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Paradise Papers: Queen should apologise, suggests Corbyn - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Labour leader says anyone avoiding tax, as revealed in leaked Paradise Papers, should apologise.
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UK
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Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the Queen, among others, should apologise for using overseas tax havens if they were used to avoid taxation in the UK.
The Labour leader was asked at the CBI conference whether the Queen should say sorry for making overseas investments.
He said anyone putting money into tax havens for the purposes of avoidance should "not just apologise for it, recognise what it does to our society".
The BBC has revealed that the Queen's estate has used overseas tax havens.
It comes after a leak of confidential papers from Bermuda revealed the secret offshore investments of the rich and famous, including the Queen.
Mr Corbyn's spokesman later clarified his comments, saying the Labour leader did not specifically call on the Queen to apologise but thought "anyone who puts money into a tax haven to avoid paying tax should acknowledge the damage it does to society".
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Mr Corbyn called for a full inquiry, public lists of company ownership, and a new tax enforcement unit to tackle tax evasion.
On Sunday, BBC Panorama broadcast the first results of its year-long investigation into the Paradise Papers, a massive leak of financial documents from Bermuda-based law firm Appleby.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the revelation that the Duchy of Lancaster, which handles the Queen's private wealth, used offshore investments.
A spokesperson for the Duchy of Lancaster said: "We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds. All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate.
"The Queen voluntarily pays tax on any income she receives from the Duchy."
HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson vowed to "chase down" anyone trying to hide money offshore and evade tax.
He told the Commons Public Accounts Committee that HMRC had asked to see the leaked Paradise Papers in order to "look at every case of tax evasion very seriously".
Mr Thompson said there were 66 ongoing criminal investigations into the Panama Papers, which in April 2016 exposed tax avoidance and evasion, saying £100m could be retrieved.
"That gives you some sense about how long quite complicated tax cases take to bring to some sort of fruition," he added.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May: 'UK already acting' on offshore tax havens
Theresa May insisted efforts were already under way to obtain revenue from offshore tax vehicles, adding: "We want people to pay the tax that is due".
At the CBI conference, the prime minister said HMRC had collected £160bn by tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance since 2010.
Mrs May's spokesperson said: "It is important to point out that holding investments offshore is not an automatic sign of wrongdoing, but HMRC has requested to see the papers urgently so it can look into any allegations."
But when asked, Mrs May did not commit to a public inquiry into tax revenue lost through offshore tax avoidance schemes.
Among the Paradise Papers documents was evidence that Tory donor Lord Ashcroft remained a non-dom and continued to avoid tax despite attempts to make peers pay their full share.
Lord Ashcroft has insisted he did not ignore rules in relation to the Punta Gorda offshore trust and said his tax residency was "publicly available information".
The leaked documents show that between 2000 and 2010, Lord Ashcroft received payments of around $200m (£150m) from his offshore trust in Bermuda.
Responding to the programme, Lord Ashcroft wrote: "At no point has it been suggested directly to me, or through others, that I have taken any inappropriate action."
He also explained why he ran away from a Panorama reporter who approached him for comment, taking refuge in a toilet, saying he was "determined" not to "fall victim to their ambush".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch Lord Ashcroft try to avoid Richard Bilton’s questions about his offshore trust
The Paradise Papers puts into question the practice of using highly secretive offshore tax havens, which is legal.
Bermuda's premier David Burt said the territory has a "robust regulatory regime" with the same tax system in place since 1898. He added the UK's tax law allows the use of offshore tax havens.
Former Business Secretary, Sir Vince Cable, criticised the government for not clamping down on offshore tax havens trading under the British flag.
He said: "The Paradise Papers suggest that a small number of wealthy individuals have been able, entirely legally, to put their money beyond the reach of the Exchequer."
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41883472
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Damian Green says computer porn allegations are 'political smears' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Damian Green, a key ally of Theresa May, says claims by an ex-police officer are "completely untrue".
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UK Politics
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Damian Green said the allegations were from a "tainted and untrustworthy source"
Theresa May's most senior minister has denied a claim that police found pornography on a computer in his office during a raid in 2008.
First Secretary of State Damian Green said ex-police chief Bob Quick's claims in the Sunday Times were "completely untrue" and "political smears".
And he said police had never told him that any improper material had been found on a parliamentary computer.
Mr Quick said he "stood" by the claim and would take part in an inquiry.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Chris Pincher has resigned as a government whip and referred himself to police following newspaper allegations about his conduct made by a party activist.
The revelations are the latest in a growing sexual misconduct scandal in Westminster.
Chris Pincher is the MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire
On Sunday, further details emerged about allegations against Sir Michael Fallon, who this week resigned as defence secretary over his behaviour.
The Observer reported that he quit shortly after journalist Jane Merrick told Downing Street he had lunged at her and attempted to kiss her on the lips in 2003 after they had lunch together.
And Tory MPs Daniel Poulter, Stephen Crabb and Daniel Kawczynski have been referred to the Conservative Party disciplinary committee after media allegations about their conduct.
The allegation regarding Mr Green, who is effectively the prime minister's deputy, relates to an inquiry into Home Office leaks which briefly led to his arrest in 2008.
Daniel Poulter, Stephen Crabb and Daniel Kawczynski have faced questions about their professional conduct
Former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick said on Sunday that his officers had found pornographic material on a computer in Mr Green's Commons office after they searched it as part of their controversial investigation - which resulted in no charges.
The ex-anti-terror chief said he had made an appointment to speak to a senior official in the Cabinet Office, which last week launched an inquiry into an unrelated allegation against Mr Green, to discuss the matter.
"I bear no malice to Damian Green," he told BBC News.
Mr Quick, who quit his role in 2009 after inadvertently revealing secret documents, accepted he had not asked officers to report the matter at the time, saying they "didn't expect to find the material" and were in the midst of a "very difficult inquiry with a lot of pressure to drop the case".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Andrew Marr asked Home Secretary Amber Rudd whether the centre of government was close to collapse
But Mr Green said "the allegations about the material and computer, now nine years old, are false, disreputable political smears", adding that they "amount to little more than an unscrupulous character assassination".
The Cabinet Office inquiry was triggered after journalist Kate Maltby, who is three decades younger than Mr Green, told the Times he "fleetingly" touched her knee during a meeting in a pub in 2015 and a year later sent her a "suggestive" text message after she was pictured wearing a corset in the newspaper.
Mr Green said any allegation that he made sexual advances to Ms Maltby was "untrue (and) deeply hurtful".
Two Tory MPs, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen, have urged Mr Green to step aside pending the outcome of the investigation but Home Secretary Amber Rudd said her cabinet colleague had the right to defend himself.
"I do think that we shouldn't rush to allege anything until that inquiry has taken place," she told the BBC's Andrew Marr.
More generally, she said abuse of power could not be tolerated and there needed to be a "clearing out" of Westminster to get rid of any such behaviour.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Anna Soubry has said former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon was "responsible for his own downfall" amid fresh claims about his past behaviour.
Ms Merrick told the Observer she "shrank away in horror" when Sir Michael tried to kiss her when she was a 29-year-old reporter at the Daily Mail.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn says there must be change following recent revelations of sexual harassment
"I felt humiliated, ashamed. Was I even guilty that maybe I had led him on in some way by drinking with him?" she said. "After years of having a drink with so many other MPs who have not acted inappropriately towards me, I now know I was not."
Friends of Sir Michael have not denied the allegation, but the BBC understands that his ministerial career ended because he could not guarantee there would be no further revelations after he admitted repeatedly touching another journalist's knee at a conference dinner 15 years ago.
Ms Soubry praised the journalist's "outstanding bravery" in coming forward and said she had put her in touch with Downing Street after Ms Merrick had confided in her and Labour's Harriet Harman.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jane Merrick "outstandingly brave" for speaking out about Sir Michael Fallon - Conservative MP Anna Soubry
Theresa May, she added, must ensure an independent complaints system immediately so victims of harassment and those accused of misconduct did not have to undergo "trial by newspapers".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said this must be a "turning point" for how the whole political class behaves, telling activists that his party - under fire for how it has handled harassment and rape allegations - was not afraid to "shine a spotlight" on itself.
"We must say, no more. We must no longer allow women, or anyone else for that matter, to be abused in the workplace or anywhere else," he said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41874026
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Nigeria kidnapping: Ian Squire killed and three freed - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Ian Squire died after being held hostage in Nigeria alongside three others, who have been freed.
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UK
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Ian Squire was kidnapped in southern Nigeria in October
A British aid worker kidnapped last month in southern Nigeria has been killed, while three other hostages have been freed, says the Foreign Office.
Ian Squire, an optician, was one of four Britons working for a medical charity in the Niger Delta when taken.
Suspected militants stormed the rural community of Enekorogha on 13 October.
UK and Nigerian authorities successfully negotiated the release of Alanna Carson, David Donovan and Shirley Donovan.
BBC Lagos correspondent Stephanie Hegarty said there was little detail around Mr Squire's death, but that locals told her the kidnappers were a criminal gang who had been operating in the area for around a year.
Our correspondent said: "This is their first kidnapping of foreigners. They had kidnapped very recently the mother of a local politician, but before that they were just carrying out petty crime.
"We know that a ransom was demanded but we don't know if it was paid."
According to reports, Dr and Mrs Donovan have lived in Nigeria for the past 14 years, running a Christian charity called New Foundations, which gives aid to remote villages in the Niger Delta.
Dr and Mrs Donovan (pictured) were released and are now home safely
Mr Squire normally ran a practice in Shepperton, Surrey, and locals told the BBC he travelled to Africa every year to carry out charity work.
Mr Squire's friend Paul Allan, who ran a neighbouring business, described him as a "good friend" and a "very straight forward, nice, gentle guy".
He described how Mr Squire fundraised in the community for his trips and even collected old glasses to take and reuse.
"I just can't believe what's happened," added Mr Allan. "I find it shocking to believe for someone who has gone out to do good in the community overseas that the action has cost him dearly. It has cost him his life. It is beyond belief.
"It is a sign of this day and age, but he wasn't concerned about that. He just wanted to go out and help people in less fortunate situations than ours."
Ms Carson, a Specsavers optometrist, is now staying with her family in Northern Ireland, according to her employer in Leven, Fife.
Relatives of the four said they were "delighted and relieved" that Ms Carson and Dr and Mrs Donovan had returned safely.
"Our thoughts are now with the family and friends of Ian as we come to terms with his sad death," they said in a statement issued on their behalf.
The Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to much of Delta state, saying there is a "high threat of criminal kidnap".
It said Nigerian authorities were investigating the kidnapping, adding: "Our staff will continue to do all we can to support the families."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41890060
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Sutherland Springs: Texas church shooting leaves 26 dead - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A gunman opened fire at a church in Sutherland Springs in the worst mass shooting in state history.
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US & Canada
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At least 26 people have been killed and 20 others wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Texas church during a Sunday service.
The attack happened at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a small town in Wilson County. The victims' ages ranged from five to 72.
The suspected gunman was later found dead in his vehicle some miles away.
Police identified him only as a "young, white male" but US media named him as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26.
Kelley is reported to have been discharged from the US air force in 2014 following a court martial for assaulting his wife and child.
The motive for the killings was not immediately clear.
A candlelit vigil was held for victims of the shooting in Sutherland Springs
Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin said the attacker, dressed all in black and wearing a bulletproof vest, opened fire with a Ruger assault rifle outside the church at around 11:30 local time (17:30 GMT) and then went inside.
As the gunman left the church, a local citizen grabbed his own rifle and began shooting at the suspect, who then dropped his weapon and fled in a vehicle.
The citizen pursued the suspect, who eventually drove off the road and crashed his car at the Guadalupe County line.
At 01:30, Chris Speer was still sitting on his porch, sucking his cigarette in the dark. Fourteen hours earlier he was in the same place, with his 11-month-old son, when he heard "close to 30 shots".
"Your first instinct, you're out in the country, you think someone is shooting, practising," he says. "But it was too close. I knew something wasn't right."
He took his son inside. "If I could have got my gun, I would have," he says. "But when you've got a kid in your hands, I'm not risking it. He wouldn't let go."
Mr Speer didn't know the attacker but he knew "a lot" of the victims. "We're a small community. We band together. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."
Police found the man dead in his car but it is unclear if he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from injuries received when fired on by the local citizen. The car contained several weapons.
Mr Martin added: "We have multiple crime scenes. We have the church, outside the church. We have where the suspect's vehicle was located.
"We have been following up on the suspect and where he's from. We have Texas Rangers at all the hospitals locating those and interviewing those who were injured."
One man has told how he chased the gunman after seeing "two men exchanging gunfire" outside the church. Speaking to local TV station Ksat.com, Johnnie Langendorff said a "gentleman came and said we need to pursue him. And that's what I did, I just acted".
Mr Langendorff said the pair were driving at speeds of up to 95mph (153km/h) until the gunman lost control of his car and crashed.
Governor Greg Abbott, confirming the death toll, said it was the worst mass shooting in the history of Texas.
"This will be a long, suffering mourning for those in pain," he said at a news conference on Sunday.
The First Baptist Church's pastor, Frank Pomeroy, told ABC News his 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was among those killed.
Mr Pomeroy, who was in Oklahoma at the time of the attack, described her as "one very beautiful, special child" in a phone call to the television outlet.
At least 10 victims, including four children, were being treated at the University Health System in nearby San Antonio, the hospital said in a tweet.
The authorities could not confirm the names of any victims as they continued to work through the crime scene, Sheriff Joe Tackitt said.
Officials said 23 people were found dead inside the church while two people were fatally shot outside. Another died in hospital, the authorities say.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. After the Las Vegas attack in October 2017 the BBC looked at how US mass shootings are getting worse
One witness, Carrie Matula, told NBC News: "We heard semi-automatic gunfire… we're only about 50 yards away from this church.
"This is a very small community, so everyone was very curious as to what was going on."
Sutherland Springs, which has a population of about 400, lies about 30 miles (50km) south-east of the city of San Antonio.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A guide to the weapons available in the US and the rate at which they fire
President Donald Trump, on a tour of Asia, said the gunman was "a very deranged individual" and denied that guns were to blame for the shooting.
"We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, but this isn't a guns situation," he said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Trump: 'We cannot begin to imagine the suffering'
The shooting comes just a month after a gunman in Las Vegas opened fire on an outdoor music festival, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds in the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41880511
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Fireworks display in Amesbury injures 14 - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Hotel in Amesbury apologises after display goes wrong and fireworks shoot into a crowd.
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A display box at a fireworks event in Wiltshire malfunctioned sending projectiles towards the crowd.
Ambulance crews treated 14 people for minor injuries after the display at the Antrobus Arms in Amesbury.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-41877333
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Captain Scott's South Pole 'selfie' on sale at auction - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The explorers were pictured at the South Pole after realising they were not the first to reach it.
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UK
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All five men died on the way back from the South Pole
A photograph of the team which took part in the doomed 1910-13 Antarctic expedition is to be sold at auction.
Captain Robert Scott and his four-man team died in 1912 after being beaten to the South Pole by Norwegian explorers.
The photograph of all five was taken using an automatic trigger in January of that year after the men read Roald Amundsen's note and realised they were not the first ones to get there.
The photo is expected to fetch £1,200 at Sotheby's in London on 14 November.
Cecilie Gasselholm of Sotheby's said it was almost possible to see "the disappointment in their faces".
Sir Ernest Shackleton led three expeditions to the Antarctic
Other items to be sold at the auction include a silver spoon and fork from the Antarctic expedition and The South Polar Times - which was printed in Capt Scott's hut in 1912.
Some of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition mementos will also be sold including a collection of sea shanties he sang and a photograph of his return from the Antarctic.
The image has the caption "Just back from the south pole: this tramp became in after life the famous Sir Ernest Shackleton".
Sir Ernest led three expeditions to the Antarctic.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41879320
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Texas shooting: The small town where everyone knows a victim - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The impact of the church shooting has been felt in every corner of Sutherland Springs, Texas.
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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. 'Our kids play together,' says a resident whose neighbours are feared dead
When a mass shooting happens in a small town like Sutherland Springs, Texas, everyone knows a victim.
Pauline Garza was lazy on Sunday morning, and it might have saved her life.
She and her 11-year-old daughter were thinking about going to church. She isn't a regular, but her daughter was baptised there.
This time, they decided not to. "Feeling lazy," she says, standing on her porch 24 hours later.
Soon afterwards, they heard the gunfire.
Pauline's neighbours, the Holcombes, were also churchgoers.
Pauline thinks they were in church on Sunday morning. She hasn't seen them return.
The Holcombes' two dogs lie on the drive, waiting. The gate is still locked; the porch light is still on.
The families are close. Pauline's daughter stays over at the Holcombes' place.
"Very nice family," says Pauline, 47. "They're always out in the yard.
"The kids will play with my daughter all the time. Very nice."
When Pauline heard the shots, she thought it was a neighbour working on his house.
"I asked my daughter - 'What was that noise?' She said 'I don't know'.
"We came to the door. I saw my (other) neighbour standing there. You could still hear the shots being fired.
"I never thought it was gunshots. I never did."
And when she found it was gunfire?
"I thought 'How can that happen here?' It's unreal."
The town will recover, says Julius
Around 400 people live in Sutherland Springs, a small town in Texas, 30 miles (48km) east of San Antonio.
It isn't a wealthy place. There are neat, well-built houses, but there is decay, too.
The All Coin Laundry, long forgotten, hasn't washed a shirt in 10 years, at least. People work in "nursing homes, hospitals, the convenience store," says Pauline.
But - while it isn't wealthy - it is friendly. Neighbours know each other. People say hello. The school bus driver waves at passers-by.
In one garden, a sign says: "Cowboys make good points with spurs and barbed wire."
The next sign says: "Welcome to Texas."
"I love it here," says Pauline. "You don't have all that loud stuff like the big cities."
Julius Kepper, 53, has lived in Sutherland Springs for seven years. At first, he thought Sunday's gunfire was building work.
When he realised it wasn't, he grabbed his gun and ran out of the house.
He wasn't the only one. His neighbour, Stephen, had already shot the attacker and given chase.
Julius didn't go to church, but he knew "a bunch of people" who did.
"Some of the young guys who went would cut my yard," he says.
"It's a small community. You can't help but know people."
Julius is drinking a large Coke in the petrol station on the edge of town. Another customer sits at a table, drinking coffee.
Behind the counter are rows of Texas caps. The San Antonio Express-News sits on the counter.
"Time for worship turns to horror," says the headline.
Julius thinks the town will heal, but it will take time.
"For this to happen in a little country town with 300 people, it's inconceivable," he says.
"You kind of expect it in big cities. Not here."
Back on her porch, Pauline Garza thinks the shooting means more people will carry guns.
"Even to church," she says. "We would never think out here in the country you would need a gun to protect yourself. Now you're going to have to.
"Now you got crazy people walking around everywhere."
Pauline didn't sleep on Sunday night. The what-ifs were playing through her mind.
And, though she and her daughter are safe, their suffering isn't over.
"How do I talk to my daughter about this?" she asks. "How can I do that?"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41890279
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Pandora Papers: Your guide to nine years of finance leaks - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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What have been the major financial disclosures and what action has been taken?
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Business
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The financial secrets of hundreds of world leaders, politicians and celebrities has been exposed in another huge leak of financial documents.
Dubbed the Pandora Papers it features almost 12 million files from companies providing offshore services in tax havens around the world.
The data was obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington DC, which has organised the biggest ever global investigation, spanning 117 countries and involving more than 600 journalists. In the UK the investigation has been led by BBC Panorama and the Guardian.
The files are the latest in a series of whistleblower-led investigations that have rocked the world of finance in recent years.
So let's round up the other major leaks of the past decade.
In September 2020 the FinCEN Files exposed the failure of major global banks to stop money laundering and financial crime. They also revealed how the UK is often the weak link in the financial system and how London is awash with Russian cash.
The files included more than 2,000 suspicious activity reports (SARs), filed by financial institutions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency, or FinCEN, a part of the US Treasury Department. They also include 17,641 records obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and other sources.
They were obtained by BuzzFeed News which shared them with the ICIJ and 400 journalists around the world, including BBC Panorama, which led the investigation in the UK.
A huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which revealed the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
Who leaked the data? The BBC does not know the identity of the source. The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the ICIJ. Panorama led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries.
A confidential settlement was later reached between the BBC, the Guardian and Appleby over the reporting of the leaked documents, which Appleby said were taken by hackers. The Guardian and BBC said the reports were in the public interest but did not give more detail about the settlement.
Until Pandora this leak was seen as the daddy of them all in data size. If you thought the Wikileaks dump of sensitive diplomatic cables in 2010 was a big deal, this carried 1,500 times more data.
Süddeutsche Zeitung's "brothers". Despite surnames that sound exactly the same, these two leading lights of the Panama Papers investigation, Frederik Obermaier (L) and Bastian Obermayer, are not related
The Panama Papers came about after an anonymous source contacted reporters at German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2015 and supplied encrypted documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. It sells anonymous offshore companies that help the owners hide their business dealings.
Overwhelmed by the scale of the dump, which eventually grew to 2.6 terabytes of data, the Süddeutsche Zeitung called in the ICIJ, which led to the involvement of about 100 other partner news organisations, including the BBC's Panorama.
After more than a year of scrutiny, the ICIJ and its partners jointly published the Panama Papers on 3 April 2016, with the database of documents going online a month later.
Who was named? Where do we start? A few of the news partners focused on how associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin shuffled cash around the globe. Not that the Russians cared much. The prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan came to far stickier ends, the former quitting and the latter being thrown out of office by the Supreme Court. Overall the financial dealings of a dozen current and former world leaders, more than 120 politicians and public officials and countless billionaires, celebrities and sports stars were exposed.
Who leaked the data? John Doe. Yes, we know. It's not a real name. In US crime series it is mostly used to label anonymous victims but Mr (or Ms) Doe's manifesto, released a month after publication, reveals a self-styled revolutionary. The real identity is still unknown.
Five months after the Panama Papers, the ICIJ published revelations from the Bahamas corporate registry. The 38GB cache revealed the offshore activities of "prime ministers, ministers, princes and convicted felons", it said. Former EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes admitted an "oversight" in failing to disclose her interest in an offshore company.
This ICIJ investigation, involving hundreds of journalists from 45 countries, including BBC Panorama, went public in February 2015.
It focused on HSBC Private Bank (Suisse), a subsidiary of the banking giant, and so lifted the lid on dealings in a country where banking secrecy is taken for granted.
The leaked files covered accounts up to the year 2007, linked with more than 100,000 individuals and legal entities from more than 200 countries.
The ICIJ said the subsidiary had served "those close to discredited regimes" and "clients who had been unfavourably named by the United Nations".
HSBC admitted that the "compliance culture and standards of due diligence" at the subsidiary at the time were "lower than they are today".
Who was named? The ICIJ said HSBC had profited from "arms dealers, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws".
It also cited those close to the regimes of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, former Tunisian President Ben Ali and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Who leaked the data? Actually, we know this one. The ICIJ investigation was based on data originally leaked by the French-Italian software engineer and whistleblower Hervé Falciani, though the ICIJ got it later from another source. From 2008 onwards he passed information on HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) to French authorities, who in turn passed them to other relevant governments. Mr Falciani was indicted in Switzerland. He was held in detention in Spain but was later released and now lives in France.
Or LuxLeaks for short. Another extensive ICIJ investigation, which revealed its findings in November 2014.
It centred on how professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers helped multinational companies gain hundreds of favourable tax rulings in Luxembourg between 2002 and 2010.
The ICIJ said multinationals had saved billions by channelling money through Luxembourg, sometimes at tax rates of less than 1%. One address in Luxembourg was home to more than 1,600 companies, it said.
The leak of documents was first exposed in 2012 after a joint investigation between Panorama and France2 which lifted the lid on the tax agreements of UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and media company Northern & Shell.
Who was named? Pepsi, IKEA, AIG and Deutsche Bank were among those named.
A second tranche of leaked documents said the Walt Disney Co and Skype had funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars in profits through Luxembourg subsidiaries. They and the other firms denied any wrongdoing.
Jean-Claude Juncker had been PM of Luxembourg when it enacted many of its tax avoidance rules. He had been appointed president of the European Commission just a few days before the leak came out. He said he had not encouraged avoidance.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jean-Claude Juncker says he is "politically responsible for what happened"
Eurosceptics went to town and pushed a censure motion against him and his commission. It was rejected. But the EU did investigate, and by 2016 had proposed a yet-to-be realised common tax scheme for the EU.
Who leaked the data? Frenchman Antoine Deltour, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers employee, was the main man, saying he had acted in the public interest. Another PwC employee, Raphael Halet, helped him.
The pair, along with journalist Edouard Perrin, were all charged in Luxembourg after a PwC complaint. A first verdict was later revisited, watering down sentences, with Deltour given a six-month suspended jail term which was later quashed. Halet received a small fine and Mr Perrin was acquitted.
This was about a tenth of the size of the Panama Papers but was seen as the biggest exposé of international tax fraud ever when the ICIJ and its news partners went public in November 2012 and April 2013.
Some 2.5 million files revealed the names of more than 120,000 companies and trusts in hideaways such as the British Virgin Islands and the Cook Islands.
BBC Panorama exposed a flourishing tax evasion industry in the UK in an undercover investigation based on the files.
Who was named? The usual suspects. A mix of politicians, government officials and their families, with the Russians notable, but also those in China, Azerbaijan, Canada, Thailand, Mongolia and Pakistan. The Philippines - in the form of the family of late strongman Ferdinand Marcos - get a dishonourable mention. To be fair, the ICIJ does point out that the leaks are not necessarily evidence of illegal actions.
Who leaked the data? The ICIJ cites "two financial service providers, a private bank in Jersey and the Bahamas corporate registry" as the sources, but says nothing more other than it was "data obtained".
The Pandora Papers is a leak of almost 12 million documents and files exposing the secret wealth and dealings of world leaders, politicians and billionaires. The data was obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington DC and has led to one of the biggest ever global investigations.
More than 600 journalists from 117 countries have looked at the hidden fortunes of some of the most powerful people on the planet. BBC Panorama and the Guardian have led the investigation in the UK.
Pandora Papers coverage: follow reaction on Twitter using #PandoraPapers, in the BBC News app, or watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41877932
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Briton held in Egypt over drugs made 'honest mistake' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Laura Plummer, accused of drug trafficking in Egypt, 'doesn't know Tramadol from a Panadol'.
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A British woman who has been detained in Egypt for bringing nearly 300 Tramadol tablets into the country made "an innocent, honest mistake", according to her brother.
Laura Plummer, from Hull, was transporting the pills for her Egyptian partner who suffers from back pain.
It is illegal to supply prescription drugs and Ms Plummer, 33, could face up to 25 years in jail.
Her local MP Karl Turner said the Foreign Office was now involved.
He said the British Embassy has provided a lawyer - Ms Plummer's third since she was detained at Hurghada International Airport on suspicion of drug trafficking on 9 October.
Ms Plummer's family has been told she could face up to 25 years in prison, or even the death penalty.
Her brother James Plummer told BBC Radio 5 live that Ms Plummer was visiting her husband of 18 months on "just a routine holiday". She reportedly sees him between two and four times a year.
It is not clear, however, whether the marriage is official.
Ms Plummer's brother said she had taken some Tramadol with her to treat her husband's back pain
He said that Laura, a shop assistant, had told a colleague about her partner's back pain and the work colleague replied that she could get some tablets from her GP. "They were prescribed to a friend of hers," he said.
"So she took those over with her," Mr Plummer said. "Laura didn't even check what they were, she didn't even know there was Tramadol in the bag. There was also Naproxen as well."
Mr Turner said Ms Plummer had brought the tablets to Egypt along with a number of other goods.
"It is difficult to get certain things in Egypt apparently so she'd taken talcum powder, shaving gel and razor blades and all sorts of things," he said. "Clearly, [she was] very, very naïve."
Tramadol is the most abused drug in Egypt, according to Ghada Wali, the country's Minister of Social Solidarity.
In August, she said that the Drug Control Fund, which she chairs, received the most calls about Tramadol on its free helpline - which overall received 48,000 calls between January and June.
Ms Plummer is now being held in jail where Mr Turner said she is sharing a cell with between 20 to 30 other women.
Mr Turner said: "The family describe Laura to me as somebody who is very naïve.
"Her father said to me 'look, the truth is she wouldn't know Tramadol from a Panadol. She wouldn't have a clue that she was doing something unlawful'."
He said that a British Embassy representative has been visiting Ms Plummer regularly and has been in touch with her family.
Despite the severe overcrowding in Egyptian jails, Mr Turner said: "Her family said to some extent it is better that she's with lots of people in a cell than in a cell on her own because people are around her.
"But the conditions are going to be extremely basic and I'm sure she's petrified by what is unfolding before her."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41875573
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Paradise Papers: PGL holiday firm cut tax bill after rule change - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Documents show travel firm reduced its bill after rule change introduced by the government in 2013.
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UK
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The UK company which owns the PGL children's holidays brand exploited an anti-tax avoidance law to actually save itself tax, the Paradise Papers show.
An amendment to rules introduced by the government in 2013 allowed Holidaybreak to legally avoid corporation tax by artificially shifting German profits to the Isle of Man.
Holidaybreak says it follows all tax rules and disclosure requirements.
The UK Treasury denies its regulations can help multinationals avoid tax.
But the EU last month announced it is investigating whether the amendment to the Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) rules amount to illegal state aid.
David Cameron's coalition government had pledged to work with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and update tax rules to ensure "these do not allow or encourage multinational enterprises to cut their tax bills by artificially shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions".
The CFC rules, first introduced in 1984, enabled HMRC to impose full corporation tax on foreign subsidiaries of UK companies if they considered them to be shifting profits into tax havens.
But the rules were reformed in 2013 and an "exception" was added to allow offshore subsidiaries of UK firms financing other group companies abroad to pay a quarter of the full rate.
Campaigners including Action Aid have warned it would be open to exploitation and undermine the government's claims to support international efforts against tax avoidance.
The Paradise Papers documents held by offshore law firm Appleby and seen by BBC Panorama show how a finance company set up by Holidaybreak could use the CFC change to pay corporation tax in the UK at 5.25% in 2015. Company profits in Germany are taxed at around 30%.
By paying the reduced UK rate, Holidaybreak would be able to cut the amount of tax it paid on its German business by more than 1m euros (£900,000) a year, calculations suggest.
The documents show the tax structure put in place after Cheshire-based Holidaybreak acquired the German budget hotel group Meininger in 2013.
Appleby set up Meininger Finance Company Limited in the Isle of Man and it loaned 134.6m euros (£110.8m) to the German hotel group.
The German company had to pay interest on the loan, which reduced both its profits and the amount of tax it had to pay in Germany.
The interest payments went to the Isle of Man. Under the old rules they would have been taxed by the UK government at the full rate of corporation tax, but under the new rules Holidaybreak was allowed to pay just a quarter of the rate.
The company would be able to shift between 6 and 7 million euros a year into the Isle of Man, according to the tax advice.
Other documents show meetings of the finance company were held in Appleby's office in the island's capital, Douglas, to satisfy the UK tax authorities that the new company was being managed and controlled from the Isle of Man.
Holidaybreak became part of Cox & Kings, an India-registered company and one of the world's longest established travel businesses, in 2011.
A draft report in the Appleby documents outlines how the new company structure would work
In a statement, Holidaybreak said: "All our business affairs are conducted within the tax regulations and disclosure requirements as set out in the law of the countries we operate in, including the UK where Holidaybreak is headquartered.
"Where appropriate, we seek advice from third party advisers in order to help ensure this compliance with local law and regulations."
Fabio De Masi sat on the European Parliament's Panama Papers committee as an MEP and is now a German MP.
He said: "The Holidaybreak tax structure is exactly the sort of scheme the EU Commission will be looking at. The investigation could lead to the company being asked to pay some of the avoided tax back.
"The UK does have the option of objecting to the EU Commission's investigation through the European Court of Justice. However, this would mean the UK government doesn't want the money back," he added.
Labour MP Margaret Hodge, the former chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, sees the CFC rule amendment in 2013 as evidence the coalition government "were constantly introducing new rules to make Britain the tax haven of the world".
She said: "This was a deliberate change brought in by the government to help global companies do nothing other than avoid paying their fair share of tax."
A Treasury spokesperson said: "We do not believe these rules are incompatible with EU law but will co-operate with the European Commission's investigation.
"We are clear that all multinationals must pay tax on any profits they make in the UK, and our rules prevent these profits from being artificially diverted overseas."
In a statement on the Paradise Papers leak, Appleby said it was a law firm which "advises clients on legitimate and lawful ways to conduct their business. We operate in jurisdictions which are regulated to the highest international standards".
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41888614
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Leadsom 'knew about rape allegation' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Ex-activist says she asked the Commons clerk to pass on concerns about the "toxic" Westminster culture to senior Tories.
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UK
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Andrea Leadsom knew of a rape case that had been reported to the Commons, the Victoria Derbyshire show understands.
The Commons leader has been accused by the alleged victim, an ex-Tory activist, of ignoring concerns over the "toxic" culture of Westminster.
"Amanda" said she told the Commons clerk she had been raped by someone who worked for a Conservative MP.
The BBC has established Ms Leadsom was told about the alleged case by the clerk in a regular briefing.
Ms Leadsom's office initially said she did not receive an official complaint in relation to the alleged rape.
Both the clerk and Ms Leadsom said it would not have been appropriate to take any further action given the ongoing criminal case at the time.
The alleged rape did not take place inside Parliament.
'Amanda' says the incident left her 'destroyed'
Amanda - whose name has been changed to protect the identity of both parties - says she was raped "by someone senior to me in the Conservative Party.
"It was violent. It wasn't in Westminster, it was in my own home."
"And it shouldn't have happened. I remember the attack, during the attack. I remember the room disappearing around me and thinking I was going to die.
"When he left the next day I was at the police station within an hour and I reported it."
As she waited for a trial date, she decided to tell the Commons officials about the alleged rape. She explained how she felt the "heavy-drinking and sex-driven" culture within Westminster had contributed to it.
This programme has confirmed Amanda had a 25-minute conversation with the House of Commons clerk, David Natzler.
She said she left the conversation believing her concerns about both the culture and her alleged attack would be passed on to the then-Chief Whip Gavin Williamson and the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom - and that a meeting might follow.
Mr Williamson has just been promoted to defence secretary after Michael Fallon resigned over his "general conduct" and Mrs Leadsom has since said Parliament would take a "zero-tolerance" approach to allegations of sexual misconduct.
But Amanda said: "I never received contact from either of them. The parliamentary authorities never followed it up with me either. I heard nothing."
The clerk refused to confirm who he spoke to about what he had been told, saying that Amanda's concerns were "informally reported onwards" and were "acted on".
The BBC understands the allegation and Amanda's general concerns were raised by the clerk at a regular meeting with Ms Leadsom.
But no-one will say how exactly it was acted upon and Amanda was not told either.
It is understood Mr Williamson insists none of the claims was passed on to him.
Amanda said the incident had "destroyed" her.
"I question how I could be so stupid as to get into that political scene," she added. "And I blame myself for doing so because it led to what happened to me. If I hadn't have got into that scene I wouldn't have been attacked. It's as simple as that."
She added it had made her feel "worthless and as if my experience wasn't important and that the experiences of others who had who had had similar things happen to them weren't important either".
The man Amanda had accused of rape, who was not an MP, strongly denied the allegation and the case was later dropped after a review of the evidence.
But at the time she told the parliamentary authorities about it and her general concerns the case was due to go to trial and she says she was ignored despite their seriousness.
In a statement, the clerk confirmed the conversation took place.
It added: "The allegation was mentioned but was not the focus of the discussion, as the incident had not taken place on the Parliamentary Estate, and the activist had not been employed on the estate.
"There was no question of formally 'referring' the allegations to other House authorities as there was already a criminal case under way."
Amanda said the clerk took her concerns extremely seriously.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41857807
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Paradise Papers: Fiona Delany avoids questions on ‘tax dodge’ - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Richard Bilton asks Mrs Brown’s Boys star Fiona Delany about the offshore scheme.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41883047
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Saudi prince killed in helicopter crash near Yemen border - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, son of a former crown prince, died in the crash near the Yemeni border.
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Middle East
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Prince Mansour was the son of former Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
A senior Saudi prince and seven other officials have been killed in a helicopter crash near the country's border with Yemen, state media report.
Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, the deputy governor of Asir province, was returning from an inspection tour when his aircraft came down near Abha late on Sunday, the interior ministry said.
It did not give a cause for the crash.
The incident came hours after a major purge of the kingdom's political and business leadership.
An anti-corruption body led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, ordered the detentions of dozens of people, including 11 princes, four ministers and dozens of ex-ministers.
Analysts see the unprecedented move as an attempt to cement the power of the heir to the throne.
Prince Mansour was the son of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence chief who was crown prince between January and April 2015, when he was pushed aside by Prince Mohammed's father, King Salman, now 81.
Mansour served as a consultant to his father's royal court and in April 2017 was among eight young royals appointed deputy governors.
These are heady and unpredictable times in Saudi Arabia. The Arab world's richest country is undergoing seismic changes almost unprecedented in its 85-year history as a sovereign nation.
The idea of dozens of familiar pillars of the establishment all being publicly and humiliatingly removed from office and detained, albeit in great comfort, would have been unthinkable just three years ago.
But the conservative, stodgy, risk-averse Saudi Arabia of old is under new management these days. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is leading the official anti-corruption purge, appears determined to take on all comers in his drive to both modernise the country and eliminate all opposition, both secular and religious.
He is popular with young Saudis but critics say he is playing for high stakes, risking a dangerous backlash.
An interior ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said the prince and seven provincial officials had boarded a helicopter on Sunday morning to tour a number of coastal projects west of the city of Abha.
"While returning in the evening of the same day, contact with the plane was lost in the vicinity of the Reda reserve," it added. "The authorities are currently searching for survivors as the wreckage has been found."
Later, state news channel al-Ikhbariya announced the death of the prince.
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The Reda reserve is located in the Sarawat Mountains, the largest range in the Arabian Peninsula, and is about 10km (6 miles) west of Abha and 120km from the border with Yemen
For the past two-and-a-half years, Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition that is supporting Yemen's internationally-recognised government in its war with the rebel Houthi movement.
The interior ministry statement did not draw any link between the crash and the conflict, but on Saturday the Saudi military intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile near the capital, Riyadh, that was fired by Houthi fighters.
On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said it was closing all of Yemen's air, land and sea borders in response to the missile attack. It accused Iran of supplying the missile, and said that it might amount to an act of war on Tehran's part.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41881058
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Paradise Papers: Queen's private estate invested £10m in offshore funds - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Duchy of Lancaster put cash in Cayman Islands and Bermuda funds in 2004-2005, leaked documents show.
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UK
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About £10m of the Queen's private money was invested offshore, leaked documents show.
The Duchy of Lancaster, which provides the Queen with an income, held funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
A small amount ended up in the company behind BrightHouse, a chain accused of irresponsible lending, and Threshers, which went bust owing £17.5m in UK tax.
The Duchy said the BrightHouse holding now equates to £3,208 and it was not involved in fund investment decisions.
It added it had been unaware the stores featured in the investments.
The chief finance officer of the £500m estate, Chris Adcock, told the BBC: "Our investment strategy is based on advice and recommendation from our investment consultants and appropriate asset allocation...
"The Duchy has only invested in highly regarded private equity funds following a strong recommendation from our investment consultants."
A spokesperson for the Duchy of Lancaster added: "We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds. All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate.
"The Queen voluntarily pays tax on any income she receives from the Duchy."
Details about the Duchy's investments came to light in the Paradise Papers - a leak of 13.4m documents from companies including Appleby, one of the world's leading offshore law firms.
The two funds were based in British overseas territories with no corporation tax and at the centre of the offshore financial industry.
But the Duchy said it was not aware there were tax advantages to it from investing in offshore funds, adding that tax strategy was not a part of the estate's investment policy.
The documents show the Duchy of Lancaster put £5m in the Jubilee Absolute Return Fund Limited in Bermuda in 2004, with the investment coming to an end in 2010.
In 2005 the Duchy agreed to put $7.5m (£5.7m) in the Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP.
Documents show the fund invested in medical and technology companies.
The connection to rent-to-buy firm BrightHouse began in 2007 when the US company running the fund asked the Duchy to contribute $450,000 to five projects, including the purchase of the two UK High Street retailers.
This included an interest in London-based private equity firm Vision Capital, the company which acquired 100% of BrightHouse and 75% of the owners of Threshers off licence chain.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge says she is furious with those who advise the Queen
Under its new owners, Threshers' balance sheet was loaded with debt and it paid no corporation tax for two years. When the drinks retailer went bust in October 2009, almost 6,000 people lost their jobs.
The majority of Vision Capital's BrightHouse investment later ended up in a company based in Luxembourg and it began paying less corporation tax in the UK.
Last month, the UK's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, said BrightHouse, which sells electrical goods and furniture predominantly to people on lower incomes via weekly installments, had not acted as a "responsible lender" and ordered it to pay £14.8m compensation to 249,000 customers.
The Duchy said its investment in the Cayman Islands fund is due to continue until 2019 or 2020 and amounts to 0.3% of the total value of the estate, while its interest in BrightHouse now equates to just 0.0006% of its wealth. The Duchy did not provide a figure for its interest in Threshers.
Vision Capital said it "complies with all laws and regulations and pays its tax in full and on time. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong".
The Paradise Papers' revelations over the Queen's finances are certainly embarrassing.
Many will also view the Duchy of Lancaster's offshore investments in BrightHouse and Threshers as dubious and inappropriate.
However, it is not a question of tax avoidance, but of judgement on behalf of her advisers.
The Queen is officially exempt from UK tax laws, but voluntarily pays her share of income tax on her £500m estate.
It is extraordinary and puzzling that her advisers could have felt that it was appropriate - for somebody whose reputation is based so much on setting a good example - to invest in these offshore funds.
There will be meetings and questions being asked within Buckingham Palace this morning as the monarchy finds its reputation tarnished by association.
The Duchy's 2017 annual report says it "gives ongoing consideration regarding any of its acts or omissions that could adversely impact the reputation of the Duchy or Her Majesty The Queen".
Labour MP Margaret Hodge, the former chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said she was "pretty furious" with the Queen's investment advisers, saying they were bringing her reputation into disrepute.
"It is so obvious that if you're looking after the money of the monarchy, you've got to be actually cleaner than clean and you must never go near the dirty world of money laundering, tax avoidance, tax evasion or actually making money in dubious ways," she said.
The business model of BrightHouse has long come under the spotlight.
A parliamentary report in 2015 said the company was charging interest rates of up to 94%. One in five customers were in arrears and one in 10 purchases ended in repossession. In one case examined by MPs and Lords, a Samsung freezer cost £644 to buy in John Lewis but £1,716 under a five-year plan from the chain.
BrightHouse was attracting attention at the time of the Duchy's investment - with the Financial Times challenging its chief executive in November 2008 to respond to accusations that the chain was "preying on the vulnerable".
The company maintains it is a responsible lender and through its 300 stores provides a services to millions of Britons who are unable to access up traditional lines of credit.
BrightHouse told the Guardian newspaper it follows all relevant tax regulations and pays its tax in full and on time.
Vision Capital announced it was acquiring the stakes in BrightHouse and Threshers in June 2007.
The offshore leaked documents show the Duchy of Lancaster was among 46 investors in the $312m Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP.
In September 2007, investors were asked to pay 6% of their financial commitment into five investments, including "Project Bertie".
The investors were told Project Bertie was formed to take an interest in a company set up by Vision Capital to "acquire a portfolio of two retailers in the United Kingdom".
The Duchy of Lancaster's $450,000 commitment to the "capital call" is listed in the documents.
Another document shows the investment in Jubilee Absolute Return Fund.
Established more than 700 years ago, the Duchy of Lancaster has a commercial and residential property portfolio and financial investments.
Its main purpose is to provide income for the Queen, who is known as the "Duke of Lancaster".
Although the Duchy is not subject to tax, since 1993 the Queen has voluntarily paid tax on any income she receives.
The Duchy's annual report and accounts include a summary of its holdings and financial performance and are put before Parliament. The offshore investments were not referenced in the reports but there is no requirement for specific details of the Duchy's holdings to be disclosed.
Dave McClure, the author of a book about the wealth of the Royal Family, told the BBC "pressure will grow on the Duchy to open up to proper parliamentary scrutiny by the National Audit Office, which they've resisted for decades.
"The solution to the problem might be just full disclosure, so everyone knows what investments they're investing in."
The Duchy said the Queen "takes a keen interest in the Duchy's estates and tenants" but "appoints a chancellor and the Duchy Council to administer the affairs of Her Duchy. The chancellor delegates the oversight to the Duchy to the Council".
Investors in the Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP made a commitment for a "given period" and are "not party to its ongoing investment decisions" or where money is "ultimately invested", it added.
Asked whether the Duchy had other investments in offshore funds, it said it "currently invests in a fund domiciled in Ireland".
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a government minister and sits in the cabinet, but plays a nominal role in running the estate. The current chancellor is Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP, the Chairman of the Conservative Party.
At the time the Duchy initially invested in the Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP in September 2005, its chancellor was Labour MP John Hutton.
Ed Miliband was the chancellor of the Duchy at the time the call came to invest in the company taking over BrightHouse and Threshers. Coincidentally in 2016, the former Labour leader called for better regulation on buy-to-rent firms such as BrightHouse in a film for the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41878305
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2017 'very likely' in top three warmest years on record - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Scientists say that 2017 shows a continuing trend of high temperatures and extreme weather events.
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Science & Environment
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Globally, temperatures in 2017 look set to be the third highest on record
The year 2017 is "very likely" to be in the top three warmest years on record, according to provisional figures from the World Meteorological Organization.
The WMO says it will likely be the hottest year in the absence of the El Niño phenomenon.
The scientists argue that the long-term trend of warming driven by human activities continues unabated.
They say many of the "extraordinary" weather events seen this year bear the hallmarks of climate change.
On the opening day of this year's key UN climate talks, researchers from the WMO have presented their annual State of the Global Climate report.
It follows hot on the heels of their greenhouse gases study from last week which found that concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere were the highest on record.
While the new study only covers January to September, the WMO says the average global temperature was 1.1C above the pre-industrial figure.
This is getting dangerously close to the 1.5 degrees threshold that many island states feel temperatures must be kept under to ensure their survival.
The analysis suggests that 2017 is likely to come in 0.47C warmer than the 1981-2010 average.
This is slightly down on 2016 when the El Niño weather phenomenon saw temperatures that were 0.56C above the average.
According to the WMO, this year vies with 2015 to be the second or third warmest mark yet recorded.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Aerial footage of the aftermath in Dominica
"The past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records. This is part of a long-term warming trend," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
"We have witnessed extraordinary weather, including temperatures topping 50C in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic, (and) reaching as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa.
"Many of these events - and detailed scientific studies will determine exactly how many - bear the tell-tale sign of climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities," he said.
The Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy after it was hit by Hurricane Irma
Scientists will have to do attribution studies to clearly link specific events from 2017 to rising temperatures. But they believe the fingerprints of climate change are to be seen in events such as tropical cyclones, where the warmer seas can transfer more heat to the gathering storms and increased sea levels can make flooding more damaging.
The Accumulated Cyclone Energy Index, which measures the intensity and duration of these events, showed its highest ever monthly values in September this year.
It was also the first time that two Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in the same year in the US.
Hurricane Irma was a Category 5 storm for the longest period on record. Rain gauges in Nederland, Texas, recorded 1,539mm, the largest ever recorded for a single event in the mainland US.
Scientists say that extreme heat and drought contributed to many destructive wildfires such as this one in California
There were also significant flooding events with large loss of life in Sierra Leone, in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Peru among many others.
In contrast, droughts and heatwaves affected many parts of Africa and South America. In Somalia, more than half of cropland was impacted with herds reduced by 40-60%.
More than 11 million people are experiencing severe food insecurity in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
"This year saw a multitude of damaging weather extremes which is not uncommon but many of these events were made more severe by the sustained warming influence of increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas levels due to human activities," said Richard Allan, professor of climate science at the University of Reading, UK.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Hurricane Hunters fly over eye of storm to help forecasters
"An increased severity of weather extremes is expected in the decades ahead as Earth continues to heat up and it is only with the substantive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions required by the Paris climate agreement that we can avert much more potent and widespread damage to our societies and the ecosystems upon which they depend."
With UN talks on climate change now underway here in Bonn, the report is likely to reinforce a sense of urgency among many delegates.
"These findings underline the rising risks to people, economies and the very fabric of life on Earth if we fail to get on track with the aims and ambitions of the Paris Agreement," said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of UN Climate Change, which is hosting the Bonn conference.
Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41859288
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Paradise Papers: Queen's private estate invested £10m in offshore funds - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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About £10m of the Queen's private money was invested offshore, leaked documents show.
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About £10m of the Queen's private money was invested offshore, leaked documents show.
The Duchy of Lancaster, which provides the Queen with an income, held funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
Find out more about the Paradise Papers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41880665
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Facebook Messenger payments comes to UK - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Users will be able to use the popular messaging app to send and receive money.
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Technology
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Facebook has chosen the UK as the first country outside the US to get its Messenger payments service. Later on Monday, local users will be able to send each other money in a message.
The service was launched in the US in 2015. The social network says it has been widely used to split restaurant bills, pay babysitters and simply send gifts. It says most users send less than $50 (£38).
The company says the service is coming to the UK because it has so many "mobile-savvy consumers".
Facebook is collaborating with all the major banks and credit card firms to launch Messenger payments, which will require both the sender and recipient of money to register their payment cards.
But three years ago, UK banks launched their own instant payments service - Paym - which has not made a huge impact on the way we pay. So, why should this be any different?
Facebook claims Messenger payments will catch on because "people are looking for simplicity and emotion".
I'm not sure about the emotion, but the Messenger app is certainly a very simple way to send money, especially compared with Paym where you have to log in to your own bank's app.
Smartphones have helped to enable quick and easy contactless payments
David Marcus, who runs Messenger, says it is obvious from our messages that we need this.
"More and more people are having conversations on Messenger about paying one another," he explains.
"As a result it's a very natural place for you to have the most frictionless and secure way of paying each other."
Facebook is also introducing something called M suggestions, a virtual assistant that recognises when you are talking about payments. It will suggest the new service as a quick and easy solution. We'll see how users enjoy being nudged in this manner.
But with millions of Messenger users, who will not need to download a separate app to use the service, Facebook is well placed to become major player in the UK payments scene. That begs the question, how did UK banks let this happen?
A spokesman for Paym insisted it was growing, with four million people having registered their mobile phone numbers to use the service. But with just £400m of payments in three and a half years, it is still a minnow.
In Sweden, by contrast, Swish - a peer-to-peer payments service in a single app - has taken the country by storm with the majority of adults now "swishing" money to each other and small businesses.
The UK payments industry decided against a Paym app, believing customers would be more likely to trust their own bank's online operation. But it looks as though the lesson from Sweden - and from Facebook - is that simplicity is vital to building the network effect needed to make a new service take off.
But perhaps we should be cautious before allowing Facebook into yet another part of our lives. While the Messenger service is free to use, the business model behind it is all about "engagement" - keeping users on the platform for longer so that they can be served more advertising.
At a time when there is growing alarm over the extraordinary power the social media giant has to mould the way we see the world, letting it peer into our wallets as well may be a step too far for some.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41894014
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Kate Bushell murder: Best friend went 'numb' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Nicky Johns said she was "numb" when she heard that Kate Bushell, 14, had been murdered.
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A friend of murdered schoolgirl Kate Bushell said she was "numb" when she heard her best friend had been murdered.
The 14-year-old's throat had been cut while she was walking her neighbour's dog near her home in Exwick, Devon, in 1997.
Police have released new information about orange fibres found at the scene in an attempt to catch her killer.
More than 100 of the fibres were found on her body, predominately used in non-fluorescent workwear such as boiler suits, aprons and gloves.
Inside Out South West is on BBC One on Monday 6 November at 19:30 GMT and on the iPlayer for 30 days thereafter.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-41859332
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Priti Patel apologises over undisclosed Israeli meetings - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Priti Patel was on holiday in Israel when she met the PM - but did not tell the Foreign Office.
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UK Politics
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Priti Patel has apologised for holding a series of undisclosed meetings with senior Israeli officials during a private holiday over the summer.
The international development secretary met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior figures without "following the usual procedures".
Ms Patel apologised for not informing the Foreign Office and suggesting Boris Johnson knew in advance of the visit.
Downing Street said it welcomed Ms Patel's "clarification" and that at a meeting with Theresa May earlier, the prime minister had "reminded her of the obligations which exist under the ministerial code".
No 10 said it had not been aware of Ms Patel's meeting with Mr Netanyahu until Friday but insisted that Mrs May still had confidence in the minister.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale said there were clear rules about what ministers could and could not do and "in normal circumstances" Ms Patel would be in "serious trouble".
But he said the fragility of Mrs May's government and the fact that the PM would not want to lose another cabinet minister after Sir Michael Fallon's recent resignation could help her.
The BBC revealed on Friday that Ms Patel held a number of undisclosed meetings with business and political figures during a family holiday in August, including Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party and Jean Judes, executive director of disability charity BIS.
No diplomats were present at the meetings, at which the minister was accompanied by an influential pro-Israeli Conservative peer and campaigner Lord Polak.
Ms Patel, who is a long-standing supporter of Israel and a former vice-chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel defended her actions, saying she had paid for the holiday herself and while in Israel had taken the opportunity to meet "people and organisations" for the purpose of building links between the two countries.
She also told the Guardian that "Boris [Johnson] knew about the visit, the point is that the Foreign Office did know about this".
Suggesting that the reaction to her visit had been "extraordinary", she added that it was "for the Foreign Office to go away and explain themselves".
But in a statement "clarifying her position", Ms Patel said she had in fact attended 12 meetings, not just the handful previously reported, and that her earlier comments may have "implied" otherwise.
Among meetings that were not previously reported, she said that she had met Mr Netanyahu to discuss his forthcoming visit to the UK as well as the Israeli "domestic political scene" and UK-Israeli collaboration.
She said she had also met other senior figures in the Israeli government, including security minister Gilad Erdan and foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem.
Ms Patel has also set the record straight about when the government was informed about the trip.
While the Foreign Office was aware of the visit "while it was under way", she said she was wrong to have given the impression that the department and Mr Johnson knew about it in advance.
She said she "regretted the lack of precision in the wording" of her previous statement about the trip.
"This summer I travelled to Israel, on a family holiday paid for myself," she said in a statement.
"While away I had the opportunity to meet a number of people and organisations...In hindsight, I can see how my enthusiasm to engage in this way could be mis-read, and how meetings were set up and reported in a way which did not accord with the usual procedures. I am sorry for this and I apologise for it.
"My first and only aim as the Secretary of State for International Development is to put the interests of British taxpayers and the world's poor at the front of our development work."
In her statement, Ms Patel also said the Foreign Office was clear that the UK's interests were "not damaged or affected" by her actions.
Labour has called for an inquiry into whether Ms Patel broke the ministerial code or the rules on lobbying.
"Not only does it look like she has broken the ministerial code, she has now been caught misleading the British public," shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor said.
"If she does not now resign, then Theresa May must immediately refer the issue to the Cabinet Office for a full investigation."
Downing Street said the ministerial code was "not explicit" in this area and Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heyward had been asked to see if it could be made clearer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41890436
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South Western Railway train derails near Wimbledon - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A derailed train has caused knock-on delays on London's transport routes.
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London
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The ambulance service said it checked four people for injuries
A train which derailed with 300 passengers on board has caused knock-on delays on London's transport routes.
The South Western Railway (SWR) commuter service from Basingstoke derailed near Wimbledon station in south-west London at 05:54 GMT.
The rear axle of the last coach derailed at low speed as it left the station. One person had minor injuries.
There are delays on mainline services and the District line between Wimbledon and Parsons Green is blocked.
Disruption is expected on the SWR line until 15:00 GMT.
Engineers are recovering the derailed train, which is blocking the District line
Four people were checked for injuries but no-one required hospital treatment, London Ambulance Service said.
Nine fire engines were in attendance.
Nine fire engines were sent to the derailment
Passengers saw sparks fly as the train derailed
Jane and John, who were on the derailed carriage, told BBC Radio London they thought the train was "going to come off the rails totally".
"There was lots of noise, lots of screeching, lots of sparks, and John and I held on to each other and thought 'we're in trouble if it goes over'," Jane said.
John said: "It felt at one point like it was going to tip, then it didn't, and remarkably, no one was screaming or anything, everyone was pretty calm, but it felt like it came quite close.
"You could tell it was off the tracks."
The rear axle of the last coach of the eight-carriage train derailed
Transport for London (TfL) said engineers are recovering the derailed train, which is blocking the District line.
"Our engineers are supporting Network Rail with recovery work, which is likely to continue for the rest of the day," TfL said.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Yoann This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
The Metropolitan line still has minor delays due to an earlier signal failures at King's Cross St. Pancras and Wembley Park.
The Bakerloo, Central, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines now have a good service.
A number of people have taken to social media to complain of the delays.
User Yoann said: "#SouthWesternRailway when are you going to sort this mess? Constant delays, overcrowded trains; care to provide a good service one day?"
While Barry O'Sullivan tweeted: "So all the trains out of Basingstoke are delayed. Got myself a late one, but it's now broke down at Hook! #whatajoke"
Another, Rebecca, said: "Can't believe I'm getting the bus the whole way to work. Nothing like a derailed train to ruin a Monday morning!"
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is investigating the cause of the incident.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by Barry O'Sullivan This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 3 by Rebecca ⚓️ This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41883153
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Westminster sex scandal: Theresa May calls for 'culture of respect' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The PM says that people should know their complaints of abuse will be investigated properly.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. May: Allegations must be properly investigated
Theresa May has called for a "new culture of respect" ahead of a meeting with other party leaders to discuss the Westminster sexual misconduct scandal.
The PM said in a speech to the CBI that people should know their complaints will be investigated properly.
It comes as several Conservative and Labour MPs are investigated over claims of sexual misconduct.
On Sunday Conservative MP Chris Pincher stepped down as a government whip after allegations about his behaviour.
Mr Pincher has also referred himself to police and the Conservative Party's complaints procedure following newspaper reports of allegations about his conduct in 2001 made by a party activist.
It follows the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon as defence secretary following complaints about his behaviour and amid a Cabinet Office inquiry into the conduct of First Secretary of State Damian Green.
Chris Pincher is the MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire
Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, who denies wrongdoing, has been suspended from the party after "serious allegations" against him were referred to the police and three other Conservative MPs who deny wrongdoing - Stephen Crabb, Dan Poulter and Daniel Kawczynski - have been referred to the party's disciplinary committee after media allegations about their conduct.
Labour has also suspended an MP - Kelvin Hopkins, who denies claims he made inappropriate physical contact with a Labour activist in 2004 - and is investigating a formal complaint made against Clive Lewis, who denies groping a woman.
The party has also launched an independent investigation after Labour activist Bex Bailey said she had been raped at a party event in 2011 and discouraged by a senior official from reporting the attack.
In a speech at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference Mrs May said: "We need to establish a new culture of respect at the centre of our public life.
"One in which everyone can feel confident that they are working in a safe and secure environment, where complaints can be brought forward without prejudice and victims know that these complaints will be investigated properly.
"Political parties have not always got this right in the past. But I am determined to get it right for the future."
She is due to meet other party leaders later to discuss setting up an independent grievance procedure for Parliament.
"Those working for Members of Parliament should not have to navigate different party systems depending on their employer's political affiliation," the prime minister told the CBI.
"What has been revealed over the last few weeks has been deeply troubling - and has understandably led to significant public unease.
"Women and men should be able to work free from the threat or fear of harassment, bullying or intimidation.
"But for too long the powerful have been able to abuse their power, and their victims have not felt able to speak out."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the CBI conference that everyone, including businesses, "have a duty to act, and act now" over sexual harassment.
He said: "Such abuse, sexism and misogyny is, sadly, very far from being confined to Hollywood and the corridors of power, but is also widespread in our schools and universities, in our businesses and workplaces, in our newspapers and on our TV screens. It is all around us.
"That must change and business has an essential role to play. All of you need to look hard at yourselves, as we in the Labour Party are doing ourselves, to see how your processes and procedures can be improved. How it can be made easier for women to speak out and for victims to get the support they have a right to expect."
Meanwhile, Mr Green, Mrs May's most senior minister, is to be interviewed as part of the Cabinet Office investigation into his conduct.
The inquiry was triggered after Kate Maltby, who is three decades younger than him, claimed he "fleetingly" touched her knee during a meeting in a Waterloo pub in 2015, and a year later sent her a "suggestive" text message after she was pictured wearing a corset in the newspaper.
Damian Green said the allegations were from a "tainted and untrustworthy source"
Mr Green said any allegation that he made sexual advances to Ms Maltby was "untrue (and) deeply hurtful".
The inquiry was broadened after the Sunday Times reported that a statement prepared by ex-Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick alleged pornography was discovered by officers searching Mr Green's parliamentary office following a spate of leaks of Home Office information in 2008.
Mr Green said the claims were "completely untrue" and "political smears".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41881125
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2,000 people 'intimidated out of homes' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Housing Executive has spent more than £7m re-housing people who fled under threat since 2012.
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Northern Ireland
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Many homes have been targeted in racist, sectarian or paramilitary attacks
More than 2,000 housing intimidation cases - where people were forced out of home by threats - have been acted upon by the Housing Executive since 2012.
It spent £7m re-housing people forced out by paramilitary threats, sectarian, racist or homophobic intimidation or anti-social behaviour.
But only 32 convictions were secured from 2011 to 2016 for the offence of intimidating victims from their homes.
The figures have been compiled by the investigative news website, The Detail.
The website reported that during the financial years April 2012 to April 2017, the Housing Executive received more than 3,000 complaints of housing intimidation.
The publicly funded housing body "accepted" a total of 2,060 cases but rejected about 1,000 of the complaints.
The Detail said the "overwhelming majority" of the accepted cases were in eastern parts of Northern Ireland, including Belfast; Lisburn and Castlereagh; Ards and North Down and the Antrim and Newtownabbey council areas.
Paramilitary threats account for most of the forced evictions
The Housing Executive agreed to buy 57 properties from homeowners who were forced to flee, at a total cost of more than £6.7m.
The sales are processed through the Scheme for the Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings (SPED).
The housing body also paid emergency accommodation grants to more than 1,000 tenants who fled from rented homes, which meant an additional bill of more than £800,000.
Almost three quarters (1,523) of the accepted complaints related to paramilitary intimidation.
A significant number (222) of householders fled due to what was described as "anti-social behaviour".
Sectarian intimation forced 153 people from their homes and racism was cited as the motive in 112 cases.
The issue of housing intimidation hit the headlines in September, when four Catholic families fled their homes in Belfast's Cantrell Close.
Cantrell Close was built under a shared housing initiative, in a bid to bring communities together
PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton said the victims had been forced to leave their homes "because of their community background, because of their religion".
He said detectives believed members of the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), had issued the threats.
In recent years, PSNI officers have also been the victims of housing intimidation.
In June, the BBC's Nolan Show reported that every year, an average of 16 police officers either move home or have special security measures installed due to threats.
Deputy Ch Constable Drew Harris told the programme: "We could expect, every month, one or two officers to be in the position where they're having to move home."
The Detail asked the PSNI for its figures on the number of arrests and charges for housing intimidation over the past five years.
The PSNI refused the request on the grounds of how much it would cost to compile the figures.
The conviction statistics - 32 between March 2011 and August 2016 - are therefore based on figures obtained from the Northern Ireland Court Service.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-41883443
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Fake WhatsApp app downloaded more than one million times - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A bogus version of the popular messaging app was available via the Google Play Store.
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Technology
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The real WhatsApp messenger has been downloaded more than a billion times from the Play Store
A fake version of the WhatsApp messenger app was downloaded more than a million times from the Google Play Store before it was removed.
The app, "Update WhatsApp Messenger", appeared to have been developed by the firm behind the real program - WhatsApp Inc.
According to users on web forum Reddit, the fake contained ads and could download software to users' devices.
It has now been removed from the Play Store.
Whoever was behind the app managed to make it look as though its developer was "WhatsApp Inc".
They did this by using that exact name, though replacing the space with a special character that looks like a space.
The subtle difference would have been practically undetectable to the average user.
Users receiving automatic updates via the real WhatsApp would not have been affected.
It is far from the first time that Google has had to clean up fake malicious apps on the Play Store.
In 2015, the firm had to step in and block one program that disguised itself as a battery monitor and sent premium-rate text messages from people's phones.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41886157
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Mass shooting at Texas church - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A gunman opened fire at a church in Texas during Sunday services, killing many people.
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US & Canada
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Sutherland Springs: What we know so far
At least 26 people were killed and 20 injured when a gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday morning. It is the worst mass shooting in the state's history. Children are reported among the victims. The suspect, described as a white male, wore a bulletproof vest and black combat gear. Police say that after leaving the church he was shot at by a local resident and dropped his assault rifle and fled the scene. He was later found dead in his vehicle. Police have not confirmed the suspect's identity but US media have named him as Devin P Kelley, 26. The motive is still not clear.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-41880700
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NHS offers smartphone GP appointments - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Trials will take place in London where 3.5 million patients will be able to have video consultations via smartphone.
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Health
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A 24-hour service has been launched for NHS patients, offering GP consultations via videolink on smartphones.
The pilot scheme will initially cover 3.5 million patients in greater London.
Patients will be able to check their symptoms through the mobile app and then have video consultations within two hours of booking.
The Royal College of GPs has warned the service may not help patients with complex needs.
The new free service has been launched by a group of London GPs and the online healthcare provider Babylon.
Patients joining will leave their existing practice, with their records transferred to a group of five central London surgeries.
Dr Mobasher Butt, who is part of the team behind the GP at Hand service, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's high time that NHS patients were given the opportunity to benefit from technology to improve access to healthcare.
"We've benefited from this kind of technology in so many different aspects of our lives, whether that be shopping or banking, and it's really time that we were able to do that in healthcare for NHS patients."
Jane Barnacle, director of patients and information at NHS England London, said GP practices were right to carefully test innovative new technologies that could improve free NHS services for their patients while also freeing up staff time.
But the Royal College of GPs is concerned the new service might only work for younger healthier commuters and not those with complex health conditions.
Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, who chairs the RCPG, said: "We are really worried that schemes like this are creating a twin-track approach to NHS general practice and that patients are being 'cherry-picked', which could actually increase the pressures on traditional GPs based in the community.
"We understand that with increasingly long waiting times to see a GP, an online service is convenient and appealing, but older patients and those living with more complex needs want continuity of care and the security of their local practice where their GPs know them.
"We notice there is an extensive list of patient conditions such as frailty, pregnancy and mental health conditions that are the essence of general practice and which GPs deal with every day, but which are not eligible for this service.
"We are also concerned that patients are being given the option of switching back to their local surgery if they are not satisfied with the level of service offered by the app.
"As well as issues with patient confidentiality and the safety of the patient record, it is hard to see how this could be achieved without adding to the huge burden of red tape that GPs are already grappling with.
"While this scheme is backed by the NHS and offers a free service to patients, it is undoubtedly luring GPs away from front-line general practice at a time when we are facing a severe workforce crisis and hardworking GPs are struggling to cope with immense workloads."
Dr Richard Vautrey from the British Medical Association said: "This approach risks undermining the quality and continuity of care and further fragmenting the service provided to the public."
GP at Hand strongly deny that care would be compromised in any way.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41884142
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Next Gen ATP Finals: 'Disgraceful' draw ceremony leads to accusations of sexism - BBC Sport
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2017-11-06
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A draw ceremony in which a tennis player is asked to pull off a female model's glove with his teeth leads to accusations of sexism.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
A tennis player was asked to pull off a female model's glove with his teeth in a "disgraceful" draw ceremony that has led to accusations of sexism.
At the Next Gen ATP Finals draw in Milan on Sunday, female models decided groupings by revealing letters hidden under their clothing.
In a joint statement, the ATP and sponsors Red Bull said they "deeply regretted" causing offence.
"Our execution was in poor taste and unacceptable," the statement read.
One model suggestively took off her jacket to reveal the letter B on her back, while Denis Shapovalov discovered he was in Group A when his chosen model pulled up a lace dress to reveal the letter A on her right thigh.
South Korea's Hyeon Chung was asked to pull a model's glove off with his teeth.
Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo said the draw was a "disgrace", while Judy Murray tweeted that it was "awful".
French player Alize Cornet posted on social media: "Good job @ATPWorldTour. Supposed to be a futurist event right? #backtozero"
The inaugural Next Gen Finals is the ATP's under-21 version of the World Tour Finals, featuring eight of the world's best young players.
The qualifiers were asked to select one of two models before making their way down the catwalk arm in arm.
At that point the model revealed the letter A or B, which had been concealed under an item of clothing.
The event is run by the ATP in partnership with the Italian Tennis Federation and the country's National Olympic Committee.
The draw party, though, was sponsored by Red Bull and the evening appears to have been designed as a tribute to Milan's famous links with the fashion industry.
The ATP is understood to be "furious" about the way the draw was executed, and accepts it was in "poor taste".
Its joint statement with Red Bull read: "ATP and Red Bull apologise for the offence caused by the draw ceremony for the Next Gen ATP Finals.
"The intention was to integrate Milan's rich heritage as one of the fashion capitals of the world. However, our execution of the proceedings was in poor taste and unacceptable. We deeply regret this and will ensure that there is no repeat of anything like it in the future."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/41883462
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Paradise Papers: Who is in control of Everton? - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Paradise Papers leaks question whose money was used to buy into the Premier League club.
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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. Paradise Papers: Who is in control of Everton?
Questions have been raised in the leaked Paradise Papers about who controls Everton FC and whether Premier League rules have been broken.
Farhad Moshiri sold his Arsenal stake in 2016 to buy nearly 50% of Everton.
But the leaks suggest his original Arsenal stake was funded by a "gift" from oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who owns 30.4% of Arsenal, raising the question of whether his money is now in Everton.
Lawyers acting for him in the Everton deal said any allegation Premier League rules had been violated were wholly false.
They say Mr Moshiri is independently wealthy and funded the football investments himself.
Mr Usmanov's legal representatives said there were errors in the allegations and that the investigation was a gross intrusion into their client's privacy.
Premier League rules state an individual who owns a stake of 10% or more in one club cannot hold a single share in another, to avoid any conflict of interest, including in games between the clubs and in transfers.
Officially Mr Usmanov and Mr Moshiri, the oligarch's former accountant, bought a 14.58% stake in Arsenal together in 2007 through an offshore company called Red and White Holdings.
But the documents show that all the funds for the purchase of the Arsenal shares came from a firm called Epion Holdings, a company wholly owned by Mr Usmanov, who is currently said to be worth about $15.8bn (£12bn).
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One document reads: "Dividend from Gallagher Holdings to Alisher Usmanov who will then gift the monies to Moshiri who will in turn invest in the company. Funding for Red and White has come from Epion Holdings Limited".
Gallagher Holdings is also an Usmanov company.
Lawyers acting for Mr Moshiri originally denied that the money had come from Epion.
They later admitted the initial funding had come from Epion, but said Mr Moshiri had subsequently paid Mr Usmanov back.
Red and White Holdings continued to raise its stake in Arsenal, reaching 30.4%.
In February 2016, Mr Moshiri sold his half of the Arsenal shares to the Russian oligarch.
A document in the Paradise Papers from Appleby, the firm overseeing due diligence on the deal, confirms the sale was used to raise funds to buy a 49.9% stake in Everton. The reported price was £87.5m.
A Russian media company with close links to Mr Usmanov initially reported the Everton deal as "Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov has become the new owner of Everton". The report was soon taken down but suspicions were aroused.
The suspicions rose further this January when it was announced Everton's training ground, Finch Farm, was now being sponsored by Mr Usmanov's company, USM Holdings. The training ground has been renamed USM Finch Farm.
When BBC Panorama approached Mr Moshiri and asked him whether Mr Usmanov was in control of Everton, he asked: "Are you crazy? Have you seen a psychiatrist?"
He said: "If it is a loan, you owe the money back to him. If it is a gift, it is yours. It is neither of them because I paid for it."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ex-FA chairman Greg Dyke on how the Premier League may respond
Mr Moshiri later said that all the documents that mentioned a gift were "a mistake".
Mr Moshiri's legal representatives said the Premier League had carried out checks, including on its funding, and was satisfied that he had complied with its Owners' and Directors' Test.
They also said that Mr Moshiri, who is said by Forbes magazine to be worth $2.4bn, had subsequently provided considerably more finance to Everton.
Former FA chairman Greg Dyke told Panorama that a gift "sounds unusual", adding: "If these papers say what you say they say, I feel sure that the Premier League will want to do their own investigations."
And shadow culture minister Tom Watson has said he will be writing to the Premier League to urge them to investigate.
The outcome of any investigation would depend on what the two men did and what the clubs knew.
When asked about the matter, the Premier League said it "would not disclose confidential information about clubs or individuals".
The Everton deal was administered by Isle of Man company Bridgewaters Limited.
Other documents in the Paradise Papers suggest that Bridgewaters was secretly taken over by Mr Usmanov in 2011. This is strongly denied by Bridgewaters and Mr Usmanov.
Blue Heaven Holdings, the company that owns Everton, has its registered office at Bridgewaters and its two directors are an employee of Bridgewaters and an employee of Mr Usmanov's company, USM Holdings.
Lawyers for Mr Usmanov said there were "errors of fact and interpretation" in the allegations but gave no further details.
They said: "Our client is not obliged at all to assist you in your enquiries. It is not for him to do your journalists' research which on its face appears to be biased."
In May, Mr Usmanov failed in a £1bn bid to buy out major Arsenal shareholder Stan Kroenke, a move that would have left him with about 97% of Arsenal shares.
Mr Usmanov is known to be frustrated at his inability to influence Arsenal and has no seat on the board.
Both clubs have had their problems on the pitch. Many Arsenal fans have questioned whether manager Arsene Wenger should continue given the recent lack of league titles, while Everton sacked boss Ronald Koeman after a poor start to the season.
The teams met at Goodison Park on 22 October, with Arsenal running out 5-2 winners.
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41878954
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Woman seeks private rape prosecution - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Emily Hunt is seeking what is thought to be the UK's first crowdfunded private rape prosecution.
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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. Emily Hunt said she "had a lightbulb moment" that she was drugged
A woman seeking what is thought to be the UK's first crowdfunded private rape prosecution says she hopes to lead the way for those "let down" by the courts.
Emily Hunt from London, claims she was drugged and raped in 2015.
Police investigated, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) felt there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a case.
Ms Hunt has hired a barrister who believes there are grounds for a criminal prosecution.
Ms Hunt - who has waived her right to anonymity - told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on the day of the alleged rape she woke up "completely naked" at 22:00 in a hotel room next to a man she had "never seen".
Her last memory of that day was between 16:00 and 17:00, she said, when she had been having a meal with her father.
When she "finally came to", she added, she had a "light-bulb moment" that she had been drugged.
"I'd never felt like that before. I'd lost five hours of my life and wound up somewhere where I didn't know how I got there."
She said she hid in the bathroom and phoned a friend, who rang the police.
With no memory of the encounter Ms Hunt was not aware they had had sex until police informed her they had found used condoms in the hotel room.
The man told police they had had sex but insisted it was consensual.
Ms Hunt believes it was rape as she would not have been in a state to consent.
Police told her the man had also "filmed her naked and unconscious on the bed" and carried out a sex act over her body.
The police referred her case to the CPS, who upon reviewing CCTV footage and toxicology tests decided there was not enough evidence to proceed.
CCTV footage of Ms Hunt and the man showed them kissing and holding hands as they walked to the hotel after leaving a bar.
Toxicology tests, taken almost nine hours after her last memory, showed Ms Hunt was at least two times over the drink drive limit, but came back negative for any signs of the date rape drug GHB.
Ms Hunt believes the toxicology report was "flawed", and that CCTV footage - which she said showed her unable to stand without support - demonstrated how she could not have been in a position to give consent.
She estimated the cost of a potential private rape prosecution to be £50,000 - a sum she is hoping to crowdfund.
"It is an amazing thing that we as individuals can bring a criminal charge in a case where the system has let us down, that can result in a rapist going to jail," she said.
The Metropolitan Police said it "carried out a thorough investigation following [Ms Hunt's] allegations" and "will always provide support to anyone who reports a serious sexual offence".
Ms Hunt's complaints over its investigation were "independently reviewed by the IPCC and not upheld", it continued.
The CPS said "having looked carefully at all the available evidence, a specialist prosecutor decided there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction in this case".
A further review - conducted at the request of Ms Hunt - "upheld the original decision", it added.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41885897
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Woman fired for showing Trump motorcade the middle finger - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Juli Briskman, 50, showed the president's motorcade the middle finger while cycling in Virginia.
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US & Canada
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Despite losing her job, the 50-year-old says she does not regret "flipping off" the motorcade
A woman pictured raising her middle finger toward US President Donald Trump's motorcade has reportedly been fired from her job over the photograph.
The image went viral after it was taken on 28 October in Virginia, close to a Trump golf resort.
Juli Briskman, who was identified as the cyclist in the image, alleges she was fired by employers Akima LLC after she posted it to her online profiles.
The company did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.
Ms Briskman told US media the firm had called her into a meeting a day after she informed their HR department she was the subject of the widely circulated image.
She told the Huffington Post news website that executives had told her they classified the image as "lewd" or "obscene", and therefore deemed that it violated their social media policies after she had posted it to her Twitter and Facebook accounts.
However Ms Briskman said she had emphasised to management that she had not been in working hours when the photograph was taken and had not mentioned her employers on the social media pages.
Ms Briskman also alleges that a male colleague was allowed to keep his job after deleting a post deemed as offensive in a separate incident.
She therefore questions why she was immediately dismissed from her role.
The 50-year-old mother-of-two had reportedly been at the government contractor firm for six months working in communications.
Motorcade protests are not uncommon: this was taken by press photographer Brendan Smialowski on the same day
Despite losing her job, Ms Briskman said she did not regret making the gesture.
"In some ways, I'm doing better than ever," she told The Huffington Post
"I'm angry about where our country is right now. I am appalled. This was an opportunity for me to say something."
The press photographer, Brendan Smialowski, told the AFP website that it was common to see people protesting or making obscene gestures at presidents as they drove by.
He said that he had been struck by the "tenacity" of Ms Briskman after she made the gesture several times and made attempts to catch up with the motorcade.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41892544
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Paradise Papers documents raise questions over African mining deal - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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A man previously accused of corruption was asked to negotiate a mining deal in Africa, the Paradise Papers reveal.
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US & Canada
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One of the world's largest firms loaned a businessman previously accused of corruption $45m and asked him to negotiate mining rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Paradise Papers reveal.
Anglo-Swiss company Glencore made the loan available to Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, a notorious middle man with a close relationship with senior figures in the DR Congo government, in 2009.
Mr Gertler was asked to negotiate a new deal for a mining company in which Glencore had a significant stake, which campaigners say cost DR Congo hundreds of millions of dollars.
He and Glencore deny any wrongdoing.
Glencore agreed to pay Dan Gertler $534m (£407m) to buy him out of their shared mining interests in DR Congo in February this year.
The new details came to light in the Paradise Papers, a leak of more than 13.4 million documents, many from within Appleby, one of the world's leading offshore law firms.
DR Congo has been mired in violence and corruption for decades, leaving more than half of its population living below the poverty line.
But the country's vast mineral resources are worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year for those that can access them.
By some measures it is the 16th largest company on the planet.
For many years Glencore has been involved in mining in DR Congo, in particular the production of copper.
The company says it has invested $50bn there. Ten years ago it had an 8.52% stake in a company called Katanga which had the rights to mine copper in the south of the country.
In June 2008 Katanga's board, which contained a senior Glencore figure, received some bad news.
The DRC government under President Joseph Kabila wanted to renegotiate the terms of its mining licences. Glencore had already invested $150m in Katanga but this could have been wasted if it was unable to mine.
The state-owned mining company Gécamines wanted $585m (£409m) in an "access premium" to allow the exploitation of copper and cobalt at the mine.
The previous agreement had been for $135m (£94.5m).
Documents contained within the Paradise Papers show Katanga's board felt the demands of the DRC authorities were "quite unacceptable". For the first time, it is possible to see that the directors decided to call for the help of an Israeli businessman called Dan Gertler.
"Dan Gertler, who had a substantial indirect interest in the company, should be given a mandate from the board to negotiate with the DRC authorities," Katanga's board minutes from June 2008 show.
"The board... should approach Mr Gertler to see whether he was prepared to act in this way."
Mr Gertler was asked to negotiate an agreement on Katanga's behalf.
At around the same time, Glencore agreed to lend a company in the British Virgin Islands called Lora Enterprise $45m (£31.5m).
Glencore then loaned Katanga $265m (£185m). This was later converted into shares in the company, allowing Glencore to become its biggest shareholder. The loan to Lora Enterprises allowed Dan Gertler to maintain his stake in the mine. Although Mr Gertler says he did not benefit in any way from the loan.
Katanga announced the larger of the loans to the Toronto Stock Exchange in February 2009, but the details around it were sparse until now.
The terms of the loan to Mr Gertler's company show that if he failed to deliver a new agreement for the rights within three months, Glencore would have been entitled to demand immediate repayment of the loan.
The Paradise Papers documents suggest Mr Gertler was quickly successful. Gécamines reduced the access premiums it was asking for from $585m to $140m, which was close to the original agreement, saving Katanga $445m.
Pete Jones from anti-corruption campaigners Global Witness said deals similar to the one Glencore was able to strike have had serious consequences for DR Congo.
"For a country that dependent on it natural resource wealth, deals like this which just suck money out of the economy have hugely negative consequences for DR Congo."
Mr Gertler disputes that it was a poor deal for the DRC and says "Gécamines benefitted significantly from the new JVA including Katanga's release of copper and cobalt reserves to Gécamines worth $825m."
Glencore told the BBC the $45m loan to Lora Enterprises was made "on commercial terms and was negotiated at arm's length".
It also said it was repaid in full by 2010. Lawyers for Mr Gertler said it's not unusual for a lender in a mining deal to demand repayment of a loan if a joint venture fails. They went on to say that "neither Lora Enterprises nor Mr Gertler nor any company or person related to them received the loan funds directly".
Mr Gertler's notoriety in DR Congo goes back almost two decades. In 2001 the UN produced a report that accused him of exchanging weapons and military training in part of a deal to secure a monopoly on diamond mining rights.
In 2013, a report by the Africa Progress Panel, led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, suggested Dan Gertler's companies had won mining rights in DR Congo at well below their true value. Lawyers for the Israeli businessman deny the allegations made in the 2001 and 2013 reports.
Last year, hedge fund Och-Ziff agreed to pay $412m to settle a case brought by US authorities accusing it of paying bribes in several African countries. Prosecutors described, but did not name, an Israeli businessman who they claimed paid "together with others, more than $100m in bribes to obtain special access to, and preferential prices for, opportunities in Congo's mining sector".
Dan Gertler denies that he did this. Perhaps most significantly, Mr Gertler was also known to be a close friend of a man called Katumba Mwanke, a key advisor to President Kabila before dying in 2012.
Daniel Balint-Kurti from the NGO Global Witness, which has been investigating the relationship between Dan Gertler and Glencore for several years, says the company should have been wary of working with the businessman.
"By hiring someone close to the Congolese president and pumping him with cash and mandating him as their man in negotiations they were running an extremely high risk," he said.
Dan Gertler's lawyers told the BBC that "[He] is a respectable businessman who contributes the vast majority of his wealth and time to the needy."
Find out more about the words and phrases found in the Paradise Papers.
Your browser does not support this Lookup Your guide to financial jargon
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41892624
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Texas church shooting: President Trump condemns 'act of evil' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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At least 26 people have been killed after a gunman opened fire at a Texas church during Sunday service.
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While speaking in Japan, President Donald Trump condemns the shooting in Sutherland Springs as an "act of evil".
At least 26 people have been killed and 20 others wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Texas church during Sunday service.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41883672
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Driver describes scene of Texas church shooting - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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A driver describes the scene as emergency services attend a Texas church shooting.
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Driver Jordan Steubing describes the scene as emergency services attend a mass shooting in Texas.
A gunman is believed to have opened fire at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
Police told the outlet there were "multiple victims" and the gunman had been killed in the aftermath.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41879384
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Author Libby Weaver apologises over 'mongolism' in book - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Nutritionist Libby Weaver recalls her latest book, which used a derogatory term for Down's syndrome.
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Australia
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A best-selling author has recalled 20,000 copies of her new book, which used the term "mongolism" to describe Down's syndrome.
Celebrity nutritionist Libby Weaver apologised and said she was "mortified to have caused anyone any distress".
The Australian, who has written several bestselling books, said she had no idea the word was offensive and not correct.
The term "mongolism" was used until the 1980s. The medical term now used is Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 21.
Ms Weaver posted a video message on her website saying that she used the word in her latest book What Am I Supposed to Eat?, thinking it "was a current medically used word".
"It has since been brought to my attention it is a word that is used in a derogatory way and I am very, very sorry to have caused anyone any distress through this error, particularly children with Down Syndrome and their families," she said.
The author, who is based in Australia and New Zealand, added that people who had already bought a copy the book could return it for a refund, local media reported.
"The term mongolism is an outdated and offensive term which was used historically to refer to Down syndrome," Dr Ellen Skladzien of Down Syndrome Australia told the BBC.
"There has been consensus for many decades that this is not an appropriate term to describe people with Down syndrome," she explained.
"I am pleased to see that the book that utilised this inappropriate term has been withdrawn and that the author has apologised."
While most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes, people with Down's have an extra copy of chromosome 21, which means they develop differently and have varying levels of learning disability.
Down's was first classified in the 1860s by British physician John Langdon Down, who used the term "mongoloid" for it.
In recent decades, the term was replaced by Down's syndrome as it was considered derogatory and offensive.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41882083
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Hotel 'saddened' by fireworks injuries upset and injury - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Antrobus Hotel organised the event on Saturday where 14 people were injured.
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Wiltshire
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. More than a dozen are hurt as a fireworks display goes wrong in Amesbury.
The organisers of a bonfire event where 14 people were hurt say they are "saddened" by the upset and injury caused.
The display at the Antrobus Hotel in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on Saturday night was cancelled soon after a box of fireworks malfunctioned.
A number of young children were among those injured with some parents saying they were "traumatised".
Wiltshire Council is investigating and the hotel is reviewing procedures.
The firm which runs the Antrobus Hotel said the incident was highly regrettable
Stephen Fitzgerald, director of Fitzbride Ltd, which runs the hotel, said: "This incident, which was caused by a faulty firework box detonating on the ground, was highly regrettable and I would like to commend the team on duty, who called the emergency services and rendered aid in what was otherwise extremely challenging circumstances.
"The whole team is saddened by the upset and injury caused on what should have been a happy evening.
"Our focus now is liaising with those affected, the fireworks supplier, as well as reviewing our procedures and completing a thorough investigation to ensure that incidents like this do not occur at events held at other venues."
Katie Millward was sitting near the front of the fireworks display when the incident occurred.
She said: "We arrived early and when we sat down we were outside the cordon, but as more people arrived it kept getting moved.
A display box containing multiple fireworks malfunctioned at the Antrobus Hotel
"There were so many children screaming and crying, and a very high sense of panic.
"A firework exploded on the bench in front of us and we ran to the pub but all the doors were locked."
Mr Fitzgerald said a full risk assessment had been carried out ahead of the event and the hotel's safety cordon was double that specified by the manufacturers.
He added that despite concerns about overcrowding, the venue was below capacity.
He said: "All four fire exits at the rear of the hotel were available, however we appreciate that in the rush to get inside some persons may have had difficulty in operating the doors - which we will be reviewing."
The Health and Safety Executive said it would only investigate if the council decided it was appropriate.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-41885652
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Live: Paradise Papers: Tax haven secrets of the super-rich exposed - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A massive leak exposes how the powerful and wealthy secretly invest vast amounts of cash offshore.
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World
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We are going to finish our coverage at the end of day three of the Paradise Papers revelations.
The huge trove of leaked documents has made headlines around the world on the offshore financial affairs of hundreds of politicians, multinationals, celebrities and high-net-worth individuals.
Here are today's top stories so far:
• Prince Charles campaigned to alter climate-change agreements without disclosing his private estate had an offshore financial interest in what he was promoting
• An entrepreneur charged with managing the oil wealth of the struggling African state of Angola was paid more than $41m in just 20 months
• The Isle of Man has rejected claims it is a tax haven, saying it doesn't welcome those "seeking to evade or aggressively avoid taxes"
They came after a wave of stories on Monday, including:
• Apple has protected its low-tax regime by using the Channel Island of Jersey
• Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton avoided tax on his £16.5m luxury jet, the papers suggest
• A Lithuanian shopping mall partly owned by U2 star Bono is under investigation for potential tax evasion
• How three stars of the hit BBC sitcom, Mrs Brown's Boys, diverted more than £2m into an offshore tax-avoidance scheme
And the stories on day one revealed:
• The Queen's private estate invested about £10m offshore including a small amount in the company behind BrightHouse, a chain accused of irresponsible lending
• One of President Donald Trump's top administration officials kept a financial stake in a firm whose major partners include a Russian company part-owned by President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law
• Lord Ashcroft, a former Conservative party deputy chairman, has denied allegations he ignored the rules around how his offshore investments were managed.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-41879690
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Fears for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after Boris Johnson remark - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Foreign secretary's comments could double Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's Iran jail term, says charity.
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UK
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A charity fears a British-Iranian woman held in Iran could have her prison sentence doubled following remarks made by the foreign secretary.
Boris Johnson told a Commons committee that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested at Tehran Airport in 2016, was "teaching people journalism".
The Thomson Reuters Foundation said she was seeing family and urged Mr Johnson to correct his "serious mistake".
The Foreign Office said the remarks could not justify new charges.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is currently serving a five-year sentence after Iran tried her on charges of trying to overthrow the government. She denies all the allegations against her.
She lost her final appeal in April 2017 but has since faced two more charges relating to an accusation of plotting to topple the regime in Tehran.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation and BBC Media Action (the corporation's international development charity), but insisted the 2016 visit was for her daughter to meet her grandparents.
Mr Johnson was appearing before MPs on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 1 November, and criticised Iran over the case before saying: "When I look at what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism as I understand it.
"[Neither] Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe nor her family has been informed about what crime she has actually committed. And that I find extraordinary, incredible."
Four days later, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to court where the foreign secretary's comments were cited as evidence against her.
At this hearing she was accused of engaging in "propaganda against the regime".
The Iranian judiciary's High Council for Human Rights said Mr Johnson's comments "shed new light" on the charity worker and proved Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe "had visited the country for anything but a holiday".
Monique Villa, chief executive of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, called on Mr Johnson to "immediately correct the serious mistake he made".
Thomson Reuters Foundation says the comments "can only worsen her sentence"
Ms Villa said there was a "direct correlation" between Mr Johnson's comments and the unscheduled court appearance.
"This accusation from Judge Salavati can only worsen her sentence. She is obviously a bargaining chip between the UK government and Iran and this injustice must stop as soon as possible.
"Whatever is at stake should be paid attention to by the UK government."
Labour's Tulip Siddiq, the MP for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's constituency, said she is "furious" with Mr Johnson and called on him to "urgently retract" his remarks.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the remarks "provide no justifiable basis" to bring further charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
"While criticising the Iranian case against Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Foreign Secretary sought to explain that even the most extreme set of unproven Iranian allegations against her were insufficient reason for her detention and treatment.
"The UK will continue to do all it can to secure her release on humanitarian grounds and the foreign secretary will be calling the Iranian foreign minister to raise again his serious concerns about the case and ensure his remarks are not misrepresented."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41890885
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Paradise Papers: Tax revelations hit Canada PM Justin Trudeau's fundraiser - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A key aide of Canada's PM is linked to schemes that may have cost the nation millions, the Paradise Papers show.
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US & Canada
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A key aide of Canada's PM is linked to offshore schemes that may have cost the nation millions of dollars in taxes, the Paradise Papers show.
The revelations may embarrass Justin Trudeau, who has campaigned against tax havens.
The leaks pose questions about the actions of Stephen Bronfman, chief fundraiser for Mr Trudeau's Liberal Party as well as ex-senator Leo Kolber.
Lawyers for them said no deals had tried to evade tax and all were legal.
Canadian broadcaster, CBC, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) have been spearheading this investigation as part of the Paradise Papers leaks.
They said a trove of documents found in the files of Appleby, the offshore law firm that is the main source of the leaks, suggested that Mr Bronfman's investment firm, Claridge, had for more than 20 years moved millions offshore for the Kolber family.
Stephen Bronfman is not only a key aide to Mr Trudeau, he is a close friend and was central to his rise to power.
He helped raise cash for Mr Trudeau's party leadership battle in 2013 and was then asked to turn around the Liberal Party's financial fortunes.
The key revelations in the Paradise Papers concern a Cayman Islands trust which Claridge runs for Leo Kolber.
Mr Kolber, a retired senator originally appointed by Mr Trudeau's father, Pierre, was the chief Liberal Party fundraiser for many years, earning the nickname "Bagman". He has had longstanding links with the Bronfman family - one of Canada's most illustrious - and is Stephen's godfather.
Mr Kolber's home was used in September last year for a Liberal Party fundraising event co-hosted by Stephen Bronfman.
Stephen Bronfman (right) with his father Charles
The Bronfmans are one of Canada's most illustrious families.
Samuel Bronfman, Stephen's grandfather, founded Seagram, once the largest alcohol distiller in the world.
Samuel's son Charles - Stephen's father - is worth an estimated $2.3bn, while Stephen's cousin Edgar Jr engineered the disastrous sale of Seagram to Vivendi in 2000, losing the family billions.
Stephen, born in 1963, took over the private equity firm Claridge, of which he is still executive chairman, in 1997 and initially kept a lower profile.
In 2013, Justin Trudeau turned to him to raise money for his Liberal Party leadership bid. After winning, Mr Trudeau asked him to turn around the party's financial fortunes. Mr Bronfman has said Mr Trudeau is "very, very saleable".
In March 2016, he joined Mr Trudeau on his first state visit as PM - to President Barack Obama.
The Liberal Party told CBC and the ICIJ that Mr Bronfman's role was as a volunteer on its National Board and that although it was grateful for his contribution, his role was non-voting and did not involve policy decisions.
The document trail raises significant questions about activities surrounding the Kolber Trust, which was set up in 1991 in the Cayman Islands, with Mr Kolber's son, Jonathan, and his "legitimate issue" as its beneficiaries.
Millions of dollars were transferred into the Claridge-run trust, much of it in loans from the Bronfman family.
The leaked documents show some of the Bronfman loans were made without interest, which many tax officials see as a red flag suggesting possible tax avoidance.
In one case, the ICIJ found a C$4.1m ($3.1m) loan from a US-based Bronfman trust to the Kolber Trust that it says would appear to have required interest payment under US law.
Leo Kolber was a former Liberal Party fundraiser who earned the nickname "Bagman"
Jonathan Kolber's investment adviser tells Mr Kolber that if he pays the interest, Claridge will find a way to "make him whole", suggesting Mr Kolber send the company an invoice for unspecified "services rendered" in exactly the same amount.
Tax expert Marwah Rizqy told CBC this was the "smoking gun" because, if true, "that means it's not a real debt".
However, lawyers for Mr Kolber and Mr Bronfman told the ICIJ that "non-interest bearing loans by a US person do not violate US law. Rather, in certain circumstances, there is a deemed interest concept".
This is a complex concept that deals with interest on a loan that is deemed to have been received even though it has not. It usually involves a profits adjustment made by tax authorities in the lender's country.
Another question that was raised concerns the nature of trusts. One fundamental rule is that decisions about them are made by trustees offshore.
Tax experts told CBC that if too many decisions were being made in Canada, tax authorities there would question the offshore nature of the trust and it could be liable for taxes dating back to its foundation.
CBC said it had found a number of instances of attempts to reduce the Canada link.
One document says an invoice to Montreal-based investment adviser Don Chazan "should be treated as personal expenses and not expenses of the trusts... This results in one less formal link between the trusts and entities outside Cayman".
When earlier interviewed by CBC about who ran the Kolber Trust, Jonathan Kolber had said that Mr Chazan was "the adviser. He's the guy who made the decisions".
However, the Kolber and Bronfman lawyers told the ICIJ that the Kolber Trust was run from the Cayman islands and that Mr Chazan "was certainly never the directing mind of the Trust".
Another trail concerns Lynn Kolber Halliday, Jonathan's sister and another Kolber Trust beneficiary.
As a US citizen the money sent to her could trigger taxes. Her name was later taken off the trust.
She would "be taken care of in other ways than through the trust", one document reads.
The Israel-based Jonathan "will arrange to make gifts to her instead of the trust making the present distributions to her".
The Kolber and Bronfman lawyers told the ICIJ: "Personal gifts are a customary mode of financial assistance."
They added that "none of the transactions or entities at issue were effected or established to evade or even avoid taxation" and that they "were always in full conformity with all applicable laws and requirements".
Any tax avoidance would reflect badly on a party that has set out its stall on preventing it and on fair taxation.
Back in March, Mr Trudeau had vowed to do a "better job of getting tax avoiders".
He was responding to a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation that showed a number of wealthy Canadians were apparently linked to shell companies on the Isle of Man.
"It is absolutely unacceptable that there be people not paying their fair share of taxes," he said. "It's something we continue to take very, very seriously."
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41877065
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Woman's deliberate scratch snares Watford burglar - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A court hears Annie-Laure Promonet "made it her aim" to obtain Marvyn Mulvey's DNA.
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Beds, Herts & Bucks
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Annie-Laure Promonet managed to hang on to her laptop during the burglary
A woman said she deliberately scratched a burglar while he was trying to steal her laptop in order to get his DNA.
Annie-Laure Promonet, 42, found a man in her home in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 22 July and attempted to stop him.
Police were able to take scrapings from under her fingernails and found traces of tissue from Marvyn Mulvey, 40.
Mulvey admitted burglary and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for seven and a half years at St Albans Crown Court on Friday.
Prosecutor Richard Jones told the court Ms Promonet had "made it her aim" to scratch Mulvey to obtain his DNA.
After the hearing, Ms Promonet said: "I thought I had to see his face, see if I could get his DNA, while all the time trying to memorise the clothes he was wearing.
"I didn't have time to panic. Maybe if I'd had a few more seconds then I would have realised it was a dangerous thing to do."
Marvyn Mulvey was jailed for seven and a half years
During the burglary, Mulvey used a wine bottle to beat Ms Promonet to the floor, leaving her with bruising to her body and head injuries.
She managed to hold on to her laptop, but Mulvey took a key to her flat and left.
He was later traced through his DNA and was arrested.
Judge Graham Arran said Ms Promonet had shown a "very cool head" during the burglary.
"She did what was was necessary to bring this defendant to justice and showed enormous bravery in preventing him escaping from her flat," he said.
At a crown court ceremony, Ms Promonet will be given an award of £350 out of public funds for her bravery.
In a letter to the judge, Mulvey apologised and said: "What I have put her though, no-one should have to go through."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-41872232
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Joint Chiefs say invasion 'only way' to totally disarm N Korea - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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A ground invasion is the only way to destroy Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal, the Joint Chiefs say.
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US & Canada
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US soldiers take part in "Warrior Strike" exercises in South Korea in September
A Pentagon assessment has declared the only way to completely destroy all parts of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme is through a ground invasion.
Rear Admiral Michael Dumont expressed the opinion on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a letter to Congressman Ted Lieu.
Mr Dumont said calculating "even the roughest" potential casualty figures would be extremely difficult.
He also gave some detail on what the first hours of a war would involve.
"The only way to 'locate and destroy - with complete certainty - all components of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs' is through a ground invasion," he wrote in response to Congressman Lieu's questions about a potential conflict.
The risks involved included a potential nuclear counter-attack by North Korea while US forces attempted to disable its "deeply buried, underground facilities", he said.
"A classified briefing is the best venue for a detailed discussion," he added.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff directly advise the president of the United States on military matters.
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In a statement with more than a dozen other military veterans turned congressmen, Mr Lieu, a Democrat, said the assessment was "deeply disturbing" and warned that a conflict "could result in hundreds of thousands, or even millions of deaths in just the first few days of fighting."
"Their assessment underscores what we've known all along: there are no good military options for North Korea," the statement said.
The letter was published as Donald Trump begins his mammoth tour of Asia, during which the North Korean threat is expected to be a major topic of discussion.
The president has previously said that if forced to defend the US or its allies, he "will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea."
"The President needs to stop making provocative statements that hinder diplomatic options and put American troops further at risk," Mr Lieu's joint statement said.
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Rear Admiral Dumont opened his letter with a clear indication that his office supported economic and diplomatic solutions ahead of any military action.
Potential casualties from a conflict depended heavily on the intensity of any attack on South Korea's capital, Seoul, which lies just 35 miles (56 km) from the border, as well as how much advance warning the US and its allies had, he said.
He said a counter-offensive from artillery battery fire and air strikes might help limit casualties.
The Joint Chiefs also fear that Pyongyang would use biological weapons in a conflict, despite international conventions banning their use, as well as chemical weapons - which it has never agreed to abandon.
"It likely possesses a [chemical weapons] stockpile," the letter said.
The assessment by military chiefs follows the release of a report from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, which warned that even a brief conflict without the use of banned weapons could cost tens of thousands of lives.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41878123
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'Speed up mental health support for children in care' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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England's children's commissioner says the system must help children recover from traumatic upbringings.
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Family & Education
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "I cried myself to sleep every night," says Callum
"It felt like no-one was there for me and no-one cared - I was crying myself to sleep every night."
This is what life was like for Callum after he was taken into care aged 13 in 2008, following the death of his father and a family breakdown.
He told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme his mental health quickly deteriorated.
"I was still an emotional kid trying to get over Dad, and everything got on top of me. He was my superhero."
Almost half of those in the care system have a diagnosable mental health disorder, according to statutory guidance published in 2015.
Looked-after children are four times more likely than their non-looked after peers to have a mental health condition.
England's children's commissioner Anne Longfield has told the Victoria Derbyshire programme there should be "a presumption" among those working in the sector that all children in care should receive support for their mental health.
She said the care system had been too focused on child safeguarding in the past and not enough on helping children recover from traumatic upbringings.
"Kids aren't nurtured enough when in care," she said. "They will be - at best - able to get some support, but it's still quite clunky.
"We need to see it differently - need to help children in terms of trauma-based therapy at an early stage.
"We know kids in care are more likely to end up homeless and in prison. The earlier we can deal with the trauma, the better."
The government said it was "vital that children in care and those who look after them receive the mental health support they need.
"We are putting a record £1.4bn into children and young people's mental health but there is more to be done."
Ms Longfield's comments came as the Social Care Institute for Excellence published its recommendations to help improve the wellbeing of children in care.
It said a "virtual mental health lead" should be established, "to ensure that every child and young person in the system is getting the support they need for their mental health and emotional wellbeing".
Another recommendation said "everyone working directly with looked-after children should receive training on children and young people's mental health".
The charity Barnardo's, who supported Callum, said two-thirds of care leavers identified as having mental health needs were not receiving any help from a statutory service.
Anne Longfield says the children "moved around" the care system are most in need of support
Callum said his self-harm became so destructive "I had a cut from my hip down to my kneecap".
He also tried to hang himself, but was stopped by a carer.
He agreed that more mental health support was needed, adding that when he first entered the care system he did not know where to look.
When he did get support, he said the quality between different professionals differed greatly.
"I got a bit of counselling. Sometimes you had a good counsellor, and then a bad counsellor," he said.
The "bad" counsellors, he added, "didn't know what was going on in my life - they've just read a piece of paper".
"If I could go back there today, I'd say that I want one set worker for me - I don't want to see one person one week, and then another person [the next] week."
Anne Longfield said the children most in need of support were those who had been "moved around" the care system more frequently.
She added that with more children coming into the care system at an older age it was vital to introduce mental health support as early as possible, as these individuals would have already had longer "in a very difficult environment".
Callum left the care system aged 18, and is positive about his future.
"Now I'm in a happy place. I've got my own house, a beautiful daughter, and a beautiful fiancee," he said.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.
• None 'They're my mum and dad, not terrorists'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41849258
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Sutherland Springs: Pastor's wife speaks after Texas massacre - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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The pastor and his wife were away when a gunman killed 26 of the congregation including their daughter.
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Pastor Frank Pomeroy and his wife Sherri were away travelling when a gunman killed 26 of the congregation including their daughter Annabelle.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41893324
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Grenfell Tower: 131 families are in hotels, MPs hear - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had "huge" amounts of work to do to rehouse victims.
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UK
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More than 130 families left homeless by the Grenfell Tower fire are living in emergency housing, MPs have heard.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said Kensington and Chelsea Council's response in the aftermath of the fire had been "sluggish and chaotic".
It comes as the Grenfell taskforce produced a report into the fire, which said the council "failed its community" on 14 June.
Council leader Elizabeth Campbell said it had "huge" amounts of work to do.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Javid said residents had been "failed by a system that allowed the fire to happen" and then failed again in the aftermath.
He said efforts to rehouse victims had been "painfully slow" - with just 26 out of 204 Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk families given permanent accommodation so far.
He said 122 households had accepted an offer of temporary or permanent accommodation, and 73 had moved in to new homes.
The taskforce said residents were "hesitating to accept rehousing offers" because they did not want to lose benefits.
Currently, former residents of Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk have their rent, utility bills and council tax suspended for the first 12 months of moving into temporary or permanent accommodation.
The council said this created a "financial cliff edge, which the tenants can avoid by remaining in their emergency accommodation".
Some residents see the rent-free period as wasted on temporary homes, it said.
It voted to extend the rent-free period until summer 2019 in a bid to remove "unintended disincentives".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Marcio and Andreia Gomes tell the story of how they managed to escape the fire
The Grenfell taskforce, set up in the aftermath of the fire, has spent nine weeks looking at the recovery process run by the council.
"The report pulls no punches about the fact that there is still significant room for improvement," Mr Javid said.
It said 320 families altogether - including not only former residents but also those living in Grenfell's vicinity - were still living in hotels.
The report, written by housing and local government experts appointed by the government, said the council needed to work more quickly, and cited accounts of "poor treatment" towards victims.
It said many staff did their best to help but there was a leadership vacuum and a distant council that did not know its residents.
The report's authors met survivors, concluding that many victims felt no-one was listening to their concerns.
It nevertheless praised Kensington and Chelsea for "working hard to develop effective support and services to victims and survivors".
Since the fire, many of those at the top of the council have quit, including leader Nick Paget-Brown and chief executive Nicholas Holgate.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said it "entirely" accepted all the taskforce's recommendations and would offer new homes to "all those who want to leave" emergency accommodation by December.
Mrs Campbell said the local authority had "huge amounts of work to do" and understood the need to change.
But the report criticised its lack of urgency, saying: "As the council tries to do everything at once, it is doing everything too slowly."
It accused council members of lacking a "firm grasp" of the true scale of the recovery operation - saying some believed that "in a few months' time everything shall return to the way it used to be".
It said it was "disappointing" that the tower, which is currently a crime scene, had not yet been covered, urging scaffold work to be completed with "greater haste".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why did it take so long to get an aerial platform to the tower block? BBC Newsnight investigates
It said visible remains of the burnt-out tower "cast a shadow" over the entire area.
"Any extended delays will further add to the ongoing trauma that the community is living with," the report said.
Mr Javid suggested a number of ways the council could improve - including increasing the pace of their work and the need for "greater empathy and emotional intelligence" towards victims.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41894673
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Paradise Papers: F1 champion Lewis Hamilton 'dodged' VAT on £16.5m private jet - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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F1 champion received a £3.3m refund after importing the red Challenger 605 into the Isle of Man.
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UK
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Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton avoided tax on his £16.5m luxury jet, according to Paradise Papers documents.
They show a £3.3m VAT refund was given after the Bombardier Challenger 605 was imported into the Isle of Man in 2013.
It appears a leasing deal set up by advisers was artificial and did not comply with an EU and UK ban on refunds for private use - although he may have been entitled to one for business.
Hamilton's lawyers say a tax barrister review found the structure was lawful.
They added it was not correct to say no VAT had been paid on any of the arrangements.
A statement later issued by the racing driver's representative said: "As a global sportsman who pays tax in a large number of countries, Lewis relies upon a team of professional advisers who manage his affairs.
"Those advisers have assured Lewis that everything is above board and the matter is now in the hands of his lawyers."
At 06:15 on 21 January 2013, Hamilton touched down at Ronaldsway airport on the Isle of Man in his new jet with his then-pop star girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger to finalise the paperwork with customs.
While Hamilton's planned use of the jet was predominantly for business purposes, the BBC's Panorama programme has seen documents which suggest the 32-year-old F1 Mercedes driver intended to make private flights about a third of the time.
Hamilton's social media accounts provide evidence he has used the candy apple red Challenger for holidays and on other personal trips around the world.
He has posted a number of photographs of himself on the plane on Instagram - including one showing his bulldogs Roscoe and Coco on board.
This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Instagram The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip instagram post by lewishamilton This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
"If private usage of the jet is being disguised as business usage of the jet, then what you essentially have is a tax avoidance scheme," says Rita De La Feria, professor of tax law at Leeds University.
"You're using it for your own private interests, you're going on holidays, meeting friends. You're supposed to pay the tax on private consumption."
Private jets purchased outside the EU are subject to 20% VAT on importation in order to qualify for free circulation within the bloc.
While the Isle of Man is not part of the EU, it is a British Crown Dependency and forms a common area with the UK for VAT purposes. Because of this link, an aircraft imported via the island is granted full access to the EU.
To try and get round EU and UK rules banning VAT refunds on aircraft used by private individuals, Hamilton's advisers formed a VAT-registered leasing business on the Isle of Man, the leaked documents held by offshore law firm Appleby suggest.
The new company, Stealth (IOM) Limited, leased the jet from Hamilton's British Virgin Islands company, Stealth Aviation Limited, and imported it into the Isle of Man.
It was then leased on to a UK jet management company that provided Hamilton with a crew and other services - and which leased it back to Hamilton and his Guernsey company, BRV Limited.
Hamilton is described in the documents as the jet's "ultimate client".
They also suggest he was being kept up to date.
In one email sent ahead of the final signing of the charter agreements and the jet's importation into the Isle of Man, an adviser states: "I would like to email Lewis his agreement this evening and try to reach him on the phone to talk him through it."
Other documents show the hourly rate of the plane's lease was increased from £2,000 to £5,500 overnight at one stage, so the Isle of Man company turned a profit as a "commercial" aircraft leasing business.
On the basis of the transactions, Hamilton's advisers were able to claim a 100% VAT refund on the £3.3m he was obliged to pay at the point of importation.
But the leasing agreements suggest Hamilton was going to be using the plane 80 hours per month, with his company using it for 160 hours.
If this estimate had been used for the basis of the VAT refund, under UK and EU VAT rules, only two thirds could have been considered for a refund in relation to business use. The artificiality of the structure raises questions about whether Hamilton should have received a refund at all.
Hamilton secured his fourth F1 title at last month's Mexico Grand Prix
Lawyers acting for Hamilton said the driver has a "set of professionals in place who run most aspects of his business operations and that no subterfuge or improper levels of secrecy had been put in place".
In a statement, they said Stealth (IOM) Limited was formed to run a leasing business and hire the aircraft on a long-term basis at a commercial rate.
They added that the company made all necessary disclosures to Isle of Man officials, who approved the approach.
The lawyers said that reducing taxes was not the motive, but even if it had been, it is lawful to lease rather than buy in order to reduce VAT.
There are 50 schemes like Hamilton's in the Paradise Papers.
The documents show that Appleby on the Isle of Man has imported luxury jets worth £1.25bn.
In total, the island has handed out more than £790m in VAT refunds to jet leasing companies, involving more than 230 planes.
In light of the Paradise Papers revelations, the Isle of Man government has invited the UK Treasury to conduct an assessment of the practice of importing aircraft into the EU through the island.
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The Isle of Man says since 2011 more than 30 assessments for under-declared or over-claimed VAT against businesses in the aircraft leasing sector, with a value of about £4.7m, have been raised.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn last week called on the Prime Minister Theresa May to launch an investigation into VAT avoidance allegations linked with business jets in the Isle of Man.
In a statement on the Paradise Papers leak, Appleby said it was a law firm which "advises clients on legitimate and lawful ways to conduct their business. We operate in jurisdictions which are regulated to the highest international standards".
December 2012: Lewis Hamilton's company in the British Virgin Islands Stealth Aviation Limited pays $26.8m (£16.5m) to buy the Bombardier Challenger 605 and luxury additions
24 December 2012: Hamilton flies his family and Nicole Sherzinger to Hawaii for Christmas in the jet
15 January 2013: The new company is VAT registered by Isle of Man customs as a company engaged in "renting and leasing of passenger air transport equipment"
17 January 2013: Hamilton's BVI company leases the plane to Stealth (IOM) Limited. Stealth (IOM) Limited leases it to a UK jet management company, which agrees to charter it to the driver and his Guernsey company BRV Limited
21 January 2013: Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger arrive at the Isle of Man's Ronaldsway airport. The £3.3m VAT bill is paid on his behalf by his an Isle of Man accountancy firm. A customs officer attends out of hours and stamps a VAT paid form to be kept on board the jet. The couple fly-off again at 08:10
Lewis Hamilton has amassed an estimated £131m fortune, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Forbes reports his earnings and endorsements in 2016 were more than £30m.
One of Hamilton's first trips on the jet was for a Christmas 2012 holiday in Oahu, Hawaii, accompanied by members of his and then girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger's family.
In May 2015, just after competing in Monaco, he flew to Los Angeles. The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that he was "having a break" following the Grand Prix.
On 11 July 2017, he posted a photo of himself sitting with friends on its steps.
"To my loving fans, I can't wait to see you in Silverstone. Until then, I'm away on a two day break."
Speaking to US talk show Jimmy Kimmel in December 2015, Hamilton talked about the plane and how he decided to "pimp it out" in the red colour scheme.
"We travel a lot - I love cars and I love planes," he said. "Every time I'm at the airport you see these really sad white planes old planes with the saddest stripe down the side."
Find out more about the words and phrases found in the Paradise Papers.
Your browser does not support this Lookup Your guide to financial jargon
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
• None Paradise Papers: All you need to know
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41886607
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Backlash over council's 'Get a Grip' attendance campaign - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Get a Grip campaign tells parents to "be more organised" by preparing for school the night before.
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Sussex
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The controversial campaign has been labelled "disgusting" and "offensive"
A campaign telling parents to send children to school if they have colds has prompted more than 6,500 signatures to a petition against its "aggressive, condescending and insulting" message.
Leaflets were sent in East Sussex County Council's Get a Grip drive to parents whose children missed at least three days of the current school year.
They also give advice on "being more organised" the night before school.
The council said it "won't flinch from this extremely serious issue".
The campaign features the slogan "good reasons for missing school - there are none".
The petition, set up by Ella Lewis of Seaford, calls for the council to withdraw the campaign and apologise for the "disgusting and offensive" alienation of parents, particularly those "struggling with serious illnesses, traumas and ongoing disabilities and conditions".
Mrs Lewis, 37, who has two children, received the leaflet after her six-year-old daughter had three days off for a chest infection and stomach bug. This equated to 91% attendance over the short autumn half term - below the council's 95% expectation.
Ella Lewis said the campaign was offensive rather than productive
She said: "These are unattainable standards. The council says it expects a doctor's note, but even if you could get a GP appointment, people are told not to go to the doctor's with a sickness bug.
"Schools also tell you not to allow your child back to school until you're 48 hours clear of a vomiting bug. In taking that direction, you fall into the 'persistence absence' threshold and are potentially reported to the council by the school. It's nonsensical.
"As parents we need to be able to validate our own child's health and suitability to be in school."
Mrs Lewis, who works in a school, said: "The council could have been more polite, engaging or creative.
"But they've just offended people who are trying to do their best every day for their children."
The council says headaches, coughs and colds are "not reasons" for school absence
The leaflet sent out to parents also warns them about fines for unauthorised absences, including holidays during term time, and says children should attend school if they have a cold, headache or minor illness.
A council spokesman said the campaign was not aimed at parents of children who had genuine medical reasons for being absent, but for those who regularly have odd days off or holiday in term time.
He said: "We appreciate this campaign has been controversial.
"Missing even one day of school has an impact not just on a child's education but on the rest of the class, as it means the teacher has to spend time helping them catch up - to the detriment of other pupils. Missing days of school reduces children's chances of achieving success."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-41883622
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Parachute trial: Accused claims wife was 'targeted by stranger' - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Accused Emile Cilliers tells court "I didn't have anything to do with it but someone must have".
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Wiltshire
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Emile Cilliers told the jury "someone must have" tampered with the kit, but denied any involvement
An Army sergeant accused of trying to kill his wife by tampering with her parachute told a court she may have been targeted by a stranger.
Emile Cilliers, 37, said the idea a "random killer" had sabotaged the device was a "possibility" as he "didn't have anything to do with it".
He told jurors: "I'm not trying to point the finger at anybody, I just want to get to the bottom of this."
Ms Cilliers suffered multiple injuries when her hired parachute malfunctioned and the reserve failed as she plummeted 4,000ft to the ground at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire.
Michael Bowes QC, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court the notion of a "complete stranger" trying to sabotage a parachute with the "sudden urge to kill someone" without knowing their victim was "ridiculous".
When Mr Cilliers replied it was a "possibility", to which Mr Bowes responded: "It's a possibility a number of asteroids will strike the earth, isn't it?"
The defendant denies tampering with his wife's hire kit in a toilet cubicle at the Army Parachute Association at the airfield camp, allegedly twisting the lines on the main chute and removing parts from the reserve.
Elizabeth Marsh QC, defending, asked the Army fitness instructor about how he came to take the parachute to the toilet with him.
"Why didn't you put it on a rack?" she said, to which he said he had not paid much attention to the kit as it was "not something that really bothered me".
The court was told Mr Cilliers accompanied his wife to hospital while she was in a full body brace after the fall, and visited her the next day.
The jury earlier heard he had searched the internet for the term "wet nurses" - women who breastfeed babies when their mothers are unable.
His wife had given birth two months before the fall, the trial heard previously.
Asked why he had done so, he could not recall. "Maybe it was something to do with Princess Charlotte," the jury was told.
"It was just a subject of interest. We would often see something on TV and research it."
In response to his defence's questions, he said the jury should not read anything suspicious into the search.
The father of six also denies a second attempted murder charge relating to a gas leak at the family home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, and a third charge of damaging a gas valve, recklessly endangering life.
He told the court he had investigated the source of the leak with a tool.
When asked by Ms Marsh how his blood came to be on a pipe next to the leak, he said: "I might have cut my hand, I don't remember.
"I can't say exactly how it got there. It could have been from cooking, I could have brushed against it. These are all possibilities."
He denied tampering with the gas valve and rejected the notion he would want to harm his wife or their children.
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Corbyn defends promoting MP Kelvin Hopkins despite reprimand - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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It was "reasonable" to give Kelvin Hopkins a job despite concerns about him, Labour's leader says.
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UK Politics
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Jeremy Corbyn has defended his decision to appoint an MP to his shadow cabinet who had been reprimanded for allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
The Labour leader said he was aware Kelvin Hopkins had been rebuked by the party's chief whip in 2015 after concerns raised by a young activist.
But he said he thought the case had been "closed" and the promotion to his ministerial team was "reasonable".
Mr Hopkins was suspended last week but denies claims of sexual harassment.
The 76-year old MP has been accused by Ava Etemadzadeh of hugging her inappropriately after a student event in 2014 and subsequently making offensive comments during a visit to Parliament.
The 27-year-old activist, who said she later received an over-familiar message from the MP, did not make a formal complaint at the time after being told she would have to waive her anonymity to do so.
But she reported the matter to an MP, who then informed the then chief whip Rosie Winterton, resulting in Mr Hopkins receiving a verbal reprimand in 2015.
Labour's handling of the case has come in for criticism after it emerged that Ms Winterton expressed her reservations to the leadership about Mr Hopkins' appointment as shadow culture secretary in July 2016.
Although he only served in the position for three months, at a time when Mr Corbyn was struggling to rebuild his frontbench after a mass walkout over his leadership, several MPs have suggested the move was a mistake.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ava Etemadzadeh said she felt ignored by the party
Asked on Sunday whether it was appropriate to promote Mr Hopkins, Mr Corbyn said he could not "discuss hindsight" but he stood by his decision at the time.
"He had been reprimanded, the case had been closed... I thought it was reasonable to appoint him, albeit for a very short time, to shadow cabinet... All I can say is I took a decision based on what I knew at the time and he made a good contribution to the shadow cabinet during the short time he was there."
The whole matter must now be "investigated and resolved," Mr Corbyn insisted.
"Now the case has been reopened and it will be looked at again. He has been suspended from party membership, which is the decision I took immediately I heard about the later revelations."
Ms Etemadzadeh has said she believed the party leadership had basically "ignored" her concerns and, in promoting Mr Hopkins, had effectively condoned his alleged behaviour - leaving her feeling disillusioned.
Categorically denying any claims of harassment, Mr Hopkins said he had only "put an arm around" Ms Etemadzadeh at their first meeting and did not rub any part of his body against hers.
The activist, he maintained, had given no indication at the time she was in any way upset.
The Luton North MP, who has been in Parliament since 1997, said he did not recall subsequently asking her about her personal life, but said he did send a text message saying she was "charming and sweet-natured".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41878689
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Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal - BBC Sport
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2017-11-06
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Manager Pep Guardiola praises Manchester City's "amazing" form after they outclass Arsenal to open up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola praised his side's "amazing" run of form after they outclassed Arsenal to open up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
City have won nine consecutive league matches, a club record for a single season, have progressed to the knockout stage of the Champions League and are through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
"We cannot deny the last two months have been amazing," Guardiola said. "We knew how important this game was and we prepared well. The players gave an amazing performance."
Kevin de Bruyne's driven finish and a Sergio Aguero penalty put City in command and, even though substitute Alexandre Lacazette pulled one back for Arsenal, Gabriel Jesus sealed victory for the home side from close range.
Arsenal were aggrieved at the penalty awarded for Nacho Monreal's challenge on Raheem Sterling and both Jesus and David Silva appeared to be offside for the third goal, but the visitors did not deserve to take anything from the game.
"It is unfortunate that the game finished the way it finished," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "You can accept it if City win in a normal way, but this is unacceptable."
Still, the Gunners would have been beaten by more had it not been for the saves of goalkeeper Petr Cech and the wastefulness of the hosts.
City go into the two-week international break with an extended advantage over second-placed Manchester United, who were beaten 1-0 at Chelsea.
The eight-point gap between the top two is the largest after 11 games in the Premier League era.
Arsenal slip to sixth, 12 points behind City, and face a battle to regain a place in the Champions League.
• None Re-live Manchester City's victory over Arsenal and Manchester United's defeat by Chelsea
City have now won 15 consecutive matches in all competitions, including an EFL Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties.
Their 11-game haul of 31 points and +31 goal difference is a Premier League record, built on some breathtaking attacking play. This win was no different, even if they were hampered by their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.
City were particularly dangerous on the counter-attack, their pace, movement and precision passing a constant threat. Just behind the front three of Aguero, Sterling and Leroy Sane, De Bruyne was the orchestrator.
Aguero and Sterling could have both scored before De Bruyne broke the deadlock, the Belgian playing a one-two with Fernandinho and angling the ball inside the far post via Cech's fingertips.
City could have been further ahead by the break, a Silva ball across goal should have been finished, while Sterling was unable to feed Sane when Arsenal were outnumbered at the back.
Only when Aguero converted a penalty off the post, early in the second half, was the result beyond doubt.
The visitors complained that Monreal's tangle with Sterling should not have penalised, but the Arsenal defender hauled down the England forward without winning the ball.
Some sloppiness crept into City's play - home keeper Ederson almost dropped Alex Iwobi's long-range shot into his own net and they were carved open for Lacazette's goal.
But substitute Jesus' tap-in, fed by Silva from the right when both men could have been flagged offside, was no more than Guardiola's side deserved.
It was to Arsenal's credit that they did not capitulate - as they have done so often in the past - but this was a stark reminder of how far they lag behind the Premier League's top clubs.
In away league matches against the rest of the 'big six' since the start of the 2014-15 season, Wenger's side have won only once (a 2-0 win at City in January 2015), losing 10 and drawing seven.
Though they started brightly, the Gunners were soon pushed back by wave after wave of City attacks, a central defensive trio that included Francis Coquelin continually stretched.
Going forward, they lacked the incision and creativity of their opponents. Alexis Sanchez, pursued by City in the summer, was tireless in his efforts as a lone striker, but an isolated figure.
Sanchez was preferred up front to Lacazatte, the £46.5m pre-season arrival, and it was only when the France striker was introduced that Arsenal looked like taking anything from the game.
The visitors came down the inside-right channel, good work from Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey fed Lacazette, whose shot went through the legs of Ederson.
Even then, though, the prospect of Arsenal earning a point seemed unlikely and they needed Cech to deny Jesus and De Bruyne before the third City goal made the scoreline a fair reflection of the game.
'It will be difficult to stop City' - what they said
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: "The only regret is the chances in the first half that we did not take, or when we didn't make the right pass. My wish is that the players come back healthy from the international break.
"We deserved to win it. We were so, so tired after the Champions League game and against Arsenal it is never won because they are able to make changes.
"We have 12 more points than Arsenal and Liverpool, eight more than Tottenham. That is a lot in November."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "Can anyone stop them? With the way they have started and the quality they have it will be difficult, but you never know. If on top of that they have decisions like they have had today, they will be unstoppable.
"Sanchez did very well. He was up front on his own in the first half but did not have enough support. Overall, I think he has done everything. He is focused and wants to win. He put in a good performance.
"[Per] Mertesacker came in sick yesterday morning. [Fellow defender Rob] Holding had a thigh strain and [Mathieu] Debuchy has just come back from a long-term absence. I don't see that big problem for Coquelin to play in the middle of the two defenders or as the defensive midfielder."
• None Manchester City's 31 points and a +31 goal difference is the best start to a Premier League season after 11 games.
• None Arsenal have registered just one win away to the 'big six' in the Premier League since the start of 2014-15, drawing seven and losing 10.
• None Manchester City's haul of 52 goals is a record for a Premier League club after 17 games in all competitions (since 1992-93).
• None City midfielder Fernandinho has been directly involved in four goals in his last four Premier League appearances (two goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 64.
• None Since the start of last season, Arsenal have conceded 12 goals from the penalty spot, more than any other Premier League side.
• None City forward Sergio Aguero has had a hand in 10 goals in his last five Premier League games (seven goals, three assists).
• None Petr Cech has saved none of the 13 penalties he has faced with Arsenal in all competitions.
• None City forward Gabriel Jesus' rate of a goal every 89.6 minutes in the Premier League is the best record of any player to score more than 10 goals in the competition.
Manchester City travel to Leicester on Saturday, 18 November, following the international break (15:00 GMT). Earlier that day, Arsenal host biggest rivals Tottenham in the north London derby (12:30).
• None Delay over. They are ready to continue.
• None Delay in match Fabian Delph (Manchester City) because of an injury.
• None Offside, Manchester City. Ederson tries a through ball, but Gabriel Jesus is caught offside.
• None David Silva (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41792812
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Texas church shooting victims: Children among the dead - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Those killed in the Texas church shooting include an unborn baby and a 77-year-old.
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US & Canada
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Pastor Frank Pomeroy and his wife Sherri who have lost a daughter
Half of the 26 victims of the worst mass shooting in Texas history are children, officials say, as a portrait of a small town Texas church emerges.
A pregnant woman's unborn baby was named as the shooting's youngest victim. Another child killed was just one year old.
The oldest victim of the attack was a 77-year-old woman.
Twenty more were wounded, 10 were in a critical condition. Authorities fear the death toll could rise.
Local law enforcement have not released the victim's identities, but the names of some of those gunned down are emerging.
According to US media, the gunman's ex-wife's grandmother was among the dead.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'Belle died with her church family,' her mother said
The first victim to be named was the 14-year-old daughter of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Spring's pastor, Frank Pomeroy.
Pastor Pomeroy, who was away in Oklahoma at the time, told ABC News she was "one very beautiful, special child".
"We lost more than Belle yesterday, and one thing that gives me a sliver of encouragement is the fact that Belle was surrounded yesterday by her church family that she loved fiercely," her mother Sherri said on Monday.
Eight members of the Holcombe family were among the dead. Bryan Holcombe was serving as the guest pastor in Pastor Pomeroy's absence.
An associate pastor at the church who also conducted prison ministry, he was about to lead the congregation in worship when he was shot dead, his parents Joe and Claryce told the Washington Post.
Bryan's wife of 25 years, Karla, died too. Their son Marc Daniel Holcombe, 36, died alongside his one-year-old daughter Noah.
Another son of Bryan and Karla, John, survived but his eight-month pregnant wife, Crystal Holcombe, was killed. They were expecting their first child together. The unborn child has been included in the death count.
The gunman killed three of Crystal's five children by a previous marriage - Emily, Megan and Greg. The two others are said to be in the hospital with their stepfather, according to CNN.
"She doesn't even drink, smoke or nothing," her brother Nick Uhlig told the Houston Chronicle.
"She just takes care of kids; she raises goats and makes homemade cheese... They don't go out dancing or anything like that. They're real old-fashioned, down-to-earth."
The Holcombe's close family friend was killed with her two children, who were wounded.
She reportedly lived with Bryan and Karla and called them Mom and Dad, according to local reports.
"This is a huge loss. Tara was very kind-hearted person, great employee," wrote Kevin Koenen, the owner of the Aumont Saloon where Ms McNulty worked.
A 13-year-old girl was shot dead, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Amanda Mosel, 34, said the victim was her goddaughter.
Family members confirmed that Lula White, the gunman's ex-wife's grandmother, was also among the dead.
White frequently volunteered at the church, according to her Facebook page.
Brooke Ward, five, and Emily Garza, seven, were killed, along with their mother Joann Ward.
Her son Ryland, also aged five, was seriously injured - but is expected to survive.
Ms Ward's friend, Vonda Greek Smith, paid tribute to the mother-of-four on Facebook, saying that she died "shielding" her children.
"Little Rihanna (9) was there at the shooting but mommy pushed her down when she saw the shooter open fire, so in her words, 'I didn't get shot because I was hiding, and momma covered Emily, Ryland & Brooke.'"
Haley Krueger, 16, was also killed, her mother Charlene Marie Uhl told US media.
"She was a vibrant 16-year-old that loved life," Mrs Uhl said, adding that she had hopes to become a nurse.
"She loved babies and always wanted to help."
Haley had arrived at church early on Sunday to prepare breakfast, her mother told People magazine.
Richard Rodriguez and his wife of 11 years, Therese Rodriguez, were killed.
Richard's daughter told US media that her father and stepmother were active in the church community. She said they often took their grandchildren to church, but did not on the day of the shooting.
Robert was a retired high-ranking member of the US air force and had served for 30 years. Their two children are also reportedly on active service.
"This is a huge tragedy, not only for the family, for this small town," said Renee Haley, director of Veterans Services for Clare County, Michigan.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41891876
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'Exocet' firework wrecks Derby couple's home - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Firefighters say Wendy and Ted Bagshaw were lucky to get out early as the damage was extensive.
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Derby
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The firework hit the roof of the house in Haven Baulk Avenue in Littleover
A woman has described how she "lost everything" when a stray firework set fire to her home and destroyed it.
Wendy Bagshaw said the firework sounded like "an Exocet missile" hitting the roof. The stress of the fire caused her husband to have an angina attack.
Mrs Bagshaw, from Littleover, Derby, said she had already gone through the "worst year of her life" and the pair are now temporarily homeless.
She expressed frustration at people who recklessly set off fireworks.
"I just can't believe what's happened to my house. It's all gone. I've got nothing," she said.
"I've lost everything that I've worked for 40 years for, and it's just so stupid that people don't realise what they're doing.
"If you don't understand what you're doing with fireworks, then don't use them."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Wendy Bagshaw said the firework sounded 'like an Exocet missile'
Mrs Bagshaw was watching Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday when she heard a bang.
"I can only describe it as an Exocet missile, just came at the house," she said.
"It shook the foundations of the house, I felt it shake. My little dogs jumped off my knee and ran outside."
Wendy Bagshaw expressed frustration at people who recklessly set off fireworks
She and her husband Ted, who had been in the conservatory with their third dog, went outside to see what had happened.
A man driving past shouted to say the roof was on fire, and the couple tried in vain to extinguish it using a hose.
The fire damaged the interior of the house, which will be uninhabitable for about six months
The fire service put out the fire but the house was severely damaged and many of the couple's possessions were destroyed.
The couple are staying at a nearby hotel until they can move into more permanent accommodation.
"The insurance assessors have given us somewhere to stay, but they have told us to find a house as it will be at least six months before ours will be habitable again," she said.
Mrs Bagshaw lost all her photos of her mother, who died earlier this year. Two aunts and two friends also died this year, she said.
Both her husband, who has a heart condition, and her father, who has prostate cancer, are ill.
"It's been the worst year of my life, and now this," she said.
Derbyshire Fire Service said the occupants were lucky to get out early as the damage was extensive.
Michael Haslam from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Our advice is that if you want to see fireworks, go to an organised display."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-41876308
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Mass shooting leaves 'multiple victims' at Texas church - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Police in the US state of Texas say several people have been shot by a gunman at a church.
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Police in the US state of Texas say several people have been shot by a gunman at a church.
The attack happened at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in Wilson County.
Local ABC affiliate KSAT 12 reported the gunman entered the church at around 11:30 local time and began shooting.
Police told the outlet there were "multiple victims" and the gunman had been killed in the aftermath.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41879382
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Party leaders agree new complaints procedure, says Theresa May - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Westminster's party leaders are to introduce a new grievance procedure, says Theresa May.
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UK Politics
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Westminster party leaders have agreed to introduce a new grievance procedure for staff to deal with misconduct allegations, Theresa May has said.
The prime minister said the measures, which will also include face-to-face human resources support, were an "important step forward".
They were backed by Labour's Jeremy Corbyn following cross-party talks.
It comes as several Conservative and Labour MPs are investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct.
The new grievance procedure should be in place next year, said Mrs May, with the new face-to-face support service, an upgrade of an existing complaints hotline, to be introduced by the end of the month.
Speaking after the meeting in her parliamentary office, Mrs May said: "I think if this hasn't happened to you it's difficult to appreciate the impact that being a victim of this sort of behaviour can have, it simply has a lasting impact on people.
"We need to do more to stop these abuses of power and I'm pleased that having convened this meeting of party leaders today we have agreed a way forward," she added.
Mr Corbyn has called for training for MPs in managing their offices and a new independent body to support staff who suffer mistreatment.
In a letter to the prime minister ahead of the meeting, Mr Corbyn said MPs should undergo training after each general election in employment standards.
He said a new body should be set up to provide an "independent route" to counselling, reporting and representation through complaints procedures, and have powers to recommend reporting of criminal allegations to the police.
He said political parties should encourage all staff to join a trade union, as they can provide a "vital mechanism" for strengthening effective action and protection from sexual and other harassment and abuse at work.
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, who last week called for MPs to be educated on consent, said any new training programme should come into force immediately, rather than after an election.
The SNP Ian Blackford said that although the proposal for a working group came from the prime minister there was "cross-party consensus" on the plan.
"This is about a working group that can work on a consensual basis, on a cross-party basis, to make sure we can have standards - first class standards, gold plated standards - that we can be proud of", he said.
But Labour MPs who have led the campaign to crackdown on sexual abuse and harassment said the reforms did not go far enough.
Jess Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, said: "Find this utterly disappointing. Great a grievance procedure, the victims will be thrilled. What if they don't work in Parliament?
"What about sanctions, what about specialist support from actual professionals who know what they are talking about on sexual violence/harassment."
And Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, added: "Still much work to do making parliament safe if this only comes into place in a year and only covers MP staff."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41892271
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Paradise Papers: Isle of Man law 'sanctioned' tax dodge - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Scheme for Swiss bank clients was being proposed in 2005 to get around EU tax evasion clampdown.
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Europe
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The law change was passed by the Isle of Man's Parliament in Douglas in May 2005
The Isle of Man passed a law that would help tax evaders, documents in the Paradise Papers show.
Lawyers promoting a scheme allowing Swiss bank clients to hide their cash offered to help the authorities amend rules in November 2004.
The law was changed seven months later, amid an EU clampdown on tax dodging.
BBC Panorama has spoken to the man behind the scheme who claims an Isle of Man regulator was aware the new law would help tax evaders.
Mark Morris, a tax adviser and leading expert on tax loopholes, told the programme regulators in offshore territories used to regularly help financial institutions in this way.
"I think in those times, it was wrong, and there were regulators helping financial institutions," he said.
"But today, this would never be allowed."
Mr Morris devised the scheme to help wealthy clients avoid the European Union Savings Directive (EUSD).
The EUSD was introduced in 2005 to stop people from within one part of Europe putting assets in an account in another country without declaring it. Most of the people targeted by EUSD were therefore already evading tax.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Swiss-based adviser Mark Morris on how Isle of Man ‘tax dodge law’ came about
The idea was that EU-based banks and those in other nations including Switzerland would make automatic deductions for tax from interest payments.
Mr Morris's scheme was designed to be exempt from the reach of the EUSD. It involved Swiss bank deposits being moved into a redeemable insurance product sold by a new Isle of Man company, Minerva Assurance Ltd.
The draft of an agreement with an unnamed bank says of the proposals: "Policy applications and surrenders are transacted expeditiously.... Confidentiality is maintained, as the individual client is not directly involved."
A slide presentation illustrated how EUSD would be avoided at each stage of the investment
The leaked documents outline events in late 2004 when lawyers acting for Mr Morris held talks with the IoM insurance and pensions regulator, David Vick.
After it became clear that the new insurance company would not be authorised to operate under existing laws, they appear to have offered to help Mr Vick draft new regulations.
A letter they wrote to Mr Vick in November 2004 after their discussions asks him to get in touch "if you believe it would be helpful for us to provide you with ideas as to how to improve the regulations to more readily accord with our client's proposal".
Mr Vick then emailed them in March 2005 to say a consultation was to take place about proposed changes to the 1986 Insurance Act. He tells the lawyers he would "be particularly interested in any comments that you… have in this regard".
On 17 May 2005, amendments were approved by the IoM parliament, known as the Tynwald, and they took effect on 1 June 2005 - exactly a month before the EUSD began.
Mr Vick retired from the IoM's Insurance and Pension Authority in 2015. Approached about the events, he declined to answer any questions and referred the BBC to the Isle of Man authorities.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. David Vick refuses to comment on his role in law change that would have helped tax dodgers
The Isle of Man's Chief Minister, Howard Quayle, says the island is a "responsible jurisdiction" and complies with international regulations on tax transparency.
He said the events surrounding the insurance scheme would be investigated but he did not believe the regulator at the time would have knowingly helped to create a law to facilitate tax evasion.
Mr Quayle told Panorama: "If it had happened I would be incredibly disappointed. Give me the opportunity to look at the evidence first and then we'll take action if it is proven."
Mark Morris said he had acted within the law and described the financial structure he devised as one of "many loopholes" available at the time. He said that "nine times out of 10" the investors would have been intending to evade tax.
In the end, the tax dodge was never used because Mark Morris was unable to recruit enough clients.
He said: "Nobody utilised this plan because there were so many other solutions."
Mr Morris later gave evidence to the German parliament on EUSD and helped the European Commission with reform of the rules.
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41888613
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London's Oxford Street could be traffic-free by December 2018, says mayor - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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The London shopping street may be transformed in time for the arrival of the Elizabeth Line.
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London
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The area from Oxford Circus to near Selfridges could become traffic-free
Large parts of London's Oxford Street could be pedestrianised by December 2018, under plans put forward by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
About half a mile of the street from Oxford Circus to Orchard Street could become a "traffic-free pedestrian boulevard", the mayor said.
He said he hoped it would coincide with the arrival of the Elizabeth Line in central London in December next year.
More than four million people visit Oxford Street each week.
All east-west traffic will be stopped but some north-south routes will be maintained, according to the plans.
Some north-south traffic will be allowed
A 800m-long work of public art could be commissioned for the length of the former road
Cyclists would not be able to ride in the pedestrianised area but Transport for London said it would consult on plans to create "new high-quality cycle routes" to the north and south of Oxford Street.
Mr Khan said: "Oxford Street is world famous with millions of visitors every year, and in just over a year the iconic part of the street west of Oxford Circus could be transformed into a traffic-free pedestrian boulevard.
"Alongside the arrival of the Elizabeth Line, the Oxford Street area will be truly transformed over the coming years."
Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, said: "After years of campaigning, it's excellent news finally to see commitment from our politicians to a game-changing transformation of Oxford Street."
Richard Massett, chairman of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association said: "The LTDA is disappointed by the proposals for Oxford Street that were presented today.
"A 24 hour vehicle ban presents a major threat to the West End as a whole. Forcing traffic onto neighbouring streets will merely shift congestion and pollution, all the while making it far harder to visit London's premier retail destination."
The plans are out for consultation until 17 December.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41878406
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Australia dual citizenship row: New rules to make MPs disclose status - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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The prime minister wants new rules to make politicians disclose their place and date of birth.
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Australia
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Malcolm Turnbull says the new declarations will help achieve transparency in Canberra
Australia's Prime Minister has announced new rules to make all federal politicians declare their citizenship status.
It comes amid a dual citizenship saga, which has led to six politicians losing their office.
In Australia, dual citizens are not allowed to run for federal office.
Malcolm Turnbull unveiled the new disclosure rules on Monday in a bid to clear up the uncertainty around politicians' eligibility in Canberra.
The plan will need to be voted on in both the upper and lower houses in Australia's parliament, before coming into force.
Under the new plan, politicians will be obliged to make a formal declaration about their citizenship status, as well as provide details about the time and place of their birth, and the time and place of birth of their parents.
If the politicians had citizenship of another country they will also be required to detail when and how they renounced it.
Current politicians will have 21 days to make the declaration, while future members of parliament will be required to make the declaration when they are elected.
"What we have seen is a concern, a legitimate concern that there is insufficient transparency," Mr Turnbull said on Monday.
"Members and senators have been put squarely on notice now and so they will be turning their mind to their own affairs and the issues of citizenship."
The plan comes following weeks of pressure on the Turnbull government to carry out an audit of all sitting federal politicians.
Last month, Australia's highest court decided that five politicians - including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce - were invalidly elected because they held dual citizenship.
Many of the politicians had argued that they had not been aware they were dual nationals due to their parents or place of birth.
Last week Australian Senate President Stephen Parry also resigned, after confirming he was a UK dual citizen.
• None Are there more Australia dual citizen MPs?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41882144
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Police investigate 17 child sexting cases a day - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Police warn of a "worrying upward trend" and call for social networks to remove images faster.
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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. Teenagers have been speaking about the 'dangers' of sexting
Police investigations into children sharing sexual images of themselves and others have more than doubled in two years, figures have shown.
Forces in England and Wales recorded 6,238 underage "sexting" offences in 2016-17, a rate of 17 a day.
Police said they received reports from children as young as 10.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for child protection, said: "There is a worrying upward trend."
He added social networks needed to remove indecent images more quickly.
The number of cases where under-18s were sharing indecent or prohibited images was up by a third on the 4,681 offences recorded the previous year, and represented a 131% rise on 2014-15, with 2,700 incidents.
Mr Bailey, who is head of Norfolk Constabulary, said: "Sharing and possessing these images is against the law. Once an image is shared with others it can cause deep embarrassment and distress."
As well as calling for faster action from social media companies, he said schools needed to do more to counteract the influence of pornography.
He said: "I am concerned about the impact that exposure to extreme pornography can have on children so we need to consider if a lack of universal relationship and sex education is compounding the problem."
Police said the youngest children involved in sexting inquiries were aged 10, while the number of offences investigated was at its peak among 14-year-olds.
Girls were more likely to be the victims, but suspects or perpetrators were evenly split between boys and girls.
Investigators noted that reports of offences declined substantially in August, suggesting children were more at risk in school term time.
The figures cover a period in which the College of Policing introduced new guidance, aimed at assuaging concerns that teenagers might be routinely criminalised by laws on sexting.
It said that officers should record all cases of under-18s sharing images of themselves or other children as crimes. However, formal action only needs to be taken where there is exploitation, coercion or wider child protection issues.
There were more than 2,000 such cases where police determined that further action was not in the public interest in 2016-17.
Mr Bailey said: "Forces are risk-assessing every case to ensure we are not unnecessarily stigmatising children and saddling them with a criminal record.
"But there will always be a criminal investigation where we see that young people are being coerced, exploited or blackmailed."
The NSPCC said the rise in sexting incidents is "extremely worrying".
"It is vital that parents and schools talk to children about the dangers of sexting as soon as they are given any technology," the charity said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41880500
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Trump: Japan could shoot down North Korean missiles - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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US leader Donald Trump says Japan could intercept North Korean missiles with US military equipment.
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Asia
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Mr Trump and Mr Abe also reaffirmed their countries' close ties
US President Donald Trump has said Japan could shoot North Korean missiles "out of the sky" with military equipment bought from the US.
Japan's PM Shinzo Abe followed up by saying his country could intercept missiles "if necessary", and added that he was looking into the deal.
The two leaders were speaking to reporters at the close of Mr Trump's first state visit to Japan.
North Korea has fired missiles over Japan twice in recent months.
On Monday, while answering questions at a press conference, Mr Trump said Mr Abe was "going to purchase massive amounts of military equipment" from the US.
Referencing North Korea's missiles, he said Mr Abe could "shoot them out of the sky" when he completed the purchase, which Mr Trump said would provide jobs to Americans as well as "safety for Japan".
Mr Abe said he was considering such a deal, adding that Japan had to "qualitatively and quantitatively" enhance its defence capability, given the "very tough" North Korea situation.
He stressed that missile defence was based on "legal co-operation" between Japan and the US, and as for shooting down missiles, "if necessary of course we can do that".
It is not clear whether a military deal has been signed during Mr Trump's trip, but the two countries are close military allies with the US maintaining several military bases in Japan.
In September Mr Trump had tweeted that he would allow the sale of high-end military equipment to Japan and South Korea.
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Japan does not have a standing army, but instead maintains what it calls self-defence forces, under its post-war pacifist constitution which the hawkish Mr Abe has been seeking to revise.
The two leaders also reaffirmed their ties and pledged to "stand against the North Korean menace", said Mr Trump. Mr Abe said Japan was imposing sanctions on several North Korean entities and individuals.
Earlier on Monday, North Korean state media accused Mr Trump of driving tensions "to the extremes" and said that "no-one can predict when the lunatic old man of the White House, lost to senses, will start a nuclear war" against North Korea.
Mr Trump on Monday met families of Japanese people abducted by North Korea - a topic which he later addressed in the press conference, calling it a "very, very sad thing".
He said it would be "a tremendous signal" and "the start of something very special" if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un returned the abductees, something which Mr Abe has constantly pushed for.
The two leaders also said they discussed economic co-operation in the region.
Mr Trump is visiting Japan as part of his first tour of Asia as US president.
He has also visited a US air base near Tokyo, and met American business leaders where he publicly criticised Japan over a trade deficit.
Mr Trump will be going to South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines in the coming week.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41882272
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Catalonia ex-officials freed by Belgian judge - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Carles Puigdemont and four colleagues reported to police after Spain issued an EU arrest warrant.
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Europe
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Catalan independence supporters protested outside the prosecutor's office in Brussels
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four former ministers have been freed with conditions by an investigating judge in Belgium.
The judge said they could not leave the country without permission and had to give details of their accommodation.
They had handed themselves in to Belgian police following an EU arrest warrant issued by a Spanish judge.
Mr Puigdemont fled to Belgium after Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia following an independence declaration.
He has said he will not return to Spain unless he is guaranteed a fair trial.
The five are wanted in Spain to face charges including rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.
Mr Puigdemont could be seen inside the public prosecutor's office in Brussels
They are now expected to appear in court in Belgium within 15 days. Belgium has a maximum of 60 days to return the five to Spain but, if they do not raise legal objections, a transfer could happen much sooner.
"The request made this afternoon by the Brussels' Prosecutor's Office for the provisional release of all persons sought has been granted by the investigative judge," said a statement by the Belgian prosecutor's office.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. In Catalonia, this small town is divided over independence
Mr Puigdemont's political party, PDeCAT, said he had surrendered to police to show his "willingness not to flee from the judicial process but to defend himself in a fair and impartial process, which is possible in Belgium, and highly doubtful in Spain".
Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia following a declaration of independence in the regional parliament. He sacked Mr Puigdemont, dissolved the parliament and called local elections for 21 December.
The declaration of independence followed a referendum that the Spanish constitutional court had declared illegal.
Mr Puigdemont's colleagues also listed on the EU arrest warrant are Meritxell Serret (former agriculture minister), Antoni Comín (former health minister), Lluís Puig (former culture minister), and Clara Ponsatí (former education minister).
From left to right, Meritxell Serret, Antoni Comín, Lluís Puig and Clara Ponsatí have also handed themselves in
They all handed themselves in to Belgian federal police, accompanied by their lawyers, on Sunday morning and were questioned in a hearing lasting 10 hours.
There were more protests in Catalan cities on Sunday against the detention of officials and activists held by the Spanish authorities.
Protesters plastered city squares with posters depicting the detainees as political prisoners.
Eight politicians are being held in an investigation into alleged rebellion and sedition linked to Catalonia's declaration of independence.
Two activists are being detained in a separate investigation.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41881961
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Vietnam floods: Deadly Typhoon Damrey causes chaos - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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At least 27 people have died and more than 20 are missing.
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A typhoon which battered southern and central Vietnam has left at least 27 people dead, and more than 20 missing.
Typhoon Damrey made landfall on Saturday, with winds of up to 90 km/h.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41881551
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Six injured in London to Brighton Veteran Car Run crash - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The 1902 Benz was in collision with three other cars while going from London to Brighton.
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Surrey
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The wreckage of the 1902 Benz can be seen on the bonnet of the Ford C-Max
Six people were injured in a crash during the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
The 1902 Benz was involved in a collision with three other cars at about 11:35 GMT at Reigate Hill, Surrey.
It had been taking part in the annual parade of vehicles dating back to the early 20th Century.
Two people from the Benz were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Two other people travelling in the car were taken to hospital with minor injuries, said Surrey Police.
A Ford C-Max, a Mercedes-Benz GLE and a Fiat Fiorino were also involved in the crash.
Two passengers from the Ford were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The Royal Automobile Club, which stages the veteran run, previously said it was the world's oldest motoring event.
It commemorates the Emancipation Run in 1896, celebrating the Locomotives on the Highway Act which raised the speed limit from 4mph to 14mph and abolished the requirement for vehicles to be preceded by a man on foot.
The Royal Automobile Club said it would be "conducting a thorough review to identify any lessons which can be learnt from this accident".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-41879353
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Texas officials give details on church mass shooting - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Freeman Martin from the Texas Department of Public Safety has given details about the mass shooting in a Texas church.
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Freeman Martin from the Texas Department of Public Safety has given details about the mass shooting in a Texas church that has left at least 26 dead.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-41881911
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Manchester attack: 'Treatment delayed' for bomb victims - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Witnesses say only three paramedics entered the Manchester Arena foyer where the bomb exploded.
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Manchester
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Witnesses Phil and Kim Dick say they shouted for paramedics
Many of the most seriously injured victims of the Manchester Arena attack did not get expert medical help for more than an hour, witnesses have said.
Twenty-two people were killed and 512 injured by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May.
Only three paramedics ever entered the cordoned-off foyer area at the centre of the blast, in line with the major incident plan, the BBC has been told.
Injured people inside were later taken to medical staff gathered outside by members of the public and police.
Phil and Kim Dick, from Bradford, were in the arena foyer at the time of the explosion, waiting for their daughter and granddaughter to come out of the concert.
They told BBC Inside Out a young victim with "horrific" injuries collapsed in front of them.
Mrs Dick said she sat with the girl, who survived, for more than an hour.
"She could hardly walk," she said. "She was stumbling, bleeding from her arm and her mouth and her leg, and her hair was burnt.
"I just kept shouting: 'We need paramedics now'. And they [armed police] just said: 'We're just making sure there are no more bombs'."
Phil and Kim Dick were waiting to collect their daughter and granddaughter at the time of the explosion
"There was just too much for just three paramedics to deal with," Mr Dick added.
"The longer it went on the more silent it became. It was really eerie and people who I had seen a little earlier, who were severely injured, were now dead."
Mr Dick said he believed a decision was made "about an hour and 10 minutes after the explosion that the medical staff weren't coming up to the foyer but were going to evacuate all the casualties".
While we have been able to piece together much of what happened on that terrible night, several key questions remain unanswered:
Ultimately those in the unenviable position of being in command on the night had a terrible dilemma on their hands. Did they deploy their staff - thereby potentially exposing them to the risk of being caught up in a second blast or facing marauding terrorists - to try to save the critically injured?
Eight days after the bomb, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told BBC Radio Manchester his force had been on the scene "within seconds" and one of its roles had been to co-ordinate the emergency services' response.
He said his force had contacted North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) within three minutes of the incident being declared and the ambulance service had followed its major incident plan.
Both the fire and ambulance services initially went to a rendezvous point as per standard practice, he said.
Mr Hopkins added: "The ambulance service were called forward and, at this stage, I am unsure as to why the fire service were delayed so long."
The BBC has ascertained one paramedic was already inside the inner cordon by the time it was established, and that two specially trained paramedics joined him.
Thereafter no other paramedics entered the foyer, which was known as the "hot zone".
In a statement, NWAS said that despite the "clear risk", the decision was made to allow three staff into the foyer.
"Their job was to triage the injured and work with police to move people to a place close by where they could be treated safely - and where 25 paramedics were waiting, in accordance with our major incident plan.
"Within an hour all critical patients had been moved and were being treated by 50 paramedics. Some people had already been taken to hospital. Within four hours, all the injured that required hospital care had been transferred.
"This is the clinical model used in all major incidents.
"The Kerslake inquiry will fully review the processes that we used and we welcome any findings or lessons learnt that may be provided as a result but we are confident in our response which followed implementation of our major incident plan."
In total, 56 ambulances and seven rapid response vehicles were deployed to the incident, NWAS added.
Abedi detonated his home-made device, packed full of nuts and bolts so as to maximise casualties, at 22:31 BST.
BBC Inside Out has also learned that Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) did not deploy crews to the arena until one hour and 47 minutes later, at 00:18.
A serving GMFRS firefighter, who wants to remain anonymous, told the BBC that the paramedics were asking where the fire service was.
"People were dying, why weren't we there? We were just helpless.
"I don't want the public to think that we didn't want to go or were scared to go, we were held back by the senior management.
"There were homeless people helping, members of the public helping. I'm a paid public servant and I wanted to help, I just wasn't allowed to help.
"The hairs are standing up on the back of my neck because it's embarrassing that we weren't allowed to go."
Another firefighter, who also did not want to be named, told the BBC: "There were rumours that some people wanted to self-deploy because they were watching ambulances drive past their fire station and they were wondering why they hadn't been tasked to the event."
An anonymous firefighter said there were rumours people "wanted to self-deploy"
GMFRS said it had conducted a "debrief" of its response to the deadliest terror attack in the UK since the bombing of the London transport network on 7 July 2005.
But it said it would be inappropriate to comment further, given the fact it was co-operating with an ongoing review by Lord Kerslake into the Manchester attack, commissioned by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
The BBC asked all 49 fire brigades in the UK whether their firefighters were covered by their service's insurance in the event of injury or death while attending a terrorist attack.
Merseyside was the only fire service to confirm explicitly it has insurance in place for its officers to respond to terrorist attacks.
In a statement on Sunday, GMFRS said its employers' liability insurance covers firefighters attending such incidents.
Lord Kerslake's interim report is due to be published in early 2018.
The BBC has been told the deadline for submissions to the inquiry is to be extended to 24 November.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-41838579
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Elsie Scully-Hicks: Dad of adopted baby guilty of murder - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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18-month-old Elsie died two weeks after being formally adopted by Matthew Scully-Hicks and his husband.
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South East Wales
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Matthew Scully-Hicks made a 999 call two months before Elsie died claiming she fell down stairs
A man has been found guilty of murdering his 18-month-old baby just two weeks after formally adopting her.
Matthew Scully-Hicks, 31, of Delabole, Cornwall, had denied inflicting catastrophic injuries on Elsie at his Cardiff home four days before she died.
He called 999 on 25 May 2016 claiming he had found her unresponsive on the floor but a jury unanimously rejected his claim.
A pathologist said her injuries were "very typical" of a shaken baby.
Scully-Hicks will be sentenced on Tuesday and a child practice review is now expected to take place which will investigate the role of agencies in the case and look at whether lessons can be learned to prevent future tragedies.
Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbetter told the trial Elsie's injuries were consistent with "shaking impact syndrome".
He said she died after suffering a "blunt head injury", which triggered a cardiac arrest and starved her organs of blood.
A CT scan showed she had bleeding on the brain and a post-mortem examination revealed she had also suffered broken ribs, a fractured left femur and a fractured skull.
There was also haemorrhaging within both of Elsie's retinas - associated with inflicted trauma or injury.
In the months before her death, Scully-Hicks had told his husband and a health visitor a bruise on Elsie's face and leg fracture were caused by falls around the house.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Scully-Hicks called 999 to say Elsie was not breathing
But a doctor who examined Elsie after her death said his account was inconsistent with her injuries.
Less than three months before she died Scully-Hicks called 999 and said Elsie had fallen down the stairs after a wooden stair gate accidentally opened when she pulled herself up on it.
On 25 May, Scully-Hicks was on the phone to the emergency services again.
This time he said he had changed Elsie's nappy in the living room, left the room before returning minutes later to find her unresponsive on the floor.
He told the court: "I got closer and called her, there was no response. I got down and gave her a gentle tap and there was no response at all so I picked up the phone and called for an ambulance."
He said he carried out CPR until a police officer arrived and took over and she was rushed to hospital.
Elsie died at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, on 29 May 2016 after doctors determined she could not be saved and her ventilator was switched off.
During the trial, the jury was told Scully-Hicks had sent his husband Craig text messages saying he was "struggling to cope" and describing Elsie as "Satan in a babygro" and a "psycho".
Neighbours told the court they heard Scully-Hicks raise his voice and swear at the the baby.
The court heard Scully-Hicks who remained emotionless as the jury gave its unanimous verdict, did not suffer from a psychiatric illness or personality disorder.
Prosecutor Paul Lewis QC, said: "[Scully-Hicks'] actions on the late afternoon of 25 May were the tragic culmination of a course of violent conduct on his part towards a defenceless child - an infant that he should have loved and protected, but whom he instead assaulted, abused, and ultimately murdered."
Following the unanimous verdict, Iwan Jenkins, from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "There were complicating factors in that the only two people who knew what happened in the months leading up to the incident which resulted in her hospitalisation were the defendant and the victim herself."
He said evidence from medical experts had been "crucial" to the case, adding the analysis of Elsie's injuries were "vital to show explanations provided by the defendant were not true and were inconsistent".
He added: "There are no winners in cases of murder."
A National Adoption Service spokesman said it was a "tragic and extremely rare case".
Det Ch Insp Stuart Wales, of South Wales Police's major crime investigation team, said Elsie's "untimely death" has had a "devastating effect first and foremost on her family".
"Elsie's death has also impacted a wider community, including the many professionals involved in her care and the subsequent investigation. I would like to thank all of them, including the many witnesses who assisted the prosecution," he said.
"This case represents an extremely rare and distressing set of circumstances. We at South Wales Police continue to respect and value the role that adoption, and those involved, play in our society."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-41889108
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Paradise Papers: Lord Ashcroft stayed non-dom despite pledges - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Conservative donor continued to retain status despite assurances by the party.
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UK Politics
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Lord Ashcroft remained a non-dom, and continued to avoid tax despite attempts by Parliament to make peers pay their full share, leaked documents reveal.
The peer was domiciled for tax purposes in Belize at a time when it was widely believed he had given up the status, the Paradise Papers show.
While ordinary Britons have to pay tax on everything they earn, non-doms are only taxed on their UK income.
Lord Ashcroft, who donated millions to the Tories, said he would not comment.
He said it was because of the way he had been treated by BBC Panorama in the past.
But his spokesman, Alan Kilkenny, is quoted in the Guardian newspaper as saying the peer had never engaged in tax evasion, abusive tax avoidance or tax avoidance using artificial structures.
When questions were raised about the peer's non-dom status in 2010, he denied any "impropriety or wrongdoing".
A former party treasurer and deputy chairman, Lord Ashcroft fell out with David Cameron in 2010 and later co-authored a controversial unauthorised biography of the then prime minister.
But the 71-year-old remains involved in UK politics through his polling and publishing interests and last year said he would start donating "smaller sums" to the party again.
Parliament tried to force the controversial peer to pay full British tax when he entered the House of Lords in 2000.
Lord Ashcroft promised to become a permanent resident in the UK - a change that would have meant giving up his status as a UK resident whose permanent home, or domicile, is outside of the country.
The then leader of the Conservative Party William Hague told Parliament that becoming a peer would "cost him [Lord Ashcroft] and benefit the Treasury tens of millions of pounds a year in tax".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch Lord Ashcroft try to avoid Richard Bilton’s questions about his offshore trust
The tax was never paid because Lord Ashcroft, who was once Belize's ambassador to the United Nations and maintains links to the central American country, persuaded officials that he should be allowed to become a long term resident of the UK rather than a permanent one. A distinction that allowed him to retain his non-dom status.
The leaked documents show that between 2000 and 2010, Lord Ashcroft received payments of around $200m (£150m) from his offshore trust in the Bermuda.
The Tory Peer continued to sit in the House of Lords and as a non-dom he did not have to pay tax on these payments.
Lord Ashcroft's admission in 2010 that he was still a non-dom led to a major political controversy and the introduction of legislation designed to force anybody who sits in Parliament to pay full British tax.
After Lord Ashcroft told the BBC in May 2010 he was going to become "a fully taxed person in Britain", it was widely reported he had given up his non-dom status.
The Conservative Party also gave such an indication on 7 July that same year.
However, documents seen by the BBC's Panorama, reveal "his true domicile is Belize".
The new law, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, had not specified that non-dom MPs and peers would have to give up the status - only that they be "treated as domiciled in the UK" by the tax authorities.
It meant Lord Ashcroft had to pay full British tax while he sat in Parliament, but as soon as he resigned from the House of Lords in March 2015 he was also a non-dom again in the eyes of UK revenue inspectors.
The Paradise Papers suggest Lord Ashcroft worked around the new law to continue avoiding tax on his worldwide income between 2010 and 2015.
On the 31 March 2010, the day before the new law came into effect, Lord Ashcroft's offshore trust bought shares worth £33.9m from one of his companies.
His advisers note that the deal has "capital gains tax implications" but they point out he is "not domiciled in the UK at the moment".
If the deal had happened the following day, he would have been treated differently and could have been liable for capital gains tax.
Lord Ashcroft with William Hague and Ffion Hague in 2006
While he was sitting in the Lords as a full British taxpayer between 2010 and 2015, Lord Ashcroft appears to have stopped taking payments from his offshore trust.
One of his advisers notes "that there is no applicable tax as there is no distributable income".
The accounts for the trust show Lord Ashcroft didn't receive any payments in 2011, 2012 or 2013. The accounts for 2014 and 2015 were not in the leaked documents.
Lord Ashcroft announced his resignation from the House of Lords in March 2015.
If he had still been sitting in Parliament, he would have been liable for capital gains tax on any profits from the sale. But Lord Ashcroft was being treated as a non-dom again and could legally avoid the tax.
Journalist Peter Oborne says Lord Ashcroft's non-dom status was a "huge issue" at the time he started to sit in the Lords and there was "fresh controversy" when the Tories entered power in 2010.
The revelations in the Paradise Papers could cause a "major political explosion," he said. "The Labour Party... will turn it into a first class political row. It will raise huge questions about not just the Conservatives [but] also the House of Lords."
The Conservative Party did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41879422
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Texas shooting: The Holcombe family's neighbour speaks - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Eight members of one family are feared dead in the Texas church shooting. The Holcombes' neighbour, Pauline Garza, tells the BBC she doesn't know what to tell her children.
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Eight members of one family are feared dead in the Texas church shooting. The Holcombes' neighbour, Pauline Garza, tells the BBC she doesn't know what to tell her children.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41895351
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Trump lashes out at 'unfair' Japan trade ties - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The US president says Japan has been "winning" on trade but he will push for fairer economic ties.
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Business
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US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Japan over trade and said he would push for a fairer economic relationship between the two countries.
Speaking to business leaders in Tokyo on Monday he said Japan "has been winning" on trade in recent decades.
He also called on Japan to build more cars in America.
Mr Trump's comments come at the start of a 12-day Asian tour which is expected to be dominated by North Korea and trade.
The US leader said his country had "suffered massive trade deficits at the hands of Japan for many, many years".
"We want free and reciprocal trade but right now our trade with Japan is not free and it's not reciprocal and I know it will be and we've started the process," Mr Trump told the group of US and Japanese executives.
He praised Japan, which counts the US as its second largest trade partner after China, for buying American military hardware.
Mr Trump also said he wanted his country to be the most attractive place to hire and invest.
Japan had a $69bn (£52.8bn) trade surplus with the US in 2016, according to the US Treasury department.
The US has a much bigger imbalance with China, which Mr Trump has long rallied against. The total trade relationship between the pair was worth $648bn last year, but trade was heavily skewed in China's favour with the US amassing a nearly $310bn deficit.
Mr Trump's "America First" views are underpinning re-examination of trade with Asia, prompting a crackdown on China's intellectual property practices and fresh negotiations after the US walked away from a major regional trade pact, the Trans Pacific Trade partnership. (TPP).
The remaining 11 nations taking part in the TPP, which includes Japan, are proceeding with negotiations on the agreement without the US.
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe held formal talks with US president Donald Trump in Tokyo on Monday
The US and Japan are now working on a new roadmap for trade, but talks could put a strain on otherwise warm relations between the two countries.
Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, was the first foreign leader to meet Mr Trump following his election in November 2016. The pair played golf in Japan on Sunday after which the US president described his relationship with his Japanese counterpart as "really extraordinary".
Despite that, Mr Trump took aim at Japanese carmakers in Tokyo on Monday.
"Try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over. That's not too much to ask," the US president said at the briefing, adding, "is that rude to ask"?
Data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, a non-profit trade group, shows that in 2016, three-quarters of Japanese branded cars sold in the US were manufactured in North America.
Last year, those carmakers built nearly 4 million vehicles and 4.7 million engines in the US it said.
They contributed $45.6bn in total investment through 24 manufacturing plants, and 43 research and development and design centres in the US.
Why is President Trump complaining about Japanese cars?
It's true, as he points out, that there is a massive trade deficit between the US and Japan. Last count it was about second only to China's deficit with the US - although that's much bigger.
It's also true that while a lot of Japanese cars ARE made in the US, Americans are still buying cars from Japan, along with agricultural goods, electronic components and pharmaceutical products.
This doesn't wholly explain the trade gap though. The weakness of the Japanese currency, the yen, does. The weaker the yen against the US dollar, the cheaper Japanese goods are for American shoppers.
But this is an old argument, which Tokyo has heard before. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be wary of any push from President Trump that will see the yen's value strengthen.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41882482
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Paradise Papers: Alisher Usmanov's due diligence role queried - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Paradise Papers documents suggest Alisher Usmanov may influence checks on his own firms.
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Europe
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The Uzbek-born billionaire is a major client of Bridgewaters
An oligarch with close links to the Kremlin may have secretly taken ownership of a company responsible for anti-money laundering checks on Russian cash, the Paradise Papers show.
Isle of Man-based Bridgewaters should conduct independent due diligence tests on firms it administers, including dozens linked to Alisher Usmanov.
If he owns or controls the firm it would be a clear conflict of interest.
He and Bridgewaters strongly deny it is owned or controlled by the Russian.
Bridgewaters has been involved in major deals involving Russian cash, including the purchase of significant stakes in Facebook.
The Uzbek-born billionaire is a major client of Bridgewaters and if he does own or control the company it could be carrying out financial checks on Mr Usmanov's own offshore business activities.
Some of Mr Usmanov's $15.8bn (£9.97bn) fortune is in a private trust company called Bordeaux Limited.
Bordeaux used to be managed by offshore law company Appleby, the source of much of the Paradise Papers leaks, but in 2011 the private trust's management was transferred to Bridgewaters.
An internal Appleby email from 2011 uncovered in the Paradise Papers about the transfer of Mr Usmanov's Bordeaux private trust states that "the client has now bought a trust company in the Isle of Man (called Bridgewaters)".
Company filings show Mr Usmanov's business associate, Matthias Bolliger, was a director of Bridgewaters from 2011 to 2015.
And a leaked 2015 document from the Paradise Papers lists Mr Bolliger as "an ultimate beneficial official owner" of the company.
Author and taxation expert Nicholas Shaxson told BBC Panorama: "These companies are supposed to have due diligence requirements to look at what their clients are doing and make sure that this is not criminal money.
"If the billionaire controls the company that's supposed to be doing the due diligence on his own stuff it's a massive conflict of interest."
Lawyers acting for Bridgewaters told BBC Panorama that their client was not secretly owned or controlled by any individual.
The lawyers, who also act for Mr Bolliger, said he had never controlled Bridgewaters on behalf of any other individual and would be unable to do so as Bridgewaters was a regulated Isle of Man financial services company with a board of directors.
Chief Minister for the Isle of Man Howard Quayle told Panorama he could not comment on individual cases but if there was evidence Mr Usmanov was approving his own deals "we will have it thoroughly investigated and if there has been any wrongdoing whatsoever, we will take the relevant action. Whether that's a prosecution or withdrawal of right to operate on the Isle of Man".
Other revelations in the Paradise Papers have questioned whether Mr Usmanov may be secretly linked with both Arsenal and Everton in a way which if true could be a breach of Premier League rules.
The Everton deal was administered by Bridgewaters.
The company that owns Everton, Blue Heaven Holdings, is registered at Bridgewaters.
One of its directors is an employee of Bridgewaters and the other is an employee of Mr Usmanov.
Panorama has also seen a list of dozens of British Virgin Islands (BVI) companies linked to Mr Usmanov that are managed by Bridgewaters.
Under anti-money laundering rules the true, or beneficial, owners of companies should be disclosed.
However, the ownership details of most of the companies on the list remain hidden.
The Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, often known as Mossfon and which was the source of last year's Panama Papers leaks, acted as an agent for Bridgewaters and was clearly frustrated by the lack of information it was getting about Mr Usmanov's companies.
One Mossfon email says: "The answers on the incorporation forms are ambiguous normally, given in a manner that can be interpreted in various ways. They are trying to give information without giving it if you know what I mean... now they have raised a bit of suspicion."
After Mossfon raised questions about compliance, Bridgewaters transferred most of its BVI companies to another financial services company, SHRM Trustees, in February 2015.
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41878961
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Paradise Papers: Lord Ashcroft hides from trust question - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Watch Lord Ashcroft try to avoid Richard Bilton’s questions about his offshore trust.
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Watch Lord Ashcroft try to avoid Richard Bilton’s questions about his offshore trust.
Find out more about the Paradise Papers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41880024
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Paradise Papers: Lord Ashcroft 'does not control' offshore trust - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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Conservative Party donor faces accusations of ignoring trustees despite rules on independence.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch Lord Ashcroft try to avoid Richard Bilton’s questions about his offshore trust
Lord Ashcroft has denied allegations that he ignored rules around the management of his offshore investments.
According to leaked documents, the Tory donor gave assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Punta Gorda Trust in Bermuda in 2000.
The leaked Paradise Papers provoked questions as to whether he sometimes made decisions without consulting trust officials. Such action could see the trust challenged by HMRC.
In a statement, he said that he has never known the identity of any of the trustees or had any dealings with them.
"At no point has it been suggested directly to me, or through others, that I have taken any inappropriate action.
"No professional trustee has ever resigned because of anything I may have done," he added.
Panorama approached Lord Ashcroft during last month's Conservative Party conference in Manchester but he declined to answer any questions about the trust.
He has described two previous Panorama investigations into his affairs as "unashamedly one-sided" and said he had informed BBC director general Tony Hall that he is "simply not prepared to deal with" the programme.
The 71-year-old former Conservative deputy chairman has given millions of pounds to the party.
He fell out with David Cameron in 2010 and later co-authored a controversial unauthorised biography of the then-prime minister but remains involved in UK politics through his polling and publishing interests.
Journalist Peter Oborne said Lord Ashcroft has been a "hugely significant figure" in the Conservative Party over the last 20 years.
He said: "Lord Ashcroft has been one of the most significant donors to the... party. But it's not just... that he's been a giver of money, he's also been very important organisationally. He's involved himself in the internal politics."
Other documents in the Paradise Papers show Lord Ashcroft has secretly remained non-domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.
Addressing this allegation, he said in his statement: "My position was made public in a statement which I made in March 2010 and to which a link is provided here.
"Following the change in the law later that year, a change which my statement anticipated, for each of the remaining five years during which I sat in the House of Lords, I was deemed tax resident and domiciled.
"This is all publicly available information and nothing was produced yesterday by the BBC which suggests different."
The structure of a trust involves one entity legally entrusting a second to look after assets for a third, essentially removing ownership for tax purposes.
Wealthy people can legally avoid paying tax on assets that they have given to a trust because they can tell the authorities they no longer own or control the assets in them.
But for a trust to work as a tax break, decisions about its assets have to be taken independently by the trustees.
Despite the warning, Lord Ashcroft appears to have continued to make decisions about the trust's assets.
In October 2000, one of the trustees said: "I would like to emphasize at this point that it is imperative at all times that the trustees are aware of any and all transactions to be entered into prior to transactions occurring.
"To do otherwise, will only serve to undermine the integrity of the trust as the trustees are being advised of actions taken in connection with trust assets, which should be under their control, after the event."
A review of the trust in 2009, discovered that significant payments out had been made that had not been properly recorded.
In an internal email, a lawyer representing the trust says: "There have been very large sums of money involved and I am very concerned that there has been inadequate supervision of both transactions and distributions... to put it bluntly we seem to be told nothing whereas we carry the responsibility of acting as trustee."
Paperwork then appears to have been put in place retrospectively "to ensure that we have all the relevant trustee and company authorities in place for the transactions which have occured [sic]".
Trust experts say anybody who puts their money into a trust could face a challenge by tax authorities if it was felt rules had been abused.
This could include a challenge from HM Revenue and Customs if it was to take the view an overseas trust had been controlled from the UK.
Nicholas Shaxson, the author of Treasure Islands, an expose of the workings of tax havens, told Panorama: "On the evidence I have seen, it looks like something that is abusive behaviour and an abusive structure. If the trustees are worried, the trustees are expressing alarm about that, that's a clear red flag."
Prof Brooke Harrington, the author of Capital Without Borders, said: "It's important that trustees be independent because the whole concept of a trust is that a settlor gives over legal ownership of an asset to the trustee.
"That's why you get these tax benefits and other legal benefits from the trust structure."
Lord Ashcroft's spokesman, Alan Kilkenny, is quoted in the Guardian as saying the peer had never engaged in tax evasion, abusive tax avoidance or tax avoidance using artificial structures.
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41892757
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BBC extends Met Office weather forecast contract - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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The current deal is scheduled to end in March 2018 when MeteoGroup is due to take over.
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UK
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The BBC has extended its contract with the Met Office to supply weather information after its replacement provider failed to be ready in time.
Meteogroup was expected to take over providing meteorological data for TV, radio and online in spring 2017.
But delays mean the Met Office's contract will now end in March 2018.
In August 2015, the BBC announced it was changing weather forecasting provider to "secure the best value for money for licence fee payers".
At the time, it said the contract change would save the corporation "millions of pounds".
The previous deal with the Met Office, which has provided the data used for BBC forecasts since the corporation's first radio weather bulletin in 1922, ended on 30 September 2017.
A Met Office spokeswoman said: "As the UK's national weather service we will always ensure the UK public have the weather information they need so they can make informed decisions.
"We are continuing to provide the BBC with their weather services, having signed a contract out to March 2018."
When Meteogroup takes over the service, the BBC will continue to show all national severe weather warnings as agreed with the Exeter-based Met Office.
Under the terms of the deal, the BBC will also be supported by the UK's national meteorological service at times of severe weather.
A BBC spokesman told the Guardian: "As is well known, we're changing our weather services provider and it's only right we take the time to make sure the new and improved service and graphics provide audiences with the best possible service.
"BBC Weather will continue to give people reliable forecasts on television, radio, online and our app."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41878713
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Paradise Papers: Commerce chief Wilbur Ross's links with sanctioned Russians - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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The US commerce secretary has business ties with key Putin allies, the Paradise Papers show.
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US & Canada
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Wilbur Ross has played a key part in Donald Trump's business and political careers
A top member of Donald Trump's administration has business links with Russian allies of President Vladimir Putin who are under US sanctions, the Paradise Papers have revealed.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has an interest in Navigator Holdings, which earns millions a year transporting gas for Russian energy firm Sibur.
Two major Sibur shareholders are under some form of US sanctions.
A commerce department spokesman did not dispute the revelations.
"Secretary Ross recuses himself from any matters focused on transoceanic shipping vessels," the spokesman told BBC Panorama, adding that the secretary "works closely with Commerce Department ethics officials to ensure the highest ethical standards".
Another Sibur shareholder is President Putin's son in law, Kirill Shamalov.
He holds a 3.9% stake in the firm. Gennady Timchenko, who has been individually sanctioned by the United States, has at least 12 companies connected to him, and Leonid Mikhelson, whose main company, Novatek, is also sanctioned, are major shareholders.
Sibur itself and Mr Shamalov are not under sanctions, although Mr Shamalov's father, Nikolai, is.
The commerce department spokesman said Mr Ross had never met the three Russian shareholders.
The US imposed some sanctions after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Others were imposed last year for alleged interference in the US presidential election.
The revelations will again raise questions about the Russian connections of Donald Trump's team. His presidency has been dogged by allegations that Russians colluded to try to influence the outcome of the election. He has called the allegations "fake news". A special counsel is investigating the matter.
Wilbur Ross and Donald Trump have known each other for more than a quarter of a century. Mr Ross played a key part in a prepackaged bankruptcy deal - deal agreed between a company and its creditors - for Mr Trump's Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in the 1990s.
Trump biographer David Cay Johnston told BBC Panorama: "If it hadn't been for Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump would not be in the White House.
WL Ross & Co, which was founded by Wilbur Ross, first invested in Navigator Holdings in 2011.
An investigation has revealed details of how Mr Ross retains a financial interest in Navigator Holdings via a number of companies in the Cayman Islands.
Some of these Cayman companies were disclosed by Mr Ross when he became commerce secretary, but under the disclosure rules he did not have to declare his interest in Navigator Holdings.
Its annual report in 2016 showed 31.5% was still held by entities in which Mr Ross has a stake, although the value of Mr Ross's personal holding remains unclear.
Donald Trump at the Taj Mahal casino in 1990
Back in 1990, after a high-profile financial battle, Donald Trump opened his third casino in Atlantic City - the Taj Mahal, dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world".
It didn't go well. Mr Trump financed it with $675m raised through junk bonds at an interest rate of 14%. He struggled to make the payments.
Step in Wilbur Ross. Then at Rothschild Inc, he was representing the angry bondholders but liked Donald Trump's style.
Trump biographer David Cay Johnston said: "Wilbur Ross was a key negotiator in Donald Trump not having to go through bankruptcy and not being swept into the dustbin of history because he saw the value in the Trump name."
Mr Ross said at this year's Concordia Annual Summit: "When you meet people who are under tremendous financial pressure... you really get to see what they are made of, and he was made of much stronger stuff than a lot of owners of troubled businesses."
One prepackaged bankruptcy later and The Donald was on his way out of debt and heading up the Forbes rich list.
Wilbur Ross became a board member of Navigator in 2012 but the commerce department said he was not on the board when Navigator signed its charter deal with Sibur that year.
But Mr Ross was still a board member during the period from March to November 2014, when the US was sanctioning Russians over the annexation of Crimea, including Mr Timchenko and Mr Mikhelson's company, Novatek.
During that period Navigator continued to increase its business with Sibur. The energy firm accounted for 9.1% of Navigator's total revenues in 2015, compared with 5.3% in 2014, Navigator's own filings show.
Mr Ross left Navigator's board in November 2014 but his seat was taken by Ross group partner Wendy Teramoto, who served on it until 2017.
Figures from 2016 showed Sibur was still among Navigator's top five clients, predominantly exporting Russian gas to Europe and potentially providing significant income to sanctioned Putin allies.
This year, Navigator doubled the fleet it is using on Sibur exports to four. Sibur has provided Navigator with $68m (£49m) in revenue since 2014.
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There is no suggestion Mr Ross has violated any rules.
But Daniel Fried, who oversaw the introduction of US sanctions against Russia under President Barack Obama, told Panorama that it would be a mistake for any American official to do business with Sibur.
"I would advise any client who came to me to stay well away from Sibur or anybody else who has been sanctioned or has a relationship with sanctioned individuals... on the grounds, at least, of reputational risk."
But Mr Ross appears to have maintained a close relationship with the shipping company.
On the night that he was nominated as commerce secretary by President Trump, Mr Ross went to a restaurant in New York where he was congratulated on his promotion by the senior management of Navigator Holdings, Bloomberg reported.
Mr Ross reportedly told the CEO of Navigator: "Your interest is aligned to mine. The US economy will grow, and Navigator will be a beneficiary."
Another key Navigator customer has been PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company. It was targeted by US sanctions this year.
The commerce department said Mr Ross had "been generally supportive of the Administration's sanctions of Russian and other entities".
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41876939
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Voluntary living wage rate rise to boost 150,000 UK staff - BBC News
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2017-11-06
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The voluntary rate, promoted by the Living Wage Foundation campaign, will rise by 30p an hour to £8.75.
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Business
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More than 150,000 workers whose firms are signed up to the voluntary living wage rate are set to get a pay rise.
The voluntary rate, promoted by the Living Wage Foundation campaign group, is to rise by 30p an hour to £8.75. For those living in London, the rate will rise by 45p to £10.20 an hour.
About 3,600 firms are signed up to the scheme, including Ikea and Google.
It is separate from the government's compulsory National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the National Living Wage (NLW).
The National Living Wage, which was introduced in April last year for workers aged 25 and above, is currently set at £7.50 an hour. Those under 25, are still paid the lower National Minimum Wage.
Living Wage Foundation director Katherine Chapman urged more employers to sign up to the scheme.
"In-work poverty is today's story," she said. "The new living wage rates will bring relief for thousands of UK workers being squeezed by stagnant wages and rising inflation."
On Monday, a number of new companies announced their commitment to pay the living wage, including Heathrow Airport, the National Gallery and professional services firm JLL.
Heathrow is the first airport to sign up to the scheme. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said paying the living wage was "the right thing to do as a responsible employer".
Research from accountancy firm KPMG on Sunday estimated around one in five UK workers were paid below the voluntary living wage.
The level of the voluntary living wage is calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation, a not-for-profit research and policy organisation.
It is overseen by the Living Wage Commission, which is appointed by the Living Wage Foundation and includes representation from employers, trade unions, civil society and independent experts.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41879441
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Labour: Priti Patel must face probe or quit over Israeli trip - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Priti Patel faces more questions about unofficial Israeli meetings - but No 10 says matter is closed.
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UK Politics
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Priti Patel must be investigated for holding unofficial meetings during a holiday in Israel or "do the decent thing and resign", Labour has said.
The international development secretary apologised on Tuesday for holding 12 meetings, including one with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, on a private trip.
In the Commons, Labour's Kate Osamor said it was a "black and white case" of the ministerial code being broken.
But minister Alistair Burt said policy did not change as a result of the trip.
Ms Patel was not in the Commons to face an urgent question about her actions because she is on a pre-arranged visit to Africa, a situation which Labour said was "simply not acceptable".
The BBC understands Ms Patel suggested some of Britain's aid budget go to the Israeli army, after the visit in August.
She asked her officials to see if Britain could support humanitarian operations conducted by the Israeli army in the occupied Golan Heights area.
The BBC understands the Foreign Office advised that because Britain did not officially recognise Israel's annexation of the area, it would be hard for the Department for International Development to work there.
Speaking in the Commons, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt defended Ms Patel's "perfectly legitimate" right to raise the matter - saying it was within the context of providing medical help for Syrian refugees who could not get assistance in their own country.
But he said the idea had been rejected because ministers did not think it would be "appropriate".
He told MPs that the Foreign Office learned of her visit on 24 August, while she was still in Israel, but after a number of key meetings had already taken place.
He said Ms Patel had been "absolutely contrite" for "getting the sequencing wrong" in terms of informing officials but Mrs May accepted her apology and now regarded the matter "as closed".
But Labour's Kate Osamor said Ms Patel's actions were covered by the existing code and demanded a probe into what she did during the trip and what action she sought upon her return.
The opposition says there are "strong grounds" to believe Ms Patel is responsible for "multiple breaches" include failing to act in an open and transparent manner, not abiding by the principle of collective responsibility and not being honest about the nature and number of meetings she attended.
"It is hard to think of a more black and white case of breaking the ministerial code," Ms Osamor said.
"It is time the secretary of state either faces a Cabinet Office investigation or does the decent thing and just resigns".
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale said local UK diplomats in Israel probably first became aware of her visit on 24 August because that was when the opposition leader she met, Yair Lapid, first tweeted about their meeting.
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The BBC revealed on Friday that Ms Patel held a number of undisclosed meetings with business and political figures, including Mr Lapid, the leader of Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party.
No diplomats were present at the meetings, at which the minister was accompanied by an influential pro-Israeli Conservative peer and campaigner, Lord Polak.
Ms Patel has admitted how the meetings were set up "did not accord with the usual procedures".
Former Conservative foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was "extremely unwise" for Ms Patel to have held secret meetings with Israeli officials.
Ms Patel discussed Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the UK, which took place last week
"Not only did she not tell the Foreign Office directly, so far as I'm aware the British Embassy in Israel wasn't aware that this was happening. Now that just shouldn't be done... it's not just a question of courtesy," he said.
Lord Ricketts, former head of the diplomatic service, told BBC Radio 4's World Tonight that he couldn't think of a precedent "where a senior minister visits a country, has an extensive programme like this without the Foreign Office, the foreign secretary or even the ambassador in the country knowing about it".
However International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was not "in any way forbidden" to speak to the prime minister of another country without telling the foreign secretary.
He added: "I find it utterly unsurprising that the international aid secretary would want to talk to charities while she's on holiday in a particular area about whether or not we can use the British aid budget to diminish the humanitarian problems there."
Ms Patel, who is a long-standing supporter of Israel and a former vice-chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel, has admitted a "lack of precision" for suggesting last week that Boris Johnson knew about the trip, and that only two meetings had taken place when she attended 12.
Downing Street, which has called for the ministerial code to be clarified in this area, said Ms Patel had acknowledged she had behaved in an "improper way" and would not do so again.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41896756
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Twitter to expand 280-character tweets - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Longer tweets to be rolled out more widely as Twitter attempts to attract new users.
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Technology
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Twitter plans to increase the number of characters in tweets from 140 to 280 for the majority of users.
The new limit will not apply to tweets written in Japanese, Chinese and Korean which can convey more information in a single character.
The move follows a trial among a small group of users which started in September in response to criticism that it was not easy enough to tweet.
The change is part of Twitter's plan to attract new users and increase growth.
During the test, only 5% of tweets sent were longer than 140 characters and only 2% more than 190, the social media site said in a blog post.
But those who did use the longer tweets, got more followers, more engagement and spent more time on the site, it added.
"During the first few days of the test, many people tweeted the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, but soon after behaviour normalised," wrote Aliza Rosen, Twitter's product manager.
"We saw when people needed to use more than 140 characters, they tweeted more easily and more often. But importantly, people tweeted below 140 most of the time and the brevity of Twitter remained."
According to Twitter, 9% of tweets in English hit the character limits.
"This reflects the challenge of fitting a thought into a tweet, often resulting in lots of time spent editing and even at times abandoning tweets before sending," Ms Rosen said.
Increasing the character limit should not affect people's experience on the site, she added.
"We - and many of you - were concerned that timelines may fill up with 280-character tweets, and people with the new limit would always use up the whole space. But that didn't happen."
When the change was announced, many criticised it, pointing out changes they would rather see, such as a crackdown on hate crime and bots, and the introduction of a chronological timeline and edit function.
The site currently has 330 million active users. This compares with 800 million for Instagram and more than 2 billion users for Facebook.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41900880
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Paradise Papers: Are we taming offshore finance? - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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It's very private and it's very big. But who uses it and should we try to stop them?
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Business
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Like the Cheshire Cat, it's hard to tame something that keeps disappearing and reappearing
The offshore finance industry puts trillions of dollars worldwide beyond the taxman's reach. Bringing it to heel is like taming a cat; not just a normal moggy - a thankless task in itself - but a Cheshire Cat: nebulous, hard to pin down, disappearing and reappearing when it likes.
No-one can actually agree on what a tax haven is. Or even on the name: one person's tax haven is another's "offshore financial centre". No-one can agree on how many there are. Nor on exactly how much money is stashed offshore. No statistics are fully reliable.
And this suits those who operate in offshore finance, from the owner of the wealth to the lawyer or accountant middlemen who manage the funds, to the often sun-kissed beaches of the jurisdictions where they are secluded or pass through. The industry's key word is privacy. Or secrecy - a word it doesn't like so much.
One adage cited by the taxation author and expert Nicholas Shaxson sums it up: "Those who know don't talk. And those who talk don't know."
But do we really not know how much is stashed offshore?
A report this September, co-authored by the economist Gabriel Zucman, estimates about 10% of global GDP - the way we measure the size of the world's economy - is held offshore, about $7.8tn (£6tn). The Boston Consulting Group reported it last year at about $10tn.
If you are thinking, wow, that's bigger than Japan's economy, you'd be right. But if you want a real wow, try $36tn - the estimate offered by James Henry, author of the book Blood Bankers. That's twice as big as the US economy.
And here's another wow. Remember the slogan "we are the 99%" coined by the Occupy movement to lambast the top 1% of the population for their disproportionate share of wealth? Well, the Zucman report says 80% of all offshore cash is owned by 0.1% of the richest households, with 50% held by the top 0.01%.
So if you read this and are thinking, if you can't beat them... quite frankly, it's unlikely you will ever join them. The management fees for the ordinary person will probably far outstrip the gains.
As Nicholas Shaxson told BBC Panorama: "At the very lowest end you'll have the middle classes doing little bits and pieces. But the large majority of what's going on, this is a game for rich people."
Surely we know some of how this works? The systems have a ring of familiarity - double taxation; tax inversion; trusts; shell companies etc. It's just we don't usually know who's in the schemes and what they are getting out of them.
The basic essence is rerouting money in one location where you don't like the taxation rules to another location - one that is stable and reliable - where there aren't as many, or any.
For example, if you want to protect your assets to stave off creditors, stick them in an offshore shell company. Hey presto, much harder to get at. Want to hide ownership of a property? Put it in a trust.
This is not illegal. There are many other schemes, legal, illegal and sometimes ethically debatable. But even within these categories there are many variables on what actually constitutes The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. After all, in the film with that name the ugly arguably wasn't as bad as the bad, and the good was hardly perfect.
True to their Cheshire Cat-like origins, offshore financial centres (OFCs) do not always appear where one might expect them.
That's because offshore, sorry to confuse you, is also onshore. This makes it impossible to pin down the global number of OFCs. It could be 50, 70 or more and new ones come and go.
The US and UK are arguably two of the biggest OFCs.
For example, setting up shell firms is easy in some US states, like Delaware.
And it's widely known that the City of London acts as the facilitating hub for Crown dependencies and overseas territories that channel trillions of offshore dollars.
The smaller, often island, nations are what Nicholas Shaxson calls "captured states".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Investigative journalist Nicholas Shaxson on why tax havens are ‘like captured states’
He told Panorama: "These places don't have a very deep pool of experienced people. They're just people who say, well we trust the accountants, we trust the lawyers to tell us what's best for our island and we'll do it."
So how does offshore defend itself?
Well, the jurisdictions say it's wrong to think there are banks in OFCs sitting on pots of gold - the money is simply being reinvested by companies - and that if there were no OFCs there would be no constraint on the tax rates governments might levy.
OFCs, they say, simply pump cash around the globe and the new transparency rules put in place over the past decade have severely limited tax evasion.
It's certainly wrong to lump all the OFCs together. Some are better regulated than others. Down at the murkier end, dealings in Panama were exposed by leaks last year.
But Bermuda's Bob Richards offered a stout defence of its financial services in an interview with Panorama carried out while he was still finance minister, citing a taxation system that had been in place for more than 100 years and adding that if other nations were losing out on tax they should sort their own systems out.
Bermuda, he says, has fully signed up to an international agreement that allows for the automatic transfer of tax information within governments and such a jurisdiction "cannot be a tax haven".
And Appleby, the financial services firm involved in these latest leaks, made the case for OFCs back in 2009, in the wake of the global crash.
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It said there was "no evidence OFCs played any role in the economic crisis", OFCs were "neither the source of - nor the destination for - criminal proceeds" and that OFCs "protect people victimised by crime, corruption, or persecution by shielding them from venal governments".
Of the latest leaks, the company said: "Many of the questions raise matters where - on any view - there is plainly no conceivable wrongdoing on the part of Appleby whatsoever."
OFCs say there are no secrets, just privacy. But Gerard Ryle, of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which oversaw this huge leak of financial documents, known as the Paradise Papers, dismisses this.
"The only product that the offshore world sells is secrecy and when you take away secrecy they don't have a product anymore," he told the BBC.
"Where you have secrecy, you have the potential for wrongdoing."
Whatever term you prefer, the elusive nature of offshore makes it hard to root out wrongdoing.
You could start an investigation into one firm or individual and be shuttled around from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, company to company, turning up a whole tranche of names on documents that are linked to no real owner, sometimes no real person, and lead absolutely nowhere.
You're probably also thinking, we've now had an awful lot of these financial leaks, haven't they changed anything?
Spin backwards to April 2016. The Panama Papers have just come out. Iceland's PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson has resigned after the leaks showed he owned an offshore company with his wife.
Thousands are demonstrating in Reykjavik to vent anger at their politicians.
Some estimates put the protest numbers at 6% of the whole Icelandic population. That's like if 19 million people turned up to a protest in the US today.
But then travel over to Elektrostal, two hours east of Moscow. Resident Nadezhda is haranguing BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg. "All these 'investigations' are a waste of time and money. We know what you're up to. They're trying to rub Putin's face in the dirt," she says.
It kind of depends on where you are.
In the West, at least, people are questioning what high-net-worth individuals and multinationals can get away with.
Is it right that they can use loopholes to keep more of their cash? Or should it go to governments to spend on their people?
To be fair, governments have been tracking stashed cash since the 2008 global meltdown, independent of any financial leaks, although their talk has usually been tougher than their action.
Secrecy is now harder to achieve, transparency is greater. So-called country-by-country reporting, requiring multinationals to break down how they operate in different nations, has widened and public registries of companies have increased.
Even Russia brought in a law requiring the disclosure of offshore assets. The result? Since the law came in three years ago, dozens of the super-rich have given up Russian residency to avoid it.
There are also OFC blacklists mooted but, as Nicholas Shaxson says, the big players will make sure their operations are not on it and it will weed out only the minnows.
The offshore firms will "recalibrate", he says. "When legislation changes, you will have this ecosystem kind of readjusting and the money will shift to other places."
And wealth holders will readjust too. Pump cash into diamonds and artworks maybe? Or just go and actually live somewhere that charges low tax.
What makes this a vicious circle is that many governments are fully prepared to sanction offshore finance. Indeed, many people in government use it, as these leaks show.
And there is one thing we do know. If the super wealthy don't pay the taxes, the money has to come from everyone else.
Which to many may sound a bit mad, but as the Cheshire Cat says: "We're all mad here".
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41877924
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Silvio Berlusconi set for political comeback after Sicily vote - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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A coalition backed by the former prime minister wins Sicily elections.
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Europe
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The 81-year-old's long political career has been plagued by scandals
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks set for another political comeback after a coalition he backed won Sicily's regional elections.
The result adds momentum to the newly formed centre-right alliance.
The vote on the Italian island has been viewed as a crucial test ahead of next year's national election.
The 81-year-old billionaire businessman's career has been beset by scandals both in and out of government.
The four-time prime minister has been away from the political centre stage since he was expelled from parliament four years ago after being convicted of tax fraud.
Mr Berlusconi is seeking to overturn a ban that bars him from public office ahead of the spring 2018 vote. The European Court of Human Rights is set to review his case later this year.
Mr Berlusconi owned football club AC Milan for three decades, but sold it in 2017
"Sicily, just as I asked, has chosen the path of real, serious, constructive change, based on honesty, competence and experience," he said in a video posted on Facebook.
The newly formed coalition brings together Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party with right-wing parties Northern League and Brothers of Italy.
The Berlusconi-backed candidate Nello Musumeci beat the anti-establishment Five Star Movement candidate, with just under 40% of the vote.
However, more than 50% of Sicilians did not cast a vote, according to Italian media.
Mr Musumeci said his first task was to try to reach non-voters.
The election result is a blow to the ruling centre-left government, which is already suffering politically from public anger over the country's migrant crisis.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41895056
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Paradise Papers: Queen should apologise, suggests Corbyn - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Labour leader says anyone avoiding tax, as revealed in leaked Paradise Papers, should apologise.
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UK
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Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the Queen, among others, should apologise for using overseas tax havens if they were used to avoid taxation in the UK.
The Labour leader was asked at the CBI conference whether the Queen should say sorry for making overseas investments.
He said anyone putting money into tax havens for the purposes of avoidance should "not just apologise for it, recognise what it does to our society".
The BBC has revealed that the Queen's estate has used overseas tax havens.
It comes after a leak of confidential papers from Bermuda revealed the secret offshore investments of the rich and famous, including the Queen.
Mr Corbyn's spokesman later clarified his comments, saying the Labour leader did not specifically call on the Queen to apologise but thought "anyone who puts money into a tax haven to avoid paying tax should acknowledge the damage it does to society".
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Mr Corbyn called for a full inquiry, public lists of company ownership, and a new tax enforcement unit to tackle tax evasion.
On Sunday, BBC Panorama broadcast the first results of its year-long investigation into the Paradise Papers, a massive leak of financial documents from Bermuda-based law firm Appleby.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the revelation that the Duchy of Lancaster, which handles the Queen's private wealth, used offshore investments.
A spokesperson for the Duchy of Lancaster said: "We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds. All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate.
"The Queen voluntarily pays tax on any income she receives from the Duchy."
HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson vowed to "chase down" anyone trying to hide money offshore and evade tax.
He told the Commons Public Accounts Committee that HMRC had asked to see the leaked Paradise Papers in order to "look at every case of tax evasion very seriously".
Mr Thompson said there were 66 ongoing criminal investigations into the Panama Papers, which in April 2016 exposed tax avoidance and evasion, saying £100m could be retrieved.
"That gives you some sense about how long quite complicated tax cases take to bring to some sort of fruition," he added.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May: 'UK already acting' on offshore tax havens
Theresa May insisted efforts were already under way to obtain revenue from offshore tax vehicles, adding: "We want people to pay the tax that is due".
At the CBI conference, the prime minister said HMRC had collected £160bn by tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance since 2010.
Mrs May's spokesperson said: "It is important to point out that holding investments offshore is not an automatic sign of wrongdoing, but HMRC has requested to see the papers urgently so it can look into any allegations."
But when asked, Mrs May did not commit to a public inquiry into tax revenue lost through offshore tax avoidance schemes.
Among the Paradise Papers documents was evidence that Tory donor Lord Ashcroft remained a non-dom and continued to avoid tax despite attempts to make peers pay their full share.
Lord Ashcroft has insisted he did not ignore rules in relation to the Punta Gorda offshore trust and said his tax residency was "publicly available information".
The leaked documents show that between 2000 and 2010, Lord Ashcroft received payments of around $200m (£150m) from his offshore trust in Bermuda.
Responding to the programme, Lord Ashcroft wrote: "At no point has it been suggested directly to me, or through others, that I have taken any inappropriate action."
He also explained why he ran away from a Panorama reporter who approached him for comment, taking refuge in a toilet, saying he was "determined" not to "fall victim to their ambush".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch Lord Ashcroft try to avoid Richard Bilton’s questions about his offshore trust
The Paradise Papers puts into question the practice of using highly secretive offshore tax havens, which is legal.
Bermuda's premier David Burt said the territory has a "robust regulatory regime" with the same tax system in place since 1898. He added the UK's tax law allows the use of offshore tax havens.
Former Business Secretary, Sir Vince Cable, criticised the government for not clamping down on offshore tax havens trading under the British flag.
He said: "The Paradise Papers suggest that a small number of wealthy individuals have been able, entirely legally, to put their money beyond the reach of the Exchequer."
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41883472
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BBC sees 'spike' in sexual harassment complaints - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Twenty-five complaints are being investigated - compared with five over the last three years.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Not all cases are thought to relate to current BBC staff
The BBC has said it is dealing with a "spike" in complaints of sexual harassment.
The deputy director general told MPs there had been a recent increase in the number of cases after the BBC encouraged staff to come forward.
Anne Bulford said the corporation is currently investigating 25 individuals for alleged sexual harassment.
Last year only three cases were investigated, with just one case in each of the two years before that.
In a statement, the BBC said: "Since the Harvey Weinstein revelations, we've been actively encouraging staff to come forward with any concerns.
"We hope other employers are doing the same, and when allegations are made, we have well-established processes to investigate."
Director general Tony Hall said there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment
Anne Bulford told the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that the BBC is looking into "25 live cases".
However, not all are thought to relate to current staff. A number of the allegations are believed to be historic, involving people who have worked for the BBC or for third parties associated with the BBC in the past.
The deputy director general said: "We have to continue to encourage people to speak. Whether they're current or whether they're historic in relation to sexual harassment, the important thing is people come forward."
Ms Bulford also confirmed that issues raised by staff working with independent production companies and third party suppliers would be supported by the BBC's confidential helpline, which was set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Director general Tony Hall commented: "As far as harassment, bullying and... sexual harassment goes, we should have zero tolerance. That means making it as easy as possible to do the very difficult thing of coming forwards and calling out behaviour."
Asked how many staff were currently suspended pending an investigation into sexual harassment, the BBC responded: "We can't comment on individuals but treat any allegations seriously and have processes in place for investigating them."
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-41907512
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Nigeria kidnapping: Ian Squire killed and three freed - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Ian Squire died after being held hostage in Nigeria alongside three others, who have been freed.
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UK
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Ian Squire was kidnapped in southern Nigeria in October
A British aid worker kidnapped last month in southern Nigeria has been killed, while three other hostages have been freed, says the Foreign Office.
Ian Squire, an optician, was one of four Britons working for a medical charity in the Niger Delta when taken.
Suspected militants stormed the rural community of Enekorogha on 13 October.
UK and Nigerian authorities successfully negotiated the release of Alanna Carson, David Donovan and Shirley Donovan.
BBC Lagos correspondent Stephanie Hegarty said there was little detail around Mr Squire's death, but that locals told her the kidnappers were a criminal gang who had been operating in the area for around a year.
Our correspondent said: "This is their first kidnapping of foreigners. They had kidnapped very recently the mother of a local politician, but before that they were just carrying out petty crime.
"We know that a ransom was demanded but we don't know if it was paid."
According to reports, Dr and Mrs Donovan have lived in Nigeria for the past 14 years, running a Christian charity called New Foundations, which gives aid to remote villages in the Niger Delta.
Dr and Mrs Donovan (pictured) were released and are now home safely
Mr Squire normally ran a practice in Shepperton, Surrey, and locals told the BBC he travelled to Africa every year to carry out charity work.
Mr Squire's friend Paul Allan, who ran a neighbouring business, described him as a "good friend" and a "very straight forward, nice, gentle guy".
He described how Mr Squire fundraised in the community for his trips and even collected old glasses to take and reuse.
"I just can't believe what's happened," added Mr Allan. "I find it shocking to believe for someone who has gone out to do good in the community overseas that the action has cost him dearly. It has cost him his life. It is beyond belief.
"It is a sign of this day and age, but he wasn't concerned about that. He just wanted to go out and help people in less fortunate situations than ours."
Ms Carson, a Specsavers optometrist, is now staying with her family in Northern Ireland, according to her employer in Leven, Fife.
Relatives of the four said they were "delighted and relieved" that Ms Carson and Dr and Mrs Donovan had returned safely.
"Our thoughts are now with the family and friends of Ian as we come to terms with his sad death," they said in a statement issued on their behalf.
The Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to much of Delta state, saying there is a "high threat of criminal kidnap".
It said Nigerian authorities were investigating the kidnapping, adding: "Our staff will continue to do all we can to support the families."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41890060
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Welsh 'Tourette's jibe' Greggs worker suspended - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A Greggs bakery employee is suspended for allegedly comparing Welsh speech to Tourette syndrome.
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Mid Wales
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The shop is on Lampeter's High St
A Greggs bakery worker has been suspended after he allegedly told a customer who ordered in Welsh the language sounded "like Tourette's".
Sioned Howells, 18, reported the incident in Lampeter, Ceredigion, on her Twitter account.
She tweeted the employee said: "That was Welsh?? Sounded more like you had tourettes to me."
Greggs said it was "deeply sorry" for any offence caused and was investigating further.
The company said in a statement: "We take this matter very seriously and the member of staff has been suspended whilst we investigate further.
"This incident goes against our values and should never have happened. We are deeply sorry for any offence caused."
Osian Rhys, vice chairman of the Welsh language campaign group, Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said the incident "is terrible if true".
"It's happened, not just because of the attitude of one member of staff, but also partly because the language legislation doesn't cover private businesses," he said.
The group has written to the chief executive of Greggs asking for a meeting to discuss Welsh language policy.
It is also calling on the government to impose language duties on high street stores so "the use of Welsh is normalised in all parts of life".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-41887421
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Drone used to search for escaped Borth lynx - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Lilleth the Eurasian lynx has been missing from a Ceredigion zoo for more than a week.
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Mid Wales
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The lynx usually lives at the zoo with her brother
A heat-seeking drone is being used to hunt a lynx which went missing from a zoo more than a week ago.
Lilleth the Eurasian lynx escaped from her enclosure at Borth Wild Animal Kingdom near Aberystwyth.
The drone has a specialist night scope and thermal cameras which zoo staff searching for her hope will help pinpoint her location.
So far Lilleth has evaded police helicopters, tracking devices and traps.
Staff said the lynx's brother Tyrion, who also lives at the zoo, has been pining for her every night and calling out to her.
The zoo will remain closed while the search continues.
Zoo owner Tracy Tweedy, 46, said: "The hunt for Lilleth continues and every day we are getting closer and closer.
"We have been working day and night towards recovering her safely and we are building up an accurate map of her movements around the zoo.
"We have built lots of large bait traps in situ around the grounds and have spotters out looking for her at all times.
"She is very hard to follow as some of the terrain is almost impassable for people and it's quite easy for her to slip by unseen.
"We have even been following her after dark using night scopes and a thermal imaging camera on a high flying drone."
A photograph taken by a night vision camera showed Lilleth standing next to a cage baited with food
Ceredigion council said it was working closely with the Welsh Government and Dyfed-Powys Police and that "every possible measure is being considered in relation to the capture of the animal".
"The emphasis has been on inciting it into one of a number of cages and professional advice will be sought to ensure that this is being done in such a manner so as to have maximum effect," a council spokesman said.
When the animal is recaptured, he said advice will be sought as to "the most appropriate measures for its future".
He said the council will be carrying out an inspection of the zoo "in the presence of an approved veterinary surgeon who specialises in the cat family".
Dyfed-Powys Police has said the lynx could become aggressive if it is cornered and is urging the public to be vigilant.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-41884226
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CCTV released of Ipswich pensioner street robbery - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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A woman in her late 70s was robbed and knocked to the ground in an Ipswich street attack.
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A woman in her late 70s was robbed and knocked to the ground in an Ipswich street attack.
The incident took place on Sunday at about 19:35 GMT in Victoria Street, near the Westgate Ward Social Club.
Detectives are appealing for witnesses and would like to speak with the three people seen on the CCTV walking across the street just moments after the incident.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-41907405
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Andy Murray "hopes" to return from injury in January but only if 100% fit - BBC Sport
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2017-11-07
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Britain's Andy Murray says he "hopes" to return from a hip injury in Australia in January but will only do so if fully fit.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Britain's Andy Murray hopes to make his competitive return in Brisbane in January following a hip injury - but only if he is 100% fit.
The Scot lost 6-3 3-6 10-6 to world number two Roger Federer as part of a charity event in Glasgow on Tuesday.
It was the first time Murray, 30, had played in public since he lost to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in July.
"I am in a significantly better place than at the end of Wimbledon and in the build-up to the US Open," said Murray.
"Walking was a big problem for me [at that time]," he told BBC Sport.
• None Federer dons kilt against Murray as tennis goes tartan for charity
Murray, who slipped to 16th in the latest world rankings, said he was confident of getting back to full fitness, but admitted that it could take time for him to find his best form.
He will travel to Miami later in the year for his regular off-season training block and "hopes" to return to competition at the Brisbane International in January.
The tournament is held two weeks before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of 2018, which gets under way on 15 January.
"When I get back on the court again my best form might not come immediately but there's nothing that's making me think I can't find it," Murray added.
"I'll come back when I'm ready and 100% fit. I believe I will get back to that."
Murray also played a doubles match with brother Jamie against Tim Henman and Mansour Bahrami during Tuesday's 'Andy Murray Live' event in Glasgow.
Eight weeks before his hoped for return in Brisbane, Murray put down an encouraging marker as he was beaten 10-6 in a deciding tie-break in Glasgow.
There was time for Federer to hold serve in a kilt early in the second set (he was told to 'Get yer kilt back on' when he lost the first few points after dispensing with it), but there were also plenty of competitive rallies.
We are getting used to seeing Murray walk with a slight limp but for the most part he ran and moved well. He covered a lot of ground in rallies which frequently switched direction, and struck the ball soundly.
His serve is not yet back up to full speed, but that is only to be expected of someone rehabbing a serious hip problem.
Next to Miami, where two weeks of pre-season training will give him a clearer picture of whether he will be celebrating the New Year in Australia.
Murray endured a frustrating 2017 season in terms of both form and fitness. He was knocked out of the Australian Open in the fourth round and went on to miss a month with an elbow injury.
He fared better at the French Open, reaching the semi-finals, but lost in the first round at Queen's Club before visibly struggling with the hip as his Wimbledon title defence was ended by Querrey in the quarter-finals.
Still ranked number one, Murray travelled to New York for the US Open but pulled out two days before the tournament began having failed to recover sufficiently.
"I made, probably, a bit of a mistake trying to get ready for the US Open but it was the last major of the year," said Murray.
"I've been training for a few weeks now. Some days I've felt great, some days I've felt not so good, but I'm getting there."
Federer, who missed the latter half of the 2016 season with a knee injury before winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, said it was "wise and worthwhile" to take time to recover.
"When you come back, you want to be at 100%. Otherwise you feel like you can't beat the best and can't win the major tournaments," said the 36-year-old Swiss.
"I'm sure Andy has a lot of years left. You need to have goals but sometimes they need to be postponed."
Murray said his "goals have changed" after the second lengthy injury break of his career, following back surgery in 2013 that kept him out for several months.
"I just want to play tennis again. It's my life and my job, and that's my goal just now," he said.
Murray became world number one for the first time at the end of 2016 but having not played since July, he has now dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since October 2014.
"Last year, I played a lot of tennis, especially at the end of the year. My goals have changed now," he said.
"When you're fit and healthy, you want to win every tournament and get to number one in the world. When you're not playing, it's like, I miss playing tennis.
"I just love to be back on a match court and competing again."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/41907123
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Texas shooting: The small town where everyone knows a victim - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The impact of the church shooting has been felt in every corner of Sutherland Springs, Texas.
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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. 'Our kids play together,' says a resident whose neighbours are feared dead
When a mass shooting happens in a small town like Sutherland Springs, Texas, everyone knows a victim.
Pauline Garza was lazy on Sunday morning, and it might have saved her life.
She and her 11-year-old daughter were thinking about going to church. She isn't a regular, but her daughter was baptised there.
This time, they decided not to. "Feeling lazy," she says, standing on her porch 24 hours later.
Soon afterwards, they heard the gunfire.
Pauline's neighbours, the Holcombes, were also churchgoers.
Pauline thinks they were in church on Sunday morning. She hasn't seen them return.
The Holcombes' two dogs lie on the drive, waiting. The gate is still locked; the porch light is still on.
The families are close. Pauline's daughter stays over at the Holcombes' place.
"Very nice family," says Pauline, 47. "They're always out in the yard.
"The kids will play with my daughter all the time. Very nice."
When Pauline heard the shots, she thought it was a neighbour working on his house.
"I asked my daughter - 'What was that noise?' She said 'I don't know'.
"We came to the door. I saw my (other) neighbour standing there. You could still hear the shots being fired.
"I never thought it was gunshots. I never did."
And when she found it was gunfire?
"I thought 'How can that happen here?' It's unreal."
The town will recover, says Julius
Around 400 people live in Sutherland Springs, a small town in Texas, 30 miles (48km) east of San Antonio.
It isn't a wealthy place. There are neat, well-built houses, but there is decay, too.
The All Coin Laundry, long forgotten, hasn't washed a shirt in 10 years, at least. People work in "nursing homes, hospitals, the convenience store," says Pauline.
But - while it isn't wealthy - it is friendly. Neighbours know each other. People say hello. The school bus driver waves at passers-by.
In one garden, a sign says: "Cowboys make good points with spurs and barbed wire."
The next sign says: "Welcome to Texas."
"I love it here," says Pauline. "You don't have all that loud stuff like the big cities."
Julius Kepper, 53, has lived in Sutherland Springs for seven years. At first, he thought Sunday's gunfire was building work.
When he realised it wasn't, he grabbed his gun and ran out of the house.
He wasn't the only one. His neighbour, Stephen, had already shot the attacker and given chase.
Julius didn't go to church, but he knew "a bunch of people" who did.
"Some of the young guys who went would cut my yard," he says.
"It's a small community. You can't help but know people."
Julius is drinking a large Coke in the petrol station on the edge of town. Another customer sits at a table, drinking coffee.
Behind the counter are rows of Texas caps. The San Antonio Express-News sits on the counter.
"Time for worship turns to horror," says the headline.
Julius thinks the town will heal, but it will take time.
"For this to happen in a little country town with 300 people, it's inconceivable," he says.
"You kind of expect it in big cities. Not here."
Back on her porch, Pauline Garza thinks the shooting means more people will carry guns.
"Even to church," she says. "We would never think out here in the country you would need a gun to protect yourself. Now you're going to have to.
"Now you got crazy people walking around everywhere."
Pauline didn't sleep on Sunday night. The what-ifs were playing through her mind.
And, though she and her daughter are safe, their suffering isn't over.
"How do I talk to my daughter about this?" she asks. "How can I do that?"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41890279
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Afghan television channel Shamshad TV back on air after attack - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Shamshad TV's news director says "they cannot silence us" after deadly attack claimed by IS.
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Asia
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Afghan security used explosives to reach the TV station attackers
An Afghan television station has returned to air just hours after an attack by militants left at least one staff member dead.
Gunmen disguised as police officers stormed the Shamshad TV building in the Afghan capital Kabul.
So-called Islamic State later said it was behind the attack.
But soon after Afghan security forces brought the raid under control, a Shamshad anchor was back on the channel, reporting on the assault.
At least three attackers were involved, armed with guns and grenades. The station said one blew himself up at the entrance gate while another went up to the roof to fire at security forces.
Staff were trapped inside, with some jumping out of windows and others escaping through a neighbouring building. Normal programmes were replaced with a still image.
Special forces had to blast their way through a wall protecting the station to enter.
A security guard has been confirmed killed and 20 people wounded.
The mother of a female journalist at the station told the BBC she had received no news of her daughter, hours after the attack.
One of the news presenters, with his hand bandaged from cutting himself on broken glass, gave details of the assault to viewers.
"We have all come back [to work], all our journalists and colleagues are back on duty," he said.
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"This is an attack on freedom of media but they cannot silence us," the station's news director Abid Ehsas told another outlet, Tolo News.
Shamshad TV broadcasts a wide variety of programmes including news and current affairs in the Pashto language. It is one of the BBC's partner stations.
Kabul has been targeted repeatedly in recent months by the Taliban and IS.
Afghanistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists and media workers.
The first six months of 2017 saw a surge in violence against journalists, with local monitor the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee recording 73 cases, an increase of 35% in comparison to the same period in 2016.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41898011
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The S Korean village furious with Trump - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Residents are angry about the US Thaad missile system and have been holding protests.
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North Korea’s continuing weapons tests will be high on the agenda when Donald Trump arrives in South Korea.
Residents of one village are angry about the US Thaad missile system and have been holding protests, some of which have turned violent.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41891766
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Revolution: The events that sparked 100 angry years - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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A century after the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace, Russia still feels the effects of the revolution.
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Magazine
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Exactly a century after the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace, the effects of the Russian Revolution still reverberate.
Steve Rosenberg reports from four Russian cities where its legacy is still felt.
To find out more, tap HERE:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41885442
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Sky threatens to shut down Sky News to aid Fox takeover - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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The news channel could be shut if it hampers 21st Century Fox's acquisition of the broadcaster.
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Business
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Sky has threatened to shut down Sky News if the news channel proves to be an obstacle in Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox bid.
Regulators are investigating the deal amid concerns that Mr Murdoch's media empire could become too powerful.
Sky told the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that the regulator should not assume "the continued provision" of Sky News.
BBC media editor Amol Rajan said it was a "credible threat".
Fox owns 39% of Sky but wants full control of the satellite broadcaster.
In a submission made to the CMA last month, but published by the regulator on Tuesday, Sky said it "would likely be prompted to review" its position if "the continued provision of Sky News in its current form unduly impeded merger and/or other corporate opportunities available in relation to Sky's broader business".
This would particularly be the case if shareholders objected to the merger not happening, Sky said.
Closing Sky News would only be an option of last resort, and the broadcaster would try to find a buyer for the media company before that eventuality, the BBC understands.
"The messaging coming through is alarming for supporters of Sky News but it runs completely counter to all the investment that there has been in the channel in all the recent months and years," said Joey Jones, a political correspondent at Sky News for 16 years and now head of public affairs at PR firm Weber Shandwick.
But he said the threat was a risky move by Sky: "Inevitably this will be perceived by those who are already hostile to the proposed takeover, particularly in the political arena, as sabre rattling and as a perceived threat by the company".
Media editor Mr Rajan said that Sky News lost "an awful lot of money".
"It loses tens of millions of pounds, and I think the independent directors of Sky are sending a very clear message... that if they had to choose, maybe they'd prefer for commercial reasons to do the deal with 21st Century Fox rather than continue to fund the losses at Sky News."
The submission comes a day after reports that Fox has discussed selling "most" of its business, including its Sky stake, to Disney.
Fox has faced a number of hurdles in its bid to buy Sky, including the CMA investigation and opposition from some politicians.
Some fear the deal would give Rupert Murdoch's family too much control over the UK media.
The Murdoch family owns controlling stakes in both News Corporation, which owns UK newspapers such as the Sun and the Times, as well as Fox, which operates in film and TV.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41909321
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Paradise Papers: Prince Charles lobbied on climate policy after shares purchase - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Private estate had secret interest in offshore firm that would benefit from rule change, leaked documents show.
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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.
Prince Charles campaigned to alter climate-change agreements without disclosing his private estate had an offshore financial interest in what he was promoting, BBC Panorama has found.
The Paradise Papers show the Duchy of Cornwall in 2007 secretly bought shares worth $113,500 in a Bermuda company that would benefit from a rule change.
The prince was a friend of a director of Sustainable Forestry Management Ltd.
The Duchy of Cornwall says he has no direct involvement in its investments.
A Clarence House spokesman said the Prince of Wales had "certainly never chosen to speak out on a topic simply because of a company that it [the Duchy of Cornwall] may have invested in".
He added: "In the case of climate change his views are well-known, indeed he has been warning of the threat of global warming to our environment for over 30 years.
"Carbon markets are just one example that the prince has championed since the 1990s and which he continues to promote today."
He added Prince Charles was "free to offer thoughts and suggestions on a wide range of topics" and "cares deeply" about the issue of climate change but "it is for others to decide whether to take the advice".
Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said Prince Charles's actions amounted to a serious conflict of interest.
He said: "There's a conflict of interest between his own investments of the Duchy of Cornwall and what he's trying to achieve publicly.
"And I think it's unfortunate that somebody of his importance, of his influence, becomes involved in such a serious conflict."
The leaked documents held by law firm Appleby show the Duchy of Cornwall also made offshore investments totalling $3.9m in four funds in the Cayman Islands in 2007. This is legal and there is no suggestion of tax avoidance.
A Duchy of Cornwall spokesman said Prince Charles voluntarily pays income tax on any revenue from his estate.
He added the estate's investments "do not derive any tax advantage whatsoever based on their location or any other aspect of their structure and there is no loss of revenue to HMRC as a result".
The prince began campaigning for changes to two important environmental agreements weeks after Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM) sent his office lobbying documents.
Prince Charles's estate almost tripled its money in just over a year although it is not clear what caused the rise in the share value. Despite his high profile campaign, the environmental agreements were not changed.
The documents reveal the Duchy of Cornwall, an £896m private estate that provides Prince Charles with an income and which he is said to be "actively involved" in running, bought the shares in February 2007. At the time $113,500 was worth about £58,000.
One of SFM's directors was the late Hugh van Cutsem, a millionaire banker and conservationist who has been described as the one of the Prince's closest friends.
The minutes of a company board meeting that approved the Duchy's shareholding say: "The Chairman thanked Mr van Cutsem for his introduction of the Duchy of Cornwall and the Board unanimously agreed that the subscription by the Duchy of Cornwall be kept confidential except in respect of any disclosure required by law."
SFM traded in carbon credits, a market created by international treaties to tackle global warming.
It wanted to trade in credits from "tropical and subtropical forests" but was hampered by two important climate change agreements, the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the Kyoto Protocol, which largely excluded carbon credits from rainforests.
When the Duchy bought its shares, SFM was lobbying for a "change in policy" on carbon credits, the documents show.
It had hired the US former lead negotiator on the Kyoto Protocol, Stuart Eizenstat "to lobby for inclusion of forest carbon credits" in new US and EU laws and regulations.
Board minutes from February 2007 show SFM was also taking "steps to influence events to support forest credits" ahead of Kyoto Protocol meetings at the end of the year.
On 6 June 2007, four months after the Duchy bought its shares, Mr van Cutsem asked SFM's chairman to send lobbying documents to the office of the prince.
Under the heading "public policy and advocacy", minutes of a board meeting held in Paris say "the chairman referred the committee to the bundle of materials which had been prepared by the company for various policymakers... Mr van Cutsem... asked that a set of documents be prepared for the Prince of Wales office. The chairman undertook to do so".
Four weeks later, on 2 July, Prince Charles, made a speech that criticised the EU ETS and Kyoto Protocol for excluding carbon credits from rainforests, and called for change.
Speaking at the Business in the Community Awards Dinner, the prince said: "As the Kyoto protocol now stands tropical rainforest nations have no way of earning credits from their standing forests other than by cutting them down and planting new ones," he said.
"The European Carbon Trading Scheme excludes carbon credits for forests from developing nations. This has got be wrong and we must urge the international community to work together to redress these failings urgently."
The campaigning was taking place ahead of meetings about the Kyoto Protocol
In October 2007, he launched the Prince's Rainforests Project, which aimed to "increase global recognition of the contribution of tropical deforestation to climate change and to find ways to make the rainforests worth more alive than dead."
In a speech to mark the launch, he said: "The Kyoto Protocol does not have a mechanism to protect standing rainforests.
"Credits are available for afforestation and reforestation projects, but not for maintaining an old growth forest. And the European Trading Scheme excludes carbon credits for forestry in developing nations altogether… surely we have to accept that the pressing urgency of climate change requires a response that embraces rather than excludes primary tropical forests?"
Panorama has been unable to find evidence of any speeches the prince made before 2008 about changing Kyoto and EU ETS to include carbon credits for rainforests. The programme asked the prince's office for any such speeches but they did not respond.
Over the next six months, the future king made further speeches and videos about rainforests.
In a video released in January 2008, the prince said: "The immediate priority, I believe, is the need to develop a new credit market which will give a true value to carbon and the ecosystem services the rainforests provide the rest of the world."
In February 2008, he reportedly discussed rainforests at a private meeting with the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Days later, he met with the then President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the EU's environment, energy, trade and agriculture commissioners.
In a speech to 150 MEPs, he said: "I have great hopes that the next version of the European Emissions Trading scheme might extend the helping and very visible hand of a market approach to assist in keeping the rainforests standing… the lives of billions of people depend on your response and none of us will be forgiven by our children and grandchildren if we falter and fail."
On 18 June 2008, as the global financial crash was beginning, the Duchy sold its stake in SFM.
The documents show it was paid $325,000 for the 50 shares.
SFM is no longer in existence.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sir Alistair Graham says Prince Charles should be accountable to public scrutiny
The Duchy was established in 1337 and uses the income to fund the public, private and charitable activities of the Prince of Wales and his children. Its accounts are independently audited and put before Parliament.
A Duchy of Cornwall spokesman said the estate followed a "responsible investment policy which governs the sectors that it may invest in".
The Paradise Papers documents also showed about £10m of the Queen's private money was invested offshore in 2004-2005 in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.
Your browser does not support this Lookup Your guide to financial jargon
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41901175
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Paradise Papers: PGL holiday firm cut tax bill after rule change - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Documents show travel firm reduced its bill after rule change introduced by the government in 2013.
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UK
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The UK company which owns the PGL children's holidays brand exploited an anti-tax avoidance law to actually save itself tax, the Paradise Papers show.
An amendment to rules introduced by the government in 2013 allowed Holidaybreak to legally avoid corporation tax by artificially shifting German profits to the Isle of Man.
Holidaybreak says it follows all tax rules and disclosure requirements.
The UK Treasury denies its regulations can help multinationals avoid tax.
But the EU last month announced it is investigating whether the amendment to the Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) rules amount to illegal state aid.
David Cameron's coalition government had pledged to work with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and update tax rules to ensure "these do not allow or encourage multinational enterprises to cut their tax bills by artificially shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions".
The CFC rules, first introduced in 1984, enabled HMRC to impose full corporation tax on foreign subsidiaries of UK companies if they considered them to be shifting profits into tax havens.
But the rules were reformed in 2013 and an "exception" was added to allow offshore subsidiaries of UK firms financing other group companies abroad to pay a quarter of the full rate.
Campaigners including Action Aid have warned it would be open to exploitation and undermine the government's claims to support international efforts against tax avoidance.
The Paradise Papers documents held by offshore law firm Appleby and seen by BBC Panorama show how a finance company set up by Holidaybreak could use the CFC change to pay corporation tax in the UK at 5.25% in 2015. Company profits in Germany are taxed at around 30%.
By paying the reduced UK rate, Holidaybreak would be able to cut the amount of tax it paid on its German business by more than 1m euros (£900,000) a year, calculations suggest.
The documents show the tax structure put in place after Cheshire-based Holidaybreak acquired the German budget hotel group Meininger in 2013.
Appleby set up Meininger Finance Company Limited in the Isle of Man and it loaned 134.6m euros (£110.8m) to the German hotel group.
The German company had to pay interest on the loan, which reduced both its profits and the amount of tax it had to pay in Germany.
The interest payments went to the Isle of Man. Under the old rules they would have been taxed by the UK government at the full rate of corporation tax, but under the new rules Holidaybreak was allowed to pay just a quarter of the rate.
The company would be able to shift between 6 and 7 million euros a year into the Isle of Man, according to the tax advice.
Other documents show meetings of the finance company were held in Appleby's office in the island's capital, Douglas, to satisfy the UK tax authorities that the new company was being managed and controlled from the Isle of Man.
Holidaybreak became part of Cox & Kings, an India-registered company and one of the world's longest established travel businesses, in 2011.
A draft report in the Appleby documents outlines how the new company structure would work
In a statement, Holidaybreak said: "All our business affairs are conducted within the tax regulations and disclosure requirements as set out in the law of the countries we operate in, including the UK where Holidaybreak is headquartered.
"Where appropriate, we seek advice from third party advisers in order to help ensure this compliance with local law and regulations."
Fabio De Masi sat on the European Parliament's Panama Papers committee as an MEP and is now a German MP.
He said: "The Holidaybreak tax structure is exactly the sort of scheme the EU Commission will be looking at. The investigation could lead to the company being asked to pay some of the avoided tax back.
"The UK does have the option of objecting to the EU Commission's investigation through the European Court of Justice. However, this would mean the UK government doesn't want the money back," he added.
Labour MP Margaret Hodge, the former chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, sees the CFC rule amendment in 2013 as evidence the coalition government "were constantly introducing new rules to make Britain the tax haven of the world".
She said: "This was a deliberate change brought in by the government to help global companies do nothing other than avoid paying their fair share of tax."
A Treasury spokesperson said: "We do not believe these rules are incompatible with EU law but will co-operate with the European Commission's investigation.
"We are clear that all multinationals must pay tax on any profits they make in the UK, and our rules prevent these profits from being artificially diverted overseas."
In a statement on the Paradise Papers leak, Appleby said it was a law firm which "advises clients on legitimate and lawful ways to conduct their business. We operate in jurisdictions which are regulated to the highest international standards".
The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.
The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.
Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Paradise Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41888614
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Census 'could use mobile phone data instead of questions' - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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The Office for National Statistics report says it analysed mobile data in three London boroughs.
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UK
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Mobile phone data could be used in place of census questions in the future, a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests.
The information would allow the ONS to track where people live and work.
The ONS tested the idea as part of a government-backed project looking at other data sources for the census.
The report said it used commuter flow data from Vodafone users, collected over four weeks in March and April 2016, in three London boroughs.
Users can opt out of having their data processed through their network, the report said.
The UK census, which happens every 10 years, is a count of all people and households.
The census is carried out by the ONS in England and Wales. Elsewhere, it is carried out by the National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
The ONS said it was "early research" and said that any intention to use data within the future production of official statistics "will involve extensive evaluation including privacy impacts".
No personally-identifiable data was provided to the ONS, it said.
Commuter flows starting or ending in the south London boroughs of Southwark, Croydon and Lambeth were analysed and compared to data from the last census in 2011.
An individual's home location was based on where the phone was located during the night or when switched on in the morning, while a work location was set to where a phone was found between standard working hours, Monday to Friday.
The report concluded that the two sets of data had "good correlation" and it suggested further research.
It said it was hard to detect home workers or commuters who travel very short distances and it could mistake other groups of people for workers. For example, students or people who visit a nearby shopping area twice a week.
The next census is in 2021.
• None Is your smartphone listening to you?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41898318
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Anne Robinson: Older people need to be 'clever AND thin' to be on TV - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Anne Robinson also says she is considering a permanent return to The Weakest Link.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The Weakest Link host Anne Robinson says that older people have to be "clever and thin" to be on television.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Robinson revealed she is "permanently on a diet" and never eats breakfast.
The 73-year-old, who's hosting a one-off celebrity version of the quiz for Children in Need, said she is considering a permanent return as the "queen of mean" on the show.
"I have said I will do Children in Need and see how I feel," she said.
If The Weakest Link did return to TV screens on a regular basis, there would be more celebrities in the firing line, rather than members of the public.
Robinson explained: "They have asked whether I will consider doing celebrity shows, Saturday nights, next year."
In the interview, the presenter remarked that she severely restricts what she eats, and follows an exercise regime with a personal trainer.
Robinson made the - possibly tongue-in-cheek - comments, saying: "I'm like Victoria Beckham - you know, when she's really, really, really hungry, she has a piece of lettuce."
Asked if you have to be a certain size to appear on television, Robinson replied: "You don't necessarily, but in order to be on television when you're old, you have to be clever and thin."
She said she had cosmetic surgery on her face 14 years ago and now has "a bit of Botox - not a lot". She added: "But to be fair, I don't drink or smoke. I run and do weights."
Robinson recently fronted a BBC Two documentary, Abortion on Trial, and says she'd like to make more documentaries - including ones on sexual harassment and the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote.
Seven celebrities are taking part in The Weakest Link special: Strictly star Chizzy Akudolu, Love Island winner Kem Cetinay, Cold Feet's John Thomson, chef Rosemary Shrager, writer and presenter Giles Coren, This Morning's Rylan Clark-Neal and Cannonball presenter Maya Jama.
The Weakest Link Celebrity Special for BBC Children in Need will be on BBC Two at 2200 GMT on 17 November.
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-41889943
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Sia takes on paparazzi by posting her own naked photo - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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The Australian singer got back at attempts to sell naked pictures of her by posting one herself.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The singer often obscures her appearance in public
Sia Furler has responded to an apparent attempt by paparazzi to sell naked pictures of her by posting one of them herself on Twitter.
The Australian singer-songwriter is known for being secretive about her life, including what she looks like.
She regularly hides her face under masks and wigs.
Sia tweeted a blurry photo of the back of a naked woman, accompanied by the words: "Save your money, here it is for free. Every day is Christmas!"
The picture has a watermark from a photo agency and a message saying there were an additional 14 photos of the singer.
The tweet also refers to her festive album called Everyday is Christmas.
Sia has had a string of solo hits and has collaborated with the likes of David Guetta and The Weeknd.
She is also one of the world's most successful songwriters, having written for Rihanna, Beyonce, Katy Perry and Adele.
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-41898933
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David Moyes: West Ham name manager to succeed Slaven Bilic - BBC Sport
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2017-11-07
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David Moyes says he has a "big job" ahead to lift West Ham up the Premier League table after being appointed as the club's manager.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
David Moyes said he has a point to prove and is "hungry to get things right" after being appointed as West Ham's new manager.
The former Everton and Manchester United boss replaces Slaven Bilic, who was sacked on Monday with the Hammers in the relegation zone.
Moyes has been out of work since May, when he resigned as Sunderland manager after the club's relegation to the Championship.
West Ham joint chairman David Sullivan said the 54-year-old Scot is "the right man to turn things around".
He added: "We need somebody with experience, knowledge of the Premier League and the players in it, and we believe David can get the best out of the players.
"He is highly regarded and respected within the game and will bring fresh ideas, organisation and enthusiasm.
"He proved with Everton that he has great qualities and we feel that West Ham United is a club that will give David the platform to display those qualities again."
Moyes' first game in charge will be at Watford in the Premier League on 19 November.
He added: "I've managed five clubs since starting out nearly 20 years ago at Preston and then going to Everton. My period at Manchester United is well documented and I then did something I have always wanted to do by experiencing management abroad, with Real Sociedad.
"It's only been the last job where I feel it wasn't a good move and I didn't enjoy the experience. So I'm hungry to make sure I get things right now.
"I don't know any manager who hasn't gone through negative periods, especially in the game today. I hope it gives me great strength and understanding of what is required."
What does Moyes face at West Ham?
The Hammers are 18th, having won just two Premier League matches in 2017-18 - and lost their first three league games of the campaign.
Bilic spent a reported £42m on players in the summer - including forward Marko Arnautovic from Stoke City for a club record £20m and former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen for £16m.
But West Ham have taken just nine points from 11 league matches, conceding 23 goals.
Following the Watford match, West Ham host Leicester City and go to Everton, before a difficult run in December which brings league games against leaders Manchester City, last season's champions Chelsea and Arsenal.
Later in the month, the Hammers travel to face the Gunners in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Moyes, who started his managerial career at Preston North End, was voted LMA Manager of the Year three times during an 11-year spell at Everton from 2002 to 2013. In 11 full seasons, the Toffees finished in the top eight nine times.
He succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United boss on his fellow Scot's recommendation when he retired after a trophy-laden 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.
But despite signing a six-year deal with the then Premier League champions in 2013, he was sacked 10 months later with United seventh in the table.
Moyes went on to manage Real Sociedad in Spain but was sacked by the La Liga club after a year in charge in November 2015.
He took over at Sunderland in July 2016 before quitting in May 2017 after the Blacks Cats were relegated, having finished bottom of the Premier League.
Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton told BBC Radio 5 live that Moyes was "the safe option if you're thinking about grinding out until the end of the season and safety".
But he added: "As a player, David Moyes coming in wouldn't inspire me."
During his time at Sunderland, Moyes attracted controversy for telling BBC reporter Vicki Sparks she might "get a slap" in March, leading to a Football Association charge for improper conduct and a £30,000 fine.
He said he "deeply regrets" making the comment and later apologised to Sparks, who did not make a complaint.
Writing in her Sun column in April, West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady said Moyes' words were "just another brilliant example of the pressure women are under to laugh off these everyday moments of sexism as a joke".
She added: "The threat to give someone a slap, no matter how you look at it, is aggressive. It is not banter. And it is not OK.
"I would like to think that any man who worked for me - no matter how wound up they feel by a reporter who is simply doing her job well - would not threaten to slap a woman.
"One of things I find most objectionable in this whole story is his reference to Sparks as being a 'girl', when he said he had apologised to her.
"She's not a girl. She is a woman and a professional. To call someone a girl is belittling, disrespectful and a real indication that you don't see her as an equal.
"Hopefully the penny has dropped for him that it's not OK to patronise, intimidate and threaten women and treat them as if they are imposters in a man's world."
Moyes' arrival at West Ham has not been greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm by the club's support, something owners David Sullivan and David Gold are aware of.
However, it is the Scot's diligence on the training ground that is understood to be the major attraction in the decision.
West Ham spent in excess of £40m in the summer to sign former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, Manchester City pair Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart, and Stoke's Marko Arnautovic, who cost a club record £20m.
But, as a collective, West Ham have badly underperformed.
Sullivan and Gold feel they need someone to galvanise the current group of players rather than spending more money on completely revamping the squad.
What do the fans say?
Graeme Howlett, editor of the West Ham fans' website Knees Up Mother Brown
The fans seem quite unanimous in that they are not particularly keen to see Moyes come in. They would prefer to see someone more progressive.
I suspect there will be an awful lot of criticism for the board, who are already under intense pressure following the move to the Olympic Stadium, which has not gone down well.
Various reasons have been mentioned, including his record at Sunderland, where he came in at a similar position and failed to keep them in the Premier League. There was also the incident with the female reporter which has been mentioned a few times.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41889848
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Retailers hit by worst non-food sales growth on record - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Families choose days out over shopping, raising fears of a hard Christmas for retailers.
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Business
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Sales of non-food items grew at the slowest pace since records began as families chose days out over shopping, the British Retail Consortium has said.
Non-food sales rose by just 0.2% in the year to October, the weakest growth since the BRC began measuring the category in January 2011.
The retail body said the figures would give retailers "cause for concern" in the run up to Christmas.
Clothing sales were "particularly hard hit", it said.
Total retail sales, including food, rose just 0.2% last month, compared with 2.4% last year. On a like-for-like basis, which excludes new store openings, sales were down 1%.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said "consumers appear to have opted for outdoor experiences and excursions during half term, over visits to the shops".
The figures - which were compiled with accountancy firm KPMG - come just seven weeks before Christmas, the key trading period for most retailers.
Ms Dickinson said that the rise in inflation, which hit its highest for more than five years in September, was making shoppers "ever more cautious in considering what purchases they can afford".
Several clothing chains have been struggling as the High Street faces tough competition from online retailers such as Asos.
On Tuesday, fashion chain New Look reported a loss of £10.4m for the six months to 23 September, a marked reversal from the profit of £59.3m seen in the same period last year. UK like-for-like sales at the retailer fell 8.4%.
It's been a pretty dismal month for non-food retailers, especially fashion. The warm weather won't have helped, but even so, these figures will be a concern as the all-important Christmas trading gets into gear.
With prices rising faster than wages, consumers have less money to spend on non-essential items. Retailers are also grappling with the effects of a weaker pound as well as other cost pressures. That's on top of all the structural challenges, with the continuing shift to online.
It's clear that the going's really challenging right now for a number of retailers. Next has already warned of "extremely volatile" trading. The first real clue on how Christmas is shaping up will be Black Friday at the end of this month. Are shoppers merely holding back for a splurge and will some retailers now be forced to join the fray in order to shift stock at a discount to generate much-needed sales?
"The results reflect another tough period of trading for the company amid a challenging retail environment on the UK High Street," said New Look executive chairman Alistair McGeorge, adding that "the retailer is not anticipating a reversal in fortunes overnight."
Last week, Next reported that sales at its High Street stores had fallen by 7.7% in the year to 29 October, noting that "sales performance has remained extremely volatile and is highly dependent on the seasonality of the weather".
Paul Martin, head of retail at the accountancy firm KPMG, said that October marked a "reversal of fortunes for retailers".
He said: "After a brief uptick, fashion sales reverted back to the dreary theme we have seen for a number of months this year. Unseasonably warm weather last month will not have helped, but this is unlikely to be the only reason the new ranges are proving unpopular."
Mr Martin said that retailers will be hoping that consumers are saving up for Black Friday, the post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza in the US which has become a key date for retailers in the UK.
This year it falls on 24 November, two days after the Budget.
Ms Dickinson said that the Chancellor Philip Hammond should reflect on the "disappointing state of play" when he gives his speech on 22 November and "deliver a Budget that allays the risks of a further slowdown in consumer spending, by keeping down the cost of living. In other words, a shoppers' Budget."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41886330
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I got separated from my siblings, care girl tells MPs - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Education Committee speaks to children in care as part of its inquiry into fostering.
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Family & Education
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Rachel is the eldest of four children
"I got separated from my siblings... I was told I was moved away from them because I was overprotective with them," 17-year-old Rachel told a committee of MPs on Tuesday.
She had come to Westminster to share her experiences of being in foster care, as part of the Education Committee's inquiry into fostering.
The MPs heard youngsters in care wanted more support to keep in touch with siblings and former friends, as well as more information about the foster families with whom they are placed.
Rachel told MPs it was very important to keep siblings together and when she looked back on her situation, she wondered if it could have been dealt with differently.
"I was told I was moved away from them because I was overprotective with them, which in my eyes, as a sister, and you're moving away from home, I feel like it's an instinct straightaway to be protective, because you're moving in with a stranger that you don't know and you have to protect your siblings.
"But then I feel that instead of separating me from them, they could have done some work with me to say, 'The foster carer can look after your siblings,' or like tell me I don't need to do everything for them and I don't have to put a barrier up - they could have given me time to settle in so then they didn't have to separate us.
"But they separated us and then I wasn't allowed to see them for a long period of time because they said that I was giving my little sister a lot of bad memories and bad thoughts, and I was thinking, 'Have you actually sat down to question her whether she's crying because she misses me or whether she's crying because of this or this?'"
Rachel told the MPs that while she now had contact with her siblings, it was only once a month.
"We have a bond, but it's not as strong as I'd like it to be and that's quite hurtful towards me, because to lose a bond with your own siblings is sad, because you're by yourself in the world and your siblings are practically your best friends and now you're losing them - you've lost your parents and then your siblings, and it's like your whole world has crashed down really quite quickly."
Connor, 14, told the committee of MPs that when he had been moved from one placement to another, he had been given no background information about his new home and had found this very stressful.
"I didn't get much info about about the carers I was going to be with, about what the household's like - is it comfortable, is it warm? and stuff," he said.
Asked if he had had any choice in the matter, he said no.
Connor, 14, travelled to Westminster to tell his story
"I just got told the carer's name, didn't get told what they like doing, I didn't get a booklet, a prepared booklet, from anyone.
"They said that it was 'on emergency'; the carer that I was with said to me she didn't get much info on me either - the only thing she got told by the local authority was 'Can you have a 12-year-old boy on emergency?'
"They said it would be for a couple of weeks until they could find a suitable placement, but I was there for nearly a year with nothing to nudge me on that I was going to be there for a long time.
"So it was very stressful, very upsetting for me, but I've learnt to expand beyond that now and cope with it and cope with the stress - it's been a bit of a rollercoaster for me."
Connor said things could be improved if local authorities gave both child and foster carer more information about each other.
"So that I can feel more comfortable in a home with someone that I don't know, but have got info on, so I can know what they like doing, how they are, what they're like and stuff," he said, "that's how I'd improve it."
Rachel added that her second placement had been a little easier, because she had met the foster carer in advance.
"I got to go out with her, go to lunch with her, go shopping with her, meet the house, meet other people in the house, so I liked the way they did that with me because they were setting up a full-time placement with me, so they let me settle in with her before I moved straight in, which I feel they should do with most individuals or young people before they just send them off.
"On that first day when I moved in with the new foster carer, it was quite unnerving because you don't know who they are, you don't know what to expect, you don't know what it's going to like, you don't know what they're like or anything like that."
Speaking to the BBC after the committee hearing, Connor and Rachel - who are both ambassadors for the charity Action for Children - said they felt sharing their stories with MPs at Westminster had made a real difference.
"I feel we've made a massive difference. I think we've put them on the back foot and made them realise foster care in England isn't going as planned," said Connor.
"This is the biggest experience of our lives, to put our points across to the people who can do something about it."
Rachel said the whole experience was "amazing" and had inspired her to think about a career in politics.
"I want to become an MP now and get there in my own steps. I could go into that - I've set my goal high."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41904410
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Saudis accuse Iran of 'direct aggression' over Yemen missile - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says Iran supplied a missile fired at Riyadh by Yemeni rebels.
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Middle East
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A Yemeni TV station released footage of what it claimed was a Riyadh-bound missile
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has accused Iran of an act of "direct military aggression" by supplying missiles to rebels in Yemen.
This "may be considered an act of war", state media quoted the prince as telling UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in a telephone conversation.
On Saturday, a ballistic missile was intercepted near the Saudi capital.
Iran denies arming the Houthi movement, which has fought a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's government since 2015.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the prince's claim was "dangerous".
Houthi-aligned media reported that the rebels had fired a Burkan H2 ballistic missile at King Khaled International Airport, which is 850km (530 miles) from the Yemeni border and 11km north-east of Riyadh. Saudi missile defences intercepted the missile in flight, but some fragments fell inside the airport area.
Human Rights Watch said the launch of an indiscriminate missile at a predominantly civilian airport was an apparent war crime.
The Houthi movement unveiled the Burkan 2 missile in February 2017
The official Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday that in his telephone call with Prince Mohammed, Mr Johnson had "expressed his condemnation of launching a ballistic missile by Houthi coup militias".
"For his part, the crown prince stressed that the involvement of the Iranian regime in supplying its Houthi militias with missiles is considered a direct military aggression by the Iranian regime and may be considered an act of war against the kingdom," it added.
Mr Zarif condemned Saudi Arabia's "provocative actions" in a telephone call with Mr Johnson later on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.
"He dismissed false and dangerous claims made by Saudi officials, and said they are against international law and the UN Charter," Mr Qassemi added.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a regional "Cold War"; a battle for influence and power. And just like the US-Soviet Cold War, while the two main protagonists are not directly involved in fighting each other, they or their proxies are engaged on a number of other battlefields.
The Saudis went into Yemen to counter alleged Iranian influence, but the campaign has proved a quagmire for the Saudi forces.
Iran is in the ascendant in Iraq, where it is a close ally of the Shia-dominated government. And it is "winning" in Syria too, helping to stabilise and consolidate the Assad regime. Saudi support for Syrian rebel factions has achieved nothing.
Now the Saudis seem to be focusing on another country where Iran's allies - in this case, Hezbollah - are well entrenched - Lebanon. But tinkering with that country's fragile stability has huge risks - not least the danger of prompting a crisis that could lead to a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah.
On Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN that members of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, an Iranian proxy, launched the missile.
He said the missile was similar to one launched in July that was shot down close to the Saudi city of Mecca, and that it was manufactured in Iran, disassembled and smuggled into Yemen, then reassembled by "operatives from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah".
The US permanent representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the missile fired in July was an "Iranian Qaim", which she described as a "type of weapon that had not been present in Yemen before the conflict". The missile shot down on Saturday "may also be of Iranian origin", she added.
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Ms Haley warned that by providing such weapons to the Houthis, the Revolutionary Guards were violating two UN Security Council resolutions.
Iran's foreign ministry has said the missile launch was "an independent action" by the Houthis in response to Saudi-led coalition "aggression".
In response to the attack, the coalition announced the "temporary" closure of all Yemeni land, sea and air ports, tightening an existing blockade, but said humanitarian aid could continue to enter Yemen under strict vetting procedures.
Houthi-aligned media reported that the rebels had fired the ballistic missile
The United Nations said on Tuesday that all humanitarian flights to Yemen had been grounded and called on the coalition to re-open Yemen's borders.
"The situation is catastrophic in Yemen," Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the Office for the Co-ordination for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters.
More than 8,670 people - 60% of them civilians - have been killed and 49,960 injured in air strikes and fighting on the ground since the coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015, according to the UN.
The conflict has also left 20.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, created the world's largest food security emergency, and led to a cholera outbreak that is believed to have affected 902,000 people and caused 2,191 deaths.
Warhead: 500kg; Range: 800km; in October 2016 a Burkan-1 was intercepted over King Fahd Air Base, near Taif, 525km from Saudi border with Yemen
No reported warhead size or range, but in November 2017 Burkan-2 was intercepted over Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport, 850km from border
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41899643
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Paradise Papers: Prince Charles’s offshore investments revealed - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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Prince Charles’s private estate secretly invested in an offshore company which lobbied to change climate agreements.
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Prince Charles’s private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, secretly invested in an offshore company which lobbied to change climate agreements, documents from the Paradise Papers have revealed.
Sustainable Forestry Ltd lobbied politicians to amend global agreements to allow ‘carbon credits’ from rainforests to be traded.
The Prince made speeches in support of this – and his estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, tripled its investment in Sustainable Forestry in the space of a year. It is not clear why this was.
The Duchy says the prince has no direct involvement in investment decisions.
Prince Charles denies ever speaking on a topic simply because of a company the Duchy may have invested in.
Find out more about the Paradise Papers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41908774
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Texas shooting: Gunman 'escaped mental hospital in 2012' - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Devin Kelley was "attempting to carry out death threats" against "his military chain of command".
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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.
The gunman who killed 26 churchgoers in Texas fled from a mental health clinic in 2012, according to a police report.
El Paso officers who detained Devin Kelley five years ago were told he was "a danger to himself and others".
Kelley had been sent to the hospital after he was court-martialled for assaulting his ex-wife and stepson during a stint in the US Air Force.
He was "attempting to carry out death threats" against "his military chain of command", the report states.
Officials say the assault charge should have legally barred him from owning guns.
El Paso police arrested Kelley at a bus terminal in downtown El Paso in June 2012, according to a police report first reported by KPRC in Houston.
Officers wrote that Kelley had fled Peak Behavioral Health Services in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 100 miles (160km) away.
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The person who reported him missing from the facility told police Kelley "suffered from mental disorders".
Kelley "had already been caught sneaking firearms onto Holloman Air Force Base", the report adds.
Later that year, Kelley pleaded guilty in a military court to repeatedly assaulting his wife and toddler stepson.
He was sentenced to one year in a US Navy prison.
FBI investigators said on Tuesday they have been trying to unlock Kelley's mobile phone, to better understand what led him to carry out the mass shooting.
According to the Houston Chronicle newspaper, the 26-year-old killer had shown up at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs with his children for an annual fall festival five days before the shooting.
A friend of Kelley's former mother-in-law Michelle Shields, who officials believe he was targeting on Sunday, said she was glad to see him at last week's event with her grandchildren following past family troubles.
"They thought, 'oh this is good. This is progress,'" said the woman.
Photos of the event on the church's Facebook page show children dressed in Halloween costumes and playing games.
Several of the victims are also shown in the images.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Johnnie Langendorff: "I'm just a guy who wanted to do the right thing"
Survivors have been describing how Kelley went pew to pew in the church shooting crying children.
In an interview with San Antonio television station KSAT, Rosanne Solis described the terror among congregants.
Armed with an assault rifle and 450 rounds of ammunition, the gunman began shooting into the small wooden building from outside.
Ms Solis, who was sitting near the entrance, said he stormed through the front of the church, shouting: "Everybody die!"
"Everybody was saying, 'Be quiet! it's him, it's him!'" said Ms Solis.
She added: "Everybody got down, crawling under wherever they could hide. He was shooting hard."
Witnesses said the gunman walked up and down the aisles looking for survivors to shoot.
Ms Solis' husband, Joaquin Ramirez, told how he made eye contact with Annabelle Pomeroy - the 14-year-old daughter of the church's pastor.
She was crying for help, Mr Ramirez told KSAT.
He said he motioned with his finger for her to stay quiet. Annabelle was killed.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'Our kids play together,' says a resident whose neighbours are feared dead
Mr Ramirez said the gunman also killed young children who were crying, shooting them at point-blank range.
He and his wife survived by playing dead, though she was shot in the arm and he was hit by shrapnel.
Another survivor, Farida Brown, 73, had a narrow escape, her son David Brown told KENS-TV.
"The shooter was making his rounds, and he ended up there and started shooting this lady multiple times," Mr Brown told the station.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. After the Las Vegas attack in October 2017 the BBC looked at how US mass shootings are getting worse
"And the lady looked at my mom the whole time, and my mom was looking at her and telling her, 'It's OK, you're going to go to heaven. You're going to go to heaven.'
"And then she knew it was her turn to be shot, and so she just started praying that God would take her soul to heaven."
But at that moment a neighbour, Stephen Willeford, entered the church and began shooting at Kelley.
As Kelley fled in his car, Mr Willeford flagged down a passing motorist, Johnnie Langendorff.
The two gave chase in Mr Langendorff's pickup truck until Kelley's vehicle crashed in a ditch.
The gunman was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, say police.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41907943
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Facebook Messenger payments comes to UK - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Users will be able to use the popular messaging app to send and receive money.
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Technology
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Facebook has chosen the UK as the first country outside the US to get its Messenger payments service. Later on Monday, local users will be able to send each other money in a message.
The service was launched in the US in 2015. The social network says it has been widely used to split restaurant bills, pay babysitters and simply send gifts. It says most users send less than $50 (£38).
The company says the service is coming to the UK because it has so many "mobile-savvy consumers".
Facebook is collaborating with all the major banks and credit card firms to launch Messenger payments, which will require both the sender and recipient of money to register their payment cards.
But three years ago, UK banks launched their own instant payments service - Paym - which has not made a huge impact on the way we pay. So, why should this be any different?
Facebook claims Messenger payments will catch on because "people are looking for simplicity and emotion".
I'm not sure about the emotion, but the Messenger app is certainly a very simple way to send money, especially compared with Paym where you have to log in to your own bank's app.
Smartphones have helped to enable quick and easy contactless payments
David Marcus, who runs Messenger, says it is obvious from our messages that we need this.
"More and more people are having conversations on Messenger about paying one another," he explains.
"As a result it's a very natural place for you to have the most frictionless and secure way of paying each other."
Facebook is also introducing something called M suggestions, a virtual assistant that recognises when you are talking about payments. It will suggest the new service as a quick and easy solution. We'll see how users enjoy being nudged in this manner.
But with millions of Messenger users, who will not need to download a separate app to use the service, Facebook is well placed to become major player in the UK payments scene. That begs the question, how did UK banks let this happen?
A spokesman for Paym insisted it was growing, with four million people having registered their mobile phone numbers to use the service. But with just £400m of payments in three and a half years, it is still a minnow.
In Sweden, by contrast, Swish - a peer-to-peer payments service in a single app - has taken the country by storm with the majority of adults now "swishing" money to each other and small businesses.
The UK payments industry decided against a Paym app, believing customers would be more likely to trust their own bank's online operation. But it looks as though the lesson from Sweden - and from Facebook - is that simplicity is vital to building the network effect needed to make a new service take off.
But perhaps we should be cautious before allowing Facebook into yet another part of our lives. While the Messenger service is free to use, the business model behind it is all about "engagement" - keeping users on the platform for longer so that they can be served more advertising.
At a time when there is growing alarm over the extraordinary power the social media giant has to mould the way we see the world, letting it peer into our wallets as well may be a step too far for some.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41894014
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Priti Patel apologises over undisclosed Israeli meetings - BBC News
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2017-11-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Priti Patel was on holiday in Israel when she met the PM - but did not tell the Foreign Office.
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UK Politics
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Priti Patel has apologised for holding a series of undisclosed meetings with senior Israeli officials during a private holiday over the summer.
The international development secretary met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior figures without "following the usual procedures".
Ms Patel apologised for not informing the Foreign Office and suggesting Boris Johnson knew in advance of the visit.
Downing Street said it welcomed Ms Patel's "clarification" and that at a meeting with Theresa May earlier, the prime minister had "reminded her of the obligations which exist under the ministerial code".
No 10 said it had not been aware of Ms Patel's meeting with Mr Netanyahu until Friday but insisted that Mrs May still had confidence in the minister.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale said there were clear rules about what ministers could and could not do and "in normal circumstances" Ms Patel would be in "serious trouble".
But he said the fragility of Mrs May's government and the fact that the PM would not want to lose another cabinet minister after Sir Michael Fallon's recent resignation could help her.
The BBC revealed on Friday that Ms Patel held a number of undisclosed meetings with business and political figures during a family holiday in August, including Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party and Jean Judes, executive director of disability charity BIS.
No diplomats were present at the meetings, at which the minister was accompanied by an influential pro-Israeli Conservative peer and campaigner Lord Polak.
Ms Patel, who is a long-standing supporter of Israel and a former vice-chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel defended her actions, saying she had paid for the holiday herself and while in Israel had taken the opportunity to meet "people and organisations" for the purpose of building links between the two countries.
She also told the Guardian that "Boris [Johnson] knew about the visit, the point is that the Foreign Office did know about this".
Suggesting that the reaction to her visit had been "extraordinary", she added that it was "for the Foreign Office to go away and explain themselves".
But in a statement "clarifying her position", Ms Patel said she had in fact attended 12 meetings, not just the handful previously reported, and that her earlier comments may have "implied" otherwise.
Among meetings that were not previously reported, she said that she had met Mr Netanyahu to discuss his forthcoming visit to the UK as well as the Israeli "domestic political scene" and UK-Israeli collaboration.
She said she had also met other senior figures in the Israeli government, including security minister Gilad Erdan and foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem.
Ms Patel has also set the record straight about when the government was informed about the trip.
While the Foreign Office was aware of the visit "while it was under way", she said she was wrong to have given the impression that the department and Mr Johnson knew about it in advance.
She said she "regretted the lack of precision in the wording" of her previous statement about the trip.
"This summer I travelled to Israel, on a family holiday paid for myself," she said in a statement.
"While away I had the opportunity to meet a number of people and organisations...In hindsight, I can see how my enthusiasm to engage in this way could be mis-read, and how meetings were set up and reported in a way which did not accord with the usual procedures. I am sorry for this and I apologise for it.
"My first and only aim as the Secretary of State for International Development is to put the interests of British taxpayers and the world's poor at the front of our development work."
In her statement, Ms Patel also said the Foreign Office was clear that the UK's interests were "not damaged or affected" by her actions.
Labour has called for an inquiry into whether Ms Patel broke the ministerial code or the rules on lobbying.
"Not only does it look like she has broken the ministerial code, she has now been caught misleading the British public," shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor said.
"If she does not now resign, then Theresa May must immediately refer the issue to the Cabinet Office for a full investigation."
Downing Street said the ministerial code was "not explicit" in this area and Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heyward had been asked to see if it could be made clearer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41890436
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