crossing lanes in the wrong place.
Councillor Malcolm Richards, executive member for highways at the authority, said: "This work has to be done and will make the viaduct safer, quieter and easier to maintain."
The project is expected to be completed in September. | Drivers have been getting stuck in major delays near Reading as the final phase of roadworks get under way as part of a £1m redevelopment. |
38383368 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Diamond has previously said the winger, 23, "resigned" from rugby league.
Rugby league club Castleford say they have been instructed by their legal representatives not to comment.
"It's in the hands of the legal people, but I don't see any problems at this moment," Diamond told BBC North West Tonight.
"I'm confident that we made a substantial offer and it was knocked back.
"For various reasons Denny became available through being fired from Castleford and once he'd been fired we got in touch and signed a contract."
A sports lawyer has said the legal battle over the player could have an impact on both rugby codes in a way the Bosman ruling affected football.
Despite having two years remaining on his contract with Super League club Castleford Tigers, Solomona retired from rugby league and subsequently crossed rugby codes to join Sale on a three-year deal - making his debut in Sunday's European Champions Cup defeat by Saracens.
Tigers are suing for damages against Solomona for breach of contract and for damages, including exemplary damages, against Sale Sharks and agent Andy Clark for "inducing" the player to breach his contract.
Diamond, who has insisted that the wrangling over Solomona's contract is not a 'rugby league versus rugby union' case, said an offer to sign the player from Castleford was rejected.
Castleford had continually said that they would not welcome an approach for the player.
The Tigers are taking the case to the High Court in Leeds, having appointed London barrister Nick Randall QC and Leeds-based sports lawyer Richard Cramer to represent them.
When contacted by BBC Sport, Castleford's legal team said they would not respond to Diamond's latest comments. | Sale Sharks signed Denny Solomona after he was "fired" by Castleford, according to the Premiership rugby union club's director of rugby Steve Diamond. |
33861673 | But it hasn't always been this way.
1. Envelope dropping through a letter box: That's how low-tech exam results used to be. No hugging, leaping, mass hysteria. No selfies, Tweets or Snapchats. People got their results often without going to school. The nearest thing to shared emotion was a few gruff words in the local under-age drinking pub, the Jam playing on a jukebox in the background.
Fast forward to the present and it's a storm of instant statistics, social media sharing and wall-to-wall coverage. There will be the first university admission figures, like the early results from a general election, followed by the ups and downs of this year's grades. As well as going into school to get results, pupils will be finding out their grades in every form of technology imaginable. Almost immediately universities will have their fingers on the send button to chase potential recruits.
2. Everything is public: There is no such thing as private grief in the digital glare of social media. Whether it's sharing results with friends on Instagram or parents emoting out loud on Facebook, the drama is played out in public. Teenagers have been messaging each other, building up the tension. There is no hiding place and it is tough for those with disappointing results. Social media has transformed the day into a shared event.
3. How exams were graded really was different: When Advanced levels were introduced in the early 1950s, there were only two outcomes, pass or fail. These were qualifications for a small top slice of the year group. Grades were introduced in the 1960s, with a fixed quota for each band. So the top 10% achieved an A grade, and then the next 15% a B grade and so on. It meant that even if the entire year group made more progress, the proportion of grades would remain the same. This system stayed in place until the mid-1980s.
4. Read all about it: Or in fact, you probably didn't, because under the previous system the national exam results were always the same. It's not much of a headline: "A-level results identical again."
When national results were no longer fixed quotas, it became more of a story - or more often a stick to beat the education system. Not much improvement was seen as standards stagnating. Too much improvement was labelled as "grade inflation". From one in 10 achieving an A grade in the early 1980s, one in four were getting top grades by the end of the 1990s.
It became a political event too. And when A-levels went wrong there was a price to pay. Grading problems in 2002 saw the exam chief losing his job and ultimately led to the resignation of Education Secretary Estelle Morris.
5. League table pressure: When the parents of today's A-level students were getting their results there were no league tables. Grades were not ammunition in a battle to perform better than other schools. Part of the ramping up of Results Day is that the stakes are much higher for schools. State and private schools and academy chains need to push up grades and want to publicise their successes, putting good news on to websites and press releases. Results Day has become a public showroom.
6. Advertising blizzard: Students are being targeted in a way that is entirely different from a generation ago. Universities are competing for students and their tuition fees and the weeks around the publication of results have become a marketing battleground. Websites, billboards, backs of buses are now carrying pitches for university courses. Every kind of digital marketing ploy will be aimed at potential recruits.
7. Screen agers: Getting information about universities is now shaped around the needs of the screen-age teenager. It used to be a black-and-white, printed prospectus, where the nearest thing to multimedia was a picture of three spaced-out students in cheesecloth sitting under a tree. But now universities are open in every way, whether it's online chatrooms or, in the case of the University of Greenwich, advice by Skype for students who might be away on holiday.
8. Big numbers: Another huge difference is the increase in numbers of people taking A-levels and waiting to hear about university places. In the early 1980s only about one in 10 students achieved three A-levels. Now it's a much more mainstream event. The expansion in A-levels has gone hand in hand with the expansion in higher education. More students will begin university courses this autumn than were getting five good GCSEs two decades ago.
9. Headline act: A-level results have become a news event, but are rising results good news or bad news? An academic study of media coverage of A-level results included some classic headlines from 2003: "On a joyous day, dissenting note from an ex-examiner: We're all deluding ourselves," said the Daily Mail. "A-levels will be a success when more pupils fail," said the Sunday Times. But the Guardian questioned: "Where is the proof of a fall in standards?"
10. Results day rituals: Exam results day has developed its own mid-summer rituals. The most famous has been the front-page pictures of blonde female students leaping in celebration. It had become such a widely-mocked cliche that last year The Times published its own ironic version on its front cover with four leaping boys showing their midriffs. Expect stories about high-achieving twins, youngsters overcoming adversity and pictures of people shouting into mobile phones. | A-level results day has become an event in its own right, with a social media frenzy and its own annual rituals, embedded in the 24-hour news culture. |
37754595 | The game falls outside World Rugby's Test window, which contravenes English Premiership rules.
But Northampton wing North and Harlequins centre Roberts - plus Wales' other England-based players - can play.
Premiership Rugby stressed its "gesture of flexibility" is a one-off.
"This comes as we continue deliberations on a new post-2019 global season structure to find an appropriate balance between club and international rugby," said a Premiership Rugby spokesman.
"We are showing flexibility to help a number of unions who have decided to play on this particular weekend but we must stress this is a one-off variation to the allowed window while discussions continue."
Bath number eight Taulupe Faletau would also be available to face Australia, but a knee injury means he is unlikely to play until the latter half of November.
All three players were included in Wales' squad for the autumn Tests.
Wales coach Rob Howley previously said North, Roberts and Faletau had informed him they were available to face Australia.
The Welsh Rugby Union had not had "formal conversations with any of the English clubs" at that point, but Premiership Rugby's change of stance appears to have resolved a long-running issue.
Northampton paid a fine of £60,000 in 2013 after their wing North played for Wales against Australia in a match which took place outside of the international window.
North had agreed a three-year contract whereby he would be available for all Wales games, but the 24-year-old has since signed a new deal.
Centre Roberts, meanwhile, is in the second year of his Harlequins contract.
Faletau's inclusion, along with Roberts and North as the three wildcards under the Welsh Rugby Union's senior player selection policy, meant that Bath fly-half Rhys Priestland missed out.
Only three players who have signed new contracts outside Wales can be included in any squad.
Japan-based lock Dominic Day and scrum-half Rhodri Williams are the others affected by the rule.
However, Gloucester's Ross Moriarty, Luke Charteris of Bath and Exeter's Tomas Francis are not affected by the selection policy, and Premiership Rugby's decision means they can all now play against Australia. | Wales will have England-based players George North and Jamie Roberts available to face Australia on 5 November after Premiership clubs agreed to a "one-off" change of policy. |
37021907 | Dong Energy had been expected to use the park as a hub for its offshore wind operations but said it no longer believed it was cost effective.
The company is currently developing one of the world's largest offshore wind farms off the east coast.
Able UK, the developer of the marine energy park, said it remained committed to the project.
Read more about this and other stories from across East Yorkshire and The Humber
The energy park, which is described as a bespoke port facility for the renewable energy sector, was granted planning approval in 2013 but legal challenges delayed construction.
It is expected to create around 4,000 jobs and is due to become operational from 2018.
Analysis by Sarah Corker, BBC Look North
I reported in May there were serious concerns about the future investment in the Able Energy Park by Dong Energy.
When I visited Able UK they were still pushing ahead with the ground work for this huge development stretching along the South Bank of the Humber.
Dong Energy was supposed to be the "anchor" company which would attract other suppliers.
Today's announcement casts serious doubts over the future of the Able Marine Energy Plant.
Dong had initially agreed to consider basing its onshore operations at the site but has now ruled out using it for any of its projects.
The decision to withdraw follows a review of East Coast Staging and Construction Facilities for the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the company said.
"It [the review] has concluded that current ports can support demand from the anticipated offshore wind project pipeline and it would be difficult to justify the scale of investment required to promote a single large-scale staging and manufacturing facility," it added.
Able UK said it was still examining the report and its implications for the site but still believed the park could play a "crucial" role in making the Humber a "world-class energy estuary".
Dong said it remained committed to the Humber region and was expecting to invest £6bn in the area by 2019.
The Danish firm, which is one of the UK's largest offshore wind operators, confirmed in February it would fund construction of the large offshore wind farm, Hornsea Project One. | A major investor in a planned marine energy park at Immingham on the Humber estuary has withdrawn from the scheme. |
37861442 | Schmeichel, 29, injured his right hand during the first half but managed to finish the 0-0 draw.
Leicester are the first team in Champions League history to keep clean sheets in their first four games.
Schmeichel will see a specialist when he returns to England with the rest of the squad on Thursday.
The Denmark international is "set for a spell on the sidelines", according to a Leicester statement.
Schmeichel signed a new five-year deal with Premier League champions Leicester in August
He played in all 38 of the Foxes' league fixtures last season, keeping 15 clean sheets.
He has made more than 200 appearances for Leicester since arriving from Leeds United in 2011, having started his career at Manchester City.
Ron-Robert Zieler is Leicester's back-up keeper.
The 27-year-old, who was part of the Germany squad that won the 2014 World Cup, joined the Foxes in June from Hannover 96 for an undisclosed fee.
Zieler's last Leicester start ended in a 4-1 defeat at Manchester United on 24 September.
He is set to start Sunday's Premier League home game with West Brom. | Leicester City keeper Kasper Schmeichel faces a lengthy spell out after fracturing his hand in Wednesday's Champions League game at FC Copenhagen. |
31875265 | Scientists say beauty products containing plastic microbeads pollute water supplies, harm sea creatures and leave tiny particles in human food.
The beads are added to hundreds of skin care products to help remove dead skin cells.
Concerns have now been raised that microplastics are entering human food via cosmetic pollution in Welsh waters.
Marine biologist Dr Andrew Davies, from Bangor University, said researchers have noticed the tiny spheres accumulating inside the guts and gills of plankton.
He said they can cause "major problems" and scientists have been trying to understand the "ecosystem effect" of microplastics as they pass through the food chain.
Once washed down the sink, the beads pass through sewers before flowing into water systems.
Campaign group, Beat the Microbead, says sea creatures can "absorb or eat" microbeads, which they are unable to distinguish from organic food.
Microbeads, which are 5mm wide or less, are usually made of plastics such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or nylon.
Scientists say they can also act like tiny sponges, absorbing dangerous chemicals such as pesticides and flame retardants, before they are swallowed by fish.
Microplastics are non-biodegradable and are difficult to remove once they have entered a marine environment.
The Beat the Microbead campaign group says it "is likely" humans absorb the miniature plastic particles present in seafood caught in affected areas.
Unilever announced in 2012 that it would remove synthetic scrub beads from all of its products by 2015, with many major cosmetics providers following suit since.
In June, 2014 Illinois became the first state in the Unites States to ban cosmetics containing the controversial microspheres. | Cosmetic face scrubs may smooth people's skin but research shows they are also damaging Welsh marine life. |
35952477 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Dark Blues defeated the Staggies 5-2 in a frenetic Dens Park affair.
"I was really pleased today," Hartley told BBC Scotland. "I felt it was a very important game in terms of the top six.
"We've given ourselves a chance, a platform for the next two games. It's where we want to be, but there was some great play today."
Kane Hemmings and Greg Stewart scored twice for Hartley's side, with fellow attacker Rory Loy also netting. The trio's manager said the scoreline did not come as a surprise.
"We're a team that plays on the front foot; we like to entertain," said Hartley. "Some weeks you don't know what you're going to get from us, but the majority of the weeks we have been good, we're good to watch, and the front three can cause anyone problems."
On speculation over the future of Stewart, Hartley replied: "I don't know [if we can keep him]. With performances like that he's going to attract attention. We can't stop speculation, we want to keep him here, he's got a year left on his contract and it's something we want to try and discuss with him."
Ross County manager Jim McIntyre, meanwhile, said it would be extremely painful were his side to fall short of the top six, having held a position in the Premiership's top half for much of the season.
Defeat leaves County seventh, trailing Dundee on goal difference having played a game more.
"We're relying on favours from other people now," said McIntyre. "We've been in the top six from day one, and it's been progress, but if we're to fall out it like we have this weekend and we don't make it it'd be gut-wrenching.
"It'd be a real, real sore one for us, but you've got to say, if we don't get enough points then we don't deserve it." | Dundee manager Paul Hartley was delighted his side overcame Ross County to move into the Premiership's top six. |
19537651 | The 2014 World Cup qualifying setback in Novi Sad was Wales' worst since their 7-1 loss to Netherlands in 1996.
"We knew it was going to be difficult, but we didn't see this coming," said Coleman.
"To say we are disappointed is an understatement and we have to do much better because the goals we conceded were criminal."
Full Wales fixture list
He added: "We have a mountain to climb because we have not gone into half-time on level terms in any of the four games since I've been in charge."
Defeat by Serbia consigned Wales to bottom of the Group A table as their winless run continued following their 2-0 opening defeat by Belgium on Friday.
Coleman said he had seen positives in the loss to Belgium despite defender James Collins earning a red card midway through the first half.
But what followed against Serbia left Wales' successor to the late Gary Speed "gutted".
"I'm embarrassed by the performance, I have to use that word," said Coleman, who won 32 caps as a player for Wales.
"When you play for your country, you have to have a bit of bite and you have to be difficult to beat. We've got the players to play football, we know that, but we have to earn the right to do that.
"We almost did it Friday until we got a man sent off. Nevertheless we marched on, we pushed Belgium all the way.
"But tonight we never earned it. As soon as we went 1-0 down, then we go 2-0, then there's an amazing goal from Gareth Bale.
I'm gutted, I'm disappointed, the players are, but what we can't do is accept that performance and we won't accept it
"We're getting to half-time where it's 2-1 and we're right in the game because they started to get a bit nervous. Then we gift them a third goal before half-time, which is unbelievably disappointing and deflating.
"In the second-half, we said the next goal will change it - and the next goal went to them. It did change it. It went from bad to worse, unfortunately.
"But I accept responsibility. I'm the manager, I've said that. I'm gutted, I'm disappointed, the players are, but what we can't do is accept that performance - and we won't accept it.
"To lose 6-1 is an absolute hammering and we can't ignore that."
After taking a backseat as Wales lost to Costa Rica in a tribute to Speed, Coleman has presided over three successive 2-0 defeats, by Mexico,Bosnia-Hercegovina and Belgium.
Six regulars were missing for the defeat by Belgium, while Collins added to the Welsh woes by getting sent off after only 26 minutes.
Of the absentees, who included striker Craig Bellamy, only Joe Allen returned for the trip to Serbia having recovered from illness.
In qualifying rounds three and four, Wales face Scotland at Cardiff City Stadium on 12 October and four days later travel to Croatia.
Scotland followed up their opening draw against Scotland with another point in a 1-1 finish against Macedonia.
Croatia's clash with fellow Group A favourites Belgium also ended 1-1. | Wales manager Chris Coleman said he was "embarrassed" by his side's "criminal" display in the 6-1 defeat by Serbia. |
38787626 | Police said the burglary happened between 04:00 GMT and 07:00 at Bedford Care Home on Battersby Street, Leigh, Wigan.
The victim was treated for minor injuries "but her injuries could have been much worse", police said.
CCTV footage of the suspect riding a bicycle near the scene has been released by police.
Three rooms were broken into during the burglary.
Ch Supt Stuart Ellison, of Greater Manchester Police (GMP): "How someone could sink so low as to break into a care home is beyond me.
"We are keen to identify the man in the CCTV... seen riding a bicycle and carrying a suitcase that we believe was stolen from one of the rooms."
He urged any witnesses to contact GMP.
Police patrols have been stepped up in the area. | A 97-year-old woman with dementia has been attacked during a break-in at her care home. |
39216159 | Employees will get a 6% bonus, more than three weeks' wages, down from 10% last year and the lowest since 1954, when it was 4%.
The partnership said it held back more of its profits due to an "increasingly uncertain market this year".
The group, which runs department stores and supermarkets, also warned of price pressures and intense competition.
John Lewis, which owns Waitrose supermarket, is owned by a trust on behalf of employees, frequently referred to as partners. These influence the business through branch forums and elect some 80-plus representatives to the Partnership Council.
It is the largest employee-owned business in the UK.
Despite the cut in staff bonuses, John Lewis reported a rise in sales and profits last year.
Profit, before the partnership bonus, tax and exceptional items, rose 21.2% to £370.4m. Overall sales rose 3.2%, with both John Lewis and Waitrose increasing their market share.
The John Lewis department stores, which say they are "never knowingly undersold" on price, saw sales growth in all major areas.
New products such as the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer helped the electronics division, while fashion sales were helped by stocking the brands Finery and Hush, which were previously online only.
The Waitrose supermarkets saw like-for-like sales - which strip out the impact of store openings and closures - fall 0.2%, although the company said trading improved in the second half of the year. It is changing its focus to investing in existing stores rather than opening new ones.
Waitrose is also looking to export more. A deal with China's Alibaba Group allows it to sell products in the country for the first time, and an agreement with the online retailer British Corner Shop, which sells in more than 100 countries, allows it to export elsewhere.
A lot of workers would be delighted with a 6% bonus, any bonus in fact but it's worth remembering that partners in John Lewis have been used to double digit payouts, including a stonking 18% in 2011.
But the company is slashing this annual reward from a position of strength. John Lewis continues to outperform many of its rivals.
Today's move shows this institution isn't immune from the challenges retail is facing, from grappling with the impact of the fall in the pound, to shoppers increasingly buying things online.
However, John Lewis acknowledged that trading would continue to be tough as it battles the same issues affecting other High Street retailers.
"In the year ahead, trading pressures will continue as a result of the wider changes taking place in retail," the partnership said.
"The two major influences are pricing, where the rate of change in selling prices is likely to be significantly slower than the rate of change in input costs as a result of weakness in the sterling exchange rate, and the continued shift from shops to online." | Bonuses for 86,700 staff at John Lewis and Waitrose have been cut for the fourth year in a row. |
32433478 | The company, which has 31 branches across northern England, also said it planned to close two stores in Lancashire later this year.
Booths retail director Paul Minett said the "tough decisions" would enable the firm to have a "profitable future".
The firm said it was opening a new store in St Anne's and redeveloping its branch in Poulton-le-Fylde.
A new store will also open in Burscough, Lancashire, in July.
Mr Minett added the firm wanted a simplified management structure based on an estate of "profitable, vibrant stores".
The Preston-based retailer said it anticipated that the majority of employees at the closure-threatened stores in Ansdell in Lytham and Marton in Blackpool would be able to secure positions at the new branches.
However, due to an overall reduction in staff operating hours, it would be consulting with employees.
Recently-opened stores at Hale Barns in Greater Manchester and Barrowford in Lancashire had created about 400 positions, it added.
The company, owned by the Booth family since 1847, currently has 31 stores in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Cheshire and Greater Manchester. | Supermarket firm Booths has announced it is cutting 100 management jobs as part of restructuring plans. |
40271053 | Industry regulator Ofwat has fined the company the maximum £8.55m it can levy and said it may take further action.
In March, the water firm was ordered to pay a record £20m for polluting the river Thames with 1.9bn litres of raw sewage.
Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross said Thames's failure to meet its leakage commitments was "unacceptable".
Thames Water said that it had outperformed its target for the past 10 years and reduced leakage by 100m litres a day over the period.
"We regrettably missed our 2016/17 leakage reduction target by 47m litres per day, which represents 1.8% of our average daily production," it said.
Ofwat said it has opened an investigation to consider whether to take enforcement action in addition to the £8.55m fine.
Thames Water said in its annual results on Wednesday that the company had "transformed" its approach to preventing pollution following six offences at six sites in the Thames Valley between 2012 and 2014. The release of untreated effluent made people ill and killed thousands of fish.
The water firm said that it caused 315 pollution incidents in 2016 - higher than last year, but below its target of 340 incidents.
Full-year pre-tax profit tumbled 86%, from £511.2m to £71.1m, which Thames blamed on a loss associated with complex financial products, increased costs and lower property sales.
Chief executive Steve Robertson, who joined in September 2016, said despite the challenges faced during the year, the underlying performance was sound.
Thames Water's annual report revealed that he was paid a £54,000 annual bonus despite the gloomy results.
The company said the potential bonus was trimmed because of its poor performance.
Mr Robertson's total pay was £460,000, including the bonus and a pro-rated £550,000 annual salary after taking on the top job in September last year.
Australian group Macquarie sold its remaining 26% stake in Thames Water earlier this year to the Canadian pension fund investor Borealis Infrastructure and the infrastructure investing arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority. | Thames Water has been hit with its second big fine this year for failing to reduce leakage. |
36946315 | Champions League winners Real took the lead when Marco Anensio scored with a thunderous long-range strike.
Europa League winners Sevilla levelled through Franco Vazquez and Yevhen Konoplyanka's penalty gave them the lead after Sergio Ramos fouled Vitolo.
Ramos made it 2-2 to force extra time before Carvajal won it for Real.
The former Bayer Leverkusen player scored after a powerful run into the penalty area to earn Zinedine Zidane his second trophy since being appointed Real boss in January.
Sevilla, who beat Liverpool in last season's Europa League final, have appeared in the past three Super Cups and lost all three.
Jorge Sampaoli, who took over after Unai Emery was appointed Paris St-Germain boss, looked set for a fine win before Ramos made it 2-2 with a header three minutes into stoppage time to force an additional 30 minutes.
Real were missing key players, with Cristiano Ronaldo having been injured playing for Portugal in the Euro 2016 final, while Welshman Gareth Bale and Germany's Toni Kroos had extended breaks because of their involvement at the same tournament.
"We were trailing for all of the second half, but Madrid never give up and a goal in 90 minutes allowed us to become champions," Carvajal, 24, said.
"Today we had a lot of players missing but we have a great squad of homegrown players."
Real Madrid, who have not won La Liga since 2012, start their 2016-17 campaign away to Real Sociedad on 21 August, while Sevilla are at home to Espanyol a day earlier.
Match ends, Real Madrid 3, Sevilla 2.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Real Madrid 3, Sevilla 2.
Foul by Franco Vázquez (Sevilla).
Casemiro (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Real Madrid 3, Sevilla 2. Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.
Attempt saved. Casemiro (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Marcelo.
Franco Vázquez (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Attempt saved. James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross.
Attempt missed. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross.
Attempt missed. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Nico Pareja.
Attempt saved. Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by James Rodríguez.
Hand ball by Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla).
Foul by Franco Vázquez (Sevilla).
Casemiro (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Karim Benzema with a through ball.
Second Half Extra Time begins Real Madrid 2, Sevilla 2.
First Half Extra Time ends, Real Madrid 2, Sevilla 2.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Raphael Varane.
Attempt blocked. Franco Vázquez (Sevilla) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Franco Vázquez (Sevilla) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Marcelo (Real Madrid).
Attempt missed. Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Franco Vázquez.
Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid).
Foul by Vitolo (Sevilla).
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Adil Rami (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Mariano.
Attempt missed. Luka Modric (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by James Rodríguez.
Attempt saved. James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right is saved in the centre of the goal.
Second yellow card to Timothée Kolodziejczak (Sevilla) for a bad foul.
Foul by Timothée Kolodziejczak (Sevilla).
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt blocked. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by James Rodríguez.
James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Rodríguez (Real Madrid). | Defender Dani Carvajal scored a fine solo goal a minute from the end of extra time as Real Madrid beat Spanish rivals Sevilla in a dramatic Super Cup. |
40886178 | The 30 ft (9m) tall bird, referred to as "Chicken Don", stands between the official residence of the US president and the famous Washington Monument.
Owner Taran Singh Brar said the prop portrays a president who is "afraid".
But some Twitter users were not impressed, with one dubbing the stunt "pathetic".
In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, activist and documentary maker Mr Brar said he hoped to "bring awareness" to what he said was a "bad and destabilising" US president.
"We are out here to criticise our president for being weak and ineffective as a leader," he said in the footage posted on Twitter, adding that Mr Trump also "seems afraid" to release his tax returns.
"He seems afraid to stand up to Putin and now he's playing a game of chicken with North Korea," Mr Brar said.
Permission to set up the inflatable fowl, which was funded through the crowdsourcing website GoFundMe, had to be obtained from the US Secret Service, according to local media.
In April, the large bird appeared at marches across the US as demonstrators called on Mr Trump to release his tax returns.
The balloon was manufactured in China following the success of a Trump-like rooster designed as a prop to celebrate the Chinese New Year in January.
The inflatable's arrival has divided opinion on social media, with Twitter users at odds over whether the stunt was "pathetic" or "cute".
The topic quickly gained momentum and the hashtag #TrumpChicken was trending in the US on Wednesday.
End of Twitter post by @NWPinPDX
"Not a comment on Trump or his presidency, but I just kind of love the inflatable chicken w/Trump hair. It is really cute!" wrote Eva Ulrich.
Another Twitter user, Scott Presler, wrote: "President Trump tells nuclear power North Korea there will be 'Fire & fury' and democrats inflate a chicken? Insanity."
End of Twitter post by @EduSamani
End of Twitter post by @SaysHummingbird
"The left would rather spend $1300 on a #TrumpChicken, than use that money to feed the homeless. The obsession continues," wrote Scott.
This argument was countered by Eugene, with a tweet that simply read: "Now we have a real President. #TrumpChicken."
Meanwhile, Bryce Tache†| An inflatable chicken with a golden coiffure has appeared near the White House in protest at Donald Trump's "weak" and "ineffective" leadership. |
27238264 | There has been an increasing emphasis on students training in schools rather than in university teacher-training departments.
Head teacher Andrew Carter has been announced as the review chairman, due to report back by the end of the year.
Education Secretary Michael Gove says he wants to "ensure all courses are providing the best possible training".
Universities have warned this review should not be a "smokescreen" for switching more teacher-training places away from higher education.
The independent review is intended to define "effective" teacher training, examine how the current system is working and recommend improvements.
The government has promoted a School Direct system with an emphasis on learning about teaching by spending time in schools.
This allows schools to recruit and train their own staff.
There is a network of schools for training teachers - and there are plans for 600 "teaching schools" by 2016. Primary and secondary schools can apply for this status.
Universities are concerned that it marks another step away from university-based courses.
"Mr Gove continues to think that university education departments are the problem rather than a solution to ensuring that schools throughout the country have highly qualified teachers in the classroom," said Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the Million+ group of new universities.
"Universities will want assurances that the review will take a balanced approach."
The University of Bath and the Open University both announced last year that they would stop postgraduate teacher-training courses.
The review on initial teacher training will be headed by Mr Carter, head teacher of South Farnham School in Surrey, which has teaching-school status.
"There has never been a better time to be a teacher. There are more teachers in England's classrooms than ever before, with a rise of 9,000 in the last year, and there is no doubt that the current generation of young teachers is the best ever," said Mr Gove.
"While we have already taken steps to improve teacher training, including through the popular School Direct route, it is right that we look at how we can ensure all courses are providing the best possible training." | The quality of teacher-training courses is to be put under scrutiny by a government-commissioned review. |
36781821 | In 1964, Bruno Steinhoff seized on an opportunity to import cheap furniture made in what was then East Germany and sell it in the more cash-rich West. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, he was able to buy up the factories in East Germany that were supplying the furniture.
At the same time, his friend, Claas Daun, was busy making a business out of turning around companies that had serious problems. Mr Daun, a tax lawyer by training, had had some dealings in South Africa, starting in 1993, when he bought the troubled South African retailer, Victoria Lewis.
Working alongside Mr Daun, as his chief executive, was a young chartered accountant named Markus Jooste. It was Mr Jooste who convinced Mr Daun to merge his South African assets with Mr Steinhoff's business interests in Europe in 1998.
A few months later the new entity acquired the furniture maker, Pat Cornick. It was the first of many acquisitions which have swelled the company into the business it is today.
What really cemented Steinhoff as a major player in global retail was the 2011 acquisition of the French homeware retailer, Conforama. This brought six new countries under the group's umbrella.
Once thought of as the "Ikea of Africa", nowadays the group trades in homeware and general merchandise in Europe, Australia, Africa (especially South Africa) and the United Kingdom.
It has been involved in two high-profile takeover battles in Europe - both of which it ultimately lost. In the UK, it tried to outbid Sainsbury's for Argos owner Home Retail Group. Shortly after that failed, Steinhoff put in a bid for the French electronics retailer Darty - losing out in the end to French books and music store Fnac.
In addition to this, Steinhoff International counts the South African franchise of the car rental company Hertz in its stable, as well as a host of real estate properties across the world.
Markus Joost, a keen racehorse owner, owns about 3% of the company and is said to be worth in the region of $700m (£530m). One of the major shareholders in Steinhoff is Christo Weise, the South African retail billionaire ranked by Forbes as the second-richest man in Africa.
The group now has 6,500 outlets in 30 countries, 22 manufacturing facilities and 40 retail brands, including Bensons for Beds and Harveys in the UK, Conforama in Europe, Pep and Ackermans in South Africa and Snooze in Australia. Steinhoff derives about 60% of its earnings in Europe and 34% in Africa.
In an effort to fund its continuing expansion plans in Europe, the company moved its primary stock market listing from Johannesburg to Frankfurt in December last year.
Steinhoff's relentless expansion by acquisitions has provided a solid basis for profit growth as well. In its latest set of results, operating profit had jumped 46% to €1.1bn (£916m; $1.2bn) in the nine months to March, compared with the same period the year before. | Although headquartered in South Africa, the origins of Steinhoff go back to West Germany during the Cold War. |
39392009 | It happened near Ballat Crossroads at Balfron Station on Saturday afternoon.
An air ambulance was seen landing in a nearby field.
Police said the road was closed between the A81 at Ballat Crossroads and Drymen. Drivers were urged to use an alternative route. | Police and the ambulance staff have attended a serious crash on the A811 near Drymen in Stirlingshire. |
30896813 | The decision was announced in a blog post and will be phased in over coming weeks.
In 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron put pressure on internet service provider [ISPs] to make online filtering mandatory, saying it was the best way to protect children.
His request caused controversy among politicians and the internet industry.
Since then most of the UK's ISPs have offered filtering software for parents concerned about what their children may be able to access online but few have offered this by default, opting instead to allow parents or other customers to turn the filters on if they want them.
Sky's Broadband Shield is designed to filter out content deemed to be unsuitable for children aged under 13. It has been offered as default to new customers for a year.
But now the firm has decided to also offer it to all its existing customers, some 5.3 million in total.
In her blog post, Lyssa McGowan, Sky's brand director, explained why it was changing its policy.
"What we're doing now is simply making sure that the automatic position of Sky Broadband Shield is the safest one for all - that's 'on', unless customers choose otherwise," she said.
In the next few weeks Sky customers who have not chosen to either activate or disable its Broadband Shield would be emailed "giving them the opportunity to make a decision one way or the other", she said.
Once activated, users will not be able to access a filtered site without altering their settings.
Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group (ORG), was dismayed by the news.
"Censorship should never be turned on by default," he said.
"ORG's Blocked project (www.blocked.org.uk) has shown that filters block all kinds of websites, including some that provide useful advice to children and young people. Customers need to understand the implications of filters before deciding whether or not they want them."
All the UK's big four ISPs - BT, Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk - offer filtering systems to help parents prevent their children viewing inappropriate material online.
They have said that they will make sure all customers are aware of the filters.
In October, BT started interrupting browsing sessions for customers who had not set up the parental controls asking them whether they wished to activate them but not obliging them to.
Most of the systems used by ISPs work at a network level, which means that all devices that connect to a home router will be subject to the same filtering system.
Andrew Ferguson, founder of broadband news site ThinkBroadband, said that parents should not rely solely on filters to protect their children from online nasties.
"As ever the filters don't block all unsavoury material so are not a replacement for parenting and the embarrassing questions all parents have to face," he said. | Broadband provider Sky will block adult content by default, unless users opt out, it has revealed. |
33919484 | Mr Castro instead criticises American foreign and economic policies since World War Two and accuses the US of owing Cuba millions of dollars.
The letter was published to mark Mr Castro's 89th birthday.
The US embassy will be reopened in Havana on Friday, with US Secretary of State John Kerry attending.
Mr Castro said the US owed Cuba money because of the trade embargo the US imposed on the communist-run island in 1960.
Cuba says the embargo - which it calls a blockade - is hugely damaging to its economy.
It says relations will only be fully restored once it is lifted.
Three marines who lowered the American flag for the last time on 4 January 1961 will raise it again during Friday's ceremony in Havana.
They are now retired and in their late 70s.
"I'm gonna love seeing that flag go back up," said former marine Jim Tracy, 78, on a US State Department video.
Cuba reopened its embassy in Washington last month.
In his birthday letter published in state newspaper Granma, Mr Castro says Cuba is committed to "good will and peace in our hemisphere" but adds: "We will never stop fighting for the peace and welfare of all human beings, regardless of the colour of their skin and which country they come from".
Fidel Castro led his country from the Cuban Revolution, in 1959, until 2006, when he stood down because of undisclosed health problems.
He passed on power to his younger brother, Raul, who embarked on a number of economic reforms.
After Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama announced in December that their two countries had agreed to restore diplomatic relations, it took Fidel Castro more than a month to express lukewarm approval for the historic reconciliation.
"I don't trust the policy of the US, nor have I exchanged a word with them, but this does not mean I reject a peaceful solution to conflicts," he wrote in a letter in January. | Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has published an open letter to the nation in which he makes no mention of the historic reopening of the US embassy. |
36023370 | Commonwealth gold medallists like Ross Murdoch and Hannah Miley are aiming for a Rio 2016 spot at the British Trials.
"The strength and depth in Scottish swimming is unbelievable," said Parry.
"If you go back 10 years there was probably only a few Scots on the British team. Now they're the backbone of the team which is fantastic."
Murdoch, Miley, Dan Wallace, Craig Benson, Michael Jamieson and Stephen Milne are among those competing at the trials at Glasgow's Tollcross International Swimming Centre starting on Tuesday.
"Look at that 100m breaststroke with Ross Murdoch and Michael Jamieson," Parry told BBC Radio Scotland.
"You don't only have two strong contenders to get to the Games, you've got two of the best swimmers in the world."
Jamieson, 27, was pipped to Commonwealth gold by 22-year-old Murdoch and has being trying to re-discover the form that won him silver at the London 2012 Olympics.
"A lot of people want to see Michael Jamieson come back, get on that team and be vying for medals again because I think it really shook him, the Commonwealth Games experience," said Parry.
"But he's a class act and it would be great to see him replicate what he did in London in 2012.
"There are hundreds of people here this week hoping to win a seat on the plane to go to the Olympic Games.
"I imagine every single one of them from a very young age will have imagined this scenario of either standing on the rostrum at the Olympics or wearing the tracksuit.
"These trials are probably more nerve-wracking than actually going to the Games because the top swimmers know this is where they can mess it up." | Olympic bronze medallist Steve Parry believes Scotland's swimming stars are contributing to British success more than they have for a decade. |
39629751 | 19 April 2017 Last updated at 06:39 BST
Don't worry - Nasa has said there is no danger that the rock will hit our planet! In fact, it will pass us at a distance of 1.1 million miles away.
It is the first time that the asteroid has flown near to Earth like this for 400 years - and it doesn't plan on coming back for another 500 years - so scientists are looking forward to studying it as it sails past.
Martin has been finding out more...
Pictures courtesy of Nasa | An asteroid called 2014 JO25 is due to fly past the Earth today. |
40272554 | Five nannies in the past year have blamed their departure on spooky happenings in the "haunted" house.
The alleged incidents have included strange noises and moving furniture.
The family have not experienced any "supernatural happenings" themselves but are happy to pay above the asking rate to find the right person.
The couple, who have two children aged five and seven, are advertising the position on Childcare.co.uk, a social networking platform for parents, childcare providers and private tutors.
The successful candidate will have their own room with en-suite bathroom and private kitchen in the family home, a "lovely, spacious, historic property in a remote spot with spectacular views".
However, the live-in nanny will sometimes be alone in sole charge for up to four nights per week while the parents work away.
The advert said: "We have lived in our home for nearly 10 years.
"We were told it was 'haunted' when we bought it, but kept our minds open and decided to buy the house regardless.
"Five nannies have left the role in the last year, each citing supernatural incidents as the reason, including strange noises, broken glass and furniture moving."
It said that had resulted in a "period of great upheaval" for the children.
"We haven't personally experienced any supernatural happenings, as they have been reported only while we've been out of the house, but we're happy to pay above the asking rate, and feel it's important to be as up-front as possible to find the right person," the advert continued.
"We are keen to find the perfect long-term nanny, so if you'd like to be considered for this rewarding and exciting position, please do get in touch with us."
They are offering a salary of £50,000 gross per year and 28 days holiday, plus bank holidays.
Richard Conway, founder of Childcare.co.uk, told the Daily Mirror: "When we saw the advert we were stunned.
"Some of the guys at HQ were sceptical but after talking to the family and their previous employees we realised it was a genuine position.
"We have hundreds of thousands of providers on the site and we're hoping that one of them will be able to help them.
"We've had some weird and wonderful families find childcare providers through the site, however I think this is probably the most interesting story we've heard.
"The family has assured us that no harm has come to anyone living in the house, however the nanny will have to have a strong disposition!" | A Borders couple are offering £50,000 a year for a nanny - but the successful candidate must be prepared to face potential "supernatural incidents". |
39655070 | 21 April 2017 Last updated at 06:54 BST
Manchester City Women are in the semi-finals and they play the first leg of two matches against Lyon on Saturday.
Whitney went to meet Man City star Izzy Christiansen and a few of the academy players. | There's only one British team left in the Champions League now. |
35365532 | The money will be used for education services at the International Bomber Command Centre near Lincoln.
A campaign is still under way to raise £3.8m to build the Chadwick Centre where the exhibits will be displayed.
The Spire and Memorial Wall of Names at the site were unveiled last year.
Air Commodore Charles Clark, of the Bomber Command Association, said: "We have to do everything we can to ensure the project is delivered whilst we still have some veterans alive."
The grant will help create an archive of thousands of personal stories and documents including recollections of some of the remaining survivors for the first time.
Historian Dan Snow said: "Lincolnshire needs a proper memorial to the service personnel who faced appalling conditions as they did their bit to liberate Europe from fascism.
"There is no other centre in Britain or any other country where the history of the bomber offensive can be preserved, gathered, curated, studied and debated. This centre will be a world leader."
The education service will include specialist schools' packs and an educational online portal.
Jonathan Platt, of Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "There are a wealth of stories connected to Bomber Command that, until now, have never been fully told."
He said the lottery money will help preserve "a wealth of stories connected to Bomber Command".
125,000
Aircrew served in Bomber Command
70% of aircrew were killed, wounded or captured
55,573 aircrew killed on operations
25,611 aircrew who died were based in Lincolnshire
59 nationalities, other than British, who made up Bomber Command
The Chadwick Centre will be built close to the Memorial Spire and walls which carry the names of those who died in the campaign. | A £3m heritage lottery grant has been awarded to help tell the stories of thousands of men who flew bombing raids from England during the Second World War. |
34486262 | Shrien Dewani, 34, from Bristol, was cleared of plotting to murder his new bride in South Africa in 2010.
As a coroner ruled he would not open a full UK inquest into the death, Mr Dewani said those who claimed he was linked to her murder were "liars".
It is the first time his views have been heard since his 2014 trial.
In the letter sent to North London Coroners' Court, Mr Dewani said: "I would like to make clear that I have a significant number of questions which remain unanswered about the night that my wife and I were kidnapped and Anni was tragically shot after being taken from me."
Mr Dewani and his wife, 28, were kidnapped at gunpoint while on honeymoon in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2010.
This is the first time Shrien Dewani has been heard from since the statement he provided at the start of his trial last year.
The letter gives the sense of a man who feels he too has been wronged. It echoes the language Anni's family has used: a search for answers, and the failure of the South African courts to find the truth.
It was always unlikely that Mr Dewani would engage with an inquest. But given Anni's family have indicated they will pursue other channels, we may yet hear from him again.
He was released unharmed before Mrs Dewani's body was found on the back seat of their taxi the following day.
He later faced trial on suspicion of conspiracy to murder his new bride, but the case was thrown out by a South African judge in 2014.
Three South African men were jailed for their role in Mrs Dewani's death.
Mr Dewani's letter continued: "Each of the gang members did a deal with the authorities to gain either full immunity or vastly reduced sentences in return for providing evidence against me.
"It is the evidence of these proven liars that led to a witch hunt against me and the resulting failure to pursue the truth of what happened that night."
He continued: "It is clear that none of the evidence provided by these persons was corroborated in any meaningful way.
"This has allowed the individuals concerned to literally get away with murder."
Mr Dewani did not give evidence during the trial in South Africa last year. Instead a statement from him was read out by his defence lawyer at the start of trial.
The judge said the evidence of the prosecution's main witness was "riddled with contradictions".
Mr Dewani said he sent the letter to the coroner because he was unable to attend in person "due to pre-arranged travel".
He said he "accepted the views" of the coroner which were expressed at an earlier hearing, when he said an inquest in the UK "would not serve any purpose". | The husband of honeymoon murder victim Anni Dewani has said he was the victim of a "witch hunt", after standing trial following her death. |
18408154 | The order comes from NetJets - a private aviation specialist controlled by famous investor Warren Buffet.
It is for at least 100 Challenger Jets worth $2bn (£1.3bn) minimum and potentially worth $7bn (£4.5bn).
That makes it the biggest order in Bombardier's history and in the history of private aviation.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said the news meant a "significant and welcome boost to the local economy".
"Bombardier's agreement with NetJet is a tremendous endorsement of the technological expertise and capability available in Northern Ireland and signals the continued success of this multinational corporation," she said.
"Invest NI has been working closely with Bombardier and other aerospace companies to support growth and ensure that the sector remains internationally competitive.
"The Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE), which opened earlier this year, will help provide such growth opportunities and help to advance the development of innovative technologies across a range of industries."
A spokesperson for Bombardier, Belfast, said it was the largest business aircraft sale in the company's history.
News of the order was "very welcome" and represented "a huge vote of confidence in Bombardier, our employees and the Challenger aircraft family", the spokesperson said.
"Bombardier leads the business aircraft market in terms of sales revenues, and through our operations in Belfast, the UK plays a major role in this sector.
"Bombardier in Belfast is responsible for the design and manufacture of the centre fuselage and engine nacelles for the Challenger 605 aircraft, and the centre fuselage for the Challenger 300 business jet. The order will help to sustain jobs in our Northern Ireland operations."
Bombardier is the biggest manufacturing firm in Northern Ireland employing around 5,000 people across four facilities.
The company recently bought a 29-acre site in Newtownabbey where it plans to consolidate some parts of its operations. | Bombardier Aerospace has announced the biggest aircraft order in the company's history which, it says, will sustain jobs at its Belfast base. |
39938064 | Leigh twice led through Matty Fleming and Mitch Brown tries, but Ben Murdoch-Masila's double and further scores from Kris Welham and Greg Johnson put Salford 24-12 up at the break.
Ben Crooks hit back before Higson saw red for a high hit on Gareth O'Brien.
Niall Evalds and Johnson tries against 12-man Leigh sealed the win.
In between Evalds' and Johnson's second-half tries, Matty Dawson went over to give Leigh hope of producing a shock result in their first Magic Weekend appearance - but they could not avoid a ninth straight defeat in all competitions.
It started well for Leigh, as centre Fleming marked his Centurions debut - having arrived five days earlier on loan from St Helens - in fine style, scoring their maiden Magic Weekend try.
Murdoch-Masila got on the end of a neat Michael Dobson kick to pull a try back within three minutes, but Salford did not restore parity until Gareth O'Brien kicked a penalty.
A second try from back-rower Murdoch-Masila again restored parity, while another two Red Devils tries and the intervention of the video referees to chalk off Danny Tickle's effort in response saw the Super League high-flyers take a 12-point lead into the break.
Leigh made a lively start with Crooks going over and they had Salford working hard in defence for long periods, but their resurgence was undone by Higson's sending off.
Evalds' try moments later looked to have put the game beyond reach, but Dawson's score in the corner with 17 minutes remaining ensured Salford still had to work hard for the victory.
Leigh Centurions coach Neil Jukes: "It was a straight red. It didn't help, that's for sure. It made the task a lot more difficult.
"What also didn't help was our completion rate. At 50-odd percent completion rate, when they were at nearly 90, we don't help ourselves.
"Every time we scored a try, we backed it up on the next set with an error. I don't think we had the rub of the green. When the margins are really close, you need a bit of luck and we didn't get much today."
Salford Red Devils head coach Ian Watson: "Every week is a big one, but it's pleasing to come here to the Magic Weekend and pick the two points up because it's a big occasion.
"It's a derby and we expected Leigh to turn up. We fell off some of the things we pride ourselves on, which probably made the score in the second half slightly closer than it needed to be.
"But the boys are an honest group and they will know that and they will fix it up because every game is becoming bigger and bigger the higher we sit in the table."
Leigh Centurions: Brown; Dawson, Crooks, Fleming, Higson; Hampshire, Drinkwater; Burr, Hood, Hansen, Paterson, Vea, Stewart.
Replacements: Pelissier, Hock, Tickle, Hopkins.
Salford Red Devils: O'Brien; Johnson, Welham, Sa'u, Evalds; Lui, Dobson; Kopczak, Tomkins, Tasi, Murdoch-Masila, Jones, Krasniqi.
Replacements: Hauraki, Flanagan, Lannon, Brinning.
Referee: James Child. | Salford moved up to second in Super League with victory over Leigh, who were a man down for 25 minutes after Adam Higson was sent off. |
40182130 | The man, who has not been identified, had received a tattoo with the words "Jesus is my life" five days before going for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
The man was then admitted to a Dallas hospital complaining of severe pains nearby to the tattoo on his calf.
Doctors advise that new tattoos be kept clean in order to prevent infection.
The man had a history of alcohol cirrhosis of the liver, and reportedly told doctors that he drank six beers daily.
Doctors at the Parkland Memorial Hospital put the man on life support 24 hours after he was admitted, as he went into septic shock.
Doctors say he tested positive for the flesh-eating bacterium Vibrio vulnificus.
The British Medical Journal reports that the pathogen is common in the Gulf of Mexico's coastal waters, and the risks of infection rises during warmer months.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, V. vulnificus causes 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths each year in the US with most infections being attributed to eating raw shellfish.
Medical professionals advise that new tattoos be covered during bathing, and that people avoid swimming after getting new ink. | A Texas man has died two months after contracting a flesh-eating bacterium through a new tattoo on his leg, medical officials say. |
26966555 | Prince William told guests at the event in Wellington that New Zealanders were warm-hearted, generous people.
He said they also had "an instinctive sense of justice and freedom".
In other remarks, he joked about the loud war dance used by the New Zealand rugby team, saying his eight-month-old son, George, did the haka at night.
Earlier, the duke and duchess paid their respects to New Zealand's war dead.
They laid a wreath in a service at the town of Blenheim's war memorial, and later met some of the approximately 5,000 people who had gathered for the occasion.
Prince William also unveiled a new portrait of the Queen at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, by the artist Nick Cuthell.
On Wednesday, Prince George attended his first official public engagement at a "crawl-about" with babies of similar age at Government House in Wellington, with childcare group Plunket.
He will not be making any more appearances during his parents' 19-day tour of New Zealand and Australia.
Prince William also received a tiny teddy bear from a well-wisher and was given a friendship bracelet from a little boy and immediately put it on his right wrist.
Jan Cross, 55, who emigrated from Britain to New Zealand seven years ago, joked with William about looking after his son: "I said 'is George OK?' and William said 'yes' and I asked if he enjoyed himself at Plunket and he said he had.
"Then he said 'you can do some babysitting for us if you like'. I would love to help out with George for the day."
The young prince, who is teething, was the topic of conversation when the duke stopped to chat to Annette Michna-Konigstorfer, 55.
She said: "I asked him how his kid was and he said he hopes he's not chewing everything at Government House. William was fantastic and wonderful - I love all the royal family."
The royal couple were also given a helmet for Prince George when they visited Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.
Peter Jackson - the film director behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy and an aviation enthusiast - showed the royal couple around the museum. | The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have attended a state reception held in their honour as they continue their tour of New Zealand. |
40682246 | The singer was to perform at Exeter's Powderham Castle on 29 July and at Kings Park, Bournemouth on 5 August.
Murs said he was unable to reschedule the gigs but has offered affected fans the chance to see him elsewhere.
The gigs were axed when organiser Stephen C Associates Limited announced on 20 July it had ceased trading.
The promoter said it was not in a position to offer refunds.
In a statement, Murs said anyone not able to get a refund for the cancelled shows could swap their ticket for one of his events in either Swansea, on 12 August, or Portsmouth on 27 August.
The X Factor star added: "What happened was obviously no fault of our own, but I felt a responsibility to my fans.
"We've come up with what we believe to be the best option available and hope that most of the fans affected can attend the other shows."
Ticketholders who have been refunded for the axed shows have been told to contact their ticket providers to get a "special offer" for the Swansea or Portsmouth events.
Only those who bought tickets from Stephen C Associates Limited using their credit cards have been able to claim their money back.
Powderham Castle was also due to host a concert by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on 30 July which had been organised by the promoter. | Olly Murs has offered fans who were left out of pocket, when a promoter went bust cancelling two of his shows, the chance to swap their tickets. |
40752279 | But for the thousands of Britons gathered around the imposing white stone memorial of Menin Gate, it may be the first time they have heard a melody that has sounded at that spot almost every night for 90 years.
The Last Post is played each evening by Belgian buglers - volunteers who play the call to remember British and Commonwealth soldiers who defended their town.
But Sunday night was different.
Standing under the vast stone arch were British and Belgian royals, the UK prime minister, members of the armed forces and faith leaders, many carrying flowers and wreaths of red poppies.
They had gathered for a special service to mark a century since the start of the Battle of Passchendaele.
And lining the road leading to the gate were thousands more - many with a personal connection to the battle.
Robert Lloyd-Rees, 75, has been camped outside a coffee shop by the gate since Sunday morning.
"What this town does, to commemorate those soldiers, is remarkable," he says.
It is 60 years since Robert has heard the Last Post, he says, having first visited Ypres with his father Tom, who served at Passchendaele in the Welsh Regiment's Machine Gun Corps.
Robert, who comes from Bristol and now lives in Ottawa, Canada, says the trip has been "tearful".
Earlier that day, he had visited Tyne Cot, a large war cemetery a few miles from Ypres, which he first walked around with his father.
"I remember him stopping at two gravestones and I had asked, 'Dad, what is it?' and he said 'These are my friends'.
"He told me that he had spent two days and two nights behind his machine gun, while two of his comrades lay dead on the sandbags," Robert says.
He does not know how his father, who was just 17 when he signed up in 1914 and had lied about his age, could "withstand such horror", but recalls that he rarely spoke of his wartime experiences.
Menin Gate may be on foreign soil but bears the names of more than 54,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought at Passchendaele, and whose graves are not known.
Father and son Phil and Luke Seeley were also outside the gate, to remember their relative - Sgt Herbert Seeley.
Herbert was injured and sent back to the frontline four times during the war - eventually being sent to Passchendaele in 1917 - but miraculously survived the war.
"My dad says he remembers him sitting in the corner of the room and he would not say anything," says Phil.
"He was bayoneted and sent home to recover, but each time went back knowing what it would be like."
"I've got goosebumps," Phil adds, who says Herbert, from Colchester in Essex, began the war as a private and was by 1918 promoted to a warrant officer.
"We're here to find out more about what it must have been like."
For three months from 31 July 1917, the battle for a number of ridges south and east of the Belgian town of Ypres resulted in massive loss on both sides, with nearly half a million soldiers thought to be killed, wounded or missing.
Phil and 16-year-old Luke travelled from Colchester through the night to reach Ypres.
"We arrived at around three in the morning, and had to wait outside our campsite for five hours," says Phil.
"We were so tired and hungry and barely able to move, and thought what must it have been like feeling like this and living in total fear for three months."
There was near silence among the crowd as the bugles began playing at 20:00 (19:00 BST). After readings and more music, poppies were released from the arch of the gate to mark the climax of the ceremony.
A short walk away from the gate was Ypres' medieval Cloth Hall, which was rebuilt from ruins after the war. For this occasion it was illuminated, and was the focus of much of the sense of excitement in the city, as well as quiet contemplation .
The events continue on Monday, where a commemoration service is expected to strike a more sombre tone.
At Tyne Cot cemetery - the site of 11,000 graves and a memorial to more than 35,000 missing soldiers - royals and relatives will attend an afternoon of song and remembrance.
Tyne Cot's rows of immaculately maintained, white graves are a reminder of the battle's death toll.
One hundred years on, Passchendaele is still synonymous with the blood and horror of the First World War.
"It's ensuring that we don't forget," says Robert, who has a firm plan to ensure that younger relatives know all about and can take pride in what one member of the Lloyd-Rees family did at Passchendale 100 years ago.
He says: "I'll be showing my grandson my father's medals." | The lonely, eerie sound of a bugle is one that locals in Ypres, Belgium, are well used to. |
36534048 | It happened at about 15:55 about two miles from Oldmeldrum and involved a silver Mini and a black Toyota Avensis.
The driver of the Mini died at the scene and the other driver was taken to hospital. His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
The road was closed for several hours for investigations. Police appealed for witnesses.
Officers in Aberdeenshire also attended a second separate serious collision involving two vehicles which happened at about 16:45 at Sauchen on the A944. | A 49-year-old man has died after a two-vehicle crash on the A947 in Aberdeenshire. |
19018855 | It was an understated reaction from the woman likely to go down in history as the person who rattled President Jacob Zuma more than any other figure in contemporary South Africa, exposed the growing fissures in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and went from being a shy trade unionist to an internationally feted global leader.
Ms Madonsela's inquiries over her years in office as public protector have led to the sacking of some of the most senior figures in the country.
She has investigated police chiefs, opposition politicians - and even the president himself over multi-million dollar security upgrades to his private Nkandla home.
It was probably not a surprise that on Friday, the woman many just call Thuli spent her final hours in office in court, seeking to defend her country's hard won democratic ideals and the release of her interim report on corruption and cronyism - what's rather clumsily called "state capture" here.
In short, it expected to describe how unelected businessmen - who allegedly wield huge influence over President Zuma - were able to call the shots on who should and should not get a ministerial job.
Much of her interim report is believed to focus on a family known as the Guptas, but the practice of patronage politics and opaque practices over the awarding of government contracts and jobs goes much deeper than just one family.
For some, it is perhaps surprising that the softly spoken mother of two has survived seven years in her role. But it is a credit to South Africa's robust constitution that the public protector has withstood attempts to remove her, harm her physically with death threats and smear her name.
If anything, her popularity has grown, with a prominent international think-tank recently voting her among the world's top five most "extraordinary women".
In her most recent investigation, she has been accused by the Guptas' lawyers of abusing her position and overshadowing the legal process.
Others say she has overstepped the mark, with the ANC Youth League dismissing her as "insecure" - a woman willing to besmirch the name of South Africa to the world.
Yet David Lewis, chief executive of the campaign Corruption Watch, has described her as "South Africa's most important bulwark against corruption" who has inspired hope among millions of citizens looking for better service delivery.
And the very man she investigated back in the day - Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters - is now among her most vocal defenders as he calls for President Zuma to resign.
Although her title of public protector may sound mundane, Ms Madonsela has captured the imagination of South Africans and the media for her no-nonsense style and her ability to deliver.
She's presided over tens of thousands of investigations and once exposed the president as having run roughshod over the country's prized constitution.
Add to that her credentials as a former lawyer in the trade union movement during the fight against white minority rule and her involvement in the drafting of South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, and she's earned the respect of the ruling ANC and opposition alike.
On a trip through the townships of Soweto with Ms Madonsela four years ago, I got a sense of a women who displays a deep sense of compassion and humility.
Sewage ran through the streets after what neighbours claimed was a dodgy tender that led to the water pipes bursting.
As she picked her way through in a pair of smart high heels, Ms Madonsela reflected on the state of her beloved country: "I don't remember it being this bad."
She described how she grew up in Soweto, the proud heart of the liberation struggle rule. And yet, "things were different then".
She accepts the arguments of her critics that 300 years of colonial rule and 40 years of apartheid cannot be corrected overnight and that the seeds of corruption were sown long before the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.
But, she says, if "visible action is taken" against corrupt officials now, then it sends the message to people that "if you are thinking about it - then don't".
The public protector has risen out of the bureaucratic morass to become a breath of fresh air for a South African public clamouring for more accountability from their public servants and leaders.
She has called for constructive dialogue rather than rioting when service delivery fails, and has always been publicly promised by ministers that despite past attempts to muddy her name, they'll allow her to do her job, whatever her investigations unearth.
With the battle to find a new leader of the ANC at the end of next year, the stakes are higher than ever.
Ms Madonsela knows that corruption allegations can be used to wound political enemies and her successor will be under pressure to follow her tough no-nonsense style.
Some fear Busisiwe Mkhwebane, a former diplomat (and some claim a spy), may not have the stomach for this
But it is perhaps unfair, some say, to pre-judge.
After all, Ms Madonsela "is not a superwoman, she's just an ordinary person doing her job" is one anti-corruption campaigner's blunt assessment of Ms Madonsela.
With a number of biographies expected to be published soon, South Africa's one woman corruption crusader may still go on to disprove that. | When Thuli Madonsela's daughter asked her over breakfast how it felt to be "South Africa's biggest tell-tale", the public protector just smiled. |
35616267 | His remarks follow a protest in Cairo after a taxi driver was shot dead by a policeman during a dispute over a fare.
The case was the latest of many alleged cases of police brutality in Egypt.
The protesters gathered outside the Cairo security directorate on Thursday night and chanted "the interior ministry are thugs".
The interior ministry had announced earlier that the policeman, who was badly beaten by a crowd after the killing, had been arrested in hospital.
A statement from Mr Sisi's office said he had told Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Gaffar that abuses were carried out by a "number of policemen" and "must be stopped".
President Sisi said changes to the laws to allow for harsher penalties for police officers would be made within 15 days.
The Egyptian leader has every reason to worry about pubic unrest over police excesses, which were among the factors that led to the revolution of 2011, says the BBC's Cairo Correspondent Orla Guerin. | The Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has said that police officers guilty of human rights abuses will face tougher action under new laws. |
39565905 | Malik Food Group's (MFG) in Burnley, Lancashire, has had Welfare Enforcement Notices issued by the government after a film taken over two days emerged.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) reviewed 70 hours of footage taken between 2-21 March by Animal Aid.
The FSA said animal welfare was a "high priority". MFG is yet to comment.
Animal Aid said it had "uncovered barbaric and deliberate cruelty being inflicted on animals".
It claimed that sheep were filmed at Dunnockshaw farm "having their throats repeatedly cut, as many as seven times in one case, in contravention of the law".
The charity alleges it was because the slaughterman failed to maintain a surgically sharp knife.
Luke Steele from the charity said the footage showed "horrific scenes... unlike any we have ever seen before".
The FSA said it takes all alleged breaches "extremely seriously".
It said it has taken immediate enforcement action against both the business operator and individual staff and revoked slaughterman certificates of competence.
"Our investigations into this establishment continue but to say more at this stage could be prejudicial to any future potential criminal proceedings."
Malik Food Group said on its website it is the UK's leading processor of halal mutton, lamb and beef.
It said it ensures sheep and lambs are slaughtered by Muslim slaughtermen "adhering to the highest principles of halal animal welfare". | A slaughterhouse is under investigation after undercover footage allegedly showed "sheep having their throats repeatedly cut". |
34096187 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Blues have won their first five games of the campaign and must wait to see if Cliftonville can match their feat by beating Warrenpoint on Sunday.
Waterworth swept the ball home from six yards out in the 53rd minute and headed in the second 10 minutes later.
Guy Bates' left-foot shot was deflected past Billy Brennan for the third on 78.
The hosts dominated for much of the game and made a bright start, with striker Waterworth's attempted glancing header flying wide.
Kirk Millar went close soon after when Billy Brennan pushed his curling right-foot 25-yard effort onto the bar after Bates laid the ball off.
Mark Haughey then met Matthew Clarke's cross from the left with a diving header, which skimmed off the outside of the post.
The visitors came more into the match and Darren Murray went on a mazy run and beat a couple of defenders, before shooting straight at Ross Glendinning.
Former Blues midfielder Robert Garrett drilled a low right-foot shot wide of the post soon after.
Millar skied an effort over the bar for the home side, but at the other end, Chris Ramsey's looping header from a Chris Casement corner came off the bar.
Michael Gault then headed towards goal but the ball was scrambled off the line by Jamie Mulgrew.
Eight minutes after the interval, Warren Feeney's team were rewarded for a neat, patient build-up when Bates fed the overlapping Matthew Clarke and his left-wing cross was dispatched into the bottom corner by Waterworth.
An Aaron Burns drive was saved by the feet of Brennan, before Waterworth saw his low shot from a tight angle go past the post.
The forward did not have long to wait for his second though when he headed in from six yards after Mulgrew's initial effort was parried by Brennan, and the midfielder recovered to cross for his team-mate to convert.
Bates deservedly got his name on the scoresheet when he rifled the ball into the net after a good exchange between himself and Clarke. | Linfield moved three points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership as Andrew Waterworth scored twice in an impressive 3-0 home win over Portadown. |
34871436 | John Paul Branniff, 34, of Carnreagh Road in Ballynahinch, was found to have 2,000 tonnes of mixed waste on his land.
It included building materials, plastics, timber, carpet and textiles.
Branniff pleaded guilty to four charges. It is believed a substantial amount of waste had also been burned on the site.
He will spend half of his 18-month sentence on licence and half in prison.
Mr Branniff had previously been made the subject of a £108,350 confiscation order for keeping illegal waste on his land.
He was told to pay that order within three months or face a further two years in jail.
The case was taken by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
A spokesperson said the case underlined the "seriousness of waste offending".
"We hope that it also represents both a suitable deterrent to anyone who may be contemplating such activity and a demonstration to the public of our intention to actively pursue anyone who seeks to profit from the destruction of our environment," the spokesperson said. | A County Down man has been sent to jail for waste offences. |
33058957 | The bank has 48,000 UK workers and will make cuts in both its retail and investment banking operations.
Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said the jobs would go by "natural attrition". Staff turnover stood at about 3,000 annually.
A total of 25,000 jobs could be axed globally, meaning close to 10% of HSBC's 266,000 workers will go.
The bank will also rebrand its UK High Street branches but is yet to decide on a new name.
Options could include reviving the Midland Bank brand, which it bought in 1992, or adopting the name of its UK online bank, First Direct.
Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said he wanted to ensure that customers made a distinction between HSBC's investment and retail banking operations.
The bank is being forced by new government rules to formally separate the two businesses.
Dominic Hook, national officer with the union Unite, called on HSBC to achieve any job cuts through voluntary means and natural attrition.
"It's really sad that all our members, all the hard work they've done to try to get the bank back working properly after all the scandals of the last few years, are going to be paying with their jobs," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The number of UK branches is expected to fall by about 100 from 1,057 now.
Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, business editor
Tomorrow is the date of the Mansion House speech - George Osborne's annual summary of financial regulation and the City.
The Chancellor could send a positive message to banks, saying that they are welcome in the UK and that regulation and the tax burden need to be "proportionate".
That could pave the way to a reform of the bank levy so that it has less of an impact on the foreign operations of UK banks. That could be announced in the Budget on 8 July.
The Chancellor could also decide not to raise the levy. Both would be welcomed by large global banks such as HSBC.
BBC business editor Kamal Ahmed said the UK job cuts would come as a shock to staff: "Global banking now is a far tougher business than it was pre-the financial crisis. It is hard to get profits."
Mr Gulliver was "running a bank that investors believe simply doesn't make enough money", he added.
Our correspondent said the bank was now looking to "reduce its footprint in developed economies".
HSBC plans to sell assets in Turkey and Brazil, where it will continue to service large corporate clients.
The news came ahead of a presentation that Mr Gulliver gave to investors and analysts in his second major strategy plan since taking up the role in 2011.
"We recognise that the world has changed and we need to change with it. That is why we are outlining the following... strategic actions that will further transform our organisation," he said in a statement.
The 10-point plan aims to cut costs by up to $5bn (£3.25bn) and increase investment in Asia - particularly in China.
"Asia [is] expected to show high growth and become the centre of global trade over the next decade," Mr Gulliver said. "Our actions will allow us to capture expected future growth opportunities."
Shares in HSBC were down 0.9% at 614p in afternoon trading in London, and closed down 0.5% in Hong Kong. The company is valued at almost £120bn.
James Antos, analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia, said the plan would not restore investor confidence in HSBC.
"Slaughtering the staff is not necessarily the solution unless management makes the bank considerably less complex," he said.
HSBC said it would make a decision on whether to move its headquarters out of the UK by the end of the year.
There has been speculation that the British bank may relocate its headquarters to Hong Kong since it announced the review in April.
Analysis: Robert Plummer, business reporter
HSBC used to style itself as "the world's local bank", combining the heft of a global brand with the sophistication of local knowledge. Yet it started moving away from that business model as far back as 2011, hit by a combination of spiralling costs and setbacks in some of those local markets to which it was a latecomer.
In fact, however much we hear about economic globalisation, global banks are having a tough time of it these days. Not only are they hard to manage, but they also face stiff competition from local banks in individual countries.
In Brazil, for instance, where HSBC was unknown until 1997, it has been outflanked by local operators Itau and Bradesco. Unsurprisingly, then, it has decided to dispose of its subsidiary there and concentrate on the area where its expertise has always been clear: East Asia in general, and China in particular.
Mr Gulliver laid out a number of criteria for the decision - including whether the UK government supported the growth of financial services industry.
He insisted that any move would not be a response to any UK legislation affecting banks, but about deciding "where the mind of the company should be".
The government bank levy cost HSBC more than £700m last year - more than any other bank.
Chancellor George Osborne is expected to signal a review of the levy in his Mansion House speech on Wednesday night. | HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, is planning to cut 8,000 jobs in the UK as it tries to reduce costs. |
35999557 | King Salman said in a statement that the bridge would boost commerce between the two allies.
He made the announcement during the second day of his visit to the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have supported Egypt with billions of dollars since President Sisi took power in 2013 following mass street protests.
Saudi Arabia regards Egypt as a crucial partner in efforts to build a bloc of friendly Sunni Muslim states as a bulwark against growing regional influence of Shia-led Iran.
King Salman's visit comes amid recent strains in the relationship, with President Sisi taking a less hardline stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Riyadh seeking more support from Cairo for its war against rebels in Yemen.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the bridge would be named after the Saudi king.
"I agreed with my brother his Excellency President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to build a bridge connecting the two countries" the king said.
"This historic step to connect the two continents, Africa and Asia, is a qualitative transformation that will increase trade between the two continents to unprecedented levels" he added.
President Sisi said it marked "a new chapter on the road of Arab joint action".
A Red Sea bridge linking the two countries has been proposed several times before but has failed to become a reality.
Previous estimates for the bridge project suggested a cost of around $3-4bn (£2-3bn), but no further information has yet been released for the latest plan.
King Salman is currently on a five-day visit to Egypt, where he is expected to announce more trade and co-operation agreements. | Saudi Arabia's king has announced that a bridge linking the country to Egypt will be built over the Red Sea. |
38636868 | Scotland winger Oliver Burke was on target and Matt Gilks made some good saves for the visitors.
"They are a very good team, and that's why they are sitting second in the Bundesliga," Miller told Rangers TV.
"If we are a bit loose and sloppy on the ball, as we were, we are going to be punished at this level."
Burke and Timo Werner fired the German side in front at the break, with Yussuf Poulsen adding a second-half double in a game attended by around 8,000 Rangers fans.
"It was a really good test for us which we knew it would be, although we are clearly disappointed with the result as we always look to try and get something from the game," said Miller.
"Had it not been for a few saves - really good saves from Gillo at the end - then it could have been a few more.
"On the flip-side of that, we had opportunities to put people through on goal which we never maximised. They maximised them because they have got the quality, and they punished us for our sloppiness."
Following a winter break, Rangers return to action on Saturday with Motherwell visiting Ibrox in the Scottish Cup.
"It's important that we do learn," added Miller.
"This is why we took a game like this - to learn against top-class opposition. Now we have to go back in, see how they punished us, see how we were sloppy, and try to eradicate from our game." | Striker Kenny Miller admits Rangers' 4-0 loss to RB Leipzig could have been worse but thinks Sunday's friendly was a worthwhile learning exercise. |
22957099 | Instead scientists have found that clapping is contagious, and the length of an ovation is influenced by how other members of the crowd behave.
They say it takes a few people to start clapping for applause to spread through a group, and then just one or two individuals to stop for it to die out.
The Swedish study is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Lead author Dr Richard Mann, from the University of Uppsala, said: "You can get quite different lengths of applause - even if you have the same quality of performance. This is purely coming form the dynamics of the people in the crowd."
Chain reaction
The research was carried out by studying video footage of groups of undergraduates as they watched a presentation.
The scientists found that it took just one or two people to put their hands together for a ripple of applause to spread through the crowd.
These claps sparked a chain reaction, where, spurred on by the noise, other audience members joined in.
"The pressure comes from the volume of clapping in the room rather than what your neighbour sitting next to you is doing," explained Dr Mann.
But the performance that had been witnessed - no matter how brilliant - had little effect on the duration of the noisy acclaim.
In fact, the researchers found the duration of applause varied greatly.
Dr Mann told BBC News: "In one case an audience might clap on average 10 times per person. Another time they might clap three times as long.
"And all that comes from is that you have this social pressure to start (clapping), but once you've started there's an equally strong social pressure not to stop, until someone initiates that stopping."
The scientists believe that clapping is a form of "social contagion", which reveals how how ideas and actions gain and lose momentum.
Studying this, they say, could shed light on other areas, such as how trends come in and go out of fashion or how ideas spread on the internet.
Dr Mann said: "Here we tested whether you are more driven by the total number of people in the room or the people sitting next to you.
"And the equivalent on Facebook or Twitter would be whether you are more likely to join in a trend if you see lots of people in the wider world mentioning it or if just your closer friends mention it." | The quality of a performance does not drive the amount of applause an audience gives, a study suggests. |
35802121 | Sarah Goldie, 18, was reported missing from her home in Renfrew on Friday night having left earlier for Glasgow.
That night two men entered the Clyde after a woman was seen in the water. She was not traced despite the efforts of the men and emergency services.
Police later said Ms Goldie's bag was found near the River Clyde incident.
Ch Insp Mark Sutherland said: "Sarah left home about 1100 on Friday morning. We now know that later in the evening, she took a taxi from Glasgow to Renfrew, and was dropped off in Torridon Drive area.
"About an hour and forty minutes later, at 1940 hours, police received a call about a young woman in the River Clyde and that's also when Sarah's bag was found.
"Officers have been checking CCTV but an image of the woman who entered the water has not been captured, so at this time, we cannot confirm that it was Sarah."
Ch Insp Sutherland said officers had spoken to a number of people who came to the woman's aid but they still wanted to speak to others who may have information.
"We are keen to speak to the driver of a white 4x4 vehicle, possibly a Range Rover 'Evoque', who stopped at the time and also to the woman who handed in Sarah's bag," he said.
"As we say, at this time we cannot link the two definitively, however, we are keen to find out about Sarah's movements between the 1800 hours and 1940 hours on Friday evening.
"If you were in the area and saw the young woman near to or enter the River Clyde, or if you have any information as to Sarah's whereabouts, then please contact police."
Ms Goldie is described as white, 5ft 6in tall, of medium build, with brown eyes and sandy/strawberry blond straight hair.
She was last seen wearing a khaki green Parka-type jacket with a fur hood and was carrying a cherry-red handbag. | Police are investigating whether the disappearance of a Renfrewshire teenager is linked to a sighting of a woman in the River Clyde in Glasgow. |
30834038 | Scientists tested people's ability to remember details of films showing fake crime scenes.
They hope the studies will help witnesses recall details more accurately when questioned by police.
They say establishing a rapport with the person asking the questions can also help boost memory.
Writing in the journal Legal and Criminological Psychology, scientists tested 178 participants in two separate experiments.
In the first, they asked volunteers to watch a film showing an electrician entering a property, carrying out work and then stealing a number of items.
Volunteers were then questioned in one of four groups. People were either asked questions with their eyes open or closed, and after a sense of rapport had been built with the interviewer or no attempt had been made to create a friendly introduction.
People who had some rapport with their interviewer and had their eyes shut throughout questioning answered three-quarters of the 17 questions correctly.
But those who did not have a friendly introduction with the interviewer and had their eyes open answered 41% correctly.
The analysis showed that eye closing had the strongest impact on remembering details correctly ,but that feeling comfortable during the interview also helped.
In the second experiment, people were asked to remember details of what they had heard during a mock crime scene.
Again closing their eyes and having a sense of rapport with the interviewer helped people recall more details than participants in all other groups.
Lead researcher Dr Robert Nash, said: "Our data and other data before us points towards eye closure helping because it removes distraction.
"Closing your eyes might also help people visualise the details of the event they are trying to remember, but our second experiment suggests keeping your eyes shut can help focus on audio information too.
"The mechanisms we identified ought to apply to other contexts, for example trying to remember details of a lecture."
Prof Tim Hollins, of Plymouth University, provided an independent comment: "This adds to the growing body of research that eye closure might be a useful technique that police may want to use.
"The other nice thing about this piece of work is that they have looked at rapport building too.
"This data shows the benefit of eye closure and rapport building added together rather than cancelled each other out as some people previously feared." | Closing your eyes when trying to recall events increases the chances of accuracy, researchers at the University of Surrey suggest. |
38447937 | The 10th annual wildlife report from the trust said mild winters and bad weather in summer created bad conditions for small plants.
But whilst insects suffered, grass growth rose, meaning a good year for livestock farmers.
Conservationists and farmers must work together, the trust said.
Warmer winter months and bad summers have become the norm, according to the report, which said the UK has not had a good summer since 2006.
Nature and wildlife specialist for the Trust, Matthew Oates, said: "2016 comes on top of an unsettled decade, with many species struggling in the face of climate change and more intensive farming practices.
"When you do get good weather during the brighter months of the year, it's almost inevitably short-lived and finished with something nasty.
"During the brightest months, we do seem to be getting more extreme weather events, most of which aren't nice."
Specific sites have now seen a big change in their wildlife, especially due to the surge in grass growth.
Observations at Lytes Cary, in Somerset, showed the number of bumblebees had fallen by 85% on the previous year as wildflowers that attract the bees in field margins were outgrown by grass.
At Purbeck, in Dorset, meadow butterflies also saw a drop in numbers, with volunteers recording a fall in sightings of marbled white numbers by 73% and 23% fewer common blue butterflies.
But the grass growth meant good hay and silage harvests for tenant farmers on Trust sites and improvements on other sites.
Among birds, in Cornwall and Devon rare cirl buntings saw a rise in numbers by 800% since 1989.
And the grazing conditions for rare-breed Longhorn cattle in the Lake District's Ennerdale Valley led to the right wet grassland habitat for marsh fritillary butterflies, with larvae numbers up 560% in 10 years.
Mr Oates said the effect of grazing on rare species signalled the need for conservationists and farmers to work together when it comes to managing the land.
Other areas saw mixed results for their wildlife.
At Blakeney Point, on the north Norfolk coast, the grey seal population went from 100 pups being born in 2004, to 2,342 born by January this year. The Farne Islands also saw 1,879 pups born in 2016, which was up on last year.
There was also a larger apple crop, especially in the south west, because of the warm autumn and rain late in the season. The extended growing season also saw better conditions for damsons, acorns and hazelnuts.
However, there were falls in the number of field voles, which could lead to problems for barn owls and kestrels who feed on them.
And whilst slugs have benefited from the mild and wet weather, gardeners have had to suffer the effects on their plants. | Bumblebees and butterflies have seen their numbers plummet after another year of unsettled weather, according to a National Trust study. |
39204744 | Softbank will sell a 25% stake, worth $8bn (£6.5bn), to a technology fund it is creating with Saudi Arabia, according to the Financial Times.
Softbank and ARM both declined to comment on the reports.
Softbank paid £24bn for ARM - the UK's largest technology company - in July.
At the time, Theresa May said the deal was in the country's national interest.
SoftBank made several commitments as part of the deal, including pledging to keep ARM's headquarters in Cambridge and agreeing to at least double the number of its staff over the next five years.
The Cambridge-based firm designs microchips used in most smartphones, including Apple's and Samsung's, and is considered the most precious jewel in the crown of British technology.
The stake sale coming so soon after Softbank's purchase could raise concerns over its commitments to the UK, but the FT said that Downing Street had been notified of the transaction and did not raise any concerns.
Softbank is one of the world's biggest technology companies and is run by its founder, Japanese entrepreneur Masayoshi Son.
It has previously acquired Vodafone's Japanese operations and the US telecoms company Sprint.
The decision to sell off the 25% stake in ARM is reported to be driven by Mr Son's desire to secure the investment of Abu Dhabi state-backed investment group Mubadala in its new technology fund called Vision Fund.
The fund, which already has the backing of the Saudis, is aiming to raise $100bn in total. If successful, it would make Mr Son one of the world's biggest technology investors. | The Japanese firm that bought ARM Holdings less than a year ago is reported to be selling off a large stake in the UK technology firm to a Saudi-backed investment group. |
31635244 | In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 1.08% at 18,785.79 points, marking its sixth day of gains across seven sessions.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.5% at 24,902.06.
The Shanghai Composite index closed 2.2% higher at 3,298.36.
One of Asia's largest insurers, the Hong-Kong listed AIA Group, posted better than expected earnings because of growth in its operations across China.
AIA is the former Asian arm of the US insurance giant AIG.
"Our performance is a clear reflection of the strength of AIA's business model, the determined execution of our proven growth strategy and our position as the leading insurer exclusively focused on the Asia-Pacific region," said the firm's chief executive Mark Tucker.
The company listed in 2010 and is the biggest international life insurance player in China.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.61% at 5,908.49 following official numbers that showed Australian business investment had slipped to a three-year low in the fourth quarter of 2014.
However, Australia's national carrier Qantas reported its best half-year profit in four years, as turnaround plans came to fruition.
Shares in the Sydney-listed airline rose more than 6% following the news, before closing up 1.4%.
In Singapore, share trading was halted for one of Asia's biggest commodity-trading firms, Noble, after a little-known research firm released its second report raising questions about the company's books.
Iceberg Research said Noble had overstated the value of the commodities it holds by as much as $3.8bn (£2.4bn).
The commodities giant is set to announce its latest earnings numbers later on Thursday.
Analysts said Iceberg's report had a strong sense of activism in its intent.
"Again, this report made several comparisons between Noble's accounting procedures with that of the failed Enron," said CMC markets analysts Nicholas Teo.
He said the report was "as sensational - even ominous - as the first", but that while Noble's management had refuted claims made in the first report, they had "remained rather quiet through this episode".
In Korea, the Kospi share index closed up 0.13% at 1,993.08. | Japan's benchmark Nikkei index hit a fresh 15-year high on Thursday, leading most Asian shares higher as oil prices rebounded and boosted shares of energy firms. |
35602784 | The chief executive of the Irish Football Association (IFA), Patrick Nelson, is giving evidence to the DCAL committee.
He said 93 more tickets will be allocated for the Germany game.
There will also be an extra 505 tickets for the Ukraine match.
This is on top of the extra 1,276 tickets announced last week for the Poland game. Some lifelong supporters missed out when UEFA allocated the tickets last week.
Mr Nelson said the IFA had been pressing for more tickets for Northern Ireland fans, and said the new tickets will be "a complete selection of categories", adding "some of them are going to be more expensive but some are going to be cheaper as well".
He also told the committee that the IFA had previously agreed a priority allocation system that meant "anyone with top priority - 17 points or more should have got a ticket," but there had been "quite a small, inadvertent error by UEFA" that meant people "well in excess of 17 points" did not get tickets.
He said once the problem had been noticed they contacted UEFA "at the highest level" and "within three hours agreed to supply enough tickets to address the immediate matter".
The IFA president Jim Shaw said the allocation process was by an automated computer system, adding: "In a different world, we would have been allocating tickets from top to bottom probably ourselves and would have had total control.
"We've made a good recovery, I think, but they (UEFA) will insist on all ticketing coming from that system."
Last Wednesday, the IFA announced a portal would be created for Northern Ireland supporters to apply for extra tickets.
The portal, for the match against Poland, is open to supporters on a priority list who were were informed they had missed out on Tuesday.
The Department of Culture, Leisure and Arts (DCAL) committee hearing is available to watch on Stormont Live here. | UEFA has agreed to give more Euro 2016 tickets to Northern Ireland fans after complaints about the original allocation process, a Stormont committee has heard. |
36687472 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash, Constantine Louloudis and London 2012 winner Alex Gregory finished in five minutes 58.61 seconds.
Australia pushed their rivals hard but eventually came in 1.83 seconds behind to take silver, as Italy won bronze.
Britain's gold came shortly after compatriots Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won the women's pair.
Their medals added to the silver won by Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley in the double sculls on Thursday.
However, London 2012 bronze medallist Alan Campbell failed to progress to the final of the men's single sculls after finishing fourth in the semis.
Past Olympic champions in Britain's men's four include Sir Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, and the boat traditionally contains GB's best rowers.
Find out how to get into rowing with our special guide.
This year's crew came into the Games as favourites, having secured World Cup wins at regattas in Poznan and Lucerne, and they were victors by a comfortable margin to add to titles won in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London.
Australia, who have now finished runners-up at the last three Games, were only 0.22 seconds behind at the halfway stage but faded in the last 500 metres of the 2,000m course.
"I didn't know what was happening four years ago but today sitting on the start line was horrible, it was tortuous," said Gregory.
"But we nailed that. It was our perfect race at the right time on the right day."
When asked how the 2016 men's fours win compared to Britain's four previous victories in the event, BBC pundit Redgrave, who won his fifth rowing gold at the 2000 Olympics, said: "You have to be better than the year before and the five years before. If you stay the same you will not stay in the same position.
"If we were side by side, our best against their best, we would be struggling to get into a final that is how much it moves on.
"They're better athletes. They row better, train better and make their boat go faster."
Cracknell - a winner in Sydney and Athens - said on Twitter: "Fantastic, gold for the men's four. Never in doubt, five Olympic golds in a row in the men's four and this was the best."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Great Britain's rowers claimed a fifth consecutive Olympic title in the men's four in Rio. |
20216101 | Motorola has sought 2.25% of the price of Apple products that use some of its patents, which Apple said was too high.
Last week, Motorola asked the court to set a price but Apple said it would not pay more than $1 (£0.60) per device.
Firms that own industry-essential patents are expected to offer them under fair licensing terms.
Motorola said it was still open to negotiations with Apple and was interested in reaching an agreement.
"Motorola has long offered licensing to our extensive patent portfolio at a reasonable and non-discriminatory rate in line with industry standards," the firm said in its statement.
Google finalised its purchase of Motorola Mobility earlier this year for $12.5bn (£7.9bn).
The deal was Google's biggest acquisition ever and gave it access to more than 17,000 of Motorola's valuable patents.
While the firm is required to offer industry-essential patents at terms that are "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory" or Frand for short, analysts said it was difficult to determine what a reasonable royalty was.
"It is very tough to determine what a fair price is of any patent held by a firm," Andrew Milroy of Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.
"There are complex financial models that are used to evaluate it - but there is a lot of subjectivity and assumption that goes into those.
"It can hardly be described as a science."
Meanwhile, some analysts said the dismissal of the case was a major setback for Apple as it was likely to give Motorola an upper hand in negotiations.
"This puts Apple back into the position it was before," said Lea Shaver, an intellectual property professor at Indiana University School of Law, | A US judge has dismissed Apple's case in which it alleged that Google's Motorola unit was seeking excessive royalty payments for patents. |
27802228 | BBC Wales Sport is reporting each team announcement as it comes, and highlight athletes to look out for.
Reigning Commonwealth champion Dai Greene, 28, and world record holder Aled Sion Davies, 23, spearhead a 33-strong athletics squad.
Greene took gold in the 400m hurdles in Delhi 2010 and narrowly missed out on a medal in London 2012, where he finished fourth in the final, and fellow hurdler Rhys Williams, the reigning European champion, will also be competing in the 400m hurdles.
Yet neither athlete made it to the final of the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, with both men going out at the semi-final stage - world champion Jehue Gordon, 25, will represent Trinidad & Tobago and is a favourite to take the gold medal in Glasgow.
This is further complicated as Dai Greene has questioned his chances of securing a medal as he is still recovering after undergoing three hernia operations in 2013. Team Wales have announced that despite this news, as well as the injuries that have ruled out triathletes Helen Jenkins and Non Stanford, and cyclist Becky James, the target of 27 medals will not be revised.
The gold medal prospect in athletics for Wales is double world champion Aled Sion Davies, who followed a gold medal at London 2012 with two further golds at the IPC Athletics World Championships.
Davies is still improving too - on May 31 he set a new world record in the discus F42 category with a throw of 48.78m, and he claims to be "looking forward to beating 50m this year".
Women's doubles pair Carissa Turner and Sarah Thomas will carry Wales' badminton hopes.
Crowned champions at the Iceland International and Portuguese Open, Turner and Thomas are ranked 56th in the world as a doubles pair - although after removing all ineligible athletes from the list, Turner and Thomas would be ranked 15th.
And Turner says that the pair have "a good chance with the right draw" of winning a medal in Glasgow, following a series of good tournament performances in 2014.
The pair won two tournaments and reached two semi-finals in January and March, as well as retaining their titles at the National Championships in February.
Joe Morgan, 35, will compete at his third Commonwealth Games alongside Nick Strange in the men's doubles, with the pair ranked 73rd in the world.
The lawn bowls squad was announced in December 2013 and features 15 competitors ranging in age from 25 to 71. Half the squad will be making their Commonwealth Games debuts.
Robert Weale, 51, is one of the most experienced and decorated athletes travelling to Glasgow, having represented Wales at every Games since 1986 and amassed two gold, three silver and one bronze medal. His most recent gold came in Delhi four years ago.
Weale is the most-capped bowler in Welsh history, with 103 outdoor and 54 indoor, and expected to take his tally to 160 before Glasgow.
Others to watch are Anwen Butten and Caroline Taylor.
Butten has twice won bronze in the pairs event, in 2002 with Joanna Weale and 2010 with partner Hannah Smith.
Taylor, who will partner her in Glasgow, has won three medals at the World Outdoor Championships - a silver in the pairs and bronze in the fours in 2004, and a bronze in the triples in 2012.
A 9-strong amateur boxing team will make the trip to Glasgow.
Andrew Selby, 25, is one of the realistic medal prospects. Competing in the flyweight 52kg category, he is the current world number one in the official International Boxing Association (AIBA) standings.
At the 2011 European Championships in Turkey, he became the first Welshman in 86 years to win gold, and followed that by becoming the first British fighter to defend an amateur title two years later.
Welterweight Fred Evans of Cardiff, who won silver at the 2012 Olympics, will be unable to compete after he was refused accreditation.
Sean McGoldrick, 23, was awarded gold in the bantamweight category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games after the man who beat him in the final was disqualified.
McGoldrick did not compete in the 2012 Olympics, having lost out to eventual gold medallist Luke Campbell in qualifying, but Campbell's decision to turn professional rules him out of the Games and gives McGoldrick a chance to reach the final once again.
Wales' hope for a cycling medal at the Games falls to double Olympic champion Geraint Thomas, after two-time world champion Becky James was forced to withdraw through injury.
They were previously both named in the 17-member cycling squad for events on the road and in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
James, 22, won silver in the sprint and bronze in the 500m time trial in Delhi in 2010 as well as a historic double gold at the , but the world champion has aggravated a knee injury and will now be unable to compete.
Geraint Thomas, who won gold in the team pursuit at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, will be supported by fellow Team Sky rider Luke Rowe on the road.
28-year-old Thomas will be competing in the time-trial in Glasgow and will be buoyed by his silver medal performance at the in Monmouthshire. He also finished eighth in the road race in Abergavenny ahead of the Tour de France, which begins on 5 July.
World team pursuit champion Elinor Barker came fourth in the elite women's time trial, beating Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell as she came just shy of a podium finish, and the 19-year-old has told BBC Wales that she is targeting a gold medal in Glasgow.
World cup medallists Jon Mould, Sam Harrison and Owain Doull will also be hoping to contribute, though it would take a special performance from either of these men to make it to the podium.
Wales have a target of three medals for their squad of 13 gymnasts, with the main hopes coming in the rhythmic gymnastics.
Frankie Jones, 23, took silver at the Delhi games in 2010 in the hoop event and at Glasgow 2014 she will be competing both individually and as part of a team.
Despite her success in Delhi, Jones came bottom of qualification in London 2012 and since then suffered a hip injury that she feared would end her career.
Yet she came second in the British Championships in May 2014 with a single mistake costing her - the gold medal was taken by fellow Welsh athlete Laura Halford, 18, who posted a score of 61.465 across the ball, hoop, ribbon and clubs.
Halford and Jones may be a medal prospect in the team event, where they will compete alongside 19-year-old Nikara Jenkins.
Wales will be sending men's and women's teams to Glasgow for the first time since 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, with the women's side including Xenna Hughes, the daughter of former Wales football manager Mark Hughes.
The women performed well in the third tier of the European Championships in 2013, winning every game to take gold, but a podium finish will likely prove beyond them.
It will be harder for the male team who will play in the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 2002.
In contrast to the women's team, the men's squad will remain in the third tier of the European Championship as they lost to winners Portugal.
Wales have never won a hockey medal at a games and recent results would suggest that it would take a series of inspired team performances to change that.
National coach Craig Ewers will compete as part of a 10-strong team as judo returns for the first time since 2002. The 33-year-old is the only team member with experience of a major multi-sport competition.
Natalie Powell, 23, could be a real prospect for Wales in the -78kg category. following a defeat to eventual gold medallist Marhinde Verkerk from the Netherlands, whilst silver was taken by Slovenian Anamari Velensek.
The last time the world rankings were announced, Powell was ranked 11th in the world with only one athlete ranked higher than her eligible for the Commonwealth Games - Canadian Catherine Roberge.
Sport Wales chair Laura McAllister tipped netball to be the following their impressive World Cup qualification victories over Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Scotland.
12 players will be sent to Glasgow, with former captain Billy Pritchard recalled following several years out. The squad is without experienced defenders Sara Hale, Rosie Pretorius and Stephanie Williams, who have all been ruled out through injury.
And the situation surrounding ex-coach Melissa Hyndman, will not have made things any easier.
Interim manager Laura Williams, who was responsible for the three victories that secured World Cup qualification, says Wales are in Glasgow.
But Wales are currently eighth in the world rankings and every team above them will be competing at the Commonwealth Games, giving them only a slim chance of reaching the podium.
New Blues centre Adam Thomas, 27, will captain the Wales Sevens side during Glasgow 2014.
Thomas previously led Wales Sevens during the Glasgow and London Sevens competition, having helped former club Pontypridd to their third consecutive Premiership title.
Wales have two full internationals in their side, with Scarlets full back Gareth Owen picked alongside former Dragons winger Will Harries.
But Sevens is one of the few disciplines where all the best competitors are eligible. For a podium finish, Wales would have to get by South Africa, England or Australia - not to mention New Zealand, who have not lost a single match since Sevens' inclusion in 1998.
Though Wales will not have to face Fiji, who beat Wales 26-19 in the 2013 Hong Kong Sevens final, as the Southern Hemisphere side have not been permitted to compete in the Sevens.
Elena Allen, 41, will be competing in the skeet event as part of a 14-strong shooting squad.
She came 14th in the qualifying round of the 2012 Olympics, though none of the shooters who finished ahead of her are eligible for Glasgow, and neither are any of those above her in the world rankings. Their absence should give Allen a realistic chance of a first medal.
The squash side will feature seven players across four events.
David Evans, 39, of Pontypool is a 10-time Welsh national champion, who came first in the mixed doubles at the 2014 British Open alongside Deon Saffrey.
Peter Creed, 27, will also be travelling to Glasgow. He is ranked 77th in the world and has beaten Evans to the Welsh Nationals title in recent years.
Seven swimmers are in the aquatics team, with head coach Martyn Woodroffe calling it "the strongest Welsh team that we've ever sent to a Commonwealth Games".
At the forefront is Jazz Carlin, 23, who will be competing in the 400m and 800m freestyle. She set the fastest 800m freestyle time in the world in April, breaking her own Welsh record.
Carlin won a bronze and silver medal in Delhi four years ago, and her chances in Glasgow are improved as Rebecca Adlington, who beat her to gold in both events in 2010, has retired.
Jemma Lowe, 24, will be competing in the 100m and 200m butterfly in Glasgow and is a realistic prospect for the latter as she holds the British short course record.
Lowe also made it to the final of the 2012 Olympics in this event, coming sixth behind opponents from non-Commonwealth countries China, Japan, Spain, Hungary and the United States.
She has all six Welsh records achievable in the butterfly - the 50m, 100m and 200m in both long and short courses - to her name, and she told BBC Wales that she wants a podium finish in Glasgow after securing 200m gold at the International Swimming Championships.
Georgia Davies, 23, will be competing in the 50m backstroke. Officially, she was 14th fastest in the world when she competed at Antwerp in January but has the quickest time of any of the eligible Commonwealth Games competitors.
A young squad will represent Wales in Glasgow, including 20-year-old twins Angharad and Megan Phillips.
The team also includes Naomi Owen, 25, who has won the Welsh women's singles championship nine times. However, over 300 places separate her from Singaporean Tianwei Feng in the official International Table Tennis Federation rankings.
Charlotte Carey, 17, has been named for the second time, having been part of the squad that travelled to Delhi in 2010. She also faces tough opposition - Singapore have dominated the medals table since the sport joined the Commonwealth Games in 2002.
Wales have only previously managed one medal, when current player-coach Ryan Jenkins took silver in the men's doubles alongside Adam Robertson in 2002.
Wales originally intended to send an experienced side to Glasgow, with former ITU world champions Non Stanford, 25, and Helen Jenkins, 30, joined by 23-year-old Holly Lawrence.
The triathlon had been an event in which Wales had strong medal claims, but their podium hopes have plummeted.
Two-time world champion Jenkins has pulled out of the Games with a foot injury, while Stanford has been ruled out by an ankle fracture.
A replacement has yet to be named for Jenkins, while Stanford has been replaced by Carol Bridge, a 29-year-old athlete who won the Outlaw Half in 2013.
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Michaela Breeze, who won gold at the 2002 and 2006 Games and won silver as she captained the Wales team in Delhi four years ago, hopes to continue her successful record in Glasgow.
She believes the Welsh weightlifters can come back from Glasgow with - one more than the target set by Sport Wales.
Breeze came out of retirement in a bid to compete at the Games and proved her ability by breaking the British snatch record in qualifying.
Wales take a small and experienced team to Glasgow, but every athlete will need to be on top form in order to break the nation's duck.
Wales have never taken a wrestling medal in the history of the Games, and it would be hard to see that changing with the squad sent to Glasgow.
Thomas Hawthorn, 18, is the youngest of the five wrestlers selected and he has no Commonwealth Games experience.
Damion Arzu, 31, Craig Pilling, 27, and Sarah Connolly, 25, all competed in 2010 - though only one of the wrestlers was able to record a victory in Delhi.
Pilling was beaten in the 55kg freestyle bronze medal match by India's Anil Kumar after he defeated Scott Gregory of England in three rounds. | Sport Wales has set a target of 27 medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July and August, raising the stakes following the 19 earned in Delhi in 2010. |
37701352 | The girl, who has been named by police as Sophia McDonald, was on Henley Road, in Wood End, when she was struck by the "slow moving" lorry at about 16:00 BST on Tuesday, police said.
A GP from a nearby practice got to the scene before paramedics but the child was confirmed dead at the scene.
The girl's mother and the truck driver were treated for the effects of shock.
More updates on this and other stories in Coventry
A statement from Sophia's family said: "She was a beautiful angel, the happiest child with a beautiful cheeky smile.
"She was a very loving, kind hearted, happy-go-lucky little girl who loved her family. We are devastated at her loss."
Relative Donna Proctor told BBC News she was with the child's mother when the crash happened and they heard a "screech".
"My cousin was just running round and round in circles in the middle of the road just screaming.... there was nothing we could do for her daughter."
Meanwhile the employer of the driver involved said his employee was "absolutely broken-hearted".
Paul White, the managing director at Tom White Waste, based in Longford, said the man did not see the youngster as he made his way back to its site less than two miles away.
He added: "We're a family company. The vast majority of employees have got children. It's an absolute tragedy.
"We offer our condolences to the family."
St Laurence's CE Primary school, in Old Church Road, Coventry, said it understood Sophia was one of its pupils.
A statement said: "As you can imagine the school community is deeply shocked and saddened. We are currently helping pupils, staff and parents come to terms with this heart-breaking news."
Witness Joanne Taylor said: "People just covered her over with blankets.
"Obviously the ambulances came, the police came... the mother was distraught, just running around hysterically screaming 'my baby, my baby'. It was really upsetting."
The girl's mother and the lorry driver were taken to hospital.
The road was closed for several hours while emergency services investigated the crash.
Sgt Alan Wood, from West Midlands Police, who appealed to witnesses to contact the force, said: "This appears to have been a tragic accident; our thoughts are with the family of the little girl at this difficult time, who are being supported by specialist officers." | A seven-year-old girl has died after she was hit by a skip lorry as she crossed a road in Coventry. |
35741386 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Ferguson broke Karl Burdis' Irish 200m backstroke record from 2009 as he took victory in 2:01.56.
The 16-year-old was just 0.3 seconds outside the Olympic 100m backstroke qualifying time on Saturday.
Hill achieved two more Irish junior records on Sunday as she triumphed in the 50m freestyle and 200m backstroke.
The 17-year-old broke Fiona Doyle's (26.39) 50m freestyle junior record to take gold in 26.08 seconds.
Paralympic star Bethany Firth was a close second behind Hill in 26.25 which improved her personal best.
Just 15 minutes later, Hill was back in the pool for the 200m Backstroke where she broke her own record in 2:16.09 holding off Scotland's Jennifer King (2:16.69) and Megan Briggs (2:17.84).
Ferguson achieved two Irish senior records and six junior marks at the Bangor meeting while Hill set six national records over the weekend.
Tallaght man Brendan Hyland became the first Irish swimmer to break 54 seconds in the 100m butterfly as he took victory in 53.59.
Donegal swimmer Mona McSharry completed the breaststroke treble when she added 50m gold to her 100m and 200m titles.
Prospective Ireland Olympian Shane Ryan collected his third gold of the weekend in the 50m freestyle in 22.89, which left him 0.06 ahead of Cookstown's Calum Bain.
Former US international Ryan achieved the Olympics 100m backstroke standard on Saturday night when he pipped Ferguson.
Antoinette Neamt edged out Ulsterwoman Rachel Bethel (4:18.05) to win the 400m freestyle in 4:17.93 on Sunday.
British Paralympics squad team member Firth, meanwhile, helped Ards set a new Irish 400m medley record of 4:21.26.
The weekend's racing brought the number of Irish Olympic qualifiers to three.
In addition, 13 Irish swimmers have now qualified for European Senior Championships with 13 also securing spots at the European Junior Championships while 20 new Irish records were set at the Bangor meeting. | Larne pair Conor Ferguson and Danielle Hill continued their record-breaking form on the final day of the Dave McCullagh Memorial meeting in Bangor. |
34616708 | Trevor Bolton, 78, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, targeted his victims over 20 years at the former Carmel College.
Bolton was convicted of 16 counts of indecent assault, six counts of indecency with a child and three other sexual offences.
The sentence was welcomed by police and one of his victims.
Peter Gluckstein, 56, from London, was one of two men who waived anonymity after Bolton's conviction.
"I'm stunned but glad. I feel even more vindicated," he said after the sentencing.
Adrian Foster, chief crown prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said Bolton lived in a flat above the boys' dormitories.
"He abused his position of trust and took advantage of his status to systematically prey on vulnerable or homesick young boys by inviting them to his flat to watch TV and smoke."
Mr Foster praised the courage of victims in exposing Bolton's behaviour.
"The emotional impact, on the victims and their families, of the abhorrent actions of this man is impossible to quantify," he said.
Det Con Trish Coyne, of Oxfordshire child abuse investigation unit, said: "The length of these sentences reflect the severity of Bolton's crimes.
"While the offences took place some time ago, and despite the fact that Bolton's eight victims are successful individuals, every single one of them has admitted the offences have had an impact on them well into their adult lives."
Carmel College was founded in 1948 and closed in 1997
It was originally based at Greenham Common, Berkshire, but moved to Mongewell Park in 1952
During its life the school was attended by about 4,000 students - a third from overseas
A 1973 edition of the Observer described it as "the Jewish Eton"
Source: Carmel College website | A former housemaster has been jailed for 19 years for sex offences against boys at a renowned Oxfordshire boarding school. |
37970618 | The Clarets, now with only one point from 15 on their travels, got off to an awful start when Matt Phillips turned six yards out and fired high past keeper Tom Heaton.
I broke my leg here at 17 and I have never had a result here
Like Phillips, James Morrison also scored for a second successive game when he ran on to Salomon Rondon's pass and curled a low shot inside Heaton's near post from the edge of the box.
And the impressive Phillips provided the cross for the third, which was tapped in at the far post by Darren Fletcher for his first of the season.
Forward Rondon produced another terrific all-round performance and was rewarded with a goal after the break when his strike took two slight deflections as it beat Heaton.
The Baggies are back up to ninth in the Premier League, replacing Bournemouth, while Burnley move one place down to 12th.
This Monday night clash was not given a big billing as two mid-table sides met on a wet evening in the Midlands.
However, the Baggies had demonstrated some bite in their attacking play during their 2-1 win at Leicester two weeks ago, with former QPR player Phillips to the fore.
He was again dazzling down the flank and scored a brilliant opener in a cohesive team display.
The Scotland forward had three shots and set up Fletcher's goal - yet he was possibly not the home side's most impressive player, with Rondon and Morrison arguably their brightest performers.
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Venezuelan Rondon gave Burnley centre-backs Michael Keane and Ben Mee a tough workout. The 6ft 2in forward's hold-up play allowed Morrison to provide an attacking threat and the Scotland midfielder, recently back from a long-term injury, scored a terrific second.
His countryman Fletcher then added a third from close-range just before half-time, the first time since 2009 that three Scottish players had scored in one Premier League game.
Rondon was rewarded for his admirable efforts for the team with a low strike in the 64th minute.
This was the first time this season Burnley had finished a league game with more than 50% possession, which highlights how those statistics cannot be relied upon to tell the tale of the game.
The Clarets out-passed West Brom 483-401 but were guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Keane and Heaton - touted as future England players - were exposed at the back, with the keeper at fault when he allowed Morrison's strike to beat him while his sloppy pass almost resulted in a second for the Scot.
The only time Baggies keeper Ben Foster was troubled was when he tipped Johann Berg Gudmundsson's free-kick on to the bar.
Baggies boss Tony Pulis praised his team and striker Rondon's display against Burnley.
"We are pleased - it was going to be a tough game, Sean Dyche's players are honest and hard-working but we got goals at the right time," he said.
"Every three points are enormous and back-to-back wins are very important. I'm pleased for the supporters as well.
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"We will take every game as it comes - the most important thing is to make sure we are ready for Hull this weekend, that will be such a tough game.
"I'm pleased for Salomon, who has upped his game this season. He has settled in, he feels part of the group and he is such a smashing lad."
Pulis' counterpart Sean Dyche said his side need more belief away from home.
"It was not good enough - the first half particularly. The game was done at half-time," said the Clarets boss.
"We just got drunk on keeping the ball and playing in front of them and that is what they want you to do, so they can counter attack. We got sucked into it - even though we had told the players what to expect.
"We have good points on the board but you have to build on what you are doing at home and take that on the road. I think some of that is a mentality thing - to play with more belief.
"We have had two below-par performances on TV - here and at Southampton, we were miles off it.
"I broke my leg here at 17 and I have never had a result here - one of the few grounds in the country where I have had nothing."
Burnley have a tough home fixture against Manchester City at 12:30 GMT on Saturday and West Brom are at Hull on the same day (15:00 GMT).
Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 4, Burnley 0.
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 4, Burnley 0.
Dean Marney (Burnley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Hal Robson-Kanu (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt missed. Jonny Evans (West Bromwich Albion) header from very close range misses to the right. Assisted by Craig Dawson following a corner.
Attempt missed. Craig Dawson (West Bromwich Albion) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Craig Gardner with a cross following a corner.
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Michael Keane.
Attempt blocked. James McClean (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Craig Gardner.
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Tom Heaton.
Attempt blocked. Craig Gardner (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Chris Brunt.
Offside, Burnley. Scott Arfield tries a through ball, but George Boyd is caught offside.
Offside, Burnley. Scott Arfield tries a through ball, but George Boyd is caught offside.
Andre Gray (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jonny Evans (West Bromwich Albion).
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Craig Gardner replaces James Morrison.
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Stephen Ward.
Foul by Matthew Lowton (Burnley).
Hal Robson-Kanu (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Jeff Hendrick (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion).
Foul by Jeff Hendrick (Burnley).
James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Burnley. George Boyd replaces Johann Berg Gudmundsson.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Hal Robson-Kanu replaces Salomón Rondón.
Attempt missed. Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Ben Foster.
Attempt saved. Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Matthew Lowton (Burnley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jonny Evans (West Bromwich Albion).
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. James McClean replaces Matt Phillips.
Stephen Ward (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Craig Dawson (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt saved. Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Matthew Lowton.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion).
Substitution, Burnley. Andre Gray replaces Sam Vokes.
Foul by Jeff Hendrick (Burnley).
Darren Fletcher (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Scott Arfield (Burnley).
Salomón Rondón (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing. | West Brom scored three first-half goals as they swept aside a Burnley team that is struggling away from home this season. |
36204838 | ICE announced back on 1 March that it was considering a bid for the LSE.
But it said that it has been unable to "confirm the potential market and shareholder benefits" of the deal.
LSE agreed a merger with Deutsche Boerse on 16 March, creating one of the world's biggest exchange operators.
Shares in LSE slumped almost 10% following the announcement from the US based firm. Deutsche Boerse shares rose more than 5%.
Deutsche Boerse is already one of the world's biggest financial markets groups.
As well as owning the Frankfurt stock exchange, it owns Eurex which is one of the world's biggest markets for futures and options contracts in shares. | The owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has said it will not make a takeover offer for the London Stock Exchange (LSE). |
40443601 | It said a database of usernames and email addresses had been discovered on a publicly accessible system during a routine security review.
The data.gov.uk site lets registered users browse information published by a variety of government departments.
The GDS has informed the information commissioner of the leak.
A GDS spokeswoman told the BBC that the breach had affected only data.gov.uk accounts, and people with separate accounts for other government websites were not affected.
She said only email addresses, usernames and hashed passwords were implicated, rather than personal information such as names and addresses.
A hashed password is one that has been scrambled, which usually makes it much less useful to cyber-criminals.
However, as a precaution, registered users will have to change their password when they next try to log in.
The GDS said people should also change their password on other web services if they had used their data.gov.uk password on other websites.
It said there was no evidence that any credentials had been misused.
However, registered users should exercise caution, since cyber-criminals often send opportunistic emails to victims of a data breach, trying to trick them into handing over more information. | The government digital service is to make users of its data.gov.uk website change their passwords, following a security breach. |
37427495 | Maria Villar Galaz, who was the niece of Spanish Football Association president, Angel Maria Villar, had been missing since 13 September.
She was forced to withdraw money from cash machines before being held for ransom.
Spain's foreign minister said the kidnappers had been paid, but less than they asked for. The remains of Ms Galaz were identified on Tuesday.
Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo told Spanish radio he had been convinced it would be "a matter of time before she appeared safe and sound".
"Unfortunately things did not turn out that way," he said.
The body of an unknown woman was found in the city of Toluca on Thursday, 15 September, two days after Ms Galaz' kidnapping, but she was not identified until the following Tuesday.
Two members of Ms Galaz' family and two Spanish police officers travelled to Mexico to secure her release, the AFP news agency reports.
Ms Galaz' uncle, Angel Maria Villar, has been president of the Spanish Football Association since 1988.
A former international midfielder, he has held a number of senior positions in UEFA and FIFA. | A Spanish woman kidnapped in Mexico last week has been found dead. |
38839046 | The year seven pupil, named locally as Michael Sousa, fell at Jane Austen College in Norwich on 23 January.
An air ambulance helicopter took him to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where he died on Wednesday.
The Health and Safety Executive is investigating. The school is holding a non-uniform day on Tuesday in his memory.
An online fundraising page was set up for the boy's mother, Sandra Rodriguez, after the initial incident.
For more on this and other stories, visit BBC Local Live: Norfolk
The college is a free school, one of 13 academies and free schools run by the Inspiration Trust.
Rebecca Handley Kirk, principal at Jane Austen, said: "We are devastated by these events and we send our thoughts and our love to Michael's family and friends.
"Michael had only joined us in September, but was already becoming a well-known student throughout the school, thanks to his lively personality.
"These tragic events are upsetting for students, parents, and staff, but we will continue to support each other, as a strong and loving school community."
A Norfolk Police spokesman said: "We are not investigating any suspicious circumstances surrounding the fall and subsequent death at Jane Austen College.
"We are in the process of preparing a file for the coroner who will carry out an inquest in due course."
Pupils can take part in the special non-uniform day on 7 February by wearing green clothing, which the school said was Michael's favourite colour.
It will raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance and Nelson's Journey - a local charity which provides bereavement support for young people. | A boy has died in hospital nine days after falling down a stairwell at his secondary school. |
29933114 | The 21-year-old could make his debut in the Euro 2016 qualifier with Slovenia at Wembley on 15 November.
Berahino, who was born in Burundi, has scored seven goals in 10 Premier League matches for the Baggies this season.
Michael Carrick, Stewart Downing and Theo Walcott are also included in a 26-man squad for the Slovenia game and friendly in Scotland on 18 November.
Manchester United midfielder Carrick was left out of Hodgson's squad for the World Cup in Brazil and has only just returned from an ankle injury he suffered in the summer.
Winger Downing, whose last cap came in May 2012, has earned a recall after impressing for West Ham this term.
Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is recalled to the squad after recovering from a knee injury that kept him out for 10 months.
Hodgson said Berahino, who has scored 10 goals in 13 England Under-21 appearances, had been in contention for the recent qualifiers against Estonia and San Marino.
"He was obviously in our minds but we didn't choose him because of the importance of the two Under-21 qualifiers against Croatia," said Hodgson.
"But this time they only have a friendly match, so there's no reason to pass over his credentials yet again."
Hodgson added there was "never a realistic possibility" of picking Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge for the squad.
He is suffering from a calf problem and has not played since he strained a thigh muscle just before England's clash with Switzerland in September.
"We were hoping, of course, to get him back, but it hasn't worked out," Hodgson said.
"I have left a message for [Liverpool manager] Brendan [Rodgers]. The message was that it is pretty obvious that Daniel is not fit, and Brendan's not rung back to counter that he actually is."
Club-mate Glen Johnson has been left out even though he returned to action last month following a thigh injury.
If he plays against Slovenia, Wayne Rooney will earn his 100th cap.
England are top of qualifying Group E, having won all three games. Slovenia are second, with two wins and six points.
"They have a lot of players who play for top clubs in Europe," Hodgson said. "We regard them as a very serious rival."
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Ben Foster (West Brom), Joe Hart (Manchester City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United).
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Tottenham), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).
Forwards: Rickie Lambert (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Welbeck (Arsenal), Saido Berahino (West Brom). | West Brom striker Saido Berahino has been named in the England squad for the first time by manager Roy Hodgson. |
38981538 | Ar hyn o bryd dim ond ar hyd yr A55 a'r M4 mae 'na bwyntiau ar gyfer defnydd cyhoeddus.
Yn ôl yr Ysgrifennydd Cysgodol dros yr Economi, y Ceidwadwr Russell George, mae angen i weinidogion gydnabod y bydd angen "peth nawdd a chymorth ariannol" i wella'r sefyllfa.
Mae Llywodraeth Cymru'n dweud eu bod wedi'u hymrwymo i helpu'r sector ceir trydan i ffynnu yng Nghymru.
Mae'r ffigyrau diweddara'n dangos bod nifer y ceir trydan yng Nghymru wedi cynyddu yn sylweddol yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf.
Roedd 'na 1725 o geir trydan neu hybrid ar ffyrdd Cymru rhwng Gorffennaf a Medi 2016, yn ôl ffigyrau'r DVLA, o'i gymharu a dim ond 70 yn ystod yr un cyfnod yn 2012.
Mae gweinidogion Cymreig wedi datgan eu bod nhw am weld defnydd ceir trydan yn dod yn beth llawer mwy arferol, fel rhan o ymdrechion i dorri allyriadau carbon, taclo newid hinsawdd a llygredd aer.
Ond mae ymgyrchwyr yn mynnu bod prinder isadeiledd gwefru yng Nghymru yn arafu unrhyw dwf yn ddifrifol.
Dywedodd Richard Burrows, sy'n rhedeg busnes darparu offer plymio a gwresogi yn y Drenewydd, Powys, ei fod e'n ei chael hi'n "anodd iawn" teithio pellteroedd hir yn ei fan drydan.
Fe brynodd y cerbyd er mwyn ceisio lleihau costau busnes, ond mae nawr yn ailystyried a ydy'r fan yn opsiwn gwirioneddol ar gyfer natur ei waith.
"Dwi'n credu bod Cymru wedi bod yn araf iawn yn mabwysiadu cerbydau trydan, yn wahanol i Loegr a'r Alban lle mae lot o gynghorau lleol wedi cymryd camau cadarnhaol."
"Yn fan hyn mae na bwyntiau gwefru ar dop a gwaelod y wlad, ond drwy'r canolbarth mae'n anodd iawn mynd unrhywle."
Mae Mr Burrows bellach wedi gosod pwynt gwefru canolig-o-ran-cryfder yn ymyl ei fusnes ar Stad Ddiwydiannol Mochdre, sy'n ei alluogi i wefru ei fan mewn oddeutu 4 awr.
Byddai pwynt gwefru "cyflym" yn gwneud y gwaith mewn oddeutu 20 munud - "gwahaniaeth mawr" fel yr eglurodd Mr Burrows.
"Yn amlwg does 'na ddim isadeiledd gwefru yn lleol felly'r peth synhwyrol oedd i osod un ein hunain.
"Yn ddelfrydol, serch hynny, mae angen rhwydwaith o bwyntiau cyflym yn y canolbarth fel bod defnydd ceir trydanol yn gallu tyfu."
Nôl yn 2015, fe gyflwynodd grŵp o arbenigwyr restr o argymhellion ar gais Llywodraeth Cymru, gan gynnwys cyflwyno pwyntiau gwefru yn holl adeiladau'r llywodraeth ac annog cynghorau lleol i wneud yr un fath.
Dywedodd Russell George, Aelod Cynulliad y Ceidwadwyr dros Maldwyn, ei bod hi nawr yn amser i Lywodraeth Cymru weithredu ar gasgliadau'r adroddiad: "Ar y funud mae'n amhosib i chi deithio o ogledd i dde Cymru mewn car trydan.
"A'r trwbl yw ei bod hi'n sefyllfa 'iâr ac wy'- mae pobl eisiau defnyddio ceir trydan ond achos nad yw'r isadeiledd yno dy'n nhw ddim yn medru - a bydd yr isadeiledd ddim yn cael ei adeiladu tan fod mwy o alw am geir trydan."
"Hoffen i weld y llywodraeth yn cydnabod bod angen peth nawdd a chymorth ariannol ar gyfer hyn.
"Os yw pawb yng Nghymru i wneud defnydd teilwng o gerbydau trydan yna mae'n rhaid i chi gael pwyntiau gwefru mewn ardaloedd gwledig hefyd".
Un sefydliad sy'n ceisio gwella'r rhwydwaith o bwyntiau gwefru yng nghefn gwlad yw'r Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol.
Mae'r corff wedi gosod bron i 40 o bwyntiau araf neu ganolif-o-ran-cryfder ger eu hadeiladau yng Nghymru ac mae na gynlluniau i osod 30 yn fwy dros yr 18 mis nesa.
Dywedodd Keith Jones, Ymgynghorydd Amgylcheddol yr Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol ei fod yn gwneud synwyr amgylcheddol a synwyr busnes, gydag ymwelwyr yn treulio amser yn ymweld ag adeiladau'r elusen tra'n aros i'w ceir i wefru.
"Dwi'n credu bod angen i ni fel gwlad edrych ar y sefyllfa a gofyn ble hoffen ni fod o fewn deg mlynedd. A beth sydd angen gwneud i sicrhau bod hynny'n digwydd?"
Dywedodd llefarydd ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru: "Ry'n ni wedi ymrwymo i chwilio am gyfleoedd i ostwng allyriadau o drafnidiaeth a chynyddu'r cyfleoedd sydd ar gael i'r sector cerbydau carbon isel i dyfu a chreu swyddi yng Nghymru."
"Ry'n ni'n ystyried argymhellion y Grŵp llywio arbenigol ar Gerbydau Carbon Isel fel rhan o'r cyd-destun ehanganch o'n cyfrifoldebau i leihau allyriadau carbon dan Ddeddf Amgylchedd Cymru." | Mae 'na alwadau ar i Lywodraeth Cymru helpu cyflwyno rhwydwaith o bwyntiau gwefru "cyflym" ar gyfer ceir trydan drwy gefn gwlad Cymru. |
39955576 | The context was that Tim Farron gave the Liberal Democrats that description because he said it was so resilient it could survive a nuclear holocaust.
There was no complete wipe out in 2015 (Mark Williams' survival in Ceredigion was proof of that) but nevertheless to go from 57 to eight MPs had an Armageddon feel to it.
The party feels the road back lies in the pledge to hold another EU vote, or a "ratification" referendum.
It is a strategy based on targeting the 48% who voted Remain.
The hope for the Lib Dems is that the EU referendum will have the same impact on British politics as the Scottish independence referendum had on Scottish politics.
In other words, how people voted in the Scottish referendum carried over into the general election, leading to the dominance of the SNP.
The question is whether the 48% of Remainers will continue with the resistance to Brexit by supporting the Lib Dems, or accept the result and back the other parties who are prepared to get on with the job of taking the UK out of the EU?
A central part of the strategy is the view that strong opposition makes for good government.
To make the point, Mark Williams quoted the former Tory minister Francis Pym who said that big majorities lead to poor government, in reference to the huge leads enjoyed by Margaret Thatcher.
To persuade voters, they need to be seen to be doing this for the right reasons in the eyes of the public.
If people feel this policy is simply based on them wanting to change the result because they disagreed with it then the rest of the campaign, and the result, could be hard for the Lib Dems.
But if they can convince voters that the Brexit destination will never be a good place to be heading for then there could be many willing to back them. | It is not often that I accuse someone of being a cockroach during a Wales Today interview, but Mark Williams took it in typically good humour. |
35840272 | Under the plan, from midnight Sunday migrants arriving in Greece will be sent back to Turkey if their asylum claim is rejected.
In return, EU countries will resettle Syrian migrants living in Turkey.
EU leaders have welcomed the agreement but German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of legal challenges to come.
Some of the initial concessions offered to Turkey have been watered down and some EU members expressed disquiet over Turkey's human rights record.
Despite this Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was a "historic" day.
"We today realised that Turkey and the EU have the same destiny, the same challenges and the same future."
European Council President Donald Tusk said there had been unanimous agreement between Turkey and the 28 EU members.
It is hoped the plan will deter people from taking the often dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece.
Scepticism hangs heavy in the air about a host of legal issues, and about whether the agreement can actually work in practice.
The idea at the heart of the deal - sending virtually all irregular migrants back to Turkey from the Greek islands - is the most controversial.
European leaders insist that everything will be in compliance with the law.
"It excludes any kind of collective expulsions," emphasised European Council President Donald Tusk.
But Amnesty International has accused the EU of "turning its back on a global refugee crisis, and wilfully ignoring its international obligations".
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) will take part in the scheme, but it is clearly uncomfortable with what has been agreed.
Read more from Chris
Mr Tusk stressed the deal was no "silver bullet" and was just one part of the EU's response to a crisis that has sharply divided the bloc's members.
Mrs Merkel said she was satisfied but added "I have no illusions that what we agreed today will be accompanied by further setbacks".
British Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed the deal, saying it could "significantly" reduce numbers of migrants crossing the eastern Mediterranean to enter Greece by boat.
The Turkey-EU statement in full
The UN warned that Greece's capacity to assess asylum claims needed to be strengthened for the deal. Implementation was "crucial", the organisation said.
But rights group Amnesty International was scathing, calling the agreement a "dark day for humanity".
An EU source told the BBC up to 72,000 Syrian migrants living in Turkey would be settled in the EU under the agreement.
They added that the mechanism would be abandoned if the numbers returned to Turkey exceeded that figure.
Also on Friday, Turkish officials said they detained almost 1,800 migrants and 16 people smugglers.
The operation was part of efforts to stop migrants reaching the Greek island of Lesbos, Reuters reported.
Since January 2015, a million migrants and refugees have entered the EU by boat from Turkey to Greece. More than 132,000 have arrived this year alone.
Tens of thousands are now stuck in Greece as their route north has been blocked.
Greek Interior Minister Panagiotis Kouroublis has compared conditions at the Idomeni camp, on the border with Macedonia, to a Nazi concentration camp.
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants. | The EU and Turkey have reached a deal on the migrant crisis, which will see migrants returned to Turkey in exchange for aid and political concessions. |
24397854 | The provincial government says the move is necessary as a security measure.
It says the move "detaches criminals from modern communication means".
But the proposal has to be approved by the central government before it is implemented and so far no decision has been taken.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that he was not in favour of such a move.
"But I will go through the Sindh government's application in favour of the ban to see how much weight it carries," Mr Khan was quoted by local media as saying.
Scores of social media users have condemned the proposals arguing that they are infringements of personal freedom and will impede small businesses and entrepreneurs from working effectively.
"The ban on Skype, Viber and WhatsApp in Sindh is a cyber-drone attack from the government," social media user Umer Pirzada tweeted.
Another critic wrote: "This is when you know the country has gone down the drain. Blocking WhatsApp, Skype, What's next? Blocking oxygen?"
But senior Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has spoken out in favour of the move arguing on Twitter that it was necessary to "catch some terrorists and save some lives".
Sindh has been plagued by serious militant, sectarian and criminal violence throughout 2013 with the port city of Karachi being especially badly hit.
Technology experts have pointed out that the proposed restrictions may be doomed to failure because they could easily be circumvented by criminals.
Correspondents says that Pakistan's mobile network has been switched off about 12 times over the last year.
Former PPP Interior Minister Rehman Malik frequently shut down cellular networks for extended periods on important national and religious holidays to "ensure the safety of the people".
A ban on video sharing website YouTube - deemed by the authorities to be blasphemous - was introduced by the central government in September 2012. | Internet freedom activists in Pakistan have expressed anger over proposals by the government of Sindh province to ban messaging apps including Skype, Viber and WhatsApp for three months. |
36266360 | Charlton were given permission to speak to Wilder and assistant Alan Knill, after the pair led the Cobblers to the League Two title this season.
Following a meeting, Charlton say the club "will now continue its search for a candidate to take the club forward".
Jose Riga resigned as Addicks boss after their relegation to League One.
Northampton Town chairman Kelvin Thomas said: "We understand there is further interest in Chris and Alan however we have had no official approach at this point."
Charlton triggered a clause in the contracts of Wilder, 48, and Knill, 51, in order to speak to the pair, who guided Northampton to a runaway success this season after a 24-game unbeaten run.
Their promotion was achieved despite financial uncertainty earlier in the campaign because of outstanding loan repayments of £10.25m to the local council and a winding-up petition from HM Revenue & Customs.
Next season the Cobblers will face a Charlton side who have had four managers, including Riga twice, and one interim boss since Roland Duchatelet bought the club in January 2014.
The breakdown in talks with Wilder and Knill follows unrest at The Valley, with supporters staging a sit-down protest outside the ground before last Saturday's game, the latest in a string of demonstrations against Duchatelet. | Northampton Town manager Chris Wilder has been unable to reach an agreement with Charlton Athletic following talks with the relegated Championship club. |
31825454 | This "golden hello" for teenagers is an attempt to recruit more maths and physics teachers for England's schools.
The prime minister says he wants this country to be the "best place in the world to learn maths and science".
Labour's Tristram Hunt says the government has "failed its own targets" on recruiting specialist teachers.
Brian Lightman, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said schools faced "serious shortages" in maths and science teachers and called for a more co-ordinated approach to teacher recruitment.
The £15,000 offer to help would-be teachers taking maths and physics courses would be in addition to incentives of up to £25,000 to attract high-flying graduates into teacher training for maths, physics, chemistry and computing.
It means that an individual student could receive incentives of £40,000 to become a maths teacher - a reflection of the pressure to find sufficient specialist teachers and the competition from other employers for sought-after graduates.
Mr Cameron will say that the recruitment drive for more maths and science teachers is part of a long-term economic plan to ensure there are enough skilled staff for science-based jobs in the future.
"I come at this as a parent, not just a politician. A great education system won't just help our country succeed in the future; it will give families peace of mind that their kids can realise their full potential," the prime minister will say.
"That doesn't just mean building more good school places; it means teaching children what they need to know to make something of themselves."
He will provide more details of a £67m teacher recruitment drive announced last year, which will include 15,000 existing teachers being re-trained to be specialists in maths and science.
There will be plans to "fast-track" more people into teaching maths and science, including former teachers and those wanting to change careers.
A new approach will be to attract potential recruits at a younger age.
These will begin with pilot projects, with a so far unspecified number of places, which will see incentives for young people to sign up for teaching before going to university.
The £15,000 over three years for potential teachers would help with living costs and would be repayable if students did not go on to teach for three years after graduating.
Head teachers' leader Mr Lightman says it raises questions about how to make sure that these young candidates were going to be suitable for teaching.
Running the recruitment scheme is expected to be put out to tender.
There will also be university courses piloted which will combine a physics degree with a teaching qualification, so that graduates could go directly into teaching without an additional year of postgraduate teacher training.
Mr Lightman said that the push for more maths and physics teachers was welcome, but "far more fundamental reforms are needed to address a crisis in teacher recruitment".
There were shortages emerging in subjects other than maths and science, he warned.
The National Union of Teachers' leader Christine Blower said that the government should admit that its "strategy for teacher training is failing" and not to rely on a "piecemeal approach" of individual incentives for different subjects.
Labour's shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said: "The best way to improve maths and physics teaching is with highly skilled and qualified teachers, but David Cameron has changed the rules to allow unqualified teachers in schools." | David Cameron is to announce a £15,000 university bursary for teenagers with good A-level maths and science grades, if they commit to enter teaching. |
40056671 | Watkins, 26, has been included in a 26-man squad for a training camp in Portugal ahead of June's World Cup qualifier in Serbia.
"It's been a long journey," Watkins told BBC Wales Sport after he was named in Chris Coleman's squad.
"I always told myself never to give up and aim as high as possible, no matter how hard it got.
"I kept working hard and over time I feel it's paid off. I'm looking forward to continuing it."
Watkins' journey started following his release as a 17-year-old by Swansea City, a decision which left the youngster "hurt" and in tears.
"At the time you don't know what you're going to do," Watkins added.
"But I thought 'stick at it', went to exit trials and Cheltenham, who were in League One at the time, picked me up."
Watkins became Cheltenham's youngest-ever player when he made his debut as a substitute in a game against Northampton Town in August 2008.
"It didn't work out personally there. I broke through but I didn't play regularly as much as I wanted," Watkins said.
"There were a lot of changes in managers so I had to drop down to the Conference."
He joined Bath City on loan in September 2010, making the move permanent the following January before spending a season at Hereford United.
"I kept signing short contracts and putting it all on the line really, making sure I performed and kept getting moves and kept climbing," he added.
"When a Scottish Premiership team came in I felt that was my route to come back to England at a higher level."
Inverness Caledonian Thistle were the Scottish side which signed Watkins in June 2013.
"I went for it and that paid off," Watkins said of his time in Scotland, during which he scored in Caley Thistle's Scottish Cup final win over Falkirk in 2015.
Watkins secured a move back to English football in June 2015 with a move to Barnsley and in his first season with the club won the Football League Trophy and secured promotion to the Championship via the play-offs.
He scored 10 goals during Barnsley's 2016-17 season in the Championship but looks set to leave this summer after rejecting a new contract offered by the Oakwell club.
Watkins has been on standby player previously but his call up for the forthcoming training camp in Portugal will be his first time in the Wales squad.
The Lewisham-born player, also eligible to represent France as well as England and Wales, is looking forward to linking up with Coleman's squad but will not be overawed by the experience.
"I think you should act like you belong there otherwise what's the point if you don't believe in yourself," he said.
"It will be a great experience to play with top players like Aaron Ramsey and can only benefit your game.
"Hopefully I can be a regular part of it."
Watkins' grandfather is the late Welsh poet Vernon Watkins, who was a good friend of fellow Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas.
"I am so proud of Marley's achievements, and I follow every one of his games, and every kick, from my home in Mumbles, through my computer. We're all very proud of him, and know he'll give 100 per cent for Wales"
Vernon Watkins' widow Gwen is now in her 90s but keeps up to date with grandson's progress through modern technology from her home in Swansea.
"She's my biggest fan and I take a lot of inspiration from her and I play for her," Watkins said.
"Her computer is filled with clips of my games, even forums which I don't think she should read sometimes.
"It keeps her mind occupied and she's always checking my scores and it's inspiring to do well for her."
Watkins says winning a Wales cap would be a "proud moment" for himself and his family and for friends who have supported him during his career.
"I definitely appreciate it," Watkins reflects.
"It's a ruthless sport where dreams are crushed and I'm really grateful that it's worked out for me." | Barnsley's Marley Watkins describes his Wales call-up as "a dream come true" but the path to international recognition has not be an easy one. |
36633939 | Nichola Sturgeon said she believed Holyrood would have to give legislative consent to remove the UK from the EU.
She told the BBC she would "of course" ask MSPs to refuse such consent.
However, Ms Villiers told BBC NI's Sunday Politics that the British parliament was sovereign.
"In the weeks and months ahead we will be working with both the Scottish government and the Northern Ireland Executive on all these matters," Ms Villiers said.
"But ultimately it is parliament's decision whether we repeal the 1972 European Communities Act or whether we don't."
Meanwhile, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said he has requested an urgent meeting with the taoiseach to discuss the EU referendum result.
Mr McGuinness said Enda Kenny needed to defend the wishes of the majority of people of Northern Ireland who voted to remain in the EU.
Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU by 56% to 44% in Thursday's referendum.
However, the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU.
Mr McGuinness said the taoiseach's focus should be on the democratically expressed wishes of those people.
"I think in the immediate future the focus needs to be on the whole issue of how we can maintain our relationship with Europe which has been so beneficial to us over the course of the last number of decades," he said.
"There needs to be special arrangements which take account of the democratically expressed wishes of the people of the north of Ireland and Scotland."
The Irish parliament (Dail) is to be recalled on Monday to discuss the impact of Brexit on the Republic of Ireland.
Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said there were two audiences that particularly needed to be listened to in Northern Ireland.
"Young people, because a lot of them are very angry at this result," he said.
"Also nationalists. There are quite a number of nationalists who over recent years have been relaxed about their aspiration for a united Ireland and have seen it as an aspiration, rather than something they want to act to make a reality, and they are very angry."
Economy Minister Simon Hamilton said Brexit negotiations would have to take account of the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland.
"Certainly we as an executive should be going into those negotiations making it very clear to the new prime minister and the government in London and through them to the European Union, that there are particular circumstances in Northern Ireland," he said.
"We need to recognise the system of government that we have, aspects of our economy and elements of our economy that have different needs than perhaps England or Scotland or Wales."
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he believed the Northern Ireland Assembly and Scottish parliament could reject a Brexit
"We believe that the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish parliament have the opportunity to say no," he said.
"We will do everything in our power to stop us leaving the European Union."
However, Naomi Long of the Alliance Party said ultimately there was nothing the regional parliaments could do.
"We would have the opportunity to make decisions over specific EU rules and laws that actually apply in Northern Ireland," she said
"However, parliament remains with primacy , it can take back power from Holyrood, it can take back power from the assembly, so let's not kid ourselves." | NI Secretary Theresa Villiers has dismissed the Scottish first minister's suggestion that the Scottish Parliament could effectively veto the UK's exit from the European Union. |
36365924 | By the close of trade, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.9% at 16,498.76.
Shares in carmaker Nissan fell 0.8% as reports suggested the company might sell its stake in auto parts supplier Calsonic Kansei.
The sale would generate cash to help develop electric cars and artificial intelligence, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
Last month, Nissan took a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors to support the embattled company after it admitted falsifying fuel consumption figures.
Major foreign car parts makers, as well as US and European investment funds, appear to be interested in the stake, the Nikkei reported.
In China, the mainland Shanghai Composite index closed 0.8% lower at 2,821.67, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended flat at 19,830.43.
South Korea's Kospi index ended the trading day down 0.9% at 1,937.68.
In Australia, the ASX/200 closed 0.4% lower at 5,295.60. | Japanese shares lost ground as oil prices fell and the yen strengthened slightly against the dollar. |
32417071 | It was won in 2010 by the SDLP's Alasdair McDonnell who had a 6,000 vote majority.
However, his challengers say he can be toppled.
If election campaigns were based on the number of posters on the streets, then Mr McDonnell would be well ahead in the constituency.
The SDLP team has covered the area in hundreds of pictures of its party leader.
Other candidates have followed suit and, in certain parts of this constituency, there is not a lamp post free of party literature.
Mr McDonnell is a veteran of election campaigns and is defending the seat he won back in 2005 when he became the first nationalist to win the constituency.
The former GP retained it in 2010 when he topped the poll with 14,026 votes.
In that election, Sinn Féin decided to withdraw their candidate and Mr McDonnell was about 6,000 votes ahead of his nearest rival, the DUP's Jimmy Spratt.
This time the battleground in South Belfast is very different.
Sinn Féin offered an electoral pact with the SDLP but that was rejected so Sinn Fein have selected Máirtín Ó Muilleor, a former Belfast mayor, to challenge Mr McDonnell.
Mr Ó Muilleor topped the polled in the Balmoral electoral area during last year's local government election in Belfast.
He is convinced he can beat the SDLP leader.
He told the BBC: "I topped the poll last year in this constituency.
"My colleague Deirdre Hargey topped the poll in Botanic. So I believe people will plump for the poll toppers.
"They believe Sinn Féin can deliver for South Belfast and we are going to do very well. We are certainly going to top the nationalist poll in this constituency."
Mr McDonnell accepts that Mr Ó Muilleor will take votes away from him and estimates that the Sinn Féin vote in the constituency is "around 4,000."
However, he insists he will win the seat and says his vote could be in the region of 10,000 - 11,000 votes.
He said he is attracting new voters and states that he is getting support from those who have backed him before.
He said: "I am fighting this election on my record. My record is good.
"People are telling me they appreciate all the work that has been done for them".
He added: "People don't want to lose the quality of the service and the substance of the service they have had over the last 10 years".
If the battle between the SDLP and Sinn Féin is key in this seat so, too is the contest within unionism.
The Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Unionists had discussions about running a joint candidate but ultimately they could not come to an arrangement so now both parties are standing in the constituency.
The DUP selected Jonathan Bell who is currently a junior minister in the Stormont Executive.
He says he is disappointed that there is not an agreed unionist candidate.
He said: "I think a lot of people wanted a single unionist candidate and they told me that on the doors, but there is no point crying over spilt milk. We tried to get it and we could not get it.
"So I think the general feeling is that the unionist people will vote for the unionist that can win. We are convincingly the largest party."
Naturally the UUP candidate has a very different analysis.
Rodney McCune who works as an adviser to the executive minister Danny Kennedy thinks the result in South Belfast will be very tight.
He said: "I think that 9,000 to 10,000 votes may well be the winning total. It is also going to be small margin in terms of the victory I would suspect."
He said his party can triumph and recapture the seat they lost in 2005 when the Rev Martin Smyth stood down.
Mr McCune believes he can win.
"There is a real opportunity for an Ulster Unionist to be returned in South Belfast and, of course, Ulster Unionists are the only pro-union candidates who have ever represented this constituency at Westminster."
In the 2010 election in South Belfast, the Ulster Unionists polled 5,900 votes and their candidate was Paula Bradshaw.
This time Paula Bradshaw is standing under Alliance Party colours. She was elected last year to Belfast City Council as an Alliance councillor and hopes that her success can be repeated.
She said: "If people vote exactly as they did last year in local government election I have a very high chance. We are running neck and neck with the SDLP and DUP at 20% all round the South Belfast constituency."
Ms Bradshaw is one of nine hopefuls on the South Belfast ballot paper.
South Belfast is one of the most diverse constituencies in Northern Ireland with plenty of choice on offer.
Clare Bailey is running for the Green Party and Lily Kerr is standing for the Workers Party.
Ben Manton is the NI Conservative Party candidate and Bob Stoker, once an Ulster Unionist, is now running under the UKIP banner.
Their names jostle for position on lamp posts in all parts of this constituency.
In the battle for Westminster the poster war in South Belfast is in full swing. | South Belfast is a key battleground in the general election. |
12590141 | The blasts on Sunday occurred in Arghandab district, on the outskirts of Kandahar city, a police spokesman said. Five policemen were injured.
Nato forces have been battling to take control of Kandahar from the Taliban, whose heartland it is.
All the dead were civilians, Arghandab district chief Shah Mohammad told the AFP news agency.
Twelve civilians were also injured, AFP reported, quoting Afghan interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary in Kabul.
No group has yet said it carried out the attack, but the Taliban regularly target large public gatherings.
Dog-fighting competitions, which were banned under the Taliban regime, are a popular pastime in Afghanistan.
In February 2008, at least 65 people were killed by a suicide bomb at a dog fight in Kandahar.
On Saturday, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a buzkashi match in northern Afghanistan, killing at least three people. Buzkashi is a precursor of the modern game of polo, played with the body of a headless goat which is filled with sand. | At least 14 people have been killed by two bombs at a dog fight in the volatile Afghan province of Kandahar. |
38545671 | Israeli Embassy senior political officer Shai Masot made the comment in footage filmed in a London restaurant and obtained by the Mail on Sunday.
He told a reporter that Sir Alan was creating "a lot of problems".
Ambassador Mark Regev said this was not the embassy or government's view.
The conversation involved Mr Masot and Maria Strizzolo, an aide to education minister Robert Halfon, the former political director of Conservative Friends of Israel, as well as an undercover reporter.
It was recorded in October 2016 as part of an investigation by Al Jazeera.
Mr Masot asked her: "Can I give you some names of MPs that I would suggest you take down?"
Ms Strizzolo replied that all MPs have "something they're trying to hide" and Mr Masot responded by saying "I have some MPs", adding "she knows which MPs I want to take down" before specifying "the deputy foreign minister".
Sir Alan, who has been critical of Israel, was seen as more of a problem than Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who was "basically good", according to Mr Masot in a transcript of the conversation.
"He just doesn't care. He is an idiot but has become minister of foreign affairs without any responsibilities. If something real happened it won't be his fault... it will be Alan Duncan."
Crispin Blunt, Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman, said the "apparent activity of a diplomat of a foreign state" was "formally outrageous and deserving of investigation".
Lord Stuart Polak, director of Conservative Friends of Israel, said: "We utterly condemn any attempt to undermine Sir Alan, or any minister, or any member of Parliament."
Ms Strizzolo told the newspaper that her conversation with Mr Masot was "tongue-in-cheek and gossipy".
In a statement, the Israeli Embassy said it "rejects the remarks concerning minister Duncan, which are completely unacceptable".
"The comments were made by a junior embassy employee who is not an Israeli diplomat, and who will be ending his term of employment with the embassy shortly," it said.
"Ambassador Regev on Friday spoke with minister Duncan, apologised for the comments and made clear that the embassy considered the remarks to be completely unacceptable."
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The Israeli Ambassador has apologised and is clear these comments do not reflect the views of the embassy or government of Israel.
"The UK has a strong relationship with Israel and we consider the matter closed." | Israel's ambassador to the UK has apologised after a senior member of his staff was secretly filmed saying he wanted to "take down" Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan. |
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