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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Could digital detectives solve an ancient puzzle? - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Thousands of people trying to solve an age-old question about joint pain and the weather.
|
Magazine
|
For more than two thousand years people have believed that joint pain could be triggered by bad weather, but the link has never been proven.
Now, by harnessing the power of thousands of volunteers, doctors hope to unravel the mystery. And the new technique could offer countless solutions to a whole host of ailments.
"I'm always in pain, 24/7," says Becky Mason, sitting at home on her sofa in Alsager near Manchester.
Like millions of people around the world she suffers from pains in her muscles and stiffness in her joints.
"I know, if it's going to be a very damp cold day, it's likely that my pain is going to be worse."
She has discussed it with her GP and has always wondered if there really is a link between her pain and the weather.
Becky isn't alone. The link between joint pain and bad weather has long been suspected by patients and medical professionals alike and the theory dates back at least to Roman times and possible earlier.
"Is it an old wives tale? Am I imagining it?" she asks.
It's a question she finally hopes to answer, not by visiting a hospital or undergoing tests, but simply by using her smartphone.
Each day she enters information about how she feels into an app on her phone, the phone's GPS pinpoints her location, pulls the latest weather information from the internet, and fires a package of data to a team of researchers.
On its own Becky's data is of limited interest, but she isn't acting alone. More than 13,000 volunteers have signed up for the same study, sending vast quantities of information into a database - more than four million data points so far.
Volunteers using the 'Cloudy with a chance of pain app', developed by data capture firm umotif
The app, called "Cloudy with a Chance of Pain" is part of a research project being run by Will Dixon. He is a consultant rheumatologist at Salford Royal Hospital and has spent years researching joint pain.
"At almost every clinic I run, one or more patients will tell me that their joint pains are better or worse because of the weather" he says, but until now he has never had the means of collecting enough data to find a conclusive answer.
Which is perhaps a good point to explain Will Dixon's other job title - Professor of Digital Epidemiology.
Traditional epidemiologists study health and disease in particular populations. Usually it means collecting data in person - asking patients to visit you, or heading out into the field. 'Shoe leather epidemiology', it is sometimes called.
But digital epidemiology allows patients to send detailed information over the internet - which means they can do it more regularly, and of course you can get many more people to take part, thousands more; numbers that would be unthinkable using the old methods.
By combing through that data, Professor Dixon hopes it will be possible to find correlations and clues that would have been hidden to doctors just a decade ago. His team will analyse the data over the coming year, and hope to find a definitive answer to the question.
World Hacks is a new BBC team looking at global problems.
We meet the people fixing the world.
The technique isn't just limited to arthritis research.
Another study underway in the US has recruited more than 20,000 participants using an app that asks them to say "ahhhhhhh" into their phone.
Named mPower, and built using technology developed by British academic Max Little, the project hopes to find out more about the onset and progression of Parkinson's disease. If the "ahhhhhhh" sound is smooth and unbroken, it has likely come from a healthy patient. But if it breaks and wavers, it could suggest that the patient may have Parkinson's.
By monitoring the precise pattern and pitch of the noise, it may even be possible to determine how advanced the disease has become, or how strongly its symptoms are being felt at a given moment. Using that information, it could allow patients to take much more specific doses of a drug to help manage the disease. The software is even being used in a clinical trial for a new drug.
And again, it is the accumulation of vast amounts of data, volunteered by thousands of participants, that is making the study possible.
Another app, soon to be launched, will allow users to photograph their plate of food, and use artificial intelligence to work out what's on the plate. The technology could help people determine the nutritional content of their meal, and allow public health bodies to track how well any particular population is eating.
It is being developed by Marcel Salathe, also a Professor of Digital Epidemiology and founder of what is likely the world's first lab dedicated to the field of study.
Marcel Salathe is a professor of digital epidemiology at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
He thinks the discipline could have particular benefits in parts of the world where basic medical infrastructure is lacking, but lots of people have smart-phones. Digital epidemiology could become the reporting network through which sickness outbreaks are initially detected, he says.
But vast amounts of data don't come without their own unique set of difficulties, he warns.
"The data can be extremely noisy," he explains. "Dealing with very large data sets and finding a needle in the haystack is very challenging from a technical perspective."
Perhaps the most interesting part of this new technique is the motivation of the people donating their data.
'Cloudy with a Chance of Pain' may never reap rewards for Becky herself, yet she seems quite happy to spend her time putting her data into a smartphone app and then sending this off to a remote location.
"When you're in pain all the time, it's easy to get low," she says "I'm at home and I can't work which makes me feel useless. But [with this app] I can still be helpful, and that's so powerful in my tiny little world, it helps me in a massive way."
Listen to BBC World Hacks on the World Service or listen back on the iPlayer.
• None Why addicts take drugs in 'fix rooms'
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39555462
|
Andy Murray wins in Monte Carlo but Rafael Nadal beats Kyle Edmund - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Andy Murray makes a winning return to the ATP Tour at the Monte Carlo Masters but Kyle Edmund loses to Rafael Nadal.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Andy Murray made a winning return to the ATP Tour after a month out with an elbow injury at the Monte Carlo Masters but Kyle Edmund lost to Rafael Nadal.
Murray, 29, was broken in the first game by Gilles Muller but soon asserted his class en route to a 7-5 7-5 win.
The world number one last played on the ATP Tour in Indian Wells on 12 March, though he contested an exhibition match against Roger Federer on 10 April.
Edmund lost 6-0 5-7 6-3 to Nadal in a thriller lasting more than two hours.
The British number three lost his serve in the opening game of the match before nine-time champion Nadal cruised to the first set.
But Edmund won his first game at the start of the second set and hit a number of forehand winners en route to levelling the match.
He continued to impress in the decider as the pair exchanged early breaks before the Spaniard took a decisive 4-3 lead and won the next two games to complete victory in two hours 19 minutes.
Murray, the top seed in Monte Carlo, gave up three double faults in the first game of his match, then hit long to gift Luxembourg's Muller the break.
The Scot continued to labour on his serve but somehow limited the damage, saving break point in the next game then fending off two set points while serving at 4-5.
Muller's failure to capitalise on Murray's rustiness was then brutally exposed by the Scot, who broke the world number 28 in back-to-back games to claim the opening set, before recovering from an early break in the second to wrap up victory in one hour 55 minutes.
"It was a tough first match," Murray told Sky Sports. "I started slow and wasn't serving well at the start.
"I only started serving properly four, five days ago, so I knew it was going to take time but I didn't expect to start the match serving like like that."
Third seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland is also into round three after beating Czech Jiri Vesely 6-2 4-6 6-2. Fifth seed Marin Cilic and sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem also progressed.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39644626
|
Serena Williams: World number two's pregnancy is confirmed - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
World number two and 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams is pregnant and due in the autumn, her representative confirms.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Serena Williams, the most successful female player of the Open era, is pregnant - just 12 weeks after winning a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.
The American, 35, is due to give birth in the autumn, says her representative.
The world number two posted a picture on social media app Snapchat, posing in a mirror with the message: "20 weeks", before deleting it.
If accurate, that would mean Williams was around eight weeks pregnant while winning in Melbourne.
• None How can you win a Grand Slam when you're pregnant?
Williams will miss the rest of the season, having not played since the Australian Open, citing a knee injury.
Williams, who will return to world number one next week, would be eligible to retain her ranking under the WTA special ranking rule if she is ready to play her first tournament within 12 months of giving birth.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka gave birth to her first child in December and is expected to return to competition at the end of July.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters, meanwhile, won the US Open in 2009 just 18 months after giving birth to her daughter.
The news would suggest that Serena won the Australian Open while roughly eight weeks into her pregnancy.
We are very unlikely to see her compete in another Grand Slam before the French Open of 2018. That event will take place four months before her 37th birthday - but do not write off a woman who will return to world number one on Monday.
Azarenka is a useful guide. Even though she is eight years younger, the Belarusian returned to serious training in March after giving birth in December and is targeting the WTA event in Stanford at the end of July for her return.
'There's going to be a baby GOAT' - reaction
US Open Tennis responded to Williams' message by saying: "Serena Williams will have a new pride and joy to hug and call her own soon! Congratulations on the exciting baby announcement!"
Best female player of the Open era
Williams, who announced her engagement to the co-founder of community news and chat site Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, in December, is top of the all-time list of major winners since Grand Slams accepted professional players in 1968.
She is second only to Australian Margaret Court on the list of women's all-time Grand Slam singles titles leaders - Court won 24 titles between 1960 and 1973.
Court, who won the singles Grand Slam in 1970, gave birth to her first child in March 1972, aged 29, and returned to win three of the four Grand Slam events in 1973.
Williams is a five-time Tour finals winner, the last of which came in 2014, and was recently picked as the greatest female tennis player of the Open era by BBC Sport readers.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39646591
|
Formula 4: British driver Billy Monger has legs amputated - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The teenager was airlifted to hospital following a high-speed crash at Donington Park in Leicestershire.
|
Leicester
|
The fundraising appeal beat its £260,000 target within a few hours
A 17-year-old Formula 4 driver who was involved in a "horrific" crash at Donington Park has had both his legs amputated.
Billy Monger, from Charlwood, Surrey, ran into the back of another car which appeared to have stopped on the track during the race on Sunday.
The teenager had to be extracted from his vehicle at the Leicestershire track and airlifted to hospital.
A JustGiving page set up to raise money for the boy hit £300,000.
Billy Monger picked up two podiums in his first four races of the F4 British Championship
The team behind the car, JHR Developments, set up the page with the blessing of the teenager's family, with the aim of raising £260,000.
A statement on the page said: "Thousands of people have already watched the haunting footage of the crash which left Billy fighting for his life. Sadly, Billy has had amputations to both legs.
"We now need your kindness and support to help give Billy and his family the best chance to fight these injuries that will affect Billy's life so massively."
The post, signed by Steven Hunter, JHR Developments and the Monger family, said the money would be put into a trust to help him "return to a full and active life".
The Formula 4 British Championship is a motor racing series which features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers.
It is designed as a low-cost entrance to car racing, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from go-karting.
It replaced the British Formula Ford Championship in 2015 - a series in which successful Formula 1 drivers such as Ayrton Senna and Jenson Button won their first single-seater titles.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-39647622
|
Birmingham City: Harry Redknapp says four points enough to stay in Championship - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Victory and a draw will be enough for Birmingham City to maintain their Championship status, says new manager Harry Redknapp.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Four points will be enough for Birmingham City to maintain their Championship status, says new manager Harry Redknapp.
The 70-year-old was appointed on Tuesday, with Blues 20th and three points above the relegation zone.
Their final three matches are trips to Aston Villa and Bristol City plus a home match against play-off hopefuls Huddersfield Town.
"We need a win and a point," Redknapp told BBC Radio 5 live.
"Gary [Rowett, former manager] did well when he was here with the same sort of group. He got the best out of them.
"Four points would do it. Easier said than done, but we will give it our best."
Redknapp, appointed 16 hours after Gianfranco Zola resigned on Monday, has secured four points from his first three games in charge three times in his career.
Should Blackburn and Nottingham Forest both win on Saturday, Birmingham would slip into the bottom three before Redknapp's first match in charge, which is a trip to local rivals Villa on Sunday.
'The players have obviously not performed'
Blues, who were seventh in December when Rowett was sacked, went on to win just two of their 24 matches during Zola's four-month tenure.
Redknapp has not held a permanent managerial position since leaving Queens Park Rangers in 2015, but has had stints as interim manager at Jordan and adviser to Derby County last season.
"The players have put in the club in the position they're in - you can blame who you like, they've obviously not performed," said the ex-Portsmouth, West Ham and Tottenham boss.
"They've got to take responsibility. They're the only ones who can get us out of it. You can only do so much from the touchline."
Redknapp, who will be assisted by former Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill and ex-Bournemouth boss Paul Groves, has only been appointed until the end of the season.
"If I can keep them up, next year would be something I'd really fancy," he added.
First team coaches Pierluigi Casiraghi and Gabriele Cioffi, fitness coach Andrea Caronti and video analyst Sebastiano Porcu, all part of Zola's backroom team, have followed the Italian out of St Andrew's while goalkeeper coach Kevin Hitchcock will retain his role at the club.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39633894
|
Profile: Theresa May - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A profile of Conservative Party leader Theresa May, who has just called a general election.
|
UK Politics
|
A look at the life and times of the UK's Prime Minister, Theresa May, who has decided to call a general election for 8 June.
Theresa May is Britain's second female prime minister but, unlike her predecessor Margaret Thatcher, she came to power without an election.
She took over as leader of the governing Conservative Party last July following the resignation of David Cameron, who had gambled everything on Britain voting to stay in the European Union.
Like Mr Cameron, Mrs May had been against Brexit but she cleverly managed to keep the Eurosceptics in her party on side during the referendum campaign by keeping a low profile.
She reaped her reward by emerging as the unchallenged successor to Mr Cameron - portraying herself as a steady, reliable pair of hands who would deliver the will of the people and take Britain out of the EU in as orderly a fashion as possible.
The plan was for there to be no election until 2020, but as the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg explains, the political logic for going to the country earlier became inescapable.
With a commanding lead in the opinion polls, the bigger gamble might well have been to wait another three years and risk Brexit negotiations turning sour or the opposition Labour Party recovering ground.
Theresa May, back row, right, in the 1999 shadow cabinet
The 60-year-old former home secretary has a reputation for a steady, unshowy approach to politics, although she was known in her early days at Westminster for her exotic taste in footwear and a fondness for high fashion (she named a lifetime subscription to Vogue as the luxury item she would take to a desert island).
She battled her way through the Westminster boy's club as one of a handful of women on the Conservative benches - she would later be joined by more female colleagues thanks, in part, to her own efforts as party chairman to get women candidates into winnable seats.
She developed a reputation as a tough, critics would say inflexible, operator, who was not afraid of delivering unpalatable home truths.
Some in the Conservative Party have never forgiven her for a 2002 conference speech in which she told members that "you know what some people call us - the nasty party".
Her lectures to Police Federation conferences as home secretary about the need for reform and to tackle corruption added to this steely reputation.
She was always ambitious but her rise through the ranks was steady, rather than meteoric.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May: We need proven leadership to negotiate the best deal
The daughter of a Church of England vicar, Hubert, who died from injuries sustained in a car crash when she was only 25, Theresa May's middle class background has more in keeping with the last female occupant of Downing Street, Margaret Thatcher, than her immediate predecessor.
Theresa May married her husband Philip in 1980
Born in Sussex but raised largely in Oxfordshire, Mrs May - both of whose grandmothers are reported to have been in domestic service - attended a state primary, an independent convent school and then a grammar school in the village of Wheatley, which became the Wheatley Park Comprehensive School during her time there.
The young Theresa Brasier, as she was then, threw herself into village life, taking part in a pantomime that was produced by her father and working in the bakery on Saturdays to earn pocket money.
Friends recall a tall, fashion-conscious young woman who from an early age spoke of her ambition to be the first woman prime minister.
The young Theresa Brasier at a function in the village hall
Like Margaret Thatcher, she went to Oxford University to study and, like so many others of her generation, found that her personal and political lives soon became closely intertwined.
In 1976, in her third year, she met her husband Philip, who was president of the Oxford Union, a well-known breeding ground for future political leaders.
The story has it that they were introduced at a Conservative Association disco by the subsequent Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. They married in 1980.
Her university friend Pat Frankland, speaking in 2011 on a BBC Radio 4 profile of the then home secretary, said: "I cannot remember a time when she did not have political ambitions.
"I well remember, at the time, that she did want to become the first woman prime minister and she was quite irritated when Margaret Thatcher got there first."
Theresa May is seen here as a child with her parents Hubert and Zaidee
There are no tales of drunken student revelry, but Pat Frankland and other friends say May was not the austere figure she would later come to be seen as, saying she had a sense of fun and a full social life.
After graduating with a degree in Geography, May went to work in the City, initially starting work at the Bank of England and later rising to become head of the European Affairs Unit of the Association for Payment Clearing Services.
But it was already clear that she saw her future in politics. She was elected as a local councillor in Merton, south London, and served her ward for a decade, rising to become deputy leader. However, she was soon setting her sights even higher.
Mrs May, who has become a confidante as well as role model for aspiring female MPs - told prospective candidates before the 2015 election that "there is always a seat out there with your name on it".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A look at Theresa May's journey to the top job
In her case - like that of Margaret Thatcher - it took a bit of time for her to find hers. She first dipped her toe in the water in 1992, where she stood in the safe Labour seat of North West Durham, coming a distant second to Hilary Armstrong, who went on to become Labour's chief whip in the Blair government. Her fellow candidates in that contest also included a very youthful Tim Farron, who is now Lib Dem leader.
Two years later, she stood in Barking, east London, in a by-election where - with the Conservative government at the height of its unpopularity - she got fewer than 2,000 votes and saw her vote share dip more than 20%. But her luck was about to change.
The Conservatives' electoral fortunes may have hit a nadir in 1997, when Tony Blair came to power in a Labour landslide, but there was a silver lining for the party and for the aspiring politician when she won the seat of Maidenhead in Berkshire. It's a seat she has held ever since.
Mrs May first stood for Parliament in 1992 in North West Durham
Theresa May has described her husband Philip as her rock
Theresa May bumps into rock star Alice Cooper outside a BBC studio in 2010
An early advocate of Conservative "modernisation" in the wilderness years that followed, Mrs May quickly joined the shadow cabinet in 1999 under William Hague as shadow education secretary and in 2002 she became the party's first female chairman under Iain Duncan Smith.
She then held a range of senior posts under Michael Howard but was conspicuously not part of the "Notting Hill set" which grabbed control of the party after its third successive defeat in 2005 and laid David Cameron and George Osborne's path to power.
This was perhaps reflected in the fact that she was initially given the rather underwhelming job of shadow leader of the House of Commons. But she gradually raised her standing and by 2009 had become shadow work and pensions secretary.
Nevertheless, her promotion to the job of home secretary when the Conservatives joined with the Lib Dems to form the first coalition government in 70 years was still something of a surprise - given that Chris Grayling had been shadowing the brief in opposition.
While the Home Office turned out to be the political graveyard of many a secretary of state in previous decades, Mrs May refused to let this happen - mastering her brief with what was said to be a microscopic attention to detail and no little willingness to enter into battles with fellow ministers when she thought it necessary.
Theresa May initially fell down the pecking order under David Cameron but worked her way back up
While some in Downing Street worried that the Home Office was becoming her own personal fiefdom, she engendered loyalty among her ministers and was regarded as "unmovable" as her tough-talking style met with public approval even when the department's record did not always seem so strong.
In his memoir of his time in office, former Lib Dem minister David Laws says: "She would frequently clash with George Osborne over immigration. She rarely got on anything but badly with Michael Gove. She and Cameron seemed to view each other with mutual suspicion.
"I first met her in 2010. I was sitting in my Treasury office, overlooking St James's Park, me in one armchair and the home secretary in the other, with no officials present. She looked nervous.
"I felt she was surprised to find herself as home secretary. Frankly, I didn't expect her to last more than a couple of years."
Despite her liberal instincts in some policy areas, she frequently clashed with the then deputy prime minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, particularly over her plan to increase internet surveillance to combat terrorism, dubbed the "Snooper's Charter" by the Lib Dems.
After one "difficult" meeting with Mr Clegg, he reportedly told David Laws: "You know, I've grown to rather like Theresa May... 'She's a bit of an Ice Maiden and has no small talk whatsoever - none. I have quite difficult meetings with her. Cameron once said, 'She's exactly like that with me too!'
"She is instinctively secretive and very rigid, but you can be tough with her and she'll go away and think it all through again."
Mrs May has confronted what she sees as vested interests in the police
The new prime minister is a self-declared feminist
On the plus side crime levels fell, the UK avoided a mass terrorist attack and in 2013, she successfully deported radical cleric Abu Qatada - something she lists as one of her proudest achievements, along with preventing the extradition to America of computer hacker Gary McKinnon.
She was not afraid to take on vested interests, stunning the annual conference of the Police Federation in 2014 by telling them corruption problems were not just limited to "a few bad apples" and threatening to end the federation's automatic right to enrol officers as its members.
However, the Passport Office suffered a near meltdown while she faced constant criticism over the government's failure to meet its promise to get net migration down to below 100,000 a year.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who went up against her in the Commons as shadow home secretary, told The Guardian: "I respect her style - it is steady and serious. She is authoritative in parliament - superficial attacks on her bounce off.
"The flip side is that she is not fleet of foot when crises build, she digs in her heels (remember the Passport Agency crisis in 2014 when the backlog caused hundreds to miss their holidays, and the Border Force crisis in 2011 when border checks were axed).
"And she hides when things go wrong. No interviews, no quotes, nothing to reassure people or to remind people she even exists. It's helped her survive as home secretary - but if you are prime minister, eventually the buck has to stop."
There was a bitter public row with cabinet colleague Michael Gove over the best way to combat Islamist extremism, which ended with Mr Gove having to apologise to the prime minister and Mrs May having to sack a long-serving special adviser - a turf war which is said to have led to a diminution in her admiration for the prime minister.
Former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke also had run-ins with her and was recorded on camera ahead of an interview last week saying that Mrs May was good at her job but a "bloody difficult woman" - before adding as an aside, a bit like Mrs Thatcher. A reference to be Conservative leader can hardly come better than that.
Mrs May has never been one of the most clubbable of politicians and is someone who prefers not having to tour the tea rooms of the House of Commons - where tittle-tattle is freely exchanged.
She has rarely opened up about her private life although she revealed in 2013 that she had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and would require insulin injections twice a day for the rest of her life - something she says she had come to terms with and which would not affect her career.
Mrs May's taste in footwear has kept photographers interested for more than a decade
Generally thought to be in the mainstream of Conservative thinking on most economic and law and order issues, she has also challenged convention by attacking police stop and search powers and calling for a probe into the application of Sharia Law in British communities.
She also expressed a personal desire to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights but later said she would not pursue this as PM due to a lack of parliamentary support - an example of what many believe will be pragmatism in office.
Her social attitudes are slightly harder to pin down. She backed same sex marriage. She expressed a personal view in 2012 that the legal limit on abortion should be lowered from 24 to 20 weeks. Along with most Conservative MPs she voted against an outright ban on foxhunting.
What is undisputable is that at 59, Mrs May was the oldest leader to enter Downing Street since James Callaghan in 1976 and is the first prime minister since Ted Heath who does not have children.
Mrs May has worked closely with David Cameron and will now succeed him
Mrs May has been the most senior female Cabinet minister for the past six years
One of Westminster's shrewdest as well as toughest operators, Mrs May's decision to campaign for the UK to remain in the EU but to do so in an understated way and to frame her argument in relatively narrow security terms reaped dividends after the divisive campaign.
During what turned out to be a short-lived leadership campaign, Mrs May played strongly on her weight of experience, judgement and reliability in a time of crisis.
The first months of Mrs May's time in Downing Street have been dominated by the process of divorcing the UK from the EU - but there have been signs that she won't be content with the "safe pair of hands" tag that is often attached to her.
Brexit, she has said, won't be allowed purely to define her time in office and she has promised a radical programme of social reform, underpinned by values of One Nation Toryism, to promote social mobility and opportunity for the more disadvantaged in society.
Policies such as new grammar schools or more selection have been put forward - but with a slender parliamentary majority of 17 her government had little breathing room on bringing forward tightly contested legislation.
So, despite promising not to hold a general election before she had to, in 2020, she has now decided to seek a mandate for her own particular brand of Conservatism to, as she put it, to "guarantee certainty and security for the years ahead".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39630534
|
Britain's 'big bang' in Heligoland, 70 years on - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Remembering one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, on the German island of Heligoland.
|
Europe
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Heligoland: When Britain blew up an island
Brexit may have triggered a political earthquake in Europe, but 70 years ago the UK sent real shockwaves across the seas with the largest non-nuclear explosion of that era.
As one of the four victorious allied powers after World War Two, Britain was governing a large area of occupied Germany.
The British sector included the tiny island of Heligoland, which had long been a source of diplomatic tension between the two countries.
So, when in 1947 the British needed a safe place to dispose of thousands of tonnes of unexploded ammunition, Heligoland must have seemed an obvious choice.
The code-name for the plan combined the British flair for understatement with the military taste for the literal-minded; it was to be called Operation Big Bang.
The Heligoland Big Bang was the largest non-nuclear detonation to date
Heligoland had been a German naval fortress, and historian Jan Rüger, author of Heligoland: Britain, Germany, and the Struggle for the North Sea, says Operation Big Bang was designed by the British to make a big point.
"They're very clear that there's a symbolic side to this [operation] and that is the German tradition of militarism," he explains.
"There's a sense that Prussian militarism and its threat to Britain has to end and that's very much how Operation Big Bang is received in Britain."
The operation was carefully stage-managed - the old black and white pictures even include a close-up of a Royal Navy officer's finger triggering the blast. Aerial footage shows the entire horizon erupting in a huge grey curtain of mud, sand and rock.
For the Royal Navy and the British Army of Occupation it was mission accomplished.
Heligoland was evacuated during World War Two
For the people of Heligoland it felt very different.
Europe in 1946 and 1947 was in chaos, with millions of displaced and dispossessed families drifting between camps or sheltering in ruined buildings.
The island had been evacuated during the war and many Heligolanders were living in exile in the coastal city of Cuxhaven about 60km (37 miles) to the south.
Olaf Ohlsen, who was 11 years old in 1947, gathered with the rest of the exiled population on the cliffs to listen for the sound of the explosion.
Few people in history can have lived through such a moment, standing at the edge of sea knowing that they would hear but not see an explosion that they knew would destroy their homes.
Heligolander Olaf Ohlsen was 11 years old when the detonation took place
Olaf says everyone knew that the explosion would be shattering.
"Even in Hamburg, which is more than 150 km (93 miles) from the island," he told me, "a schoolteacher kept a document which said the British had warned everyone to leave doors and windows open to help the buildings withstand the blast."
Olaf's father was among the pessimists who believed that Britain's real intention was to blow up the island behind a literal smokescreen created by the destruction of the captured ammunition.
He still recalls the first time his father brought news of what had happened after the blast, shouting with excitement: "Heligoland is still here, it's still here."
In the middle of the 20th Century Heligoland still mattered to its people, fiercely independent speakers of a Friesian dialect who are neither British nor German.
Heligoland was a German military base in both world wars
But it had lost the strategic importance that made it a crucial bone of contention between the great powers of Europe a hundred years earlier.
Britain occupied Heligoland in the Napoleonic period as part of its complex manoeuvrings to deny the French leader the support of the navies of Scandinavia as he took over huge parts of Europe.
Thus the British found themselves with a handy naval base that guarded the entrance to the port of Hamburg and allowed it to slip secret agents freely into Napoleonic Europe. By the time they gifted it to the Kaiser in 1890, though, its usefulness appeared to be at an end.
Detlev Rickmers, a local hotel owner whose family have been Heligolanders for 500 years, says that even though it's more than a century since the link was broken, a sense of Britishness ran through the population for a long time after 1890.
"Of course there was a British governor, there was a sense of being British," he says. "There were connections to Britain. My grandfather told me that he always remembered the excitement of the days when the salesman would call from Huntley and Palmer."
In the wake of the Big Bang, of course, things are very different.
70 years on, the crater from the explosion is still a feature of the island
The British bombing operation acted as a kind of catalyst for a new form of post-war German nationalism. There were campaigns for the island to be returned to German sovereignty and for a rebuilding programme to allow the Heligolanders to go home.
Historian Jan Rüger says that perhaps for the last time Operation Big Bang had made Heligoland part of a larger historical argument.
"As always in history there's a paradoxical side to these events," he says. "In this case it lies in the way that all over Germany this is seen as a moment that victimises the Germans and allows them to see themselves as victims after a war in which the rest of Europe has been the victim of German aggression."
The British bombing left Heligoland's landscape pock-marked and cratered. But the island endured: a stubborn lump of rock in the North Sea.
And while most visitors are drawn these days by the lure of duty-free shopping, Heligoland has a fascinating story to tell to anyone who'll listen.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39590752
|
Jean-Luc Mélenchon galvanises left in French election - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Veteran leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon emerges as a force in the French presidential election.
|
Europe
|
In an innovative campaign Mr Mélenchon addressed Parisians from a barge
Is it the mellowing of age? Is it a return to an original kinder self? Or is it all part of a brilliant pre-election re-make?
No-one knows the answer, but everyone understands the question. Something has changed in Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
At the last election in 2012 he was the far-left candidate who ate quote-hunting journalists for breakfast. He fulminated and he fumed. Supporters loved him, but most of the population took fright.
This time around France's scourge of capitalism is as sharp as ever with his tongue. But gone is the hate and the wall-to-wall vituperation. Instead, he plays on another rhetorical chord, which is humour.
The snarl has been replaced by the smile, and the Mélenchon ratings have gone through the ceiling.
For his critics this is disconcerting, because behind the new-found charm they see the same irresponsible firebrand as first stormed out of the Socialist Party (PS) nearly a decade ago.
Born in Tangiers in 1951 of Spanish-Italian extraction, Jean-Luc Mélenchon had a career in teaching and journalism before launching himself into Socialist politics in the late 1970s.
Gravitating to the left of the party, he served briefly as junior education minister under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. In 2002 he co-founded a movement, Nouveau Monde (New World), which attacked what it saw as the Socialist party's rightward drift.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon chose the distinctive Greek letter phi as his movement's logo
He voted against the EU's proposed constitution in 2005, on the grounds that it would turn market capitalism into a permanent state of being. Three years later he decided the Socialists had become a party of sell-outs, and left for good.
After setting up a new Parti de Gauche (Left Party), he was elected as a Euro MP in 2009 in an alliance with the Communists.
Now he is once again backed by the Communists in this, his second presidential campaign. But he eschews traditional party affiliations. Instead, his movement is called La France Insoumise (France unbowed), and its symbol is the Greek letter phi (from the initials of the movement).
More on the French election:
Jean-Luc Mélenchon's programme has changed little from 2012. He wants the presidential system of the Fifth Republic to be replaced by a government more directly answerable to parliament.
He wants a €100bn (£84bn; $107bn) state investment plan; a top tax rate of 90%; retirement at 60; a 32-hour working week; 200,000 new state-paid jobs; and a ban on firing workers when companies are making profits.
He wants to renegotiate the EU treaties so that the European Central Bank answers to political, rather than purely monetary, interests; and an end to so-called "austerity" rules that put limits on national deficits.
He would leave Nato and the IMF, and even bring France (via its territory of Guyane) into the little-known Latin American union Alba (Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas), which was set up by Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.
Mr Mélenchon (R) wears a worker's jacket with a red triangle on the collar, a symbol worn by communists deported by the Nazis in World War Two
Jean-Luc Mélenchon's manifesto is immediately recognisable. But this time the sales pitch is different.
The old iconography has disappeared. The red flags no longer fly at rallies, and he has ditched the singing of the Internationale. He refuses to be described as far-left, and does not even mind the term populist.
His communications team has been masterly.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jean-Luc Mélenchon appeared in seven places at once
In popular YouTube videos he speaks directly to voters, defying the quick-click culture with detailed lectures on economics.
His smartness of phrase was a hit in the presidential debates. The jibe, not the insult, is now his strength.
But the pièces de résistance, certainly from the PR viewpoint, have been the hologram rallies, in which he has appeared simultaneously in venues hundreds of kilometres apart, striding the stage in his old-fashioned teacher's jacket and expounding on the evils of the system.
Some critics argue the whole Mélenchon campaign contains an element of the hologram: his proposals are insubstantial because they are totally unrealistic.
The skill has been in the communication, in articulating and spreading a message that many people, clearly, are very happy to hear.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39627681
|
World Championship 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan hopes for 'sensible resolution' - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Ronnie O'Sullivan hopes a "sensible resolution" can be reached over any outstanding issues with the snooker authorities.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Ronnie O'Sullivan hopes for a "sensible resolution" over any outstanding issues with snooker authorities.
The five-time world champion accused World Snooker of bullying after his first-round win at the World Championship on Sunday.
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has said the claims are "unfounded".
In a statement released on Tuesday, 41-year-old O'Sullivan said his legal team would address the issues at the end of the tournament at Sheffield's Crucible.
He also said he would make no further comment on the matter during the event, but would focus instead on winning a sixth world title.
"There has been some speculation and commentary around the answers I gave when questioned by the media at my press conference on Sunday.
"Any outstanding issues with the snooker authorities will be addressed by my legal team following the conclusion of this great event, when I hope a sensible resolution can be reached.
"I will not be making any further comment about this during the World Championship. I request the press and media respect this position in all further interviews.
"I wish to focus all my energies on performing to the very best of my ability for the fans in my quest for a sixth world title."
BBC Radio 5 live's George Riley, who spoke to O'Sullivan at the news conference on Sunday
Wittingly or unwittingly, Ronnie is the story because he is snooker's most prized asset.
Going to war with the sport's hierarchy is massive news.
He cannot have been surprised that I challenged how he has been with the media.
All we have been trying to do since the Masters is talk to him about snooker. Had he not avoided doing so then this situation probably wouldn't have arisen.
In requesting that we don't ask tough questions, the hope is that we can go back to talking about the snooker.
I feel like he is obsessing more about the questions that we might ask than the answers he is giving; he doesn't have to say anything he doesn't want, but we have to be able to at least ask.
In the statement he asks for the media to respect his decision to not comment further, but in the past few months he has not shown the media much respect. We are not trying to catch him out.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39636191
|
Real Madrid 4-2 Bayern Munich (agg 6-3) - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Cristiano Ronaldo scores a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich in a thrilling game to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to take his Champions League tally to 100 goals as holders Real Madrid controversially overcame Bayern Munich in extra time to reach the semi-finals.
Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal's harsh 84th-minute dismissal was the first pivotal moment of a thrilling game, and Ronaldo was clearly standing in an offside position to score Madrid's second in extra time.
Needing at least two goals to progress, Bayern had led when Robert Lewandowski confidently drilled in a penalty.
Madrid struggled to find rhythm at a nervy Bernabeu before Ronaldo headed in Casemiro's precise cross.
Bayern responded just 36 seconds later as Sergio Ramos' own goal forced extra time, but then crumbled after Ronaldo fired in Madrid's second.
The Portugal captain tapped in the third - his 100th Champions League goal - after Marcelo's marauding run, with Marco Asensio sealing victory by shooting into the bottom corner.
Madrid will discover their semi-final opponents when the draw is made on Friday.
Neighbours Atletico progressed after edging past Leicester City, while the other two ties - Barcelona against Juventus, and Monaco against Borussia Dortmund - conclude on Wednesday.
• None Referee was not up to task - Ancelotti
Anticipation was high when two of Europe's biggest and most successful clubs were drawn together - and an enthralling tie did not disappoint.
However, it was somewhat tinged by Madrid benefiting from two debatable decisions by Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai and his officials.
Chile midfielder Vidal, already booked for an early foul on the edge of the Bayern area, was shown a second yellow card for what appeared to be a clean sliding tackle on Madrid substitute Asensio.
And then Ronaldo was standing at least a yard offside when he met Ramos' pass and spun to fire Madrid 4-3 ahead on aggregate.
"In a quarter-final you have to put a better referee, or it is the moment to introduce video refereeing, which is what Uefa are trying, because there are too many errors," Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti said.
Nothing separated the two teams over 180 engaging minutes in Munich and Madrid, only for the German champions to finally run out of steam as they battled a numerical disadvantage.
Bayern also played the final 30 minutes at the Allianz Arena last week with 10 men after Javi Martinez's dismissal.
Ancelotti's side remained resolute in the first period of extra time - until the tiring visitors unravelled after Ronaldo put the Spanish league leaders ahead.
History-seeking Madrid get the rub of the green
Madrid are aiming to become the first club to retain the Champions League and moved a step closer by eventually seeing off Bayern.
For long periods, Madrid were edgy defensively and uncertain going forward - with Ronaldo guilty of wasting a number of chances in normal time.
Bayern knew they would have to become only the third side to overturn a first-leg home defeat in a Champions League tie to reach their sixth successive semi-final.
Fewer places are harder to achieve that than the home of the 11-time European champions.
Although only one away team had managed to leave the Bernabeu with victory in Madrid's previous 33 home matches in all competitions, Bayern looked confident and organised as they quietened the home crowd.
Bayern top scorer Lewandowski, who missed the first leg with a shoulder injury, fired them ahead with a coolly taken penalty before Ramos' bizarre own goal - the ball ricocheting off his right foot and spinning inside the near post - forced extra time.
But Madrid eventually wrestled control of the tie thanks to their numerical advantage and the decisions of the officials.
Sheer relief greeted the final two Madrid goals as their jubilant players wildly celebrated reaching a record seventh successive semi-final in Europe's premier club competition.
"I don't get involved if decisions are right or wrong," said Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.
"Everyone has their own opinions, some might say it was not a second yellow card for Vidal, some might say it is.
"Cristiano's goal might have been offside but it doesn't change anything."
'Ronaldo is always there for us' - post-match reaction
On some home supporters whistling at Cristiano Ronaldo during the game: "Cristiano has shown that in the key moments he is there, he makes the difference. When he has to be, he is there.
"It is unique and we are happy for him and for the team.
"Maybe after today they do not whistle anymore, but this is Madrid and that things happen from time to time, and he knows it. He has to be calm.
"The public will always thank Cristiano for everything he has done."
• None Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick made him the first player to reach 100 Champions League goals
• None On the same night, Real's neighbours Atletico reached the same tally as a club
• None Madrid have qualified for the Champions League semi-finals for the seventh consecutive season - the longest streak in competition history
• None Bayern lost both legs of a Champions League knockout tie for the first time since April 2014, which was also against Real Madrid in a 5-0 semi-final aggregate defeat
• None Ronaldo has scored nine times against Bayern in the Champions League - only Barcelona's Lionel Messi has scored as many against a single opponent (against Arsenal)
• None Lewandowski has netted six goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League, the most of any opposition player
• None The Poland striker converted his sixth penalty in the Champions League, maintaining his 100% record from the spot in the competition (excl. shootouts)
• None Arturo Vidal's red card was the 19th shown to a Bayern Munich player in the Champions League - only Juventus (22) have had more in the competition
• None The average age of Bayern's starting line-up in this game was 30 years and 116 days, making it their oldest in Champions League history
Both teams go back to domestic league action hoping to move a step closer to their respective titles.
Madrid have the small matter of El Clasico to focus on. Zidane's team can move six points clear at the top of La Liga by beating arch-rivals Barcelona.
The sides meet on Sunday at the Bernabeu (19:45 BST), with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who are eight points clear with five games left, will hope to bounce back from this defeat when they host Mainz on Saturday.
• None Attempt missed. Casemiro (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Marcelo.
• None Attempt missed. Mats Hummels (FC Bayern München) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Arjen Robben with a cross following a set piece situation.
• None Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Goal! Real Madrid 4, FC Bayern München 2. Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner following a fast break.
• None Goal! Real Madrid 3, FC Bayern München 2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcelo.
• None Attempt missed. Casemiro (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
• None Goal! Real Madrid 2, FC Bayern München 2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sergio Ramos.
• None Offside, Real Madrid. Lucas Vázquez tries a through ball, but Cristiano Ronaldo is caught offside. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39611654
|
British and Irish Lions 2017: Sam Warburton captain, Dylan Hartley out - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Wales' Sam Warburton will captain the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand, but England skipper Dylan Hartley misses out.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Wales back row Sam Warburton will captain the British and Irish Lions on their tour of New Zealand this summer, but England skipper Dylan Hartley has not been selected in the 41-man squad.
Coach Warren Gatland has chosen 16 England players, 12 from Wales, 11 from Ireland and two from Scotland.
The tour, which runs from 3 June to 8 July, features three Tests against the All Blacks, who are world champions.
"There were some pretty lively debates finalising the squad," said Gatland.
The New Zealander, who also took charge of the Lions in Australia in 2013, added: "We are very happy with the quality of squad we have."
• None 'Gatland got his selections right & the Lions can win' - Guscott's verdict
Warburton, 28, led the Lions to victory four years ago.
The former Wales skipper is only the second player, after England's Martin Johnson, to captain the Lions in two tours.
He stepped down as Wales captain before the 2017 Six Nations and was replaced by lock Alun Wyn Jones, who also took over when Warburton was injured for the third Lions Test in 2013.
"It is going to be the toughest thing I've done but it is definitely the biggest honour I have had," Warburton said.
"I am really looking forward to captaining the Lions for the second time and, with it being in New Zealand, it definitely ranks as the pinnacle of my career so far."
Hartley, 31, misses out despite leading England to a second straight Six Nations title, with compatriot Jamie George, Ireland's Rory Best and Wales' Ken Owens the three hookers selected.
The Northampton Saints player is the third England captain in succession to miss out on Lions selection, after Steve Borthwick in 2009 and Chris Robshaw in 2013.
England centre Jonathan Joseph is included, but there is no place for fellow Six Nations winners Joe Launchbury, George Ford, James Haskell and Robshaw.
Wales number eight Ross Moriarty is a surprise inclusion, while New Zealand-born Ireland centre Jared Payne is also selected.
'This will be the toughest tour' - reaction
Gatland on Warburton: "Sam is fully aware his form needs to be good enough to be selected. There is pressure on him for that but he is the right man for the job.
"He did a great job in 2013 so for us he is the natural choice."
Gatland on squad: "There is no clear number one, two or three in some positions. That is what makes us excited about the quality of the squad.
"This will be the toughest tour - in previous tours the midweek games have been easier. If you look at the quality of the teams we are playing midweek, it is going to be hugely challenging.
"That is why we have picked a few extra players, to make sure we have got depth and quality."
Former England back Austin Healey: "No matter who the Lions pick people will always be happy or unhappy. Surprised there wasn't more Scotland players. Two isn't enough."
Ex-Wales international Jonathan Davies: "So glad Jonathan Joseph is in the Lions squad. He's got that something special."
Former Wales and Lions forward Adam Jones: "Very proud of my boys Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler getting the Lions call up! They will both do incredibly well out there."
Courtney Lawes: "Thank you everyone for your kind messages. It's an honour to be selected for the tour to New Zealand and made even more special as it's on my son's birthday, I could not be happier."
Borthwick is an assistant to Gatland for the tour of New Zealand and has worked with Hartley since December 2015 as England's forwards coach in Eddie Jones' set-up.
"Dylan will be undoubtedly very, very disappointed but the thing about him, one thing that's really struck me, is just how resilient he is," Borthwick said.
"He's bounced back from a lot of things, he's a strong character, and I've no doubt that's exactly what he will do now.
"It's one of those positions where we are absolutely spoilt for choice with the options we have.
"We believe we've got three hookers there that are the right ones that we need to play the rugby we want to in New Zealand."
Verdict: A decision that will be doubly galling to Hartley - missing out on a tour to the country of his birth and seeing a man picked who is his back-up for England. Even if, in truth, it was more of a battle for the third hooker's spot between Hartley and Owens.
Stat: All 17 of George's caps for England have been as a replacement.
Decision: Launchbury and Gray brothers out, Henderson in
Verdict: While Henderson's display against England in the Six Nations may have sealed his place, Launchbury's sterling efforts in the first four matches have not been enough. Richie and Jonny Gray, meanwhile, can take consolation in the fact the second row is the most competitive position in the squad.
Stats: Richie Gray has started 56 of his 65 appearances for Scotland, Jonny Gray 29 of his 33. Of Henderson's 32 caps for Ireland, almost half have come off the bench.
Verdict: It was reported Joseph would miss out, but his sweet angles and steps could prove critical in a Test series where the Lions will have to score multiple tries to win matches. Moriarty's form for Wales and an expanded squad of 41 get him in; Payne represented New Zealand Under-21s, and comes with both local knowledge and caps for Gatland's old side Waikato.
Stat: Joseph has scored 80 points in 33 appearances for England.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39639299
|
British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland defends nationality split - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Lions coach Warren Gatland says player nationalities did not influence the selection of his 41-man squad to tour New Zealand.
| null |
Player nationalities did not influence the selection of the 41-man British and Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand this summer, says coach Warren Gatland.
Gatland, who has been Wales coach since 2007, has chosen 16 England players, 12 Welsh, 11 Irish and two from Scotland.
Wales finished fifth in the 2017 Six Nations, below champions England, with Ireland second and Scotland fourth.
"I didn't realise the split in the numbers," 53-year-old New Zealander Gatland said on the issue.
"We didn't go through the numbers. We put together a group of players in each position we felt were in contention and then we went through and individually selected those players."
• None 'Gatland got his selections right & the Lions can win' - Guscott's verdict
England captain Dylan Hartley was not selected, despite leading England to back-to-back Six Nations titles, with Gatland preferring Ireland's Rory Best, England's Jamie George and Wales' Ken Owens as his three hookers for the month-long tour which starts on 3 June and concludes with the third Test on 8 July.
England fly-half George Ford also missed out, with Ireland's Johnny Sexton, England's Owen Farrell and Wales' Dan Biggar selected at number 10.
Ireland's Donnacha Ryan, England's Joe Launchbury and Scotland brothers Jonny and Richie Gray were other notable absentees.
"We had a long and lively debate about hookers. Dylan has done a great job for England," Gatland said.
"If we picked him and left out Jamie George, Rory Best or Ken Owens you would be asking the same question. They were arguably form players in the Six Nations. Dylan has been unlucky.
"There has been a lot of discussion about Launchbury, Donnacha Ryan and the Gray brothers. Selection is a matter of opinion and that is what makes it interesting."
What do the pundits think?
Ex-Lions Matt Dawson, Martyn Williams and Keith Wood were speaking on BBC Radio 5 live's Lions special on Wednesday.
"This will be the strongest Lions squad, I think, ever. However I do feel that the weighting of the players, in particular having 12 Wales players in that squad, I can look at four or five and think maybe there were other options."
"The simple truth is that [Gatland] knows a lot of those Welsh players and trusts them. There's a few of those guys he may know better than others."
"If you're purely going on what's just happened in the Six Nations, I think quite a few of the Welsh players have maybe been picked on what they've done for Warren Gatland in the past and on previous Lions tours. But that is always the case if you've got a coach who is also a national coach.
"The fact there wasn't a Scottish voice in that management team to back the corner of any of the Scottish players - I'm sure that led to it as well.
"If you look at the pedigree and the quality of those Welsh players I'm sure you can make a case for every one of them.
"[But] there is no doubt about it, the fact that there is such a Welsh influence within that management team has got a few of those over the line."
"There just seems an imbalance there, but this is not about nationalities. It is about Gatland selecting the squad he thinks can win a Test series in New Zealand. It's all about the style of rugby they want to play - all about power, all about physicality. He's picked a squad of players he knows can play that sort of game.
"We might only have two Scotland players in the squad [Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour], but we might have two in the Test team."
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said: "He has got a particular style he likes, that works for him up there [in the northern hemisphere], using the big ball carriers up front and big midfielders to carry, so the selection reflects that.
"I'm a little bit surprised he hasn't selected a couple of other people, but if he was picking the All Blacks he would pick some different people to me.
"I think this is the best British and Irish Lions team that we've seen come here for a long, long time. There is depth all the way through."
'It's not about Sam Warburton, it's about the team'
Gatland appointed Warburton the youngest Lions captain since 1955 in 2013 and has now made him just the second player to skipper the Lions twice.
That comes despite the Cardiff Blues forward stepping down as Wales captain before this year's Six Nations and suggestions he will face a battle for his starting place.
"One of his greatest qualities is that it is not about Sam Warburton, it is about the team," Gatland said.
• None Williams: 'Brutal' way for Jamie Roberts to find out about Lions' exclusion
"He will be under no doubt his form has to be good enough.
"He will understand that and respect that because it is not about Sam Warburton, it is about the team and that is what I like about him as a person and an individual."
"Ironically, I think it may be easier for Sam to captain the Lions than Wales," Gatland added.
"He is under great scrutiny, pressure and expectation as Welsh captain. I think he will find it easier because of the quality of the squad and other leaders in the team will hopefully make his job pretty seamless and easy."
Warren Gatland is a coach who has never been swayed by public opinion; this was the man who dropped the great Brian O'Driscoll four years ago, so making big calls like leaving out England's all-conquering captain, picking only two Scots, or selecting as many as 12 Welshmen, would have been done with one target in mind - beating New Zealand.
While the squad is full of power and heft, the decision to pick Jonathan Joseph - who was struggling to make the party - as well as players like Elliot Daly, Stuart Hogg and Liam Williams, means there will be no shortage of pace and skill in the backline.
However, the centre pairings early on in the tour will be an indicator of how the Lions want to play the game, with an onus likely to be on physicality, while opting for Dan Biggar over George Ford or Finn Russell shows the desire for durability, consistency and temperament over raw game-breaking ability.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39647262
|
Face-to-face with top North Korean diplomat - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
After a giant military parade over the weekend, the message from Pyongyang is clear.
|
Asia
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC’s John Sudworth asks North Korea’s vice-foreign minister what message he has for Donald Trump
Two days ago, I stood on the edge of Kim Il-sung Square in the centre of Pyongyang and watched, with a mixture of awe and unease, as North Korea's giant military parade passed by.
Back in that same location today, the vast space of the square was almost empty except for a few government workers on foot and the odd car - which pretty much sums up the traffic situation, or lack of it, in this isolated, sanction-hit city.
My government minders ushered me up the steps of the foreign ministry and I soon found myself sitting face to face with Vice-Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol.
Were some of the weapons on display in the parade, as many analysts have speculated, new intercontinental ballistic missiles? I asked him.
"The respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in his historic new year address this year said that we are at the final stage of preparations to launch an ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile)," he replied.
"I'm no military expert," he went on, "but I hope that there was an ICBM among the missiles shown at the parade."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's John Sudworth, in Pyongyang, explains what may happen next
North Korea needs such weapons, he said, "in order to protect our government and system from threat and provocation from the United States".
And in a direct riposte to US President Donald Trump and his assertion that North Korea will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, Mr Han added this.
"According to our own schedule we'll be conducting more tests on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis."
North Korea has long been seen to use provocation and brinkmanship to raise tension for its own strategic advantage.
It is then able to win diplomatic and economic concessions through negotiations to defuse the crisis, only later to go on to renege on its disarmament commitments.
As the cycle begins again, at each stage, it moves a step closer to its goal of becoming a fully-fledged nuclear power.
But while the current state of technological advancement of North Korea's weapons programme matters deeply to the outside world, in particular its near neighbours, the hostile rhetoric is rarely something to take at face value.
Read between the lines and, mostly, it is always conditional, peppered with ifs and buts, as it was today.
"If the US goes on with their reckless option of using military means then that would mean from that very day, an all out war," Mr Han told me.
The interview does though give a hint of the new worrying unpredictability at play.
Donald Trump's recent ordering of the airstrike on a Syrian airbase has clearly rattled Pyongyang and the threat now is not simply of retaliation to an attack, but even, Mr Han suggests, to the planning of one.
"If the USA encroaches upon our sovereignty then it will provoke our immediate counter reaction and if it is planning a military attack against us, we will react with a nuclear pre-emptive strike by our own style and method."
Experts say an all-out war is very unlikely
However, despite the posturing on both sides, the risks, most observers agree, are still limited.
For the US and its allies, war carries incalculable risks and although Washington insists that all options are on the table, it now appears to be signalling that diplomacy and toughened sanctions are the most likely way forward.
It is as yet unclear how, having failed before, those things will force this most totalitarian of states to give up its nuclear weapons.
As Vice-Foreign Minister Han made clear to me, North Korea has learned the lessons from recent history, in particular the US-led attempts at regime change in Iraq and Libya.
"If the balance of power is not there, then the outbreak of war is imminent and unavoidable."
"If one side has nukes and the other side doesn't, and they're on bad terms, war will inevitably break out," he said.
"This is the lesson shown by the reality of the countries in the Middle East, including Libya and Syria where people are suffering from great misfortune."
The vice-foreign minister said North Korean people are guaranteed their human rights
Within the city limits of Pyongyang, foreign journalists get to see very little of ordinary life on these carefully choreographed and highly controlled media tours.
Even further beyond reach, good evidence shows, lie the vast political prisons in which all dissent and opposition to the system, however mild, is crushed.
Rather than building nuclear weapons, I ask Mr Han, wouldn't North Korea be better improving life for its own people, perhaps starting with abolishing those gulags?
"We do not tolerate any others criticising our style of socialism and we believe in the choice we have made," Mr Han replies.
"The masses are the centre of our state and their security and human rights are guaranteed."
"As for the so called political prison camps you have just mentioned," he went on, "it is something that our enemies have fabricated and it has been disseminated by their followers in order to demonise our country".
Militarised and isolated, North Korea has the right to follow its own path and, Mr Han apparently believes, no one will be able to stop it.
So far, he has been proven right.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39626011
|
Craig Shakespeare: Leicester players want more Champions League football - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Manager Craig Shakespeare challenges his Leicester players to reach the Champions League again after their loss to Atletico Madrid.
| null |
Manager Craig Shakespeare challenged his Leicester team to reach the Champions League again after their quarter-final loss to Atletico Madrid.
The Premier League champions were the last surviving English team in this season's competition.
But, despite a spirited second-leg display, a 1-1 draw meant Atletico progressed via a 2-1 aggregate win.
"The whole club, from the supporters to the players to the owners can be immensely proud," said Shakespeare.
"We had them rattled with the effort and commitment we showed. It's no discredit to lose to a team of that calibre.
"I've just said to the players that they should want more of this and they've agreed that that's what they want.
"All players want to play at the highest level and the Champions League is the highest level but we have to get back to winning ways in the Premier League now."
Seeking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit, Leicester fell further behind to Saul Niguez's header in the first half on Tuesday, meaning they required three goals to progress.
The Foxes dominated the second half and gave themselves hope when Jamie Vardy finished from close range on the hour mark.
But, despite sending on Leonardo Ulloa for Shinji Okazaki at half-time and leading the shot count 17-2 after the break, they were unable to breach a resolute Atletico defence for a second time.
"In the first half, we played really well but the goal changes the game plan - we knew we had to score three - so I had to make the change," Shakespeare told BT Sport.
"In terms of effort, commitment, application - as a group we were tremendous.
"The momentum was with us when Jamie scored but it just wasn't to be."
'We'll sit down at the end of the season'
Shakespeare was appointed Leicester manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri in February.
The 53-year-old, previously Ranieri's assistant, oversaw six wins in his first six games to steer the Foxes away from the relegation zone.
When asked about his future, he replied: "It's not in my hands. It's in the club's hands. I've said we'd sit down at the end of the season. I'm more than happy to do that before if it arises but the contract says until the end of the season.
"I've enjoyed it, pitting your wits against one of the best managers in the world, one of the best sides in the world.
"Now is a time to reflect and I'm sure at the end of the season I'll be able to reflect on my own performance as well as the club's."
"Ranieri wasn't on anybody's radar and clearly they went for a big name and it worked.
"There's just part of me that feels a little bit sorry for Craig Shakespeare because the same thing might happen again.
"He almost becomes unemployable because wherever he goes. If he goes in as a number two, the moment you have a bad game [people will think] he's going to want the job and someone's going to get sacked.
"So no-one is going to want to employ him as a number two. Does he get a big job as a number one? I think that will be difficult. Will he want to step down to the Championship? Probably not, because he's still very inexperienced."
'We were living in fear all night of what Leicester might achieve'
Atletico Madrid have now reached the last four of the Champions League in three of the past four seasons.
"I'm full of emotions, full of pride for the performance of my team," said manager Diego Simeone. "Full of hope and excitement as we progress.
"But I have to say what a great performance from Leicester. It was almost a pleasure to compete against them. We were living in fear all night of what they might achieve. They pushed us all the way.
"We performed in the way this match needed us to perform. We always come up with a solution. I don't like to praise too much but we responded and played in the way we needed to."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39636261
|
How do you stop sharks attacking? - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Australia's government has mooted new anti-shark measures after a surfer died. What works? And is there a problem?
|
Australia
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Surfer Mick Fanning: "I punched the shark in the back"
How do you stop a great white shark, a creature that can grow up to six metres in length and weigh more than a tonne?
It is a question that has dogged authorities in those countries where people suffer attacks by sharks (great white and others). Attacks continue to happen, and as long as they do, so will the calls for preventative measures.
But what are the possible solutions? Do they make sense? And are shark attacks a big enough problem to warrant such measures?
A shark shield is a device that lets out an electromagnetic pulse to deter sharks, and the Western Australia (WA) government has proposed offering a subsidy of A$200 (£117; $150) to anyone wanting to buy one (this is roughly equivalent to a third of the cost of the device).
On the other hand, the WA opposition says shields would remain prohibitively expensive to most people, even with a discount.
The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute has been tasked with testing different shark deterrents by Australia's federal government.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, Prof Shaun Collin, the institute's director, said a shark shield proved to be an effective deterrent in 400 tests of an "investigative" shark attack - in which the shark approaches prey to assess what it is.
However, he said the shields proved ineffective in "ambush" attacks, in which the shark swims at speed from deep on seeing a silhouette - possibly of a surfer.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A shark net is stretched through the water to try and separate swimmers and surfers from what may try and approach them. They are not new at all, having been used across Australia for decades.
The New South Wales government ran a trial with a net from 2015-16 and, in one aspect, it proved successful - it caught 133 sharks in that time.
The down side? A government report showed 615 other marine animals were caught, including 90 threatened or protected species. Close to half of them died after being caught in the netting.
The nets have been called cruel by campaigners, and have been cut by activists.
This method, too, has been attacked as cruel - it is a baited hook suspended underwater and tied to a float on the surface of the water.
It is also anchored to the sea bed, meaning the shark has nowhere to go once it has taken the bait. Larger sharks are often shot; smaller ones released. It was a policy pushed in Western Australia under the state's previous government and has been used in other Australian states.
There was some controversy that drum lines were not put in place on the beach where Laeticia Brouwer died.
But many also question their effectiveness - including the government now in place in WA.
On Tuesday, the state's Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly told ABC: "We made it clear in opposition that we don't see the merit in automatically deploying drum lines, because they don't actually make our beaches any safer.
"We want to focus on individual shark deterrence, which can actually provide genuine protection for the people who are most at risk."
The possibility of an active cull - not just killing sharks caught in drum lines - was one raised by Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday.
And while Australia's government is committed to a programme of conserving shark populations, and proposals of culls are generally met with protests, there is some support for a targeted cull.
An editorial in the centre-right The Australian newspaper by its surf writer, written after Laeticia Brouwer's death, said "our insane shark conservation policies have cost another life", adding that there was blood on the hands of the government.
There are plenty of solutions on the table - but just how big a problem are shark attacks in Australia?
When Laeticia Brouwer was attacked near Esperance on Monday, she became the 15th person to be killed by a shark in Western Australia since 2000, but the first in the country since June last year.
The number of shark attacks in Australia - including fatal and non-fatal - has risen over the past century, but in a way that is consistent with how Australia's population has grown.
But, as horrific as those incidents are for everyone affected, there is, on average, only one death due to a shark attack in Australia every year.
The number of people killed by a shark in Australian waters has changed little over the years despite the country's population - and tourist numbers - booming.
In 1950, when there were 8.3m people living in Australia, two people were killed by sharks. Last year, with a population of more than 24m, there were still only two fatalities.
John G West, who runs the Australian Shark Attack File, which reports all attacks for the Taronga Conservation Society, says the chances of being killed by a shark now are much slimmer than in previous years.
In a 2011 report, he said the number of attacks that were fatal fell from 45% in the 1930s to 10% in the decade leading up to 2011.
But while human populations have grown, he points out that the number of sharks has fallen.
One thing, though, seems sure.
"Encounters with sharks, although a rare event, will continue to occur if humans continue to enter the ocean professionally or for recreational pursuit," Mr West writes.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39639387
|
Barcelona 0-0 Juventus (agg 0-3) - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Juventus reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after stopping Barcelona from scoring at the Nou Camp.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Juventus produced an exceptional defensive performance to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after stopping Barcelona from scoring at the Nou Camp.
Trailing 3-0 from the first leg, Barca peppered the Italian goal but failed to repeat their last-16 heroics when they overturned a first-leg 4-0 deficit to beat Paris St-Germain.
Lionel Messi, who had earlier been denied by Gianluigi Buffon, fired wastefully over the bar while Luis Suarez and Neymar also spurned chances on a night Barca were restricted to one shot on target.
Juve's Gonzalo Higuain fired tamely at Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Juan Cuadrado missed another chance but the final whistle was celebrated wildly by the champions of Italy, who have not conceded a single goal from open play in this season's Champions League.
Juventus join Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Monaco in Friday's last-four draw (from 11:00 BST).
The champions of Italy are 180 minutes away from the final in Cardiff on 3 June after a superb defensive performance as Barca and their formidable strike force failed to score over two legs.
Juventus join Manchester United (2007-08) and Bayern Munich (2012-13) as one of only three teams that have stopped the Catalans scoring in both legs of a Champions League tie.
They were as brave and aggressive as they were calm and disciplined with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini monumental at the heart of the defence.
When Barca did manage to carve out chances, Suarez, Messi and Neymar failed to deliver.
All three had chances before the interval. In the space of a few minutes, Suarez had a goal-bound shot blocked, Messi dragged a chance from 12 yards and Neymar volleyed wide.
It said everything about Juve's defensive display that Buffon only had one save to make, the 39-year-old denying Messi before the Barca forward hammered the rebound into the side-netting.
Yet Juve, as adventurous going forward as they were solid at the back, might have beaten the Spanish champions for the second time in a week.
Higuain should have done better from close range after a ball over the top before Cuadrado flashed a chance narrowly wide on the counter.
In the end it did not matter, Juve and their travelling fans celebrated a night to remember.
Barca boss Luis Enrique will leave the Nou Camp this summer having failed to reach the semi-finals for a second successive season.
This was every bit as painful as their exit at the hands of La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid at the same stage 12 months ago.
They had 19 shots on the night - yet only one on target as Juve avenged their defeat against the same opponents in the 2015 final.
Neymar, who scored twice in the 6-1 return leg win over Paris St-Germain in the previous round, ended this game in tears with Barcelona's season in danger of falling flat.
They face Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday (19:45 BST) knowing defeat will leave them six points behind the leaders, who have a game in hand.
Barca are in the final of the Copa del Rey but Enrique knows that even if his side beat Alaves on 27 May, it will be scant consolation if they fail to win La Liga following another disappointing European campaign.
Buffon in sight of his first Champions League triumph - the stats
• None Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon has now kept 46 clean sheets in the Champions League. Only Iker Casillas (54), Edwin van der Sar (50) and Petr Cech (47) have more.
• None Buffon's 2016-17 Champions League campaign: Nine games seven clean sheets, two goals conceded.
• None Juve last won the Champions League in 1996.
• None Lionel Messi had five shots off target in the match, his most in a Champions League game since September 2015 against Roma (also five).
• None Attempt blocked. Mario Lemina (Juventus) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gonzalo Higuaín.
• None Attempt missed. Mario Mandzukic (Juventus) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Miralem Pjanic with a cross following a corner.
• None Attempt blocked. Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Dani Alves.
• None Offside, Barcelona. Andrés Iniesta tries a through ball, but Gerard Piqué is caught offside.
• None Attempt saved. Sami Khedira (Juventus) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Juan Cuadrado. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39611661
|
Anthony Martial: Jose Mourinho urges Man Utd forward to deliver - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho urges striker Anthony Martial to "give me things that I like" if he wants to feature in the first team.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has urged striker Anthony Martial to "give me things that I like" if he wants to feature in the first team.
The 21-year-old, who joined United for £36m in 2015, has started 12 Premier League games this season.
And the France forward was left out of the match-day squad for last Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea.
"I go in the direction of the players, they have to also come in my direction," said the Portuguese.
"The same way I know what the players like, I think the players also know what I like," he added.
"That's why [Marcus] Rashford, even without scoring goals, is always a player I trust and I play. He is always a player I support because he is always coming in the direction that I want from a Manchester United player.
"It's about going in the direction we like. Is Anthony [Martial] a player with great potential? Yes, I think. Can he play successfully for me? Yes, I think. But he needs to give me things that I like very much."
Martial has fallen behind Rashford in the attacking pecking order at United, with the 19-year-old England striker having scored twice in his past three games.
Martial came on as a substitute in the first leg of United's Europa League quarter-final in Anderlecht on Thursday and could feature in the return leg at Old Trafford.
Mourinho suggested that captain Wayne Rooney, who has started just one Premier League game this year because of injury, could feature on the bench on Thursday.
"He's working now and improving and if in today's training session the answer is positive I will select him to be on the bench tomorrow," said Mourinho.
"We have seven to play in the Premier League and hopefully four in the Europa League.
"We don't have many players. We lost players in the January market and didn't buy players. We need everyone."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39645739
|
Greece's refugee children learn the hard way - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Children who fled bombs in Syria now have to overcome nationalist hostility and poverty in Greece.
|
Europe
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The first day of school. It was supposed to be an exciting, happy time for so many of the 2,500 refugee children now living in camps in Greece.
But instead some were met with stone-throwing and nationalist slogans, after far-right demonstrators took issue with the government's policy to integrate them.
Fortunately for 10-year-old Moustafa, his appointed school in Thessaloniki saw no protests. And despite living in a metal container known as an isobox, the past few months have brought a form of structure to his life.
He spent a year fleeing war and fearing for his life, but now he has a schedule.
Every afternoon he boards a coach organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that takes him to the city centre for school. He is one of 60,000 refugees and migrants trapped in Greece since relocation to European countries stagnated and the borders were closed.
Nationalists protested as refugee children started school in Oraiokastro, near Thessaloniki, in February
Moustafa explains how his village near Damascus was trapped between rival warring groups and, before it was too late, his family headed for Europe.
He recounts the moment they were rescued from a sinking dinghy - so accurately, it is as if he is playing back recorded footage.
He shows off the school kit he has been given, including notebooks, pens, pencils and a rucksack.
"The most important thing now is for me to study and learn Greek," Moustafa says. "I want to be a doctor."
Read more on the migrant crisis:
The new school initiative backed by the EU follows a law passed by the Greek parliament last August. It kickstarted new classes to prepare refugee children for eventual integration into the Greek education system.
Ninety-seven schools are currently involved. In three, the initiative was met with contempt. Crowds of far-right nationalists gathered to wave Greek flags, boo the children and shout slogans such as "My homeland won't fall!"
In the town of Profitis, riot police were called in to escort pupils after stones were thrown.
Nationalists demanded that Greeks should come first, not refugees
In Oraiokastro, protesters chained themselves to the school gates. The self-styled "Patriotic Union of Greek Citizens of Oraiokastro" said they didn't believe the pupils had been adequately vaccinated - something the health ministry has denied. In Perama, there were reports of physical violence.
In contrast, the arrival of pupils at Moustafa's school in Thessaloniki went smoothly. The headteacher, Ioannis Nomikoudis, says it is down to the communication between the government, school and parents' committee.
"The parents of the children here are not racist, but they do still have concerns and we cannot ignore that. The thing is, we didn't make the children's arrival debatable - like in some places."
For Education Ministry General Secretary Giannis Pantis, the fact that there were protests at only three of the 97 schools was a success. "In many other schools the children were welcomed with songs and balloons," he said.
He oversaw the programme from the start, when a scientific committee of leading Greek intercultural education experts and sociologists was brought together to provide advice. They assessed the work of NGOs in the camps and designed the curriculum of maths, Greek, English, art, IT and physical education.
Integration into the school system is an important part of establishing a new home
The implementation of the programme has not come without its problems, though.
The lack of certified Greek-Arabic translators is a huge issue. The government says it is not a question of not being able to afford them, but that they just do not exist.
Refugee children are taught Greek - but lessons can be hard because few Greeks speak Arabic
Maths teacher Irene Voutskoglou said she did not realise how big the challenge would be.
"We can't really communicate well at all," she says. "I have to appoint a student as an 'assistant teacher' to help me. I didn't even realise that numbers were different in Arabic. Our zero is a dot in Arabic for example. And our five looks like a seven in Arabic."
Most translators are provided through charities, who receive funding from the European Union. But camp coordinators say the translators' language skills are often not good enough and that they are also needed to teach the children their native language.
"This is supposed to be a transitional year," says Giannis Pantis, the man from the ministry.
"The children attend school in the afternoon, when the school day for current pupils has finished. We believe they cannot yet be fully integrated.
"Last week a child saw a helicopter and ran out of the school. Another started to cry and hid beneath the table. Some of these children, due to the war, are almost 10 years old but have never been to school. They can't read or write. Many of them have post-traumatic stress disorder. We have a lot to do this year."
With a flagging economy and an education system already crippled by six years of austerity, the refugee crisis has further stretched Greece's capacity.
The government is reliant on just €7m (£6m; $7.5m) of European funding for the next two years (NGOs have received €83m directly) and the Greek national budget to implement the programme.
Despite the struggles, Mr Pantis says they are determined to honour the government's commitment to the fundamental and universal right to education.
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39621097
|
British & Irish Lions: Dylan Hartley set to miss out, Jamie Roberts in line for inclusion - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
England captain Dylan Hartley is set to miss out on selection for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
on BBC Radio 5 live and online from 19:00 BST on Wednesday
England captain Dylan Hartley is set to miss out on selection for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
Despite leading England to back-to-back Six Nations titles, Hartley is expected to be overlooked for one of the three hooker spots for this summer.
Wales' Sam Warburton is set to be confirmed as Lions captain for the second time, while Welsh centre Jamie Roberts is set to be a shock inclusion.
Lions coach Warren Gatland will name his squad at 12:00 BST on Wednesday.
Gatland and his coaches met for a final selection meeting on Tuesday, and about 40 players are now expected to be named.
If his omission is confirmed, Hartley will become the third England captain in succession to miss out on Lions selection, after Steve Borthwick in 2009 and Chris Robshaw in 2013.
The 31-year-old was picked for the tour of Australia four years ago, but was suspended before the series after swearing at an official.
Hartley's compatriot Jamie George, Ireland's Rory Best, and Wales' Ken Owens are expected to fill the three hooker berths.
Despite finishing fifth in the Six Nations, Wales are understood to have more than 10 players in the squad, with hard-running centre Roberts, 30, a surprise late addition having started on the bench in all five matches in this year's Six Nations.
However, Scotland's representation is likely to be limited to full-back Stuart Hogg, and one of Tommy Seymour or Sean Maitland on the wing.
Northampton hooker Hartley, whose chances were rated at 50-50 on Monday, would become the latest in a list of shock English exclusions.
Fellow Six Nations winners Joe Launchbury, James Haskell, George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Mike Brown are also in danger of missing out.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39636962
|
Jack Wilshere: Bournemouth midfielder out for season with leg fracture - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Bournemouth confirm on-loan midfielder Jack Wilshere is out for the season with a fractured leg.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Bournemouth's on-loan midfielder Jack Wilshere will not play again this season after suffering a fractured leg.
The 25-year-old England international, on a season-long loan from Arsenal, was injured in the Cherries' 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Saturday.
"It's a big blow to lose Jack," Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said.
Wilshere has made 29 Premier League appearances this season for the club, without scoring, after joining them on transfer deadline day in August.
Scans have revealed a hairline crack in Wilshere's left fibula and he will miss Bournemouth's last five games of the season and return to Arsenal for further treatment.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said he expects the midfielder to return in July for pre-season training.
"I felt sad when he was injured again," the Frenchman said. "Jack is a great football player with a great football brain. His career has been stopped by many injuries."
Wilshere was substituted after 56 minutes of the game at White Hart Lane following a challenge with Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
"We've loved working with him since he arrived in August," Howe added. "He's made a huge contribution to our season and we wish him a quick recovery."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39641372
|
Why exporting isn't just about shipping - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Services cannot be put on a boat and shipped, yet they way they are traded globally is increasingly important.
|
Business
|
You can't put a service on a container ship and send it around the world the way you can with physical goods
The future of international trade has leapt up the agenda.
The British vote to leave the European Union is one central reason. There is also the election of Donald Trump after a campaign in which he was highly critical of some US trade agreements.
Much of the debate has focused on trade in goods. Will there be tariffs on British exports to the EU and vice versa? President Trump has threatened carmakers with a "border tax" if they expand operations in Mexico.
But what about services? After all, the service sector dominates most economies.
It accounts for 78% or more of national economic activity in the UK, France and the US. Those are well known as service-driven economies. But in Germany, that great manufacturing powerhouse, it's getting on for 70% and even in China it is close to half.
People often travel abroad for cheaper health treatment such as dentistry
When we look at cross-border trade, however, it is a rather different story. The value of global trade in goods still exceeds services by a factor of more than three.
But services trade is growing and it is important for many economies.
Barriers to services trade have proved to be harder to deal with.
They come in the form of regulation - not the tariffs or taxes that impinge on commerce in goods.
Countries sometimes impose limits on the percentage share of ownership that foreign companies can have in a business that provides services. In China, for example, the limit is 50% for insurance and some telecommunications services.
There can also be nationality requirements. In China again, the chief partner in auditing and accounting firms must be a Chinese national.
In just about all countries practitioners of many professions require approved qualifications (often for very good reasons). The extent to which there is mutual recognition of other countries' qualifications varies.
There are also sometimes licensing and residency requirements which can stand in the way of cross-border provision.
China may be known for its manufacturing capabilities, but services now account for half of its economy
It is also the case that the nature of many services does make trade intrinsically rather more challenging. You can't put a service on a container ship and send it around the world the way you can with goods.
But it is possible to trade services internationally. A stockbroker in London can buy and sell shares for German investors. People can travel abroad for health treatment. Firms can establish a commercial presence in other countries. And individual practitioners can go abroad and work as an independent supplier - perhaps as a plumber - or as an employee of, for example, an insurance company.
So liberalising services trade is more complicated than it is for goods.
But there have been efforts.
The World Trade Organization's rulebook includes something called the General Agreement on Trade in Services, or GATS.
WTO member countries have made commitments during past negotiations about the extent to which they allow foreign suppliers access to their services markets. These vary from country to country and are listed in "schedules" attached to the agreement.
The GATS also has rules that promote transparency, to make it easier for businesses to navigate any rules that affect them. There are also rules that prohibit discrimination between different trade partners.
Governments in many of the big service-driven economies - Europe and the US in particular - have seen the GATS as a useful start, but as very much unfinished business.
Attempts to regulate how services are traded are continuing
So there is also a separate negotiation under way called the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA). It is not yet complete and so it is not yet an "agreement", strictly speaking.
The negotiations involve 23 WTO members. That counts the European Union as one, so it will probably rise to 24 when the UK leaves the EU.
TiSA does not have a high profile in news terms, but has been very controversial.
Critics accuse the governments involved of negotiating in secret. They also criticise the "ratchet clause" that the agreement is likely to include, which would prevent countries from reintroducing trade barriers that they had removed.
Critics say that would make it harder for any government involved to reverse the privatisation of any services that had been transferred to the private sector. They also say it would undermine the rights of governments to regulate in the public interest.
The European Commission - which negotiates on trade policy for the EU - rejects this.
"Quite to the contrary, the right to regulate services will be enshrined in TiSA. Rather, the objective is to tackle discrimination that currently prevents service suppliers from operating in another TiSA party," a spokesperson says.
On the ratchet clause the Commission says it won't have the effect that critics allege. And it says the EU won't make commitments on allowing foreign suppliers to provide some key publicly funded services, including health and education.
Financial services exports such as share trading will be an important factor in Brexit negotiations
Service industries are also likely to be an important area for British trade negotiators looking at opportunities for UK business after leaving the European Union.
Financial and business services account for about half the total of British services exports, which is in the region of a quarter of a trillion pounds ($300bn). It will be an important factor for UK commercial relations with the EU, and for any new agreements that might be done with countries outside the EU, including the US.
The UK still exports more goods than services, but that lead has narrowed dramatically. Research commissioned by Barclays Bank projected that services could account for more than half of British exports within a decade.
So barriers to cross-border trade in services really will matter to the British and many other economies.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39599351
|
Health: A key issue in the general election - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Brexit may dominate the coming election - but the polls show the NHS is high on the public's list of concerns.
|
Health
|
Health is always discussed on the doorsteps in general election campaigns.
Labour has long seen the NHS as its defining electoral issue.
The Conservatives have tried hard to demonstrate their commitment with pledges in recent years of above-inflation investment.
But how much difference will it make this time in a campaign that is sure to be dominated by Brexit?
Polling suggests the state of the NHS is high on people's list of concerns.
An Ipsos/Mori survey in January in association with the Economist showed that 49% of respondents considered it to be one of the biggest issues facing Britain, up nine percentage points since December and the highest level recorded since April 2003.
This was slightly ahead of the proportion (41%) seeing the EU and Brexit as a major issue. Immigration was next on the list, though lower than in December.
The same survey just before the general election in May 2015 had the economy, the NHS and immigration bunched quite closely together as issues of the highest public concern.
The latest snapshot has the NHS pulling ahead of both. But the key question is whether what people tell the pollsters are key issues translates into voting intentions.
The King's Fund think tank recently analysed the British Social Attitudes survey taken across England, Scotland and Wales and found that public satisfaction with the NHS was high at 63%, little changed from 2015.
It is worth pointing out, though, that this polling was carried out in the summer and early autumn of 2016 before the latest bout of winter pressures.
The general election health debate will be about England as governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their health services and they have no elections this time.
Labour made health a central plank of its 2015 election campaign. Andy Burnham, then the party's health spokesman, spoke out forcefully about the pressures on hospitals over the preceding winter.
He also accused the Conservatives of encouraging privatisation of the NHS, which they in turn denied.
But this failed to cut through, as the Tories achieved a majority.
This time Labour is stressing that health will again be central to its campaigning effort.
Jon Ashworth believes public concern about the NHS has intensified
The shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, believes that public concern is greater than in 2015 and that a tipping point has been reached over A&E delays and longer waits for routine operations.
On some benchmarks NHS England has seen its worst ever winter as hospitals have struggled to keep up with rising patient demand.
What will become clear in the weeks ahead is whether patient frustration is being raised consistently with canvassers on the doorsteps.
Labour will allege the Conservative government has failed to get to grips with an NHS crisis.
Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour left will push their claim that the government has allowed private providers to take an increasing share of the NHS cake and there is a covert agenda to undermine the service.
The proportion of the NHS budget in England allocated to private organisations has increased. But whether this cuts any ice beyond the core Labour vote is far from certain.
NHS spending will no doubt feature strongly in the campaign debates.
Labour has yet to say how much more money it will pledge to health.
The Liberal Democrats have hinted strongly they will call for higher NHS budgets with a ring-fenced health and social care tax.
A review of health policy for the Lib Dems raised the idea of an independent body to predict spending requirements.
Health spokesman Norman Lamb has pushed the idea of a cross-party approach to chart the future of the NHS.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have indicated they will campaign on the potential problems for the health and social care workforce when the UK leaves the EU.
Promises to guarantee citizenship rights for existing staff from the EU working in this country seem likely.
Jeremy Hunt will defend his record as a long-serving health secretary
All that leaves the Conservatives and Jeremy Hunt, the longest-serving health secretary in modern times, defending their record on health.
Party sources indicate that an "aggressive case" will be made and that "scare stories" about the state of the NHS will be rebutted.
They point to the recent update on strategy by the head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, in which he pointed to cancer survival being at a record high, improved dementia diagnosis and safer patient care.
What remains to be seen is how much emphasis will be given to the seven-day NHS pledge made in 2015.
The Conservatives will undoubtedly be challenged on whether enough money has been allocated to the NHS up to 2020.
They will highlight the £2bn pledged for adult social care in England over the next three years.
Politicians in England will soon discover as they knock on doors whether the NHS could this time be an issue that will swing votes as well as fuelling campaign rhetoric.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39640624
|
MS-13 gang: The story behind one of the world's most brutal street gangs - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Born in the barrios of Los Angeles, MS-13 has risen to become one of the world's most feared gangs.
|
US & Canada
|
A string of brutal murders in the US has thrown a national spotlight on MS-13, a street gang that was born in LA but has roots in El Salvador.
The latest was a mass murder on Monday on Long Island, where the bodies of four males, including three teenagers, were found mangled in the woods, according to police.
President Trump tweeted to call the gang "bad". Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to "devastate" it. Both blamed Obama-era immigration policy for its rise.
But what is MS-13 and is Obama really to blame?
The gang began in the barrios of Los Angeles in LA during the 1980s, formed by immigrants who had fled El Salvador's long and brutal civil war. Other members came from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.
The MS stands for Mara Salvatrucha, said to be a combination of Mara, meaning gang, Salva, for Salvador, and trucha, which translates roughly into street smarts. The 13 represents the position of M in the alphabet.
MS-13 established a reputation for extreme violence and for killing with machetes. It took root in neighbourhoods dominated by Mexican gangs, and later expanded to other parts of the country.
According to the FBI, the gang has spread to 46 states.
In 2012, the US Treasury designated the gang a "transnational criminal organisation". It was the first street gang to receive the dubious honour, placing it alongside much larger international cartels like the Mexican Zetas, Japanese Yakuza and Italian Camorra.
MS-13 has been accused of recruiting poor and at-risk teenagers. Joining is said to require being "jumped in" - subjected to a vicious 13-second beating - and "getting wet" - carrying out a crime, often a murder, for the gang.
Leaving is potentially even more dangerous. Large chest tattoos brand members for life, and some factions are said to murder members who attempt to leave.
A 2008 FBI threat assessment put the size of MS-13 between 6,000 and 10,000 members in the US, making it one of the largest criminal enterprises in the country.
It is now larger outside the country, according to the agency. An anti-gang crackdown in the late 1990s saw hundreds of early members shipped back to Central American countries, where they established offshoots. Estimates put the number of members in Central American countries at at least 60,000.
The gang's annual revenue is about $31.2m (£23.4m) according to information from a large-scale Salvadorean police operation obtained by the El Faro newspaper - mainly from from drugs and extortion.
Recent high-profile cases linked to the gang include the murder of two female high-school students who were attacked with a machete and baseball bat as they walked through their neighbourhood in New York last month - a revenge attack over a minor dispute, according to police.
Four alleged MS-13 members were charged with that crime. Another two alleged members were charged at the same time with the murder of a fellow gang member said to have violated gang protocol.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The same month, two alleged members of the gang in Houston, Texas were charged with kidnapping three teenage girls, holding them hostage and raping them before shooting one dead on the side of the road.
Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, laughed and waved at the cameras during their court appearance.
MS-13's motto is "kill, rape, control", according to one FBI gang specialist who investigated the group.
Mr Trump and Mr Sessions have pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama over the spread of MS-13, alleging that his open-door immigration policies fuelled its growth.
But the gang formed and flourished in the US long before Mr Obama came to power. MS-13 was identified as a significant threat in the 1990s, and a special FBI taskforce was convened against the gang in 1994.
"The big surge was during Bush-Cheney when the drivers of illegal migration in Central America grew, when various crackdowns on crime filled prisons to bursting point, and when funding for rehabilitation programs declined," Fulton T Armstrong, a research fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, told fact-checking website Politifact.
"I have seen no evidence that the Obama administration can be blamed in any way for the existence or activities of the gang in the US," said Ioan Grillo, author of a book on US gang crime.
The Obama administration also prioritised the deportation of gang criminals, including MS-13 members, in an aggressive deportation program.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39645640
|
Monaco 3-1 Borussia Dortmund - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Monaco see off Borussia Dortmund at the Stade Louis II to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2004.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Monaco reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2004 after an impressive second-leg performance in the last eight against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The Ligue 1 side took a 3-2 first-leg lead back to Stade Louis II, where kick-off was pushed back five minutes after Dortmund's team bus was delayed.
Teenager Kylian Mbappe pounced from close range to increase Monaco's advantage after three minutes and Radamel Falcao headed in soon after to all but put the tie beyond Dortmund.
The Bundesliga outfit threw on exciting forward Ousmane Dembele and it was a fantastic run from the 19-year-old that set up Marco Reus to lash in after the break.
But substitute Valere Germain scored 22 seconds after coming off the bench for the hosts to secure their spot in the last four.
Monaco will discover their semi-final opponents when the draw is made on Friday, with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus also progressing.
Leonardo Jardim's young Monaco side have swept aside all before them in the Champions League this season, entertaining as they go with a brand of fearless, attacking football that the Portuguese boss said before the tie is part of their "DNA".
The hosts poured forward with ruthless efficiency in the first half, with the pace of Benjamin Mendy and Thomas Lemar creating an overlap on Monaco's left that Dortmund had no answer to.
It was from his first burst from full-back that Mendy forced Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki to parry a long-range effort into the path of Mbappe, and the prolific teenager finished smartly.
Mendy and Mbappe then combined for Lemar to add his fourth assist of the knockout stages when he set up Falcao for the former Manchester United and Chelsea striker's 25th goal of the season.
At 31, Colombia forward Falcao is a relative veteran in this Monaco side and his experience in forward play complemented the penetrating runs and powerful dribbling of strike partner Mbappe.
The 18-year-old was particularly effective for Monaco on the counter attack as Dortmund searched for a way back into the tie late on, before his replacement Germain put it beyond their reach following another Lemar assist.
Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel had been aggrieved by the decision to reschedule his side's home first-leg meeting with Monaco just 24 hours after three bombs exploded near their team bus last Tuesday, leaving defender Marc Bartra with a fractured wrist.
Tuchel complained his players had been "completely ignored" but, after a 3-1 Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, the 43-year-old said the incident was out of his side's system before the trip to the Stade Louis II.
However, their second-leg preparation was also disrupted with Dortmund saying their bus was held for 20 minutes by local police.
The visitors started slowly, and the task of overturning a first-leg deficit became substantially trickier after conceding two early goals and watching Nuri Sahin's curling free-kick strike a post at the other end.
Monaco's young stars may have shone through over the two legs, but Dortmund have one of their own. Tuchel turned to Dembele after only 27 minutes, and the 19-year-old was the visitors' biggest threat.
But with top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang unable to make an impact over the two legs, Dortmund lacked the clinical touch of their opponents.
The last time the Red and Whites reached the last four of Europe's premier competition they went on to finish as runners-up to Jose Mourinho's Porto.
Didier Deschamps' outfit were surprise finalists 13 years ago, but surely only the most ardent of Monaco fans would have predicted the new breed would have a shot at Champions League glory this season.
The principality side are impressing on three fronts, sitting top of Ligue 1 having scored 90 goals in the process and also making it into a French Cup semi-final.
They remain unbeaten in the Champions League this term at Stade Louis II, where scouts from Europe's top clubs will no doubt be gathering, and have scored three times in each of their knockout games.
Three of the competition's elite await in the semi-finals, but with confidence oozing through Jardim's squad and the goals flowing freely, Monaco may be the one they want to avoid.
'We were in control and showed ambition'
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim: "It could have been 5-3 or 6-3 because both teams missed several chances.
"We played a very solid game, we were in control but we showed ambition. We were always looking for the extra goal, that is the way we play, it is in our DNA.
"Now, regardless of who we will take on next, we will be facing a very experienced team.
"Our rivals will want to draw us [on Friday] but our ambition is to enjoy it and play with our attacking qualities like we always do."
Falcao on target again - the stats
• None Borussia Dortmund have lost nine of their past 12 games in the Champions League knockout stages.
• None Radamel Falcao has scored 39 goals in the Europa League and Champions League since his debut in October 2009 against Chelsea; only Robert Lewandowski (41), Lionel Messi (77) and Cristiano Ronaldo (85) have more European goals (excl. qualifiers).
• None Marco Reus has been directly involved in 15 goals in his past 13 Champions League appearances for Borussia Dortmund (11 goals, four assists).
• None Kylian Mbappe is the first player to score in each of his first four Champions League knockout games.
• None Mbappe is the sixth player to score in his first four Champions League starts and the first since Diego Costa in 2014.
• None Thomas Lemar is the first player to assist a goal in four consecutive Champions League knockout games since Andres Iniesta in May 2011.
League leaders Monaco return to domestic action on Sunday when they visit fourth-placed Lyon in Ligue 1 before a French Cup semi-final against title rivals Paris St-Germain on Wednesday.
Dortmund are 16 points off Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, who they face in the German Cup on Wednesday, but could move up to third if they beat Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
• None Attempt missed. Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Christian Pulisic.
• None Attempt blocked. Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lukasz Piszczek.
• None Attempt missed. Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Lukasz Piszczek with a headed pass.
• None Attempt saved. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Marcel Schmelzer.
• None Goal! Monaco 3, Borussia Dortmund 1. Valère Germain (Monaco) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
• None Bernardo Silva (Monaco) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt missed. Tiemoué Bakayoko (Monaco) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Thomas Lemar with a cross following a corner. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39611668
|
Virgin Money chief: Dealing with depression made me stronger - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
One of the UK’s top businesswomen, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, reveals her efforts to tackle mental health issues.
|
Business
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "I always thought depression was something a bit weak-minded"
The hardest challenge for many business leaders is how to deal with mental health, an issue that still makes many uncomfortable.
Even harder than that is when those mental health issues affect you.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of the bank Virgin Money and one of the UK's most successful businesswomen, has told the BBC of her own efforts to tackle mental health issues.
In a wide-ranging interview, she said that she had suffered post-natal depression after the birth of her daughter and had "suicidal thoughts" because of the intense pressure as Virgin Money was preparing for a stock market flotation.
She said that it was time for businesses to speak more openly about mental health issues and that her own battles with mental health problems had made her stronger.
Ms Gadhia was speaking to mark the publication of her autobiography, The Virgin Banker.
In it, she describes how many business leaders still act like "dinosaurs" towards women.
On one occasion when Ms Gadhia was finding an issue at work difficult, a senior male colleague asked her "if she was going through the menopause".
"I was at a dinner with some of the [banking] regulators last year and there was a very senior City man there and the conversation turned to gender equality," Ms Gadhia told me.
"And he said, I am all for gender equality, but what happens if I employ a woman and the next week she tells me: 'I'm pregnant?'
"And there was a gasp around the table to think that people were still thinking like that.
"I remember going back to the office and saying: 'You know what, the dinosaurs are still out there.'
"It is undoubtedly the case. I see it from time to time.
"But equally I see the opposite, I also see that senior men in the City are talking to me about how they can help.
"So I don't want to portray a picture of bleakness - there are definitely pockets that haven't improved, but there are definitely very influential men and women who want to make it [greater gender equality] work."
Ms Gadhia revealed that one of her toughest periods in work was following the birth of her daughter, Amy, in 2003.
With her husband, Ash, she had been through many cycles of IVF which had not worked.
They had tried one final time and Ms Gadhia had become pregnant, which had made her feel "thrilled".
But depression struck after the birth.
"Ash had given up his job and we had only me earning, a new mouth to feed and I remember feeling completely out of control because what I wanted to achieve - that is, packing up work and staying with my child - was unachievable," Ms Gadhia said, speaking publicly about how she was affected for the first time.
"How on earth was I going to manage that?
"It was the first time that I'd ever, ever experienced what people described as depression.
"I had always thought, despite the fact that my mum had suffered over the years with her own issues, that depression is something that was a bit weak-minded or something.
"And when it hit me, I realised nothing could be further from the truth.
"And when I read the Harry Potter books and saw the Dementors, that is how depression felt to me - that sort of a thing that comes into your life and sucks all of your energy out of it - and I just felt hopeless.
"I didn't know where to go, I didn't know what to do do, who to talk to and at that point, everybody expects you to be happy and thrilled."
After many months of suffering - at one point, Ms Gadhia was convinced her baby daughter was dead - she eventually went to the doctor for help.
The clinical tests showed that her depression was serious.
"It was knowing what I was dealing with that helped me to deal with it," she said.
"I think if I'd have just gone on and not realised that I had a clinical problem and that depression wasn't something that you can just sort of push through, it would have been very different."
Prince Harry has been praised for speaking out by mental health charities
Ms Gadhia started working shorter hours, took exercise and put her life back into "balance".
She says that a healthier work-life balance wasn't just good for her and her family, it was also good for work.
The first year she changed the way she worked, Ms Gadhia received the highest bonus of her career.
She said that it was important that businesses had an open attitude to mental health, which can affect up to one in four adults.
More than 15 million working days a year are lost to problems of depression, anxiety or stress, costing businesses up to £70bn annually.
Yesterday, Prince Harry received widespread praise after talking to the Telegraph's Bryony Gordon about his mental health problems, following the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
Prince Harry revealed that he had "shut down all his emotions" for 16 years before seeking help.
"I think we still have a culture of not talking about it," Ms Gadhia said.
"I don't want to get to a place where we we've got everybody crying on each other's shoulders.
"But I think finding a way for organisations to support staff that want to talk about the issues that they're going through and having maturity of line management to know when that's required - to know where help can come - is really important.
"If someone turns up to work on crutches with a broken leg, it is easier to sympathise or empathise or help.
"But when you can't see it, I think that's much harder. It is easier to dismiss and the dismissal, the putdown if you like, makes the problem worse.
"I think that's part of the reason why both raising the issue - and in a sensible and controlled way, discussing it - means it can be remediated in some way, whatever the right way is for the individual. It's super-important."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39627130
|
Are anti-bacterial hand gels worth it? - BBC Three
|
2017-04-19
| null |
If you worry about germs on the train, in the office or at the gym, you might resort to covering your hands in gel to put your mind at rest. But could they be less effective than we think?
| null |
If you worry about germs on the train, in the office or at the gym, you might resort to covering your hands in gel to put your mind at rest. But could they be less effective than we think?
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/383ea168-f3e7-45ac-b4d3-ffaa2c7938a0?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=handgel&intc_linkname=bbcthree_fac_vidclip1
|
Europa League: Lyon and Besiktas given suspended bans after crowd trouble - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Lyon and Besiktas both face bans from European competition if there is a repeat of the crowd trouble that marred their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Lyon and Besiktas have been given suspended bans from European competition by Uefa after crowd trouble marred their Europa League quarter-final first leg in France on 13 April.
The bans are suspended for two years and both clubs have also been fined 100,000 euros (£83,800).
The tie at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, which ended 2-1 to Lyon, kicked off 45 minutes late.
The return leg in Turkey takes place on Thursday (20:05 BST).
A Uefa statement said the charges against Lyon related to crowd disturbances, setting off of fireworks, blocked stairways, insufficient organisation and field invasion by supporters after their second goal.
The charges against Besiktas related to crowd disturbances, setting off of fireworks and the throwing of objects.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39645333
|
Jessica Ennis-Hill receives damehood at Buckingham Palace - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The 31-year-old 2012 Olympic champion retired from athletics in October.
|
Sheffield & South Yorkshire
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ennis-Hill receives a damehood from the Duke of Cambridge
Former heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill has formally been made a dame during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
The 31-year-old, from Sheffield, has received the honour for her services to athletics.
Ennis-Hill, who won gold at London 2012 Olympics and silver four years later in Rio, announced her retirement from the sport in October.
At the same ceremony, designer and ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham was made an OBE for services to fashion.
Ennis-Hill, who received her honour from the Duke of Cambridge, will receive another World Championships gold medal after Tatyana Chernova was stripped of her 2011 world title for doping.
The 2012 Olympic champion, who was accompanied by her grandparents, mother Alison Powell and husband Andy Hill at the ceremony, said: "Just to hear the national anthem in this kind of moment again is really special.
"I've so many amazing memories of standing on the podium and hearing it and to be here receiving a damehood, which I never imagined I would ever receive, is an incredible honour."
She was accompanied at the ceremony by her husband Andy Hill
She added: "I've had more than I could ever imagine out of my career so I can't stand here receiving a damehood and wish for any more."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-39645443
|
On the ground with Iraqi forces in battle for Mosul - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The BBC's correspondent Jonathan Beale witnesses fierce close-quarter fighting in the city.
|
Middle East
|
The US-led coalition appears confident that fighters of the so-called Islamic State (IS) will be defeated in Mosul. But the battle for Iraq's second largest city has already been going on for six months and the Iraqi forces have only just reached the edges of the old city.
Optimism has been tempered by the slow progress of what has become a brutal fight for every street. In the words of the US coalition spokesman Col John Dorrian "the fight's been very, very slow and very, very hard… its gut-busting".
We joined the Iraqi forces about to launch yet another assault to take more territory. Over the past few weeks, the initial advance has slowed to a crawl with the front lines relatively static. They want to break the deadlock. This is the story of just one battle.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's Jonathan Beale and cameraman Barnaby Mitchell are embedded with Iraqi troops
They mass under the cover of darkness. The same Iraq units who've been fighting here for months. The troops both battle hardened and battle weary. It's supposed to be a surprise dawn attack. But IS will be lying in wait. As we move forward on foot we soon come under fire.
We follow one of the Iraqi commanders, Maj Mohammed, as he sets up a makeshift headquarters in an abandoned house that's already seen heavy fighting. There's IS graffiti on the walls.
As his troops advance there is a sudden, panicked call on the radio. It's his first casualties. They've walked into a booby-trapped building: several men have been injured and they're calling for help.
The battle to drive IS fighters out of Mosul has been going on for six months
There's no let-up in the fighting as dawn breaks amid the heavy thud of machine guns firing on both sides.
We hear coalition aircraft overhead. Then a whoosh and a thud, followed by an explosion. One of the IS heavy machine guns has been silenced by a coalition airstrike.
There are several more over the next few hours - uncomfortably close. An Iraqi soldier smiles and points as a bomb travels at speed towards another IS-held building nearby.
In the distance we can now see the black flag of IS flying. And nearer, the buildings and the holes in the wall from where they're firing.
There's another whoosh, thud and boom and then a plume of smoke from an air strike. We're told to stay inside because the Iraqi forces have heard a small IS drone. They're often armed with grenades.
Five hours later, the battle is still raging over the same few streets. An Iraqi armoured bulldozer tries to clear a path through the wrecked cars and rubble to help the advance. But the driver is targeted by an IS rocket-propelled grenade. There's a frantic effort to free him from the cabin. His comrades eventually succeed but he's lost limbs and is bleeding profusely.
The Iraqi forces have to contend with booby traps and air attacks from IS drones
No-one can question the bravery of the Iraqi forces, but you can see the losses and the expectations of victory weighing heavily on their shoulders.
We ask to leave when IS begin to mortar the Iraqi positions. The impact sends brick and concrete flying through the air. The building we are taking shelter in shudders and then there's a cloud of debris. Someone shouts "Gas!" but thankfully it's not.
We leave in the same Humvee we first arrived in. The seats are now stained in blood from ferrying the wounded. By the end of the day, the Iraqi forces have taken a few more streets.
But this is unforgiving, urban warfare and for the Iraqi forces there is still a mountain to climb.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39633129
|
How a family's dogs were saved from a fiery death - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Home security technology linked to smartphones is helping to keep people and property safe.
|
Business
|
Lisbonne and Hawaii were saved from a house fire thanks to home security tech
Christophe Deschamps was watching a basketball game with his wife and three children when he received an alert on his smartphone.
The home security system told him something was wrong, so he quickly accessed the video feed on his phone.
"I could see smoke," he says. Their home, in the Wallonia region of southern Belgium, was on fire.
The family's thoughts immediately turned to their two Bernese Mountain dogs - Lisbonne and Hawaii - locked in the garage. A terrible family tragedy was threatening to unfold.
The video images now showed the smoke getting thicker and brightness coming from flames off-camera.
The fire alarm had already alerted the firefighters, so the Deschamps family rushed home as quickly as they could.
"It was more important for us to save the dogs than the house," says Christophe. "My wife was crying and panicking, thinking the dogs could die."
The security camera recorded the progress of the fire in the Deschamps' home
Fortunately, Lisbonne and Hawaii were saved with just 20cm of air left to breathe above the floor of the smoke-filled garage. But the fire damage to the house took six months to repair.
The dogs' lucky escape was due to the indoor security camera Christophe had installed.
The smart camera, made by Netatmo, sends alerts when it hears an alarm - whether smoke, carbon monoxide or security - and automatically starts recording.
It is also one of the first smart home cameras featuring face recognition technology capable of distinguishing between people it knows and strangers.
Parents working late can receive alerts when their kids arrive home, for example, and will receive an "unknown face seen" alert if someone breaks in.
The French company says evidence collected by its smart cameras has led to the successful prosecution of burglars.
The connected home security market is expanding fast, with companies such as Withings, Nest, D-Link, Netgear, Philips, Panasonic - not to mention the tech behemoths Apple, Amazon and Samsung - all offering an expanding array of internet-connected smart gadgets, from thermostats to motion-sensitive cameras with infrared and audio capability.
"We put the connected home security market at 95.4 million unit sales in 2016," says Francesco Radicati, a technology specialist at consultancy Ovum.
"Service providers, such as Qivicon, AT&T Digital Life, and Vivint Smart Home, are selling device multi-packs including multiple sensors, and these are proving very popular.
"We estimate the market will grow to 744 million devices sold in 2021."
Innovations are coming on to the market thick and fast.
For example, connected light bulb firm LIFX has produced a version that can beam infrared light outdoors, enabling a compatible security camera, such as the Nest Cam Outdoor, to see better in the dark.
The key innovation, however, has been the integration of the smartphone into such connected networks, giving users remote control wherever they have an internet connection.
But aren't all these security cameras intrusive and even a little voyeuristic?
Netatmo has addressed this issue by making its Welcome camera programmable, so you can disable recording for individuals you specify. And most camera systems can be disabled remotely.
It isn't just our homes that technology is helping keep safe.
Cars are also a common target for thieves. This is why Matej Persolja, 33, founded CarLock, a company based in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, and San Francisco in the US.
CarLock's system plugs into a vehicle's onboard diagnostics port and sends an alarm to your phone if your vehicle is moved, the engine starts, it detects unusual vibration, or if the gadget is disconnected.
Mr Persolja started the business after thinking his car had been stolen. It turned out his car had only been moved to make way for construction work taking place in the area.
"Before I learned that, I was almost certain my car had been stolen and I still remember that awful feeling," he says.
The CarLock system enables owners to track the location of their car if it has been stolen and also acts like a telematics box recording driving behaviour and the general health of the engine.
And there are a growing number of remote control apps for cars on the market.
Viper's SmartStart app - currently only available in the US and Canada - enables you to start your car, lock and unlock it, and track its movements remotely using your smartphone.
Remote starting is useful for de-icing your car in the mornings while you get ready for work and have breakfast. Even if someone sees the car running and a thief smashes a window to steal it, the physical key is still needed to drive the car off.
You can also keep an eye on your kids' driving habits and receive an alert if they take the car beyond a geographical point that you specify.
Ford is even integrating Amazon's Alexa voice-activated software into its cars, enabling drivers to remotely start their cars with a voice command and personal identification number.
Of course, the elephant in the room with all these connected security products is the risk of being hacked. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre recently demonstrated how a connected doll could be hacked and used to open remote control door locks.
And poorly secured security cameras have been hijacked to carry out web attacks.
How to protect your smart home and all its internet-connected devices will be the subject of a future Technology of Business feature.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39579320
|
British Championships: Adam Peaty wins swimming gold after Rio success - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Olympic swimming champion Adam Peaty books his place at the 2017 World Championships with victory at the British Championships.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Swimming
Coverage: Watch live on the BBC Sport website, Connected TVs and app. Race highlights and reports on the BBC Sport website.
Olympic champion Adam Peaty booked his place at the 2017 World Championships with victory at the British Championships in Sheffield.
Peaty, 22, who became Britain's first male Olympic swimming champion for 28 years in Rio, took the British 100m breaststroke title in 57.79 seconds.
"This is what I race for, to win and I'm pleased with that time," he told BBC Sport.
Peaty gave away his British gold medal to a young fan in the crowd.
"Hopefully that lad will look at the medal and it will make him think, 'If I train harder, I can be out there too' and then he'll be here competing one day," said the Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion.
Ross Murdoch should also be at the Budapest World Championships in July after finishing second in one minute flat.
In addition to Peaty and Murdoch, Rio Olympians James Guy and Stephen Milne (400m freestyle), Hannah Miley and Aimee Willmott (400m individual medley) all recorded times which will put them in contention for selection for the Worlds.
Peaty says he now wants to chase "legendary" status and lower the world record of 57.13 he set at the Rio Olympics.
"Me and my coach [Mel Marshall] have set this target, it's called 'project 56' and that's the aim, to keep going quicker and winning every race."
Find out how to get into swimming with our fully inclusive guide.
Guy - who missed out on individual honours at Rio 2016, but won two silver medals as part of the men's relay teams - took the men's 400m freestyle title.
Fellow Olympians Chris Walker-Hebborn (50m backstroke) and Hannah Miley (400m individual medley) retained their respective crowns, while 17-year-old Imogen Clark claimed her first GB title with victory in the 50m breaststroke in a British record of 30.21 secs.
Defending 200m freestyle champion Jazz Carlin was a surprise third in an event won by Ellie Faulkner in a personal best time of one minute 57.88 secs.
Welsh swimmer Carlin - who won Rio Olympic silver medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle events - will return for the 800m competition on Wednesday.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/39636925
|
Snipers and green tea on Helmand's front line - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Auliya Atrafi found worried residents and a complex conflict in the Afghan Taliban heartland.
|
Asia
|
Police and Taliban positions can be just a short distance apart in parts of Lashkar Gah
When I went back to Helmand I expected to find fighting, opium fields and new frontlines. But I didn't expect it to be so hard to distinguish between warring sides. And the fall of Sangin while I was there came as a big shock, writes BBC Afghan's Auliya Atrafi.
Going home to Helmand felt different this time - things really are unstable.
The last time I witnessed such a fluid situation was in the early 1990s after Kabul had fallen to the mujahideen.
A few communist families were in control. After that Helmand was ruled by the mujahideen and then by the Taliban. For the last 15 years, however, it's mainly been ruled by the Afghan government, although it's still considered a Taliban heartland and a centre of insurgency, smuggling and opium.
I took the road from Kabul to Helmand via Kandahar in mid-March - a precarious 10-hour bus journey. In recent months the main road leading to the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, has been in and out of government control.
From the bus I saw police stations that had been partially blown up by the Taliban. Bridges had been destroyed. The roadside was littered with the carcasses of burnt-out government Humvees.
This is normally the scariest part of the journey, as Taliban fighters try to kidnap government personnel, but I didn't encounter any.
Despite being surrounded by the Taliban, people in Lashkar Gah were calm. The Taliban seemed to be on the defensive as the government had started clearance operations.
A few times a day American Apache helicopters flew overhead, a reassuring sign the Taliban wouldn't be allowed to take over the city.
The Taliban take the American planes seriously; when they briefly captured the northern city of Kunduz in 2015, they paid a heavy price.
Nonetheless, staying positive was difficult. As one trader put it: "Life is shaky and people are disappointed with governance. Fighting is so close that when we sleep at night we can hear gun shots.
"Travelling is dangerous and takes longer, and schools are barely functioning. People are generally upset."
Amid the instability, locals are trying to move forward. But they are also aware their city could move from government to Taliban hands.
Many of the pragmatic Helmandis have found a guarantor - "a Taliban cousin" - among the insurgents in case the city falls.
"The Taliban told me to live in peace; they said their friends would arrive at my place as soon as they take the city," one resident said confidently.
Security personnel use what cover they can to observe the Taliban
Helmand is mostly made up of Sunni Pashtuns but it is also has a large Shia community.
The Taliban do not target Shia, unlike other Islamist extremist groups who view Shia as heretics. But Shia are generally pro-government and making such alliances has proved harder for them than their Sunni neighbours.
In Gereshk, north of Lashkar Gah, Shia are caught in the crossfire between a Taliban hotbed, Nahr Seraj, and the city.
Locals are scared and some remember violence that erupted in the early 1990s when the mujahideen took over the district.
"A commander called Rais of Baghran came. He took people out of their houses and shot them; he kicked people out and looted their properties," said district committee member Mirza Khan.
"We left everything behind; families fled in the middle of the night and migrated to Pakistan and Iran… We fear that might be repeated again."
It wasn't just Shia - as the communist government collapsed, many communities experienced similar treatment. But Shia in Gereshk say they were targeted by the commander while Sunnis were left alone.
Mirza Khan also says two tribal elders who appealed to the Taliban for the release of a prisoner two years ago were killed - something he calls a "sort of bias".
Helmand is at the heart of Afghanistan's opium trade
The Taliban say they have no racial or sectarian bias: "What has happened must have been a personal issue," a Taliban spokesman told the BBC.
Fear is not restricted to the Shia. In Lashkar Gah, the front line is on the city's western edge. I went to pay a visit to the border police battalion in the Bolan area.
The front line here is a crowded neighbourhood where children still play traditional games outside. But most of the houses lie empty, used by the warring sides.
We were advised to drive faster on some corners as the Taliban shoot at vehicles.
Commander Juma Khan thought it better we had tea inside his office, saying: "The Taliban threw a grenade into our courtyard a bit earlier."
"Are they so close?" I asked with a mixture of fear and astonishment.
"Yes," said Juma Khan, adding: "They sometimes throw stones at us from the other side of the wall."
I later heard that the two sides can hear one another - they even jokingly invite each other for tea, though the offer is always rejected.
The police station had many holes for observation and snipers. Some were on the roof and some were small tunnels.
It was hard to see much through the holes, but as we drank green tea in the commander's office there was a constant exchange of small arms fire.
The conflict in Helmand is complex; it is not about blind hatred and mindless killing. There are families who are fighting on opposite sides without feelings of hostility.
Taliban commanders claim huge influence over government institutions. Tribal alliances and economic incentives are more important than ideology.
Business transcends borders; right now there are four multi-million dollar infrastructure projects funded by the government moving forward despite the fighting.
South of the Bolan hills is the road to Nad Ali and Marja districts. A local resident told me of a traffic policeman who was seen serving at rival checkpoints.
"He would manage the traffic at the government checkpoint; when things got bad at the Taliban checkpoint, they would call him and he'd ride his rattling moped and bring order at the Taliban checkpoint."
Still, fighting continues and the Taliban generally hold the upper hand. According to the provincial council more than 85% of the province is still under insurgent control. Of 14 districts, seven are in Taliban hands; two are under siege; in the rest, the government operates in central areas only.
Troops - like this man here clearing IEDs - have cleared the road to Nad Ali
To the west of Bolan lies Nad Ali. Security forces managed to clear the road to the centre after months of Taliban siege. The white flags of the Taliban indicate the front line, a few hundred metres from the main road.
Government casualties were not too high during the Nad Ali operation. Air support played an important role but one of the operational commanders, Bismillah Jan, believes lines are generally thin on the Taliban side.
He believes if he's given men and aerial support he can beat them back. But the security forces also lack personnel - as the decision to abandon Sangin showed.
The government strategy seems to be to gather scattered forces and unite them as a solid front in central Helmand. But as soon as fighters were freed from Taliban sieges, many disappeared.
"Our 20 or so friends in those remote bases kept 200 Taliban busy. Now the Taliban can join together and attack central Gereshk district," Bismillah Jan warns.
Disagreements and lack of co-ordination are still the overriding issues in Helmand - on both sides. On the government side, many believe the US is not fully committed to weakening the Taliban.
"There are dozens of armed Taliban, often roaming in long convoys in the countryside but the American Apaches won't touch them. They only target a small number in actual fighting," one official said.
But there are also cracks on the Taliban side. Reports about leadership divisions are everywhere in city circles. Tribal politics and the fight for resources are profoundly influencing Taliban affairs, it seems.
Some blame the killing of two influential Taliban commanders, Mehraj and Haji Ismat, by American drones on Haji Manan, the Taliban governor for Helmand who, rumour has it, is working for the US.
Haji Manan's reported disagreement with Taliban leader Haibatullah is another bit of welcome news in Lashkar Gah.
And there is also talk that this year the Taliban will be on the defensive in Helmand and will devote their energy to destabilising neighbouring Kandahar province instead.
Whether that happens remains to be seen - but for people in Lashkar Gah, these are all hints this year may be calmer than last.
• None Why Sangin's fall to the Taliban matters
• None The new 'Great Game' in Afghanistan
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/39586937
|
World Championship 2017: Judd Trump suffers shock defeat by Rory McLeod - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Tournament favourite Judd Trump is knocked out of the World Championship by world number 54 Rory McLeod in the first round.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Tournament favourite Judd Trump has been knocked out of the World Championship by world number 54 Rory McLeod after a remarkable first-round 10-8 defeat.
McLeod, a 46-year-old 1000-1 outsider, led 9-7 when slow play meant the match had to be halted prior to Wednesday's afternoon session.
An out-of-sorts Trump won a scrappy opening frame when their match resumed in the evening, but the Leicester man sealed what he called "the biggest win of his career" to reach the last 16.
As exciting as the Dott-Carter contest was, it never got close to reproducing the drama between Trump and rank outsider McLeod, who has only previously reached the second round at the Crucible once in his long career.
• None Watch the latest action from both tables
Trump, the 2011 runner-up, has reached five major finals this season and was full of confidence about his chances of claiming a first Crucible title in the build-up to snooker's showpiece occasion.
He resumed 5-4 behind on Wednesday after surrendering a 4-0 lead but, despite seeming to be hindered by a shoulder problem, the 27-year-old managed to fight back to 6-6 before McLeod pulled away
McLeod has only qualified for the World Championship three times in his long career.
But his astute matchplay and meticulous approach seemed to disrupt Trump, who was uncharacteristically wayward with his long potting and sloppy with his break building when he did get in the balls.
"It's brilliant. I was relaxed at 4-0. He was potting everything. There is not much you can do so you have to bide your time," McLeod said after the match.
"Maybe I went into zombie mode because I didn't know the score - if it was 4-4 or 5-4.
"I tried not to think about things too much. You have to dismiss the pressure."
McLeod plays Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the second round.
Earlier Carter took the opening frame to reduce the overnight gap to 6-4 against Dott and the Essex potter kept nagging away at the qualifier to get back to 8-7.
But Dott edged a pivotal 16th frame when both men wasted good chances and went on to consign Carter to a first last-32 exit since 2006 - the year Dott was crowned champion.
"I love it here," said Dott. "I am not the best at anything, long potting, safety or break building. But I am pretty good at everything, and over the long games that is what you need.
"My season can be absolute garbage and then I come here and I feel like a snooker player."
Elsewhere, Neil Robertson, the 2010 champion, cruised into an 8-1 lead against World Championship debutant Noppon Saengkham in a match that plays to a conclusion on Thursday.
China's Xiao Guodong beat Ryan Day, the only Welshman who qualified for this year's tournament.
Xiao led 6-3 after the morning session and remained fully in control to ensure there is no Welsh representation in the second round of the World Championship for the first time since 1969.
The other evening match was an all-English encounter with 2013 runner-up Barry Hawkins leading Leicester's Tom Ford 7-2 when play ended for the day.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39644265
|
Leicester City 1-1 Atlético Madrid - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Leicester's superb debut Champions League campaign comes to an end as Atletico Madrid claim a draw at the King Power Stadium.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Leicester City's Champions League adventure ended in disappointment at the quarter-final stage despite a spirited second-leg display against Atletico Madrid.
The Foxes dominated for much of the game at the King Power Stadium, creating numerous chances throughout, but were left with too much to do after Saul Niguez's 26th-minute header added to Atletico's one-goal advantage from the first leg in Madrid.
Needing three second half goals, Leicester responded with splendid defiance and equalised on the night when Jamie Vardy scored at the far post just after the hour.
They kept battling until the end as Atletico survived several scrambles, but the La Liga superpower held on and the Premier League's interest in the tournament ended.
The Foxes go down fighting
Leicester City have gained huge credit and credibility in making their way to the last eight of the Champions League as England's last surviving representatives.
And even in defeat over two legs to this battle-hardened Atletico Madrid side - twice losing finalists in recent seasons - the Foxes can be proud of another monumental effort that just came up short.
Craig Shakespeare's side were second best as Atletico looked a cut above for the first 45 minutes to lead through Niguez's header, which left Leicester needing those three goals against a miserly defence.
The hosts could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel but instead came out fighting, invigorated by Shakespeare's positive half-time changes. He sent on Ben Chilwell and Leonardo Ulloa for Shinji Okazaki and defender Yohan Benalouane, flooding Vardy with greater support.
Vardy's goal was no more than they deserved and for a time they had Atletico rocking, giving the King Power Stadium belief that another miracle was on the cards. They almost added a second in goalmouth scrambles, especially when Stefan Savic blocked Vardy's goal-bound shot.
In the final reckoning, the lack of an away goal and a controversial first-leg penalty scored by Antoine Griezmann left them with a hurdle that was just too tough to surmount.
There was disappointment inside the King Power Stadium at the final whistle but it was masked by a fully deserved standing ovation for Leicester's players.
When last season's Premier League champions started their Champions League journey, many believed reaching the knockout phase would represent success - so once again they defied the odds.
Atletico Madrid are a side built in the image and likeness of their manager Diego Simeone - talented, uncompromising and streetwise.
And in the end it was that combination of qualities that made it just too tough for Leicester City to take their journey a step further into the last four.
Atletico showed their quality in the first half to score that crucial away goal, then demonstrated the resilience that has taken them to two Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016 [both lost to arch-rivals Real Madrid].
It needed a mixture of defiance and desperation but in the end it was enough to send them into another Champions League semi-final.
The King Power rises to the occasion
This may be the last Champions League night at the King Power for some time - and if it is, Leicester City made sure it left plenty to remember them by.
The pre-match ceremonials were raucous and spectacular, with pyrotechnics, dry ice and fireworks whipping the home fans into a noisy frenzy.
Atletico were unmoved by the atmosphere early on but certainly felt its force as they were penned back in the second period.
The King Power has proved to be the perfect environment for Leicester City's Champions League adventure - and so it proved once more here.
Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare, speaking to BT Sport: "In the first half we played really well but the goal changes the game plan - we knew we had to score three - so I had to make the change.
"There's no discredit to lose to a team of that calibre.
"In terms of effort, commitment, application - as a group we were tremendous.
"The momentum was with us when Jamie [Vardy] scored but it just wasn't to be.
"I think the whole club, the supporters, owners and players, can be immensely proud of what they've achieved.
"I've just said to the players 'you should want more of this'."
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone: "I'm full of emotion and pride at the performance of my team.
"I also have to say, what a great performance from our opponents. It was almost a pleasure to compete against them."
• None Only Edinson Cavani (four) and Robert Lewandowski (four) have scored more away goals than Saul Niguez (three) in the Champions League this season.
• None Saul's goal was the 100th Atletico Madrid had scored in the Champions League, in their 68th match in the competition.
• None Filipe Luis has provided back-to-back assists in all competitions for Atletico for the first time since October 2013.
• None Jamie Vardy is the first English player to score in a Champions League quarter-final since Frank Lampard in 2012.
• None Both of Vardy's Champions League goals have come in the knockout stage of the competition.
• None The Foxes had 16 shots in the second half of this match, while Atletico had two.
• None Leicester exit the Champions League unbeaten at home in their first campaign (W4 D1).
Leicester return to Premier League action with an away game at Arsenal on Wednesday, 26 April, followed three days later with another away game at West Brom.
Atletico Madrid are also away from home in their next match - a trip to Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday (19:45 BST).
• None Attempt missed. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético de Madrid) right footed shot from more than 40 yards on the right wing misses to the left. Assisted by Stefan Savic following a fast break.
• None Attempt saved. Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ben Chilwell.
• None Attempt missed. Ben Chilwell (Leicester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right following a corner.
• None Ángel Correa (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt saved. Ángel Correa (Atlético de Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Koke.
• None Attempt blocked. Daniel Drinkwater (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Wilfred Ndidi.
• None Substitution, Leicester City. Daniel Amartey replaces Wes Morgan because of an injury.
• None Delay over. They are ready to continue.
• None Delay in match Wes Morgan (Leicester City) because of an injury.
• None Attempt saved. Leonardo Ulloa (Leicester City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39611647
|
Reality Check: Are lower earners bearing the tax burden? - BBC News
|
2017-04-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
About 90% of income tax is paid by the richest 50% of taxpayers.
|
UK Politics
|
The claim: Low and middle earners are bearing the burden of the tax take.
Reality Check verdict: The government is very reliant on richer people for its funding. More than a quarter of income tax is paid by the 1% of taxpayers with the highest incomes.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell kicked off his election campaign on Wednesday by talking about increasing taxes on the rich and on corporations.
"The burden in terms of the tax take is falling on middle and low earners," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
In fact, the tax base is very reliant on rich people, with income tax becoming increasingly reliant on them.
The Resolution Foundation, which does a great deal of work on inequality, says that the income tax system is relying too much on the richest 10%, which is a problem because their earnings are volatile.
It also pointed out that the combined effect of tax and benefit changes was hitting the poorest people the hardest, but Mr McDonnell was not talking about benefits.
This chart from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that about 90% of income tax is paid by the 50% of taxpayers with the highest incomes, while more than a quarter is paid by the richest 1%.
Indirect taxes such as VAT and fuel duty are not progressive though - people with lower incomes do not pay lower rates - so we need to consider all taxes.
The Treasury published analysis at the time of the Budget predicting what proportion of incomes people would be spending on all taxes by 2019-20.
The result is in the darker green bars below the line in this chart, with the poorest households on the left and the richest on the right.
The proportion of income spent on taxes does appear to be increasing as income increases throughout the distribution. The exception is for the poorest 10%, who seem to be spending slightly more than the next 10%, although the IFS says that is probably due to people misreporting their incomes in the survey from which this analysis is taken.
There is more on the impact of taxes on income in this ONS report, which calculates it in a different way, flattening the increase in the proportion of income spent on taxes as households get richer.
Later in the interview, John McDonnell also said: "Middle and low earners are being hit very, very hard by... income tax rises."
The basic rate of income tax has been 20% since 2008 and the higher rate has been 40% for longer than that. There have been additional rates introduced but they do not affect middle and low earners.
In 2010, the income tax personal allowance, which is the amount you are allowed to earn before paying any income tax, was £6,475. This year it is £11,500. That has clearly risen considerably faster than inflation, so for people paying the basic rate of income tax there has been a tax cut, while a higher proportion of low earners are not paying income tax at all.
The level of income at which people start paying the higher rate of income tax has not been rising as fast as the personal allowance, in fact it has fallen in some years since 2010, but only about 15% of income taxpayers pay higher rate, so they probably do not count as being low or middle earners.
• None 'Rich will pay more' under Labour
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39641222
|
Premier League clubs make 'limited progress' over disabled access - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-19
| null |
Premier League clubs make limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, campaigners have said.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Premier League clubs have made limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, campaigners have said.
Thirteen out of the 20 sides are failing to provide the required number of wheelchair spaces, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
It says only seven clubs have larger, fully equipped toilets, while seven clubs are breaking Premier League rules on providing information to fans.
The Premier League said clubs were working hard to improve facilities.
A BBC report in 2014 found that 17 of 20 clubs did not provide enough wheelchair spaces.
Clubs later set a self-imposed deadline to meet standards by August 2017 and the Premier League has pledged to publish a report then to highlight the work carried out.
EHRC chair David Isaac said it would launch an investigation into clubs who had failed to meet the minimum requirements and did not publish a clear action plan or timetable for improvement.
"The end of the season is fast approaching and time is running out for clubs," he said.
"For too long Premier League clubs have neglected the needs of their disabled fans
"The information we received from some clubs was of an appalling standard, with data missing and with insufficient detail. What is clear is that very few clubs are doing the minimum to meet the needs of disabled supporters.
"The Premier League itself does not escape blame. They need to make the concerns of disabled fans a priority and start enforcing their own rule book. We will be meeting individual clubs and asking them to explain themselves and tell us what their plans are."
Clare Lucas, activism manager for learning disability charity Mencap, said clubs should have 'changing places' toilet facilities, with more space and equipment including a height-adjustable changing bench and a hoist.
"For too long Premier League clubs have neglected the needs of their disabled fans, many of whom are forced to be changed on toilet floors, because clubs are yet to install proper facilities. It is simply inexcusable," she said.
What the commission says
According to the EHRC, the following clubs have not met requirements in particular areas:
Toilets: Without larger, fully equipped toilets, known as 'changing places' toilets - Bournemouth, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Hull, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Sunderland, Swansea, Tottenham, Watford, West Brom
Information: Not publishing access statements to give disabled fans information about their ground - Burnley, Crystal Palace, Hull, Man Utd, Middlesbrough, Stoke, West Ham
What the Premier League says
"In September 2015 Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to improve their disabled access provisions by meeting the Accessible Stadia Guide (ASG) by August 2017.
"Clubs are working hard to improve their facilities and rapid progress has been made. The improvements undertaken are unprecedented in scope, scale and timing by any group of sports grounds or other entertainment venues in the UK.
"Given the differing ages and nature of facilities, some clubs have faced significant built environment challenges. For those clubs cost is not the determining factor.
"They have worked, and in some cases continue to work, through issues relating to planning, how to deal with new stadium development plans, how to best manage fan disruption or, where clubs don't own their own grounds, dealing with third parties.
"Clubs will continue to engage with their disabled fans and enhance their provisions in the coming months, years and beyond."
The story so far
2014: A BBC investigation finds that 17 of the 20 clubs in the top flight at that time had failed to provide enough wheelchair spaces.
September 2015: The Premier League promises to improve stadium facilities for disabled fans, stating that clubs would comply with official guidance by August 2017.
September 2016: Campaigners say up to a third of clubs will miss the deadline to meet basic access standards.
October 2016: Leading disability campaigner Lord Holmes tells MPs that legal action against clubs and the Premier League remains an option if standards are not met.
January 2017: A report by MPs says some clubs could face sanctions because they are not doing enough. Manchester United,Liverpool and Everton announce plans to develop their grounds to accommodate more disabled supporters.
February 2017: A Premier League report outlines the detailed work the clubs are undertaking to make sure they meet guidelines but adds that at least three clubs will miss the August 2017 target.
April 2017: Premier League clubs have made limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39643089
|
Heart of Midlothian 0-5 Celtic - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Celtic secure a sixth successive Scottish league title with Scott Sinclair scoring a hat-trick as Hearts are hammered at Tynecastle.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Celtic clinched a sixth consecutive Scottish title with a flourish as three-goal Scott Sinclair again proved to be a thorn in the flesh of Hearts.
Brendan Rodgers' side survived early pressure to sweep to victory and secure the earliest title success, with eight games to spare, in a 38-game campaign.
Two deadly finishes from Sinclair - he has scored six in three outings against Hearts - edged Celtic ahead.
Stuart Armstrong and Patrick Roberts matched them before a Sinclair penalty.
The final whistle signalled a party in the Edinburgh sunshine as Celtic celebrated their 48th Scottish title - their 12th this century and first with Rodgers as manager.
And the records keep tumbling for Celtic, who remain unbeaten in 37 domestic games this season, eclipsing a 100-year-old club record.
• None How does Celtic's title win compare to other record-breaking runs?
Winning the title in Edinburgh was an act of perfect symmetry for Rodgers' side.
The Northern Irishman's first domestic game in charge of Celtic was at Tynecastle and the packed stands were playing host to the 300th league meeting between the sides - and the 150th to be hosted by Hearts.
On that day back on 7 August, a late goal from Sinclair was needed to subdue hosts who were looking to overtake Aberdeen as Celtic's main title challengers after finishing third in their first season back in the top flight.
A Sinclair double also helped secure a 4-0 win over Hearts in Glasgow in January on a day when he deputised up front due to the absence of first-choice strikers Moussa Dembele and deputy Leigh Griffiths.
That day, the 28-year-old's goals came after he was switched to a more natural wide role, with Roberts in the centre, and that's the way they started at Tynecastle this time out as Rodgers was again denied his two top marksmen through injury.
Lesson learned, one-time Manchester City winger Sinclair combined superbly with fellow Englishman Roberts, himself on loan from the Etihad Stadium, twice within three first-half minutes to virtually end Hearts' challenge.
Aberdeen's 7-0 thrashing of Dundee on Friday had ensured that Celtic would require another three points to secure the title.
However, there were few signs that Hearts had the form to make them wait any longer.
Celtic had arrived at Tynecastle unbeaten in their last 10 visits since their last defeat by Hearts - 2-0 at Tynecastle in October 2011 - with the Edinburgh side only avoiding defeat once during that spell.
Since Ian Cathro had taken over as head coach from MK Dons-bound Robbie Neilson, they had slipped from second to fifth and had won only once in their last seven outings.
Yet they had lost only two of their last 14 Premiership home games and they came out full of determination to deny Celtic a title party in their own back yard.
Cathro looked to have won the early tactical battle, with his high-pressing game knocking the visitors out their stride and Isma Goncalves twice testing goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who then saved at point-blank range from Jamie Walker.
It had looked ominous for Hearts when Sinclair played in Callum McGregor to find the net after only two minutes.
The linesman's flag allowed the home side to breathe again and they were soon giving as good as they got in a fast and furious start that raged from end to end.
McGregor somehow side-footed wide from only six yards and we began to question Rodgers' decision to switch to an unusual formation with three at the back.
However, Sinclair played a clever one-two with Roberts on the edge of the penalty box before thumping high past goalkeeper Jack Hamilton to give Celtic a 24th-minute lead.
It was soon two as Roberts threaded the ball behind the Hearts defence for Sinclair to score again.
Hearts' defensive frailties had come home to roost and Armstrong's 20-yard drive after the break and Roberts' deft chip from the edge of the penalty area ensured the title was on its way back to Glasgow.
Sinclair completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after being pulled down by Krystian Nowak.
What now for Celtic? With the League Cup already won, a Scottish Cup semi-final awaits as they seek a domestic treble and the prospect of ending the domestic season unbeaten - a feat no Scottish champions have achieved since the late 19th century.
• None Attempt missed. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
• None Andraz Struna (Heart of Midlothian) wins a free kick on the left wing.
• None Goal! Heart of Midlothian 0, Celtic 5. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
• None Penalty conceded by Krystian Nowak (Heart of Midlothian) after a foul in the penalty area.
• None Attempt saved. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Esmael Gonçalves (Heart of Midlothian) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39396454
|
European Rugby Champions Cup: Saracens 38-13 Glasgow Warriors - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Defending champions Saracens ease past Glasgow Warriors to set up a European Champions Cup semi-final tie against Munster.
| null |
Defending champions Saracens eased past Glasgow Warriors to set up a European Champions Cup semi-final with Munster.
Owen Farrell penalties and a powerfully finished try from Chris Ashton put the London club 14-3 up at the interval.
Warriors - in their first European quarter-final - hit back as Lee Jones finished from a fine Finn Russell kick.
But Marcelo Bosch and Brad Barritt went over before Ashton scored to move level with Vincent Clerc as the all-time leading try scorer in the competition.
His 36th European try comfortably booked Saracens a semi-final spot for the fifth-straight year and they began like champions, owning the ball, bossing the match, pinning Glasgow in their own 22 and threatening to score with every attack. Glasgow were under the cosh, hanging on for grim life.
The first of the near things came after just two minutes when Zander Fagerson was ransacked by Jim Hamilton in the Glasgow half. Saracens worked their way downfield, spun it wide to Ashton and only the scrambling Jones snuffed out the danger, the wing just about putting his opposite number into touch.
Four minutes later the black waves washed over Glasgow again. Again it had its origins in a Glasgow error - Henry Pyrgos missing touch - and again they had to rely on last-ditch defending to keep Saracens out, Tommy Seymour doing the job on Sean Maitland this time.
Farrell knocked over a penalty soon after, a scant return on their possession. For Glasgow, there was the desperate blow of Jonny Gray's injury, a loss that meant they were now without their two main hitters in the second-row having also had to do without the suspended Tim Swinson.
They dragged themselves level through a Russell penalty, then fell behind again with another for Farrell. Saracens got the reward that their possession demanded when Ashton went over in the corner, the arch-finisher at it again.
Farrell's missed conversion kept it at 14-3 to the break. Glasgow had not existed as an attacking force, but they stirred after the restart and manufactured a score out of nothing. Russell's crossfield kick was fielded by Jones who beat Alex Goode, handed-off Ashton and ran on to score. Russell's conversion hit an upright, but, still, they had precious momentum at last.
They had it - and then they lost it. Glasgow became ragged, ruinously missing a simple kick to touch and inviting Saracens back on to them. The heavyweights took advantage as true heavyweights do. Schalk Brits launched the first attack, then Ali Price did brilliantly to scamper after and haul down a Richard Wigglesworth breakaway. But the Glasgow dam burst open just after and in Saracens flowed, Bosch driving through two tacklers and stepping around Price to score. Farrell's conversion made it 21-8. Too good.
The fly-half added a penalty as Saracens carried on pounding away at the Glasgow line. Later still there was another Saracens try that began when they won a strike against the head in the scrum. The visitors were out on their feet now. Saracens went right, then cut back and went left, Barritt finishing it off. Farrell made it 31-8 with the boot.
A fourth try came as Saracens drove the stake deeper. Glasgow's messed up at a lineout and they were made to pay. The hosts went at them, worked an overlap against a jaded team and Ashton got his second of the day. Farrell's conversion was good.
Ryan Wilson got a consolation at the death, but there was a gulf between these teams. Saracens controlled this quarter-final from the first minutes and got their rewards towards the end. Glasgow did well to make the knockouts for the first time in their history, but there's no mercy in the last eight. Life is brutal among the elite.
Jeremy Guscott on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra: "Glasgow have shown their class by not giving up and they know now how much they have to do if they want to make their first semi-final.
"The experience of winning before helps Saracens. Glasgow didn't have an answer for the added impetus of the Saracens subs."
Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell: "We have got some great line-runners here that are going to hold people in. When people are running lines like we had today then there are always going to be opportunities."
Glasgow scrum-half Henry Pyrgos: "Saracens were quality today. We were in the game for 60 minutes but they were ruthless in the last 20. We had a lot of confidence and were in the game but a couple of mistakes which Saracens punished took it away from us.
"This is the start for us as a club, the first time in the knock-outs and we want to be here again next year."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39473588
|
Welsh Olympic cyclist 'lost road confidence' after crash - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Welsh Olympian Ciara Horne says she needs psychological help before returning to road training.
|
South East Wales
|
Ciara Horne was taken to hospital with severe cuts and bruises on Thursday
Welsh cyclist Ciara Horne says she needs psychological help before returning to road training after being knocked off her bike while commuting.
The double European champion said she fears she suffered a fractured wrist in the incident on Thursday but knows she "escaped serious injury".
The 27-year-old - Team GB's reserve as they won 2016 Olympic Team Pursuit gold in Rio - said she had lost confidence.
"It's frightening and has made me question my safety," she said.
The full-time physiotherapist was riding from her home in Cardiff to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant when the incident happened.
Ciara Horne (far right) was part of the GB team that won bronze at the 2016 World Championships
She was rushed to hospital in an ambulance with severe cuts and bruises and will have an MRI scan on a suspected fracture of the scaphoid, a bone in the wrist, on Monday.
Miss Horne has had "get well soon" wishes from British cycling greats Jo Rowsell Shand, Laura Trott and Geraint Thomas since the incident near Pontyclun Fire Station in Rhondda Cynon Taff.
"As the car pulled from a side road straight out in front of me, I couldn't swerve or brake in time so hit it," she recalled.
"I bounced off the windscreen. As I crashed to the floor, my head was spinning and couldn't close my jaw. I was pretty hysterical.
"The man in the car behind me stopped and rung my mum. He said it was 'spectacular' and I was 'lucky to be alive' so I'm blessed to still be here."
Miss Horne competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and is expected to be in the Welsh cycling squad, including Olympic gold medal winner Elinor Barker, that is among the favourites to win the four-rider, 4km team pursuit title at next year's Commonwealths in Australia.
But she told the BBC: "It's frightening and has made me question my safety.
"I have lost a lot of confidence on the road. I know I should get straight back on the road but I will need the help of the brilliant Sport Wales psychologists who I can talk to, to build my belief back up.
"You don't ever think something like this is going to happen to you, it gave me one hell of a fright.
"My fitness is good, but I need to work on the mental side now and have a phased return to the road.
"I have a lot of soft tissue injuries and I know they take time to heal, often longer than broken bones."
Ciara Horne won two bronze medals at the 2016 World Championships
Miss Horne has stepped away from British Cycling in Manchester to work full-time, as well as being funded by Welsh Cycling and training in Newport.
She will now take inspiration from fellow Welsh rider Becky James, the former double world champion, who recovered from a cancer scare and a chronic knee condition to win two silver medals at last year's Rio Olympics.
"Her Olympic silvers were like gold," said Miss Horne. "She came back from numerous injuries and I hope I can do something similar. She's an inspiration.
"It's all about the journey and learning from adversity to come back stronger."
Ciara Horne was an unused reserve rider for the team pursuit squad at the 2016 Olympics in Rio
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-39471088
|
15 big changes to your finances in April - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Those on benefits are about to be squeezed further, while many people in work will be better off.
|
Business
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 1 April brings changes to some important rates and taxes
Household budgets are likely to be further stretched in the first week of April, as dozens of items including water bills, council tax, NHS charges, and some broadband and energy charges all rise.
Those on welfare will feel the squeeze especially, as payment rates are frozen for the second year in succession, and the generosity of some benefits are reduced.
However, those in work are likely to become better off, as tax rates become more generous, and the National Living Wage also rises.
Some of these changes will occur on 1 April, at the start of the government's financial year, while others occur on 6 April, the start of the tax year.
From 6 April the personal allowance - the annual amount you can earn before paying tax - rises from £11,000 to £11,500. This should save over 20 million people £100 a year, and take thousands out of tax altogether.
At the same time the starting point for paying the higher, or 40%, rate of tax will move from £43,000 to £45,000. This will save higher rate taxpayers a further £400 a year.
However, in Scotland the higher rate threshold has been frozen at £43,000, so better-off taxpayers north of the border will see no benefit.
Millions of people over the age of 25 will receive a 4% pay rise from 1 April, as the National Living Wage (NLW) increases from £7.20 an hour to £7.50.
However, those between the ages of 21 and 24, who receive the National Minimum Wage (NMW), will get a rise of only 1.4% - well below the current 2.3% CPI inflation rate.
Savers can apply to open a new Lifetime Isa (Lisa) from 6 April. The government will add a 25% bonus to your savings after a year, up to a maximum of £1,000. The Lisa is designed for people who want to buy a property, or need a retirement income.
Anyone nearing the age of 40 is advised to consider opening a Lisa soon, as those over that age cannot start an account.
More details about the Lisa here.
The allowance for saving into an ordinary Individual Savings Account (Isa) goes up from £15,250 to £20,000 from 6 April.
The money can be invested in a cash Isa, or in stocks and shares.
There is no tax to pay on income from an Isa, or on any capital gain.
Anyone buying a new car from 1 April will pay a different rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).
This is because car emissions have got so much cleaner that most of them would no longer qualify for VED at all.
New buyers will pay a special rate in the first year, depending on engine emissions, followed by a fixed rate in one of three categories thereafter: zero emission, standard or premium.
The standard rate will be £140. Luxury cars, costing more than £40,000 will pay an extra £310.
Rates for existing car owners will not change.
Inheritance tax will become less onerous for people who want to leave property to their children.
Currently, any estate worth more than £325,000 carries a tax liability of 40% on anything above that threshold.
But from 6 April there will be a new transferable main residence allowance on property within the estate, enabling individuals to pass on an extra £100,000 tax free.
Couples who are married, or in a civil partnership, will now be able to pass on £850,000 in total without paying tax, an amount that will rise to £1m by 2021.
People living in England will see the steepest general rise in council tax. From 1 April the rise will average 4%, equating to £61 for a typical Band D property. The rise will be smaller in district councils, which do not have responsibility for social care, and up to 4.99% in those that do.
In Scotland the average rise is 3%, equating to about £32 for a Band D property. However, householders in the top four bands (E to H) will see extra increases, due to MSPs deciding to increase the "multiplyer". Those with properties in band E will see typical rises of £105 a year, while those in band H are likely to pay £517 more.
Council taxpayers in Wales will see a rise of 3.1% on average, equal to about £35 a year on a Band D property.
Rate-payers in Northern Ireland have still not been told what their bill will be, due to political issues.
From 6 April there will be cuts to future child tax credits. Where a first child is born after this date, claimants will no longer receive the family element of the payment, worth £545 a year.
Those whose first child was born before 6 April will see no change.
In addition, those who have a third or subsequent child after this date will no longer receive a payment for that child - limiting future tax credits to two children only.
The same will apply to people claiming universal credit. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) calculates that as a result of this change alone, 600,000 three-child families will on average be £2,500 worse off than under the old system.
But in practice no existing parent, and no existing claimant, will actually lose money.
From Monday 3 April new claimants for the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) of ESA will receive £29 a week less than existing claimants. These are people whom the government judges may be capable of working at some stage in the future.
They will receive £73 instead of £102, to bring them into line with claimants for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA).
The IFS has estimated that half a million future claimants will receive £1,400 a year less than current claimants.
April 2017 sees the start of the second year in which many state benefits will be frozen. This includes JSA, ESA, child benefit and some housing benefit payments.
Given that CPI inflation is currently running at 2.3%, this will amount to a real terms cut for tens of millions of people.
The freeze is due to last until March 2020.
From 10 April, those people who claim universal credit (UC) will be allowed to keep more of what they earn from a job before their benefits are reduced.
Previously those in work were allowed to keep 35p out of every pound they earned, before their UC payment was cut.
Now they will be allowed to keep 37p in every pound. This is as a result of the so-called taper rate being reduced from 65% to 63%.
The cost of an NHS prescription in England rises on 1 April from £8.40 to £8.60. However the cost of pre-payment cards has been frozen.
Dental charges in England are also rising. The cost of a check-up will go up by 90p to £20.60, the cost of a filling goes up by £2.40 to £56.30, and the most complex work will go up by £10 to £244.30.
From 1 April, four million consumers who use pre-payment meters for their gas and electricity will see their charges capped. The regulator, Ofgem, says they should each save around £80 a year.
However, on average they were paying £220 more than other consumers, so they will still be paying a higher charge than others.
Water and sewerage bills will go up on 1 April. The average rise in England and Wales is 2%, making a typical annual bill £395. In Scotland the rise will be 1.6%, or around £5 per household.
Residents of Northern Ireland pay for water through their rates bills.
Some energy bills will rise significantly. SSE customers on standard tariffs will see electricity prices rise by 14.9% on 28 April. E.On will increase electricity prices by 13.8%, and gas prices by 3.8%, on 26 April. Most other suppliers increased their prices in March.
Several telecoms companies, including BT, EE and Vodafone are putting up prices. The cost of BT broadband, for example, will go up by £2.50 a month.
On 1 April the cost of a TV licence goes up by £1.50, to £147.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39441970
|
Celtic win Scottish Premiership: Brendan Rodgers' side seal sixth straight title - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Celtic secure a sixth consecutive Scottish Premiership title with eight games to spare after thrashing Hearts 5-0 at Tynecastle.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Celtic have won a sixth consecutive Scottish Premiership title with eight games to spare after thrashing Hearts 5-0 at Tynecastle on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers' side needed three points against fifth-placed Hearts to be confirmed as champions after Aberdeen hammered Dundee on Friday.
And they did so with a hat-trick from Scott Sinclair and goals from Stuart Armstrong and Patrick Roberts.
Unbeaten Celtic have dropped just four points so far during their campaign.
"My job when I came in was to win it in the best way we possibly could," said Rodgers.
"We have had many outstanding performances, but we have only just begun because there's still an awful lot of development in this team. That's the real exciting part."
• None How does Celtic's title win compare with other record-breaking runs?
What's left to play for this season?
Celtic are still on course to win the domestic treble, having beaten Aberdeen in November to win the League Cup, while they face rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals later this month.
The last time the club won all three major Scottish domestic trophies in one season was 2000-01 and the feat has only been achieved once since - when Rangers claimed a treble in 2002-03.
"The run we're on is incredible," said Rodgers in an interview with Football Focus prior to Sunday's title-clinching victory.
"In terms of the treble, we never really mention it. Obviously the supporters can dream, which is great, but we have to just think about performing and playing well."
Celtic could also became the first team to go a full 38-game Scottish Premiership campaign unbeaten.
The last time a Scottish side went a full season unbeaten was Rangers in 1898-99, while Celtic did the same the year before - but the season only lasted 18 games.
Former Liverpool boss Rodgers was appointed in May 2016 to replace Ronny Deila, who quit at the end of last season after two mixed years in charge.
Deila led Celtic to back-to-back titles but failed to deliver success in Europe, losing to Maribor and Malmo in the last round of Champions League qualifying and also finishing last in their Europa League group in 2015-16.
Rodgers' first major task was to qualify for the Champions League group stages, only for Celtic to suffer arguably the worst defeat in their history against Gibraltarian part-time side Lincoln Red Imps in the second qualifying round first leg.
After winning the second leg to progress, they needed a stoppage-time penalty from Moussa Dembele to edge past Kazakh side Astana in the third qualifying round before hanging on away to Hapoel Beer Sheva of Israel to reach the group stages.
Once there, they suffered their heaviest European defeat in a 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona but recovered to secure two draws against Premier League side Manchester City and a draw at German side Borussia Monchengladbach.
"We need a couple of players in order to compete at Champions League level - we had some really good performances but there is certain dynamic, power and technique we need," Rodgers told Sky Sports after Sunday's title win.
A summer clearout led to forwards Carlton Cole, Anthony Stokes, Colin Kazim-Richards and Stefan Scepovic all departing Celtic Park.
Yet the club were not left short of attacking talent after the signings of Dembele from Fulham and Scott Sinclair from Aston Villa.
Dembele, 20, has scored 32 goals this season and is now one of Europe's most sought-after talents, while 28-year-old winger Sinclair has struck 21 times in all competitions.
Rodgers has also improved the fortunes of players he inherited, most notably 25-year-old central midfielder Stuart Armstrong, who has impressed since becoming a regular starter after October, making his Scotland debut in March.
• None Read more: Tom English on the Rodgers effect at Celtic
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton: "People can knock the Scottish league as much as they like, but at the start of the season, Rangers thought they could push Celtic.
"Brendan has done nothing wrong - unbeaten in the league, relative success in Europe given that the last manager was really poor and they had no right to get in the Champions League. I didn't think they'd get in the Europa League.
"He has worked wonders this season and should get credit for that.
"The pressure for Rodgers was going to come in the early part of the season, because the Celtic fans expected this season and expectation was high.
"He's totally transformed the playing personnel, made good signings and the team is a million times better."
Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner: "Celtic will buy one or two more players and they can attract quality since they are in the Champions League.
"They did it in style. Their finishing was magnificent against Hearts - once they settled into this game, there was no chance of Hearts winning it.
"The way Celtic have gone about their business from day one has been exceptional. It's been a joy to watch them this season."
Rodgers has been suggested as a possible replacement for Arsene Wenger should the Arsenal boss decide to leave at the end of the season.
The Northern Irishman himself has said he wants to "give more years" to Celtic and is a supporter of what he calls "one of the most iconic clubs in the world".
But could Rodgers make a return to the Premier League?
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann: "Brendan Rodgers has got more chance and justification to get a big job now then he did at the time when he went to Liverpool.
"To go a whole season unbeaten, which they can still do, to get in the Champions League against all the odds and give Manchester City a game - of course they had a heavy defeat to Barcelona but it's happened to others.
"If you look at that Arsenal job, Rodgers could be one of the first names on the list."
Sunday Times football correspondent Jonathan Northcroft: "Rodgers is still in the rebuilding phase of his career.
"I'm a fan of his in general, but this will be his first league title and he only just won his first trophy in November, so he's quite a long way away from being the man to succeed Arsene Wenger.
"He got quite sensitive towards the end of his time with Liverpool, towards how things were covered - he was banning the press.
"If he wants another big job, he's going to have to handle that properly."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39460870
|
Alex Jones and InfoWars: How Sandy Hook families fought back - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Some deny one of the US's worst mass shootings ever happened. Now the victims are fighting back.
|
BBC Trending
|
It was one of the worst school shootings in American history, but some people insist that the Sandy Hook massacre never happened. They post YouTube videos and spread rumours online, and their false theories have been repeated by a media mogul conspiracy theorist who has been linked to Donald Trump. Now, after years of harassment, the families of the victims are fighting back online.
Leonard Pozner clicks on a YouTube video showing his street and the outside of his home. The camera zooms in on his balcony, and his address and a route to his door flash up on the screen.
There's no narration on the video - but there doesn't need to be. The message is clear: "We know where you live."
Because of videos like this one - there are dozens on YouTube, and more appear ever day - Pozner doesn't want to disclose the city where he now lives. He's had death threats and has moved several times in recent years.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lenny Pozner lost his son Noah in the Sandy Hook shootings, and then had to fight trolls who said it never happened
Leonard Pozner has been targeted because he's fought back against trolls and conspiracy theorists who make sweeping and false allegations about the murder of his son.
"Noah was just a regular six-year-old child," says Leonard, who's also known as Lenny. "I dropped him off that morning - it really was an ordinary day of getting the kids ready for school.
"Then an hour-and-a-half later it was just the worst nightmare. Worse than any nightmare I could have imagined."
The nightmare began on 14 December 2012 when a young man named Adam Lanza killed his mother and then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School. In a matter of minutes, he shot dead 20 children and six adults, before taking his own life.
Even in a country where mass shootings are common, Sandy Hook stood out. The pupils were so young, and there were so many of them. Hundreds were traumatised - and many still are - after witnessing the carnage and its aftermath.
And yet despite extensive investigations and a report which determined that Lanza acted alone, conspiracy theorists have constructed a fake alternate reality in which the whole thing was an elaborate hoax, staged by the government to try to introduce strict gun control laws.
They seize on small inconsistencies between initial news reports from the chaotic scene and the facts. The more extreme among them have targeted the families of Sandy Hook victims. There have been at least two arrests linked to the hoax theories. On Wednesday, a warrant was issued for a Florida woman who is accused of harassing Lenny Pozner.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The sister of a Sandy Hook victim tells the BBC she is getting threats from conspiracy theorists
"We're a luckier family," says Hannah D'Avino, whose sister Rachel was a behavioural therapist at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "I personally will get about like three death threats a year because we don't speak up that much."
On a sunny, late winter's day in New England, Hannah sits in the stately Newtown Public Library, down the road from where her sister was murdered. She recalls her sister's spirit, her profound positive influence on her life, and her work with autistic children.
Her voice is subdued, but quivers with quiet determination.
"My sister was murdered 11 days before Christmas and I consider myself lucky because I don't have a stalker," she tells me. "That's the situation I'm in right now."
Some of the conspiracy theorists are regular visitors to this small hamlet in suburban Connecticut. In addition to the death threats and harassment directed at Lenny, Hannah and others, they've made videos of the school and local area and ask questions of locals and family members, and have posted the footage on YouTube.
And their theories have been picked up by one of America's most popular conspiracy theorists, a man who has been linked with President Donald Trump.
The online storm has prompted Lenny to form a volunteer network to track and take down the conspiracy theory videos and websites.
And other Sandy Hook residents are pleading with President Trump, asking him to speak out and help stop the madness.
You can hear this story on BBC Trending on the BBC World Service or on The Sandy Hook Deniers on BBC Radio 4, Sunday 2 April at 13:30
And for more Trending stories, download our podcast
Wolfgang Halbig is one of the chief conspiracy theorists who denies the massacre happened
Wolfgang Halbig lives in a big yellow house in a sunny, lavishly landscaped gated community in Florida. He's a retired school administrator and safety advisor, and he says that when he first heard news of the Sandy Hook shootings, he was sitting in a chair in his living room, drinking coffee.
"My hairs stood up," he says. "Because they're not protected in the elementary schools."
Halbig donated money to the Sandy Hook families. But he soon became both obsessed with the tragedy - and, somehow, convinced that it never happened.
"I think 14 Dec 2012 is an event that was in planning for a long, long time," he tells me. "I think it probably took them two, two-and-a-half years to write the scripts for all the participants that were invited to participate in that exercise - or drill as I will call it."
Halbig has since devoted years of his life to "exposing" what he thinks is a government plot. He started a website. He's revealed personal information about the victims of his attacks, including names, addresses, legal documents and financial information. And he's personally travelled to Sandy Hook a number of times.
"I call it an illusion. The biggest government illusion that's ever been pulled off by [the US Department of] Homeland Security."
In his office, ghoulish blown-up pictures of the crime scene mingle with pictures of his family and his days as an American football player. His so-called evidence consists of a string of tiny details, small anomalies which are for the most part easily explained by the inchoate nature of a horrific breaking news event.
"I'll be honest with you," he says, "if I'm wrong, I need to be institutionalised."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Conspiracy theories are a perennial feature of American life. But now they can be picked up by extremists and spread virally through social media. And that process has been fuelled by America's deeply partisan political environment.
Hundreds of videos online are pushing false Sandy Hook narratives. Collectively, they have millions of views. Falsehoods are repeated by Twitter accounts and on Facebook.
Still, the theories might have stayed quarantined in some of the darker corners of the internet, were they not picked up and amplified by one of America's most popular conspiracy theorists.
Alex Jones is a talk show host and the founder of the multimedia portal Infowars. Regular listeners and readers are used to his rants on everything from 9/11 to attacks across Europe. And on several broadcasts he embraced the Sandy Hook conspiracy theorists. Less than two years after the attacks, he welcomed Halbig on his programme and talked about an Infowars story headlined "FBI says no one killed at Sandy Hook".
"Internet sleuths immediately took to the web to stitch together clues indicating the shooting could be a carefully-scripted false flag event, similar to the 9/11 terror attacks, the central tenet being that the event would be used to galvanize future support for gun control legislation," the story stated.
He returned to the theme several months later on his radio show: "I've had the investigators on, the state police have gone public, you name it - the whole thing is a giant hoax. And the problem is, how do you deal with a total hoax? How do you even convince the public something's a total hoax?"
Later he said: "Sandy Hook is a synthetic, completely fake with actors, in my view, manufactured. I couldn't believe it at first. I knew they had actors there clearly but I thought they killed some real kids, and it just shows how bold they are, that they clearly used actors."
The liberal think tank Media Matters for America has listed other instances of Jones accusing the parents of murdered children being actors or casting doubt on the Sandy Hook investigation. Matt Gertz of Media Matters says that online and on air, Jones has an audience of about 8 million.
"It's kind of remarkable, but believing that Sandy Hook was a hoax is actually fairly small ball for an Alex Jones conspiracy," Gertz says. "He thinks that a set of global elites are planning to murder 80% of the world populace and enslave the rest of them. He has claimed that the federal government has a weather machine that they use to target tornado strikes on unfriendly populaces.
"He is sort of the nexus for what's really a distributed network of conspiracy theorists who are on Facebook or on Twitter or using sites like Reddit or 4Chan or 8Chan."
Jones (left) along with former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone (centre) and journalist Jonathan Alter at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio
Jones, who did not respond to repeated requests for an interview, has also been linked to President Trump. In late 2015, Trump appeared on Jones's radio programme. At the end of a half-hour interview, the candidate told the host: "I just want to finish by saying your reputation's amazing. I will not let you down, you will be very very impressed I hope.
"And I think we'll be speaking a lot... a year into office, you'll be saying 'Wow, I remember that interview, he said he was going to do it, and he did a great job.' You'll be very proud of our country."
Former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone regularly appears on Jones's show, and reportedly was the person who introduced the presidential candidate and the talk show host.
Trump has retweeted Infowars reporters and stories (for example here and here) and stories of dubious provenance that first appeared on the site have regularly shown up in Trump speeches and tweets.
To take just one example: in November 2016, Trump tweeted: "In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."
The message repeated an allegation with scant basis in fact - a story that had appeared on Infowars earlier that month.
Trump has not endorsed the Sandy Hook conspiracy theory, nor has he spoken about Jones's claims that the massacre was a hoax. The White House did not respond to a number of requests for comment, including a series of questions about the relationship between the president and Jones.
Jones himself has tried to make the most of his connections to Trump. He claims the president called him shortly after winning the election and has spoken to him since, although the the New York Times reported that a Trump aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, "played down the frequency of their contact".
"It is surreal to talk about issues here on air and then word-for-word hear Trump say it two days later," Jones said on his radio show in August 2016. "It is amazing."
Gertz, from Media Matters for America, says that there is evidence that Jones does talk with the president. But he cautions that both men have had a history of pushing conspiracy theories and presenting "alternative facts".
"So trying to nail down for sure what their relationship is, based on the statements that they say about each other, is pretty dicey," he says.
Less than two weeks after the 2016 presidential election, Jones posted a video which he declared was his "final statement" on Sandy Hook. In it, he claimed he had been unfairly treated by the media.
"I've always said I'm not sure what really happened, but there's a lot of anomalies and there has been a cover-up of what did happen there," he said.
"There is some evidence that people died there," he said. "I don't know what the truth is, all I know is the official story of Sandy Hook has more holes in it than Swiss cheese."
He then played a montage of news clips and material from his Sandy Hook programmes over the years, including footage of Wolfgang Halbig. He did not include his "Sandy Hook is a synthetic, completely fake with actors" quote. In signing off, he took another swipe at parents of murdered children who spoke to the media in the aftermath of the attacks.
"If children were lost in Sandy Hook, my heart goes out to each and every one of those parents and the people who say they're parents that I see on the news. The only problem is, I've seen a lot of soap operas, and I've seen actors before, and I know when I'm watching a movie and when I'm watching something real. Let's look into Sandy Hook."
In front of his computer screen in his undisclosed location, Lenny Pozner is taking on the conspiracy theorists. He flicks through a YouTube page and points out a new video.
"Look - this was just posted," he says. "It's a hoaxer type video - it's insulting, it has images of people who were connected to the tragedy."
The thumbnail picture has a photo of his son Noah's headstone. There's text on the picture which reads: "empty grave". In the video, there's a picture of Lenny himself.
"Here's a photo of me taken two days after my child was killed and I'm being called a liar fraud and terrorist," he says. "That's how they vilify people."
Lenny used to be a casual Infowars listener - he liked to listen to conspiracy theories as entertainment. That's how he initially found out that his son's murder was being denied by the conspiracy theorists.
At first he tried to engage with them through a Facebook group. But soon the mood among the hard-core hoaxers hardened.
"The only people that would come into the groups were trolls," he says. "They were just coming in for their own amusement... after that I decided that the most important thing would be to start taking down content that's spreading this information," he says.
Every day, Lenny scrolls though reams of conspiracy minded content, complaining to social networks and attempting to get videos and posts taken down using network rules about copyright, decency and harassment. And he's created an organisation, the Honr Network, to help the fight against the hoaxers.
After four years of pain, compounded by the harassers and the conspiracy mongers, people in Sandy Hook are tired - and some of them are asking the president to step in.
I meet Eric Paradis, a local Democratic Party official, in a bar down the road from Sandy Hook. One of Paradis's daughters was at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting - she survived.
Although Alex Jones has not been involved in the harassment of the families, Paradis says the president could use his influence to push Jones and the conspiracy theorists to the fringes, and help stop the harassment of Sandy Hook victims.
"The town committee wanted to put a letter together asking the president to denounce these hoaxers and tell them look… these are real children who died," he says.
His letter is still under consideration by local officials. It reads:
"[Jones] continues to spread hate and lies towards our town, towards the people and organizations who came to help us through those darkest days. Jones repeatedly tells his listeners and viewers that he has your ears and your respect. He brags about how you called him after your victory in November. Emboldened by your victory, he continues to hurt the memories of those lost, the ability of those left behind to heal."
The letter goes on to ask Trump to "intervene and stop Jones and others hoaxers like him". Paradis says he and other Democrats tried to avoid making the letter about Trump's larger political agenda.
"I really do think he can help us put a stop to it, because he does have a unique position with these hoaxers," he says. "If he can help us out then that's fantastic and a Democrat [like me] would be very grateful if he could."
Lenny Pozner continues to take action against the trolls. He's filed a lawsuit against Halbig, alleging invasion of privacy. Halbig is fighting the suit, which is just getting underway, and says that if he loses, he'll check himself into a mental institution.
Lenny turns back to his computer, where he spots more conspiracy theory videos. So will he ever stop trying to fight the hoaxers?
"I don't know," he says. "I would like not to have to do this. I would like to just leave it alone and feel the memory of my child is sacred and other people are also treating it that way," he says, "but as long as they're not - I feel I need to defend that memory."
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.
Read more from Trending: The disturbing YouTube videos that are tricking children
Thousands of videos on YouTube look like versions of popular cartoons but contain disturbing and inappropriate content not suitable for children. READ MORE
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39194035
|
Boat Races 2017: Who won the celebrity boat race? - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Find out who won the inaugural celebrity boat race between teams led by Olympic gold medallists Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell.
| null |
Find out who won the inaugural celebrity boat race between teams led by Olympic gold medallists Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell.
READ MORE: Oxford triumph in men's race after Cambridge women win
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/39473907
|
The Afghan restaurant run by domestic abuse survivors - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Afghanistan has been labelled one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman. One place in Kabul offers hope to women escaping abuse.
|
Magazine
|
Afghanistan has been labelled one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman. One study suggested 87% of women in the country experience some form of domestic violence. Sodaba Haidare visited one place in the capital Kabul that offers hope to women escaping abuse.
Aryan's shift in the kitchen has come to an end. She removes her apron and hat. Glimpses of her personality are revealed - she's wearing a colourful tunic over her black jeans, and she he has a mole exactly between her eyebrows - as if someone planted it in the perfect position.
She places a glass of fresh lemon juice on the table sits down across from me. Aryan is strikingly beautiful and moves with confidence. Yet it's hard to believe we are the same age. She is 24 but has the look of a much older woman. It's because of the years of abuse she endured at the hands of her violent husband.
She was only 16 when her parents arranged her marriage to a man she'd never met. Soon after the wedding, her husband and mother-in-law started beating her. She stuck it out, hoping things would get better with time. But they got worse.
By the time she realised she was in an abusive relationship, she already had three children.
One day, when Aryan's husband left for work, she examined the fresh bruises he'd left on her face, then packed her bags and took her children to the police station.
Women who suffer domestic abuse are usually turned away by Afghan police or persuaded to go back to their husbands for their family's honour. But Aryan thought her injuries would make the police take her seriously. And they did.
She was sent to a women's shelter, where she and her children lived ever since, with other women who have also escaped domestic violence. She often dreams of a future where she has her own place, where she can live without the fear of her ex-husband coming near her or her children.
The path to this dream becoming reality lies in the heart of Kabul. And it begins in a traditionally decorated Afghan restaurant called Bost.
Hope is at the heart of its mission. The place is run by survivors of domestic violence and here, women are celebrated as strong, independent human beings, not just victims. Bost is a base for eight women, of all ages. Working empowers them to write a new chapter in their lives.
It's a long and often difficult process. Still, it helps that every corner of this restaurant pays homage to powerful women. The place screams female empowerment.
Every wall is hung with pictures of women with unique stories.
There is Queen Soraya, the wife of King Amanullah, who dressed in European fashion and believed women should shed the veil, and that a man should only have one wife. She was also the minister of education, who opened the country's first school for girls in the 1920s.
Then there is the current first lady, Rula Ghani, a Christian-born Lebanese woman, who surprised Afghans by speaking out about women's rights.
There are also lesser-known faces, Afghan women who have been killed simply for doing their jobs. Lt Islam Bibi, for example - a young police officer who suffered death threats from her own brother and was then shot down by unknown gunmen on her way to work. Their stories are not forgotten.
Another wall pays homage to Afghanistan itself, with images of three different women in vibrant, traditional clothes. They symbolise each region of this fractured nation.
There's a small stage, decorated with a handmade Afghan rug. Here female performers sit and play the long-necked string instrument known as the Tambur - or even the guitar or violin. It's an unusual sight in Afghanistan's conservative society, where many believe music should be forbidden - never mind played by women.
Now a divorcee, Aryan has adored the three months that she's spent here. It has changed her.
She is no longer the insecure and scared woman she once was, who had to raise her arms in self-defence, who would cower at the slightest aggressive word. But her husband has left her with a lasting hatred of men. She thinks all men are abusive - but little by little that's changing too.
Here, every day she sees men come to the restaurant with their families - men who are kind and caring. And she sees something that she never experienced. Love.
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39433896
|
Would you risk jail for a cup of tea? - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
How a 119% tax on tea imports in the 1750s helped smuggling become a vital part of the UK economy.
|
Business
|
Smugglers being chased by the Royal Navy. Virtually every seaside community in Britain saw its share of smuggling in the 18th Century
A boat beaches in a lonely cove at night, the crew hurriedly unloading its cargo of tea to waiting men and pack horses while armed lookouts stand guard against a surprise swoop by the revenue men.
It may be a stereotypical image, but in the 18th Century, a cuppa was in such high demand that many Britons were willing to risk jail for the privilege.
In fact, this kind of smuggling was a vital part of Britain's economy for some 200 years.
It was a trade triggered by increasingly high tariffs or duties, taxes a merchant would have to pay to legally import tea.
The duties on importing tea reached a staggering 119% in the 1750s - which meant that if you could avoid paying the tax, the cost of your brew dropped by more than half.
Tea became hugely popular in Britain in the 1700s
Not surprisingly many customers turned to the smugglers, who were willing to risk imprisonment or have their ships destroyed and goods seized if they were caught.
When import taxes or tariffs are low, there's not much profit to be made from smuggling.
Conversely, when a government makes it expensive to legally import items it encourages smugglers who can undercut the official price.
Tea was one of the most important items illegally brought into Britain in the 18th Century - everybody wanted to drink it, but most could not afford it at the official price.
Tea chests in London in the 1950s - the nation's love affair with the drink has endured
In an age before income tax, tea duties accounted for 10% of government revenues, which was enough to pay for the Royal Navy, but as tariffs on it reached 119% it gave smugglers their chance.
"If you had high tariffs and goods people wanted, it gave smugglers a business opportunity," says Exeter University historian Helen Doe.
More than 3,000 tonnes of tea was smuggled into Britain a year by the late 1700s, with just 2,000 tonnes imported legally.
In some areas whole communities were dependent on smuggling, from landowners who might finance the operation down to the fishermen who might be crewing the boats.
There were three main types of smuggling, says Robert Blyth, senior curator at the National Maritime Museum in London.
A romanticised view of the smuggling trade; in reality smugglers often used threats of violence against customs men
"There's small-scale smuggling, where you might row your boat out to meet a ship and take off some of its cargo to sell illegally, the ship's captain declaring the missing cargo as 'spoiled at sea' when it gets to port to officially unload the rest," he says.
"Then there are commercially organised groups bringing contraband into harbours across the UK in a sophisticated operation.
"Finally, you have simple theft and pilfering in major ports like London from ships that have already moored, but have not yet been checked by the revenue."
It wasn't just the British who were developing a taste for tea. The popularity of the drink in Sweden meant the country also played an important role in 18th Century smuggling into Britain.
Gothenburg was the base for the Swedish East India Company's operations
Swedish East India Company merchants were able to buy the best quality Chinese tea because unlike other European countries they were prepared to pay in silver - rather than seeking to barter or trade.
Quite a few were actually Scottish, political refugees who had fled to Sweden after the failure of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, and who thus saw little wrong in avoiding paying tax to Britain's Hanoverian government.
So popular was this trade that newspapers in Scotland and northern England openly carried adverts for this smuggled tea, called "Gottenburgh Teas".
Building specialised docks with guarded warehouses helped cut down stealing of goods once ships had reached London
For many tea traders in Britain, buying smuggled tea made sense, says Derek Janes, a history researcher at Exeter University.
"Britain's own East India Company had a monopoly on tea imports, so if an Edinburgh merchant wanted to buy it you had to go to London, you had to pay to bring it back to Scotland - and you had to pay upfront.
"But if you bought it from the smugglers it would be half the price - with no tax to pay - they would deliver to your door and you would get up to four months credit. A much better service!"
One of those involved in this trade was John Nisbet, who became rich enough to commission architect John Adams to design his harbourside mansion in Eyemouth in the Scottish borders, complete with hidden partitions for the smuggled tea.
Often when the customs officials got a tip-off about his ship it was too late - the cargo had already been smuggled ashore. And if a smuggler did have his goods seized, he could sometimes negotiate a price to buy it back from the government.
"John Nisbet had a ship and cargo seized, but you can see the lawyer for the board of customs in Edinburgh say that the witnesses had disappeared, so the customs did a deal. He paid £250 to get it all back, which still left him in profit," says Mr Janes.
By 1784, the government realised high tariffs were creating more problems than they were worth and cut tea duties to just 12.5%, making tea affordable for most people. The change meant smugglers switched to bringing in spirits and wine instead.
The end of the Napoleonic wars saw the Royal Navy in undisputed command of the Channel, making it much harder for smugglers to avoid detection
The Napoleonic wars saw an upsurge in smuggling, but after 1815 with the Royal Navy in undisputed command of the sea, its days were numbered.
Ultimately, many smugglers failed. In the long run, the business did not generate enough cash to compensate for the risks of losing stock or ships to the customs. John Nisbet may have been able to afford a fine house but even he went bust eventually, the result of one too many cargo seizures.
In the end, it was economics that finally put an end to the smuggling era. Britain's adoption of a free trade policy in the 1840s reduced import duties significantly, making smuggling no longer viable.
And thanks to that shift in policy, you can now sit back, relax and enjoy a nice cup of tea without any fears of going to prison.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38910968
|
Breaking superstitions with a 'longtail' infestation - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
BBC reporter Rick Faragher takes a look at superstitions after he is forced to break one when covering a story about an infestation of "longtails".
|
Northern Ireland
|
An infestation of "longtails" caused a rather unusual problem for Rick Faragher
Rick Faragher is no pied piper - he is from the Isle of Man and people there are deeply superstitious about using the three-letter "r" word for vermin.
But the BBC News reporter had to face his fears when he was sent to cover a story in Belfast that made his blood run cold.
I winced the moment I got the nod.
I'd covered some difficult stories for the BBC but this was the most daunting in terms of subject matter.
It's not that I have an issue with the creatures themselves, it's just their name.
For the first 29 years of my life, I had never actually used the word.
But that was about to change in 2015. It was unavoidable. I had a professional obligation to utter the dreaded word - RAT.
A rat by any other name - ringie, joey or roddan are acceptable in the Isle of Man
Like any self-respecting Manxman - Isle of Man native - I had opted for other terms - "longtail" is the most common.
Others such as "ringie", "joey" or the native Gaelic word "roddan" are also acceptable.
I was out of my homeland and out of my comfort zone. I honestly thought I could hear the creatures sniggering at my plight.
But I went out and I mumbled my way around the word with the owner of the infested house.
This was a disaster. I felt embarrassed already.
Even people who move to the Isle of Man often dodge the term, whether through genuine fear of bad luck, or to avoid shock and outrage from the locals.
Some say it began with fishermen who brought their superstitions back to shore.
I knew there were three ways to stop a jinx if ever I was forced to say it: Whistle immediately afterwards; touch a piece of wood while saying it, or cross my fingers.
There's an ancient belief that killing a wren on St Stephen's Day is good luck for you... not such great luck for the wren
The interviews with the owner and environmental health officer were soon filmed and it was time for my piece to camera - almost three decades of superstition about to end.
I fidgeted, cleared my throat, and slowly climbed the ladder to the attic.
After a couple of seconds the time had come… "Rats."
Rats: "They fought the dogs and killed the cats and bit the babies in the cradles"
I said it without hesitation in an attempt to sound convincing.
My right hand squeezed the ladder. My left hand was out of shot, fingers firmly crossed.
We Manxmen are not alone.
Dr Andrew Sneddon, from Ulster University, said superstitious beliefs about rats were commonplace in Ireland in the early 20th Century.
"In County Galway, people believed that if you were plagued by rats you could get them to move on by getting an owl's quill and dipping it in raven's blood while saying 'rats be gone'," he said.
In the Middle Ages, people believed fairies could "blast" cattle and humans
"In County Cavan, there were people who used charms to banish rats for you, and in County Laois, rats were believed to be a sign of an enemy or bad luck."
It seems it is not just rats that gave our ancestors sleepless nights.
"From the Medieval period onwards, Ireland, in common with the Highlands and islands of Scotland, and the Isle of Man, fairy belief is very strong in the sense that you try not to upset the fairies because they are dangerous," said Dr Sneddon.
"They can whisk away healthy children and leave sickly changelings in their wake. They can fairy blast or elf-shoot your cattle and make them ill, they can also blast humans.
"They can also abduct you and take you away to their land. This can also happen if you step into a fairy ring, either made of mushrooms or a Neolithic stone circle.
"In Ireland, as a precaution, traditionally you don't mention the name fairy, you say gentry or good people."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-39293529
|
Man Utd 0-0 West Brom: Jose Mourinho extraordinary rant at BBC reporter - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho questions whether the game was evenly matched, despite BBC Sport's Conor McNamara insisting he was only asking the Red Devils' manager's opinion.
| null |
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho questions whether the game was evenly matched, despite BBC Sport's Conor McNamara insisting he was only asking the Red Devils' manager's opinion.
Watch highlights of all of the day's Premier League action on Match of the Day on BBC One and this website from 22:30 BST.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39468699
|
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Arsenal twice come from behind to claim a draw which leaves them seven points behind the top four in the Premier League.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsenal showed signs of recovery from their recent dismal run of form as they twice fought back from behind to draw with Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners had lost four out of their previous five Premier League games, and faced City against uncertainty surrounding manager Arsene Wenger's future, with more protests staged before kick-off.
Arsenal got off to the worst possible start when Leroy Sane put City ahead after only five minutes, running on to Kevin de Bruyne's routine pass to round David Ospina and score.
Theo Walcott capped a spell of Arsenal pressure to scramble home an equaliser five minutes before the break - but they were on terms for only two minutes before Sergio Aguero's powerful finish put City back in front.
Arsenal lost Laurent Koscielny to injury at half-time and it was his central defensive partner Shkodran Mustafi who rose above City's defence from a corner to restore parity after 53 minutes.
Aguero missed two good chances for City and manager Pep Guardiola was furious that a late handball appeal against Nacho Monreal was ignored, leaving his side in fourth and Arsenal in sixth place in the table - seven points of the top-four pace.
What does this mean for Wenger?
Two banners were held aloft at the final whistle - and both summed up the confusion currently surrounding Arsenal and manager Wenger.
One read "Forever In Your Debt - One Arsene Wenger" and the other carried the slogan "All Good Things Must Come To An End."
There were renewed protests from a noisy, but relatively small, group of Arsenal fans before kick-off to illustrate the pressure on Arsenal's manager but there were precious few signs of discontent inside the stadium.
The smart money remains on Wenger extending a stay as manager that stretches back to October 1996 - but this result and performance did little either way to clear the muddied waters around this part of north London.
Wenger insists his decision is made while Arsenal's board say the next move will be mutual - so a draw almost summed up what seems to be the current inertia among the decision-makers.
If Arsenal had won, it would certainly have made any announcement more palatable, while a loss would have made it a harder sell.
As it is, a draw means the uncertainty goes on.
Arsenal needed to show signs of fight and resilience after a desperate sequence of four defeats in their previous five Premier League games - and they certainly showed that, if not huge quality.
The Gunners twice fought back from behind in a performance that was centred on determination rather than the dazzling football of old, but Wenger can at least take some comfort from that small mercy.
Arsenal's wafer-thin confidence was exposed by the manner in which they defended for both City goals, opened up too easily by De Bruyne's routine pass for Sane's opener and losing concentration and shape far too easily to concede a second to Aguero two minutes after Walcott's equaliser.
They still display very obvious defensive faults and the Achilles injury to Koscielny, the most reliable member of their rearguard, could prove to be a significant setback in the run-in.
This is a frail Arsenal side, reduced in self-belief by that recent poor run, but avoiding defeat here may just build some momentum as they chase a place in the Premier League's top four.
City may have been offered just the slightest hope of a route back into the title race by Chelsea's surprise loss at home to Crystal Palace - and a win here against Arsenal would have further cemented their place in the top four.
So a draw represents a real missed opportunity for Guardiola and his players, who failed to take advantage of the perfect start given to them by Sane's goal.
City cut Arsenal apart in the opening phases, when De Bruyne hit the post and Ospina saved well from David Silva.
Guardiola's side play some scintillating attacking football but must discover a ruthless streak, with even the world-class Aguero missing inviting headed chances either side of Mustafi's equaliser.
City, without question, are fashioning an exciting attacking side with Sane, Aguero, Raheem Sterling, De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus to come back, but this was another example of them being a work in progress.
What the managers said
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "We were nervous and surprised by their start. I feared that we could start with the handbrake on because of the pressure we are under.
"We are in a tough battle for the top four. I am professional and I have shown great loyalty in the past.
"I love this club, I don't know how long I will be here, I am clear in my head, that's the most important thing. The decision will be soon."
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: "We didn't play in the first half, after the goal we forgot to play, the desire went. In the second half we played more.
"We suffered a lot in the first half because we did not make those passes together.
"On Wednesday we play against a team [Chelsea] who is stable in what they do. We don't have too much time to prepare but we go back to Manchester now and recover and then come back to London."
• None Arsenal have lost just one of 20 home Premier League matches against Manchester City (W12 D7).
• None Kevin de Bruyne has assisted 11 Premier League goals this season, the joint-most in the division along with Gylfi Sigurdsson; only once before has a City player assisted more goals in a single Premier League season (David Silva with 15 in 2011/12).
• None David Silva registered his 100th Premier League goal involvement with an assist for Aguero's goal - the Spaniard has scored 37 goals and assisted 63 since his debut in August 2010. His tally of 63 assists is 12 more than any other player since his debut.
• None Sane's goal after four minutes and 22 seconds was the earliest Premier League goal Arsenal had conceded at the Emirates since February 2012, when Louis Saha scored after three minutes and 51 seconds for Spurs.
• None Ten of Sergio Aguero's 14 Premier League goals this season have come away from home (71%).
• None Mesut Ozil has assisted four Premier League goals against Man City, the joint-most he has managed against an opponent (level with Aston Villa).
• None Mesut Ozil's assist in this game was his 50th for Arsenal in all competitions.
There is a full round of Premier League fixtures in midweek. Arsenal face West Ham at home on Wednesday evening, while Manchester City face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
• None Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt missed. Jesús Navas (Manchester City) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Pablo Zabaleta.
• None Attempt blocked. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jesús Navas with a cross.
• None Attempt missed. Alex Iwobi (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Héctor Bellerín.
• None Offside, Manchester City. Gaël Clichy tries a through ball, but Leroy Sané is caught offside.
• None Attempt blocked. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Sergio Agüero.
• None Attempt missed. David Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Yaya Touré following a corner.
• None Offside, Arsenal. Shkodran Mustafi tries a through ball, but Olivier Giroud is caught offside.
• None Offside, Manchester City. David Silva tries a through ball, but Leroy Sané is caught offside.
• None Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39396482
|
Joyciline Jepkosgei: Kenyan breaks four world records at Prague Half Marathon - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei breaks four world records as she storms to victory at the Prague Half Marathon.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei broke four world records as she stormed to victory at the Prague Half Marathon.
The 23-year-old completed what was just her fifth half marathon in one hour, four minutes and 52 seconds - 14 seconds quicker than the record set by Peres Jepchirchir earlier this year.
And she also clocked splits of 30:05, 45:37 and 1:01:25 to break the 10km, 15km and 20km world records on the way.
"I only wanted to improve my time. This is a surprise for me," Jepkosgei said.
"I didn't know I would break the world record today.
"But the conditions were good for me because I'm used to training at this time of day."
Defending champion Violah Jepchumba finished second - 30 seconds back - and Fancy Chemutai third, with America's sixth-placed Jordan Hasay the only non-Kenyan in the top 10.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39469056
|
Arsene Wenger praises Arsenal fans despite protests - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Gunners fans were "absolutely sensational" during their 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Gunners fans were "absolutely sensational" during their 2-2 draw with Manchester City, despite further fan protests at Emirates Stadium.
Wenger, who is under pressure following one win in six matches and a slide down the Premier League table, has faced calls to resign from some fans.
"I must say, despite all that has happened on the fans front, our fans were fantastic today," said the Frenchman, whose side twice hit back to earn a draw against City.
"In very difficult moments our fans, at 1-0 down and 2-1 down, could have turned against us but I think they were absolutely sensational to get us through those difficult moments."
Goals from Theo Walcott and Shkodran Mustafi cancelled out efforts from Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero in a performance Wenger believed "built confidence to help us to come back to our natural fluency."
• None 'If Wenger goes now, Arsenal will fall apart'
• None How Arsenal came from behind to claim point
Wenger, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been offered a two-year extension and said on 18 March he will announce his future plans "very soon".
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme that Wenger "should declare his future for the good of the club."
But when pressed on his future following Sunday's draw, he said: "I've shown great loyalty and always committed. I don't know how long I am here but I love the club and will do my best. I am clear in my mind, it will be soon, don't worry."
Arsenal are sixth in the Premier League table, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
The Gunners face West Ham at home on Wednesday and then travel to Crystal Palace the following Monday.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39474464
|
Miami Open: Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal to continue fine season start - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Roger Federer continues his excellent start to 2017 by beating Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Miami Open title.
| null |
Roger Federer overcame long-term rival Rafael Nadal to win the Miami Open for the third time and continue his remarkable start to the season.
The 35-year-old built on January's Australian Open win and his March Indian Wells success with a convincing 6-3 6-4 win over the Spaniard.
The pair shared 10 break points in the opening set, with Federer the only man to take one to crucially move 5-3 up.
He exuded control throughout, breaking at 4-4 in the second and serving out.
A sweeping backhand down the line in the final game summed up the confidence which poured from the champion from start to finish as he moved to an 11-match winning streak and improved his record to 19 wins and just one defeat in 2017.
A fourth straight win over Nadal - his longest winning streak in their 13-year professional rivalry - also makes Federer the oldest winner of the Miami Open.
He looked cool and calm throughout and his dominance this year is perhaps all the more remarkable given he took six months off through the second half of the 2016 season to recover from a knee injury.
"The dream continues," he said after the win. "It's been a fabulous couple of weeks. What a start to the year, thank you to my team and all who have supported me, especially in my more difficult challenging times last year."
Federer triumphed in his first tournament after the lay-off, beating Nadal in five sets at the Australian Open, but this time around, the Spaniard rarely looked like he would land a first Miami title in what was his fifth final.
When the pair shared their first ever meeting here in 2004, only Federer held a Grand Slam title. They have now amassed 32 in total and like so often in the past, they contested each point with ferocity, making the two breaks of serve Federer secured critical.
"It's disappointing that every time in my career I have stood here I get the smaller trophy," said Nadal. "It's been a very good two weeks for me. Even if I lost for the third time this year to Roger it's a good start, playing three finals."
Nadal - who also lost to American Sam Querrey in the Mexican Open final this year - failed to take two break points in the opening game of the match at Crandon Park Tennis Center and defended two successfully to level at 2-2.
Though the first six games of the second set went with serve, Federer always held more comfortably. He forced a first break point at 3-3, only for Nadal to expertly read a cross-court effort with the pair exposed at the net.
Nadal's consequent fist pump evoked memories of see-saw exchanges they have shared over the years and he punched the air after defending a second break point to take the game - showcasing belief he could yet disturb Federer's seemingly unflappable rhythm.
But at 4-4, a Federer backhand barely crossed the net after hitting the tape, forcing Nadal to race forward and desperately flick the ball back, leaving his end of the court exposed for the 18-time Grand Slam winner to deliver a telling lob.
It gave him the chance to serve out the win and Nadal went long moments later, ensuring Federer's stellar start to the year continued.
It is 11 years since Roger Federer last completed the Indian Wells and Miami double, so add 'staggering stamina' to his rapidly increasing list of attributes for 2017.
At 35, though, Federer is also proving he is a realist and a pragmatist. Who is to say he would not have been able to piece together a very handy clay court season to increase his chances of becoming world number one once more?
But Federer knows even he can't keep up this relentless success - on all surfaces - over an 11-month season. Thus this eight-week break from tour to be followed by an appearance at the French Open where, even as a long shot for the title, he will remain the tournament's star turn.
And in his mind - with Wimbledon and the US Open still to come - it is at Roland Garros that the season really begins.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39473877
|
St Johnstone: Red card pair Swanson & Foster set for 'severe' punishments - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright says Danny Swanson and Richard Foster face severe punishments for brawling with each other.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
St Johnstone players Danny Swanson and Richard Foster are set to face "severe" punishments for brawling with each other in the 1-0 defeat at Hamilton, manager Tommy Wright says.
The Perth club has suspended the team-mates pending a club investigation, which will start on Monday.
Wright told BBC Scotland that "if what's alleged" to have occurred did in fact happen "we'll come down severely hard on both".
Referee Don Robertson sent off both players during the break.
Wright, whose side confirmed their top six place due to results elsewhere, says he did not see the incident as he had already started walking up the tunnel following the half time whistle.
BBC Scotland reporter Jonathan Sutherland saw Foster throw a punch at Swanson, who retaliated by aiming a kick at the defender after he had slipped.
"I haven't seen it with my own eyes but obviously something happened," said Wright.
"I'm going to wait and see for myself. The players have been told they let themselves down, and let the team down. We should be celebrating confirming our top six place tonight.
"Under no circumstance will they get off lightly if what is alleged to have happened has happened. The hardest punishment I can do legally with them, I'll do it."
Wright was angry that the incident left his side up against it in the second half, and that the shine was taken off the Saints confirming a top six berth.
"It's another great achievement getting the top six," he added. "We showed a lot of character and should have had a penalty. (Georgios) Sarris has got arms all over Murray Davidson and that should have been a penalty kick.
"The boys were magnificent and probably deserved a point but they didn't get it."
Hamilton player Ali Crawford was shown a yellow card and assistant manager Guillaume Beuzelin sent to the stand after becoming involved in the chaotic scenes that followed the incident between Foster and Swanson.
However, manager Martin Canning told BBC Scotland: "I would rather be talking about us. It is not something you want to see, but it is a passionate game and sometimes it spills over.
"My players acted well. I think Darian MacKinnon was just trying to separate them and calm things down.
"I don't think I have to take any action against my players."
Hamilton moved off bottom spot in the table thanks to the win, sealed by a late Alex D'Acol goal. They are 11th on 27 points, two clear of bottom club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
"With 11 against 11 in the first half, I thought we were excellent and we kept going and got a huge three points," Canning added.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39467430
|
Chelsea's defeat by Crystal Palace makes title race interesting, says Antonio Conte - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Chelsea's surprise defeat by Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge makes the title race 'ore interesting', says Blues boss Antonio Conte.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea's surprise defeat by Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge makes the title race "more interesting", says Blues boss Antonio Conte.
The Premier League leaders suffered only their second home defeat of the season as Palace boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win.
Tottenham's win at Burnley means they are seven points behind Chelsea.
"For (the media) it's a good result, because it makes this more interesting in the championship," Conte said.
"But I always said the league finishes when you have the mathematical certainty that you won. Otherwise you must fight, you must play every game to try to win."
'Spurs will fight for the title'
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says he and his players still believe they can catch Chelsea following their 2-0 win at Burnley.
"It's an important, a massive three points for us to still believe we can fight for the title," said the Argentine.
"We showed great belief and character and faith. That makes us proud."
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown on Match of the Day
"I don't think it can be done. But Tottenham have been brilliant since the turn of the year. They're the two best teams and let's see what they can do."
Prior to Palace's visit, Chelsea had not lost in any competition since a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on 4 January.
It looked like they were on course for another victory when Cesc Fabregas struck early on, but two quick goals from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke secured a fourth successive win for Palace.
The Eagles, having looked in real danger of going down earlier this season, are now four points clear of the relegation zone.
"Nobody expected it," said Palace boss Sam Allardyce, who has never been relegated from the Premier League as a manager.
"It's an absolutely outstanding victory for us, particularly in the position we're in."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39469628
|
Arsene Wenger: Arsenal boss says 'retirement is dying' as he vows to continue - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger repeats his desire to manage next season as "retirement is dying" for people of his age.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has reiterated his desire to manage next season as he believes "retirement is dying" for people of his age.
Wenger, 67, has been criticised by some fans after the Gunners slipped to sixth in the Premier League following four defeats in their past five games.
A 10-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League added to the pressure on the Frenchman.
But Wenger, who has been at Arsenal since 1996, said: "I will not retire."
His contract expires at the end of the season but the club has offered a new two-year deal. Wenger has said he will make a decision on his future "very soon".
"Retiring is for young people," said Wenger, speaking before Sunday's league match at home to Manchester City.
"For old people retirement is dying. I still watch every football game. I find it interesting."
Wenger is into his 21st year as Arsenal manager but he has not led the Gunners to a Premier League title in 13 years.
"Of course I'm as hungry," he said. "I carry a bit more pressure on my shoulders than 20 years ago - but the hunger is exactly the same.
"When you see what the club was and what it is today - when I arrived we were seven people [members of staff], we are 700 today."
He added: "I hate defeat. I can understand the fans that are unhappy with every defeat but the only way to have victory is to stick together with the fans and give absolutely everything until the end of the season, that's all we can do."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39470336
|
Is it foolish for a woman to cycle alone across the Middle East? - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
When Rebecca Lowe set off solo from the UK for Iran by bicycle, friends thought she had taken leave of her senses.
|
Magazine
|
When Rebecca Lowe set off solo from the UK for Iran by bicycle, her friends thought she had taken leave of her senses. But although she had to endure gropers, extreme heat and heavy-handed police, most of the people she met were a long way removed from stereotypes.
The day I left London to embark on a 6,000-mile (10,000km), year-long cycle to Tehran, I was deeply unprepared.
I wasn't fit. I had never used panniers. I had no sense of direction. It was six years since I had last ridden up a hill.
But for all my doubts, I was dedicated to the task at hand. My aims were simple: develop enviably shapely calves, survive and shed light on a region long misunderstood by the West.
Mostly, I wanted to show that the bulk of the Middle East is far from the volatile hub of violence and fanaticism people believe. And that a woman could cycle through it safely.
Not everyone had faith in my ability to do so, however. "We think you'll probably die," one friend told me before I left. "We've put the odds at about 60:40."
Others were less optimistic.
A man in the pub said I was a "naive idiot who would end up decapitated in a ditch - at best". A good friend sent me a copy of Rudyard Kipling's If, stressing the importance of keeping "your head when all about you / Are losing theirs".
Yet I remained tentatively confident. The region may be politically precarious, but the people I knew from experience to be warm and kind.
Crime rates were low and terrorist strongholds isolated and avoidable. Even exposed on a bike, I felt my odds of staying alive weren't bad.
I'd chosen a bicycle for its simplicity and slowness of pace, and its immersive, worm's-eye view. On a bike you don't just observe the world but are absorbed within it. You are seen as unthreatening and endearingly unhinged, and are welcomed into people's lives.
I set off in July 2015. Over the next four months I inched my way with sluggish determination across Europe.
As summer bled into autumn, my stamina gradually grew - along with my thighs. By Bosnia they were formidable. By Bulgaria they had developed their own gravitational field.
But leaving Europe was nerve-wracking. I was now outside my comfort zone, in the relative unknown.
In front of me lay Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Oman, the UAE and Iran. Pre-warned about men, terrorists and traffic, I began the next leg of my journey with caution.
I swiftly relaxed, however. A truck driver stopped just to hand me a satsuma. A cafe owner gave me his earmuffs. Dozens of others offered food, water, lifts and lodgings, and endless varieties of kebab.
Throughout the Middle East, it was the same. Doors were forever flung wide to greet this strange, two-wheeled anomaly who was surely in need of help, and possibly psychiatric care.
My hosts varied widely: rich and poor, mullahs and atheists, Bedouin and businessmen, niqab-clad women and qabaa-robed men. Every person and community was different, but certain traits linked them all: kindness, curiosity and tolerance.
In Sudan, families fed me endless vats of ful (bean stew) and let me sleep in their modest mud-brick houses. One Nubian family gently restored me to health after I ran out of water in the Sahara and collapsed, vomiting and delirious, on their doorstep: the lowest point of the trip, and the only time I experienced true panic.
Iranian hospitality felt like a soft protective cloak, omnipresent and ever-reliable. So much wonderful, impractical food was given to me by passers-by - watermelons, bread, bags of cucumbers - that much had to be discarded.
Persian culture pulsed with contradictions. On my first day, the police admonished me for removing my headscarf in blazing heat under a tree. Minutes later the officer's sister-in-law was serving me khoresh gheimeh (lamb and split pea stew) in her nearby bungalow.
The trip was not all blissfully trouble-free, of course.
There were the sex pests, for a start. In Jordan, Egypt and Iran, I was groped, ogled and propositioned with disappointing regularity.
In Egypt, one randy tuk-tuk driver got his comeuppance following a juicy bum squeeze by being beaten to a pulp by the police convoy on my tail - my horror at their brutality only outdone by my undisguised glee.
In Jordan, a truck driver who'd picked me up following a puncture repeatedly asked for kisses and grabbed my breasts. Fortunately his bravado ceased abruptly at the sight of my penknife wafting ominously close to his crotch.
Such incidents angered me intensely, and were often frightening and unsettling. Lechery is hardly a preserve of the Middle East, but there were areas where strains of patriarchy and entitlement ran deep.
I realised quickly, however, that these men were not monsters. They were ignorant and often ill-educated. Not to mention severely sexually frustrated within a culture where physical intimacy is shameful and stigmatised.
They were more cowardly opportunists than malicious aggressors, and it was usually easy enough to send them scuttling cravenly on their way.
There were certain things no-one could help with, however. The traffic was obscene by Turkey and got progressively worse. The heat was obscene by Sudan - upwards of 40 C - and also got progressively worse.
Toilets were a serious concern. In the remote gold mining regions of northern Sudan, where few women ventured, there simply weren't any.
"Look around you," a man at one roadside shack told me, gesturing to the entirely exposed desert behind him. "The Sahara is your toilet."
The most worrisome issue, however, was political. Across the region, repression was palpable, and foreign journalists clearly weren't welcome.
Don't tell the authorities your profession, I was told, or others would pay the price too. I took this advice - yet it was hard to feel at ease.
In Egypt, ruled by a heavy-handed military regime, tourists were tightly controlled and protected. The police were suffocating in their oversight, escorting me 500 miles (800km) down the Nile and aggressively grilling everyone I met.
In Iran, I was given more freedom. Yet foreigners are not permitted to stay with locals without permission, and several of my hosts endured an intense grilling by police. Some of those aware of my profession declined any contact at all due to fear of repercussion.
Everywhere I went, security and oppression continually curbed freedom and dissent.
In Turkey, pro-Kurdish human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi was killed by an unknown gunman a few days after we met. In Sudan, two students were killed in clashes with regime forces and supporters during my brief stay in Khartoum.
In Jordan and Lebanon, refugee camps were visibly struggling to cope with the growing numbers of Syrians fleeing war.
The enduring impression was a region in crisis, stretched hopelessly between tyranny and terror. Yet there was light along the way - and that light was the people.
"The world shouldn't judge us by our politics," a member of the Center for Civil Society and Democracy, a Syrian activist group I spent Christmas with, told me. "We hate our politics. We should be judged by ourselves."
And that, for me, is the nub of the matter.
The Middle East is a risky place, but the risks are primarily political. Beyond the pockets of conflict and terror highlighted daily in the media lies a broader reality: that of warm, compassionate communities living normal, everyday lives.
So is it safe for a woman to cycle alone across the Middle East? With the right precautions, yes.
Would I let my daughter do it? Absolutely not in a month of Sundays - are you mad?
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39351162
|
The Boat Races: William Warr set to face ex-Cambridge team-mates with Oxford - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
William Warr is the third person in the history of the Boat Races to switch sides, and his ex-Cambridge team-mates won't talk to him.
| null |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC Sport website and the sport app.
There are supposed to be only two options. In or out. Cambridge or Oxford. You can't be both.
In the long history of one of sport's most enduring rivalries, just two men have crossed the line.
When the the 163rd Boat Race gets under way on the river Thames on Sunday, William Warr will be going up against his old team-mates, rowing for Oxford against his former Cambridge team.
"It hasn't been easy. It was a decision I had to make, but guys I was really close with now barely speak to me any more," he told BBC Sport.
"Some have said they really hope I lose, that they completely disagree with what I'm doing, which I understand. It is a very strong bond.
"But life does go on. You need to think about your career - we are students, sometimes people forget that - and the research I am doing can help save lives, so to not go and do that because of some old rivalry would be selfish."
• None Read more: The Beeb and the Boat Race
Warr, 25, rowed for Cambridge in the 2015 event. They lost, as Oxford claimed their 11th success since 2000.
But Cambridge did win last year - without Warr, who is now doing a PhD at Oxford.
He knew it was the only place where elite rowing could live alongside his field of study. And he knew it when he was still on speaking terms with the Cambridge fold.
"I came to Oxford to do this PhD on how to prevent chronic disease in some of the poorest parts of the UK," he explains.
"I also want to go to the Olympics in 2020, so the only way to combine the two aspirations was to come here.
"I spoke to Cambridge's president, we talked through the options, laid everything out, and really it was only way to go."
It could have been worse, you might say. Warr was only at Cambridge for nine months. Nine months is a long time in comradeship and toil, but the silent treatment will feel like a price worth paying if Oxford slide through Sunday's 6.8km Championship Course the quicker. Especially because of the history involved.
The Dark Blues (Oxford) trail the Light Blues (Cambridge) by 79 victories to 82 since the race began, in 1829.
But nearly two centuries on, there is no suggestion of inside knowledge tipping the scales.
"The Oxford people aren't interested in knowing what Cambridge are doing, and nor would I tell them anything," he says.
"They trust the coach, Sean Bowden, and they've been very successful over the past 15 years. I think they know enough not to worry too much.
"The two coaching programmes are slightly different on techniques, but there are similarities, and we train pretty much the same hours at both Oxford and Cambridge. The weekly timetable is really similar.
"But it will be a bit strange for me on the start-line. Because it's a special race."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/39424011
|
The enduring appeal of Adrian Mole, aged 50 - BBC News
|
2017-04-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The fictional diarist has reached his half-century, but what is the secret behind his success?
|
Leicester
|
Adrian Mole, the angst-ridden diarist created by the late Sue Townsend, reaches his 50th birthday on 2 April. His diaries, over eight volumes, made Townsend one of the best-selling British authors of recent decades. But what made the character so compelling?
Stephen Mangan played Mole in the 2001 TV adaption of Townsend's The Cappuccino Years and worked closely with the writer on bringing him to life on screen.
Now aged 48, he began reading the Secret Diary as a teenager.
"Obviously when you read it as a 13 or 14-year-old you miss some of the nuances, but what's so clever about the books is that you get so many different perspectives," he says.
"It's written from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy, but it's also there's the story of [his separating] parents. It's a very clever trick, because through his lack of awareness you learn so much about marriage, parenting and life.
"A lot of the poignancy and depth of the book is revealed to you later when you're a little bit older."
Mole's waspish observations of the politics of the day are another feature of Townsend's books. He criticises Margaret Thatcher, the Falklands War and - in later editions - New Labour and Tony Blair.
"Sue was very engaged politically and socially tuned in to what was going on, and Adrian was her way in to discuss that," Mangan adds.
"She deals with big cultural phenomena through the books and with characters you love and sympathise with.
"We can be very entrenched in our attitudes, and with comedy, especially one based on a dweeby and nerdy loser like Adrian, bypasses this.
"We still read Jane Austen today, despite those books being a satire of the social scene at the time - if it's done with that amount of wit, warmth and intelligence it becomes universal."
In the early 1980s, while Mole was worrying about his spots and dreaming about his beloved Pandora, author Nina Stibbe was leaving their hometown of Leicester for London.
Then a young nanny - and now a successful novelist in her own right - she instantly recognised the problems occupying Mole.
"I read it when it first came out and - although I was 19 not 13 and had just moved to London - it was interesting because it was like a vindication," she says.
"He was neurotic, he was anxious, but he didn't mind about it, he just got on with worrying, and it was the same stuff that I was worrying about.
"He was worrying about his family, his mother's drinking and promiscuity, and I think it was the first time there was a character doing this sort of thing in such a charming way."
Stibbe's collection of letters Love, Nina chronicles her time observing the London literary scene of the 1980s (she was employed as a nanny by Kay Wilmers, editor of the London Review of Books, and frequent visitors to the houses included Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller).
"When the first diary came out I was living in London, I was a nanny, and I was around all these very accomplished writers and playwrights, and they were all loving [Mole]," she adds.
"I think people can identify with him - the way he worries about things that might go wrong is something that affects us all, whether it's health or what's happening next year.
"I wrote about divorce once, and I thought about [Mole's parents] George and Pauline's marriage, because it's so interestingly done - my parents had lots of friends like that.
"It was all so real, and Sue was writing from experience. The main thing is that it's hilarious, that's the nub and the magic of it."
Louise Moore grew up reading the Mole diaries - and years later wrote a fan letter to Townsend which led to a long-lasting friendship.
When Townsend asked Moore to publish The Cappuccino Years, in which Mole has a brief stint as a celebrity chef before moving back to his native Leicestershire, she described it as "like winning the Lottery".
"I'd just left school [when I read the Secret Diary...] and I loved it," she said.
"It's the quintessential humour that I love.
She says Mole's "everyman" qualities kept fans on his side throughout his struggles with life.
"Sue was very clear that she didn't want Adrian to grow up and be unappealing," she adds.
"She knew him so well, she'd said that when she was writing other books she'd start to think about him, and he followed her through her life.
"He was her mouthpiece in a way. He's very ridiculous and naïve, but he also has a great wisdom and empathy for the human condition.
"He quietly triumphs in the face of almost constant adversity - he's one of the world's unsung, ordinary heroes."
Leicester is the backdrop for much of the Mole books, but it's importance to the character - and Townsend - is often overlooked, says Dr Corinne Fowler, an associate professor at the University of Leicester.
"Sue was very connected to the region," she says.
"At her funeral one of the actors who was involved in the first production said she insisted she took the local actors with her when it transferred to London because of her commitment to the local arts scene.
"Apparently there were a few references to Leicester in the early manuscripts, but it seems the editor must have asked them to be removed. I think that tells you something about literary culture... anywhere outside London risked being seen as parochial if it includes the local references for a region. Later on I would imagine she had that authority to put those [references] in."
Mole's appeal has always been much wider, though, and to mark his half-century, three new radio plays featuring the character have been commissioned by the university's Centre for New Writing.
"[Townsend] would have had a field day with Brexit," adds Dr Fowler. "She would have given a voice to the grievances of the Remainers and the political developments across the decade.
"But I think it's interesting how it transcends places. Much of it's a comment on Thatcher's Britain, about growing up in poverty in the UK, about so many national things pertinent to the UK.
"So it's incredible to have someone growing up in Sao Paulo, for example, and understanding and liking it."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-39290618
|
Wasps chief David Armstrong to 'look at' possible Super League club - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Wasps chief executive David Armstrong tells BBC Radio 5 live's Rugby League podcast about his interest in the setting up a Super League club in Coventry.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby League
Rugby union side Wasps have revealed they are interested in the possibility of setting up a Super League club in Coventry.
But they say they need to bring more rugby league events to the Ricoh Arena before considering whether to start a franchise.
"We're trying to grow awareness of the sport," Wasps chief executive David Armstrong told the BBC RL podcast.
"If that did work, then we would have a serious look at it."
Wasps moved into their Coventry base just over two years ago after spells ground-sharing with football clubs QPR and Wycombe Wanderers.
This season they expect to average over 17,000 for home matches.
They hosted rugby league for the first time with the Four Nations double-header last November - Australia v New Zealand and England v Scotland - which attracted over 21,000 spectators.
"We thought that was an outstanding success," said Armstrong. "There was 8,000 or 9,000 fans from this region who purchased tickets and came along on the night. That was very encouraging for us."
'We want to make sure we're ready for it'
Wakefield chairman Michael Carter recently told the BBC that brief discussions had taken place among Super League clubs about the possibility of relocation.
And the RFL says it would consider any application to move a current Super League side into a new town or city. Coventry already has a semi-pro league side - the Bears - who play in League 1.
"I should think it will have its challenges with the fan-base," said Armstrong.
"So we're looking very carefully at how rugby league expands and how we can build our audience in the Midlands and around Coventry.
"I think that's a bit of a stretch at the moment. Before we got as far as that, we'd have to work hard on establishing our audience.
"It's a big venture and we'd want to make sure our fan-base and our audience is ready for it, rather than building it from scratch or on a little bit of hope."
Wasps missed out on hosting this year's Magic Weekend - on which every Super League fixture is played in one venue over one weekend - with Newcastle's St James' Park accommodating the event in May.
But Armstrong says they will push hard to host next year's event at the Ricoh.
"This year we submitted a bid and we discovered that all bar one club in Super League is closer to Coventry than Newcastle," he said.
"So we know we are not far away from the heartland, we know we've got a strong and interested audience, so our dipping the toe in the water will probably continue. We'll bid for it again for next year."
• None Sign up for rugby league news notifications on the BBC Sport app
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/39461193
|
Johanna Konta: Miami Open winner is targeting world number one spot - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Britain's Johanna Konta will move to seventh in the rankings after claiming the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Britain's Johanna Konta is targeting the world number one ranking after claiming the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open.
The 25-year-old British number one beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 to claim £940,000 in prize money and is set to climb to seventh in the world.
Konta was the world number 146 in June 2015, but she believes a Grand Slam title and further progress is possible.
"The belief has been there since I was a little girl," she said.
"I'd like to be the best player in the world but there's a lot of work to be done between now and then.
"Everybody's journey is different. I needed a little more time and a little more experience to accumulate the knowledge that I have and re-use it in my matches.
"I play smart tennis and calmer tennis I think. It just took time. On paper it looks like a quick turnaround but it's been a long time coming."
Former Fed Cup captain Judy Murray - mother of Andy - has previously suggested the turnaround began with a heavy defeat in a match against Belarus in February 2015.
Murray put that down to Konta's "really bad performance anxiety", describing the result as "a bit of a horror".
But her skill at handling the pressure of elite-level sport is now one of her biggest assets.
Konta herself has credited the influence of former mental coach Juan Coto, who died in December.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live following his death, Konta said: "Everything that I do, he will be a part of. He left me with some incredible tools to deal with my profession and also life. He is still very much a part of my journey."
She is working with a new coach this season - having made a surprise decision to replace Spaniard Esteban Carril towards the end of 2016, the most successful year of her career so far.
Under the guidance of Wim Fissette, Konta won January's Sydney International without dropping a set, before now claiming her first success at a higher level - the top 'Premier Mandatory' rung of the WTA Tour - in Miami.
"She has big ground strokes, not many weaknesses, and I also saw her as somebody who is very hard-working and very disciplined," Fissette told BBC Sport during the Australian Open, where Konta made the quarter-finals.
"I started working with her because I really believe she can win a Grand Slam if she keeps getting better like this."
In October, Konta became only the fourth British woman to make the top 10 since the WTA rankings began in 1975 - after Jo Durie, Virginia Wade and Sue Barker.
"I think it was probably a combination of everything, but also a question of maturity," Konta said of her rise on Saturday.
"I was very fortunate that throughout the years I've managed to have some very, very good people around me.
"The more I was able to absorb from them, their knowledge and wisdom, and the more I was able to reinvest that into the matches that I played, that's the reason I'm here now."
Only one other player has gathered more ranking points in 2017 than Johanna Konta, but more importantly the new world number seven has now successfully negotiated the perfect dress rehearsal for a Grand Slam.
Six victories over 10 days against the very best in the world in one of the WTA's Big Four tournaments is the perfect stepping stone to Grand Slam success.
Wimbledon should provide Konta with as good an opportunity as the Australian and US Opens - where she has already had so much joy - but now it is time for the clay: a surface on which Konta is still to prove herself.
BBC Sport's Piers Newbery: Konta continues to amaze. Last year was the first time she was ranked high enough to even play in Miami. And not at her best this week.
BBC tennis commentator David Law: Hope Konta can crack it at Wimbledon where she would fully enter the general public's consciousness. Can be a powerful positive role-model.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39470072
|
Miami Open: Roger Federer will limit clay season after beating Rafael Nadal - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Roger Federer says he "probably" will not play again until the French Open, despite winning the Miami Open - his third title of 2017.
| null |
Roger Federer expects to take nearly two months off after winning the Miami Open with his only 2017 clay-court tournament being the French Open.
The 35-year-old beat Rafael Nadal in Miami on Sunday, to win his third title since January.
Federer, who sat out the second half of 2016 to recover from a knee injury, says rest will help him prepare for the French Open, which starts on 28 May.
"When I am healthy and feeling good, I can produce tennis like this," he said.
"When I am not feeling this good there is no chance I will be in the finals competing with Rafa," the 18-time Grand Slam winner told ESPN on court after the win.
"That is why this break is coming in the clay-court season, focusing everything on the French, the grass and then the hard courts after that.
"I'm not 24 any more so things have changed in a big way and I probably won't play any clay-court event except the French."
Rafa to 'tear it into pieces'
Federer has won the Roland Garros tournament once in 2009. If he sticks to his plan, he would sit out clay events such as the Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, Rome Masters and Istanbul Open - the last clay tournament he won in 2015.
The break in Federer's season arrives during his best start to a campaign since 2006. Back then he won 33 of his first 34 matches of the year, compared to his current run of 19 wins and one defeat.
Victory over Nadal sealed a third Miami Open title and added to wins at the Australian Open and Indian Wells this season.
"The dream continues," Federer said after the win. "It's been a fabulous couple of weeks. What a start to the year, thank you to my team and all who have supported me, especially in my more difficult challenging times last year."
In his on-court interview, Federer backed Nadal, who has himself been hampered by injury, for clay success.
"I know everybody is working very hard on your team to get you back in shape, and keep going," said Federer. "The clay courts are around, so I'm sure you are going to tear it into pieces over there."
It is 11 years since Roger Federer last completed the Indian Wells and Miami double, so add 'staggering stamina' to his rapidly increasing list of attributes for 2017.
At 35, though, Federer is also proving he is a realist and a pragmatist. Who is to say he would not have been able to piece together a very handy clay-court season to increase his chances of becoming world number one once more?
But Federer knows even he can't keep up this relentless success, on all surfaces, over an 11-month season. Thus this eight-week break from the tour to be followed by an appearance at the French Open where, even as a long shot for the title, he will remain the tournament's star turn.
And in Federer's mind - with Wimbledon and the US Open still to come - it is at Roland Garros that the season really begins.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39474913
|
Miami Open: Johanna Konta's winning moment against Caroline Wozniacki - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Britain's Johanna Konta wins the biggest title of her career by beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 in the Miami Open final.
| null |
Britain's Johanna Konta wins the biggest title of her career by beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 in the Miami Open final.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39473898
|
Celtic's target is now a domestic treble, says Mikael Lustig - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-02
| null |
Defender Mikael Lustig says Celtic will now focus on securing a domestic treble after winning a sixth successive title.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Celtic will target a domestic treble now they have secured a sixth successive league title, according to right-back Mikael Lustig.
Brendan Rodgers' side had already lifted the Scottish League Cup before securing the Premiership title with a 5-0 thrashing of Hearts on Sunday.
Celtic are in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, so a clean sweep is possible.
"It's our main goal now," Lustig told BBC Scotland. "We play for Celtic and every game we want to win."
• None A fitting way to win title, says Rodgers
Celtic are unbeaten domestically in both cup and league since the start of the season and face city rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final on 23 April.
Asked if finishing the season unbeaten is realistic, despite Rodgers promising to rest some players before the end of the campaign, Lustig said: "Absolutely. It is going to be tough and we have to stay humble and remain focused, but we've got a big squad and people coming in who can do the job."
Previous manager Ronny Deila won two successive titles and Lustig believes performances have improved this season under Rodgers.
"The players got a lot more confident and the main thing is the manager and backroom staff work with us every day to keep us focused," said the Sweden defender.
"We knew we had really good players in the squad and we took in some players for this season who made a really big impact.
"But, even with the same players as last season, the confidence is much higher now."
Celtic also began their league campaign with a 2-1 win against Hearts at Tynecastle.
"It has been a brilliant season and it's really nice to settle it here," said Lustig.
"We set up some goals before the season and the first game of the season was against Hearts here and it's really nice to win the title here as well."
Celtic have another Glasgow derby to contend with before the cup semi-final, with in-form Partick Thistle visiting on Premiership duty.
"It doesn't matter that we have won the league," said Lustig.
"We will focus again on Partick Thistle on Wednesday and getting three points there."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39472820
|
England v Argentina: Dylan Hartley, Joe Launchbury & George Ford in squad - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
England head coach Eddie Jones names 15 uncapped players in his 31-man squad to tour Argentina in June.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
England head coach Eddie Jones has named 15 uncapped players in his 31-man squad to tour Argentina in June.
Dylan Hartley will be captain after being left out of the Lions squad.
Flanker Sam Underhill, New Zealand-born cross-code convert Denny Solomona, and fly-half Piers Francis - who will join Northampton from Auckland Blues in the summer - are included.
There are also call-ups for Sale twins Ben and Tom Curry, 18, as well as Saracens forward Nick Isiekwe, 19.
London Irish wing Joe Cokanasiga and Harry Mallinder of Northampton are included too.
After missing out on selection for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, the likes of Joe Launchbury, James Haskell, Chris Robshaw, George Ford and Mike Brown all are included, but there is no place for Danny Cipriani, Christian Wade or Semesa Rokoduguni.
Harlequins player Jack Clifford and Sam Jones of Wasps are unavailable through injury.
"We are looking forward to going to Argentina and winning 2-0," said head coach Jones.
Australian Glen Ella, who coached England on tour last summer, will again join Jones' backroom team.
On the tour, England will face their hosts in San Juan on Saturday 10 June and in Santa Fe a week later.
At a news conference, Jones said he did not want to get involved in debate about the Lions squad.
"You miss out on a Lions tour and you get an England tour - it's not a bad second prize," said the Australian.
"If I can develop three or four of these guys to be better than the Lions guys, it will be a successful tour.
"It's going to be a tough tour, but my job is to improve the squad. It's a great opportunity where we can bring a bunch of young, enthusiastic and potentially good players into the squad at one time."
Even though 16 men are away with the Lions, this is a startling squad from Eddie Jones, with almost half of the touring party uncapped.
There are four men who helped clinch the Under 20s Grand Slam, one who recently qualified in Denny Solomona, while Sam Underhill and Piers Francis will both tour before they have played for their Premiership clubs.
Jones will lean on a wealth of experience - with all the main Lions casualties on this trip - but the abundance of youth points to a healthy future for English rugby.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39652871
|
Manchester United 2-1 RSC Anderlecht aet (agg 3-2) - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Marcus Rashford scores in extra time to send Manchester United through to the Europa League semi-finals at Anderlecht's expense.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Marcus Rashford's extra-time goal sent Manchester United into the Europa League semi-final at the expense of Anderlecht on a night of tension at Old Trafford.
The Europa League has acquired huge significance for United and manager Jose Mourinho as it offers a potential route into the Champions League, away from the battle for top-four places in the Premier League - making this victory crucial.
United took the lead on the night and in the tie when Henrikh Mkhitaryan drilled in a low finish in the 10th minute but Anderlecht restored parity when Sofiane Hanni scrambled home an equaliser after 32 minutes.
Mourinho's side were their own worst enemies with a shocking display of finishing as they missed chance after chance, their cause also undermined by injuries to defender Marcos Rojo in the first half and a serious-looking knee injury to top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the end of normal time.
United were facing the prospect of a penalty shootout but Rashford, a scorer against Chelsea at the weekend, made the decisive contribution after 107 minutes with a brilliant turn and finish from Marouane Fellaini's knockdown.
Manchester United flirted with an exit from the Europa League here - and if they had gone out they would only have had themselves to blame.
As on so many occasions this season, United created multiple chances only to waste the opportunities and leave themselves hostages to fortune and the threatening counter-attacks of Anderlecht.
Rashford, Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba were all guilty of a succession of bad misses as the flaw that has undermined United all season reared its ugly head once more and kept Anderlecht in contention right until the final whistle in extra time.
On this occasion, at least, United rescued themselves with Rashford's goal but Mourinho will know his side must discover the killer touch from somewhere if they are to secure the Champions League place that must be the minimum requirement from this season.
United can celebrate another step towards winning the Europa League and the Champions League place that comes with it - but this may yet prove to be expensive night for Mourinho as the season reaches its climax.
The biggest concern will surround Ibrahimovic, whose knee looked to give way as he challenged for a high ball in the final moments of normal time. He managed to get to his feet and wave away the waiting stretcher but was helped off as he limped down the tunnel at the Stretford End.
Ibrahimovic had actually had a nightmare before his injury but his influence this season has been huge and United will anxiously await the medical update.
Rashford has delivered against Chelsea and here against Anderlecht, offering the pace and movement which the 35-year-old Swede cannot, but the loss of Ibrahimovic would still be a setback of major significance after his 28 goals this season.
And there will be almost equal concern about the injury to Rojo that saw the central defender taken off on a stretcher in the first half. He had received lengthy treatment previously before collapsing in a second challenge. United are already without injured central defenders Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, so they can ill-afford to lose Rojo.
This was a vital victory for Manchester United - but it may yet be victory at a heavy price.
Mourinho still on course
When Mourinho was appointed United manager, it was with the express intention of bringing more trophies to Old Trafford - but also putting the club back in the Champions League.
Mourinho may be taking the scenic route and learning to love a competition he derided for so long, but with the fight for the top four in the Premier League so tight and with United facing tough trips to Manchester City and Arsenal in the run-in, the Europa League provides a welcome safety net.
The poor relation of European football's competitions has suddenly acquired crucial status at Old Trafford, as the celebrations at the conclusion of extra time proved.
Mkhitaryan among the goals again. The stats
• None Jose Mourinho has won his past nine European home games as manager, including all six with Man Utd this season.
• None Man Utd are unbeaten in their past 26 games in all competitions at Old Trafford (W17 D9); their longest unbeaten run since October 2011 (37 games).
• None Anderlecht have never won in 18 previous away games against English sides (D2 L16), conceding in every contest.
• None Henrikh Mkhitaryan has scored in five of his past six Europa League games.
• None Mkhitaryan has scored in three successive appearances (all comps) for Man Utd for the second time this season.
• None Only Genk (25) and Roma (24) have scored more goals in the Europa League this season than Anderlecht (23).
Manchester United switch their focus back to the Premier League as they travel to Burnley on Sunday (14:15 BST) before travelling to Manchester City on 27 April (20:00).
• None Attempt missed. Kara (RSC Anderlecht) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ivan Obradovic.
• None Offside, Manchester United. Henrikh Mkhitaryan tries a through ball, but Anthony Martial is caught offside.
• None Attempt blocked. Uros Spajic (RSC Anderlecht) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Youri Tielemans.
• None Attempt saved. Frank Acheampong (RSC Anderlecht) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kara with a headed pass.
• None Attempt saved. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
• None Goal! Manchester United 2, RSC Anderlecht 1. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Marouane Fellaini with a headed pass. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39611675
|
The 13 MPs who opposed snap general election - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A total of 13 MPs voted against an early general election. We look at who they are and why they said no.
|
UK Politics
|
Parliament voted for an early general election on Wednesday, with 522 MPs in favour. However, 13 voted no. But who are the 13 and why are they against the poll?
When did he first win his seat? 1987
What positions has he held? Parliamentary commissioner for administration (June 1987 - March 1997), Health Committee member (October 2005 - November 2007), Public Administration Committee member (July 1997 - May 2001).
Why did he vote no? Mr Campbell is 73 and has been treated for stomach cancer. However, he is on the road to recovery after an operation and chemotherapy. He announced earlier on Wednesday he would stand again for election as it would be the party's national executive committee who would choose his replacement rather than the local party - not something he was keen on.
When did she first win her seat? 1984
What positions has she held in the party? Shadow secretary of state for international development (January 1989 - January 1992), shadow secretary of state for Wales (July 1992 - November 1992), shadow minister for culture, media and sport (November 1992 - January 1993), chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party (May 2005 - December 2006).
Why did she vote no? The Welsh MP said the only reason the prime minister called the election was a "cut and run tactic" because of how difficult Brexit negotiations will be. As a former MEP, she said members of the European Parliament were "not going to roll over with a handshake and a smile, they are going to talk tough and be tough". Ms Clwyd added: "Nobody is ready for this general election. I do think this is an irrelevance considering what is happening in the world at the moment."
When did he first win his seat? 2001
What positions has he held in the party? Member of multiple committees, including the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (July 2015 - present), the Privacy and Injunctions Committee (July 2011 - March 2012) and the Consolidation Bills Committee (December 2010 - March 2015).
Why did he vote no? Mr Farrelly has one of the smallest majorities in the UK, with only 650, so it may be understandable why he was not keen for an election. But he told a local newspaper reporter for the Stoke Sentinel that he voted against it because he believes it will be "bad for the country" and the unity of the UK.
When did he first win his seat? 1997 (the seat changed from Poplar and Canning Town to Poplar and Limehouse in 2010)
What positions has he held in the party? Minister of state for environment, food and rural affairs (June 2009 - May 2010), shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs (May 2010 - October 2010), shadow minister for transport (October 2010 - August 2013).
Why did he vote no? Mr Fitzpatrick was planning to retire in 2020, but he will be standing for re-election. He said he voted no because he thought the prime minister was "taking advantage of a lead in the opinion polls for purely party political advantage, not in the national interest." He added that Mrs May's "misleading [of] the public... ought to have been objected to and opposed."
When did he first win his seat? 2015
What positions has he held in the party? Shadow secretary of state for defence (June 2016 - Oct 2016) and shadow secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy (October 2016 - February 2017).
Why did he vote no? It may be for personal reasons as he is due to get married on 6 May. He told the Daily Telegraph: "Theresa May kind of has thrown a clanger into my life. We've had to cancel the honeymoon and we don't even know if we're getting married now, so I don't know. It's a bit of a disaster personally." But he has also said it was down to the way the government had gone about turning over the Fixed Term Parliament Act. "At this critical time, it isn't the time for Theresa May to simply call an election when it is convenient," he said. "Had a motion of no confidence in the government been on the table I would have voted for it."
When did she win her seat? 1997
What positions has she held in the party? Shadow minister for the equalities office (October 2010 - April 2011) and shadow minister for equalities (April 2011 - October 2011).
Why did she vote no? The former Labour minister has announced she is not going to stand for re-election, saying she is "bored by political squabbles over personalities". Of the election she said: "I can't believe that spending eight weeks of a time-limited negotiation period campaigning in an election rather than talking to our EU partners will strengthen her hand in negotiations with anyone outside her own Conservative Party."
When did she first win her seat? 2014
What positions has she held in the party? Shadow minister for communities and local government (September 2015 - June 2016) and shadow minister for foreign and Commonwealth affairs (October 2016 - present).
Why did she vote no? The Greater Manchester MP said she voted against the election because of "voter fatigue". She told Buzzfeed that after a by-election that saw her become an MP, the 2015 general election, the referendum, and the mayoral race in 2017, there was the potential for low turnout. Ms McInnes added: "I haven't met anyone who welcomes it, people just go 'oh no, not again'."
When did he first win his seat? 1970
What positions has he held in the party? Member of the National Executive Committee (July 1979 - July 1992, July 1994 - July 1998, July 1999 - May 2010), vice-chair of the Labour Party (July 1987 - July 1988) and Party Chair (July 1988 - July 1989).
Why did he vote no? No official word from Mr Skinner, but during PMQs he asked for a guarantee that those Tory MPs under investigation for election expenses would not stand. For him, failure to do that would make the whole campaign "the most squalid in my life time". Perhaps not a surprise he voted against it then.
When did he first win his seat? 1997
What positions has he held in the party? Parliamentary secretary at the cabinet office (November 1999 - June 2001) and Lord Commissioner at the Treasury (June 2001 - May 2002).
Why did he vote no? Mr Stringer condemned his own party for not opposing the snap election and "falling into Theresa May's trap" to boost the Tories. He added: "The opinion polls might be a few points out but they're not telling a complete lie. We have got to spend the next seven weeks getting our policy issues over, they appear to be popular with the public when tested. But I wasn't going to vote to support Theresa May's cynical move to try and increase the Conservatives' majority."
When did she first win her seat? 2001
What positions has she held? Shadow spokesperson for trade and industry, home affairs, women and culture, media and sport (May 2001 - May 2005, when she was an Ulster Unionist MP).
Why did she vote no? There has not been a public statement on her reasons.
When did she first win her seat? 2015
What positions has she held in the party? SNP Westminster spokeswoman for disabilities (May 2015 - November 2015).
Why did she vote no? It was an eventful day for Ms McGarry, who confirmed she was pregnant after she fainted in the Houses of Parliament. An ambulance was called, but just as a precaution. The politician, who lost the SNP whip and now sits as an independent after allegations of fraud were made against her, hasn't explained why she voted as she did.
When did she first win her seat? 2015
What positions has she held in the party? SNP Westminster group leader for business, innovation and skills (May 2015 - October 2015).
Why did she vote no? She is currently sitting as an independent after withdrawing the SNP whip last year. Ms Thomson took to Twitter to say she voted against the early election, unlike many of her SNP colleagues. She said: "This is a time for leadership from the opposition, not abstention."
When did he first win his seat? 2005
What positions has he held in the party? Leader from 2011 to 2015.
Why did he vote no? He said Theresa May's call for an election was a "cynical exercise" aimed at "gathering up muscle to confront Europe and go for a hard Brexit".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39644981
|
Trump or Trumpism? A conservative dilemma - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Fox News faces a bigger problem than sexual harassment lawsuits: how to cover the man in the White House.
|
US & Canada
|
As Fox News is forced to reassess its role in American political life, it might ask the question, is this White House about Trump or about the movement he stands for, call it Trumpism? There's a difference. It's the same question millions of voters who supported Donald Trump will soon want the answer to.
For the past couple of decades Fox News has dominated the American cable landscape by successfully combining a coherent conservative ideology with top quality television visuals. The political ideology is talked about a lot and was driven by one man, Roger Ailes who became founding CEO of the channel in 1996. His talent for TV is mentioned less often.
This piece is not about the sexual harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly or Fox's role in putting women in overly sexual roles on air - that's the dark side of Roger Ailes' knack for producing seductive TV.
When I praise Fox's visuals, I'm thinking of the graphics, the maps, the movement, the speed with which they get video up on air and the relentless determination to make sure the screen didn't look dull, even for a single moment.
The network was revolutionary. Yes, Fox could be lampooned for being too whiz-bang, but don't fool yourself, every other TV producer looked at what Mr Ailes was doing back in the 1990s and they were awestruck. They quickly followed suit as far as their own budgets allowed. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Now Fox faces a different challenge, how to respond to the man in the White House, and the answer to that lies in the broader determination of what this presidency is really about.
Donald Trump was elected to be a champion of the "forgotten men and women" of America. That was his populist promise. He would revive their economic fortunes and return power to the people.
To do so, he promised to be tough on the countries that had stolen those jobs - primarily China. It was a "currency manipulator", he railed, which "raped" America, didn't play fair and should be slapped with 40% tariffs.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Five Trump changes you may have missed
In the old steel mill towns of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and even Wisconsin, they nodded with relief. Finally here was someone who said what they had been thinking for years. It was time to get bearish on Beijing. That's a pretty good example of Trumpism.
Candidate Trump ignored the wise old foreign policy hands who said that this strategy was unrealistic and that it would alienate China's co-operation on other issues, namely North Korea. With the arch-populist Steve Bannon whispering in his ear, Mr Trump continued to say what the people wanted to hear, he promised not to be afraid of anyone, not to compromise on their beliefs and always to put America first. The slogans won him the White House.
The Trump House in the former mining and steel town of Youngstown, Pennsylvania
But once he actually got into the Oval Office and sat behind that historic desk, two things happened to undermine that commitment. First, Mr Trump realised that the world was a lot more complicated than he'd taken time as a candidate to learn. The old hands were right, he did need China to help deal with Kim Jong-un and he wouldn't get that help if he slapped them with tariffs or started a currency war. Second, his approval ratings fell, dramatically.
Although Mr Trump has seen a recent uptick in his poll numbers in the past couple of weeks, he is still at historic lows. This was embarrassing to a man who routinely spent a lot of time in his campaign speeches touting his impressive poll numbers. It was also embarrassing to his family.
The Trumps have built their brand on success. Failure was not a popular option in the family. Inside the White House, the president's daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared, realise that for Mr Trump to succeed, Trumpism may have to go. Or at least, be substantially sidelined. The two liberal, cosmopolitan New York Democrats had never been particularly wedded to the hellfire-and-brimstone vision of America that Steve Bannon described in the lines of Mr Trump's inaugural address. Neither of them are natural working-class populists.
Posters outside the Fox News headquarters in New York City
As they both formally expanded their roles and their presence in their father's administration, a shift occurred away from protecting the ideology to protecting the man. The risk for Mr Trump is that these policy shifts - on China, the Export Import bank, the currency, Nato - risk disappointing his base.
The latest polls show Mr Trump scoring very badly on questions like "shares my values" or "cares about people like me". Many of these people really want Mr Trump to deliver on his campaign promises, not abandon them.
This is where Fox News comes in. Fox did well out of the Trump campaign. It was firmly in the president's camp and his frequent interviews with the network helped drive ratings which helped drive ad revenue. Throughout the Obama years, Fox was the insurgent network of opposition. Now it needs a new role.
It can be a mouthpiece of the Trump administration (though supporting the government doesn't make for the most gripping cable TV.) Or Fox can stick to its conservative roots and champion Trumpism, even when the man himself does not.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39657091
|
World Championship 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan takes commanding 6-2 lead over Shaun Murphy - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Ronnie O'Sullivan takes a commanding 6-2 lead against Shaun Murphy in their second-round World Championship match.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was in majestic form as he took a 6-2 lead in his World Championship second-round match against Shaun Murphy.
Needing 13 frames to win, he raced into a 3-1 lead with breaks of 91, 75 and a magnificent 128, and maintained his relentless pace after the mid-session interval.
Murphy was unable to withstand the pressure, meaning O'Sullivan is a strong favourite to clinch a quarter-final tie against Ding Junhui or Liang Wenbo at the Crucible.
In dismissing O'Sullivan's controversial claims that he had been bullied by snooker chiefs, Murphy added further spice to an already uneasy relationship and O'Sullivan responded in blistering fashion.
The Rocket's domination means world number five Murphy could face defeat inside two sessions for the second time against O'Sullivan at the Crucible, having lost 13-3 in the quarter-finals in 2014.
Nottingham's Murphy, the 2005 champion, had scored a superb 84 of his own to level at 1-1 and had chances in frames five and six before clinching an error-seven, tension-filled seventh frame on the black.
But O'Sullivan, 41, finished off with a superb 74 to remain on course for a sixth world title and 29th ranking title.
Meanwhile, Barry Hawkins made light work of Leicester's Tom Ford in the final first-round match to be completed.
The 2013 runner-up led 7-2 overnight and although Ford won the opening frame, Hawkins looked untroubled and in good form to secure a last-16 meeting with Scotland's Graeme Dott.
The bottom line is that although there's great professional respect between these two superstar players, they don't particularly like each other.
That comes down to a spectacular clash in personalities. Shaun is very much the eloquent, thoughtful, considered company man who will probably be involved with the governing body one day.
Ronnie is the unpredictable enigma who will never be anything other than his own man. Murphy clearly thinks O'Sullivan's claims of bullying by the game's authorities are nonsense and said as much. That will have really wound Ronnie up. He was prowling the length of the Crucible corridors as they awaited their introductions into the arena.
I walked past O'Sullivan and he had that look of channelled fury in his eyes that scares you. You could tell he wanted to hammer Murphy.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39662606
|
World Championship 2017: Judd Trump faces fine for refusing media after defeat - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Judd Trump faces a fine from snooker bosses for refusing to fulfil his post-match media duties following his shock World Championship loss to Rory McLeod.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Judd Trump faces a fine from snooker bosses for refusing to fulfil his post-match media duties following his shock World Championship loss to Rory McLeod.
The pre-tournament favourite was beaten 10-8 in the first round, with his agent saying Trump was unable to talk to the media because he was feeling unwell.
His failure to appear is a breach of his contract with World Snooker.
The world number two, 27, faces a fine from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
World number 54 McLeod, who plays Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the second round, described his win as the "best of his career".
The 1000-1 outsider, 46, said: "To beat Judd Trump on centre stage is brilliant. I have always known I am capable of it; it is actually producing when you need to and I have done it."
McLeod said he was not interested in whether Trump was unwell or injured, with the world number two seemingly grimacing in pain with a shoulder or arm problem during the course of the match.
"He was 4-0 up and he didn't look that injured, so what can I do?" said McLeod.
"I had to deal with holding myself together. I am the oldest player left in the tournament. At 46 you have your aches and pains.
"Age is just a number; it's how you look after yourself and I think I am doing OK."
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39649830
|
Joe Hart: Man City keeper not Liverpool target, says Jurgen Klopp - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp rules out a £20m move for Manchester City's England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has ruled out trying to sign England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
It was reported on Wednesday that the Anfield club were close to a £20m deal for the Manchester City keeper, who is currently on loan at Torino.
Hart, 30, is expected to leave City but Klopp is content with current keepers Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius.
"He's a fantastic keeper, the highest quality, but it's not for us at the moment, nor in the future," he said.
Hart told BBC Sport in March that he is "surplus to requirements" at City and does not see himself playing for the Premier League club again.
He moved to Italian side Torino on a season-long loan in August after being told he was free to leave City by manager Pep Guardiola.
"If you're not going to win there is no point in fighting, especially someone as powerful as that," Hart said.
Guardiola has maintained that no decision will be taken until the end of the season.
'Jordan looks healthy but he can't play football'
Klopp also confirmed that midfielder Adam Lallana should return to full training in the latter part of next week after his thigh injury, and that forward Danny Ings is running again after a serious knee problem.
"At this moment he cannot really train. We must wait. We are in intense talks with different medical departments," Klopp said.
"He looks really healthy but he can't play football."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39653836
|
Formula 4: Jenson Button pledges £15,000 to support British driver Billy Monger - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Jenson Button pledges £15,000 to a fundraising page to support British driver Billy Monger, who had both legs amputated after a crash.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Motorsport
Jenson Button has pledged £15,000 to a fundraising page set up to support a British Formula 4 driver who had both legs amputated following a crash.
Billy Monger, 17, drove at high speed into the back of a car which seemed to have stopped on the track during Sunday's race at Donington Park.
Lewis Hamilton has also offered support, tweeting: "Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family."
More than £500,000 had been raised by 13:00 BST on Thursday.
Monger, who has been described as "an extremely talented young driver" had to be extracted from his vehicle at the Leicestershire track and airlifted to hospital.
Button, the 2009 world champion who retired last year but will make a one-off outing for McLaren at next month's Monaco Grand Prix, was among the first to voice his support for Monger.
"This guy needs our help. I will be doing as much as I can to help this dude out," he wrote on Instagram.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen also appeared to make a pledge on the page, tweeting: "Really shocked about Billy Monger's terrible accident. If you can, please join me in helping him out."
Donations also appeared to be made by former F1 drivers Max Chilton, Karl Wendlinger and Andre Lotterer, as well as touring car driver Jason Plato and American Nascar racer AJ Allmendinger.
Williams' Brazilian driver Felipe Massa showed his support on Twitter, writing: "Let's help him. I'll do my best."
Ex-F1 driver Mark Webber wrote "keep boxing mate", while the Mercedes, Force India and McLaren teams have also showed their support on social media.
Steven Hunter, head of the team JHR Developments that Monger has been with for the past four years, said it had been a "heart-wrenching" time.
"We saw the crash and our fears were as low as they could be," he said. "But everything has been in the right direction since.
"Yesterday we lined everyone up and just took some time to wish him well. The pipes are out of his mouth and he spoke. He was hoarse but he just about spoke."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39651421
|
General election 2017: David Dimbleby to host programme - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The Question Time presenter previously said 2015 would be his last election programme for the BBC.
|
UK Politics
|
It will be the tenth time David Dimbleby has hosted the BBC's general election coverage
David Dimbleby is to host the BBC's 2017 general election programme.
News presenter Huw Edwards had been expected to front the show after Dimbleby said 2015's results coverage was his final time at the helm.
It will be the tenth occasion that Dimbleby has hosted proceedings, having first fronted the broadcast in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister.
The programme will start on the night of 8 June and continue until morning.
Edwards will take over as lead presenter on the morning of 9 June and will also present the evening bulletin that day.
BBC director of news James Harding had said ahead of the 2015 general election that it would be Dimbleby's last time as lead anchor, with Edwards set to front the show from then on.
Jeremy Vine, seen with his virtual swingometer in 2015, will again join the election presenting team
He said: "This snap election surprised the country and election night is bound to be one of the most closely followed in recent times.
"BBC's results night will once again offer people the most reliable breaking news, impartial analysis, with a host of trusted experts and above all our unrivalled presenting team."
Dimbleby, 78, who also hosts debate show Question Time, will be joined in the studio by Mishal Husain, Emily Maitlis and Jeremy Vine.
BBC experts including political editor Laura Kuenssberg and economics editor Kamal Ahmed will be giving their views on the proceedings as results come in.
The programme will be broadcast simultaneously on BBC One, the BBC News Channel and BBC World News.
• None May says no to TV election debates
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39657843
|
Champions League: Borussia Dortmund bus delayed in Monaco - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel says his side had "felt not so good" after their team bus was delayed in Monaco.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Borussia Dortmund were in an "awkward mindset" after their team bus was delayed before Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat at Monaco, said coach Thomas Tuchel.
Dortmund said the bus was stopped by police for 20 minutes, with kick-off then delayed by five minutes.
The incident happened a week after three bombs exploded close to their bus before the first leg in Dortmund.
"Everyone went quiet and it felt not so good," said Tuchel, 43.
Uefa said the kick-off had been moved back because of "late team arrival" at Stade Louis II, where Monaco went on to win 3-1 and progressed to the semi-finals 6-3 on aggregate.
Tuchel said the German club's bus was scheduled to leave 90 minutes before kick-off and "everyone was there ready to go".
"The police did not drive, police were everywhere around the bus, the street was free. We did not move one centimetre," he added.
"If you don't want to have a situation like last week you don't want this situation - the same team in the bus. We stood there for 16, 17 minutes.
"I had the feeling we were focused and full of joy and happiness to play this game. Then suddenly there were awkward mindsets going around."
The German said the delay did not have an impact on him throughout the game, but that he was "not sure" how it affected the players.
Defender Marc Bartra was injured in last week's attack and was taken to hospital after breaking a bone in his wrist. The game was played 24 hours later.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39646889
|
Why an American went to Cuba for cancer care - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Judy Ingels is defying the embargo by flying to Havana for treatment.
|
Magazine
|
Cuba has faced more than 50 years of US sanctions. Now, for the first time, a unique drug developed on the communist island is being tested in New York state. But some American cancer patients are already taking it - by defying the embargo and flying to Havana for treatment.
Judy Ingels and her family are in Cuba for just six days. They have time to go sightseeing and try out the local cuisine. Judy, a keen photographer, enjoys capturing the colonial architecture of Old Havana.
And while she is in the country, Ingels, 74, will have her first injections of Cimavax, a drug shown in Cuban trials to extend the lives of lung cancer patients by months, and sometimes years.
By travelling to Havana from her home in California, she is breaking the law.
The US embargo against Cuba has been in place for more than five decades, and though relations thawed under President Obama, seeking medical treatment in Cuba is still not allowed for US citizens.
"I'm not worried," Ingels says. "For the first time I have real hope."
She has stage four lung cancer and was diagnosed in December 2015. "My oncologist in the United States says I'm his best patient, but I have this deadly disease."
He does not know she is in Cuba. When she asked him about Cimavax, he had not heard of it.
"But we've done a lot of research - I've read good things," Ingels says. Since January, Cimavax has been tested on patients in Buffalo, New York state, but it isn't yet available in the US.
Ingels, her husband Bill and daughter Cindy are staying at the La Pradera International Health Centre, west of Havana. It treats mostly foreign, paying patients like Ingels, and with its pool complex, palm trees and open walkways, La Pradera feels more like a tropical hotel than a hospital.
This trip from their home in California, together with a supply of Cimavax to take back to the US, will cost the Ingels family more than $15,000 (£12,000).
Cimavax fights cancer by stimulating an immune response against a protein in the blood that triggers the growth of lung cancer. After an induction period, patients receive a monthly dose by injection.
It's a product of Cuba's biotechnology industry, nurtured by former President Fidel Castro since the early 1980s.
Ironically, Cuba's biotech innovations can partly be explained by the US embargo - something Castro continually railed against. It meant Cuba had to produce the drugs it could not access or afford. And medications like Cimavax - low-tech products that could be administered in a rural setting - were developed to fit the Cuban context.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cuban cancer drug CIMAvax is bringing hope to US patients in the first collaboration of its kind
Now the industry employs around 22,000 scientists, technicians and engineers, and sells drugs in many parts of the world - but not in the US.
And although the Cubans will not reveal the cost of producing Cimavax, it is cheaper than other treatments.
For Cuba's residents, all health care is free. One beneficiary is Lucrecia de Jesus Rubillo, 65, who lives on the fifth floor of a block of flats in the east of Havana
Last September she was given two or three months to live. What began as pain in Lucrecia's leg, was diagnosed as stage-four lung cancer that had spread.
She had chemotherapy. "That was really very hard," she says. "It gave me nausea, and it hurt. But my kids asked me to fight, so I did."
After radiotherapy, Lucrecia began Cimavax injections. Now she is strong enough to walk up the five flights of stairs to her home, and her persistent cough has diminished. She feels better, more hopeful, and is thinking about what to do next.
"Perhaps I'll go to Spain to visit my kid," she says. "I feel happy, and I'm still dreaming of the future, but I also feel sadness. I've had a lot of friends who've died of cancer, and they never had the chance I'm having with these injections. I feel privileged."
Her doctor is Elia Neninger, an oncologist at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana. Neninger is one of the principal clinicians to trial Cimavax on patients since the 1990s.
"Lucrecia arrived incapacitated by her disease in a wheelchair," Neninger remembers. "Now the tumour on her lung has disappeared, and the lesions on her liver aren't there either. With Cimavax, she's in a maintenance phase."
In Cuba, specialists like Neninger do not talk about curing cancer - they talk about controlling it and transforming it into a chronic disease. She has treated hundreds of patients with Cimavax.
"I never thought I'd work on something that would improve the lives of so many people," she says. "I have stage-four lung cancer patients who are still alive 10 years after their diagnosis."
But mostly Cimavax is proven to extend life for months, not years. And it does not help everyone. In trials, around 20% of patients haven't responded, Neninger says, often because the disease is very advanced, or they have associated illnesses that make treatment more difficult.
Nonetheless, Dr Kelvin Lee is impressed. He is the Chair of Immunology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, where the American trials of Cimavax are taking place.
It is the first time a Cuban medication has been trialled in the US, and required special permission because the embargo prohibits most collaboration and trade.
Cancer immunotherapy is getting more expensive in the US, Lee says. A cheap vaccine that can be administered at primary care level is very attractive. And he thinks it is possible that Cimavax could be used to prevent lung cancer, too.
"If we could vaccinate the high-risk smokers to prevent them from developing lung cancer, that would have an enormous public health impact both in the United States and worldwide."
This has not been proven, however, and the initial US trials of Cimavax only began in January.
There is political uncertainty, too. On the campaign trail before his election, President Trump said he would reverse the thaw with Cuba that began under the Obama administration, unless there was change on the island, which is governed as a one-party state.
"Our demands will include religious and political freedom for the Cuban people, and the freeing of political prisoners," Trump said on the campaign trail in Miami.
So far, Cuba has not made it to the top of his in-tray. There is a large constituency of Americans who believe that Cuba does not deserve the kind of recognition and status the association with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute brings.
But Lee thinks political arguments against US-Cuba collaboration are misplaced.
"The gas we put in our cars, the iPhones we tweet from, the shoes we buy our kids - all come from countries that the United States has fundamental differences with regarding women's rights, freedom of speech, personal liberties. Yet that has never stopped us from working with them in areas that benefit the people in both countries."
For now Bill Ingels, Judy's husband, isn't worried about falling foul of US authorities.
"I told them I was coming for educational purposes," he says. "And I am learning about cancer and medication! I'm basically a very honest person, but if I have to, I will lie."
Ingels will not know if the vaccine has made a difference until she has a scan in three months.
"We feel pretty positive, and we thought this would be a great experience and journey for my family to take together. It's the first time I've felt up since I was diagnosed."
Cindy Ingels, Judy's daughter, is a nurse - she will administer the Cimavax shots to her mother back home in California.
"Even if she remains stable - that it maintains the tumour size, and it doesn't worsen - we'd be happy with that," she says. "If the tumour decreases from what it is now, that would really be a miracle."
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39640165
|
Andy Murray beaten by Albert Ramos-Vinolas at Monte Carlo Masters - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
World number one Andy Murray suffers a shock third-round defeat in the Monte Carlo Masters, beaten by Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
World number one Andy Murray blew a 4-0 lead in the deciding set as he fell to a shock defeat by Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Monte Carlo Masters third round.
Murray went on to lose 2-6 6-2 7-5 in only his second match back after a month out with an elbow injury.
Two breaks had the Briton in command of the third set, but Spanish 15th seed Ramos-Vinolas hit back to win seven of the last eight games.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both reached the quarter-finals.
• None Serena Williams: How can you win a Grand Slam when pregnant?
Murray, 29, was playing his first tournament since being beaten in the second round at Indian Wells in March.
He defeated Gilles Muller in straight sets on Wednesday, but admitted afterwards his elbow injury was still causing him some problems.
Murray began his second-round match against Muller with three double faults in the first four points of the match, and his service game was again an issue against Ramos-Vinolas.
The Scot was broken seven times as 29-year-old Ramos-Vinolas claimed a first win against a world number one.
Murray showed trademark fight in fending off three break points at 4-4 in the decider, but could not respond when the Spaniard was in the ascendancy in his next service game.
Murray briefly threatened to break back with the score at 30-30 as Ramos-Vinolas served for the match, but he dragged a forehand wide and misjudged a drop shot into the net at match point.
Marin Cilic awaits Ramos-Vinolas in the last eight after beating Tomas Berdych.
Meanwhile, Jamie Murray made a winning start in the last 16 of the men's doubles, joining forces with Bruno Soares to beat Tommy Haas and Treat Huey 6-3 6-2.
Even before this match, Murray was talking of adding an extra tournament to his schedule and heading to Budapest next week.
He needs more matches and the time to rebuild trust in his serve and elbow: the French Open begins just five weeks on Sunday.
Murray has at least had four and a half hours of competitive clay-court action this week and won't be pressing the panic button just yet.
He reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo last year, but struggled badly in the early rounds, and still went on to dominate the rest of the year.
Defending championNadal registered a speedy victory over promising teenager Alexander Zverev, beating him 6-1 6-1 in one hour and eight minutes.
Zverev, who turned 20 on Thursday, smashed his racquet in half after being broken twice by Nadal in the second set.
The Spaniard, aiming for his 50th clay title, will next face Argentina's Diego Schwartzman.
World number two Djokovic fought back from a mixed second set to beat 13th-ranked Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2 4-6 6-4.
The Serb saved two break points at 4-4 in the final set before immediately breaking Carreno Busta to set up a quarter-final with Belgium's David Goffin.
However, Switzerland's 2015 French Open champion Stan Wawrinka was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39654533
|
British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland defends nationality split - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Lions coach Warren Gatland says player nationalities did not influence the selection of his 41-man squad to tour New Zealand.
| null |
Player nationalities did not influence the selection of the 41-man British and Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand this summer, says coach Warren Gatland.
Gatland, who has been Wales coach since 2007, has chosen 16 England players, 12 Welsh, 11 Irish and two from Scotland.
Wales finished fifth in the 2017 Six Nations, below champions England, with Ireland second and Scotland fourth.
"I didn't realise the split in the numbers," 53-year-old New Zealander Gatland said on the issue.
"We didn't go through the numbers. We put together a group of players in each position we felt were in contention and then we went through and individually selected those players."
• None 'Gatland got his selections right & the Lions can win' - Guscott's verdict
England captain Dylan Hartley was not selected, despite leading England to back-to-back Six Nations titles, with Gatland preferring Ireland's Rory Best, England's Jamie George and Wales' Ken Owens as his three hookers for the month-long tour which starts on 3 June and concludes with the third Test on 8 July.
England fly-half George Ford also missed out, with Ireland's Johnny Sexton, England's Owen Farrell and Wales' Dan Biggar selected at number 10.
Ireland's Donnacha Ryan, England's Joe Launchbury and Scotland brothers Jonny and Richie Gray were other notable absentees.
"We had a long and lively debate about hookers. Dylan has done a great job for England," Gatland said.
"If we picked him and left out Jamie George, Rory Best or Ken Owens you would be asking the same question. They were arguably form players in the Six Nations. Dylan has been unlucky.
"There has been a lot of discussion about Launchbury, Donnacha Ryan and the Gray brothers. Selection is a matter of opinion and that is what makes it interesting."
What do the pundits think?
Ex-Lions Matt Dawson, Martyn Williams and Keith Wood were speaking on BBC Radio 5 live's Lions special on Wednesday.
"This will be the strongest Lions squad, I think, ever. However I do feel that the weighting of the players, in particular having 12 Wales players in that squad, I can look at four or five and think maybe there were other options."
"The simple truth is that [Gatland] knows a lot of those Welsh players and trusts them. There's a few of those guys he may know better than others."
"If you're purely going on what's just happened in the Six Nations, I think quite a few of the Welsh players have maybe been picked on what they've done for Warren Gatland in the past and on previous Lions tours. But that is always the case if you've got a coach who is also a national coach.
"The fact there wasn't a Scottish voice in that management team to back the corner of any of the Scottish players - I'm sure that led to it as well.
"If you look at the pedigree and the quality of those Welsh players I'm sure you can make a case for every one of them.
"[But] there is no doubt about it, the fact that there is such a Welsh influence within that management team has got a few of those over the line."
"There just seems an imbalance there, but this is not about nationalities. It is about Gatland selecting the squad he thinks can win a Test series in New Zealand. It's all about the style of rugby they want to play - all about power, all about physicality. He's picked a squad of players he knows can play that sort of game.
"We might only have two Scotland players in the squad [Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour], but we might have two in the Test team."
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said: "He has got a particular style he likes, that works for him up there [in the northern hemisphere], using the big ball carriers up front and big midfielders to carry, so the selection reflects that.
"I'm a little bit surprised he hasn't selected a couple of other people, but if he was picking the All Blacks he would pick some different people to me.
"I think this is the best British and Irish Lions team that we've seen come here for a long, long time. There is depth all the way through."
'It's not about Sam Warburton, it's about the team'
Gatland appointed Warburton the youngest Lions captain since 1955 in 2013 and has now made him just the second player to skipper the Lions twice.
That comes despite the Cardiff Blues forward stepping down as Wales captain before this year's Six Nations and suggestions he will face a battle for his starting place.
"One of his greatest qualities is that it is not about Sam Warburton, it is about the team," Gatland said.
• None Williams: 'Brutal' way for Jamie Roberts to find out about Lions' exclusion
"He will be under no doubt his form has to be good enough.
"He will understand that and respect that because it is not about Sam Warburton, it is about the team and that is what I like about him as a person and an individual."
"Ironically, I think it may be easier for Sam to captain the Lions than Wales," Gatland added.
"He is under great scrutiny, pressure and expectation as Welsh captain. I think he will find it easier because of the quality of the squad and other leaders in the team will hopefully make his job pretty seamless and easy."
Warren Gatland is a coach who has never been swayed by public opinion; this was the man who dropped the great Brian O'Driscoll four years ago, so making big calls like leaving out England's all-conquering captain, picking only two Scots, or selecting as many as 12 Welshmen, would have been done with one target in mind - beating New Zealand.
While the squad is full of power and heft, the decision to pick Jonathan Joseph - who was struggling to make the party - as well as players like Elliot Daly, Stuart Hogg and Liam Williams, means there will be no shortage of pace and skill in the backline.
However, the centre pairings early on in the tour will be an indicator of how the Lions want to play the game, with an onus likely to be on physicality, while opting for Dan Biggar over George Ford or Finn Russell shows the desire for durability, consistency and temperament over raw game-breaking ability.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39647262
|
How do you stop sharks attacking? - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Australia's government has mooted new anti-shark measures after a surfer died. What works? And is there a problem?
|
Australia
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Surfer Mick Fanning: "I punched the shark in the back"
How do you stop a great white shark, a creature that can grow up to six metres in length and weigh more than a tonne?
It is a question that has dogged authorities in those countries where people suffer attacks by sharks (great white and others). Attacks continue to happen, and as long as they do, so will the calls for preventative measures.
But what are the possible solutions? Do they make sense? And are shark attacks a big enough problem to warrant such measures?
A shark shield is a device that lets out an electromagnetic pulse to deter sharks, and the Western Australia (WA) government has proposed offering a subsidy of A$200 (£117; $150) to anyone wanting to buy one (this is roughly equivalent to a third of the cost of the device).
On the other hand, the WA opposition says shields would remain prohibitively expensive to most people, even with a discount.
The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute has been tasked with testing different shark deterrents by Australia's federal government.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, Prof Shaun Collin, the institute's director, said a shark shield proved to be an effective deterrent in 400 tests of an "investigative" shark attack - in which the shark approaches prey to assess what it is.
However, he said the shields proved ineffective in "ambush" attacks, in which the shark swims at speed from deep on seeing a silhouette - possibly of a surfer.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A shark net is stretched through the water to try and separate swimmers and surfers from what may try and approach them. They are not new at all, having been used across Australia for decades.
The New South Wales government ran a trial with a net from 2015-16 and, in one aspect, it proved successful - it caught 133 sharks in that time.
The down side? A government report showed 615 other marine animals were caught, including 90 threatened or protected species. Close to half of them died after being caught in the netting.
The nets have been called cruel by campaigners, and have been cut by activists.
This method, too, has been attacked as cruel - it is a baited hook suspended underwater and tied to a float on the surface of the water.
It is also anchored to the sea bed, meaning the shark has nowhere to go once it has taken the bait. Larger sharks are often shot; smaller ones released. It was a policy pushed in Western Australia under the state's previous government and has been used in other Australian states.
There was some controversy that drum lines were not put in place on the beach where Laeticia Brouwer died.
But many also question their effectiveness - including the government now in place in WA.
On Tuesday, the state's Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly told ABC: "We made it clear in opposition that we don't see the merit in automatically deploying drum lines, because they don't actually make our beaches any safer.
"We want to focus on individual shark deterrence, which can actually provide genuine protection for the people who are most at risk."
The possibility of an active cull - not just killing sharks caught in drum lines - was one raised by Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday.
And while Australia's government is committed to a programme of conserving shark populations, and proposals of culls are generally met with protests, there is some support for a targeted cull.
An editorial in the centre-right The Australian newspaper by its surf writer, written after Laeticia Brouwer's death, said "our insane shark conservation policies have cost another life", adding that there was blood on the hands of the government.
There are plenty of solutions on the table - but just how big a problem are shark attacks in Australia?
When Laeticia Brouwer was attacked near Esperance on Monday, she became the 15th person to be killed by a shark in Western Australia since 2000, but the first in the country since June last year.
The number of shark attacks in Australia - including fatal and non-fatal - has risen over the past century, but in a way that is consistent with how Australia's population has grown.
But, as horrific as those incidents are for everyone affected, there is, on average, only one death due to a shark attack in Australia every year.
The number of people killed by a shark in Australian waters has changed little over the years despite the country's population - and tourist numbers - booming.
In 1950, when there were 8.3m people living in Australia, two people were killed by sharks. Last year, with a population of more than 24m, there were still only two fatalities.
John G West, who runs the Australian Shark Attack File, which reports all attacks for the Taronga Conservation Society, says the chances of being killed by a shark now are much slimmer than in previous years.
In a 2011 report, he said the number of attacks that were fatal fell from 45% in the 1930s to 10% in the decade leading up to 2011.
But while human populations have grown, he points out that the number of sharks has fallen.
One thing, though, seems sure.
"Encounters with sharks, although a rare event, will continue to occur if humans continue to enter the ocean professionally or for recreational pursuit," Mr West writes.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39639387
|
PFA teams of the year: Chelsea and Tottenham dominate Premier League XI - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Chelsea and Tottenham both have four players in the PFA Premier League team of the year, while the Football League and WSL teams are also revealed.
| null |
PFA teams of the year: Chelsea and Tottenham dominate Premier League XI Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea and Tottenham have both had four of their players named in the Professional Footballers' Association Premier League team of the year. Defenders Gary Cahill and David Luiz and midfielders N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard are Chelsea's representatives. Tottenham's quartet are defenders Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, midfielder Dele Alli and forward Harry Kane. Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, Liverpool's Sadio Mane and Everton forward Romelu Lukaku are also picked. The divisional teams of the year have also been announced ahead of the 44th PFA Awards, which are being held in London on Sunday, 23 April. The PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year will also be revealed at the event. The votes were provided by PFA members from 100 clubs from the Premier League, Football League and Women's Super League. Do you agree? Scroll down to the bottom of this page to select your own Premier League team of the year. Four from Brighton in Championship team Four players from recently promoted Brighton feature in the Championship team of the year - Goalkeeper David Stockdale, defenders Bruno and Lewis Dunk and the division's player of the year, midfielder Anthony Knockaert. Newcastle provide three players in defender Jamaal Lascelles, midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and forward Dwight Gayle. Chris Wood of Leeds, the top-scorer with 25 league goals, is also selected. Fulham have two players in the team - 16-year-old defender Ryan Sessegnon and Tom Cairney, who is named in midfield along with Huddersfield's Aaron Mooy. Blades have five in League One side PFA League One team of the year 2017 Sheffield United, who sealed promotion to the Championship on 8 April, have five players in the League One team of the year. They are goalkeeper Simon Moore, defender Kieron Freeman, midfielders Mark Duffy and John Fleck and the country's top goalscorer, Billy Sharp, who has 27 goals to his name this campaign. Bolton, who can join the Blades in the second tier if results go their way this weekend, provide defenders Mark Beevers and David Wheater. Bradford left-back James Meredith completes the back four, while Scunthorpe's Josh Morris (with 19 goals to his name) and Erhun Oztumer (scorer of 14) of Walsall are in midfield with Bury's James Vaughan (22 goals) in attack. PFA League Two team of the year 2017 The top three teams from League Two, Doncaster, Plymouth and Portsmouth, all of whom have already secured their promotion provide seven players for the fourth tier team of the year. Rovers' James Coppinger and John Marquis (who has scored 26 this season) are in midfield and attack respectively, with Portsmouth duo Christian Burgess and Enda Stevens named in defence. Argyle's Luke McCormick is in goal, along with team-mates Sonny Bradley (defence) and 14-goal Graham Carey (midfield). The other players are Blackpool defender Kelvin Mellor, midfielders Nicky Adams and Luke Berry (of Carlisle and Cambridge respectively) and Luton forward Danny Hylton (21 goals). Women's Super League winners Manchester City have five players in the division's team of the year. Three defenders - Lucy Bronze, Jenny Beattie and Steph Houghton - are selected, along with midfielder Jill Scott and forward Jane Ross. Chelsea have two representatives in midfielder Karen Carney and forward Eniola Aluko, with Reading's Mary Earps in goal, Birmingham's Jess Carter in defence and Arsenal's Jordan Nobbs and Liverpool's Caroline Weir in midfield. Pick your Team of the Year Pick your Team of the Year from our list and share with your friends.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39648483
|
Barcelona 0-0 Juventus (agg 0-3) - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Juventus reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after stopping Barcelona from scoring at the Nou Camp.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Juventus produced an exceptional defensive performance to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after stopping Barcelona from scoring at the Nou Camp.
Trailing 3-0 from the first leg, Barca peppered the Italian goal but failed to repeat their last-16 heroics when they overturned a first-leg 4-0 deficit to beat Paris St-Germain.
Lionel Messi, who had earlier been denied by Gianluigi Buffon, fired wastefully over the bar while Luis Suarez and Neymar also spurned chances on a night Barca were restricted to one shot on target.
Juve's Gonzalo Higuain fired tamely at Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Juan Cuadrado missed another chance but the final whistle was celebrated wildly by the champions of Italy, who have not conceded a single goal from open play in this season's Champions League.
Juventus join Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Monaco in Friday's last-four draw (from 11:00 BST).
The champions of Italy are 180 minutes away from the final in Cardiff on 3 June after a superb defensive performance as Barca and their formidable strike force failed to score over two legs.
Juventus join Manchester United (2007-08) and Bayern Munich (2012-13) as one of only three teams that have stopped the Catalans scoring in both legs of a Champions League tie.
They were as brave and aggressive as they were calm and disciplined with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini monumental at the heart of the defence.
When Barca did manage to carve out chances, Suarez, Messi and Neymar failed to deliver.
All three had chances before the interval. In the space of a few minutes, Suarez had a goal-bound shot blocked, Messi dragged a chance from 12 yards and Neymar volleyed wide.
It said everything about Juve's defensive display that Buffon only had one save to make, the 39-year-old denying Messi before the Barca forward hammered the rebound into the side-netting.
Yet Juve, as adventurous going forward as they were solid at the back, might have beaten the Spanish champions for the second time in a week.
Higuain should have done better from close range after a ball over the top before Cuadrado flashed a chance narrowly wide on the counter.
In the end it did not matter, Juve and their travelling fans celebrated a night to remember.
Barca boss Luis Enrique will leave the Nou Camp this summer having failed to reach the semi-finals for a second successive season.
This was every bit as painful as their exit at the hands of La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid at the same stage 12 months ago.
They had 19 shots on the night - yet only one on target as Juve avenged their defeat against the same opponents in the 2015 final.
Neymar, who scored twice in the 6-1 return leg win over Paris St-Germain in the previous round, ended this game in tears with Barcelona's season in danger of falling flat.
They face Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday (19:45 BST) knowing defeat will leave them six points behind the leaders, who have a game in hand.
Barca are in the final of the Copa del Rey but Enrique knows that even if his side beat Alaves on 27 May, it will be scant consolation if they fail to win La Liga following another disappointing European campaign.
Buffon in sight of his first Champions League triumph - the stats
• None Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon has now kept 46 clean sheets in the Champions League. Only Iker Casillas (54), Edwin van der Sar (50) and Petr Cech (47) have more.
• None Buffon's 2016-17 Champions League campaign: Nine games seven clean sheets, two goals conceded.
• None Juve last won the Champions League in 1996.
• None Lionel Messi had five shots off target in the match, his most in a Champions League game since September 2015 against Roma (also five).
• None Attempt blocked. Mario Lemina (Juventus) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gonzalo Higuaín.
• None Attempt missed. Mario Mandzukic (Juventus) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Miralem Pjanic with a cross following a corner.
• None Attempt blocked. Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Dani Alves.
• None Offside, Barcelona. Andrés Iniesta tries a through ball, but Gerard Piqué is caught offside.
• None Attempt saved. Sami Khedira (Juventus) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Juan Cuadrado. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39611661
|
UK General Election 2017 | BBC News
|
2017-04-20
| null |
All the BBC's coverage of the 2017 UK General Election including news, analysis and results.
| null |
May to form government with DUP backing
Theresa May says she will govern with her Democratic Unionist "friends" and "get on" with Brexit after losing her majority, but rivals say she has caused chaos.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2017
|
World Championship 2017: Shaun Murphy & Ronnie O'Sullivan prepare to meet - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan and 2005 champion Shaun Murphy clash over O'Sullivan's claims of "bullying" by the snooker authorities, ahead of their second-round match at the World Championship.
| null |
Five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and 2005 winner Shaun Murphy clash over O'Sullivan's claims of "bullying" by the snooker authorities, ahead of their meeting in the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield.
Watch live coverage of Shaun Murphy v Ronnie O'Sullivan, Thursday 20 April, 19:00 BST on the BBC Red Button and the BBC Sport website & app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39657890
|
World Championship 2017: Neil Robertson beats Noppon Saengkham in first round - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Former champion Neil Robertson is made to wait before beating Noppon Saengkham in the first round of the World Championship.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Former champion Neil Robertson was made to wait before seeing off Thailand's Noppon Saengkham 10-4 in the first round of the World Championship.
The 2010 Crucible winner resumed 8-1 ahead, but Crucible debutant Saengkham finally relaxed to win three of the first four frames on Thursday.
A break of 76 saw Robertson, ranked ninth in the world, take the frame he needed to close out victory.
The 35-year-old Australian will face Marco Fu in the second round.
"I am very happy to get through. The damage was done yesterday when I took advantage of his nerves on his debut and punished his mistakes," Robertson said.
"Today he came out without any pressure on him and he knocked in a lot of great balls to nick a few back. But at 8-1 ahead you will have to not to turn up to get beat from there.
"I was a little bit slack on a couple of shots but regained my focus after the interval and was determined to finish it off."
In the afternoon's other match - the first second-round encounter of this year's tournament - world number 14 Kyren Wilson leads 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham 5-3.
Wilson, 25, raced into a 5-0 lead against his out-of-sorts opponent, but Bingham recovered to score two 50s in taking the three remaining frames of the session.
In the evening session, Ronnie O'Sullivan faces Shaun Murphy in a mouthwatering and potentially spiky last-16 match.
It is five-time champion O'Sullivan's first appearance since accusing snooker bosses of bullying, claims that 2005 champion Murphy said were "completely wrong".
Barry Hawkins resumes 7-2 up against Tom Ford in an all-English affair, the final first-round match to be played.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39659712
|
World Championship: Shaun Murphy's 'exhibition' trick shot - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Shaun Murphy pulls off an exquisite "exhibition" trick shot during his second-round match against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible.
| null |
Shaun Murphy pulls off an exquisite "exhibition" trick shot during his second-round match against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible.
Available to UK users only.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39660136
|
Northern Ireland Assembly Election 2017 | BBC News
|
2017-04-20
| null |
All the BBC's coverage of the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly Election including news, analysis and results.
| null |
MPs agree to a government proposal to extend the deadline to restore devolution until 29 June.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/ni2017
|
MS-13 gang: The story behind one of the world's most brutal street gangs - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Born in the barrios of Los Angeles, MS-13 has risen to become one of the world's most feared gangs.
|
US & Canada
|
A string of brutal murders in the US has thrown a national spotlight on MS-13, a street gang that was born in LA but has roots in El Salvador.
The latest was a mass murder on Monday on Long Island, where the bodies of four males, including three teenagers, were found mangled in the woods, according to police.
President Trump tweeted to call the gang "bad". Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to "devastate" it. Both blamed Obama-era immigration policy for its rise.
But what is MS-13 and is Obama really to blame?
The gang began in the barrios of Los Angeles in LA during the 1980s, formed by immigrants who had fled El Salvador's long and brutal civil war. Other members came from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.
The MS stands for Mara Salvatrucha, said to be a combination of Mara, meaning gang, Salva, for Salvador, and trucha, which translates roughly into street smarts. The 13 represents the position of M in the alphabet.
MS-13 established a reputation for extreme violence and for killing with machetes. It took root in neighbourhoods dominated by Mexican gangs, and later expanded to other parts of the country.
According to the FBI, the gang has spread to 46 states.
In 2012, the US Treasury designated the gang a "transnational criminal organisation". It was the first street gang to receive the dubious honour, placing it alongside much larger international cartels like the Mexican Zetas, Japanese Yakuza and Italian Camorra.
MS-13 has been accused of recruiting poor and at-risk teenagers. Joining is said to require being "jumped in" - subjected to a vicious 13-second beating - and "getting wet" - carrying out a crime, often a murder, for the gang.
Leaving is potentially even more dangerous. Large chest tattoos brand members for life, and some factions are said to murder members who attempt to leave.
A 2008 FBI threat assessment put the size of MS-13 between 6,000 and 10,000 members in the US, making it one of the largest criminal enterprises in the country.
It is now larger outside the country, according to the agency. An anti-gang crackdown in the late 1990s saw hundreds of early members shipped back to Central American countries, where they established offshoots. Estimates put the number of members in Central American countries at at least 60,000.
The gang's annual revenue is about $31.2m (£23.4m) according to information from a large-scale Salvadorean police operation obtained by the El Faro newspaper - mainly from from drugs and extortion.
Recent high-profile cases linked to the gang include the murder of two female high-school students who were attacked with a machete and baseball bat as they walked through their neighbourhood in New York last month - a revenge attack over a minor dispute, according to police.
Four alleged MS-13 members were charged with that crime. Another two alleged members were charged at the same time with the murder of a fellow gang member said to have violated gang protocol.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The same month, two alleged members of the gang in Houston, Texas were charged with kidnapping three teenage girls, holding them hostage and raping them before shooting one dead on the side of the road.
Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, laughed and waved at the cameras during their court appearance.
MS-13's motto is "kill, rape, control", according to one FBI gang specialist who investigated the group.
Mr Trump and Mr Sessions have pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama over the spread of MS-13, alleging that his open-door immigration policies fuelled its growth.
But the gang formed and flourished in the US long before Mr Obama came to power. MS-13 was identified as a significant threat in the 1990s, and a special FBI taskforce was convened against the gang in 1994.
"The big surge was during Bush-Cheney when the drivers of illegal migration in Central America grew, when various crackdowns on crime filled prisons to bursting point, and when funding for rehabilitation programs declined," Fulton T Armstrong, a research fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, told fact-checking website Politifact.
"I have seen no evidence that the Obama administration can be blamed in any way for the existence or activities of the gang in the US," said Ioan Grillo, author of a book on US gang crime.
The Obama administration also prioritised the deportation of gang criminals, including MS-13 members, in an aggressive deportation program.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39645640
|
British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland got his selections right and they can win - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Former England and Lions centre Jeremy Guscott says Warren Gatland got his selections right and the squad is good enough to beat New Zealand.
| null |
Warren Gatland has got it right.
I like the look and balance of the squad. The players are good enough to win the series, the challenge will be whether they can.
New Zealand at home are pretty much unbeatable. The statistics and a great deal of logic suggests a Lions win would be unlikely, but they have the best possible chance.
This is a talented squad of players. They have an opportunity to create a serious part of history against the best team in the world.
• None Listen to Radio 5 live's special on the Lions squad announcement
'Two-thirds of the squad was already inked in'
The omissions from the squad are down to the level of competition for places. I am just glad it was Warren who had to do it and not me.
England captain Dylan Hartley's absence was not a massive surprise, given the quality of what Gatland is left with at hooker in Rory Best, Ken Owens and Jamie George. Dylan said himself in the lead-up to the announcement that it would be a bonus if he was selected. I guess that was him preparing himself for the news.
Gatland will have different requirements from his hooker than Eddie Jones has with England. Personally it has to be disappointing but Hartley will be prepared for it and will be thinking 'Argentina, here we come' as England tour there this summer.
The second row must have been the most talked about selection of all. So many great players, performing at a high quality in the Six Nations and in other domestic and European competition. You could look at Scotland's Jonny Gray and ask 'how, on statistics alone, can he possibly be left out?' Look at England lock Joe Launchbury and say 'how can a player of his quality be left out?' But look at who Gatland has picked in that position - Iain Henderson, Maro Itoje, Alun Wyn Jones, George Kruis and Courtney Lawes.
There were some who Gatland could not possibly leave out: Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton, CJ Stander, Owen Farrell, George Kruis and Stuart Hogg to name a few - and there are more. At least two-thirds of the squad was inked in before selection.
'Te'o could start the first Test'
There are a number of first-timers that will challenge guys that have been there before.
Jared Payne is seen as a slight surprise because he's been injured.
Kyle Sinckler is a dynamic, powerful ball carrier. You have to beat the All Blacks by being confrontational. There is nothing better than smashing through defenders, running aggressively. Sinckler has the ability to produce that kind of form.
Ben Te'o's power and the damage he does will fit Gatland's style to a tee. His Welsh team was all about thrust, power and dominance. If Sonny Bill Williams starts, who knows him better than Te'o, who has played against him more than anyone in rugby league? I can comfortably see Te'o starting.
Gatland has in mind how he believes he can beat the All Blacks with the players he has available. Now he has selected those players who best fit that style. But he does also have players like Payne, Jonathan Joseph, Jack Nowell and Liam Williams who are not all smash and grab and bulk. There is some finesse and skill in that squad.
'Warburton is tried and tested'
Sam Warburton carries some great credentials and is highly regarded and respected at international level.
His performances in this year's Six Nations just got better and better, which got rid of any doubts over his performance.
His pedigree is first class, what he has won throughout his career to date stands up against some quality competition. He is proven, tried and tested. Hopefully he can lead them playing well and stay the course.
He plays in a position where he does get battered. He is likely to be at open-side flanker because another player in CJ Stander picks himself at blind-side. The All Blacks play with a great ferocity at the breakdown, Warburton knows that and I hope he is in a great position to withstand that for the series.
'You need the right blend on tour'
England and Ireland performed well in the Six Nations and autumn internationals, they knew they had a good chance of having good representation in the squad.
When you put together a Lions squad you are not always thinking of the very best players, but also the best blend to tour for five to six weeks and who can get the best out of one another. What contribution can players make outside the game of rugby?
The form of a player goes a long way to determine if they make it. When there is a close decision to be made, the personality and character of a player can get them across the line and onto the tour.
None of these players had shocking seasons, not one does not deserve to be where they are. At one time or another they have shown world-class form.
We know some will get injured, some that are selected might not make it to the plane. I know on average six to eight replacements might make their way to New Zealand for the tour. Even those who have not made the official line-up will keep themselves ready.
'Everyone has a chance of starting the first Test'
It is hard enough to choose the 41, let alone 23 for a match-day squad.
Jonathan Davies might not be in world-class form but he has a Lions pedigree. Some players move up a notch when they play for the Lions. Davies' last tour against Australia in 2013 was sensational, Warren will believe he can get the best out of him again. But Davies will know he is in one hell of a fight to retain his Test jersey.
Alun Wyn Jones is not captain and he is not safe either. Everyone has a chance. As a virgin tourist or an established tourist, I always knew I had a chance and a threat of someone coming and taking your place.
People will think what chance does Peter O'Mahony have of starting in that Test team? I think he has every chance, just look at his performance in his last game against England. If he goes out and plays before the first Test with that kind of intensity and impact he will stand a chance.
Every player in that 41 has every chance of playing in the first Test. They are all high-quality international players.
The coach has a pre-determined idea of how he feels that squad will play, but that can evolve. We will see the shaping of the Test team evolve over the first few weeks. Certain players, no doubt, will play themselves into that Test team.
It will be fascinating to watch, brilliant for us as supporters. There is nothing better than watching players come through and pick themselves.
'This is why you play rugby'
I got a late call-up because of an injury to Will Carling in 1989. I could not take the smile from my face for the rest of my career because of the opportunity to be part of something incredibly special.
You never want to stop going on Lions tours. It is one of the biggest parts of a rugby career if you get on a good one. I was fortunate to go on three enjoyable tours, which gave me fantastic experiences that will live with me forever.
Every time a Lions squad announcement is made, excitement courses through me. I relate to the players that are selected and what they are looking forward to. There are quite a few first-timers who will be delirious with excitement.
As a former Lion, I am envious of the opportunity these guys are are about to embark on. This is why you play rugby, to have these sorts of opportunities. It is mind-blowing. You will try and take it in your strike, but you want to explode. The key thing is keeping a lid on that explosion.
The way to beat New Zealand is playing with super intensity, some fortune and a very low level of mistakes. It sounds obvious, but not many teams are able to do it.
Gatland and his coaches have to get their players at a level of intensity so they are looking forward to what they are facing, simmering but not boiling over.
Look at the intensity England played with last summer in Australia, the intensity Ireland took to Chicago. The intensity Wales took to New Zealand last year for 40 to 60 minutes. You combine all of that and you have got some serious intensity.
I think they're going to be a tremendous squad. In 1993 we ran them to the last Test and then they put us away. In 2005 it was a non-contest, they were way too good. This time the balance is changing, we will see how far when they get there.
In times gone by, the New Zealand side had players that would walk into a world XV, but there aren't many players who would do that now. That for me is world rugby balancing off.
It will be hard and tough, especially if they play their best players in the provincial games. But if I was part of the Lions squad I would want to face the Test players in the warm-up matches.
The challenge is there and they have to rise to it. They are more than capable of giving a good account of themselves. Lions tours are one of adversity, you are not given much chance as a squad, your job is to earn the respect of a country and the only way to do that is by performing well and winning games.
They have a big opportunity to create some brilliant history.
To win would be sensational, as sensational as any series win in New Zealand in any Lions era. This is truly the biggest challenge of any Lions tour.
If I was part of that squad I would have high hopes of being successful. The question Gatland and his coaches will ask is 'why can't you win?'
• None Get all the latest rugby union news by adding
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39645553
|
Virgin Money chief: Dealing with depression made me stronger - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
One of the UK’s top businesswomen, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, reveals her efforts to tackle mental health issues.
|
Business
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "I always thought depression was something a bit weak-minded"
The hardest challenge for many business leaders is how to deal with mental health, an issue that still makes many uncomfortable.
Even harder than that is when those mental health issues affect you.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of the bank Virgin Money and one of the UK's most successful businesswomen, has told the BBC of her own efforts to tackle mental health issues.
In a wide-ranging interview, she said that she had suffered post-natal depression after the birth of her daughter and had "suicidal thoughts" because of the intense pressure as Virgin Money was preparing for a stock market flotation.
She said that it was time for businesses to speak more openly about mental health issues and that her own battles with mental health problems had made her stronger.
Ms Gadhia was speaking to mark the publication of her autobiography, The Virgin Banker.
In it, she describes how many business leaders still act like "dinosaurs" towards women.
On one occasion when Ms Gadhia was finding an issue at work difficult, a senior male colleague asked her "if she was going through the menopause".
"I was at a dinner with some of the [banking] regulators last year and there was a very senior City man there and the conversation turned to gender equality," Ms Gadhia told me.
"And he said, I am all for gender equality, but what happens if I employ a woman and the next week she tells me: 'I'm pregnant?'
"And there was a gasp around the table to think that people were still thinking like that.
"I remember going back to the office and saying: 'You know what, the dinosaurs are still out there.'
"It is undoubtedly the case. I see it from time to time.
"But equally I see the opposite, I also see that senior men in the City are talking to me about how they can help.
"So I don't want to portray a picture of bleakness - there are definitely pockets that haven't improved, but there are definitely very influential men and women who want to make it [greater gender equality] work."
Ms Gadhia revealed that one of her toughest periods in work was following the birth of her daughter, Amy, in 2003.
With her husband, Ash, she had been through many cycles of IVF which had not worked.
They had tried one final time and Ms Gadhia had become pregnant, which had made her feel "thrilled".
But depression struck after the birth.
"Ash had given up his job and we had only me earning, a new mouth to feed and I remember feeling completely out of control because what I wanted to achieve - that is, packing up work and staying with my child - was unachievable," Ms Gadhia said, speaking publicly about how she was affected for the first time.
"How on earth was I going to manage that?
"It was the first time that I'd ever, ever experienced what people described as depression.
"I had always thought, despite the fact that my mum had suffered over the years with her own issues, that depression is something that was a bit weak-minded or something.
"And when it hit me, I realised nothing could be further from the truth.
"And when I read the Harry Potter books and saw the Dementors, that is how depression felt to me - that sort of a thing that comes into your life and sucks all of your energy out of it - and I just felt hopeless.
"I didn't know where to go, I didn't know what to do do, who to talk to and at that point, everybody expects you to be happy and thrilled."
After many months of suffering - at one point, Ms Gadhia was convinced her baby daughter was dead - she eventually went to the doctor for help.
The clinical tests showed that her depression was serious.
"It was knowing what I was dealing with that helped me to deal with it," she said.
"I think if I'd have just gone on and not realised that I had a clinical problem and that depression wasn't something that you can just sort of push through, it would have been very different."
Prince Harry has been praised for speaking out by mental health charities
Ms Gadhia started working shorter hours, took exercise and put her life back into "balance".
She says that a healthier work-life balance wasn't just good for her and her family, it was also good for work.
The first year she changed the way she worked, Ms Gadhia received the highest bonus of her career.
She said that it was important that businesses had an open attitude to mental health, which can affect up to one in four adults.
More than 15 million working days a year are lost to problems of depression, anxiety or stress, costing businesses up to £70bn annually.
Yesterday, Prince Harry received widespread praise after talking to the Telegraph's Bryony Gordon about his mental health problems, following the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
Prince Harry revealed that he had "shut down all his emotions" for 16 years before seeking help.
"I think we still have a culture of not talking about it," Ms Gadhia said.
"I don't want to get to a place where we we've got everybody crying on each other's shoulders.
"But I think finding a way for organisations to support staff that want to talk about the issues that they're going through and having maturity of line management to know when that's required - to know where help can come - is really important.
"If someone turns up to work on crutches with a broken leg, it is easier to sympathise or empathise or help.
"But when you can't see it, I think that's much harder. It is easier to dismiss and the dismissal, the putdown if you like, makes the problem worse.
"I think that's part of the reason why both raising the issue - and in a sensible and controlled way, discussing it - means it can be remediated in some way, whatever the right way is for the individual. It's super-important."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39627130
|
Health: A key issue in the general election - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Brexit may dominate the coming election - but the polls show the NHS is high on the public's list of concerns.
|
Health
|
Health is always discussed on the doorsteps in general election campaigns.
Labour has long seen the NHS as its defining electoral issue.
The Conservatives have tried hard to demonstrate their commitment with pledges in recent years of above-inflation investment.
But how much difference will it make this time in a campaign that is sure to be dominated by Brexit?
Polling suggests the state of the NHS is high on people's list of concerns.
An Ipsos/Mori survey in January in association with the Economist showed that 49% of respondents considered it to be one of the biggest issues facing Britain, up nine percentage points since December and the highest level recorded since April 2003.
This was slightly ahead of the proportion (41%) seeing the EU and Brexit as a major issue. Immigration was next on the list, though lower than in December.
The same survey just before the general election in May 2015 had the economy, the NHS and immigration bunched quite closely together as issues of the highest public concern.
The latest snapshot has the NHS pulling ahead of both. But the key question is whether what people tell the pollsters are key issues translates into voting intentions.
The King's Fund think tank recently analysed the British Social Attitudes survey taken across England, Scotland and Wales and found that public satisfaction with the NHS was high at 63%, little changed from 2015.
It is worth pointing out, though, that this polling was carried out in the summer and early autumn of 2016 before the latest bout of winter pressures.
The general election health debate will be about England as governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their health services and they have no elections this time.
Labour made health a central plank of its 2015 election campaign. Andy Burnham, then the party's health spokesman, spoke out forcefully about the pressures on hospitals over the preceding winter.
He also accused the Conservatives of encouraging privatisation of the NHS, which they in turn denied.
But this failed to cut through, as the Tories achieved a majority.
This time Labour is stressing that health will again be central to its campaigning effort.
Jon Ashworth believes public concern about the NHS has intensified
The shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, believes that public concern is greater than in 2015 and that a tipping point has been reached over A&E delays and longer waits for routine operations.
On some benchmarks NHS England has seen its worst ever winter as hospitals have struggled to keep up with rising patient demand.
What will become clear in the weeks ahead is whether patient frustration is being raised consistently with canvassers on the doorsteps.
Labour will allege the Conservative government has failed to get to grips with an NHS crisis.
Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour left will push their claim that the government has allowed private providers to take an increasing share of the NHS cake and there is a covert agenda to undermine the service.
The proportion of the NHS budget in England allocated to private organisations has increased. But whether this cuts any ice beyond the core Labour vote is far from certain.
NHS spending will no doubt feature strongly in the campaign debates.
Labour has yet to say how much more money it will pledge to health.
The Liberal Democrats have hinted strongly they will call for higher NHS budgets with a ring-fenced health and social care tax.
A review of health policy for the Lib Dems raised the idea of an independent body to predict spending requirements.
Health spokesman Norman Lamb has pushed the idea of a cross-party approach to chart the future of the NHS.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have indicated they will campaign on the potential problems for the health and social care workforce when the UK leaves the EU.
Promises to guarantee citizenship rights for existing staff from the EU working in this country seem likely.
Jeremy Hunt will defend his record as a long-serving health secretary
All that leaves the Conservatives and Jeremy Hunt, the longest-serving health secretary in modern times, defending their record on health.
Party sources indicate that an "aggressive case" will be made and that "scare stories" about the state of the NHS will be rebutted.
They point to the recent update on strategy by the head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, in which he pointed to cancer survival being at a record high, improved dementia diagnosis and safer patient care.
What remains to be seen is how much emphasis will be given to the seven-day NHS pledge made in 2015.
The Conservatives will undoubtedly be challenged on whether enough money has been allocated to the NHS up to 2020.
They will highlight the £2bn pledged for adult social care in England over the next three years.
Politicians in England will soon discover as they knock on doors whether the NHS could this time be an issue that will swing votes as well as fuelling campaign rhetoric.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39640624
|
Tiger Woods has back surgery and is expected to be out for six months - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Ex-world number one Tiger Woods has another operation to treat ongoing pain in his back and leg that has kept him out since February.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Golf
Tiger Woods faces a further six months on the sidelines after having another operation to try and cure pain in his back and leg.
The American 14-time major winner has had surgery three times in 19 months.
"I look forward to living without the pain I have been battling so long and to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids and competing in professional golf," said Woods, 41.
Woods is likely to miss this summer's US Open, Open Championship and US PGA.
"The surgery went well, and I'm optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain," said Woods, who will rest for several weeks before beginning his rehabilitation.
The former world number one returned to action in December 2016 after 15 months out following two back operations.
However, he was forced to withdraw before the second round of February's Dubai Desert Classic after a back spasm.
And he was unable to take part in this month's Masters, an event in which the four-time champion has only competed once since 2014.
Woods won the last of his 14 major titles at the US Open in June 2008.
A statement on his website said that patients "typically return to full activity after six months".
This is yet another massive blow to Tiger Woods' hopes of resurrecting his career. It is another lost season, another lengthy spell of rehab and another period in which the leading players stretch further clear of the former world number one.
His main objective is merely a pain-free life in which he is able to accomplish the domestic and family lifestyle most of us take for granted. Returning to the heights of the top of the sporting world seems further away than ever.
It feels as though he is moving ever closer to a painfully anti-climactic end to his career.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/39662377
|
Serena Williams: How can you win a Grand Slam while pregnant? - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Serena Williams won the Australian Open while pregnant - BBC Sport asks what challenges the world's best female tennis player faced.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
With or without the benefit of hindsight, Serena Williams' victory at the Australian Open in January was sublime.
The 'greatest female tennis player of the Open era' won her 23rd Grand Slam without dropping a set.
But when you learn she did it while in the early stages of pregnancy, the feat becomes exceptional.
So how is it possible to win a Grand Slam while pregnant?
Dr Markos Klonizakis, a senior research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University, says the triumph at that stage of pregnancy is "amazing".
"It is not easy for any woman to adapt to changes in her body, let alone while playing sport at an elite level," he said.
"Physiologically, the main challenge women face within about five weeks of pregnancy is in adapting to changes to the cardiovascular system.
"These are rapid and ensure blood and oxygen supply to the foetus.
"Many women feel they cannot breathe as easily as their heart rate increases.
"The nature of a Grand Slam tournament, where players have to recover to play consecutive matches, would have been a challenge for her, if you take into account nausea as well."
Professor Janice Rymer, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, added: "For elite athletes, a tailored training and nutrition plan would normally be developed with a specialist team.
"High levels of exercise at around eight weeks gestation should not affect pregnancy for these athletes and those used to high levels of exercise.
"During the first few weeks of pregnancy these hormones may actually boost physical performance as a woman's natural production of steroids will increase slightly."
Williams is not the first elite athlete to compete while pregnant.
British Olympic cycling champion Laura Kenny told BBC Radio 5 live: "I was still competing when I first found out I was pregnant. I actually won the madison nationals with Elinor Barker when I was about five or six weeks pregnant, but any time after that I just feel like it is so intense that I wouldn't have been able to [compete]."
Nigerian table-tennis player Olufunke Oshonaike who appeared at her sixth Olympic Games in Rio - only the second African women to do so - carried on playing when she was seven months pregnant, despite her "big belly".
Only last week, American swimmer Dana Vollmer competed in an elite 50m freestyle race while six months pregnant.
"As hard as people think this is, the race is only 30 seconds long as opposed to the entire day I spend holding and chasing around a 35-pound two-year-old," she said.
"This will feel like a break."
After winning gold in the 100m butterfly in the 2012 London Olympics, Vollmer took time off to have her first child, son Arlen, and returned in time to qualify for Rio.
But this time around, she has made the decision to continue training. Baby number two, another boy, is due in July.
"Putting the health of the baby first doesn't just mean sitting on the couch," the 29-year-old said.
In June 2014, Alysia Montano competed in the 800m quarter-finals of the US track and field championships while eight months pregnant.
The then 28-year-old runner, who received a standing ovation after completing the race in 2 minutes 32.13 seconds, told the Daily Mail: "I've been running throughout my pregnancy and I felt really, really good during the whole process."
Her finishing time was 35 seconds slower than her personal best of 1:57.34, but she added: "I just didn't want to get lapped and be the first person to get lapped in the 800m."
Five-time Olympian and mother-of-two Jo Pavey told BBC Sport: "It is difficult for sportswomen because [Williams] might not have known she was pregnant.
"I chose not to compete when I was pregnant. I did run round a women's 10k just to keep fit, but I didn't run as far as I could.
"I chose not to push myself to the limit, just to keep fit and active."
And marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe said in 2015: "My priorities changed the minute I knew I was pregnant, and everything I did centred around the baby.
"I lost that competitive instinct. It wasn't about running certain times in training anymore."
Williams' incredible feat led to a bout of introspection on social media, captured by BBC Sport's Sportsday Live debate under the heading:
'Serena Williams won the Australian Open when she was pregnant, but...'
Here's the best of your answers:
Danny Kibbey: So Serena won a Grand Slam at 8 weeks? Pff, my missus completed IRONMAN WALES at 12 weeks (I watched on telly).
Mike T: Serena Williams was pregnant when she won the Australian Open and I can't even be bothered to finish this senten...
Taryn Finley: Serena Williams was pregnant when she won the Australia Open in Jan, but I can't even get out of bed when I'm on my period.
Raun Anand: Serena Williams won a Grand Slam whilst pregnant and I have trouble reaching for the remote after a McSpicy.
Alison Hennessey: She won the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant. And I complain about a dynamic yoga class..
Lisa: Serena Williams was pregnant when she won the Australian Open and I struggle to walk upstairs after a big lunch.
Aquelious: Serena Williams won the Aus Open when she was pregnant but I get tired if my FIFA17 match goes to extra time!!!
Chimp: Serena Williams won the Aus Open when she was pregnant, but I once completed a 24 hour Le Mans race on Gran Turismo. AND won.
Jablesfifa: Serena Williams won Aus Open while pregnant, but I got subbed off in the first half of a football match due to a wasp sting.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39653317
|
May sets out her stall - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
If the PM's first campaign visit is anything to go by, "long-term economic plan" will be replaced by "strong and stable".
|
UK Politics
|
At the moment (although we know Theresa May is very capable of changing her mind) there won't be head to head TV clashes between the PM and Jeremy Corbyn - or the PM and Nicola Sturgeon, or the PM with anyone else for that matter.
One, the Tory leader is no fan of the glitz of the TV studio. That's one reason why Number 10 is adamant that she will not take part in TV debates. But two - it's not just down to her very different style, but also, as David Cameron learnt very quickly, front runners in any campaign have everything to lose in those debates, and the underdogs have everything to gain.
Downing Street knows they will take a certain amount of flak for the decision not to play ball, and the opposition parties are of course relishing every opportunity to say that the PM is too frightened to defend her record.
But right now Mrs May's allies are willing to wear it, rather than broker the risk of taking part, even if the broadcasters go ahead with the programmes without her.
What will you hear a lot of from the Tory leader? Well if her very first campaign visit is anything to go by, David Cameron and George Osborne's "long-term economic plan" mantra will be replaced by the phrase "strong and stable".
On the stump you'd be forgiven for losing count of the number of times she used the phrase. One totting-up puts it at 13 mentions.
Brexit has undoubtedly set the backdrop for this election, and provided the catalyst for its timing. But the Conservatives plan to win to deliver their version of Brexit by again and again comparing what they claim is the "strong and stable" leadership provided by the sitting prime minister, and the alternative put forward by Jeremy Corbyn.
Tomorrow he'll make his first big election speech, his first big chance to recast that argument.
• None Brexit triggered: What happens now?
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39648464
|
UK's aid budget: Decision time for Theresa May - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Will the prime minister choose to retain Britain's commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP on international aid?
|
UK Politics
|
A few weeks ago, Theresa May did something rather unusual. The prime minister went to Scotland and delivered a speech in praise of Britain's aid budget. As far as I can determine, this was a first. She praised the Department for International Development (DfID) that delivers that budget.
In an unexpected flurry of alliteration, she praised the aid money being spent in Somalia, South Sudan and Syria. She said UK aid "helps millions around the world and speaks strongly to the values that we share as a country".
But here's the thing: at no point did she mention the government's commitment - set out in law - to spend 0.7% of Britain's national income on foreign aid.
As ever, Mrs May was hedging her bets. For she is torn between competing pressures. On the one hand, she is under political pressure from supportive newspapers such as the Daily Mail to scrap the commitment. Some of her MPs are joining in, publicly attacking a £13bn budget they see as too large and too wasteful.
In a time of austerity and rising deficits, there are genuine questions about whether the aid budget should continue to be protected when others are facing cuts.
In these circumstances, it might seem tempting for the prime minister to ditch yet another of her predecessor's legacy policies.
In a speech in Scotland, Theresa May praised the UK's international aid budget and DfID
Yet Mrs May has also found it rather useful in recent months to praise the aid budget.
When she argues that Brexit does not mean Britain turning in on itself, she recites a list that includes the UK's seat on the UN Security Council, its membership of Nato, and its commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence and 0.7% on international aid.
In Scotland, she used Britain's aid budget - and the soft power that it provided - to show what she thought the UK could deliver if the union continued.
She also likes the argument that Britain's aid budget gives it global diplomatic clout.
Until recently, there was an assumption at Westminster that the aid commitment would be up for grabs towards the end of the Parliament, ahead of an election in 2020.
One scenario was that Mrs May might have offered to drop the aid target to mollify Tory MPs unhappy with whatever compromise deal she negotiates on Brexit.
But the decision to go for an early election has accelerated that debate.
Its critics say that the UK's £13bn aid budget is too large and too wasteful
And right now there is a vacuum of uncertainty.
The Conservatives are refusing to say whether they will renew the 0.7% target in their election manifesto.
At Prime Minister's Questions this week, Mrs May gave an ambiguous, non-committal answer when asked to reaffirm the pledge.
Her party spokesman said simply that the government would continue to support the poorest people around the world.
As for the manifesto and the aid commitment, he said only that "we will set out our plans in due course".
It is into this debate that the global philanthropist Bill Gates is making his pitch, warning the prime minister that dropping the aid target would "cost lives".
The uncertainty about Mrs May's intentions has prompted much speculation.
Some Tories say the aid target should be merged into a new defence spending target.
Others say it should be redefined to include more security related needs.
Others again say the target should be kept but with different definitions, so that it has to be met not every 12 months but over an entire five-year Parliament.
This would mean that DfID would not have to spend money rashly at the end of the financial year simply to meet what is an artificial target.
So it is decision time for Theresa May on aid.
She could keep the 0.7% in her election manifesto.
This would incur the wrath of some Conservative MPs and voters who think the bloated aid budget would be better spent on schools and hospitals at home.
But it would also avoid a distracting row that might bleed into the election campaign.
The last thing the prime minister wants to do right now is upset potential Tory voters on the liberal left who are disillusioned with the Labour leadership.
Nor does she want to give the Liberal Democrats an early election gift.
Or the prime minister could drop or amend the aid target.
This would please her political base, but it would also make it harder to argue that Britain was showing global leadership.
Spending less on aid would reduce Britain's soft power, making it less easy for ministers to open doors in foreign capitals.
It would also undermine all those arguments that she and other ministers - such as the Development Secretary Priti Patel - have been making in defence of UK aid: namely that it promotes Britain's national interests by deterring refugees from Europe and turning fragile states into potential trading partners.
In that speech in Scotland, Theresa May said: "We are a kind and generous country... a big country that will never let down - or turn our back on - those in need.
"We are a country that does, and will always, meet our commitments to the world - and particularly to those who so desperately need our support."
We are about to find out what those words mean.
• None UK foreign aid- Where does it go and why?
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39660866
|
Reality Check: Could election improve UK’s Brexit position? - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
How did the Brexit timetable affect the decision to call an early general election?
|
UK Politics
|
The claim: The prime minister justified calling an early election on the basis that it would strengthen her position in the Brexit negotiations.
Reality Check verdict: If she won, a larger majority would give her more flexibility to chart her own Brexit course at home and not having another election until 2022 would be advantageous. But it wouldn't necessarily strengthen her hand in negotiations with the rest of the EU.
Theresa May told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she had called the snap election because she believed it would put her in a stronger position as she starts to negotiate the UK's exit from the EU.
Would she be in a stronger position domestically?
If she won, a bigger majority would reduce the chances of a rebellion, either from Remain supporters or from those who advocate a more hardline Brexit.
Of course, if the new Parliament has a greater number of ardent Remain supporters or she has a smaller majority or loses, that would be a different matter.
Would a bigger majority in the UK Parliament strengthen her hand with the EU?
It certainly wouldn't weaken it, but winning an election doesn't automatically give you more leverage in negotiations with the EU. Consider the case of Alexis Tsipras in Greece, who swept to power promising to end austerity and renegotiate Greece's bailout programme. He couldn't deliver because the rest of the EU refused to change course.
EU negotiators would actually welcome a UK government with a larger majority because they believe it would make negotiations more secure and be the best guarantee of avoiding last-minute complications.
But the biggest impact of an early election could be on what happens after March 2019, when the UK is scheduled to leave the EU.
The prime minister told the Today programme: "If you look at the timetable, had the election been in 2020 we would have been coming up to the most crucial part of the negotiations - in what would have started to be the run-up to a general election."
In other words, an election in 2020 would take place during a transition period (the government prefers the term "implementation phase") at a time when we could - in effect - be half in and half out of the EU, during a transition period.
Delaying the election means there would be less political pressure during that transition - when the UK would have to make compromises on issues such as free movement of people, budget payments and the role of the European Court of Justice.
To put it another way, holding an election now, and then another in June 2022, means in theory that a prime minister would have two years of Article 50 negotiations and then another three years of transition arrangements before they would have to go back to the country to let voters give their verdict on whether they had done a good job.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39641230
|
Why you need to question your hippo boss - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The problem of "hippos" in the workplace - and why it is important that their decisions can be openly questioned.
|
Business
|
Is the hippo in your workforce too dominating?
As Richard sat in an important meeting at work, he and his colleagues nervously considered the hippo in the room.
Richard, who works for a TV production company in Toronto, was attending a key meeting to discuss future projects. And the hippo was dominating proceedings far too much.
Thankfully for the firm's health and safety considerations, there wasn't actually a large semi-aquatic mammal in the room with them.
Instead this "hippo" was an acronym for "the highest paid person's opinion", and the other attendees were too scared to question its wisdom.
"I can recall meetings where people are brainstorming, throwing around ideas, and ultimately going with what the boss came up with on a whim," says Richard, 34, who did not want us to use his surname.
Some bosses can be difficult to argue with
"You kind of see all the subordinates in the room glancing at each other defeated, [their faces] saying, 'are we really going ahead with this?'"
Most of us have had to work for an overly dominating hippo at some time in our careers - a boss who staff feel unable to criticise, or whose every idea employees feel they have to praise.
But how often is the unchallenged boss's decision correct? Far from all the time if a study by the Rotterdam School of Management is to be believed.
The report found that projects led by junior managers were more likely to be successful than those that had a senior boss in charge, because other employees felt far more able to voice their opinions and give critical feedback.
Balazs Szatmari, the lead author of the study, says: "The surprising thing in our findings is that high-status project leaders fail more often.
"I believe that this happens not despite the unconditional support they get, but actually because of it."
Balazs Szatmari says staff often feel unable to question their senior bosses
Mr Szatmari, who looked at 349 projects in the video games industry dating back to 1972, says that staff were likely to fear "the possible consequences of criticising the work of high-status employees".
Short of senior bosses not allowing themselves to do much at work, what is the solution?
Sarah Biggerstaff, a lecturer in leadership at Yale School of Management in Connecticut, says that companies simply have to work hard to allow staff to question their senior bosses' decisions without any fear of reprisal.
"It can be challenging to give feedback if there is a culture of fear around the office," she says.
"In that kind of organisation, if you don't go with the flow you won't get promoted. Or what's happened historically is that people pay lip service to executives instead of giving them constructive feedback in order to toe the line."
Sarah Biggerstaff says firms need to create a culture where senior bosses can be questioned
James Farrow, founding director of UK management consultancy Curium Solutions, agrees that senior managers should encourage staff to question their decisions and then "acknowledge the different perspective, and not leap... to disprove their viewpoint".
He adds that senior figures should "never ridicule or push back strongly in large groups, so that people feel safe voicing their views".
Brian Morgan, professor of entrepreneurship at Cardiff Metropolitan University, says there are numerous examples of bad business decisions that may have been prevented if senior bosses had been more willing to accept a collective approach to decision making.
"The recent whistleblowing controversy at UK bank Barclays has brought into sharp focus the importance of creating a corporate culture of openness, where employees feel confident to speak candidly about some of the issues facing the business," he says.
Prof Morgan adds that Royal Bank of Scotland's ill-fated decision to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro in 2007 for £50bn may also have been avoided if middle managers at RBS had been given more of a say.
Barclays boss Jes Staley was recently criticised for trying to uncover a whistleblower
US computer group Cisco Systems has had a formal feedback system in place for a number of years to prevent senior figures making decisions in isolation.
Cassandra Frangos, vice president for global executive talent and organisational development at Cisco, says that in one incident it was reported that an executive "was distant and defensive, and that he didn't partner on key business decisions".
"The feedback was instantly eye-opening for the executive," she says.
Mr Szatmari's suggested solution to the problem is for the leader of any new project to be kept secret, thereby encouraging junior managers to be more willing to put across their honest opinions.
He says such a "blind review process" would work best in a large business, and "offer an opportunity for leaders to learn from their staff, and to engage in the type of meaningful dialogue every company should have".
Back in Toronto, Richard says he remembers one project in particular that a former hippo pushed through.
"One idea, an animated, musical web series never really went anywhere commercially, and deep down it was what we all expected."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39633499
|
Snipers and green tea on Helmand's front line - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Auliya Atrafi found worried residents and a complex conflict in the Afghan Taliban heartland.
|
Asia
|
Police and Taliban positions can be just a short distance apart in parts of Lashkar Gah
When I went back to Helmand I expected to find fighting, opium fields and new frontlines. But I didn't expect it to be so hard to distinguish between warring sides. And the fall of Sangin while I was there came as a big shock, writes BBC Afghan's Auliya Atrafi.
Going home to Helmand felt different this time - things really are unstable.
The last time I witnessed such a fluid situation was in the early 1990s after Kabul had fallen to the mujahideen.
A few communist families were in control. After that Helmand was ruled by the mujahideen and then by the Taliban. For the last 15 years, however, it's mainly been ruled by the Afghan government, although it's still considered a Taliban heartland and a centre of insurgency, smuggling and opium.
I took the road from Kabul to Helmand via Kandahar in mid-March - a precarious 10-hour bus journey. In recent months the main road leading to the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, has been in and out of government control.
From the bus I saw police stations that had been partially blown up by the Taliban. Bridges had been destroyed. The roadside was littered with the carcasses of burnt-out government Humvees.
This is normally the scariest part of the journey, as Taliban fighters try to kidnap government personnel, but I didn't encounter any.
Despite being surrounded by the Taliban, people in Lashkar Gah were calm. The Taliban seemed to be on the defensive as the government had started clearance operations.
A few times a day American Apache helicopters flew overhead, a reassuring sign the Taliban wouldn't be allowed to take over the city.
The Taliban take the American planes seriously; when they briefly captured the northern city of Kunduz in 2015, they paid a heavy price.
Nonetheless, staying positive was difficult. As one trader put it: "Life is shaky and people are disappointed with governance. Fighting is so close that when we sleep at night we can hear gun shots.
"Travelling is dangerous and takes longer, and schools are barely functioning. People are generally upset."
Amid the instability, locals are trying to move forward. But they are also aware their city could move from government to Taliban hands.
Many of the pragmatic Helmandis have found a guarantor - "a Taliban cousin" - among the insurgents in case the city falls.
"The Taliban told me to live in peace; they said their friends would arrive at my place as soon as they take the city," one resident said confidently.
Security personnel use what cover they can to observe the Taliban
Helmand is mostly made up of Sunni Pashtuns but it is also has a large Shia community.
The Taliban do not target Shia, unlike other Islamist extremist groups who view Shia as heretics. But Shia are generally pro-government and making such alliances has proved harder for them than their Sunni neighbours.
In Gereshk, north of Lashkar Gah, Shia are caught in the crossfire between a Taliban hotbed, Nahr Seraj, and the city.
Locals are scared and some remember violence that erupted in the early 1990s when the mujahideen took over the district.
"A commander called Rais of Baghran came. He took people out of their houses and shot them; he kicked people out and looted their properties," said district committee member Mirza Khan.
"We left everything behind; families fled in the middle of the night and migrated to Pakistan and Iran… We fear that might be repeated again."
It wasn't just Shia - as the communist government collapsed, many communities experienced similar treatment. But Shia in Gereshk say they were targeted by the commander while Sunnis were left alone.
Mirza Khan also says two tribal elders who appealed to the Taliban for the release of a prisoner two years ago were killed - something he calls a "sort of bias".
Helmand is at the heart of Afghanistan's opium trade
The Taliban say they have no racial or sectarian bias: "What has happened must have been a personal issue," a Taliban spokesman told the BBC.
Fear is not restricted to the Shia. In Lashkar Gah, the front line is on the city's western edge. I went to pay a visit to the border police battalion in the Bolan area.
The front line here is a crowded neighbourhood where children still play traditional games outside. But most of the houses lie empty, used by the warring sides.
We were advised to drive faster on some corners as the Taliban shoot at vehicles.
Commander Juma Khan thought it better we had tea inside his office, saying: "The Taliban threw a grenade into our courtyard a bit earlier."
"Are they so close?" I asked with a mixture of fear and astonishment.
"Yes," said Juma Khan, adding: "They sometimes throw stones at us from the other side of the wall."
I later heard that the two sides can hear one another - they even jokingly invite each other for tea, though the offer is always rejected.
The police station had many holes for observation and snipers. Some were on the roof and some were small tunnels.
It was hard to see much through the holes, but as we drank green tea in the commander's office there was a constant exchange of small arms fire.
The conflict in Helmand is complex; it is not about blind hatred and mindless killing. There are families who are fighting on opposite sides without feelings of hostility.
Taliban commanders claim huge influence over government institutions. Tribal alliances and economic incentives are more important than ideology.
Business transcends borders; right now there are four multi-million dollar infrastructure projects funded by the government moving forward despite the fighting.
South of the Bolan hills is the road to Nad Ali and Marja districts. A local resident told me of a traffic policeman who was seen serving at rival checkpoints.
"He would manage the traffic at the government checkpoint; when things got bad at the Taliban checkpoint, they would call him and he'd ride his rattling moped and bring order at the Taliban checkpoint."
Still, fighting continues and the Taliban generally hold the upper hand. According to the provincial council more than 85% of the province is still under insurgent control. Of 14 districts, seven are in Taliban hands; two are under siege; in the rest, the government operates in central areas only.
Troops - like this man here clearing IEDs - have cleared the road to Nad Ali
To the west of Bolan lies Nad Ali. Security forces managed to clear the road to the centre after months of Taliban siege. The white flags of the Taliban indicate the front line, a few hundred metres from the main road.
Government casualties were not too high during the Nad Ali operation. Air support played an important role but one of the operational commanders, Bismillah Jan, believes lines are generally thin on the Taliban side.
He believes if he's given men and aerial support he can beat them back. But the security forces also lack personnel - as the decision to abandon Sangin showed.
The government strategy seems to be to gather scattered forces and unite them as a solid front in central Helmand. But as soon as fighters were freed from Taliban sieges, many disappeared.
"Our 20 or so friends in those remote bases kept 200 Taliban busy. Now the Taliban can join together and attack central Gereshk district," Bismillah Jan warns.
Disagreements and lack of co-ordination are still the overriding issues in Helmand - on both sides. On the government side, many believe the US is not fully committed to weakening the Taliban.
"There are dozens of armed Taliban, often roaming in long convoys in the countryside but the American Apaches won't touch them. They only target a small number in actual fighting," one official said.
But there are also cracks on the Taliban side. Reports about leadership divisions are everywhere in city circles. Tribal politics and the fight for resources are profoundly influencing Taliban affairs, it seems.
Some blame the killing of two influential Taliban commanders, Mehraj and Haji Ismat, by American drones on Haji Manan, the Taliban governor for Helmand who, rumour has it, is working for the US.
Haji Manan's reported disagreement with Taliban leader Haibatullah is another bit of welcome news in Lashkar Gah.
And there is also talk that this year the Taliban will be on the defensive in Helmand and will devote their energy to destabilising neighbouring Kandahar province instead.
Whether that happens remains to be seen - but for people in Lashkar Gah, these are all hints this year may be calmer than last.
• None Why Sangin's fall to the Taliban matters
• None The new 'Great Game' in Afghanistan
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/39586937
|
World Championship 2017: Judd Trump suffers shock defeat by Rory McLeod - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Tournament favourite Judd Trump is knocked out of the World Championship by world number 54 Rory McLeod in the first round.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Tournament favourite Judd Trump has been knocked out of the World Championship by world number 54 Rory McLeod after a remarkable first-round 10-8 defeat.
McLeod, a 46-year-old 1000-1 outsider, led 9-7 when slow play meant the match had to be halted prior to Wednesday's afternoon session.
An out-of-sorts Trump won a scrappy opening frame when their match resumed in the evening, but the Leicester man sealed what he called "the biggest win of his career" to reach the last 16.
As exciting as the Dott-Carter contest was, it never got close to reproducing the drama between Trump and rank outsider McLeod, who has only previously reached the second round at the Crucible once in his long career.
• None Watch the latest action from both tables
Trump, the 2011 runner-up, has reached five major finals this season and was full of confidence about his chances of claiming a first Crucible title in the build-up to snooker's showpiece occasion.
He resumed 5-4 behind on Wednesday after surrendering a 4-0 lead but, despite seeming to be hindered by a shoulder problem, the 27-year-old managed to fight back to 6-6 before McLeod pulled away
McLeod has only qualified for the World Championship three times in his long career.
But his astute matchplay and meticulous approach seemed to disrupt Trump, who was uncharacteristically wayward with his long potting and sloppy with his break building when he did get in the balls.
"It's brilliant. I was relaxed at 4-0. He was potting everything. There is not much you can do so you have to bide your time," McLeod said after the match.
"Maybe I went into zombie mode because I didn't know the score - if it was 4-4 or 5-4.
"I tried not to think about things too much. You have to dismiss the pressure."
McLeod plays Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the second round.
Earlier Carter took the opening frame to reduce the overnight gap to 6-4 against Dott and the Essex potter kept nagging away at the qualifier to get back to 8-7.
But Dott edged a pivotal 16th frame when both men wasted good chances and went on to consign Carter to a first last-32 exit since 2006 - the year Dott was crowned champion.
"I love it here," said Dott. "I am not the best at anything, long potting, safety or break building. But I am pretty good at everything, and over the long games that is what you need.
"My season can be absolute garbage and then I come here and I feel like a snooker player."
Elsewhere, Neil Robertson, the 2010 champion, cruised into an 8-1 lead against World Championship debutant Noppon Saengkham in a match that plays to a conclusion on Thursday.
China's Xiao Guodong beat Ryan Day, the only Welshman who qualified for this year's tournament.
Xiao led 6-3 after the morning session and remained fully in control to ensure there is no Welsh representation in the second round of the World Championship for the first time since 1969.
The other evening match was an all-English encounter with 2013 runner-up Barry Hawkins leading Leicester's Tom Ford 7-2 when play ended for the day.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39644265
|
Ugo Ehiogu: Former England defender in hospital after collapsing - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu is in hospital after collapsing at Tottenham's training centre on Thursday.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu is in hospital after collapsing at Tottenham's training centre on Thursday.
The 44-year-old, who is Spurs' Under-23s coach, received medical treatment on site before being transferred to hospital by ambulance, the Premier League club confirmed.
"Everyone at the club sends their best wishes to Ugo and his family," Tottenham added in a statement.
Ehiogu has been at Spurs since 2014.
He made over 200 appearances for Aston Villa between 1991 and 2000 and then spent seven years at Middlesbrough.
He won the League Cup with Villa in 1996 and also with Middlesbrough in 2004.
Ehiogu, who was capped four times by England, also played for West Brom, Leeds, Rangers and Sheffield United before retiring in 2009.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39660196
|
Reality Check: Are lower earners bearing the tax burden? - BBC News
|
2017-04-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
About 90% of income tax is paid by the richest 50% of taxpayers.
|
UK Politics
|
The claim: Low and middle earners are bearing the burden of the tax take.
Reality Check verdict: The government is very reliant on richer people for its funding. More than a quarter of income tax is paid by the 1% of taxpayers with the highest incomes.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell kicked off his election campaign on Wednesday by talking about increasing taxes on the rich and on corporations.
"The burden in terms of the tax take is falling on middle and low earners," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
In fact, the tax base is very reliant on rich people, with income tax becoming increasingly reliant on them.
The Resolution Foundation, which does a great deal of work on inequality, says that the income tax system is relying too much on the richest 10%, which is a problem because their earnings are volatile.
It also pointed out that the combined effect of tax and benefit changes was hitting the poorest people the hardest, but Mr McDonnell was not talking about benefits.
This chart from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that about 90% of income tax is paid by the 50% of taxpayers with the highest incomes, while more than a quarter is paid by the richest 1%.
Indirect taxes such as VAT and fuel duty are not progressive though - people with lower incomes do not pay lower rates - so we need to consider all taxes.
The Treasury published analysis at the time of the Budget predicting what proportion of incomes people would be spending on all taxes by 2019-20.
The result is in the darker green bars below the line in this chart, with the poorest households on the left and the richest on the right.
The proportion of income spent on taxes does appear to be increasing as income increases throughout the distribution. The exception is for the poorest 10%, who seem to be spending slightly more than the next 10%, although the IFS says that is probably due to people misreporting their incomes in the survey from which this analysis is taken.
There is more on the impact of taxes on income in this ONS report, which calculates it in a different way, flattening the increase in the proportion of income spent on taxes as households get richer.
Later in the interview, John McDonnell also said: "Middle and low earners are being hit very, very hard by... income tax rises."
The basic rate of income tax has been 20% since 2008 and the higher rate has been 40% for longer than that. There have been additional rates introduced but they do not affect middle and low earners.
In 2010, the income tax personal allowance, which is the amount you are allowed to earn before paying any income tax, was £6,475. This year it is £11,500. That has clearly risen considerably faster than inflation, so for people paying the basic rate of income tax there has been a tax cut, while a higher proportion of low earners are not paying income tax at all.
The level of income at which people start paying the higher rate of income tax has not been rising as fast as the personal allowance, in fact it has fallen in some years since 2010, but only about 15% of income taxpayers pay higher rate, so they probably do not count as being low or middle earners.
• None 'Rich will pay more' under Labour
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39641222
|
Premier League clubs make 'limited progress' over disabled access - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-20
| null |
Premier League clubs make limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, campaigners have said.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Premier League clubs have made limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, campaigners have said.
Thirteen out of the 20 sides are failing to provide the required number of wheelchair spaces, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
It says only seven clubs have larger, fully equipped toilets, while seven clubs are breaking Premier League rules on providing information to fans.
The Premier League said clubs were working hard to improve facilities.
A BBC report in 2014 found that 17 of 20 clubs did not provide enough wheelchair spaces.
Clubs later set a self-imposed deadline to meet standards by August 2017 and the Premier League has pledged to publish a report then to highlight the work carried out.
EHRC chair David Isaac said it would launch an investigation into clubs who had failed to meet the minimum requirements and did not publish a clear action plan or timetable for improvement.
"The end of the season is fast approaching and time is running out for clubs," he said.
"For too long Premier League clubs have neglected the needs of their disabled fans
"The information we received from some clubs was of an appalling standard, with data missing and with insufficient detail. What is clear is that very few clubs are doing the minimum to meet the needs of disabled supporters.
"The Premier League itself does not escape blame. They need to make the concerns of disabled fans a priority and start enforcing their own rule book. We will be meeting individual clubs and asking them to explain themselves and tell us what their plans are."
Clare Lucas, activism manager for learning disability charity Mencap, said clubs should have 'changing places' toilet facilities, with more space and equipment including a height-adjustable changing bench and a hoist.
"For too long Premier League clubs have neglected the needs of their disabled fans, many of whom are forced to be changed on toilet floors, because clubs are yet to install proper facilities. It is simply inexcusable," she said.
What the commission says
According to the EHRC, the following clubs have not met requirements in particular areas:
Toilets: Without larger, fully equipped toilets, known as 'changing places' toilets - Bournemouth, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Hull, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Sunderland, Swansea, Tottenham, Watford, West Brom
Information: Not publishing access statements to give disabled fans information about their ground - Burnley, Crystal Palace, Hull, Man Utd, Middlesbrough, Stoke, West Ham
What the Premier League says
"In September 2015 Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to improve their disabled access provisions by meeting the Accessible Stadia Guide (ASG) by August 2017.
"Clubs are working hard to improve their facilities and rapid progress has been made. The improvements undertaken are unprecedented in scope, scale and timing by any group of sports grounds or other entertainment venues in the UK.
"Given the differing ages and nature of facilities, some clubs have faced significant built environment challenges. For those clubs cost is not the determining factor.
"They have worked, and in some cases continue to work, through issues relating to planning, how to deal with new stadium development plans, how to best manage fan disruption or, where clubs don't own their own grounds, dealing with third parties.
"Clubs will continue to engage with their disabled fans and enhance their provisions in the coming months, years and beyond."
The story so far
2014: A BBC investigation finds that 17 of the 20 clubs in the top flight at that time had failed to provide enough wheelchair spaces.
September 2015: The Premier League promises to improve stadium facilities for disabled fans, stating that clubs would comply with official guidance by August 2017.
September 2016: Campaigners say up to a third of clubs will miss the deadline to meet basic access standards.
October 2016: Leading disability campaigner Lord Holmes tells MPs that legal action against clubs and the Premier League remains an option if standards are not met.
January 2017: A report by MPs says some clubs could face sanctions because they are not doing enough. Manchester United,Liverpool and Everton announce plans to develop their grounds to accommodate more disabled supporters.
February 2017: A Premier League report outlines the detailed work the clubs are undertaking to make sure they meet guidelines but adds that at least three clubs will miss the August 2017 target.
April 2017: Premier League clubs have made limited progress on improving access for disabled fans, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39643089
|
Why is Russia so good at encouraging women into tech? - BBC News
|
2017-04-21
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Stem subjects - science, technology, engineering, maths - have an image problem. But not in Russia.
|
Business
|
Irina Khoroshko says maths "always felt magical" to her
Irina Khoroshko, from Zelenograd near Moscow, had learned her times tables by the age of five.
Her precocious talent, encouraged by a maths-mad family and a favourite female teacher who transformed every lesson into one giant problem-solving game, led to a degree in mathematical economics at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
"My lecturer instilled in me the power of numbers and calculation, how it gives you the ability to predict things; in that sense the subject always felt magical," she says.
Now Irina, 26, is a data scientist at Russian online lender, ID Finance, enjoying a lucrative career devising analytical models to determine loan eligibility.
And this isn't an unusual story in Russia. But it is in many other countries around the world.
Several studies confirm that all too often girls' early interest in Stem subjects - science, technology, engineering and maths - fizzles out and never recovers.
So relatively few women go on to choose engineering or technology as a career. Why?
A new study from Microsoft sheds some light.
Based on interviews with 11,500 girls and young women across Europe, it finds their interest in these subjects drops dramatically at 15, with gender stereotypes, few female role models, peer pressure and a lack of encouragement from parents and teachers largely to blame.
In Russia, it's not unusual for girls to be interested in science and technology
According to Unesco, 29% of people in scientific research worldwide are women, compared with 41% in Russia. In the UK, about 4% of inventors are women, whereas the figure is 15% in Russia.
Russian girls view Stem far more positively, with their interest starting earlier and lasting longer, says Julian Lambertin, managing director at KRC Research, the firm that oversaw the Microsoft interviews.
"Most of the girls we talked to from other countries had a slightly playful approach to Stem, whereas in Russia, even the very youngest were extremely focused on the fact that their future employment opportunities were more likely to be rooted in Stem subjects."
These girls cite parental encouragement and female role models as key, as well as female teachers who outnumber their male colleagues presiding over a curriculum viewed as gender neutral.
When the Department for Education asked a cross-section of British teenagers for their views on maths and physics, five words summed up the subjects' image problem: male, equations, boring, formulaic, irrelevant.
But no such stigma exists in Russia, says Mr Lambertin.
"They've really gone beyond that," he says. "People are expected to perform well in these subjects regardless of gender."
Advancement in science was a national priority in the Soviet era, says Alina Bezuglova
Alina Bezuglova is head of the Russia chapter of Tech London Advocates, an organisation that connects Russian talent with job opportunities in the UK.
She regularly hosts women-only tech events in the UK, but not so in Russia. Why?
"You could say it's because we are neglecting the problem or that there is no problem at all, and I'm far more inclined to think the latter," she says.
"Compared to the rest of Europe, we just don't stress about 'women's issues'."
According to Ms Bezuglova, Russian women's foothold in science and technology can in part be traced back to the Soviet era, when the advancement of science was made a national priority.
Along with the growth in specialist research institutes, technical education was made available to everyone and women were encouraged to pursue careers in this field.
"It never occurred to me at school that because I'm a girl I shouldn't be choosing Stem, and in the workplace I don't see much sexism, only that you're judged on your abilities," she says.
But could the national psyche also play a part?
With their characteristically forthright nature, do Russian women simply find it easier to speak up for themselves in male-dominated environments?
Emeli Dral, assistant professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, thinks so.
Emeli Dral thinks Russian women are "more determined to prove ourselves"
She recalls how it was precisely this spirit that spurred her on to success as one of only two girls in her advanced maths group at school.
"It actually made both of us even more competitive and more determined to prove ourselves and be better than the boys," she says.
"I think Russian women are pretty confident about being in a minority, mainly because of the support they have had from their parents from a young age.
"Mine never queried why I was interested in maths and engineering - it was considered to be very natural."
Olga Reznikova, whose largely self-taught approach to Stem led to her current role as a senior software engineer, is a case in point.
Growing up in a small seaside town populated by miners and fishermen, her love of computers began when she was just four, but it was a struggle to turn her passion into a career.
Turning to online tutorials, she mastered the basics of algorithm design, machine learning and programming and made money coding simple websites.
But wary of a future stuck in "IT outsourcing sweatshops", she headed to St Petersburg to study further and land a bigger role.
"For a while I was the only female programmer at my company," she says.
"I did encounter some issues with being taken seriously, but I stayed with it and am now earning a salary that's 30% higher than before."
While Russia is doing something right, it's still not there yet in terms of gender parity.
"There is no doubt that Russia is firing up girls' imaginations," says Mr Lambertin.
"Bringing creativity to the classroom with hands-on, practical application, and stressing the relevance of these subjects by focusing on the workplace, could be the way forward for those countries where girls are currently very disengaged."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39579321
|
Katherine Grainger: UK Sport names Olympic gold medallist as new chair - BBC Sport
|
2017-04-21
| null |
Olympic gold medallist Dame Katherine Grainger is named as the new chair of UK Sport.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Sport
Olympic gold medallist Dame Katherine Grainger has been named as the new chair of UK Sport.
Great Britain's most decorated female Olympian retired from rowing after winning a medal at a fifth Games last summer.
The 41-year-old will succeed Rod Carr as head of the funding agency for elite sport.
Grainger was up against former Paralympic swimmer Marc Woods, who also competed at five Games.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be appointed as the next UK Sport chair," Grainger said.
"I am also very honoured to be joining the team at UK Sport and building on the success and commitment to excellence that I have witnessed and enjoyed as an athlete.
"I'm also acutely aware of the many challenging issues currently within sport and I hope to play a role in addressing them."
Carr will step down from his position at the end of his term on 22 April, and Grainger will start on 1 July.
The appointment comes as recommendations aimed at improving athletes' welfare have been published as part of a major independent report into British sport.
They are the result of a year-long duty of care review, commissioned by the UK government and led by 11-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Grey-Thompson.
Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said: "Dame Katherine is a peerless leader both on the water and off it.
"As one of our greatest ever Olympians, she has an outstanding understanding of high performance sport, and through her educational and charity work has a proven commitment to inclusion.
"I know she will be an inspiring chair of UK Sport. I would also like to thank outgoing chair Rod Carr for his superb work at the helm of UK Sport over the past four years."
The Scot took two years out after winning Olympic gold in London at her fourth attempt, studying for a PhD and working with the BBC on its coverage of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She returned to compete in Brazil, where she won her fourth silver medal.
"London was an incredible end point in my career but for personal reasons I wanted to come back and have another go," she told BBC Scotland in 2016.
"The (last) medal is sinking in and I understand that now but having the historical side on top takes a bit longer to get used to."
After the announcement, Julian Knight MP, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, tweeted: "Hopefully she will start the process of cleaning out the Augean Stables at UK Sport and the sports they fund."
Woods also tweeted, wishing Grainger well in the position: "Whilst disappointed not to be selected as chair of UK Sport I wish Katherine Grainger all the best. I'll offer any support I can."
Dame Katherine Grainger will come into this job at a critical and challenging time for UK Sport.
The funding agency may have overseen unprecedented medal success but never before has its "no-compromise" approach been under such scrutiny, amid a spate of athlete welfare and anti-doping controversies and criticism from certain sports over its funding decisions.
Grainger is a vastly decorated and inspirational Olympian, and while a surprise, her appointment will be welcomed by many athletes who want more consideration now given to duty of care.
But according to well-placed sources, she was unsure about applying for the role, and given her lack of sports administration experience, it will be interesting to see whether she can bring about the changes at UK Sport that some critics believe are now urgently required.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/39673253
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.