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BBC reporter in Rakhine: 'A Muslim village was burning' - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Jonathan Head saw a Muslim village burn in Myanmar's Rakhine state, as the Rohingya exodus continues.
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Asia
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Jonathan Head tweeted this image of the fires in Gawdu Zara village in Rakhine
About 164,000 Rohingya Muslims have poured into Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state since violence erupted two weeks ago. They say the military and Rakhine Buddhists are destroying their villages to drive them out after attacks by Rohingya militants on police posts.
The government rejects this, saying the militants and Muslim residents are burning their own villages. But the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head says he saw a Muslim village that had just been set on fire, apparently by a group of Rakhine Buddhists. Here he describes what he witnessed:
I am part of a group of journalists invited by the Myanmar government to see the situation on the ground in Maungdaw. The conditions for us joining this trip are that we stay in the group and do not go off independently, and we are taken to places the government chooses for us.
Requests to go to other areas of interest, even nearby, were rejected as being unsafe.
We were returning from a visit to the town of Al Le Than Kyaw, south of Maungdaw, which is still smoking, suggesting houses have been recently set alight.
The police said it was the Muslim inhabitants who burned their own homes, although most fled after militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked the police post in the town on 25 August. While there we saw at least three columns of smoke in the distance to the north, and heard sporadic automatic weapons fire.
On our way back we saw a large column of smoke rising from a cluster of trees in the rice fields - usually a sign of a village.
We got out and raced across the fields to reach it. We could see the first buildings in the village ablaze, but only just. Houses in these villages burn to ash in 20-30 minutes. It was obvious the fires had just been lit.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jonathan Head, speaking on Wednesday on a government-organised trip to Rakhine
As we walked in, a group of young, muscular men carrying machetes, swords and sling-shots were walking out. We tried to ask them questions but they refused to be filmed.
However, my Myanmar colleagues did speak to them away from the cameras and they said they were Rakhine Buddhists. One of them admitted he had lit the fires, and said he had help from the police.
As we walked further in, we saw the Madrasa (Islamic religious school) with its roof only just on fire. Flames licked up the sides of another house opposite; within three minutes it was an inferno.
There was was no-one else in the village. These men we saw were the perpetrators. Household goods were strewn across the path; children's toys, women's clothing. We saw one empty jug reeking of petrol and another with a little fuel left in it in the middle of the path.
By the time we walked out, all the burned houses were smouldering, blackened ruins.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41189564
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US country music singers Don Williams and Troy Gentry die - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Country music has lost two major artists in Don Williams and Troy Gentry within hours of each other.
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Entertainment & Arts
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US country music singer Don Williams - who enjoyed great success with his easy-going singing style - has died aged 78 after a short illness.
Williams began his solo career in 1971, amassing 17 number one country hits. His songs such as Gypsy Woman and Tulsa Time, were covered by singers such as Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend.
Williams was known as the gentle giant of country music.
Another country star, Troy Gentry, also died on Friday in a helicopter crash.
Williams' other hits included You're My Best Friend, I Believe in You and Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good.
In 2010, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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The news of the death of 50-year-old Troy Gentry has shocked country music fans and artists.
"It is with great sadness that we confirm that Troy Gentry, half of the popular country duo, Montgomery Gentry, was tragically killed in a helicopter crash which took place at approximately 1:00pm today in Medford, New Jersey," a statement of the band's website said.
Troy Gentry was due to perform in Medford, New Jersey on Friday evening
The helicopter's pilot also died in the incident, but the reasons for the crash remain unclear.
The country duo, who were brothers, formed in 1999 and had released eight studio albums.
Grammy award-winning Singer Brad Paisley said he was "heartbroken and in disbelief" at the news of Gentry's death in a Friday night tweet.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41209608
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No more public outings for Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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"Health problems" are cited as 82-year-old Dave Prowse calls time on convention appearances.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Prowse played Darth Vader (right) in the original sci-fi trilogy
Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, is calling time on public appearances.
A statement on the 82-year-old's social media accounts said he would "no longer be doing any personal appearances or conventions due to health problems" from January 2018 onwards.
Prowse was the man behind Vader's mask in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
He also played the Green Cross Code man in television road safety commercials.
Born in Bristol in 1935, Prowse was a successful bodybuilder and weightlifter before landing his iconic Star Wars role.
The Bristol native started out as a bodybuilder and weightlifter
His face was never seen in the films though, while his voice was dubbed by US actor James Earl Jones.
When Vader's mask was removed in Return of the Jedi, another actor - Sebastian Shaw - was revealed beneath.
Two new actors - Daniel Naprous and Spencer Wilding - shared the role of Vader during his brief appearance in last year's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Prowse, a fixture on the convention circuit since Jedi's release in 1983, announced last year "with great sadness" that he would no longer attend international events.
In 2014 he revealed he had dementia, though this did not prevent him participating in the 2015 documentary I Am Your Father, or recently appearing in a music video for singer Jayce Lewis.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41199638
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Amazon kicks off competition for new HQ - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The e-commerce giant is looking to build a second headquarters for 50,000 workers.
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Business
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Amazon's current headquarters in Seattle has fuelled an economic boom
Amazon says it wants to build a massive second headquarters in North America, sparking immediate competition from rival cities to attract what could be billions of dollars in investment.
Officials from Toronto, Texas, Maryland and Chicago were among those who said they planned to try to win Amazon's new venture.
The e-commerce giant is seeking a base for as many as 50,000 workers.
It said it plans to spend $5bn (£3.8bn) on the project over 15-17 years.
Opportunities to compete for headquarters projects are nearly unheard of in the US at the scale Amazon envisions, experts said.
By comparison General Electric plans to move 800 people to a new headquarters in Boston.
"It is very rare," said Craig Richard, vice-chair of the International Economic Development Council. "You don't have a lot of these that happen so when the occasion arises... economic developers jump at it."
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said the headquarters would be a "full equal" to its headquarters in Seattle.
"Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs," he added. "We're excited to find a second home."
The firm said it is looking for a site in a city area with more than one million people. It wants a location with access to mass transit that is close to major highways and an international airport.
The firm also said incentives offered by local governments would be a "significant" factor in the decision.
Locations such as Austin, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, and Toronto shot to the top of list of potential places. Austin is home to Whole Foods, the grocery chain that Amazon recently acquired.
Amazon has received millions in subsidies as it expanded its warehouse network
Deciding to build a second headquarters speaks to Amazon's massive growth as well as the breadth of its business, which includes logistics, retail, media and cloud computing, analysts said.
It is unusual for a firm to opt to conduct a headquarters search in the public eye.
But Amazon has a long history of seeking government support for expansions. The firm won more than $240m in subsidies in the US between Jan 2015 and Dec 2016 for its warehouse network, according to a study by the non-profit Good Jobs First.
Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, said a public competition is a negotiating tactic designed to yield better offers.
"Amazon may already know where it wants to go but even if it does, it can stage an auction to up the ante with that place it likes the best," he said.
The firm may also be sending a political message by not limiting the search to the US, analysts say.
Mr Bezos is among several corporate leaders to have broken with US President Donald Trump on issues such as climate change and immigration.
"It's natural for a US company to say we're thinking about creating a new US location," said Gregg Wassmansdorf, a senior managing director at Newmark Knight Frank, who has worked on corporate relocations.
"It takes a little more intention to say we're looking at a North American option."
Amazon said officials should submit proposals - including economic incentive packages - by October 19. The firm plans to settle on the location next year.
Mayors such as John Tory of Toronto issued messages touting their towns, calling his city a "prime candidate".
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Officials elsewhere said they were not deterred by the prospect of tough negotiations over a possible incentive package.
"We know it will be a big number but we're going to be aggressive in going after it," said Steve Pennington, managing director for business and industry sector development at the Maryland Commerce Department. "I think everyone will be very aggressive."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41192159
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Four jailed for raping girl, 16, in Ramsgate - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The group attacked the 16-year-old girl when she asked them for directions in Ramsgate, Kent.
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Kent
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(L-R) Shershah Muslimyar, Rafiullah Hamidy and Tamin Rahmani were jailed for 14 years each
Three men and a boy raped a girl who had asked them for directions when she got lost on a night out with friends.
The girl, 16, who cannot be named, was trying to get to a friend's house in Ramsgate, Kent, when she was attacked and then dumped on the street.
They fulfilled their "depraved sexual desires" on the 16-year-old girl, Canterbury Crown Court heard.
Three of the men were each jailed for 14 years each and a 17-year-old boy was jailed for seven years.
The girl was found crying in the street by two people returning from a night out.
Rafiullah Hamidy, 24, of High Street, Herne Bay, Shershah Muslimyar, 21, of Hovenden Close, Canterbury, Tamin Rahmani, 38, of Northwood Road, Ramsgate, and the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all denied rape but were found guilty by a jury in May.
Sentencing, Judge Heather Norton said the girl had been trying to make her way on foot back to a friend's house having missed the last train home, and was "young, drunk, disorientated and vulnerable".
She said the girl thought the four were going to help her, but instead they "took her up to a bedroom, pushed her on to a mattress and repeatedly raped her" over a sustained period.
Rafiullah Hamidy fled to Italy after raping the teenage girl
Judge Norton said the girl had been clear that while she was being raped, others were in the room watching.
Describing it as a prolonged attack in degrading circumstances, she told the defendants: "This was an appalling and repeated gang rape of a vulnerable girl who had sought your assistance."
They attacked the girl at Rahmani's home in the early hours of 18 September 2016.
He owns 555 Pizza and Kebab in Northwood Road, Ramsgate, and is in the UK under a spousal visa.
Hamidy fled to Taranto in southern Italy after the attack where he was detained by local officers.
He was returned to the UK following an extradition hearing and taken into custody at Heathrow Airport on 28 March.
After the hearing, Det Insp Richard Vickery said the men "saw an opportunity to fulfil their depraved sexual desires and betrayed the trust she placed in them in the worst possible way".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-41201666
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He made Netflix, now he's hacking movie night - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A new all-you-can-view movie subscription service has angered big cinema chains - but will the numbers ever add up?
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Technology
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Mitch Lowe does. And he remembers what they said to him as he set about putting them out of business with Redbox, the movie rental company.
“They said 'wait a minute, we rent movies for $5. You can’t make money renting them for a dollar!’"
"The year I left we did $1.5bn in revenue. Blockbuster doesn’t exist any more."
Lowe was also on the founding executive team at Netflix, and he helped guide the company to be the dominant online streaming service. It is one of Silicon Valley’s great disruptors - turning an industry almost on its head.
Now he thinks he can do it again, this time with cinema.
Lowe didn’t create Moviepass - it’s been around for six years - but he’s the company’s new chief executive at a time when it is making a dramatic move: it’s lowered its monthly subscription rate to $9.95.
For that money you can watch any movie, at (almost) any movie theatre in the US, any time you like, as often as you like (though not more than once per day).
It used to be $50, an expenditure for only the most dedicated filmgoers. But at $10, Lowe thinks he’s cracked it, and casual film-watching millennials, who have stopped going to the movies as much, will be flooding through the doors once again.
“That’s the group we can get to go much more often,” Lowe says. "That’s great for the industry."
This isn’t some kind of coupon trick or shady deal.
When you sign up to Moviepass, you’re sent a straightforward debit card in the post. When you pick a film you want to watch, and a place to watch it, the company finds out the normal ticket price and adds precisely that amount to your card - and you purchase it just as you would normally.
The money is only unlocked when you get in close proximity to the theatre, and one of the company’s patented technologies locks your card so it can only be used for buying that ticket. In other words, you can’t just load it up for a “film" and then go and buy lunch instead. Trust me, I tried.
So what’s the catch? Well, there’s a big one - but for now at least it’s for the company, not you.
You need to be in close proximity to the theatre before the money will ready
You'd do well to get one movie ticket for $9.95, let alone a whole month's worth. So what gives? It’s simple - Moviepass is going to sink the cost in the hope that eventually, somehow, they will be able to make up the deficit by taking a profit share from other cinema-related spending.
If Lowe can prove that Moviepass is encouraging many more people to go to the movies, he thinks chains will agree to share the added profit from the multiple daylight robberies that occur when you decide to order popcorn and a drink.
Also, he says while the company obviously loses money on each ticket in big cities with high prices, it will make it up in parts of the US where tickets are less than $9.95 - though I’m personally not buying that strategy. Even if a ticket in small-town USA costs $5, two films a month in and Moviepass is already in the red.
It is, ultimately, a quite literal bums-on-seats strategy. An Uber-like approach of subsidising everything at bonkers expense until people can't live without it - and work out the rest later.
Moviepass already has a powerful enemy, however. AMC, the biggest theatre chain in the US, has threatened to take legal action against the company.
Movie theatre chain AMC is unhappy about the "untenable" deal
"That price level is unsustainable and only sets up consumers for ultimate disappointment down the road if or when the product can no longer be fulfilled," the company said.
AMC is caught in a hard place. It can’t simply block the Moviepass card because, as I mentioned, it’s just a Mastercard. The firm would have to block all Mastercard transactions (or some other inventive method, which would see them fall foul of various legal and contractual obligations).
Lowe suspects the firm might take issue with Moviepass as it is about to launch a subscription service of its own. AMC did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment on this article.
Moviepass expects to have 2.5m subscribers by next year. It currently has 300,000 - 150,000 of which came in the two days following the price drop to $9.95.
But right now it’s struggling to get its cards sent out to new customers - there’s a 2-3 week wait for them to arrive, according to reports.
Yet investors are apparently happy to plough money into the idea until it works (or not). They see the opportunity as being something well beyond the movie ticket, Lowe says.
“We think that going to the movies is the centrepiece of a whole night out. You could go shopping, you could get drinks, you could go to dinner, you might take a Lyft.
"We want to be part of that whole ecosystem. We want to drive more business around that night out to the movies."
You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41197966
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Should you let a 'robot' manage your retirement savings? - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Could low-cost automated financial advice help close the massive retirement savings gap?
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Business
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Would you be better off with an automated financial adviser?
Automated financial advice delivered by computer algorithm - often dubbed robo-advice - is a fast-growing business. But should you entrust your life savings to a computer?
For many of us, talking about money is embarrassing - revealing our income and spending habits can feel like disrobing in public.
So it's no wonder seeking investment advice from an impersonal, unbiased computer program is proving so popular.
Consultancy firm Accenture found that 68% of global consumers would be happy to use robo-advice to plan for retirement, with many feeling it would be faster, cheaper, and more impartial than human advice.
"Many of our clients say they feel awkward in face-to-face meetings, preferring an online experience where they don't feel judged," says Lynn Smith, a director of robo-advice firm Wealth Wizards.
So how does robo-advice work and is it really any better than traditional financial advice?
Robo-adviser firms use algorithms to analyse your financial situation and goals and then work out an investment plan to suit you.
Basically, you answer lots of questions online about your income, expenses, family situation, attitude to risk, and so on, and then the algorithm allocates your savings to a mix of investments, from index funds that aim to mimic a particular stock market index or sector, to fixed-income bonds.
Robo-adviser algorithms allocate your cash to a balanced mix of investments
As some investments are riskier than others, younger investors will generally have their portfolios weighted towards higher-risk, higher-growth investments, whereas older investors approaching retirement will see the balance of their portfolios weighted towards lower-risk, fixed income investments, such as government bonds or gilts.
Joe Ziemer, vice president of communications at Betterment, a US robo-adviser with more than $9bn under management, says: "The Betterment service takes your information and uses a series of algorithms to create an asset allocation plan, which might be, for example, 90% equities and 10% bonds for a retirement saver."
The crucial point is that these algorithms work everything out for you at much lower cost than many traditional wealth advisory firms.
Wealth Wizards, for example, typically charges £65 for investments up to £30,000, and 0.30%, or £300, on a £100,000 investment pot. Betterment charges 0.25% a year.
That's peanuts compared to human advisers' fees, which come in at about £580 for advice on a £200-a-month pension contribution, or £1,000-£2,000 for guidance on what to do with your £100,000 pot when your retire, according to UK adviser network Unbiased.
Many of these robo-advisers will offer human advice as well - for any extra fee - if your finances are more complicated or you need tax planning services as well.
"When a client needs advice spanning a number of different regulatory regimes, human advice will be required," says John Perks, managing director of life and pensions at UK insurer LV, which launched its Retirement Wizard robo-advice service two years ago.
Many of us are facing poverty in retirement because we're not saving enough, yet living longer
So could these cheaper investment services encourage more of us to save more?
The powers that be certainly hope so.
World Economic Forum figures show the collective retirement savings gap of the world's largest economies will hit $400tn (£307tn) by 2050, meaning a lot of people could be spending their retirements in poverty.
Governments are concerned that this might then place an unsustainable burden on welfare systems.
Robo-advice is certainly growing in popularity.
Market research aggregator Statista says the US market will grow 29% per year between now and 2021, and forecasts that the number of Chinese investors using robo-advice services will jump from two million to 79.4 million in the same period.
While Consultancy AT Kearney forecasts that robo-advisers will be managing $2.2tn within five years, representing a 68% annual growth rate.
And these services are only likely to become more sophisticated as the data from money management and banking apps are fed in to the algorithms and artificial intelligence is added to the mix, experts believe.
"If you knew everything about a person, you could wire up the back office to do the same as a human adviser. The fact find is the difficult bit," says Ms Smith.
But are we really happy to ditch the human adviser completely? No, is the short answer.
Accenture finds that a significant proportion of us still want human interaction, particularly if our finances are complex.
Successful financial services firms will need a strategy "that seamlessly integrates technology, branch networks and staff", argues Accenture's Piercarlo Gera, senior managing director, distribution and marketing services.
While Betterment provides 100% of its advice online, clients can still talk to a human being when they want to.
Betterment claims it's investment portfolios are based on Nobel Prize-winning research
Even those who prefer face-to-face interaction could still benefit from the robo-advice phenomenon, however.
"Using robo-advice can cut the time it takes an adviser to provide regulated advice for a client from nine hours down to just 90 minutes," LV's Mr Perks says.
"This could transform companies' back office operations, allowing them to offer a cheaper service."
But what about investment performance?
Are algorithms choosing cheap investments that merely track markets better at making you money than professional fund managers trying to back winners on your behalf?
The truth is that only about a quarter of funds managed by clever humans outperform the market as a whole, so when you take into account the much higher management fees you pay for that level of service, the performance difference is likely to be marginal for most of us.
The robots may be coming, but in this case at least, they seem to be on the side of the small investor trying to save for a comfortable retirement.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41159944
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Half of new-build retirement homes sell at a loss - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The charity, which conducted the research for the BBC, calls the findings for new-builds "startling".
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Business
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Ken says his children have lost out from his retirement property dropping in value
Around half of new build retirement homes sold during a 10-year period were later re-sold at a loss, according to exclusive research for the BBC.
The research by the Elderly Accommodation Counsel charity found falls in value could be more than 50%.
It looked at thousands of Land Registry records for resale details of homes built between 1998 and 2012.
The charity found many properties built after 2002 had underperformed the general property market.
Adam Hillier of the Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC), which advises people considering retirement housing, called the scale of the falls "startling".
According to the research, 51% of retirement properties built and sold between 2000 and 2010, and then sold again between 2006 and 2016, suffered a loss in value.
For those properties which declined in value, the average loss was 17%.
For some, the falls are much steeper.
The EAC found that for new build retirement properties sold between 2005 and 2007, and then resold between 2012 and 2014, more than four fifths fell in value.
The average loss for these properties was 25%.
The Elderly Accommodation Counsel charity said the trend was "startling"
Mr Hillier said it was unclear why it was happening. "It's the million dollar question, really.
"I think part of it is the new build premium - especially when it comes to retirement housing," he said.
Another reason could be under-investment from developers once they have built the properties, he said.
"The traditional model was to hand over these properties to a managing agent to run them," he said. "Does the developer have that much of an interest in investing in the property?"
The trend has continued in recent years too. For new retirement properties sold between 2008 and 2010, and then resold between 2015 and 2017, nearly two thirds were sold for less than the purchase price.
The average loss here was 19%.
Money Box spoke to the residents of one development - Burlington Court, in Bridlington in East Yorkshire - where prices have more than halved since it was first built around a decade ago.
According to Land Registry figures, one flat in Burlington Court, bought new in 2006 for £166,000, was resold for just £70,000 in 2014. Another two bedroom apartment bought for £140,000, in 2008, was sold last year for £58,000.
Ken, 91, bought his flat in Burlington Court for around £180,000 in 2008.
"I thought when I bought this that if I lived for another five or six years, my children would get maybe £190,000 for it," he said.
"In actual fact they'll be lucky to get £70,000 for it, maybe even £60,000.
"It's criminal really. When I mention it other people, they say: 'Why should you worry, you won't be here?'
"But I do feel my son and daughter have lost out. It's a lot of money," he added.
The developer said Burlington Court was hit by a lack of parking and difficult local market
Margarete, 92, paid nearly £150,000 for her flat eleven years ago. She sold a detached bungalow in York.
Like most residents of Burlington Court, she says it's a nice place to live, with a nice community of people.
But Margarete says she's always wanted to move back to Germany, where she was born.
However the value of her property means that isn't now an option.
"My friends in Germany always wanted me to go back."
"But if I get £40,000 for this flat I'd be lucky. I couldn't afford to go back to Germany and buy a place there."
The largest developer of retirement homes, McCarthy and Stone, told the BBC that the numbers did not include incentives given to the original buyers, which effectively lowers the purchase price.
The company also said it had worked hard to increase resale values in recent years, including extending leases, retaining management of developments, and providing sales support.
"The vast majority of our retirement apartments increase in value on resale", McCarthy and Stone told the BBC in a statement.
"It is also important to understand that the value of specialist retirement housing is not purely financial. It improves lives, provides peace of mind, care and support and ultimately helps older people maintain their independence.
"However, we recognise that there are a small number of cases, particularly with our older properties, where resale values of some apartments haven't performed as we would have wished. This can be down to many reasons, including the performance of some local property markets."
McCarthy and Stone, which also built Burlington Court, said resale values in that particular development had been hit by a lack of car parking spaces and a difficult local property market.
"Dismal resale prices for retirement properties help explain why only 2% of over-65s live in designated retirement properties - far less than the US or Australia.
"Something is seriously wrong with the business model that these flats fall so drastically in value.
"The retirement housing sector will not expand notably until this is addressed. That would be more effective than attempting to deny that the problem exists."
Listen to the full report on Money Box, midday on Saturday 9 September on BBC Radio 4.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41200686
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Operation Sanctuary: Woman jailed for trafficking girls - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Carolann Gallon was part of a gang who gave girls alcohol and drugs then forced them to have sex.
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Tyne & Wear
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Carolann Gallon pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation
A woman who trafficked underage girls to a drugs and grooming ring that forced young women to have sex has been jailed for six years and three months.
Carolann Gallon was one of 18 people convicted as part of Operation Sanctuary, an investigation into the sexual abuse of vulnerable girls.
The 22-year-old, of Hareside Court, Newcastle, admitted three counts of trafficking.
Another gang member, Abdulhamid Minoyee, was sentenced to 15 years.
The 34-year-old, of Gainsborough Grove, Newcastle, had been convicted of raping a woman with learning difficulties, sexual assault, and the supply of drugs.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Gallon took girls - two of whom were in care and one who was only 13 years old - to the parties knowing they would be sexually abused.
She also took a girl with learning difficulties to a flat where she was raped by Minoyee.
Abdulhamid Minoyee gave a girl with learning difficulties cannabis and raped her while she was intoxicated
The prosecution said after Gallon was arrested, she told police: "I didn't force them into having sex. They [are] not kids, they've got their own mind.
"If they're mortal [drunk] they are going to do something, why get mortal in the first place?
"It's self-inflicted, I've got no sympathy."
Gallon was aged 17 or 18 at the time of the offences, but police decided that she was an active member of the gang rather than a victim.
Judge Penny Moreland said: "You were described yourself as being a victim.
"There have been ample opportunities for you to make complaints about these matters. You have never chosen to do so."
She added that Gallon continued to "ally" herself with other defendants.
All but one of the grooming gang have now been sentenced
A total of 16 men and one woman have now been jailed, with one more to be sentenced on 14 September.
Victims were lured to parties, known as "sessions", at addresses around the West End of Newcastle by men who apparently befriended them.
There they were plied with alcohol or drugs - some became addicted - and forced to have sex.
During sentencing, victims' impact statements described their psychological damage, and those living close to the party addresses spoke of being "put through hell".
Speaking after sentencing, Det Supt Steve Barron, from Northumbria Police, said: "I have spoken to some of these victims and they are lovely people.
"They have had a tough life and to then go through courts is so difficult for them. It has just been brilliant to see how their bravery is now showing justice."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-41201270
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Star Wars actor McDiarmid takes on immigration row role - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Ian McDiarmid's latest role tries to uncover the true character of the controversial politician Enoch Powell.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Ian McDiarmid portrays Enoch Powell at the time of his "rivers of blood" speech and later towards the end of his life
A single controversial speech probably made Enoch Powell the most admired and the most detested British politician of the 1960s. In 1968 his intervention in Britain's policies on migration ended his career as a shadow minister - but it made him known around the world. Chris Hannan's play What Shadows, starring Star Wars actor Ian McDiarmid, looks at Powell's motives then and at his legacy today.
Hannan says the play What Shadows isn't really about Powell, although the politician dominates the stage.
"I knew I wanted to write about national identity and Powell is a good way of exploring that. But the inspiration was partly my own background in a working-class Irish family in Scotland. There was a huge amount of discrimination as the Irish were often seen as unwanted immigrants. So the Powell speech resonated more widely than you might think."
In April 1968 Powell made a speech which has gone down in British political history. The Conservatives were in opposition under Edward Heath - a party rival for whom Powell had little respect. Powell, the Tory defence spokesman, knew some of his white constituents in Wolverhampton South-West were unhappy at levels of immigration from the Commonwealth.
Ian McDiarmid (left) is known for playing Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars
He made a speech at the Midland Hotel in Birmingham, using the racial language of the time, in which he quoted the Roman poet Virgil, setting out dark forebodings about growing levels of migration. "Like the Roman," he said "I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood."
The press around the world reported the so-called "rivers of blood" speech and Powell was quickly sacked from the Tory front bench. But TV news bulletins were filled with voters for whom Powell had become an unlikely populist hero.
Hannan's play shows events surrounding the Birmingham speech and then revisits Powell towards the end of his life. The play was seen last year at the Birmingham Rep and is now being restaged in Edinburgh and London. The lead role is taken by Ian McDiarmid, famous on screen as the Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars films.
The play's poster gives an inflammatory image of Enoch Powell
McDiarmid says the 1968 Britain we see portrayed isn't very different from the nation today. "I think we now have a divided Britain, almost down the middle - as it very much was when Powell made the speech.
"There are the people who have reason to be grateful and happy about multiculturalism and there are other people who are feeling rather dispossessed. And that's something which he put his finger on in 1968 - in fact he lit the blue touch-paper.
"So Chris has written about a divided nation but with Powell there's also a divided personality. He was a romantic nationalist and a passionate person: he felt he had an insight into human nature. In a public sense he had two great ambitions: he wanted to be Viceroy of India and then he wanted to be prime minister. They both came to nothing."
Political journalist Simon Heffer was Powell's official biographer. Before the politician's death in 1998 they spoke about the Birmingham speech - but he was never quite sure if Powell had been surprised at its huge impact with the public.
Ian McDiarmid (left) previously played the World War One foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey in drama 37 Days
"There's no denying that Enoch had aspirations to be his party's leader. He disliked the fact that Edward Heath was a pro-European and not a traditional Tory. He knew the Birmingham speech would aggravate Heath but he was also, I think, acting as a dedicated constituency MP. He was not a racist and I think he had no theories about race as such - but he was opposed to immigration.
"Some of the language he used in the speech undoubtedly offended people with his talk of 'charming, wide-grinning piccaninnies'. It's fair to point out that he was quoting a constituent.
"But when I wrote his biography a lot of his contemporaries at Westminster told me his speech had made it impossible to discuss immigration at all: the whole thing became so toxic. That was not what he intended."
Hannan enjoyed delving into Powell's complex personality. But he says it's contemporary Britain he had in mind writing the play. "We find this conversation so difficult: it's as if the language isn't fit for talking about it. As soon as we raise the subject of racism and immigration we can last about two minutes before we give up and shut the dialogue down.
The playwright Chris Hannan says conversation about immigration has become harder since the time of Enoch Powell
"I believe the conversation has actually got worse over the half century since the Powell speech. The play really ask, 'How do we learn to talk about this? How do we learn to talk about the things that divide us?' Because we have to get beyond all the hatred - there's no choice about that. The play is about the Birmingham speech needing to be answered. It's not a matter of agreeing with it but I want to know, with all the anger, how on earth do we talk to each other?"
McDiarmid has to make Powell tick on stage - so does he find something to like in him?
"Acting works by empathising with your character. If you fail to do that, the audience simply won't take it seriously and the whole thing will fall apart. So I admire him for sticking to his guns. But at the end of the day you have to ask if what he did advanced the argument in any productive way. I'm not sure it did.
"I suspect the audience may go away thinking he was brave but also naïve - or prejudiced but also honest. I think there are elements of all those aspects to him. But he was a significant character in British life. And - whether you like his arguments or not - the issues he raises are as relevant as they ever were."
What Shadows plays at the Lyceum theatre in Edinburgh from 7 September. From 26 September it's at the Park theatre in London.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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French girl mutilated by rats in night attack at home - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A disabled French teenager is critically ill after rats attacked her at night in Roubaix.
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Europe
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Rats may have been attracted to rubbish piled up in a nearby car park
A disabled French girl covered in rat bites is critically ill in hospital after a pack swarmed into her bedroom in northern France.
The 14-year-old paraplegic was sleeping on the ground floor when the attack happened, in a rented house in Roubaix.
A medical expert quoted by France Info said the girl had 45 facial lesions, 150 on her hands and 30 on her feet.
The girl's father is suing the landlord for alleged negligence. Reports say rubbish bins nearby were overflowing.
The father, who has two other children, said he found his paraplegic daughter Samantha "drenched in blood" in her bed last Saturday.
He said everything had been fine when the family had gone to bed. He was sleeping upstairs.
"There was blood coming from her ears - I was terrified that she might have had a brain haemorrhage," he said, quoted by the local newspaper Courrier-Picard.
Some of her fingertips were bitten off and surgeons cannot repair them, he said.
The family has now been moved to a different house and police are investigating the attack.
The hospital has run checks on Samantha for possible infections, including rabies. The rabies test was negative.
Such attacks on humans are rare, though hungry rats do sometimes feed on corpses.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41198770
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Powerful painkiller use 'doubled in 15 years' - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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One in 20 people is being prescribed potentially addictive painkillers for too long with little benefit, says report.
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Health
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The use of potentially addictive painkillers across England has doubled in the last 15 years, according to a report by leading public health experts.
Researchers found one in 20 people was being prescribed opioid painkillers, such as codeine and tramadol.
They also found that drugs were being prescribed for longer periods of time.
Experts say long-term use leads to a risk of addiction while the benefits become greatly reduced.
A routine prescription drug led James to the brink of destruction.
His problems started with severe stomach aches but the painkillers he was prescribed quickly stopped working.
Desperate for pain relief, he was soon spending £400 a month on additional supplies from online pharmacies.
James went from taking eight pills a day to 50 - and almost before he knew it, his life had spiralled out of control.
"A few months before, I was just this normal guy working full time, kids and a wife and happy, then all of a sudden I am basically a drug addict.
"I thought it would be fine. I thought I would be on these tablets short term, but then before I knew it, I couldn't get off them."
For James, the side-effects were terrible - headaches, nausea, constipation - and then a series of seizures that he feared would end his life.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. James says he wouldn't have started taking codeine if had known how addictive it was.
"They can ruin your life without you knowing because I do believe that probably within a year - taking the same amounts or increasing - they probably would have killed me."
James is now getting help to deal with his crippling addiction through a programme run by his council and a local GP practice.
Research in just a handful of GP practices where he lives in Scunthorpe alone identified more than 100 people dependent on painkillers.
But responsibility for helping them falls between the NHS and local councils, and schemes like the one James is on are rare.
The data comes from a wider study of 50,000 NHS patients in England by the Public Health Research Consortium.
It looked at those who had been prescribed at least one of four types of potentially addictive drugs - known as Dependence Forming Medicines - between 2000 and 2015.
The biggest single group of drugs were opioid painkillers which can help relieve pain for cancer patients or those with short-term needs.
The data shows more people are being prescribed these powerful medicines.
In 2015, 5% of patients were receiving regular prescriptions, double the rate when compared with 2000.
Neil Smith, research director at the National Centre for Social Research, said: "This report highlights that a balance needs to be struck between avoiding prescribing that might lead to dependence or other harms and ensuring proper access to medicines to relieve suffering and treat disorders.
"Trends in the extent and duration of opioid prescribing… need close and ongoing monitoring."
Doctors say that for short-term use, opioid painkillers, such a tramadol, codeine or morphine can be very effective.
But when used over a longer period of time the body develops a tolerance and so that effectiveness declines.
They also come with side-effects including headaches, nausea and constipation as well as being potentially highly addictive.
Experts warn that no-one should stop their medication before seeking the advice of their GP.
But Dr Cathy Stannard, a specialist in pain management, says it is clear that patients using opioid drugs for a long time are often getting little benefit, but suffer all the side-effects.
"I am not suggesting somebody who is benefiting has their drugs removed.
"But out of a population who are taking these drugs, the majority are not benefiting and they should be supported to come off these medicines."
Today's report doesn't contain hard data on addiction but it does indicate there is a growing need to closely monitor the use of these powerful drugs.
• None Trip to dentist led to heroin and prison - BBC News
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41201397
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Trump hand holding was 'moment of assistance' - May - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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PM explains Trump photo and rejects claims she was robotic in election campaign, in a BBC interview.
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UK Politics
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UK Prime Minister Theresa May has described the time she and US president Donald Trump held hands as a "moment of assistance".
The leaders were captured on camera as they walked at the White House on Mrs May's visit in January 2017.
The picture made headlines around the world, with some suggesting it was a sign of their closeness.
Government sources in Washington DC suggested Mr Trump has a fear of stairs or slopes.
Speaking on the BBC's Test Match Special, Mrs May said: "We were walking along, he said there was a ramp around the corner and it might be difficult walking down it so to take his arm.
"And then when we got to the top of the ramp he took my hand, just for going down the ramp and then that was it ... I think it was to assist."
The prime minister added: "You suddenly see this bank of photographers and then of course it becomes something that the photographers and the journalists and the commentators and everybody pick up. But I think it was genuinely a moment of assistance."
Theresa May was speaking to Test Match Special
Asked whether she trusted Mr Trump not to "press the button or be reckless", Mrs May said the president was surrounded by "very good advisers" who would help him make the right decisions.
"I believe that Donald Trump as American president will take the decisions that are right for security and safety around the world," she added.
"He has very good advisers around him in some of the individuals he has in key roles of state, defence and so forth. And we will work with them.
"I had a call with him earlier this week, talking exactly about North Korea and what we can do together, particularly at the United Nations ... and how we can work with other countries to achieve what we all want, which is for North Korea to stop what is illegal activity."
In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Jonathan Agnew at Lord's cricket ground, Mrs May also hit back at critics of her general election campaign, saying "I don't think I'm in the least robotic".
Mrs May was ridiculed by critics during the election for repeating stock phrases, such as "strong and stable," with one dubbing her the "Maybot".
Instead of addressing large crowds and doing walkabouts, like her Labour opponent Jeremy Corbyn, her appearances were mostly limited to tightly-controlled party events.
She said she had been "frustrated" that as prime minister she had not been able to "knock on doors" and meet ordinary people.
"In any election campaign a plan is made about what that campaign is going to be like.
"I get frustrated... people used the word robotic about me during that campaign. I don't think I'm in the least robotic.
"What I really enjoy is getting out there talking to people, hearing from them, understanding what the issues are for them.
"That's what drove me when I first became prime minister."
She also discussed harassment on social media, saying she worried about its impact on young people's mental health.
"Social media is hugely positive in most of the ways that people use it. But there is this aspect to it that does enable people to harass others, to make really very unpleasant comments, and beyond unpleasant comments, real threats.
"That's why it is important that the Crown Prosecution Service recently issued some new guidance on prosecutions of online harassment and threats online. I think it's important that action is taken when it's right, when it's passed the level which is appropriate in terms of criminality and prosecutions."
She added: "If it's a crime offline, it's a crime online. I think sometimes people think that online is a different sort of world and it doesn't matter and you can do what you like. Actually, no, you can't. You should behave online as you would offline."
Asked if she had taken the election result, which saw her lose her Commons majority, personally, Mrs May said: "As the leader of the party of course you have to take it to a degree personally and you have to accept that responsibility."
Mrs May, a longstanding cricket fan, was attending the test match between England and the West Indies, at Lord's.
• None May and Trump hold talks at White House
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41204204
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Dublin auction of Nazi items branded 'tasteless' - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Relative of holocaust survivor criticises auction that includes Nazi sash and German army daggers.
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Europe
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A number of Nazi items are in the auction on Saturday
The son of a Holocaust survivor has described as "tasteless" a decision by a Dublin auction house to sell Nazi "memorabilia".
Nine items from the Third Reich period are being offered as part of Whyte's The Eclectic Collector auction this weekend, that features more than 500 lots.
Gallery owner Oliver Sears said he thought it was "quite appalling".
Ian Whyte has defended his auction house's decision to sell the items.
They include a Nazi sash, an Anschluss campaign leaflet, a child's helmet and various German army daggers.
Mr Sears has a gallery on the same street as Whyte's on Molesworth Street.
His mother, Monika, survived the Warsaw ghetto. As a child, she was placed on a train to Treblinka, but escaped. A number of other family members died in Auschwitz.
In 1942, before the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the Nazi SS deported about 300,000 Jews from the ghetto to the Treblinka camp, where they were killed in gas chambers.
Mr Sears said he thought the fascination with Nazi collectables was "strange" and that they should be "donated to a museum".
"For me particularly, they are an appalling part of history," he added.
A child's helmet is among the items
"What distinguishes this kind of symbolism from any other militaria is that these symbols are used by hundreds of far right groups."
Mr Sears said he had approached Ian Whyte in September of last year with regard to an auction that featured items from the Third Reich period.
"I said you can take the moral high ground by not proceeding with the sale, you can donate money to a relevant charity, or you can post a message on your website distancing yourself from the policies of the Third Reich," he added.
"He said he would put something on the website, but he did not do that.
"It is legal (selling Nazi memorabilia), but it is a question of taste."
Mr Whyte said his auction house sold a wide range of material and its main business was "fine art".
He said he believed it was "a form of censorship to say collectors cannot collect what they like provided it is legal".
He said Whyte's would only make a "tiny amount" from the items Mr Sears objected to.
Mr Whyte added that he did not see any connection between "collectors and neo-Nazis".'
He said he did not know any collectors who were doing it for "sinister reasons".
"To me it is a matter of principle, I do not agree with banning collectibles on the basis of political things," he said.
"I understand what he (Mr Sears) says about the Nazis, they were a dreadful regime.
"They are probably the worst villains, but there were other villains around like the Soviet Union and we could argue about the famine here in Ireland, we could argue about what the Romans and Greeks did even if you want to go back in time."
Mr Whyte said that he had told Mr Sears that he would think about his proposal last year to post a message on the auction house's website distancing it from the Third Reich, but decided against it.
"We don't do that, we don't pass comment on what we sell, we describe it, we make sure it is genuine and that it is legal to sell," he said.
He added that he saw "no reason" for donating any money gained from the items to a charity and that if he wanted to it was "a private matter".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41192107
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Anyika Onuora: From malaria to Olympic medallist in 10 months - BBC Sport
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2017-09-08
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From losing the ability to walk to standing on the Olympic podium just 10 months later, Britain's Anyika Onuora opens up about battling malaria.
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When British sprinter Anyika Onuora took some time off to visit family in Nigeria in October 2015, she expected it to be like every other holiday.
But the 32-year-old contracted malaria and unable to walk, her Rio Olympic dream was left hanging in the balance.
Just 10 months later the Liverpudlian stood on the Olympic podium, with a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay hanging round her neck.
Not even her team-mates knew about the life-threatening ordeal she had endured just to be there. Now 13 months on from the Games, she tells her story...
There was a pause and the consultant just gave me the look - the look of uncertainty. He didn't know whether I'd make a full recovery.
"You're lucky to be alive," he said.
But all I could think was 'can I leave? I've got an Olympics to train for'. I felt like my dream was being taken away from me and it was heart breaking.
It all started when I was in Nigeria - I contracted malaria but I didn't know I had it. I went to the Dominican Republic for another holiday and that was when my symptoms started to get really rough.
I emailed the doctor at British Athletics and I told him my urine was dark, really really dark.
"Are you sure it's not alcohol or you haven't been drinking and staying hydrated?" he asked. But I was hydrated and it was getting quite worrying.
Even with the symptoms, I got home from the Dominican Republic and I went back to training at Loughborough. I was in denial for a long time. But I knew I wasn't running properly and I felt weird. That's when I realised it was something much more serious. As soon as I stopped that session, the fever kicked in.
I went to get a urine and a blood test and within 12 hours the chief medical officer got back to me. "There's something wrong with your kidneys, you need to see a specialist," he said.
I had no way to get to London other than to drive myself, with a raging fever, to St John's Hospital.
I sometimes complain about doing a tough workout but the symptoms I had were beyond anything I could have imagined.
I had a fever, I had vomiting, stomach cramps and headaches. I was going from hot to cold, shivering, and waking up in a pool of sweat without knowing why it had happened or where it had come from.
By the time they diagnosed me and told me I had malaria my fever was reaching 40C and they said "we need to throw you in an ice tub", but I couldn't move, I could barely breathe. The nurse had to put bags of ice around the bed because I couldn't get to the tub - I was in so much pain.
I was then put in quarantine and I wasn't allowed to leave. I couldn't even go outside and I remember gazing out the window and thinking how amazing London looked. I didn't know if I was ever going to see fresh air again.
I also had to learn to walk again. When I was moved to the ward I tried to do laps and I was fighting with the nurses because they said I should be in bed resting. But I needed to walk, I needed some sort of movement, I needed to be active - this was my winter training, I should have been out on the track.
The day I got released from hospital, it was my birthday and as soon as I walked outside I took a deep breath of air. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to do that, because not many people are able to survive it.
I think if I was a regular person I wouldn't have known it was malaria. I would have just taken some tablets and thought it was a cold.
They told me if I'd have left it a day or two days later it could have been fatal. I'm thankful that I caught it as early as I did.
I went through the absolute worst in that hospital and I nearly had everything taken away.
But as soon as I could walk again, I started running. No matter how much the training sessions killed me, I was just so grateful to be there.
Originally the European Championships weren't in my plans before the 2016 Rio Olympics, but because of the circumstances that led to my performances at the national championships - the Olympic trials - I had to go to the Europeans in Amsterdam to get a medal.
So nine months after contracting malaria I won my first global individual medal - a bronze in the 400m before gold in the 4x400m relay.
That didn't get me an individual place at Rio 2016 but I was selected for the relay and I said "I'm not coming back to the UK without an Olympic medal".
And in August, I got everything I'd ever dreamed of.
Alongside my team-mates Christine Ohuruogu, Emily Diamond and Eilidh Doyle we won bronze in the 4x400m relay.
I remember shaking on the podium. I'd been at the Europeans and got a medal, been to the Commonwealths and the World Championships in Beijing, but an Olympic medal? It was amazing. You just want to stare at it and hold it, it's like a new born child that you've just created and you don't want to let go.
Only a handful of people knew what had happened to me in the months building up to the Olympics. I told 400m runner Martin Rooney because we were training partners and I also told long jumper Shara Proctor.
I didn't know how people would react so I decided to keep the fact I'd had malaria a secret, even from my 4x400m relay team-mates.
I am always accountable for everything I do and if I had a bad race in 2016 I didn't want anyone to use the malaria as an excuse. I just wanted to focus on the season and not think about it.
Even when I got the Olympic medal, I wasn't too sure about telling people - I felt exposed at the time but the response when I finally did was amazing and completely overwhelming.
Sometimes I still get nightmares about what happened in the hospital. I didn't want to have to remember it but speaking about it gives me a sense of relief and closure.
I am now an ambassador for Malaria No More UK - an amazing charity who are bringing the disease to the forefront. They're teaching people that this is a global disease and not just in Africa.
People are sometimes worried about going to Africa because of Malaria but Nigeria is like home for me and I love going back - it's where my parents were born and bred. After my dad passed away in 2012 I said I'd go back as often as possible and I might even retire there one day.
I know many people who have passed away from Malaria. I have a cousin who died from the disease so it makes me truly grateful that I survived and am able to tell my story.
In terms of my performances on the track, I'm not in exactly the same shape as before. Over the last two years my times have been up and down, but I don't think that's related to malaria. I'm just feeling my way with the 400m.
I'm definitely capable of running as quick as I have done in the past and malaria by no means is going to stop me. The biggest thing I took away from this experience is strength, strength I never knew I had.
We've got the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast and the European Championships in Germany next year so hopefully there are more medals to come.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/41171547
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Boy, 16, faces trial over moped acid attacks - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The teenager is accused of attacking six riders and leaving one with "life-changing injuries".
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London
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Emergency crews and other moped drivers went to the help of victims on 13 July
A 16-year-old boy has denied carrying out a string of acid attacks on six moped riders.
The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, is accused of targeting the men to steal their bikes, spraying them in their faces with a noxious liquid. He will stand trial in January.
He is said to have stolen two mopeds in the attacks, spread over 90 minutes.
The defendant, from Croydon, south London, appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to 12 charges relating to the attacks on 13 July in north-east London.
The offences include six counts of throwing a corrosive liquid with intent to "disable, burn, maim, disfigure or cause grievous bodily harm", two counts of robbery and four counts of attempted robbery.
The youth was remanded in custody until the trial on 8 January.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41200752
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7 days quiz: What has this woman entered the record books for? - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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7 days quiz: What's this woman entered the record books for?
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Magazine
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It's the weekly news quiz - have you been paying attention to what's been going on in the world over the past seven days?
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41193107
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Madeleine McCann: Police request funding for inquiry - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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More than £11m has already been spent but money is only in place until the end of September.
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UK
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Police have asked the government for more money to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, weeks before funding is due to end.
More than £11m has been spent on the Metropolitan Police hunt, but funding will run out at the end of the month.
In April, the force said it was still pursuing a critical line of inquiry, 10 years after Madeleine's disappearance in Portugal, aged three.
A family spokesman said her parents were "encouraged" by the request.
The Home Office said the application would be considered.
Madeleine, whose parents Kate and Gerry are from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
The Met's Operation Grange has been helping with the search for clues about what happened to her since 2011.
In April, the force's Assistant Commissioner, Mark Rowley, said they still hoped they could provide answers.
He said: "I know we have a significant line of inquiry which is worth pursuing, and because it's worth pursuing it could provide an answer, but until we've gone through it I won't know whether we are going to get there or not."
Kate and Gerry McCann have worked to try to find their daughter - including by issuing pictures of how she may have looked later on in childhood
Mr Rowley said there was no "definitive evidence" as to whether Madeleine was alive or dead.
He also declined to reveal the nature of the working theories or whether any suspects were currently being considered, but said the investigating team were still receiving evidence and new information from members of the public on a daily basis.
In March, the Home Office granted police £85,000 to cover "operational costs" between April and September this year.
The McCann spokesman added: "Naturally, Kate and Gerry hope the Met request is granted.
"They are encouraged that there remains work to be done that requires extra funding and they remain very grateful to all Operation Grange officers who are continuing to look for their daughter."
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Funding is in place until the end of September.
"Any details about future funding will be released when appropriate."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41197076
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PR firm Bell Pottinger 'nearing collapse' - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The embattled company, damaged by its work in South Africa, could go into administration next week.
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Business
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Bell Pottinger's Asian unit has said it will separate from its British parent, amid reports the public relations firm is nearing collapse.
Bell Pottinger's UK business is expected to go into administration as early as next week, the firm said.
The Asian business will begin trading under a new name "in the coming days".
The PR firm was expelled from the industry trade body after being accused of stirring up racial hatred in South Africa.
The company's Asian business is seeking to distance itself from the scandal.
"The Asia business is entirely ringfenced and solvent," Asia Chief Executive Ang Shih Huei said in a statement sent to clients on Friday seen by the BBC. "Our teams are intact, we continue to serve our clients and it is entirely business as usual."
Bell Pottinger Asia said it would soon re-launch with a new ownership structure and operate under the name Klareco Communications.
Late on Thursday an announcement was made to UK staff saying the firm could go into administration next week, according to the Financial Times and other media outlets.
The meeting was attended by a representative of accountants BDO, hired to advise on a potential sale, reports said.
However, BDO did not respond to a BBC request for a comment.
The company's founder, Lord Bell, who resigned last year, has admitted to the BBC that it is probably "near the end".
A string of big names have already cut ties with the firm since it was expelled from the Public Relations and Communications Association earlier this week.
The company's work on the campaign for Oakbay Capital, a South African company owned by the wealthy Gupta family, was accused of inciting racial hatred.
Bell Pottinger and its founder, Lord Bell, have a reputation in the PR industry for taking risks.
The firm represented the South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorious after he was charged with murder.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has used the firm's services, as well as Syria's first lady Asma al-Assad.
In the late 1990s the PR firm worked on a campaign to release the former Chilean dictator, General Pinochet, who had been arrested in London on a warrant from Spain requesting his extradition on murder charges.
Lord Bell, who founded Bell Pottinger in the 1990s, resigned last year, partly due to his unease with the company's deal with the Guptas.
When asked on BBC2's Newsnight this week if he thought the PR company would survive the scandal, he replied: "I think it is probably getting near the end."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41196427
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Australians turn in 26,000 guns in national amnesty - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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The nation is holding its first gun amnesty since its landmark response to a 1996 mass shooting.
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Australia
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More than 400 weapons have been surrendered each day since July
Australians have handed in nearly 26,000 firearms in the nation's first gun amnesty since its landmark response to a mass shooting in 1996.
The amnesty began on 1 July to help counter a growing terrorism threat and an influx of arms in the country.
It is illegal to own an unregistered firearm in Australia.
Those caught outside the amnesty period face fines of up to A$280,000 (£172,000, $225,000) and up to 14 years in jail.
The current programme, running until 30 September, means Australians can surrender unregistered firearms and related items without fear of prosecution.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the "great result" so far would make the nation safer.
Police estimate there are as many as 260,000 illicit guns in Australia, with some used in organised crime as well as recent terror incidents.
Mr Keenan cited the example of Man Haron Monis, the perpetrator of a Sydney cafe siege in 2014, who used an unregistered shotgun which had entered Australia in the 1950s.
Australians turned in 643,726 firearms in 1996 and 1997 following the killing of 35 people in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur - the nation's worst and most recent mass shooting.
The incident also led to a ban on semi-automatic and automatic weapons in the country.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41196637
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Mexico earthquake: Rescue efforts continue as death toll rises - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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The earthquake is the most powerful to hit Mexico in a century, President Enrique Peña Nieto said.
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Latin America & Caribbean
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This is what the southern region of Mexico woke up to after an 8.1 magnitude quake
The race to rescue those trapped in the rubble continues, nearly 48 hours after a powerful earthquake struck off Mexico's southern coast.
The 8.1 magnitude quake left at least 65 people dead, according to officials.
Another 200 people were injured, President Enrique Peña Nieto said, as he declared a national day of mourning.
Meanwhile, the feared category one Hurricane Katia, which struck Veracruz on the east coast on Saturday, has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
The US National Hurricane Center reported Katia had been rapidly weakening since making landfall, but local officials are worried the storm could still cause landslides and flooding.
Rescue efforts following the earthquake, which struck late on Thursday, are focussing on the worst-hit states of Tabasco, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Tens of thousands of emergency packs, as well as 100 extra police officers and rescue dogs were sent to Juchitán, Oaxaca, which was the most affected town.
The earthquake is the most powerful anywhere in the world since September 2015, but its depth - 70km according to the US Geological Survey - means that the shaking felt at the surface was less strong than it would have been for an equally powerful but shallower tremor.
At least 37 people have been reported dead in Juchitán, according to the Milenio newspaper. The town hall and a number of other buildings destroyed or badly damaged.
"The situation is Juchitán is critical; this is the most terrible moment in its history," said Mayor Gloria Sanchez.
Police officer Vidal Vera, 29, who had not slept in more than 36 hours, told AFP: "I can't remember an earthquake this terrible.
"The whole city is a disaster zone right now. Lots of damage. Lots of deaths. I don't know how you can make sense of it. It's hard. My sister-in-law's husband died. His house fell on top of him."
Mr Peña Nieto, who visited the town on Friday, said flags would fly at half-mast on Saturday out of respect for the dead and bereaved.
The president said 45 deaths had been reported in Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco.
Parts of the town hall in Juchitán were levelled
The BBC's Arturo Wallace says the affected region is the poorest and least developed part of Mexico and the full extent of the damage is yet to become clear.
At least one other person was killed in Guatemala, its president has said.
The huge quake struck at 23:50 local time on Thursday (04:50 GMT Friday), shaking buildings and causing panic hundreds of miles away in the capital, Mexico City.
Patients at a hospital in Villahermosa, Tabasco state, were moved into the open after the quake struck
The earthquake also triggered a tsunami warning and the evacuation of thousands of people in coastal communities in Chiapas. The warning was later lifted.
Throughout Friday, the region was shaken with scores of aftershocks.
President Peña Nieto's office said he would travel to Chiapas to survey the damage.
Pope Francis, addressing an open air Mass on a visit to Colombia, said he was praying "for those who have lost their lives and their families".
The earthquake was more powerful than the 1985 tremor which hit close to Mexico City and caused thousands of deaths. Correspondents say the death toll appears to have been lower because it struck further away from highly populated areas.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A bowling alley shakes in Tuxtla Gutierrez, 240km from the epicentre
Journalist Franc Contreras, who was in Mexico City, told the BBC: "You could hear loud cracks in the concrete. It sounded like a giant wooden branch being just broken open violently.
"People were streaming out of the hallways. And everybody walking out single file into the streets, trying to avoid overhead power lines."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41209243
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London no longer most expensive place to buy beer - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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For the first time, London is no longer the most expensive place to buy a beer.
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England
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The price difference for a pint of beer is now more than £1 across the country
London is no longer the most expensive place to buy a pint, a new study says.
For the first time, Surrey has overtaken the capital as the most expensive area to buy a drink, with the average pint costing £4.40.
According to the Good Pub Guide, Herefordshire and Yorkshire have the cheapest pints at £3.31.
The difference in price for a pint of beer is now more than £1 across the country, with the average tipple costing £3.60 - up by 13p on 2016.
Beer in pubs brewing their own brands was typically £3.09 a pint
Other cheaper counties where drinkers have a reason to raise a glass include Shropshire at £3.33 a pint, Derbyshire at £3.36 and Cumbria and Worcestershire, both at £3.38.
It was bad news for pint-drinkers in Sussex, who pay an average of £3.82, while Hertfordshire comes in at £3.81 and the Scottish Islands, £3.80.
However, drinkers in Surrey might not be crying into their beer if they are earning the median full time weekly wage of £669.70, as they can more easily absorb the £4.40 price of their pint.
Beer drinkers in Herefordshire might be paying three quarters as much for their pint at £3.31, but their median weekly wage is £460 - only two thirds of what people in Surrey can expect to make.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The price of beer has changed more than the nation's love of it
Blue Dowd, who is the owner of the Basketmakers Arms in Brighton, said the most expensive beer his Sussex pub stocks costs £6 per pint.
"It's what's known as a craft beer, and a lot more goes into the making of them," he said.
"The people who buy premium beers know they're going to be charged a premium price. They buy it because it's a very fine beer."
Blue Dowd said customers expect to pay higher prices for premium beers
Beer in pubs brewing their own brands was typically cheaper at £3.09 a pint.
The guide also said that increasing numbers of pubs are offering accommodation, food and outside catering services, taking business away from restaurants.
Some pubs are also offering delis, book clubs, live music and conferences, it said.
Editor Fiona Stapley said: "You name it and pubs have thought of it.
"It's this entrepreneurial spirit that will keep pubs alive and kicking for years to come, despite all the doom and gloom around."
• None The Good Pub Guide - Reviews of the UK's best pubs The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41183028
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Newspaper headlines: May is 'hopeless and weak' - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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Criticism of Theresa May and a cyber attack affecting millions of Britons make front-page headlines.
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The Papers
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The Times highlights an attack on Theresa May as "hopeless and weak" by Conservative party donor Lord Harris of Peckham.
In an interview with the paper, Lord Harris says the prime minister's administration is mishandling Brexit and he would prefer a "strong Labour government" led by a figure such as Tony Blair.
He also criticises Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as "lazy", and adds that Environment Secretary Michael Gove has "no personality".
In its leading article, the Times complains of "paralysis" in Downing Street and describes Mrs May as a "caretaker adrift".
Nevertheless, it urges her to stay on and face down factions in her own party who it says are exploiting her weakness in Parliament to pursue their own narrow interests.
The prime minister's declaration of admiration for Geoffrey Boycott catches the attention of the Guardian, which points out that the famously obdurate cricketer was eventually sacked as Yorkshire captain amid an acrimonious dressing room revolt.
It also notes that the team won nothing during Boycott's time in charge, and that he once scored so slowly during his brief spell as England captain that Ian Botham was sent on deliberately to get him run out.
The Daily Telegraph attacks the UK's initial response to Hurricane Irma as "embarrassingly slow" as the storm smashed through British territories in the Caribbean.
It says those affected are British passport holders - no different to citizens of the Falklands or Gibraltar - and the UK should care for all of them.
The Telegraph thinks the situation "smacked of a government distracted" by Brexit.
The Daily Express agrees that "we should be doing so much more".
It says the foreign aid budget could be saving lives in the Caribbean instead of being used on "pointless development projects".
The Daily Mirror hails Saturday night's reopening of the Manchester Arena as a triumph over terror and a "new beginning".
It says the victims of the bombing in May must never be forgotten but nor should "crazed jihadists" be allowed to destroy our way of life.
In the Mirror's view, the Manchester Arena, like the Bataclan in Paris, will become a symbol of defiance against what it calls "miserable fanaticism".
According to the Daily Mail, ministers are considering plans to raise on-the-spot fines for littering from a maximum of £80 to £150.
For those who pay late, the penalty could increase to £300.
Councils have been pressing for the change and for the freedom to spend the proceeds as they wish - raising fears, says the Mail, that they will use litter patrols as cash cows.
The Sun and the Mirror both have the story of a woman who appears to have vanished with thousands of pounds after offering to arrange her fiance's stag party in Ibiza.
The jilted groom discovered what had happened only when he arrived at Leeds airport with 30 friends and found their flight tickets were fake and their hotel had no record of a booking.
He apparently headed to a local pub to drown his sorrows.
The Sun's headline is: "Here cons the bride".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41209189
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Ex-school governor who imported child sex doll is jailed - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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A 72-year-old ex-school governor is given a 16-month jail sentence for importing a child sex doll.
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UK
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David Turner owned a number of child sex dolls, and possessed images of child sexual abuse
A former school governor and church warden who imported a child sex doll has been jailed for 16 months.
David Turner, 72, admitted importing the child-size item and possessing 34,000 images of child sexual abuse.
An investigation began when the UK Border Force intercepted a package in November, imported from China.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) then discovered that Turner, of Ramsgate, Kent, had two other child sex dolls, and indecent images of children.
Turner was sentenced by Judge Simon James at Canterbury Crown Court for possessing a doll that was 3ft 10in (1.16m) tall, which he had also bought clothes for.
He was sentenced to eight months for owning the doll and eight months for possessing images of child sexual abuse.
He was officially convicted of one charge of importing a child sex doll, three charges of possession of indecent images of a child, three charges of making indecent images, and a charge of possessing extreme pornographic images.
In July, a court ruled the child sex doll was an obscene item, after Turner's lawyers had argued it was not covered by a law banning their importation.
Other men have been convicted for importing child sex dolls, but this was the first case where the question of whether a doll is indecent or obscene had been tested by the courts.
What a terrible fall from grace for David Turner who until his arrest last November was a much-respected member of the Ramsgate community.
Even though he had no previous convictions a jail sentence was inevitable given the number of abuse images he'd amassed, including 138 of the most serious kind, and the need to send out a message to other people contemplating ordering child sex dolls.
Investigators believe it's a growing problem facilitated by the internet.
This week, Simon Bailey, the chief constable who leads on child protection for the National Police Chiefs' Council, said it wouldn't be long before there were virtual reality videos of child sexual abuse - and robots engineered for the task.
"Trust me, it will happen," he said.
In a police interview, Turner said he preferred viewing indecent images of girls aged between four and 10 and added he had secretly taken pictures of minors in public. Children in the images were as young as three.
He was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Officers also found that he had 29 fictional stories which described the rape of children, but the accounts fell outside the Obscene Publications Act.
The NCA's Hazel Stewart said: "Importing child dolls to have sex with - as David Turner did - is a crucial flag to potential offending against children.
"In this case it enabled us to uncover Turner's long-standing sexual interest in children. He should not be near them and I am delighted that our investigation has seen him convicted and jailed."
Turner is one of seven people in the UK to have been convicted for possessing the obscene dolls to-date.
The Border Force has seized 123 dolls from 120 individuals since March 2016.
They were convicted using a 19th Century law, called the Customs Consolidation Act of 1876.
The Crown Prosecution Service's Donna East said: "Given the nature of the offence, which is very much modern day, with people ordering these sex dolls online, it is perhaps surprising that we are using laws dating back to the end of the 19th century, but this demonstrates how the law can apply to many circumstances."
Child sex dolls are considered a relatively new phenomenon, which have seen only a handful of convictions
The NSPCC has complained that the dolls offer a "legal loophole" to potential child sex abusers, and has called for them to be criminalised in the same way as indecent images.
The charity's chief executive Peter Wanless said: "At present in England and Wales it is only illegal to import an obscene or indecent item. It is not a crime to make these dolls, to distribute them or to possess them.
"This is baffling and needs to be changed so that the law in relation to child sex dolls is brought in line with the law on prohibited images.
"I urge [the home secretary] to take swift action and remedy this issue at the earliest available opportunity."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41203239
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Why more women are getting into shooting - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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The number of women taking up shooting for pleasure is on the rise - why?
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England
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The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club describes itself as the UK's largest ladies' shooting community
It has traditionally been seen as a man's game, enjoyed by country types wearing flat caps and tweed. But the number of women taking up shooting - particularly clay pigeon shooting - is on the rise. Why?
Growing up in Berkshire, Danielle Brown's only experience of the countryside was "seeing it on the television".
"I was a right town girl," she said. "Went to a comprehensive, mum on her own, didn't have much money, never thought about country pursuits."
Danielle Brown got into shooting after moving to the countryside
It was when she moved to Herefordshire with her husband that she was introduced to shooting by a neighbour. After a bit of investigating she came across the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club - a group holding events specifically for women - and she was hooked.
"I just loved it, that feeling when you shoot a clay, a moving target in the sky. I wanted to do it again."
The club is one of a number of groups attracting an increasing number of women to shoot, and building a new image for the sport.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Shooting: Not just a sport for men
Gone are the days of shooting being just a pursuit for country folk; members are now as likely to be students and shop assistants as they are bankers and lawyers.
And numbers of female shooters are rising.
Figures show the number of women joining the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) each year has risen a third over the past four years.
The association welcomed 1,212 women in 2011, compared with 1,603 in 2015, and now has almost 10,000 female members.
Femmes Fatales aims to "challenge the misconception that shooting is a man's game". Participants are more likely to don sportswear than reflect the "Downton Abbey and farmers in tweed look", says founder Lydia Abdelaoui.
Rachel Carrie, left and Lydia Abdelaoui, right, who founded Femmes Fatales
Miss Abdelaoui, 33, works in the shooting industry for an ammunition manufacturer, but only took up the sport three years ago.
"It never really appealed to me that much until I went with a group of women," she said.
"I had been before, but it was just a bit dull, I find men are really competitive. We had such a laugh and got to talk about doing things to attract more women and that's where the idea of Femmes Fatales came about."
The group started out on social media and has built up a "community" of about 7,000 women.
"It's not farmers and the gentry, it's just normal people from all different backgrounds who are just serious about the sport," says Miss Abdelaoui.
"We try to get away from the misconception that people have about shooters and to make it a bit more feminine and up to date.
"I had a Twitter exchange with a guy and he called us 'privileged women' and he suggested that women that shoot are all 'ladies that lunch' that don't have jobs - nothing could be further from the truth. Everybody works hard and we shoot at weekends."
Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club members enjoy tea and cake after a day of shooting
At the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club, women meet for shooting followed by tea and cake.
It was founded by Victoria Knowles-Lacks who, while learning to shoot with her uncle, saw there was a "major lack" of women shooting.
"I'd see wives and daughters being dragged round clay grounds press buttons on clay traps for their husbands and I just thought the shooting industry is missing a trick," said the 33-year-old from Shropshire.
When Mrs Knowles-Lacks took four female friends who "weren't overly keen" to a group shooting lesson, she baked a cake to "soften" the day.
And the winning combination of clays and cake was born.
"We shot in a small group under instruction, then we had tea and cake. The format has stayed the same since that very first day.
"I've made it my mission to make it really easy, affordable and to showcase how social and how much fun shooting is," she added.
Women enjoy shooting and the social side of the sport at the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club
It is the social side of the club that Mrs Brown, 38, says has "transformed" her life.
"I don't have children so I didn't have any natural way of making my own friends, I didn't have any hobbies but all of a sudden I went to those clubs and met these lovely ladies."
The financial controller now practises once or twice a week and competes a couple of times a month.
While she admits her hobby is expensive, she says there are many routes into it, such as hen parties, and it's not just for the well off - she herself makes sacrifices to fund her passion.
"I don't go clothes shopping any more, I buy shotgun cartridges instead."
The profile of the sport is giving women shooters "visibility" for the first time, added Mrs Knowles-Lacks.
"When we started the club back in 2011 there was literally nothing for female shooters. You'd see a few ladies at clay shoots or in the kitchen on game shoots, but there weren't really any opportunities.
"It's definitely reaching people who wouldn't really have considered trying the sport before."
• None Breakfast's Holly has a go at shooting
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39480041
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Is Germany's migrant crisis over? One city put to the test - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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The BBC returns to Oberhausen, which took in thousands of migrants and refugees. Now many may have to leave.
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Europe
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"Oberhausen is my home now," says Khaled Kohestani. "A lot of things have happened since I arrived here two years ago."
Khaled, 24, first spoke to the BBC 16 months ago. Everything in Germany was new to him. He was scared of getting on the bus. "Everybody is so quiet, no one speaks or say hello, I'm scared of doing something illegal, we don't know the rules and we can't speak to anyone."
Khaled lived in a refugee centre for three months but now has accommodation and a job
Khaled is not scared anymore. We meet him in a metal workshop, where he's grinding and polishing iron doors and garden tables, sending sparks flying. "Things are much easier today, mainly because I speak German now, nothing really is a problem because I understand what people say."
Khaled is an exception. Out of the 1,902 asylum seekers living in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, only 42 are, like him, employed or doing an apprenticeship.
But that is no guarantee that he'll be allowed to stay. In January this year, his asylum application was rejected by the German authorities. Khaled and his lawyer have appealed against the decision but Afghanistan is considered a safe country and Khaled and his family could be deported if the appeal is rejected.
Two years on from the big influx of migrants and refugees into Germany, things have calmed down and reception centres are operating below their full capacity.
A man in his forties selling curry-wurst for a couple of euros in a small food market on the edge of Oberhausen says when the migrants started coming to Germany there was a lot of noise about what might happen. But for him the city has not really changed in that time, and it does not feel as if there are more foreigners than before.
Chief police inspector Tom Litges says initially the city's reception centres were overcrowded and it was not unusual to be called out to break up fights among the migrants. But things are calmer these days.
"The small protests against migrants and refugees have also have stopped. They used to be massively outnumbered by pro-migrant demonstrators anyway," he points out.
The German Red Cross organises activities for children living in Oberhausen's refugee centre
On Duisburg street, a Turkish artist paints a wall with a dozen children living at a refugee centre. They are colouring jolly characters that seem to come out of a comic book.
Germany is nearing the climax of its general election campaign, but immigration is no longer the hot national issue it once was.
"The situation is now much calmer for everybody and I don't think that the refugee crisis of 2015 will have an impact," says Joerg Fischer from the German Red Cross, who was on the front line in 2015 when emergency camps had to be opened to accommodate everybody.
Voters go to the polls on 24 September and Martin Schulz is challenging Angela Merkel for the job of chancellor
"If the elections had taken place 18 months ago it would clearly have benefited the far right but two years ago Angela Merkel said 'Wir schaffen das' - we will do this - and indeed we did it."
"Oberhausen has received more migrants and refugees than any other region. We'll probably start receiving more people in the autumn again so we are using this time to start integration programmes, we now have a football team, cooking classes for men and empowerment classes for women as well as art workshop for the kids."
On the high street in central Oberhausen elections posters are everywhere, but to the newcomers the election campaign is barely noticeable.
"It's so quiet," says Osmane, a 20-year-old from Guinea. "It doesn't look like its elections time here. In Africa it's chaos during electoral campaigns, you can get mugged for no reason. It is peaceful here, I like it."
With just over two weeks to go before the vote, the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to enter the federal parliament for the first time.
Whoever wins the federal election will make little difference to Khaled's future in Oberhausen. He says his life is in Germany now rather than Afghanistan and vows to do everything he can to stay. "My son goes to the kindergarten, my wife is learning German and I've got a job."
"German people are always on time everywhere so I try to be punctual, I want my boss to be satisfied with me." And for now that seems to work.
"His German still needs to improve but he's doing well and he is a reliable worker," says Frank Kalutza, who gave him his first job.
The decision for now is out of Khaled's hands and could take several more months. "I don't want to leave, there is nothing in Afghanistan for me."
Khaled is one of only 42 refugees who are in employment in Oberhausen
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41147362
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Mexico's strongest quake in a century strikes off southern coast - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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There are at least 36 deaths after the powerful 8.2 quake struck off the southern coast.
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Latin America & Caribbean
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A bowling alley shakes in Tuxtla Gutierrez, 240km from the epicentre
An earthquake described by Mexico's president as the country's strongest in a century has struck off the southern coast, killing at least 36 people.
The quake, which President Enrique Peña Nieto said measured 8.2, struck in the Pacific, about 87km (54 miles) south-west of Pijijiapan.
Oaxaca and Chiapas states bore the brunt of the damage and dozens of aftershocks have been reported.
A tsunami warning was initially issued but later lifted.
The quake, which struck at 23:50 local time on Thursday (04:50 GMT Friday), was felt hundreds of miles away in Mexico City, with buildings swaying and people running into the street.
President Peña Nieto said about 50 million Mexicans would have felt the tremor and that the death toll might rise. His office said he would travel to Chiapas to survey the damage.
At least 25 people were killed in Mexico's Oaxaca state, 17 of them in the town of Juchitán, officials said.
Another seven were reported killed in Chiapas and three more, including two children, died in Tabasco state. President Peña Nieto said more than 200 people had been injured.
At least one person was killed in Guatemala, its president has said.
Images showed collapsed buildings across Oaxaca. In Juchitán, the municipal palace and a number of other structures were destroyed or badly damaged.
Parts of the municipal palace in Juchitán were levelled
A hotel collapsed in the town of Matías Romero, Oaxaca state, but it is not clear if there were any casualties.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had originally said that tsunami waves of more than 3m (9ft) were possible along the coasts of Mexico, with threats also facing El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. It said later that waves only 0.7m high reached the Mexican coast.
Some coastal areas were evacuated as a precaution.
The earthquake has brought back memories of the tremor of 1985, which left massive destruction in Mexico City and a death toll of 10,000.
This explains the scenes of panic on the streets of the capital, more than 1,000km away from the epicentre. The government does not expect the same scale of physical destruction, as the states most affected are in the poorest and least-developed regions.
Chiapas is the southernmost state, along the Guatemalan border. It's a very mountainous, remote area, where 25% of the population belong to indigenous groups. It's also much visited by tourists seeking to explore some of the best and most well-preserved archaeological treasures, such as the ancient Mayan city of Palenque.
At magnitude 8.2, the quake outstrips the deadly 1985 tremor that hit close to Mexico City and caused thousands of deaths.
The US Geological Survey measured the latest quake slightly lower, at 8.1, saying it struck at a depth of 70km.
Soldiers stood guard after a hotel collapsed in the town of Matias Romero, Oaxaca state
The coastal town of Puerto Madero, Mexico, was among those evacuated amid fears of a tsunami
Damage in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, about 300km from the epicentre
The tremor was strong enough to bring down buildings near Mexico City
Mr Peña Nieto said the Salina Cruz refinery on the southern coast had temporarily suspended operations.
This is the biggest quake experienced anywhere in 2017. Going on the statistics, you would expect at least one magnitude 8 to occur somewhere on the planet each year.
It occurred where the Pacific ocean floor is drawn under Mexico and Guatemala. A great slab of rock, known as the Cocos tectonic plate, is driving towards the coast at a rate of 75mm per year. As it jerks downwards into the Earth's interior, about 200km offshore, large tremors are the inevitable outcome.
There have been three magnitude 7s in 2017, with a 7.9 recorded deep under Papua New Guinea back in January. This latest event, being an 8.2, is nearly three times as energetic. That tells you something about how the magnitude scale works.
Fortunately, this event was deep, too. The rupture, which will have ripped across more than 100km of fault line, was down at 70km. That will have limited some of the shaking, but as we've seen there is still extensive damage.
Some electricity cuts were reported in the capital and social media video showed lampposts and the famous Angel of Independence statue swaying violently.
Journalist Franc Contreras, who is in Mexico City, told the BBC: "You could hear loud cracks in the concrete. It sounded like a giant wooden branch being just broken open violently.
Guatemala's Red Cross tweeted damage in the town of Tacana, close to the Mexican border
"People were streaming out of the hallways here. And everybody walking out single file into the streets, trying to avoid overhead high power lines."
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales appealed for calm on national television and in a Twitter post.
"We have reports of some damage and the death of one person, even though we still don't have exact details," Associated Press quoted Mr Morales as saying.
Cindy Lamothe, who is in the Guatemalan city of Antigua, told the BBC: "It was swaying so intensely it felt like we were in a boat and I heard neighbours screaming through the walls... it lasted almost three minutes."
Mexico is currently also being threatened on its eastern coast by Hurricane Katia.
The category one hurricane is about 300km south-east of Tampico and has sustained winds of 140km/h the National Hurricane Center says.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41197831
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The Rohingya crisis: Why won't Aung San Suu Kyi act? - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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Could the stubbornness which sustained her in opposition stop her from changing her position now?
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Asia
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She was the perfect symbol of democracy. Highly intelligent, well-read, articulate and photogenic.
Set against this, the thuggish Burmese generals could never hope to capture the good opinion of the international media. Not that they ever cared to try.
Those of us who worked undercover in Myanmar remember a constant struggle to stay out of the way of the secret policemen and spies. We were despised by the junta and feted by the pro-democracy movement.
When I first encountered Aung San Suu Kyi shortly after her first release from house arrest in July 1995, she was - after Nelson Mandela - the most important global symbol of defiance against tyranny.
The world's media related how she had faced down soldiers with their rifles levelled in her direction.
Her fight for democracy in Myanmar was backed around the world
The UN and others demanded her release from house arrest and worked hard to achieve that goal.
We listened to her address supporters at the gates of her lakeside villa about the need for tolerance and discipline.
In her interviews with me back in the 1990s, she repeatedly stressed the need for non-violence.
She was always keen to know how the African National Congress had managed the transition to majority rule in South Africa, my previous posting.
The phrase "freedom from fear" was repeated, and became the title of a bestselling book.
Aung San Suu Kyi, swarmed by supporters on her release from house arrest in 2002
It was language which Western journalists (including myself), were eager to hear. Many who found their way to Myanmar in those days were veterans of recent tragedies in Rwanda and the Balkans.
After witnessing genocide and ethnic cleansing, we were inspired by the words of the lady by the lake.
Here was a peacemaker in a world made dark by the actions of Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, Franjo Tudjman of Croatia, and the Hutu power extremists of Rwanda.
In retrospect, we knew too little of Myanmar and its complex narratives of ethnic rivalries, deepened by poverty and manipulated over decades by military rulers. And we knew too little of Aung San Suu Kyi herself.
Malala has called on her fellow Nobel peace laureate to intervene
We did not calculate that the stubbornness which refused to concede to the military junta might, if she came to power, prove equally forceful when confronted with foreign criticism.
Her greatest strength in adversity could prove a defining weakness. Old friends in the international human rights movement and some previously sympathetic politicians have become strongly critical.
Anybody who has spent time in her company knows that shifting her mind when she is set on a course of action is extremely difficult.
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Last December, when Vijay Nambiar, the UN Special Representative to Myanmar, urged Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Rakhine state, he was rebuffed.
As one member of her inner circle put it to me: "She will never ever be seen to do what Nambiar tells her to do."
Nor will she ever concede that the Rohingya Muslims are being subjected to ethnic cleansing, not even when tens of thousands are being burned from their homes amid widespread reports of killing and sexual violence.
This is not the first time she has faced criticism over the Rohingya.
It was the same story five years ago during a campaign that displaced more than 100,000 Rohingya.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Who are the Rohingya?
Daw Suu, as she is known, did not visit the area or speak out in defence of the persecuted minority.
While her government has moved to tackle hate speech by Buddhist extremists, she has not made the kind of public gestures in support of Muslims made by her hero Mahatma Gandhi and his colleague Jawaharlal Nehru during the violence of India's partition.
Gandhi paid with his life and the leaders did not succeed in ending the slaughter. But both men laid down a marker about the values of the India they wished to see emerge from partition.
Jawaharlal Nehru (L) and Mahatma Gandhi publicly condemned violence against Muslims during India's partition
The memory of Nehru wading into Hindu mobs to prevent sectarian violence is one of the 20th Century's defining acts of personal courage.
Nobody expects this of Aung San Suu Kyi, but it is the absence of even rhetorical intervention that disturbs many former supporters.
The suffering of the Rohingya is a tragedy in itself. But the palls of smoke from Rakhine state is indicative of a military that feels it can carry on in the old brutal way, whatever the world says.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state
The action unleashed now against the Rohingya will be familiar to the residents of other ethnic areas in Myanmar such as Shan state, or in the war against the Karen.
Aung San Suu Kyi does not control the military and they do not trust her. But her refusal to condemn well-documented military abuses provides the generals with political cover.
It goes further than silence.
Her diplomats are working with Russia and the UN to prevent criticism of the government at Security Council level, and she herself has characterised the latest violence as a problem of terrorism.
Stubbornness in the face of what she feels is unfounded criticism is part of the equation.
But there is a more troubling question: is her long-declared commitment to universal human rights partial, a concern that does not and never will embrace the beleaguered Rohingya Muslims in this Buddhist majority country?
She may yet answer that question by pressing the military to end its brutal crackdown. At this moment there is little sign of that happening.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41187517
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Bias against ethnic minorities 'needs to be tackled' in justice system - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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MP David Lammy says some offenders do not trust solicitors and face discrimination in prison.
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UK
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The criminal justice system has "deep-seated issues to address", says David Lammy
Young offenders from ethnic minorities will become "the next generation" of criminals unless the justice system is reformed, says MP David Lammy.
A review led by him found the system in England and Wales is biased and discriminates in treatment of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The Labour MP has made 35 recommendations, including delaying or dropping some prosecutions.
The government said it will "look carefully" at the suggestions.
People from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds make up 25% of the prison population in England and Wales and 41% of the youth justice system, despite these groups being 14% of the general population, the review says.
It has highlighted various "concerning" statistics, including a rise in the proportion of first-time offenders from these backgrounds to 19% - up from 11% - in the past 10 years, and the same increase in the proportion of young people reoffending.
Recommendations from the report included allowing low-level offenders to "defer" prosecution and opt for a rehabilitation programme before entering a plea, more gathering of data on the ethnicity and religion of offenders, and the introduction of targets for a more representative workforce within the justice system.
Mr Lammy said it was well established that there was an over-representation of people from minority backgrounds in the criminal justice system, but his report was about looking at their "treatment and outcomes".
Whilst he does not believe all of the blame lies at the door of the justice system, noting the "broadly proportionate" decision on charging by the Crown Prosecution Service, Mr Lammy said: "It is clear to me that BAME individuals still face bias."
MP David Lammy has made 35 recommendations to reform the criminal justice system
Trust is one of the major issues, according to the report. It says individuals from these backgrounds do not trust the advice provided by their solicitors or police officers when it comes to pleading guilty.
As a result, the rate of black defendants pleading not guilty in Crown Courts between 2006 and 2014 was 41%, compared with 31% for white defendants - leading to more trials and longer sentences.
Also, when in prison, many BAME men and women believe they are actively discriminated against, which Mr Lammy says "contributes to an atmosphere of 'us' and 'them' and an urge to rebel, rather than reform".
The most striking recommendation in this detailed and well-evidenced report is the idea of deferred prosecutions.
It's similar to the "conditional cautioning" scheme under which people escape trial if they admit their offence and agree to undergo rehabilitation, do unpaid work or pay compensation.
The Lammy report also referred to Operation Turning Point - a deferred prosecution pilot project run in the West Midlands which resulted in fewer violent offenders committing further crimes compared with those taken through the courts.
If rolled out, the programme would be applied to offenders from all ethnic backgrounds, though those from BAME communities, who are disproportionately represented, could benefit most.
But its success would depend on probation, health and justice agencies working together, and working intensively with offenders. And that requires investment at a time when budgets are tight.
His biggest concern, however, is the youth justice system, as whilst youth offending has fallen significantly in the past 10 years, there is now a larger share of young people from ethnic minorities offending for the first time, reoffending and serving a custodial sentence.
The report points out black children are more than twice as likely to grow up in a lone parent family, and black and mixed ethnic boys are more likely than white boys to be permanently excluded from school.
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Mr Lammy said the youth justice system seemed to have "given up on parenting" - saying behind many young offenders are adults who neglect or exploit them.
Mr Lammy said responsibility must be taken by adults - and the youth justice system "should be more rooted in local communities" where parents can play a stronger role.
Prisons are products of society, he said: "The criminal justice system has deep-seated issues to address, but there is only so much it can do."
Junior Smart, who founded the St Giles' Trust SOS project - which supports young people in the justice system - after spending five years in prison for drugs offences, welcomed the report.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The cultural understanding amongst young people is you don't trust the police and you don't talk to the police.
"There is that lack and we need them to come forward, and we need to make sure that victims are supported.
"And the fact is the criminal justice system doesn't reflect the diversity and how criminality is evolved over time...
"It is not lack of will - these people have got the best intentions for these young people - but they don't reflect the diversity that we are seeing and they don't understand the complexity."
Malcolm Richardson, chairman of the Magistrates Association, said there was not sufficient evidence to pinpoint why the disparity occurs, but he agreed the lack of trust in the system needed to be addressed.
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The Equality and Human Rights Commission urged the government to respond "urgently" and put in place a comprehensive race strategy with targets to reduce race inequality.
Labour shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said Mr Lammy's recommendations could "play an important role in eradicating discrimination".
Justice Secretary David Lidington said the government would "look very carefully" at the review's findings and recommendations before responding fully.
Gareth Wilson, the National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for equality and diversity, said he would work with the Home Office and College of Policing to make more data on ethnicity available for scrutiny - but also work on making the force more representative.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said the CPS would consider the review's recommendations.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41191311
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Newspaper headlines: Hurricane Irma dominates front pages - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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The devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean dominates Friday's front-page headlines.
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The Papers
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The i illustrates the destruction in the Caribbean, with pictures of wrecked buildings and trees bent and torn from their roots.
It says the storm appears increasingly likely to rip into heavily populated southern Florida this weekend.
The Daily Mirror focuses on relief efforts - its headline talks of the "navy's dash to save 185mph storm Brits".
Royal Navy ships, it says, were last night dashing to the Caribbean to help rescue Brits stranded by the killer storm.
A picture on the front of the Daily Express shows cars in St Martin, smashed about like toys.
According to the Financial Times, the prime minister's Brexit strategy has suffered a double blow.
It cites reported comments of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, questioning the "stability" and "accountability" of Brexit Secretary David Davis, and a letter signed by 35 Eurosceptic Tory MPs pushing for a hard Brexit.
The lead in the Times says pro-Remain Tory MPs want Theresa May to sack minister Steve Baker and Treasury aide Suella Fernandes, who they claim supported the letter.
The Daily Mail hits back at Mr Juncker and chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier for their attacks on Mr Davis.
"Don't treat us with contempt," warns the main headline.
Their "arrogance", the paper says, will only "harden the resolve of the majority who voted for Brexit".
The Guardian leads on the report by Labour MP David Lammy, commissioned by Downing Street, in which he concludes that black and minority ethnic (BAME) people continue to face bias and overt discrimination in the criminal justice system.
It highlights his call for prosecutions against some BAME suspects to be deferred or dropped.
The Daily Telegraph believes "the Lammy review has good intentions" but the paper foresees complications.
It advises the government to proceed with caution - and on the principle that our police and courts exist primarily to uphold law and order.
The Daily Mail sums up the report's findings with the headline: "Criminals could side-step courts... by agreeing to therapy instead".
Trips made by Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party MP Ian Paisley come under scrutiny in the Telegraph.
The paper alleges that he accepted holidays worth £100,000 from the government of Sri Lanka - and that he is now helping the country to secure a post-Brexit trade deal.
The paper says he failed to record them as gifts in the MPs' register of interests.
It says he declined this week to answer any questions about the accusations.
The Guardian has an excoriating editorial on Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Her long silence, it says, on the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar has been shameful.
With tens of thousands now fleeing atrocities in Rakhine state, the Nobel prize winner's moral sanctity lies in tatters.
"Seldom has a reputation fallen so fast," says the Times.
Nearly all the front pages have a picture of a certain four-year-old dressed smartly for his first day at school - or "his royal shyness" as the Mirror and the Mail label Prince George.
He is certainly looking a bit diffident in their pictures.
"Mum, I'm glum," says the Sun, pointing out that the Duchess of Cambridge was unable to go with him because of morning sickness.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41196340
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Ian Paisley denies £100K Sri Lankan holiday claim - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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The DUP MP refers himself to a parliamentary watchdog over claims he did not declare trips.
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Northern Ireland
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Ian Paisley succeeded his late father as MP for North Antrim in 2010
MP Ian Paisley has referred himself to a parliamentary watchdog over claims he did not declare £100,000 in hospitality from the Sri Lankan government.
A newspaper report said the DUP MP and his family took two all-expenses-paid holidays to the island in 2013.
The Daily Telegraph said he recently met Sri Lankan officials to discuss the possibility of post-Brexit trade deals with the south Asian country.
But the MP said the report was "devoid of fact or logic" and "defamatory".
Mr Paisley later tweeted an image of a letter from his solicitor, Paul Tweed, refuting the allegations and saying that the Antrim MP had referred the matter, and a full explanation, to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
In response to the Sri Lankan holiday claims, a DUP spokesman said it would await the outcome of the commissioner's investigation.
DUP MP Nigel Dodds told the BBC's Inside Politics programme: "Allegations have been made. Ian has given a very robust response and referred it to his legal team.
"He has also referred himself, quite rightly, to the Parliamentary Commissioner so this can be fully investigated."
The newspaper reported that the Paisley family flew business class to Sri Lanka twice in 2013 and stayed in luxurious hotels.
It estimated the total worth of the trips at about £100,000 and claimed the cost and expenses were paid for by the Sri Lankan government.
Mr Paisley this week tweeted a picture of himself meeting the Sri Lankan High Commissioner Amari Wijewardene "to discuss NI-Sri Lanka trade deal after Brexit".
Two days later he tweeted a picture of himself with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox "discussing our trade agreements post-Brexit".
The 50-year-old MP is the son of the late Ian Paisley, founder and former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), now the largest political party in Northern Ireland.
In 2010, the then Mr Paisley Jr succeeded his father as MP for the North Antrim constituency.
Ian Paisley's late father was one of Northern Ireland's most significant political leaders
He is currently one of 10 DUP MPs who are propping up Theresa May's minority Conservative government.
The DUP struck a significant deal with the Tories after the snap general election in June, which saw Mrs May losing her majority in the House of Commons.
At the time, it was reported that the agreement would result in more than £1bn in extra government spending for Northern Ireland over the next two years.
The DUP signed a deal to support the Conservative government in June
However, a Stormont Civil Service source told the BBC on Thursday the Treasury had made clear that "not a penny" would be released unless power-sharing was restored in Northern Ireland.
The DUP replied that the delivery of the financial package "does not depend on the nature of local government at Stormont".
Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government since January, when a coalition led by the DUP and Sinn Féin collapsed.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-41198118
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Rees-Mogg ignites fresh row over abortion - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has stirred up controversy over his view on abortion.
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UK Politics
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Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg is the first British politician in decades to publicly oppose abortion in all cases, even when a woman has been raped.
It was not, he stressed, government policy, but his own personal view based on Catholic teachings.
He got credit from his supporters for his candour - not for Mr Rees-Mogg the evasions and caveats of other politicians who have found their personal religious convictions out of step with party policy and the prevailing orthodoxy.
But others found his views "extreme" and wildly at odds with majority opinion in the UK.
It would certainly be a strange way to launch a party-leadership bid, although Mr Rees-Mogg insists he has no ambitions in that direction, whatever social media says about "Moggmentum".
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said Mr Rees-Mogg's appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain programme could well be a "tipping point" if the North-East Somerset MP ever changed his mind about that.
Former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, a Catholic who has previously spoken out against abortion, told BBC Radio 5 live's Emma Barnett Mr Rees-Mogg's views were "nothing like as rare as you may think" and they would have no long-term effect on his career.
"Now, can a politician say what he thinks?" she said. "Or are we simply going to end up in a situation where every time you say what you think, you end up with an adverse effect, so in the end you simply dodge it?"
So why is abortion such an apparently taboo subject in British politics?
In the US, being against abortion is a standard position for Republican politicians and a reliable dividing line with the Democrats, although the issue of exemptions for rape and incest is a highly sensitive one.
It still causes controversy when someone running for office voices their opposition to such exemptions, as Republican hopeful Marco Rubio did last year.
But American politicians are expected to be upfront about their religious beliefs and take a position on moral issues that in the UK tend to be seen as personal matters.
Piers Morgan, who prodded Mr Rees-Mogg into revealing his views on the Good Morning Britain sofa, tried a similar line of questioning, on his CNN show in 2012, during the Republican primaries.
The former Mirror editor asked White House hopeful Rick Santorum, a devout Catholic, if he would let his daughter get an abortion after rape.
Mr Santorum said did not say yes outright, adding that he would explain to her that a baby, even when "horribly created", was still a "gift, in a very broken way".
Donald Trump, who before running for president was pro-choice and is now firmly against abortion, draws the line at cases of rape, incest, and when the mother's health is endangered.
The issue of abortion in Britain is seen by many people as a settled matter - it rarely comes up at general elections.
"We are a pro-choice country, we have a pro-choice Parliament," said Katherine O'Brien, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.
"Every politician is entitled to hold their own opinion on abortion. But what matters is whether they would let their own personal convictions stand in the way of women's ability to act on their own."
In fact, there have been several serious attempts to restrict abortions since Liberal leader David Steel succeeded in liberalising the law in 1967, resulting in some impassioned debates in the House of Commons.
In 2008, MPs voted on cutting the 24-week limit, for the first time since 1990, in a series of amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
There were calls for a reduction to 12, 16, 20 or 22 weeks, but MPs rejected the proposals in a series of votes.
Going further back, Liberal MP David Alton resigned as his party's chief whip in 1987 to launch what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid to ban late abortions.
The first version of Mr Alton's bill did not include an exemption for women who had been raped - he argued that they represented a tiny minority of cases.
The exemption was added at a later date, but supporters of the bill made it clear that they viewed it as a stepping stone to a complete ban.
Conservative MP Terry Dicks told MPs: "I understand and am concerned about incest and rape and the implication of a child being born as a result. I do not know the answer, but I do know that life is important from the minute that conception takes place.
"Of course ladies have rights and we must consider them, but they also have obligations and responsibilities that they have to face up to."
Theresa May and Arlene Foster hold differing views on abortion
Few MPs have been as outspoken in their opposition to abortion since, although senior figures in all parties have expressed their personal support for reducing the time limit.
And there have been cases where politicians have had to wrestle with their conscience on the issue.
Labour's Ruth Kelly, a member of Catholic organisation Opus Dei, refused to take a ministerial role at the Department of Health to avoid conflicts with her beliefs.
The issue has crept back on to the political agenda in recent months with the deal between Theresa May and the DUP to keep the Conservatives in power.
Unlike in the rest of the UK, abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless a woman's life is in danger or there is a serious risk to her mental or physical health.
And the DUP has consistently opposed abortion, with its leader, Arlene Foster, saying: "I would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England."
Tory MP Terry Dicks backed a ban on abortions in the 1980s
But, in an unexpected turn of events, Northern Irish women have now been granted access to terminations on the NHS in mainland Britain.
In June, the government had to draw up emergency plans to head off a revolt by Conservative MPs who joined forces with Labour in opposing the DUP's stance, to the evident delight of some Tory ministers.
As the law was changed, Education Secretary and Equalities Minister Justine Greening said: "Let us send a message to women everywhere that in this Parliament their voices will be heard and their rights upheld."
Prime Minister Theresa May is also opposed to changing the abortion laws and was careful to distance herself from Jacob Rees-Mogg's opinions, while stressing that it was a "long-standing principle" that abortion was a "matter of conscience" for individual MPs to decide on.
Mr Rees-Mogg knows his views are not mainstream in Conservative circles at Westminster. In his Good Morning Britain interview, he said women's abortion rights under UK law were "not going to change".
But he argued that his party was more tolerant of religious views than the Liberal Democrats, whose former leader Tim Farron quit after facing repeated questions about his views on gay sex.
"It's all very well to say we live in a multicultural country... until you're a Christian, until you hold the traditional views of the Catholic Church, and that seems to me fundamentally wrong," he said.
"People are entitled to hold these views."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41176953
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Dad jailed over baby son Reggie Young's dog bite death - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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Three-week-old Reggie Young was attacked by a Lakeland terrier-cross at his home in Sunderland.
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Tyne & Wear
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Reggie Young, who was three weeks old, was attacked on 20 June 2015
A father who was drunk and asleep when his dog killed his three-week-old son has been jailed for 21 months.
Reggie Young was mauled for up to 20 minutes at the family home in Falkland Road, Sunderland, on 20 June 2015.
Ryan Young, 32, of Holborn Road, Sunderland, previously pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to being in charge of a dangerous dog.
Judge Tim Gittens said Reggie's mother Maria Blacklin returned home to a scene of "Gothic horror".
A child neglect charge was ordered to lie on file.
The court heard the Lakeland terrier-cross, which was called Tricky, was destroyed soon after the attack.
Judge Gittins said: "Reggie was subjected to a most dreadful, torturous, confusing attack and he sustained horrific and painful injuries."
Ryan Young was jailed for 21 months at Newcastle Crown Court
The court heard Miss Blacklin had been at a family gathering after her grandmother's death when the dog attacked her son at around 04:00 BST.
She returned home to find Reggie in a pool of blood on the floor, the hearing heard.
The court heard how Young failed to prevent the attack because he had drunk eight cans of lager and had fallen asleep, and only woke up when he heard Miss Blacklin screaming.
Reggie was blue but still breathing and paramedics were called, but he could not be saved.
Young, who refused to give a breath test, later told police: "I would not say I was drunk, more tired."
Prosecutor Shaun Dodds told the court: "The officers who arrived described the defendant as appearing drunk."
Ryan Young carried his son's coffin at the funeral service in July 2015
The court heard inquiries suggested the baby fell or was dragged from the bouncer and was mauled by the terrier, which had not been introduced to the newborn and may have been driven to attack by Reggie's "unco-ordinated" movements.
Mr Dodds added: "Had the defendant not been asleep in drink, he would have been able to stop the attack."
Young wept loudly throughout the proceedings. No family members were in court for the sentencing hearing.
His defence barrister Caroline Goodwin QC said: "Nothing he can do can turn back the clock and bring back his own child.
"It was all the more harrowing for the family when he carried his child's coffin before the funeral service."
The judge accepted that Young was a hard-working father and had developed depression since his son's death.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-41201040
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Fizz Friday: Why women are picking prosecco over champagne - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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Sales of the Italian wine are soaring, but what's the secret behind its sparkling success?
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England
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prosecco v champagne: Which one tastes better?
It's Friday and across the country, people will soon be clocking off with a glass of fizz. Sales of the Italian wine are soaring faster than you can say "I'll be there in a prosecco", but what's the secret behind its sparkling success?
On Instagram, there are almost two million photos tagged #prosecco and a further 12,000 for #FizzFriday. Even Theresa May's future has been debated over a glass of sparkling Italian wine.
Supermarkets are stacking their shelves high with bottles that give you change from £10 and bars up and down the UK are promoting it as an affordable, weekly treat.
But its success is not solely down to cost.
"It is targeted at women," says Vhari Russell from the Food Marketing Expert. "Many of them like to drink bubbles and bubbles are associated with luxury and celebrations.
"It is served in beautiful glasses and can be seen as very classy."
Has prosecco become the go-to celebration drink?
In a bar in Birmingham a group of women are sharing a bottle of prosecco.
"It feels very feminine," says Bev Gordon. "It just makes you feel more sophisticated," her sister, Jennifer Tristham, adds.
"We'll drink it at house parties, when we're out, at little reunions... it's now become part of our lifestyle," their friend, Wendy Johnstone, explains.
According to Richard Halstead from market researcher Wine Intelligence, the beverage could be described as the "phenomenon of the last five years".
He said it is "wildly popular" among women in their 20s and 30s who post pictures on social media of themselves clinking glasses and popping corks.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Drinking prosecco is part of our lifestyle"
It is a trend Alex Windsor and his fiancée, Sophie Andrews, spotted when they gave up their jobs to launch a mobile prosecco van.
"We see a huge amount of people taking pictures with glasses and putting them on social media sites," says Mr Windsor.
"Prosecco is a lot cheaper than champagne and a lot of people tell us it tastes nicer. It is a much more affordable drink, but gives [off] that elegance you get with champagne."
Ms Russell says prosecco has now overtaken champagne as the go-to drink for big occasions.
But cutting back on luxuries in favour of an affordable alternative started in the wake of the 2007 financial crash, according to Mr Halstead.
"No-one sees the bottle, or pays much attention, so there was the easy trade-down from champagne [to prosecco] if you were hosting an event," he says.
Supermarkets were also quick to jump on the bubble bandwagon, adding prosecco to the "dine in" meal deals designed to mimic restaurant-quality food without the hefty bill, says Ms Russell.
But the marketing genius was really in its pricing, with many chains offering bottles at discounted prices.
"If you can't afford to go on holiday or go out to dinner, the idea of having a mini celebration with change from £10 is a strong pull," Mr Halstead adds.
Georgie Pilling, Katie Matkin and Sofia Meadowcroft are all prosecco fans
It's a move that has paid off for major retailers. Lidl has seen sales of its own brand bottles grow by 79% in January 2017 compared to the same month last year, while Marks and Spencer's prosecco sales saw a 25% rise from 2015 to 2016.
Waitrose saw a 12% increase in sales since last year and said the nation's love of the sparkling wine has grown so much they will be releasing a prosecco turkey in time for Christmas.
So is prosecco here to stay or will it fall flat like its once fashionable Spanish counterpart, cava?
Paul Creamer, wine buyer at Loki Wines in Birmingham, says they no longer stock the once-popular sparkling wine as there is no demand for it.
He says cava is having a personality crisis and believes it would take a marketing miracle for it to get back on the same playing field as its counterparts.
"The problem is that the global image of champagne is very well managed compared to that of cava," Mr Creamer explains.
"It would take a seismic shift in cava marketing to reposition it in a different niche or price tier with the wine market."
Alex Windsor and Sophie Andrews spotted a van-sized gap in the prosecco market
Food and drink journalist Paul Fulford thinks cava is often associated with an older generation of people that first holidayed in Spain - in a similar way people associate sherry with their grandparents.
But he says cava is actually better quality than prosecco.
"It has a more superior taste because of the way it is made, the fizz is more integrated, making the [bubbles] less likely to disappear. And the flavour is better," he adds.
Similar methods are used in the manufacture of champagne, cava and prosecco, but with crucial differences that set each other apart.
Champagne uses the "methode champenoise", which requires it be made from the region's grapes and fermented in the bottle for at least 15 months; cava is formed from a blend of wines and ferments for nine months as per the "methode tradicional", while prosecco implements the "Italian Charmant" method - fermenting in steel tanks.
But can you really taste the difference?
At Albert's Schloss in Manchester, Katie Matkin thinks so. "I've had champagne before and it tastes heavy, I didn't like it," she says.
"Whereas everyone seems to like prosecco. It's cheap, it's light, it's easy, you can add things like syrups."
Prosecco's versatility as both a standalone drink and mixer has helped broaden its appeal.
Rather than fall foul of nostalgia it has embraced it, even aiding in the resurrection of the Aperol Spritz - a cocktail popular in the late 1980s which has reappeared in countless pubs and bars.
Looking to the future, there are now skinny, vegan and organic versions of the drink available, as well as sweets, candles, bubble bath and even "pawsecco" for your pet.
So is it just flavour of the month? Mr Fulford thinks not.
"It feels like indulgence without the extravagance, most of the varieties are so easy to drink and it suits everyone's palate," he says.
"It is here to stay, it's ingrained in people's drinking habits."
Perhaps prosecco's popularity is a combination of things - its marketability, the ceremony, and the perception it gives. But fizz fan Tamara Poxon thinks there is a simpler explanation.
"When you compare it to the price of champagne, there's no reason why somebody wouldn't drink prosecco."
The Aperol Spritz, made with prosecco, soda and the herbal liqueur from which it takes its name, is popular once again
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39216865
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Nuneaton schoolboy who backed out of mass shooting detained - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The boy, who was armed with a shotgun, had been "seconds away" from opening fire, a court hears.
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Coventry & Warwickshire
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The boy told police he had suicidal thoughts at the time
A boy who took a shotgun and 200 rounds of ammunition into school with the intention of harming others has been detained for six years.
The 15-year-old had a change of heart and instead called 999 from Higham Lane School, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
Warwick Crown Court heard the boy had been "seconds away" from opening fire.
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC said: "A moment in time separated the pupils and staff of this school from being the subject of a terrible event."
The court heard the teenager, who also took a balaclava into school, had depression, an anxiety disorder and felt a sense of hopelessness at the time of the incident, on 13 June.
He cannot be named because of his age.
A teacher sat with the boy until police arrived at the school
A 999 call handler "averted disaster" by questioning the boy about his mental state and instructing him to dis-assemble the double-barrelled gun, and place it outside the room he was in.
The court also heard how a teacher helped calm the situation down until the police arrived.
The shotgun and ammunition - used by the boy and his father for clay pigeon shooting - were legally held and correctly stored, the Crown Prosecution Service said (CPS).
Passing sentence, the judge told the teenager: "In interview, you were frank and told the police that you took the gun to school that day intending to harm people.
"At that time you were in a room, angry to the point of being prepared to use serious and lethal force, armed with a loaded shotgun and 200 cartridges.
"Had you begun to shoot I have no doubt serious injury and death would have resulted and it is impossible for me to predict how many might have been hit."
He added that if the shooting had happened it would have "taken a dreadful place in the history of truly wicked crimes committed in this country".
The boy's mother sobbed when he was sentenced
The teenager pleaded guilty to having the gun with intent to endanger life, as well as possessing 200 rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life, and possession of a lock-knife.
Supt Martin Samuel, from Warwickshire Police, said: "Our emergency call handlers are all trained to make quick decisions in high pressured situations.
"The call handler in this case immediately understood the severity of the situation and took immediate steps to ensure the safety of everyone concerned. He is a credit to the force."
Head teacher Phil Kelly said on Friday the school had reviewed its safety procedures since the incident.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-41203100
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Bats 'tricked' into flying into buildings - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Scientists warn of potential hazards from modern structures with large expanses of glass or mirrors.
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Science & Environment
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Modern buildings with large expanses of glass or mirrored surfaces are "potentially dangerous" for bats, research suggests.
Scientists are calling for monitoring of the risks, particularly in areas where bats congregate in large numbers.
Bats have a remarkable ability to fly at high speeds in the dark avoiding natural hazards such as trees.
Yet, smooth, vertical surfaces such as glass windows create a "blind spot" for the flying mammals, a study shows.
"Bats predominately rely on their echolocation system to forage, orientate, and navigate," says a team led by Dr Stefan Greif of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology near Munich in Germany.
"We found that bats can mistake smooth, vertical surfaces as clear flight paths, repeatedly colliding with them, likely as a result of their acoustic mirror properties."
Bats use echolocation to detect obstacles in flight, find their way into roosts and forage for food.
As they fly, they make calls and listen to the returning echoes to build up a sonic map of their surroundings.
Bats can flit through natural obstacles, such as forests, which return some echo back to them.
However, vertical mirroring surfaces such as window panes appear to trick them into thinking that the way ahead is clear.
Prof Gareth Jones of Bristol University, who is not connected with the study, is an expert on bat echolocation.
"Sound reflects away in front of a bat flying over water, and the flight route ahead is often clear, or interrupted with obvious targets like trees that can be detected by echolocation," he explained.
"Vertical surfaces seem to reflect sound in ways that make the surface difficult to detect, and increase collision risk."
Smooth vertical surfaces are rare in bats' natural habitat. However, they treat horizontal, smooth surfaces like water, and attempt to drink from them.
To investigate the issue, researchers analysed the flight behaviour of greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) in dark flight tunnels.
The researchers placed a metal plate either vertically or horizontally in the corner of the tunnel and watched what happened.
Of 21 individual bats, 19 collided with the vertical plate at least once but never with the horizontal plate.
When the bats collided with the vertical plate, they were producing fewer calls and approaching the plate at a more acute angle and at higher flight speeds compared with the bats that avoided collision.
Similar findings were found with three species of bat in the wild.
No bats were injured in the experiment.
The findings, published in the journal, Science, may explain why injured or dead bats are sometimes found near buildings.
The researchers are calling for more evidence to be gathered on the scale of the threat to bats.
They say smooth vertical services should be avoided at sites where bats migrate, forage or raise their young.
"Only if we identify and evaluate the real extent of collisions with acoustic mirrors can we avoid or mitigate potential detrimental effects on bat populations," said Dr Greif and co-researchers.
Commenting on the research, Prof Kate Jones of University College London, said: "As we try and encourage more sustainable and nature-friendly cities, it is really important to understand how city design will impact wildlife populations and this study provides some key information for bats."
Bats make up one fifth of all land mammals.
They are among the most endangered of the world's animals, because much of their habitat has been destroyed.
As important pollinators for many plants, and key predators of insects, their loss has serious consequences for the planet.
• None How to eavesdrop on urban bats
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41164615
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Why is Bulgaria's population falling off a cliff? - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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What is life like in the country projected to have the world's fastest-shrinking population?
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Europe
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Bulgaria's current population of about seven million is predicted to be nearer five million by 2050
Bulgaria is projected to have the fastest-shrinking population in the world. It's already lost a fifth of its population since the 1990s. But what does this mean for those who remain?
Deep in the Bulgarian countryside, in the western province of Pernik, I make a rare discovery.
It's not Stoyan Evtimov's traditional embroidered woollen tunic that makes him unusual.
It's the fact he's a thirty-something living in a village. "All my friends that I grew up with here left long ago," he says.
Like many young Bulgarians, they moved to towns and cities in search of work.
Stoyan considers himself lucky to have employment in the mountain village of Peshtera, leading its folk-singing group and organising an annual music festival in an attempt to revive traditional marriage music, and the village.
Even so, he is finding village life unsustainable.
Stoyan Evtimov, in his 30s, is resigned to the fact he will have to leave his village
"It's impossible to find someone to marry here in the village, or the villages around, simply because there are no young people. The only chance for me to find someone is in the town," he says.
"It would be very sad and hard for me to leave the village, but I will have to do it at some point."
Bulgarian villages have been losing people for decades.
When the Communists took power after World War Two, they brought in collective farming and many agricultural workers found work in new factories.
After Communism fell, in 1989, and collective farms were broken up, that trend of leaving the countryside for the towns sharpened.
And many people don't stop there: they continue their search for work abroad.
In 1989, almost nine million people lived in Bulgaria. Now, it is a little over seven million. By 2050, that number is projected to be less than 5.5 million. By the end of the century, it could be close to half what it is now.
Stefka fears she will have to close her shop
This exodus contributes to another factor in Bulgaria's dwindling population numbers - in part because a lot of young adults have left the country, the birth rate is low.
The last time a baby was born in the village, recalls shopkeeper Stefka - whose own two sons have moved away to the city - was a decade ago. The little girl and her mother now live in Cyprus, she adds.
The vast majority of the people Stefka serves are over the age of 60. The shelves are sparsely stocked, she says, because there aren't many customers, and she worries the shop will have to close.
Higher up the mountain, the village shops have already shut, along with schools and bus services.
"This village used to be made up of about 600 people," says Boyan, a 70-year-old living in Kalotinsi. "Now we are 13. Some are in the cemetery, the rest are in towns."
Granny Stanka is now the only person living in her street
In the village of Smirov Dol, Stanka Petrova - Granny Stanka to those who know her - sits under a tree at a bend in the mountain road, patiently waiting for the mobile shop, which serves the area.
"I was born in this village, and I remember the village when it was really full of people. It was such a fun and nice life. Young people, old people," she says, explaining that this is the spot where people would come together and enjoy traditional dancing.
"There is no-one in the village, so of course nothing like that can happen now," she says.
"In this street, for example, that I came from, in the past there were a lot of people in the houses. Now only I live there."
Abandoned and derelict buildings are a common sight in parts of rural Bulgaria
Does she get lonely? "Of course I'm lonely. It's very hard," she says, tearfully.
The people in Kalotinsi and surrounding villages buy their groceries from a mobile shop that visits three times a week.
The service is run by middle-aged husband-and-wife team Atanas and Lili Borisov.
Their unmarked van is well-stocked with everything from bread and yoghurt to cigarettes and beer, and even medicines. In 10 years, they've never missed a delivery, even though in winter the mountain roads are covered in snow.
"Because there are few people, we are friends with all of them, so we're trying to help them with all that we can," Lili says.
Atanas and Lili's mobile shop visits villages in western Bulgaria three times a week
It's obvious they're popular with the people they're serving, but Lili says customer numbers, and profits, are dwindling. In business and personal terms, the mobile shop is at the sharp end of the depopulation of Bulgaria's countryside.
"We start worrying when someone doesn't appear at the normal place we meet them," Lili says, "especially during the winter."
"We had a case, actually, where we found someone dead."
The government is introducing a number of measures to try to tackle depopulation by increasing the birth rate: offering help with the costs of fertility treatment, giving childcare, and mortgage support.
It is also encouraging ethnic Bulgarians who live abroad to return to the country, but no-one else.
Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister, Valeri Simeonov, rejects the idea of refugees repopulating the country
"Bulgaria doesn't need uneducated refugees," says Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov, a leader of the United Patriots, an anti-immigrant grouping forming part of the coalition government.
Nor would Bulgarian society accept educated and skilled migrants, Mr Simeonov says.
"They have a different culture, different religion, even different daily habits," he says. "And thank God Bulgaria so far is one of the most-well defended countries from Europe's immigrant influx."
Mr Simeonov is referring to a razor-wire fence that Bulgaria has been building across its 260km (160 mile) border with Turkey to discourage immigrants from trying to enter the country.
The new razor-wire border fence is a major obstacle for migrants trying to cross from Turkey
According to figures from the European Commission, Bulgaria had taken in only about 50 of the migrants who arrived in Europe from North Africa and the Middle East between 2015 and July 2017.
It is clear that the Bulgarian government does not see immigration as a possible solution to the country's dwindling population.
Although the government is full of ideas to boost the number of Bulgarian babies being born, in the countryside the feeling is that politicians talk, but don't act.
Before I left the mountains, I bumped into Boyan again, the man living in Kalotinsi, which has shrunk from being a village of 600 people to one of 13.
Boyan, 70, believes that people have been abandoned by politicians
"We are abandoned," he says. "Abandoned from everyone - from rulers and from God.
"Politicians will not do anything for us. They're just interested in their own interests. They don't care about the people - especially the old people in the villages. They don't even care about the young people because the young people are abroad.
"So the politicians don't care at all and the Bulgarian state is disappearing."
Ruth Alexander's report from Bulgaria is on Crossing Continents, on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 on Thursday 7 September. You can listen online or download the programme podcast.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41109572
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Crime calculator: Find your personal risk of being a victim - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Try the BBC's crime calculator tool to find out more about your personal risk of being a victim.
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UK
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Are you scared of being a victim of crime?
Today, for the first time, BBC News, working with the Office for National Statistics, is providing you with a way of understanding your risk of being a victim of crime in England and Wales. If you are interested in Scotland, you can find out more about the Scottish Crime Survey on its official website.
The tool below uses national crime statistics, your address and your personal characteristics to tell you what's happened to people similar to you in the last year - and therefore something approaching a personal estimate of how likely you are to be a victim.
It only takes a moment to fill in, and the BBC does not keep the data, so punch in your details and have a look at the results:
Sorry, your browser cannot display this content
Week in, week out, journalists like myself report on the big crime trends across the nation. And you will almost certainly notice the tool tells a different story - a personal one.
Now, it's worth pointing out that it has some limitations. The Crime Survey of England and Wales, which provides most of the data in the calculator, captures a wide range of real experiences of crime, but some things are very difficult to measure, such as risky lifestyles and behaviour.
Be that as it may, the tool does tell us a lot. And if you try changing your age - and even your gender - you learn a lot more about how crime affects us depending on who we are and our stage in life.
So, for instance, the tool shows that people like me, living in an area like mine, have a very low risk of being a victim of violence. If I were aged between 16 and 29 (sadly those days are gone) and living in the same area, my risk of being assaulted is five times greater.
If I were a woman in my 60s, I'd be even less likely to be a victim.
Put most simply, young men in areas of higher deprivation are the most likely victims of crime. Old ladies living in the same areas - among those who are most likely to fear crime - have a lower risk. There is a dividend for living in a posher area - but age and gender remain key factors too.
Now, there are a lot of nuances in here - and you can drill into the ONS's data tables for the full facts - or read this highly digestible analysis from Victim Support.
But many of these differences come down to how we live our lives.
Younger people spend more time out at night. They're more likely to come into contact with people who become violent after they have had one too many drinks.
How many parents have had to console a teenager who's had their bike or mobile phone stolen?
When kids move out of home, start work or become a student, they're likely to be living in cheaper, less-secure, rented accommodation.
But as they get older, the security of stable employment leads to security at home and family life. And you're less likely to be burgled if you've sunk into the sofa watching a box set, rather than if you've gone to the pub.
Every time a home is renovated, it's harder to break in to than before. Each new car we buy tends to be more secure than its predecessors.
That's not actually how we perceive crime and our personal risk. In fact, what we think is happening can be at complete odds with what is actually going on.
According to the most recent data from the ONS, people generally have a pretty good idea about how much crime is close to them. Their perceptions seem to match the reality. But 60% also thought that crime is rising across the country as a whole - even though the long-term trend is down.
The people with the highest risk of being a victim - the young - were less likely to be worried than older generations, even though the older you become, the safer things generally become.
Dr Jane Wood, a forensic psychologist at the University of Kent, says a range of factors influence this perception gap. Women for instance fear crime because they know they cannot fight off a younger man. But our perceptions are also influenced by what we see around us - and how we hear about.
When the ONS asked interviewees to choose from a list of what most influenced their perceptions of national crime levels, people talked about television, radio, newspapers (tabloid and broadsheet), the internet and word of mouth. And, Dr Wood says, the more we read or watch about crime, the more we think about it.
All of which may be an argument for not listening to a word that journalists like me tell you.
But while I wait for the hue and cry to drag me from the newsroom, please share a link to the crime risk calculator.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41178903
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Malala calls for defence of Rohingya - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai says the 'global community' must protect Myanmar's Muslim minority.
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Family & Education
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Malala says she is nervous about starting as a student at Oxford
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says the "global community" needs to intervene to protect Myanmar's Muslim minority.
She urged Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak up for the Rohingya.
"We can't be silent right now. The number of people who have been displaced is hundreds of thousands," Malala told the BBC.
The human rights activist is about to become a student at Oxford and admitted to "nerves" about her new life.
Speaking in Oxford, she called for an international response to the violence in Myanmar.
"I think we can't even imagine for a second what it's like when your citizenship, your right to live in a country, is completely denied," said Malala.
"This should be a human rights issue. Governments should react to it. People are being displaced, they're facing violence.
Rohingya refugees have been trying to reach Bangladesh
"Children are being deprived of education, they cannot receive basic rights - and living in a terrorism situation, when there's so much violence around you, is extremely difficult.
"We need to wake up and respond to it - and I hope that Aung Sang Suu Kyi responds to it as well," she said.
Malala, now 20, is about to become an undergraduate at the University of Oxford.
While the university might have produced many people who went on to win Nobel prizes, she is unusual in having one before she has arrived.
"I am trying to be just a normal student."
"I want to make friends just as the girl Malala and not the Nobel laureate."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Who are the Rohingya?
"I'm a bit nervous as well, because in the beginning you don't know anyone, and you don't know how to make friends and it will be challenging… but fingers crossed it will be OK."
She also says she is pleased to be following in the footsteps of another "strong female leader" from Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, who studied at Oxford.
Malala has been campaigning over the rights of girls to have an education - and she is setting up a network of "champions" for education in countries such as Afghanistan and Nigeria and for Syrian refugees.
This is called the Gulmakai Network - the name taken from her pseudonym when she wrote a blog about the loss of girls' rights under the Taliban in Pakistan, which had lead to the attempt on her life in 2012.
Students in Mexico hold up copies of her book when she visited this year
She says she wants education to be recognised as a global priority - and for more urgency in addressing the lack of access to school for 130 million girls, often in the world's poorest countries or in conflict zones.
"I know there are other issues that are taken more seriously - such as poverty, terrorism, or climate change, but education is the only solution for all of these problems."
She says there are many problems to overcome, "whether it's early marriage, poverty, lack of awareness or lack of funding".
"But the benefits are many, we need to educate people about the importance of education," she said.
Malala, the advocate of girls' right to education, came to the world's attention after the Taliban in her native Pakistan attempted to murder her in a gun attack.
This week there have been reports that one of those involved in the attack had been killed by security forces in Pakistan.
Malala's life is being depicted in a Bollywood movie
She says she has already forgiven the people who were trying to murder her.
"But they were able to carry out other killings in Pakistan. I hope that the army and the country helps them in a deradicalisation process and they learn about the true message of Islam and the meaning of human rights and learn about the importance of education.
"But personally I have forgiven them.
"I think what's the point now to say that they should be punished. It has no benefit to anyone, you're just creating more harm. I would want to reduce harm and help each other."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41193357
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Wakefield City Academies Trust pulls out of 21 schools - BBC News
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2017-09-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Only four of the Wakefield City Academies Trust schools are rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.
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Leeds & West Yorkshire
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Wakefield City Academies Trust said the decision was in the "best interests" of pupils
A trust which runs 21 schools has announced it is pulling out in the first week of the new term.
Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) said it was unable to "facilitate the rapid improvement our academies need, and our students deserve".
The Department for Education (DfE) said many of the schools within the trust were performing below the national average.
It said it would work with the trust until a new sponsor could be found.
Only four of the schools are rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.
Eleven out of 14 primary schools and six of the seven secondary schools were performing below the national average in 2016.
In a statement, the trust said it recognised the announcement would cause uncertainty but said the decision was in the "best interests" of the students.
A DfE spokesperson said academies operate within a strict system of accountability, allowing swift action to "deal with under-performance".
It said its priority was to ensure all children receive the best possible education.
Regional commissioners are now working with the schools to identify new sponsors and ensure minimal disruption for pupils.
Damian Walenta, from the National Education Union, said the news had come as no surprise and was largely down to a lack of accountability.
"Whilst the quality and values of academy chains vary greatly, we hear more and more bad news about poor academy chains," he said.
In November, The Independent newspaper reported the trust had paid its then chief executive £82,000 for 15 weeks' work.
An investigation into WCAT found it had been put in an "extremely vulnerable position as a result of inadequate governance, leadership and overall financial management".
• None Academies 'not taken over fast enough'
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-41198403
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'Unfair staircase tax' for offices challenged - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Businesses with offices separated by communal stairs are being hit with backdated business rates.
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Business
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Carolyn Saddington says her bills have risen by thousands of pounds
Backdated tax demands being sent to businesses with offices in communal blocks are "particularly unfair", the head of a committee of MPs has said.
Dubbed the "staircase tax" by critics, business rates in England and Wales are being set depending on how many rooms are being used and how they are linked.
Those with more than one office linked by a communal lift, corridors or stairs are being charged more.
In a letter to Melissa Tatton, chief executive of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which sets the rates, Mrs Morgan has asked how many businesses are being hit and what is being done to mitigate the impact.
"On the face of it, it seems unfair to tax businesses differently depending solely on whether the staircases between their rooms are communal or private," she said.
"It seems particularly unfair for the increase in rates to be backdated. I have written to Ms Tatton to ascertain the reasons for the VOA backdating it. "
The change - and the backdating of rates - was the result of a ruling in the Supreme Court which the VOA said had clarified the law and given it no choice but to send the fresh demands.
Among those to have received them is Carolyn Saddington, the director of digital marketing agency Loyalty Matters, based in Harrogate.
The 54-year-old said the agency was spread over three offices on two floors of a building.
"Our offices - because they are separated by a [communal] staircase and a small amount of carpet - are now assessed by the Valuation Office as three separate properties," she told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme.
She said if they had an office that was a single unit, then they would be eligible for 100% rate relief, but the current situation meant they would only receive relief on one office and had to pay rates on the other two.
She has received a backdated rates demand of £4,000 and a charge of £2,000 a year from now on. It was "a bit of shock", she said.
"The ridiculous thing is that there is a wall between two offices. We could knock a door through then the Valuation Office would have to assess it as one property. It is absolutely crazy," she added.
Mrs Morgan, in her letter, questions why the recalculated rates are being backdated. She also asked whether there is any analysis on the winners and losers under the new rules.
She has also asked for details on how many businesses are affected, an estimate of the typical increase or fall in rates, and what transitional relief is available.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) estimates that 80,000 properties are affected. It said the levy was "ridiculous" and there was cross-party support in Parliament to help affected businesses.
"No small business should receive a sudden tax hike of 5,000% simply because a workspace has been separated, for years, by a communal area, stairway or lift. Some small business owners are discussing whether to knock holes in their walls or stick a staircase on the outside of their premises," said Mike Cherry, national chairman of the FSB.
"This is no way to run a tax system in the 20th century, let alone the 21st. Ministers have the power to provide relief, and they should do this urgently - to correct this defect in the UK tax system."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41202376
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New mummies discovered in tomb near Luxor, Egypt - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The tomb, found by archaeologists near the city of Luxor, belonged to a goldsmith.
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Middle East
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Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the tomb of a royal goldsmith containing the mummies of a woman and her two children, authorities said.
The tomb, dating back to the New Kingdom (16th to 11th Centuries BC), was found near the Nile city of Luxor, 400 miles (700km) south of Cairo.
Among the items discovered inside was a statue of the goldsmith Amenemhat, sitting beside his wife.
It is unclear whether the three mummies discovered are connected to Amenemhat.
The mummies were found down a burial shaft leading off the main chamber, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities said.
The tomb was found in the Draa Abul Naga necropolis, which was used for officials
According to the archaeologists, the mother died aged about 50, with tests revealing she had a bacterial bone disease. Her two sons were in their 20s and 30s and their bodies said to have been preserved in good condition.
Authorities believe the tomb of Amenemhat, who was goldsmith for the god Amun, the period's most powerful deity, could lead them to further discoveries in the Draa Abul Naga necropolis, an area famed for its temples and burial grounds.
Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani said: "We found many objects of the funerary equipment inside and outside the tomb. We found mummies, coffins, funerary combs, funerary masks, some jewellery, and statue.
"The work did not finish yet."
The bodies of the male mummies are said to be in good condition
Mr Anani said archaeologists had read four new names.
"What about those four new names? How about their tombs? Their tombs are not discovered yet. But I believe they are owners of the tomb," he said.
"I believe, inshallah, for the coming season, we are going to do our excavations. We are going to do our excavations in this area. So I believe we can find one, or two or maybe four if we are going to be very lucky, four of them in this area."
Amenemhat's son is depicted as sitting between him and his wife
The discovery is the second big find for archaeologists in the area this year
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41213024
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Derby Aida Bliss factory roof-fall boy, 12, dies - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The boy was found critically injured inside the factory after he went there with two friends.
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Derby
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The boy was found critically injured after falling through the roof of the Aida Bliss factory
A 12-year-old boy has died after falling through the roof of a derelict factory.
The boy was found critically injured inside the Aida Bliss building in Derby, just after 19:30 BST on Friday.
He was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Police said he had been at the factory in City Road, Chester Green, with two friends who had been left "understandably distraught" by what happened.
The building was used to make metal stamping presses, but since closing in 2004 it has attracted people inside to take photos and videos they post online.
This photo inside the Aida Bliss factory was taken by photography student Alison White
Officers have appealed for potential witnesses to speak to them "urgently".
They believe there may have been other youngsters inside the factory who were not known to the group.
Ch Supt Jim Allen, of Derbyshire Police, said: "This is a tragic incident and our thoughts and sympathies go out to the young boy's family.
"If you were in the building at the time, you will not be in any trouble - we just need to speak to you as a witness as soon as possible, so please call us now."
He said specially trained officers and staff are supporting the boy's family "at this unimaginably difficult time".
Ch Supt Allen also urged anyone who was in the area or passing by at the time to contact police.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-41212604
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Reality Check: Does debt interest cost more than NHS pay? - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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A look at the sums behind Theresa May's claim in Parliament.
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Health
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The claim: We pay more on debt interest than on NHS pay.
Reality Check verdict: If you use the Office for Budget Responsibility's headline figure for debt interest then we actually spend more on NHS pay.
With nurses demonstrating in Parliament Square against the pay cap this week, Prime Minister Theresa May was asked by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn about whether public sector workers could be paid more.
She replied by blaming the last Labour government for the amount of debt the country has, saying: "As a result of the decisions the Labour Party took in government we now have to pay more on debt interest than on NHS pay."
Reality Check asked Downing Street for the figures to back this up and were told that in 2016-17 debt interest costs were expected to have been £49.1bn while NHS staff costs the same year were £48.1bn.
Let's look at those figures in turn.
The debt interest costs figure comes from the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) economic and fiscal outlook from the time of the Budget in March.
The tricky thing with this figure is that the OBR comes up with two numbers depending on whether or not you count what's known as the Asset Purchase Facility (APF).
As part of its attempts to stimulate the economy, the Bank of England has bought a large amount of UK government bonds.
The government has to pay interest on those bonds, so it makes interest payments to the Bank of England.
But once a quarter, the Bank of England returns those interest payments to the government.
The OBR's headline figure doesn't count the money which has been returned as part of government spending. In 2016-17 it was £36.0bn.
The one used by Theresa May ignores the fact the money was returned to government coffers, so totals £49.1bn.
The figure for NHS pay is a surprisingly difficult one to give a definitive answer to.
The number Downing Street gave comes from the Department of Health annual report and accounts.
The figure of £48.1bn is for all permanently employed staff of the departmental group, which means it includes people working full-time for the NHS in England as well as those working for the Department of Health and arm's length bodies such as Public Health England. It includes employer national insurance contributions and pension contributions.
It does not include anyone working for the NHS in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland because staff there are paid by the devolved administrations.
It also does not include anyone employed via an agency, on a temporary contract, or most staff working in GP surgeries.
We asked NHS Digital to come up with a figure for only the salaries of NHS England staff and they gave us the remarkably precise figure of £39,450,395,739.60, i.e. about £39.5bn.
NHS Digital warns that the figure is lower than it should be because it excludes data for two hospital trusts and also does not include maternity pay or sick pay. As with the Department of Health figures, it also does not include figures for the NHS outside England or for GP practices.
But even this figure is higher than the amount spent on debt interest when the APF is taken into account.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41201141
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RideLondon: Pedestrian dies from injuries after collision - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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A 67-year-old woman dies following a collision with a competitor in July.
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London
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A pedestrian has died after she was struck by a cyclist during this year's RideLondon event.
The 67-year-old suffered serious head injuries when she was struck on New King's Road at the junction of Guion Road in Parsons Green.
Following the collision on 30 July, she was taken to a west London hospital. She died on Thursday.
A 60-year-old cyclist, who was also injured, was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The Met has issued an appeal for anyone with information to contact them.
Riders completed either a 46 or 100-mile cycle route through Surrey and London
Det Sgt Alastair Middleton, from the Met's serious collision investigation unit, said: "In light of the sad news that the pedestrian in this collision has passed away, it is important that we understand more about the circumstances surrounding the collision from either members of the public or those working as part of the event.
"Please call into the incident room if you have information, footage or images that could benefit our investigation."
The pedestrian is the second person to have died following the event.
Maris Ozols, a 67-year-old father-of-four, died after he suffered a cardiac arrest about 13 miles into the event.
RideLondon saw 28,032 riders complete either a 46 or 100-mile cycle ride through Surrey and London on 30 July.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41212147
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Libyan migrant detention centre: 'It's like hell' - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The EU wants Libya to do more on migrants but the unstable country is struggling to cope.
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Africa
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The 18-year-old from South Sudan knew he might perish on the treacherous crossing from Libya to Europe. So far this year, the Mediterranean has claimed an estimated 2,400 migrants and refugees.
But before he ever reached the shore, Hennessy was kidnapped, beaten and almost shot.
The teenager says he left home in 2016 after family problems resulted in death threats.
He is behind bars in the Triq al-Sika detention centre in Tripoli, along with around 1,000 other men. Most we met were Africans in search of work, who were stopped at sea, or trying to get there.
Now they are jammed into a warehouse, bereft of light and struggling to breathe.
Hennessy Manjing spent three years in London, where he wants to return
In the sweltering heat they are melding together - a tapestry of jumbled limbs, and torment.
"When they find their journey ends here, they are completely broken," said one official at the centre.
Some try to fan themselves with scraps of cardboard. At night, when the doors are locked, they have to urinate in bottles.
"It's like hell," said Hennessy "even worse than jail."
The gaunt teenager spoke with a London accent - the legacy of three years spent living in the UK with his family.
Hopes of getting back there led him first to Egypt, and then across the border to eastern Libya. He says that's where an armed gang kidnapped him and about 40 others from their trafficker.
There is not enough money to look after all the detainees
"We saw people holding guns and sticks, and they forced us into trucks," he said.
"People starting jumping off. By the time we jumped, there was an old man, from Chad. He was shot. Blood went all over my T-shirt. I thought I had been shot as well so I just ran away."
He sought help from a local man, who returned him to one of the kidnappers.
"He slapped me and punched me in the stomach, and said: 'Why did you run away?'
"Thank God, on the third day my trafficker came and released us."
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Hennessy was given a fake visa to fly to Tripoli, but on arrival he was arrested by a militia and taken to a detention centre near the airport.
"There were daily abuses," he said. "If people make noise, or rush for food, you get beaten."
The weapon of choice for the guards was a water pipe.
Some of his fellow detainees outlined other hazards on the migrant trail through Libya - being bought and sold by militias, used as slave labour, and forced to bribe guards to be released from detention centres.
I just want to leave this place and go to my country
Osman Abdel Salam, from Sudan, lifted the red towel around his neck to reveal a raised scar.
He said that was the handiwork of jailers in the Libyan town of Bani Walid. They forced prisoners to call home, while being brutalised, to extort money from their relatives.
"When we call, we are crying. They beat you on the head. There are some people who don't want to obey - they burn their body. My father is a farmer. He doesn't have money so he sold our house."
Osman's freedom - which was short-lived - cost his family $5,000 (£3,800).
When I asked if he still wanted to get to Europe, he covered his eyes with the towel and began to weep.
"I just want to leave this place and go to my country."
Emmanuel John, an 18-year-old who speaks perfect English, said he was beaten from the moment he crossed the border, and feared he would die.
"The smugglers that brought us to Libya handed us to others, from the same network," he said.
"There are stops along the way until you arrive in the city. At every stop you have to pay money. And if you don't, there will be beatings."
But it was not the physical abuse that pained him the most.
"Two girls were raped in the room beside us," he said.
"It was a horrible moment. We couldn't do anything. We didn't have anything to defend ourselves."
He told us the girls were aged about 15 and 19, and were travelling with their family.
The European Union wants Libya to do more to prevent migrants like Emmanuel reaching Europe.
But those intercepted by the Libyan coastguard are being returned to an unstable country, with a collapsing economy, that can barely feed them.
A recent United Nations report condemned the "inhuman conditions" in Libyan detention centres highlighting "consistent reports of torture, sexual violence and forced labour", and cases of severe malnutrition.
Breakfast time at Triq al-Sika was long on queues, and short on food.
Each man received a small bread roll, some butter, and a single cup of watery juice.
Three-month-old Sola has been in detention for most of his short life
The detainees wanted us to witness this, as did the officials in charge. They say they have run out of money to pay their suppliers and are now relying on donations.
Those behind bars here are effectively prisoners, who don't know their sentence. They can be held indefinitely - with no legal process. Their only hope of release is to be sent back to their home country.
Three-month-old Sola has been in detention for most of his short life.
We found him in the women's section, sleeping peacefully on a faded mattress.
His young mother, Wasila Alasanne, tried to take him across the seas to Italy when he was just four weeks old.
"Our boat broke and the police arrested us on the water," she said.
"Since then we have been in five prisons. We don't have enough food. We don't have the right to call our parents. They don't know if I am alive or dead. My baby and I are suffering."
Wasila's husband is being held in a different detention centre.
She has no idea when they will be reunited, or when they will free.
Her home country, Togo, has no ambassador in Libya.
Now she can only dream of deportation, as she used to dream of Europe.
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.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41189247
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Anti-Brexit marchers rally in Parliament Square - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Thousands of Remainers join a rally in central London to protest at the impact of the UK leaving the EU.
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UK Politics
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Thousands of protesters in favour of the UK staying in the European Union have marched in Westminster.
The People's March for Europe took a route through central London before a rally in Parliament Square.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said there were a growing number of people worried about Brexit's impact.
The march came ahead of MPs voting on Monday on a bill that will overturn the act that took the UK into the EU and end the supremacy of EU law in the UK.
Remainers - many dressed in blue and yellow outfits and draped in EU flags - amassed outside Parliament on Saturday afternoon.
Many carried "Exit from Brexit" placards or wore "Remoaner Till I Die" t-shirts.
Former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister Sir Ed Davey told marchers he had "gone from anger to distress, from fury to despair".
He added: "Since the Brexit negotiations begun there's a third emotion I've been feeling - embarrassment.
"Embarrassment at our country's leaders. Embarrassment for Great Britain."
Tory peer Baroness Patience Wheatcroft told demonstrators that Remainers needed to keep campaigning to stay in the EU.
She said: "We have to stop Brexit. Since we joined the EU we've had an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. It must be right to try and maintain that.
"It's not undemocratic to try to persuade the electorate to think again about Brexit. That's democracy at work."
Organisers estimated there were between 10,000 and 15,000 people at the start of the march, adding that numbers rose to about 50,000 at its height as people joined along the way.
The police did not provide any estimates and the BBC is unable to verify these figures.
One marcher, wearing a blue beret emblazoned with yellow stars, told the BBC she had joined the rally because she felt "totally violated by the idea of Brexiting".
"I've lived, worked and loved in Europe for years. My whole existence has been a European existence," she said.
"My husband has a business in Europe. We worked for years to build this up. What's going to happen to that?"
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable was at the march
One man, holding a home-made placard, said. "I don't believe people really knew what they were voting for.
"We keep being told those who voted to Remain have largely changed their minds but I don't believe that at all."
Sir Vince told the BBC growing numbers of people wanted the UK to keep its links with the European Union and this was the beginning of a "loud and powerful" movement.
"They (the government) are not listening - they've got tin ear," he said.
"They're making a complete mess of these negotiations - totally disunited, dysfunctional, a lack of preparation.
"Even if you believe in Brexit you must be in despair at the way they're approaching these negotiations."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41212505
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Strictly Come Dancing: Susan Calman 'offended' by dance partner row - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Openly gay comedian Susan Calman defends her decision to dance with a male professional dancer.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Calman said her wife would be at the Strictly studio to see her dance
Susan Calman has strongly defended her decision as an openly gay woman to dance with a male professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing.
The Scottish comedian and writer has faced criticism on social media for taking part in the show - because it does not have same-sex dancing couples.
Calman said the criticism had offended her, adding: "No one can say I haven't stood up for my community."
It is understood show bosses have not ruled out same-sex couples in future.
Calman is one of 15 celebrities taking to the dance floor on the BBC One contest.
The stars will find out who their professional partners are in the launch show, broadcast on Saturday night.
The 42-year-old said she was "absolutely not disappointed" that she would not be paired with a woman and that it was her decision to dance with a man.
She said: "I think politically, there's nothing more powerful than having an openly gay woman on the biggest show on television, whose wife's on the front row, doing what she wants to do."
Calman has also written a book about depression, called Cheer Up Love
She added: "For the gay community to criticise me and try to get me what they want to do is, I think, as difficult as suggesting the straight community are trying to.
"No one is holding me hostage in this room, making me wear a dress and dance with a man. I want to learn how to dance."
Calman suggested she was receiving more flack as a gay woman than gay male contestants had done on the dance show - including The Reverend Richard Coles, a fellow member of the "class of 2017".
"I have protested, I have picketed, I have fought, I have been spat on, I have been punched - and I want to dance," she said.
"There will be a time for same-sex dancing. I think what annoyed me slightly is that I seem to be getting it in the neck.
"Will Young didn't get it, Judge Rinder didn't get it, Richard Coles isn't getting it. It seems to me as a woman, he's not getting it the same way I am.
"And for me to be getting it is, I think, unfair. I seem to be getting the brunt of the LGBT community."
Richard Coles is the first vicar to take part in the show
Coles, meanwhile, said he would be more than happy to dance with a male partner.
He said: "We've had a discussion about it actually, and I don't know. I mean, it's in no sense that anyone resists the idea in principle, it's just a question of doing it.
"I think it's a good year to do it actually, with the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Decriminalisation Act."
Calman, who presents daytime quiz The Boss and children's programme Top Class, said the issue had become "a bigger deal than it should have".
"To put the weight of the LGBT community on me - and changing platforms and changing perceptions - is unfair, upsetting and is ignoring the impact I will have in the biggest show on television.
"A lot of people are very supportive of my decision, but it's making this about my sexuality instead of a woman wanting to learn how to dance.
"The idea that people are depressed by it or upset by it, I think offends me because I've done... a lot for that community."
The 15 contenders for the Strictly glitterball trophy
Calman, who regularly appears on TV and radio panel shows, has also spoken about the issue on social media.
She received support from fans with one saying, tongue in cheek: "You're not a straight man, so must ALWAYS represent your sex/sexual orientation/short stature!"
A Strictly Come Dancing spokeswoman said: "Strictly has chosen the traditional format of mixed-sex couples and at the moment we have no plans to introduce same-sex couples in the competition."
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Sir Bruce Forsyth: Strictly pays tribute to former host - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The former co-host, who died in August, is remembered at the start of the new series of the show.
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UK
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Stars of Strictly Come Dancing have paid an emotional tribute to former co-host Sir Bruce Forsyth at the start of this year's series.
Sir Bruce, who died in August aged 89, had a showbiz career that lasted 75 years - 10 of them on Strictly.
The tribute started with a collection of Sir Bruce's best moments and people's favourite memories.
The professional dancers then performed a traditional ballroom routine to "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra.
The outline of Sir Bruce's fist-to-face pose was in the background, and the dancers adopted it as a last nod to the entertainer.
A tearful Tess Daly, who co-hosted the show alongside Sir Bruce from 2004, said that everyone working on Strictly "missed him dearly".
She fondly remembered his attempts to steady her nerves before the first show in 2004.
Sir Bruce always joined in the dancing with co-host Tess Daly
Clips of Sir Bruce insisting various contestants were his "favourite" showed his comedic side. The show described him as "Strictly family".
One of the judges, Bruno Tonioli, said Sir Bruce "always had time for everyone", adding "he'll never be forgotten".
"That first show, I was sitting in my little dressing room and there was a knock at the door," recalled Len Goodman, a previous head judge.
"And he said: 'Len, I just wanted to say, I hope you have a lovely show'.
"And there I am, little old Len, the dance teacher from Dartford, sitting and chatting with Bruce Forsyth."
Strictly was Sir Bruce's final television role, yet he managed to coin a new, enduring catchphrase - always encouraging the audience to "Keep dancing!"
Craig Revel Horwood, another judge, described him simply as an "inspiration".
Dancer Anton Du Beke said he "couldn't tell you how that feels", describing the moment Sir Bruce asked him to choreograph his entrance with Tess Daly.
The first show of the new series also saw the celebrity contestants matched with their professional partners.
This year's famous faces include singer Alexandra Burke, Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte Hawkins, and Jonnie Peacock, the Paralympic gold medallist.
The long-standing judging panel of Horwood, Darcey Bussell and Tonioli have been joined by a new head judge, following Len Goodman's departure.
Shirley Ballas, a former award-winning dancer, is known as the "queen of Latin".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41214694
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US country music singers Don Williams and Troy Gentry die - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Country music has lost two major artists in Don Williams and Troy Gentry within hours of each other.
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Entertainment & Arts
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US country music singer Don Williams - who enjoyed great success with his easy-going singing style - has died aged 78 after a short illness.
Williams began his solo career in 1971, amassing 17 number one country hits. His songs such as Gypsy Woman and Tulsa Time, were covered by singers such as Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend.
Williams was known as the gentle giant of country music.
Another country star, Troy Gentry, also died on Friday in a helicopter crash.
Williams' other hits included You're My Best Friend, I Believe in You and Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good.
In 2010, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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The news of the death of 50-year-old Troy Gentry has shocked country music fans and artists.
"It is with great sadness that we confirm that Troy Gentry, half of the popular country duo, Montgomery Gentry, was tragically killed in a helicopter crash which took place at approximately 1:00pm today in Medford, New Jersey," a statement of the band's website said.
Troy Gentry was due to perform in Medford, New Jersey on Friday evening
The helicopter's pilot also died in the incident, but the reasons for the crash remain unclear.
The country duo, who were brothers, formed in 1999 and had released eight studio albums.
Grammy award-winning Singer Brad Paisley said he was "heartbroken and in disbelief" at the news of Gentry's death in a Friday night tweet.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41209608
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No more public outings for Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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"Health problems" are cited as 82-year-old Dave Prowse calls time on convention appearances.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Prowse played Darth Vader (right) in the original sci-fi trilogy
Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, is calling time on public appearances.
A statement on the 82-year-old's social media accounts said he would "no longer be doing any personal appearances or conventions due to health problems" from January 2018 onwards.
Prowse was the man behind Vader's mask in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
He also played the Green Cross Code man in television road safety commercials.
Born in Bristol in 1935, Prowse was a successful bodybuilder and weightlifter before landing his iconic Star Wars role.
The Bristol native started out as a bodybuilder and weightlifter
His face was never seen in the films though, while his voice was dubbed by US actor James Earl Jones.
When Vader's mask was removed in Return of the Jedi, another actor - Sebastian Shaw - was revealed beneath.
Two new actors - Daniel Naprous and Spencer Wilding - shared the role of Vader during his brief appearance in last year's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Prowse, a fixture on the convention circuit since Jedi's release in 1983, announced last year "with great sadness" that he would no longer attend international events.
In 2014 he revealed he had dementia, though this did not prevent him participating in the 2015 documentary I Am Your Father, or recently appearing in a music video for singer Jayce Lewis.
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Newspaper headlines: Tories 'plan to cut student loan interest' - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Theresa May aims to win back young voters - and Tony Blair gets "tough on migrants".
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The Papers
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The Sunday Telegraph reports that Theresa May will attempt to win back young voters lost to Jeremy Corbyn in the general election, by looking at cutting interest rates on student loans and "strong-arming" universities into lowering tuition fees.
It predicts that announcements could follow within weeks - at next month's Conservative party conference and in the autumn Budget.
According to the paper, the Treasury has grown infuriated that, in its view, some students are being "ripped off" by taking courses costing £9,000 a year which offer little in return.
However, some senior Tories are said to have told the Telegraph that the party must not "over-interpret the results of a disastrous campaign" by adopting "hardcore Corbynism".
The Sunday Times describes Tony Blair's call for tough new rules on immigration - in contrast to the open borders he presided over as prime minister - as an "explosive" intervention in the Brexit debate.
In an article for the paper's website, Mr Blair acknowledges that this is a radical departure from his policies in office. But he argues that "back then, the economy was strong, the workers needed" and "the times were different" and voters' concerns now "cannot be ignored".
In an editorial, the Sunday Times calls this a "deathbed repentance" on migration, and a "mea culpa" for the decision of the Labour government to open the door to people from the EU's new eastern European members.
Would Britain have voted for Brexit, it asks, or even held a referendum without the pressures this unleashed? Its conclusion: Tony Blair's conversion has come too late.
The Observer reports that survivors on Caribbean islands shattered by Hurricane Irma are begging the world for food, water, shelter and rescue as they face down armed looters and the prospect of a fresh onslaught from Hurricane Jose.
There is also no let up in the criticism of the UK government's response to Hurricane Irma.
The Sunday Telegraph condemns it as "appallingly slow" and a "dereliction of duty". As well as the Americans, it says, the French and the Dutch have been far more dynamic.
Writing in the Mail, the former attorney general in Anguilla, Rupert Jones, says the British overseas territory has been devastated - and what's been promised so far is a "drop in the ocean".
If Irma had hit the Falklands or Gibraltar, there would have been a national outcry, he complains.
A British Royal Logistics Corps Mexflote arrives in Anguilla to help with the relief effort
Writing in the Sun on Sunday, the International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, says the critics are "just wrong".
She says the £32 million already pledged will support the humanitarian needs of people left without food, water, shelter and power, while ministers are also looking at how to rebuild islands.
Ms Patel adds that a Royal Navy vessel loaded with aid and military support was deployed ahead of the disaster, and that UK forces are working around the clock in the British Virgin Islands.
The Sunday Express and the Daily Star Sunday both focus on what they call the "miraculous" escape of a British family trapped by Irma in their house of the Caribbean island of Tortola.
At one stage, parents Sasha and Brendan Joyce say they had to lay on top of their two boys, aged four and two, to prevent them being blown away. The bedroom they were in was the only room not destroyed.
The Sunday Times reports that ministers will signal an end to their seven year public sector pay freeze this week.
It says police officers are set to get the first rises - either an across-the-board increase of more than 1% or targeted bonuses for those on the front line.
After the return of Strictly Come Dancing, the Telegraph suggests that the BBC is set to court controversy with some viewers by considering introducing same-sex dancing partners.
It quotes the Church of England vicar, Richard Coles, as revealing that discussions have taken place - though the Corporation is said to have ruled it out for the current series.
The Telegraph speaks of a backlash by LGBT activists against the lesbian comic, Susan Calman, for agreeing to dance with a man.
She says she's "getting it in the neck" only because she's a woman.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41216271
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Four jailed for raping girl, 16, in Ramsgate - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The group attacked the 16-year-old girl when she asked them for directions in Ramsgate, Kent.
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Kent
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(L-R) Shershah Muslimyar, Rafiullah Hamidy and Tamin Rahmani were jailed for 14 years each
Three men and a boy raped a girl who had asked them for directions when she got lost on a night out with friends.
The girl, 16, who cannot be named, was trying to get to a friend's house in Ramsgate, Kent, when she was attacked and then dumped on the street.
They fulfilled their "depraved sexual desires" on the 16-year-old girl, Canterbury Crown Court heard.
Three of the men were each jailed for 14 years each and a 17-year-old boy was jailed for seven years.
The girl was found crying in the street by two people returning from a night out.
Rafiullah Hamidy, 24, of High Street, Herne Bay, Shershah Muslimyar, 21, of Hovenden Close, Canterbury, Tamin Rahmani, 38, of Northwood Road, Ramsgate, and the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all denied rape but were found guilty by a jury in May.
Sentencing, Judge Heather Norton said the girl had been trying to make her way on foot back to a friend's house having missed the last train home, and was "young, drunk, disorientated and vulnerable".
She said the girl thought the four were going to help her, but instead they "took her up to a bedroom, pushed her on to a mattress and repeatedly raped her" over a sustained period.
Rafiullah Hamidy fled to Italy after raping the teenage girl
Judge Norton said the girl had been clear that while she was being raped, others were in the room watching.
Describing it as a prolonged attack in degrading circumstances, she told the defendants: "This was an appalling and repeated gang rape of a vulnerable girl who had sought your assistance."
They attacked the girl at Rahmani's home in the early hours of 18 September 2016.
He owns 555 Pizza and Kebab in Northwood Road, Ramsgate, and is in the UK under a spousal visa.
Hamidy fled to Taranto in southern Italy after the attack where he was detained by local officers.
He was returned to the UK following an extradition hearing and taken into custody at Heathrow Airport on 28 March.
After the hearing, Det Insp Richard Vickery said the men "saw an opportunity to fulfil their depraved sexual desires and betrayed the trust she placed in them in the worst possible way".
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Half of new-build retirement homes sell at a loss - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The charity, which conducted the research for the BBC, calls the findings for new-builds "startling".
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Business
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Ken says his children have lost out from his retirement property dropping in value
Around half of new build retirement homes sold during a 10-year period were later re-sold at a loss, according to exclusive research for the BBC.
The research by the Elderly Accommodation Counsel charity found falls in value could be more than 50%.
It looked at thousands of Land Registry records for resale details of homes built between 1998 and 2012.
The charity found many properties built after 2002 had underperformed the general property market.
Adam Hillier of the Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC), which advises people considering retirement housing, called the scale of the falls "startling".
According to the research, 51% of retirement properties built and sold between 2000 and 2010, and then sold again between 2006 and 2016, suffered a loss in value.
For those properties which declined in value, the average loss was 17%.
For some, the falls are much steeper.
The EAC found that for new build retirement properties sold between 2005 and 2007, and then resold between 2012 and 2014, more than four fifths fell in value.
The average loss for these properties was 25%.
The Elderly Accommodation Counsel charity said the trend was "startling"
Mr Hillier said it was unclear why it was happening. "It's the million dollar question, really.
"I think part of it is the new build premium - especially when it comes to retirement housing," he said.
Another reason could be under-investment from developers once they have built the properties, he said.
"The traditional model was to hand over these properties to a managing agent to run them," he said. "Does the developer have that much of an interest in investing in the property?"
The trend has continued in recent years too. For new retirement properties sold between 2008 and 2010, and then resold between 2015 and 2017, nearly two thirds were sold for less than the purchase price.
The average loss here was 19%.
Money Box spoke to the residents of one development - Burlington Court, in Bridlington in East Yorkshire - where prices have more than halved since it was first built around a decade ago.
According to Land Registry figures, one flat in Burlington Court, bought new in 2006 for £166,000, was resold for just £70,000 in 2014. Another two bedroom apartment bought for £140,000, in 2008, was sold last year for £58,000.
Ken, 91, bought his flat in Burlington Court for around £180,000 in 2008.
"I thought when I bought this that if I lived for another five or six years, my children would get maybe £190,000 for it," he said.
"In actual fact they'll be lucky to get £70,000 for it, maybe even £60,000.
"It's criminal really. When I mention it other people, they say: 'Why should you worry, you won't be here?'
"But I do feel my son and daughter have lost out. It's a lot of money," he added.
The developer said Burlington Court was hit by a lack of parking and difficult local market
Margarete, 92, paid nearly £150,000 for her flat eleven years ago. She sold a detached bungalow in York.
Like most residents of Burlington Court, she says it's a nice place to live, with a nice community of people.
But Margarete says she's always wanted to move back to Germany, where she was born.
However the value of her property means that isn't now an option.
"My friends in Germany always wanted me to go back."
"But if I get £40,000 for this flat I'd be lucky. I couldn't afford to go back to Germany and buy a place there."
The largest developer of retirement homes, McCarthy and Stone, told the BBC that the numbers did not include incentives given to the original buyers, which effectively lowers the purchase price.
The company also said it had worked hard to increase resale values in recent years, including extending leases, retaining management of developments, and providing sales support.
"The vast majority of our retirement apartments increase in value on resale", McCarthy and Stone told the BBC in a statement.
"It is also important to understand that the value of specialist retirement housing is not purely financial. It improves lives, provides peace of mind, care and support and ultimately helps older people maintain their independence.
"However, we recognise that there are a small number of cases, particularly with our older properties, where resale values of some apartments haven't performed as we would have wished. This can be down to many reasons, including the performance of some local property markets."
McCarthy and Stone, which also built Burlington Court, said resale values in that particular development had been hit by a lack of car parking spaces and a difficult local property market.
"Dismal resale prices for retirement properties help explain why only 2% of over-65s live in designated retirement properties - far less than the US or Australia.
"Something is seriously wrong with the business model that these flats fall so drastically in value.
"The retirement housing sector will not expand notably until this is addressed. That would be more effective than attempting to deny that the problem exists."
Listen to the full report on Money Box, midday on Saturday 9 September on BBC Radio 4.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41200686
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Star Wars actor McDiarmid takes on immigration row role - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Ian McDiarmid's latest role tries to uncover the true character of the controversial politician Enoch Powell.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Ian McDiarmid portrays Enoch Powell at the time of his "rivers of blood" speech and later towards the end of his life
A single controversial speech probably made Enoch Powell the most admired and the most detested British politician of the 1960s. In 1968 his intervention in Britain's policies on migration ended his career as a shadow minister - but it made him known around the world. Chris Hannan's play What Shadows, starring Star Wars actor Ian McDiarmid, looks at Powell's motives then and at his legacy today.
Hannan says the play What Shadows isn't really about Powell, although the politician dominates the stage.
"I knew I wanted to write about national identity and Powell is a good way of exploring that. But the inspiration was partly my own background in a working-class Irish family in Scotland. There was a huge amount of discrimination as the Irish were often seen as unwanted immigrants. So the Powell speech resonated more widely than you might think."
In April 1968 Powell made a speech which has gone down in British political history. The Conservatives were in opposition under Edward Heath - a party rival for whom Powell had little respect. Powell, the Tory defence spokesman, knew some of his white constituents in Wolverhampton South-West were unhappy at levels of immigration from the Commonwealth.
Ian McDiarmid (left) is known for playing Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars
He made a speech at the Midland Hotel in Birmingham, using the racial language of the time, in which he quoted the Roman poet Virgil, setting out dark forebodings about growing levels of migration. "Like the Roman," he said "I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood."
The press around the world reported the so-called "rivers of blood" speech and Powell was quickly sacked from the Tory front bench. But TV news bulletins were filled with voters for whom Powell had become an unlikely populist hero.
Hannan's play shows events surrounding the Birmingham speech and then revisits Powell towards the end of his life. The play was seen last year at the Birmingham Rep and is now being restaged in Edinburgh and London. The lead role is taken by Ian McDiarmid, famous on screen as the Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars films.
The play's poster gives an inflammatory image of Enoch Powell
McDiarmid says the 1968 Britain we see portrayed isn't very different from the nation today. "I think we now have a divided Britain, almost down the middle - as it very much was when Powell made the speech.
"There are the people who have reason to be grateful and happy about multiculturalism and there are other people who are feeling rather dispossessed. And that's something which he put his finger on in 1968 - in fact he lit the blue touch-paper.
"So Chris has written about a divided nation but with Powell there's also a divided personality. He was a romantic nationalist and a passionate person: he felt he had an insight into human nature. In a public sense he had two great ambitions: he wanted to be Viceroy of India and then he wanted to be prime minister. They both came to nothing."
Political journalist Simon Heffer was Powell's official biographer. Before the politician's death in 1998 they spoke about the Birmingham speech - but he was never quite sure if Powell had been surprised at its huge impact with the public.
Ian McDiarmid (left) previously played the World War One foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey in drama 37 Days
"There's no denying that Enoch had aspirations to be his party's leader. He disliked the fact that Edward Heath was a pro-European and not a traditional Tory. He knew the Birmingham speech would aggravate Heath but he was also, I think, acting as a dedicated constituency MP. He was not a racist and I think he had no theories about race as such - but he was opposed to immigration.
"Some of the language he used in the speech undoubtedly offended people with his talk of 'charming, wide-grinning piccaninnies'. It's fair to point out that he was quoting a constituent.
"But when I wrote his biography a lot of his contemporaries at Westminster told me his speech had made it impossible to discuss immigration at all: the whole thing became so toxic. That was not what he intended."
Hannan enjoyed delving into Powell's complex personality. But he says it's contemporary Britain he had in mind writing the play. "We find this conversation so difficult: it's as if the language isn't fit for talking about it. As soon as we raise the subject of racism and immigration we can last about two minutes before we give up and shut the dialogue down.
The playwright Chris Hannan says conversation about immigration has become harder since the time of Enoch Powell
"I believe the conversation has actually got worse over the half century since the Powell speech. The play really ask, 'How do we learn to talk about this? How do we learn to talk about the things that divide us?' Because we have to get beyond all the hatred - there's no choice about that. The play is about the Birmingham speech needing to be answered. It's not a matter of agreeing with it but I want to know, with all the anger, how on earth do we talk to each other?"
McDiarmid has to make Powell tick on stage - so does he find something to like in him?
"Acting works by empathising with your character. If you fail to do that, the audience simply won't take it seriously and the whole thing will fall apart. So I admire him for sticking to his guns. But at the end of the day you have to ask if what he did advanced the argument in any productive way. I'm not sure it did.
"I suspect the audience may go away thinking he was brave but also naïve - or prejudiced but also honest. I think there are elements of all those aspects to him. But he was a significant character in British life. And - whether you like his arguments or not - the issues he raises are as relevant as they ever were."
What Shadows plays at the Lyceum theatre in Edinburgh from 7 September. From 26 September it's at the Park theatre in London.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41174659
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French girl mutilated by rats in night attack at home - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A disabled French teenager is critically ill after rats attacked her at night in Roubaix.
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Europe
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Rats may have been attracted to rubbish piled up in a nearby car park
A disabled French girl covered in rat bites is critically ill in hospital after a pack swarmed into her bedroom in northern France.
The 14-year-old paraplegic was sleeping on the ground floor when the attack happened, in a rented house in Roubaix.
A medical expert quoted by France Info said the girl had 45 facial lesions, 150 on her hands and 30 on her feet.
The girl's father is suing the landlord for alleged negligence. Reports say rubbish bins nearby were overflowing.
The father, who has two other children, said he found his paraplegic daughter Samantha "drenched in blood" in her bed last Saturday.
He said everything had been fine when the family had gone to bed. He was sleeping upstairs.
"There was blood coming from her ears - I was terrified that she might have had a brain haemorrhage," he said, quoted by the local newspaper Courrier-Picard.
Some of her fingertips were bitten off and surgeons cannot repair them, he said.
The family has now been moved to a different house and police are investigating the attack.
The hospital has run checks on Samantha for possible infections, including rabies. The rabies test was negative.
Such attacks on humans are rare, though hungry rats do sometimes feed on corpses.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41198770
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Fox News 'parts ways' with Eric Bolling after investigation - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Eric Bolling was accused of sending unsolicited images of male genitalia to female co-workers.
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US & Canada
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US television network Fox News has announced it and a host accused of sending lewd messages to female co-workers have decided to "part ways amicably".
Eric Bolling was suspended in August as the network investigated accusations of inappropriate picture messages.
His lawyer described the claims at the time as "untrue and terribly unfair".
It was the latest of several high-profile harassment cases at the conservative cable news outlet.
The allegations first emerged on the Huffington Post, which cited 14 unnamed sources claiming Mr Bolling had sent unsolicited photos of male genitalia to at least two female colleagues at Fox Business and Fox News.
After initially suspending Mr Bolling pending an investigation, Fox News announced his departure on Friday.
"We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck," the network said in a statement.
They also confirmed they were cancelling his show, The Specialists.
Mr Bolling's lawyer, Michael Bowe had previously told the Reuters news agency that he intended to co-operate with the investigation so Mr Bolling could "return to work as quickly as possible."
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The Hill reported in August that Mr Bolling was allegedly suing the journalist who first broke the story for defamation.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41211614
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Hurricane Irma: Stranded couple on 'honeymoon from hell' - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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UK tourists in Cuba speak to the BBC about Hurricane Irma, and efforts to get them to safety.
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UK
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Thomas Cook customers in Cuba have been evacuated to the north resort town of Varadero
British tourists in Cuba have been speaking of the impact of Hurricane Irma, with one saying the storm had led to the "honeymoon from hell".
Irma has made landfall on the island, having claimed at least 20 lives as it churned across the Caribbean.
Thomas Cook has been criticised by some for not evacuating tourists, and continuing to bring holidaymakers to Cuba's resorts as late as Thursday.
A spokeswoman says the firm is working with Cuban authorities to get customers off the island.
Sam Lever, 50, from Bury in Greater Manchester, travelled to Cuba last week with his new wife Chelsea, 30, for their honeymoon.
The couple told the BBC how they, along with 2,500 other Thomas Cook passengers, had to travel eight hours by coach from the resort of Cayo Coco to the town of Varadero.
Mr Lever said: "This is becoming a honeymoon from hell.
"We were all put on 11 buses by the authorities and had to travel eight hours with no food to Varadero.
"There were people on those coaches who had arrived from Manchester the night before. I just find that scandalous behaviour."
Software developer Sam Lever, 50, is currently celebrating his honeymoon in Cuba with his wife Chelsea
Mr Lever said a contingent of Canadian tourists in the resort were flown home on Thursday.
He said he and his wife were "huddled into a games room" with other tourists.
"We just think Thomas Cook was playing a game of roulette, seeing if the storm would even hit Cayo Coco.
"It's scandalous that they flew people out on Wednesday, with staff who were going to deal with the evacuation.
One of those flown in on Wednesday was Steve Allen, who said there were "major flaws" in the evacuation process.
"They actually lost our passenger manifest at the hotel so we didn't know who was meant be going where at the time," he said.
"Well, we are now stuck in Varadero and praying we get through this nightmare in one piece."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Footage shows the central province of Villa Clara battered by wind and rain
A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said the company had followed advice given to them by Cuban authorities, and that they were told to evacuate their customers to Varadero.
She added that three aircraft would be chartered to Varadero on Sunday to bring UK holidaymakers home.
Roy Pinches said his daughter, who works as cabin crew for Thomas Cook, had been sent to Cuba on Thursday and was now stranded on the island.
Mr Pinches said: "They have been told to stay in one room where 10 cabin crew have been told to barricade themselves in
"Their last option is to use the bathroom where they have been told to get under the table placed there.
"This hotel could not be in a worse position to handle this hurricane."
Thomas Cook's spokeswoman added that staff members and reps were all in lockdown, like customers, as advised by Cuban authorities.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41213417
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Seized van in Sandwell had string to operate wipers - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The windscreen wipers were being worked by a piece of string attached to the gearstick, say police.
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Birmingham & Black Country
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The van also had a taped up wing mirror
A van driver using a piece of string to operate his windscreen wipers has had his vehicle seized.
Police from Sandwell described the string attached to the gearstick as an "inventive" way to clean windscreens.
The van was spotted as officers took part in a road safety operation in the West Midlands borough.
Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) said: "Of all the defects found on numerous dangerous vehicles in Sandwell today this was the most amusing."
And West Midlands Police joked the string set-up was "knot acceptable".
CMPG later said the operation had been successful and included the discovery of seven vehicles in a dangerous condition.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-41212203
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Baby daughter for Sir Chris Hoy and wife Sarra - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Baby Chloe is the second child for the Olympic cycling champion and his wife Sarra.
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Scotland
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Baby Chloe weighed 4lb 14oz when she was born
Sir Chris Hoy has announced that his wife Sarra has given birth to a baby daughter.
Chloe Rose Carol was born at 36 weeks and weighed 4lb 14oz.
The six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist and his wife already have a two-year-old son, Callum.
Sir Chris revealed the news of the latest arrival on Twitter, saying: "Delighted to announce the safe arrival of Chloe Rose Carol Hoy this week! Sarra and Chloe doing really well.x"
Chloe is Sir Chris and wife Sarra's second child
Lady Hoy added: "We owe a huge debt of thanks to our local hospital & amazing staff, who gave me the most incredible care, while our family of 3 became 4."
The couple's first child was born 11 weeks prematurely by emergency caesarean section after Sarra was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.
He weighed just 2lbs 2oz and spent 60 days in neonatal care but has now grown into a healthy toddler.
Following his birth, Lady Hoy became the official ambassador of Bliss Scotland, a charity for babies born prematurely or sick.
• None Son for Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41212061
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Call for clarity over Student Loans Company problems - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Shadow Universities Minister Gordon Marsden says the company is nearing 'meltdown'
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Education & Family
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Students are paying more for their university education in England than ever before
There has been a call for an urgent inquiry into problems at the Student Loans Company which led to the suspension of its chief executive.
Shadow Universities Minister Gordon Marsden said the firm was near "meltdown" and urged the Universities Minister to address the problems.
The Department for Education suspended Steve Lamey in July without saying why.
A DfE spokesman defended the student loans system and said Jo Johnson would respond in due course.
In early July, a statement from the DfE said: "The Student Loans Company, in consultation with the Department for Education, took the decision to suspend the chief executive, pending an investigation into concerns which have been raised.
"The suspension is a neutral act and does not imply wrongdoing.
"As the matters leading to suspension are now subject to an independent investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."
But this week, Mr Marsden wrote to Mr Johnson, asking him to clarify the details around the suspension and the nature of the associated investigation.
He told the BBC: "Whilst the full details have yet to become clear, the Student Loans Company appears to be approaching a situation of meltdown.
"There needs to be an urgent, substantial inquiry into all aspects of the way they operate with HMRC."
His letter continues: "This worrying situation has been compounded by an ongoing stream of accounts over the past few months in the media, and based on numerous individual stories appearing, of the inadequacies of the Student Loans Company to properly administer student loans and specifically repayments."
He highlighted that the number of student loan customers who had overpaid their debts rose to 86,000 in 2015-16, from 52,000 in 2009-10.
And he asked Mr Johnson to set out what steps he and his officers were taking to address the issue.
He called for a review of the system of communications between HMRC and the company, after reports that the SLC was only getting salary information on borrowers at the end of the tax year.
This is thought to have led to more overpayments by customers than may have been necessary.
He wrote: "The deteriorating situation suggests that there are significant management pressures at the SLC, both in processing this information and then in rectifying overpayments.
"So are you able to give assurances that there will be no further cuts in staffing resource or capacity at the SLC?"
A spokesman for the DfE defended the student loans system, which debits money directly from earnings through the tax system, saying it was fair.
The spokesman said: "No borrower need overpay their loan.
"The SLC gives all borrowers the option to repay by direct debit two years before they are due to repay their loan and borrowers who take up this option will not overpay."
Any borrower who believes they have overpaid should contact the SLC as soon as possible.
Mr Marsden pointed out that the problems at the firm come at a time when some students leave university with debts of up to £57,000.
He also raised the issue of graduates facing the prospect of paying 6.1% on their student loans while the Bank of England base rate is 0.25%.
The interest rate is due to rise soon from 4.6%.
He said that, without action, the confidence of existing graduates and future students would continue to erode, to the detriment of the sector.
• None Why are student loan interest rates so high?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41201769
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Mexico earthquake: Rescue efforts continue as death toll rises - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The earthquake is the most powerful to hit Mexico in a century, President Enrique Peña Nieto said.
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Latin America & Caribbean
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This is what the southern region of Mexico woke up to after an 8.1 magnitude quake
The race to rescue those trapped in the rubble continues, nearly 48 hours after a powerful earthquake struck off Mexico's southern coast.
The 8.1 magnitude quake left at least 65 people dead, according to officials.
Another 200 people were injured, President Enrique Peña Nieto said, as he declared a national day of mourning.
Meanwhile, the feared category one Hurricane Katia, which struck Veracruz on the east coast on Saturday, has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
The US National Hurricane Center reported Katia had been rapidly weakening since making landfall, but local officials are worried the storm could still cause landslides and flooding.
Rescue efforts following the earthquake, which struck late on Thursday, are focussing on the worst-hit states of Tabasco, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Tens of thousands of emergency packs, as well as 100 extra police officers and rescue dogs were sent to Juchitán, Oaxaca, which was the most affected town.
The earthquake is the most powerful anywhere in the world since September 2015, but its depth - 70km according to the US Geological Survey - means that the shaking felt at the surface was less strong than it would have been for an equally powerful but shallower tremor.
At least 37 people have been reported dead in Juchitán, according to the Milenio newspaper. The town hall and a number of other buildings destroyed or badly damaged.
"The situation is Juchitán is critical; this is the most terrible moment in its history," said Mayor Gloria Sanchez.
Police officer Vidal Vera, 29, who had not slept in more than 36 hours, told AFP: "I can't remember an earthquake this terrible.
"The whole city is a disaster zone right now. Lots of damage. Lots of deaths. I don't know how you can make sense of it. It's hard. My sister-in-law's husband died. His house fell on top of him."
Mr Peña Nieto, who visited the town on Friday, said flags would fly at half-mast on Saturday out of respect for the dead and bereaved.
The president said 45 deaths had been reported in Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco.
Parts of the town hall in Juchitán were levelled
The BBC's Arturo Wallace says the affected region is the poorest and least developed part of Mexico and the full extent of the damage is yet to become clear.
At least one other person was killed in Guatemala, its president has said.
The huge quake struck at 23:50 local time on Thursday (04:50 GMT Friday), shaking buildings and causing panic hundreds of miles away in the capital, Mexico City.
Patients at a hospital in Villahermosa, Tabasco state, were moved into the open after the quake struck
The earthquake also triggered a tsunami warning and the evacuation of thousands of people in coastal communities in Chiapas. The warning was later lifted.
Throughout Friday, the region was shaken with scores of aftershocks.
President Peña Nieto's office said he would travel to Chiapas to survey the damage.
Pope Francis, addressing an open air Mass on a visit to Colombia, said he was praying "for those who have lost their lives and their families".
The earthquake was more powerful than the 1985 tremor which hit close to Mexico City and caused thousands of deaths. Correspondents say the death toll appears to have been lower because it struck further away from highly populated areas.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A bowling alley shakes in Tuxtla Gutierrez, 240km from the epicentre
Journalist Franc Contreras, who was in Mexico City, told the BBC: "You could hear loud cracks in the concrete. It sounded like a giant wooden branch being just broken open violently.
"People were streaming out of the hallways. And everybody walking out single file into the streets, trying to avoid overhead power lines."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41209243
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Newspaper headlines: May is 'hopeless and weak' - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Criticism of Theresa May and a cyber attack affecting millions of Britons make front-page headlines.
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The Papers
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The Times highlights an attack on Theresa May as "hopeless and weak" by Conservative party donor Lord Harris of Peckham.
In an interview with the paper, Lord Harris says the prime minister's administration is mishandling Brexit and he would prefer a "strong Labour government" led by a figure such as Tony Blair.
He also criticises Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as "lazy", and adds that Environment Secretary Michael Gove has "no personality".
In its leading article, the Times complains of "paralysis" in Downing Street and describes Mrs May as a "caretaker adrift".
Nevertheless, it urges her to stay on and face down factions in her own party who it says are exploiting her weakness in Parliament to pursue their own narrow interests.
The prime minister's declaration of admiration for Geoffrey Boycott catches the attention of the Guardian, which points out that the famously obdurate cricketer was eventually sacked as Yorkshire captain amid an acrimonious dressing room revolt.
It also notes that the team won nothing during Boycott's time in charge, and that he once scored so slowly during his brief spell as England captain that Ian Botham was sent on deliberately to get him run out.
The Daily Telegraph attacks the UK's initial response to Hurricane Irma as "embarrassingly slow" as the storm smashed through British territories in the Caribbean.
It says those affected are British passport holders - no different to citizens of the Falklands or Gibraltar - and the UK should care for all of them.
The Telegraph thinks the situation "smacked of a government distracted" by Brexit.
The Daily Express agrees that "we should be doing so much more".
It says the foreign aid budget could be saving lives in the Caribbean instead of being used on "pointless development projects".
The Daily Mirror hails Saturday night's reopening of the Manchester Arena as a triumph over terror and a "new beginning".
It says the victims of the bombing in May must never be forgotten but nor should "crazed jihadists" be allowed to destroy our way of life.
In the Mirror's view, the Manchester Arena, like the Bataclan in Paris, will become a symbol of defiance against what it calls "miserable fanaticism".
According to the Daily Mail, ministers are considering plans to raise on-the-spot fines for littering from a maximum of £80 to £150.
For those who pay late, the penalty could increase to £300.
Councils have been pressing for the change and for the freedom to spend the proceeds as they wish - raising fears, says the Mail, that they will use litter patrols as cash cows.
The Sun and the Mirror both have the story of a woman who appears to have vanished with thousands of pounds after offering to arrange her fiance's stag party in Ibiza.
The jilted groom discovered what had happened only when he arrived at Leeds airport with 30 friends and found their flight tickets were fake and their hotel had no record of a booking.
He apparently headed to a local pub to drown his sorrows.
The Sun's headline is: "Here cons the bride".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41209189
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Manchester Arena: Peter Kay delivers defiant message at reopening concert - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The comedian captures the mood at the venue's reopening concert with a message of "love, not hate".
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Entertainment & Arts
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Kay said the last four months had been "horrendous" for Manchester
Comedian Peter Kay has delivered a message of defiance at Manchester Arena's reopening concert, declaring "we can't let terrorists win".
Kay appeared at the We Are Manchester show on Saturday alongside other local heroes including Noel Gallagher.
More than 14,000 fans were there, four months after a bomb killed 22 people.
"The victims will never ever be forgotten, but we've got to move forward with love and not hate, and that's how we win," Kay told the crowd.
Kay worked as a steward at the venue in the 1990s before going on to perform there more than 40 times.
"There's been a lot of joy in this room over the years, including the night of 22 May, right up until the terrorist attack," he said - and the crowd booed at the mention of the attack.
"These last four months have been incredibly painful," Kay continued.
"Horrendous is putting it mildly. But that's why you're here - because we can't let terrorists win.
"And I know the memories of that night will stay with us for a very long time but we've got to remember the good times and let them outweigh the bad."
Kay then introduced Gallagher, and the former Oasis star performed a string of favourites including Don't Look Back In Anger.
The song took on special significance in the wake of the bombing after a crowd started spontaneously singing it at a memorial.
"It's become some sort of anthem for defiance," Gallagher said. "And every time you sing, we win."
The atmosphere was joyful for most of the show
Armed police patrolled outside and inside the arena
As well as defiance, the mood at the event had a mixture of pride, catharsis, pure enjoyment - and, for some, trepidation.
Among the crowd were Paul Woodhouse and his son, from Edinburgh, who were at the Ariana Grande concert that was attacked on 22 May.
He said: "Some of us that were there first time were there [at the reopening] to face a fear.
"Not so much of going to a concert, but of going back to the same place. It's still a bit raw. In time, yes, I think it will have helped, coming back to the same place."
The atmosphere inside the concert was "quite positive", he added.
"We found everybody was quite cheerful with everybody. Quite uplifting. You knew everybody was standing together."
Courteeners got the crowd going
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was in the audience
Adrian Thorpe, who was in the arena foyer when the bomb went off, said returning with his daughter and partner was initially "nerve-wracking".
He said: "It was emotional returning but it's turned out a happy evening. Last time we were here it was a sad time but it's been a joyous evening.
"She's enjoyed it and that's all that matters now. The kids can put a smile back on their faces again."
The foyer area was also reopened on Saturday, but it now contains a row of airport-style body scanners and brightly-coloured temporary wall coverings with slogans such as "We are entertainment", "We are love" and "We are stronger".
Pixie Lott was the first singer to perform
Also in the crowd was Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City FC, whose wife and daughters were at the Ariana Grande gig.
He told BBC News: "It's good to come back to normality and see that life is going on and remember the families that suffered."
There was tight security at the venue, with backpacks banned and armed police patrolling both the exterior and the inside concourse.
The night started with a tribute to the bomb victims from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who read the names of the 22 people who were killed by Salman Abedi.
The something-for-everyone bill included 1980s pop star Rick Astley - who was wearing a shirt bearing the Manchester bee emblem - plus Pixie Lott, ex-Girls Aloud member Nadine Coyle, grime MC Bugzy Malone and Stockport band Blossoms.
Poet Tony Walsh delivered his poem This is the Place
Manchester band Courteeners summed up how the sense of pride in the city has been renewed since the attack when singer Liam Fray declared during their first song: "Manchester, centre of the universe."
The concert was hosted by comedian Russell Kane. When a photographer came on stage to take a picture of the crowd, Kane told them: "Let's show the world what defiance, happiness, positivity and strength look like."
Proceeds from the concert will go to establishing a permanent memorial to the victims.
Stockport band Blossoms were among the local acts on the bill
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41216400
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Why more women are getting into shooting - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The number of women taking up shooting for pleasure is on the rise - why?
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England
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The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club describes itself as the UK's largest ladies' shooting community
It has traditionally been seen as a man's game, enjoyed by country types wearing flat caps and tweed. But the number of women taking up shooting - particularly clay pigeon shooting - is on the rise. Why?
Growing up in Berkshire, Danielle Brown's only experience of the countryside was "seeing it on the television".
"I was a right town girl," she said. "Went to a comprehensive, mum on her own, didn't have much money, never thought about country pursuits."
Danielle Brown got into shooting after moving to the countryside
It was when she moved to Herefordshire with her husband that she was introduced to shooting by a neighbour. After a bit of investigating she came across the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club - a group holding events specifically for women - and she was hooked.
"I just loved it, that feeling when you shoot a clay, a moving target in the sky. I wanted to do it again."
The club is one of a number of groups attracting an increasing number of women to shoot, and building a new image for the sport.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Shooting: Not just a sport for men
Gone are the days of shooting being just a pursuit for country folk; members are now as likely to be students and shop assistants as they are bankers and lawyers.
And numbers of female shooters are rising.
Figures show the number of women joining the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) each year has risen a third over the past four years.
The association welcomed 1,212 women in 2011, compared with 1,603 in 2015, and now has almost 10,000 female members.
Femmes Fatales aims to "challenge the misconception that shooting is a man's game". Participants are more likely to don sportswear than reflect the "Downton Abbey and farmers in tweed look", says founder Lydia Abdelaoui.
Rachel Carrie, left and Lydia Abdelaoui, right, who founded Femmes Fatales
Miss Abdelaoui, 33, works in the shooting industry for an ammunition manufacturer, but only took up the sport three years ago.
"It never really appealed to me that much until I went with a group of women," she said.
"I had been before, but it was just a bit dull, I find men are really competitive. We had such a laugh and got to talk about doing things to attract more women and that's where the idea of Femmes Fatales came about."
The group started out on social media and has built up a "community" of about 7,000 women.
"It's not farmers and the gentry, it's just normal people from all different backgrounds who are just serious about the sport," says Miss Abdelaoui.
"We try to get away from the misconception that people have about shooters and to make it a bit more feminine and up to date.
"I had a Twitter exchange with a guy and he called us 'privileged women' and he suggested that women that shoot are all 'ladies that lunch' that don't have jobs - nothing could be further from the truth. Everybody works hard and we shoot at weekends."
Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club members enjoy tea and cake after a day of shooting
At the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club, women meet for shooting followed by tea and cake.
It was founded by Victoria Knowles-Lacks who, while learning to shoot with her uncle, saw there was a "major lack" of women shooting.
"I'd see wives and daughters being dragged round clay grounds press buttons on clay traps for their husbands and I just thought the shooting industry is missing a trick," said the 33-year-old from Shropshire.
When Mrs Knowles-Lacks took four female friends who "weren't overly keen" to a group shooting lesson, she baked a cake to "soften" the day.
And the winning combination of clays and cake was born.
"We shot in a small group under instruction, then we had tea and cake. The format has stayed the same since that very first day.
"I've made it my mission to make it really easy, affordable and to showcase how social and how much fun shooting is," she added.
Women enjoy shooting and the social side of the sport at the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club
It is the social side of the club that Mrs Brown, 38, says has "transformed" her life.
"I don't have children so I didn't have any natural way of making my own friends, I didn't have any hobbies but all of a sudden I went to those clubs and met these lovely ladies."
The financial controller now practises once or twice a week and competes a couple of times a month.
While she admits her hobby is expensive, she says there are many routes into it, such as hen parties, and it's not just for the well off - she herself makes sacrifices to fund her passion.
"I don't go clothes shopping any more, I buy shotgun cartridges instead."
The profile of the sport is giving women shooters "visibility" for the first time, added Mrs Knowles-Lacks.
"When we started the club back in 2011 there was literally nothing for female shooters. You'd see a few ladies at clay shoots or in the kitchen on game shoots, but there weren't really any opportunities.
"It's definitely reaching people who wouldn't really have considered trying the sport before."
• None Breakfast's Holly has a go at shooting
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39480041
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Is Germany's migrant crisis over? One city put to the test - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The BBC returns to Oberhausen, which took in thousands of migrants and refugees. Now many may have to leave.
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Europe
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"Oberhausen is my home now," says Khaled Kohestani. "A lot of things have happened since I arrived here two years ago."
Khaled, 24, first spoke to the BBC 16 months ago. Everything in Germany was new to him. He was scared of getting on the bus. "Everybody is so quiet, no one speaks or say hello, I'm scared of doing something illegal, we don't know the rules and we can't speak to anyone."
Khaled lived in a refugee centre for three months but now has accommodation and a job
Khaled is not scared anymore. We meet him in a metal workshop, where he's grinding and polishing iron doors and garden tables, sending sparks flying. "Things are much easier today, mainly because I speak German now, nothing really is a problem because I understand what people say."
Khaled is an exception. Out of the 1,902 asylum seekers living in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, only 42 are, like him, employed or doing an apprenticeship.
But that is no guarantee that he'll be allowed to stay. In January this year, his asylum application was rejected by the German authorities. Khaled and his lawyer have appealed against the decision but Afghanistan is considered a safe country and Khaled and his family could be deported if the appeal is rejected.
Two years on from the big influx of migrants and refugees into Germany, things have calmed down and reception centres are operating below their full capacity.
A man in his forties selling curry-wurst for a couple of euros in a small food market on the edge of Oberhausen says when the migrants started coming to Germany there was a lot of noise about what might happen. But for him the city has not really changed in that time, and it does not feel as if there are more foreigners than before.
Chief police inspector Tom Litges says initially the city's reception centres were overcrowded and it was not unusual to be called out to break up fights among the migrants. But things are calmer these days.
"The small protests against migrants and refugees have also have stopped. They used to be massively outnumbered by pro-migrant demonstrators anyway," he points out.
The German Red Cross organises activities for children living in Oberhausen's refugee centre
On Duisburg street, a Turkish artist paints a wall with a dozen children living at a refugee centre. They are colouring jolly characters that seem to come out of a comic book.
Germany is nearing the climax of its general election campaign, but immigration is no longer the hot national issue it once was.
"The situation is now much calmer for everybody and I don't think that the refugee crisis of 2015 will have an impact," says Joerg Fischer from the German Red Cross, who was on the front line in 2015 when emergency camps had to be opened to accommodate everybody.
Voters go to the polls on 24 September and Martin Schulz is challenging Angela Merkel for the job of chancellor
"If the elections had taken place 18 months ago it would clearly have benefited the far right but two years ago Angela Merkel said 'Wir schaffen das' - we will do this - and indeed we did it."
"Oberhausen has received more migrants and refugees than any other region. We'll probably start receiving more people in the autumn again so we are using this time to start integration programmes, we now have a football team, cooking classes for men and empowerment classes for women as well as art workshop for the kids."
On the high street in central Oberhausen elections posters are everywhere, but to the newcomers the election campaign is barely noticeable.
"It's so quiet," says Osmane, a 20-year-old from Guinea. "It doesn't look like its elections time here. In Africa it's chaos during electoral campaigns, you can get mugged for no reason. It is peaceful here, I like it."
With just over two weeks to go before the vote, the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to enter the federal parliament for the first time.
Whoever wins the federal election will make little difference to Khaled's future in Oberhausen. He says his life is in Germany now rather than Afghanistan and vows to do everything he can to stay. "My son goes to the kindergarten, my wife is learning German and I've got a job."
"German people are always on time everywhere so I try to be punctual, I want my boss to be satisfied with me." And for now that seems to work.
"His German still needs to improve but he's doing well and he is a reliable worker," says Frank Kalutza, who gave him his first job.
The decision for now is out of Khaled's hands and could take several more months. "I don't want to leave, there is nothing in Afghanistan for me."
Khaled is one of only 42 refugees who are in employment in Oberhausen
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41147362
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The Rohingya crisis: Why won't Aung San Suu Kyi act? - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Could the stubbornness which sustained her in opposition stop her from changing her position now?
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Asia
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She was the perfect symbol of democracy. Highly intelligent, well-read, articulate and photogenic.
Set against this, the thuggish Burmese generals could never hope to capture the good opinion of the international media. Not that they ever cared to try.
Those of us who worked undercover in Myanmar remember a constant struggle to stay out of the way of the secret policemen and spies. We were despised by the junta and feted by the pro-democracy movement.
When I first encountered Aung San Suu Kyi shortly after her first release from house arrest in July 1995, she was - after Nelson Mandela - the most important global symbol of defiance against tyranny.
The world's media related how she had faced down soldiers with their rifles levelled in her direction.
Her fight for democracy in Myanmar was backed around the world
The UN and others demanded her release from house arrest and worked hard to achieve that goal.
We listened to her address supporters at the gates of her lakeside villa about the need for tolerance and discipline.
In her interviews with me back in the 1990s, she repeatedly stressed the need for non-violence.
She was always keen to know how the African National Congress had managed the transition to majority rule in South Africa, my previous posting.
The phrase "freedom from fear" was repeated, and became the title of a bestselling book.
Aung San Suu Kyi, swarmed by supporters on her release from house arrest in 2002
It was language which Western journalists (including myself), were eager to hear. Many who found their way to Myanmar in those days were veterans of recent tragedies in Rwanda and the Balkans.
After witnessing genocide and ethnic cleansing, we were inspired by the words of the lady by the lake.
Here was a peacemaker in a world made dark by the actions of Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, Franjo Tudjman of Croatia, and the Hutu power extremists of Rwanda.
In retrospect, we knew too little of Myanmar and its complex narratives of ethnic rivalries, deepened by poverty and manipulated over decades by military rulers. And we knew too little of Aung San Suu Kyi herself.
Malala has called on her fellow Nobel peace laureate to intervene
We did not calculate that the stubbornness which refused to concede to the military junta might, if she came to power, prove equally forceful when confronted with foreign criticism.
Her greatest strength in adversity could prove a defining weakness. Old friends in the international human rights movement and some previously sympathetic politicians have become strongly critical.
Anybody who has spent time in her company knows that shifting her mind when she is set on a course of action is extremely difficult.
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Last December, when Vijay Nambiar, the UN Special Representative to Myanmar, urged Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Rakhine state, he was rebuffed.
As one member of her inner circle put it to me: "She will never ever be seen to do what Nambiar tells her to do."
Nor will she ever concede that the Rohingya Muslims are being subjected to ethnic cleansing, not even when tens of thousands are being burned from their homes amid widespread reports of killing and sexual violence.
This is not the first time she has faced criticism over the Rohingya.
It was the same story five years ago during a campaign that displaced more than 100,000 Rohingya.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Who are the Rohingya?
Daw Suu, as she is known, did not visit the area or speak out in defence of the persecuted minority.
While her government has moved to tackle hate speech by Buddhist extremists, she has not made the kind of public gestures in support of Muslims made by her hero Mahatma Gandhi and his colleague Jawaharlal Nehru during the violence of India's partition.
Gandhi paid with his life and the leaders did not succeed in ending the slaughter. But both men laid down a marker about the values of the India they wished to see emerge from partition.
Jawaharlal Nehru (L) and Mahatma Gandhi publicly condemned violence against Muslims during India's partition
The memory of Nehru wading into Hindu mobs to prevent sectarian violence is one of the 20th Century's defining acts of personal courage.
Nobody expects this of Aung San Suu Kyi, but it is the absence of even rhetorical intervention that disturbs many former supporters.
The suffering of the Rohingya is a tragedy in itself. But the palls of smoke from Rakhine state is indicative of a military that feels it can carry on in the old brutal way, whatever the world says.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state
The action unleashed now against the Rohingya will be familiar to the residents of other ethnic areas in Myanmar such as Shan state, or in the war against the Karen.
Aung San Suu Kyi does not control the military and they do not trust her. But her refusal to condemn well-documented military abuses provides the generals with political cover.
It goes further than silence.
Her diplomats are working with Russia and the UN to prevent criticism of the government at Security Council level, and she herself has characterised the latest violence as a problem of terrorism.
Stubbornness in the face of what she feels is unfounded criticism is part of the equation.
But there is a more troubling question: is her long-declared commitment to universal human rights partial, a concern that does not and never will embrace the beleaguered Rohingya Muslims in this Buddhist majority country?
She may yet answer that question by pressing the military to end its brutal crackdown. At this moment there is little sign of that happening.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41187517
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Staying behind on Florida islands is 'almost like suicide' - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Hurricane Irma is on path to hit the shallow Florida Keys islands, home to 70,000 people.
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US & Canada
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Officials have warned that no areas of the low-lying Florida Keys will be safe
Concern is growing for residents in the most vulnerable areas of Florida who have not yet evacuated, as Hurricane Irma edges closer to making landfall.
Despite authorities begging residents of the Florida Keys to evacuate since Thursday, some have opted to remain.
The low-lying coral cay islands are scattered off Florida's southern coast, with a population of 70,000.
One official warned staying on the islands among storm surge warnings was "almost like suicide".
The tropical archipelago extends for more than 100 miles off the US mainland, north of Cuba.
The islands, which are mostly part of Monroe County, are linked to the Florida peninsula by a scenic highway that runs across into Miami.
In 2005 the islands avoided a direct hit from Hurricane Wilma, but the category three storm caused major ocean storm surges that left low-lying areas inundated with flood water.
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Much of the Keys have an elevation of just a few feet above sea level.
Key West, the largest island with a population of about 27,000, is extremely vulnerable to the large storm surges forecast by Hurricane Irma (though it has one of the highest points in the Keys at 18ft (5.5m) above sea level).
The area is frequently ordered to evacuate in Florida's tropical storm seasons.
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But some Florida Keys locals, known as "conches", have developed a tough attitude to riding storms out.
News on Friday that the county's first responders and emergency staff could be evacuated to the mainland prompted some to change their mind.
This photograph from Hurricane Michelle evacuations in 2001 show the area's vulnerability
Elizabeth Prieto told CBS news that she was evacuating the Keys for the first time in 51 years.
"I've been through George, I've been through Andrew, and I've been through Wilma. But I'm not staying for Irma. No, not happening," Ms Prieto said.
Even patients at local hospitals and 460 prisoners from a detention centre have been relocated.
Those opting to stay despite the mandatory evacuation order included the curator and 10 members of staff at Ernest Hemingway's famous home in Key West.
The museum is now famous for homing 54 cats, which the curator said would be too difficult to evacuate safely on the gridlocked roads.
Areas of Key West were flooded with feet of water after Hurricane Wilma in 2005
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With some still opting to remain despite the warnings, Monroe County was forced to announce the opening of four shelters of last resort in the area.
But officials stressed services and supplies would not be provided at the shelters.
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"Once a dangerous storm starts, don't dial 911 during it because nobody is going to answer," Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi said.
With Irma hours away it is unclear how many have opted to stay on the islands.
The hurricane is on course to reach the islands on Sunday morning.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41211955
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Manchester attack: Arena reopens for charity concert - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Extra security checks are in place as thousands attend the first event since the 22 May bombing.
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Manchester
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Fans are facing tight security as they queue for the show
Thousands of people are attending a special benefit concert at Manchester Arena for its first event since May's bomb attack that killed 22 people.
Noel Gallagher is headlining the We Are Manchester show, featuring the likes of the Courteeners and poet Tony Walsh.
Charlotte Campbell, whose daughter Olivia, 15, died in the attack, said she had come back to show defiance.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device in the foyer, following an Ariana Grande concert, on 22 May.
Extra security measures were in place for the re-opening with restrictions on the size of bags that could be taken in.
Charlotte Campbell's daughter Olivia, 15, was killed in the attack
"We have had to come back to show defiance, to show we are not scared and we don't want Manchester to be scared," said Mrs Campbell, from Bury.
"Music was Olivia's life. If she had been still here today she would have been walking through those doors with us, showing her defiance, that they may have got her but she's not beaten. She's here with us."
Sally Thornton-Heywood said it was an emotional return to the arena
For Sally Thornton-Heywood, from Leeds, who attended the Ariana Grande concert with daughter Tilly, 13, said she felt "very emotional".
"I just thought about those parents, the children and the fear that set into them," she said.
"[For us on the night] It was fight or flight. Fortunately we were at the other side of the arena, I just had to get out."
As I arrived at the arena with my wife and seven-year-old son, we had to pass through airport-style security checks.
The whole process was very quick though - clearly a lot of people heeded advice and turned up early.
At least half the foyer area is still sealed off and it is quite unsettling being at the scene of the awful events of 22 May.
As they queued fans were pretty quiet, but once they were inside the arena it was far more like a normal gig.
Manchester legend Clint Boon was first on DJ-ing and warming up the crowd with Manchester classics.
Tony Walsh's This Is The Place poem was cheered enthusiastically before he paused to ask for a moment to remember the victims and all those injured.
"We don't want a minute's silence. This is Manchester and I want everybody to make as much noise as they possibly can," he said.
Thousands in the arena didn't need a second invitation, clapping wildly and shouting their message loud and clear: This city will never be silenced.
Music fans Jennifer Stuart 28, Sophie Chadwick 27 and Liv Slack, 29, all from Altrincham, said they felt safe as they arrived.
"We're here because of what it means to Manchester.
"It's about everyone coming together. The bands are fantastic as well. And it's going to be an amazing atmosphere," said Ms Stuart.
"We've been here a lot throughout our lives and we would always still come here."
Jennifer Stuart, (centre) said she was looking forward to the performances
Poet Tony Walsh captured the spirit of the city when he performed his poem This Is The Place, at a vigil the day after the attack.
"It was quite a moment that night and I think it will be a bridge this evening between that day and this day and we can move on and enjoy the rest of the show," he said.
"Twenty-two people lost their lives, hundreds of people were injured and tonight we're paying our respects, we're raising money for a permanent memorial and we're going to have a good time as well."
Noel Gallagher's hit Don't Look Back in Anger became a city anthem
Noel Gallagher's appearance will also have particular significance - his song Don't Look Back In Anger became an anthem of unity in the wake of the bombing after a crowd started spontaneously singing it at a memorial.
All profits from the concert will go towards establishing a permanent memorial to the victims, which will be built by the new Manchester Memorial Fund.
The concert is being broadcast live on three radio stations.
Police dogs were used to search the venue as Noel Gallagher's soundcheck took place
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-41202131
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Last Night of the Proms: Stars prepare for spectacular finale - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Nina Stemme, Jason Manford and the BBC Concert Orchestra look forward to Saturday's Proms finale.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo will conduct the concert for the second year in a row
After two months and 74 concerts, the 2017 Proms season draws to a close on Saturday with the world-famous Last Night concert.
Led by Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo, the celebration will spill across the UK with events in Enniskillen, Glasgow, Swansea and London's Hyde Park.
At the Royal Albert Hall, anti-Brexit campaigners are planning to hand out thousands of EU flags to the audience.
They say the action is "in support of EU musicians" who play in the UK.
A similar attempt last year did not overwhelm the Last Night celebrations, as fans waved flags from all around the world - Germany, Australia, Denmark, Wales and Cornwall - alongside the more traditional Union flag.
Earlier this summer, the Royal Albert Hall was forced to deny it had "banned the EU flag" from concerts, following several press reports.
Performers at the Last Night include percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie (Northern Ireland), Kinks star Sir Ray Davies (Hyde Park) and Swedish soprano Nina Stemme (Royal Albert Hall).
"It's a dream I didn't dare dreaming when I was a young student," said Stemme, who will reprise her award-winning performance of Tristan and Isolde. "And now it's coming true. Who would ever have thought this?"
We spoke to the Swedish star and other stars of the Proms to find out what the spectacular evening has in store.
Composer Lotta Wennakoski gets to open the Last Night concert, with the world premiere of her latest work, Flounce.
What's the story behind the piece?
I was commissioned by the BBC - and then I was asked to give them a title before I had written anything! So I have a little place where I collect words and sentences I like - and there, I happened to have the title Flounce, which I like because it has two meanings. So I chose the title first and then I began to elaborate my material, according to those two meanings.
How do you approach writing for the Proms?
I knew it was the opening number, so I knew it shouldn't be too introverted. And I also knew it's a special concert that's characterised by lots of shorter pieces, so I thought 'OK, this is not the place for meditation', so it had to be festive and, on the other hand, careful.
Presumably once it's played, you can relax and enjoy the night.
Yes! That's the best thing! Because usually the composer cannot really listen to anything before their own piece.
Is there anything in the programme you're looking forward to?
I've printed out the words for Britain's National Anthem because I want to sing along as accurately as possible! In fact, I actually know some of it in Finnish - because when I was in school we had to sing all the anthems. I remember some of it still [she sings] "Jumala suojaa hallitsija"
I know the Soviet Union anthem in Finnish, too!
Best known as a TV presenter and stand-up comic, Jason Manford will be singing songs from the musicals at Glasgow's Proms in the Park. It's the first time he'll perform the music he's recorded for his debut album, A Different Stage.
I'm glad you chose something low-key to launch your singing career.
I know, it's crazy isn't it? When they asked me, I was like, "Er, are you sure?" But I know I can do it. Fundamentally, I wouldn't do it if I was blagging it.
So there won't be a Milli Vanilli moment?
The music stops and Alfie Boe comes out from behind a curtain? No, there'll be none of that.
I mean, I've heard of this auto-tune magic, but no-one's shown it me yet.
So what will you perform?
We're going to do Hushabye Mountain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which I should know by now, having sung it 500 times [in the West End]. And we're doing Stars from Les Mis.
I have to say, you sing it better than Russell Crowe.
Well you know, that's not a compliment! I'm not the sort of person to complain, but he phoned that in, didn't he?
I remember I went to see the film on the night it was released because I'm a huge fan. It was like one minute past midnight, with all these Les Mis uber-fans - and they were cheering every song, until he sung that. It went so quiet in the cinema; and at the end, when Javert jumps off the bridge, the crowd cheered!
But I'm sure he's not bothered what I think.
Have you ever been to the Proms before?
No, not really. It's never really been in my social calendar. I've seen it on telly, like everyone else. I love that family vibe. I love that people bring picnics and deckchairs. I just think that's a terribly British way of doing things.
Have you checked the forecast for Glasgow?
I was going to mention that! Most of these events, you say to the organisers, "Oh, what's the dress code?" and they'll come back and say "lounge suit" or "black tie".
This time, they came back saying, "make sure you're dressed for the weather!"
Regularly described as "the greatest dramatic soprano in the world," Stemme will treat audiences to a reprise of her signature role in Tristan und Isolde.
You've played the Proms before but never the Last Night. How are you feeling?
For me, it's a dream I didn't dare dreaming when I was a young student. And now it's coming true. Who would ever have thought this? It's such an honour.
Tristan and Isolde has followed you around your whole career, ever since you performed it at Glyndebourne. What do you connect to in that character?
Everything - the psychological situations and the music. I can't wait to see what Sakari Omoro brings out of it. It changes from one performance to the next and that's the wonderful thing about music.
Did you see Juan Diego Florez's costume at last year's Last Night?
I had a little glimpse of it on YouTube. What an outfit!
Juan Diego Florez dressed as Manco Capac, governor and founder of the Inca civilization, at the 2016 Proms
Have you got something similar planned?
It's entirely up to us, so we'll see what I can come up with! A little bit of craziness, and a little bit of theatre history as well.
Ahead of the first night, pianist Igor Levit said the one thing he needed before playing was chocolate. Do you have any rituals or essentials?
At the beginning, when I sang my first Isolde, I had to have a bowl of pasta but apparently my metabolism has changed!
I tend to go into myself, save my voice. I try to look perfectly normal from the outside - but I think my friends and colleagues can see through me.
Last Night is unique and a little bit bizarre. Is there anything else that compares?
I don't think so! I haven't come across anything like it - but if someone can come up with something similar, please let me know because it's so wonderful. It's musical craziness and I love it.
I've got family coming from Sweden, and my brother-in-law is preparing them for everything. They have flags and song texts. I think it's wonderful.
For the sixth year in a row, Richard Balcombe will conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Hyde Park leg of Proms In The Park; accompanying artists including Sir Bryn Terfel, Sir Ray Davies and pop group Steps.
You've done five of these now. How do you gear up for it?
It's one of the most exciting dates I do, because of the sheer size of it. When you look out and see 35,000 people looking back, it sort of stirs the soul.
How long do you get to rehearse with someone like Ray Davies?
We had two sessions with him on Wednesday, and a soundcheck in the Park on Friday - so altogether nine hours. [The orchestra will be conducted by David Temple, of the Crouch End Festival Chorus during Davies' performance].
That's not a lot of time…
Actually, in terms of what the orchestra does regularly, that's quite a decent time. For a regular Friday night performance, for example, we'll have two rehearsals before the concert goes out live on the radio. They're the finest, they read anything and just play it.
Do you ever wander out into the crowd at Hyde Park?
Yes, because my wife comes and we bring a whole group of people from our village, so during the pre-show entertainment, which starts about five, I go out and enjoy the atmosphere.
Of those five you've done before, what's been the highlight?
Getting the chance to work with artists like Sir Bryn Terfel, Joseph Calleja the tenor, Vittorio Grigolo - the absolute cream of the crop in terms of classical musicians - but also the chance to be on the stage with Kylie Minogue or Bryan Ferry or The Jacksons. It's an absolute privilege.
Is there any part of you that thinks, "I'd love to be in the Royal Albert Hall tonight?"
Haha! No, there's part of me that wishes I was there but I'm just so happy doing what I'm doing. We contribute a big part to the success of the whole evening, by linking up to the parks through the country, I'm just really happy to be doing my bit.
The Last Night of the Proms will be broadcast live on BBC One, Two and Radio 3 from 19:15 BST.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41201330
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Nuneaton schoolboy who backed out of mass shooting detained - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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The boy, who was armed with a shotgun, had been "seconds away" from opening fire, a court hears.
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Coventry & Warwickshire
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The boy told police he had suicidal thoughts at the time
A boy who took a shotgun and 200 rounds of ammunition into school with the intention of harming others has been detained for six years.
The 15-year-old had a change of heart and instead called 999 from Higham Lane School, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
Warwick Crown Court heard the boy had been "seconds away" from opening fire.
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC said: "A moment in time separated the pupils and staff of this school from being the subject of a terrible event."
The court heard the teenager, who also took a balaclava into school, had depression, an anxiety disorder and felt a sense of hopelessness at the time of the incident, on 13 June.
He cannot be named because of his age.
A teacher sat with the boy until police arrived at the school
A 999 call handler "averted disaster" by questioning the boy about his mental state and instructing him to dis-assemble the double-barrelled gun, and place it outside the room he was in.
The court also heard how a teacher helped calm the situation down until the police arrived.
The shotgun and ammunition - used by the boy and his father for clay pigeon shooting - were legally held and correctly stored, the Crown Prosecution Service said (CPS).
Passing sentence, the judge told the teenager: "In interview, you were frank and told the police that you took the gun to school that day intending to harm people.
"At that time you were in a room, angry to the point of being prepared to use serious and lethal force, armed with a loaded shotgun and 200 cartridges.
"Had you begun to shoot I have no doubt serious injury and death would have resulted and it is impossible for me to predict how many might have been hit."
He added that if the shooting had happened it would have "taken a dreadful place in the history of truly wicked crimes committed in this country".
The boy's mother sobbed when he was sentenced
The teenager pleaded guilty to having the gun with intent to endanger life, as well as possessing 200 rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life, and possession of a lock-knife.
Supt Martin Samuel, from Warwickshire Police, said: "Our emergency call handlers are all trained to make quick decisions in high pressured situations.
"The call handler in this case immediately understood the severity of the situation and took immediate steps to ensure the safety of everyone concerned. He is a credit to the force."
Head teacher Phil Kelly said on Friday the school had reviewed its safety procedures since the incident.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-41203100
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Alcohol-free: Stealth drinking helping people give up alcohol - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Amie drank 30 pints a weekend to "keep up with the boys" - but now she has had no alcohol for 16 months.
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Health
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jennifer, Kirsty, Kate and Amie (from left) drink mocktails and an alcohol-free beer
Amie used to drink 30 pints in a weekend to "keep up with the boys".
"I could neck three bottles of wine and not think about it," said the 38-year-old from Derbyshire.
Her drinking was so extreme that she contemplated suicide: "I thought well, stuff's got to change."
For Jennifer, it caused her relationship with her partner to break down: "I was like a different person when I was drinking - I had blackouts," she said.
A report last year found women are now almost on a par with men when it comes to problematic drinking.
Both Amie and Jennifer had had enough of hangovers - and decided to give up alcohol.
They are doing it with the help of one programme designed to help people stop drinking called One Year No Beer, a scheme people pay to join which gives them strategies to help them to go alcohol-free.
One tactic is known as stealth drinking, where people pretend their non-alcoholic drink is alcohol, for example by getting a non-alcoholic beer in a pint glass topped up with lemonade.
One Year No Beer has seen a 10-fold increase in membership this year alone.
The alcohol-free drinks market is booming too.
In only five years, the amount of low or alcohol-free beer sold in the UK has risen by nearly 50%.
And the world's first alcohol-free spirit Seedlip launched 21 months ago. In 12 months, it experienced a 1,000% rise in sales.
There are now clubs for people who want to get together without alcohol and the UK's first alcohol-free drinking festival was held in London last month.
The alcohol-free drinks market is booming as increasing numbers choose to give up alcohol
The clubs and the festival want to cater for the increasing number of Britons choosing to give up drink.
A report by the Office for National Statistics in May found that just under 60% of those surveyed had had an alcoholic drink in the past week - the lowest rate since the survey began in 2005.
Another survey from 2015 found that one in four British people were thinking of cutting down their drinking or at least trying to reduce it.
Still, many who have made the change complain that there are few options in traditional pubs other than sugary soft drinks.
Prof Luc Bovens, an expert in public health at London School of Economics, has made a number of recommendations to British pubs aimed at "nudging" people away from alcohol.
"The road to hangovers is often paved with good intentions, but by tinkering with the British pub's choice architecture we may be able to help some people," he wrote.
He suggested that pubs provide a no-alcohol or low-alcohol beer on tap and added: "For many people, there is a distinct feeling of alienation in toasting proper pints with a sad little bottle."
A spokesman for the British Beer & Pub Association said: "No-alcohol beers are bottled because the sales volume typically wouldn't support a keg option.
"Our members have a good track record. Within the beer category, we've seen brewers remove 1.3 billion units from the market by the drinks industry as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, through producing low strength, or no strength options and reducing the strength of existing products."
Jennifer said one of the biggest challenges comes from friends: "It's actually seen as bad or weird not drinking. It's like you're a minority, people look at you like you're an absolute weirdo."
But after 90 days of not drinking, her relationship with her partner is back on track and her life has improved: "Getting up on a Monday is not a problem. I can bounce out of bed."
Meanwhile for Amie, who has been alcohol-free for 16 months, the benefits have been vast: "I lost four stone. I train six days a week. And everything I want to do, I can go and do."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41188917
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North Korea crisis: What will Russia do? - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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President Putin has criticised North Korea's missile tests, but shares the country's anti-US sentiments.
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Europe
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Russian television has broadcast a series of glowing reports on everyday life in North Korea
"It smells of freshness, and of our deep respect for our leader," the woman declared, smiling to the Russian TV camera.
A North Korean, she'd just sniffed a big red flower named after the country's former leader Kim Jong-il.
Part of a series of glowing reports on everyday life in the secretive state, covering topics from fashion to food, the moment was broadcast to millions of Russians watching state television over their breakfast.
The coverage suggested Russia was taking a rather different approach over North Korea's nuclear programme and its missile tests, two weeks after Donald Trump tweeted that the US military was "locked and loaded", primed to respond with what he called "military solutions".
Vladimir Putin has underlined those differences many times this week, warning against whipping up "military hysteria", and insisting that North Koreans would rather "eat grass" under more sanctions, than give up their weapons programme.
And while he has criticised recent missile tests as "provocative", he's also taken pains to explain them.
President Putin argues North Korea has developed its nuclear capability in self-defence
North Koreans remember the 2003 US invasion of Iraq over Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons programme, Mr Putin reasoned.
So the country sees becoming a nuclear state as its only sure-fire guarantee of self-defence.
"Russia believes that Pyongyang's aim is not to bomb anyone, that its [nuclear programme] is a deterrent against South Korea and the US," explains Alexander Gabuev of the Moscow Carnegie Centre.
"Russia understands that because it is just as paranoid about American 'democracy promotion' as North Korea is," he adds.
Putin - pictured with Kim Jong-il in 2002 - wrote off most of North Korea's Soviet-era debt
Personal experience is perhaps also partly why Russia - under US sanctions itself - opposes imposing further penalties on Pyongyang to halt its nuclear ambitions.
The US wants the international community to apply more economic pressure, including a full energy embargo and a ban on hiring North Korean labourers.
"What are we going to do? Stop all energy exports so people freeze and ambulances have no fuel to reach the sick?" asks Georgy Toloraya, a Russian diplomat who spent many years in North Korea.
He says Russia's position is motivated by a principle, rather than concern over lost trade.
President Putin himself described energy exports to its neighbour as "practically zero", though some 30,000 North Koreans are employed in logging and construction in Russia's Far East.
They are essentially hired out by the state which pockets most of their pay.
"It's not about whether Russia has any leverage. The question is why should we use that?" Mr Toloraya asks.
"Our whole concept does not allow for the isolation and strangulation of North Korea, and the weakening of the regime," he explains.
Like China, Russia shares a border with North Korea and sees it as a buffer against South Korea, a political and military ally of the US.
Moscow and Beijing have presented their own road map for resolving the conflict.
As a first step, it calls for a joint freeze of Pyongyang's missile tests - and US and South Korean military exercises. The next step would be bringing all sides together for talks.
Some suggest that strategy is more about posturing than peace: that Russia wants to insert itself into another global crisis.
"Russia knows that plan won't fly, but it makes the US look bad," Alexander Gabuev argues. "At least China and Russia have a peaceful programme, whereas the US president is just tweeting about fire and fury."
He believes Moscow's leverage with Pyongyang these days is minimal, despite years of Soviet support for the regime.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) in Vladivostok, which felt the tremors from Pyongyang's latest missile test
But this week, following a trip to China, President Putin hosted the leaders of South Korea and Japan at an economic forum in eastern Russia, also attended by a delegation from North Korea.
They were in Vladivostok, which felt the tremors from Pyongyang's latest missile test.
"It's in our interests to have a peaceful, stable neighbour," Georgy Toloraya argues.
"As for North Korea, Russia is the least hostile of all the great powers involved in resolving this crisis," he says, insisting that historic ties mean Russia still knows "many people" who matter there.
A guard at the Tumangan border crossing between Russia and North Korea
A few years back, President Putin wrote off most of North Korea's Soviet-era debt in a major goodwill gesture.
Recent efforts to improve ties have included a ferry service to the peninsula, and even a North Korean tourism agency in Moscow, presumably banking on a rush of visitors keen to sniff flowers named after its leaders.
The ferry has since been suspended due to lack of demand.
All this is unfolding as Russia's relations with Washington have plummeted amid allegations of interference in the US elections, sanctions and tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions.
The US wants to target the personal assets of North Korean President Kim Jong-un
That gives Moscow little incentive to back the US against Pyongyang. It knows the power to reward Russia by lifting sanctions now lies with a hostile US Congress.
Meanwhile, Russian ties with China have been increasing in importance.
So the two continue to push for talks as the best way to prevent an accidental escalation of the Korean crisis into actual conflict.
"The Americans need to make contact [with Pyongyang] and the sooner the better. We can pass information on, if they want," says Mr Toloraya.
"Talks can go on for 10 or 20 years if necessary. But for that time we would have stability, not this creep towards war."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41172488
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Restaurants and takeaways must display hygiene scores, LGA says - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Restaurants and takeaways in England should be made to show their ratings by law, councils say.
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UK
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All restaurants and takeaways in England should be made to display their food hygiene scores by law, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
The body that represents councils in England says the move should be made as part of the post Brexit legislation.
Outlets are scored zero to five based on factors such as kitchen cleanliness, cooking methods and food management.
The Food Standards Agency, which runs the scheme, said it was reviewing how food businesses were regulated.
The FSA also oversees the rating system in Wales and Northern Ireland, where displaying the scores is compulsory, while in Scotland they must display similar food hygiene information.
In England, food outlets do not have to display the rating.
The FSA conducted a survey in 2012 that showed 43% of restaurants and other food businesses in England put up a score, which fell to 32% in London.
For businesses with a low rating - between zero and two - the figures fell to 12% across England and 9% in London.
Chris Barber, who advises restaurants on their business, said compulsory display would be "absolutely revolutionary".
"This is going to have the same impact as when it was first brought in - a massive kick up the backside.
"This is going to be an even bigger kick up the backside."
The LGA said much existing food safety legislation comes from the European Union and it was important it was not weakened after Brexit.
The government plans to convert EU law into domestic legislation as part of its EU (Withdrawal) Bill and councils want ministers to take that opportunity to strengthen regulation by making all restaurants and takeaways in England display their "scores on the doors" for food hygiene.
Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said EU food standards must be protected after Brexit.
"Food hygiene standards and compliance levels have risen since the scheme was introduced in Wales," he said.
"The lack of a hygiene rating sticker in a business means customers are left in the dark on official kitchen cleanliness levels when eating or buying food there."
The FSA said it was hoping to bring plans to improve regulation forward for England to ministers by 2020.
"Mandatory display is part of the FSA's plans for a new model of regulation but implementation will require legislation," a spokesman said.
"We want to bring the food hygiene rating scheme in England in line with Wales and Northern Ireland, where the benefits of more visible ratings have already been felt."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41203519
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Wakefield City Academies Trust pulls out of 21 schools - BBC News
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2017-09-09
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Only four of the Wakefield City Academies Trust schools are rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.
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Leeds & West Yorkshire
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Wakefield City Academies Trust said the decision was in the "best interests" of pupils
A trust which runs 21 schools has announced it is pulling out in the first week of the new term.
Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) said it was unable to "facilitate the rapid improvement our academies need, and our students deserve".
The Department for Education (DfE) said many of the schools within the trust were performing below the national average.
It said it would work with the trust until a new sponsor could be found.
Only four of the schools are rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.
Eleven out of 14 primary schools and six of the seven secondary schools were performing below the national average in 2016.
In a statement, the trust said it recognised the announcement would cause uncertainty but said the decision was in the "best interests" of the students.
A DfE spokesperson said academies operate within a strict system of accountability, allowing swift action to "deal with under-performance".
It said its priority was to ensure all children receive the best possible education.
Regional commissioners are now working with the schools to identify new sponsors and ensure minimal disruption for pupils.
Damian Walenta, from the National Education Union, said the news had come as no surprise and was largely down to a lack of accountability.
"Whilst the quality and values of academy chains vary greatly, we hear more and more bad news about poor academy chains," he said.
In November, The Independent newspaper reported the trust had paid its then chief executive £82,000 for 15 weeks' work.
An investigation into WCAT found it had been put in an "extremely vulnerable position as a result of inadequate governance, leadership and overall financial management".
• None Academies 'not taken over fast enough'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-41198403
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Euromillions lottery: Record £167m jackpot up for grabs - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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One lucky Euromillions ticketholder could win Europe's biggest ever prize, say lottery bosses.
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UK
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The biggest UK jackpot on record is up for grabs on Tuesday after no-one took home Friday's Euromillions top prize.
If one lucky ticketholder takes the estimated £167m jackpot, they will be go down as the biggest lottery winners in British and European history.
The current UK record is £161m, won by Colin and Christine Weir, from Largs, North Ayrshire, six years ago.
Winning numbers for Friday's draw, which had a £157m jackpot, were: 7, 18, 19, 32, 48. Lucky Stars were 3 and 7.
Andy Carter, at the National Lottery, said: "At an estimated £167m, Tuesday's Euromillions jackpot will be the biggest ever offered to National Lottery players in the UK.
"A single UK winner would be the biggest this country and Europe has ever seen."
To date, 91 UK ticketholders have won the Euromillions jackpot or a share of the jackpot prize, placing the country second behind France in terms of jackpot wins.
Other European countries taking part in Euromillions, which has been running since 2004, include Spain, Austria, Belgium, the Irish Republic, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland.
Record winners Christine and Colin Weir have donated millions to political and charitable causes
The Weirs, who won their fortune in 2011, have since used their money for political and charitable causes.
As supporters of Scottish independence, they donated more than £4.5m to the Scottish National Party and £3.5m to the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign ahead of the 2014 referendum.
They also bought a prosthetic leg for a 13-year-old boy and have established a charitable trust to help fund health, sport, cultural, recreational and animal welfare projects.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41451873
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Chicken supplier 2 Sisters suspends operations - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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It comes after allegations that workers had changed slaughter dates at one if its sites.
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UK
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One of the UK's largest supermarket chicken suppliers has suspended operations after an investigation allegedly exposed food safety breaches.
The 2 Sisters Food Group said staff at its site in the West Midlands will need to be "appropriately retrained" before it starts resupplying customers.
It comes after allegations that workers had changed slaughter dates to extend the shelf life of meat.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has also been investigating the claims.
The Guardian and ITV News claimed an undercover reporter witnessed workers changing the "kill dates" on chickens.
They also allegedly saw meat of different ages being mixed together and codes on crates of meat altered.
In a statement, the company said an internal investigation had shown "some isolated instances of non-compliance" at its plant in West Bromwich.
"We have therefore decided to temporarily suspend operations at the site to allow us the time to retrain all colleagues, including management, in all food safety and quality management systems."
All staff will remain on full pay and take part in training on site, it added.
"We will only recommence supply once we are satisfied that our colleagues have been appropriately retrained."
Marks & Spencer, Aldi, Lidl and The Co-op have stopped taking chickens from the site while investigations take place.
The company also supplies Tesco and Sainsbury's, which are looking into the allegations.
2 Sisters said the FSA had visited the site every day since the allegations came to light and had "not identified any breaches".
It went on: "We continue to work closely with the FSA and our customers throughout this period."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41462549
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Newspaper headlines: Referendum riots and 'Tory infighting' - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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The Catalan poll descending into violence, and division in the Conservative Party make headlines in Monday's papers.
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The Papers
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Several of the front pages have a picture of a Spanish policeman clad in armour brandishing a baton as he confronts protesters in Barcelona.
"Spain torn apart," says the headline in the Times, "as 850 are hurt in referendum riots".
The Financial Times warns that the vote threatens to trigger one of the gravest political and constitutional crises in Spain's 40-year old democracy.
For the Daily Telegraph, the clashes have "plunged the EU into a new crisis" - because of a failure by Brussels to criticise the Spanish government's violent response.
The Sun describes the scenes as "Helldorado".
Elsewhere, the i is among those reporting a backlash among senior Tories against Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over his recent interventions in the Brexit debate. Some are said to have warned "nobody is unsackable".
The Daily Mail sounds of note of exasperation, with the headline: "What a time to be squabbling".
Nevertheless, according to the lead in the Daily Express, Theresa May is "winning the Brexit battle".
It highlights claims by the prime minister on Sunday's Andrew Marr show that a string of European leaders have personally praised plans for the UK's departure - laid out in her recent Florence speech.
The Daily Mirror claims an exclusive with a report that the captain of a nuclear submarine has been relieved of his duties as military chiefs investigate an alleged inappropriate relationship with a female officer.
It believes senior naval officers have been sent to the vessel, in international waters, to sort things out.
The MoD confirmed an investigation was taking place but gave no details.
The Daily Mail reports a study suggesting half of all NHS dentists plan to leave the health service within five years.
A survey carried out by the British Dental Association found 58% want to go private, move overseas, retire or quit the profession.
NHS Engand tells the paper there are 3,800 more dentists offering NHS care than a decade ago, with no significant increase in the number leaving.
And finally, there are pictures all over the papers of Prince Harry apparently kissing Meghan Markle in public for the first time.
The Sun says it has "sparked a frenzy of engagement speculation".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41463594
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North Korea and US 'in direct contact', says Tillerson - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Washington is "probing" the possibility of talks.
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US & Canada
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Rex Tillerson is in China meeting President Xi Jinping and other top officials
The US is in "direct contact" with North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said.
Mr Tillerson said Washington was "probing" the possibility of talks with Pyongyang, "so stay tuned".
"We have lines of communications to Pyongyang," he said during a trip to China. "We're not in a dark situation."
North Korea and the US have engaged in heated rhetoric in recent months but it was not previously known they had lines of communication.
The US state department later confirmed there were a number of communication channels open with Pyongyang, but said little progress was being made.
"Despite assurances that the United States is not interested in promoting the collapse of the current regime (...) North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearisation," department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
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The US wants North Korea to halt its weapons programme, which has seen it perform repeated missile tests and, on 3 September, the test of a miniaturised hydrogen bomb which could be loaded on to a long-range missile, which Pyongyang said was successful.
But attempts at dialogue seem to be at odds with President Donald Trump's own attitude to the issue. Just last month, he said "talking is not the answer".
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Mr Trump has previously threatened to annihilate North Korea, saying the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, "is on a suicide mission". Mr Kim then vowed to "tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire".
North Korea continued the rhetoric on Saturday, releasing a statement calling Mr Trump an "old psychopath" bent on the "suicidal act of inviting a nuclear disaster that will reduce America to a sea of flames".
The UN has brought in sanctions against North Korea in an attempt to force the secretive state to stop its weapons programme.
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The US sees China - North Korea's biggest trading partner - as key to ensuring the sanctions are effective.
China this week told North Korean businesses operating in its territory to close down. However, China remains keen to see negotiations with North Korea.
Mr Tillerson revealed the communications channels following a meeting in Beijing with President Xi Jinping and other officials.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41454007
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Prince Harry hopes to expand Invictus Games - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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He is joined at the closing ceremony by his girlfriend Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Radlan.
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UK
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Prince Harry says he hopes to expand the Invictus Games in the future, saying the "sky's the limit".
He launched the Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and servicewomen and veterans in 2014.
The prince was joined at the closing ceremony by his girlfriend Meghan Markle, and her mother Doria Radlan.
He made a speech, watched by the participants from the 17 nations who have taken part during the week-long event in the Canadian city of Toronto.
In his closing speech, Prince Harry urged people to take inspiration from the athletes and set an Invictus goal for themselves
Canada has hosted over 500 participants at the third edition of the Invictus Games - the first was held in 2014 in London
Prince Harry, in an interview with the host broadcaster, said: "We have a social responsibility to continue this for a long as it's needed."
Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and Kelly Clarkson were among the acts to perform at the closing ceremony.
Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams performed their own sets and then sang two songs together - Badlands and Cuts Like A Knife
Former US president Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the Games on Friday, while US First Lady Melania Trump accompanied Prince Harry at last week's opening ceremony.
And at the closing ceremony, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, handed out participation medals to the competitors.
In a rousing send-off to all who competed at the third Invictus Games, Prince Harry addressed them directly in his closing speech, saying: "Right now you're on a high. At the summit of a mountain many of you thought was too high to climb. You have done it.
"This is the moment, right here, right now, shoulder to shoulder, you are Invictus."
Prince Harry served in the Army for 10 years
Prince Harry and Bruce Springsteen met some of the competitors at the closing ceremony
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41457389
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Ruth Davidson: UK is too 'London-centric' - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Scottish Conservative leader calls for more government jobs to be relocated north.
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Scotland politics
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Ruth Davidson has demanded Scotland benefits more from being part of the Union with a plea for more government jobs to be relocated north.
The Scottish Conservative leader said the UK "continues to be far too London-centric" with "enough civil servants to fill Wembley Stadium".
Ms Davidson also urged activists not to lose heart in the face of a resurgent Labour Party.
She predicted Jeremy Corbyn's "bubble" would burst if the party worked hard.
The Scottish Conservatives have enjoyed a significant revival under Ms Davidson's leadership, winning 13 seats in June's snap election, including those of former first minister Alex Salmond and SNP depute leader Angus Robertson.
She told the Conservative conference in Manchester: "Just as the SNP came crashing down to earth. Just as they lost 40% of their seats in June.
"Just as half a million Scots chose to take their vote away. So too can the Corbyn bubble burst, but only if we work hard to make it so.
"Because, you know what? People tire of being offered free unicorns. Of easy promises that don't add up.
"They want serious solutions to the issues facing their world. They want opportunities to make their own lives better."
The Scottish Conservatives leader said she loved London but - in an allusion to speculation she could be a future prime minister - joked: "No plans to move there myself, but great to visit."
But she then criticised the concentration of civil servant jobs in the UK capital, saying: "For all the devolution of power in the last 20 years, our Union continues to be far too London-centric."
Ms Davidson praised the V&A Dundee project but argued more jobs must move outside London
She told the conference: "We live in a country where the property values of London's top 10 boroughs are worth more than all of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales combined.
"Where you can sell a three bed semi in Ilford, and buy half of Sutherland.
"Where, in a capital city already zooming forward on the jet fuel of high finance, the economy is further boosted by enough civil servants to fill Wembley stadium."
Ms Davidson cited the new V&A museum in Dundee as a model of investment already taking place.
She argued that the civil service and cultural bodies must "represent and be present" across the whole of the UK.
"The government is reviewing the various agencies based in London to see which ones could be ready for a move," Ms Davidson said.
"So I want us to seize the opportunity to ensure more of them come to Scotland."
The SNP described Ms Davidson's call for a transfer of civil service jobs "lightweight".
MSP Joan McAlpine said: "Given the nature of Ruth Davidson's speech this afternoon, we now expect her to stand up to Theresa May and get behind our efforts to bring more powers to Holyrood after Brexit.
"David Mundell previously promised a powers 'bonanza' for Scotland so let's see some progress made on that promise with real action."
She added: "Scotland needs more than just the relocation of some civil service departments - we need full powers in areas such as immigration and social security in order to make a real, positive difference to people's lives."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41454566
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Who's that girl? GCSE student wows at conference - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Lauren Stocks, 16, on public speaking, trolls and her political ambitions for the future.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Newly-reformed GCSEs are leaving teenagers 'spaced out and stressed out', Lauren Stocks tells Labour delegates
It was a moment that caught the Labour party conference off-guard.
Sixteen-year-old Lauren Stocks had just received her GCSE results and wanted to talk about the toll that changes to the exams had taken on her and her classmates.
In a passionate speech, she articulated the scale of the mental health problems that blight her generation.
"There's a statistic we were shown when I was about 13 or 14 that told me three in 10 people in every classroom suffer with a mental illness.
Using strong language, she denied that to be the case. "It's a good half.
"I could've walked into any food tech, history, art, maths classroom and just watched seas of spaced-out, stressed-out, depressed kids, in a battlefield where they can't afford pens and paper," she said, gulping hard.
"It is a disgusting sight," she told delegates, and urged parents of teenagers with newly-reformed GCSEs ahead of them to make sure they know they are loved.
In under three minutes, Lauren delivered a speech conveying the impatience of youth. ("I didn't make notes before I came on stage and my thoughts will be fairly scattered, so please go easy on me.")
Her audience were on their feet, cheering Lauren for a speech that's since been shared thousands of times on social media.
Lauren has been a Labour party member since the age of 14
"It felt pretty weird," she tells the BBC. "I was kind of in my own little world.
"To see everyone stand up - I really appreciated it."
And the plaudits didn't stop there. "My Snapchat blew up," she says. About 30 people from her old school contacted her to say they were really glad she had spoken up for them.
"I have suffered with many a mental health issue. I was worried it was just me but the response was overwhelming."
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Some social media users though, with characteristic brutality, were less than warm, criticising her choice of hair dye and appearance.
The impact of these negative comments is something her mum, Sarah Hilton, worries about a lot but Lauren less so.
"They're saying: 'That's not a girl'.
"When I checked last night, I was definitely female," she says, laughing it off.
She also diplomatically brushes off the inevitable parallels being drawn with a famous 1977 Conservative conference speech by another 16-year-old, which was watched by a smiling prime minister-in-waiting - Margaret Thatcher.
"I haven't seen the speech but I have studied William Hague," she says. "I don't have the best opinion of him."
Lauren's mum, Sarah Hilton, says her daughter has been educating her about politics
Despite her years, Lauren is no stranger to public speaking. Now under-19 representative for North West Young Labour, she has been an activist for two years.
Her interest in politics was first piqued at 12 as she idly watched YouTube videos of people discussing left-wing ideas.
After a brief dalliance with the Greens, she joined the Labour party on 3 August 2015. "I remember if as if it were yesterday," she says, almost wistfully.
A few weeks later, Lauren received an email asking people to attend a Manchester food bank that leader Jeremy Corbyn would be visiting.
"I asked mum if I could go. I'd never been into Manchester alone before.
"My mum dropped me off at the food bank and after that they kept me involved," she says.
After her experience of sitting the new GCSEs, she says students should be empowered and told what they can achieve, not threatened that if they fail, they'll be left watching Jeremy Kyle all day.
This year's GCSE students in England were the first to sit exams which were numerically graded and tougher than in the past.
The changes, introduced by former education secretary Michael Gove, resulted in a dip in results, but schools minister Nick Gibb said pupils and teachers were rising to the challenge.
Exam regulators said the new qualifications had allowed students to better demonstrate their abilities and had better prepared them for further study.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We recognise there are challenges facing the profession including a more demanding curriculum and higher expectations for pupils. Where staff are struggling we trust head teachers to take action to tackle the causes of stress and ensure they have the support they need.
"The government has also taken steps to reduce the burden of exams on young people including removing multiple, pointless resits and investing £1.4 billion in children's mental health services".
Conference was, Lauren admits, a fast-paced eye-opener but also a chance to meet her heroes, Dennis Skinner ("soon-to-be Sir"), writer and activist Owen Jones ("I love him so much") and Laura Smith ("a rising star who I hope to see in Cabinet").
For all her enthusiasm for politics and its people - and despite lobbying from her mum - she is not certain that's where her future lies.
Lauren is now studying history, sociology and politics at college, and plans to stand for council in 2019.
But beyond that, she says she has no political ambitions. "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41401263
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Macklemore's Same Love takes centre stage at Sydney grand final - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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There were calls to ban the song Same Love from the NRL final amid Australia's gay marriage vote.
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Australia
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Macklemore: "No freedom 'til we're equal, damn right I support it"
American artist Macklemore sang in support of gay rights at one of Australia's biggest annual sporting events during the country's vote on same-sex marriage.
The singer performed a set ahead of kick-off in the National Rugby League (NRL) grand final in Sydney.
Opponents had called for the song Same Love to be left out of the show to stop the event becoming "politicised".
But Macklemore said it "was one of the greatest honours of my career".
Australians are in the middle of a postal vote on whether gay marriage should be introduced. The poll is non-binding for the government, but has been deeply divisive.
Seattle native Macklemore - whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty - had previously told Australia's Channel Nine he would donate his portion of the proceeds from the song's sales in Australia to the Yes campaign.
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The song had rocketed to the top of Australia's charts on the iTunes digital music store.
Among its lyrics are: "I might not be the same, but that's not important / No freedom 'til we're equal / Damn right I support it."
A petition asking the NRL to ban what it called an "LGBTIQ anthem", started by former rugby league player Tony Wall, gathered thousands of signatures in the lead-up to the final on Sunday.
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Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was among those calling for the song - one of Macklemore's biggest hits - to be excluded.
But the song, accompanied by rainbow pyrotechnics, was the centrepiece of his set in front of 80,000 stadium spectators and was televised around the world.
While the music played, the stadium's large screens displayed the NRL logo with the message: "We stand for equality."
The postal ballot runs for two months, ending on 7 November. Opinion polls have suggested a majority of Australians support same-sex marriage.
After Macklemore's performance ended, Melbourne Storm handily defeated their rivals the North Queensland Cowboys 34-6 to win the grand final.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41461003
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Billy Monger: Amputee teen racer walks Brands Hatch circuit - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Billy Monger managed to walk 200m of the Brands Hatch circuit to raise money for charity.
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England
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Formula 4 racing driver Billy Monger had to have both legs amputated after a crash
A teenage racing driver who lost the lower part of both his legs in a crash has walked part of the Brands Hatch circuit for charity.
Billy Monger, from Charlwood, Surrey, hit the back of a stationary car at Donington Park on 16 April - three weeks before his 18th birthday.
The Formula 4 driver had to have both legs amputated and spent nearly a month in hospital recuperating.
He walked 200m of the track before driving a buggy to complete the feat.
Billy was back in a specially adapted racing car just 11 weeks after his crash
About 1,000 people turned out at the track to support and cheer on the teenager - who only got his new prosthetic limbs on Thursday.
Speaking just before the walk, which is in aid of the air ambulance, he said: "I'll just be making sure I don't make any mistakes and don't fall over.
"Obviously there will be a lot of overriding emotion that will go with it, but I'll try and do my best, that's all I can do really."
"We all felt quite helpless because we were struggling to release Billy. He was talking to us, he knew he'd injured himself badly, and he looked so young," he said.
"It had a big effect on a lot of the people involved. Quite amazingly Billy seems to be the one that's bounced back quicker than anybody else who was there."
In July, just 11 weeks after the crash, Billy returned to the cockpit of a specially adapted racing car and is hoping to be back racing fully by spring 2018.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41452767
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Strictly Come Dancing beats X Factor for Saturday viewers - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Saturday's episode of the BBC dancing competition was watched by an average of 9.3m people.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Debbie McGee and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice topped the Strictly leaderboard
Strictly Come Dancing continues to outpace ITV rival The X Factor in the competition for Saturday night views.
An average of 9.3 million people saw Saturday's episode, making it the day's most watched show with a 45% viewing share.
The X Factor attracted 4.9 million viewers, slightly up on last week but its peak fell from 6m to 5.8m.
The BBC and ITV shows, which overlap for 50 minutes, have long competed for viewers during one of TV's prime slots.
Strictly's episode did better than its 2016 equivalent, which had an average of 8.6m views.
It had a peak viewing of 10.2m, compared to 9.5m in 2016.
This was despite some concern that the celebrity contestants in the dancing competition are less popular than in previous years.
• None Who's still in Strictly Come Dancing?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41461049
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BBC Three's Overshadowed: The vlogging drama tackling anorexia - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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"I don't think I've seen anything on television like this before," says lead actress Michelle Fox.
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Entertainment & Arts
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BBC Three drama Overshadowed is a little different to most TV shows - it's made up entirely of the vlogs of its lead character, Imogene. It's through these videos that her followers begin to notice all is not well in her life.
"I don't think I've seen anything on television like this, I think it's a new kind of concept," says Michelle Fox, the actress who plays the teenage central character of Overshadowed.
Michelle plays Imogene, a young vlogger who uploads videos every day - recorded in her bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, at school... even while out jogging.
But, over the course of eight 10-minute episodes, viewers gradually see her start to show signs of anorexia.
"Basically, Imogene decides to share her life with the world, and the world sees more of her life than she does, with the outside force of the eating disorder," Michelle explains.
"It's an insight to Imogene's life and how anorexia is affecting it.
"In the first couple of episodes, she seems like a really normal teenager, and she's lovely, embarrassing, funny, and I think it's not until the end of episode one that you get a snippet that something is not right."
The show's title, Overshadowed, is a reference to Imogene feeling that there's an outside force literally standing over her, compelling her to skip meals and count calories.
This external force is presented as an on-screen character - Anna (a reference to anorexia) - who constantly pushes Imogene to eat less and exercise more.
"When someone is going through a mental health crisis or eating disorder, often people blame the person, 'Why can't you just stop? Why can't you see what's going on?'" Michelle says.
"And by showing the eating disorder as a separate entity, you remove the control, you can see the person trying, but there's this outside control overshadowing them. It's not this person's fault, they're not doing it in a malicious way."
Tackling such a serious subject would be a tall order for any TV show, let alone one which is doing it via a series of vlogs - a relatively new format.
"I think this is a good way to tell a story," Michelle says.
"The way I like to watch things as a viewer is I like to be a bit ahead, and be in on the secret, on what's going on.
"But with a vlog, it's blunt, it's instant, people say how they feel, and as an audience member it feels real, like you're right there with the person, especially because they're talking to you directly.
"Imogene is speaking to herself but she's also speaking to a camera, so it puts the viewer in an awkward and horrible position, like the struggle with mental illness is really in your face."
The slightly unusual format was what helped Michelle get the part.
The Irish actress graduated from Bristol Old Vic drama school last summer and was appearing in the theatre's production of Medea when she heard about Overshadowed.
"My agent called and she said the casting director wanted to see me, so as well as recording a traditional audition tape, I sent in tapes which I filmed myself on my phone, because I had a feeling the series might all be shot handheld.
"So I sent in two different copies, and the casting director really liked that, and I got cast off the tape [i.e. without meeting the casting director in person], which was really surprising."
Overshadowed is certainly one of the first TV dramas to be told through vlogging, so producers will be watching closely to see how the audience reacts.
But Michelle says: "I think this could be the first of many."
Overshadowed is available to watch now on BBC Three.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
• None 8 things to know about YouTuber Joe Sugg
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41404054
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Air France plane engine fails over Atlantic - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The A380 with more than 500 people on board makes an emergency landing at a small Canadian airport.
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Europe
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Passengers could see the damaged engine from windows mid-flight
An Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles was forced to make a sudden diversion when it lost part of an engine over the Atlantic.
One of the four engines on the Airbus A380 flight AF66 failed west of Greenland on Saturday.
No-one was injured in the incident, but passengers remained on board hours after the landing at 15:42 GMT.
The plane was carrying 496 passengers and 24 crew at the time, an Air France spokesperson told AFP news agency.
David Rehmar, a former aircraft mechanic who was a passenger on the flight, told the BBC that based on his observations, the incident was a fan failure.
He said there was a sudden movement followed by a loud noise, which caused panic among the passengers.
"You heard a loud 'boom', and it was the vibration alone that made me think the engine had failed," he said.
Mr Rehmar said that for a few moments, he thought "we were going to go down."
His worry that the aircraft's wing could have been compromised disappeared when the flight stabilised within 30 seconds. And he added that the pilots had quickly shut down the affected engine.
The wing suffered no serious damage and the plane landed safely
The plane flew for about an hour on three engines before it reached Goose Bay Airport, in Labrador in eastern Canada.
Photos taken by passengers showed the cowling, or engine covering, completely destroyed, and some cosmetic damage to the wing's surface.
Mr Rehmar said that a bird strike was not a likely cause of the incident at such a high altitude, and his experience led him to believe the stage-one fan - the exterior fan blades on the front of the engine - had somehow failed. But the cause of any such failure is not yet clear.
Passengers were stranded on the plane in Canada for a number of hours, as the airport is not equipped to handle an Airbus A380.
He said passengers had been provided with meals and that the captain had come out to speak to passengers. Some posed with him in images posted on social media.
Two 777s were dispatched from Montreal to pick them up and transfer them to Los Angeles.
In a statement, Air France simply confirmed "serious damage" to one engine and said its crew had "handled this serious incident perfectly".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41454712
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Newspaper headlines: May targets young voters to see off 'coup' - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Theresa May's pledge to overhaul tuition fees and her battle for survival dominate the papers.
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The Papers
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Theresa May features on many of the front pages ahead of the start of the Conservative Party conference. The Observer says knives are being sharpened as an increasingly desperate prime minister tries to shore up her flagging premiership with a raft of new policies.
The paper says there are growing signs that Cabinet discipline is breaking down - and support for Mrs May is draining away.
The Mail on Sunday says Mrs May has performed a huge policy U-turn to try to avert any coup against her, but it says she risks criticism that she's pursuing "Labour Lite" policies.
The prime minister tells the Sun on Sunday that she wants to build a better future for young people - a message she admits didn't get across well enough in the election campaign.
The paper says Mrs May has shown that she has started to listen.
But it warns that better orators and thinkers are waiting in the wings and, if the prime minister doesn't show more imagination, urgency and energy, her head will roll.
The Sunday Mirror accuses Mrs May of trying to bribe young voters after misunderstanding why they have flocked to Jeremy Corbyn.
The Sunday Times believes the prime minister needs to give the Conservatives something to lift their spirits. It says a house-building revolution should be her domestic priority.
The Sunday Telegraph urges a cut in house prices, by increasing supply and reducing, or abolishing, penalties such as stamp duty.
From a disappointing election result, the paper says, can be snatched an opportunity to revive Conservatism.
The Observer says ministers are under mounting pressure to halt their radical welfare changes.
The paper says senior Conservative MPs are privately voicing unease about the Universal Credit system - after the Scottish government called for a pause and the DUP raised serious concerns.
The Mail on Sunday reports that hundreds of undercover police officers have received bills for up to £5,000 after a ruling that their vehicles should be taxed as company cars.
It says says that, to date, they have been taxed only on personal mileage, but they are now facing levies based on the vehicle's retail value and emissions.
The paper believes treatment of the officers is in contrast to that of police chiefs. It claims they have previously fitted blue lights to their executive cars to reduce tax bills.
Several papers look at the problems facing Monarch Airlines, after it was granted a 24-hour extension to sell package holidays.
The Sunday Telegraph says there are fears that the company, facing huge losses, could collapse.
The Sunday Times says officials are racing to put together a rescue plan for up to 100,000 holidaymakers.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that Ernest Hemingway scholars have found what they say is the earliest example of the author's fiction.
A water-stained notebook contains an account of an imaginary journey through Scotland and Ireland, said to have been written in meticulous detail - at the age of 10.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41456944
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Appeal over Poynton lake death detective Leanne McKie - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Police are asking people who may have seen Leanne McKie's car before she died to come forward.
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Manchester
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Det Leanne McKie had worked at Greater Manchester Police since 2001
Detectives investigating the death of a police officer whose body was found in a lake are appealing for anyone who saw her car to come forward.
Mother-of-three Leanne McKie was discovered in the water at Poynton Park, Cheshire, on Friday.
Anyone who saw the 39-year-old's red Mini between Thursday afternoon and the early hours of Friday is urged to contact Cheshire Police.
A man, 43, from Wilmslow, remains in custody on suspicion of murder.
The mother-of-three's body was found in Poynton Park on Friday
The force has also appealed for dashcam footage from drivers on the A523 in Poynton and the A5149 Chester Road toward Wilmslow, between 23:30 BST on Thursday and 03:30 on Friday.
Det McKie joined Greater Manchester Police in 2001 and worked in the force's serious sexual offences unit.
Its Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said she had "worked tirelessly to provide support and seek justice for victims".
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What happened in the city that banned Uber - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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What an almighty row in Texas can tell us about what may happen if Uber leaves London.
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Technology
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Within 24 hours of losing a public vote, Uber had left Austin
Uber's new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi will be in the UK on Tuesday for a meeting with Transport for London (TfL). He hopes the negotiations will stop the imminent revoking of his company’s license to run its ride-sharing business in the capital.
When TfL, backed by Mayor Sadiq Khan, announced Uber would no longer be allowed to operate, the service's 3.5m users, and 40,000 drivers, were aghast.
Despite the very best efforts of the cab trade, Uber has become a valued way for Londoners to get around, particularly late at night.
The same was true in Austin, Texas. It’s a city that shares few similarities with London, other than its own bitter tussle with Uber - the fallout from which could contain clues as to what might happen if, and it's a big if, TfL follows through with its threat.
Uber had been available in Austin since 2014. But on 10 May 2016, Uber (and rival service Lyft) turned off their apps and left.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Austinites had gone to the polls to vote on Proposition 1. It was a law that removed a requirement on ride-sharing companies to gather fingerprints as part of their background checks on drivers, as well as sharing more data with city officials.
Uber didn't want to do this. It argued that the fingerprint database drivers would be cross-checked against would be ineffective.
It's also likely - though Uber never expressed this publicly - that adding a layer to the sign-up process would make it more time-consuming, and expensive, to recruit drivers.
It's something the company, in all the markets it works in, constantly seeks to avoid - and in Austin it was prepared to spend big to avoid the restrictions.
David Butts, a political consultant who campaigned against Uber during the dispute, estimates that the firm spent more than $10m (£7.5m) fighting city officials.
“We have never seen a campaign that spent that much money, for anything,” he said.
Uber did not respond to the BBC’s request to comment on this story.
Whatever the size of the lobbying bill, it wasn’t enough. Mr Khosrowshahi said Uber’s poor corporate reputation may have been a factor in TfL's thinking, and the same may have been true for Austin’s voters, according to Ben Wear, a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman.
Uber's chief executive will be in London to discuss TfL's concerns over his company
"I think a lot of people that actually actively used their service here in Austin voted against them, knowing that they’d leave, because of the corporate behaviour that at that time had gone on for about two years.
"They showed up and basically ignored the city’s rules."
And so just like that, Uber and Lyft were gone.
Andy Tryba and his team got to work. "We basically stayed up all night for about four weeks or so to kind of get it up and going," he told me.
“It’s to my knowledge the world’s only non-profit version of ride-share.”
He's the co-founder of Ride Austin, a locally developed app that stepped in to take Uber’s place - one of about 11 eventual alternatives that popped up in the weeks and months after Uber's disappearance.
Unlike Uber and Lyft, which take a percentage of a ride’s final fare, RideAustin takes a fixed $2 fee, regardless of how long or far the journey.
Riders are offered the chance to round up their fare and donate the extra amount to a number of charities - it has so far raised over $250,000.
“There were 125,000 a week or so that were occurring in the city when Uber and Lyft were operating here. Obviously, the day that they pulled out there was a bit of an adjustment period.
“But within a few weeks, there were several players that came into town. Very quickly that total number of rides were filled by those other players.”
There were teething problems with these new apps, said Mike Allen, who has driven in Austin for almost two years.
“It was a fun challenge to get them to a point where they were able to work for us as drivers,” he said. "But we got there."
The real test came when it was time for the most famous event in Austin’s calendar - South by Southwest. The tech, music and film festival draws thousands to the city every year, and in 2017 it presented the new apps with their biggest challenge yet in handling the demand.
South by Southwest attracts thousands every year - including Barack Obama in 2016
That challenge grew too great on the middle Saturday of the festival, when as afternoon rolled into evening, it started to pour down with rain.
I was among those hopelessly opening up apps trying to find one that was still working. RideAustin buckled, as too did Fasten, another app that had moved into the city when Uber left.
"Technical issues are just part and parcel of tech businesses," said Vlad Christoff, co-founder of Fasten.
“We had braced for a 10x increase… we got 17x. Yes - we had a little bit of a hiccup!”
But by June, Uber and Lyft were back. There hadn’t been a compromise on security or data. Instead, state power in Texas overruled Austin’s local decision by creating statewide rules on ride-sharing that did not insist on fingerprint checks.
Within a week, one Austin app, Fare, had folded. RideAustin saw its bookings drop by 55% - and it hasn’t ever recovered.
The local apps all maintain that they have plenty of drivers, who make more money on their apps per trip than Uber or Lyft. And though it's difficult to measure independently, the fares are the same or cheaper too.
Which makes you wonder - why did users go back to Uber and Lyft?
"They are very good at leveraging their cash position to do lots of free rides and promotions to get their share back," Mr Tryba said.
Fasten’s Mr Christoff thinks brand recognition beyond the city is the problem.
“The part that we’ve lost is visitors. For one year people landed at Austin’s airport, and they found out the hard way that the default ride-sharing apps on their phone didn’t work.
"Once Uber and Lyft came back, business continued as usual. [But] the locals stayed with us.”
Drivers too have turned more frequently to Uber and Lyft instead of the smaller apps.
"It boils down to the quantity of rides," says Mr Allen.
"When you’re getting 10 requests on Uber to every one request on RideAustin, you’ve got to go to where the rides are. Right now Uber is paying me the most money, but per ride RideAustin is the best."
I think it's unlikely that Uber's troubles in London will reach such a breaking point that the company ends up being forced off the streets.
The appeal process keeps it on the road for the foreseeable future, and when dealing with city officials, Uber’s new CEO Mr Khosrowshahi has hinted at an ever-so-slightly more understanding approach than the man he replaced, Travis Kalanick.
If Uber does leave, there are already a number of apps already in play (not to mention black cabs) that would seek to pick up the extra business - and the orphaned drivers.
Both RideAustin and Fasten said they would consider looking at London as a new market for them, but had no immediate plans.
“There is life after Uber,” Mr Christoff said.
For political consultant David Butts, who worked with Austin City Council on the issue, the entire dispute speaks to a bigger problem of billionaire-backed start-ups believing they are free to dictate the rules.
To city officials in London, he says: "Stand up to them.”
"Don’t cave in. They’re not as strong. Make the case to people: do you want a corporation dictating to the City of London?”
You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370
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Boy, 17, charged over M3 closure - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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The road was shut for 11 hours after a "potentially hazardous material" was dropped from a bridge.
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Hampshire & Isle of Wight
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There were lengthy delays for motorists in the Winchester area
A 17-year-old boy has been charged after "potentially hazardous material" forced the closure of the M3 motorway.
Thousands of people were stuck in queues for 11 hours on 23 September between junctions nine and 11.
The teenager, from Winchester, faces two counts of arson with intent to endanger life and two of causing danger to road users, Hampshire Police said.
He will appear before Basingstoke magistrates on Monday over incidents on the M3 on 16 and 23 September.
The discovery of the partly-ignited substance, dropped from a bridge, led to military bomb disposal experts being called to the motorway near Winchester.
The road was closed shortly before 04:00 BST and had fully reopened by about 15:30.
At the time of the incident, police revealed they were also investigating a similar case on the same bridge at about 04:00 BST on 16 September, when an object was dropped on to the carriageway.
On that occasion officers found "a quantity of broken glass" but no fire.
No-one was hurt on either occasion.
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The Olympic cost of Theresa May's tuition fees proposal - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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Chris Cook, Newsnight's policy editor, assesses the implications of the government's planned changes to student tuition fees.
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UK
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There has been a fair amount of sniggering that the government has announced a freeze in tuition fees - something the Telegraph heralded as part of a "revolution".
That will matter within the sector.
But it is unlikely to change Britain's electoral dynamics.
There is, however, one enormous and expensive change that is worth unpicking in all this: Theresa May also told the Telegraph that the government is going to raise the student loan repayment threshold from £21,000 to £25,000.
This has two big effects.
First, all graduates earning above the old threshold will now repay less in any given year.
A person earning, say, £30,000 a year would pay 9% of their income above £25,000 - not £21,000. So their flow of annual repayments would drop from £810 to £450.
Second, the interest rates charged on the outstanding balance for each student is tied to how far they are above the repayment threshold.
As a result, moving this threshold will also reduce the flow of interest accruing to the Treasury that might eventually be payable by ex-students.
There are good reasons for doing this.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, has been campaigning for the threshold to rise - it was, after all, promised.
And this change reduces the pinch on young people's pay very directly: it feels like a very targeted tax cut to some young graduates.
But, to channel the spirit of the Treasury, it is very expensive. Not in the short term, when I'd expect it would make a pretty small impact. But definitely in the longer term.
Demonstrations against the interdiction of tuition fees were held in 2010
Back in 2012, when the current student finance system took effect, the £21,000 threshold was supposed to rise steadily over time, but it was later frozen in nominal terms to save money.
The reason for the freeze was that the loss rate on student loans issued after 2012 was estimated to be around 45p in every pound lent out - higher than originally budgeted for. The freeze cut the cost and, combined with a few changes to how the cost is estimated, took the estimate down to about 30p.
By eye, I would estimate that this change would increase the cost by at least 10p in the pound. The losses would be over 40p in the pound. That is potentially a lot of money.
How much? This affects the so-called "Plan 2" debt pile, which stood at £44bn in the last debt statistics release.
This category is currently accruing at a rate of about £13bn a year. So with fees at current levels, it is heading to about £120bn at the end of this Parliament.
Even with the most conservative assumptions, we are talking well over £10bn of losses on the value of that debt by 2022.
That loss won't appear in any debt statistics in 2022 - but the losses will be there, and will slowly get added to the national debt between now and the 2050s.
It will happen subtly, but this is a "putting on the Olympics" level of outlay.
The politics of this are baffling, too.
The interest charge on outstanding debt - now at 6.1% for higher-earners and students still studying - was a major issue.
They could have gone for that without making the whole student finance system a lot more expensive.
This measure is a boon for current and recent students - but this looks like progress for Labour. It makes it harder for the government to defend the status quo by making it much dearer.
• None May: We 'listened' on student fees
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41459727
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50 facts about Radio 1 & 2 as they turn 50 - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Starring Tony Blackburn, Chris Evans, Terry Wogan, Annie Nightingale, John Peel and Chris Moyles.
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Entertainment & Arts
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On 30 September, 1967, the BBC's Light Programme split in two. Younger listeners were given Radio 1, while the Light Programme itself morphed into Radio 2, continuing with its mix of big bands, record requests, sport and comedy.
But do you know which DJ inspired the lyrics to I Am The Walrus? Or why Radio 1's first weather forecast prompted 12 complaints?
Here are 50 facts to celebrate the stations' first 50 years.
1. The first voice on Radio 1 was Tony Blackburn, right? Wrong. Shortly after 5:30am on 30 September, broadcaster Paul Hollingdale was at the helm, with his Breakfast Special show broadcast simultaneously on both stations.
2. The opening announcement was not what you'd call dynamic...
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Vine and Johnnie Walker look back at Radio 2's first broadcast.
3. The two stations split at 7:00am. After a five-second countdown, Tony Blackburn officially launched Radio 1 with a jingle promising "too much fun" and the sound of a barking dog.
4. The first song played on Radio 1 was Flowers In The Rain by The Move. Over on Radio 2, it was Julie Andrews singing The Sound Of Music.
5. George Martin's Theme One, however, was technically the first piece of music on Radio 1. Blackburn also played Johnny Dankworth's Beefeaters under his opening link.
6. Blackburn later revealed that the famous film footage of the launch was recorded the night before, and he had to write down the words, so he could replicate them when the station went live.
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7. Many of Radio 1's presenters were drawn from the ranks of pirate radio - but they found the BBC a lot more strait-laced. "I was yelled at when a 10-second link lasted 11 seconds," recalled Keith Skues. "'You cannot just ignore Greenwich Mean Time, Skues!'"
8. Weather presenter Rosie O'Day received 12 complaints in the opening weeks of Radio 1 and 2. Why? Because she had the audacity to be a woman. "Please, please spare us from Rosie O'Day reading the weather forecast," complained one. "It sounds more like a children's fairy story. I'm sure she is a charming girl, but let us stick to a man for the weather news!"
9. Radio 2's Ken Bruce has a licence to drive Routemaster double-decker buses, and owns six of them, which he hires out for weddings and funerals.
10. Before his Radio 1 debut, Dave Lee Travis stole the microphone he'd used on Radio Caroline. "The very first pirate broadcasts were made on it, and I thought, 'I have spent so much of my time on this ship, I'm having a souvenir,'" he said. "I just went and got a pair of scissors and cut the cable."
11. Radio 1 launched half a decade after The Beatles' debut single, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the music industry. Trade magazine Record Retailer accused the BBC of "trailing years behind public taste" and warned "the new station must swing if it is to be effective".
12. Radio 2's own soap opera, Waggoners Walk, launched in 1969. Set in Hampstead, it was often controversial, covering story-lines like contraception and homosexuality.
13. The show was cancelled at short notice in 1980. Some of the cast heard the news on the radio, and the writers responded by having aliens invade Hampstead Heath.
14. Terry Wogan made his Radio 2 debut in 1967, presenting show Late Night Extra - "on the beat with music and news [and] off the record with pop".
15. The Radio 1 Roadshow began in July 1973 with a Land Rover pulling a converted caravan around British holiday resorts. It's now morphed into the Big Weekend, with up to 100,000 fans watching acts like Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and Madonna playing unlikely towns like Swindon, Dundee and Norwich.
The Radio 1 Roadshow in 1987, with pop stars Pepsi and Shirley alongside shorts enthusiasts "Ooh" Gary Davies and Mike Read
16. Between 1967 and 2004, John Peel brought more than 2,000 artists into the BBC to record one of his fabled Peel Sessions. First up were psychedelic rock band Tomorrow, with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, The Smiths, Nirvana, Pulp and The White Stripes coming after.
17. But it was The Fall who recorded the most Peel sessions - 32 in all.
18. These days, DJs are expected to know everything about music - but no-one can be right all the time. Revealing the Radio 1 Top 40 in March 1981, Tony Blackburn announced a new entry by pop newcomers "Duhran Duhran". After several phone calls, he corrected the mistake, saying: "None of us are too big to apologise."
19. Kenny Everett recorded several interviews with The Beatles for Radio 1 and 2 - but he also helped inspire one of their lyrics after taking an acid trip with John Lennon on the Weybridge golf course (of all places).
"A couple of months after my psychedelic round of golf with John I was in the Abbey Road recording studios where the Beatles were recording I Am The Walrus," wrote Everett in his autobiography. "When he got to the line about getting a tan from standing in the English rain, he stopped and said to me: 'Reminds me of that day on the Weybridge golf course, eh Ken?' to which I replied: 'What'?' I'm sure he thought I was a complete lemon... or was it a bird?"
20. Chris Evans has presented both the Radio 1 and Radio 2 Breakfast Shows - but he got his start in radio as Timmy Mallet's assistant on Manchester's Radio Piccadilly, playing a character called Nobby No Level, whose catchphrase was: "What I don't know - I don't know!"
21. To celebrate its fifth birthday in 1972, Radio 1 released hundreds of balloons from the top of Broadcasting House. Attached to each balloon was a form on which the finder could write their favourite record title and return it to their favourite DJ, who would play it on air.
22. In 2015, Elaine Paige helped Pieter - a regular listener to her Radio 2 show - propose to his boyfriend live on air.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Elaine Paige helps a listener propose to his partner on Radio 2
23. Derek Jameson, who presented Radio 2's Breakfast Show from 1986 - 1991, became a broadcaster late in life as a consequence of suing the BBC. The former newspaper editor accused Radio 4's Week Ending of libel for saying he was "so ignorant he thought erudite was a type of glue". He lost the case and was ordered to pay £75,000 in costs - forcing him to accept a job with the corporation he had sued.
24. Many songs have been "banned" by BBC Radio over the years - but one of the first to be censored by Radio 1 was Pink Floyd's It Would Be So Nice. A reference to the Evening Standard newspaper in the opening verse was enough to breach the BBC's strict no-advertising policy.
Mike Read - did he ban Relax, or not?
25. DJ Mike Read got the blame for banning Relax - but he says the decision wasn't in his power. "I didn't ban Relax," he said, "the BBC banned it. I was just a BBC employee." Defending the decision, he added: "The video did have that big fat Buddha bloke urinating from the balcony into somebody's mouth. Even now, that's not terribly good."
26. Read later made up with the band and provided a voice-over on the TV advert for their debut album.
27. Jimi Hendrix, Madness and The Who have all recorded jingles for Radio 1 and 2.
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28. On December 6, 1980 Radio 1's Andy Peebles interviewed John Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York, just two days before John was assassinated.
29. In 1976, Tony Blackburn fell to pieces on air, after his wife Tessa Wyatt, star of hit sitcom Robin's Nest, left him. With millions listening, he played Chicago's If You Leave Me Now over and over again, begging for Tessa to return. He has called this his "one big broadcasting mistake".
30. In 1991, Radio 1 managed to persuade Whitney Houston to cover for Simon Bates while he was on holiday.
31. Nowadays, almost every show has some sort of interactive element, but Annie Nightingale's Sunday Show was Radio 1's first dedicated request show. It ran for 12 years from 1975.
32. Taping songs off the radio was a rite of passage days before streaming. It was illegal, of course, but Annie used it to her advantage. "I used to say: 'In a few minutes, I'll be playing Is That All There Is by Cristina,' so it gave people a chance to set up their tape recorders," she laughs.
33. Nigel Ogden, the host of Radio 2's big organ bonanza, The Organist Entertains, first featured on the show as a player in his teens, before taking over as a presenter in 1980.
34. "Hi there, pop pickers". "Quack Quack, Oops". "Stop!.... Carry on". "One Year Out". "It's Another True Storeeee!" "Not 'Arf".
35. After a Christmas Party got out of hand in 1995, Chris Evans "phoned in sick" for the following day's Breakfast show. He was duly docked a day's pay - reportedly in the region of £7,000. The following morning, he was back on the airwaves, telling listeners: "I feel like I've had a holiday in Bermuda - although it was more expensive than a week in Bermuda, obviously."
36. Simon Bates' first job at the BBC was as a Radio 4 continuity announcer. "I was very bad at it too," he told The Independent. "I never mastered the art of saying 'Radio 4' between the end of one programme and the start of the next. If you try it, it's really very difficult."
37. Early DJs were hired for their skills as presenters, rather than an interest in music. John Peel, the one exception, remembered attending a party at Dave Lee Travis's house when he "suddenly realised that DLT didn't own any records". He asked him about it and Travis replied, "Oh no, it's too much trouble... Anything I really like I've copied on tape. I've got quite a lot of tapes and I play them in the car, you see."
38. Chris Moyles opened his first Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 2004 with a five-minute song crammed with clips of his predecessors. The song concluded with the prescient declaration: "From now until they fire his ass, the saviour of Radio 1 is here".
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39. Moyles clocked up eight years in the hot seat before bowing out in 2012 - making him Radio 1's longest-serving Breakfast presenter.
40. Terry Wogan managed 27 years on Radio 2's Breakfast show, before bowing out in 2009. Bidding farewell, he said: "Thank you for being my friend," before cueing up The Party's Over by Anthony Newley, which features the lyrics: "Now you must wake up, all dreams must end."
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41. In 1976, Noel Edmonds presented the Radio 1 Breakfast show live from a flight from London to Aberdeen. During take-off, he played Fifth Dimension's Up & Away In My Beautiful Balloon, the needle on the record skipping as the plane's wheels left the ground.
42. Except they didn't... the whole programme was an elaborate hoax for April Fool's Day.
43. Jeff Young pioneered Radio 1's first dance music programme with his "Big Beat" show in 1987. Pete Tong and Dave Pearce picked up the mantle with Dance Anthems and the weekend Recovery Session - a breakfast show for clubbers - in the 1990s.
44. Amy Winehouse's Live Lounge cover of Valerie by The Zutons was so popular it was later turned into a single in its own right, produced by Mark Ronson. It became one of her biggest hits, charting at number two (higher than the original, which peaked at nine).
45. Emma Freud once introduced a song by an artist she called "PJ and Harvey" - raising the enticing prospect of indie queen PJ Harvey duetting with Ant and Dec's alter-egos PJ and Duncan.
PJ and Harvey and Duncan - together at last
46. Laura Sayers, a former Radio 1 producer, met her husband through a feature on the Scott Mills show, which she was working on at the time. One Night With Laura saw Scott and the team scour the country to find a listener to be her new boyfriend. After trying to impress a panel of judges, the contestants were whittled down to a final four, before an eventual winner was chosen. However, Laura actually ended up marrying one of the runners-up, James Busson.
47. In 1992, a poll conducted by Radio 1 saw listeners vote Stars by Simply Red as their favourite album.
48. The most popular video on Radio 1's YouTube channel is Miley Cyrus's cover of Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness - which has more than 35 million views.
49. In 2011, Radio 1 entered the Guinness World Records when Chris Moyles and his then-sidekick Comedy Dave presented the longest music radio show by a DJ team or duo, clocking in at more than 51 hours. Their record has since been broken and is currently held by Belgian DJs Eva Daeleman and Peter van De Veire, who broadcast non-stop for a staggering 100 hours in 2015.
50. When it was first launched, the Radio 1 website had a considerably longer URL than it does now, as Pete Tong found out when he attempted to read it out on air.
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Marseille attack: Two young women stabbed to death - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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The attacker was shot dead at the scene and the French anti-terror prosecutor is investigating.
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Europe
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The attack took place outside the train station in the southern French port city
Two young women have been stabbed to death at Marseille's main train station in a suspected terrorist attack.
Soldiers on guard at the station shot dead the attacker, who police described as of North African appearance and aged about 30. Witnesses said he shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest).
So-called Islamic State (IS) said the attacker was one of its "soldiers".
One victim had her throat slit and the other was stabbed in the stomach. They were both aged 20.
President Emmanuel Macron said he was disgusted by the "barbarous act" and paid tribute to the soldiers and the police officers who responded.
The attack took place by a bench outside the southern French city's Saint Charles train station.
Interior Minister Gérard Collomb told reporters that the attacker had fled after the first murder but returned to kill again.
Soldiers were already in the station as part of Operation Sentinelle, which sees combat troops patrol streets and protect key sites amid France's ongoing state of emergency.
IS claimed it was behind the attack via its Amaq news outlet. The group regularly claims responsibility for militant attacks it believes are inspired by its ideology.
IS recently released a tape purportedly of leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi in which he urged supporters to step up attacks.
Police are treating this as a terrorist attack, but there are plenty of question marks about the man and his motivation.
French media report that the killer was in his 20s with a police record for petty offences.
If so, that fits in with a steady pattern of recent attacks in France, carried out by individuals who seem to have a deep hatred of French authority, aggravated by exposure to Islamist ideas.
Update 12 October 2017: This article has been amended to give the correct age of one of the victims.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41461107
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Monarch airline awaits package holiday licence decision - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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The aviation regulator is set to decide whether to renew the airline's licence to sell package holidays.
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Business
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Monarch is in last-ditch talks with the aviation regulator about renewing its licence to sell package holidays.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) extended Monarch's licence by 24 hours on Saturday amid uncertainty about the company's future.
However, with the deadline now passed, the regulator has yet to announce a decision on what it means for the UK's fifth biggest airline.
About 10,000 people on holidays sold by the airline are thought to be abroad.
The CAA is understood to have contingency plans in place to bring those passengers home on other airlines if Monarch faces difficulties.
Monarch had until midnight on Sunday to reach a deal with the CAA - but neither the company nor the CAA have issued updates since then.
If the regulator decides not to renew its package holiday licence, consumer confidence in Monarch's scheduled airline operations could also be undermined.
Package holidays accounted for a fraction of the 6.3 million passengers Monarch carried last year to 40 destinations from Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Leeds-Bradford and Manchester airports.
The government's Atol scheme refunds customers if a travel firm collapses and ensures they are not stranded.
The agreement with the CAA on Saturday means package holidays bought from Monarch on Sunday are still Atol protected.
Monarch's owner, Greybull Capital, has been trying to sell part or all of its short-haul operation so it can focus on more profitable long-haul routes.
The airline reported a loss of £291m for the year to October 2016, compared with a profit of £27m for the previous 12 months, after revenues slumped.
Monarch, founded in 1968, is made up of a scheduled airline, tour operator and an engineering division. In total it employs about 2,500 people.
The company said its flights are operating as normal, and that it continues to work on plans to resolve its future.
Monarch has focused more on destinations such as Spain following terror attacks in Turkey and Egypt
Monarch has experienced the perfect storm of challenges in recent years.
The terror attacks in Turkey and Egypt have deprived the airline of a large chunk of its annual revenues, and forced it to compete on heavily congested traditional routes to Spain and Greece.
That has forced down prices and profits on top of weaker demand from UK travellers - for whom a less valuable pound has made travelling costlier.
Monarch will not be facing the winter with much confidence.
The short-haul market has been described as "horrendous" by senior aviation industry figures. It has already resulted in the collapse of Air Berlin and placed huge pressure on other airlines.
Put simply, there are too many seats and not enough bums to put on them to make a profit for all major carriers.
Are you currently abroad with Monarch or planning to travel soon? E-mail us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
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Catalonia referendum defies Spanish obstruction - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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Sunday's Catalan independence vote is a huge test for Spain, Tom Burridge reports.
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Europe
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A nation, a Spanish region, an aspiring independent state: however you define it, Catalonia has become a byword in Spain for controversy and political conflict.
Now, the deadlock between Catalonia's devolved government, which wants independence, and Spain's central government, which has always ruled out a vote on the issue, has reached a critical moment.
Tweetie Pie, the yellow Warner Bros cartoon bird known here as Piolín, adorns a cruise ship parked in Barcelona port. There are no tourists on board the huge floating hotel, just thousands of national Spanish police.
This ship, decorated bizarrely with cartoon character Tweetie Pie, is one of three chartered to house extra Spanish police
But there is an underlying and deadly serious message, too.
The boat's occupants are the guardians of Spanish territorial integrity. No-one questions where their loyalties lie.
Then there is the confusing.
Catalonia's government, or Generalitat as it is known locally, promises the vote will happen. However, a proper election campaign has been strikingly absent.
With children back at home for the weekend will schools quickly turn into voting stations, or will they remain closed?
And there is the downright baffling.
Catalonia's own police force, Mossos d'Esquadra, in theory should - if they follow the letter of Spanish law - work alongside national Spanish police and stop the vote from happening.
But it is the Mossos' colleagues and friends at the Generalitat who are keeping the pro-independence dream of a referendum alive.
The vote has stoked tension between Spain's Guardia Civil (L) and the Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra
Catalan police are stuck between a rock of Spanish court orders to stop the vote and a hard place of Catalan nationalist desires for it to go ahead.
If police physically stop people from voting, will this maintain public order or encourage trouble on the streets?
Fearing a backlash, the Spanish government has stopped short of suspending the powers of the Catalan government. But it has tightened its grip on Catalonia's finances.
In such uncharted waters, opinion polls about both independence and the idea of a vote suddenly feel outdated.
So, what I can offer are my perceptions based on the many people I have met in Catalonia over the past month, and during the four years when I lived in Spain, when Catalan nationalism evolved into a potent force.
For the record, this is anecdotal evidence, not scientific political data.
First, an army-sized, highly motivated chunk of Catalan society will at least try to vote on Sunday.
The chaotic nature of Sunday's poll means many No-supporters will stay away.
And so a majority of those who turn out will almost certainly be impassioned supporters of independence.
The opinions of these people have been well documented on the BBC over the past two weeks.
Others, like Silvia Gomez, who has family from two other Spanish regions, Andalucía and Aragón, admit that giving up 38 years of Spanish nationality would be a difficult call.
However she is tempted to vote Yes, for the same reasons as Cristina Caparros, who designs boats in Barcelona's port.
Cristina inclines towards independence because she disapproves of Spain's centre-right Popular Party government.
"I don't want to belong to this country any more… I think we can make a better, new country," she told me.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why some Catalans want independence
I suggested to Spanish Education Minister Iñigo Mendez de Vigo that the stubborn negotiating tactics of his government, and sometimes less-than-diplomatic language on the Catalan issue, had driven more people into the pro-independence camp.
Past corruption cases, linked to his party, appeared to add fuel to an already-burning fire.
He simply ruled out any possibility of a legitimate Catalan vote on Sunday.
"In order to hold a referendum you need the ballot, an administrative organisation - nothing exists. So there will be no [public] consultation on Sunday," he told me.
"There isn't a consensus in order to change the Spanish constitution, so this is why the Catalan government goes unilaterally.
"To dance the tango you need two and in this case the Spanish government was always ready to talk, but they didn't want to dance. They only wanted to do things unilaterally and this is what the Spanish government will not accept."
There is another large, quieter and more ill-defined section of Catalan society, within which people have more nuanced opinions.
Fisherman Luis Talló, 54, has always considered himself "very Catalan, but not pro-independence".
But he is still demanding that the Spanish government allow a proper referendum.
His colleague, José González, who buys seafood in bulk straight from the boats, says his and other families are so split on the issue that it is no longer a comfortable topic at the dinner table.
Originally from Málaga in the south of Spain, he has lived in Barcelona for 66 years.
He is one of many people I have met in recent weeks favouring a referendum "done correctly" - but not the type of vote expected to take place on Sunday.
José says he protested and voted in a referendum in favour of more autonomy for Catalonia, before Spain's courts blocked the initiative, at the behest of the Popular Party, in 2010.
But he blames the pro-independence movement for "dividing Catalan society".
"If we want to stay friends, we cannot talk about politics anymore."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41426023
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Marilyn Manson struck by stage scenery in New York - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The rock star was taken to hospital after the incident in New York on Saturday night.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Eyewitness Anthony Biscardi recalls the moment a prop collapsed on US rockstar Manson
Rock star Marilyn Manson was injured during a concert in New York when a large piece of stage scenery fell on him on stage.
The prop - apparently two large guns held together with metal scaffolding - fell as he was performing at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday.
An eyewitness told the BBC that the singer lay on stage for up to 15 minutes covered by a sheet before he was carried out on a stretcher and taken to hospital.
He has cancelled nine tour dates following the injury, according to Billboard magazine.
Eyewitness Anthony Biscardi told the BBC that fans at the concert "instantly freaked out".
"He was performing the song Sweet Dreams. Towards the middle of the song it seemed as though he tried climbing onto a prop.
"The first touch of weight on those poles and it came crashing down onto him."
The 48-year-old 'shock rock' star has been nominated for four Grammy awards
In videos of the incident posted online, stage crew and band members can be seen lifting the prop off the singer but he does not get back up.
"He was pretty limp, almost as though he was unconscious," Mr Biscardi said.
Mr Biscardi said a black sheet was put around him until he could be taken off stage, when an announcement was made that the show was cancelled "due to injury".
A representative told Rolling Stone magazine that: "Manson suffered an injury towards the end of his incredible NYC show. He is being treated at a local hospital."
The 48-year-old artist was three dates into his The Heaven Upside Down Tour. He was due to perform in Boston on Monday night.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41458046
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What could Birmingham offer 2022 Commonwealth Games visitors? - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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What can visitors expect of the city as it edges closer to hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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Birmingham & Black Country
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The distinctive design of Birmingham Selfridges - worth an eight-page souvenir pullout?
The Qatar World Cup was due to be the context in which TV audiences existed in the summer of 2022 - wall charts and stickers, the lot. But then concerns over the searing heat kicked in and the tournament was shifted to winter.
What, then, instead for those from four-and-a-half years into the future missing out on a spot of sport with their after-work ciders, sipped in short sleeves? Whose prowess could pub sages and armchair fans possibly debate?
Step in the 2022 Commonwealth Games to punctuate those longer evenings.
Where Qatar was concerned, audiences would have been overwhelmed with colour pieces about the country - a host nation, and its cities, tending to capture the imagination.
But can the same eight-page pullout flattery be levelled at Birmingham?
It is the UK choice for the Games' host city, and on Friday cleared another hurdle to nudge it closer to that ultimate prize. But can England's middle child - neither London nor Manchester - ever pique the interest of audiences domestic and international? And what might one find out about Digbeth as opposed to Doha?
It turns out there is more there than a bendy traffic interchange named after pasta. There is more - to reference recent notoriety - than a backlog of bin bags in a city that once thought a bid to be an Olympic host should look like this...
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. According to this song, bringing the 1992 Olympic Games to Birmingham would be "the best thing that anybody could do".
In fact, it might be fair, as of 2017, to call it boomtown Brum, at least in terms of investment and shifting national perception.
The area seemed on to something when more people leaving London moved to Birmingham than any other UK city - Londoners gave their reasons here.
And to help with those heading a little bit north, the BBC created this handy survival guide, advising sophisticates how to navigate a network of canals, public transport called the "buzz" and those riding the "buzz" who might call you "bab".
Speaking of public transport, conditions remain favourable for Birmingham's popularity. High-speed rail line HS2 is set to link London to the second city in a way that will kill boxset-watching time, albeit a few years after a 2022 javelin is thrown in anger.
Against this backdrop, HSBC bank announced an HQ relocation from London to Birmingham, with about 1,000 jobs set to be transferred and the bank describing its new home as a "growing city" with "expertise and infrastructure".
And away from commercial property, house prices in the West Midlands are among those experiencing the biggest increase as prices in the south east fall.
Combined, all this might not amount to Birmingham becoming a London borough by the back door, no matter how many references are made to a symphony orchestra, ballet, Michelin stars and international class stadia.
But it remains the case that Birmingham is seeing significant investment, and with it, a changing look that flies in the face of assumptions of a pasta-themed concrete jungle.
New buildings such as the Library of Birmingham have seen the city's landscape change
Earlier in 2017, Deloitte said a "record number" of new developments across all sectors meant Birmingham was enjoying "a well-deserved boom", with Marketing Birmingham's boss adding the city was "embarking on an unprecedented construction spree" to meet "record demand created by new and relocating businesses".
Among the projects have been a revamp of New Street Station and the shopping centre above it, Grand Central - £600m and £150m schemes respectively.
But numbers cannot do all the talking. What do locals think visitors to the Games would make of Birmingham?
"Birmingham is getting more international" - Kevin Cunningham
"Every year Birmingham is getting more international and in 10 years it'll be an amazing city," said Kevin Cunningham.
"When people come, I think they'll be surprised by Birmingham's diversity but also its history."
Ramavtar and Martin think the Games could change views on Birmingham
Ramavtar saw even more potential, and something of possibly greater value than the economic bounce he expected: "It'd be perfect, people would get to see more of Birmingham."
And for Martin, it is seeing that is believing: "There's been a misconception of Birmingham and there's a certain stereotype, but a lot of people haven't even been here."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-41446917
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Is Europe's ghostliest train station about to rise again? - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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It was one of the world's most opulent railway stations. Then it fell into disrepair. Now the building is showing new signs of life.
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Magazine
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It was one of the world's most opulent railway stations, sitting imposingly on the French-Spanish border - but then it fell into disrepair. Now, writes Chris Bockman, the building is showing new signs of life.
When they built the station at Canfranc, it was on a grand scale and with no expense spared. It had to be bold and modern - an architect's dream come true, built in iron and glass, complete with a hospital, restaurant and living quarters for customs officers from both France and Spain.
At the time it was nicknamed the "Titanic of the Mountains".
To give you an idea of its size - there are 365 windows, one for each day of the year; hundreds of doors; and the platforms are more than 200m long. The question is, how did such an extravagant station, high up on a mountainside in a village with a population of just 500 people, ever see the light of day?
The ticket hall fell in to disrepair after the French abandoned the train line in 1970
At the turn of the 20th Century, the Spanish and French authorities had a grand project to open up their border through the Pyrenees, enabling more international trade and travel. It was a remarkably ambitious scheme, involving dozens of bridges and a series of tunnels drilled through the mountains.
At one point, work stalled as the French workers were sent off to fight in World War One. They were replaced by Spanish counterparts.
Celebrating the digging of the Somport tunnel in 1912, which would form part of the international train line
The station was built just to the Spanish side of the border, but one of the platforms was still considered French territory - like a kind of foreign embassy. French police and customs staff sent their children to a French-speaking school installed in the village.
But the day the station was opened in 1928 by the French President Gaston Doumergue and Spanish King Alfonso XIII, flaws quickly became apparent.
The rail gauges were different, so passengers still had to change trains. It made transporting goods as freight too slow. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 didn't help.
In the early 1930s, as few as 50 passengers a day were using Europe's second-biggest train station. And then things got worse. During the Spanish Civil War, Franco ordered the tunnels on the Spanish side sealed off, to prevent his Republican opponents from smuggling weapons in.
When the international line re-opened during World War Two, however, the route was used by thousands of Jews and Allied soldiers to escape into Spain.
Today, the mayor of Canfranc is Fernando Sanchez, whose father was a customs officer at the station - he told me it became a spy hub for the Allies, but the Germans also used the rail line to transport gold they'd stolen from Europe.
After the war, the French lost interest in the line and allowed it to deteriorate. When a train derailed on the French side in 1970, that signalled the end and France abandoned the line.
The Spanish were furious, according to Fernando Sanchez - there was an international agreement to maintain the line and the French were accused of breaking it. Canfranc's population, which had risen to 2,000 thanks to the station, dwindled to 500.
The grand building itself went to rot. The tracks rusted, the ceilings fell in with the harsh winter weather and vandalism did the rest.
The bar at Canfranc station, which fell in to disrepair
But a few years ago the local government in Aragon decided to buy the place and restore it, claiming it was a major part of Spanish history. In the past four years 120,000 people have visited, wearing hard hats - ironically, far more than ever actually used the line when it was in service.
Nearly all the tourists are Spanish. They're fascinated by the station's size, and perhaps also a little proud of its symbolism - the image it projected to the world. There are now even two trains a day between Saragossa and Canfranc.
Now the Aragon government wants not only to refurbish the station as a hotel, but to build another one right next to it, and relaunch rail travel through the Pyrenees. The French regional government based in Bordeaux has agreed to reopen the line on its side too.
Its president, Alain Rousset, told me the route through the achingly beautiful Valley of Aspe will be branded the the "western trans-Pyrenean line" when it opens. He promised to find 200 million euros (£175m) to pay for it, and Brussels will offer matching funds.
Rousset says he has made a lot of enemies by pushing for this plan - pointing out that politicians in Paris had envisaged a motorway instead.
Graffiti scrawled on walls in the valley now read "Long live Canfranc". The line is back in favour.
If all goes to plan, the Titanic of the Pyrenees could be back in business within five years. I noticed that the massive wooden ticket counters at the station have already been restored.
Photographer John Sanderson discovered the delight of taking pictures as a 13-year-old, shooting the Strasburg Rail Road and its historic steam engine. Returning to the subject of railways in adulthood, he rebelled against his younger self and this time chose to photograph American railroads devoid of trains.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41445860
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Renoir painting stolen before auction near Paris - BBC News
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2017-10-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The piece was due to be auctioned on Sunday, with an estimated sale price of €30,000 (£26,500).
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Europe
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir was one of the leading Impressionist painters (stolen piece not pictured)
A small oil painting by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir has been stolen from a sale room near Paris, the day before it was due to go up for auction.
The piece was on display ahead of the auction in Saint-Germain-en-Laye when it was removed on Saturday.
It had an estimated sale price of between €25,000 and €30,000 (£22,000 and £26,500; $29,500 and $35,500).
Police hope surveillance footage will provide clues about the theft.
Measuring just 14cm by 12.2cm (5.5ins by 4.5ins), the Portrait d'une Jeune Fille Blonde (Portrait of a Blonde Young Girl) includes the initials AR in the top left corner.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41456847
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