title
stringlengths 13
112
| published_date
stringlengths 10
10
| authors
stringclasses 3
values | description
stringlengths 0
382
⌀ | section
stringlengths 2
31
⌀ | content
stringlengths 0
81.9k
| link
stringlengths 21
189
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daytime wounds 'heal more quickly' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An average 11-day difference in recovery rates for burns may be explained by the body clock, a study says.
|
Health
|
Wounds heal more quickly if they occur during the day rather than after dark, a study suggests.
It found burns sustained at night took an average of 28 days to heal, but just 17 for those that happened in daytime.
The team, at the UK's MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, said they were astounded by the difference they saw in 118 burns patients they studied.
The effect was explained by the way body clock ticks inside nearly every human cell across a 24-hour cycle.
The research, published in Science Translational Medicine, examined 118 patients at NHS burns units.
It showed the average 11-day difference in healing times between people hurt at night and during the day.
Detailed lab work showed skin cells called fibroblasts were changing their abilities in a 24-hour pattern.
Fibroblasts are the body's first responders, rushing to the site of injury to close a wound.
During the day they are primed to react, but they lose this ability at night.
Dr John O'Neill, one of the researchers, told the BBC: "It is like the 100m. The sprinter down on the blocks, poised and ready to go, is always going to beat the guy going from a standing start."
The researchers think they could use this knowledge to improve surgery.
Some drugs, such as the steroid cortisol, can reset an individual cell's body clock and may be helpful in night-time procedures.
And everybody's body clock runs to a slightly different pattern or "chronotype".
So, it might make sense to schedule operations to keep in time with the patients' 24-hour "circadian rhythms".
Both ideas are still untested, though.
Dr John Blaikley, a clinician scientist at the University of Manchester, said: "Treatment of wounds costs the NHS around £5bn, which is partly due to a lack of effective therapies targeting wound closure.
"By taking these [circadian factors] into account, not only could novel drug targets be identified, but also the effectiveness of established therapies might be increased through changing what time of day they are given."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41918368
|
Prevent scheme: Anti-terror referrals for 2,000 children - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
More than 2,000 children under 15 were referred to the Prevent programme in 2015-16.
|
UK
|
Thousands of children and teenagers were referred to the government's anti-terror programme in England and Wales last year, Home Office figures show.
The Prevent programme aims to stop people being drawn into terrorism.
There were 7,631 referrals in 2015-16, a quarter of which were of under-15s, but only 381 required specialist help.
Labour's Naz Shah said the figures reinforced her concerns about the scheme, but security minister Ben Wallace said it had got "real results".
Chief Constable Simon Cole, the national policing lead for Prevent, said the number of referrals showed that "trust and support is growing" for the programme.
In one case a nine-year-old boy was helped by the Prevent programme after he stood up in class and said he supported so-called Islamic state.
He found their propaganda online after searching for news coverage of the Paris attacks, the Home Office said, but received support from the government's intensive de-radicalisation scheme, known as Channel.
It is the first time the government has published detailed figures on the initiative, created in 2003.
They reveal that 2,127 of those referred to the scheme in 2015-16 were under 15, including more than 500 girls.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rahmaan Mohammadi was referred to Prevent aged 14, describing it as "toxic"
Another 2,147 people reported were aged between 15 and 20 - meaning more than half of the 7,631 people referred in the 12 months to March 2016 were aged 20 or under.
The figures suggest there has been an increase in cases involving under-15s, but officials believe this could be due to a greater awareness among teachers of the potential warning signs - a third of the referrals came from the education sector.
Home Office officials said academic research indicated that while there had been some initial concerns about "over-zealous" referrals by teachers, they now had a good grasp of which young people needed help.
Every time a case is referred to a local Prevent panel, experts consider the evidence - such as a report from a teacher - and decide whether the individual needs to be steered away from extremist ideology.
The latest figures show that the vast majority of people referred to Prevent required either no official support, or were given help with a problem unrelated to violent extremism.
But 1,072 individuals caused such alarm they were assessed for inclusion in Channel, the government's intensive de-radicalisation programme, which is voluntary and provides tailored support to individuals in England and Wales.
Of those cases, 381 went on to receive specialist help in an attempt to change their thinking - and 302 were later given the all-clear.
Sixteen of those were still in the process at the time the figures were collated, but a further 63 people withdrew from the scheme - meaning they stopped co-operating with expert mentors altogether.
All the indications are that the number of Prevent referrals for 2017, when they are eventually collated and published, is likely to be considerably higher than this historical data.
Having said that, we have learnt a lot today about the character of those causing the most concern.
For a start, 2016 wasn't all about Syria. The figures show how the emergence of new far-right groups is causing concern.
In Wales, for example, the ratio of far-right referrals to Islamist was the highest of anywhere in the UK.
Across England and Wales, only a small number of all Prevent referrals cases ended up requiring intensive de-radicalisation, but a sixth of all those who were offered this specialist counselling - 63 people - refused to take part and withdrew.
What we don't know for sure is what happens next to those people. Ministers suggest they are neither abandoned nor forgotten.
And that means there will be someone watching - and some of these people will end up in court.
Approximately 65% of the Prevent referrals related to Islamist/jihadist extremism and 10% concerned right-wing extremism.
The remaining cases were either impossible to initially categorise, because the individual was flitting between ideologies, or involved smaller threats relating to Northern Ireland, or Sikh extremism.
The highest number of cases came from London - 1,915 individuals - followed by 1,273 the North East, an area covering Yorkshire to the Scottish border.
Security minister Ben Wallace said the Channel scheme was helping to "save lives" and had seen "real results" in helping divert people away from terrorism.
Labour's Naz Shah, who sits on the Commons Home Affairs committee, said the fact the majority of Islamic extremism referrals required no further action reinforced suggested problems with the scheme.
She said: "If you've referred a child, a young person, and there turns out to be actually nothing that they're doing that's wrong - that's really worrying for me and it's very alarming."
But Dr Usama Hasan, head of Islamic Studies at the counter-extremism organisation Quilliam, said it was not surprising there had been lots of "false" referrals.
She said: "This is a new duty on schools and a lot of teachers are worried that if they miss somebody, they could lose their job for missing a potential terrorist."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41927937
|
Toy sellers bet on Christmas as sales dip - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Families normally spend £121 on toys for each child, but the income squeeze is hitting spending.
|
Business
|
UK toy retailers are holding out for a busy Christmas after sales fell by 2% in the first nine months of the year.
Analysts and retailers expect a flat full year at best for the industry following two consecutive years of rapid growth.
Spending on toys totals £121 per child up to the age of 11, according to analysts NPD, with lower-income families cutting their spending.
The industry has unveiled its list of "must-have" toys.
Cheaper collectables feature prominently on the list, alongside more traditional games and film and TV tie-ups.
Frederique Tutt, global industry analyst for the NPD Group's toy division, said that sales had been "sluggish" in the year so far, whereas activity had risen in the other major toy markets in Europe, the US and Russia.
She pointed to a correction following two years of 7% growth in the UK, which had outstripped other markets and had been driven in part by the success of the Star Wars franchise.
Frederique Tutt with one of the Toy Retailers' Association's top toys
Seven of the 10 best-selling toys of the year so far have had a price tag of less than £10, she said.
Alan Simpson, chairman of the Toy Retailers' Association, which compiles the Dream Toys list, said the weakness of the pound had pushed up prices in the UK as most toys were imported.
The toy market was suffering from the income squeeze of customers as much as other sectors, he added.
"However, the rule book gets thrown away at Christmas, no matter how tough things are [for parents]," he said.
A drone is one toy mirroring the advance of technology
Ms Tutt said that this year's list of top toys was relatively low-tech, with traditional games playing a more "dynamic" part in the market.
"Parents are saying that too much screen time is not good," she said.
Only 1% of toys were "connected" via the internet, yet the influence of the web - and particularly social media - was clear from the design of new toys.
One of the expected best-sellers at Christmas is the L.O.L. Surprise - a heavily wrapped toy inspired by "unboxing" videos on YouTube and other social media channels.
Marketing for other toys had been launched on social media rather than TV adverts, she said. and manufacturers were counting on shared videos of youngsters playing with their new toys as another form of advertising.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41919610
|
Colombia seizes largest stash of cocaine ever - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
President Juan Manuel Santos said the find was the largest uncovered in a single police operation.
|
Latin America & Caribbean
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The seizure was the largest in Colombia's history
Colombian police have discovered 12 tonnes of cocaine in the largest single drug seizure in the country's history.
The drugs were found buried in four banana plantations in the north of the country, close to the routes used to smuggle cocaine to the US.
President Juan Manuel Santos said it was the largest drugs haul in a single police operation.
The operation is part of an offensive against the powerful Gulf Clan, a drug trafficking gang.
Police said the drug stash belonged to Dairo Úsuga, also known as Otoniel, leader of the Gulf Clan, one of Colombia's most dangerous criminal organisations.
The security forces have been trying to capture Otoniel for years.
Police said they had also arrested four people and estimated that the value of the haul was around $360m (£275m).
In the last two months the security forces have seized 20 tonnes of cocaine in Antioquia.
The Gulf Clan emerged from the remnants of right-wing paramilitary groups that demobilized in 2006 following a government peace deal.
The government says more than 1,500 members of the gang have been arrested this year and its second-in-command has been killed.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41923967
|
Penny Mordaunt - the UK's first female defence secretary - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A profile of the UK's first female defence secretary, who replaces Gavin Williamson after his sacking.
|
UK Politics
|
Penny Mordaunt has become the UK's first female defence secretary after Gavin Williamson was sacked.
She was previously international development secretary, in charge of a multi-billion pound annual budget.
With a background as a naval reservist, and having served as an armed forces minister under David Cameron, Ms Mordaunt seems well prepared for the role.
She was seen as a frontrunner for the defence secretary position in 2017 when Michael Fallon was forced to quit the post, but lost out to Mr Williamson.
Ms Mordaunt was a high-profile campaigner for the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum and underlined her pro-Brexit credentials by backing Andrea Leadsom in the subsequent Conservative leadership contest.
During the referendum campaign - while a defence minister - she prompted a row by telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that the UK could not veto Turkey joining the European Union. The then-prime minister contradicted her on ITV's Peston on Sunday an hour later.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Penny Mordaunt: "We're not going to be consulted... they are going to join, it's a matter of when"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. David Cameron: "Britain and every other country in the EU has a veto on another country joining. That is a fact"
The daughter of a paratrooper and a special needs teacher, Ms Mordaunt has two brothers, Edward and James, who is her twin, and has lived in her home town of Portsmouth since the age of two.
She was educated at Oaklands RC Comprehensive School and was the first member of her family to go to university.
Before studying philosophy at Reading University, she worked as a magician's assistant for a member of the Portsmouth and District Magic Circle, Will Ayling, author of The Art of Illusion and Oriental Conjuring and Magic.
She says on her website that she first became interested in politics working in hospitals and orphanages in post-revolutionary Romania during her gap year.
But Ms Mordaunt, 46, is probably best known outside Westminster for her appearance on ITV's celebrity diving show Splash! to raise money for charity.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Penny Mordaunt relives her moment diving in to a swimming pool on TV and admits "it hurt a bit" as she hit the water
She exited the contest in January 2014 after twice mistiming her back somersault from the 7.5m board but earned praise from Tom Daley and the other judges for her have-a-go attitude.
Later that year she was in the headlines again for a speech she gave in the Commons on poultry welfare, which turned out to be an excuse to slip some very un-parliamentary language into proceedings.
She admitted she had made the speech - with its liberal use of "lay", "laid" and "cock welfare" - as a bet.
"When I was at Dartmouth doing my reservist training, some of my marine training officers thought it would be a good idea to try and break the ladylike persona that I maintained throughout the whole of my course by getting me to yell particular rude words during the most gruelling part of our training, and I'm happy to say that they failed in that," she said.
"But during our mess dinner at the end of the course I was fined for a misdemeanour, and the fine was to say a particular word, the abbreviation of cockerel, several times during a speech on the floor of the House of Commons and mention all of the officers' names present."
MP for Portsmouth North since 2010, Ms Mordaunt is a former head of the Conservative Party's youth wing and was a press officer for William Hague when he was party leader, during which time she was seconded to work on George W Bush's 2000 election campaign in Washington.
"I was amazed at the similarities of the issues and tactics," she told The Daily Telegraph.
Before entering the world of Westminster politics, she was a press officer for Kensington and Chelsea Council and the Freight Transport Association, when she supported British truckers during French blockades.
She has also worked in the charity sector as a director of the Big Lottery Fund and Diabetes UK, where she set up services in developing countries particularly prone to the condition. She was also involved in David Willetts' abortive campaign to be Conservative leader in 2005 as his chief of staff.
On Twitter, Ms Mordaunt describes her two main interests as "freedom and cats".
And, in her maiden speech to Parliament in June 2010, she revealed that she had been named after the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Penelope.
"I point out to my critics," she added, "that HMS Penelope latterly became known as HMS Pepperpot because of her ability to endure massive amounts of shelling and remain afloat and able to return fire."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41930719
|
Priti Patel leaves Downing Street back entrance - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
The former UK international development secretary is filmed after meeting Prime Minister Theresa May.
| null |
The former UK international development secretary is filmed leaving 10 Downing Street's back entrance after meeting Prime Minister Theresa May.
Ms Patel has resigned following controversy over her meetings with Israeli officials.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41922501
|
'Butterfly boy' gets life changing surgery - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
A child has been given a new genetically modified skin that covers 80% of his body, in a series of lifesaving operations.
| null |
A child has been given a new genetically modified skin that covers 80% of his body, in a series of lifesaving operations.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41922286
|
Saudi anti-corruption probe 'finds $100bn was embezzled' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Attorney general says 201 people are being held for questioning, some of them reportedly at a luxury hotel.
|
Middle East
|
Those caught up in the anti-corruption drive are reportedly being held at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton
Saudi Arabia's attorney general says at least $100bn (£76bn) has been misused through systemic corruption and embezzlement in recent decades.
Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said 201 people were being held for questioning as part of a sweeping anti-corruption drive that began on Saturday night.
He did not name any of them, but they reportedly include senior princes, ministers and influential businessmen.
"The evidence for this wrongdoing is very strong," Sheikh Mojeb said.
He also stressed that normal commercial activity in the kingdom had not been affected by the crackdown, and that only personal bank accounts had been frozen.
Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said investigations by the newly-formed supreme anti-corruption committee, which is headed by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, were "progressing very quickly".
He announced that 208 individuals had been called in for questioning so far, and that seven of them had been released without charge.
"The potential scale of corrupt practices which have been uncovered is very large," the attorney general said. "Based on our investigations over the past three years, we estimate that at least $100bn has been misused through systematic corruption and embezzlement over several decades."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Sheikh Mojeb said the committee had a clear legal mandate to move on to the next phase of its investigation and that it had suspended the bank accounts of "persons of interest" on Tuesday.
"There has been a great deal of speculation around the world regarding the identities of the individuals concerned and the details of the charges against them," he added. "In order to ensure that the individuals continue to enjoy the full legal rights afforded to them under Saudi law, we will not be revealing any more personal details at this time."
Among those reportedly detained are the billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal; Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, a son of the late king who was also removed from his post as National Guard chief on Saturday; and his brother Prince Turki bin Abdullah, a former governor of Riyadh province.
It is the Saudi weekend now and the country is still reeling from the monumental changes taking place.
So far, so good, as far as the crown prince and his supporters are concerned. "Phase One", as the attorney-general calls it, is complete. Around 200 leading royal and business figures have been "called in for questioning" and there has been no visible resistance, no disaffected army hammering at the palace gates, no calls to arms on social media. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Saudi Arabia's overwhelmingly young population has largely welcomed this clean-out of the kingdom's notoriously profligate elite. The more hardline Wahhabi religious clerics, still licking their wounds from the crown prince's recent announcement that the country needs to become more tolerant of other religions, will also be welcoming the purge.
The questions on everyone's mind though, are how far will it go and who will be next?
Others are said to include Alwalid al-Ibrahim, owner of the television network MBC; Amr al-Dabbagh, former head of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority; Khalid al-Tuwaijri, former chief of the Royal Court; and Bakr Binladen, chairman of the Saudi Binladen Group.
At least some of them are believed to be held at the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh's diplomatic quarter. Paying guests were asked to vacate their rooms late on Saturday and the hotel's exterior gate has been shuttered since Sunday.
On Tuesday, the US said it had urged the Saudi government to handle any prosecutions stemming from the probe in a "fair and transparent" manner.
Human Rights Watch meanwhile called on Saudi officials to "immediately reveal the legal and evidentiary basis for each person's detention and make certain that each person detained can exercise their due process rights".
The detentions follow a wave of other recent arrests of clerics, human rights activists and intellectuals, for which the authorities have not given specific reasons.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41932490
|
The moment GB surfer Andrew Cotton wiped-out riding monster wave - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Andrew Cotton was surfing off the coast of Portugal when a huge wave crashed down on top of him.
| null |
A British surfer has broken his back after falling off while riding a huge wave.
Andrew Cotton, from Devon, suffered the wipeout in Nazare, Portugal and was rescued by a team including local lifeguards.
He posted on social media from his hospital bed: "Thanks to everyone who helped this morning
"Everyone was really calm, you guys really saved my back, which unfortunately is broken but definitely could be worse, so thank you."
More on this story, and other Devon and Cornwall news
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-41929367
|
India nun rape case: Bangladeshi man jailed for life - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A Bangladeshi man is also found guilty of attempted murder during the West Bengal assault in 2015.
|
India
|
The assault triggered protests by the students of the convent in Ranaghat
A court in eastern India has sentenced a Bangladeshi man to life in prison for raping an elderly nun in March 2015.
The court in Kolkata (Calcutta) found Nazrul Islam guilty of rape and attempted murder.
Five other men were jailed for 10 years for robbery during the assault in Ranaghat, West Bengal state. A sixth men was handed a seven-year term for harbouring the attackers.
The 71-year-old nun was attacked after the robbers ransacked her convent.
The gang also stole cash and other items during the attack that sent shockwaves across India and triggered mass protests.
"What happened to the elderly nun is a blot on West Bengal's legacy where Mother Teresa worked for the poor," Judge Kumkum Singha told a packed court on Wednesday.
The nun - who has not been named for legal reasons - underwent surgery after the assault in the Convent of Jesus and Mary. She later moved out of West Bengal.
India has in recent years seen a number of attacks on churches of the country's small Christian community.
The authorities have also strengthened its laws on sexual violence following a fatal gang-rape of a student in the capital Delhi in 2012.
However, campaigners say such assaults remain widespread.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-41923764
|
Holy smoke: Vatican bans duty-free cigarette sales - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Pope Francis orders sales of duty-free cigarettes to stop from next year, on health grounds.
|
Europe
|
The duty-free sales to staff and retired workers raise revenue for the Vatican
Pope Francis has ordered a ban on the sale of cigarettes inside the Vatican, beginning next year.
Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said the Holy See could not co-operate with a practice that clearly harmed people's health.
About 5,000 employees and retired staff of the Vatican are currently allowed to buy discounted cigarettes.
The sales are estimated to bring in millions of euros every year to the Vatican.
But Mr Burke said no amount of profit could be legitimate if it was costing people their lives.
He cited World Health Organization figures that blame smoking for more than seven million deaths worldwide every year .
"I think many people enjoyed it as sort of a fringe benefit," he said.
"It comes as a bit of a sacrifice for the Holy See, this was a source of revenue, but it's obviously much more important to do what is right."
Pope Francis, who had a lung removed as a teenager, does not smoke.
Vatican staff and pensioners are permitted to buy five cartons of cigarettes every month from a duty-free shop, housed in a former railway station, which is only open to those with a special pass.
Correspondents say many non-smokers inside the Vatican are asked by friends outside to buy cigarettes for them because they are cheaper than in Italy where they are heavily taxed.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41933527
|
Mark van Dongen acid attack: Victim said he 'wanted to die' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Mark van Dongen died 15 months after prosecutors allege his ex-girlfriend threw acid over him.
|
Bristol
|
Mark van Dongen died 15 months after being attacked in Bristol
An acid attack victim shouted "I want to die" as he could not bear to live with his injuries, his father has told a court.
Mark van Dongen, 29, was left paralysed from the neck down and lost his left leg, ear and eye following the attack.
Bristol Crown Court heard the Dutch national ended his life in a Belgian euthanasia clinic 15 months later.
His ex-girlfriend, Berlinah Wallace, 48, of Bristol, denies murdering him.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr van Dongen's father Cornelius told the court that after suffering his injuries his son had to communicate by using an alphabet board to spell out words.
Mr van Dongen said he asked Mark who had attacked him and his son spelled out his former girlfriend's name on the board.
Prosecutors allege Ms Wallace became upset when the couple's five-year relationship ended and threw a corrosive substance over Mr van Dongen as he was lying in bed.
Mr van Dongen told the jury his son was scared of Ms Wallace and had called the police "several times" about her but "received no support".
In the weeks before he died he said his son developed an acute lung infection and was unable to move his arms.
It was "the straw that broke the camel's back" that led him to apply for euthanasia, Mr van Dongen said.
He said Mark told him: "My life has come to nothing and there is nothing left".
He died at the clinic in Belgium on 2 January this year.
The court heard Thomas Sweet, who lived near Ms Wallace's flat in Ladysmith Road, found Mr van Dongen in the street in September 2015.
He said he heard what sounded like "foxes fighting" and then realised it was someone shouting "help me" in an "agonised" way.
Mr van Dongen was wearing just his boxer shorts and said he had "acid chucked on him", Mr Sweet said.
He told the court Mr van Dongen said: "This bitch, this bitch did it to me. My ex did it".
Mr Sweet then called an ambulance and took Mr van Dongen to a neighbour's flat and helped him shower.
Mr Sweet said he asked him: "Do you want the police here?" and Mr van Dongen replied: "They need to be here, she needs to pay."
The attack happened on Ladysmith Road in Westbury Park, Bristol
Another neighbour, Dr Nicola White, told the court she was woken up by "the sound of a gentleman outside in the street screaming".
Dr White said she went out and saw Mr van Dongen, who was "grey from his head to his chest".
She helped Mr Sweet take Mr van Dongen in to shower him and said he turned to her, pointed to an open door and screamed: "She did it to me in there. She did it to me."
Dr White said as they passed the door, she looked in and saw "a lady sitting on the sofa on her mobile phone appearing to talk. She looked sullen and serious".
Police officers told the court Mr van Dongen had "significant injuries" from a "substance poured over his body".
PC Thomas Green travelled in the ambulance to hospital and said the victim was "clearly in a lot of pain and screaming in agony".
"I asked him who the offender was, he said Berlinah and pointed to a tattoo [of her name] near his belly button.
"He said he was concerned for V's [his then girlfriend] safety and concerned she would target her as well."
PC Daniel Fortune described a "chemical acrid smell, which was quite strong" in the flat.
He told the jury Ms Wallace was sat on the sofa, "calm and collected".
Ms Wallace admits throwing a substance over Mr van Dongen but denies any intent to cause him harm.
She says she believed she was throwing a glass of water over him and denies murder and applying a corrosive substance.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-41926701
|
Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel in cabinet reshuffle - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Penny Mordaunt says she is "delighted" to be named as the new international development secretary.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Penny Mordaunt has been promoted to the cabinet as the new International Development Secretary, following the resignation of Priti Patel.
Like Ms Patel, Ms Mordaunt was among Conservatives who backed Leave during the EU Referendum campaign.
Ms Mordaunt, 44, said she was "delighted" to take on the role, as she visited her new department.
Ms Patel quit on Wednesday, admitting unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials had "lacked transparency".
It was the second cabinet resignation in a week. Last week Gavin Williamson replaced Sir Michael Fallon as defence secretary, after he quit saying his conduct had "fallen short" of the required standards after allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Ms Mordaunt, MP for Portsmouth North, is a Royal Navy reservist and was appointed as the first female minister for the Armed Forces in 2015. It had been thought she was in the running to replace Sir Michael last week.
Speaking at the Department for International Development, Ms Mordaunt said: "I'm delighted to have been appointed by the prime minister to be the new secretary of state for International Development.
"I'm looking forward to working with the team here to continue building a safer, more secure, more prosperous world for us all and really giving the British public pride in what we do."
There are good reasons why Penny Mordaunt has been promoted to the Department for International Development.
She has worked in humanitarian aid, she has been a minister in two different departments, former colleagues rate her abilities and she was tipped last week to be elevated to running the Ministry of Defence.
But there is a lot more to her than meets the eye, and a lot more that is interesting about her than going on TV in a swimsuit. She also has a different political qualification - she was prominent campaigning Brexiteer.
First elected to the Commons in 2010 she had been minister for disabled people in the Department for Work and Pensions until her promotion. She is also known for appearing on the reality TV programme Splash! in 2014.
BBC political correspondent Vicki Young said she thought Ms Mordaunt would be a popular appointment within the party. She said it would keep the balance within the cabinet when it came to Brexit - in terms of the numbers of ministers who supported Leave or Remain during the referendum - as well as preserving the gender balance, an issue which Theresa May was concerned about.
As International Development Secretary, Ms Mordaunt will be in charge of the UK's £13bn foreign aid budget.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Penny Mordaunt relives her moment diving in to a swimming pool on TV and admits "it hurt a bit" as she hit the water
Former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale told the BBC: "I think it's a good appointment. Penny is somebody who has a lot of experience, she has worked in an international department before - as armed forces minister, I have no doubt she will do an excellent job."
Aid charities also welcomed the appointment. Referring to Ms Mordaunt's student work in Romanian orphanages, director of anti-poverty campaign One UK, Romilly Greenhill, said she was "well suited for her new role" while Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring hoped Ms Mordaunt would be "a champion for Britain ensuring that aid is spent where it is most needed, helping the world's poorest people".
Her Labour shadow Kate Osamor congratulated Ms Mordaunt on her appointment and said she "faces an immediate challenge of restoring integrity to British international development policy after the actions of Priti Patel".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What went wrong for Priti Patel? The BBC's James Landale explains
She added: "That means she must unequivocally commit to the spirit, as well as the letter, of Britain's pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on international development, and face down those in her party who want to merge DFID into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."
Ms Patel's difficulties began last week, when the BBC revealed she had arranged a number of meetings with business and political figures during a family holiday to Israel in August, without telling Downing Street or the Foreign Office.
It later emerged that after Ms Patel's visit to Israel, she asked her officials to look into whether Britain could support humanitarian operations conducted by the Israeli army in the occupied Golan Heights area.
In other appointments on Thursday, Sarah Newton has been made a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions while Victoria Atkins has become a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41931063
|
'Zombie' star survived going supernova - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Astronomers discover the astronomical equivalent of a horror film villain: a star that wouldn't stay dead.
|
Science & Environment
|
Artwork: The "zombie" star kept erupting for nearly two years
It's the astronomical equivalent of a horror film adversary: a star that just wouldn't stay dead.
When most stars go supernova, they die in a single blast, but astronomers have found a star that survived not one, but five separate explosions.
The "zombie" star kept erupting for nearly two years - six times longer than the duration of a typical supernova.
An international team details their results in the academic journal Nature.
"This supernova breaks everything we thought we knew about how they work. It's the biggest puzzle I've encountered in almost a decade of studying stellar explosions," said co-author Iair Arcavi, a postdoctoral fellow at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) who is based in California.
The mysterious object, iPTF14hls, was picked up in September 2014 by a wide-field camera astronomy survey.
Astronomers identified it as an exploding star in January 2015; everything about the discovery seemed normal at first.
In common types of supernova, a blast at the centre of the star ejects material at high speed into surrounding space. The expansion of this material releases energy, causing the object to shine brightly for up to 100 days (about four months) before it finally fades.
It soon became clear this exploding star wasn't conforming to expectations. For one thing, it didn't fade, but shone brightly for 600 days - nearly two years.
What's more, the astronomers found that its brightness varied by as much as 50% on an irregular timescale, as if it was exploding over and over again.
And, rather than cooling down as expected, the object maintained a near-constant temperature of about 5,700C.
Intriguingly, by combing through archived data, scientists discovered an explosion that occurred in 1954 in exactly the same location. This could suggest that the star somehow survived that explosion, only to detonate again in 2014.
The object may be the first known example of a Pulsational Pair Instability Supernova.
"According to this theory, it is possible that this was the result of a star so massive and hot that it generated antimatter in its core," said co-author Daniel Kasen, from the University of California, Berkeley.
"That would cause the star to go violently unstable, and undergo repeated bright eruptions over periods of years."
That process could even repeat itself over decades before the star's final explosion and collapse to a black hole.
The discovery was made by the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) wide-field camera survey
Kate Maguire, from Queen's University Belfast, who was not involved with the study, told BBC News: "It's a theoretical idea that people have put forward, but this is the first time that an object has been identified that matches this quite well.
Writing in a news and views article published in Nature, Prof Stan Woosley, from the University of California, Santa Cruz, said that in the Pulsational Pair Instability theory, a massive star may lose about half its mass before the series of violent pulses begins.
Not everything we know about the "zombie" matches this theory, Prof Woosley added, and many uncertainties remain.
"As of now, no detailed model has been published that can explain the observed emission and constant temperature of iPTF14hls, let alone the possible eruption 60 years ago," he wrote.
"For now, the supernova offers astronomers their greatest thrill: something they do not understand."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41916738
|
Corey Feldman reports child abuse claims to police - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
He has long alleged Hollywood figures molested child stars including himself and Corey Haim.
|
US & Canada
|
"I can name six names, one of them who is still very powerful today," Feldman said recently
Eighties child star Corey Feldman has filed a report with police after vowing to expose an alleged paedophile ring in Hollywood.
Los Angeles Police Department confirmed they are launching an investigation after receiving the actor's report.
LAPD did not confirm the nature of the allegations. Feldman's spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Feldman, now 46, has long alleged Hollywood figures molested young actors including himself and Corey Haim.
He appeared last week on The Dr Oz Show, announcing a $10m (£7.6m) fundraising campaign for a film he wants to produce about the alleged abuse scandal.
"Right off the bat, I can name six names, one of them who is still very powerful today," Feldman 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 Corey Feldman 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.
In his 2013 autobiography, Coreyography, Feldman detailed abuse he says he and Haim suffered in Hollywood.
He blamed it for Haim's drug problems and untimely death in 2010 at the age of 38.
Feldman told ABC's Nightline in 2011: "There is one person to blame in the death of Corey Haim, and that person happens to be a Hollywood mogul.
"And that person needs to be exposed but unfortunately I can't be the one to do it."
Feldman and Haim (R) were known as the Two Coreys
Feldman has always declined to reveal names, citing fears of lawsuits.
But he said he had been emboldened to speak out by revelations of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's alleged serial sexual abuse.
It is not clear if there could be a statute of limitations on prosecutions for offences alleged by Feldman.
While he has attracted much support online, Haim's mother, Judy Haim, is among those who doubt Feldman's claims.
She told the Hollywood Reporter: "If he was serious about this, he'd share the information he has with the police."
Feldman posted an essay rebutting Ms Haim's allegation that his movie project plan is a "long con".
He and Haim starred in several films together between 1987-96, including The Lost Boys and Dream a Little Dream.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41923271
|
Theresa May warns rebels as Brexit talks set to resume - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The PM outlines plans to set the UK's EU departure date and time in law, ahead of a new round of talks.
|
UK Politics
|
Theresa May has outlined plans to set the UK's departure date and time from the EU in law, warning she will not "tolerate" any attempt to block Brexit.
She said the EU Withdrawal Bill would be amended to formally commit to Brexit at 23:00 GMT on Friday 29 March 2019.
The bill will be scrutinised by MPs next week - but the PM warned against attempts to stop it or slow it down.
Mrs May was writing in the Daily Telegraph as a fresh round of Brexit negotiations are due to begin later.
The UK is due to leave the European Union after 2016's referendum in which 51.9% of voters backed Brexit.
The prime minister said the decision to put the specific time of Brexit "on the front page" of the Brexit bill showed the government was determined to see the process through.
"Let no-one doubt our determination or question our resolve, Brexit is happening," she wrote.
"It will be there in black and white on the front page of this historic piece of legislation: the United Kingdom will be leaving the EU on March 29, 2019 at 11pm GMT."
The draft legislation has already passed its second reading, and now faces several attempts to amend it at the next part of its parliamentary journey - the committee stage.
Mrs May said most people wanted politicians to "come together" to negotiate a good Brexit deal, adding that MPs "on all sides" should help scrutinise the bill.
She said the government would listen to MPs if they had ideas for improving the bill, but warned against attempts to halt the process.
"We will not tolerate attempts from any quarter to use the process of amendments to this Bill as a mechanism to try to block the democratic wishes of the British people by attempting to slow down or stop our departure from the European Union."
MPs have previously been told there have been 300 amendments and 54 new clauses proposed.
David Davis is due to take part in a fresh round of Brexit negotiations
The PM said the "historic" bill was "fundamental to delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit" and would give "the greatest possible clarity and certainty for all businesses and families across the country".
Labour MP and remain campaigner, Chuka Umunna, said many experts believed the March 2019 leaving date did not give much time for negotiations.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "Lord Bridges said he could not see the government being able to negotiate the transition arrangement, like the bridge to us leaving, and the divorce bill, by 2019. So we may actually need more time."
Lord Kerr, the former diplomat who helped draft Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - the mechanism the UK has used to exit the EU - said putting the Brexit date on the bill did not mean the withdrawal process was irreversible.
The cross-bench peer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that decisions such as these were being made in Westminster, and "had nothing to do with the treaty, and they have nothing to do with the views of our partners in Brussels".
But the Conservative MP and leave campaigner, Peter Bone, welcomed the decision to enshrine the leaving date in law, saying it was a "really big, important step".
It comes as a leaked account of a meeting of EU diplomats this week suggested that Northern Ireland may have to abide by the EU's rules on the customs union and single market after Brexit - in order to avoid the introduction of border checks.
Both Britain and the EU say they are committed to ensuring that Brexit does not undermine the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement or lead to the emergence of hard-border with the Republic of Ireland.
However, BBC correspondent Adam Fleming said the commission's suggestion appeared to be at odds with comments made by the Northern Ireland Secretary, James Brokenshire, this week.
Mr Brokenshire said it was "difficult to imagine" Northern Ireland remaining in either the customs union or the single market after Brexit.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41936428
|
Kevin Spacey: New allegations emerge - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Men and women allege the Hollywood actor groped or made advances towards them.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'To Kevin Spacey: Shame on you for what you did to my son'
New allegations of sexual harassment and predatory behaviour towards men and women by Kevin Spacey have emerged.
The claims, spanning from the mid-1980s to 2016, raise further questions about the US actor's conduct in the decades he worked in Hollywood and as artistic director at London's Old Vic theatre.
The BBC has contacted Mr Spacey for comment.
On Wednesday, the journalist whose October tweet triggered a series of accusations about Mr Spacey spoke out.
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 Heather Unruh 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.
Former television news anchor Heather Unruh told a press conference in Boston that her son had been sexually assaulted by Mr Spacey, at the age of 18 in a bar in Nantucket, Massachusetts, in July 2016.
She said Mr Spacey had bought her son alcohol - the drinking age in Massachusetts is 21. After getting him drunk, Mr Spacey had "stuck his hand inside my son's pants and grabbed his genitals", she said.
She said Mr Spacey had invited her son to a party, but he had run away from the bar when Mr Spacey had gone to the lavatory.
A criminal investigation was now under way, Mrs Unruh said.
"Shame on you for what you did to my son. Your actions are criminal," Mrs Unruh said through her tears.
Since the first allegation of sexual advances were made by actor Anthony Rapp on 30 October, US network Netflix axed further production of Mr Spacey's House of Cards drama, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced it will no longer give the actor a special Emmy award, and his agent and publicist dropped him as a client.
In response to Mr Rapp's claims, Mr Spacey said he has no memory of the incident and offered an apology.
Mr Spacey said he was seeking treatment after facing the allegations but did not give information about the type.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Former London barman Kris Nixon says he was groped by Kevin Spacey
Since then more men have come forward.
Barman Kris Nixon, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said he had been working near the Old Vic in 2007 when Mr Spacey groped him at a party.
"Kevin Spacey sat down next to me on a sofa, then reached over and grabbed my penis," he said.
The actor had then suggested he perform a sexual act on Mr Nixon, according to the barman, who then left the party.
Two weeks later, Mr Nixon was in the basement of the bar he had been working in, when, he said, he realised Spacey was two feet (60cm) behind him.
The actor grabbed Mr Nixon's waistband and offered to "make it up" to him, he said.
"I didn't want to make a scene about it - he was a customer. I didn't want to get fired.
"Until Anthony Rapp spoke out, I never felt able to tell anyone."
Spacey was dropped from his House of Cards series after new allegations
Meanwhile, an American film-maker has told the BBC that he was groped and sexually harassed by Mr Spacey as a 22-year-old junior crew member.
The man, now 44, who does not want to be identified, said the "powerful" director had made advances towards him on the shoot of Albino Alligator in 1995.
"He was very affable and nice to everybody. We shook hands and he took an interest in me. He offered to watch one of my student films, which I was very flattered by," he said.
But, he said, Mr Spacey had quickly become "creepy" and one day insisted he sit in his director's chair.
"He started massaging my neck and my shoulders, and I felt incredibly uncomfortable."
The film-maker, from California, said he had been singled out as a target because of his youth and inexperience.
"On one of the last days of shooting… he sat down next to me and put his thigh against mine and put his hand on my thigh and moved it towards my inner thigh," he said.
He told the BBC he had decided to come forward after hearing the allegations by actor Anthony Rapp but felt nervous about revealing his identity because of the influential position Mr Spacey continued to hold in the industry.
At the time, Mr Spacey's powerful position had made him feel conflicted about his encounters with the director, he said.
"I was getting the attention of the most powerful person on the movie set, and I wanted to work in Hollywood," he said.
"But it was an interest that made me feel totally uneasy, uncomfortable, confused. I didn't know what to do, I felt trapped. I felt harassed, sexually harassed."
The film-maker said he hoped coming forward would encourage others.
"I hope it makes those people who come forward feel less alone if they are feeling alone and confused, like I was when I was 22."
One woman told the BBC that she suffered depression after an encounter with Mr Spacey.
Kate Edwards, now a performing arts teacher in London, claims Mr Spacey made advances towards her when she had been a production assistant on Broadway show Long Day's Journey Into Night in 1986.
Ms Edwards, who was 17 at the time, said she had been alone in a lift with the 27-year-old Mr Spacey when he had invited her to a "James Dean birthday party" in his flat.
Kate Edwards (second left, back row) with the cast and crew of Long Day's Journey Into Night, starring Kevin Spacey, in 1986
When she had arrived, she said, there had been no-one else there.
Ms Edwards said she had consensually kissed Mr Spacey, but then had started to feel uncomfortable and asked when others would arrive..
"I said I want to go home and change. I felt pressured, and it became quite clear that his intention was to have sex with me.
"He became cold and said, 'Find your own way.'
She said the actor had "cut her dead" after the encounter, she had become depressed, had gained weight, and had eventually been unable to continue working on the show.
Ms Edwards said her message to Mr Spacey today would be: "I would like you to know that what you did hurt me, it affected me for years afterwards.
"What you did to me and what you did to other young people was unacceptable."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41918966
|
'Iron man' flight sets first world record - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Richard Browning crossed a lake in Reading at more than 30mph.
| null |
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41915072
|
Mark van Dongen murder trial: Acid attack 'calculated' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Jurors see video interviews with acid attack victim Mark van Dongen, whose ex is accused of his murder.
|
Bristol
|
Mark van Dongen died 15 months after being attacked in Bristol
An acid attack victim has told jurors, in testimony recorded before his death, how the "jealous" ex accused of his murder laughed as she doused him in a corrosive liquid.
In video evidence, Mark van Dongen, 29, said Berlinah Wallace, 48, shouted "if I can't have you, no-one else can" as she threw sulphuric acid at him.
Bristol Crown Court heard he ended his life in a euthanasia clinic due to unbearable pain from his injuries.
The court heard Dutch national Mr van Dongen was left paralysed from the neck down and lost his left leg, the sight in his left eye and most of the sight in his right eye, after the September 2015 attack in Bristol.
He was later told he would require a "lifetime of constant and dedicated care".
In January this year, he travelled to Belgium where he ended his life in a euthanasia clinic.
A picture of Mark van Dongen taken before the attack
Jurors were shown the video interview with Mr van Dongen, filmed in hospital in July 2016, where he gave his account of the attack,
Trial judge Mrs Justice May warned them they may find the footage, which showed the extent of the scarring to the victim's body, "shocking and disturbing".
In the video, Mr van Dongen struggles to speak as he describes Ms Wallace waking him up and laughing as she threw acid over him, saying "if I can't have you, no one else can".
When the interviewer asks if he knew why she had attacked him, he says it was because she was jealous.
In a second video shown to the court, Mr van Dongen tells police Ms Wallace threw boiling water over him after an argument in 2014.
He also says Ms Wallace hit herself in the face, and told him she would tell police he had caused her injuries if he left her.
At the time of the attack, prosecutor Adam Vaitilingam QC told jurors, Mr van Dongen had begun seeing another woman and moved into a hotel.
The victim visited the defendant at her flat in Ladysmith Road, Bristol, because he was concerned that she was "in a bad way and self-harming", the court was told.
He fell asleep, jurors heard, and Ms Wallace laughed as she threw a glass of sulphuric acid over him.
The court heard Mr van Dongen ran into the street "screaming for help", where neighbours tried to help him, and he was taken to a specialist burns unit at Southmead Hospital.
Mr Vaitilingam said: "The physical and mental suffering that he sustained from that calculated acid attack were what drove him to euthanasia.
"Put simply, he could not bear to live in that condition.
"If that is right, we say, then she is guilty of murder."
Ms Wallace wept in the dock as the jury were told Mr van Dongen was "genuinely frightened" of her, and the couple's relationship had become "volatile".
The jury heard computer records showed Ms Wallace had bought the acid online on 2 September.
She also carried out internet searches, including "can I die drinking sulphuric acid?", and browsed news stories on acid attack victims.
Ms Wallace admits throwing a substance over Mr van Dongen but denies any intent to cause him harm.
She claims she believed that she was throwing a glass of water over him.
Richard Smith QC, defending, told the jury "to keep an open mind".
"Yes, she threw the glass over him, but defence claims Mr van Dongen put the acid in the cup without her knowledge, and encouraged her to drink it resulting in a mirror image of what we now have."
He said the couple had a "turbulent and complicated relationship" and Ms Wallace was going to blackmail Mr van Dongen with personal information, which was why he put the acid in the glass and encouraged her to drink it.
Ms Wallace wiped away tears as jurors heard details of the couple's "volatile" relationship
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-41914798
|
Priti Patel resigns: What went wrong - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
The BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale explains the controversy that led to her resignation.
| null |
Priti Patel has resigned as international development secretary following controversy over her meetings with Israeli officials.
The BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent, James Landale, explains how a family holiday went terribly wrong for her.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41923554
|
Child sex abuse inquiry breaches victim's anonymity - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse reveals a victim's name on its website.
|
UK
|
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has admitted breaching its own procedures by publishing a victim's name despite his right to anonymity.
The man's name appeared on its website in the title of a document. The inquiry said it removed the name as soon as it was brought to its attention.
It was the seventh time the inquiry had been alerted to such a breach.
It notified the privacy watchdog - the Information Commissioner - and said it was reviewing its practices.
The inquiry, which was set up in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal, aims to investigate claims against local authorities, religious organisations, the armed forces and public and private institutions - as well as people in the public eye.
The inquiry (IICSA) is protecting the identities of more than 1,000 children or victims of child sexual abuse.
The life-long anonymity of victims of sexual offences is protected by law.
Thursday's breach was spotted by a BBC journalist who alerted the inquiry to the fact that it had named a man who was applying for so-called "core participation" status at the inquiry.
The name was given in the title of a document, published for about a day, but had redacted that information elsewhere.
The inquiry said: "We understand that the document was viewed five times during that period.
"It was removed as soon as it was brought to our attention and the individual is being contacted and will be offered support."
Since the inquiry began in March 2015, it has been alerted to seven breaches of anonymity and on four occasions, including this one, it reported itself to the Information Commissioner.
There are 1,150 people taking part in the inquiry who have had their identities hidden through the use of code numbers - this includes 200 core participants who have the right to take part directly in inquiry hearings.
The names of another 575 people are also protected because they are alleged perpetrators in cases where there has been no conviction or findings suggesting their guilt.
Richard Scorer, specialist abuse lawyer at Slater & Gordon solicitors who acts for many core participants at the inquiry, said: "This breach is totally unacceptable and it is extremely worrying that such a serious breach could occur.
"Such a breach would constitute contempt of court under the inquiry's own rules.
"They need to review their procedures very urgently and ensure there is absolutely no repetition."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41932064
|
Pope Francis: Mass is for prayers not mobile phones - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The pontiff chastises bishops, priests and pilgrims for taking pictures during services.
|
Europe
|
Many pilgrims try to get pictures of the Pope at his audiences
Pope Francis has chided the Catholic faithful for using their mobile phones during Mass.
He said it made him sad when many phones were held up, and even priests and bishops were taking photos.
The pontiff is not known to have used a mobile phone in public since his election and once asked young people to carry Bibles instead of phones.
However, he is an avid user of social media and regularly allows himself to be snapped with pilgrims for selfies.
He has millions of followers on Twitter.
Speaking at his weekly audience in St Peter's Square in Rome, Pope Francis said that Mass was a time for prayer and not a show.
"At a certain point the priest leading the ceremony says 'lift up our hearts'. He doesn't say 'lift up our mobile phones to take photographs' - it's a very ugly thing," he said.
"It's so sad when I'm celebrating mass here or inside the basilica and I see lots of phones held up - not just by the faithful, but also by priests and bishops! Please!"
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41918906
|
Portia de Rossi accuses Steven Seagal of sexual harassment - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi says the actor unzipped his trousers in an audition.
|
US & Canada
|
The actress alleges Steven Seagal propositioned her while she auditioned for a role
Actress Portia de Rossi has accused actor and producer Steven Seagal of sexual harassment.
The Arrested Development actress, who is married to US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, made the allegation in a tweet posted on Wednesday night.
She alleges that during a film audition Mr Seagal told her "how important it was to have chemistry off-screen" before unzipping his trousers.
Mr Seagal's manager told BBC News that the actor had no comment.
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 Portia de Rossi 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 65-year-old is best known for his action roles during the 1980s and 1990s, including Under Siege and Flight of Fury. He was given Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin in 2016.
Several other women have come forward to accuse Mr Seagal of inappropriate behaviour and harassment, including the Good Wife actress Julianna Margulies and model Jenny McCarthy.
He is the latest person in Hollywood to stand accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault after women began coming forward about producer Harvey Weinstein.
Harvey Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex made against him.
Steven Seagal has bonded with the Russian president over martial arts
In the tweet, Ms de Rossi said her complaints about Mr Seagal's behaviour were dismissed at the time by her agent.
She did not specify which movie the audition was for, or in which year the incident allegedly happened.
The Australian-American actress has been married to television host Ellen DeGeneres for nine years.
Ms DeGeneres shared Ms de Rossi's tweet with her 75 million followers on Thursday with the caption: "I am proud of my wife".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41936741
|
How much of your area is built on? - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Discover at the click of button exactly how the land is used in your local authority area.
|
UK
|
For the first time, you can find out at the click of button exactly how the land is used in your local authority area.
Your browser does not support this Lookup Enter your postcode to find out how land is used in your area The percentages above are estimates. For a detailed methodology see note at bottom of article page. Maps produced by Alasdair Rae from the University of Sheffield using data from Corine and Ordnance Survey.
If you can't see the area search, click or tap here.
Every council area in the UK has been analysed and individual maps produced showing how much of the area falls into four land categories:
More than half of the UK land area is farmland (fields, orchards etc), just over a third might be termed natural or semi-natural (moors, heathland, natural grassland etc), a little under 6% is built on (roads, buildings, airports, quarries etc) and 2.5% is green urban (parks, gardens, golf courses, sports pitches etc).
The four categories are drawn from 44 different land use codes used by the Co-ordination of Information on the Environment (Corine) project initiated by the European Commission in 1985.
Using high-definition satellite images and detailed local maps, Corine offers a comprehensive picture of every corner of the United Kingdom. Now that information is readily available to everyone.
The local authorities with the highest proportion of farmland are the Isles of Scilly (96%) and Mid Suffolk (95%). The council area with the greatest quantity of "natural" landscape is Highland (91%). The City of London has the highest amount of land that is built on (98%) and the local authority with the greatest proportion of green urban is Richmond upon Thames (58%).
Read Mark's blog about the research findings here.
The data has been produced with the help of Dr Alasdair Rae from the Urban Studies and Planning Department at the University of Sheffield. All the original local authority data and maps are available in A Land Cover Atlas of the United Kingdom and can be found here and here.
The largest component of the "built on" category is "discontinuous urban fabric", within which 20-50% of the surface area may be green space. To account for this we have reassigned the minimum 20% of "discontinuous urban fabric" to "green urban", which in many cases may be an underestimate. The map uses building land cover data from Ordnance Survey.
Produced by Will Dahlgreen. Design by Prina Shah. Development by Evisa Terziu.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41901294
|
China: President Trump v candidate Trump - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Once Donald Trump spoke of China "raping" the US. Now he gives it "credit" for "taking advantage".
| null |
Once Donald Trump spoke of China "raping" the US – now he gives it "credit" for "taking advantage".
So how has the US president's attitude changed since he took office?
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41934951
|
Kevin Spacey: Completed film to be reshot without accused actor - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Ridley Scott is to reshoot scenes with actor Christopher Plummer in time for a December release.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A trailer for All the Money in the World, featuring Spacey as Jean Paul Getty, had already been released
US actor Kevin Spacey is to be erased from a completed Hollywood film following the allegations of predatory sexual behaviour against him.
His role in All the Money in the World is to be recast and his scenes reshot. The release is expected to go ahead as planned on 22 December.
Spacey, who was late oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty in the film, will be replaced by Christopher Plummer.
The claims against Spacey span from the mid-1980s to last year.
All the Money in the World, directed by Ridley Scott, is about the 1973 kidnapping of Getty's teenage grandson.
Variety said that Spacey had shot about two weeks of footage and there were many scenes in the film where he was the only actor on screen.
He already appears in the film's trailer, which was released in September.
Veteran actor Christopher Plummer (left) will replace Spacey in the film
Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams, who also star in the film, are expected to take part in the reshooting.
The movie has also been withdrawn from the American Film Institute's (AFI) annual festival in Los Angeles later this month.
Actress Valentina Violo, who plays a secretary in Ridley Scott's film, said she had met Spacey at a party held at the end of shooting this summer.
"He was very nice and kind and very human," she told BBC News. "He was enjoying himself drinking, eating, speaking with people."
Spacey's career has nosedived since the first allegation of sexual advances were made by actor Anthony Rapp on 30 October.
US network Netflix has axed further production of Mr Spacey's House of Cards drama, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced it would no longer give the actor a special Emmy award, and his agent and publicist dropped him as a client.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'To Kevin Spacey: Shame on you for what you did to my son'
Rapp accused Spacey of trying to seduce him when he was aged 14.
In response to Mr Rapp's claims, Mr Spacey said he had no memory of the incident and offered an apology.
Since then several others have come forward accusing him of predatory behaviour, including a woman who said Spacey had sexually assaulted her 18-year-old son last year.
Spacey's representatives say he is seeking unspecified treatment.
It is not uncommon for actors to have their roles recast or their performances adjusted in the case of death, illness and other unavoidable circumstances.
Nor is it rare for actors to be replaced before or during production, for a whole range of reasons.
Yet it is virtually unprecedented for a living performer to be removed from a completed film and have their character recreated by another actor.
It is even rarer for that decision to be made so close to a film's release, or in a film whose trailer contains copious footage of the actor concerned.
Yes, Woody Allen once reshot an entire film - 1987's September - with some recast actors.
Woody Allen once reshot an entire film from scratch
But that was because he was dissatisfied with the first version and not all of the original cast were available for reshoots.
Spacey spent just two weeks working on All the Money in the World, so it is possible reshoots may be relatively straightforward.
Yet they are likely to be costly and include more than one actor. One scene in the trailer, for example, sees Spacey's Getty striding away from a horde of news reporters.
With or without Spacey, Scott's film has already achieved a notoriety that is sure to make it a constant source of fascination.
The fact that it already concerns a famous cause celebre - the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III - adds yet another twist to the tale.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41925767
|
Theresa May faces fresh reshuffle after Priti Patel resignation - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Theresa May is urged to replace the international development secretary with another Brexiteer.
|
UK Politics
|
Theresa May is embarking on a second cabinet reshuffle in a week after Priti Patel resigned over her unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials.
The international development secretary - who was in charge of the UK's foreign aid budget - admitted her actions "lacked transparency".
Mrs May is facing calls to replace her with another MP who voted for Brexit.
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said the PM would want to keep a "balance" of views on the EU in her top team.
He predicted she would not make "big changes" to the cabinet line-up and although Ms Patel's replacement would have to be "capable", their views on Britain's future relationship with the EU would also be a factor.
"We are all Brexiteers now," the leading Leave campaigner told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"So the question is to what degree do you want someone in that job to be in support of (Brexit Secretary) David Davis and others, and I think therefore the balance on having strong Brexit views is one that in all probability the prime minister will certainly look for."
Ms Patel is the second cabinet minister to quit in the space of seven days, after Sir Michael Fallon resigned as defence secretary last week. He was replaced by one of Mrs May's closest allies, Gavin Williamson.
According to The Times, European Union leaders are preparing for the possible "fall of Theresa May before the new year" and either "a change of leadership or elections leading to a Labour victory".
Mr Duncan Smith said it was "a bit rich" for EU leaders to suggest Mrs May's position was precarious, at a time when the Netherlands and Germany faced difficulties forming governments, there was "chaos" in Italy and arrests of Catalonian separatists in Spain.
Priti Patel's difficulties began last week, when the BBC revealed Ms Patel arranged a number of private meetings with business and political figures during a family holiday to Israel in August.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What went wrong for Priti Patel? The BBC's James Landale explains
It later emerged that after Ms Patel's visit to Israel, she asked her officials to look into whether Britain could support humanitarian operations conducted by the Israeli army in the occupied Golan Heights area.
But Foreign Office officials strongly advised against this as the need for humanitarian aid was greater elsewhere and giving aid to the military broke aid rules, BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale said.
Ms Patel, who has served as the Tory MP for Witham in Essex since 2010, was formally reprimanded in Downing Street on Monday and had to correct her initial media statements about the August meetings.
But on Wednesday two further meetings arranged without government officials present came to light, one with Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan in Westminster early in September and one with Israeli foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem in New York.
Asked if Ms Patel had been foolish or had made a concerted attempt at freelance foreign policy, the BBC's James Landale told the Today programme: "I think it's pretty clear that the view within the government is there was an attempt to try to shape British policy within the Middle East."
Ms Patel was accused of breaching the ministerial code - which sets out the standards of conduct expected of government ministers.
In her resignation letter, she said: "While my actions were meant with the best of intentions, my actions also fell below the standards of transparency and openness that I have promoted and advocated."
In her reply, Mrs May said: ''As you know the UK and Israel are close allies, and it is right that we should work closely together. But that must be done formally, and through official channels.
''That is why, when we met on Monday I was glad to accept your apology and welcomed your clarification about your trip to Israel over the summer.
"Now that further details have come to light it is right you have decided to resign.''
Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested disgruntled Remainers could be behind the leak that led to the downfall of Ms Patel.
He told BBC's Newsnight that some people were "still very bitter" about the referendum result and "inevitably that colours their behaviour".
Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has suggested there were more questions to answer: "I have been informed that while she was in Israel, Ms Patel met officials from the British consulate general Jerusalem, but that the fact of this meeting has not been made public.
"If this were the case, then it would surely be impossible to sustain the claim that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was not aware of Ms Patel's presence in Israel."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41923670
|
Germany serial killer: Niels Hoegel 'killed at least 100' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Fresh charges are expected to be brought against the nurse already convicted of two murders.
|
Europe
|
Niels H hid behind a folder as he awaited sentence at his 2015 trial
Toxicology tests suggest a German former nurse murdered at least 100 people at two hospitals where he worked, prosecutors say.
Detectives believe Niels Hoegel, who is already serving a life sentence for two murders, systematically administered fatal doses of heart medication to people in his care.
He wanted to impress colleagues by resuscitating them but many died.
Fresh charges against him are expected next year.
Hoegel is now said to have killed 38 patients in Oldenburg and 62 in Delmenhorst, both in northern Germany, between 1999 and 2005.
Investigators say he may have killed more but potential victims have been cremated.
If found guilty of all the deaths, he would become one of Germany's worst post-war serial killers.
The investigation into Hoegel was widened when he admitted killing up to 30 people during his 2015 trial, when he was convicted of two murders, two attempted murders and harming patients.
Investigators exhumed 130 former patients, looking for traces of medication that could have shut down their cardiovascular systems. They also pored over records in the hospitals he worked at.
Yet he received a good reference and went on to work at a hospital in nearby Delmenhorst, where an unusual number of patients began dying while he was on shift.
Hoegl was caught when a nurse saw that a patient previously stable had developed an irregular heartbeat. He was already in the room when the patient had to be resuscitated and the nurse found empty medication containers in the waste bin, Der Spiegel says.
During his trial in 2015 he said he was "honestly sorry" and hoped families would find peace. He said the decisions to carry out his crimes had been "relatively spontaneous".
Hoegl said that each time someone had died, he had resolved never to do it again but his determination would then slowly fade.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41930177
|
Facebook founding president sounds alarm - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A man responsible for helping Facebook get off the ground now says he's deeply concerned about its impact on society.
|
Technology
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
“God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”
A view on social media shared not by some uninformed luddite, but by one of the people responsible for building Facebook into the social media titan it is today.
Sean Parker, Facebook’s founding president, unloaded his worries and criticisms of the network, saying he had no idea what he was doing at the time of its creation.
Speaking on stage to Mike Allen from Axios, Mr Parker said: "The thought process that went into building these applications, Facebook being the first of them, was all about: 'How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’"
“That means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever.
"And that's going to get you to contribute more content, and that's going to get you... more likes and comments.”
Mr Parker first rose to tech prominence as the creator of pioneering file-sharing service Napster.
In the Facebook story, it was Mr Parker who steered the firm into Silicon Valley and put Mark Zuckerberg’s idea in front of big name investors.
Those early days were reimagined in the film the Social Network. Mr Parker was played by Justin Timberlake.
"When Facebook was getting going,” Mr Parker said on Wednesday, "I had these people who would come up to me and they would say, 'I'm not on social media.’
"And I would say, 'OK. You know, you will be.’”
He then added: "I don't know if I really understood the consequences of what I was saying, because [of] the unintended consequences of a network when it grows to a billion or two billion people and, it literally changes your relationship with society, with each other.
"It probably interferes with productivity in weird ways. God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains."
As for his own habits, Mr Parker said he no longer used social media as it was “too much of a time sink”.
However, he said he still had an account on Facebook. "If Mark hears this he’s probably going to suspend my account,” he joked.
Facebook did not respond to the BBC's request for reaction to the comments.
“I use these platforms, I just don’t let these platforms use me,” Mr Parker concluded.
You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41936791
|
Priti Patel quits cabinet over Israel meetings row - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Priti Patel resigns as UK international development secretary after the row about meeting Israeli politicians.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Priti Patel is filmed leaving the back entrance of 10 Downing Street
Priti Patel has resigned as UK international development secretary amid controversy over her unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials.
She was ordered back from an official trip in Africa by the PM and summoned to Downing Street over the row.
In her resignation letter, Ms Patel said her actions "fell below the standards of transparency and openness that I have promoted and advocated".
The PM said her decision was "right" as "further details have come to light".
Ms Patel had apologised to Theresa May on Monday after unauthorised meetings in August with Israeli politicians - including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu - came to light.
But it later emerged she had two further meetings without government officials present in September.
Ms Patel arrived at 10 Downing Street via the back door - after earlier flying back to the UK from Africa for her meeting with Mrs May - and she left some 45 minutes later.
She was accused of breaching the ministerial code, which sets out the standards of conduct expected of government ministers.
Her resignation from the cabinet is the second in seven days, after Sir Michael Fallon quit as defence secretary on Wednesday last week amid allegations about his behaviour.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What went wrong for Priti Patel? The BBC's James Landale explains
In her letter to the PM, Ms Patel said: "While my actions were meant with the best of intentions, my actions also fell below the standards of transparency and openness that I have promoted and advocated.
"I offer a fulsome apology to you and to the government for what has happened and offer my resignation."
In her reply, Mrs May said: "Now that further details have come to light, it is right that you have decided to resign and adhere to the high standards of transparency and openness that you have advocated."
She added that Ms Patel should "take pride" in what had been achieved during her time as secretary of state.
The BBC's chief political correspondent Vicki Young said Theresa May "decided to give her colleague the dignity of resigning".
But she said the response from Mrs May was "interesting", saying: "It was clear from Theresa May that if she hadn't resigned, she would have been sacked."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told the BBC: "Priti Patel has been a very good colleague and friend for a long time and a first class secretary of state for international development.
"It's been a real pleasure working with her and I'm sure she has a great future ahead of her."
Meanwhile, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has written to Mrs May over claims passed to him that Ms Patel met Foreign Office officials in Jerusalem, which he says makes it "impossible to sustain the claim that the FCO was not aware of Ms Patel's presence in Israel".
Mr Watson said he was "pleased" that Ms Patel had resigned as her undisclosed meetings were "a clear breach of the ministerial code, and of diplomatic protocol".
It was precisely a week ago that I was summoned to the Ministry of Defence to ask Sir Michael Fallon why he was resigning.
Seven days on, for an unconnected reason, Theresa May has just lost another one of her ministers.
That time the resignation was rather differently handled - some private speculation through the day, then a discreet summoning to a quiet room in the department until one of the minister's team came to say: "Be ready, the secretary of state is resigning, we are finalising the letters between us and Number 10 right now."
This time, the process has been more like a pantomime, with speculation rife for nearly 24 hours that she was on her way out, no-one in government moving to quash it, leaving journalists, on the first day of parliament's recess, free to track Priti Patel's plane online then her journey back to Westminster.
Goodness knows what Ms Patel's Ugandan hosts, who were expecting her to visit today, make of it all.
Beyond today's palaver, though, her exit throws up problems for Mrs May.
It is never as simple as one out, one in.
Ms Patel was formally reprimanded in Downing Street on Monday, where she was asked to give details about a dozen meetings she had with Israeli officials while on holiday, which were not sanctioned by the Foreign Office.
She was then forced to correct the record earlier this week about the number of meetings that she had attended and when the Foreign Office had been notified about them.
The MP admitted she had been wrong to suggest to the Guardian that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson knew of the trip in advance when he had only learnt about it while it was under way.
Then, details of two other meetings emerged. Ms Patel met Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan in Westminster on 7 September.
And on 18 September she met foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem in New York.
It is thought Lord Polak, honorary president of the Conservative Friends of Israel, was present at both meetings.
It is not yet clear whether or when Ms Patel had informed the prime minister about these meetings or of her plans to look into giving tax-payers' money to the Israeli military to treat wounded Syrian refugees in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region - a request that was turned down as "inappropriate" by officials.
In a further development on Wednesday the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that during August she visited an Israeli military field hospital in the Golan Heights - the UK, like other members of the international community, has never recognised Israeli control of the area seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.
In her letter to Ms Patel, the prime minister wrote: ''As you know the UK and Israel are close allies, and it is right that we should work closely together. But that must be done formally, and through official channels.
''That is why, when we met on Monday I was glad to accept your apology and welcomed your clarification about your trip to Israel over the summer. Now that further details have come to light it is right you have decided to resign.''
• None Patel's exit will pose problems for May
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41923007
|
BBC to scrap £10m cuts to local radio, says Lord Hall - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Abandoning planned cuts to local stations will help combat "fake news", BBC director general says.
|
UK
|
The BBC is to scrap its plan to cut £10m from its local radio budget, in a bid to become "more local", director general Lord Hall has said.
Speaking at an event marking the 50th birthday of BBC local radio, he promised a "renaissance" for the broadcaster's 39 regional stations.
He said the savings target - previously announced after a review of the BBC's local services - had been cancelled.
The BBC will instead invest in local radio to boost creativity, he added.
Speaking at the event in Coventry, Lord Hall said local radio was becoming "more important, not less" and held a key role in battling fake news.
"I'm a director general who believes in local radio," he said.
"For many years the BBC has been reducing its investment in local radio.
"The development of new technology and the growth of smartphones has seen many people getting their local news, weather and traffic information digitally."
With many of the radio stations operating on reduced budgets over the past decade, a number of distinctive local shows and presenters were dropped from their evening slots and replaced by a "shared broadcast" across all of England's stations.
A BBC statement said this show, currently presented by Georgey Spanswick, would be ending and there would be a return to "local programming".
Lord Hall said: "Local Radio is in the DNA of our communities. I think that is more important than ever.
"England's changing. It's always been a patchwork of communities, with quite distinct identities.
"While Newcastle's population is getting older, Bradford's is getting younger and Birmingham is becoming one of the most diverse cities in Europe."
He pointed out that with political decision-making increasingly being devolved to councils and directly elected mayors, it was important that the BBC was ready to assess the impact this was having.
"I want to hear the sound of England as it changes. So while other media are becoming creatively less local, I want us to become even more so and to connect with our audiences in new ways."
Lord Hall stressed the BBC had a duty to reach out to the so-called smartphone generation.
"That's why the role of BBC local radio is actually becoming more important - not less," he said.
"Local radio should be for everybody. It's there to serve the Facebook generation every bit as much as the rest of us."
The BBC will instead rely on savings elsewhere to protect the local radio budgets.
Detailed plans will be set out next year, it said.
Earlier in the day, Lord Hall was in Leicester to mark the launch of the first BBC local radio station, BBC Radio Leicester, which went live on 8 November, 1967.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41919796
|
Profile: Priti Patel - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The prominent Brexiteer rose swiftly to the cabinet after being elected as an MP in 2010, and was appointed as home secretary in July last year.
|
UK Politics
|
A high-profile figure in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet, Priti Patel was appointed home secretary in July last year.
A Eurosceptic, she was a leading figure in the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum.
Shortly after taking up the post of home secretary, she said she wanted criminals to "literally feel terror" at the thought of breaking the law.
A Cabinet Office inquiry into her conduct found that Ms Patel had "unintentionally" breached the ministerial code in her behaviour towards civil servants.
Her "approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying," the government's independent advisor on standards said.
Mr Johnson decided Ms Patel had not broken the ministerial code and could remain in her post as home secretary. Ms Patel said "I am direct and have at times got frustrated", but added: "It has never been my intention to cause upset to anyone."
The inquiry was launched in March 2020 after the resignation of the top civil servant at the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam. Sir Philip - who is suing for constructive dismissal - alleged staff felt that Ms Patel had "created fear".
As home secretary she has had to deal with several crises, including the London Bridge and Streatham stabbing attacks - later deemed by police to be terrorist incidents - and the deaths of 39 migrants in the back of a lorry in Essex.
She has also played a key role in drawing up a new points-based immigration system for after the UK's Brexit transition period, saying she wants firms to invest more in British workers "rather than simply relying on labour from abroad".
During the summer and autumn of 2020, she also took a leading role in negotiations with France over preventing a rising number of migrants crossing the English Channel.
Priti Patel has asked French authorities to intercept and return migrant boats trying to cross the Channel.
Ms Patel, who is 48, also served in Theresa May's cabinet as secretary of state for international development.
Her appointment was greeted with concern by some in the aid community, who recalled that she had previously suggested that the department should be abolished and subsumed into a new trade department.
In post, she said she wanted the UK's aid budget to provide greater value for money. The aid department has since been merged with the Foreign Office.
She resigned from the role in 2017 after it emerged she had held undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials while on holiday. She acknowledged that her actions "fell below the high standards" expected.
Born in London to Gujarati parents who left Uganda in the 1960s, she was educated at Watford Grammar School for Girls.
She went on to study at Keele and Essex universities before getting a job at Conservative Central Office, which she left to head up the press office for the Referendum Party, founded by Eurosceptic billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, from 1995 to 1997.
After William Hague became Conservative leader, she returned to the party to be his deputy press secretary, from 1997 to 2000.
She went on to spend a number of years working with the Weber Shandwick public affairs consultancy - reportedly advising Ikea, the Meat & Livestock Commission and British American Tobacco, among others.
She also had a spell as international public policy adviser for drinks giant Diageo.
Ms Patel sought to get elected to Parliament in 2005 but lost out in Nottingham North. A year later, she was one of those selected for new leader David Cameron's A-list of candidates and went on to become MP for Witham, Essex, in 2010.
Ms Patel achieved ministerial rank four years later as exchequer secretary to the Treasury, before promotion to employment minister following David Cameron's 2015 general election victory.
She is positioned on the right of the party - she voted against gay marriage, campaigned against the smoking ban, and previously advocated bringing back the death penalty, before later saying she did not support it.
Ms Patel, whose father stood as a UKIP councillor in 2013, names Margaret Thatcher as her political hero.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41913203
|
Wimbledon house death girl identified as Sophia Peters - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Judges lifted an order preventing the identification of Sophia Peters who died on Saturday.
|
London
|
Police were called to Blenheim Road in Wimbledon on Friday morning
A seven-year-old girl who died in hospital after an attack can now be identified as the daughter of the man charged over it.
Sophia Peters was found with serious injuries in a property in Wimbledon on Friday morning, but died on Saturday.
Her father, Robert Peters, 55, of Blenheim Road, Raynes Park, is charged with her attempted murder.
A court order put in place preventing the victim from being identified was overturned on Wednesday.
The order was put in place while the girl was fighting for her life in hospital.
It was later overturned at the Old Bailey by Judge Mark Lucraft QC.
It is believed Mr Peters runs an antiques firm with his brother in Kensington, west London, specialising in oriental ceramics and artworks.
Mr Peters is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Friday.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41911978
|
Northern Ireland 0-1 Switzerland - BBC Sport
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Northern Ireland's hopes of reaching a first World Cup in 32 years suffer a blow as a controversial penalty earns Switzerland victory in their play-off first leg.
| null |
Northern Ireland face an uphill struggle to reach a first World Cup since 1986 after losing to Switzerland in controversial circumstances in the first leg of their play-off at Windsor Park.
Ricardo Rodriguez scored with a penalty just before the hour mark after Corry Evans was deemed to have handled inside the area.
Though that decision was harsh as the ball clearly struck the defender's shoulder, the visitors were dominant throughout and might have won by a greater margin had they converted a series of other chances.
They are now strong favourites to reach a fourth consecutive World Cup when the two sides meet again in the second leg in Basel on Sunday.
The result was a disappointment for Northern Ireland, who followed an impressive qualifying campaign with a below-par performance in their first major finals play-off.
Michael O'Neill's side had finished second in Group C behind Germany. Six wins from their 10 matches was more than they had mustered in any previous World Cup qualifying campaign.
Switzerland led Group B throughout, having won nine fixtures in a row, but lost their last game 2-0 to Portugal to miss out on automatic qualification on goal difference.
• None We must channel our anger for second leg - O'Neill
In front of a raucous crowd of more than 18,000, Northern Ireland posed little threat for most of the game in the country's biggest match at Windsor Park for 36 years.
The Northern Irish have only reached the World Cup three times - in 1958, 1982 and 1986 - but are aiming to take part in back-to-back major tournaments for the first time, having played at Euro 2016 in France.
O'Neill's men boasted a formidable recent home record and had kept four clean sheets in their five qualifying games at Windsor Park, with last month's 3-1 defeat by Germany their first competitive home defeat for more than four years.
They had also won seven of their past 10 competitive matches in Belfast, but on this occasion they were never a match for three-time World Cup quarter-finalists Switzerland.
Kyle Lafferty headed over in the first half but the men in green's best chance fell to Josh Magennis, who headed off target from a Chris Brunt free-kick late in the game.
Rodriguez appeared to handle in the area soon after but referee Ovidiu Hategan waved play on, one of a number of baffling decisions made by the Romanian official.
Switzerland - who are 11th in the Fifa rankings, 12 places above their opponents - controlled proceedings, stamping their authority on the game from the outset and eventually securing the away goal to swing the tie firmly in their favour.
AC Milan defender Rodriguez sent goalkeeper Michael McGovern the wrong way from the spot to put his side well on their way to an 11th World Cup finals and their fourth in succession.
The visitors made light of the absence of Udinese midfielder Valon Behrami and ex-Arsenal defender Johan Djourou, with Gunners midfielder Granit Xhaka a prominent figure throughout.
He volleyed over the bar in the first half, while Haris Seferovic saw his close-range effort brilliantly saved by McGovern.
Early in the second half, Shaqiri curled an effort just off target and Seferovic was unable to connect with a cross from three yards out with the goal gaping.
But it was the penalty award that had everyone talking.
'Welcome to the dark ages'
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill on Sky Sports: "The referee has no-one in his line of sight. Corry's arm isn't in an unnatural position, it's by his side. The ball hits him on the back more than anything. I thought the referee had blown for a foul or an offside. Nobody had claimed for it.
"I'm staggered by the decision, staggered by the yellow card.
"It's such a defining moment in the match. The opening tackle by Fabian Schar was borderline. I thought it was a red card. The referee hasn't done us any favours."
Northern Ireland midfielder Evans: "It's disgraceful. I clearly didn't put my hand up. I'm gutted. It's devastating."
BBC Radio 5 live presenter (and ardent Northern Ireland fan) Colin Murray at Windsor Park: "Feel free to take the mic out of my hands if I overstep the mark in the next 20 minutes. We talked about history and occasion and how football can be a catalyst for change and for heroes. Yet here we are talking about referees. It's the dark ages. Welcome to the dark ages.
"The Republic of Ireland had Thierry Henry's handball in 2009 in a play-off for the 2010 World Cup. It was such a baffling decision tonight. There is nobody in Wales, England or Scotland who thinks that was a penalty. Nobody in Switzerland thought it was a penalty. It was shocking. Here's a clue: if the opposing team do not appeal for a penalty and you're standing on the wrong side of the player, it's probably not a penalty.
"There's no point reading out texts or tweets. There are no shades of grey with that decision."
Former Northern Ireland defender John O'Neill: "It was a terrible decision. It hit him on the top of the shoulder at best. You have to gauge the reaction of the players. They didn't think it was a penalty. The referee was awful through the whole game. He's the worst referee I've seen in a long time. It did spoil the night.
"I was disappointed with the Northern Ireland performance. In a game of this stature, we didn't perform. Switzerland were the better side by a mile. But if they didn't get the penalty, we'd have played awfully and might have got away with a 0-0 draw."
A defining 90 minutes in store for NI and O'Neill
Northern Ireland now face a major battle to pull back their deficit at St Jakob's Park in Basel, a ground at which only England have beaten Switzerland in a 17-game run stretching back to 2001.
O'Neill's men must plan for the game without Corry Evans, who received a second yellow card of the campaign for his alleged handling offence, which led to the penalty.
Evans was one of eight Northern Ireland players who went into the game one booking away from being ruled out of the second leg, a list which included skipper Steven Davis, who won his 100th cap in the first leg.
If Northern Ireland fail to progress, the match in Switzerland may be the last in a Northern Ireland shirt for international veterans Gareth McAuley, Aaron Hughes and Chris Brunt.
A defeat may also serve to increase speculation linking Edinburgh-based O'Neill with the Scotland managerial position left vacant by the recent departure of Gordon Strachan.
'We have to channel the anger'
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill on Sky Sports: "We have to forget about the penalty. I thought the players' reaction to it was very good. We played much better in the second half, the game was even. We are still in the tie. Maybe a referee will give us a decision in the second leg.
"I'll have to pick the players up. There's anger in the dressing room. We're going to have to find a way to get a goal back. Stuart Dallas' injury is a blow. I thought the players who came on did well. We might look to freshen the team up on Sunday. We have to channel the anger."
Switzerland forward Xherdan Shaqiri on Sky Sports: "I don't know if it was a penalty or not. I tried to get a shot on target and I don't know if he touched it with his hand or not. In the end the referee gave the penalty. That is football.
"We controlled the game over 90 minutes, had a lot of possession and created chances. We played much better than Northern Ireland and deserved to win.
"It is, for us, the best result to get. We knew it would be difficult. They have their own fans behind them. We are looking forward to Basel, the second leg and trying to win again to reach the World Cup."
The stats you need to know
• None This is the first time Northern Ireland have lost back-to-back home games since February 2012 (a run of three).
• None Indeed, they have now conceded in consecutive home games for the first time since October 2015, following a run of eight clean sheets in nine games at Windsor Park.
• None The hosts failed to register a single shot on target for the first time since facing Poland at Euro 2016.
• None All three of Ricardo Rodriguez's goals for Switzerland in this qualifying process have come away from home, making him the top Swiss away scorer in World Cup 2018 qualifying.
• None Switzerland have now won 10 of their past 11 competitive games, with the exception being last month's loss to Portugal which forced them into the play-off.
• None Offside, Switzerland. Admir Mehmedi tries a through ball, but Stephan Lichtsteiner is caught offside.
• None Attempt blocked. Steven Zuber (Switzerland) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Fabian Frei. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41840566
|
V&A to display Brutalist flats at museum - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A three-storey section of an East London council estate, soon to be demolished, is to be preserved.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
The Victoria & Albert Museum is to display a three-storey section of an east London council estate as an example of Brutalist architecture.
The section, which includes two flats, exterior facades and two interior staircases, has been acquired from Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar.
Designed by renowned British architects Alison and Peter Smithson, the block is due to be demolished and redeveloped.
The V&A has called it a "significant example of the Brutalist movement".
Brutalism, a movement characterised by exposed concrete in geometric patterns, arose in the 1950s.
It is regarded as a reaction to modernism, which consisted of elegant glass and steel structures.
Robin Hood Gardens was built in 1972 by the Greater London Council (GLC) and was later transferred to the local authority of Tower Hamlets.
The choice of Alison and Peter Smithson as architects gave the husband and wife team their only opportunity to create a council estate.
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 V&A 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.
Robin Hood Gardens was the result of their research in and vision for social housing.
It is distinctive for its noise-reducing features, like exterior concrete fins, and its elevated walkways, known as "streets in the sky".
The Smithsons said they regarded Robin Hood Gardens as "a demonstration of a more enjoyable way of living [and] a model, an exemplar, of a new mode of urban organisation."
A V&A spokesman said no decisions had yet been made on where and how the structure would be displayed.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41931440
|
Ben Nevis gets automatic weather station - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
For the first time in 113 years, live data is streaming from the top of the UK's tallest mountain.
|
Science & Environment
|
The station is temporary and will be taken down in December
Live weather data is being recorded again at the top of Ben Nevis, the UK's highest peak, after a 113-year gap.
Researchers have installed an automatic meteorological station that digitally collects information on temperatures, wind speeds and rainfall levels.
Until 1904, the same measurements were gathered by men who lived in a shelter at the summit.
The weather station was carried up the mountain, in the Scottish Highlands, by a team of researchers on Tuesday.
The new station means visitors to the UnEarthed exhibition in Edinburgh next week will be able to take a look in real-time at weather conditions on the mountain, something that was not possible previously.
Dr Barbara Brooks and her team from the NERC National Centre for Atmospheric Science carried the equipment up the mountain on Tuesday - and were able to be precise in their observations on the weather they encountered.
"We had some blue sky and then as we crested the summit the cloud banks rolled in and we got some light snow flurries. The temperature was -3.6C with a wind chill of -12C," she told BBC News.
Escorted by local guide Ron Walker, the team of five set up a solar-and battery-powered Vaisala WXT536 station to record wind speed and direction, pressure, temperature, humidity, and precipitation - specifically rain and sleet.
These are the measurements that the famous "Weathermen of Ben Nevis" would take by hand on the hour, every hour, during the period from 1883 to 1904.
They lived in a small shelter and telegraphed their observations to the town of Fort William down below.
Their original logs are now being digitised by volunteers for the Operation Weather Rescue: Ben Nevis project.
The Ben Nevis weather observatory was manned from 1883 to 1904
The NCAS team got all types of weather as they went up Ben Nevis
The old information is still useful because it can shed light on past storms in the Scottish Highlands as well as providing ongoing insights into how weather systems evolve as they pass over Scotland's largest mountains.
In addition, scientists say, it is all part of the broader archive of data that is needed to inform our understanding of Britain's climate.
"Next year, the UKCP18 report will be released and it will contain very detailed projections of how the UK climate could change," explained NCAS scientist Prof Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading.
"As part of that there are updated observations and these will include a gridded daily rainfall data-set back to 1891. That's brand new and it will include the recovered Ben Nevis information."
A 4G modem is used to send the weather data to NCAS at Leeds University
The newly installed weather station on the peak of Ben Nevis will only be in place until December, when it will be taken away again.
It has been bolted to some old metal caging about 15m from the pillar that in the past was used to measure the height of the mountain's summit (1,345m/4,411ft) and the surrounding peaks. A permanently installed weather station would require a more secure footing.
The scientists, however, are hopeful the interest around the digitisation project will inspire a successful long-term funding proposal.
This would enable a bigger installation to be flown up by helicopter. Additional instruments such as snow-depth sensors could be included.
Dr Brooks' team left a webcam in position on Tuesday, but a permanent station could have several looking out in all directions.
The "Ulysses storm": This is now much better understood
"The weather data would be useful for scientists but of course for the local community it would be more than that - not to be too dramatic about it, it could save lives," the Leeds University-based researcher said.
"They would be able to point and say to walkers, 'it may be the middle of August but it really is that cold at the top of Ben Nevis'."
Volunteers are still needed for Operation Weather Rescue.
Prof Ed Hawkins, who oversees the project, said it was 90% complete but some of the earliest rainfall, pressure and temperature data had yet to be digitised.
Photos of tables containing these measurements, which were gathered by the Victorian meteorologists between 1883 and 1887, are now online for citizen scientists to examine in detail.
"There is so much great information in these data-sets. There was a famous storm for example in 1903 that was mentioned in James Joyce's Ulysses because it knocked down loads of trees in Ireland.
"We can now reconstruct this storm much better because it also went right over the top of Ben Nevis and Fort William," Prof Hawkins said.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41918646
|
Port Talbot hospital caterers in £25m EuroMillions win - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The group of six receive more than £4m each after winning last Friday's EuroMillions jackpot.
|
South West Wales
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Five catering staff at Neath Port Talbot Hospital have handed in their notice after winning more than £25m on the National Lottery's EuroMillions.
The women each scooped more than £4m with a sixth member of the syndicate already retired.
They have played for the past six years but one member, Louise Ward only joined in October 2016, and it was her numbers that won the jackpot.
She admitted she had almost quit the syndicate.
"I was actually thinking about stopping playing earlier in the year as I have been saving up for my wedding in March and needed the extra cash," she said.
"Imagine if I'd stopped, we'd never have won."
The group won £25,476,778.30 from the draw on 3 November - amounting to more than £4.2m each.
The five colleagues still working at the hospital all decided to retire from work after learning of their win.
Syndicate leader Julie Saunders, 56, said: "I've enjoyed working there for many years along with the rest of the syndicate, but now it is someone else's turn to take on those roles.
"We will miss many of our colleagues as we have all worked there a long time but it is the start of something new for us all."
The women said their jobs had been "hard but enjoyable", with early shifts starting at 07:00, afternoon shifts and weekend working.
They decided to tell colleagues together and said everyone at the hospital had been "brilliant" about their news.
"Being able to give up work is something we've always talked about - this has just made our dreams come true," added Sian Jones, who worked at the hospital for 14 years.
They have all yet to buy anything with their winnings, apart from takeaways to celebrate.
Doreen Thomson said she had gone to Tesco with her husband for him to buy a pair of jeans and a nice top.
"He picked a pair of jeans up and said 'I'm not paying £35 for a pair of jeans' and he put them back," she laughed.
"My daughter was there and said 'dad, dad, do you know what you are?'
The women said being millionaires would not change them but they were looking forward to a trip to Las Vegas.
"We're still trying to digest it," added Mrs Jones.
"It's a vast amount of money. It's going to change my life and my children's lives forever."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-41915927
|
MP Charlie Elphicke 'does not know what he is accused of' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke was suspended by the Tories over "serious allegations".
|
Kent
|
A Conservative MP suspended by his party after "serious allegations" were made against him says he still does not know what he is accused of.
Charlie Elphicke, a former party whip who has been the MP for Dover and Deal since 2010, has denied any "criminal wrongdoing".
In a statement, the married 46-year-old said: "So what then is [the] explanation for what I am accused of?"
The Conservative Party has not yet commented on his statement.
Referring to an explanation for his suspension, Mr Elphicke said: "I cannot give one. Because I do not know what I am accused of."
He claimed the process being followed by the party was "fundamentally wrong".
The Conservatives have recently published a new code of conduct for MPs and other elected representatives.
Mr Elphicke, who was suspended last Friday, added: "The fact is that this whole area of reporting misconduct and managing allegations of misconduct is a mess."
He said he had received no further information since being told by the chief whip that serious allegations made against him had been passed to the police.
"I asked what the allegations were and he would not tell me," he said.
"He only said that he and the prime minister had decided the whip should be suspended from me.
"So extraordinary as it may seem, I am no wiser now than I was on Friday evening."
It is not clear which police force is dealing with the allegations, but when asked for a statement the Metropolitan Police said: "The Met does not identify any person who may, or may not be, subject to an investigation.
"Following the receipt of any allegation, investigating officers will only make contact with potential suspects if and when it is operationally appropriate to do so."
Mr Elphicke said it was "a denial of justice when people who have had allegations made against them, lose their job or their party whip without knowing what those allegations are".
He said this was "fundamentally wrong" and an "injustice to those who stand accused".
Everyone should be "equal before the law", and was "innocent until proven otherwise".
Mr Elphicke concluded: "Whatever it turns out I stand accused of, I deny any criminal wrongdoing."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-41931331
|
Twitter halts 'broken' verified-profile system - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The site had faced complaints that white-supremacist accounts were being verified.
|
Technology
|
Twitter has suspended its verified-profile scheme and described it as "broken", following complaints over the type of accounts being verified.
Typically, prominent people, including musicians, journalists and company executives, get a blue icon on their profile after proving their identity.
However, some far-right and white-supremacist accounts have now also been verified.
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said the scheme would now be "reconsidered".
Verified profiles display a blue badge next to their name
In a statement, the company said: "Verification was meant to authenticate identity and voice, but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance.
"We recognise that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it."
The company said no further "general" accounts would be verified, while it worked on a fix.
Twitter has been making a series of changes to address abuse and harassment on the social network.
Last week, it published a rewritten version of its rules, which it said would make them easier to understand.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41934831
|
Sainsbury's boss says UK 'through the worst' of weak pound - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Mike Coupe tells the BBC that food prices this Christmas will be "about the same as two years ago".
|
Business
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe says Christmas food prices are no higher than 2015
The boss of Sainsbury's has said the UK is "probably through the worst" of a weaker pound fuelling food inflation.
After years of deflation, Brexit currency movements meant there had been a "little bit of food price inflation" this year, chief executive Mike Coupe told the BBC.
But he said food prices this Christmas would still be "about the same as they were two years ago".
His comments came as the retailer reported a 9% fall in interim profits.
However, the decline was not as bad as expected and sales rose.
The UK's second largest supermarket chain said profits came in at £251m in the 28 weeks to the 23 September, while like-for-like sales excluding fuel went up by 1.6%.
It said the fall in profits was due to price cutting, wage cost inflation and the consolidation of Argos.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said he was "very pleased with progress".
The value of sterling has fallen sharply since last year's Brexit referendum, pushing up the cost of imports.
Initially, retailers were protected against those increased costs because they buy in advance, but more recently they have felt the effects of the currency devaluation.
However, Mr Coupe said the "impact on customers had been relatively limited".
He said the retailer was aiming to limit price rises, despite the recent pick-up in inflation.
"Food price inflation as measured by the government is around 2% and inevitably the things that we import - so they tend to be things like fresh foods - get a little bit more expensive on the back of that," Mr Coupe said.
"But we're probably through the worst, if the truth be told, and actually even today's prices are about the same as they were two years ago, so we as a business have done a very good job of protecting our customers from the more extreme challenges of inflation and the currency movements."
The supermarket chain took over catalogue retailer Argos and Habitat last year in a £1.4bn deal.
In the past six months, Sainsbury's has opened a further 73 Argos concessions in its stores, bringing the total to 112. It plans to have 165 by Christmas.
Mr Coupe said: "We have delivered a good performance across the group in the last six months.
"We are now three years into delivering our differentiated strategy and are seeing clear results."
Sainsbury's is looking to make cost savings amid fierce competition from discounters and rising food costs.
It says it has exceeded its cost savings target and will have managed to have saved £540m over the three years to the end of the current financial year. It also plans to make a further £500m of savings during the next three years.
Mr Coupe said the chain was continuing to "focus on offering our customers great value, supported by our removal of multibuys".
He was also asked whether discounters such as Aldi and Lidl were still making inroads into Sainsbury's customer base.
"We have always worked on the assumption that the discounters will continue to grow... but we have planned our business on that basis and the way our customers are shopping is changing.
"They're shopping with us more frequently and you can see that in our convenience store business - it's grown at 8%, they're shopping online, that's grown at 7% and increasingly they're shopping non-food with Sainsbury's, so for instance, our clothing business grew by 7%."
The company said its full-year profit forecast remained "in line" with market expectations.
However, Sainsbury's share price fell more than 3% following the release of the results. It subsequently recovered some ground and closed 2.1% lower.
Molly Johnson-Jones, senior Retail Analyst at GlobalData, said Sainsbury's "momentum" from the first quarter had not been maintained.
"Of all of the grocers, Sainsbury's improvement seems the most muted, and a focus on profitability must be maintained in order to prevent further investor discontent."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41925517
|
Eniola Aluko disappointed and surprised by players not supporting her stance - BBC Sport
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Eniola Aluko is "disappointed" England players have not supported her stance after Mark Sampson was found to have used racially discriminatory remarks.
| null |
Eniola Aluko says she has had no support from most of her England team-mates since her racial abuse case and questioned whether the squad's 'togetherness' was "just a hashtag on Twitter".
After three inquiries, former England manager Mark Sampson was found to have used discriminatory language to two players - Aluko and Drew Spence.
The Football Association has since apologised for its handling of the case, adding there was "much to learn from this episode".
But England striker Aluko, who has won 102 caps and lost her place in the team after making unproven allegations of bullying in a 2016 FA cultural review, says she has had no communication from her international team-mates, except for those she plays with at Chelsea.
This is despite the 30-year-old believing England players may "benefit" from improvements to the Football Association's grievance process resulting from the case.
Aluko has previously criticised the England players for running over to celebrate a goal with Sampson during their World Cup qualifier against Russia, which proved to be the 35-year-old's last game in charge.
She believes they need to adopt the policy of other international teams, who have fought equality issues as a "collective voice".
In her first interview since contributing to the Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport inquiry into FA governance at Westminster last month, Aluko told BBC Sport she was "proud the truth has been corroborated", but is keen to draw a line under a "stormy" episode and is open to helping the FA to improve its culture and grievance process.
She also said:
• None Players might have reacted differently if homophobic comments were made.
• None England players need to learn the meaning of real "togetherness" from their international peers.
• None They should elaborate on suggestions she is not a team player.
• None She is sorry for some of her tweets directed at England players when they celebrated with Sampson.
• None The "time has come" for Sampson to show humility - but she does not need an apology from him.
• None Playing for England is "not a priority" right now.
'Would there have been a different response if homophobic statements were made?'
England players have largely been silent in public since the FA apologised to Aluko.
She told BBC Sport: "Would there have been a different response if homophobic statements were made to players? I think there would be.
"Some of this is just a lack of appreciation of what racism is. A lot of this is, 'it hasn't happened to me, I can't relate to that, so I'm not going to comment'. That, to me, can't be a team.
"I've got to be able to put myself in your shoes and say, 'even though I can't understand what it may feel like, I'm going to try and understand and I'm going to support you regardless'. That is a team.
"So a lot of the stuff moving forward needs to be perhaps diversity training, collective conversations, difficult conversations. A lot has to happen, but we can look at other examples around the world and say we can do much better."
Aluko's case, which first came to light when details of her grievance and settlement were leaked to a newspaper in August, has asked many questions of the FA, and chairman Greg Clarke admitted the organisation had "lost the trust of the public".
It has come at a time when many women's teams are pushing for equality - European Championship runners-up Denmark went on strike in order to get a pay rise, while Norway's players are now paid the same as their male counterparts.
Aluko, who has been supported by fellow England players Anita Asante and Lianne Sanderson, says she has been "inspired" by those teams, and believes the Lionesses need to learn "true togetherness".
She said: "I've had a lot of support from other countries: Norway, Sweden, France, particularly the United States girls. In their case they have Megan Rapinoe taking a knee in protest at the treatment of black people in America, while others sing the national anthem.
"That was discussed among the team, and while some players didn't agree with her stance, they still respected it. That's what we need to learn from. I should not be sat here saying I haven't had any communication from my team-mates, bar the Chelsea girls.
"We need to look at other examples and ask why this isn't happening with a team ranked third in the world. Is the togetherness we keep banging on about actually being put into action or is it just a hashtag on Twitter?
"Unless we do that, I don't think we can achieve what we really want to."
'Players need to elaborate if they think I'm disruptive'
In a newspaper interview last week, England right-back Lucy Bronze suggested Aluko needed to be more of a team player if she was to represent England again.
But Aluko, who has "huge respect" for Bronze, says having played for England for 11 years, she "passed the test for the conditions required for an England player".
Asked if she was disruptive or a nuisance, she replied: "If there are any examples, then players need to come out and elaborate what they mean. If there were, I think they would have been raised by now.
"I'm not encouraging further discord between me and the players, not that I think there is any discord. As far as I'm concerned, last time I was in the team, everything was fine and nobody had any issues.
"So if anybody has any issues, they need to have specific examples, because what I'm not going to have are insinuations or stereotypes or perceptions to almost excuse what I've been through, because it doesn't excuse it."
Aluko has regrets about things she has said throughout the process, and apologised for criticising the players on Twitter when they ran over to celebrate with Sampson during the game against Russia.
"I think [the celebration] was naive and perhaps wasn't the best thing to do for the players," she said. "Some of them may have a special relationship with Mark Sampson and they have every right [to celebrate with him], but I think about the sensitivity at that time, and it wasn't respectful.
"Saying that, I did upset a few players at the time, and I apologise, I didn't mean to upset the players in doing that. There are things that, looking back, I maybe should have said or done but ultimately I'm just happy we are clear about the truth and I had no agenda to lie and no interest in lying.
"I didn't want this to be a public episode. I tried to avoid it as much as I could. One of the reasons I tried to settle in the first place was to avoid it being public and getting players involved."
Sampson was sacked by the FA less than 24 hours after his last game in charge for "inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour" during his previous job at Bristol Academy.
His departure was a surprise to the players, and came at a time when new evidence was presented to the independent barrister who was investigating Aluko's racial discrimination claims - evidence which proved decisive.
The Welshman has always denied Aluko's claim he told her to make sure her Nigerian family did not bring Ebola to the UK, and Chelsea and England midfielder Spence's allegation he asked her if she had been arrested four times.
Now those claims have been found to be true, Aluko says it is time for Sampson to "show humility" although she said she "didn't need" an apology from him.
"Whenever somebody messes up, whether it's me or the other person, I've always been taught that humility is one of the most important things to move forward, to be able to apologise; to say actually I was wrong," she said.
"I have empathy and sympathy with people who can do that. I find it hard to have empathy with people who can't.
"There has been a lot of denial, deflection, but ultimately there have been proven facts and I hope, if he goes through that process of humility, his future is bright."
'Playing for England not a priority right now'
Sampson has been replaced by interim boss Mo Marley, who has said she is open to Aluko rejoining the England team.
Aluko said "playing for England again is not my priority right now" but added she was "open" to being part of the reform process at the FA.
"My happiness is my priority. Playing well and scoring for Chelsea is my priority right now. Judging by the current situation and the sort of division of opinion in it, [the England squad] would be an uncomfortable environment, not just for me but a few other players.
"I've achieved a lot and I've not retired yet, the door is still open, but I have to be honest and say that it's not something that would make me comfortable right now. Playing for England is an honour, but it's not an honour if you are miserable doing it."
FA chief executive Martin Glenn told the BBC on Sunday that a new grievance and whistle-blowing procedure would be in place by Christmas.
Aluko added: "It would be inconsistent of me to sit here and say I want to be part of the conversation to move things forward and not say I'd be open to that."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41915005
|
Antonio Carluccio: 'Godfather of Italian cooking' dies - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
He was known for the Italian restaurant chain that carries his name and for his TV appearances.
|
UK
|
Celebrity chef and restaurateur Antonio Carluccio has died at the age of 80, his agent has said.
He was known for the Italian restaurant chain that carries his surname and for appearing on TV programmes, including the BBC Two hit Two Greedy Italians, alongside chef Gennaro Contaldo.
He wrote more than a dozen best-selling books and in 2012 launched his memoirs.
The restaurant chain has called him the "Godfather of Italian cooking" and said he will be "greatly missed".
"It isn't just Antonio's name above our doors, but his heart and soul lives and breathes throughout our restaurants," a statement from the Carluccio's restaurant chain said.
Jamie Oliver paid tribute to his "first London boss", working with the Italian at Carluccio's Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden 25 years ago.
"He was such a charismatic charming don of all things Italian," Oliver wrote on Instagram.
"Always hanging out the front door of the restaurant with a big fat cigar, a glass of something splendid and his amazing fuzzy white hair.
"Viva Antonio Carluccio... Cook a feast up there mate," he added.
Friend and colleague, Russell Grant, said he was "just the kindest and loveliest man to be with."
"He was so passionate about his cookery and where he came from," he told the BBC.
"Every mouthful would bring another story."
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 Gino D'Acampo 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 former Great British Bake Off winner, Candice Brown, said Carluccio was "a true gent and honest man".
TV chef James Martin called him "one of the true greats of TV chefs".
"His passion and commitment to both the restaurant business and to television was lifelong," he said in a statement.
"He was a giant in the food world and he helped bring Italian food to the masses around the world."
Celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo also paid tribute to his "good friend", while Nigella Lawson wrote: "Riposi in pace".
From the north-west Italian region of Piedmont, Carluccio worked as a journalist in Turin before moving to Vienna and Germany, and finally London.
In 2007, he received an OBE from the Queen for his services to the catering industry and in 2012, he was awarded the AA hospitality lifetime achievement award.
He received the Commendatore, the equivalent of a British knighthood, from the Italian government in 1998 for services to Italy.
Carluccio's television career began with his first appearance on BBC2 in 1983. He later appeared on MasterChef in 1991, before a three-year stint on Saturday Kitchen from 2006 and Two Greedy Italians in 2011.
His kitchen motto was simple - "minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour".
He also created more than 20 books, which included titles dedicated to pasta, vegetables and mushrooms.
In the months before his death, he had worked on a children's book, centred on two mushrooms.
In 2016, Carluccio told the Press Association about his secret to a happy life.
"My philosophy is to be happy and to make people happy," he said.
"And by result, if you make people happy they make you happy. I like to have money, because money is good. But it's not too good, you know?"
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41920229
|
Avon and Somerset Police officers sacked for rape voicemail - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Two officers are sacked for the "horrific" message they left for a woman whose child had been missing.
|
Bristol
|
The comments were inadvertently left on a family answerphone by officers who had been called out to deal with a "vulnerable child"
Two police officers have been sacked after they left a message on a woman's answer machine saying they hoped her child "would get raped".
The Avon and Somerset officers left the recording after being called to deal with a "vulnerable child", a misconduct hearing was told.
PC Samuel Dexter and PC Hannah Mayo are heard laughing and saying they did not care what happened to the child.
Both officers admitted gross misconduct and were dismissed without notice.
The hearing on Tuesday at police headquarters was told the child had been reported missing before being found by PC Dexter and reunited with the family.
But a short while later, according to the hearing outcome notice, the child's mother called the police again to report the child was "causing problems at the family home".
En-route to the property, PC Dexter and PC Mayo phoned the mother for more information and inadvertently activated the answerphone.
In the recorded message the officers can be heard laughing and saying they had "no interest whatsoever" in the child and both then said they hoped the child would "get raped".
In his verdict at the hearing, Chief Constable Andy Marsh said the comments had "broken the trust" the child's family had in the police.
He said: "[The comments] go way beyond the boundaries that could be described as dark humour.
"I cannot accept the comments were a mistake, they were far more serious than that, and the people we serve will be appalled to hear that police officers spoke in such a way about a child."
Ch Insp Mark Edgington, of the professional standards department, said the officers had "failed to treat the child and their family with respect".
"Both officers used appalling and horrific language about a vulnerable missing child and their family," he said.
"There are no excuses for their behaviour and their actions are not reflective of our force or the officers and staff who work extremely hard every day to safeguard and protect vulnerable people."
Both officers have offered "fulsome apologies" to the child and their family.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-41932817
|
Sussex Health Care: Woman arrested in neglect probe - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Police are investigating the treatment of 43 residents at nine homes across West Sussex.
|
Sussex
|
Orchard Lodge is one of nine homes being investigated by Sussex Police
A woman has been arrested on suspicion of neglect and fraud by police investigating the deaths of 12 care home residents.
Sussex Police are looking into the treatment of 43 residents at nine homes run by Sussex Health Care.
The force said the woman, from West Sussex, was currently in custody.
In a statement, Sussex Health Care said it would "continue to co-operate fully with the police in their investigation".
A spokesman confirmed it was aware of the arrest but said it was "not able to comment further at this stage".
Police are investigating allegations of a lack of care and safeguarding for 43 residents, of whom 12 have since died, at nine of the private firm's homes around the county.
The BBC understands that the 12 who have died include at least two young adults.
Last week, West Sussex County Council moved four residents out of one of the homes, Orchard Lodge, near Horsham, following a "further risk assessment".
Sussex Health Care said the move was unwarranted.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-41931420
|
No alternative but to sack Carl Sargeant says Carwyn Jones - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Wales' first minister defends the handling of allegations against Carl Sargeant who died this week.
|
Wales politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Carwyn Jones said he had "no alternative" but to sack Carl Sargeant
First Minister Carwyn Jones has said he had no alternative but to sack Carl Sargeant following allegations about his conduct.
Mr Sargeant's body was found on Tuesday, four days after he was dismissed as communities minister and suspended from the Welsh Labour party.
It is understood he took his own life but Mr Jones said he had acted "by the book" over the matter.
He said he would try to provide answers which Mr Sargeant's family deserved.
There has been criticism of the way Mr Sargeant was treated and his family has called for an independent inquiry.
Ex-Welsh Government minister Leighton Andrews, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies and Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood also want an inquiry, which Mr Jones suggested could take place in future.
Claims about inappropriate behaviour were made to the first minister's office last week and following Friday's sacking, the Alyn and Deeside AM had vowed to clear his name even though he said he did not know the details of the allegations.
An inquest into Mr Sargeant's death will be opened and adjourned on Monday.
Mr Jones met Labour AMs on Thursday to explain how he handled the conduct allegations against Mr Sargeant.
Mr Jones then made a statement from Welsh Government headquarters in Cardiff on Thursday afternoon.
He called the situation "the darkest days" any of those at the assembly could remember, but said they were the "darkest of all for the family".
A relentless drip-drip of disinformation had a strain on Mr Sargeant and others, Leighton Andrews says
Despite speculation Mr Jones could have resigned on Thursday, the speech made no reference to his own political future.
Speaking publicly for the first time since Mr Sargeant's death, he said: "There are a lot of inaccuracies in the press and many of you have questions to ask about what happened last week."
He said precise details "will need to be properly disclosed" at the inquest.
"I and my team will of course be cooperating fully with any questions that are raised there," he said.
"The family deserve to have their questions answered and if that isn't possible through the inquest then I will endeavour to make that happen through other means.
"I welcome any scrutiny of my actions in the future and it is appropriate for that to be done independently."
Paying tribute to Mr Sargeant, he said: "Carl was a true force of nature - he drove through more legislation than any other minister. Not just through force of argument, but through force of personality."
When Carwyn Jones finally appeared in front of the cameras today to deliver a statement on the death of Carl Sargeant and the events that led up to it, there was an expectation that the first minister would attempt to answer at least some of the many questions that have been raised since the former secretary's death.
Instead, while paying tribute to the man he described as a "true force of nature" he did little to answer the questions raised by Mr Sargeant's family and others.
A reference to a possible independent inquiry seemed equivocal at best.
The first minister's reference to "inaccuracies in the press" again raises more questions than answers.
If reports are inaccurate - why not correct them and why refuse to answer questions from journalists who are trying their best to report the situation accurately?
Carwyn Jones is human, of course, and I have no doubt that his grief and shock is genuine.
That may explain why a statement which would have been perfectly apt in the hours following Mr Sargeant's death seems insufficient and vague when delivered two and half days later.
Following the news conference, opponents rounded on Mr Jones.
Mr Davies said the episode has "significantly undermined public confidence in the first minister", while Ms Wood said the statement "was not adequate".
UKIP Wales said it would call for a motion of no confidence in the first minister.
And Mr Sargeant's lifelong friend and Flintshire council's deputy leader Bernie Attridge, called for Mr Jones to resign saying he "had not done the decent thing".
Mr Andrews said a number of people were expecting a "definite commitment to an independent inquiry" from Mr Jones' statement.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Andrews alleged Mr Sargeant had been the target of bullying in the Welsh Government.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Leighton Andrews wants answers from the first minister
Former public services minister Mr Andrews - claimed there was "minor bullying" and "mind games" during his time in government - and said the atmosphere was "toxic" during the last assembly term.
"The undermining was of ministers, deputy ministers and special advisers," Mr Andrews said in a statement issued on Thursday.
He said Mr Sargeant "was unquestionably the target of some of this behaviour. The relentless drip-drip of disinformation - and worse - had a strain on his and others' mental health."
The ex-Rhondda AM said he had raised one particular issue with Mr Jones, of which he had direct evidence, but claimed due process was not followed.
The Welsh Government has declined to respond to Mr Andrews' claims.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-41921678
|
Some savers 'worse off' as banks fail to pass on rate rise - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
In one case savers saw their rates cut on the very day base rates went up.
|
Business
|
Seven days after the rise in base rates, just 17 out of 150 providers have passed on improved returns to their savers.
The Bank of England raised rates by 0.25% to 0.5% last Thursday, the first rise in a decade.
Many banks are still considering whether to pass on the benefits.
But even if their provider does choose to increase rates in full, some savers will still find themselves worse off than when rates were last at 0.5%.
NS&I is among the providers that have announced an increase. The returns on all its variable rate products, including premium bonds, will rise by 0.25% from 1 December.
However Virgin Money actually cut savings rates on one of its ISAs on the same day that the Bank of England was raising rates.
Those with Virgin's ISA Saver saw rates reduced to 0.75% last Thursday.
That compares to an interest rate of 1.3% when base rates were last at 0.5% in August 2016, leaving savers worse off.
Another Virgin ISA, the Defined Access E- ISA, now pays just 0.51%, compared to 1.56% last August.
"Some people could be worse off than before the base rate was cut last year," said Tom Adams of consumer website Savings Champion.
It comes in spite of a plea by the governor of the Bank of England for banks to pass on the benefits of the rise.
According to Savings Champion, Virgin Money is not the only provider whose rates have fallen since August 2016.
Savers with the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks currently receive as little as 0.2% a year on a Flexi Cash ISA.
Even if those banks do pass on the rise in full, savers will only get 0.45%, less than the 0.7% return they were getting 15 months ago.
Nationwide has promised to pass on the 0.25% rise to all savers whose rates were cut by 0.25% in 2016.
Nevertheless customers who had a Flexclusive ISA Issue 10 will now expect to get a 1% return, compared to 1.5% last year.
Santander has announced that it will not raise the 1.5% credit savings rate on its popular 123 account.
It will raise rates on some of its savings products from 4 December, but most adults will not see the 0.25% passed on in full.
Lloyds has also announced that it will increase savings rates, but most of its customers will see a rise of just 0.15%.
Virgin Money said customers were warned about last Thursday's ISA rate cut back in July. Because it is a 120 day notice account, savers had to be told four months in advance.
Virgin also said it had paid rates that were above the market average over the last few years.
By contrast, lenders have been quick to raise the cost of mortgages.
Most customers with tracker mortgages have seen an immediate rise of 0.25%.
So far 20 banks have announced increases to their Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgages, including Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, Nationwide, Santander and TSB.
HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest are still considering their plans.
"Although not all are increasing their rates that may well be because they didn't pass on the last cut, so borrowers should still be considering whether they could be getting a better deal by shopping around," said David Hollingworth, associate communications director at London and Country Mortgages.
"Those that have been eyeing a fixed rate will also have begun to notice that fixed deals have already been nudging up."
TSB, Metro, Tesco and Atom Bank are among those whose fixed rate products have gone up, although this will only affect new customers.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41917891
|
Harry Potter game is Pokemon Go creator's next trick - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An augmented reality smartphone game based on the young wizard's adventures is planned by Niantic.
|
Technology
|
A logo but no footage has been released for the new game
The maker of Pokemon Go has revealed it is working on a Harry Potter-themed follow-up that will also include augmented reality features.
Niantic said players would find and fight fantasy beasts in real-world neighbourhoods in the smartphone game, which has yet to get a release date.
One expert said the Harry Potter brand had the potential for similar success.
Publisher Warner Bros Interactive owns the video game rights to the Harry Potter series. It has previously developed Lego-branded tie-in titles via its TT Games subsidiary as well partnering with Electronic Arts to create action-adventures that launched alongside the movies.
Warner said Niantic's Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was just one of several new games based on JK Rowling's characters that are planned. They will all be released under a new label - Portkey Games - so-named because Portkeys transport wizards from place to place in the books.
Niantic continues to add features and characters to Pokemon Go
Claims that Niantic would make a Harry Potter-themed game were first reported in July 2016 but were dismissed as a hoax, not least because the San Francisco-based developer was still rolling out Pokemon Go at the time.
The Pokemon title became the first mainstream hit for augmented reality, in which real-world views captured via a camera are mixed together with computer graphics on the screen.
Niantic had previously attempted to popularise AR with Ingress, a location-based sci-fi game released in 2012. But it was only after it took on an established brand that it caught the wider public's attention.
Lego-themed Harry Potter titles have already proved to be highly popular on games consoles
"I think the Harry Potter game is a huge deal," commented Piers Harding-Rolls from the IHS Markit consultancy.
"If you look at the different major franchises out there, I don't think there are many that could do Pokemon Go justice as a follow-up."
Relatively few details have been provided at this point about the forthcoming game, except that it will involve players learning spells before exploring their neighbourhoods to search for mysterious artefacts and fight "legendary beasts" with the option to team up with others to "take down powerful enemies".
Potter fans have been told they will have to wait until next year to discover more.
The title is likely to take advantage of enhanced augmented reality features provided by Apple and Google via their ARKit and ARCore developer tools, which were not available when Pokemon Go launched.
But Niantic may be mindful that many of Pokemon Go's remaining fans play it with its AR features switched off because it makes the game easier to play and helps save battery life.
"I expect the Harry Potter augmented reality experiences will be more robust and complex than they were in Pokemon Go, which should make the game more dynamic and the experience more engaging," Mr Harding-Rolls predicted.
"But I still don't think they will be essential to the experience."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41929307
|
Self-driving shuttle bus in crash on first day - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The human driver of another vehicle is blamed for colliding with the self-driving bus.
|
Technology
|
The technology was first tested in Vegas at the start of this year
A self-driving shuttle bus in Las Vegas was involved in a crash on its first day of service.
The vehicle - carrying “several” passengers - was hit by a lorry driving at slow speed.
Nobody was injured in the incident which city officials say was the fault of the human driver of the lorry. The man was subsequently given a ticket by police.
The shuttle is the first of its kind to be used on public roads in the US.
The collision comes a day after Waymo - owned by Google's parent company Alphabet - announced it is launching a fully self-driving fleet of taxis in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Las Vegas shuttle, designed to ferry passengers to the famous strip, uses a system developed by Navya, a French company also testing its technology in London.
The shuttle carries up to 15 people and has a maximum speed of 30 mph (48km/h), but typically travels at around 15 mph (24km/h).
A spokesman for the City of Las Vegas told the BBC the crash was a “fender bender” - a minor collision - and that the shuttle would likely be back out on the road on Thursday after some routine diagnostics tests.
“A delivery truck was coming out of an alley,” public information officer Jace Radke said.
"The shuttle did what it was supposed to do and stopped. Unfortunately the human element, the driver of the truck, didn’t stop.”
Self-driving technology has been involved in crashes before, but almost all reported incidents have been due to human error.
Earlier this year an autonomous vehicle being tested by ride-sharing company Uber in Arizona rolled over after another driver on the road failed to give way.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Powered by electricity the new buses are on trial around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
An incident involving a Tesla Model S, which has some autonomous functions, killed a man in 2016. An investigation ruled that computer failings were partly to blame. Tesla was instructed to make the limitations of its technology clearer to drivers.
Experts have said that even with these incidents, self-driving technology could still make our roads significantly safer. A study from the RAND Corporation, published this week, argued that self-driving technology should be rolled out despite its imperfections.
“Waiting for highly autonomous vehicles that are many times safer than human drivers misses opportunities to save lives,” the report said.
"It is the very definition of allowing perfect to be the enemy of good.”
You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41923814
|
House price falls now widespread, say surveyors - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The RICS survey suggests prices are still rising in Scotland and Wales, but by no means everywhere.
|
Business
|
Houses in Norfolk are among those falling in value, according to the RICS survey
House prices are now falling in four areas of the country, according to the latest report from chartered surveyors.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said that prices are declining in London, the South East, East Anglia and north-east England.
However, other parts of the UK are seeing an improvement in activity.
Scotland, Wales, north-west England and Northern Ireland have continued to see rising prices, according to RICS.
At the same time the UK's largest estate agent reported a 7% fall in revenues in the three months to the end of September.
The RICS report on the housing market is gloomy overall, citing fewer buyers and sellers, as well as falling sales.
Across the country as a whole, it said prices were flat, with just 1% more surveyors reporting rises in October than those reporting falls.
The survey appears to contrast with data from the Halifax, which said earlier this week that house price growth had risen to 4.5% in the year to October.
The surveyors thought the short-term outlook for prices was even more negative.
When asked what they thought would happen to house prices over the next three months, a majority reported falling values in London, the South East, East Anglia, the South West, the North East and the West Midlands.
RICS said that last week's rise in base rates was one factor behind the "stuttering" market.
Around four million mortgage holders will see a rise in interest rates as a result of the Bank of England's decision to increase rates by 0.25% to 0.5%.
"The combination of the increased cost of moving, a lack of fresh stock coming to the market, uncertainly over the political climate and now an interest rate hike appears to be taking its toll on activity in the housing market," said Simon Rubinsohn, RICS' chief economist.
"A stagnant second-hand market is bad news for the wider economy, not just in terms of spending, but also because it restricts mobility."
Countrywide, which owns 600 branches of estate agents, said its full year results were likely to be at the lower end of market expectations.
"The market for housing transactions remains challenging," said chief executive Alison Platt.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41917884
|
Obama reports for jury duty in Chicago and is dismissed - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Crowds turned out to see him, only for the judge to decide his services were no longer required.
|
US & Canada
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Barack Obama excited a few potential jurors when he reported for jury duty in Chicago
Former US President Barack Obama has turned up for jury duty at a Chicago courthouse, but was dismissed by the judge without being called on to serve.
Crowds thronged the Daley Center municipal building to catch a glimpse of the 44th US president.
There was no official explanation for his dismissal, but it is not uncommon for people called to perform jury service not to be assigned a case.
Mr Obama arrived at court on Wednesday morning and left around midday.
The former president, who was once a law professor, has a house in Chicago.
Each potential juror is paid about $17.20 (£13.11) from the county.
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 Alyssa 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.
News helicopters filmed Mr Obama's motorcade as it moved from his home in the Kenwood neighbourhood to an indoor car park downtown.
Obama was greeted by crowds of supporters
Wearing a jacket but no tie, Mr Obama took a lift to the 17th floor, where he was met by other jurors as well as journalists, court staffers and lawyers.
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 Angel Martinez 𓅓 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 ACoyGirl 🎧✌🏼 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.
He was not there for long. Mr Obama was randomly selected for dismissal and was told his services were not required by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evan.
Earlier the former president watched an "introduction to jury duty" video.
Before leaving Mr Obama thanked everyone who turned up for being willing to serve on a jury.
Some of his fellow Americans brought copies of Mr Obama's books for him to sign. Others, including courthouse staff, just wanted a photo.
One potential juror told a local newspaper she felt like a "piece of melting butter" as she shook the former president's hand.
Later in the day, Mr Obama delivered a paid speech to investment firm GCM Grosvenor, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
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 4 by Lauren Petty 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.
Katie Hill, communications director for Mr Obama, said in a statement that the former Democratic president "believes the most important office in our democracy is that of citizen, and he considers jury duty a core obligation of citizenship".
Mr Obama had previously been summoned in 2010, during his first four-year term as US president, but he managed to get a postponement from the court.
His reason was that he had a previously scheduled meeting with the president of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
In 2015 former President George W Bush was called to jury duty in Dallas, Texas.
After posing for photos with other jurors, he was also dismissed.
In 2013, Bill Clinton was also dismissed from serving on a New York City jury hearing a gang shooting case.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41921910
|
Carl Sargeant not given natural justice, family says - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Family of sacked minister says Labour did not give him enough detail of allegations against him.
|
Wales politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Carl Sargeant "wasn't dealt with fairly", says Labour AM Jenny Rathbone
The family of sacked Welsh Labour minister Carl Sargeant has said he was deprived of "natural justice".
He was found dead on Tuesday after being sacked from the cabinet and suspended from Labour.
He faced allegations of "unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping".
Leighton Andrews, a former key ally of Carwyn Jones, said he is "angry" the first minister did TV interviews commenting on allegations.
The former AM and cabinet minister said Mr Jones had not followed "due process" by speaking to the media on Monday.
On Thursday Labour AMs will meet for the first time since Mr Sargeant died.
First Minister Carwyn Jones's spokesman said: "Like everyone in the Welsh Labour family Carwyn is deeply upset by the death of his friend.
"Tomorrow Welsh Labour AMs will meet in the assembly to remember Carl and discuss the tragic events of the past week. Carwyn will make a further statement following the meeting."
On Monday Mr Jones told the BBC and ITV there were "a number" of allegations made by women against Mr Sargeant.
But Mr Andrews told BBC One's Wales Live programme that he felt the first minister should not have made any public comments after the matter was referred to the Labour Party on Friday.
"Having passed this over on Friday to the Labour party, on Monday the first minister is doing interviews with the BBC and I think with ITV as well in which he is elaborating on the story and commenting on the story," he said.
"Well, that is not due process.
"I'm very angry at those interviews on Monday and the anger within the Labour Party across Wales and beyond the Labour Party in Carl's local community, people in other political parties, people in no political party.
"People do not think Carl Sargeant has been treated fairly."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Leighton Andrews said the allegations should have been dealt with "behind closed doors"
His comments came after Mr Sargeant's family released correspondence between his solicitor and Labour to highlight their concern over his treatment.
It shows Mr Sargeant pushed for more specific details on the claims, and that his mental well-being was being affected.
Relatives said he was distressed at being unable to defend himself.
The Labour Party said that, in line with agreed procedure, the nature of the allegations was outlined to Mr Sargeant.
The Alyn and Deeside AM had vowed to clear his name after being sacked as communities secretary by Mr Jones on Friday, but said he did not know the details of the allegations.
It is understood he took his own life.
A family spokesman said on Wednesday they were publishing the correspondence "in light of the continued unwillingness" of the Labour Party "to clarify the nature of the allegations made against Carl".
"Up to the point of his tragic death on Tuesday morning Carl was not informed of any of the detail of the allegations against him, despite requests and warnings regarding his mental welfare," the spokesman said.
"The correspondence also discloses the solicitor's concern that media appearances by the first minister on Monday were prejudicing the inquiry.
"The family wish to disclose the fact that Carl maintained his innocence and he categorically denied any wrongdoing.
"The distress of not being able to defend himself properly against these unspecified allegations meant he was not afforded common courtesy, decency or natural justice."
In a statement through solicitors later, the family added that they hope "there will be a full investigation and scrutiny of the way that the relevant parties concerned dealt with the allegations, Mr Sargeant personally and the statements that have been made in the press and media".
"Those that owed a clear duty of care to Carl and to his family will, no doubt in due course, need to provide clarity on their respective positions in this tragedy," they added.
"No support was offered to Mr Sargeant other than that personally offered by close friends and family," the family added.
Carl Sargeant's family have released two emails and a letter sent between his solicitor and Welsh Labour. It includes:
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. MP Mark Tami says if procedures were followed in the run-up to Carl Sargeant's death something had gone "badly wrong"
Mr Sargeant's Westminster constituency colleague, Labour MP Mark Tami, said Mr Sargeant's family were "angry" because "they obviously have questions about the process and how it has ended up with this".
"I think they need some space to try as best they can to come to terms with what has happened to Carl," he said.
"If the procedure's been followed then we need to look at the procedure because something's gone badly wrong."
The first minister is facing questions from within his own party about how the situation was handled, after finding out about the allegations early last week.
Staff from his office, but not civil servants, spoke to the women involved and referred their complaints to Welsh Labour, which was investigating, and suspended Mr Sargeant.
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 Chris Bryant 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.
Jenny Rathbone, Labour AM for Cardiff Central, said she felt Mr Sargeant "wasn't dealt with fairly".
"If allegations are made against you, you must know what they are so that you can respond to them," she said on BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme.
UKIP Wales leader Neil Hamilton called on Mr Jones to resign, saying he "failed to fulfil his duty of care" to Mr Sargeant.
Brecon and Radnorshire Conservative MP Chris Davies also called on the first minister to resign, saying the way he had handled the matter was "terrible".
What did Carwyn Jones know about allegations of misconduct against Carl Sargeant - and when?
In a television interview two days ago, the day before the death of the ex-cabinet secretary, Carwyn Jones insisted that the first time he heard of the allegations was last week.
But multiple sources from more than one party have told me that Carwyn Jones had discussed allegations of misconduct with Carl Sargeant once before, and had received an explanation of the incident.
Are the sources right? The simple answer is I do not know.
But Carwyn Jones knows the truth and he should answer the question as soon as possible.
A book of condolence for Mr Sargeant was opened in the assembly on Wednesday
A Labour Party spokesman said: "Following allegations brought to the attention of Welsh Labour by Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, an investigation was launched by the UK party.
"The Labour Party Governance and Legal Unit spoke with Carl Sargeant and, in line with agreed procedure, outlined the nature of the allegations that had been received and how the complaints process works."
A book of condolence for Mr Sargeant was opened in the assembly on Wednesday.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-41908424
|
Recap: How Priti Patel’s resignation unfolded - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Rolling updates as International Development Secretary Priti Patel resigns from her job.
|
UK Politics
|
Kate Osamor MP, Labour's shadow international development secretary, said Priti Patel appeared to have breached the Ministerial Code and "gone behind the government's back and misled the British public."
She continued: "After initially denying the allegations, then repeatedly changing her story and failing to disclose all of her meetings, it is right that she has now resigned.
"But we still need to know what was discussed in these meetings and what Number 10 and the Foreign Office knew and when."
She said Theresa May needed to "get control of her chaotic cabinet".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-41920238
|
Penny Mordaunt appointed as Priti Patel's replacement. - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Penny Mordaunt is appointed as Priti Patel's replacement as International Development Secretary.
| null |
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41934017
|
Gordon Brown warns of Brexit 'crisis point' - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
| null |
Gordon Brown tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg Leave voters might think again on Brexit next summer.
| null |
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has warned that the UK may hit a "crisis point next summer" as the UK edges closer to Brexit and held out the possibility that the UK may not leave the EU.
He said that he was not now advocating a second referendum, but suggested that there "may be scope for a reassessment" as voters began to realise, he suggested, that the promises of the Leave side of the referendum campaign would not be fulfilled.
He suggested that there could be a "game changer" from the EU side that allowed the UK to rethink.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41935901
|
Penny Mordaunt: Reshuffle maintains cabinet's Brexit balance - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Laura Kuenssberg says the PM is not looking for more drama after eight days of turmoil.
|
UK Politics
|
Choosing ministers is about more than just who is best for the job.
There are good reasons why Penny Mordaunt has been promoted to the Department for International Development.
She has worked in humanitarian aid, she has been a minister in two different departments, former colleagues rate her abilities and she was tipped last week to be elevated to running the Ministry of Defence.
But there is a lot more to her than meets the eye, and a lot more that is interesting about her than going on TV in a swimsuit, although no doubt, for many voters, that is the way they will have come across her before.
She also has a different political qualification - she was prominent campaigning Brexiteer.
By promoting her, rather than others, Theresa May has opted to preserve the precarious balance around the cabinet table.
There has been an almost equal split, not so much between those who were tagged as Leavers or Remainers in 2016, but the two sides of the argument now - those who want a future closely tied to the European Union and those who want a much looser arrangement.
In Whitehall's technical lingo it's now known as "high or low alignment".
And by keeping the balance roughly 50-50, disregarding what one cabinet minister described as the "swing voters" - those like Sajid Javid, Liz Truss and Jeremy Hunt who are not considered to be dogmatic on the issue - it means that in effect, Theresa May has the decisive vote.
In theory that allows her, in a position with little authority, to be able to tip the balance relatively easily in either direction when the big Brexit decisions have to be made.
Time for that is clearly pressing, with Brussels giving the UK only a couple of weeks to show movement, in particular on the Brexit bill.
It's not clear if the UK will feel able to move forward on the bill that soon - that is a difficult debate to come.
The very limited changes to government today however won't obstruct the path of those decisions.
Ms Mordaunt has a sense of humour, and is far from a political drone - but her appointment is also about Theresa May trying to quietly hold the current cabinet equilibrium together.
With this appointment, after the eight days of turmoil, the prime minister is not looking for drama.
PS: It's worth noting too, that the first MP from the Tories' 2015 intake was brought into government today.
Victoria Atkins so far has stood out in Westminster for saying that people thought President Trump was a "wazzock". Let's see what she has to say next!
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41936423
|
Priti Patel's exit will pose problems for May - BBC News
|
2017-11-09
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Theresa May needs to restore a sense of calm after a chaotic week.
|
UK Politics
|
It was precisely a week ago that I was summoned to the Ministry of Defence to ask Sir Michael Fallon why he was resigning.
Seven days on, for an unconnected reason, Theresa May has just lost another one of her ministers.
That time the resignation was rather differently handled - some private speculation through the day, then a discreet summoning to a quiet room in the department until one of the minister's team came to say: "Be ready, the secretary of state is resigning, we are finalising the letters between us and Number 10 right now."
This time, the process has been more like a pantomime, with speculation rife for nearly 24 hours that she was on her way out, no-one in government moving to quash it, leaving journalists, on the first day of parliament's recess, free to track Priti Patel's plane online then her journey back to Westminster.
Goodness knows what Ms Patel's Ugandan hosts, who were expecting her to visit today, make of it all.
Beyond today's palaver, though, her exit throws up problems for Mrs May.
It is never as simple as one out, one in.
Mrs May, who hoped to earn her authority back through competence, and orderly government, needs to restore a sense of calm after a chaotic week.
To convey even a limp grip on power, misbehaving ministers need to be brought in line, and a restive Tory party needs to be able to believe Number 10 has some capability left.
But with Ms Patel's departure, the prime minister must try most importantly to preserve the delicate balance around the cabinet table.
Ministers' make up is finely tuned between those who desire a loose arrangement with the European Union after Brexit and those who want to stay tightly bound.
With the balance more or less equal between those factions, it's as if the prime minister has the casting vote.
For as long as that formula is preserved, both sides will preserve her.
Upset that equilibrium with the wrong choices in a reshuffle, even of one, and the way through the most challenging decisions the government faces becomes more complicated, and the prime minister's own position more precarious still.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41922823
|
Sanremo tornado: Huge waterspout forms off Italian coast - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
It was spotted off the coast of Sanremo and moved inland as a tornado, causing damage in the city.
| null |
It was spotted off the coast of Sanremo and moved inland as a tornado, causing damage in the city.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42204016
|
Officer accidentally Tasers partner - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
Bodycam video has been released showing the moment it happened in Ohio.
| null |
Bodycam video has been released showing the moment a police officer Tasered his partner.
The incident happened in Riverside, Ohio when the officers were attempting an arrest.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42190886
|
Russia-Trump: Who's who in the drama to end all dramas? - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
It was just like House of Cards. Or maybe Game of Thrones. Trump-Russia was the only drama that mattered.
|
US & Canada
|
It was more gripping than any box set we could get our hands on.
Over two years, the investigations into Russian interference in the US election, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, delivered daily developments and drama worthy of anything seen in House of Cards.
In the end, 35 people and three companies were charged by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Here's our guide to the main characters in the four seasons of the only political drama that mattered.
This was the season in which Donald Trump, the reality TV star, took centre stage in his own political drama by launching a presidential campaign. He was supported by his family and got the attention of the Russians. The season ended with a cliffhanger - could Trump the outsider actually win?!
It's been a while since all of this happened, so let's remind you of the key players in this season.
Who was he? Donald Trump, the billionaire candidate (who by Season Three is the 45th president of the United States). If you really need a refresher, here's his life story.
Key plot line As Donald Trump was busy traversing the country canvassing for votes in Season One, Russia hacked into the emails of his Democratic rivals, investigators later said.
The question is why? Was the Kremlin trying to alter the outcome of the election, and what did Trump and his campaign know?
Skip forward to the end of Season Four and Mr Trump stood triumphant before reporters in a Florida airport, celebrating what he called "a complete and total exoneration".
But in between, there was no shortage of drama or tension.
Who was he? He was Trump's campaign chairman before being forced to quit over his ties to Russian oligarchs and Ukraine.
Key plot line He was one of the biggest dominoes to fall. When he ended up being arrested, it was a big season-ending shocker.
Manafort hung around a bit in Season One, but then disappeared from view for a while.
He quit the campaign after being accused of having links to pro-Russian groups in Ukraine. He also sat in on a crucial meeting with a Russian lawyer who may have been trying to feed the Trump team classified information (more on that later).
After an FBI raid on his home in Season Three, Manafort was found guilty on eight charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failing to disclose foreign banks accounts and is sentenced to 47 months in prison.
In Season Four, he agreed to co-operate with a special counsel inquiry in exchange for a reduced prison term. But then, in a twist - prosecutors claimed he breached his plea bargain by repeatedly lying to the FBI.
Read more: The man who helped Trump win
Who was he? The president's eldest child, who it emerged met some questionable Russians.
Key plot line Donald Trump Jr's role in this unfolding saga all came down to a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer, which was set up by a music publicist (the full details of which come out in Season Three). If it sounds random, then in many ways it is.
The publicist, Rob Goldstone, offered Trump Jr a meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, promising him dirt on Hillary Clinton.
This meeting was the key to much of our plot line because it raised several key questions. Did this amount to the campaign colluding with a foreign government? Why did he agree to the meeting?
What happened at the meeting was the scene investigators played over and over again as they tried to work out if there was any impropriety. In the end, no collusion charges were brought.
Donald Trump confounded his critics by winning the presidency. But the transition was as gripping as the season before it as Trump picked his cabinet, introducing key characters to the mix.
The season ended with Trump taking the oath of office on a cold January morning - but there were more twists to come.
Who was he? The granite-faced former general who later became the shortest-serving member of Donald Trump's cabinet. He resigned after not being honest about his contact with a Russian official - and was later charged with making false statements to the FBI.
Key plot line Flynn was appointed national security adviser just days after the election, against the advice of then-President Obama, who warned Trump not to hire him. Flynn's starring role came in December 2016, just before Trump was sworn in, when he spoke to the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.
The Washington Post and New York Times said the men discussed Russian sanctions, and that Flynn later lied to the Vice President Mike Pence about the conversation (Mr Kislyak says the men discussed only "simple things").
The substance of those talks eventually led to Flynn being prosecuted as part of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
At the end of Season Three, in December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI about what he and Kislyak discussed.
With that, the investigation reached Trump's inner circle.
Read more: Out after 23 days - who is Michael Flynn?
Who was he? Many roads in this drama led back to Sergei Kislyak, the jolly and charismatic figure, who up until July 2017 was the Russian ambassador to Washington.
Key plot line Kislyak's role in this drama remained unclear up to the end - but many of the players in this drama had meetings with him, and that put them in awkward spots.
The key questions for investigators were: why were they drawn to him, and what was said? The Russian ambassador spoke to both Flynn and Attorney-General Jeff Sessions - meetings which both Trump officials didn't initially acknowledge took place.
Anything else we should know? Well, Russia fiercely fought back against claims on CNN that Kislyak was a "top spy and recruiter of spies".
Who was he? Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III hovered in the background during Season One, when he was an Alabama senator and a trusted Trump adviser, but we really got to know him during Season Two, when he became Trump's nominee for attorney general, a job he kept for almost two years.
Key plot line Sessions was one of several Trump aides to meet Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak, and question marks emerged over the nature of those meetings.
When the FBI investigation focused on the Trump campaign, Sessions stood down from the inquiry, much to Trump's irritation.
That decision to step down dogged him to the end, and he was written out of the series close to the end of Season Four, when Trump forced him to resign.
That move put control of the Mueller investigation into the hands of a Trump loyalist.
Read more: An attorney general dogged by scandal
This was where the drama really picked up and all the plot lines came together. A lot of the background characters we saw in Season One came back with a vengeance and the infighting got nasty - and this is when the police started circling.
Who was she? A Russian lawyer with a fearsome reputation who fought against US restrictions on Russia. But was she a Kremlin stooge?
Despite earlier denials, she admitted in April 2018 to being an "informant" for Russia's prosecutor general.
Key plot line Hers was a small but crucial role - she's the one who Manafort, Trump Jr and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met in June 2016, the details of which begin trickling out a year later in a flashback sequence.
She said the meeting was to discuss adoptions - but those who helped set it up said she was offering dirt on the Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
While the meeting became a central plot point, whatever happened inside never actually led to any charges.
That meeting would never have happened without...
Who were they? Emin Agalarov is Azerbaijan's biggest pop star, of course. Have you not heard Love is a Deadly Game? Emin helped bring Donald Trump's Miss Universe competition to Russia and the two are close enough to send each other birthday messages. His dad, Aras, is a billionaire who mixes in the highest circles of influence in Moscow.
Key plot line Again in a flashback scene, we met Emin as he set the wheels in motion on that Trump Jr meeting.
An email sent to Trump Jr suggested Emin was offering information on the Democrats (Emin said he wasn't). The email also said Aras Agalarov had apparently met the "crown prosecutor" of Russia - a role that weirdly didn't exist - and got information on Hillary Clinton.
Who was he? He became deputy attorney general under Jeff Sessions. In the TV drama of the Russia scandal, this is the sort of role that would go to a solid Broadway actor you recognise but can't put a name to.
Key plot line When Sessions stood down from leading the main investigation into the Trump-Russia ties, it fell to Rosenstein to do that job. In a major plot development, he appointed a special investigator - not a popular move with the White House.
Read more: Who is Rod Rosenstein?
Who was he? Married to Trump's daughter, Ivanka, Kushner was the character who was seen but very rarely heard.
Key plot line Amid cries of nepotism, he was given a plum White House job as senior adviser to the president with a wide-ranging portfolio. It was his contacts with the Russians during the election campaign and beyond that led investigators to circle him.
In June 2016, Kushner attended THAT meeting with Donald Trump Jr and the Russian lawyer. He said he was so bored he messaged his assistant to call him so he could leave.
Kushner was also another character who had repeated contact with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak - contact that he initially failed to disclose.
Read more: The son-in-law with Trump's ear
Who was he? A British former tabloid journalist, with a penchant for selfies in silly hats, was perhaps an unlikely addition to the cast, but in most good dramas there's always room for the slightly out-of-place eccentric.
Key plot line Rob Goldstone found his way into Donald Trump's circle of trust thanks to his connections with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov.
Goldstone managed the pop star, and it was he who contacted Donald Trump Jr on behalf of his client to set up that now-infamous meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016. Goldstone sent an email to Trump Jr promising dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Read more: The Music Man with a love for hats
Who was he? At 6ft 8in, James Comey was a towering figure, the character who gave little away about himself personally but had a huge role in this story.
Key plot line He first entered this drama in Season One, when as head of the FBI he reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails - just weeks before the election. Democrats blamed him for her loss, Republicans hailed him a hero. That, we thought, was the last we'd seen of him.
Jump ahead to Season Three, when months into the Trump presidency, Comey was fired by the new president. In true television drama style, he learned of his sacking as he was watching TV news during a trip to LA. Up to then, Comey was heading up an investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Even by the end of the series, whether this amounted to obstruction of justice by the president remained an unresolved plot point.
Comey's testimony to the Senate was one of the most set-pieces in the series up to this point, as - under oath - he told politicians he was asked to pledge loyalty to the president, but refused.
Read more: The FBI director who took centre stage
Who was he? A former election adviser to Trump, although you'd be forgiven if you didn't remember the face. He was in only a few scenes in Season Two, but he had a massive role to play in Season Three, becoming the first person to plead guilty as part of the investigation.
Key plot line In late October 2017, court documents emerged showing Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.
After lying to the FBI, he deleted an incriminating Facebook account and destroyed a phone.
His guilty plea and co-operation with the investigation had the potential to damage the US leader because it related directly to his campaign - but in the end, it didn't do so.
Who was he? The man who held the fate of the Trump presidency in his hands.
Key plot line Some characters wielded a lot of power, but didn't have a starring role, such as Robert Mueller, the tall chiselled figure who was appointed as "special counsel" to take over the Russia investigation after the dismissal of James Comey. Mueller came from the same stock as Comey - both were former heads of the FBI.
There were no showboating scenes and powerhouses speeches from Mueller in this series - we only ever saw him studiously working in his office.
There were reports that the president considered firing Mueller at one point - but Mueller stayed in the background doing his job until the very end of the series.
After Season Three ended with the first charges being laid down by Robert Mueller, things really sped up in Season Four. The president's fury with the special counsel investigation increased and he fired his Attorney-General. But the series ended with no charges laid against the president and a sense of victory in the White House. Might we see a spin-off series...?
Who was he? OK, he wasn't Putin's chef by this point, but he once was. In Season Four, he was the man accused of spearheading Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.
Key plot line A little out of the blue, Mueller announced charges against Prigozhin and 12 other Russians, accusing them of tampering with the US election by (among other things) organising and promoting political rallies in the US.
In one surreal flashback sequence, we even see the Russians trying to buy a cage large enough to hold an actress dressed as Hillary Clinton in a prison costume.
Read more: Seven key takeaways from indictment
Who was he? The man who once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump - but who instead turned against him.
Key plot line Cohen, as Trump's long-time personal lawyer, lingered around the edges of the plot for the first three seasons, but became the big player of the fourth.
When Mueller's team began looking into Cohen's finances, they passed on their concerns to investigators in New York.
Then the plot took an unexpected new turn: Cohen, a long-time Trump loyalist, flipped and began co-operating with investigators. Not only that, but he ended up giving them a lot of help in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Cohen ended up admitting violating campaign finance laws, committing tax evasion and lying to Congress.
The last shot of the entire series was a mournful Cohen being locked into his jail cell.
Who was he? A long-time Washington political operative who acted as an informal adviser to the Trump campaign. He called himself an agent provocateur, and once defended his actions by saying: "One man's dirty trick is another man's political, civic action."
Key plot line Stone was one of those memorable bit-part characters in Seasons One and Two - a colourful character known for his fiery tongue, sharp suits and the Richard Nixon tattoo spread across his back.
Towards the end of Season One, he appeared to let the cat out of the bag, hinting on Twitter that there was damaging information coming out on Hillary Clinton. Soon after, that information (that we later learned was found by Russia) was made public.
After a bit of a lull in the middle of Season Four, investigators indicted Stone on seven counts of witness tampering, obstruction and false statements, although he wasn't charged with co-ordinating with Russia.
All the way through, he denied any wrongdoing. He, like the president, called the investigation a "witch-hunt" and once said the accusations of collusion with Russia were "a steaming plate of bull".
Text by Rajini Vaidyanathan and Roland Hughes; illustrations by Gerry Fletcher
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40709270
|
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wow Nottingham crowds on first joint visit - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Well-wishers in Nottingham come out in force to welcome Prince Harry and his new fiancee.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their 2017 visit to Nottingham
Meghan Markle has had a taste of royal life, as she joined her fiance Prince Harry on their first joint official public engagement in Nottingham.
Excited crowds cheered as the couple greeted well-wishers ahead of a visit to a World Aids Day charity fair hosted by the Terrence Higgins Trust.
They split up to talk to people lining both sides of their route and were given cards, flowers and chocolate.
After the charity fair, they met head teachers at a nearby school.
Well-wishers gathered in the city ahead of the visit to catch a glimpse of the couple, including Helena Bottomley, Zoe Scott and Carole Bingham, from East and West Bridgford.
Ms Scott said: "We love the royals. We are genuinely happy for Harry."
"We all had our children at the same time as Diana [Princess of Wales] so we feel a real allegiance. She would be so thrilled," said Ms Bottomley.
The couple announced their engagement on Monday and are due to marry at Windsor Castle in May.
One of the people Prince Harry stopped to speak to was Julie Ball, 51, of Netherfield, who said the prince had commented on her Santa gloves.
"He said 'great gloves' and pulled one down over my fingers," she said. "I said they're from Primark for £3.
"When Meghan walked past she said the same thing. She said, 'We have the same taste.'"
Another member of the public shouted to Prince Harry: "How does it feel being a ginger with Meghan?"
"It's great isn't it?" The prince replied.
Dickie Arbiter, former royal spokesman, told the BBC the couple took their time to talk to as many people as possible on their 30-minute walkabout.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A card designed especially for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been given to them
The couple's engagement was announced on Monday
University of Nottingham students Raushana Nurzhubalina, from Kazakhstan, and Jenn Galandy, from Canada, set their alarms for 06:00 GMT to get a prime spot to try to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
"It is such an honour to see the royals," Ms Nurzhubalina said.
"I'm also a fan of Suits, so it is a chance to see a star of that too."
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 Kensington Palace 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.
Royal fan Irene Hardman had a goody bag ready to hand over to the couple, including copies of the local paper and two fridge magnets "so they don't fight over it".
Speaking afterwards, the 81-year-old said: "I cried - she's wonderful, and it's fantastic. They're so genuine."
They are due to marry at Windsor Castle in May
By the time the royal couple arrived, the pavements in the Lace Market were packed.
Prince Harry and Meghan spent around half an hour meeting the people of Nottingham who had come out in force despite the cold.
Meghan appeared very relaxed and perfectly at ease. This was her first official royal engagement with Harry and if she was nervous at all it did not show.
She smiled, she chatted, at one point she even picked up someone's glove and handed it back to them.
This was a confident first public appearance. The couple split up at points to cover both parts of the pavement and meet the maximum number of people. Meghan was happy to shake hands with the crowd and as she wasn't wearing gloves, the ring was on show.
Tactile with her fiancée and the crowd - it's fair to say the response from the people was overwhelmingly positive.
After the walkabout, Prince Harry and Ms Markle went to the Nottingham Contemporary Exhibition Centre for an event to mark World Aids Day.
Dominic Edwards, from the Terrence Higgins Trust, told the BBC the charity was "thrilled" the couple had chosen to visit Nottingham, and said: "I think it really underlines his great support for HIV as a cause."
Royal commentator Richard FitzWilliams, said this visit represented a link with the legacy of Princess Diana's influential work on HIV 30 years ago and was "no coincidence".
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 Kensington Palace 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.
Prince Harry has spent time in Nottingham both publicly and privately since he first met young people there in 2013, when he was exploring issues around youth violence.
A year later, he established the Full Effect programme, which aims to stop youth violence in the city.
At Nottingham Academy, the couple will watch a "hip hopera" and meet students.
The handbag Ms Markle chose to carry on her Nottingham visit has already sold out.
The bag was made by the Scottish label, Strathberry, which said "it was a fantastic surprise" to see the bride-to-be carrying one of its designs.
Ms Markle was wrapped up in a long navy coat by Mackage - a brand also favoured by actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Eva Mendes and Blake Lively.
She wore the coat over a beige cotton, full midi skirt from British-based fashion label Joseph, priced at £595, which also sold out on the brand's website.
On Tuesday, the couple's spokesman said Ms Markle would not be continuing her work on gender with the United Nations or with other organisations and instead would start new charity work as a full-time royal.
Mr Knauf said she planned to focus her attention on the UK and Commonwealth.
"This is the country that's going to be her home now and that means travelling around, getting to know the towns and cities and smaller communities," he said.
She will also become the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
The foundation is behind Prince Harry's Invictus Games - the Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and women and veterans - and also the mental health charity Heads Together.
It has also been announced that Ms Markle intends to become a British citizen and will work towards it in the coming years.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42181189
|
Kaspersky Labs: Warning over Russian anti-virus software - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The government issues a new warning about the security risks of using Russian anti-virus software.
|
UK
|
The British government has issued a fresh warning about the security risks of using Russian anti-virus software.
The National Cyber Security Centre is to write to all government departments warning against using the products for systems related to national security.
The UK cyber-security agency will say the software could be exploited by the Russian government.
Security firm Kaspersky Labs, accused in the US of being used by the Russian state for espionage, denied wrongdoing.
Kaspersky Labs is widely used by consumers and businesses across the globe, although they are not being advised to stop using the software, as well as by some parts of the UK government.
Officials stress they are not recommending members of the public or companies stop using Kaspersky products, which are used by about 400 million people globally.
Barclays has stopped offering free Kaspersky software to customers as a "precautionary decision".
On Saturday, the UK bank emailed 290,000 online banking customers who had downloaded Kaspersky over the past decade - but advised those with the software already installed to take no action.
A Barclays spokesman said: "Even though this new guidance isn't directed at members of the public, we have taken the decision to withdraw the offer."
For it to work, anti-virus software like that sold by Kaspersky Labs requires extensive access to files on computers and networks to scan for malicious code.
It also requires the ability to communicate back to the company in order to receive updates and share data on what it finds.
However, the concern is that this could be used by the Russian state for espionage.
Officials say the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)'s decision is based on a risk analysis, rather than evidence that such espionage has already taken place.
In the new government guidance, Ian Levy, NCSC's technical director, said: "Given we assess the Russians do cyber-attacks against the UK for reasons of state, we believe some UK government and critical national systems are at increased risk."
The NCSC is understood to have been in dialogue with Kaspersky Labs and says it will explore ways of mitigating the risks to see if a system can be developed to independently verify the security of its products.
It comes amid heightened concern about Russian activity against the UK.
Last month, Prime Minister Theresa May warned the Russian state was acting against the UK's national interest in cyberspace.
Following her warning, Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the NCSC, said Russia had targeted British infrastructure, including power and telecoms.
"Beyond this relatively small number of systems, we see no compelling case at present to extend that advice to the wider public sector, more general enterprises, or individuals," Mr Levy said.
"Whatever you do, don't panic.
"For example, we really don't want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large as it makes little sense."
Kaspersky has faced a series of accusations in the US press in recent months.
It responded to one claim, that it downloaded classified US material from a home computer in the US, by presenting a detailed explanation of what took place.
It has always said there is no truth to the claims.
Earlier this week, Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive and co-founder of the company, told me: "We don't do anything wrong. We would never do that. It's simply not possible."
He denied claims the Russian state could use the company.
"It's not true that the Russian state has access to the data. There are no facts about that," he added.
Mr Kaspersky said that if he was ever asked by the Russian state to hand over data he would move his company out of the country.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42202191
|
World Cup 2018: England boss Gareth Southgate 'will not write off' tournament - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-01
| null |
Manager Gareth Southgate says England "cannot go to a World Cup and not try to win it", as they prepare for Friday's draw.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section England
Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two & the BBC Sport app from 15:00 GMT, live on BBC Radio 5 live Drive from 15:20 GMT and follow live text commentary from 13:00 GMT on the BBC Sport website.
England manager Gareth Southgate says his side "cannot go to a World Cup and not try to win it".
The draw for next summer's tournament in Russia takes place from 15:00 GMT on Friday, with the Three Lions in the second pot of seeded teams.
It will be Southgate's first major finals in charge of the national team.
"We've got to attempt to win each game, be as prepared as we can be, and see how far we can go," the 47-year-old told BBC Sport.
"Of course, a lot of these players are going to peak in two to four years' time, but we can't just write off the tournament. I don't think anyone in England would accept that.
"We can't go to a World Cup and not try to win it."
• None England's best and worst scenarios in Russia
• None All you need to know about the World Cup draw
England have not won a knockout game at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when they were beaten in the quarter-finals by Portugal during Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign.
At last year's European Championship, England's failure to make it past the last-16 stage cost Roy Hodgson his job as manager.
"Our last two tournaments have been a disappointment," said Southgate, who took over following Sam Allardyce's short-lived spell in charge last year.
"We've got to remember where we are starting from with this group of young players. But equally they're fiercely ambitious, everything is ahead of them and it's not for me to put a limit on their expectations."
• None How have England improved since the 2014 World Cup?
• None Listen: Butland should be England number one - Banks
Who is Southgate desperate to avoid?
A tough scenario for England in Friday's draw, which will be shown live across the BBC, would see them drawn in the same group as five-time winners Brazil, seven-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt, and Serbia.
An easier draw, on paper, would see them in a group with Poland, Iran and Panama.
England know they cannot meet Spain in the group stage, but Southgate is not focusing on who he would like to avoid.
"It's not that the draw is irrelevant but you can worry yourself silly thinking who you are going to play. We have got to be prepared to play everybody," he said.
"In the past we have become unstuck against teams we'd be expected to beat perhaps, and at times we have played really well against teams that might be seeded higher than us."
How will England acclimatise in Russia?
Spread over 1,800 miles, 12 stadiums across Russia will host the 64 matches that comprise the 2018 World Cup.
Southgate confirmed England will be based in Repino, which is about 50km from St Petersburg, no matter what happens in Friday's draw.
"The longest flight is three hours, we do that on a bus journey from St George's Park for our games at Wembley, for us that's neither here nor there," said Southgate.
"Of course with any venue you never get absolutely everything you like but feel that's the best option for us."
Southgate earned 57 caps for his country between 1995 and 2004, and said he is able to draw on his experiences of playing at three major tournaments.
"Under both Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan there was a relaxed environment," said the former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender.
"There is enough tension around tournaments anyway without the manager adding to that. It's important for the players to feel relaxed on a day-to-day basis. You are trying to maintain some normality around the bubble that is the World Cup.
"That's not easy, but I think we have a good culture within the team, a group of players who enjoy each others' company."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42189878
|
Jeremy Bowen: 'Why I testified against Praljak' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
How the BBC's Jeremy Bowen ended up in court with a war criminal who has died after taking poison.
| null |
In 2007, Jeremy Bowen testified against Slobodan Praljak – a war criminal who has died after taking poison at the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague.
This is the story of the role the BBC's Middle East editor played in the trial of one of the key figures in the Bosnian civil war.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42186725
|
'Suicide pact' trial: Natasha Gordon found guilty - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Natasha Gordon entered a suicide pact but left Matthew Birkinshaw to die alone.
|
Cambridgeshire
|
Natasha Gordon denied assisting in the death of Matthew Birkinshaw
A woman has been found guilty of encouraging the suicide of a man she met online.
Natasha Gordon, 44, had denied encouraging or assisting in the death of Matthew Birkinshaw.
The 31-year-old postman, from Walsall, West Midlands, was found dead in his car at Rutland Water in December 2015.
Gordon, of Paston in Peterborough, was found guilty at Leicester Crown Court. Sentencing has been adjourned to a later date.
After the trial, Mr Birkinshaw's parents said it had been the "longest, hardest, saddest and most traumatic two years of our lives".
Matthew Birkinshaw's parents paid tribute to their "thoughtful, sensitive, generous and compassionate" son
The court heard the pair made contact on an internet forum where Mr Birkinshaw spoke of ending his life.
Gordon had attempted to encourage six others to commit suicide and told the postman she was prepared to be his "suicide partner", prosecutor Tim Cray told the jury.
In a message to Mr Birkinshaw, Gordon said: "I really can't wait to go tomorrow, I hope you do not change your mind."
The court heard the pair travelled to Rutland Water together but Gordon left Mr Birkinshaw because she "couldn't go through with it".
Mr Cray said: "This is a million miles from a mercy killing. All the evidence shows she thought and talked about suicide and was prepared to tell people she'd just met that it was the right thing to do."
The court was told Mr Birkinshaw was in good health, part of a loving family and had a girlfriend.
His parents urged others "who may be struggling with these feelings" to seek out agencies that can help.
"If this message averts one tragedy, it will mean that something positive has come out of the death of such a beautiful and much-loved son," they said.
Gordon told the court she had no input into Mr Birkinshaw's decision to kill himself and he had "wanted to die".
She told the jury: "Matthew offered for me to go with him, it wasn't the other way round."
The court heard Gordon had a history of depression and in January 2015 had attempted to kill herself.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-42197216
|
Welsh and Scottish health ministers call for folic acid in flour - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The Welsh and Scottish health ministers want Jeremy Hunt to act to reduce neural tube defects in babies.
|
Health
|
The Welsh and Scottish health ministers want Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to make it compulsory for UK suppliers of flour to fortify it with folic acid.
In a joint letter, they argue this will help reduce neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in unborn babies.
Figures from Food Standards Scotland show roughly four out of five women of childbearing age in the two nations are deficient in the key nutrient.
The US and 85 other countries already have a policy in place.
Scotland's Health Minister, Aileen Campbell, and her Welsh counterpart, Vaughan Gething, wrote: "Both our governments have long called for further action in this area at a UK level.
"There remains a compelling case for action across the UK to reduce neural tube defects incidence, particularly in the most socio-economically deprived areas."
It came after an independent Scottish review found it would not be cost-effective or practical to implement that change in Scotland alone.
The Scottish government had considered making the change last year.
Folic acid occurs naturally in dark green leafy vegetables but the findings found three-quarters of women across the UK don't get enough.
The ministers said their position is supported by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, where 83% of women of childbearing age have folate deficiency.
Government advisers have recommended adding folic acid to flour for 18 years.
In the meantime, some food manufacturers have reduced the amount of folic acid they add to other foods, such as cereals, in anticipation of the fortification of flour.
A Department of Health spokesperson said they will carefully consider the recommendations and "respond in due course."
In Scotland, 158 babies were born between 2007 and 2011 who were suffering from neural tube defects while 131 pregnancies were terminated after these were detected over the same period.
A spokeswoman from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) also backed the call, saying: "We strongly support the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects in the UK, which often result in the termination of a much-wanted pregnancy.
"There are very few public health interventions which have such a strong evidence base as this one."
Andy Wynd from the charity Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland said: "The issue of flour fortification is particularly relevant in Scotland as more children are born with spina bifida in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK."
Citing research from other countries, Mr Wynd said that adding folic acid could reduce neural tube defects in Scotland by some 70%.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42199080
|
PM 'cheering on' Debbie McGee on Strictly Come Dancing - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Theresa May says her constituent is doing very well on BBC dance show.
|
UK Politics
|
The prime minister says she is "cheering on" Debbie McGee to win this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
Theresa May said Ms McGee, who is one of her constituents, was "doing very well" in the BBC show but her rival Alexandra Burke was also "very good".
Last year the PM backed her political rival, ex-shadow chancellor Ed Balls.
The show has proved popular with politicians. Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable and former Tory MP Ann Widdecombe have both taken part in past series.
Ms McGee made her name as assistant to her late husband, the magician Paul Daniels.
She is a former ballet dancer and is one of the favourites to win the dancing show.
The prime minister said she had not been watching the foreign secretary's father, Stanley Johnson, on I'm A Celebrity; Get Me Out of Here.
But she told reporters, during a trip to the Middle East, she had been "cheering on my constituent Debbie McGee in Strictly Come Dancing".
Asked if she thought Ms McGee could win, the prime minister replied: "She's very good. Alexandra Burke is also very good, but one or two of the men seem to be quite dark horses too.
"So it is a good quality competition this year."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42190162
|
Britain is braced for a cold snap overnight amid snow and sleet - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Forecasters predict further wintery showers over parts of eastern England and Scotland.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Snow footage from around the UK
Parts of the UK could face disruption on Friday morning, amid warnings of wintry showers and plunging temperatures.
Parts of eastern England, Kent and Scotland have been blanketed in a layer of snow, but forecasters say another 5cm (2ins) could fall in some areas.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice and snow over eastern England and Scotland.
It urged people to be careful on roads and pavements.
The warnings are in place until 10:00 GMT on Friday.
Overnight temperatures will be below freezing across much of the UK, falling to as low as -8C degrees in some parts of Scotland.
BBC weather presenter Rebecca Graham said the wintry showers will continue coming further inland, into the East Midlands, the South East and Kent.
Snow surrounded the Angel of the North, near Gateshead
Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire in the snow
Bradders sent this picture of a residential street in Harrogate to BBC Weather
Snow fell at the coast, including at Scarborough
"There will be a mix of snow and sleet, chopping and changing between the two," she added.
She said icy roads may be a problem where gritters had not managed to be out.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
In Scotland, snow and ice caused road accidents and school closures, while a number of higher routes were closed.
Unusually, snow also blanketed beaches on the east coast, creating picturesque scenes.
But a light dusting in London - which caused "snowwatch" to trend on social media - led some to wonder what all the fuss was about.
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 Jeremy Vine 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 2 by Pixie Lott 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 Clarence House 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.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42183729
|
How Theresa May's handling the Trump tweet row - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The PM seeks to make her point about Donald Trump's retweets - without causing a diplomatic crisis.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Should Donald Trump's state visit be called off?
There are many - not all of them Opposition party MPs - who frankly detest Donald Trump and all his works, who wanted to see Theresa May and her ministers come down much harder on the 45th President of the United States today.
They hoped the PM would hit back at his dismissive tweet against her in harsher language - and even announce that the president's state visit to the UK was now off.
But it's also worth noting that publicly cancelling a state visit - and remember these invitations come, at least officially, from Buckingham Palace not from Downing Street - would elevate this unprecedented and extraordinary trans-Atlantic spat into a full blown diplomatic crisis between the UK, and its most important strategic ally.
The prime minister has reason to try to avoid that. There's the strategic partnership she and the home secretary mentioned today, and there's the importance of the US to Britain's hopes of building new trading links after Brexit, which they didn't mention.
There's also the fact that Theresa May plainly felt she had made her point today without escalating this row beyond the point of no return.
Mrs May and her home secretary, Amber Rudd, were at pains to stress that no date has been set for a state visit no-one at Westminster now imagines will happen any time soon.
You could argue preserving Britain's influence as a global player after Brexit looks like a tough challenge.
But managing a calm and stable relationship with a president like Donald Trump looks like a task that's well beyond Theresa - and arguably - anyone else.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42182410
|
'Escape' artist rescued after failing to escape - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
A Belgian performance artist is cut free after spending 19 days chained to a marble block.
| null |
A Belgian performance artist has been cut free after spending 19 days chained to a marble block.
But Mikes Poppe, who had been chipping away at the block, said he did not see his inability to escape as a failure.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42196955
|
Southampton University in new pay row - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Vice-chancellor Sir Christopher Snowden was awarded a pay package of £424,000 last year.
|
Family & Education
|
The vice-chancellor of Southampton University was awarded a pay package of £424,000 last year - £72,000 more than he earned the previous year.
Accounts show Sir Christopher Snowden was paid £352,000 in 2015-16, during which he was in post for 10 months.
The university said the extra reflected a full year's salary and the national higher education pay award of 1.1%.
But Sally Hunt, of the University and College Union, criticised his decision to accept the pay rise.
Ms Hunt, the union's general secretary, said the rise demonstrated "once again how out of touch university vice-chancellors can be".
She said that Sir Christopher was "already one of the best-paid vice-chancellors in the UK, on a salary that had been publicly questioned by the universities minister".
And she added: "To accept this kind of pay rise, while saying he must axe 75 academic jobs because money is tight, beggars belief."
A statement from the university said the 1.1% pay rise was the only increase in Sir Christopher's remuneration since his appointment, and that he had declined a similar increment for 2017-18.
"The lower salary figure published for 2015-16 reflected only 10 months of his first year spent in office," it said.
"The vice-chancellor's salary was set and is regularly reviewed and agreed by the university's independently-chaired remuneration committee, which reports to the University Council.
"The vice-chancellor is not a member of the remuneration committee and only attends by invitation to discuss other business."
The university also paid £9,000 into a pension scheme from which he had opted out.
The university drew criticism from Universities Minister Jo Johnson in the summer.
He said in a speech: "There is one institution on the south coast that has seen vice-chancellor pay rise from £227,000 in 2009-10 to £350,000 to 2015-16, which is really quite a sharp increase."
It comes two days after the UK's highest paid vice-chancellor Dame Prof Glynis Breakwell stepped down.
The University of Bath boss had become the focus of criticism for her £468,000 salary.
Lecturers had complained that her pay had risen much more rapidly than the salaries of university staff.
Dr Gill Rider, chair of the University Council, said: "The University of Southampton is a world-renowned teaching and research institution with over 24,000 students, 6,500 members of staff and a turnover of £590 million per annum, less than a quarter of which comes from EU/home tuition fees.
"We recruited Sir Christopher to Southampton two years ago because we wanted an outstanding leader for the university.
"He is a hugely respected academic, knighted for his services to engineering and higher education.
"He is one of the most experienced vice-chancellors in the sector with a track record of delivering long-term exceptional results, and he is a former president of Universities UK.
"He has held international leadership roles in the private sector, including as a plc chief executive, and he has served on the prime minister's Council for Science and Technology.
"Sir Christopher brings breadth and depth of experience that is critical to Southampton's long-term success."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42196462
|
Parents 'face tension at UK borders over surnames' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
MP says children's passports should include parents to avoid "suspicion" when their surnames differed.
|
UK Politics
|
Parents who have a different surname to their children have felt "humiliated" at British ports by "over-zealous" border officials, MPs have heard.
Labour's Tulip Siddiq said she faced an "air of suspicion" after a holiday, as her daughter has her father's name.
She said if Brexit was to bring new passports, it would be a good time to "iron out" difficulties and include parents' names on children's passports.
The government said it would "actively consider" how to tackle the issue.
But Home Office minister Nick Hurd warned there were "formidable difficulties" with what was being proposed.
Ms Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said a "growing number of parents in the UK" found holidays being "blighted by confrontations that are both unnecessary and entirely avoidable".
In a Commons debate on Friday, she described being stopped at the UK border before boarding Eurostar, after a trip to France, having been separated from her husband.
Pushing her 18-month-old daughter in a pram, she found herself being questioned about her identity.
"To my shock, the situation became quite tense. The official kept asking me for more and more documentation which I did not have and I explained over and over again that the child had my husband's last name, not my last name.
"My daughter was saying 'mama, mama' and crying because the unfortunate incident took so long, but even that didn't seem to convince the border official.
"My problem was that there was a real air of suspicion and I was made to feel like I was doing something wrong when I had just gone on holiday with my daughter and husband."
She said it was not only women travelling with their children but foster parents and "numerous LGBT couples" travelling with adopted children who had contacted her having been "questioned mercilessly" at borders.
She said she did not want to compromise the efforts of Border Force to tackle child trafficking, but "thousands of British parents" had been "unduly harassed and interrogated by officials at the UK border".
One constituent returned to Gatwick from a holiday with her eldest daughter from a previous marriage who had special needs. The girl was asked "is this your mother?".
She told Ms Siddiq it had been a "painful" experience "genuinely thinking that our re-entry to the UK depended on my daughter, who has minimal cognitive ability".
Another had been left "humiliated" at Stansted when border officials "refused to believe" her 12-year-old was her daughter.
"These stories are the tip of the iceberg," said Ms Siddiq. "Children's passports were introduced in the 1990s and list the child's name, and date and place of birth only. It is high time that they were updated to reflect the changing circumstances of British families."
She said both parents' names could be included on children's passports which would save "time, confusion and ultimately money at border control".
Children should be able to grow up knowing their identity was one of their choosing and "does not leave them treated by over-zealous border officials as criminals", she added.
Mr Hurd, a father of six, said he understood the challenge of travelling with small children and that the border system should not be doing anything to exacerbate parents' "stress".
He said it was "not in doubt" that many people felt a grievance about the issue, but there were occasions where children were taken across borders which "gave rise to safeguarding concerns", and "reasonable steps" were needed to avoid putting children at risk. Questioning by Border Force officials was done "with the best of motives".
Even if children's passports contained parents' names "it would not provide conclusive evidence to a border officer that the person accompanying the child had the right to do so or was acting in the best interest of the child".
But Mr Hurd said: "Having spoken to the immigration minister, I know that he does understand the present situation is causing difficulties, particularly in cases where children have different surnames to a parent.
"Therefore I am happy to give her the commitment on his behalf that he is going to actively consider how we can take this forward."
The Home Office's advice on the subject says it would help single parents with a different surname to their child to have a marriage or divorce certificate with them.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42194140
|
Morrisons data leak: Supermarket liable for staff details breach - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Thousands of current and former employees claim the supermarket failed to keep their data safe.
|
England
|
More than 5,000 current and former employees are seeking compensation from Morrisons
Morrisons has been found liable for the actions of a former member of its staff who stole the data of thousands of employees and posted it online.
Workers brought a claim against the company after employee Andrew Skelton stole the data, including salary and bank details, of nearly 100,000 staff.
The High Court ruling now allows those affected to claim compensation for the "upset and distress" caused.
The case is the first data leak class action in the UK.
Morrisons said it believed it should not have been held responsible and would be appealing against the decision.
The case follows a security breach in 2014 when Skelton, then a senior internal auditor at the retailer's Bradford headquarters, leaked the payroll data of employees.
He posted the information - including names, addresses, bank account details and salaries - online and and sent it to newspapers.
Skelton's motive appeared to have been a grudge over an incident when he was accused of dealing so-called legal highs at work.
Andrew Skelton worked as senior internal auditor at the company's Bradford head office
He was jailed for eight years in 2015 after being found guilty at Bradford Crown Court of fraud, securing unauthorised access to computer material and disclosing personal data.
Lawyers said the data theft meant 5,518 former and current employees were exposed to the risk of identity theft and potential financial loss and that the company was responsible for breaches of privacy, confidence and data protection laws.
At the High Court hearing sitting in Leeds, the judge, Mr Justice Langstaff, ruled that Morrisons was vicariously liable, adding that primary liability had not been established.
Anya Proops, QC for Morrisons, said Skelton had already caused serious damage to the company and it had incurred more than £2m in costs in responding to the misuse.
She argued the extent to which an employer could be held liable for the criminal misuse of third-party data by an employee was of "huge importance" for individuals, businesses and organisations.
Following the ruling, Nick McAleenan of JMW Solicitors, acting for the claimants, said the leak had caused them "significant worry, stress and inconvenience".
He said: "This private information belonged to my clients. They are Morrisons checkout staff, shelf stackers, factory workers - ordinary people doing their jobs.
"We welcome the judgment and believe that it is a landmark decision, being the first data leak class action in the UK."
Any further hearing about amounts of compensation will not take place until the company's appeal has concluded.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42193502
|
Trump, Twitter and his 'filter bubble' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The US president follows just 45 other Twitter users - all of whom agree with him, most of the time.
|
US & Canada
|
Although his main Twitter account has nearly 44 million followers, President Donald Trump chooses to follow just 45 other Twitter users - all of whom agree with him, most of the time.
Now that seeming reluctance to expose himself to alternative viewpoints is being put forward as a possible factor in the president's decision to retweet three videos by a far-right UK group.
Social media experts call it the "filter bubble" - the ability to choose only the news and views that we agree with.
Earlier this year, Microsoft founder Bill Gates warned against the negative effects of the filter bubble, which he said increasingly prevented people from "mixing and sharing and understanding other points of view".
"It's turned out to be more of a problem than I, or many others, would have expected, " he told the Quartz website.
Sometimes the bubble is automatic, created for us by a combination of our browsing history data, plus the algorithms of Facebook and Google. The end result: posts, people and stories that conform to our individual world view.
Sometimes we get to build our own bubble, by deliberately cutting ourselves off from dialogue with people who don't agree with us.
If Wednesday morning followed the president's typical routine, he woke up, turned on the TV and opened Twitter on his phone.
Although the White House has refused to discuss the "process" by which the video was shared, most observers think it was the president who chose to retweet the video "Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!"
The authenticity of that video has now been challenged.
The anger deepened when it was confirmed the three videos had originally been shared by the deputy leader of an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim group - Britain First.
They had made their way onto the president's feed - it's thought - via one of the few people the president follows on Twitter: right-wing commentator Ann Coulter.
On Thursday, she defended her retweet, telling the BBC: "A video is a video…you don't need to fact-check it."
Ms Coulter is one of the 45 Twitter users that the president "follows" on his most effective communication tool - @realDonaldTrump has 43.7 million followers
But compared with his predecessor, Mr Trump follows a tiny number of other users.
Barack Obama - with 94.7 million Twitter followers - follows 626,000 other Twitter users.
Mr Trump, on the other hand, is much more selective about who he follows.
Trump also uses another Twitter handle, @POTUS (president of the United States) which follows 41 other accounts, mainly family and government departments. He tends to tweet less frequently from this account.
You can recreate the president's @realDonaldTrump feed here https://twitter.com/trumps_feed, courtesy of the Washington Post.
It may be, however, that Mr Trump does expose himself to other viewpoints, according to social media marketer Alex McCann (@altrinchamhq): "We have to remember that he has hundreds of thousands of notifications every day of people replying to his tweets."
"Hopefully he does check these and get a bigger picture than presented by his curated feed of the 45 people he follows. He may have created a Twitter list as well that might give more variety, but we don't know." (No public lists are available on @realDonaldTrump.)
"But if he is restricting himself to 45 people that's going to create a very monotonous feed - an echo chamber of people that agree with you."
Amelia Tait (@ameliargh), tech and digital culture writer at the New Statesman, said that compared with a "normal" user, Mr Trump follows very few people on Twitter.
"This isn't necessarily surprising, as he has always used the site as more of a place to talk rather than listen.
"It could have troubling implications about what he sees and interacts with, though. It's been theorised he saw the Britain First tweets via Twitter's "in case you missed it" tool. Had his feed been busier, he might have missed that too!" she said.
On the @realDonaldTrump's "following" list are seven family members, including wife Melania, his children, and two daughters in law.
He follows four government departments, such as the Department of State, and eight Trump commercial organisations such as his main company, five golf courses and two Trump-branded hotels.
Current and former employees include Vice-President Mike Pence, White House spokesperson Kellyanne Conway and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also feature.
There are a smattering of "others", including people Mr Trump has worked with before he became president - like World Wrestling Entertainment boss Vince McHahon and former Apprentice star Katrina Campins.
Veteran golfer Gary Player is also on this list. Player has previously praised Mr Trump's game, telling CNBC in October: "The strength is his length, he's a long hitter. He can really get the ball out there."
But by far the largest subset of people and organisations that Mr Trump follows is made up of conservative journalists and TV presenters.
Ten of them work, or have worked, for the conservative news channel Fox News, like Bill O'Reilly and Eric Bolling - both of whom left Fox following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Staunch Trump defender Sean Hannity is also on the president's "follow" list.
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 Sean Hannity 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 show Fox and Friends - thought to be a major opinion former on the president - is on the list.
Fox and Friends has been known to cover a story, only for the president to tweet on the same story a few minutes after the programme ends - and sometimes while it is still on air.
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 FOX & friends 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.
Ms Tait said: "Trump's Twitter feed is most definitely an echo chamber, which is problematic for someone in an elected office who is ostensibly the voice of the people.
"He frequently criticises 'fake news' TV channels but has never rebutted any number of viral tweets calling him out. Is it possible he never saw them?"
However, Alex McCann believes that Trump is only doing what comes naturally.
"Most people gravitate towards opinions they share," he said. "It might be more healthy to consume different opinions. But it will make you more angry.
"Twenty years ago our parents did the same thing - only they bought newspapers that conformed with their world view."
But Mr McCann believes leaders have a special responsibility to step outside of the filter bubble.
"Leaders are supposed to represent everyone," he said. "Not just the people who agree with them."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42187596
|
Police chief 'was told of Damian Green pornography claims' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Sir Paul Stephenson says he was told material was allegedly found on Damian Green's computer in 2008.
|
UK Politics
|
Former Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the allegations against Mr Green showed "no criminality"
A former Scotland Yard chief was aware pornography had allegedly been found on Damian Green's office computer during a 2008-9 police probe, he has said.
Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner between 2009-11, said he was briefed about the claims but regarded them as a "side issue".
The allegations were first made public last week by former Met Assistant Commissioner, Bob Quick.
First Secretary of State Mr Green said his accusers had "ulterior motives".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Porn was allegedly found to have been viewed on Mr Green's office computer after police raids in 2008
Mr Green, who is Prime Minister Theresa May's second-in-command, said: "I reiterate that no allegations about the presence of improper material on my parliamentary computers have ever been put to me or to the parliamentary authorities by the police.
"I can only assume that they are being made now, nine years later, for ulterior motives."
But Mr Quick, who led the investigation into Home Office leaks which saw Mr Green's Commons office being searched, says pornography was found on a computer there.
Both Sir Paul and Mr Quick gave evidence to a Cabinet Office inquiry into Mr Green's conduct last week, led by senior Cabinet Office official Sue Gray.
The inquiry, which is being held behind closed doors, is also looking at a separate claim that Mr Green, made inappropriate advances towards a female Conservative activist in 2015. He also denies that allegation.
Damian Green denies claims police found pornography on a computer in his office
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Paul said he thought the claim about Mr Green "wasn't relevant to the criminal inquiry" into Home Office leaks, which began in October 2008.
Mr Green's home and office were searched as part of that probe and he was briefly arrested in November that year, but the then shadow immigration minister faced no further action.
A review of the police inquiry found that "less intrusive methods" could have been used.
Referring to the pornography allegations, Sir Paul said: "I regret it's in the public domain.
"There was no criminality involved, there were no victims, there was no vulnerability and it was not a matter of extraordinary public interest."
Sir Paul added that it was not Scotland Yard's role to "police the workplace".
The Met declined to say whether it was helping the Cabinet Office investigate the claims, but said in a statement: "As this is not our inquiry the MPS does not believe it is appropriate to comment upon it."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41958392
|
Net migration falls by more than 100,000 after Brexit vote - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Net migration was down by nearly a third to 230,000 in the year since the referendum, figures show.
|
UK
|
Net migration is estimated to have fallen by nearly a third to 230,000 in the year to June, new figures show.
It is the first time that a full year of data has been available since the UK voted to leave the EU last June.
The figure is still short of the Conservatives' target to reduce net migration to the "tens of thousands".
Net migration is the difference between people coming to the UK for more than a year, and the number of people leaving the UK for a year or more.
In this 12-month period, 572,000 people arrived in the UK, and 342,000 emigrated, the Office for National Statistics report showed.
Immigration specifically fell by 80,000 people over the year - and three-quarters of that drop was down to fewer EU citizens coming to live in the UK, figures showed.
Nicola White, head of migration statistics at the ONS, said: "The decline follows historically high levels of immigration and it is too early to say whether this represents a long-term trend."
She pointed to figures showing the number of people coming to the UK for a definite job has remained stable but those coming to "look for work", especially EU citizens, was down 43%.
"These changes suggest that Brexit is likely to be a factor in people's decision to move to or from the UK - but decisions to migrate are complex and other factors are also going to be influencing the figures," she added.
Immigration minister Brandon Lewis said the UK was still a country able to attract the "brightest and the best".
With more Europeans continuing to arrive than leave, these figures showed that claims of a "Brexodus" were misguided, he said.
He added that his focus was on making sure businesses have access to the skills needed from Europe and around the world; ensuring a controlled immigration system and making sure people were in the UK legally, being an important part of the economy and communities.
The ONS said the 106,000 fall on the previous year's net migration figure was the largest annual decrease recorded.
This was substantially down on its high of June 2016 and now at similar levels to 2014, the ONS said.
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said there was a combination of factors at play.
"Anecdotally you pick up the fears around the Brexit effect," he said.
But the economic effects and the falling value of the pound might also be a factor, for example a Polish worker would get six zloty for every pound earned before Brexit.
That's fallen by a quarter since the referendum, he added.
Professor Jonathan Portes, of King's College, London, who works for the research group UK in a Changing Europe, said the statistics showed the country has become a "less attractive place for European migrants".
"Whatever your views on the impact of immigration, it cannot be good news that the UK is a less attractive place to live and work, and that we will be poorer as a result," he said.
Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said the figures showed a "very welcome reduction in net migration - especially by EU citizens who do not have a job to come to".
"It points to what could be achieved once the UK regains full control over migration," he added.
The Conservatives' aim since 2010 has been to reduce net migration to below 100,000.
The pledge to reduce net annual migration to the "tens of thousands" was in the 2010, 2015 and 2017 Tory manifestos.
Neither Prime Minister Theresa May nor her predecessor, David Cameron, have come close to meeting that target.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42178038
|
Portsmouth hospital missed lung cancer cases - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A national review is taking place after the failings were uncovered by the health watchdog.
|
Hampshire & Isle of Wight
|
Inspectors also found a backlog of 23,000 X-rays at the hospital
A hospital failed to spot cases of lung cancer because it did not check patients' chest X-rays properly, the Care Quality Commission has found.
The health watchdog found that three patients at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth suffered "significant harm".
It emerged that junior doctors complained they had been asked to carry out specialist radiology work without the appropriate training.
The CQC has now launched a review of NHS radiology services in England.
All NHS bodies have been instructed to provide details about their backlogs, turnaround times, staffing and arrangements for routine reporting of images.
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust said it had made an unreserved apology to the families of the three patients, two of whom have died.
During their visit in July, CQC inspectors also found the hospital had a backlog of 23,000 chest X-rays.
None of the 23,000 images from the preceding 12 months had been formally reviewed by a radiologist or appropriately-trained clinician.
During the visit, inspectors learned some junior doctors had been given responsibility for reviewing the chest and abdomen X-rays.
Prof Ted Baker, from the CQC, said "When a patient is referred for an X-ray or scan, it is important that the resulting images are examined and reported on by properly trained clinical staff who know what they are looking for - this is a specialist skill."
Following the inspection, the trust has had to put in place steps to make sure images are examined and reported on by properly trained clinical staff.
It was also tasked with providing a weekly report of the number of outstanding X-rays to the CQC and told it must notify those patients if their X-ray was held up.
In August, the CQC rated the hospital's medical care "inadequate".
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Mark Cubbon said: "We have issued an unreserved apology to the families of the three patients who experienced harm because of the delays to their care.
"We have carried out a thorough review of the scans and X-rays reported so far; to date nearly 50% of the backlog has been cleared and we are in touch with any patients as necessary."
The trust has set up a free phone helpline - 0800 7837118 - for anyone who is concerned they may be affected.
The hospital in Cosham has 975 beds and provides services to a local population of about 610,000 people.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-42178069
|
GQ editor Dylan Jones criticises cover star Jeremy Corbyn - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Dylan Jones says it was 'as difficult as shooting any celebrity,' prompting a Twitter backlash.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. GQ editor tells Today it was like Corbyn was being "pushed around like Grandpa"
The editor of GQ has criticised Jeremy Corbyn - on the day the Labour leader appears on the magazine's cover.
Dylan Jones told the BBC Mr Corbyn's photo shoot was "as difficult as shooting any Hollywood celebrity".
Mr Jones claimed that despite the Labour leader's "rock star persona" he was "underwhelming" in person.
The editor faced a backlash on Twitter with Corbyn supporters and others accusing him of political bias and carrying out a "hatchet job".
Mr Jones has written in the past about his support for the Conservatives and authored "Cameron on Cameron" - a series of interviews with the former Tory leader before he became PM in 2010.
Mr Corbyn's former spokesman Matt Zarb-Cousin said Mr Jones had not been in the room for the interview and said the editor's politics were "well known".
"It's slightly puzzling that the editor of GQ would put Jeremy Corbyn on the cover of his magazine looking like a prime minister in waiting, only to go on the Today programme and say the complete opposite," he 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 Jessica Elgot 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 2 by Cal Stannard 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.
Mr Corbyn joins David Cameron and Boris Johnson on the list of politicians to feature on the cover of men's "fashion and style" magazine GQ - in his case under the headline: "Jeremy Corbyn's hostile takeover".
According to Mr Jones the Labour leader was "adamant" he would wear a Marks and Spencer suit for the photo shoot.
In the interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Jones said: "The actual shoot itself was quite tortuous. It was as difficult as shooting any Hollywood celebrity.
"We've shot many politicians for our cover ... but never have we encountered such a ring. Obviously [Labour director of communications] Seumas Milne and his crew are very particular gate-keepers.
"They didn't really seem to understand the process at all, didn't understand (a) that he would have to be photographed in the first place (b) that he would need to be presentable or that he couldn't just turn up in his anorak.
"When he actually turned up for the shoot it was almost like he was being pushed around like a grandpa for the family Christmas photograph. He wasn't particularly aware of what was going on. But we're very pleased with what we ended up with."
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 Harriet Notton 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.
He also said Mr Corbyn had turned down an interview with Tony Blair's former communications chief Alastair Campbell.
Mr Campbell, who is a regular writer for the magazine has criticised Mr Corbyn in the past - warning the party not to risk "driving itself off a cliff" by electing him leader in 2015. Last year he had a memorable clash on BBC Question Time with shadow chancellor John McDonnell over the future of the party.
Asked whether he had fallen out with Mr Corbyn's team, Mr Jones said: "We haven't fallen out with anyone, we are just describing the process of what we went through to get the cover, which I found very intriguing."
The interview, a short version of which appears on the GQ website, includes Mr Corbyn rejecting claims that he had avoided saying outright that he supported remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum campaign.
He also said he would be happy to meet US President Donald Trump and would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, if he became prime minister.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42194131
|
Nasa footage shows lightning from ISS - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
Nasa releases footage captured over China, Korea and Japan of "lightning, city lights and fishing boats".
| null |
Nasa has released footage of lightning strikes, captured from the International Space Station.
The film was taken as the ISS passed over China, Korea and Japan.
Astronaut Randolph Bresnik said the view was from his favourite window, and showed "lightning, city lights and fishing boats in the Sea of Japan".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42188125
|
Oxford University raises £750m from biggest bond issue - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Oxford University has turned to private investors in a record-breaking bond issue.
|
Family & Education
|
Oxford University has raised a record amount of funding for a UK university bond issue
Oxford University has revealed that it will raise £750m from its first bond issue - the biggest amount raised this way by a UK university.
It is the most significant example so far of universities turning to the capital markets for investment rather than student fees.
It will mean more funds will be raised from these loans than Oxford's research funding from last year.
The university says it will use the money for improving facilities.
The bond means the university will receive funds from investors, which will be repaid after 100 years, with an annual interest rate of 2.54%.
The amount is higher than had been anticipated, after a starting point of selling bonds worth £250m. It is understood that the bond offer was heavily oversubscribed, with £2bn of funds offered by investors.
It will be seen as a long-term, low-risk opportunity for investors, but also a further shift in university finances.
With uncertainty about tuition fees and government funding, universities have increasingly begun to turn to raising money from private investors.
Oxford says it will give them "confidence and freedom" to spend on major developments, with plans to invest £1.5bn in building projects over the next 10 to 15 years.
This will be substantially bigger than any other UK university bond issue so far, but Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff and Liverpool are among the institutions which have previously raised money this way.
Individual Oxford colleges have also issued bonds, but this is the first time that the university itself has made such an offer to investors.
It means borrowing to raise cash in the short-term and paying back in the long-term, with the funds often used for capital projects, such as new buildings, libraries or overhauling facilities.
It is also likely to raise questions about richer universities using investment markets to create an even wider wealth gap with other institutions.
The Moody's credit rating agency this week gave Oxford its highest Aaa rating - citing its "extraordinary market position".
Moody's reported that this reflected the strong demand from students, significant research funding and an endowment worth £2.6bn.
The credit rating agency said that Oxford's research income last year stood at £730m, a figure overshadowed by a single entry into the investment market.
The university's vice-chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson, said the rating was "gratifying testament to the belief of the outside world in the extraordinary institution that has been developed over the centuries".
"It is our responsibility to ensure that we use the opportunities accorded us by this bond to pass on to our successors an even stronger university."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42201171
|
Sammy Wilson warns Brexit talks may jeopardise DUP-Tory deal - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The party says any attempt to "placate Dublin and the EU" will threaten its support for the UK government.
|
Northern Ireland
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Any attempt to 'placate Dublin and the EU' could jeopardise DUP support for Tories
DUP MP Sammy Wilson has warned that his party's deal to support the Conservative government could be jeopardised by the Brexit negotiations.
He said any attempt to "placate Dublin and the EU" could mean a withdrawal of DUP support at Westminster.
Former DUP leader and first minister Peter Robinson also responded, saying "the south needs to wind its neck in".
He said Dublin politicians had taken to "lecturing the UK," doing "significant harm to north/south relations".
"Sensible solutions can be found and positive outcomes are more likely to be reached if a spirit of friendship and mutual understanding exists," he said.
A story, published earlier in the Times newspaper, reported that British and EU officials could be about to seek separate customs measures for Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the European Union.
This could avoid any divergence in trade rules between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Mr Wilson said that the UK government would "have to recognise that if this is about treating Northern Ireland differently, or leaving us half in the EU, dragging along behind regulations which change in Dublin, it's not on".
Earlier on Thursday, DUP leader Arlene Foster said that the government had a "clear understanding that the DUP will not countenance any arrangement that could lead to a new border being created in the Irish Sea".
Mr Wilson said the proposal mooted in The Times report was unworkable, and revealed the DUP would be seeking clarification from the government on its accuracy.
The DUP struck a deal with the Conservative government in June, agreeing to support Tory policies at Westminster, in return for an extra £1bn in government spending for Northern Ireland.
The DUP signed a "confidence and supply" deal to keep Theresa May's government in power
Mr Wilson said his party will be "making clear to the government we have a confidence and supply arrangement with them".
The East Antrim MP added that "if there is any hint that in order to placate Dublin and the EU, they're prepared to have Northern Ireland treated differently than the rest of the UK, then they can't rely on our vote".
Mr Wilson was speaking in a BBC interview in his East Antrim constituency on Thursday afternoon.
Sammy Wilson was angered by the details in the newspaper report
The DUP has consistently opposed calls for Northern Ireland to be granted "special status" within the EU, in a bid to resolve border issues.
The party has accused Irish nationalists of using the special status campaign as "an opportunity separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, with a border in the Irish Sea".
Under the type of plan mooted in The Times report, regulations relating to customs would be harmonised on both sides of the Irish border.
It would allow a freer flow of traffic and goods, in line with the UK's aim of making the crossing as "frictionless" as possible.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-42179387
|
Grenfell Tower fire: Inquiry 'needs a diverse panel' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Bereaved relatives say they will not attend the inquiry unless a more diverse panel is appointed.
|
UK
|
The Grenfell Tower fire inquiry could become a whitewash unless there is a diverse panel to oversee proceedings, survivors and bereaved families say.
They say chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick should sit with people from a range of backgrounds who understand the issues facing those affected by the blaze, in which 71 people died on 14 June.
They have started a petition calling for Theresa May to intervene.
The government said the process of considering the panel was ongoing.
Sir Martin's appointment as the inquiry chairman has already been criticised by residents, who say he is an establishment figure.
Victims groups were further angered when the retired Court of Appeal judge said he would not appoint a member of the Grenfell community to the panel, arguing it would "risk undermining impartiality".
Adel Chaoui, who lost four relatives in the fire, said their complaint was "not about ethnicity".
"It's nothing to do with whether you're black, white, Arab, whatever - it is to do with experiences," he said.
"(Sir Martin) is very, very good at what he does, but he does not necessarily understand us.
"At the same time, we are up against these industry bodies that are spending millions of pounds on legal resources that we are never going to get anywhere near."
Sir Martin has been criticised by some families as an establishment figure
Mr Chaoui said he and others would likely not attend the inquiry unless the format was changed.
He added: "I'm really hoping the Prime Minister sees all we're asking for is a fair crack at justice."
The petition organisers say about 50 victims are backing the call for Downing Street to add people to the panel who have the "breadth and experience" of the "big social issues" that led to the tragedy.
Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman died in the fire, said: "We don't want to whitewash this inquiry, we don't want to feel like we're not being listened to, or belittled, or ignored just like the residents were before and after the [fire at the] tower."
Hesham Rahman's body was recovered from the 23rd floor of the tower block
Sir Martin has appointed three assessors to the inquiry, which will open its first procedural hearing on 11 December.
One of the assessors is from a black and ethnic minority background.
But Sandra Ruiz, who lost her niece in the tower blaze, has said the assessors have "no decision-making capacity".
"I think it's just a nod to what we've been asking but I don't think there's enough of a response there," she added.
Karim Mussilhy and Sandra Ruiz are calling on Theresa May to use special powers to appoint more diverse panel members to the Grenfell Tower inquiry
A government spokesman said: "The prime minister has given a commitment to consider the inquiry panel after the chair determined what further expertise he required, and this process is ongoing.
"We would like to assure all those affected by the tragedy that legal representatives of core participants will receive all relevant evidence, be able to offer opening and closing statements at hearings, and will be able to suggest lines of questioning for witnesses."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42190388
|
Supermarkets 'raise the price of Christmas biscuits' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Supermarkets hike the price of Christmas biscuit selections as butter prices soar, according to a report.
|
Business
|
Cracking open some fancy biscuits is a welcome treat over Christmas, but this year the observant shopper might notice a hefty rise in prices.
Research by The Grocer based on data from Brandview has found price rises of up to a third on own-label Christmas biscuits sold by supermarkets.
It said five supermarkets had increased prices with shortbread and gingerbread the main victims.
The report says that a steep rise in butter prices is partly to blame.
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "The cost of individual products is determined by a number of factors and prices can fluctuate, both up and down, as a consequence. We remain committed to providing our customers with great quality and value every time they shop with us."
Waitrose disputed the report's finding that its Christmas Choc Shortcake Selection (585g) had risen from £4 to £5. It said The Grocer had taken a discounted price in 2016 and the price was actually unchanged from last year.
There has been a trend this year of rising food prices, driven by the weakness of the pound which makes imported food more expensive.
The latest inflation figures showed that in October the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose at an annual rate of 4.1%, the highest since September 2013.
Butter has seen even steeper rises, which experts says reflects falling milk production.
Data from European Commission showed that for the year to the end of October, butter prices had risen by 47% compared to last year. In recent weeks the price has fallen a bit, which has been welcomed by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
A spokesperson for the FDF said: "We will continue to monitor dairy market developments closely because extremes of price volatility are not helpful for UK food manufacturers or for the wider supply chain."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42199020
|
Pope uses the 'R' word - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
While meeting a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees, Pope Francis referred to them by name for the first time on his Asian visit.
| null |
While meeting a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees, Pope Francis referred to them by name for the first time on his Asian visit.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42203201
|
Irish border: Brexit committee says solution doubtful - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The UK government's plan for the border is "untested and speculative", the Brexit committee says.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Would you notice if you crossed the Irish border?
It is not possible to see how the Irish border issue can be resolved after Brexit, the influential group of MPs scrutinising the process has said.
The government wants no hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland and no customs border between the latter and the rest of the UK.
But the Committee for Exiting the EU said the proposals were "untested" and "to some extent speculative".
Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney told the BBC his country "can't be asked to leap into the dark" by simply accepting UK assurances.
Northern Ireland will be the only part of the UK to share a land border with an EU member state after the UK leaves.
There is currently no physical infrastructure on the border but there is concern that this will have to change after Brexit.
If the UK leaves the EU's single market and customs union, as the government intends, the Irish land border will become the external border for the EU's single market and customs union.
The Irish Republic wants Northern Ireland to keep following EU rules, so that goods can continue moving across the border - in effect, staying within the customs union and single market.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Irish Deputy Prime Minister says UK and Ireland need to agree parameters on border
But this would effectively push the customs border out into the Irish Sea, becoming an internal customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK - which the UK government rejects.
In its report, the Exiting the European Union Committee says it does not see how it will be possible to reconcile these positions.
The government has put forward two proposals, one using "technology-based solutions", such as pre-screening of goods and trusted trader schemes, to reduce the need for customs checks at the Irish border.
The other would involve a "customs partnership", with the UK leaving the single market without introducing an EU-UK border - something the UK has admitted would be "challenging".
The committee is urging the government to set these proposals out in more detail.
"Ministers say they don't want a border, they don't want any infrastructure," said its Labour chair Hilary Benn.
"We all agree with that...but self-evidently, the Irish government is not persuaded by what it has read so far."
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK and Irish governments "have the same desire" on the border - to ensure that the movement of trade and people continues "as now" and that no new barriers are created.
The government added that it remained "absolutely committed to finding a solution that works for the people of Northern Ireland and Ireland".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Any attempt to 'placate Dublin and the EU' could jeopardise DUP support for Tories
But Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said it would be hard to avoid physical checks if there were different standards for animal welfare, food safety and medical regulation on either side of the border.
"What the British government has been asking of the Irish government is 'just trust us we'll solve these issues with a broad bold trade agreement'," he told Radio 4's Today.
"But that may not be possible, we don't know. We can't be asked to leap into the dark by opening up phase two discussions in the hope that these issues might be resolved."
He added: "The area that we've focused in on is the need to give reassurance that there will not be regulatory divergence between the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland
"Because if there is it is very hard to avoid a checking system."
Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party has warned that any attempt to "placate Dublin and the EU" could lead to the end of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the UK's Conservative government.
The DUP struck a deal with the minority Conservative government in June, agreeing to support Tory policies at Westminster, in return for an extra £1bn in government spending for Northern Ireland.
The Committee for Exiting the EU itself was split over the report, with five of its 21 members - four Conservatives and a DUP MP - voting to reject it.
The report also includes a call for the government to publish the likely terms of any transition period governing what will happen immediately after Brexit in March 2019.
It says it is "essential" that the details of the arrangements be published by the end of March so as to give businesses enough time to prepare.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42188485
|
Damian Green computer porn claims: 'Thousands' of images viewed - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An ex-detective says he was "shocked" at the amount of porn found on a computer in Damian Green's office.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Damian Green speaking to reporters outside his home in his constituency of Ashford
A former Scotland Yard detective has told BBC News he was "shocked" by the amount of pornography viewed on a computer seized from the Commons office of senior Tory MP Damian Green.
Neil Lewis examined the device during a 2008 inquiry into government leaks and has not spoken publicly before.
He said "thousands" of thumbnail images of legal pornography were on it.
Mr Green, Theresa May's deputy, has said he never watched or downloaded pornography on the computer.
Fellow Tory MP Andrew Mitchell defended Mr Green on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, saying: "It is the misuse of entirely legal information to blacken the name of a serving cabinet minister."
But Mr Lewis said a check of the computer's internet history over a three-month period showed pornography had been viewed "extensively".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "I was shocked": Former detective constable Neil Lewis speaks to the BBC
On Tuesday, Scotland Yard confirmed its department for professional standards was examining allegations that Mr Lewis had disclosed confidential information.
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: "Confidential information gathered during a police inquiry should not be made public."
On some days, websites containing pornography were being searched for and opened for several hours.
Mr Lewis, who retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2014, said although "you can't put fingers on a keyboard", a number of factors meant that he was sure it was Mr Green, the MP for Ashford, Kent, who was accessing the pornographic material.
His analysis of the way the computer had been used left the former detective constable in "no doubt whatsoever" that it was Mr Green, who was then an opposition immigration spokesman but is now the first secretary of state.
"The computer was in Mr Green's office, on his desk, logged in, his account, his name," said Mr Lewis, who at the time was working as a computer forensics examiner for SO15, the counter-terrorism command.
"In between browsing pornography, he was sending emails from his account, his personal account, reading documents... it was ridiculous to suggest anybody else could have done it."
Similar material had also been accessed on Mr Green's laptop, he claimed.
Neil Lewis said he was "shocked" by the quantity of porn viewed on a computer used by Damian Green
A Cabinet Office inquiry, set up last month to investigate allegations that the 61-year-old had made inappropriate advances to a political activist, Kate Maltby, is also examining the pornography claims.
The inquiry is believed to centre on the ministerial code, which sets out the standards of conduct expected of government ministers.
The code says they are expected to demonstrate "the highest standards of propriety" and contains reference to the Nolan Principles that holders of public office should be "truthful".
A spokesperson for Mr Green said: "It would be inappropriate for Mr Green to comment on these allegations while the Cabinet Office investigation is ongoing, however, from the outset he has been very clear that he never watched or downloaded pornography on the computers seized from his office.
"He maintains his innocence of these charges and awaits the outcome of the investigation."
Labour MP Hilary Benn told Today that the evidence from Mr Lewis should be considered.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Andrew Mitchell defends Damian Green on Today over porn found on computer
Despite being told about Mr Lewis's role examining Mr Green's computers, the Cabinet Office inquiry has not contacted him to give evidence.
The Cabinet Office declined to give an explanation for that, but it's thought its inquiry may have approached the Metropolitan Police directly for details about the computers.
The force has confirmed it is co-operating with the inquiry.
Police evidence tag for the computer found in Damian Green's office
During his time on SO15, Mr Lewis worked on some of Britain's most high-profile terrorism inquiries, including the 21/7 attack on London's transport network in 2005 - when he took a lead role examining digital devices.
He also worked on Operation Miser, an investigation into Home Office leaks that began in October 2008 and resulted in Mr Green's Commons office being searched by police.
Mr Lewis's job on the investigation was to search for material relating to documents that had been disclosed without authorisation from the Home Office, on computers used by Mr Green.
In accordance with standard police practice, Mr Lewis carried out the examination on digital copies he had made of the computers' hard drives.
When he ran a "gallery view" of images viewed on the desktop computer in Mr Green's Portcullis House office he noticed "a lot of pornography thumbnails which indicated web browsing", that he later confirmed by an examination of the computer's internet history.
The pornography was not "extreme", as some reports have suggested, and did not contain images of children or abuse, said Mr Lewis, who previously served in the Met's obscene publications unit and carried out investigations into paedophiles.
The matter was not referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.
The former detective, who spent 25 years with the Met, said after the leaks inquiry ended he was ordered by the force to delete the data on the computer copies he had made.
"Morally and ethically I didn't think that was a correct way to continue," he said.
The officer erased the data, as instructed, but kept the copies knowing experts could retrieve the information if they had to. However, he now believes the items may have been destroyed.
When he left the force after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Mr Lewis said the only police notebook he took with him was the one he had used during Operation Miser.
The notebook, seen by the BBC, contains a reference to pornography.
"This one case, Operation Miser, I have never been comfortable with," he said, claiming the Parliamentary authorities should have been informed about the "extensive" time Mr Green allegedly spent looking at pornographic material.
"If a police officer does that, or anyone else, you'd be dismissed, you'd be thrown out."
The MPs' code of conduct states members should always behave with "probity and integrity, including in their use of public resources".
The pornography allegations were first alluded to by Bob Quick, a former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner, in written evidence to a Parliamentary committee in 2009.
He said the discovery of "private material" on Mr Green's office computer had "complicated" the inquiry into Home Office leaks.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Porn was allegedly viewed on Mr Green's office computer after police raids in 2008
In 2011, Mr Quick expanded on the matter in a draft statement for the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics, but it was removed from the final version, only to resurface last month in a Sunday Times article.
Mr Green responded to Mr Quick's assertions by accusing him of spreading "disreputable political smears", an attack that so infuriated Mr Lewis that he approached the former counter-terrorism chief to offer his support. He even thought about contacting the cabinet minister directly.
"His outright denial of that was quite amazing, followed by his criticism of Bob Quick," said Mr Lewis.
"I think he [Mr Green] should have resigned a long time ago."
Sir Paul Stephenson, Met Commissioner during the leaks investigation, told the BBC he had been briefed about the pornography in 2008 but considered it to be a "side issue".
The Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has said it has no record of a referral being made.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42151148
|
London Olympic Stadium taken over by mayor Sadiq Khan - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Sadiq Khan says a "catalogue of errors" by his predecessor Boris Johnson led to the conversion costs soaring.
|
London
|
An independent review says the cost of converting the Olympic Stadium was £323million
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has agreed to take over the former Olympic Stadium amid "financial challenges".
Mr Khan says a "catalogue of errors" by his predecessor Boris Johnson led to the costs of transforming it into West Ham United's new ground soaring.
An independent review says the conversion cost £323m - the original estimate was £190m.
Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales said Mr Johnson left the stadium's finances in a "dreadful mess".
The review says that E20, the public sector company set up to run the London Stadium, is projected to make a loss of £20m next year and a total loss of £140m over its first 10 years.
Mr Khan claims Mr Johnson's decision to make taxpayers foot the bill means Londoners will have to shoulder the predicted loss.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan will now take over the running of the former Olympic Stadium
He will take control of the stadium in order to "renegotiate deals" and "minimise ongoing losses".
Mr Khan said: "I ordered the review into the finances of the London Stadium to understand how key decisions were made about its transformation and why costs were allowed to spiral out of control.
"What has been presented is simply staggering."
West Ham were awarded tenancy of the stadium in 2013, however under the agreement the club would not have to pay for certain running costs.
These instead would be paid for by the taxpayer and include policing, stewarding, goalposts, corner flags, cleaners and turnstile operators.
However, the review notes that since that deal was signed, policing and stewarding costs have "increased notably".
West Ham United moved to the London Stadium from Upton Park in August 2016
West Ham said: "The concession agreement is a watertight, legally binding contract signed in 2013 in good faith by West Ham United, who remain absolutely committed to its terms for the entire 99-year duration.
"It is not in West Ham United's interests for the stadium to be not performing in line with aspiration and, as we have done ever since moving to Stratford in the summer of 2016, we continue to offer the benefit of our commercial expertise and substantial experience in managing successful stadia."
The club added the stadium "craves renewed leadership" and it welcomed "the mayor's decision to step in and deliver this".
Newham Council said it received a business plan from E20 in October 2016 which indicated there was likely to be an "ongoing deficit" which could make it "financially unsustainable" in the long term.
Mr Johnson, pictured with Karren Brady, was the Mayor of London between May 2008 and May 2016
An internal review was carried out by the council at the same time the Mayor of London launched his own inquiry.
Reacting to Mr Khan's takeover, Sir Robin said: "On behalf of Newham residents, I am angry that the deals and decisions made by the former Mayor of London and his administration have left the stadium finances in such a dreadful mess.
"It is regrettable that the finances of the stadium have not followed the expected course."
He added it was "vital" for Newham that the stadium remained a public asset.
A source close to Mr Johnson, who was the Mayor of London between May 2008 and May 2016, rejected the criticisms.
He said: "No other city has an Olympic legacy like London's - all seven venues on the park are in private hands, with millions of visitors a year, and a positive economic legacy for east London.
"The stadium has a secure future with athletics and football.
"The mistakes belonged to Khan's Labour predecessor Ken Livingstone and the Blair government. Signing off on a stadium fit only for athletics was a massive error. The only option for Boris was conversion to a multi-use venue."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42194382
|
World Cup draw: England face Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-01
| null |
England have been drawn with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G at next year's Fifa World Cup in Russia.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section World Cup
England have been drawn with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G at next year's Fifa World Cup in Russia.
Gareth Southgate's men will begin their tournament against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June (19:00 BST) in Volgograd.
They will then face World Cup debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24 June (13:00 BST) before playing top seeds Belgium four days later in Kaliningrad (19:00 BST).
Russia play Saudi Arabia in the opening game in Moscow on 14 June (16:00 BST).
Holders Germany are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea while five-times winners Brazil are in Group E alongside Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.
The 2018 tournament takes place in 12 stadiums across Russia between 14 June and 15 July.
• None All the groups and fixtures
• None 'If England don't qualify from the group, it's time to pack it in'
• None A guide to the grounds hosting games in Russia
• None Find out more about the 32 teams who qualified
"We need to find out more about Tunisia and Panama as we haven't been tracking them," Southgate told BBC Radio 5 live.
"We know everything about Belgium. I think that will capture the imagination back home as they have so many players in our league. They have probably the best group of players they've ever had.
"My experience of tournaments is you need to get a result in all three matches. In the past we've assumed we'll be in certain rounds but we need to make sure we get out of our group."
Who got the hardest draw?
There is not one group that obviously stands above the rest as being the toughest.
In terms of ranking positions, Group B looks the most difficult.
European champions Portugal, ranked third in the world, have been drawn with 2010 World Cup winners Spain as well as Iran - who went unbeaten in 10 Asian qualifying matches - and Morocco, who topped an African group that featured Ivory Coast.
Group F also looks tricky for the reigning champions. Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the 2014 final in Brazil, will likely face three robust examinations against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea as they try to retain the title for the first time since Brazil did so in 1962.
Resurgent Brazil - thrashed 7-1 in the 2014 semi-final in Belo Horizonte - have also been handed what looks like a quietly exacting group.
Alongside Neymar's Brazil in Group E are Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia while Lionel Messi and his Argentina team-mates play debutants Iceland - who reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 - Croatia and Nigeria.
England will know all about Belgium, given the large number of their squad who play in the Premier League. Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City are both enjoying superb seasons so far while Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku recently became the country's leading all-time top scorer.
England have not lost to Belgium in their past 11 meetings - and their only defeat against them in 21 games was in 1936.
The Three Lions have met Tunisia twice before, drawing a friendly in 1990 and beating the North Africans in their opening game of the 1998 World Cup in France, a match Southgate remembers well.
"It was a fantastic day as a player to play in a brilliant occasion, our fans made an incredible atmosphere that day," the former defender said of the game in Marseille that England won 2-0.
"It's nice to be able to relive that."
Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul says he "knows all about" England's players and when asked about whether he was happy to be in the same group as them, he said: "Yes, and we will win."
England have never met Central America country Panama and won't be familiar with their players with only three of their current squad playing in Europe.
The Panamanians sealed their place at a first World Cup at the expense of the USA when they controversially defeated Costa Rica 2-1, with Gabriel Torres' header for their first goal not appearing to cross the line.
Pick the order teams will finish in England's group
England's possible route to the final
In summary, reaching the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 15 July is not going to be easy.
If England top their group, their path to the final could see them come up against Colombia, Brazil, France and then Germany.
If Southgate's side finish second then it could be Poland, Germany, Spain and then Brazil in the final.
If you are viewing this page on the BBC News app please click here to vote.
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty: England can have no excuses if there is a repeat of the embarrassment of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when they failed to progress from the group phase.
Manager Gareth Southgate will understandably publicly exercise caution about the group with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama - but privately he and the Football Association will surely regard this as a highly satisfactory outcome.
There was certainly no need for FA chairman Greg Clarke to repeat the cut-throat gesture predecessor Greg Dyke delivered when England were drawn against Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica before the last World Cup in Brazil.
Barring surprises, the final group game against Belgium in Kaliningrad is likely to decide the group winners - and this will clearly be the toughest assignment for Southgate and his team.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has an intimate knowledge of the Premier League from his time at Wigan Athletic and Everton, while their outstanding generation of players has a heavy top-flight influence, including two performers of undoubted world class in Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne and Chelsea's Eden Hazard.
Tunisia, England's opponents in their opening game in Volgograd on Monday 18 June, are ranked 27th in the Fifa rankings, and will be heavy underdogs while a meeting with Panama, ranked 56th and at their first World Cup, should hold no fear.
England's immediate fate appears to hang on that meeting with Belgium but Southgate will surely be confident of qualifying from Group G.
How far will England travel during the group stage?
England will be based in the village of Repino, which is about 30 miles from St Petersburg (number 8, above). From there they will travel 930 miles to and from Volgograd (10) to play Tunisia at Volgograd Arena and then 600 miles to Nizhny Novgorod (3) for their game against Panama.
Finally, it's a 500-mile trip to Kaliningrad (9) for their final Group G game against Belgium.
"Travel wise, the way tournaments are now, you've got to be adaptable, but our kick-off times are decent as well," added Southgate.
In total, England's players will travel approximately 4,000 miles during the group stage, compared to the 4,400 they covered in Brazil.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42199903
|
Scottish railway station is least used in Britain - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Only 24 passengers used Barry Links station, between Dundee and Carnoustie, in 2016/17.
|
Tayside and Central Scotland
|
Barry Links station is located between Dundee and Carnoustie
A railway station in Angus is the least used in Great Britain, new figures have revealed.
Just 24 passengers travelled to or from Barry Links station in 2016/17, according to data published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR)
Only two ScotRail trains stop at the station, which is unstaffed and has no facilities, each day between Monday and Saturday.
The station, which opened in 1851, is located between Dundee and Carnoustie.
Brian Boyd, an independent councillor on Angus Council, said the station was used more than the figures suggested.
He said: "Many people buy Carnoustie tickets but get off at Barry.
"These figures are quoted based on who buys tickets for stations and you can't buy a ticket at Barry so you buy it at Carnoustie.
"I can assure you there's at least a dozen passengers coming off each and every evening from the tea-time train at Barry.
"Yes, there aren't many trains that stop there but the figures are way out, in my opinion."
Mr Boyd, who represents the Carnoustie and District Ward, expects the station to be well-used next summer as golf fans travel to the Open Championship.
He said: "With golf coming in 2018, it will used considerably more because it's right on the perimeter of the world-renowned golf course.
"It's an important station for the area."
Last year's least-used station, Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire, saw its passenger figures rise from 12 to 156 over the last 12 months.
The numbers of people using at Shippea Hill have risen dramatically
It received a publicity boost when Great British Bake Off finalist Ian Cumming offered mince pies to people who disembarked at the station on Christmas Eve 2016.
The data suggested that Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley are Scotland's busiest railway stations, with 32,060,134 and 22,582,342 entries and exits respectively.
London Waterloo maintained its title as Britain's busiest station for the 14th consecutive year.
Some 99.4 million passengers used the station in the past year, up by more than 250,000 on 2015/16.
Five other stations - Tees-side Airport, Breich, Kildonan, British Steel Redcar, and Reddish South had fewer than 100 entries and exits.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-42194355
|
Pope Francis uses term Rohingya in Bangladesh meeting - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
He had refrained from referring to the refugees as Rohingya on his earlier visit to Myanmar.
|
Asia
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Pope Francis has met a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and referred to them by name for the first time on his Asian visit.
The Pope told a group of 16 refugees at an interfaith meeting in the capital Dhaka: "The presence of God today is also called Rohingya."
He refrained from using the term on his earlier visit to Myanmar, which does not regard Rohingya as an ethnic group.
Some 620,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar since August.
The Pope had been criticised by rights groups for not using the term in Myanmar, whose military has been accused of ethnic cleansing by the United Nations. He had used the term before his visit.
Myanmar's government rejects the term Rohingya, labelling the community "Bengalis". It says they migrated illegally from Bangladesh so should not be listed as one of the country's ethnic groups.
It was a poignant moment when Pope Francis met Rohingya refugees in Dhaka. One by one they went up on stage and met him. He held their hands and they each had a chance to say a few words to him. He placed his hand on the head of a little girl who was part of the group.
Then in a short speech that was not part of the original programme Pope Francis used the contentious word "Rohingya" for the first time sending out his strongest message so far about the crisis during his visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh.
But does it really make a difference especially since he didn't use the word or speak directly about the issue in Myanmar, the country that matters? Mark Pierce from Save the Children told me his organisation would certainly have preferred the Pope to be more vocal about the crisis in Myanmar but says it is significant that he has spoken about it here in Bangladesh because it helps keep the spotlight on the plight of the refugees.
About 3,000 refugees are estimated to have crossed over from Myanmar to Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh in the past week alone adding to the hundreds of thousands who are already there living in camps.
While there is an agreement between the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar for the refugees to return, there are still no details of when or how this will happen.
Pope Francis' comment to refugees in Dhaka was made in an improvised remark and was not in his speech to the interfaith meeting.
"In the name of all of those who have persecuted you, hurt you, I ask forgiveness," Pope Francis told the refugees. "I appeal to your large hearts to give us the forgiveness that we are asking."
Rights groups had urged the Pope to use the term Rohingya to back the community.
However, he had been warned by Catholic representatives in Myanmar not to use the term for fear of alienating the Buddhist majority.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rohingya girls say they were forced into sex work in Bangladesh
The number of Catholics in Bangladesh is very small. The 350,000-strong community makes up 0.2% of the population.
Earlier, the Pope ordained 16 priests at an outdoor Mass in Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan park.
On the penultimate day of his Asia trip, he told the crowd: "I know that many of you came from afar, for a trip for more than two days. Thank you for your generosity. This indicates the love you have for the Church."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Drone footage shows the extent of sprawling camps on the Bangladesh border
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42193813
|
Commonwealth Games 2022: Birmingham made to wait as three cities offer 'updates' - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-01
| null |
Birmingham may need to wait until next year to find out if it will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Commonwealth Games
Birmingham may need to wait until next year to find out if it will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said on Wednesday they are "confident" a city will be chosen in the next four weeks but they "will remain flexible".
Birmingham was the only interested city before the 30 September deadline but was deemed "not fully compliant".
Last week, CGF said it had "updates" from Australia, Canada and Malaysia - but did not confirm any official bids.
And the body said on Wednesday they need "further clarification on a range of issues" before choosing a host city.
The bidding process has been beset with problems, with the South African city of Durban originally awarded the Games in 2015 before being stripped of the event in March because it did not meet the CGF criteria.
After Birmingham's subsequent bid did not meet criteria, the CGF extended the deadline for bids to 30 November, and said a further meeting would be held on 6 December.
Kuala Lumpur and Victoria are thought to be the cities involved from Malaysia and Canada respectively.
Ian Ward, Birmingham city council leader and chair of Birmingham 2022's bid team, said they "are continuing to have productive discussions" with the CGF.
"It's a hugely significant decision and we welcome the robustness of the process," he said. "We look forward to a decision from the CGF in the near future."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/42197941
|
Latest updates: East Midlands Live Friday 1 December 2017 - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The latest news, sport, travel and weather for the East Midlands.
|
Nottingham
|
The parents of Matthew Birkinshaw said their son's death has left a "space no-one else can ever fill".
It follows the conviction of Natasha Gordon for encouraging his suicide in a car park at Rutland Water.
They said: "It is impossible to put into words the effect the loss of Matthew has had on our family.
"He was everything to us and he has left a space no-one else can ever fill."
They added: "It has become clear to us during this process how many people consider suicide without ever displaying any signs even to those closest to them. It has been heartbreaking to hear how when Matt needed kindness and support, he met someone who wanted to do him harm."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-nottinghamshire-42174246
|
RBS to close one in four branches and shed 680 jobs - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The state-backed bank says there has been a big drop in branch use as more people bank online.
|
Business
|
RBS is closing 259 branches - one in four of its outlets - and cutting 680 jobs as more customers bank online.
The closures involve 62 Royal Bank of Scotland and 197 NatWest branches.
RBS, which is 71%-owned by the taxpayer, said it would try to ensure compulsory redundancies were "kept to an absolute minimum".
The bank said use of its branches by customers had fallen 40% since 2014, but the Unite union, which represents bank staff, called the cuts "savage".
Following the closures, the RBS group will be left with 744 branches.
RBS's branch closure announcement is the third such this week, following Lloyds, which on Wednesday said it would close 49 branches, and Yorkshire Building Society, which said it would close 13 branches.
An RBS spokesperson said: "More and more of our customers are choosing to do their everyday banking online or on mobile.
"Since 2014 the number of customers using our branches across the UK has fallen by 40% and mobile transactions have increased by 73% over the same period. Over 5 million customers now use our mobile banking app and one in five only bank with us digitally.
"We realise this is difficult news for our colleagues and we are doing everything we can to support those affected."
Unite said serious questions needed to be asked about whether the closures marked the end of branch network banking.
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "This announcement will forever change the face of banking in this country resulting in over a thousand staff losing their jobs and hundreds of High Streets without any banking facilities.
"The closure of another 259 branches is savage. Why is the government signing off this alarming branch closure programme?"
RBS, like many of its competitors, says that branch use has dropped dramatically as people bank on the go.
Industry analysts CACI forecasts that typical consumers will only visit a bank branch four times a year by 2022, as virtually all transactions or paperwork can be done online, or by letter or at a post office.
Yet visiting a branch remains a way of life for many people - older people and small businesses particularly. A report into branch closures by Professor Russel Griggs likened losing a local branch to a "bereavement" for some people.
So what is being done for them?
The major banks have signed up to a protocol that ensures specially trained staff are in place to help customers find alternatives when a local branch is closing, such as using the Post Office.
They must work more proactively to support elderly and vulnerable customers, and tell communities as quickly as possible after the decision has been made.
Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, said: "The news of further branch closures from RBS will be hugely concerning to many people in Scotland as it now not only affects, potentially, staff at RBS but also leaves large areas of Scotland, particularly rural areas, with limited branch coverage.
"While recognising that footfall in branches is falling, due to online banking, RBS, and other banks, must take into account the needs of all customers - not just those who can access and use digital services."
The news comes as RBS continues its rehabilitation from its state-backed bailout in 2008, prompted by the financial crisis.
On Thursday, it said it had closed its so-called "bad bank", which was set up to handle toxic assets stemming from the crisis.
Earlier this week, RBS passed the Bank of England stress tests, having failed in 2016.
In last week's Budget, the government revived plans to sell down its stake in the bank, aiming to sell £15bn of its shares by 2023.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42192641
|
Gay prayer for Prince George remarks 'unkind and destructive' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An Anglican minister says people should pray George is blessed with "the love of a fine young gentleman".
|
UK
|
Prince George is third in line to the throne
A senior Anglican minister has been criticised for saying people should pray for Prince George to be gay to help the Church of England recognise same-sex marriage.
The Very Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth wrote a blog post urging people to pray for him "to be blessed one day with the love of a fine young gentleman".
His comments have been described as "unkind" and "destructive".
Mr Holdsworth is provost of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow.
He is from the Scottish Episcopal Church, which voted to allow gay couples to marry earlier this year.
Same-sex marriages in Anglican churches are banned in England and Wales.
In his blog post, Mr Holdsworth said that if Prince William's four-year-old son married another man in the future it would help the Church of England become more inclusive.
"A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen," he wrote.
"Who knows whether that might be sooner than things might work out by other means?"
Rev Holdsworth says Prince George being gay would help the Church to become more inclusive
He told the BBC he first wrote the blog post more than a year ago but it gained traction after he tweeted it again following the news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement.
"This quote seems to be getting a lot of attention because it was picked up by a number of anti-gay campaigners in the Church of England," he said.
"It is a shame that the happy news about the royal wedding has been hijacked in this way."
Mr Holdsworth tweeted his blog post following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement
Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to the Queen and a Christian Episcopal Church missionary bishop, said the comments were not Christian.
"To use prayer as a mechanism for wishing this on Prince George is an unkind and destructive thing to do," he told the BBC.
"It doesn't have the prince's best interests at heart, but uses him as a gender-political football to please 1.7% of the population.
"What is especially odd and incongruous is the fact that it is suddenly OK to pray for someone to be gay, but totally unacceptable to pray for them to be free from being gay and to resume a sexuality that was in tune with their biology.
"This seems not only contradictory but hypocritical."
Susie Leafe, the director of the conservative evangelical group Reform, was also critical of Mr Holdsworth's blog.
"I was very disappointed that he was prepared to bring a child in to this same-sex marriage debate," she told the BBC.
"As a Christian minister he should pray for all people to come to know the love of Christ, rather than a fine young gentleman."
The Church of England declined to comment on Mr Holdsworth's blog post as he is a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway, said: "The comments made by Provost Holdsworth were made on his personal blog.
"As his blog indicates, the views expressed there are his personal ones.
"They do not represent an official view of the Scottish Episcopal Church nor are they ones with which I would concur. I will be discussing this matter with Provost Holdsworth."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42192706
|
Bad Sex in Fiction: US writer Christopher Bollen wins - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
He won for his third novel The Destroyers, for a love scene set on a Greek island.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
US author Christopher Bollen has won the Bad Sex in Fiction Award for his novel The Destroyers.
The judges voted him the winner after reading a scene depicting the book's protagonist, Ian, with his ex-girlfriend on the island of Patmos.
He wrote: "She covers her breasts with her swimsuit... The skin along her arms and shoulders are different shades of tan like water stains in a bathtub."
Bollen - editor-at-large of Interview magazine - did not attend the ceremony.
Wilbur Smith's War Cry was among the nominees
The Destroyers is his third novel and the judges said he "prevailed against strong competition".
The award, organised by the Literary Review, was presented by Carry On star Fenella Fielding at London's Naval and Military Club - also known as the In & Out.
It was established in 1993 by journalist and writer Auberon Waugh.
Organisers say the purpose of the prize is "to draw attention to poorly written, perfunctory or redundant passages of sexual description in modern fiction".
It does not cover pornographic or expressly erotic literature.
Other nominees included Wilbur Smith's War Cry, which included a male character saying he wants to explore his lover "like Dr Livingstone and Mr Stanley exploring Africa".
Another shortlisted work - The Future Won't Be Long by Turkish-American author Jarett Kobek - likens sexual intercourse to a "pulsing wave", a "holy burst" and a "congress of wonder".
Another nominee - The Seventh Function of Language by France's Laurent Binet - features a man wooing a woman with the words: "Let's construct an assemblage."
In her shortlisted debut novel Mother of Darkness, Venetia Welby wrote about a character called Tera who "moans in colours" as her lover approaches.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42186736
|
'Homeless stranger was my long-lost brother' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
Siblings separated for 25 years have been reunited after one spotted the other in a Wigan churchyard.
| null |
Siblings separated for 25 years have been reunited after one spotted the other in a Wigan churchyard.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42190783
|
Thomas Cook plans to close 50 stores - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The travel company says the proposed closures will affect up to 400 staff.
|
Business
|
Thomas Cook has said it is planning to close 50 of its 690 stores as part of a review of its UK retail network.
The proposed closures will take place by March next year and will affect up to 400 staff at a mix of Thomas Cook and Co-operative Travel branded stores.
"We hope to redeploy a large proportion of those people," a spokesperson said.
Thomas Cook says the stores affected are either close to other stores or are located where a fall in customers has hit profitability.
The firm would not disclose the location of the stores under threat.
Less than half (47%) of its holidays have been booked in store this year, Thomas Cook said, while online sales in the UK grew by 27%.
"We continually review our network of stores across the UK to make sure we're offering customers the best of Thomas Cook, and it is clear that to succeed we have to operate as a truly omni-channel business," said Thomas Cook UK's director of retail and customer experience, Kathryn Darbandi.
The announcement comes just a week after the firm reported that earnings at its UK division had plunged by 40% in the year to 30 September.
Rising hotel prices, the fall in the pound and competition in the Spanish market have all affected the travel firm.
A spate of fraudulent illness claims and arrangements to help customers caught up in Hurricane Irma had also pushed up costs at the company.
At the time, chief executive Peter Fankhauser promised to arrest the slide in the UK, saying it had "implemented a set of actions to improve performance."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42194684
|
Crowds shout at ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn at court - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
| null |
Trump's former National Security Advisor has admitted lying to the FBI about dealings with Russia.
| null |
Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has admitted lying to the FBI about his dealings with Russia.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42161102
|
Damian Green says computer porn allegations are 'political smears' - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Damian Green, a key ally of Theresa May, says claims by an ex-police officer are "completely untrue".
|
UK Politics
|
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.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41874026
|
Birmingham family releases CCTV of hit-and-run death - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Relatives of Krishna Devi Droch hope publishing the shocking images will lead to the capture of her killer.
|
Birmingham & Black Country
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The family of a grandmother who died in a hit-and-run crash has released CCTV of the moment she was killed in the hope of catching the driver.
Krishna Devi Droch, 62, was hit by a silver Vauxhall Zafira travelling on the wrong side of the road in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 9 November.
She died at the scene and the car was found burnt out two miles away.
Three people arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving were released pending further inquiries.
Darren Holness, 47, of Leonard Road, Handsworth, has been charged with perverting the course of justice.
Ms Droch's brother Baldev Korotania said: "The individuals responsible are still out there and the only closure for our family throughout this difficult period is for them to be brought to justice."
The car hit Ms Droch as she crossed Rookery Road on her way to morning prayers.
Moments earlier, it had sped through a red traffic light in Soho Road, and was being closely followed by a light green Corsa and a silver/grey Ford Mondeo.
The family has backed the release of the CCTV footage by police
All three cars - two of which had false plates - were found abandoned within 24 hours.
Mr Korotania added: "Krishna was the foundation of our family, who was always there when we needed her.
"Her caring and compassionate nature will forever be missed by us.
"The grandchildren she has left behind are still waiting for her to come home.
"Although nothing can replace what we have lost, her love and care will remain in our hearts forever."
Det Sgt Paul Hughes of West Midlands Police said: "This tragic event has brought devastation and loss to a whole family and a larger community who knew and loved Krishna.
"We know that there were many people on Rookery Road that day, and there will be people we have not spoken to.
"I would appeal directly to them to come forward. The information you have may seem insignificant to you, but may be the piece of the puzzle we need to identify the occupants of the cars.
"I would urge those responsible to give themselves up before we come knocking at their door."
Det Sgt Paul Hughes appealed for anyone who recognised the Zafira's number plate to come forward
Mr Holness is due at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 12 December.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-42185685
|
Caerphilly loan shark who targeted 116 victims jailed - BBC News
|
2017-12-01
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The court heard he sued some victims in the civil court, claiming loans to "friends" were not repaid.
|
South East Wales
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. One victim said Sparey threatened to set fire to her house when she could not repay him
A loan shark nicknamed Del Boy who charged astronomical interest to more than 100 victims has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Robert Sparey, 55, from Caerphilly, who claimed disability benefits, handed out illegal loans of about £250,000.
He admitted illegal money lending over 20 years, along with other offences.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he successfully sued some victims in the civil court, claiming he had loaned "friends" money and was not repaid.
Sparey also admitted selling counterfeit tobacco and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The court heard he made his collections in a motability car using a disabled family member as "a front".
Tim Evans, prosecuting for the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit, said many people who end up borrowing from illegal money lenders are vulnerable and at first consider the person a friend.
He said Sparey portrayed himself as a victim of physical and financial circumstances - but seized records, which only covered the past three years, showed an estimated £264,405 in loans was to be repaid by his victims.
The loans themselves totalled £183,991 - with £61,839 the interest.
One loan was a repayment within two days of £475 on a loan of £350.
Mr Evans said it was difficult to know exactly how much money Sparey had made due to limited records, but about £20,000 in cash was found in his home, hidden in chocolate tins, food jars and bedroom cupboards.
He also had made large payments to credit card companies.
The court heard some victims were taken to the civil court by Sparey over the money he was owed.
"Bailiffs came to take property from [one victim's] home but she was so penniless there was nothing to take," Mr Evans said.
Sparey was found to have about £43,000 in assets - including an £18,000 caravan, two genuine Rolex watches worth £3,000, and gold jewellery and ingots valued at £1,750.
"He would open the fridge where he kept rolls and rolls of money. He used to joke that his fridge was his safe," Mr Evans said.
The court heard in mitigation that Sparey took more than 30 medications each day, suffered from renal failure and was at risk of having a heart attack.
Sentencing him, Judge Eleri Rees said: "We've heard a catalogue of the misery you've caused.
"Not only were you preying on some of the most vulnerable in society often unable to obtain credit elsewhere… but in some cases this was accompanied by threats of violence.
"At the time you were claiming benefits you were making substantial amounts of cash."
After the case, head of the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit, Stephen Grey said: "This is a man who portrayed himself as a victim of physical and financial circumstances.
"(He) hasn't been employed since 1990, received full council tax benefit, housing benefit, £57 per week from the mobility scheme for his car, the highest level of employment support allowance possible and was in fact making substantial amounts of money being a loan shark."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-42194519
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.