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Music festivals: Here's one way to stay dry - BBC News
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2017-05-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Urban music festivals are on the rise, and some of them boast line-ups to rival the big hitters.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Last summer, on my fourth day of sploshing through Glastonbury's sodden fields, I thought: "Why do I keep doing this to myself?"
Sure, the music was great. Skepta, Adele and Grimes gave unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime performances; and Philip Glass's Heroes Symphony, an orchestral tribute to David Bowie in the dead of the night, was unexpectedly moving.
Even Coldplay - previously the only band who'd provoked me to walk out of a concert early - won me over, with a spirited, kaleidoscopic set where every song felt big enough to be an encore.
But still, the thought lingered: There must be a better way.
And it turns out I wasn't alone.
The last decade has seen an explosion in city-based festivals, bringing bands to your doorstep, usually with the added benefit of getting to curl up in your own bed (or someone else's, if you prefer) at the end of the day.
"They're springing up absolutely everywhere," says Paul Reed of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). "Just within our membership, we've added around eight city-based festivals in the last couple of years."
One of the newest is Bushstock, which takes place in Shepherd's Bush. Since it started in 2011, Bushstock has staged early gigs by the likes of Bastille, George Ezra and Michael Kiwanuka in nearby pubs, clubs and railway arches.
"We've had people like Hozier play to 300 people in a church, now he plays in front of tens of thousands of people," says Maz Tappuni, who co-founded the festival from his friend's front room eight years ago.
"We've had Bastille at [local pub] Defector's Weld in front of 200 people in 2013. Now they've played the O2 twice."
Bushstock is a modest event, open to just 1,500 people. But tickets start at just £18, for which fans can see any of the gigs at any of the venues.
The Staves have played Bushstock several times
This year's line-up is headlined by singer-songwriter Nick Mulvey and folk-rock trio The Staves, who are returning from a headline tour of America to play a tiny, intimate show at St Stephen's Church.
For singer Emily Staveley-Taylor, the size of the event is the main attraction.
"Sometimes, playing festivals can feel like a battle, because 50% of the crowd are there to get wrecked," she says.
"I feel that, more and more, the big festivals are becoming an Instagram-fest. At Bushstock, it feels like the focus is music and the people who go there are music fans.
"When you're playing a venue like a church, the acoustics mean you can hear if someone is talking. So when someone's phone goes off, people will glare and tell them to sort their lives out."
For The Defectors' Weld pub, Bushstock has been a shot in the arm during the quiet summer season.
"We have to move all the furniture out, which is something we don't normally do until New Year's Eve," says owner John Da Costa.
Bands like Matthew and the Atlas attracts hundreds of fans to St Stephen's Church
"Then last year, we tried to get a photographer in here and he just couldn't find the space. He had to climb on the tables and chairs to actually get any photos. It was absolutely packed."
The festival has a knock-on effect during the rest of the year, he adds.
"We get fans who go to gigs at the Shepherd's Bush Empire saying, 'we'll definitely come back for a drink here next time, rather than go somewhere else'.
"It's been a good pull for us, and customers returning, absolutely."
While Bushstock remains a relatively small affair, other urban festivals have grown to a size where they rival "greenfield" events like Latitude and Green Man.
Sheffield's Tramlines festival started out as a free event in 2009; spread across 17 local venues, with acts including The xx and Reverend and the Makers.
This year, it boasts three purpose-built outdoor venues, where the likes of Primal Scream, The Libertines and Kano will play to 20,000 people.
"As it's grown, I guess people have demanded more," says the festival's co-founder Sarah Nulty.
"We'd get fans saying: 'I bought a ticket to see Billy Bragg, why can't I get in to see him?' and we'd have to say: 'He's playing a 900-capacity venue and you didn't turn up on time - but look at all these other people you can go and see!'
"I guess that's the main reason we moved out of the venues."
Indie legends Primal Scream are the main draw at this year's Tramlines
Despite the cost of building and staffing these new stages, costs have been kept down. Tickets for the three-day event start at £30, rising to a maximum of £45, while kids go free. Glastonbury, by comparison, costs £238.
"We're a good-value ticket but if you then factor in the price of a hotel, it can suddenly become unaffordable," Nulty acknowledges.
"So what we've tried to do is work with student halls that are empty during the summer, so you can still get a bed and a shower while making the festival affordable."
And, just like Bushstock, the Tramlines festival has given the local economy a boost, with up to 70,000 people descending on Sheffield every July.
"The beauty is that the whole city joins in," says Nulty. "So there's almost two festivals - a bit like Edinburgh where there's the main festival and then you have the fringe.
"Some of our fringe venues have massive, massive line-ups. There was a pub last year that put Deap Vally in their beer garden for free, and they had people climbing over the walls to try and get in.
"It helps make the festival feel amazing, but it's also our competition - because it's free."
So, could these urban festivals eventually replace the likes of Reading & Leeds or the Isle of Wight festival?
"There's still a great appetite for that traditional camping experience," says Paul Reed at the AIF. "But metropolitan festivals serve as great incubators for emerging talent.
"People are more open to discovery. Because the line-up is multiple choice, you can just stumble into something or find your new favourite band by chance."
The Staves, meanwhile, are always more likely to say "yes" to a festival with its own roof.
"I've been to festivals in fields where it's been an absolute washout and everyone has left," laughs Emily Staveley-Taylor. "Or you're performing on a stage where the electrics are sparking because of the rain, and you're like, 'What the hell are we doing?
"Why are we staging outdoor festivals in a country where it always rains in the summer?' It's madness to me."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39947171
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Manchester attack: The next steps for police and MI5 - BBC News
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2017-05-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Given that bomb-making requires expertise, how did the attacker get hold of such a device?
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Manchester
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ian Hopkins, from Greater Manchester Police, said it was the "most horrific incident" the city has faced
The UK has not seen a bomb attack like the Manchester outrage since 2005 for three simple reasons:
For more than a decade, the BBC Home Affairs Unit has monitored every single terrorist incident, attempted or failed, that has made it into the public domain.
Quite simply, most of the people we have seen dragged through the courts are not capable of this kind of incident.
Many aspire to "martyrdom" and talk about building bombs.
But they are either, to be frank, too stupid and disorganised to turn their fantasies into reality or, alternatively, they get caught because they don't know how to cover their tracks.
Most jihadists discount a bomb attack at the early stages: they realise that it's too difficult to pull off.
They might accidentally kill themselves while making the device.
Their purchasing patterns might raise suspicions in a local pharmacy or, online, prompt GCHQ to have a closer look at their digital life.
They may turn to someone else for help who, unbeknown to both, is already on the MI5 radar.
And so, as the 2013 killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby showed - exactly four years before the Manchester attack - most aspiring attackers opt for a different course.
Vehicles and knives became the weapons of choice.
We saw it in 2014 when a London man planned a knife attack to coincide with the annual act of remembrance.
We saw it again with the Khalid Masood Westminster attack.
Khalid Masood was shot at the scene of the Westminster attack
But while knives and vehicles - and to a lesser extent guns - have featured in recent terrorism plots, there are people who still want to build bombs to attack crowded places.
Just recently, the younger brother of the man in the Remembrance Sunday incident pleaded guilty to trying to find bomb-making help - and one of his potential targets was an Elton John concert.
So the big question for investigators is given that bomb-making requires expertise, how did the attacker, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, get hold of such a device?
As Tuesday dawned, there were three possibilities:
If Abedi was taught, this could point to someone who has returned from so-called Islamic State territory in Syria and Iraq or another jiahdist theatre, such as Libya, where his father is from.
The militants have constructed devices involving the type of DIY shrapnel of metal nuts that has been reported from the scene at the Manchester Arena.
Al-Qaeda and its offshoots have deployed those devices too. Reaching those camps is a harder journey to make - but don't rule it out.
Twenty-two people, including children, have been killed and 59 injured in the attack
Either way, these are sophisticated devices, particularly if made to a well-known recipe that is circulated among extremists.
It takes engineering skill. Sometimes the process of making a bomb can't easily be hidden. For instance, the 7/7 devices contained a chemical that bleached the hair of one of the bomb-makers. The fumes can kill plants.
So if Abedi taught himself, how did he go about it in complete secrecy?
Such an outcome would demonstrate how difficult it is to learn about a threat if the individual is acting entirely alone and taking exceptionally well planned precautions to avoid surveillance.
It's not hard to find bomb-making plans online - don't go looking, it's an offence to possess this information - but many of them are useless.
So, again, the attacker would have spent some time thinking and planning this - and that reduces the likelihood that he was acting entirely alone.
The third scenario is the worst-possible because it would point to an active bomb-making technician on the loose in the UK.
Someone who is completely beneath the security services radar.
Someone who has found ways of reaching out to potential recruits without compromising themselves.
Someone who could strike again.
That, of course, is quite a worrying prospect - but by the end of Tuesday, security chiefs could not rule it out. So they had no choice but to raise the official "threat level", published by MI5, to the maximum level of "critical".
That means an attack may be imminent. Nobody can say for sure because the intelligence business involves glimpsing at things in the shadows, hints and suspicions.
It's less of a jigsaw with missing pieces, it's more like an impressionist's picture: one can only ever see part of what's going on.
So, this is very much a manhunt for helpers - even though nobody may know for sure at this stage who, if anyone, they are actually hunting.
Forensic teams are now working at the site
The police know the identity of the attacker - this was a very early breakthrough. It took days back in 2005 for the police to be sure who carried out the London attacks.
So as the hours progress, inside Thames House, the home of MI5, and its regional units, a large post-incident operation will be under way. Officers, supported by GCHQ and where necessary counterparts in foreign agencies, will be examining any piece of intelligence to build up a greater sense of the attacker, his life and those around him.
The North West Counter Terrorism Unit, a joint team of MI5 and police officers, will be looking at anything it can glean from the attacker's own devices. Search teams will identify addresses to search - two have already been raided.
Experts from the national Forensic Explosives Laboratory in Kent will begin the astonishingly difficult work of recovering the remains of the device so they can reconstruct it. These scientists have performed this task on every bomb recovered in modern times.
What they find may, in time, yield vital intelligence - such as the origins of the bomb recipe or its technical construction.
Those details will in turn create new leads - perhaps linking the attacker to a specific group in a specific location: the British and US armed forces also recover remains of bombs overseas for analysis.
It may take months for the full picture to emerge.
But first things first: the race to work out if this killer was a lone wolf or part of a cell that's still out there.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-40012208
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Business is blooming for women start-ups - BBC News
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2017-05-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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More and more women in the UK are setting up their own firms as a way of reconciling the demands of work and family.
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Business
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The mum whose home-based business is blooming
More and more women in the UK are setting up their own businesses as a way of reconciling the demands of work and family.
How to balance those differing pressures? Dani Bolser thought she'd finally cracked it when she started her new job as a receptionist for an events company.
"It started off quite well, but suddenly my bosses were asking me to come in a little bit earlier or can you work a little bit later," she says. "It just turned into something very high-pressured."
It wasn't her first attempt to get back into work.
"After the birth of my first child, I've tried part-time, full-time and working weekends. And no matter what I tried, it either broke into precious family time or it just wasn't financially viable for our family."
So at the age of 28, Dani started her own business, DeluxeBlooms, last year. She now designs and sells luxury faux flowers from her kitchen table in Ilkley, west Yorkshire.
Dani Bolsover is working to establish her business
"My husband encouraged me," she says. "I've always been creative. It kind of fits with my love of flowers. Now I can choose how much work I do.
"It's basically about that flexibility, to say, for instance, you know what, the kids are sick, work just gets put on hold and allows you to be a mum first and for me that's just priceless."
It turns out there are thousands of women just like Dani, who are shunning the traditional nine-to-five job in search of flexibility and more control over their working lives.
New research from Oxford Economics shows that one in 170 people in the UK now works for a small creative business, making and selling unique products or gifts.
The report was commissioned by notonthehighstreet.com, the online marketplace. Since it was founded 10 years ago, it's seen a huge growth in partners, or creative entrepreneurs, using its services to sell their products, up from 287 in 2006 to more than 5,700 today.
"In the last 10 years, thousands of creative small businesses have emerged all over the UK, creating jobs, driving wealth creation and contributing significantly to the economy," says notonthehighstreet.com's chief executive Simon Belsham.
"Perhaps most importantly, however, these businesses are highlighting the huge change under way in the UK workforce - a transformation that is seeing more women in work and more people turning to self-employment and flexible working."
Some 89% of notonthehighstreet.com partners are owned by women like Dani Bolser.
But can they make a living out of it? "Absolutely," says Simon Belsham.
"Last year, we had more than 20 businesses which made more than £1m in sales. It's a genuine way to make a living. It doesn't matter with age or gender.
"We've seen opportunities for recent graduates to people who have retired - 'second-halfers' as we like to call them - who are starting a business once they've retired from their first career."
Technology is driving these new ways of working.
Laura Hutton realised she needed to keep up with the digital world
For 53-year-old Laura Hutton, going digital was her route back into work.
She took a career break from publishing once she became a mum. Laura then dabbled in estate agency work, as well as writing a host of cookbooks.
But last year, she decided to gain some new skills through Digital Mums, a company which trains mums to be "job-ready", to kick-start their careers in digital and social media, and crucially to keep a healthy work-life balance.
"I realised that the world was moving, that the kind of jobs I wanted to get, I wasn't going to get unless I kept up with the digital world," says Laura.
She now manages social media for Wyevale Garden Centres and says she can work from anywhere.
Digital Mums has so far helped nearly 1,000 mums and businesses.
Work on the go: Laura loves the flexibility her job offers
"I'm not chained to a desk," says Laura. "I do work at home, but being freelance and mobile means I can go to a cafe if I have to meet someone.
"I can work as I go. Having that flexibility is important. It means I am there when my family is there. It's important to be around, especially as children grow up."
And she's not concerned about working remotely. "I've never actually met my boss," she says.
"I work within marketing and for the head of marketing, who I've never met. So I miss out on the office banter.
"It doesn't bother me because I feel I've done that bit, the office job. I'm not interested any more. I like the fact that it doesn't really matter what I wear or whether I've brushed my hair in the morning.
"I'm lucky because I have a nice working relationship with my company."
Laura and Dani are thriving on their newfound paths as they set their own work-life agenda.
"It's pushed me into assessing my life a bit more, what do I really want to do? I think the minute you strip that back and look at what makes you happy, you can achieve great things," says Dani.
She admits her turnover is tiny so far, but she hopes perhaps one day to have her own shop and employ a mum like her who has struggled to get back into work.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39887863
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Obituary: Sir Roger Moore - BBC News
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2017-05-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The life of the debonair actor who brought a lighter touch to the role of James Bond.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sir Roger Moore has died at the age of 89 following "a short but brave battle with cancer"
Sir Roger Moore, who has died aged 89, brought a lighter touch to the role of James Bond, the role for which he was most famous.
Out went the harder, crueller edge of Sean Connery's 007 to be succeeded by sardonic humour and the inevitable raised eyebrow.
He eventually became the longest-serving actor in the role, his seven Bond films becoming the most commercially successful of the franchise.
His tenure in the role also showcased an array of implausible gadgets and a host of new characters, designed to flesh out Ian Fleming's original plots.
Roger George Moore was born in Stockwell, south London on 14 October 1927, the son of a policeman.
At 15, he entered art college, and later became an apprentice at an animation studio, where it seems much fun was had at his expense.
"I was probably the lowliest in the entire building," he said. "They sent me on errands for things like tins of sprocket holes, and the guy in stores would say he didn't have any - and would rainbow paint do instead?"
The actor made something of a name as a male model in the 1950s
Sir Roger was sacked for incompetence, but soon had a stroke of luck. His father, by now a detective sergeant, was called to investigate a robbery at the home of the film director, Brian Desmond Hurst.
DS Moore managed to effect an introduction that led to his son being hired as an extra for the epic, Caesar and Cleopatra.
Hurst paid for Sir Roger to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, before a spell of National Service with the Army where he rose to the rank of captain.
On his return to the theatre, he found acting roles hard to come by but his well-toned physique meant he was in demand as a model. One of his engagements was playing the doctor in Woman's Own medical features.
He also appeared, suitably attired in a sweater, on a number of knitting patterns, prompting at least one wag to christen him the Big Knit.
And in 1953, his looks and his minor roles in theatre and television plays impressed an MGM talent scout and Sir Roger set off for America.
Married at 17 to a fellow Rada student, Doorn Van Steyn, he was by now living with the singer Dorothy Squires, 12 years his senior, who soon became his second wife at a ceremony in New Jersey.
While Squires was popular in Britain, Sir Roger was rubbing shoulders with stars in the States, making his film debut with Elizabeth Taylor in The Last Time I Saw Paris and playing Lana Turner's leading man in Diane.
But it was through television that he first made his mark, as the dashing hero Ivanhoe in a 1950s series that had only a tentative connection with Sir Walter Scott's original novel.
He followed that with the lead role in an American TV series The Alaskans. It was not a great success. Despite being set in Alaska, it was filmed on a hot Hollywood set with the cast dressed up in furs. Moore found the filming difficult and an affair with actress Dorothy Provine did nothing to relieve the pressure.
He also appeared in the successful Western series Maverick, where he had the role of Beau Maverick, supposedly the English cousin of the lead character Brett, played by James Garner.
Ironically Sir Sean Connery had also tested for the part but turned it down.
Sir Roger's big breakthrough came in 1962 when the impresario Lew Grade cast him as the dashing Simon Templar aka The Saint, in a television adaptation of the Leslie Charteris stories.
The series, which ran for seven years, made Sir Roger a star on both sides of the Atlantic. Many of the Saint's characteristics, the easygoing manner, mocking eyebrow and ability to successfully charm every passing female, would later be incorporated into his role as James Bond.
Sir Roger's suave character in The Persuaders contrasted with Tony Curtis's rough diamond
In 1971 he teamed up with Tony Curtis in the TV series The Persuaders, as one of two wise-cracking millionaire playboys who floated around the fleshpots of the globe as a pair of freelance secret agents.
The success of the series owed a lot to the contrast of the rough-hewn New Yorker Danny Wilde, played by Curtis, and Sir Roger's suave Lord Brett Sinclair.
Sir Roger always denied that he had been considered as James Bond when the franchise launched in 1962 and was only aware of interest in him when Sir Sean announced, in 1966, that he would no longer play the role.
There was a long wait. George Lazenby was cast in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Sir Sean was tempted back with an offer of £1.5m, a huge sum in those days, to make Diamonds Are Forever.
It really was the last appearance for Sir Sean and Sir Roger finally picked up the Walther PPK in 1973 for Live and Let Die.
He went on to make six more films, including The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy, before bowing out of the role at the age of 57 with A View to a Kill. It was his last film appearance for five years.
Sir Roger had some success in films such as Shout at the Devil, The Wild Geese and North Sea Hijack, but many of the newspaper headlines after he retired as Bond were about his life off screen.
He brought a lighter touch to the role of James Bond
In 1963, he became a father, when his partner, Luisa Mattioli, had a daughter, but it was to be another five years before Dorothy Squires agreed to give Sir Roger a divorce.
He married Luisa and they had two sons, but after 38 years, Sir Roger left her and they were divorced. He married his fourth wife, Kiki Tholstrup, in March 2002.
Sir Roger recovered from an operation for prostate cancer in 1993 and said he had led "an extraordinarily lucky, charmed life".
He had homes in Switzerland and Monte Carlo, but devoted much of his time to travelling the globe as a roving ambassador for the United Nations children's organisation Unicef, a role prompted by the scenes of child poverty he had witnessed in India while filming Octopussy.
He took up the position at the request of his friend and predecessor, Audrey Hepburn. His work was recognised by a CBE in 1998 and he was knighted in 2003.
Throughout his life Sir Roger cut a suave figure, always immaculately dressed. In 2015 he was awarded the accolade of one of GQ magazine's best-dressed men.
He would also remain associated with James Bond
He was a lifelong supporter of the Conservative Party, giving his backing to David Cameron in 2011 when the prime minister faced criticism over his policy on the EU.
Despite his other work and achievements, Roger Moore never managed to quite shrug off the mantle of 007.
"Of course I do not regret the Bond days," he once remarked. "I regret that sadly heroes in general are depicted with guns in their hands, and to tell the truth I have always hated guns and what they represent."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15536118
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Antoine Griezmann: Atletico Madrid forward 'ready to go' to win titles - BBC Sport
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2017-05-23
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Antoine Griezmann says he is ready to leave Atletico Madrid to win titles and will decide on his future this summer.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann says he is willing to leave the La Liga club to win titles and will decide on his future this summer.
On Monday, the France international said there was a "6/10" chance he could join Manchester United.
But Griezmann, 26, told French outlet L'Equipe that England, Germany, China and the USA were all possible destinations should he leave Atletico.
"Today, if I have to move it will be no problem," he said. "I'm ready to go."
Atletico finished third in La Liga and were knocked out in the Champions League semi-finals by Real Madrid.
"I want to win titles," added Griezmann. "We finished third in La Liga, it was the objective of the club, but we, the players, want more.
"Winning titles is what I will look for this summer when deciding on my future."
Griezmann said playing in England is "in fashion" and told French TV show Quotidien a move to Old Trafford is "possible".
"I think I will decide [on my future] in the next two weeks," he said.
Asked if United would be his new club he replied: "Possible, possible." Asked to give the chances on a scale of one to 10, Griezmann added "six".
The presenter replied: "It's the first time you've said that." And Griezmann said "it's the first time".
Griezmann, who has won 41 caps for France since making his debut in 2014, scored 26 goals this season as Atletico finished third in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.
He was named the third best player in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the Ballon d'Or awards in January.
There is a 100 million euro (£86m) release clause in Griezmann's contract.
United have the opportunity to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League on Wednesday against Ajax in Stockholm.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40006920
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Manchester Arena attack: Man Utd players hold a minute's silence - BBC Sport
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2017-05-23
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Manchester United players hold a minute's silence in memory of the 22 people who lost their lives in an attack at Manchester Arena.
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Manchester United players hold a minute's silence in memory of the 22 people who lost their lives in an attack at Manchester Arena.
Follow BBC News for the latest on the Manchester Arena attack.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40016316
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Why are reindeer flying to a remote Alaskan village? - BBC News
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2017-05-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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As a warming climate threatens traditional food supplies in the Arctic, one rural Alaskan village is flying in hundreds of reindeer by cargo plane. James Cook went to find out why.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Would you eat this reindeer? Alaskan farmers hope so.
As a warming climate threatens traditional food supplies in the Arctic, one rural Alaskan village is flying in hundreds of reindeer by cargo plane. James Cook went to find out why.
Only 12,000 years late, on an experimental farm outside Fairbanks in central Alaska, Greg Finstad is proposing an agricultural revolution.
For the indigenous communities of the north, he is advocating a move from hunting to farming, in particular to farming reindeer.
Finstad, who runs the reindeer research programme at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, says the subsistence lifestyle of rural communities on the Yukon river is under serious threat in a time of tumultuous change.
Softly spoken, his eyes shaded from the sunshine by a baseball cap, Finstad is a disarming mix of wit, charm and frankness.
"They're off the road system," he says. "They have to ship very expensive food. They're very worried about starving and it's a legitimate concern."
For those who have traditionally relied on subsistence hunting, these are indeed challenging times.
Polar bears are scarcer than ever and, even for the few with permits to hunt the animals, tracking them on thinning ice is becoming ever more dangerous.
Wild caribou herds have been shrinking for reasons that are not entirely clear.
And last year saw the lowest harvest of pink salmon since 1977, although sockeye salmon have been more resilient.
A more unpredictable climate may be affecting the animals' migration patterns and food sources, although some recent evidence suggests they may now be adapting to those changes.
What is not in doubt, according to more than 90 scientists who contributed to a recent report by an Arctic Council working group, is "rising concentrations of greenhouse gases are driving widespread changes in the Arctic's sensitive climate".
According to the report, ice on sea and land is declining; permafrost is warming; and spring snow cover is retreating.
"With each additional year of data, it becomes increasingly clear that the Arctic as we know it is being replaced by a warmer, wetter, and more variable environment," say the authors, who add that the transformation has "profound implications for people, resources, and ecosystems worldwide".
One Yukon river community - Steven's Village - has purchased a 2,000-acre (800-hectare) farm. The plan is to raise some 1,500 to 2,000 reindeer to feed the village, to sell, and to act as a staging area for livestock for other settlements.
Finstad thinks deer are hardier than cattle, and in any case he is not a fan of the beef industry, which he accuses of trying to stymie reindeer production.
"If you compare beef to reindeer we flat out kick their butt every time in flavour," he insists.
He says the plan is to load hundreds of reindeer on to a Douglas DC-6 transport plane and fly them from the west coast of Alaska to the interior to start the new farm.
This "seed stock" for Steven's Village may come from Nome on the Seward peninsula, which juts out towards Russia between the Bering and Chukchi seas.
There is a historical twist here. The Seward peninsula is the region where reindeer were first introduced to the United States from Siberia in 1892 because Alaskan whaling communities were struggling to survive.
Maintaining the reindeer population on the peninsula has been difficult. Stopping animals running off with migrating caribou herds is a particular challenge.
Caribou and reindeer are the same species - Rangifer tarandus - but in North America, the semi-domesticated variety are known as reindeer, and the wild herds are known as caribou (in Europe the word caribou is not used at all).
Ann and Bruce Davis, who have a thriving reindeer herd in Nome at their Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch, also rhapsodise about the properties of the meat.
"The fat is deposited on the outside of the reindeer and not marbled within the meat so the meat is very lean," says Bruce Davis.
The fat doesn't go to waste though. The Inupiat people mix it with a variety of berries to make a concoction which the Davises say is known locally as "Eskimo ice cream".
"It's very high in carbs and fat and so it's a good source of energy and it's pretty good to eat too," says Ann Davis before offering a word of caution. "It's nothing like American ice cream!"
Two Inuit hunters in Canada strip the meat from a pair of reindeer carcasses, March 1924.
There are plenty of other ways to eat reindeer, including roasting it with garlic and herbs, frying the animal's heart or in a traditional Sami bidu, or feast stew.
Before reindeer consumption becomes widespread though, there is a problem to overcome. Reindeer have rather good PR, Greg Finstad admits.
"It's the perception that reindeer are on this planet to pull a sled with this chubby guy in a red suit and a white beard… but that's actually not true," he says. "Reindeer are on this planet to feed people."
"So I guess it's my job to take the magic of Christmas."
"We have to eat Rudolph?" I ask.
"Yes," answers Finstad, his expression somewhere between weary and mischievous.
"I actually got in trouble saying we are going to eat rump of Rudolph.
"So I try not to say that any more."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40004657
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Who is Great Britain's greatest heavyweight? Joshua? Fury? Lewis? You decide - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Great Britain has had a handful of elite heavyweight fighters, but who was the greatest? BBC Sport wants your vote.
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A good heavyweight needs power, grace, stamina and plenty of heart.
They face off in boxing's glamour division, but only a few are ever good enough to make their mark.
Great Britain waited nearly 96 years between Bob Fitzsimmons' world heavyweight title win and Lennox Lewis claiming a version of the title in 1992.
Anthony Joshua is the latest to make a telling dent among the sport's biggest men. But who is Britain's greatest heavyweight?
In a BBC Sport poll, 70% of voters chose Lennox Lewis as Britain's greatest heavyweight.
Born in Cornwall but largely raised in New Zealand, Fitzsimmons was the first fighter to win titles in three divisions - becoming world champion at middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight.
A blacksmith by trade, he became known as a brutal puncher. In winning the middleweight title in 1891, he reportedly knocked down opponent Jack Dempsey (not the later heavyweight champion of the same name) 13 times.
Cooper's trademark left hook - christened 'Enry's 'Ammer' - famously dropped Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) at Wembley Stadium in 1963. The London fighter did not have enough time to close the job in the fourth round and Ali's canny trainer, Angelo Dundee, delayed the start of the fifth, claiming his man's gloves were damaged. A British, Commonwealth and European champion, Cooper was the first person to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year twice.
Hungary-born but a naturalised resident of the UK and, later, Australia, Bugner fought for more than 31 years. He lost to Muhammad Ali on points twice, and also took Joe Frazier to the cards. A world title eluded him, although he held European and British belts.
He lost world title bouts to Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis before capturing the WBC belt in the penultimate fight of his career - out-pointing Oliver McCall at Wembley in 1995. Much loved by the British public, Bruno was a destructive force, landing 38 wins by knockout.
The last man to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, courtesy of his 1999 victory over Evander Holyfield. His list of conquests includes the likes of Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko, brother of Wladimir. Lewis avenged his two defeats by securing knockout wins over Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman.
A unified champion at cruiserweight, Haye became the first man since Evander Holyfield to also win a world title at heavyweight. He took the WBA belt from Nikolai Valuev in 2009 in a fight in which he weighed in almost seven stones lighter than his opponent. He is now three fights into a return to the sport, losing his most recent bout to Tony Bellew.
Fury produced an excellent performance to end Wladimir Klitschko's 11-year unbeaten run and claim the WBA, IBF and WBO titles in November 2015. Fury has since battled personal problems and does not have an active licence to compete at the moment, although has vowed to return. His ascent to world level took in British, Commonwealth and European titles.
Like Lewis, Olympic gold preceded his professional career but it took Joshua just 34 rounds to land the IBF world title. His rapid rise through the professional ranks made him just the second fighter - after Frazier - to hold a world heavyweight title while still reigning as Olympic champion.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/39602619
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What is going on at Fox News, and could it affect Sky bid? - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The future of the US media network is up for grabs, and British regulators are watching.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sexual harassment scandals have rocked Fox News - and led to some top-level departures
The ancient adage was never wrong, and thanks to Fox News we can now offer an update: to lose one may be considered a misfortune; to lose two is a sign something's up; but to lose three is a sign that something is rotten in America's most watched news network.
The sacking of ratings juggernaut Bill O'Reilly last month was the most significant departure in the modern history of American cable news. Except that is, for the departure of his boss Roger Ailes last year.
These two monumental media events - the first, a dismissal of the biggest talent on America's most influential news service; the second, a dismissal of the most influential man in American news media (after his boss, Rupert Murdoch) - have now been followed by another remarkable departure: that of Bill Shine, who ran Fox News with Ailes for two decades, and was appointed co-president to sort the mess out.
Three huge departures within nine months. There is now chatter that Sean Hannity, the senior anchor who tweeted last week that Fox News would be finished without Shine, could be the next to go.
What is going on? And could this affect UK communications regulator Ofcom's forthcoming judgement on whether to reject the Murdoch family's bid for the 61% of broadcaster Sky they don't own?
That is certainly the hope of the cross-party group of MPs who have been lobbying Ofcom, and who would rather not see the Murdochs consolidate their power here in the UK. Interestingly, former business secretary Sir Vince Cable said on BBC Radio 4's World at One that Ofcom told him they were in listening mode. And there is certainly a lot of noise emanating from Fox News HQ in Manhattan right now.
There is a palpable fear in New York that the sexual harassment scandal which has toppled Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly could be an American version of the phone hacking scandal that dogged Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers. The echoes are eerie.
Roger Ailes - Is he just one rogue individual?
First, there is the instinctive blame on one rogue individual. Fox insiders have generally blamed the dominant, strongman personality of Roger Ailes for what went wrong, saying that with his departure the culture would improve. This sounds familiar to those who remember the initial claim that phone hacking was conducted by "one rogue reporter".
Second, there are the wider questions about a corporate culture. I don't mean by this whether or not Fox News leans to the right. I mean whether or not it is well run. Shine, who we're told resigned over the weekend, wasn't accused of sexual or racial harassment himself; but he was accused by multiple individuals of knowing plenty about the behaviour of his boss, and failing to act appropriately.
Third, and related, there are the legal investigations now under way: not one, but two. The bigger one is a federal probe looking at whether or not Fox withheld settlement payments over sexual harassment from investors.
And fourth, and worst of all for the Murdochs, there is the time. The phone hacking scandal derailed their last attempt to acquire the part of Sky which they don't already own. Now, with Ofcom's assessment of their latest takeover bid in the long grass until after the UK general election on 8 June, this huge scandal threatens to generate all the wrong headlines. The timing couldn't be worse.
For all that, it is important to note that Fox's ratings haven't suffered, and the advertising boycott that followed the revelations around O'Reilly - who strenuously denies he's done anything wrong, and is now forging a fresh career as a podcaster - hasn't yet dented Fox revenues in a really significant way.
The Murdochs' last takeover bid for Sky was derailed by the phone hacking scandal
Moreover, Fox has moved swiftly and decisively in removing toxic individuals, in a way that shows they are extremely alert to potential reputational and commercial damage. It really was unimaginable this time last year that Fox News could exist without Ailes, let alone O'Reilly and even Megyn Kelly, who is probably America's most sought after female anchor, and left the network a few months ago.
The dominant narrative in American media is that these moves show Rupert's sons, James and Lachlan, imposing their worldview on their father's media giant by decisively rejecting the orthodoxies of his reign.
In conversations with seasoned observers of Planet Murdoch, individuals at 21st Century Fox, and opponents of that company's bid for the 61% of Sky it doesn't already own, that narrative finds plenty of support.
That both Ailes and O'Reilly have gone does give credence to the idea that Fox News is being reconfigured by its parent company, 21st Century Fox, where Executive Chairman Lachlan, and CEO James - who are of equal status - want change. Since they acquired this joint status in June 2015, these two have made a concerted effort to modernise their father's firm.
They have held regular town hall meetings with staff, extended parental leave, and made a habit of sending memos to staff - whether groups or individuals - saying well done: a pillar of right-on modern management.
More importantly, they have appointed several women to key roles, from Stacey Snider (in charge of 20th Century Fox film studio) to Courteney Monroe (CEO of National Geographic, a particular passion for James). The entertainment division of 21st Century Fox has several women in key executive roles, from Elizabeth Gabler and Nancy Utley to Emma Watts and Vanessa Morrison.
Rupert Murdoch still rules the roost - but his sons have moved to modernise the family business
Fox insiders are frustrated that the strides made in equality in the entertainment division garner much less publicity than the misdeeds of senior men in the (much smaller and less profitable) news division.
With commercial titans like Chase Carey, Peter Chernin, and now Ailes out of the picture, and James and Lachlan in the ascendant, there is a sense of a new broom at the company.
But Rupert still rules the roost. I would urge caution on those who argue that his grip is weakening. Not only was he, as you'd expect, ultimately responsible for the decisions to remove Ailes, Shine and O'Reilly; not only did he install himself as the temporary but very hands-on chairman of Fox News after Ailes left; but the idea that there was a battle of wills between father and sons, who outnumbered and outfoxed their father, is fanciful.
It is worth bearing in mind how much Rupert would have hated the New York Times felling of O'Reilly. It was their brilliant investigation that revealed the payments made to complainants against O'Reilly, causing a boycott by dozens of advertisers. Murdoch senior coveted the Grey Lady for many years, and paid a huge price for the Wall Street Journal partly because he was so determined to get one over it. The New York Times is the very embodiment of the liberal coastal elite O'Reilly, Shine and Ailes have spent decades bashing. The irony is not lost on either party.
What next for Fox News? Hannity's future remains unclear. Former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who works for Fox News, told me a fortnight ago that Tucker Carlson, the anchor who has replaced O'Reilly in the key 8pm slot, has long been thought of as his likely successor. In his first few days, Carlson has rated well.
But the bigger drama is yet to come: the federal probes into whether payments were withheld from investors could intensify just as Ofcom consider whether to approve the Murdochs' bid for Sky. The last bid was of course derailed by the phone hacking scandal; and while Ofcom won't comment on what is a quasi-judicial process, their deliberations aren't taking place in a vacuum.
In ancient times, before Donald Trump was elected and when some people naively believed Hillary Clinton would be US president, the mood music coming out of New York suggested that the sons would build Fox News around Megyn Kelly, taking it in a more centrist and female-friendly direction. Now she's gone, and Rupert Murdoch is trying to rid his network of the cancer threatening to spread through it.
Suddenly, the future of Fox News is up for grabs - and British regulators are watching.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39781954
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Goldie Sayers: British javelin thrower retires with 'deep sense of injustice' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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11-time British javelin champion Goldie Sayers explains the turmoil of waiting to see if she will receive an Olympic medal.
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Retirement is supposed to signal a full-stop. The end of one life, the start of another. A sense of satisfaction, a sense of closure.
There should be no limbo. But for Goldie Sayers - the 11-time British javelin champion and three-time Olympian who announced the conclusion of her athletics career on Wednesday - the wondering and "what ifs" will follow her into the future.
After eight years of waiting, Sayers was told in September that she was being retrospectively awarded Olympic bronze from the 2008 Beijing Games. Mariya Abakumova, the Russian who had finished second and who Sayers had always suspected of cheating, had failed a doping retest for a banned steroid.
Sayers, now 34, celebrated with a coffee in Waitrose with her mother, Liz. And then the limbo began: Abakumova appealing against her disqualification, the legal process slowing to a crawl, no medal in the post and no idea of when any of it will end.
"Initially I was just really happy," explained Suffolk-born Sayers. "I'd been chasing something that had eluded me and then all of a sudden, driving down the M11, I had it.
"But actually now I'm much angrier about it - and I'm not an angry person at all. There's a deep sense of injustice.
"I was desperate to draw a line under my career and move on because I think endings are important - but at this rate I'll be drawing my pension before I get an Olympic medal."
Sayers is not alone. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has now caught 111 athletes with retrospective tests from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, a welcome epidemic of late justice that has brought with it its own chaotic tail.
Because so many of those who fail retests routinely appeal to the Court for Arbitration for Sport (Cas), regardless of evidence or ethics, those clean athletes promoted in their wake are left somewhere between regret, exasperation and hope: swindled out of their defining sporting moment, denied the financial rewards that a medal would have brought, left hanging by a system that is stumbling towards a cleaner future while trying to mop up the mess of the past.
"It's all about the moment for me," says Sayers, now 34. "None of the other stuff that would have come with it - sponsorship, profile, the actual medal itself - matters in the same way.
"I'd love to be able to transport myself back to standing on an Olympic podium, but I won't ever be able to do that. You have had the greatest moment of your life stolen from you.
"Javelin is literally one moment. The whole of my run-up took 4.45 seconds, the throw itself took 18 hundredths of a second, 80% of my speed of release came from the last hundredth of a second.
"When your timing is right, and you're mentally and physically at one with your javelin, time effectively stands still. Those moments become exaggerated. The whole world makes sense in that instant.
"If you've seen the film Limitless - where Bradley Cooper takes a pill and the whole world slows down, and he can problem solve and make things happen - that's what javelin feels like when your timing is on.
"That's what you miss: the flow through your body, everything separating and moving as one. I miss time standing still.
"And it's about sharing that moment with other people. I remember celebrating what I knew was a personal best and British record, over the road from the Bird's Nest stadium. My mum, a family friend who'd come over to support, my coach Mark, Steve Backley and his mentor John Trower, Seb Coe. There were a lot of people in that hotel bar.
"Sharing that moment with all of them, that nearly moment, I was excited, and there was a sense of pride of seeing a plan through. But it would have been incredible, I know, if I had been standing there celebrating as an Olympic medallist - because it would have meant so much to all those people, not just me."
There are nine British athletes from the 2008 Olympics in this strange purgatory: the men's 4x400m relay squad of Andrew Steele, Robert Tobin, Michael Bingham and Martyn Rooney; the women's 4x400m team of Christine Ohuruogu, Kelly Sotherton, Marilyn Okoro and Nicola Sanders; and Sayers.
Sotherton, who retired five years ago, is owed two medals - one from the relay, one from the heptathlon, where she initially finished fifth before retrospective bans removed Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine and Russia's Tatyana Chernova.
No-one knows when those medals will arrive, or how - prosaically, in the post, as some have in the past, or awarded at a special ceremony at a future athletics meet, maybe this summer's World Championships in London, although that is not an IOC event. Maybe much later, if Cas' procedures drift on and on.
It is clearly preferable to those retests never having been done, and those cheats never being caught. But it is a flawed process, just as with the proposal to scratch all track and field world records recorded before 2005, clean athletes seemingly punished again for the crimes of those who defrauded them in the first place.
• None The winners and losers if records are wiped
"It's a strange place to be," said Sayers. "It would be nice for legal processes to be sped up after someone is caught, because everyone needs to move on. There are going to be more and more athletes who've retired, picking up Olympic medals, thinking, 'If only…'
"It's getting on. Some of the kids I'm coaching don't even remember those Olympics.
"You very quickly feel like a has-been in sport. And I don't want to be one of those people talking about something that happened 20 years ago, and that being the best moment of their life."
Abakumova was something of an open secret in Beijing. Her physique had changed dramatically over the previous winter, and her distances followed suit: 61.43 metres at the Worlds in 2007, a jump to 70.78m in Beijing.
Sayers' British record of 65.75m was only 38 centimetres off the initial bronze. It would also have been good enough for silver at the two subsequent Olympics. It should have brought satisfaction.
"I remember having to compose myself afterwards and have a series of press interviews where I couldn't say that I'd just been cheated out of an Olympic medal," she said.
"Instead I had to say that it was a surprise that someone had improved five metres, and that the champion nearly had to break the world record to win.
"It's weird thinking about it now. We would all joke about Russian athletes, and some others, doping. We just had to accept that they were cheating.
"I had initially tried to remain naive about it, partly because I didn't feel at my own physical or mental peak. I thought, if they're doping they should be throwing further.
"When you feel you're not throwing as far as you could, you just get on with it. But when you feel like you really have, that's when it hits you: hang on, this really isn't right.
"I had a conversation with Kelly in the Olympic village in Beijing. I said, 'At least everyone was drug tested, so in a few years, who knows, we might be Olympic medallists.' Because it was just so obvious. So brutally obvious.
"It's great now that people can openly talk about it. Maybe we were all complicit, because we didn't talk about it in those interviews. But you had no concrete evidence, and so you had no way of policing your own sport. You just had to get on with it."
Sayers still loves athletics. She has started her own coaching and mentoring website, Javelin Champ, and will be Team GB's deputy chef de mission at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival.
Like so many in the sport, she finds herself holding two seemingly contradictory positions: defending what makes athletics so special, and acutely aware of where it has gone wrong.
And so the stark question that those many have had to ask themselves in retirement: had she known at the start of her career what she does now, would she still have committed to a life in athletics?
"Oh no, don't ask me that question! Um… it's really hard," she said.
"When I was first given a javelin to take home over the school Easter holidays I never thought, I'll make a living out of this, go to three Olympics, break the British record. I only thought, how far can I throw this?
"You become addicted to progress. As long as you keep improving, you keep going.
"I've beaten people who have been caught cheating. And there are always things you can improve. It just makes it a lot harder to beat them.
"The biggest problem with doping is that it pushes people who are clean into getting injured. That was my experience. I was guilty of pushing too hard in training, trying to make up the gap. I had seven operations in the eight years after Beijing.
"I would still do it. But I wouldn't want to know what I know now, because then I wouldn't have given everything to it. And I wouldn't want to be an athlete who didn't give everything to it. I did."
As Sayers prepares to say farewell to that competitive career, she displays little of the bitterness you might expect. She is honest about her own mistakes, hopeful about what might come next for athletics, open to being astonished by remarkable performances rather than cynical.
"You don't want people thinking everyone is cheating, because they honestly aren't," she added. "There aren't as many cheats as the cynics think there are. It's absolutely possible to make massive improvement in sport, because there are so many facets to it. Good coaching is the biggest performance-enhancer there is.
"But I do hope that announcing I've retired can be a line in the sand for me. I've wanted to do it for months, but I kept always thinking this legal process would be wrapped up, and I could look forward to a presentation."
She laughs. "On a positive, if the medal comes, I'll definitely do something. A retirement and medal party. Get together my family, my friends, my coaches, all my support team, and have a party.
"Everyone can dance round the medal, instead of their handbags. I'll probably have about 10 years to plan it, the way things are going, but still."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39787909
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Sulley Muntari: Garth Crooks calls for players in Italy to strike - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Garth Crooks says players in the Italian League should strike this weekend unless Sulley Muntari's ban is overturned.
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Ex-Tottenham striker Garth Crooks has called on players in the Italian league to strike this weekend unless Sulley Muntari's one-match suspension is withdrawn.
Pescara midfielder Muntari, 32, was banned after he protested against racist abuse he received from the crowd during Sunday's Serie A match at Cagliari, which earned him a yellow card for dissent before he walked off.
Italy's football chiefs were branded "gutless" by anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out.
"Those with power in Italy need to take action to stop this happening again," Kick It Out tweeted.
Crooks, an independent Kick It Out trustee, told the BBC: "I'm calling on players in Italy, black and white, to make it absolutely clear to the federation in Italy that their position is unacceptable, and if the decision is not reversed then they withdraw their services until it is."
In a fuller statement on its website, Kick It Out added: "It's unbelievable that Cagliari escaped punishment as 'only 10' fans were involved. This situation should never be allowed to happen again."
Ex-Ghana international Muntari was cautioned for dissent after asking the referee to stop the match, and then walked off in protest - which earned him a second yellow card for leaving the field of play without permission.
The Serie A disciplinary committee which issued Muntari's ban agreed that the fans' actions were "deplorable" but said its guidelines meant it could not impose sanctions as only "approximately 10" supporters were involved - fewer than 1% of the Cagliari supporters in the ground.
Pescara's coach Zdenek Zeman's said that he hopes "mentalities will change" with respect to racism.
Crooks added: "This is not just about black players, we've moved on from that. This is about players.
"And I'm also a little alarmed that Sulley Muntari's team-mates have not become involved in this. His manager's not said more - he said something but quite frankly what he has said is rather inadequate as far as I'm concerned.
"So it's about addressing racism together as black players and white players, because that's the only way we're going to get past this problem in football."
World players' union Fifpro believes Crooks' call for a strike might be difficult to implement but agrees action is needed.
Spokesperson Andrew Orsatti told BBC World Service that the committee's decision was "appalling, outrageous and poorly managed".
He added: "The message had to be about racism and stamping it out and sending a clear message that Muntari's cry for help was heard. But they failed on both counts, the Italian authorities, and the mind boggles as to how that occurred."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39792319
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How I funded my studies by digging for Sierra Leone diamonds - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The BBC's Umaru Fofana tells how diamond mining helped give him his start in life.
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Africa
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Digging for diamonds is no soft option
In my teens, I worked as an artisanal miner, waist deep in water, sieving the gravel to find a diamond.
Growing up in diamond-rich eastern Sierra Leone, it was the natural thing to do.
Jobs were, and still are, few and far between, so the gemstones were a magnet. They persuaded many to drop out of school, but I worked as a miner mostly during school holidays and sometimes at weekends.
The Kono District was densely populated because the sparkling stones could be found virtually everywhere, sometimes through sheer luck.
My parents joined thousands of people from across the country, as well as The Gambia, Mali, Senegal and even Lebanon, to go to Kono in the hope of making a quick fortune.
I grew up there and my work as a miner was hard. I dug the river beds for gravel and extracted the often muddy earth looking for diamonds.
The pickaxes and shovels would blister my palms and the sieve would harden or even deaden my fingers, often breaking my fingernails.
And because I had to also lift sacks full of dry red tropical gravel, my head and neck were almost always in pain.
Diamond deposits were sometimes so close to the surface in parts of Kono that it was common for people to pick up tiny gemstones that had been loosened by a heavy downpour.
I found a tiny stone once or twice in my birthplace, Bumpeh. I did not know their true worth, but got enough money to see me through for about a week.
The Star of Sierra Leone, the world's fourth biggest discovery, was found in 1972
4. Star of Sierra Leone, found in Sierra Leone in 1972, weighed 969 carats
After doing my school-leaving exams, I took to full-scale mining to help pay for my university studies.
Apart from mining in Kono, I also went to Tongo Fields in neighbouring Kenema District. There, I discovered that the life of an artisanal miner was like that of an indentured labourer.
Diamond diggers generally had two layers of sponsorship, and still do. The Group of Geng, or Gang, is what the diggers are called.
In language which harks back to the days of slavery, each group has a Master who looks over them. He is also in charge of providing food, accommodation and medicine.
But when I was there, conditions were such that only one square meal a day was assured - and please do not ask how the sauce tasted.
We often slept on the floor of a room or veranda, with bedbugs and mosquitoes biting us in turns. As for health care, Panadol was all we would get if we fell ill.
Then there was the Supporter - the person who would provide the funds for the Master.
We rarely got to know him personally. He tended to be a big businessman or diamond dealer, and he provided us with tools and monthly allowances.
Like me, most diggers did not know - and still do not know - the real value of their diamonds. So, it was easy for the Master and the Supporter to connive and dupe us about the price.
It takes sharp eyes to spot some diamonds
There is a group known as Gado Geng. They prefer to sponsor themselves and sell their diamonds on their own.
But my three-member team had a Master. We worked on a licensed plot.
However, one day, we went to do illicit mining at an abandoned site belonging to the then state-owned National Diamond Mining Company.
Two of us were on the sieve, the third shovelling the pile of gravel. I was busy shaking the sieve under the water to wash the mud off the stones.
Then I saw a sparkling object right in the middle of the sieve.
I was not sure if it was a diamond or corundum, a sparkling stone that has little value. I brought up the sieve, to be sure.
I went straight to the spot to try to separate it from the rest of the stones and sand.
My heart pounded. I excitedly muttered to my colleagues: "Na diamond," a Krio phrase for "It's a diamond".
I made sure that I did not say it loudly for fear that someone in the distance would hear me.
This is one of the few photos Umaru still has of his time at university
My colleague, Yarpo, dropped the bucket and shovel to verify my find. He agreed that it was a diamond.
We flung the tools away and dashed into the tall swampy grass. We then fled before anyone could catch us.
Obviously, we kept our Master in the dark and sold the two-carat diamond to a local dealer for 100,000 leone. I am not sure how many US dollars that was worth in 1991, but it was a lot of money.
I was the youngest, but the other two diggers treated me fairly. We split the money, and they gave me 34,000 leone, a little more than my share.
Unlike many other diamond diggers, I did not waste any of it on buying brightly-coloured sneakers, jeans, shirts or cassette players.
I had a clear idea what I was going to do with it - pay my first year university fee of around 24,000 leone.
As I was still awaiting my school exam results, I gave the money to my aunt to add to her capital and do some business.
I went back to concentrate on mining, but it turned out to be the last time that fortune would smile on me as a digger.
I always wanted to become a journalist as I was born with the BBC World Service blaring in our home.
My dad, who never went to school, was addicted to it. And there were old newspapers and magazines lined up under his mattress and piled up elsewhere in his tiny bedroom.
However, Sierra Leone's Fourah Bay College did not offer journalism at the time. So, my instinct told me to study English and French for an international edge.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and went on to work as journalist.
Like me, my children have grown up with the BBC World Service, except that my voice is among the voices that they hear.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39478462
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Andy Murray: Maria Sharapova likely to get Wimbledon wildcard - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Andy Murray expects Maria Sharapova to receive a wildcard for Wimbledon qualifying if she misses out through her ranking.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
World number one Andy Murray expects Maria Sharapova to receive a wildcard for Wimbledon qualifying if she does not make it through her ranking.
The Russian, 30, returned to action in Stuttgart last month after a 15-month doping ban.
She needs an invitation to compete at this month's French Open and, with her ranking of 262, at Wimbledon in July.
"I think there's a good chance Wimbledon would give her one to get into qualifiers," Murray said.
"I'm not sure what they will do but I'm sure they are hoping they don't have to make the decision," the 29-year-old Briton told national newspapers.
"There's a good chance that she can get in by right, which I'm sure is what she's hoping for and that's what Wimbledon would be hoping for."
The All England Club has said "no decisions on any players will be taken" until the scheduled wildcard meeting on 20 June.
Wimbledon's qualifying tournament, which takes place from 26-29 June at the the Bank of England Sports Grounds in Roehampton, will be ticketed and carry video coverage of one court for the first time.
There is something to be said for working your way back up the rankings
Sharapova needs to be closer to the top 200 for direct entry into Wimbledon qualifying and can improve her ranking at upcoming events in Madrid and Rome, which have also taken the decision to award her wildcards.
The five-time Grand Slam champion was suspended in 2016 after testing positive for heart disease drug meldonium, and reached the semi-finals on her return to action in Stuttgart.
She needed to reach the final in Germany to make the world's top 200 and be eligible for French Open qualifying, but defeat by Kristina Mladenovic in the last four pegged her ranking at 262.
The French tennis federation is set to announce its decision regarding a wildcard for Sharapova on 16 May.
Grand Slams face a "different decision" from smaller tournaments over this issue, according to Murray.
"Loads and loads of press went to Stuttgart to cover the event - whereas the Slams don't need that coverage," the Scot said.
"It probably doesn't change their event much either way, so they have a different decision to make."
Murray said the French Open and Wimbledon can do "whatever they want" regarding wildcards but added "there is something to be said for working your way back up" the rankings.
"[Sharapova's] playing at a level where she's capable of winning a tournament like Stuttgart already - it would be a three-, four-week period before she'd be competing at the biggest events again," he said.
"To reach the semis in the first tournament back shows that very soon she's going to be back up at the top of the game. It will be a matter of months."
Murray added, however, that he "wouldn't imagine" Sharapova's form would have any bearing on a Grand Slam tournament's decision to issue a wildcard.
The decision to assist Sharapova's return to the WTA Tour has been criticised by rival players, with 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard branding the former world number one "a cheat" who should not have been allowed to play again.
• None 'When you cheat you forgo the privilege to take part in your sport'
'My elbow is always sore'
Having missed Great Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final defeat by France with an elbow injury before returning in Monte Carlo, Murray continued his comeback at the Barcelona Open where he was beaten by Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals.
He will next compete on clay at the Madrid Open, starting on Monday, followed by the Italian Open on 15 May.
"My elbow is always sore, so that's nothing to do with the injury - for the last three or four years, it's always been a bit stiff," said Murray, speaking at The Queen's Club, where he will defend his Aegon Championship title next month.
"It was great in Barcelona for the amount of tennis I played - I pushed it, playing three hours and then having to come back the next day and play again, and the elbow felt really good.
"I just need to start serving better which hopefully will happen over the next few weeks."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39785177
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Fernando Alonso: McLaren driver enjoys 'fun' Indy 500 testing - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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McLaren's Fernando Alonso says his first experience of Indianapolis was "fun" as he begins testing for the Indy 500.
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McLaren's Fernando Alonso said his first experience of Indianapolis was "fun" as he passed his orientation and began testing for the Indy 500.
Alonso is missing the Monaco Grand Prix this month, where Jenson Button will return to Formula 1 to substitute for him, to race at Indianapolis.
The Spaniard completed his mandatory 'rookie' test before starting his preparations for the event on 28 May.
"So far it is a good experience but now starts the real thing," Alonso said.
"It has been a very helpful day in terms of knowing all this different world and getting up to speed a little bit.
"There's still a long way to go but I am happy with this first step."
Button sent his former McLaren team-mate a good-luck message on social media before the test session.
Why is Alonso doing a 'rookie test'?
All drivers who race at Indianapolis for the first time are required to complete an initiation test, no matter what their calibre or experience.
To pass, two-time F1 world champion Alonso had to complete three phases of running - 10 laps each at an average of 205-210mph; followed by 15 at 210-215mph; and 15 at 215-220mph. He completed the requirements in just 50 laps.
Alonso said: "It is a good way to start to build the speed. It was probably a little bit difficult at the beginning to reach the minimum but then in the phases it felt good.
"At the beginning, the right foot has its own brain and it was not connected to my brain. I wanted to go flat-out but the foot wouldn't let me. But after a few laps it was fine."
What else did he do?
After passing the rookie test, Alonso began a programme with his Andretti Autosport team to start learning the intricacies of IndyCars on an oval track where each 2.5-mile lap has four left turns that look identical but are each subtly different.
He ended the test with a fastest lap of 222.548mph. Last year's pole position time for the Indy 500 was 230.760mph.
"Everything went fine so far," Alonso said. "The circuit looks so narrow when you are at that speed. I was trying different lines but I was not as comfortable as I probably will be in a couple of weeks' time."
Alonso is racing in his home grand prix in Spain on 12-14 May before flying back to the States to start the official practice sessions for the Indy 500 the next day.
The competitors have a total of 30 hours of practice over five days before qualifying weekend on 20-21 May, with pole position decided on the Sunday.
Alonso's F1 team are fully involved in his Indy programme, with the car painted in the company's historic orange colour and given the McLaren name. It is the first time for 38 years that a car branded McLaren has raced at Indy.
He is taking part because McLaren are struggling in F1 this year as a result of a lack of performance in their Honda engine and Alonso has said one of his ambitions is to win the 'triple crown' of Monaco Grand Prix, which he won in 2006 and '07, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours.
McLaren executive director Zak Brown said he wanted to give Alonso the chance to win something after three difficult seasons since joining the team in 2015.
"We wanted to see Fernando running at the front because that's where he deserves to be," Brown said.
Brown revealed that Alonso had already watched about 25 Indy 500s in his preparations, including one entirely from an in-car camera on one particular car.
The test progressed so quickly that within four hours Andretti already had Alonso testing fuel saving and techniques for running behind a safety car.
But Alonso said he still had a lot to learn about fine-tuning the car for changing conditions on the track, a key aspect of driving at Indy.
"The guys make changes all the time to the car," he said. "On that aspect I am not up to speed. I am not yet able to to feel the car because at the moment I am not driving the car, the car is driving me around."
Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, former IndyCar champion and father of ex-F1 and IndyCar driver Michael Andretti who runs the team Alonso is driving for, said: "He did a perfect job. He's the real deal and I think he's going to be strong this month."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39799856
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Mike Powell: Long jump world record holder criticises rewrite plans - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Plans to rewrite world records set before 2005 are "disrespectful and a slap in the face", says former long jumper Mike Powell.
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Plans to rewrite world records set before 2005 are "disrespectful, an injustice and a slap in the face", says former long jumper Mike Powell, who stands to lose his own world record.
The proposals by European Athletics are part of attempts to make a clean break with the sport's doping scandals.
If the move is approved, world records would only be recognised if they can stand up to strict new criteria.
But Powell, 53, told BBC World Service he would legally challenge any ruling.
"I've already contacted my attorney," said the American, whose mark of 8.95 metres set in August 1991 has never been bettered.
"There are some records out there that are kind of questionable, I can see that, but mine is the real deal. It's a story of human heart and guts, one of the greatest moments in the sport's history.
• None How will world records be recognised?
• None Which star names would lose out?
"They would be destroying so many things with this decision, without thinking about it. It's wrong. Regardless of what happens, I am going to fight."
Lord Coe, president of athletics' governing body the IAAF, called for a "global debate" around the issue.
He told BBC London: "These proposals will come back to the council and I look forward to maybe counter proposals and maybe changes, maybe thoughts around it.
"We have to start somewhere. This is a debate the athletes have prompted the administrators to have for far too long."
European Athletics set up a taskforce to look into the credibility of world records in January.
Its ruling council has ratified the proposals put forward by the taskforce, and it wants world governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to back them when its council meets in August.
Taskforce chair Pierce O'Callaghan told BBC Sport on Tuesday the plans were about "restoring credibility".
"Obviously this has to stand up to a court of law," he added.
"This is about the sport regaining control of its rules and records. Because in the past there have been threats of legal action when this has been mooted."
Asked whether more legal challenges were expected, he said: "No, we've just changed the rules of the sport. These are sports rules. It would be like somebody challenging the referee in a football game."
IAAF President Lord Coe has called for a "global debate" around the issue, telling BBC London: "It's important that we have these discussions.
"These proposals will come back to the council and I look forward to maybe counter proposals and maybe changes, maybe thoughts around it.
"We have to start somewhere. This is a debate the athletes have prompted the administrators to have for far too long."
Paula Radcliffe, who faces losing her 2003 marathon world record, has called the proposals "cowardly".
However, fellow British runner Darren Campbell says the move would be "for the greater good".
Powell set the long jump world record at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, beating Bob Beamon's mark of 8.90m, which had led the field for 23 years.
Twenty-six years on, only the discus throw (1986), the hammer throw (1986) and shot put (1990) world records have stood for longer in men's outdoor athletics.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39789773
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The British pub chain that has banned swearing - BBC Three
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2017-05-03
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Catriona White
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Check out this content on BBC Three.
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Better watch your F-bombs over a cheeky pint, because Samuel Smiths brewery is reportedly refusing service to any cussing customers.
The independent brewery, which owns 200 pubs across the UK, has issued guidelines to staff to implement the company’s new ‘zero tolerance’ policy on profanity.
And they’re taking it pretty seriously, giving any mouthy punters a ban from the premises.
The Gazette spoke to one Samuel Smith’s pub manager in Teesside, who confirmed, “It’s the owner of the brewery’s decision, it’s all started from the brewery - all we can do is try our best.”
When asked if any customers had actually been barred yet, he responded, “We’ve been told to refuse service to people using bad language, so basically, yes.”
Samuel Smiths pubs have become known for their traditional, "uncompromisingly Victorian" aesthetic and their lack of music or TVs.
Looks like this post is no longer available from its original source. It might've been taken down or had its privacy settings changed.
We wish to inform all of our customers that we have introduced a zero tolerance policy against swearing in all of our pubs.
The exact amount or calibre of swearing that will earn you the boot has not been confirmed, but if you want to sip your G and T in peace, best keep the conversation PG.
It’s not the first time a watering hole has made a statement like this.
Various bars and pubs kicked off last Christmas and banned groups wearing Christmas jumpers, accusing them of being more rowdy.
Wetherspoons faced serious backlash when they tried to ban 'sportswear' at a branch in Chatham last summer, claiming they were trying to attract a more upmarket kind of clientele. The residents of Chatham were not impressed.
The pub chain even weighed in on politics in the run up to the referendum, when founder Tim Martin printed 200,000 beer mats calling for the UK to leave the EU.
This article was first published in April 2017
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/041d5177-b5cb-49c4-bb27-dcb652806c0d?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=pubswearing&intc_linkname=bbcthree_fac_article1
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Wimbledon 2017: Ilie Nastase says organisers are 'small-minded' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ilie Nastase says tournament organisers are 'small-minded' for not inviting him to the Royal Box this summer.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Ilie Nastase says Wimbledon organisers are "small-minded" after they announced he will not be invited to the Royal Box at this year's tournament.
Romania's Fed Cup captain, a former world number one, is currently under investigation for comments he made about Serena Williams' unborn child.
Williams accused Nastase of racism after he was overheard asking if the child would be "chocolate with milk".
He also insulted British player Johanna Konta and captain Anne Keothavong.
At a news conference on Wednesday, All England Club chairman Philip Brook confirmed 70-year-old Nastase, who reached the Wimbledon final in 1972 and 1976, would not be present.
"His actions were not very good and we condemn them. In terms of an invitation to the Royal Box, he is not going to receive an invitation this year," Brook said.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has launched an investigation into remarks Nastase made during April's Fed Cup match, when he also directed an angry outburst towards Konta that left the British number one in tears.
In an interview with the BBC later in April, the Romanian defended his remarks about world number one Williams.
And following the announcement that his invitation to the Royal Box at Wimbledon this year would be blocked, Nastase accused organisers of treating Romanians like "morons".
"What does Wimbledon have to do with what I said about Serena and at the match in Romania?" he told Romanian website ProSport.
"If I did something stupid at Wimbledon then I'd understand if I were then suspended. But in this case, I don't get it.
"In 1973, when everyone else refused to play at Wimbledon [because of a boycott by the Association of Tennis Professionals] but I did - does that not count for something? Do they not think about that?
"If they are going to be so small-minded about it, there's nothing I can do."
Wimbledon also announced record prize money of £31.6m for this year's event on Wednesday's press conference, an increase of 12.5% on 2016.
The men's and women's singles champions will earn £2.2m each, with an increase to benefit players at each round of the draw. First-round singles losers will earn £35,000.
Overall prize money for the last year's edition was £28.1m, with the singles champions earning £2m.
This year's event gets under way on 3 July, the latest start since the 1895 edition, when play began on 8 July.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39793356
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How a university became a battle for Europe's identity - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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This is a line in the sand that must not be crossed, says the president of a threatened Budapest university.
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Business
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Protesters this week in Budapest chanted: "Europe, not Moscow."
Michael Ignatieff is not a person you would expect to find at the centre of a global political power play featuring names such as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
He was the rangy intellectual presenter on late night TV arts shows of the early 1990s in the UK, who looked like he might moonlight in an experimental jazz band.
The author and academic entered politics in his native Canada, becoming leader of the opposition party, before last autumn taking on a job as president of the Central European University in Hungary.
Mr Ignatieff, in his late sixties, might have been forgiven for thinking that this was a job before retirement - but instead he has stepped into a political storm.
The Budapest university has become a symbolic battleground between liberal internationalism and a rising tide of populist nationalism - with loud protests that the Hungarian government is trying to close it down.
Mr Ignatieff says it would be the first time a post-War European state had "got away with shutting down a free university".
"That's what makes it unprecedented. That's what makes it shocking.
"Now that's crossing a line. We haven't been there before.
"We see absolutely no reason why we should be forced out of Budapest, we think it's outrageous," says the university president, speaking in London.
Michael Ignatieff, former TV presenter, is now in charge of the embattled university in Budapest
"We're a free institution, and this is about a drive to control," says Mr Ignatieff.
The Hungarian government has insisted this is not the case and the university has only to fall in line with new higher education regulations.
And over the weekend, there were signs that Hungary's ruling Fidesz party would bow to pressure from the European Parliament's centre-right grouping to protect "basic freedoms".
But this is a dispute with deep roots - not least in relation to the role of the university's funder, George Soros.
The Budapest-born billionaire and Holocaust survivor has been a prominent backer of liberal causes.
The university occupies a building that has been an aristocrat's palace and Communist-run offices
And Mr Ignatieff says Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has had a "longstanding vendetta" against Mr Soros.
Mr Orban, in turn, told the European Parliament last week that it was Mr Soros who was the aggressor against Hungary.
He has called US President Donald Trump a "con man and would-be dictator" and has become a hate figure for some of the US president's supporters.
He has also been a vocal opponent of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
And at the weekend, demonstrators in Budapest were chanting: "Europe, not Moscow," fearing that the push against the university was part of a move to look eastwards rather than west.
Adding spice to the antagonism is the fact that Mr Orban's early career was helped by a grant from George Soros in the late-1980s, bringing him to study in Oxford.
The young student who wrote about civil society and the transition to democracy is now the prime minister facing street protests.
And there have been some who have seen this all as a proxy struggle between a liberal establishment and the supporters of Mr Trump, Mr Putin and Mr Orban.
In the French presidential elections, Emmanuel Macron is accusing his opponent, Marine le Pen, of being part of an alliance with Mr Orban and Mr Putin.
The Central European University (CEU) is a liberal, international institution, accredited in the US as well as Hungary, and created to promote democratic values after the end of Soviet rule.
Mr Ignatieff was speaking at the University of East London, about projects that both universities run to support refugees - another position unlikely to win friends with those hostile to immigration.
More stories from the BBC's Global education series looking at education from an international perspective, and how to get in touch.
You can join the debate at the BBC's Family & Education News Facebook page.
But the CEU president says it has been a major miscalculation to believe that the Trump presidency would line up against the university.
"I think one of the assumptions that Mr Orban must have made is that if he squashed an American institution, the Trump administration wouldn't care - because it's associated with liberalism and all these hated things.
"In fact the American administration has been extremely forthright, right out of the gate."
Supporters of the university have staged protests in Budapest
The dispute over the university has continued to ripple outwards - with a surrounding digital blizzard of claim, counter-claim and fake news.
The European Commission has launched proceedings against Hungary, with vice-president Frans Timmermans saying the country's new rules on higher education were "perceived by many as an attempt to close down the Central European University".
A collection of European scientists has written to Mr Orban to say moves against the university were "totally at odds with what we thought was taken for granted in free democracies".
But Mr Orban's reply showed no sign of changing direction.
He wrote back that the scientists' claims do not "correspond with reality" and there had been "false allegations" and an "international disinformation campaign" against Hungary's government.
Until anything else is confirmed, Mr Ignatieff says that from October the university's licence can be withdrawn and they will be unable to recruit students.
"We're not going to shut down, but we may have to leave the country."
And he says that they have received offers from six other countries to take the university.
There have been a series of street protests against threats to the university
But he is still campaigning to stay in Budapest - and not wanting to burn any bridges, emphasises that there is no political challenge to Mr Orban.
"This is not fascism. This is a populist democrat, he won a free and fair election. In Budapest, you're not in the deep freeze of Communist Hungary or fascist Germany."
Mr Ignatieff also says the hand of Mr Putin shouldn't be seen everywhere: "We invest in Putin powers that he can only dream of. We pump the guy up bigger than he actually is."
But this is a line in the sand, says Mr Ignatieff. If universities can be shut down in the heart of Europe, then what does it mean for the future of democracy?
"Democracy is not just majority rule, it's not just free media, it's not just a free judiciary. It's about institutions that have the right to govern themselves," he says.
"This is a battle for something I really care about, this is really deep in me.
"Universities are infuriating, they're difficult. But if you want a democracy, you want free institutions. It's really important."
"This is one I couldn't afford to miss and one I can't afford to lose."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39780546
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Champions Trophy: Eoin Morgan calls England team 'most talented group I've played with' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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England one-day captain Eoin Morgan says the current team is "the most talented group of players I've ever played with".
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Coverage : Live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan says the current side is the most talented group of players he has ever played with.
Morgan's team play their first ODI of the summer on Friday against Ireland at Bristol as they begin preparations for the Champions Trophy.
The 50-over tournament begins at The Oval on 1 June and consists of the eight best-ranked ODI teams.
"The talent and ability in the side is second to none," Morgan told BBC Sport.
"I firmly believe this is the most talented group of players I've ever played with. I've been fortunate to play with some fantastic cricketers over the years."
England have never won a 50-over international competition and have won only one global trophy - the World Twenty20 in 2010 - but have twice reached the final of the Champions Trophy, in 2004 and 2013.
England and Wales will host the Champions Trophy, which runs from 1-18 June, and Morgan believes his team are playing a brand of cricket capable of winning a world tournament.
"It is important to recognise the Champions Trophy is the halfway stage towards the 2019 World Cup and that's the real trophy we want to be lifting," he said.
"That is the ultimate goal. This tournament is very relevant for us at the moment given the progression that we've made.
"It is a very ruthless tournament - you have to win every game. Going in with that expectation and hype is very good for us as a group.''
Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes is one of eight England players to compete in this year's Indian Premier League.
He is the most expensive foreign player in IPL history and made a thrilling 63-ball century - his first in Twenty20 cricket - for Pune on Monday.
His international captain Morgan believes there is no-one more dangerous in world cricket right now than Stokes, who will miss the two ODIs against Ireland to remain in India.
"He goes out playing in the same team as the Australian captain Steve Smith and an Indian legend in MS Dhoni and outperforming those guys gives him an abundance of confidence," Morgan said.
"It is not only his own confidence, it will rub off on the team as well."
England's women will also be fighting for a limited-overs trophy this summer when the women's World Cup begins on 24 June on home soil.
The side, led by Heather Knight, have been preparing in the UAE in temperatures exceeding 40C at times.
The training camp was noticeable for the inclusion of Sarah Taylor. Widely considered the most talented player in women's cricket, she has been tackling anxiety-related issues which have had a profound effect on her health.
England remain cautiously optimistic that she will be part of the World Cup.
"Sarah did a lot more than was expected - she did very well out there. With Sarah it is one step at a time at the moment," captain Knight told BBC Sport.
"The World Cup is still eight weeks away. But it is great to see her out in an England shirt again, training around the group.
"She's still the world-class player she was - she'd still walk into any top four in any team in the world. It is great to see her and I love watching her bat. But the most important thing is that she's well, and it puts cricket into perspective, to see her tackling her issues, and hopefully she can come out the other side.''
Uniquely, Tuesday's launch of the new England kits featured all England's captains, including representatives from every disability team.
All believe major strides have been made with the backing of the England and Wales Cricket Board but that there is still far greater scope for development and profile.
Ian Nairn, the captain of England's physical disability team, would like to see cricket achieve the same level of recognition as Paralympic sports.
''We're hitting sixes out of the ground as Eoin Morgan is, as Ben Stokes is. There is no reason why we shouldn't entertain to exactly the same standard," Nairn told BBC Sport. "It is 20-over cricket; it is fast and it is furious.
''We've got a long way to go get to the level of the Paralympics, but it is a global game. In the subcontinent there is a lot of disability and a lot of disabled people playing cricket.
"There's no reason why we can't go there and make it a commercial game. Maybe the 'Disability IPL' is the way forward - that's a dream that we all have.''
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39788306
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Fernando Alonso: McLaren driver has private Indianapolis 500 test - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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McLaren driver Fernando Alonso begins testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before his debut at the Indy 500 next month
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Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
Fernando Alonso has taken part in a private test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for his Indy 500 debut later this month.
The 35-year-old McLaren driver will miss this year's Monaco Grand Prix for a guest outing at the famous Brickyard.
His McLaren Honda Andretti car reached average speeds in excess of 215mph in the test session on Wednesday.
Britain's Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion, will replace Alonso at McLaren in Monaco on 28 May.
Button sent his former McLaren team-mate a good-luck message on social media before the test session.
Alonso successfully completed several stints at the wheel of the Honda-powered Andretti car, which has been decked out in papaya orange in a nod to the colour schemes of some of the early McLaren F1 cars.
The test is Alonso's only taste of the car before the official start of Indy 500 practice on 15 May. The Indy 500 is on 28 May.
The double world champion has retired from every F1 race so far this season as McLaren-Honda continue to struggle towards the back of the grid.
He will be back in the McLaren for the Spanish Grand Prix on 14 May.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39797980
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Real Madrid 3-0 Atletico Madrid - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores another Champions League hat-trick as Real Madrid thrash Atletico Madrid in the semi-final first leg.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Cristiano Ronaldo scored another Champions League hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Atletico Madrid in the semi-final first leg to close in on a third final in four years.
Real were utterly dominant throughout against their city rivals at the Bernabeu and led after 10 minutes when Ronaldo headed home Casemiro's cross.
It looked as if the hosts might fail to fully capitalise on their superiority - until Ronaldo let the ball bounce and smashed an unstoppable shot from 16 yards past Atletico keeper Jan Oblak, who had made several saves to keep his side in the tie.
And the Portugal forward ensured all the headlines would be his with a second consecutive Champions League hat-trick, having scored five goals in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich. It was his easiest goal of the night, as he controlled Lucas Vazquez's cross in plenty of space before firing home.
Atletico only had one shot on target and will need to pull off one of the Champions League's all-time special performances to stop double-chasing Real from ending their European dreams for the fourth straight season.
• None Relive all the action from the Bernabeu
• None Football Daily podcast: 'Ronaldo's the greatest player on the planet'
Ronaldo does it again
Ronaldo, the top scorer in the history of the Champions League with 103 goals, loves the big occasion. And occasions do not come much bigger.
He has now scored one more goal - 52 - in the knockout stages than he has in the group stages. He has now scored eight goals in his past three games in the competition, and is up to 13 Champions League semi-final goals.
At the age of 32, Ronaldo has reinvented himself as a striker, rather than the marauding wide player we watched cutting in and shooting for most of his career.
He was not heavily involved for large periods of the game, with only 50 touches of the ball compared with 123 for midfielder Toni Kroos. And he only had five shots - scoring with all of his efforts on target, his only three touches in the Atletico box.
Ronaldo was in an offside position when Sergio Ramos' cross came in for the first goal, but the ball never reached him, instead coming out to Casemiro, who crossed for the Portuguese to head home.
His second came when Karim Benzema held off Diego Godin, and Filipe Luis' follow-up clearance bounced up to Ronaldo, who lashed home.
And he surely wrapped the tie up when he added a third in the 86th minute.
No team has retained the Champions League since its rebranding in 1992, but Real - who were in the swashbuckling form we have seen for most of the season - are in a great position to do so.
Manager Zinedine Zidane, who led his side to last season's trophy with victory over Atletico in the final in his first six months in charge, is chasing a double - and their hopes of a first La Liga title since 2012 are in their hands.
Real - who have now scored in 59 consecutive games - had 17 shots against Atletico on Tuesday, with Benzema going close on several occasions, most notably with a bicycle kick that went just wide from Ronaldo's cross.
Raphael Varane almost scored with a header but was denied by a brilliant Oblak stop, while fellow defender Dani Carvajal, who went off injured at half-time, also forced a save from the Atletico keeper.
Such is the strength of Zidane's squad that Wales forward Gareth Bale, out with a calf injury, was not missed at all - with replacement Isco impressing.
And now, on the back of their first clean sheet in this year's tournament, they will surely fancy their chances against Juventus or Monaco in the Cardiff final on Saturday, 3 June.
Atletico have spent most of their history in the shadows of Real so it is of extreme irritation to them that one of their best periods has seen them regularly thwarted by their rivals.
This is the fourth year in a row the teams have met in the latter stages of the Champions League - with Real winning the 2014 and 2016 finals, and the 2015 quarter-final.
Atletico looked a shadow of the team Diego Simeone has turned into one of the most feared in the world. They only had 38% of the ball on Tuesday and, in the first half, misplaced 21.5% of their passes.
Atletico only managed four efforts on goal, with Diego Godin's easily saved header the only one on target.
Simeone, who led Atletico to the 2013 Spanish league title, now faces arguably the toughest test of his managerial career next week in the final European match at the Vicente Calderon before their move to a new stadium.
'We need to forget about this game'
"We need to forget about this game.
"It seems impossible, but it is football and football has these unexpected things that make it marvellous.
"Until the last drip of hope is gone, we will give it everything we have."
"Cristiano is a goalscorer. He is unique. All the players were brilliant.
"I am happy with what I am doing here and with the players, we played a great game. We can hurt any side with our weapons."
The stats you need to know - Ronaldo levels Messi hat-trick record
• None Ronaldo has equalled Barcelona forward Lionel Messi's total of seven Champions League hat-tricks.
• None His treble saw him become the first player to reach 50 goals in the knockout stages of the competition (52).
• None Ronaldo now has 13 semi-final goals in the Champions League (10 for Real Madrid, three for Manchester United) - the most by any player.
• None The Portugal international has also scored more Champions League goals (103) than opponents Atletico Madrid (100).
• None None of the previous five teams to lose a Champions League semi-final first leg by three or more goals have reached the final.
• None Atletico suffered their joint-worst Champions League defeat under Diego Simeone, having also lost by a three-goal margin (4-1) against Real Madrid in the 2014 final.
• None Real kept their first clean sheet in the competition since last year's semi-final against Manchester City (in both legs), ending a run of 11 successive games without one.
Real Madrid go to relegated Granada, managed by Tony Adams, on Saturday (19:45 BST kick-off) as they continue to chase the Spanish title. Atletico, who are in third place, host Eibar on the same day (15:15 BST).
• None Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marco Asensio with a cross.
• None Attempt saved. Diego Godín (Atlético de Madrid) header from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Gabi.
• None Attempt missed. Luka Modric (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marcelo.
• None Goal! Real Madrid 3, Atlético de Madrid 0. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez following a fast break.
• None Stefan Savic (Atlético de Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Attempt missed. Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marco Asensio. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39743922
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Kenny Dalglish: Liverpool to rename Anfield's Centenary Stand after club legend - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Liverpool are to rename Anfield's Centenary Stand in honour of club legend Kenny Dalglish.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Liverpool are to rename Anfield's Centenary Stand in honour of club legend Kenny Dalglish.
Dalglish, 66, scored 172 goals in 515 appearances after joining the club in 1977, becoming player-manager in 1985.
The Scot won a total of eight league titles, three European Cups, two FA Cups and five League Cups in his first spell at the club, which ended in 1991.
He returned as manager in 2011, winning the 2012 League Cup, and is currently a non-executive director.
"His name is synonymous with our club, with our home and the city of Liverpool," said owner John W Henry.
"Now it will be as visible as it is palpable."
Dalglish was manager at the time of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, when 96 Liverpool fans died as a result of a crush at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield.
He helped ensure the club was represented at all of the fans' funerals and attended many of them in person.
The victims were found to have been unlawfully killed following inquests that concluded in April last year. All 96, along with Dalglish, were awarded the Freedom of Liverpool in May 2016.
"Kenny's contribution to Liverpool goes beyond goals scored, points amassed and silverware placed in the cabinet," said Henry.
"The leadership and solace he gave to individuals, the club and city as it tried to come to terms with the trauma and tragedy of Hillsborough transcended sporting achievement."
The date of the official renaming ceremony is yet to be confirmed but it will take place later this year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39798739
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Fidget spinners: the new craze in school playgrounds - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Forget bottle-flipping and ditch your loom bands, there's a new craze sweeping school playgrounds.
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Scotland
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Forget bottle-flipping and ditch your loom bands, there's a new craze sweeping school playgrounds.
Fidget spinners were originally developed as a way for children with ADHD or autism to relieve stress.
But in the last few weeks, these palm-sized toys have become the latest "must-have" for almost every school child in the country.
On video-sharing websites like YouTube, vloggers have amassed millions of views from performing tricks with their fidget spinners.
And teachers have reported a huge increase in the number being brought to schools by pupils.
There are reports that some schools have banned the toys, but primary school teacher Danielle Timmons told BBC Radio Scotland that they can have benefits.
"Fidget toys have always been something that we've had in schools," she told The Kaye Adams Programme.
"They've only ever really been used by children with additional support needs. In fact, specialists coming into the school recommend them for children and we'll buy them in for the children that are identified.
"For a long time they've always existed but they've never been as popular as they seem to be now.
"It's become a playground toy as well as something that is used by children to stop them from fidgeting."
Remember loom bands? These bright rubber bracelets adorned millions of wrists in 2014
There are many different types of fidget spinners but the most popular is a small, three-pronged device.
When it is placed between the thumb and a finger, the user can give it a quick flick to trigger a spin.
Like all the best playground toys, they can be bought for a couple of pounds in a local corner shop - though some are retailing at a much higher price online.
But now some parents have raised concerns that they may be a distraction in the classroom.
Mother-of-three Doreen Boyle said the toys were "infuriating".
"My youngest, who is 13, appeared with this fidget on Thursday, and it has not left his side.
"I've had a house full of little boys all weekend and they've all got them, and nobody can talk to you, nobody can have any eye contact with you because they're all playing with this thing.
"And I can't believe that they're not going to affect performance in class."
Teacher Ms Timmons said that they can aid learning among some children.
However in her class there are strict rules that, if they are being used, they must be kept below the desk and out of the sight of teachers and fellow pupils.
"If a child is going to fidget, they're going to fidget, there's nothing you can do to stop them," she said.
"But these fidget toys are one way of allowing them to fidget without the disruption of the tapping pencils fidgeting, or the tapping feet.
"It's a much less disruptive way to channel their energies into something else while the teaching is going on. "
The fidget spinners were originally developed to help children with ADHD and autism
There are a range of so-called "fidget toys", including this cube device
Dr Amanda Gummer, a child psychologist, said the craze was helping to de-stigmatise a toy that was previously only used by children with additional needs.
The fidget toy phenomenon is one that is sweeping the world, not just the UK, according to Richard Gottlieb, founder of US-based consultancy Global Toy Experts.
"It's spreading globally...and rapidly," he said.
They are not just confined to the playground however. Adults are also increasingly turning to fidget toys. So what is their appeal?
"I think its the need to fidget manually," said Mr Gottlieb.
"That's why some people smoke, others squeeze a rubber ball and even Captain Queeg in the movie the Caine Mutiny manipulated two steel balls in his hand whenever he got worked up.
"I think people in general are pretty stressed out right now by Brexit, the various elections, Donald Trump, Syria, North Korea....you name it.
"So, it is a good time to be selling something that allows an individual to fidget off some stress - particularly at a time when smoking is looked down on."
He believes the playground craze has been fuelled by a generation of stressed-out children.
"Typically there are people who are influencers, and they can be anything from the coolest kid on the playground to the coolest person in the office, that by simply using a product cause others to do so as well," he said.
"In this case, however, it took off like crazy and I think it is, again, because adults are anxious but, at least in the US, kids are anxious as well.
"There is just way too much much pressure from parents, too much school work and too much time engaged in adult supervised activities."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39778578
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How Scottish salmon conquered the world - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Salmon is Scotland's biggest food export, but what has driven its success?
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Business
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In 2014, Scottish salmon beat confectionery to become the UK's most valuable food export
Past midnight on Monday in Mallaig: a boat docks with a cargo of live salmon.
They've been shipped from one of dozens of fish farms in the sea lochs of Scotland's north-west coast, where they swam earlier on Sunday in a large cage, machine fed for up to three years, growing as big as 8kg.
Mallaig is on a picturesque promontory looking over the sea to Skye. Its harbour used to heave with herring boats: its bracing fresh air mingled with the potent tang of smoking kippers.
The wild catch at Mallaig quayside is now langoustine, scallops and lobster. Many of the shellfish are bound for markets in Spain and France, trucked live and swiftly for premium prices.
The bigger fish business in the west Highlands is the farming of Atlantic salmon.
From the fishing boat they are vacuumed through a pipe into the ice house, slaughtered, packed and driven along the winding road through the Lochaber region to a processing plant at Fort William. They are gutted and despatched to markets around the world.
By Thursday, some of the bigger fish are being served in China's best restaurants. Beijing first allowed imports of Scottish salmon in 2011. Last year, more than 11,000 tonnes were exported to the Far East, with a value of £73m ($94m).
It is 25 years since Scottish salmon became the first non-French food to win the Label Rouge designation. Based on taste and appearance, that has been a valuable asset in France, the biggest European market for salmon, and an important calling card in other countries.
Firm, less fatty salmon is particularly popular for sushi and sashimi
Salmon is now by far the biggest food export from Scotland. In 2014, it beat confectionery to become the UK's biggest food export.
Demand is led by the EU, which imported 35,000 tonnes of Scottish salmon last year, and the US, which imported nearly 26,000 tonnes.
While the UK has less than a tenth of global production, Scotland offers a premium product, at about 10% above the world price. Scottish salmon is typically fed better quality feed, and farming can be less intensive - fewer fish in a cage mean they swim further, and develop more muscle.
Loch Duart set out in 1999 to carve a niche within that Scottish niche. Farming in the sea lochs of Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides, it charges a premium of 20-25% over other salmon producers, selling to wholesalers whose high-end client chefs require that extra assurance of quality and reliability.
"We've got to have an authentic message, a clear set of farming principles that the customer can buy into, that can be verified. We were the first to have RSPCA welfare standards," says sales director Andy Bing.
Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of industry body the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO), points out that fresh fish is hard to differentiate, except on its look. "The good quality flesh of the fish [is] particularly firm and less fatty. And that works in the sushi and sashimi market in particular," he says.
Unilever began Scottish salmon farming in 1965 and produced its first fish from Lochailort in 1971
The journey for Scottish salmon began nearly 50 years ago.
Unilever was the pioneer, spotting the potential for farmed salmon, which at that time was only caught wild and eaten as an expensive luxury.
The food conglomerate's Marine Harvest division first produced farmed salmon in 1971 at Lochailort - the shoreline between Mallaig and Fort William - and is today the world's largest salmon farmer. Now an independent firm, Marine Harvest is based in Bergen, Norway, the country that dominates the industry. (Norwegian annual production has topped 1.1m tonnes, while the UK produces less than 160,000 tonnes.)
Scotland's most valuable export - Scotch whisky - has helped to fuel the popularity of the country's salmon, by projecting a reputation for quality and provenance.
"The inroads the whisky industry made have helped with Scotland the Brand, but salmon doesn't sell itself," observes Steve Bracken, spokesman for Marine Harvest and an industry veteran.
He points out that producers have worked hard alongside the SSPO and the Scottish Food and Drink trade body to promote the fish. The public sector's contribution has been significant too, through Scottish Development International, the government agency that promotes exports.
Sea lice can weaken the health of salmon and their growth
However, recently Scottish salmon's growth has been scaled back with production hit by sea lice. When the parasites take hold of a farm, fish are harvested before their health deteriorates.
That helps explain why total world tonnage was down by 7% last year - by 5% in Scotland and Norway, and 16% in Chile. The South American country is the second biggest producer of Atlantic salmon, but has been blighted by the rapid spread of fish disease.
The industry has yet to get on top of sea lice. Feeder fish can be used as a predator for the parasites, but they haven't solved the problem yet. Another answer could be cages strong enough to be anchored far out at sea and in deeper water.
There are about 250 salmon farming sites off the coast of Scotland and its islands
Scottish salmon also faces an ongoing battle with environmental campaigners who fear that intensive farming in lochs and fjords is damaging to wild stocks and ecosystems.
Nonetheless, demand remains healthy. Salmon is marketed as a healthy eating option. Consumer tastes have been shifting to it as an affordable source of protein. Since 2013, salmon and trout have been the biggest category of traded fish worldwide.
While Scotland's export tonnage fell 10% last year, its value rose by 17%.
Demand for Scottish salmon is expected to remain strong despite uncertain supply and continued tough competition.
In the short term, the SSPO's Mr Landsburgh says recent surveys suggest the tide has turned on lice.
"And there's no shortage of demand," he points out.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39777708
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'Wimbledon qualifying facilities could cope with Maria Sharapova' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Wimbledon qualifying facilities could cope with the levels of interest should Maria Sharapova take part, the All England Club says.
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Wimbledon qualifying could cope with the levels of interest should Maria Sharapova take part in the Roehampton tournament, the All England Club says.
The Russian returned from a 15-month doping ban last month and could yet qualify directly or receive a wildcard when they are confirmed on 20 June.
Wimbledon's qualifying event will be ticketed for the first time this year.
All England Club chief Richard Lewis is "absolutely confident" Roehampton could cope with Sharapova's presence.
"We're used to organising events where there's a lot of pressure on our facilities, so it would be nothing unusual for us," he told BBC Sport.
• None Sharapova likely to get wildcard - Murray
Lewis said Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, has not yet requested a wildcard and there have been no discussions, either formal or informal, with her or her team.
Former world number one Sharapova, 30, reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart on her return to action last month.
As a result she is currently ranked 262nd - but she needs to be closer to the top 100 to qualify directly for the main draw at Wimbledon, or the top 200 for the qualifying tournament.
She has wildcards at this month's events in Madrid and Rome, where she can pick up more points before the Wimbledon main draw entry deadline of 22 May and the qualifying deadline of 5 June.
Wimbledon's qualifying tournament takes place from 26 to 29 June at the Bank of England Sports Grounds, and until this year has been an unticketed event with limited media facilities.
This year there will be 1,000 tickets for sale at £5 each, with proceeds going to the Wimbledon Foundation, along with video coverage of one court, inflatable covers on two courts and an improved player lounge.
Asked whether the changes were made with Sharapova's possible presence in mind, Lewis said: "I know it does seem very convenient timing but it is actually unrelated, genuinely unrelated, and we know that qualifying needs to continue to be improved, just like we improve facilities here at the Championships. It's part of an ongoing process."
Sharapova was initially banned by the International Tennis Federation for two years after testing positive for heart disease drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
It was later reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who found that she was not an "intentional doper".
The issue of whether the French Open and Wimbledon, as Grand Slam events, should offer wildcards to a player returning from a doping ban has divided opinion.
Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki have been among those opposed to her receiving wildcards, while Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova were among the more supportive players.
The French federation will make its decision known on 16 May, while Wimbledon's Tennis Committee meets to discuss who will receive wildcards on 20 June.
The committee will be made up of former British number one Tim Henman, three club members including club chairman Philip Brook, Debbie Jevans and Richard Stoakes, tournament referee Andrew Jarrett and two LTA members, Martin Corrie and Cathy Sabin.
"Wildcards are what they say that they are," Lewis added.
"There's a wide range of criteria that any tournament would consider and from our point of view it could be playing record, it could be whether they are British or not.
"And to pre-empt the next question, who knows what they will consider on the 20 June? That's a matter for the committee and not something we can speculate on at this stage."
Improvements to the Roehampton site have been on the All England Club's agenda for a while, but I think it would be fair to say progress was given an extra sense of urgency by the possible appearance of Sharapova and all those her presence would attract.
The 2004 champion could well play herself into the main draw by reaching the semi-finals in either Madrid or Rome, which allowed Richard Lewis to answer questions about wildcards as purely hypothetical for now.
Past Wimbledon form and success in tournaments leading up to the championships, especially those on grass, are factors the committee will consider. Sharapova will score highly in at least one of those categories, and Lewis also told me that views expressed by some other players are not likely to prove relevant.
But he would not be drawn on how much weight Sharapova's anti-doping violation would carry. That is the crux of the matter, and very much down to the seven people who will file into the All England Club on Tuesday, 20 June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39795441
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Uefa: Penalty shootout trial takes place in Euro Women's Under-17 semi-final - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Uefa trials a new penalty shootout system for the first time in a competitive game at a European Women's Under-17 semi-final in Norway.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
"Football is a simple game," Gary Lineker once said.
"Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, the Germans always win," added the Match Of The Day presenter.
So when a new penalty shootout system was used for the first time in a competitive game on Thursday, it was perhaps unsurprising that it was a Germany side who came out on top.
European football's governing body, Uefa, is evaluating a new 'ABBA' penalty shootout system - rather than the traditional ABAB pattern, where one side always has the pressure of going second - to make them fairer.
It is trialling its use at both men's and women's European Under-17s tournaments currently taking place.
And it was at the women's competition - a semi-final between Germany and Norway on Thursday - that the chance to put it into use for the first time arose.
The Germans are famed for their penalty-spot prowess after winning five shootouts at major finals - although unusually they missed their first three spot-kicks.
Yet they were still able to beat Norway 3-2 to reach the final of the tournament in the Czech Republic.
The men's tournament in Croatia has not yet reached the knockout stage.
How does it work?
As the current system stands, teams take turns in a shootout, with the choice of who goes first decided by a coin toss.
For example, team A goes first, then team B, then team A again.
The new system is called sees team A followed by team B - before team B goes again. Team A would then get two successive penalties, a little like the tie-break in tennis, and so on until there is a winner.
A coin will still be tossed to decide who goes first.
The idea is to stop the team going second having to always, potentially, play catch-up. The sport's rule-making body, Ifab, approved the trial after looking at the research that says the team taking the first penalty have an unfair advantage as they win 60% of shootouts.
"The hypothesis is that the player taking the second kick in the pair is under greater mental pressure," said Uefa.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39798344
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One-Day Cup: Jonny Bairstow hundred sets up Yorkshire win over Durham - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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England's Jonny Bairstow hits 174 off 113 balls as Yorkshire defeat Durham by six wickets in the One-Day Cup.
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England's Jonny Bairstow hammered 174 off 113 balls as Yorkshire beat Durham at Headingley to maintain their 100% start to the One-Day Cup.
Bairstow, who was dropped on 71, struck seven sixes and 16 fours in a stand of 189 in 25 overs with Joe Root (55).
His was the third century of the day as Stephen Cook (106) and Michael Richardson (100no) saw Durham to 335-5.
Bairstow and Root both fell to James Weighell (3-60), but Yorkshire reached 339-4 with 14 balls to spare.
The White Rose county, who last lifted a limited-overs trophy in 2002, have won all three games so far, while Durham have one victory from three.
Keaton Jennings set the visitors on their way with 72 before a brilliant boundary catch by Peter Handscomb brought his innings to an end.
South Africa Test opener Cook's 108-ball century was his first for Durham, while Richardson reached three figures from only 87 balls with two runs off the final delivery of their innings.
However, they were overshadowed by Bairstow, who revelled in his new role at the top of the order and raced to his hundred from 70 balls.
He was particularly punishing on the leg-side and had the chance to become only the third batsman after Surrey's Alistair Brown and Ravi Bopara of Essex to make a double century in a List A game between two first-class counties.
The 27-year-old was caught behind from the final ball of the 34th over, leaving Yorkshire to score 87 from the final 16.
England Test captain Root played on during an unproductive period when they failed to find the boundary between the end of the 33rd over and the middle of the 39th.
Skipper Gary Ballance, though, hit three successive boundaries off Paul Coughlin in the 41st over in his 29 before trod on his stumps, leaving Handscomb (47 not out) and Tim Bresnan to finish the job.
"I got a bit of a chance and, as we know, you have to take every chance you can get. I missed one the other night, and luckily it didn't cost us too much. When you get a chance, you want to go on and make it pay.
"It's either bat there (open) or bat six when you look at the line-up we've got at the moment. If I can spend as much time out in the middle as I can, hopefully I can put in performances that help us win games of cricket.
"It's pretty handy having Peter and Gary to come in at four and five and knock the rest of the runs off. It's a good side we've got at the moment, but it's going to be a tough few games coming up. A few of us aren't available now, and we've said all along about the squad and how well it needs to gel together."
"You've got to take your hat off to a guy like Jonny. You don't come in and play the way he did day in, day out. He hit every ball out of the middle and made it really tough for us.
"I wouldn't take any credit away from Rooty either. He supported him beautifully to make sure that partnership kept hurting us. Between the two of them, they were sensational.
"At the halfway point, I'd have said we were favourites. I thought we had enough runs despite their line-up. I honestly thought we were in a good position. But we gave him a couple of chances."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39792885
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Cristiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid forward equal of Pele & George Best - Phil Neville - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Cristiano Ronaldo is on the same level as Pele after his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, says BBC Radio 5 live's Phil Neville.
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Phil Neville was at the Bernabeu for BBC Radio 5 live to witness Cristiano Ronaldo, his former Manchester United team-mate, scoring a hat-trick for Real Madrid in their 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Atletico Madrid. Here are his thoughts:
I listened to my dad talk for 20 years about George Best and Pele and Cristiano Ronaldo is easily the equal of those.
What sets Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi apart is that they deliver on the big occasion. We aren't talking about the two best players in the world, we are talking about the two best players who have ever lived. I think that's how good these two players are.
They take you to places no other player in the world can - and on Tuesday we saw a phenomenal performance from Ronaldo.
You are talking about someone who scores left foot, right foot and he is fantastic in the air. The way he can control the ball with both feet, the speed at which he runs - at 32 years of age he has just scored a hat-trick in a semi-final.
• None Relive all the action from the Bernabeu
Ronaldo and Messi push each other on. Messi got all the plaudits after the recent match against Real Madrid, but Ronaldo has raised the bar again. Every time I see him I am amazed at his drive and determination to be the best in the world - and on Tuesday it was a 'wow' performance from him.
He has natural ability coupled with hard work. He is a tremendous example of where hard work can take you.
When we were at Manchester United he said he wanted to go on to be the best player in the world. He had the self-belief to get to the very top. I look at Chelsea's Eden Hazard sometimes and wonder if he has that.
United's Carrington training ground is maybe a mile, two miles around. Every single day he used to take a ball after training and run and do his tricks for a mile, two miles at a time. His drive and his ability to practise every single day is just phenomenal.
When he gets back to his house after the match against Atletico, he will have an ice bath, eat the right things at the right time to refuel his body, stretch - and he will have a masseur there. His professionalism, drive and desire are amazing.
I read an article before the second leg of the quarter-final against Bayern Munich and it was very scathing. It said he had lost speed and was not a team player - but he scored a hat-trick against Bayern. His form is not dwindling. If anything it looks like he is getting stronger because he is being managed well.
He has been rested well by Real boss Zinedine Zidane, and look at the sharpness and speed he still possesses. He is a physical specimen, a total athlete.
Real Madrid were far too good on the night - they could have been 3-0 up at half-time and the man of the moment got three goals on the biggest stage.
Atletico Madrid cannot play at the level Real did. They played like a team that did not believe they could go to the Bernabeu and win - they were cautious, poor with their passing and there was no belief in their body language.
I have watched Atletico boss Diego Simeone a lot this season and he looks like someone who is coming to an end at the club, that he cannot take the team any further. He has got a big decision to make at the end of the season and it would not surprise me if he left to go to the Premier League or to Inter Milan.
I talked before the match about what big occasions Champions League semi-finals are - but for Real it looked like a normal game of football.
52 - Ronaldo's hat-trick meant he became the first player to reach 50 goals in the Champions League knockout stages.
13 - Ronaldo has now scored 13 semi-final goals in the Champions League (10 for Real Madrid, three for Manchester United) - the most by any player, including when the tournament was called the European Cup.
103 - The Portugal international has also scored more Champions League goals than Atletico Madrid's 100.
8 - He has scored two consecutive Champions League hat-tricks, and eight goals in his past three games in the tournament.
399 - The 32-year-old is one strike away from 400 goals for Real Madrid alone.
Ronaldo as modest as ever...
After his match-winning performance on Tuesday, Ronaldo said: "It was a total team match.
"We have a good advantage, but this is not closed. Atletico are very strong, they are not in the semi-finals by chance and we have to concentrate on Wednesday."
On his ovation from Real fans at the Bernabeu, he added: "I just want you not to whistle me. Otherwise, I will always try to give everything for them."
Fissuh Hailu on #bbcfootball: I couldn't agree more, Phil Neville. Ronaldo is up there with football gods and kings, whatever you call them. Absolute legend.
Muscab Ali: Ronaldo is a good goalscorer but he is not at the level of Messi. There is a difference between an eagle and a falcon.
Antony Short: Messi or Ronaldo, who cares? Let's just enjoy it while it lasts.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39788520
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'We sold our home to build a social network' - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Hughes family want to take on the tech giants.
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Technology
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Perry, Mollie, Sam and Lisa Hughes are determined to succeed in the social media market.
The Hughes family in Manchester have quit their jobs and put everything they own into building a social network aimed solely at sports fans. But can they take on the giants?
"We see ourselves sitting at the top table with the big boys," says father Perry Hughes confidently.
"We don't think we're taking on the competition."
It might sound optimistic to put your family business in the same league as the multi-billion dollar social networks but the Hughes family certainly have the passion to give it a go.
Their big idea is GameDay Xtra, which has the bold ambition of hosting a page for every single sports team and player in the world - with even the humblest of leagues able to share their own news.
Son Sam, 21, has suspended his university studies and works through the night on the project. Daughter Mollie, 18, handles the social media side.
GameDay is purely for sports fans, the family say.
The family hope to include all sports.
Members get live news feeds of sporting events, form their own groups and networks, follow games play-by-play, and in future will also be able to play bespoke interactive games themselves within the site.
"Super fans" will also be able to run the team or player pages of their choice if the real deal doesn't snap up their own page themselves.
The family say it currently has a few thousand members and will open for broader membership in August this year.
"We saw an opening in the market," says Sam, who is also an eSports video game player.
"It's good to work with family. We're all hard working, committed to the project."
Perry Hughes admits the family "panicked" when Facebook launched its Sports Stadium for sports fans in January 2016 but these days he does not consider them to be GameDay's rivals.
In fact two Facebook execs have joined the closed trial, he claims.
"When we saw what they did [with Stadium] we laughed," he says.
There are five planned "phases" for the platform, and the family are secretive about what those will be.
Phase two will be only unleashed once they have one million members because the licensing is going to be expensive, Mr Hughes says.
"Phase three will be: 'what have they built!'" he teases.
The website is still being tested.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, financing the idea has proved to be the biggest challenge.
"We went to a lot of investors. They said the scale of the project was too big," said Mr Hughes.
"We sold the house, the cars, everything. We ran out of money twice.
"We all gave up our jobs and committed totally to this. At times it's been lonely.
"When you put all your money into one project you are keeping an eye on everything."
They have now secured significant funding from a Russian backer, whom they decline to identify.
The family are also coy about how they plan to make money from GameDay but hint that it will be similar to Facebook and Instagram's business model.
"We will be carrying some ads - but we don't want to end up with loads of videos and so on," said Mr Hughes.
"This is not about 'build it, sell it and move on'. We think we are going to change the way media is done."
Emma Sinclair MBE, tech entrepreneur and investor, said she admired their ambition but was "unconvinced" that the platform could live up to the family's expectations.
"Sports fans are already likely using one or more of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat. That's in addition to text, Whatsapp, email. And they will no doubt have their favourite sports hubs too relating to teams they support and commentators they follow," she said.
"There's a lot of competition and noise out there and for a start-up on a small budget, competing with giants and established players for attention is an expensive and ambitious job.
"As an angel investor and with the little information I have to hand, I am currently unconvinced that this site has the capacity to disrupt the market and come out on top as a key hub for sports fans as things stand.
"This being a site in beta however, I hope they prove me wrong and I wish them luck."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39744294
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Are fitness trackers for pets a fad or the future? - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Tech for pets is a booming business, but will it simply encourage us to spend less time with them?
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Business
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A smart collar helps Rhonda Vandermeer keep track of her English cocker spaniel Boz
A missing pet poster attached to a tree or lamp-post is a sad sight, as a lost moggy or pooch is a minor tragedy in any owner's life.
But luckily for Rhonda Vandermeer, a dog breeder from North Carolina, technology means she doesn't have to worry about her furry friends ever going missing.
If she ever wants to check on the whereabouts of her five-year-old English cocker spaniel Boz, she just taps on her mobile and can see his exact location.
"He's always let off his lead and if he sees a squirrel, he's off, and I'm afraid he's going to keep running and we won't get him back," says Ms Vandermeer, who arranges for minders to look after her canine companions when she's away.
The Link AKC collar also pings her a notification if Boz has strayed beyond the boundaries she's set, which means she can quickly alert her local dog minders that he's escaped.
The collar also keeps track of the ambient temperature and how much exercise Boz has been doing.
"It's great for when I'm away and I can see how much exercise he does and what level of activity he's receiving a day," says Ms Vandermeer.
But isn't there a danger that such tech could make her a little obsessive?
Could pet trackers see an end to lost pet posters?
"At first it was like a toy and I was always checking," she admits.
And did the dog minders feel like they were being spied on?
"I explained the tools to them. I never wanted them to think I was checking up on them," she says.
A smart fitness-tracking dog collar may sound like a gadget too far, but pet owners are splashing out on all kinds of gadgets to keep track of their feline and canine companions.
Pet tech is a booming industry, with the global market predicted to reach $2.36bn (£1.84bn) by 2022, according to Grand View Research.
"People think of their pets as a part of their family and with tech adoption growing, it makes perfect sense to innovate in this area," says Abhishek Sharma, analyst at market research firm Technavio.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. FitBark - one of a slew of pet tech apps hitting the market
Dan Makaveli, an academic tutor and director at Media Savvy, a digital training agency, uses FitBark, a bone-shaped collar sensor, to track his six-year-old doberman Diego's daily activity.
"He's well walked anyway but it gives you a little bit of an extra incentive to do it most days," says Mr Makaveli, who lives in Sunderland, north-east England.
"I know that by having it, it makes me determined to reach Diego's daily goal of exercise. So if he hasn't reached it and even if it's hail-stoning outside, I will take him for a run around the block."
With FitBark you can also sync your own fitness tracker with that of your dog's and compare results with other dogs of the same breed.
"My wife regularly syncs in with him and they can see where they are on the leaderboard," says Mr Makaveli.
Super-fit Diego even joined the couple when they took on Britain's Three Peaks Challenge last year.
If tracking your pet's fitness isn't enough, you can even order a 3D sculpture of it via a company such as Arty Lobster, watch it live through the Petzi Treat Cam, and organise a video conference with a vet via app-based vet practice Pawsquad.
Tiddles seems a little bemused by EasyPlay's new interactive pet gadget
And if you've ever worried about your pet getting a little bored while you're out of the house, EasyPlay could be the answer. It's a ball that works as both a pet monitor and an interactive toy.
Controlled by a smartphone, EasyPlay - which launches in July - allows owners to watch live video of their pets, talk to them, and remotely control a treats dispenser.
"EasyPlay is designed to enhance pet health and fitness in a fun and playful way, for both cats and dogs," says Adam Anderson, managing director of Gosh!, EasyPlay's parent company.
But do such devices simply make it more acceptable for owners to spend less time with their pets?
"The EasyPlay was not created to replace a personal, one-on-one relationship with your pet, instead it is a device that allows you to connect while away and improve your pet's mental wellbeing," says Mr Anderson.
If humans can have fitness trackers, why not pets?
And is all this tech really necessary, or just businesses being opportunistic?
"With the increasing awareness about pet health, owners around the world are more willing to spend on various types of tech to keep their pets safe," argues Mr Sharma.
"There has been an increase in pets being lost or stolen and hence it requires continuous monitoring to keep track of them."
But how about the animal itself? Are the gadgets always comfortable?
"Pets feel a little uncomfortable during the initial phase," says Mr Sharma. "Having said that, it is almost like getting used to a regular collar."
As for the future, given the rising adoption of the internet of things and smartphones, pet tech looks set to continue flourishing.
And for pet owners who like to keep tabs on their pets, that's just purr-fect.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39553682
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BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017: Hedvig Lindahl profile - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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BBC Sport profiles Sweden and Chelsea goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, a nominee for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017 award.
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We are profiling each of the five nominees for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017 award. Voting has now closed but you can see all the contenders' profiles and read full terms here. The winner will be revealed on Tuesday, 30 May, during Sport Today on BBC World Service from 18:30 GMT (19:30 BST).
Penalty shootouts may be nerve-shredding events for most footballers, but for BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017 nominee Hedvig Lindahl, it appears to be where she excels.
The Sweden and Chelsea goalkeeper helped her country win a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics with her shootout heroics against USA in the quarter-finals and Brazil in the semi-finals.
"I had studied them so closely and the last save in that penalty shootout [against Brazil] is probably the one I'm most proud of because it was so far out, and I could stretch and I was really explosive to get there," she said.
"No-one could have expected us to come away with the silver, so we performed over everyone's expectation."
In December 2016, Lindahl joined Sweden's most famous footballer, Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on stage as they won Sweden's female and male Footballer of the Year awards respectively.
The pair started their football careers 16 years ago at the same club - Malmo - but their lives have gone in very different directions.
"What a difference it is, what kind of life he has, what kind of life I have, it's just interesting," Lindahl said.
"I remember I was part of the 2003 World Cup squad that came second - I thought everyone would know who I am because I'd been in the World Cup final squad and then I woke up and realised it's women's football and it's not really like that.
"Growing up, you thought that being a footballer would bring fame and fortune, but being a female footballer means for me now that I am part of something that opens doors for so many other women in the world that still struggle with their own rights and right to play football."
Lindahl signed for London-based Women's Super League club Chelsea Ladies in December 2014 and within a few months it proved to be a dream move.
At the 2015 FA Women's Cup final, staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time, Lindahl kept goal in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Notts County.
It was Chelsea's first major trophy and later that year they secured their first FA WSL title for a league and cup 'double'.
The goalkeeper says none of her success with Chelsea would have been possible without the support she received from wife Sabine.
"My proudest moment is the birth of our two sons, but my wife Sabine made a massive sacrifice to come with me to England," she said.
"I'm very, very thankful because that decision has made me excel, which means I didn't have to become that bitter, old woman in a sports bar saying, 'I could have been that one!'
"It's an exciting time to be part of women's football wherever you are in the world right now. It's like it's boiling, it's just waiting to really take off and if I can stretch my career a few more years to be part of that - maybe all of my years that I struggled will be worth it because of the years that lie ahead."
Why vote for me?
"Please vote for me if you think I'm worth it and also because I've always had a dream about being the best goalkeeper in the world and if you vote for me that's solidifying my dream and hopefully that could inspire other girls out there to reach for their dreams."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39633074
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The horse that saved his own life by painting - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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He was once a champion, but it looked as if ill health would soon mean the end for Metro. Then his owner had an unusual idea.
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Magazine
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
He was once a well-known racehorse, but it looked as though ill health would soon mean the end for Metro. Then his artist owner, Ron, had an unusual idea.
It's said that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. So when Ron Krajewski first introduced his horse, Metro, to an easel there was no guarantee he would paint.
After all, this horse had been struggling with health problems since he was adopted by Ron and his wife in 2009. Metro had once been a successful racehorse - as Metro Meteor, he won eight races and $300,000 (£234,000) prize money at the prestigious Belmont Park. However, he was retired by his stable after bone chips in his knees caused permanent damage.
"We were looking for a horse Wendy could ride and were probably quite naive," Ron says. "We soon discovered Metro had worse race injuries than we had bargained for."
Metro Meteor won eight races in his career, but it took a toll on his knees
Metro had months of rehab and medication. Special horse shoes helped for a time, but in 2012 X-rays revealed his knee joints were closing up. A vet said they would lock up within two years, at which point Ron and Wendy would have to put their horse down.
"I didn't just want to put him out to pasture and forget about him. I was thinking about how we could spend time together," Ron says.
He had noticed that his spirited horse liked to bob his head to get attention and pick things up in his mouth. A professional artist himself, Ron wondered if he could convince Metro to hold a paintbrush.
"I taught him to touch his nose to the canvas for horse treats, then to hold a paint brush," Ron says.
Metro tackles the canvas assisted by Ron - he paints from left to right
"He could have just touched the paint brush to the canvas and then dropped it and that would have been the end of it. Luckily for us he started making up and down strokes and seemed to enjoy it."
Metro was soon creating works that Ron judged were good enough to put on sale at a local gallery. The first four paintings sold out the week they were put on display.
Metro's unbridled style has been compared to Jackson Pollock, a painter famous for his splatter and drip technique.
"Metro's brush strokes are nothing a human can make, because he doesn't think about what he will do before he does it. His strokes are thick, random and sometimes broken, which lets other colours show through. It all just vibrates on the canvas," Ron says.
Metro's unusual ability caught the attention of local TV news in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and his story was picked up nationwide. By 2014, there were 150 people on a waiting list for his works.
Ron sometimes set up an easel for Metro to paint outside
Sales of the paintings helped fund a new experimental treatment for Metro. His vet created a technique to apply a drug called Tildren directly to his knees.
"Within a few months X-rays showed the bone growth had receded. It has added years to his life," Ron says.
Ron and Wendy keep Metro and their other horse, Pork Chop, at a stable four miles from their home. They visit them about five days a week and on two of those Ron and Metro have a painting session.
"Metro has got a little section in the barn that we call his studio. It's all set up ready for him to paint," Ron says.
"I did try to get Pork Chop to paint once, but he just wasn't interested."
Ron acts as both art director and assistant. He picks the colour and loads the paintbrush before handing it over. Metro then makes the strokes.
"I always stand on his left so he paints from left to right. If I hand him the brush in the upper right hand corner, that's where he will go."
Ron and Metro will work on three or four canvases at once during a 20-minute session.
"We'll spend two minutes on one canvas and then swap it for another. He tends to smear things together so we'll do some blues and then let it dry, then let's say some orange. This builds up the layers."
Metro, who Ron says has an "A-list extroverted personality", is in his element at the easel.
"I can put out the easel in the field and he will stop eating grass and stand right in front of it.
"He loves to paint. I'm not sure how much he can see as horses have a blind spot right in front of their noses. I think he likes the feel of running a brush over the canvas."
Like Metro, art wasn't Ron's first vocation. Raised in a fishing family that caught salmon in Alaska he went on to serve in the US Air Force. He became a professional artist at the age of 40.
"I mainly do pet portraits, which are very lifelike and controlled. When I paint with Metro it's the opposite. You can't predict what he's going to do when he gets the brush in his mouth. It's controlled chaos."
"We have different sizes that vary in price from $50 to $500. We're selling one or two a week," Ron says.
Ron and Wendy donate half of Metro's earnings to a charity called New Vocations, which retrains and rehomes former race horses. So far they have donated $80,000 (£62,000), which will have helped 50 to 60 other horses.
And now aged 14, it seems Metro has no inclination to slow down.
"There's something about painting which really interests Metro," Ron says.
"I don't think he'll ever get tired of it."
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39628629
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Ajax 4-1 Lyon - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Ajax take control of their Europa League semi-final as they prove too strong for Lyon at the Amsterdam Arena.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Ajax moved to the brink of a first European final in 21 years by overwhelming Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
The Dutch side led when on-loan Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore glanced in a header, before Kasper Dolberg drove in a second after defensive confusion.
In an open affair, Amin Younes struck a third via a deflection after the break.
Mathieu Valbuena gave Lyon hope by curling in an away goal, but Traore added his second to give Ajax control.
Traore's finish from Hakim Ziyech's cross made the attacking midfielder the first player in Europa League history to assist three goals in a semi-final or final.
He was central to much of Ajax's good work in a match which was far from a cagey first-leg affair, with the sides sharing 37 shots in all.
Lyon, who have never played in a major European final, will now need to overturn a three-goal deficit in the second leg on 11 May if they are to face either Manchester United or Celta Vigo in the final in Stockholm 13 days later.
The French side were undone by an inswinging free-kick as Traore headed in the opener but their manager, Bruno Genesio, was visibly incensed by the defending for the hosts' second.
Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes lofted a poor clearance which was headed into the path of Dolberg, who raced through to finish with the outside of his foot.
Lopes brilliantly denied Younes when one-on-one before the break but could do little when the German's low drive deflected past him and just crossed the line on 49 minutes.
The crowd inside the Johan Cruyff Arena grew boisterous as their side closed in on a first European final since defeat in the European Cup to Juventus in 1996.
Valbuena's calm finish from 18 yards briefly halted the celebrations, only for Traore to restore the three-goal lead.
• None Attempt missed. Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Kenny Tete.
• None Attempt saved. Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt saved. Davy Klaassen (Ajax) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt blocked. Corentin Tolisso (Lyon) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jérémy Morel. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39743936
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EU and UK: Galaxies apart over Brexit? - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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Two completely different versions of a London dinner - when it comes to Brexit, spin is everywhere.
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Europe
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Two entirely different tales emerged from dinner at Downing Street
Welcome to the EU/UK dominated Brexit Galaxy of Spin and Counter-Spin. A crazy old place. The galactic atmosphere is such these days that the dimensions of truth are elastic; at times, distorted.
Take the arguments this weekend over whether the Downing Street dinner last Wednesday at which Theresa May hosted European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was a complete disaster or not.
Not at all, insists Downing Street.
But it was a fiasco, according to Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and thereafter hitting Twitter and headlines across the UK.
In Brussels, Politico quotes an EU diplomat saying the dinner went "badly, really badly". He reportedly went as far as to claim the British government was now "living in a different galaxy" to the EU when it came to Brexit expectations.
This all seems rather inflammatory, so who's right and who's stretching the truth?
Even French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has been talking Brexit
Well, in this politically volatile pre-Brexit negotiations time, ahead of elections in biggest players UK, Germany and France and with the EU as a whole fighting to appear united, relevant and strong, one has to be extremely spin-aware.
For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked last week about the UK harbouring Brexit "illusions". And French presidential favourite Emmanuel Macron announced he would, post-Brexit, end the bilateral deal by which France keeps in Calais so-called "illegal migrants" attempting to cross to Dover.
But these tough-sounding comments are at least as much aimed at their domestic audience as at the British government.
That said, a high-level EU source has confirmed to me that feelings were running pretty high following the Downing Street dinner due to what he described as a huge "asymmetry of expectations" and a "completely different reading" of the Brexit situation at No 10.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May said the report was "Brussels gossip"
He said the British government, from their comments about negotiations, clearly had "no good understanding of the fundamentals" around which he said the EU was united, and which would now not be undone.
There are certainly obvious sticking points where the EU and UK do seem a galaxy or two apart:
Poppycock, says a frustrated EU, to all of the above.
My source told me Mr Juncker was already vexed when he arrived at No 10 on Wednesday having only just been informed of the UK's (legally justified, but awkward) decision not sign the mid-term review of the EU's multi-annual budget until after the June elections.
The review needs unanimous approval to go ahead. It doesn't call for more cash but rather its redistribution. The EU is anxious to send money Africa-wards, for example, to halt the flow of migrants coming from there.
But the review is frozen until the UK signs it.
"They gave Juncker no warning at all and told him the night before he came to dinner," my source told me. "They have no idea how Brussels works."
Another high-level source I spoke to attended a meeting with all the EU team present at the Downing Street dinner.
"The word 'échec' (French for 'failure') came up several times," he told me.
"Before that the word wasn't used very often in connection with Brexit but now we're told we have to prepare for the possibility of a failure scenario."
What percentage chance of a successful outcome was being projected in EU leadership circles at the moment?
"50/50 with hopes for more clarity after the British elections are over," I was told.
Over and again, EU diplomats insist this is no "us against them" situation; that there's no desire to punish Britain and that a good Brexit is in everyone's interest.
"It's in our mutual interest to correct all the misunderstandings," I was told today. My source was confident that Downing Street was beginning to realise that now too.
Or are we still in the galaxy of spin?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39775102
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Ivanka Trump's book: The reviews are in... - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Women Who Work, the second book by the US's first daughter, was published today.
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US & Canada
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Packaged as a self-help manual for the modern working mother, Ivanka Trump's new book, Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success, hit the shelves and shipped from Amazon storerooms on Tuesday.
To avoid accusations that Ms Trump is taking advantage of her White House platform to sell books, the president's daughter has promised to donate profits to charity and has declined to do any publicity around the release.
Reviewers of the book so far have fallen into one of two camps.
In the minds of some, Ms Trump has taken on a serious tone in her new book, showing an evolution from the young, inexperienced-but-nonetheless-successful businesswoman she was at 27, when she wrote "The Trump Card", to a busy - so busy - married mother of three, who also happens to run the Trump empire.
Others see her new book as stunted by its class biases, which limit Ms Trump's advice to wealthy and powerful women. These reviewers have mocked Ms Trump's lament that she was so busy supporting her father during the 2016 campaign that she could not take time to get a massage or meditate for 20 minutes every morning.
Jennifer Senior falls in the latter camp. In her New York Times review, she writes that the entire book elucidates how well Ms Trump can extend the Trump brand at every turn, writing vaguely about controversial topics, so that no one really knows what she thinks about them, and then filling most of the book with aspiration fluff.
"It's a strawberry milkshake of inspirational quotes," Ms Senior writes. "Lee Iacocca appears two pages before Socrates. Toni Morrison appears one page after Estee Lauder. A quote from Nelson Mandela introduces the section that encourages women to ask for flextime: "It always seems impossible until it's done."
Ms Senior's biggest complaint is that Ms Trump leaves her most substantial and practical suggestions to the very end of the book. When it comes to family leave policies, Ms Trump sticks to the views she espoused during her father's presidential campaign, but doesn't get there until the second to last page of her book. To Ms Senior, she is missing an opportunity to advocate for changes that might help the women she is writing for.
Fatima Goss Graves writes about the "women Ivanka ignores" in US News and World Report, Ms Trump, she says, misunderstands the barriers facing most women in America.
"No amount of personal drive and sunny approach will ease the life of a mother of two who is struggling to pay her rent and put food on the table," Goss Graves writes.
"The how-to-succeed model in Women Who Work overlooks the complexities of overlapping sex and race bias that drive lower pay and fewer opportunities for many women."
Catherine Lucey, writing for the Associated Press, found that Ms Trump "offers earnest advice for women on advancing in the workplace, balancing family and professional life and seeking personal fulfilment."
In Cosmopolitan magazine, Kaitlin Menza - writing about the excerpt published this week in Forbes - agrees that Ms Trump is trying hard to "tear down the stereotype that parenting is easy."
Whether they read Ms Trump's book as earnest advice or incognito marketing for the Trump name, almost everyone who reviewed Women Who Work agreed that a lot could be gleaned about the inner workings of the Trump family.
Ms Trump writes about her family relationships, her work load, caring for her kids, and taking time for herself. She worries about how others may perceive her life as a working mother. And she offers a look into how her father influenced her life, and how she might influence his administration.
Avoid the book if you hate the self-help genre, Maria Puente writes for USA Today. However, she says there are other reasons to read aside from self-improvement:
"If you're curious about Trump, 35, who's taken an unpaid job as a senior adviser to her father, and how she might influence the Trump administration's attitudes about women," she writes. "you might want to lean in."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39774674
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Darren Campbell: Rewriting athletics world records would be for 'greater good' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell says a proposal to rewrite the majority of athletics' world records would be for "the greater good".
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell says a proposal to rewrite the majority of athletics' world records before 2005 would be "for the greater good".
The move, designed to restore trust following doping scandals, has been criticised by British athletes.
However, Campbell supports the aim of the plan - even though he could lose his 4x100m European record from 1999.
"I will sacrifice whatever it takes to save the sport and give its credibility back," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
Campbell lost his 4x100m relay gold medal from the 2002 European Championships after team-mate Dwain Chambers admitted to taking a banned steroid at the time.
"I've thought about it, put myself in their shoes of losing a record and yes, I've lost medals and you kind of go, 'OK it's for the greater good'. You have to accept it and move on," he said.
• None Listen to more from Campbell on BBC Radio 5 live
• None The winners and losers if records are wiped
"If it's going to save the sport that I love and has given me so many wonderful things, then that's what needs to happen.
"The punishment has to fit the crime. The level of pain these people put us through - we have to do something.
"Records are there to be broken and some of those records can't be broken unless you're taking drugs."
Paula Radcliffe, who faces losing her 2003 marathon world record, said clean athletes were "suffering for the actions of cheats" under the proposals.
She was supported by Colin Jackson - the 60m indoor hurdles record holder - who told BBC Sport that clean athletes "are still in the majority and should not be getting caught up in this".
Campbell, who won Olympic 200m silver in 2000 and 4x100m gold four years later, feels tough decisions have to be made but said the governing bodies must now flesh out the proposal.
"We need to know how it is going to save the sport. We don't want to end up right back here in 20 years," he said.
"It is radical, it is a recommendation, but tell me how it's going to save the sport? That is the important thing."
The proposal, put forward by European Athletics, would see existing records reassessed against strict criteria in an attempt to make a clean break with the sport's doping scandals.
European Athletics has asked world governing body the IAAF to back its proposals when its council meets in August.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39787566
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Adam Jones: Boston Red Sox apologise for racial abuse of Baltimore Orioles outfielder - BBC Sport
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2017-05-03
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The Boston Red Sox apologise to Adam Jones after the Baltimore Orioles outfielder was racially abused by fans at Fenway Park.
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Last updated on .From the section Baseball
The Boston Red Sox have apologised to Adam Jones after the Baltimore Orioles outfielder was racially abused by fans.
Jones, a five-time All Star, said he had a bag of peanuts thrown at him and was taunted with racist slurs during Baltimore's 5-2 win at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox said on Tuesday that they have "zero tolerance for such inexcusable behaviour".
"Our entire organisation and our fans are sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few," their statement read.
The Red Sox said they will continue to review Monday's events, while Boston mayor Marty Walsh said the comments are "not who we are as a city".
Major League Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred condemned the abuse, adding that any fans behaving in an offensive fashion would be removed from the stadium and subject to further action.
Jones told USA Today he had suffered similar abuse at Fenway Park before, but Monday's was the worst he had experienced.
"It's unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I'm trying to make a living for myself and for my family," he added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/baseball/39785407
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'Why I went to court for my disability payments' - BBC News
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2017-05-03
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Debbie Neal has had a rare kidney disease for 10 years. One day, her disability benefits were stopped.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Debbie Wilson went to court to win back her disability payments.
The number of people going to court to try to win back a key disability benefit is expected to continue to rise this year, a leaked letter seen by the BBC suggests. We follow one woman who took her case to tribunal.
Debbie Neal was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease 10 years ago. She takes dozens of pills each morning to manage her symptoms - sickness, high blood pressure and seizures.
She may well need a transplant in future.
For the moment, she has to empty excess fluid from a tube attached to her stomach, and replace it with new liquid from a bag, five times a day.
"It is a burden," she tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. "They say, 'Don't let it affect your life,' but you can only live your life to a point.
"I can't even remember what it was like not doing it."
Five times a day Debbie has to take in liquid via a tube in her stomach
Debbie lives on her own, and works part-time as a cleaner. For years, she has relied on disability living allowance (DLA) benefit payments - worth £80 a week - to help pay the bills.
But last year a letter came in the post, saying her payments had been stopped completely.
DLA is being replaced by another disability benefit scheme - the personal independence payment (Pip).
Debbie's case had been reassessed by a private company and it was decided she did not need the payments.
"I was scared. I thought, 'Why are they doing it?'" she explains.
"You sort of judge yourself differently. You think, 'Well [my condition] can't be that bad then.'
"But they can't be right when I'm doing this all the time," she says, sitting connected to the bag of fluids.
"I mean, do they have to do it? How much would it disrupt their life?"
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
The government says overall it is spending more on disability benefits, and that Pip is a better system based on individual need than the "outdated" DLA scheme it replaced.
Official figures show more than 250,000 people have lost money in the switch from DLA, some with incurable diseases.
Debbie had been given an indefinite, or "life", payment under the old system.
After failing to get her case reviewed, she decided to go to a tribunal - in court - to ask a judge to overturn the decision.
The number of people taking the government to court over Pip has risen sharply in recent years as more people were switched to the new benefit.
The Victoria Derbyshire programme has seen a leaked letter to tribunal judges - from a senior judge working on benefit tribunals - suggesting the number is expected to increase again this summer.
Around 65% of people who take their case to tribunal are successful, higher than for most other types of benefit.
When Debbie's case was heard at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court, she was questioned for around an hour in front of a panel including a judge, a doctor and a disability specialist.
Debbie was awarded the standard daily living element of Pip for 10 years - an unusually long period of time without reassessment. Any money she had lost was backdated.
New figures seen by the Victoria Derbyshire programme suggest the amount of public money spent on Pip tribunals stands at around £1m a week.
Judges and others who sit on tribunals can lose their jobs if they speak to the media, but some were prepared to talk on the condition of anonymity.
"As a tribunal member we often have to start again when it comes to appeals," said one.
"We often see people who get nothing at all in the first assessment. Then we end up giving the maximum award possible and just can't understand [the original decision].
"It's pretty obvious assessors are rushed and they are just copying and pasting answers.
"Sometimes they don't even change the pronouns, so you get a woman being described as 'he' in the assessment document.
"Not all are like that but the problem is, if some can't be trusted, then it taints the whole system."
The government says since Pip was introduced, more than 2 million decisions have been made - of these 7% of cases have been appealed against and 3% overturned.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "We constantly review our processes to make sure they are working in the best way possible."
For Debbie, the whole experience was stressful and nerve-racking, as she puts it, but ultimately she feels it was worthwhile.
"For people who are out there, who are honest and who need the help, just don't give up," she says.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39745403
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Local election results will give clue to national poll - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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Local election results don't translate directly to the general election - but they are a significant barometer.
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UK Politics
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These elections are a complicated set of local contests, some old, some new, some electing an individual to a position of great power, most, individual races in wards that make up only a few streets, for councillors who then group together to run our towns and cities.
So as the results come in, from the early hours of Friday morning right through the day, what are we looking for?
First, these are important elections in their own right, and the results make a big difference to decisions that are made on our behalves all round the country.
Local authorities have significant powers over education, planning, local business rates for example, and the drift of government policy has been to give them more, not less.
Second, while you will hear my colleagues and me caution dozens of times in the next 24 hours that the results do not translate directly to the general election, they are a really significant barometer.
Pay attention, therefore, to how the Conservative and Labour fight shapes up in areas like Nottinghamshire, or Derbyshire.
Big Tory inroads will be a real worry for Labour as we hurtle towards the General Election.
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See results and latest news in your area
The loss of Glasgow council to the SNP and falling back in Wales too seem feasible - and would again add to Jeremy Corbyn's party's anxieties about June.
The elections will also be a test of whether the UKIP vote really does seem set to fade away now that we are heading for Brexit and, as it seems, Nigel Farage has taken his final bow.
And the Lib Dems are crossing their fingers for signs of a comeback.
To get their activists gingered up for the General Election they need signs of decent gains around the country.
The elections of new metro mayors will also be big headlines - particularly in Birmingham where the two big parties are both desperate to win.
It will be a long, and complicated day, and don't forget the caveats with which these results need to be coupled.
But the most important test of all will be whether Labour loses or gains seats in England, in parts of the country where the General Election will really be decided.
If they lose seats in England, that is a depressing indicator for any political party that wants to be seen to be on track for government
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39807110
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Jose Mourinho: Man Utd boss 'humiliating' his players, says Sutton - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is "humiliating players" by questioning their commitment, says Chris Sutton.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is "humiliating players" by questioning their commitment, says ex-Blackburn striker Chris Sutton.
Mourinho has appeared to criticise the desire of Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to return from injuries.
Sutton told BBC Radio 5 live Mourinho was "running the risk of turning the dressing room against him".
"To call them out for not playing through the pain barrier is deeply unfair," he added.
Left-back Shaw will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury he picked up during United's 1-1 draw with Swansea on Sunday.
Neither Jones, who had a toe injury, nor Smalling, who had a knee injury, have played for United since 19 March but they are available for Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg at Celta Vigo.
"Managers I have played under would say things in the dressing room but back you in public. Mourinho just shoots from the hip. I think further down the line that leads to trouble," said Sutton.
"Having said that, in my opinion, what he is saying to the Manchester United board is, 'I don't want these players at the club. I need to replace them'. He is not daft - he knows what he is saying."
Mourinho has appeared to indirectly criticise the trio in recent weeks.
Speaking of Shaw in April, he said: "I cannot compare the way he trains and commits, the focus, the ambition. He is a long way behind."
After Sunday's draw with Swansea, he said during a news conference: "I prefer not to speak about Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
"I prefer to speak about Juan Mata giving everything to be available. I am grateful for that."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39799256
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Monaco 0-2 Juventus - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Gonzalo Higuain scores twice as a confident Juventus win to take control of their Champions League semi-final with Monaco.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Juventus closed in on a second Champions League final in three seasons as Gonzalo Higuain struck twice to beat Monaco in the semi-final first leg.
The French hosts started brightly, with Kylian Mbappe heading at Gianluigi Buffon before forcing another low save.
But Higuain ruthlessly finished two fine Dani Alves assists, sweeping the Brazilian's back heel in on 29 minutes.
Radamel Falcao went close for Monaco after the break before Alves' measured cross saw Higuain put Juve in control.
After Real Madrid's comprehensive first-leg win over city rivals Atletico on Tuesday, it now looks almost certain the two teams in Cardiff on 3 June will form a repeat of the 1998 final, in which the Spanish side beat Juve 1-0.
It will prove fitting, as the two sides sport the only unbeaten records in this season's competition.
Monaco, free scoring and dangerous with their youthful side all season, showed moments of threat which could unnerve Juve in the second leg on 9 May.
But at Stade Louis II, Massimiliano Allegri's side showed just how efficient they can be and Monaco's task looks huge as Juve have not lost a home fixture by two goals since April 2013.
This was another victory built on organised defensive work, with Buffon making a couple of key saves to help usher in a ninth Juve clean sheet in 11 Champions League matches this season.
Buffon's low stop from 18-year-old Mbappe inside 10 minutes illustrated the narrative this fixture threw up as experience met youthful exuberance.
Allegri's squad boasted almost three times as many Champions League appearances in total as their hosts, who are seeking a first final appearance since 2004.
The Italian side sat deep for spells, hitting Monaco with a flowing move for the opener before pouncing to rob Tiemoue Bakayoko deep in his own half before the second.
Buffon's low save from Falcao at 1-0 underlined the resistance Monaco faced.
Ultimately the experience 39-year-old keeper said would be crucial before kick-off shone through as his side squeezed the life from Monaco, preventing the Ligue 1 leaders from scoring at home for the first time since November 2015.
Juve could win Serie A this weekend as they chase a treble, having already booked their place in the Italian Cup final.
They look machine-like in their winning approach. Stalwarts Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci look driven to ensure the Italian side go one better than their 2015 final defeat to Barcelona, while Higuain, signed for £78m in 2016, offers a killer instinct.
Alves played on the right of midfield rather than in his customary role at right-back and despite now being 33, he showed clear energy to gallop forward and provide an opportunistic back heel to lay on the opener.
His delivery for the second was inch perfect and in creating both goals he now has six assists in the competition, bettering his best tally of five when at Barcelona in 2007-08 and 2010-11.
Feeding off such quality was Higuain, who refused to be overshadowed by the much-hyped Mbappe in the battle of the goalscorers.
The 29-year-old finished without breaking stride for the opener and peeled to the back post expertly to prod a 31st goal of the season in all competitions - one which looks set to send Juventus to the final in Cardiff.
'I fight so hard for these moments' - key quotes
Monaco midfielder Fabinho: "They were better and deserved to win but we're going to try everything in the return match."
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini: "We have to congratulate Dani Alves and Gonzalo Higuain - sometimes we look to Gianluigi Buffon. We concede chances but when they come we have Gigi."
Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain: "I fight so hard for these moments. Goals were not coming for me in this competition but I knew I just had to stay calm and keep working hard."
• None Juventus have kept six consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League for the first time.
• None This was Monaco's 58th game in all competitions this season; more than any other side in Europe's big five leagues.
• None Monaco have conceded 18 goals in the Champions League this season; more than any other team among the remaining semi-finalists.
• None Five goals is Higuain's best ever goalscoring season in the Champions League.
• None Dani Alves provided two assists in a single Champions League game for the first time in his career.
• None Attempt saved. Valère Germain (Monaco) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by João Moutinho with a cross.
• None Valère Germain (Monaco) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None João Moutinho (Monaco) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt blocked. Falcao (Monaco) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Kamil Glik.
• None Attempt missed. João Moutinho (Monaco) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
• None Attempt missed. Jemerson (Monaco) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a set piece situation. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39743929
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BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017: Marta profile - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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BBC Sport profiles Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta, a nominee for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017 award.
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We are profiling each of the five nominees for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017 award. Voting has now closed but you can see all the contenders' profiles and read full terms here. The winner will be revealed on Tuesday, 30 May, during Sport Today on BBC World Service from 18:30 GMT (19:30 BST).
Selling fruit on a market stall instead of being at school, and being labelled a "macho woman" for playing football are experiences which have inspired BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2017 nominee Marta to achieve success on and off the field.
The Brazil captain, a five-time Fifa World Player of the Year, enjoyed one of the proudest moments in her career last year when she was one of her country's flag-bearers at her home Olympics in Rio.
Becoming the most famous female footballer of the past 20 years is a dream she could never have imagined would come true when she was working to earn a wage as an 11-year-old.
"I used to sell fruit in the public market, once a week to help my family and it was not even our own fruit, it was someone else's," said the 31-year-old forward, who joined Orlando Pride in the United States in early April from Sweden's FC Rosengard.
"I worked selling clothes in street stands too. I think that's one of the things people do not believe I've done.
"That happened when I was 10, 11 years old, when I was a kid. This is not normal, this isn't correct. Kids should be in school. But unfortunately I had no way to go to school, my mother could not take me there because of our financial situation," added Marta, who is from Dois Riachos, in north-east Brazil.
"My mum went through many difficulties with four children to raise. My father left her very early, I was less than one year old when he left. I would meet her only at night because of work and unfortunately we didn't have much time together. I saw that constant struggle and that inspired me a lot to get where I am now."
Despite her pride at flying the Brazilian flag in front of thousands of fans in Rio, the Olympics were tinged with disappointment for Marta as the hosts finished fourth after losing to Sweden on penalties in the semi-finals and then to Canada in the bronze-medal match.
But she feels inspiring future generations was a huge positive from the Games.
"We constantly noticed the warmth of the fans all the time with us, the people stuck with us," she said.
"It was sad because we did not get the medal, but I think the biggest prize was that we realised in some way that the people were with us."
Many defences have been torn apart by her strong running, superb control and left foot but this might never have happened if she had not left home at the age of 14 to pursue her footballing career with Rio-based club Vasco da Gama.
"I remember I suffered a lot of discrimination and prejudice. It was constant; every day," she said.
"People would come to me and say: 'It's a boys' sport, you have to play with a doll.' People would even talk to my mother and to my brother to say that they shouldn't let me play with boys."
Marta was appointed a United Nations Goodwill ambassador in 2010 and she tries to champion women's football across the globe.
"A lot of girls were actually afraid to speak out, they didn't want to be labelled as a 'macho woman'," she said. "That motivated me. Now it has changed a lot."
Why vote for me?
"I think you should vote for me because everything I do, I do with love. This shows that really what we have been doing over the years has been fruitful. It would give me more motivation to pursue my best every year."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39654306
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Wales local elections 2017 - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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All the latest news about Wales local elections 2017 from the BBC
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Cardiff council is another one to watch tonight. It's been controlled Labour since 2012, though the party's majority in the capital city has shrunk since then.
“There was a Labour majority here five years ago – the group here has been somewhat fractious to say the least since then.
“As with much of Wales, the twin questions are – how much ground are Labour losing and who are they losing it to?
“Labour is being challenged by different parties – the Tories, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru - in different parts of the city.
“This council may show us how effective those parties are in challenging Labour.”
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/3c6a4e42-9efd-4440-89df-647121c87452/wales-local-elections-2017
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Sulley Muntari: Garth Crooks calls for players in Italy to strike - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Garth Crooks says players in the Italian League should strike this weekend unless Sulley Muntari's ban is overturned.
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Ex-Tottenham striker Garth Crooks has called on players in the Italian league to strike this weekend unless Sulley Muntari's one-match suspension is withdrawn.
Pescara midfielder Muntari, 32, was banned after he protested against racist abuse he received from the crowd during Sunday's Serie A match at Cagliari, which earned him a yellow card for dissent before he walked off.
Italy's football chiefs were branded "gutless" by anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out.
"Those with power in Italy need to take action to stop this happening again," Kick It Out tweeted.
Crooks, an independent Kick It Out trustee, told the BBC: "I'm calling on players in Italy, black and white, to make it absolutely clear to the federation in Italy that their position is unacceptable, and if the decision is not reversed then they withdraw their services until it is."
In a fuller statement on its website, Kick It Out added: "It's unbelievable that Cagliari escaped punishment as 'only 10' fans were involved. This situation should never be allowed to happen again."
Ex-Ghana international Muntari was cautioned for dissent after asking the referee to stop the match, and then walked off in protest - which earned him a second yellow card for leaving the field of play without permission.
The Serie A disciplinary committee which issued Muntari's ban agreed that the fans' actions were "deplorable" but said its guidelines meant it could not impose sanctions as only "approximately 10" supporters were involved - fewer than 1% of the Cagliari supporters in the ground.
Pescara's coach Zdenek Zeman's said that he hopes "mentalities will change" with respect to racism.
Crooks added: "This is not just about black players, we've moved on from that. This is about players.
"And I'm also a little alarmed that Sulley Muntari's team-mates have not become involved in this. His manager's not said more - he said something but quite frankly what he has said is rather inadequate as far as I'm concerned.
"So it's about addressing racism together as black players and white players, because that's the only way we're going to get past this problem in football."
World players' union Fifpro believes Crooks' call for a strike might be difficult to implement but agrees action is needed.
Spokesperson Andrew Orsatti told BBC World Service that the committee's decision was "appalling, outrageous and poorly managed".
He added: "The message had to be about racism and stamping it out and sending a clear message that Muntari's cry for help was heard. But they failed on both counts, the Italian authorities, and the mind boggles as to how that occurred."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39792319
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French election: 'Unworthy' debate was still great viewing - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Our Paris correspondent evaluates the heated final debate in France's presidential race.
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Europe
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Supporters of Mr Macron watch the debate in a Paris bar
After the debate was over, some of the French media commentariat was saying it had been a disgrace.
Nothing had been elucidated. It was all mud-slinging. It was unworthy of a presidential election.
Maybe. But it didn't half make for riveting viewing. And at the end of the day, the debate did its job.
For the millions sitting through those two hours of insults, interruptions and (just occasionally) ideas, the differences between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron could hardly have been made any plainer.
The National Front leader set the tone with her opening remarks, which were clearly intended to cause personal hurt. Macron's smile had become a grimace, she said. The mask had fallen - behind the personable front lay the coldness of a banker.
Insults like that can only have been intended to rattle her adversary, to provoke him into saying something he would regret. And that was her tactic throughout: constantly needling Emmanuel Macron with jibes and vaguely-worded accusations.
There had been a big argument in advance about whether the producers of the debate would be allowed to use cutaways. These are images of the person who is not talking, when he or she reacts to the one who is.
Finally it was agreed that they could be broadcast - and thus we were able to watch Marine Le Pen doing something unusual. Throughout much of the debate she was smiling, sometimes even chuckling.
It seemed to be part of a rehearsed psychological ploy to unnerve her opponent, by appearing to find his answers so ludicrous as to be amusing.
Showing candidates' reactions was a sticking point before the event
Except none of this tactic worked. Emmanuel Macron did not rise to the bait. Say what you will of him, Macron is an extraordinarily composed and accomplished performer. Throughout the debate he remained master of himself and his argument.
At only one point did she score. In the section on terrorism, she launched a attack on Macron's supposed feebleness in face of the jihadist threat, and explained that she would make France safer by expelling foreign suspects.
Macron responded with a long-winded explanation of how so many terrorists were in fact French, and how therefore France needed to examine its own conscience for letting that happen.
The argument misfired badly because it made it look as if Macron blamed France as much as the terrorists.
But for the rest, it was Marine Le Pen who betrayed weakness and confusion on a range of issues - especially economic. On the question of leaving the euro, far from clearing up the uncertainty about what she actually wants, she made matters worse by exposing her ignorance of the old European Currency Unit.
She was constantly playing with documents in front of her, searching for points and remarks to quote back at him. But it made her look unsure of her brief, and too often her attacks were reduced to the same old slogans.
These face-to-face debates are a traditional part of the election process, and for 40 years the French have tuned in to see which candidate is more likely to faire président.
They want to know who has the look, who has the feel of a head of state.
Emmanuel Macron is an unknown quantity. Many loathe his ideas. Many fear his inexperience.
But last night - against Marine le Pen - there was little doubt who was the more presidentiable.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39801104
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Scotland local elections 2017 - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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All the latest news about Scotland local elections 2017 from the BBC
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Sir Vince Cable: This is the beginning of the fightback
Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable says his party can celebrate "a great victory" in Richmond, where they gained control of the council from the Conservatives. He told reporters: "We are doing extremely well not just here but in northern cities like Hull, Sunderland and Liverpool. "This is the beginning of the fightback, whether it's against Labour or Conservatives. "We are reasserting ourselves as a major national force."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/8201e79d-41c0-48f1-b15c-d7043ac30517/scotland-local-elections-2017
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Fernando Alonso: McLaren driver enjoys 'fun' Indy 500 testing - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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McLaren's Fernando Alonso says his first experience of Indianapolis was "fun" as he begins testing for the Indy 500.
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McLaren's Fernando Alonso said his first experience of Indianapolis was "fun" as he passed his orientation and began testing for the Indy 500.
Alonso is missing the Monaco Grand Prix this month, where Jenson Button will return to Formula 1 to substitute for him, to race at Indianapolis.
The Spaniard completed his mandatory 'rookie' test before starting his preparations for the event on 28 May.
"So far it is a good experience but now starts the real thing," Alonso said.
"It has been a very helpful day in terms of knowing all this different world and getting up to speed a little bit.
"There's still a long way to go but I am happy with this first step."
Button sent his former McLaren team-mate a good-luck message on social media before the test session.
Why is Alonso doing a 'rookie test'?
All drivers who race at Indianapolis for the first time are required to complete an initiation test, no matter what their calibre or experience.
To pass, two-time F1 world champion Alonso had to complete three phases of running - 10 laps each at an average of 205-210mph; followed by 15 at 210-215mph; and 15 at 215-220mph. He completed the requirements in just 50 laps.
Alonso said: "It is a good way to start to build the speed. It was probably a little bit difficult at the beginning to reach the minimum but then in the phases it felt good.
"At the beginning, the right foot has its own brain and it was not connected to my brain. I wanted to go flat-out but the foot wouldn't let me. But after a few laps it was fine."
What else did he do?
After passing the rookie test, Alonso began a programme with his Andretti Autosport team to start learning the intricacies of IndyCars on an oval track where each 2.5-mile lap has four left turns that look identical but are each subtly different.
He ended the test with a fastest lap of 222.548mph. Last year's pole position time for the Indy 500 was 230.760mph.
"Everything went fine so far," Alonso said. "The circuit looks so narrow when you are at that speed. I was trying different lines but I was not as comfortable as I probably will be in a couple of weeks' time."
Alonso is racing in his home grand prix in Spain on 12-14 May before flying back to the States to start the official practice sessions for the Indy 500 the next day.
The competitors have a total of 30 hours of practice over five days before qualifying weekend on 20-21 May, with pole position decided on the Sunday.
Alonso's F1 team are fully involved in his Indy programme, with the car painted in the company's historic orange colour and given the McLaren name. It is the first time for 38 years that a car branded McLaren has raced at Indy.
He is taking part because McLaren are struggling in F1 this year as a result of a lack of performance in their Honda engine and Alonso has said one of his ambitions is to win the 'triple crown' of Monaco Grand Prix, which he won in 2006 and '07, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours.
McLaren executive director Zak Brown said he wanted to give Alonso the chance to win something after three difficult seasons since joining the team in 2015.
"We wanted to see Fernando running at the front because that's where he deserves to be," Brown said.
Brown revealed that Alonso had already watched about 25 Indy 500s in his preparations, including one entirely from an in-car camera on one particular car.
The test progressed so quickly that within four hours Andretti already had Alonso testing fuel saving and techniques for running behind a safety car.
But Alonso said he still had a lot to learn about fine-tuning the car for changing conditions on the track, a key aspect of driving at Indy.
"The guys make changes all the time to the car," he said. "On that aspect I am not up to speed. I am not yet able to to feel the car because at the moment I am not driving the car, the car is driving me around."
Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, former IndyCar champion and father of ex-F1 and IndyCar driver Michael Andretti who runs the team Alonso is driving for, said: "He did a perfect job. He's the real deal and I think he's going to be strong this month."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39799856
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Adam Gemili: GB sprinter relishes British 200m competition - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Adam Gemili says Britain's sprint strength means just making the World Championships team constitutes being "one of the world's best".
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Adam Gemili says Britain's sprint strength means just getting in the team would make him a strong medal contender at August's World Championships.
Gemili, 23, finished fourth in the 200m at Rio 2016, just three thousandths of a second away from a bronze medal.
However Jamaica-based duo Zharnel Hughes and Miguel Francis are among fierce competition for the two spots on offer at July's British team trials.
"Making that team - you'll know you are among the world's best," said Gemili.
"It is going to be really difficult. The depth is great and everyone is going to have to be in good shape for the trials because nothing is given."
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, the second-fastest Briton of all time over 200m after a run of 19.95 seconds in May 2016, Olympic semi-finalist Danny Talbot and promising 21-year-old Reece Prescod are some of the other contenders for a place in the British team.
Francis had previously run for Antigua and Barbuda, but opted to switch to Britain in April. The 22-year-old is eligible for Britain as he was born in Montserrat, an Overseas Territory without its own Olympic team.
"For me it was slightly strange," said Gemili of Francis' decision.
"I don't really know his personal reasons for changing, but if anything it is more difficult to make the team in Britain than it is in Antigua.
"It is cool. It makes it more competitive. I'm excited to meet him and get to know him. He will be a great addition to the British sprinters."
Gemili switched from coach Steve Fudge to the Netherlands-based training group led by American Rana Reider after last year's Olympics.
The rivalry between the two training camps became unfriendly in 2014, with reports of physical and verbal confrontations, but Gemili insists Britain's top sprinters get on better now.
"Everyone is close and gets on and when someone runs fast, you are genuinely happy that people are being successful. It make you raise your own performance and run even faster," he added.
As well as competition from his compatriots, Gemili hopes the power of his own mind will help him find the fractions of the second necessary to win his first major championships medal at senior level.
The morning after finishing fourth in Rio, Gemili spoke to psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, who is famed for his work with the likes of Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins and snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Gemili recalled: "He really hit me with it.
"'I don't know what you were expecting,' he said. 'There is no guarantee of a medal. It is OK to be disappointed, but if you don't want to feel like this, go and do something else. This is what sport is like.'"
Gemili concludes: "I know that next time it comes around I don't want to be that close again."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39807545
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Sulley Muntari: Italy FA's anti-racism chief 'would go on strike' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Italian Football Federation anti-racism advisor Fiona May says she would strike in protest at the treatment of Sulley Muntari if she were a player.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Italian football's reputation around the world has been damaged by the Sulley Muntari affair, the Italian Football Federation's anti-racism advisor says.
Fiona May said the decision to uphold the Pescara midfielder's punishment for protesting against racism while taking no action against fans had "sent a bad message".
She added she would strike in protest if she were a player.
"I'm frustrated and shocked," May said.
BBC football pundit Garth Crooks - a trustee of anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out - has called for Italy's players to go on strike in protest at Muntari's treatment and the the lack of punishment for the fans responsible.
And the British-born former Olympic athlete May, who was hired by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in 2014, said: "If it was me, I would do that, if I wasn't part of the Federation, to say 'wait a minute, what's going on here?'
"I would say all players should consider it, to show solidarity," she told the BBC World Service World Football show - though she stressed she was speaking hypothetically.
Muntari was booked for complaining to the referee about abuse he received from some Cagliari fans and received a second yellow card for leaving the pitch without permission.
A Serie A disciplinary committee upheld his punishment but said it could not punish the fans as only "approximately 10" were involved in the racist chants - not enough to trigger action under its own guidelines.
May said the panel was wrong to follow its guidelines so strictly in this case and asked: "You can't put a number on how somebody can abuse a player on the pitch. How can somebody put a number on it?
"They shouldn't have said that. It doesn't matter if it is just was one person or 100 people in a stand, it doesn't matter, they shouldn't be doing racist chants full stop."
She was also critical of referee Daniele Minelli, and said he should have "stopped the game and listened".
May added: "Football is a global sport and I said to the FIGC president 'this is not helping the image of Italian football whatsoever'.
"My mother in England phoned me up and said 'what's going on over there?'"
Bologna and Ghana midfielder Godfred Donsah has said is "100%" willing to go on strike to show solidarity with ex-Portsmouth and Inter Milan man Muntari.
May admitted she did not think many would heed the call to strike but believes the outcry means there will "most definitely be a change".
However, she added: "This shows how racism is more profound than everybody thought, even though we have been doing a lot of educational work. It shows they have got a lot of work still to do."
You can listen to the full show by downloading the podcast here.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39812543
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England v Ireland: Eoin Morgan would be welcome back to Irish set-up says Ed Joyce - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Ireland's Ed Joyce says England captain Eoin Morgan would be welcomed back to play for the country of his birth.
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Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website
Ireland would welcome Eoin Morgan back "with open arms" should the England one-day international captain opt to play for his country of birth again.
Dublin-born Morgan, 30, began his international career with Ireland but made the England switch in 2009.
He will play his 136th ODI for England against Ireland in Bristol on Friday, before a repeat at Lord's on Sunday.
"He's probably our greatest ever cricketer, of course we'd welcome Eoin back," said Ireland batsman Ed Joyce.
Joyce, 38, also opted to leave the Irish set-up to play for England in 2006 before returning in 2011. He does not think Morgan will ever follow suit but is hopeful Cricket Ireland can develop a team that will mean players do not have to switch allegiance in order to play "elite-level cricket".
Before England's opening fixture of what will be their longest ever home international summer, Morgan has also dismissed the chances of a return, calling questions on the matter "very cheeky", before responding that there was "no chance".
Morgan, 30, has called on his England side to stay focused for the two Ireland fixtures, as they prepare for the Champions Trophy, which begins at The Oval on 1 June.
England lost in the final of the 50-over competition to India in 2013 and Morgan believes the event holds "huge potential" this time around, with the home side made bookmakers' favourites.
"We've marked it as the halfway stage to the 2019 World Cup," said Morgan. "We're not taking this game for granted. The strength of the side we're putting out reflects that, and it's a really important summer for us - so we're taking it as seriously as any other fixture."
Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler will miss the weekend warm-up games because of IPL commitments in India but will return for the tournament, where England meet Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand in Group A.
Durham pace bowler Mark Wood is likely to feature in Bristol as he looks to impress Morgan after having three ankle operations since last playing for England in September.
England are scheduled to play 21 matches across all forms of the game by 29 September - in addition to the Champions Trophy, which features the top eight teams in the ICC's ODI rankings.
Ireland currently sit 12th in the rankings - seven places below England - and have lost their last two matches, to Afghanistan.
Joyce says the game in Bristol is "huge" because Ireland have never played England in England before.
His side will also play New Zealand and Bangladesh twice each by 21 May and, across the six games, Joyce expects a return to the quality of play that almost saw his side qualify from their pool at the 2015 World Cup.
"It's no secret that England are huge favourites," said Joyce. "We have had a tough 18 months, there's no getting away from that. The last World Cup we played well, but since then we have had a change to the team, three or four important guys have retired and it's hard to replace them straight away with a small talent pool."
Ireland have been boosted by the inclusion of Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien - the hero of Ireland's 2011 World Cup win over England - in the squad, as the pair continue to recover from finger and hamstring problems respectively.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39809956
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The midwife who saved intersex babies - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Five years ago a midwife in Kenya delivered a child with male and female sexual organs. The father told her to kill it, but instead she hid it and raised it as her own.
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Africa
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Five years ago a midwife in Kenya delivered a child with male and female sexual organs. The father told her to kill it, but instead she hid it and raised it as her own. Two years later, the same thing happened again - and before long she was forced to flee to save the children's lives.
Zainab was used to delivering babies. As a traditional birth attendant in rural western Kenya, she'd delivered dozens over the years. But none like the one in front of her now.
It had been a tricky birth, but nothing Zainab couldn't handle. The umbilical cord had got twisted around the baby's head and she'd had to think quickly, using a wooden spoon to untangle it.
After clearing the baby's airway, she washed the child and cut and tied the umbilical cord. It was then that Zainab saw something she'd never seen before.
"When I looked to see if it was a boy or a girl, I saw two things protruding - this baby had male and female parts," she says.
Instead of saying what she usually said at this point - "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" - Zainab handed the baby to its mother and simply told her, "Here is your baby."
When the exhausted mother saw that her child's sex was unclear, she was stunned. But when her husband arrived, he was in no doubt about what should happen next.
"He told me, 'We can't take this baby home. We want this baby to be killed.' I told him that the child was God's creation and must not be killed. But he insisted. So eventually I told him, 'Leave the baby with me, I'll kill it for you.' But I did not kill the baby. I kept it."
The father came back several times to check that Zainab had done what she'd promised. She hid the baby and insisted she had killed it. But this would not work forever.
"A year later, the parents somehow heard that their baby was alive and came to see me," Zainab says. "They told me I must never reveal that the baby was theirs. I agreed and since then I've been raising the child as my own."
It was an extraordinary - and risky - choice.
In Zainab's community, and in many others in Kenya, an intersex baby is seen as a bad omen, bringing a curse upon its family and neighbours. By adopting the child, Zainab flouted traditional beliefs and risked being blamed for any misfortune.
That was in 2012. But two years later Zainab was amazed to deliver a second intersex baby.
Although there are no reliable statistics on how many Kenyans are intersex, doctors believe the rate is the same as in other countries. Some estimates put this as high as 1.7% of the population but there is disagreement over what constitutes being intersex.
"This time, the parents didn't ask me to kill the child. The mother was alone and she just fled and left me with the baby," Zainab says.
Once again, she took the baby into her home and raised it as part of her family. But her husband - a fisherman on Lake Victoria - was not happy.
"When he went out to the lake to fish and had a bad catch, he blamed the children," says Zainab.
"He said it was because they had brought a curse on us. He suggested I hand the children over to him so he could drown them in the lake. But I refused. I told him I would never allow that to happen. He became violent and we started fighting all the time."
Zainab became so worried by her husband's behaviour that she decided to leave him and take the children with her.
"It was a difficult choice for me because financially I had a comfortable life with my husband and we had grown-up children together and even grandchildren. But you can't live in such an environment - with threats and fighting. I was forced to flee."
Childbirth is changing in Kenya. Increasingly, mothers are giving birth in hospitals, rather than in the village. But not so long ago the use of traditional birth attendants was the norm, and there was a tacit assumption about how to deal with intersex babies.
"They used to kill them," explains Seline Okiki, chairperson of the Ten Beloved Sisters, a group of traditional birth attendants, also from western Kenya.
"If an intersex baby was born, automatically it was seen as a curse and that baby was not allowed to live. It was expected that the traditional birth attendant would kill the child and tell the mother her baby was stillborn."
In the Luo language, there was even a euphemism for how the baby was killed. Traditional birth attendants would say that they had "broken the sweet potato". This meant they had used a hard sweet potato to damage the baby's delicate skull.
"The parents did not get any say in the matter," says the group secretary Anjeline Naloh. "The expectation was that the baby should not even live long enough to cry."
These days, the Ten Beloved Sisters leave delivering babies to hospital midwives. Instead, they support expectant and new mothers and raise awareness about HIV transmission. But in more remote areas, where hospitals are hard to reach, traditional birth attendants still deliver babies the old-fashioned way and the Ten Beloved Sisters believe infanticide still happens.
"It is hidden. Not open as it was before," says Anjeline Naloh.
"Those things still happen, but they are secrets now," agrees Seline Okiki.
"People bathe openly and if you see something that is a little different, that's where they go speak: 'Oh, did you see something, eh?' [laughter]. You compare. That's normal!"
Listen: BBC Africa health correspondent Anne Soy hears how it's hard for intersex people to hide their condition
Coming out of the Shadows in Africa is broadcast on Assignment on the BBC World Service - click here for transmission times, or to catch up on the BBC iPlayer
Georgina Adhiambo, executive director of the charity Voices of Women in Western Kenya, which is making efforts to reduce the stigma that surrounds intersex people in western Kenya, says the subject is still taboo.
"We've come across parents who've tried to hide their intersex child or even locked them up - some because they were ashamed, others because they were afraid that others might try to harm their child," she says.
"We're explaining who intersex people really are. This is a very religious society, so we explain that intersex children are also created by God."
But paediatric endocrinologist Joyce Mbogo - one of a new generation of doctors trained specifically to deal with what they call Disorders of Sex Development, or DSDs - says attitudes to intersex people are starting to change.
"We have a new set of parents who are willing to seek help," she says. "The internet is accessible even in the rural areas, so when they realise there's something wrong they're able to look and see what could this possibly be."
Treatment options vary. Some patients require no treatment, many need medication or hormone therapy and others need corrective surgery - though often this is delayed until after puberty so the children can decide for themselves who they want to be.
For Zainab's adoptive children, such decisions are a long way off. They are healthy and happy and when she talks about them her face lights up. She's visibly proud of them and the new life she's built for herself. She still delivers babies when she's needed, but makes her living mostly by buying and selling clothes and sandals.
"We all eat well and I can see that they are normal children. We talk, the older one helps with the household chores and my son thinks of them both as his siblings. They are all my family. It's a miracle from God."
When asked if she's ever regretted her decision, Zainab laughs as if it's a ridiculous question. "Should I throw them out? No, I'm their mum! They're human beings and I have to take care of God's creation."
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39780214
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Geraint Thomas: Giro d'Italia 'uncharted territory' for Team Sky rider - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas will enter "uncharted territory" in the Giro d'Italia, which starts on Friday in Sardinia.
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Last updated on .From the section Wales
Geraint Thomas will venture into "uncharted territory" when he leads Team Sky in a Grand Tour for the first time at the Giro d'Italia.
Thomas will share the leadership with Mikel Landa, having previously played a supporting role for his team-mates.
The 100th edition of the Giro, one of cycling's three Grand Tours - alongside the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana - starts in Sardinia on Friday.
"It's one of the biggest challenges of my career," said Briton Thomas, 30.
"I've got a massive few weeks in front of me. I'm just looking forward to racing now. It feels like we've been talking about it forever.
"It's uncharted territory really. I've always been helping other guys so if I do blow up now it doesn't really matter. Hopefully it all goes well."
This year's Giro will comprise a gruelling, 21-stage route, starting in Alghero, Sardinia on Friday and ending in Milan on Sunday, 28 May.
It will be Welshman Thomas' third appearance at the Giro and his 11th Grand Tour start, though his previous outings have been as a support rider for the likes of British three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.
Thomas has shone in his role as 'super domestique' in cycling's showpiece events, while he has impressed as a leader in other races, winning the Tour of the Alps in April and Paris-Nice last year.
"Preparations have gone really well. I've got three wins this year which is certainly nice," the Cardiff-born rider told BBC Wales Sport.
"Being a support rider and a leader are two totally different things. I'm just relishing that opportunity and trying to make the most of it.
"It's been a long build-up and something I've been thinking about for a long time, so it will be good to get racing."
If he is to claim the winner's Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) in Italy, Thomas must overcome some formidable competition.
The favourite is Nairo Quintana, who won convincingly when he last appeared at the Giro in 2014.
A former Vuelta champion and runner-up at the Tour de France, the 27-year-old Colombian is a renowned climber who is expected to be well suited to a demanding Giro route.
However, the Movistar rider might be mindful of over-exerting himself as he keeps one eye on preparations for the Tour, which starts in July.
Other leading candidates include defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, one of only six cyclists to have won all three of the Grand Tours.
The 32-year-old Italian, nicknamed 'The Shark', won in dramatic circumstances last year as he capitalised on Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk's late crash to clinch his third Giro title.
"Nibali and Quintana have won this race before, they've got all that experience and, for sure, they're the favourites," said Thomas.
"Myself and Landa, we have a chance - but we're not at that level, I don't think."
Cycling teams tend to choose one rider to spearhead their Grand Tour campaigns, but Thomas will share his new role with Spaniard Landa.
The 27-year-old finished third at the Giro in 2015 while riding for Astana and Thomas believes their styles will be well suited to each other.
"He's obviously a great climber. He's been third in this race before, he's got the experience, he's a great athlete and he'll certainly give us another card to play," Thomas added.
"We can ride off each other. We get on well and I think it can work well. As we get into that last week there will certainly be gaps and one will be ahead of the other.
"Depending on how we're both feeling, I'd happily help him and vice versa. We'll see how it goes."
'No point putting extra stress on it'
Thomas has endured a difficult build-up to the Giro, following the death of his aunt Christine after a battle with cancer last week.
The double Olympic team pursuit champion was also shocked by the death of Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi in April, after the 37-year-old was involved in a collision with a van during a training ride.
Scarponi, a former Giro champion, had finished fourth at the Tour of the Alps, which Thomas won earlier that month.
Asked if his result at the Giro could define his career as a road cyclist, Thomas played down its significance given recent events.
"I don't think it would be a step backwards whatever happens. It's going to be a good challenge and, if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out," he said.
"What we've seen lately - what happened with Scarponi and I lost my auntie last week - it puts everything into perspective.
"It's a bike race, there's no point putting extra stress on it. At the end of the day, it's not the end of the world. It's just a great opportunity."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/39812237
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Can't find the right handbag? Just design it yourself - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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More firms are now offering customers the chance to design their own handbags - we spoke to some of them about the soaring demand.
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Business
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Lana Hopkins couldn't find the perfect bag so she launched Mon Purse
When it comes to handbags, these days there are almost as many ways to jazz up your existing bag as there are new designs.
In Selfridges' vast accessories hall in London, you can buy a clip-on set of metal flowers from Louis Vuitton, multi-coloured jangling robots from Prada, and leather tassels at Ted Baker.
What customers want, it seems, is a way to stamp a bit of individuality on their purchases. And one new counter at Selfridges will let you go a stage further.
At Mon Purse, an Australian brand, you are handed an iPad and samples of leathers, and given the chance to design your own handbag.
"I was looking around for the perfect handbag and I just couldn't find it," explains Lana Hopkins, 33, the company's founder. "And I was quite heartbroken, you know?"
Wandering through a Sydney shopping mall one day in 2014, Ms Hopkins stumbled upon Build-A-Bear, a shop where you can assemble your own cuddly toy with some limited variables such as fur, colour and clothing.
Mon Purse's customers can choose from nine different basic bag shapes
Although Ms Hopkins was rather older than the average customer, she found creating a teddy for her nephew gave her an extra emotional connection to the product. And the idea for Mon Purse was born.
Skip forward three years and Mon Purse now has eight outlets in Australia, three in the UK and two in the US, including a newly opened concession in Bloomingdales, San Francisco.
Last December, buoyed by Christmas, it sold almost $2m (£1.6m) worth of bags, ranging in price from $75 for a simple pouch, to $620 for an extravagant tote.
The handbag industry is the latest retail sector to wake up to the possibilities of allowing customers to design their own product.
And with people now increasingly used to having things their own way, be it configuring their own music playlists or choosing their exact sandwich fillings, industry insiders say demand for personally designed handbags is soaring.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What would your dream handbag look like?
"I've never seen a cultural shift like this in the marketplace, and it's giving me whiplash," says Frank Zambrelli, co-founder of 1 Atelier, a New York-based handbag company.
To avoid the sky-high prices of a fully bespoke service, which would see customers be able to follow their every whim, most design-your-own handbag firms - such as Mon Purse - instead use the "mass customisation" business model.
This means that customers can design their own handbag, but only from a combination of set styles, sizes, colours and materials.
So while Mon Purse promises billions of possible variations, in practice the choice is limited to 19 different bag shapes in 35 different colours.
This, however, is typically substantially more customisation than offered by established bag-makers. While brands such as Gucci, Coach and Longchamp allow customers to change some elements, the business model of the larger firms still revolves around placing large orders for a design that their in-house team predict will be popular.
1 Atelier's Frank Zambrelli says customers' own designs have surprised him and shown him how narrow his vision was of what works
The new wave of small companies set up to deliver customisation flip that model on its head.
Mon Purse uses a visualisation tool based on 3D gaming technology, through which the customer can select size, leather texture, the type of metalwork, and shade of lining. The bag then takes approximately two to four weeks to manufacture.
Launched just seven months ago, 1 Atelier allows customers to combine colours from a carefully selected palette for the body, side panels, straps and pockets of 10 different bag designs.
But if in the past buying something unique meant a price tag to match, now you can actually make the tailor-made item for less than the mass-manufactured equivalent, according to Mr Zambrelli, who was previously a designer at Chanel.
Bags from 1 Atelier are made in its Manhattan workshop
"Because we're not putting together a collection based on some inspiration and hopes that we've got the trend right, we're not placing any inventory buys," he says.
In other words, they will never be left with unsold stock, which he says more than compensates for not having the economies of scale of a large order.
However, prices at 1 Atelier do still range from $295 to $7,380, depending upon the materials and size of bag chosen by the customer.
For a significantly cheaper personally designed handbag, Indian company Toteteca will sell you one for between $25 and $40. It makes its bags from polyvinyl, choosing not to use leather for what it says are ethical reasons.
"You'd be amazed how inexpensive it is to make custom-made bags," says Kushal Chudiwala, the 31-year-old founder of the Mumbai-based business.
Toteteca customers are free to combine 35 different colours on 12 different bags
Perhaps thanks to the low prices, Toteteca seems to free up customers' creativity. While 70% of Mon Purse's customised orders are still a version of a black bag, Toteteca's customers are more adventurous.
"We don't make many black bags," says Mr Chudiwala.
But they do sometimes feel the need to rein in customers' wilder ideas, he says.
Toteteca uses polyvinyl to make its bags
"When we first launched, we had a customer select a combination that looked like a handbag for a joker, green and yellow and pink all mixed into one product," he says.
When queried the customer stuck to their design, so Toteteca went ahead and made the bag.
At 1 Atelier, Mr Zambrelli was initially "hell-bent" on configuring its design tool so that choosing one element would limit the subsequent options, avoiding the possibility of a customer "creating something absolutely hideous that we wouldn't want our name on," he says.
Frank Zambrelli (right) and his co-founders launched 1 Atelier last year
But in the end they decided against it.
"And I'm so glad we did that, because, shame on me, my eyes have been opened up," says Mr Zambrelli.
"Many people have put together combinations of materials and colours that as a designer for 25 years were anathema to me. And I was 100% wrong. I'm ashamed actually at how narrow my vision was of what works."
But 1 Atelier, Mon Purse and Toteteca's founders do all agree that there is such a thing as too much choice - that customers can feel baffled and overwhelmed without some guidance, or narrowing down of the options.
If you're not feeling too creative you can always just go for a plain black or cream bag
Mon Purse's next step will be to offer an algorithm-based design service, to those "feeling a little lost".
"We can tap into your Facebook [photos] and see what your favourite colours, textures and designs are, and say you might like A, B and C," says Ms Hopkins.
But ultimately, if you lack an inner accessories designer, and your Facebook account doesn't provide inspiration, the safe option remains available - a nice, plain, black bag.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39643052
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Election 2017: English mayoral candidates - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Check candidates running in six regions of England which are holding mayoral elections in 2017.
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UK Politics
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On 4 May 2017 six regions of England held elections for newly created combined authority mayors.
The new mayors' remits will cover multiple local authorities, in mostly urban areas.
Their main responsibility will be to decide their region's economic strategy, and many will have powers covering other areas such as transport and housing. However, their exact powers will vary according to the terms of the agreements each region has made with the government.
In addition, Doncaster and North Tyneside councils are holding elections for directly-elected mayors. The mayors act as executive leaders of these local authorities.
You can check who is running for election in each area below. Candidates are listed alphabetically by surname.
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridge District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Peterborough City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan
Paul Breen - Get the Coppers off the Jury
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral and Halton
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-On-Tees.
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall
Doncaster and North Tyneside councils are holding elections for directly-elected mayors. The mayors act as executive leaders of these local authorities.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38236484
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Romain Grosjean replaces Jenson Button at Grand Prix Drivers' Association - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Romain Grosjean replaces Jenson Button as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association - and will push for extra head protection despite his own misgivings.
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Frenchman Romain Grosjean has replaced Jenson Button as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.
The Haas driver joins Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and chairman Alexander Wurz in the leading roles after Button stepped down following his decision not to race in 2017.
Grosjean, 31, said: "I am proud to have been elected by my peers.
"We race drivers don't always hold the same opinion but we are united in wanting the best for our sport."
Grosjean's appointment means he will be campaigning officially for the introduction of additional head protection in F1, something to which he is personally opposed. The vast majority of drivers are in favour of such a system.
Grosjean said at the Russian Grand Prix last weekend that he was "not a fan" of either the 'halo' system - a metal structure that arches over the driver's shoulders and meets in a central point at the front of the cockpit - which has been proved to work but is meeting opposition, or the new 'shield' that was last week prioritised by governing body the FIA.
The FIA is committed to introducing additional head protection in 2018 but time is running out.
The halo, which has been extensively tested and proved to work, is unpopular, and the shield is still in its infancy and will not run on track until September - almost certainly too late for it to be adopted next season.
How will Grosjean do it?
Grosjean has already been active in pushing for additional head protection as a member of the GPDA, despite his own feelings.
BBC Sport has been told that at a meeting between the drivers and the new bosses of F1, chairman Chase Carey and sporting boss Ross Brawn sought close co-operation with the drivers on future developments in the sport.
Grosjean himself pointed out to Carey and Brawn they should use the GPDA as the body they dealt with because it represented the drivers' collective opinion, free of influence by the teams on political issues.
And Wurz backs the idea of debates and differing opinions so the drivers can have constructive conversations that establish a majority opinion.
Where does the GPDA stand on head protection?
Head protection is just one small part of the GPDA's work in F1.
• None supports general ongoing safety development, not just because it saves lives but also because it ensures the cars can continue to be fast and test the drivers to their limits;
• None believes that safety should be the sole responsibility of the FIA and not be affected by political issues; and
• None campaigns for changes that it believes would improve the sport for spectators.
But Wurz said he feared the debate over head protection had been politicised.
"Drivers prefer to support F1, and that means some topics should not be debated in the media, because safety should at no point become a political matter, as the halo has become," Wurz said.
"This comment is not about whether the halo is the right or wrong thing to do, but about the general process of developing a new safety device in F1."
The halo was initially developed by Mercedes, and was followed up by the FIA and the teams with the aim of reducing the risk of head injuries.
But the debate has widened into whether it is the right approach philosophically for F1.
It was initially slated for introduction in 2017 but was delayed by a year so further tests could be carried out. These were all passed successfully but now the shield system has been given priority and some insiders suspect that a move is being made behind the scenes to delay head protection again.
What about other issues?
Wurz said the GPDA backed the direction F1 had taken in 2017, with new rules producing faster, more demanding cars.
The drivers were instrumental in campaigning for the introduction of tyres on which drivers could push hard for many laps at a time, replacing the previous design which needed careful management.
He added that the GPDA was also supportive of Brawn's desire to research new aerodynamic rules that would allow cars to follow each other more closely, and of the general direction of F1, as laid out by Carey to the drivers in meetings since the new owners took over in January.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39798317
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Celta Vigo 0-1 Manchester United - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Marcus Rashford's superb free-kick gives Manchester United control of their Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Marcus Rashford's superb free-kick gave Manchester United control of their Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo.
The 19-year-old striker's curling effort not only gave United the lead, but also a precious away goal going into next Thursday's second leg at Old Trafford.
With United outside the Premier League's top four - a point behind Manchester City and four off third-placed Liverpool - the Europa League perhaps represents their best opportunity of earning a place in next season's Champions League.
They looked to have spurned their best chances in northern Spain - three times they were denied in the first half by home goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez.
As Celta improved, United's wastefulness seemed increasingly important, only for Rashford to produce the sort of quality needed to beat the excellent Alvarez.
Returning home with an advantage, Jose Mourinho's side will be strong favourites to progress to face Ajax or Lyon in Stockholm on 24 May in the final of a competition they have never won.
• None Nevin: 'Man Utd much better than Celta Vigo' - listen to 5 live Football Daily
Rashford was one of the three United players thwarted by Alvarez in a first period the visitors had the better of.
His arcing strike was heading for the top corner before Alvarez leapt to his left, with the Spaniard also stopping a surging Henrikh Mkhitaryan and diving to push away a Jesse Lingard prod from eight yards out.
With United seeing less of the ball in the second period, Rashford - who scored the extra-time winner in the quarter-final against Anderlecht - stood over a free-kick to the right of the Celta penalty area.
After Daley Blind's decoy run, the England international whipped the ball over the wall, past the outstretched left hand of Alvarez and just inside the far post.
No cause for Celta concern
By then, Celta could have been out of the tie, having been kept on level terms by the brilliance of their goalkeeper.
In their first European semi-final, the hosts did not look to be any better than their current domestic position - 11th in La Liga and on the back of three successive defeats. United should have every confidence of progressing from their first European semi in six years.
Celta did have chances - both Daniel Wass and former Liverpool player Iago Aspas headed wide when they should have done better, while Pione Sisto's deflected shot forced Sergio Romero to save in the second half.
But United's front three of Rashford, Lingard and Mkhitaryan were more lively, while Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini dominated midfield.
This was United's 58th game of a season that promises six more matches if they make it to Stockholm.
When Eric Bailly limped off in the draw against Swansea on Sunday, Mourinho's squad looked to be further stretched, especially at the back. Luke Shaw had already been injured in that game, while Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo were on the sidelines.
However, Bailly was fit enough to start in Spain, alongside midfielder Pogba, who has recovered from a muscle strain.
Centre-back Smalling, who had not played for United since 19 March because of a knee injury, was on the bench.
Still, it was not all positive news for Mourinho. Ashley Young, himself a substitute, lasted only 11 minutes before suffering what appeared to a hamstring problem, paving the way for Smalling's return.
'Let's hope Old Trafford wants us to win'
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: "I am very pleased with the performance but not with the result. At half-time we should have had three - or at least two goals.
"We played well enough to have the tie closed, but we have to go and play at Old Trafford.
"Rashford is a 19-year-old kid who is in love with football. He stays after training for half an hour to practise taking free-kicks and waits for the opportunity.
"We tried to win the match but we missed chances. We played well, we were compact against a team who are difficult to play against.
"Let's hope Old Trafford wants us to win because when Old Trafford wants it, we win."
United's hectic schedule continues with a Premier League trip to Arsenal at 16:00 BST on Sunday, while Celta have a domestic date at Malaga on the same day.
The return leg is at Old Trafford next Thursday (20:05 BST kick-off).
• None Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Substitution, Manchester United. Chris Smalling replaces Ashley Young because of an injury.
• None Delay over. They are ready to continue.
• None Delay in match Ashley Young (Manchester United) because of an injury.
• None Attempt missed. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from more than 40 yards on the left wing is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
• None Substitution, Manchester United. Anthony Martial replaces Marcus Rashford because of an injury. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39743943
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Locked up: How London couple ended up in a Turkish jail - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Spaniard Jimena Rico and her Egyptian-born girlfriend Shaza Ismail were pursued across borders.
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Europe
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Jimena Rico and Shaza Ismail are back in Spain after a three-week ordeal
Less than a month ago, Spaniard Jimena Rico, and Egyptian-born Shaza Ismail were just like any other young, gay couple in London, the city where their romance blossomed.
But after a call from Ms Ismail's father, the two set out on on a trip which they say involved death threats, escape across international borders, and a spell in a Turkish jail where, Ms Ismail says, the treatment was "unexpected, inhumane and horrible".
Safe in Ms Rico's Spanish hometown of Torrox, the couple faced the cameras to reveal a nightmarish three-week ordeal which, according to Ms Rico, began after her partner's family in Dubai had tried to separate them by force.
"I really want to tell our story because I think it could help many people who live in a situation of repression for being homosexual," Ms Rico told reporters who had gathered in the room to hear their story.
It had all started innocently enough. According to the 28-year-old, the couple flew from London to Dubai on 14 April because Ms Ismail's father had said that her mother was ill in hospital.
"But it was a trick," said Jimena Rico. "He threatened to kill us and said we could go to jail for being lesbians."
Ms Rico (R) embraces her sister (C) on her return to Spain
According to her partner, 21-year-old Ms Ismail was locked up by her family. But the couple managed to escape and flew to Tbilisi, Georgia, from where they were hoping to catch a connecting flight to London.
But even putting more than 2,000 miles between them and Ms Ismail's family had not guaranteed their safety.
Ms Ismail's father appeared at the airport and the Egyptian woman's papers, including the visa she needed to return to the UK, were torn up in the altercation.
Ms Rico explained that at this point the Georgian authorities escorted the couple to the Turkish border. Spain's foreign ministry says the couple were then arrested in Samsun, northern Turkey, and taken to Istanbul.
There, they were arrested on a charge "apparently to do with terrorism", says Ms Rico, adding that they signed papers they did not understand.
Ms Rico got word to her family, who reported the situation to the Spanish police.
After three days in a Turkish jail, the Spanish foreign ministry managed to secure their release - allowing them to fly home to Spain, where Ms Rico's relieved family welcomed them with open arms.
"I thought we were not going to get out of [prison]," Ms Rico said. "They told me I could leave but she had to stay, and I said I wasn't going without her."
Ms Ismail's father, however, tells a different version of events, although he admits travelling to Tbilisi airport and forcibly attempting to retain his daughter.
"When she arrived in Dubai, I embraced her," the unnamed father told Spain's Antena 3 television station.
"She said she wanted to stay in London and I asked her to come home and talk about her being a lesbian because she told us via text message. She came out of the closet like that, sending her mother a text message."
Ms Rico (R) hopes she will be able to marry her girlfriend, who is on a temporary visa in Spain
Ms Ismail's father said that he offered to take his daughter to a psychologist and that she had agreed to stay in Dubai and study there. Then, he claimed, his daughter vanished from the family home.
"I went to the police after she had disappeared. A friend told me Shaza was in Georgia and I reported that she had run away or been kidnapped."
He explained that he had gone to Tbilisi with a lawyer, but insisted the only papers he had torn up were part of an old passport belonging to his daughter.
Jimena Rico accepts her partner's father is doing what he thinks is best: "I know that [Ms Ismail's] father loves her. But his mind is so closed that he can't understand."
She is now hoping to marry Shaza Ismail, currently staying with her on a temporary visa after the Spanish government secured the couple's release.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39791610
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UK General Election 2017 | BBC News
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2017-05-04
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All the BBC's coverage of the 2017 UK General Election including news, analysis and results.
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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.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2017
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Kelly Sotherton: Olympic medallist calls for event changes not world record reset - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Athletics chiefs should tweak events rather than rewrite existing world records, says three-time Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton.
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Kelly Sotherton says athletics chiefs should consider tweaking events rather than rewriting existing world records.
The 40-year-old won Olympic heptathlon bronze for Britain in 2004 and has been upgraded to two more bronze medals from 2008 after retrospective drug tests.
All world records set before 2005 could be rewritten under a new proposal from European Athletics, after the sport's latest doping scandal.
Sotherton said tweaking events would create "a new slate" and new records.
She said: "Could we go back to yards or run 101m instead of 100m?
"We all know that some of the records are completely out there. But not all of those records were achieved by people who cheated.
"Scrapping those records is unfair on those athletes. And what about my pre-2005 performances? Did they happen? Does this apply to national records too?"
• None World records proposal by European Athletics: Which star names would lose out?
Sotherton referred to the IAAF's decision to remodel the men's javelin in 1986.
Changes were made to the javelin's design because of increasingly frequent flat landings. All existing records were reset after the change, but not erased.
"I am open to the discussion - for the greater good of the sport it's a good thing," she added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39810859
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Uefa: Penalty shootout trial takes place in Euro Women's Under-17 semi-final - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Uefa trials a new penalty shootout system for the first time in a competitive game at a European Women's Under-17 semi-final in Norway.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
"Football is a simple game," Gary Lineker once said.
"Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, the Germans always win," added the Match Of The Day presenter.
So when a new penalty shootout system was used for the first time in a competitive game on Thursday, it was perhaps unsurprising that it was a Germany side who came out on top.
European football's governing body, Uefa, is evaluating a new 'ABBA' penalty shootout system - rather than the traditional ABAB pattern, where one side always has the pressure of going second - to make them fairer.
It is trialling its use at both men's and women's European Under-17s tournaments currently taking place.
And it was at the women's competition - a semi-final between Germany and Norway on Thursday - that the chance to put it into use for the first time arose.
The Germans are famed for their penalty-spot prowess after winning five shootouts at major finals - although unusually they missed their first three spot-kicks.
Yet they were still able to beat Norway 3-2 to reach the final of the tournament in the Czech Republic.
The men's tournament in Croatia has not yet reached the knockout stage.
How does it work?
As the current system stands, teams take turns in a shootout, with the choice of who goes first decided by a coin toss.
For example, team A goes first, then team B, then team A again.
The new system is called sees team A followed by team B - before team B goes again. Team A would then get two successive penalties, a little like the tie-break in tennis, and so on until there is a winner.
A coin will still be tossed to decide who goes first.
The idea is to stop the team going second having to always, potentially, play catch-up. The sport's rule-making body, Ifab, approved the trial after looking at the research that says the team taking the first penalty have an unfair advantage as they win 60% of shootouts.
"The hypothesis is that the player taking the second kick in the pair is under greater mental pressure," said Uefa.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39798344
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One-Day Cup: Jonny Bairstow hundred sets up Yorkshire win over Durham - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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England's Jonny Bairstow hits 174 off 113 balls as Yorkshire defeat Durham by six wickets in the One-Day Cup.
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England's Jonny Bairstow hammered 174 off 113 balls as Yorkshire beat Durham at Headingley to maintain their 100% start to the One-Day Cup.
Bairstow, who was dropped on 71, struck seven sixes and 16 fours in a stand of 189 in 25 overs with Joe Root (55).
His was the third century of the day as Stephen Cook (106) and Michael Richardson (100no) saw Durham to 335-5.
Bairstow and Root both fell to James Weighell (3-60), but Yorkshire reached 339-4 with 14 balls to spare.
The White Rose county, who last lifted a limited-overs trophy in 2002, have won all three games so far, while Durham have one victory from three.
Keaton Jennings set the visitors on their way with 72 before a brilliant boundary catch by Peter Handscomb brought his innings to an end.
South Africa Test opener Cook's 108-ball century was his first for Durham, while Richardson reached three figures from only 87 balls with two runs off the final delivery of their innings.
However, they were overshadowed by Bairstow, who revelled in his new role at the top of the order and raced to his hundred from 70 balls.
He was particularly punishing on the leg-side and had the chance to become only the third batsman after Surrey's Alistair Brown and Ravi Bopara of Essex to make a double century in a List A game between two first-class counties.
The 27-year-old was caught behind from the final ball of the 34th over, leaving Yorkshire to score 87 from the final 16.
England Test captain Root played on during an unproductive period when they failed to find the boundary between the end of the 33rd over and the middle of the 39th.
Skipper Gary Ballance, though, hit three successive boundaries off Paul Coughlin in the 41st over in his 29 before trod on his stumps, leaving Handscomb (47 not out) and Tim Bresnan to finish the job.
"I got a bit of a chance and, as we know, you have to take every chance you can get. I missed one the other night, and luckily it didn't cost us too much. When you get a chance, you want to go on and make it pay.
"It's either bat there (open) or bat six when you look at the line-up we've got at the moment. If I can spend as much time out in the middle as I can, hopefully I can put in performances that help us win games of cricket.
"It's pretty handy having Peter and Gary to come in at four and five and knock the rest of the runs off. It's a good side we've got at the moment, but it's going to be a tough few games coming up. A few of us aren't available now, and we've said all along about the squad and how well it needs to gel together."
"You've got to take your hat off to a guy like Jonny. You don't come in and play the way he did day in, day out. He hit every ball out of the middle and made it really tough for us.
"I wouldn't take any credit away from Rooty either. He supported him beautifully to make sure that partnership kept hurting us. Between the two of them, they were sensational.
"At the halfway point, I'd have said we were favourites. I thought we had enough runs despite their line-up. I honestly thought we were in a good position. But we gave him a couple of chances."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39792885
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Fernando Alonso: McLaren driver has 'real chance' of debut Indy 500 win - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Ex-Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti says Fernando Alonso has a "real chance" of winning the Indy 500 on his debut
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Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
Ex-Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti says Fernando Alonso has a "real chance" of winning the Indy 500 on his debut.
Alonso, 35, will miss this year's Monaco Grand Prix for the 500-mile race.
The two-time world champion said his first experience of Indianapolis was "fun" as he began testing on Wednesday.
Former IndyCar champion Andretti, 77, said: "His chances are real of potentially winning this thing."
• None Listen to more from Andretti on BBC Radio 5 live
The 1978 F1 world champion - father of ex-F1 and IndyCar driver Michael Andretti, who runs the team Alonso is driving for - said this is a "golden opportunity" for the Spaniard.
"He's at the top of his game and he doesn't have too much to lose in Formula 1," Andretti told BBC Radio 5 live.
"He can give Monaco up and give this a good try and maybe come away with a very happy result."
Alonso, who won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006 and 2007, said he had long held an ambition to win the so-called 'triple crown' of Monaco, the Indy 500 and Le Mans.
Only one man has won all three in his career - the late Graham Hill in the 1960s.
Alonso ended his test with a fastest lap of 222.548mph. Last year's pole position time for the Indy 500 was 230.760mph.
American Alexander Rossi won last year's event to become the first driver to win the race on his debut since 2001.
"Everything went like he [Alonso] has been there before [in testing]. He's probably come away very pleased with himself and the team are very pleased with him," added Andretti.
"I just feel very good for him, I'm very confident that it's going to be a great experience overall.
"He will have no problem and have some fun with it."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39813093
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England local elections 2017 - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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All the latest news about England local elections 2017 from the BBC
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In the run-up to the General Election on 8 June, we’re asking people across the country to tell us what #GetsMyVote.
Earlier today the Liberal Democrats said they wanted to introduce more family-friendly policies such as extended paternity leave. We asked people at Bristol Zoo what would influence their vote.
James, from South Gloucestershire, at the zoo with his son, said parties made lots of promises they couldn't keep.
"It's a bit of a gimmick in terms of if you look at countries like Sweden there's actually something meaningful about paternity leave," the 39-year-old said.
"In terms of the UK I can't see it's really going to swing it for many families, it's just not really applicable.
Quote Message: It's more about tax credits, but again who's going to write these cheques later. It's all promises. It's more about tax credits, but again who's going to write these cheques later. It's all promises.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/42069d65-f3b1-41e2-b3e9-35ac9d799a1a/england-local-elections-2017
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Gunfire audio opens new front in crime-fighting - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Pioneering work that extracts information from audio of gunshots could help solve criminal cases.
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Science & Environment
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Pioneering work to extract detailed information from audio recordings of gunshots could give forensic case officers new avenues for solving murder cases.
The hustle and bustle of a city going about its business is broken by the crack of gunshots, sending bystanders running and screaming. In the aftermath one man lies dead and another badly injured.
Further down the street, four security cameras outside a local resident's home picked up the sound of the exchange of fire between the two men, but no images of what happened.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the pair standing just a few metres apart firing handguns at each other, but it is unclear which of the two perpetrators shot first.
In an attempt to unravel what happened, local police called Robert Maher, a professor in electrical and computer engineering at Montana State University.
Using audio captured by the microphones on the security cameras, he was able to reconstruct the incident shot-by-shot to reveal where each of the men were standing and who fired first.
Prof Maher is one of a small group of acoustics experts working to establish a new field of forensics that examines the sound of gunshots recorded on camera footage or by phones.
"Nowadays it is not uncommon for someone with a cell phone to be making a video at the time of a gunfire incident," he explains. "The most common types of recordings are from dashboard cameras or vest-mounted cameras carried by law enforcement officers.
"Also common are recordings from an emergency telephone call centres where the calls are being recorded and the caller's phone picks up a gunshot sound. In some cases there are private surveillance systems at homes and businesses that include audio recordings."
Different guns sound similar to the human ear, but software can tell the difference
Gunshots make a distinctive sound that makes them easy to distinguish from other commonly mistaken noises such as a car backfiring or fireworks.
A firearm produces an abrupt blast of intense noise from the muzzle that lasts just one or two millionths of a second before disappearing again. High-powered rifles also produce an additional sonic boom as the bullet passes through the sound barrier before the sound of the muzzle blast is detected.
Most of us spend our lives surrounded by devices capable of capturing these sounds inadvertently if a crime occurs nearby. Professor Maher's aim is to extract details from these recordings that might help police piece together a crime.
Together with his colleagues, he has been compiling a database of firearm sounds in a project funded by US National Institute of Justice. They are firing an array of rifles, shotguns, semiautomatic pistols and revolvers beside an array of 12 microphones arranged in a semicircle.
Each of the guns appear broadly similar to human ears when fired on an open range, but using software to analyse the sound waves picked up by the microphones, they have found it is possible to distinguish different types of weapon.
"We observe differences between pistols with differing calibre and barrel length for example," says Professor Maher. "Revolvers differ from pistols because sound can emanate from the gap between the revolver cylinder and the gun barrel, causing two sound sources that can be detected at certain angles."
His analysis has also revealed other details can be gleaned from recordings of gunfire.
The shape of the sound wave produced by a gunshot, for example, is different depending on which way the weapon is pointing. If the microphone is off to one side of the shooter, the split second burst of noise can different compared to when it is in front of or behind the gun.
Researchers can extract information from audio recordings of an incident - this shows a double gunshot
They have also found it is possible to pick up distinct echoes as the initial sound produced by a gunshot reverberates off nearby buildings, parked cars, trees and walls. After the initial blast, other smaller blips in the sound wave can be seen within a fraction of a second of the shot.
By calculating the time it takes for sound to travel to and from an obstacle, it is possible to calculate how far a shooter was away from it. It can even reveal if a shooter was firing from an elevated position from the muzzle blast reflecting off the ground.
"This means the orientation and location of shooters in some circumstances can be determined," according to Prof Maher, who revealed some of his findings to a symposium organised by the National Institute of Justice in New Orleans last month.
"In situations where more than one recording of the shooting scene is available, such as where two or more patrol cars equipped with dashboard audio or video recorders are present at an incident, the position of the vehicles can sometimes help triangulate the sounds."
It is a similar concept to the one used by companies like Raytheon, which produces sniper locators for the military that use the sound of a gunshot to locate the shooter. An array of microphones can be mounted on buildings, vehicles or helicopters to help spot shots.
Another firm, Shotspotter, uses a network of microphones across 90 cities in the US to help law enforcement detect gunshots.
The difference with these systems is that they detect gunfire in real time, while Professor Maher is trying piece together what happened days, weeks and even months after a shooting.
In the case described at the start of this article - a real shooting that occurred recently in Cincinnati, Ohio - the injured man claimed he had shot the other man dead in self defence after he was fired at first.
Military systems like Boomerang use gunshot sounds to pinpoint the locations of snipers
With the two gunshots occurring less than a second apart, it was impossible for witnesses to definitely say which of the shooters had fired first.
Using the security camera recordings of a local home owner living further down the street, however, Professor Maher was able to reveal two distinct gunshots in the audio.
Just a few milliseconds after the first gunshot, a distinct second blip appeared in the sound wave, just moments before the second shot was fired.
This blip was the echo of the first gunshot bouncing off a large building at a T-junction around 90 metres to the north. The echo from the second gunshot was far harder to spot in the sound-waves produced.
According to Professor Maher, this suggests the first shooter to fire their gun was the one pointing it to the north - the same man who claimed he had been firing in self-defence.
Professor Maher hopes the growing amount of technology capable of recording audio will make such analysis even easier in the future. The microphones on many older consumer devices are not designed to handle the abrupt, loud sounds of gunshots and it can overload them
But as more homes become equipped with home security cameras and "always-on" smart assistants like Amazon's Echo and Google Home, it may be possible to capture better audio of events.
It is something that other forensics experts believe could have a growing role in the future.
Mike Brookes, a reader in communications and signal processing at Imperial College London, said: ""The sort of question that such recordings can help with are in sorting out the timing and sequence of events that took place and in establishing the position from which a gun was fired."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39621766
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Sulley Muntari: Bologna's Godfred Donsah willing to strike to show solidarity - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Bologna and Ghana midfielder Godfred Donsah says he would go on strike to show solidarity with Sulley Muntari because racism is "killing the game".
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Bologna and Ghana midfielder Godfred Donsah says he is "100%" willing to go on strike to show solidarity with Sulley Muntari.
Pescara midfielder Muntari, 32, was given a one-game ban after he protested against racist abuse he received from the crowd at Cagliari on Sunday.
The Serie A disciplinary committee said not enough fans took part in the abuse to trigger action against Cagliari.
Donsah, 20, said racism is "killing the beauty of the game".
Former Ghana international Muntari was booked for dissent after asking the referee to stop Sunday's match in the wake of the abuse.
He then walked off the pitch in protest - for which officials confirmed he received a second yellow card.
Donsah, who played for Cagliari for two seasons, told BBC World Service Sport Muntari did the "right thing" by walking off and said he will wear an anti-racism message under his shirt.
"I think the authorities need to lift the ban on Sulley Muntari in order to boost the fight against racism in football," he added.
Garth Crooks, the ex-Tottenham striker and independent trustee of anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out, has called on players in the Italian league to strike this weekend unless Muntari's one-match suspension is withdrawn.
"I would do that 100% because racism is something that is killing the game," added Donsah.
"Some players cutting off from some matches in order to highlight the racial abuse that is going on in football is a great move."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39811190
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Dragons' Ed Jackson: 'I lost movement in my legs and power in my arms' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Newport Gwent Dragons forward Ed Jackson reveals he suffered a serious spinal injury diving into a swimming pool.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Newport Gwent Dragons forward Ed Jackson has revealed he suffered a serious spinal injury after diving into the shallow end of a swimming pool.
He was injured at a friend's barbecue on 8 April and remains in hospital.
Jackson, 28, underwent neck surgery for what his region at the time described as a "non-rugby related injury."
"After hitting my head on the bottom I realised I couldn't swim to the surface because I'd lost movement in my legs and power in my arms," Jackson said.
Jackson, who has also played for Bath, Wasps, London Welsh and Doncaster Knights, said his father - a retired GP - and a friend realised immediately something was wrong.
They pulled him to the surface and stabilised him until the ambulance arrived to take him to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
"After a number of MRI scans and X-Rays the Drs decided to operate at 2am to stabilise my neck as pressure was being put on my spinal cord," Jackson added in a Facebook post.
"In surgery they removed my shattered disc, relocated my vertebrae and fixed it in place with a metal plate.
"I woke up in ICU, luckily completely coherent, however no feeling below my neck other than limited movement in my right arm."
Bath-born Jackson has made 36 appearances for the Dragons since joining from Wasps in 2015 and signed a contract extension with the region in December.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39803888
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6 music legends we can't believe never toured the UK - BBC Music
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2017-05-04
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From Elvis to TLC, these are the global superstars that got big without having to burn up Britain's motorways
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Previously on BBC Music, we brought you 8 bands you probably didn't know are still touring. Now it's time to turn the spotlight on those you might have assumed had toured the UK at some point in their illustrious careers. A few have made appearances here in some capacity - a one-off gig or TV performance, or in a different guise - but they've never played their music out across the nation. And with regards to the top two on our list, great news - they'll be here soon.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince will be in the UK in August, playing what Newsbeat called a rare UK date in Blackpool as headliners of this August's Livewire. Ah, Summertime. And although the news seems to have come out of the blue, Will Smith has actually been talking about getting his old hip hop duo back on the road for some time. In October 2015, he was interviewed by Zane Lowe for Beats 1 and said: "Jeff and I actually have never done a full tour... This summer [2016] will be the first time we go out on a full world tour." That didn't happen, but the ambition he showed back then might well translate into more than just one UK show. Keep your eyes peeled on listings.
TLC dominated 90s RnB with hits like Creep, Waterfalls and No Scrubs, resulting in the trio becoming the most successful American girl group of all time (second only to the Spice Girls globally). Then, tragedy: Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes was killed in a car crash in 2002. Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas continued as a duo. TLC occasionally visit Britain - they were here for the 2012 MOBO Awards - but they've never played a UK gig. Until now. On 9 May, they're making their debut at Koko in London and this year will also see the release of their their first album since 2002's 3D. If you couldn't get a ticket for Koko, fear not - the group have hinted that this might be their last album, but they intend to keep TLC on the road. [WATCH] Zara Larsson covers TLC's No Scrubs in the 1Xtra Live Lounge
Elvis only played three gigs outside of the US, all of them in Canada. It's thought that the illegal alien status of his Dutch-born manager, Colonel Parker, was the primary reason he never performed outside North America, although documents that came to light in 2015, as reported by the Mirror, suggest plans were being made for The King to visit, and possibly play gigs in, Britain and Japan not long before his death in 1977. Elvis did set foot in the UK at least once - at Prestwick airport, South Ayrshire in 1960 on his way home from military service in Germany. In 2008, however, a strange story came to light that perhaps he'd spent the day driving around London observing landmarks with English singer Tommy Steele in 1958. Theatre producer Bill Kenwright revealed Steele's secret on Ken Bruce's Radio 2 show. At the time, Steele was appearing in a production of Dr Dolittle in Woking, Surrey.
We mean post-Beatles, although they gave up gigging in 1966 to concentrate on recording (and because they were tired of the screams). John Lennon never got a taste for touring again and he certainly didn't need to perform to promote his albums with Yoko and as a solo artist. There were infrequent shows and TV appearances - nearly all in North America - and live albums (Live Peace in Toronto 1969, which was recorded before The Beatles broke up, and the posthumous Live in New York City), but to the intense regret of all Lennon's fans, he never got a chance to get back in the bus and tour the UK, or anywhere else.
Lennon's Beatles bandmate George Harrison formed the Traveling Wilburys in 1988 with fellow big guns Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, and some travellers they were - they never toured at all! That Orbison died soon after their first album was released may have kept them indoors, but they continued as a four-piece and released second album, confusingly called Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, in 1990. "I don't think we ever considered it, really," Petty once said about touring, but Harrison was keen. In 1991, he said: "That would be something I'd like to experience. I've always played around in my own mind what a Wilburys tour could be."
"Harry Nilsson's position in popular music extended far beyond the chart placings of his many successful songs," began the Independent's obituary when the American singer-songwriter died in 1994. "For a core group of the elite and exceptional of the 60s and 70s, Nilsson was a teacher, almost a guru; they were enlightened by the approach of a pure artist of pop, a seminal songwriter." And yet Harry Nilsson never became as famous as those he inspired, which included all of The Beatles, because he seldom played live - he didn't enjoy it and suffered from stage fright. Easily the most famous footage of Nilsson performing was filmed by the BBC in 1971 at BBC Television Theatre in London (now Shepherd's Bush Empire), but there was no audience present, and Nilsson never embarked on a UK tour. That's no diss to us - he loved it here, and owned a flat in central London. Strangely, both The Who's Keith Moon and Mama Cass of The Mamas & the Papas died there.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/659c86d1-1365-4d61-9c7c-b25e13493218?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=nevertouredtheuk&intc_linkname=bbcmusic_ent_article1
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Formula 1: McLaren-Honda looking for gamer to become simulator driver - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Formula 1 team McLaren-Honda launch a virtual racing competition, with a job as a simulator driver for the team as the prize.
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Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
Formula 1 team McLaren-Honda have launched a virtual racing competition, with a job as a simulator driver with the team as the prize.
The winner will be offered a one-year contract to help improve the car, which is struggling with engine reliability.
Executive director Zak Brown says now is the right time to connect the worlds of racing and gaming in a new way.
"This is for real. We absolutely require additional support across our two simulator platforms," he said.
As well as racing across a variety of gaming platforms, McLaren said entrants must demonstrate "engineering know-how, teamwork and the necessary mental and physical strengths".
Gaming and F1 experts will select six international finalists, with a further four finalists chosen from qualifying events online.
Brown said the winner would "genuinely be a key part of the McLaren team".
The eight-time winners of the constructors' championship said the initiative would make them the first F1 team to enter the esports arena.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39811756
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Ajax 4-1 Lyon - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Ajax take control of their Europa League semi-final as they prove too strong for Lyon at the Amsterdam Arena.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Ajax moved to the brink of a first European final in 21 years by overwhelming Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
The Dutch side led when on-loan Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore glanced in a header, before Kasper Dolberg drove in a second after defensive confusion.
In an open affair, Amin Younes struck a third via a deflection after the break.
Mathieu Valbuena gave Lyon hope by curling in an away goal, but Traore added his second to give Ajax control.
Traore's finish from Hakim Ziyech's cross made the attacking midfielder the first player in Europa League history to assist three goals in a semi-final or final.
He was central to much of Ajax's good work in a match which was far from a cagey first-leg affair, with the sides sharing 37 shots in all.
Lyon, who have never played in a major European final, will now need to overturn a three-goal deficit in the second leg on 11 May if they are to face either Manchester United or Celta Vigo in the final in Stockholm 13 days later.
The French side were undone by an inswinging free-kick as Traore headed in the opener but their manager, Bruno Genesio, was visibly incensed by the defending for the hosts' second.
Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes lofted a poor clearance which was headed into the path of Dolberg, who raced through to finish with the outside of his foot.
Lopes brilliantly denied Younes when one-on-one before the break but could do little when the German's low drive deflected past him and just crossed the line on 49 minutes.
The crowd inside the Johan Cruyff Arena grew boisterous as their side closed in on a first European final since defeat in the European Cup to Juventus in 1996.
Valbuena's calm finish from 18 yards briefly halted the celebrations, only for Traore to restore the three-goal lead.
• None Attempt missed. Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Kenny Tete.
• None Attempt saved. Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt saved. Davy Klaassen (Ajax) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt blocked. Corentin Tolisso (Lyon) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jérémy Morel. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39743936
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Why catwalk Hijabs are upsetting some Muslim women - BBC News
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2017-05-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How multi national companies are using women in hijab to sell their products.
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BBC Trending
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A model wears a hijab as part of the Anniesa Hasibuan collection at New York Fashion Week 2016. Hasibuan is a Muslim designer whose models wear the Islamic headscarf, but now much bigger fashion brands are taking a similar approach.
There's a growing number of fashion brands and multinational companies showcasing women wearing an Islamic headscarf. But, for various reasons, some women from Muslim backgrounds aren't happy with the trend.
Dolce and Gabbana, H&M, Pepsi, Nike: just a few of the big brands putting women wearing a hijab - a traditional Islamic headscarf - front and centre in advertising campaigns.
The hijab has long been a contentious topic of conversation; feminists, religious conservatives, secularists are some of the online communities that have engaged in passionate debate about what it represents. But this time, online and using social media, it's some Muslim women who are questioning the use of such images.
Tasbeeh Harwees, a journalist, recently wrote in the online magazine Good about a recent viral Pepsi advert starring Kendall Jenner.
The advertisement was controversial because of its alleged trivialisation of street protests - but some Muslim women took issue for a different reason, the casting of a hijab-wearing woman who photographs the rally.
"A multi-billion dollar company was using the image of a Muslim woman to project an image of progressiveness that it may not necessarily live up to," Harwees tells BBC Trending radio.
Kendall Jenner was recently derided for taking part in the Pepsi commercial
Pepsi certainly isn't the only company highlighting women wearing the hijab. Nike recently announced a newly designed sports hijab which will hit shops in 2018. H&M used a first Muslim model in hijab in an advertisement while numerous brands and labels have launched "Ramadan collections" in the hope of attracting Muslim shoppers during the holy month.
"Images of Muslim women communicate to their consumer bases that these companies are 'progressive' or 'inclusive'," Harwees says. "Given the political climate, it has become socially expedient to align oneself with dissident communities, and for many people, that's what Muslim women have come to represent."
The rise in popularity of so-called hijabi fashion bloggers and make-up tutorials aimed at women who wear the hijab is also a heavily debated subject. They generate millions of views and shares but some women cite increasing pressure to appear fashionable as a reason to stop covering their heads.
They feel something sacred is being undermined by commercialism. Khadija Ahmed is the editor of a new online magazine called Another Lenz, but wrote a personal story of how she wore the hijab for two years, then took the decision to stop wearing it. She told BBC Trending she felt pressured by the images she saw in advertising and on social media.
"I don't feel that the brands are doing us a favour - we don't need the approval of the mainstream companies to approve of our identity," Ahmed says. "It's not doing anything for the Muslim community other than reducing the hijab - which I see as an act of worship - into something as simple as a fashion statement."
Then there are feminists who have quite a different interpretation of the headscarf, particularly in countries where it is mandatory. Masih Alinejad is an Iranian activist and journalist who started the Facebook campaign "My stealthy freedom", showing women in Iran removing their hijabs in defiance of the state.
"I think the media in the West want to normalise the hijab issue - they want to talk about minority Muslims in the West, but they totally forget there are millions of women in Muslim countries that are forced to wear the hijab," Alinejad says.
"If you want to talk about the hijab and introduce it as a sign of feminists or resistance you have to think about those girls and women who are forced to wear it," she says.
You can hear more on this story on BBC Trending on the BBC World Service
And for more Trending stories, download our podcast
So with the potential of a growing online backlash, why are brands keen to show off this particular religious garment?
Shelina Janmohamed is vice president of Ogilvy Noor, part of the giant advertising and marketing agency WPP. Ogilvy Noor was established to help market companies to Muslims around the world.
"At this moment in time there is a growing Muslim consumer segment," she says, "and they have lifestyle aspirations about how they want to live and that should be reflected just like any other lifestyle aspiration.
"It's a matter of commerce and the bottom line."
That approach does have some support among female Muslims. Hend Amry has been dubbed "the queen of Muslim Twitter" - and although it's a label she says she is slightly uncomfortable with, she does see an upside in the recent prominence of the hijab online.
Hend Amry has been dubbed "the queen of Muslim Twitter"
"There are Muslim women in hijab tweeting out these hilarious comebacks or sharing their wisdom or strong personalities," she says. "Just by doing that it's already wiping away stereotypes of the docile, oppressed, silenced Muslim woman, and that's really energising."
"I think there is only one change that needs to be made and that is Muslim women need to tell their own stories. Once that happens the narratives will take care of themselves," she says.
NEXT STORY: Fears over fake Bieber and Styles accounts
Law enforcement warns Trending about a growing number of social media accounts wrongly purporting to be teen idols like Harry Styles and Justin Bieber.READ MORE
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39743960
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Ronald Koeman: Everton boss vows to see out contract despite 'dreams' of Barcelona - BBC Sport
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2017-05-04
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Everton boss Ronald Koeman insists he will see out his three-year deal despite admitting he would love to manage Barcelona one day.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Everton boss Ronald Koeman insists he will see out his three-year deal despite admitting he would love to manage Barcelona one day.
He is in the first season of his contract at Goodison Park, having arrived from Southampton last summer.
The 54-year-old has told Catalan newspaper Sport that he dreams of coaching former club Barca.
But on Thursday, he said: "There's no chance that I will leave Everton before the end of my contract."
Koeman has been linked with a return to the Nou Camp after Luis Enrique said he was stepping down at the end of the season.
"I don't see me being the next manager," he added.
"I mentioned several times it's human ambition - for players, for managers. That doesn't change my position or contract with Everton. I'm really happy, I'm looking forward to next season."
In the newspaper interview, former defender Koeman - who spent six years at the Spanish club from 1989 to 1995 - said he was committed to getting Everton into the Champions League.
"I feel flattered and I like that they think about me," the Dutchman said.
"Everyone knows I'm Barca, they know my love for the club where I grew up as a player and a person.
"In my life as a professional coach, I have two dreams to fulfil. One, to coach my national team, Holland. I could have done it but my obligation to Everton prevented me. My other wish, my other dream, is to one day coach Barca. That's the truth."
Everton are seventh in the Premier League with three games remaining and look certain to miss out on a Champions League place this year.
"We have a very powerful and exciting project and we're going to strengthen as best as possible to try and reach the Champions League next season," Koeman said.
Asked what he would do if Barca called, he replied: "That's a hypothesis we cannot go into too much. In football, like in life, like in business, you can talk and discuss everything."
Meanwhile, Koeman said that striker Arouna Kone will leave the Toffees at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old Ivory Coast striker was signed from Wigan Athletic in 2013 after Everton met a £6m release cause.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39802501
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Sulley Muntari: Pescara midfielder who protested at racist abuse has ban overturned - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Sulley Muntari has had the one-match ban he received after protesting against racist abuse overturned, says world players' union Fifpro.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Sulley Muntari has had the one-match ban he received after protesting against racist abuse overturned.
The Pescara midfielder left the field after being booked in Sunday's Serie A game at Cagliari for complaining of being abused.
The Italian Football Federation said it had considered the "particular delicacy" of the case.
"I hope this is a turning point in Italy and shows what it means to stand up for your rights," said Muntari, 32.
"I feel that someone has finally listened to me. The last few days have been very hard for me. I have felt angry and isolated.
"I was being treated like a criminal. How could I be punished when I was the victim of racism?
"I hope my case can help so that other footballers do not suffer like me."
He later thanked all the people who had helped him overturn the ban.
Muntari was initially booked for dissent, then received a second yellow card for leaving the field.
Serie A, although agreeing that the abuse Muntari received was "deplorable", originally said that it could not impose sanctions on Cagliari because "approximately 10" supporters were involved - fewer than 1% of their supporters in the ground.
Ex-Tottenham striker Garth Crooks called on players in Italy to strike in protest against Muntari's punishment.
Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out said the ruling was "gutless", while Crooks said: "I'm calling on players in Italy, black and white, to make it absolutely clear to the federation in Italy that their position is unacceptable, and if the decision is not reversed then they withdraw their services until it is."
The 32-year-old former Portsmouth and Sunderland player will now be available for Pescara's game at home to Crotone on Sunday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39826269
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Local election results will give clue to national poll - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Local election results don't translate directly to the general election - but they are a significant barometer.
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UK Politics
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These elections are a complicated set of local contests, some old, some new, some electing an individual to a position of great power, most, individual races in wards that make up only a few streets, for councillors who then group together to run our towns and cities.
So as the results come in, from the early hours of Friday morning right through the day, what are we looking for?
First, these are important elections in their own right, and the results make a big difference to decisions that are made on our behalves all round the country.
Local authorities have significant powers over education, planning, local business rates for example, and the drift of government policy has been to give them more, not less.
Second, while you will hear my colleagues and me caution dozens of times in the next 24 hours that the results do not translate directly to the general election, they are a really significant barometer.
Pay attention, therefore, to how the Conservative and Labour fight shapes up in areas like Nottinghamshire, or Derbyshire.
Big Tory inroads will be a real worry for Labour as we hurtle towards the General Election.
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See results and latest news in your area
The loss of Glasgow council to the SNP and falling back in Wales too seem feasible - and would again add to Jeremy Corbyn's party's anxieties about June.
The elections will also be a test of whether the UKIP vote really does seem set to fade away now that we are heading for Brexit and, as it seems, Nigel Farage has taken his final bow.
And the Lib Dems are crossing their fingers for signs of a comeback.
To get their activists gingered up for the General Election they need signs of decent gains around the country.
The elections of new metro mayors will also be big headlines - particularly in Birmingham where the two big parties are both desperate to win.
It will be a long, and complicated day, and don't forget the caveats with which these results need to be coupled.
But the most important test of all will be whether Labour loses or gains seats in England, in parts of the country where the General Election will really be decided.
If they lose seats in England, that is a depressing indicator for any political party that wants to be seen to be on track for government
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39807110
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Wales local elections 2017 - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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All the latest news about Wales local elections 2017 from the BBC
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Cardiff council is another one to watch tonight. It's been controlled Labour since 2012, though the party's majority in the capital city has shrunk since then.
“There was a Labour majority here five years ago – the group here has been somewhat fractious to say the least since then.
“As with much of Wales, the twin questions are – how much ground are Labour losing and who are they losing it to?
“Labour is being challenged by different parties – the Tories, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru - in different parts of the city.
“This council may show us how effective those parties are in challenging Labour.”
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/3c6a4e42-9efd-4440-89df-647121c87452/wales-local-elections-2017
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BBL: Worcester 195-197 Newcastle (agg) - best five baskets - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Newcastle beat Worcester in overtime by two points on aggregate despite the biggest second-leg comeback in BBL play-off history, to reach the BBL play-off final.
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Newcastle beat Worcester in overtime by two points on aggregate despite the biggest second-leg comeback in BBL play-off history, to reach the BBL play-off final.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/basketball/39824290
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Scotland local elections 2017 - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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All the latest news about Scotland local elections 2017 from the BBC
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Sir Vince Cable: This is the beginning of the fightback
Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable says his party can celebrate "a great victory" in Richmond, where they gained control of the council from the Conservatives. He told reporters: "We are doing extremely well not just here but in northern cities like Hull, Sunderland and Liverpool. "This is the beginning of the fightback, whether it's against Labour or Conservatives. "We are reasserting ourselves as a major national force."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/8201e79d-41c0-48f1-b15c-d7043ac30517/scotland-local-elections-2017
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Sulley Muntari: Italy FA's anti-racism chief 'would go on strike' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Italian Football Federation anti-racism advisor Fiona May says she would strike in protest at the treatment of Sulley Muntari if she were a player.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Italian football's reputation around the world has been damaged by the Sulley Muntari affair, the Italian Football Federation's anti-racism advisor says.
Fiona May said the decision to uphold the Pescara midfielder's punishment for protesting against racism while taking no action against fans had "sent a bad message".
She added she would strike in protest if she were a player.
"I'm frustrated and shocked," May said.
BBC football pundit Garth Crooks - a trustee of anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out - has called for Italy's players to go on strike in protest at Muntari's treatment and the the lack of punishment for the fans responsible.
And the British-born former Olympic athlete May, who was hired by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in 2014, said: "If it was me, I would do that, if I wasn't part of the Federation, to say 'wait a minute, what's going on here?'
"I would say all players should consider it, to show solidarity," she told the BBC World Service World Football show - though she stressed she was speaking hypothetically.
Muntari was booked for complaining to the referee about abuse he received from some Cagliari fans and received a second yellow card for leaving the pitch without permission.
A Serie A disciplinary committee upheld his punishment but said it could not punish the fans as only "approximately 10" were involved in the racist chants - not enough to trigger action under its own guidelines.
May said the panel was wrong to follow its guidelines so strictly in this case and asked: "You can't put a number on how somebody can abuse a player on the pitch. How can somebody put a number on it?
"They shouldn't have said that. It doesn't matter if it is just was one person or 100 people in a stand, it doesn't matter, they shouldn't be doing racist chants full stop."
She was also critical of referee Daniele Minelli, and said he should have "stopped the game and listened".
May added: "Football is a global sport and I said to the FIGC president 'this is not helping the image of Italian football whatsoever'.
"My mother in England phoned me up and said 'what's going on over there?'"
Bologna and Ghana midfielder Godfred Donsah has said is "100%" willing to go on strike to show solidarity with ex-Portsmouth and Inter Milan man Muntari.
May admitted she did not think many would heed the call to strike but believes the outcry means there will "most definitely be a change".
However, she added: "This shows how racism is more profound than everybody thought, even though we have been doing a lot of educational work. It shows they have got a lot of work still to do."
You can listen to the full show by downloading the podcast here.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39812543
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Local elections: UKIP suffers big losses across England - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Leader Paul Nuttall is defiant despite losing 145 seats and being wiped out in several English councils.
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UK Politics
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UKIP has lost a swathe of council seats in England and Wales, leading to claims that the party is in crisis ahead of June's general election.
In total, UKIP lost 145 councillors and secured one seat.
It was wiped out in Lincolnshire, losing 13 seats, while all its nine representatives in Essex were defeated.
Independent MEP Steven Woolfe said UKIP's influence was now "at an end" but party leader Paul Nuttall said it was a "victim of its own success".
Mr Woolfe, who quit the party last year after an internal dispute, told BBC Radio 5 live that if the choice at next month's general election was between Conservative leader Theresa May and UKIP leader Paul Nuttall he would "have to vote for Theresa May".
Former MP Douglas Carswell and UKIP donor Arron Banks also cast doubt on the future of the party while elections expert John Curtice said UKIP, which won 3.8 million votes at the 2015 general election, had lost "everything they've been trying to defend".
It did win one seat from Labour on Lancashire County Council. Alan Hosker won in Padiham and Burnley West, a ward represented by the BNP between 2009 and 2013.
UKIP's losses come just weeks before a general election in which the Conservatives are hoping to squeeze their vote.
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In Lincolnshire, where Mr Nuttall is standing in the general election in Boston and Skegness, UKIP went from being the official opposition to having no seats at all as the Tories gained 23 seats.
It also lost eight seats in Hampshire, two seats on the Isle of Wight and eight in East Sussex. However, senior UKIP figures sought to put a brave face on the performance.
The "people's army" has deserted its leaders. After years building its strength in local government, UKIP seems to be collapsing as its former supporters abandon the party for the Conservatives.
UKIP lost all its seats in Hampshire, Essex and Lincolnshire. The east coast county was once a purple bastion and is where Paul Nuttall will try and win a parliamentary seat. The party's failure there encapsulates its demise.
Will UKIP do better at the general election? Possibly. But these results mirror its slide in recent opinion polls. It now has no MPs, and when Britain leaves the EU it will lose all its MEPs too. The future for UKIP looks bleak.
And of course it's easy to see why. The party's core purpose was to campaign for Britain to leave the EU. Now Brexit is happening, UKIP voters are walking away.
But what is significant is how they are turning to the Tories in huge numbers.
For more than a decade the eurosceptic right of British politics has been fractured. David Cameron saw UKIP eating into the Tory vote and promised an EU referendum to try to halt the march.
Labour too lost many of its traditional working-class supporters to UKIP. But by embracing Brexit and squaring up to Brussels, it's Theresa May's Conservative Party reaping the reward.
Mr Nuttall said it had been a "difficult night" but there was little the party could have done in the face of a "big national swing" to the Conservatives.
"Mrs May's public dispute with the EU in recent days - which led to her speaking about standing up to Brussels in an eve-of-poll statement in Downing Street - was particularly fortuitously timed for the Conservatives," he said.
"If the price of Britain leaving the EU is a Tory advance after taking up this patriotic cause, then it is a price UKIP is prepared to pay.
"We are the victims of our own success and now we pick ourselves up and go on to further success in the future."
UKIP's local government spokesman Peter Reeve maintained the party was still "leading the national agenda".
He told the BBC: "We are never happy when we are not winning seats - and today hasn't been good on that front.
"The reality is... the Conservative Party have painted themselves in UKIP colours, flying a UKIP flag, and the danger is they won't fulfil the promises and pledges they have now made.
"UKIP will have a resurgence when Theresa May's promises start to unravel."
Conservative defence secretary Michael Fallon said his party appeared to be picking up votes from UKIP and other parties, but he cautioned that this did not mean this would be case on 8 June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39815444
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England v Ireland: Eoin Morgan would be welcome back to Irish set-up says Ed Joyce - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Ireland's Ed Joyce says England captain Eoin Morgan would be welcomed back to play for the country of his birth.
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Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website
Ireland would welcome Eoin Morgan back "with open arms" should the England one-day international captain opt to play for his country of birth again.
Dublin-born Morgan, 30, began his international career with Ireland but made the England switch in 2009.
He will play his 136th ODI for England against Ireland in Bristol on Friday, before a repeat at Lord's on Sunday.
"He's probably our greatest ever cricketer, of course we'd welcome Eoin back," said Ireland batsman Ed Joyce.
Joyce, 38, also opted to leave the Irish set-up to play for England in 2006 before returning in 2011. He does not think Morgan will ever follow suit but is hopeful Cricket Ireland can develop a team that will mean players do not have to switch allegiance in order to play "elite-level cricket".
Before England's opening fixture of what will be their longest ever home international summer, Morgan has also dismissed the chances of a return, calling questions on the matter "very cheeky", before responding that there was "no chance".
Morgan, 30, has called on his England side to stay focused for the two Ireland fixtures, as they prepare for the Champions Trophy, which begins at The Oval on 1 June.
England lost in the final of the 50-over competition to India in 2013 and Morgan believes the event holds "huge potential" this time around, with the home side made bookmakers' favourites.
"We've marked it as the halfway stage to the 2019 World Cup," said Morgan. "We're not taking this game for granted. The strength of the side we're putting out reflects that, and it's a really important summer for us - so we're taking it as seriously as any other fixture."
Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler will miss the weekend warm-up games because of IPL commitments in India but will return for the tournament, where England meet Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand in Group A.
Durham pace bowler Mark Wood is likely to feature in Bristol as he looks to impress Morgan after having three ankle operations since last playing for England in September.
England are scheduled to play 21 matches across all forms of the game by 29 September - in addition to the Champions Trophy, which features the top eight teams in the ICC's ODI rankings.
Ireland currently sit 12th in the rankings - seven places below England - and have lost their last two matches, to Afghanistan.
Joyce says the game in Bristol is "huge" because Ireland have never played England in England before.
His side will also play New Zealand and Bangladesh twice each by 21 May and, across the six games, Joyce expects a return to the quality of play that almost saw his side qualify from their pool at the 2015 World Cup.
"It's no secret that England are huge favourites," said Joyce. "We have had a tough 18 months, there's no getting away from that. The last World Cup we played well, but since then we have had a change to the team, three or four important guys have retired and it's hard to replace them straight away with a small talent pool."
Ireland have been boosted by the inclusion of Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien - the hero of Ireland's 2011 World Cup win over England - in the squad, as the pair continue to recover from finger and hamstring problems respectively.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39809956
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Geraint Thomas: Giro d'Italia 'uncharted territory' for Team Sky rider - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas will enter "uncharted territory" in the Giro d'Italia, which starts on Friday in Sardinia.
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Last updated on .From the section Wales
Geraint Thomas will venture into "uncharted territory" when he leads Team Sky in a Grand Tour for the first time at the Giro d'Italia.
Thomas will share the leadership with Mikel Landa, having previously played a supporting role for his team-mates.
The 100th edition of the Giro, one of cycling's three Grand Tours - alongside the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana - starts in Sardinia on Friday.
"It's one of the biggest challenges of my career," said Briton Thomas, 30.
"I've got a massive few weeks in front of me. I'm just looking forward to racing now. It feels like we've been talking about it forever.
"It's uncharted territory really. I've always been helping other guys so if I do blow up now it doesn't really matter. Hopefully it all goes well."
This year's Giro will comprise a gruelling, 21-stage route, starting in Alghero, Sardinia on Friday and ending in Milan on Sunday, 28 May.
It will be Welshman Thomas' third appearance at the Giro and his 11th Grand Tour start, though his previous outings have been as a support rider for the likes of British three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.
Thomas has shone in his role as 'super domestique' in cycling's showpiece events, while he has impressed as a leader in other races, winning the Tour of the Alps in April and Paris-Nice last year.
"Preparations have gone really well. I've got three wins this year which is certainly nice," the Cardiff-born rider told BBC Wales Sport.
"Being a support rider and a leader are two totally different things. I'm just relishing that opportunity and trying to make the most of it.
"It's been a long build-up and something I've been thinking about for a long time, so it will be good to get racing."
If he is to claim the winner's Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) in Italy, Thomas must overcome some formidable competition.
The favourite is Nairo Quintana, who won convincingly when he last appeared at the Giro in 2014.
A former Vuelta champion and runner-up at the Tour de France, the 27-year-old Colombian is a renowned climber who is expected to be well suited to a demanding Giro route.
However, the Movistar rider might be mindful of over-exerting himself as he keeps one eye on preparations for the Tour, which starts in July.
Other leading candidates include defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, one of only six cyclists to have won all three of the Grand Tours.
The 32-year-old Italian, nicknamed 'The Shark', won in dramatic circumstances last year as he capitalised on Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk's late crash to clinch his third Giro title.
"Nibali and Quintana have won this race before, they've got all that experience and, for sure, they're the favourites," said Thomas.
"Myself and Landa, we have a chance - but we're not at that level, I don't think."
Cycling teams tend to choose one rider to spearhead their Grand Tour campaigns, but Thomas will share his new role with Spaniard Landa.
The 27-year-old finished third at the Giro in 2015 while riding for Astana and Thomas believes their styles will be well suited to each other.
"He's obviously a great climber. He's been third in this race before, he's got the experience, he's a great athlete and he'll certainly give us another card to play," Thomas added.
"We can ride off each other. We get on well and I think it can work well. As we get into that last week there will certainly be gaps and one will be ahead of the other.
"Depending on how we're both feeling, I'd happily help him and vice versa. We'll see how it goes."
'No point putting extra stress on it'
Thomas has endured a difficult build-up to the Giro, following the death of his aunt Christine after a battle with cancer last week.
The double Olympic team pursuit champion was also shocked by the death of Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi in April, after the 37-year-old was involved in a collision with a van during a training ride.
Scarponi, a former Giro champion, had finished fourth at the Tour of the Alps, which Thomas won earlier that month.
Asked if his result at the Giro could define his career as a road cyclist, Thomas played down its significance given recent events.
"I don't think it would be a step backwards whatever happens. It's going to be a good challenge and, if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out," he said.
"What we've seen lately - what happened with Scarponi and I lost my auntie last week - it puts everything into perspective.
"It's a bike race, there's no point putting extra stress on it. At the end of the day, it's not the end of the world. It's just a great opportunity."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/39812237
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Election 2017: English mayoral candidates - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Check candidates running in six regions of England which are holding mayoral elections in 2017.
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UK Politics
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On 4 May 2017 six regions of England held elections for newly created combined authority mayors.
The new mayors' remits will cover multiple local authorities, in mostly urban areas.
Their main responsibility will be to decide their region's economic strategy, and many will have powers covering other areas such as transport and housing. However, their exact powers will vary according to the terms of the agreements each region has made with the government.
In addition, Doncaster and North Tyneside councils are holding elections for directly-elected mayors. The mayors act as executive leaders of these local authorities.
You can check who is running for election in each area below. Candidates are listed alphabetically by surname.
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridge District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Peterborough City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan
Paul Breen - Get the Coppers off the Jury
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral and Halton
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-On-Tees.
Local authorities included in the mayoral region: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall
Doncaster and North Tyneside councils are holding elections for directly-elected mayors. The mayors act as executive leaders of these local authorities.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38236484
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Tory Tim Bowles elected West of England mayor - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Tim Bowles becomes first metro mayor for the West, beating Labour candidate in second round of voting.
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Bristol
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Conservative mayor Tim Bowles speaks of his pride in being elected.
Conservative Tim Bowles has been elected as the first West of England combined authority mayor.
Mr Bowles beat Labour candidate Lesley Ann Mansell after second preference votes were counted.
Neither candidate reached the required 50% threshold to secure an initial victory, leading to second choice votes being counted from eliminated candidates.
Turnout was only 29.7%, with 199,519 voting out of a possible 671,280.
Mr Bowles secured a total of 70,300 votes following the second preference count, compared to Ms Mansell's 65,923.
He said: "From a personal perspective, I am honoured to be elected the first West of England regional mayor.
"I really look forward to working on behalf of everybody in the region to make the improvements we have all recognised throughout all of the campaign ... and to make the real differences for everybody throughout the region."
Labour candidate Lesley Ann Mansell said she helped to bring a message of hope to voters
The metro mayor role covers the Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset council areas.
The £62,000 salaried post is part of government efforts to devolve more power to the regions over key issues such as planning and roads.
As part of the devolution deal, the West of England Combined Authority will be given £1bn over 30 years to help plan new homes, regional transport and business growth.
Ms Mansell said: "We turned up the vote in the Labour constituencies and we have taken Labour's message of hope deep into Conservative constituencies and won 43,000 [first preference] votes.
"We've done that by talking to voters on the doorstep, addressing issues and pushing for a fairer and more just society."
While councillors are elected by a simple majority, the combined authority mayors are being chosen under the supplementary voting system - giving people a first and second choice.
It means that if no candidate has won at least 50% of the vote, the top two candidates go to a second round with the second choice votes counted of everyone whose first choice was eliminated.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-39785815
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UKIP fails to win Essex seat as Tories strengthen hold - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Conservatives take an extra 14 seats to increase hold on Essex County Council.
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Essex
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Former UKIP member Kerry Smith retained his seat on Essex County Council as an Independent
UKIP has been wiped off the county map in Essex with the loss of nine seats in Thursday's election.
The party was the biggest loser as the Conservatives took 56 of 75 seats to retain overall control - an increase of 14 compared to the last election in 2013.
Labour lost three seats and the Liberal Democrats two, while Independent candidates gained two seats.
UKIP's Mark Ellis said his party was "not a spent force".
Mr Ellis, who lost his Laindon Park and Fryerns seat, added: "People are listening to Theresa May - and she is pretty UKIP in my opinion - and unfortunately people are thinking UKIP is a spent force, which we are not.
The Conservatives now hold 56 seats, the Liberal Democrats seven and Labour six. The Canvey Island Independent Party holds two seats, Independents two, Green one and Independent Loughton Residents one.
Michael Garnett was one of the Conservatives to take a Labour seat in Harlow
UKIP's Mark Ellis, who lost his Laindon Park and Fryerns said his party was "not a spent force".
The Conservatives took all four seats in Harlow, including two from Labour.
Labour's Mike Danvers, who lost Harlow North to Tory Michael Garnett, was deputy leader of the Labour group on the county council.
He said he believed he lost because UKIP had not fielded a candidate in the division.
He said: "UKIP people voted Tory. The Tory vote has zoomed up and overtaken me."
Dick Madden, a Conservative cabinet member on the county council who held his Moulsham seat, said: "We did expect to make gains and we hoped we would be increasing our seats."
Mike Mackrory, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the county council, said: "Our number one priority was holding the seats we already had.
"We have managed to do that and increased our majorities on some seats."
The Conservatives have just smashed the Essex county council elections. June's general election looks like a great chance for the Tories to take all 18 seats in Essex.
UKIP came second four years ago now they don't have a single county councillor - their vote collapsed, including in Clacton, where the party won their only Westminster seat.
Labour were wiped out in Harlow in Thursday's local elections and the town is one of their best chances of getting an MP.
A Colchester comeback for the Lib Dems is possible, with former MP Sir Bob Russell standing, but they went backwards Thursday in their old backyard.
The first result in Essex came in shortly after midnight when Kerry Smith, who quit UKIP in 2014, won Basildon Westley Heights with a majority of more than 2,000.
He said the result was a reflection of his "hard work".
John Jowers, the Conservative vice chairman of the county council who held his seat, said the council had "lost some good guys" with the UKIP seat losses.
He said: "You really do need to work together and cooperate in local government - it is not like the green benches in parliament.
"It is often the case that when things get politicized, they go wrong."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-39813753
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Why we still choose to work in our 90s - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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As Prince Philip retires from public duties, we speak to other nonagenarians who still choose to work.
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UK
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"Age is nothing but a number," the saying goes, and Prince Philip has shown you can still carry on working into your 90s.
The Duke of Edinburgh has decided to stand down from public engagements at the age of 95, with the full support of the Queen.
He carried out 110 days of engagements in 2016, making him the fifth busiest member of the Royal Family - despite his age.
Here other nonagenarians reveal why they are still working and whether they plan on reaching Prince Philip's milestone.
Ella Towell, 90, works two days a week at the Claire House Children's Hospice charity shop in Mold, north Wales.
Her previous jobs included working in an engineering firm, a canteen and as a factory supervisor.
Ella Towell says it is not difficult to get up for work as she has never needed much sleep
"I decided to start volunteering because I had a look around the Claire House Children's Hospice and was impressed with the nursing staff and I thought, 'Gosh, I'd like to help.'
"I spoke to the manageress of the shop in Buckley and she said, 'Get here now and get your coat off.' I worked every day there for six years.
"My family started grumbling at me that I was always in the shop and wanted to take me out so I decided to retire at 86. I had only stopped two weeks when the area manageress asked me to do two days a week in the Mold shop so I did.
"I still want to do it because of when I went to the hospice. The nurses and volunteers there should have Victoria Crosses.
"It's not difficult getting up and getting into the shop. I'm downstairs before five o'clock in the morning. I don't go to bed early but I've never needed that much sleep.
"I'm still active. My usual routine is get up, first big mug of tea with a tablespoon of whisky in it. I've done it for years and I haven't got arthritis.
"I serve customers behind the counter and I'm on the till at the shop. People aren't surprised I'm working at 90, they know what I'm like.
"I don't have any plans to give it up for good. I still feel I'm able to help the community at large, especially places like Claire House.
"Children's welfare interests me. If someone comes into the shop with a kiddy in a pushchair, I'm there pulling faces.
"If I can carry on until 95 I will do. You can never predict what your health will be like, but I hope so."
She set up the shop with her late husband, Les, 36 years ago.
Irene Astbury, with members of her family, works in a pet shop set up with her late husband
"We opened the shop on 9 March 1981 and took £9 that day. We thought, 'What have we let ourselves in for?' as it was slow to begin with.
"I've been coming to the shop for the last 36 years and don't know any different. It's not hard working 40 hours a week as it's what I know.
"People can't believe and are quite surprised when they hear I'm 90.
"I still serve a few customers and will answer the phone occasionally.
"I enjoy making everyone a cup of tea and toast at brew time and my three great-grandchildren, Evie (six), Isabelle (three) and Harry (one), come to the shop most days. I enjoy seeing them and playing 'shops' with the older two girls.
"I still enjoy working, even at my age. I enjoy meeting people and customers and talking to them as I'm interested in what they're all up to.
"I don't have any plans at all to retire. As long as my legs will still bring me to the shop I have no plans to stop working.
"My gran was 102 when she died so I have a long way to go yet.
"The secret to a long and active life is to keep going, enjoy it, along with good health.
"I can still see myself working up until the age of 95 just like Prince Philip did. Longer if I can."
Cliff Parker, 90, works for Focus Education, a company founded by his daughter, Linda, which provides educational support to primary schools and academies, in Saddleworth, Oldham.
He served in the army during the 1940s and went on to become a grocer, landlord and worked for Oldham Council.
Cliff Parker says he chooses to work because he does not want to sit at home and do nothing
"I choose to still work at the age 90 because it gives me something to get up for in the morning.
"I bind educational books in the mornings, and in the afternoon I deliver books and parcels to schools. I'm the errand boy in the afternoons.
"I like being busy and being around people, no-one can bind books as good as me.
"It's not difficult to get up for every morning for work. I am always up early.
"I could start later in a morning if I wanted to do, but I enjoy going to work and joining in with the staff and I love being with company.
"I don't want to retire, working is what keeps me going. I don't want to sit at home and do nothing.
"People can't believe I am still working at my age, they say it's brilliant.
"I love going to work every morning and it gives me a purpose in life.
"I can definitely see myself working until the age of 95. Unless I pop my clogs first."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39806153
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England v Ireland: Hosts win first one-day international in Bristol - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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England begin their Champions Trophy preparations with an emphatic ODI win in their first home international against Ireland.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England began their Champions Trophy preparations with an emphatic seven-wicket one-day win in their first home international match against Ireland.
The tourists fell apart after a good start, losing their last eight wickets for 45 as Adil Rashid's 5-27 helped dismiss them for 126.
England's reply began badly as Jason Roy was caught without scoring.
But a typically brutal 55 from Alex Hales and an unbeaten 49 from Joe Root saw England home with 30 overs left.
The second and final ODI of the series is at Lord's on Sunday at 11:00 BST.
England, who have never won a major 50-over competition, are likely to start June's Champions Trophy on home soil with the unfamiliar status of favourites following their rapid improvement in the format since the 2015 World Cup.
Most of the praise for Eoin Morgan's side has focused on their brutal scoring, but it was their ruthlessness with the ball that brought them victory here.
On a benign track at a windy Bristol, it initially appeared to have been a good toss for Ireland to win, as the aggressive Paul Stirling and efficient Ed Joyce added a quick-fire 40 for the opening wicket.
But England, without IPL trio Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler, halted their progress with the dismissal of both openers in quick succession. Mark Wood, playing his first ODI since September after ankle surgery, bowled Stirling before David Willey trapped Joyce lbw.
From that platform, the home side spun the game decisively in their favour, with Rashid the star turn.
That was his first five-for in ODIs and the second-best figures by an English spinner in the format, behind only the 5-20 taken by Vic Marks against New Zealand in Wellington in 1984.
Combining superbly with fellow Yorkshire player and spinner Root (2-9), Rashid demonstrated control and variation to bamboozle Ireland, who lost their last eight wickets for just 45 runs.
How the last eight wickets fell
• None 81-3 - Andrew Balbirnie is caught behind by Sam Billings off Jake Ball
• None 90-4 - Out-of-nick Ireland captain William Porterfield's innings of 13 runs from 45 balls ends as he lofts a catch to Liam Plunkett at mid-off off Root
• None 93-5 - Gary Wilson is trapped lbw by a sliding delivery to become Rashid's first victim
• None 104-6 - Kevin O'Brien is also out lbw as he is undone by a Rashid googly
• None 108-7 - Rashid makes it two wickets in the 27th over by bowling Stuart Thompson
• None 109-8 - George Dockrell goes without scoring, lbw to Root
• None 121-9 - Niall O'Brien makes it a hat-trick of lbws for Rashid
• None 126-10 - Tim Murtagh - the only one of Ireland's last six to reach double figures - picks out Hales at long-on to give Rashid his five-for
The greatest moment in Ireland's cricket history came at the expense of England in the group stages at the 2011 World Cup, when Kevin O'Brien's heroics helped them knock off 327 with five balls to spare.
Off the pitch, Irish cricket has improved significantly in the past six years - as they continue their pursuit of Test status - but on the pitch they remain reliant on the players who helped them achieve that victory in Bangalore.
Seven of the team that played in that win - including the same top six - also featured at Bristol, serving as a reminder of how far they have to go before they can graduate from an associate nation.
They had their moments - most notably Stirling's early blitz and the bowling of Peter Chase, who took all three of the England wickets to fall.
But they were ultimately outclassed by an England side who are a very different animal to two years ago, let alone six.
The chase was a formality, taking on the feel of a practice match at times, with Hales nonchalantly striking 10 fours during an innings that was ended by a catch from Porterfield, and Root cruising during his unbeaten 49.
Morgan will have been disappointed to score just 10 against his native country before he was caught by Kevin O'Brien, but will be pleased with his side's display.
Rashid on top of his game - what they said...
England captain Eoin Morgan, speaking on Test Match Special: "Putting in a clinical performance is as good as we can ask for as a side. It shows how ruthless we need to be going forward."
Asked if Rashid's bowling was the best he has produced, Morgan said: "Yes. He had a tough winter with some quality opposition and to come back from that to show calmness and composure, all credit to him."
On Mark Wood: "Any first game back it's important to just get some overs under your belt. It's important to get some momentum building towards the Champions Trophy."
Ireland captain William Porterfield, speaking on Sky Sports: "It wasn't the seamers that damaged us, it was the spin. We could have played that a lot better.
"When it comes to this stage, when games come thick and fast, it's more mentally that anything. You have to put yourself back on track mentally.
"Mark Wood is a quality bowler. From their point of view it's good to have those lads back fit.
"We've had a lot of support here today and there'll be that again at Lord's - we've got to put a performance in for them more than anything."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39818640
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Celta Vigo 0-1 Manchester United - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Marcus Rashford's superb free-kick gives Manchester United control of their Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Marcus Rashford's superb free-kick gave Manchester United control of their Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo.
The 19-year-old striker's curling effort not only gave United the lead, but also a precious away goal going into next Thursday's second leg at Old Trafford.
With United outside the Premier League's top four - a point behind Manchester City and four off third-placed Liverpool - the Europa League perhaps represents their best opportunity of earning a place in next season's Champions League.
They looked to have spurned their best chances in northern Spain - three times they were denied in the first half by home goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez.
As Celta improved, United's wastefulness seemed increasingly important, only for Rashford to produce the sort of quality needed to beat the excellent Alvarez.
Returning home with an advantage, Jose Mourinho's side will be strong favourites to progress to face Ajax or Lyon in Stockholm on 24 May in the final of a competition they have never won.
• None Nevin: 'Man Utd much better than Celta Vigo' - listen to 5 live Football Daily
Rashford was one of the three United players thwarted by Alvarez in a first period the visitors had the better of.
His arcing strike was heading for the top corner before Alvarez leapt to his left, with the Spaniard also stopping a surging Henrikh Mkhitaryan and diving to push away a Jesse Lingard prod from eight yards out.
With United seeing less of the ball in the second period, Rashford - who scored the extra-time winner in the quarter-final against Anderlecht - stood over a free-kick to the right of the Celta penalty area.
After Daley Blind's decoy run, the England international whipped the ball over the wall, past the outstretched left hand of Alvarez and just inside the far post.
No cause for Celta concern
By then, Celta could have been out of the tie, having been kept on level terms by the brilliance of their goalkeeper.
In their first European semi-final, the hosts did not look to be any better than their current domestic position - 11th in La Liga and on the back of three successive defeats. United should have every confidence of progressing from their first European semi in six years.
Celta did have chances - both Daniel Wass and former Liverpool player Iago Aspas headed wide when they should have done better, while Pione Sisto's deflected shot forced Sergio Romero to save in the second half.
But United's front three of Rashford, Lingard and Mkhitaryan were more lively, while Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini dominated midfield.
This was United's 58th game of a season that promises six more matches if they make it to Stockholm.
When Eric Bailly limped off in the draw against Swansea on Sunday, Mourinho's squad looked to be further stretched, especially at the back. Luke Shaw had already been injured in that game, while Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo were on the sidelines.
However, Bailly was fit enough to start in Spain, alongside midfielder Pogba, who has recovered from a muscle strain.
Centre-back Smalling, who had not played for United since 19 March because of a knee injury, was on the bench.
Still, it was not all positive news for Mourinho. Ashley Young, himself a substitute, lasted only 11 minutes before suffering what appeared to a hamstring problem, paving the way for Smalling's return.
'Let's hope Old Trafford wants us to win'
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: "I am very pleased with the performance but not with the result. At half-time we should have had three - or at least two goals.
"We played well enough to have the tie closed, but we have to go and play at Old Trafford.
"Rashford is a 19-year-old kid who is in love with football. He stays after training for half an hour to practise taking free-kicks and waits for the opportunity.
"We tried to win the match but we missed chances. We played well, we were compact against a team who are difficult to play against.
"Let's hope Old Trafford wants us to win because when Old Trafford wants it, we win."
United's hectic schedule continues with a Premier League trip to Arsenal at 16:00 BST on Sunday, while Celta have a domestic date at Malaga on the same day.
The return leg is at Old Trafford next Thursday (20:05 BST kick-off).
• None Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Substitution, Manchester United. Chris Smalling replaces Ashley Young because of an injury.
• None Delay over. They are ready to continue.
• None Delay in match Ashley Young (Manchester United) because of an injury.
• None Attempt missed. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from more than 40 yards on the left wing is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
• None Substitution, Manchester United. Anthony Martial replaces Marcus Rashford because of an injury. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39743943
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South Korea's 'life or death' presidential election - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Stephen Evans on how South Korea's presidential election could change its policy towards Pyongyang.
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Asia
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Moon Jae-in is the front-runner in the South Korean presidential election
In a room in the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday, a group of defectors from North Korea made an impassioned plea to voters: Don't elect the man who has led the opinion polls.
The fugitives from the North said the front-runner, Moon Jae-in, might put their lives at risk if he won the only true opinion poll - the actual election.
The defectors' argument was that Mr Moon was closely involved in a previous left-of-centre government in Seoul which had closer ties with Pyongyang under what was known as the Sunshine Policy.
In a joint statement, the defectors said they had "escaped the slave-like life" under the North Korean regime, and that the re-establishment of more contact with North Korea might mean a return of freer movement between the two halves of the peninsula - with dire consequences for them.
"If candidate Moon Jae-in is elected," their statement said, "a team of North Korean assassins could frequently come to South Korea to kidnap or murder defectors. This poses a life-threatening risk to us."
Their fears show that the election on 9 May is about much more than the mundane matters of economic policy which often dominate elections in democratic countries.
In South Korea, elections are about bread and butter, but also about life and death, peace and war. There is a bigger, global picture with consequences far beyond the divided peninsula.
For many South Koreans, the economy remains the dominant issue but, outside the country, relations - or the lack of them - with Pyongyang dominate, particularly when the North Korean nuclear programme is advanced and there's a new brash president in the White House in Washington DC.
Not that Mr Moon says he wants closer ties with Pyongyang.
Rather, he is emphasising close ties with Washington, saying recently: "I believe President [Donald] Trump is more reasonable than he is generally perceived.
"President Trump uses strong rhetoric towards North Korea but, during the election campaign, he also said he could talk over a burger with Kim Jong-un. I am for that kind of pragmatic approach to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue."
Early voting for the election began this week
A president Moon would be unlikely to open direct talks with Kim Jong-un, but he would want a strong and equal role in policy rather than letting Washington call the shots.
He is more likely to favour contact with North Korea rather than the severing of relations undertaken by the previous president of South Korea.
His predecessor Park Geun-hye, for example, closed an industrial complex just inside North Korea where South Korean firms employed workers from the North. A president Moon might re-open it.
Professor John Delury of the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul told the BBC: "We know pretty clearly what the presumed front-runner, Moon Jae-in, would do.
"He's supported by people who think the South has to go up there to Pyongyang and actively work on improving inter-Korean relations. If it's Moon who wins this election, South Korea really becomes a new player and could be much more forcefully a part of whatever problem or solution we see on North Korea."
The second in the race is harder to read.
Ahn Cheol-soo is the candidate from the People's Party
Ahn Cheol-soo is likely to be more conciliatory towards Pyongyang than the previous president, though he has been making tougher statements recently, perhaps to woo conservatives.
Either would pose a dilemma for Washington, according to Prof Delury, because they both want to improve the relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang: "And that, of course, flies completely in the face of what the United States is pushing right now which is more sanctions and more pressure and getting China to cut off North Korea.
"So potentially there's a train-wreck here where you've got the Trump administration saying 'pressure, pressure, pressure' on North Korea and suddenly you have a new South Korean president saying 'that's not going to solve the problem - we need to talk to those guys, we need to improve the relationship'."
Despite that, neither candidate - and certainly not the main conservative candidate, Hong Joon-pyo - seems likely to tell the United States to pack up its anti-missile system and take it home.
Thaad, as the system is called, is newly installed on a golf course in the south of the country. Mr Moon has voiced his opposition but whether he would remove it as president is uncertain.
There is opposition to it, both from local people who feel they would be in the line of fire if North Korea attacked the system, and from people on the left who oppose the current hard line against Pyongyang.
There is a generational divide in South Korean politics. Younger people lack the memory of war - not surprisingly because fighting in the Korean War ended in 1953 - and they feel economic insecurity.
Lee Chae-rin, a student at Yonsei University, told the BBC: "Even though foreigners always ask if we feel the threat of North Korea, the younger generation do not really that much compared with the older generation."
For them economic issues are strong. One of the classmates, Kim Tae-yeon, said: "South Korea has become much richer today but the experience of insecurity is different from that of our grandparents.
"Before, it was a problem of whether they could eat, and that was solved by economic growth. But now we're in a state of economic stagnation and that makes us much more insecure.
"Our problem is not whether we can eat but whether we would lose our function in this society because we cannot find a job."
There is some anger, particularly when the country's former president and the head of Samsung are facing trial for alleged corruption.
Former president Park Geun-hye was impeached over a corruption scandal
One student, Song Seung-hyun, said: "People just want someone who would kick over the table like Trump did in Washington. A lot of these politicians and business elites were in it for themselves.
"It comes down to the youth - our generation - want someone who would kick over the table."
That sentiment may or may not be prevalent in any generation. The winner of the election is not likely to "kick over the table".
They may well, though, want a thawing of relations with Pyongyang.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39801447
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Local elections 2017: Tory smiles and Labour grimaces - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Early results suggest the Conservatives have done well, but it's bad news for Labour and UKIP.
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UK Politics
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Conservatives have made gains across England and Wales
It's early, early days. But so far there will be grimaces at Labour HQ, beaming smiles at the Tory's CCHQ, and a slightly frazzled atmosphere at Lib Dem homes this morning - and don't be surprised if you see Nigel Farage at his favourite boozer by lunchtime.
There are lots and lots of results still to come in.
But with a general election only a month away, this barometer of real votes looks grim for the Labour Party.
Senior sources say that it is national share that will matter, and they want to compare it with the election in 2015.
But it is more accurate to look at the last time these seats were fought, which was in 2013.
In comparison with that, Labour is so far falling back badly, despite holding on in some parts of Wales.
Stephen Kinnock said the picture was 'disastrous' for Labour
And we've just seen the first big blast at the Labour leadership from Stephen Kinnock, calling the picture "disastrous", and urging voters to do what I expect we'll hear other candidates do repeatedly in the next few weeks - making a pitch for a strong opposition, rather than Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.
The victims in most pain so far from voters' decisions yesterday are UKIP.
Their vote has been collapsing, with, it seems, swathes switching straight over to the Tories.
That is a political trick that Theresa May wants to repeat around the country in a few weeks' time.
A senior Labour figure has just described the party's local election results as "catastrophic".
As the counts continue, this set of results is proving to be very disappointing for Jeremy Corbyn's party.
Officially the party is of course not as admitting as much, with sources suggesting in fact the result are not as bad as they had expected.
Yet another senior Labour politician, not one of Corbyn's prominent critics says, this is the "third time in a row we have gone backwards. There is no metric under which these results are not very bad."
I can't say enough that we need to be cautious about translating the results directly across to the General Election next month.
Yet they are a useful barometer of real votes, that set a depressing backdrop for Labour's prospects in June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39817810
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Jose Mourinho: Man Utd boss to rest players for Arsenal game - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he will rest players for Sunday's Premier League trip to Arsenal.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he will rest players for Sunday's Premier League trip to Arsenal.
United's 1-0 Europa League semi-final first-leg win at Celta Vigo on Thursday was their 10th game since 1 April.
With Mourinho's side lying fifth in the Premier League, the Europa League could represent their best chance of reaching next season's Champions League.
"The players that have accumulated lots of minutes are not going to play next weekend," said Mourinho.
Marcus Rashford's free-kick gave United victory in Spain, along with an away goal to take back to Old Trafford for next Thursday's second leg.
• None Nevin: 'Man Utd much better than Celta Vigo' - listen to 5 live Football Daily
If United reach the final in Stockholm on 24 May, it will be their 64th game of the season.
Their stretched squad received a boost in Spain, with defender Chris Smalling, who has been out since March with a knee injury, returning to the bench.
Defender Eric Bailly (ankle) and midfielder Paul Pogba (muscle strain) were also fit enough to start.
But substitute Ashley Young lasted only 11 minutes before having to be replaced with what looked like a hamstring injury.
Rashford also had to be substituted, but Mourinho said that was a result of a problem he carried into the game.
By that time, the 19-year-old had made the telling contribution, curling a free-kick inside the far post from the right of the Celta penalty area.
"He works every day," said Mourinho of the England international. "He loves it. Sometimes he stays behind after training to practise free-kicks.
"It was a great free-kick. The ball was moving really fast. The goalkeeper made a little movement but it was impossible to save."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39813573
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Is live streaming your life good business or dangerous? - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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Live streaming is becoming big business for 'creators' and tech firms alike. But is it dangerous?
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Business
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Live streaming is becoming big business, with millions of people around the world broadcasting the minutiae of their daily lives in real time to adoring fans - and making small fortunes in the process. But is it safe?
Samantha Firth, a 21-year-old nanny living in Chicago, walks to the subway with her friend. So far, so ordinary.
But she is simultaneously broadcasting her 15-minute journey live via her mobile to thousands of avid followers.
"You guys are lit," she says excitedly as she looks at the stream of rolling messages and emojis that are popping up on her screen from her fans.
"I love you... you guys are the best," she exclaims, before heading onto the subway and zooming the camera in on a spot on her forehead.
It used to be that only film stars would be famous, but thanks to reality TV, YouTube and bloggers, anyone can have their "fifteen minutes" of fame, as Andy Warhol predicted.
The proliferation of live broadcasting tools, pioneered by Meerkat several years ago and followed by the likes of Periscope, Facebook, YouTube and others, has given many young people the chance to broadcast every aspect of their lives - whether they're brushing their hair in their bedroom or out dancing with friends.
In China alone, the entertainment live streaming market is valued at £5bn, according to Credit Suisse.
And in the US, 63% of 18-34 year-olds are watching live content and 42% creating it, finds a study by UBS Evidence Lab.
But for many like Ms Firth, this isn't just narcissistic fun, it's a cash cow.
She joined Live.me - owned by China's Cheetah Mobile - eight months ago after moving from Sydney to Chicago. The live-in nanny has since become one of the most popular broadcasters on the site, amassing 350,000 fans.
These devotees bombard her with virtual gifts - animated stickers that can be converted into "diamonds" and then real money - helping her pull in about $21,000 (£16,300) a month.
"Coming from a different country it has been difficult to make friends, but this app has allowed me to connect with people who have the same interests," she says of her reasons for joining.
"I spend most of my free time broadcasting because it's where most of my friends are."
She is keen to portray a candid version of herself, pimples and all.
"I don't wear make-up, I wear sweatshirts and sweatpants," she says. "Sometimes I cry when someone says something hurtful on a broadcast."
Like Live.me, live streaming platform YouNow enables these citizen broadcasters to make money from fans sending them virtual gifts. Fans of some streaming sites can also subscribe monthly to their favourite live streamers.
Emma McGann thinks her live broadcasts have helped boost her music career
It's been a real moneyspinner for the top broadcasters, who can earn up to $200,000 (£155,000) a year.
Singer Emma McGann, 26, broadcasts live from her studio in Coventry, England, for three to six hours every day. She says her live streams attract about 5-10,000 unique views.
YouNow not only provides her with a good salary - she earns £2,000-3,000 a month via the channel - but it has helped her gain exposure for her music.
"It enabled me to get a single in the iTunes chart," she says. "It's also a great testing ground for new material."
"I like the live element. I like to interact with the audience and take song requests."
Fans can also speak to her over the internet.
While many brands are already running their own live streaming sessions, We Are Social head of strategy Harvey Cossell believes there are opportunities for brands to capitalise on live streaming by co-creating with individuals who have already amassed a loyal audience.
The success of such collaborations in the social gaming world, on sites such as Twitch, are a case in point.
"They would need to identify those people that represent a similar set of values to the brand in question and then find creative ways to partner with them in the production of their content," he advises.
The challenge, he warns, is one of authenticity.
"It's always better for brands either to partner with the right person, or do nothing at all."
Some researchers are forecasting that the live streaming business will be worth $70bn globally by 2021.
But for all its engagement value and monetisation potential, you only have to search online to see that live streaming has its dark side.
Earlier this year, 12-year-old Katelyn Nicole Davis took her own life and broadcast it live on Live.me, while there have been many reports about paedophiles watching live streaming of child sex abuse.
"Live streaming apps and sites can expose young people to graphic and distressing content and can leave them vulnerable to bullying and online harassment," an NSPCC [National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children] spokesman tells the BBC.
"Worryingly, live chat can also be used by groomers to target young people who may be manipulated into sending sexual images and videos."
Khudor Annous, head of marketing and partnerships at Live.me, says the company has a number of safeguards, including a facial recognition tool that can supposedly spot anyone who's under the age of 13 on the app.
"If they are in fact under the age of 13, then we ban the account," says Mr Annous.
"We have also provided users with reporting tools to report a channel if they identify a child in the app. We're typically able to evaluate reports within a couple of hours depending on daily volume."
As for grooming, he says: "Every user has the ability to report any suspicious behaviour before, or any violations of our community guidelines. We also work with the FBI and local law enforcement agencies around the globe to ensure the safety of our community."
But there are also concerns that the broadcasters are themselves exploiting young people.
Clinical psychologist Linda Blair describes the rise of young people live streaming as "very sad".
She adds: "It's an indication of loneliness. They might temporarily feel great but it's only a distraction."
But with millions of people already using live streaming platforms, including Facebook Live, we can expect the number of everyday broadcasters to continue growing.
"I see live streaming following a path similar to social networking, where at first it started as a place for people to connect with each other but eventually evolved into a powerful platform for advertising, marketing, and publishing," says Paul Verna, principal analyst at eMarketer.
Mr Cossell also believes that live video will expand into other formats.
"It will begin to harness emerging technologies such as 360-video and virtual reality more readily," he says.
"Live streaming is clearly here to stay."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39778550
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England v Ireland: Eoin Morgan praises Adil Rashid for overcoming 'tough' winter - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Eoin Morgan says Adil Rashid has learned from a "tough" winter after his 5-27 helps England beat Ireland by seven wickets.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Adil Rashid showed he has learned from a "tough" winter by taking 5-27 to help England beat Ireland by seven wickets in Bristol, said captain Eoin Morgan.
Leg-spinner Rashid, 29, struggled for consistency as England lost a Test series in India 4-0 late last year.
He was dropped after the first one-dayer against India but performed well in the West Indies series in March.
"He's a huge asset for us and hopefully he gets it right in the middle of the summer," said Morgan.
Rashid's figures on Friday were the second best by an English spinner in one-day internationals, behind the 5-20 taken by Vic Marks against New Zealand in Wellington in 1984.
"It was a tough time in the winter and he's clearly learned from it," Morgan told BBC Test Match Special. "He's slowly building back enough confidence.
"Coming out with his career-best performance after having a very tough winter in India and starting to put something together in the West Indies - it shows the threat leg-spin has."
England play the second and final one-dayer against Ireland at Lord's on Sunday (11:00 BST).
'You have good days and bad days'
Ireland were 81-2 but lost eight wickets for 45 runs as they collapsed to 126 all out in 33 overs. Seven of those wickets fell to Rashid and part-time off-spinner Joe Root, who took 2-9.
Rashid finished with his first five-wicket haul in ODIs, with the Ireland batsmen struggling to read his variations.
Asked how he rated the performance, Rashid said: "It's probably up there.
"It's a great feeling getting a five-for in any conditions. I feel as though I am improving and hopefully I can carry it on.
"You have good days, you have bad days. It's how you deal with it. Sometimes you don't feel great but you have to find a Plan B, Plan C."
Adil Rashid did the job any captain wants when you open the door into a side. Your leg-spinner comes on and kicks it wide open and that's exactly what he did.
I think he's a very good one-day bowler with the white ball. He knows he can do it and he's confident.
With the red ball, I don't think he's got the confidence - he doesn't believe he's a Test match bowler. As a result, he bowls a lot more bad balls with the red ball."
England have won six of the seven completed one-day matches against Ireland, and eight of their past nine at home.
Morgan's side are scheduled to play 21 matches across all formats by 29 September, plus up to five matches in the Champions Trophy 50-over competition, which begins on 1 June.
"Putting in a clinical performance is as good as we can ask for as a side. It is how ruthless we need to be going forward," Morgan said.
Having almost qualified from their group at the 2015 World Cup, Ireland have struggled recently and are 12th in the one-day rankings, seven places behind England.
They suffered heavy ODI defeats against Pakistan last August, and to South Africa and Australia in September. In March, they lost T20 and ODI series against Afghanistan.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, Swann said Ireland "fell to pieces" as they lost a succession of wickets to "abysmal shots".
Ireland captain William Porterfield said: "I think we started off pretty positively and wouldn't necessarily have envisaged that spin would do the damage.
"Not taking anything away from Rashid, we should have played it a lot better. That's something we need to mentally put right for Sunday."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39823715
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How a row over one word sank an LGBT petition in Australia - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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It was a well-meaning campaign to address bullying, but it ended in a passionate row over "tolerance".
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Australia
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Celebrities including Guy Pearce, Missy Higgins and Troye Sivan were attached to the petition
It was a well-meaning campaign designed to address bullying of LGBT students in Australian schools.
But a day after its high-profile launch - backed by some celebrities - the petition was withdrawn following a swirl of controversy.
On Tuesday the open letter, organised by a Sydney man, called on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to commit A$6m (£4m; $4.5m) to funding a new anti-bullying programme.
With a focus on LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] issues in schools and domestic violence, the programme would target "all forms of bullying, including that which is based on religion, race, gender, faith, sexuality, disability, skin conditions, social standing or political persuasions", the letter said.
It followed an intensely debated similar scheme, Safe Schools, which was launched in 2014 but was significantly curtailed and then dumped in one state after criticism from conservative politicians, lobby groups and sections of the media. The critics said it raised sexual issues that were inappropriate for teenagers and young children.
LGBT anti-bullying programmes have been intensely debated in Australia
Tuesday's proposal was intended to "de-politicise" and remove "controversy" surrounding LGBT education in schools. Celebrities including actor Guy Pearce and singers Troye Sivan and Missy Higgins attached their names to the petition.
It even attracted qualified support from an unlikely source. The Australian Christian Lobby - a conservative group critical of Safe Schools - said it "cautiously welcomed" the new proposal.
But it attracted immediate criticism for urging "tolerance" - rather than "acceptance".
"Make no mistake of our request: we do not seek a program that seeks approval of the way certain members of our society live. We seek only mutual respect and tolerance," the petition said.
Critics of the wording included LGBT advocates and, quickly, goodwill that might have flowed from passionate supporters of Safe Schools descended into anger.
"It sounds to me like I'm supposed to beg people to be tolerant of my child's existence," Leanne Donnelly, identified as a Sydney mother of a transgender teenager, told the Special Broadcasting Service.
"Equality and acceptance is the starting point, not downgrading to tolerance."
Some celebrities attached to the letter said they had not seen the wording before it was published.
Petition organiser Ben Grubb, a PR adviser, wrote a lengthy apology to the LGBT community following the backlash.
"Acceptance was removed during the drafting after confidentially consulting a Canberra decision-maker on what they believed the government would potentially back to fund such a program," he wrote, adding his involvement in the campaign was personal not professional.
"This is a decision I deeply regret and I am truly sorry for. I am sorry to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex community, many of whom have told me that by doing this represented the letter pandering to conservative views."
He said he would arrange for the petition to be taken down. It and an accompanying publicity video are no longer visible online.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39801244
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Diamond League: Justin Gatlin & Andre de Grasse beaten in Doha 100m - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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South Africa's Akani Simbine continues his impressive start to 2017 by beating Justin Gatlin and Andre de Grasse in Doha.
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
South Africa's Akani Simbine continued his impressive start to 2017 by beating Justin Gatlin and Andre de Grasse in the 100m at the Doha Diamond League.
The 23-year-old clocked his sixth sub-10 second time of the season as he came home in 9.99, ahead of Asafa Powell.
Gatlin was fourth in 10.14, behind Femi Ogunode (10.13) and ahead of De Grasse, who was fifth in 10.21.
Jamaica's Olympic champion Elaine Thompson beat the Netherlands' Dafne Schippers in the 200m.
The pair were separated by only a tenth of a second in last year's Olympic final, and Thompson triumphed in Doha by 0.26 seconds in a time of 22.19.
Britain's Robbie Grabarz, who took silver in the European Indoors in March, claimed second place in the high jump, clearing 2.31m in his first outdoor event of the season.
• Watch highlights of the Doha Diamond League on BBC One on Saturday at 13:45 BST (not in Northern Ireland).
Olympic champion Caster Semenya claimed a commanding victory in the 800m, coming home in a world-leading time of one minute 56.61 seconds.
Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba, who won silver behind the South African in Rio, was the only other woman to better that time in the whole of 2016.
Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba - who broke a 22-year-old 1500m world record in 2015 and won silver over the distance in Rio - was fifth in her first 800m outing.
Olympic champion Thomas Rohler threw 93.90m to win the javelin competition by more than four metres.
The German's throw moves him to second in the all-time list, with only Czech great Jan Zelezny having thrown further.
Desiree Henry was well short of the 22.69 she clocked earlier this year in California as the 21-year-old finished seventh in the 200m.
Holly Bradshaw, who missed the indoor season with injury, finished fourth in the pole vault with a best of 4.55m.
Cindy Ofili finished down in seventh as American world record-holder Kendra Harrison won the 100m hurdles in 12.59, while Andrew Butchart came eighth in the 3,000m and Chris Baker finished seventh in the high jump.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/39824855
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How Brad Pitt fixed his image problem with one interview - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A look at the star's confession with GQ Style and the art of image management.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Brad Pitt has chosen the pages (and website) of a glossy magazine to give his first interview since splitting from Angelina Jolie amid accusations he'd hit their teenage son. It was a calculated attempt to rehabilitate his image - and it seems to have worked.
It's seven months since Brangelina broke apart against the backdrop of reports of a physical altercation between Brad and 15-year-old Maddox on a private plane.
Social workers and the FBI took no action against Pitt. There were also rumours of an affair with his co-star Marion Cotillard - which she denied.
But his reputation had been called into question and he has kept a low profile since.
So how does one of Hollywood's biggest stars begin to fix his image and move on? The answer seems to be - by doing an eight-day photoshoot mucking about in America's national parks and a long, confessional and philosophical interview with GQ Style.
As one of the most famous people on the planet, Pitt had to talk about his problems sooner or later, attempt to take control of the story and move on.
And he's got a new film coming out - which gets several prominent mentions in the article. He needs to promote that by talking to the media, as he will need to do for future releases.
He can't dodge the subject of his divorce and personal problems. But he can choose which outlet he uses to speak about them, and what they say.
In giving his first post-split interview to GQ Style, he's chosen a publication that is glossy in both format and interview tone. GQ correspondent Michael Paterniti's questioning was gently probing but sympathetic. He didn't ask what went on in the plane.
The choice of GQ wasn't likely to put too many rival media noses out of joint, and was guaranteed to be picked up by virtually every news outlet around the world.
And he will have had control over what went in the article, according to PR guru Mark Borkowski. "Total copy approval, total picture approval, total headline approval," he says.
Pitt "looks good and has admitted he's had a problem," Borkowski says. "So it's very transparent and very honest. To be as upfront and direct as he's been, it is a remarkable moment in his career."
In the bits about his divorce, he is conciliatory and admits the chaos of the past half-year has been "self-inflicted", but he's putting "family first".
He "refuses" to get into a vicious court battle with Angelina and says they've got to handle the situation with "great care and delicacy" for the children.
Verdict? He's the honest and sensitive guy we always knew he was.
E! published an article headlined: Why Brad Pitt won the Jolie-Pitt war by throwing himself on his sword.
"This interview could have been a more obstinate denial of wrongdoing on Pitt's part," E!'s Natalie Finn wrote. "Yet it was quite the opposite.
"Throwing caution to the wind - and simultaneously capitalizing on 30 years of good will built up in Hollywood - Brad went for it, translating what he's gleaned from his newfound love of therapy into a painfully self-aware, self-deprecating, oft-poetic and at times rambling discourse on a charmed life that veered off course and what he's doing to right the ship."
In Vanity Fair, Kenzie Bryant wrote: "Pitt clearly studied the lay-it-all-bare, heart-on-my-sleeve, owning-my-flaws interview section of the post-celebrity-divorce playbook.
"Learning from his tumultuous year is a theme of the talk, especially regarding the divorce, which is still under way."
Bryant added: "He comes across candid, remorseful, and keen to let the world know that he's doing a lot of work on himself."
And in an article praising his "openness and honesty" about his alcohol problems on Huffington Post, Ryan Hampton of Facing Addiction wrote: "Brad, I lift a cranberry-and-Perrier to you.
"People like you do so much to give a face to the addiction crisis that claims so many lives. Thank you for your honesty, your courage, and your willingness to open up about your recovery."
Not everyone was totally convinced, though.
Many celebrities would have tried to hide or snipe at their ex through the media, but Pitt is dealing with it "in the most humane way possible", Borkowski says.
"He was always going to be plagued with this story. So if you're going to talk about it, talk about it in full.
"But of course the timing is calculated, the language is calculated. Everything is calculated. And everything is a gamble.
"A lot of people prefer to stay below the waterline and not do it. He's taken a massive risk and I can think of many who just wouldn't go this far."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39803251
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Novak Djokovic parts with his entire coaching team before Madrid Open - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Novak Djokovic parts company with his entire coaching team, including Marian Vajda, who has been with him all the way through his career.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has parted company with his entire coaching team, including Marian Vajda, who has been with him through almost all of his career.
Djokovic believes this "shock therapy" will help him achieve better results.
The world number two says he will be on the tour alone until he finds the right person to take over as head coach.
Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner, left in December after three years as the 29-year-old's coach.
The Serb next competes at the Madrid Open, with the men's first-round draw to take place on Friday.
A statement on Djokovic's website said he and coach Vajda, fitness coach Gebhard Phil Gritsch and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic had "mutually agreed" to "end their successful and long-term partnership".
Djokovic said he would be "forever grateful" for their "friendship, professionalism and commitment to my career goals".
"Without their support I couldn't have achieved these professional heights, but we all felt that we need a change," he added.
"My career was always on the upward path and this time I'm experiencing how it is when the path takes you in a different direction.
"I want to find a way to come back to the top stronger and more resilient. I am a hunter and my biggest goal is to find the winning spark on the court again."
Djokovic lost his world number one spot to Britain's Andy Murray in November last year, after 122 weeks at the top of the rankings.
He beat Murray in the final of January's Qatar Open, but was knocked out in round two of the Australian Open later that month by Denis Istomin, then the world number 117.
In his five events since he has failed to advance beyond the last eight, most recently losing to Belgium's David Goffin in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals.
There was no great surprise when three very successful years with Boris Becker came to an end in December - head coaches tend to come and go - but this will have been a more agonising decision for the 12-time Grand Slam champion.
Marian Vajda, in particular, is woven into the fabric of Djokovic's career - "shock therapy" is an excellent way to put it.
Vajda says he is "convinced" the world number two will remain at the top for many years. Becker said something similar late last year, and both may prove to be right.
For now, though, the sport is waiting to see whether Djokovic still has the hunger required after such a phenomenal and sustained spell of success.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39819049
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UK General Election 2017 | BBC News
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2017-05-05
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All the BBC's coverage of the 2017 UK General Election including news, analysis and results.
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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.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2017
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Grand National 2017: 26 jockeys given one-day bans over Aintree false start - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Twenty six jockeys are each given a one-day ban after a false start delayed this year's Grand National.
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Last updated on .From the section Horse Racing
Twenty six jockeys have each been given a one-day ban after a false start delayed this year's Grand National.
The riders, including Derek Fox, who rode winner One For Arthur, accepted they did not properly follow the starter's instructions.
They will serve their suspension on various dates later in May.
Aintree stewards referred 31 of the 40 jockeys in the 8 April contest to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), but five were cleared.
A disciplinary panel ruling said: "As the runners moved to the start, the starter asked them to take a turn in order for delayed runners to join the group. Although the jockeys did eventually take a turn, they did not do so immediately when requested."
The inquiry has been less controversial than three years ago, when jockeys initially refused to co-operate when a hearing was scheduled for later on Grand National day.
On that occasion, assistant starter Simon McNeill was knocked over by one of the runners as it approached the start line.
He was not badly hurt, and cautions were eventually issued to 39 jockeys at a rescheduled hearing.
After Friday's hearing, a BHA spokesman said: "Starting the Grand National presents a unique challenge for both starters and jockeys, as does holding an inquiry with a large number of jockeys immediately after the race.
"This is why the inquiry was held back until today and we are grateful for the co-operation of the jockeys in this process."
The Professional Jockeys' Association says it will continue to talk to the BHA about improving issues around the start of the National.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/39802506
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Local elections 2017: The results mapped - BBC News
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2017-05-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Conservatives have made gains in the local council elections, with Labour and UKIP losing out, as the results are declared.
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Election 2017
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The Conservative Party has made major gains in local elections across Britain, fuelled by a collapse in the UKIP vote and poor results for Labour.
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A total of 4,851 seats were up for grabs in 88 councils - all 32 in Scotland, 22 in Wales and 34 country councils and unitary authorities in England.
The Conservatives have made gains while Labour, UKIP, the Lib Dems and the SNP have all lost ground.
Labour has lost more than 380 council seats, UKIP has suffered heavy losses and the Lib Dems have not made the gains they had hoped for.
The Conservatives appear to have been the main beneficiaries of a decline in support for UKIP.
The party is now in charge of 11 more councils having taken Derbyshire from Labour as well as Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, the Isle of Wight and Monmouthshire - all of which were previously under no overall control.
They also increased their total number of councillors in Scotland by more than 160.
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Meanwhile, it has been a much less successful day for Labour.
The party has lost control of seven councils, including Glasgow, as well as Bridgend and Blaenau Gwent. It also lost the metro mayor contests in the West Midlands and Tees Valley, a traditional Labour heartland, to the Conservatives - but former cabinet minister Andy Burnham scored a big win in Greater Manchester.
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The Lib Dems have had a mixed performance, with some seats won and others lost.
Lib Dem former business secretary Vince Cable said the night had been "neutral" for his party.
"We're in a relatively encouraging position, though there hasn't been a spectacular breakthrough," he said.
Sorry, your browser cannot display this map
UKIP suffered a bad night - losing 145 seats. It ended this year's local elections with a single councillor in Lancashire.
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The SNP comfortably finished as the largest party in the Scotland, but suffered modest losses, losing control of Dundee.
Conservative advances in Scotland came at the expense of Labour, with the party losing more than 130 councillors north of the border.
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Meanwhile, the Green Party has won 40 seats, gaining six in total.
See results and latest news in your area
Produced by Ed Lowther, John Walton, Lucy Rodgers, Nassos Stylianou, Joe Reed, Gerry Fletcher and Prina Shah. Maps built with Carto.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39795422
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Fernando Alonso: McLaren driver has 'real chance' of debut Indy 500 win - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Ex-Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti says Fernando Alonso has a "real chance" of winning the Indy 500 on his debut
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Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
Ex-Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti says Fernando Alonso has a "real chance" of winning the Indy 500 on his debut.
Alonso, 35, will miss this year's Monaco Grand Prix for the 500-mile race.
The two-time world champion said his first experience of Indianapolis was "fun" as he began testing on Wednesday.
Former IndyCar champion Andretti, 77, said: "His chances are real of potentially winning this thing."
• None Listen to more from Andretti on BBC Radio 5 live
The 1978 F1 world champion - father of ex-F1 and IndyCar driver Michael Andretti, who runs the team Alonso is driving for - said this is a "golden opportunity" for the Spaniard.
"He's at the top of his game and he doesn't have too much to lose in Formula 1," Andretti told BBC Radio 5 live.
"He can give Monaco up and give this a good try and maybe come away with a very happy result."
Alonso, who won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006 and 2007, said he had long held an ambition to win the so-called 'triple crown' of Monaco, the Indy 500 and Le Mans.
Only one man has won all three in his career - the late Graham Hill in the 1960s.
Alonso ended his test with a fastest lap of 222.548mph. Last year's pole position time for the Indy 500 was 230.760mph.
American Alexander Rossi won last year's event to become the first driver to win the race on his debut since 2001.
"Everything went like he [Alonso] has been there before [in testing]. He's probably come away very pleased with himself and the team are very pleased with him," added Andretti.
"I just feel very good for him, I'm very confident that it's going to be a great experience overall.
"He will have no problem and have some fun with it."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39813093
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Manchester City: Premier League punishes club with academy transfer ban - BBC Sport
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2017-05-05
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Manchester City are banned from signing academy players for two years and fined £300,000 after breaching Premier League rules.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City have been banned from signing academy players for two years and fined £300,000 after breaching Premier League transfer rules.
Part of the ban - from 30 June 2018 - will only come into effect if the club reoffends in the next three years.
City were found to have approached the family of two young players who were registered with other clubs.
The ban applies to 10 to 18-year-olds registered with a Premier League or EFL club in the previous 18 months.
It follows a similar sanction for Liverpool, who in April were punished over a separate illegal approach.
Liverpool's punishment related to their approach to a 12-year-old academy player at Stoke City in September last year.
It was reported in April that the Premier League was examining three signings by Manchester City's academy, including an 11-year-old Everton midfielder and a 15-year-old from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In each case, the academy player was conditionally registered with City while the Premier League's investigation was ongoing.
As a result of the club's breaches, the players' registrations will be terminated, with no compensation rights retained by the club.
City have declined to comment on the matter. It is understood they have promised to continue to pay the school fees of the children concerned throughout their education at comparable schools to the ones they would have gone to if they had stayed at the club.
They have also agreed to pay the relevant compensation for the players, which means they are free agents and can join any other club without it going to tribunal.
Today's news is an embarrassment to Manchester City, who have prided themselves on doing the right thing throughout Sheikh Mansour's nine years as owner.
The £300,000 fine will not be too much of an inconvenience. The two-year ban on signing players who have been signed to a Premier League or EFL academy is more so, even if the punishment will only be in force for one year, with the remainder suspended.
However, even that is only a minor issue for a club that has reached the FA Youth Cup final for the past three seasons.
What it does say is the recruiting methods City have employed have not always been beyond reproach.
For a club who are intent on recruiting the best young players, in an area where there is intense competition from Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton, it is not the ideal negotiating tool.
It is understood City will not be appealing against this decision, which is essentially a case of the old-fashioned "tapping up" variety. The club approached the players concerned before they were supposed to.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39820993
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